I was planning on going to what I thought would be a fun event and now it looks not fun for me so instead I’ll stay home? I’m sure the event will be successful and I’m sure lots of people will enjoy it and have fun at it. It just sounds like, for me personally, a nightmare, which is a bummer. Things can be good for pinball and I can still hate them while acknowledging that. This isn’t a zero sum game.
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I’m glad it’s being held in a public location. The Chicago pinball map has been blowing up the last few years. Hope to see more public events in that area.
If I was closer, I would ask if there would be pinball machines there that I might be able to play when I’m not spectating. I’m a badass spectator, but I can only watch other people play pinball for an hour or so before I need to ‘take a break’ and play pinball too. That would be my first question anyway.
If it goes outdoors, this place isn’t bad:
I would have been a bit “whatever” on this setup too, had you mentioned it a few years ago.
But last week, I attended a special pinball Comp run by NZs largest brewery, which was set up by an events company with no knowledge of pinball … except what they’d seen on YouTube, presumably.
It was pretty awesome. There were 8 finalists from around the country (you had to get the highest score in one of their flagship bars to qualify) I provided 4 Comp machines (and 2 other pins for the punters to play on) and I setup the Comp 3 strike Matchplay format for them, which another pinballer ran on the night.
The event was very much like the Big Buck Hunter/IFPA Heads Up event I went to in Vegas. They had a big projector screen set up with overhead cameras, which switched between games so the 60 invited punters (none of whom were pinballers) could watch the action. They had a pro lighting company doing the stage lighting and the video screen, and when there was no pinball action, you had stuff on the screen like the famous Sesame Street pinball clip, and music cranking out. Oh, there was free beer too. 
By the end of the night, the 40-50 remaining punters were riveted to the screens. The MC, who was a well known NZ comedian, commentated every game, and did a stunning job considering he had learnt everything off watching some YouTube clips that week. Every time a player walked up to a game, the crowd was cheering and hollering, and when I won (yaaayyy…) the whole place erupted into a massive DAVE DAVE DAVE chant which was pretty damn funny.
It was interesting to see how “fresh eyes” set up the event … and how “fresh eyes” were hooked on watching the gameplay and competition between us players.
The events company had the PR running on all cylinders, the Comp was on the national TV news and in the national news papers. I even heard it mentioned on nationwide talk radio.
All in all, pretty darn cool.
rd
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That sounds awesome, Dave!
best place !
rammstein beat us to it!!!
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It’s a killer idea, one I’ve had for a while. Things that are given away for free have no value. Charge a ticket to watch something and improve the production values so that it is a viable live spectator event and you can start changing the game here.
Nothing wrong with dreaming big here. As it is, big pinball tournament finals are usually pretty sad in person - about 20 people in a room at 11pm to witness the culmination of an event that’s been going on for three days. Someone wins a huge event and there’s a smattering of applause…it just don’t feel right. We can do better!
I was delighted to see that they are trying this, and would like to see more of it. Even a token charge to watch the final rounds of a Circuit event ($5 or so) - with quality production value (large screens so everyone can see the action, some razzle dazzle in awards and player introductions) is something I’d like to see become the norm… The Circuit final, seems like they are trying to do this - they’ve got a band, and I have a hunch we’ll see some production value we haven’t seen previously. Really looking forward to it and I hope tournament directors everywhere are paying attention.
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It would be cool to have official watch parties for events like this. Get a list of venues willing to broadcast the stream. Send them some swag for door prizes. Show pics/video from different locations on stream in between action.
BTDT many times, and it’s all too true. I’ve been at Circuit event finals where there were fewer than 10 of us still there [we know who we are]. Can’t really blame the other players for leaving - - flights to catch, many-hour drives ahead of them, often no open play machines available to play between late rounds, oh, and when was their last meal? Playoffs by their very nature aren’t done in a manner that makes watching them live that practical for those who have been eliminated in earlier rounds, let alone anyone who got knocked out the prior day and might as well save some money by heading for home early.
Be honest, if March Madness had all 68 teams play in the same city with no off days until they had their winner, how many players from the eliminated teams would be in the stands watching the Final Four?
Streaming for free is a mixed blessing - - it raises visibility, but it makes it hard to charge for seeing it in person. Like most sports, given the choice of watching it for free on TV or stream vs. spending both time and money to attend the game, we know how that usually turns out.
So let’s see where this goes. I don’t care for the noise aspect, but I’ll have my earplugs, too, I’ll just have to get used to detecting tilt warnings while wearing them.
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Perk of the Final Battle. We kinda force everyone to be there and applause the final match 
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If people pay, people will stay!!!
I think I feel similar to @gdd on this. I was considering making the trip for heads up and seeing if I could watch circuit final. The description of the event does not appeal to me at all, so I will pass. Maybe I will take Josh’s previous advice and take my wife to Hamilton. Happy to not be the target audience, certainly not the first or last time.
Definitely seems to be a divide between those who like the bar atmosphere, drinking, party, bands, etc and those who prefer a quieter approach to tournaments. I think the trend is definitely heading towards what this event is trying to do, and I do believe this (bigger events, more production) is the way to grow interest in competitive pinball… but there is certainly room for more low-key, quieter events as well. There are times I’m just not in the mood for all the “extra” stuff and just want to focus on good pinball. Especially when shows think it’s a good idea to plop a loud live band in the middle of things… just too much at times.
Not a fan of the quieter approach. No excitement and no action and it makes us all look lame.
There’s those who like to play their pinball in a hotel breakout room with dirty quiets and flourescent lighting. And there’s those who like smoke, lasers, loud music, and being surrounded by half-naked young people during a tournament.
Magfest is pretty much the perfect pinball tournament for me so that lets you know where I stand.
Note - don’t worry NYCPC won’t be like this. This year.
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… this is why Pinburgh finals are on Saturday evening instead of Sunday. It’s the height of the festival, and it looks good. I just hope we can get a louder crowd this time.
Note to crowd: when someone gets multiball on Robocop, you shout THE WRECKING CREW IS HERE
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I just want to be clear: I want excitement. I want crowds cheering when a player makes a great play. I want announcers telling who is playing. I want the shared live experience.
But I don’t feel that live music or DJs or beer should be the focus. I want the audience there for the pinball, not the beer. I hope I am wrong and it is great. I will read feedback from this year and make a decision in the future.
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This is how I feel about it. I would like to see excited and engaged viewers rather than just a pinball tournament plopped into the middle of a spectacle.
Sure that would be great, but spectators need to be overstimulated to keep them interested in the featured event. Ever been to an NBA game? You have the absolute most elite players in the world playing right in front of you, but there is non-stop multimedia entertainment surrounding the actual game to hold everyone’s attention. I know that’s an extreme example, but I think it holds merit if pinball is trying to grow to the point of having significant viewership.
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I believe the music related festivities is for AFTER the event concludes.
We won’t be pausing the action so Blood People can perform their hit song “Clowns” at 1pm on that Saturday 
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What people REALLY want at sporting events are free t-shirts fired from air cannons. I’ve been to many events where the crowd is the most excited BY FAR when they start shooting $2 t-shirts into the crowd.
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