To Trade or Not to Trade...........That is the Question

In the world of pinball collecting, often times an aficionado has the option to acquire a game through trading as opposed to a straight sale. This usually consists of either a "Trade with Cash" or the "Straight Trade." Trading with cash is usually where two machines are traded and both parties agree to adding/subtracting cash on the side to make it even and satisfactory for both groups. Straight trade is when two people trade without any cash outlay on the side. While under most situations a straight trade would be done for two machines of equal market value, sometimes it might not be, especially if both individuals want the game the other person has. This has led to some very interesting possibilities for trades, game swaps that might not normally make sense, unless you factor in where one is located as well as the rarity and desirability of a particular game in that area.

Would you swap a Metallica for a Centaur?

Stern's Metallica Pro

Centaur

That sounds crazy on the surface, a new Stern DMD game from 2013 for a 33 year old machine with limited sound, lighting effects, and more primitive rules. Yet in Florida (where I live) Centaur is highly desirable and almost never for sale. In that light, a trade for a Metallica Pro would not only seem possible, but some might consider it a bad deal for the initial Centaur owner, as getting another Centaur would be a lot harder than getting a new Metallica. Though in the end, if both parties are happy, that's all that matters.

What happens if the trade really isn't balanced? Lets say a collector has a Stern Lord of the Rings (market value around $4200.00 and commonly available) but really wants a Swords of Fury (technically an $1800.00 dollar game but super uncommon, maybe only 2 in the state he resides in and nobody letting go of one, and it never for sale anywhere)? He being a fantasy themed fan, and someone who's grown tired of chasing after the One Ring, has decided he wants a Swords of Fury above it all, none are for sale anywhere within 1000 miles of him, so when he finds an owner with one, that person will only take a LOTR for trade, and so he's got a serious choice to make, take the hit and agree to the trade, or hold out hoping another game pops up. Not all Pinball games get reprints, a rare game that's never getting remade will stay rare, and while most may dismiss a trade offer like that, one man's warm-up machine is another man's grail, and pinball people can do unbelievable things when they get the fiery desire to have a game in their collection no matter what.

It boils down to desirability and what the person or people are after in the trade, and what a person is willing to do to get a game that he really wants.

What do you guys think? Have any of you ever been in the situation where you REALLY wanted a game and were willing to trade down just to get it? Do any of you have any stories you'd like to share? 

Comment Below!


PS. I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Marshall down at 24 Hour Distribution for sending me the flyer to one of my favorite games, Bad Cats!

Meow Meow Meow Meow.................

Marshall is a true Pinball Aficionado!!!! Thanks again man!!!!

Pinball Art and the Whoa Nellie Controversy

Whoa Nellie! The game that is fruitful for some and rotten for others. - Photo courtesy of Whizbang Pinball

This week on Pinball Aficionado, we're going to look at a controversy that has developed in recent hours online. It was during Pinball Expo and involves Stern's announcement of a game they will soon be manufacturing in early 2015 for Whizbang Pinball (the design duo comprised of Dennis Nordman and Greg Freres).

It's Whoa Nellie, an older electromechanical style design that's been in the works in one form or another for over 4 years. As soon as the announcement was made on Facebook there were many who lauded the move, as it's essentially an original theme with a homage to classic pinball art of the 1970's. There were also dozens of comments by people who found the artwork offensive, misogynistic, even one person alluding that it fed into rape culture.

Whoa indeed!

It's an interesting debate, and could prove a very slippery slope for Stern. On the one hand, having a simpler, EM style game with "classic art" could definitely appeal to the hobby's prime demographic, older white men (statistically the average pinballer's age today is around 42) who grew up on games with that visual style. 

The  Warrior's Bride in Paragon

Slave girl from Hercules

Sacrifice in Gorgar

Girl in Genie

The Fire Queen.............She might be sexualized, but is she a "victim" or "inferior"???

On the other hand, this kind of art today could definitely rub some the wrong way. Today more people, especially women are now in the hobby, and they find these visuals to not have any redeeming or artistic value, and as such find that this older graphic style is offensive and outdated. It's a valid point, more people are trying to move past older stereotypes and trying to be more inclusive and respectful. There was even an article written for Skill-Shot.com showing female player Kayla Greet's view toward the sexualization of the feminine form in games past and present (including contemporary titles such as ACDC Luci) and how it was distracting, demeaning, and did not leave a positive impact for young people in general.

So that possibly leaves Stern in a vulnerable place, cater to the largest pinball playing demographic, or try to appeal to a wider audience. In a relatively small hobby like pinball, Stern's obviously catering to their largest audience, though if they continue to focus on them, its likely to remain small. Time will tell if it was the right move or not. 

