Pinball Community

"Back to the future better than Godzilla. It's a stupid argument. It's a stupid argument to have. They're both great themes for pinball."

Arguing about whether Godzilla or Back to the Future is a better theme is stupid - both are great themes that will sell well

"You all have nobody to blame but yourselves. All these years you wanted to expand pinball. Bring in all your friends to pinball... So here we are, this is the result. You've brought in all these people with all this money, who now love pinball as much as you."

Pinball fans have nobody to blame but themselves for high prices - they wanted to expand pinball and bring in new people with money

"There's absolutely no self-deprecating humor in Pinball and I don't understand it. Why are we so incapable as a community of making fun of our own ridiculousness?"

Pinball community lacks self-deprecating humor and takes itself too seriously

"isn't it time that everybody in this pinball hobby stops looking at these games like these are political candidates like we have to choose one or the other and we have to go on these campaigns to say that this game is good because that game sucks"

Pinball fans should stop treating new game releases like political campaigns where you have to be either a Stern apologist or JJP fanboy

"I also never understood that part of the Pinball community where you get ripped off. It's clear you're getting ripped off. Most of you guys have some means. You have financial power and when you get ripped off and when you're staring that crook straight in the eye, instead of saying I'm gonna sue your ass and bury your ass, you're so, you're so keen to forgiving and going down the rabbit hole again with the criminals."

Pinball community should sue fraudulent companies instead of accepting poor treatment

"if you ever want to go into a business to scam people and steal people's money, all you ever have to do is announce you're doing something around Pinball because Pinball people are suckers and they will throw money at something before they see any proof that you know what you're doing."

Pinball collectors are gullible and will fund anything pinball-related without due diligence

"Most people have not played either one. We are almost looking at these games like political parties and we're just choosing one side or the other and I think that's stupid"

Most people debating Guns N' Roses vs Avengers haven't played either game

"I think this entire fiasco has brought the community together like never before, right? Like we're all allies now against a common ridiculous moment in Pinball."

deeproot Pinball fiasco brought the pinball community together

"if Stern Pinball released Rick and Morty with this layout and these mechanics, you guys would have mowned and groaned non-stop if this was Stern Pinball's Rick and Morty offering. And because spooky gave it to us, everyone cheerleaded it."

Rick and Morty has a double standard - would be criticized if made by Stern

"I've found myself completely disgusted by some of the mindset of people within the pinball community. And it actually has me blocking certain people on Facebook."

People in pinball community becoming delusional and ignorant about COVID-19 pandemic response

"if you disagree I think you're you're a moron okay come on wake up people... deep down they all know that the pinball buying community we are a bunch of suckers"

People who disagree with his stance are morons and the pinball community are suckers

"Rick and Morty sales it made hypocrites of all of us it made hypocrites of myself. We all kind of had to go in because if you didn't you were locked out and they played it right"

Rick and Morty sales made hypocrites of all pinball buyers

"I also have proven that you don't need to own a pinball machine in your home to give an opinion about pinball. That elitist attitude is really what rubs people the wrong way."

You don't need to own pinball machines to have valid opinions about pinball

"It's like Stern has a tie fighter on a spring and the world just ends and people are just like how could they? Spooky Pinball puts a $10 Rick and Morty spaceship, USB spaceship on a spring and everyone's like take my money now."

Spooky Pinball gets unfair pass from community while Stern is held to much higher standards

"the window of relevancy in this hobby is so small it really is it's like there's this excitement around a game for like for like a few weeks and which we can't wait to see it play it and then we're like uh and then we're on to the next"

The pinball hobby has an extremely short attention span - games become irrelevant within weeks

"people have been running to this company and spending exorbitant amounts of money with absolutely no value in the packages for so many years and Stern pinball has realized that all they ever have to do to remove money from people is make something limited edition and then you know don't add much value to it and wrap it around a good theme"

Pinball buyers have taught Stern they can charge anything for limited editions

"these games don't give you 10 to 15 thousand dollars in entertainment value it's insanity we are lost all of us in this hobby at at at simply just not even wanting to think about how much this stuff is costing and what's in it"

Pinball buyers have lost perspective on value and pricing

"But what's not okay is that the community that should be united during these moments to make sure we get the quality control taken care of, that should unite all of us, not divide us and create fighting and bickering amongst each other."

