A few years ago, Guarnieri—who had started selling new and refurbished pinball machines online in 1999—decided that this direct-to-man-cave fare had gotten stale. At his high water mark, Guarnieri had sold around 1,000 machines annually through his online store PinballSales.com. In 2010, Guarnieri sold less than 50, telling the site Pinball News that “there was no product left for him to sell”?—that his customers were yawning at Stern’s sparsely adorned, simplistic games. What they longed for, he thought, was something that didn’t exist, a modernized game that would kick-start a long-stagnant industry and return pinball to the world beyond rich dudes’ basements.
In January 2011, Guarnieri got to work building that game.
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/ ... eneur.html
Can This Man Save Pinball?
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MachineGhost
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Can This Man Save Pinball?
Last edited by MachineGhost on Fri Jan 11, 2013 12:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Disclaimer: I am not a broker, dealer, investment advisor, physician, theologian or prophet. I should not be considered as legally permitted to render such advice!
Re: Can This Man Save Pinball?
I owned a Twilight Zone pinball machine for a period of time. Bought it dirt cheap from an arcade because it had some problems and I was able to troubleshoot/fix them. Was great for me because 1) I love pinball and 2) I love Twilight Zone.
Sadly, I sold the machine because I just got tired of it. That was a mistake.
But a funny story is a friend of mine came over and kept running his mouth about how he could kick my butt at pinball. Not just that, but kick my butt on the pinball machine that I actually owned. So we got to my machine and started her up. To make a long story short, I started playing with only one hand and one flipper and kicked the living crap out him on that machine. He never challenged me again after that.
I think the Twilight Zone machine may be perhaps the best pinball machine ever made. It definitely had the best multi-ball I've ever seen.
I think I like pinball because it takes some skill, but also there is luck involved because the ball is never totally under your control. It seems to be a game that a lot of engineering personalities really like. I enjoy the design involved in the playfield, ball toys, and overall play of a good game. I never should have sold that TZ pinball machine!
Sadly, I sold the machine because I just got tired of it. That was a mistake.
But a funny story is a friend of mine came over and kept running his mouth about how he could kick my butt at pinball. Not just that, but kick my butt on the pinball machine that I actually owned. So we got to my machine and started her up. To make a long story short, I started playing with only one hand and one flipper and kicked the living crap out him on that machine. He never challenged me again after that.
I think the Twilight Zone machine may be perhaps the best pinball machine ever made. It definitely had the best multi-ball I've ever seen.
I think I like pinball because it takes some skill, but also there is luck involved because the ball is never totally under your control. It seems to be a game that a lot of engineering personalities really like. I enjoy the design involved in the playfield, ball toys, and overall play of a good game. I never should have sold that TZ pinball machine!
Last edited by craigr on Sat Jan 12, 2013 1:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Can This Man Save Pinball?
Growing up in Southern California in the mid-late 1960's, several of my friends and I would go bowling at least once a week during the summer. While we had fun bowling, the bowling alley always had about 8 or 9 pin ball machines, along with several pool tables, etc -- and a great snack bar! It was a great place where we could hang out on a hot summer afternoon. Many fond memories playing the various pinball machines. Three games cost a quarter. It was always a thrill to get enough points or some sort of match to get that free game. The machine would make noise and the counter which told you how many games were left would increase by one. Very nice memories. I wish I had any of those pinball machines today!