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Why are new machines nearly twice what they were before the industry crash?
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<blockquote data-quote="Animator_pin_fan" data-source="post: 27656" data-attributes="member: 96"><p>I just heard Gary Stern speak at the CAX a couple of months ago, and the way he explains it, it's not the licenses that are creating the high cost, it's mostly the low production numbers, and even lower domestic sales. He said that most of the bulk of pinball tables made get sold overseas, and that it's harder to sell sight unseen to the foreign distributors unless it's a recognizable/successful theme. He also went on to explain the three legs of their customer base- operators, collectors, and the extremely wealthy. Their philosophy is that with each new table there should be a tier of pricing to please everyone. Meaning, you can't put out an expensive deluxe table and expect operators to buy them and hope they make all that extra money back. And on the other hand it wouldn't be wise to put out an economy/lackluster table that doesn't appeal to collectors. So hence the two to three different models are a safe bet. Again, I wish it weren't so, but the way he explained their business model, it really does make sense. I know pinball is becoming popular again, and hopefully now with Jeresy Jack in the picture, there will be some new interesting themes coming out in the next few years, but unless there is a way to sell more than a few thousand units, the prices will always be really high, which is why the home use market is so small, if not mostly limited to collectors. </p><p>With that said, I think the new Stern tables (along with TPA) are the perfect way to get new/younger players interested in pinball again. And with the growing PAPA events, competitive pinball has never seemed cooler. But unless more arcades or on location sites buy a lot more new pinball machines, they are always going to be manufactured in smaller/financially less risky batches. </p><p>I personally wish Stern and Jersey Jack would also issue a DIY kit version of each table (like the new John Popaduik tables he's making with Ben Heck), so that you can save a ton on the cost by building it yourself. Which is I think how they sold that Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons- as a conversion kit. </p><p>The P3 system is still pretty pricey considering you're purchasing a table without a game or software- Maybe it's just a little too DIY for me- I can see a build it yourself kit with a finished game being fun, but develop your own game and coding doesn't seem like as much fun to me.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Animator_pin_fan, post: 27656, member: 96"] I just heard Gary Stern speak at the CAX a couple of months ago, and the way he explains it, it's not the licenses that are creating the high cost, it's mostly the low production numbers, and even lower domestic sales. He said that most of the bulk of pinball tables made get sold overseas, and that it's harder to sell sight unseen to the foreign distributors unless it's a recognizable/successful theme. He also went on to explain the three legs of their customer base- operators, collectors, and the extremely wealthy. Their philosophy is that with each new table there should be a tier of pricing to please everyone. Meaning, you can't put out an expensive deluxe table and expect operators to buy them and hope they make all that extra money back. And on the other hand it wouldn't be wise to put out an economy/lackluster table that doesn't appeal to collectors. So hence the two to three different models are a safe bet. Again, I wish it weren't so, but the way he explained their business model, it really does make sense. I know pinball is becoming popular again, and hopefully now with Jeresy Jack in the picture, there will be some new interesting themes coming out in the next few years, but unless there is a way to sell more than a few thousand units, the prices will always be really high, which is why the home use market is so small, if not mostly limited to collectors. With that said, I think the new Stern tables (along with TPA) are the perfect way to get new/younger players interested in pinball again. And with the growing PAPA events, competitive pinball has never seemed cooler. But unless more arcades or on location sites buy a lot more new pinball machines, they are always going to be manufactured in smaller/financially less risky batches. I personally wish Stern and Jersey Jack would also issue a DIY kit version of each table (like the new John Popaduik tables he's making with Ben Heck), so that you can save a ton on the cost by building it yourself. Which is I think how they sold that Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons- as a conversion kit. The P3 system is still pretty pricey considering you're purchasing a table without a game or software- Maybe it's just a little too DIY for me- I can see a build it yourself kit with a finished game being fun, but develop your own game and coding doesn't seem like as much fun to me. [/QUOTE]
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