Where Would Pinball Be Today if the Industry Hadn't Collapsed?

I watched that AMC's History of Pinball, and it was awesome! At the end, they asked several of the interviewees where they think pinball would be in ten years? Their optimistic answers look sadly naieve today (the documentary was made in 1999), but it does bring up an interesting question - what would pinball look like today if it was still a booming industry and we still had several prominent companies competing with each other? Here's some of what I think we'd see:

*One thing we would definitely see is the old DMD replaced with a full color display. Why Stern hasn't done this yet I don't know, but it would make the whole experience better, especially since a majority of their tables are based on television and movie properties. They could use footage from the source material, go all out on score displays, and even have some video modes that don't suck. Having displays on or under the playfield itself is another possibility, though the benefit gained wouldn't be worth the extra expense in most cases.

*Sound chips that store more, and better quality, sounds and music. Stern has already made significant progress in this area, and with a better marketplace and more competition, more advancements would be made.

*Pinball 2000 was a cool concept, and the two existing games are some of my favorites, even if their playfields are rather spartan. Had things turned out differently, they might have incorporated the technology into more sophisticated, full sized playfields. It wouldn't work for all tables, but for those that feature a bulk of the action centralized at a single location (such as Medieval Madness and Attack From Mars), it would definitely make things interesting.

*Shifting / changing playfields. It would probably be too expensive and too prone to failure, but it would be cool to see large sections (or even the entire) playfield reconfigure itself. With a flourishing marketplace, it could have happened!

Jersey Jack's first machine, Wizard of Oz, will have a full color display.

It's exciting to see Wizard of Oz getting a pinball table....i haven't seen the playfield yet but i hope to god there's a yellow brick ramp and Flying Monkey Multiball

I think the main factor is Williams/Bally leaving the industry. If that had happened they might have ended up the sole manufacturer and industry leader. Stern's success has been in no small part attributable to the talent they picked up from Williams, not to mention the lack of competitors in acquiring licensed properties. Jersey Jack came to be as a response more than anything to Stern's backing off from high end machines and also has some former Williams talent. Their founding may not have ever happened as Williams was still making extremely high end creations at the end of their life with deep rules and complex and expensive playfield toys/theming. Stern may have opened up shop but they would probably have made a lot less tables. Of course, it also seems pinball is rising in popularity a bit so perhaps that could have created demand for an additionall manufacturer or 2.

I think there would have been definite improvements in sound and electronic visuals. Colored DMD's, LCD panels, multiple displays, perhaps even touch sensitive displays on the playfield itself. Obviously a good deal of Pinball 2000 tables.

From a theming standpoint I believe there would be a much better balance of original themes rather than nearly 100% licensed.

Cactus Canyon would have had its rules finished and probably a much bigger production run for that as well as additional runs for MM, MB and maybe Championship Pub.

Brian Clark said:

Jersey Jack's first machine, Wizard of Oz, will have a full color display.

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That's awesome - I was wondering when they would get around to it. Who or what is Jersey Jack?

Richard B said:

That's awesome - I was wondering when they would get around to it. Who or what is Jersey Jack?

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http://digitalpinballfans.com/showthread.php/63-Jersey-Jack-Pinball

I think the industry hit the sweet spot on the cost curve in the late 80's with System 11. Later it was a case of diminishing returns and machines cost so much to produce that they often wouldn't pay for themselves unless they were a major hit. Games cost 3x as much to build and were at best 10-20% more fun. So when speculating on what kinds of new glitzy unneeded distractions would have been developed if the industry hadn't collapsed, realize that it collapsed largely due to that crap. Games from the mid- or late-90's are like peacock tails.

FurVid said:

Games from the mid- or late-90's are like peacock tails.

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You're entitled to that opinion, but keep in mind some of us really like those peacock tails. Pinball was competing with ever more complex video games and home systems, and it was basically innovate or perish. They innovated as long as they could (about 10 years) and then they perished. By the time I discovered pinball, DMD tables were the only games around, with the occasional battered Funhouse or Whirlwind somewhere. So yes, I like my ToM, MM and CV with their rotating trunks and exploding castles and Ringmaster heads and multiple modes and multiple multiballs and DCS sound systems and kickass light shows. Yes, the 90s tables are not as "pure" a pinball experience as the 80s tables, and don't get me wrong - I like a lot of the 80s tables too now that I've found them - but dismissing the 90s tables as peacock tails isn't doing them justice.

What I do object to is the current parade of hit-or-miss licensed tables from Stern. Not that all licensed tables are bad, but the early-2000s Sterns are overcrowded monstrosities (see Ripley's, Simpsons Pinball Party), and sometimes with the newer Sterns I feel like the license is there to disguise the fact that the gameplay is so similar from table to table. (And sometimes there's no disguise: see the Family Guy --> Shrek conversion.) That's why I'm interested to see that new Jersey Jack company take off...if nothing else, its presence might induce Stern to shake up its games a little.

Yeah, I like them too. Like I said, they were about 10-20% better than system 11. If someone wants to give me any table I choose, then it'd be one of those. But if I'm spending my own money, I'd rather own 3-4 older machines for the same price.

Serenseven said:

What I do object to is the current parade of hit-or-miss licensed tables from Stern. Not that all licensed tables are bad, but the early-2000s Sterns are overcrowded monstrosities (see Ripley's, Simpsons Pinball Party), and sometimes with the newer Sterns I feel like the license is there to disguise the fact that the gameplay is so similar from table to table. (And sometimes there's no disguise: see the Family Guy --> Shrek conversion.)

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I disagree that Ripley's and Simpsons Pinball Party are monstrosities. I found both to play extremely well, especially Simpsons, though I only played Ripley's on VP and Pinball Arcade. I understand why they might be called overcrowded, but the playfield objects didn't hinder the gameplay for me. I find it annoying that reviews on ipdb give 2s and 3s for some games with the playfield being overcrowded being the only reason given. Also, with Family Guy and Shrek, the latter was probably produced as a family friendly version, not to disguise the fact that it has the same gameplay.

I agree Stern can be hit or miss, but I feel they made a lot of hits. I especially like the Tron Legacy LE, Lord of the Rings, Spider-Man, and Batman. One thing I don't like is how they make pro editions with gimped features and make the better ones limited (though earlier LEs were only slightly better and the pegs added for the Rolling Stones LE could make the regular one the better version). AC/DC Pro definitely feels like one that had features taken out, though it wasn't bad either.