Lane says finding the right space for the large machines in many homes can be a challenge. But, ultimately this is good for the game, keeps it growing.” As the popularity of the game has risen, prices of the machines have gone up fast, with new ones going for anywhere from $5,900 to $8,000. Lane points out that full-size, arcade-quality pinball machines are not inexpensive by any means. So, many of them, now well along in their careers, are going out and buying the games that they used to play in arcades for their homes.” “Another factor in the game’s popularity now comes from the fact that many people who grew up with pinball during its peak in the 1990s have not seen the game for years because it has kind of disappeared.
“A whole new generation that has never seen a pinball machine before is being exposed to pinball and they love it. “I think what is cool about pinball is that is brings together so many different people,” says Nick Lane, a corporate and foundation relations associate at UB and president of the Buffalo Pinball League. These days his collection has grown to nine machines, filling his family’s game room with glowing images of the space shuttle, Gomez and Morticia Addams, the original Doctor Who, a Keanu Reeves version of Johnny Mnemonic, 3D images of Jeff Bridges in TRON and, yes, Dirty Harry.
PINBALL GALLERY TV
Manne bought his first pinball machine around five years ago: a 1990 model, based on the short-lived roller derby TV show “Rollergames.” “We are growing slowly but steadily,” he says. Manne says there’s a core group of gamers at UB who are among those bringing pinball back to life. Now we’ve got regular tournaments and multiple leagues happening - the scene has come a long way.” “A few years ago you’d be lucky to find a dirty old machine in the corner of a laundromat. “Buffalo Pinball is a group devoted to reviving the pastime in the Buffalo area,” Manne says.
Among the league’s purposes, he says, is to help grow pinball’s newfound popularity. Kevin Manne, assistant director of communications in the School of Management, is a founding member of the Buffalo Pinball League. Pinball players in Western New York - with members of the UB community among them - are joining others across the country competing in tournaments for cash prizes and national rankings.Īnd also playing at home, just for the sheer fun of it. While it may seem quaint and nostalgic, pinball is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, driven, in part, by members of a generation raised on Xboxes and smartphones who have rediscovered the joys of a game that is not played on screens.
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