The Playfield..... - Photo courtesy of Ministry of Pinball

Anyway, what does everyone think of this controversy, is it legitimate? Blown out of proportion? What's your view of the debate??? Comment!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Until Next time!

-- Special Thanks to Amanda Kotchon for contributing to this entry.

What Makes You Prefer One Machine Over Another???

So many games.......so many choices.......

Recently I was on Facebook and saw some polls on pinball enthusiast pages that dealt with the usual "What's your favorite game" or "What's the worst pinball game of the 1980's" etc to start discussions. It got me thinking, what DOES make for a good game, or a bad game? Pinball is a funny thing, because one person might love the game you find abhorrent and vice versa. What kind of factors cause that? 

Shots? Art? Lights? Sound?

And why is it that in our hobby, unlike many others, we pinball aficionados obsess over the smallest things. Game might shoot great, but dammit, they got that annoying 5 note loop track or the color of the playfield is yellow and not red and so it's sucky, while that other game next to it plays similar, but has some different sounds and rules and you think it kicks total butt. 

Terminator 2

ACDC

A non pinball person would see T2 and ACDC and think it was the same game, or at the very least, would think it was made in the same year, but not us, obviously. We'd see both of those very differently, and we'd definitely price them and rate them very differently as well. Why???

Ramp...

Other hobbies/industries don't seem to be that particular. If I or most people go to buy a new car, my main concern would probably be that it drives. It's not a deal breaker if I can't get the car in dark blue when all they have is regular blue, yet in Pinball something like that can be a deal breaker. Are we just a picky bunch? Or is there more to it??? 

Balls!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let me know!!!!! Discuss what factors for you, cause a game to suck, or a game to be great! Comment below, here on the blog (make sure java script and cookies are enabled for your comment to come through) and for your trouble one of you will be randomly picked to win a kick-ass "STERN SHOP" T-Shirt, totally free, that I picked up while I was visiting the factory last month!!!

Ooooooh!!!

Next time we'll check out your replies. 
Until then!!!

The World of Modding! - Part 1

Black Knight with color coordinated LEDs

Within the pinball universe, there is a phenomenon that's been steadily growing over the years. It's being seen more and more in owners homes and among collections. Sometimes when you come across it, you may not even notice it, other times, it's so extreme and all encompassing you can't miss it. In many cases it can help improve things, but it can also have the opposite effect........What am I talking about?!?! Breast enhancement?!??!?!?! NO! I'm speaking of the world of Modding!!! 

Stern Lord of the Rings with custom cabinet art 

Modding comes in many forms (lighting, artwork, software, toys, toppers, cabinets, you name it) and has been growing by leaps and bounds over the years. Years ago when the primary pinball owner was the operator making money on location (at the bar or arcade), mods were unimportant (unless to improve durability or fix a physical flaw or software glitch), but now as more and more people are personally owning games and the focus has turned from the operator to the private collector, mods have become interesting options to make games more unique and enjoyable for those that own them.

Custom painted and detailed Carpathian village for Bram Stoker's Dracula

Custom wood grained colored shooter rod

Real sword modification in a Lord of the Rings Pinball Machine

Custom translite and speaker panel for ACDC

Aficionados have modded their machines in every way possible, from the types of bulbs used all the way to super exclusive custom toys and personal software enhancements to game content like personal music and speech. These collectors have spent considerable money doing this, in some cases the mods are worth more than what the whole machine is worth stock! They obviously have a passion for it, and this passion is what I'd like to showcase in the coming weeks....STAY TUNED!!!!!

That is an actual 3 inch tall fully functional Tron video game, with working game and real display over the ball scoop on the pinball version.

Pinball Oddities...

A Pinball Aficionado at Play

While exploring the deep and rich world of pinball, I've seen many things. When you're a pinball aficionado and you love a hobby like this, you naturally immerse yourself and tend to notice stuff. Items like common and popular themes, or playfield elements, designer traits, sales trends etc. This also gets one thinking of stuff that's absent, or hasn't been done often, and I'd love to know WHY that is!

Let's look at some....


1. Right Outlane Kickback.

Yep, you heard that right. Why is it that pinball designers never deploy a coil powered kickback in the RIGHT outlane of the playfield? If they do it, and they've done it a lot over the last 40 years, it's ALWAYS on the left! 

Kickback....On the Left!

I don't get it. I've looked, there's room under the apron for a kickback on the right, but nobody has ever (to my knowledge) ever designed a modern game with that. Back in the earlier EM period of the 70's through the 80's you did occasionally see a ball saver gate on the right to send the ball back to the plunger, but never a full kickback. Why? 