Community should unite during quality control issues instead of fighting each other

"I think all of us should demand a little bit more than what we're getting from pinball right now"

Current pinball buyers should demand more and stop accepting mediocrity

"you think the country's largest arcade chain, you think they don't know what their customers want? Do you really think that? Do you think that all of their market research, all of their data and analytics has misguided them in choosing the types of devices that attract people"

Dave and Busters executives know their business better than pinball fans on Pinside

"I feel like people's expectations of stuff are so damn low in this hobby that if anyone just makes an effort, a little bit of an effort, or if anyone hires someone with some talent, people are blown away thinking, like this is the greatest thing ever."

Pinball fans have pathetically low expectations - they get blown away by minimal effort because they're used to crappy quality

"I think that when the pinball community asked for original theme, they're full of shit. They don't actually want that. They want license themes that they know, which is fine."

Pinball community doesn't actually want original themes despite claiming they do - they want licensed themes they recognize

"you made your opinion up based on a freaking twitch stream of a game that you there is no way that you can make up your mind on a pinball machine by watching a stream of somebody else play it"

People need to actually play games before forming opinions instead of judging from streams

"I've always said it you give people two weeks and they'll come back with some reason that they don't like the game that they all of a sudden loved"

People always find reasons to dislike games after initial excitement

"complaining about contract manufactured machines makes you look like a fucking idiot right do you want to be a fucking idiot"

Complaining about Primus being a contract manufactured machine makes you look like an idiot

"why is anybody even shocked by what they saw? Did you think we were lying? Did you think me and Jeff and Ryan and Marty and all the other Pinball news outlets out there who have been telling you all for months that the Beatles is going to be a re-themed of Seawitch"

Beatles pinball reveal - people knew exactly what they were getting but are still complaining

"now the mob wants more they want blood they want to go after this guy... going after someone's employment because of something they do off to the side in pinball it's something i've had to deal with a few times"

Christopher Scully Thompson situation shows community going too far with doxxing

"I also think that we're living in a world now that has become so overly politically correct. We are living in a world where the status quo is to only be nice all the time to only be kind at every step of the journey"

Pinball community has become overly politically correct and afraid to give honest negative opinions

"I think this is Stern just having a good time and making fun of all the negative criticism people had around the tie fighter on a spring and they're like let's do something that's even funnier and put the worst looking bobble toy together and tease it as Deadpool pinball"

Deadpool teaser is Stern making fun of criticism about tie fighter on a spring

"I think the hobby is dysfunctional from the point of view of the clientele, the customers and just as functional and still how we deal with our competitors, the different manufacturers and how they do things internally. And I think you put all the dysfunction together and I think consider a Pinside part of that dysfunction as well and not having a mainstream form of communication in the hobby between the customers and the manufacturers."

Pinball hobby has dysfunctional customers and manufacturers, with Pinside contributing to communication problems

"Jersey Jack Pinball listened to your feedback on the apron on Pirates of the Caribbean... And what happens? Everyone is on there complaining and bitching about that now. And that's the problem."

Frustrated with pinball community's constant complaining despite manufacturers listening to feedback

"I have to say, without a doubt, the pinball community probably has the worst fashion sense on the planet, okay?"

Harsh criticism of pinball community's fashion sense

"Scott, Denisey and Mad Andrews, they're, they're package of Total Nuclear Annihilation. They didn't invent 80s style artwork. Okay. Can we just like stop with this nonsense that like neon colors and a grid, you know, sort of system and, you know, these bright pinks and, and neon's and lines and grids. Like, it's like, they're totally ripping off of Total Nuclear Annihilation. You're out of your minds."

Claims that Guardians steals from Total Nuclear Annihilation are nonsense

"I only blame the pinball people. You guys are like, what are those bugs in Wreckit Ralph that just move towards the light? The second they tell you, like, oh, things are fine. You immediately move towards the light again and have faith again."

