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Episode 408: Matt Vince and London Pinball

PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago23 min listen
From the creator

Another fantastic time at the UK Open thanks to so many members of the Pinball Republic, including IFPA country director Matt Vince. Matt tells us about the growth of pinball machines, competitions...

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Highlights

  • In 2016, there was only one pinball machine visible on Pinball Map in London (an AC/DC Pro at Big Reds); the UK scene has grown significantly since then
  • UK pinball leagues were run almost exclusively out of people's homes until 4-5 years ago, before pinball clubs opened around the country
  • The UK has a single dominant pinball distributor, creating an archaic multi-tier pricing system that makes new games expensive for end consumers
  • Players can sometimes purchase games from the United States and import them with European boards at comparable or lower total cost than buying locally
  • Matt Vince was a service technician for 18 years before transitioning to pinball business operations
  • Operators in the UK typically charge £1 per game maximum; charging more than that price point is difficult
  • Lucy Vince (Matt's oldest daughter) has won money in ladies' pinball competitions and regularly reaches finals in junior divisions
  • Matt Vince started the first pinball league at his house in 2011 partly as an excuse to buy new games to learn strategies on titles he struggled with in competition

Notable quotes

“In fact, you know, the players, they come and go and they, you know, when the tournament starts they're pumping they're dumping they're putting in their entries but that's not when it starts for you heck no you gotta get games ready you gotta haul these games you gotta fold them up you gotta go on trucks back and forth and back and forth to get them here i saw you do it and a lot of sweat and a lot of pride to bring this big event together”
Jeff Teolis
“There's more people taking a slicer out of the pie over here. And the end user, the person trying to buy a game, is the one who winds up paying for it.”
Matt Vince
“At the moment, you need deep pockets to be able to buy a lot of the new games. As I say, I would like to cite more of the newer games. I have quite a few. I have plenty of new modern Stearns. But generally, it's difficult to buy a new inbox because the return on investment with the price of the game is so hard because it's very difficult to charge more than a pound a game.”
Matt Vince
“The very first one I started back in 2011. We was running it out of our house. And one of the reasons it worked was I would use the excuse that, oh, we've got another league we need to change a game up. But really, it was just for me to learn games I didn't know or always did bad at in competitions.”
Matt Vince
“I don't remember ever meeting somebody that just hates pinball, didn't have fun playing. And I just want to share that with more and more people.”
Matt Vince
“I'm a very approachable guy. You know, I'm always happy to help. So even if someone just wants to ring up and ask an opinion or, you know, is this too much money or what should I look for? I'm always there to help out. It's what I do.”
Matt Vince

Entities

  • Highway Pinball· company
  • London Pinball· company
  • Pinwood Studios· company
  • UK Open· event
  • Funhouse 2.0· game
  • Pinball Republic· organization
  • Carlos Lazerlos· person
  • Daniel Vince· person
  • Dave Sanders· person
  • James Majestic· person
  • Jason Sudeikis· person
  • Jeff Teolis· person
  • Katie Vince· person
  • Lucy Vince· person
  • Mark Squires· person
  • Matt Vince· person
  • Neil McRae· person
  • Sarah Vince· person
  • The Pullens· person
  • Yen Ong· person

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