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- Aug 7, 2001
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Old gits and/or fans of The Who will know that the record Pinball Wizard(1969) and film "Tommy" (1975) is about a "deaf, dumb, and blind kid" who "Sure plays a mean pinball."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinball_Wizard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_(film)
Real pinball machines have been gone for at least a generation now in the UK, although they clung on in France for a few years more, to my knowledge. But now they are making a comeback!
Flipping heck: Is pinball about to stage a recovery?
By Paul Rubens, Technology reporter
Twenty years ago it was almost impossible to avoid the sounds and flashing lights of pinball machines in pubs, student bars and amusement arcades.
Competition from electronic arcade machines and fruit machines helped drive them close to the brink of extinction. But now these giant mechanical tables could be set to enjoy a renaissance.
New pinball companies are springing up to reintroduce the world to the physical pleasure of flipping "the silver ball."
What's behind the apparent resurgence? Ironically it's computer games, according to Andrew Heighway, managing director of Heighway Pinball, a UK-based company that plans to release its first machine shortly.
"There's been a huge boom in pinball smartphone and console games over the last few years," he explains.
"Many of the kids that play them have probably never seen a real pinball machine. A whole generation has missed out - but thanks to these video games, there are plenty of kids that have been primed for the real thing."
Gary Stern, president of Stern Pinball - the only company that has been manufacturing pinball machines continuously over the last decade - confirms the trend.
"We've seen sales up by 30% in the last year, so there is absolutely a resurgence in interest," he says.
Used machine prices have also shot up in price.
That doesn't surprise Andy Netherwood - a pinball repair man known in UK pinball circles as The Legend for his ability to bring almost any broken-down machine back to life. He says that the number of machines in private hands has also been growing lately.
"Twelve years ago, when I started, I used to do one or two repair jobs each week, and later it became a steady one or two day per week job," he says. "But recently I've been out doing repairs four days a week or more."
etc...
Regardless of any innovation, pinball machines will never be completely reliable - in a contraption made from up to 3,500 parts connected by half a mile of wiring, there's just too much to go wrong.
But a new generation of pinball players brought up on digitally identical video games may find this quirkiness actually adds to the attraction of the machines. After all, as an old industry adage goes: "If it ain't broke, it ain't pinball." 8)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21200001
A chance to recapture my mis-spent youth!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinball_Wizard
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tommy_(film)
Real pinball machines have been gone for at least a generation now in the UK, although they clung on in France for a few years more, to my knowledge. But now they are making a comeback!
Flipping heck: Is pinball about to stage a recovery?
By Paul Rubens, Technology reporter
Twenty years ago it was almost impossible to avoid the sounds and flashing lights of pinball machines in pubs, student bars and amusement arcades.
Competition from electronic arcade machines and fruit machines helped drive them close to the brink of extinction. But now these giant mechanical tables could be set to enjoy a renaissance.
New pinball companies are springing up to reintroduce the world to the physical pleasure of flipping "the silver ball."
What's behind the apparent resurgence? Ironically it's computer games, according to Andrew Heighway, managing director of Heighway Pinball, a UK-based company that plans to release its first machine shortly.
"There's been a huge boom in pinball smartphone and console games over the last few years," he explains.
"Many of the kids that play them have probably never seen a real pinball machine. A whole generation has missed out - but thanks to these video games, there are plenty of kids that have been primed for the real thing."
Gary Stern, president of Stern Pinball - the only company that has been manufacturing pinball machines continuously over the last decade - confirms the trend.
"We've seen sales up by 30% in the last year, so there is absolutely a resurgence in interest," he says.
Used machine prices have also shot up in price.
That doesn't surprise Andy Netherwood - a pinball repair man known in UK pinball circles as The Legend for his ability to bring almost any broken-down machine back to life. He says that the number of machines in private hands has also been growing lately.
"Twelve years ago, when I started, I used to do one or two repair jobs each week, and later it became a steady one or two day per week job," he says. "But recently I've been out doing repairs four days a week or more."
etc...
Regardless of any innovation, pinball machines will never be completely reliable - in a contraption made from up to 3,500 parts connected by half a mile of wiring, there's just too much to go wrong.
But a new generation of pinball players brought up on digitally identical video games may find this quirkiness actually adds to the attraction of the machines. After all, as an old industry adage goes: "If it ain't broke, it ain't pinball." 8)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-21200001
A chance to recapture my mis-spent youth!
)