Pinball community enables bad companies by continuing to support them despite obvious problems

"You guys out there who listen to this show pinball fans, you should not be the investors to bail out bad businessmen. It's not what customers are supposed to do"

Magic Girl owners should not be investors bailing out bad businessmen - customers shouldn't fund company failures

"we did it with John Popadiuk, we keep forgiving him, we keep forgiving him, we keep forgiving him. You did it with Andrew Heighway, you kept forgiving him, you kept forgiving him. As long as they make your precious little pinball machine, you absolutely overlook the person."

Pinball community protects bad actors as long as they make machines

"This freaking hobby turns everybody into an idiot at one time or another. I was an idiot. I was a fucking idiot. I gave commercial $23,000 for a magic girl machine when I didn't even know if American pinball could get it done."

Anyone who gave money to unproven manufacturers like J-Pop is an idiot, including himself

"the Jetsons probably the most barren game of all time is in 8.5 and this guy gets 17 upvotes and no downvotes 8.5 Jetsons think about that let that sink in"

Jetsons receiving 8.5/10 rating shows how low pinball expectations have become

"Because I just feel like this community has been so abused. You guys really have Stockholm syndrome. You've been so beaten up by these boutique manufacturers that you are at such a low state of existence that you are impressed that a company responded to your email, knew your name, had accurate information about how much money you gave them."

Pinball community has Stockholm syndrome from boutique manufacturer abuse

"I still think to this day, pinball people out there, for some reason you just were okay with the amount of lies that Andrew was feeding all of you and yet Barry and Yap give you one lie or two lies and they're like, you guys are like, you hate those two. I mean, they have no love where Andrew gets so much forgiveness."

Andrew Heighway gets too much forgiveness compared to Barry and Yap who get hate for fewer lies

"It's like a religion. People decide, my religious belief is going to be Heighway Pinball. No matter what Heighway Pinball does, I will still believe in them."

Pinball hobbyists support manufacturers like a religion, ignoring lies and missed deadlines

"I think what's important here is that people need to stop pretending that a delay equals something good is happening. I see that a lot. This apologist mindset that the longer it takes for a game to come out, the better the game is being made."

Delays don't make games better, they indicate company problems

"I think people, even though this went down, even though Kevin did what he did, and even though he screwed people over, I still think the community has forgotten what happened a little bit. They are not asking the tough questions of all the companies that are out there that they should be."

The pinball community hasn't learned from the Predator scam and is still not asking tough questions of manufacturers

"This hobby has become a dichotomy of... the non-stop bitching, moaning and groaning and crying by so many people... Going alongside that is also the fact that Batman sold out before anyone even saw it"

People constantly complaining about Stern while still buying their games defines the hobby's contradiction

"Nobody fights as much as the people. It just doesn't happen."

Pinball community fights more than any other collecting hobby

"it is funny because you know there's so much bitching about the code and the brutality of the game and when you go to these expose and people are actually in the same room with the people that they've been complaining about. They rarely say anything"

People are too polite at expos to voice their real complaints

"I also think that it's 100% enane to speculate this now in March of 2016 at the exact same time that Hobbits are shipping like finally people are already thinking about game number four"

Getting excited about Jersey Jack's game four in 2016 is pointless when Hobbit just shipped

"Come on, guys, we keep asking for innovation and pinball, we keep asking for new things for fun new elements. There's decades of machines that have been doing the same stuff over and over. Forget the cookie cutter, this guy's putting in magnetic slings, that's an amazing thing"

Modern pinball innovation should be celebrated - magnetic slings in Ghostbusters are amazing

"I guarantee you could you could you could announce a dream pin theme and put it in a cardboard box without ever showing to someone and say hey we made a hundred of them who want some there are $9,000 and they would all sell."

Theme trumps everything - people will buy games sight unseen based on theme alone

"I think if stern released alien art and released this playfield you guys would be tearing stern apart you're so nice to oric"

If Stern released Alien's art, people would tear Stern apart but they're nice to Oric