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Pinball Machine Improvements

If you haven’t played a modern pinball machine in a while, you might be wondering what techlogical improve have been made in the past few decades.

Grew up playing classic electro-mechanical (EM) pinball machines like “Charlie’s Angels” or “Fireball” you might be wonder what improvements would be found in a modern pinball machine like a 1990s “Wipeout” or 2000s era “Lord of the Rings” or even a very recent release like “Stranger Things”.

Here are some tongue in cheek responses from group of pinball fans.

  • Score reels have been replaced with digital scoring.
  • No more scratching high scores into the head, the machine keeps track for you.
  • They moved the on/off switch to a place where you can’t reach it easily.
  • The playfields are now nice and soft. Like those pre-ripped jeans, you can achieve that well-worn look quicker.
  • Those mechanical knockers were replaced with digitized sound effects.
  • Relays were replaced with those fancy computer chip thingies.
  • If you want to spend money on flashy, noisy, overwrought advertisements for rock musicians, TV shows, and movies, you’re in for a treat, especially if you enjoy updating incomplete software!
  • Rather than operators, pins are now designed for rich people’s game rooms. New features include astronomical collector’s prices.