2. Why didn't Gottlieb get those juicy Tommy tie in games?

Tommy, the Rock Opera starring The Who, or more specifically, that awesome scene in the movie where Roger Daltrey and Elton John have a pin duel and Elton is singing Pinball Wizard is absolutely epic, no question. If you watch the scene, they're playing on two Gottlieb games. Elton is on Buckaroo and Roger (or Tommy) is on Kings and Queens. It seems so wrong to me that around the time of the film's release, Bally, not Gottlieb ended up releasing Wizard and Captain Fantastic, two games that launched Bally's meteoric rise in the 70's (and then coincidentally Data East ended up releasing their own Tommy game years later in the 90's). Jeez! if I had been Gottlieb, I'd have been bummed! Talk about a lost marketing tie in opportunity! So I'd love to know the story here, was Bally's head of marketing Tom Nieman just THAT good? If so, why didn't they use Bally games in the film scene? Really would love to know the answer to this one...

3. Why didn't Data East Pinball ever use any of the existing properties that Data East Japan owned? 

Granted I understand, both DE Pinball and Data East Japan were not under the same roof, but they were definitely in bed together. And I always found it so hard to believe that Joe Kaminkow and Gary Stern never mined any of the vast DE properties for use or tie ins or easter eggs in their pinball games (like Karnov or The Bad Dudes), seems like a wasted opportunity to me. This question also applies to SEGA Pinball and to Capcom Pinball. You're telling me Sega Pinball couldn't do a Sonic The Hedgehog Pin? Or Mark Ritchie and the Capcom crew couldn't do a newer AND BETTER Street Fighter pin (as opposed to the Premier one) or even an Aliens vs Predator Pin?!? Would love to know what happened there!

On that note I go to my next question...

4. Why was there never a Mortal Kombat Pin???

MORTAL KOMBAT!!!!!

Seriously! Think about this, Ed Boon, head creator of the video game, was a serious pinball programmer before MK came out (having worked on several pinball games including F-14 Tomcat and Taxi) working for Steve Ritchie on the former. Steve also contributed to MK's development, having named the game and also providing the voice work for mega villain Shao Khan throughout much of the game series. Why is it that Williams/Bally/Midway (who produced MK and made all those great pinball games) never went and made a pin tie in for such a successful in-house franchise?!? They did it before with Defender, they could have done it here! It could have been huge! Oh well, mysteries like this may never be solved, but if anyone does know why, do tell!

Lastly, one final thing I've noticed when it comes to pinball, is that there is a theme that has NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE. 

And so this leads me to point 5.

5. Why has there never been a pizza parlor/delivery pin???!?!

Many thanks to the fine folks at Giordano's Pizza for this fine and tasty image!

Think about this. Pizza and pinball go hand in hand, it IS the pinball food. Many high end pizzerias serve beer, a popular pinball beverage. Pizzas are round, whirlwind playfield spinners are round, etc. There is so much you could do with a pizza theme and pinball, seriously! I was shocked to learn pizza never became an original pinball theme back in the day. Seemed like a no brainer to me.

If any designer would care to comment on number 5, I'd love to hear your thoughts on that.

So there you go, random questions I've thought about during my time in pinball. If anyone reading this blog would care to chime in, discuss, answer, and commentate I would greatly appreciate it! Do any of you fine folks out there have similar questions on stuff you've noticed in pinball? Do tell! COMMENT BELOW!!! :D

Till next time!

Pinball Aficionado T-Shirt!!!

She's an Aficionado, are YOU???

Hey everyone! I've been getting a lot of feedback and questions from watchers and aficionados about my STERN factory tour from last week. Along with the big obvious questions like "When is the Star Trek code update coming out?" (not sure, can't say), and "Did you see Medieval Madness anywhere in the building?" (no I did not) and "Is Jack Benson really that tall" (sort of), I got one other question from many people: "Where did you get that cool T-Shirt and can I get one!" I can now answer that question! I officially present the extremely rare, super awesome, highly collectible, Pinball Aficionado Version 1 Limited Edition Fan T-Shirt!!!!!

Front of the Shirt

Back of the Shirt

It's a thing of beauty! This shirt is black with gold lettering (like the blog) and sports the site's name on the front and a neat, slick pinball design on the back. The design was made custom for me by the in-house art staff at Arcade Odyssey. Like I said before, this shirt is a first edition and will be limited (will not make them for long), and once they're gone, THEY'RE GONE, and subsequent runs will be different, so this is the only chance to get this shirt. 

Local tournament player (and Pinball Aficionado) Joel Cohen with his shirt

Serious arcade gamer girl Lis sporting her shirt

Me and Jack Benson: Stern programmer and 2014 PAPA C Division Champion wearing his Pinball Aficionado T-Shirt

--> **ALL SHIRTS ARE NOW SOLD OUT** <--

For every shirt sale, $5 dollars of the purchase price goes toward Project Pinball. The amazingly great charity organization by Dan Spolar and the Pinball Asylum that uses donations to purchase pinball machines and deploys them for free in children's hospitals across the nation (WOW!). 

