The lure of the boutique pinball bar

In the last twenty years there has been a clear and steady decline in the classic gaming arcade industry, and what were once buzzing arcades are now empty waste lands.
But there is a recent intriguing phenomenon which has taken the UK and US by storm and seems to defy any theories proclaiming the death knell of classic games room games.

At Home Leisure Direct we’ve certainly spotted that in the UK, boutique pinball bars are springing up in London, Manchester and Bristol, and are proving surprisingly popular with the local youth who are getting a taste for old school gaming, and loving it. And across the pond the recent success of the ‘barcade’ — a bar which offers both classic arcade games and regional draft beer, is testament to the winning combination and enduring appeal of well designed, classic games and great beer on tap.

Going native

Marc Prensky coined the term ‘digital native’ in 2001 to depict the group of people born after 1980 who have never experienced life without the presence of digital technology.

According to a number of research studies collated by Diane Beaman, digital natives have certain characteristics which include: less fear of failure, multi-tasking, active involvement, creativity, extreme sociability, preference for electronic environments, a need for instant gratification, technology and constant engagement.

This is a generation that has been bred on interactive experiences and the list above goes some way to explain why they are probably not satisfied with sitting in a pub with a pint and a friend. Digital natives need to be stimulated, they need people around them, and they expect to be entertained and engaged in the manner in which they are accustomed — and that means gaming.

Landlords eager to take advantage of this recently legal drinking age-group have tried to emulate the bedroom console gaming den in their pubs. They set up games consoles and comfy couches only to discover that customers, in this kind of environment, have a habit of staying for hours and drinking very little. And anyway, where’s the attraction when you can stay at home and do the same for free?

Retro revolution

The retro trend has been embraced in bars and clubs and has inspired not only the décor but also the entertainment. This has proved to a much more successful strategy for pleasing the demanding youth of today. Numerous bars and pubs have themed their places with vintage styling, retro furniture and a generous assembly of original pinball and arcade machines.

The appeal is that what’s on offer is not available at home, and the addictive nature and diversity of arcade and pinball machines keeps customers returning regularly.

Classic arcade machines and pinball machines are inherently interactive, but also increase social interaction. Many arcade games are designed to be shared. Pinball’s spatial architecture means that a number of people can gather around the cabinet, taking it in turns to outscore one another, and multiplayer modes encourage tournaments of two or more players.

All this standing up and being sociable around the physical excitement of old school gaming is a winning formula. And landlords and bar owners are happy because it means people are more extrovert, outwardly focused and therefore more likely to keep returning to the bar.

Pinball — a potted history

But pinball has not had an easy ride. After the outbreak of World War II pinball production was terminated and machines were banned across most of the USA because they were classed as gambling. Pin ball was finally legalised in America in the late 1970s, but soon took a nose dive with the arrival of video games in the early 80s.

But thanks to a number of collectors and fanatics who secreted machines away when they were banned, and fought for pinball to be legalised, the game has managed to overcome the odds and continues to thrive.

Pinball is hailed as an American popular cultural icon and the US have been at the forefront of this recent pinball revival. New York, Los Angeles and Seattle boast some of the best boutique pinball venues, from pinball bars to playable showrooms and pinball museums. And the industry is really thriving in Chicago which is home to the main players of the US pinball manufacturing scene such as Stern Pinball Inc. and Jersey Jack Pinball.

A beautiful game

British bar owners have been keen to cash in on the current popularity of the game and boutique pinball bars are becoming a common sight in our major cities. It warrants a certain amount of passion and determination though — getting hold of the machines and shipping them from the states can be costly and difficult, and vintage machines are even harder to source. But apparently it’s well it, in terms of profit and customer satisfaction.

The golden age of the gaming arcade is something digital natives missed out on. But they find the tangible physicality of a pinball play field refreshing and novel. The design and function of pinball is aesthetically, aurally and psychological gratifying. The spring of the plunger, the flippers and buttons, the bells and chrome, the shiny bal bearings, the colours, lights, funnels and pathways of the play field engage and thrill the player. Pinball is satisfying at entry level but also designed to develop skill and mastery.

One of the reasons pinball is popular with video game players is because they pick up the rules of play quickly. The skills and quick reaction times they acquired on digital games are fully transferable to pinball’s fast-paced gameplay.

Into a bright future

The traditional face of the hospitality industry is changing. What consumers and gamers are demanding of their entertainment is changing too. Both venues owners and games designers are having keep up. But this rich terrain will undoubtedly be fruitful in terms of innovation and creativity. And pinball will only continue to thrive if it can evolve with a continually transforming technological games industry and by extension, the demands of its consumers.

One of the main US manufacturers, Jersey Jack, have already bitten the bullet in this respect with their integration of an animated LCD screen in their pinball machines which is set either in the unit’s backboard or within the play field. This kind of ingenious development, which incorporates aspects of video gaming in a way that compliments the older style design, will certainly charm the younger generation of social gamers. And it is this kind of innovation that may well secure pinball’s success going forward into the future.