Their Facebok Page

Just last month, Project Pinball hosted over 30 IFPA endorsed tournaments across the US, all to help raise money for the effort, and just this past week some of the fruits of that labor were realized as they installed a brand new Star Trek Pro at a children's hospital in St. Louis Missouri.

The Florida Crossroads Tournament: One of the local Project Pinball sponsored events held last month

So all I have left to say is: "Are YOU an Aficionado???"

Stern Factory Visit!

On August 8th I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Stern Pinball and tour the factory. I was headed to Illinois to see family and had the opportunity to stop for a bit in Chicago and thought "Why Not?". 

Me at Stern

So I messaged the great Jody Dankberg (Stern's head of Marketing, really awesome guy btw) and got everything set up.

What an experience! As soon as I got out of the car and walked up to the building I see this group coming toward me:

(L to R): Greg Freres, Steve Ritchie, Mark Weyna, Chuck Bleich, and Steven Martin

I went nuts!!! I ran up to them, shook their hand, chatted them up and took their photo LOL. Greg is responsible for some of the most recognizable pinball art of the last 30 years. Steve R is known as "The King of Flow" for his distinctive pinball designs, Mark is a program manager and is known by fans to have helped create the great game "Scared Stiff" during his time at Williams Pinball. Chuck is the senior electronics project engineer, who used to be the electronic engineering manager at Williams for decades. Finally, Steven M is production art manager at the company, and worked on Star Trek with Steve Ritchie, Greg, and others.

After meeting that group, I went inside (some of my family was with me) and got ready for the tour. 

We were herded into the company showroom/arcade where we saw the latest games they had produced. 

ACDC Luci Premium with Metallica Pro

My nephew (and Pinball Aficionado in training) on the new ACDC LED Pro!

A Stern Rawhide (the first game old school Stern produced) with Melony beside it...a hint of the future???

The Room also had Mustang BOSS Prem, Mustang Pro, and ST Pro

ACDC LED Pro was real flashy, speaker panel is cool looking in person.

Here's the new Swinging Bell toy for this version of ACDC Pro

It's a simple pendulum that attaches at the base and uses the target (no optos or code revisions needed)

Shot from the top (I want one for my game now heh!)...

Metallica Pro, looking nice and BRIGHT....

Gary's Stand-In watching us play...hehe

After we played for a few mins, our tour guide came in....

The amazingly knowledgeable and friendly Jack Benson!

Heeeeere's Jack!

Jack was awesome! He is one of Stern's newer programmers (his first project was coding Mustang...wait what?!) and now he's busy working on the ST Code update, holy cow! He knows a TON about pinball and was the best tour guide as we proceeded to go through the factory.

Star Trek cab waiting for its playfield...

I only got a few pics in during the actual tour, as Jack was telling us everything and I kept asking him questions and we were moving fast. The two principal games that I saw being made was a ton of ST Pros and several Iron Man Vault Editions, (there were a few ACDC Pro's and a Mustang Pro getting completed, but ST and IM just dominated the line it seems).

Iron Man getting ready to kick ass...

Miles and Miles of wire....................... ;)

A Mustang Pro nearly ready...

ST Pro playfields getting ready for insertion...

ST Pro being worked on...

A ST Pro Playfield...

After the tour, I thanked Jack and gave him a Pinball Aficionado T-Shirt...

He's DEFINITELY an Aficionado! Are you? ;)

After the tour Jack took us back to the arcade room and then told us to wait a minute, and next thing I knew, my jaw hit the floor! George Gomez, John Trudeau, John Borg, Mark Weyna, all legends of modern pinball design stopped in and we chatted, it was surreal, like a dream!

George Gomez!!! (Vice President of Game Design)

John Trudeau!!! (Senior Game Designer)

John Borg!!! (Senior Game Designer)

We started talking to all of em, and it was great, talked about game routes, operating, collecting, arcades, bars, design philosophy, their time in the industry, it was great, really really great!

These guys, and their teams, and everyone they work with are responsible for some of the greatest and most respected pinball machines of the last 30 years, and it was so gratifying to meet them, the minds behind these great games!

After that, they all had to get back to work (bummer.......) and we were escorted out to get back to the rest of our trip.

Stern Pinball

It was a great time at Stern, and I want to publicly thank everyone that I met and made this visit possible: Jody Dankberg for making it happen, Steve Ritchie, Greg Freres, Steven Martin, Mark Weyna, Chuck Bleich, Jack Benson, George Gomez, John Borg, John Trudeau, and though I didn't get a chance to talk to him as he was busy, I'd like to thank Gary Stern. Finally, I'd like to thank all of Stern's very hard working employees on the shop floor for keeping pinball manufacturing alive and well in Chicago, to all of you, from the bottom of my heart: THANK YOU!