Where have all the pinball machines gone?

[Azmodan]

If I went out for pizza and wings, there was one thing I could count on- a pinball machine. And up until a couple of years ago, I'd always break out a few quarters and give one or two of them a go. Nowadays...I see Dodos more. It seems that it eventually came to a point that either nobody would even give them a second glance or people were in a rush to whisk away their pizza to even bother relaxing.

Let this thread celebrate a forgotten relic of obscure gaming- the pinball machine.

[Q]

They used to have one in the local bar in the 90's. Besides booze, they sold candy as well, so I used to visit there weekly. The owner let us play for free sometimes.

[Peklo]

I have some vague recollections of blasting pinball in my youth. It was at this sort of semi-arcade place that double-timed as a restaurant. I remember they had a House of the Dead cabinet there too.

Video game themed pinball boards rule. It'd be fantastic if someone custom-designed a Gradius or Darius one, or anything, really.

[A-Yty]

They used to have one in the local bar in the 90's. Besides booze, they sold candy as well, so I used to visit there weekly. The owner let us play for free sometimes. <!-- s8) --><!-- s:P -->

There's a rather new looking Simpsons pinball machine at a local bar/club/stage place thing. As a matter of fact, I think it's a Simpsons movie pinball. Either way, it can't be older than two or three years.

[Venetkoski]

I don't really know where they have disappeared, but i really enjoyed playin' those nifty pinball machines when i was a little kid.. But now you can't find them almost everywhere..

[A-Yty]

Fun fact: there is only one factory left in the whole world that manufactures pinball machines. I guess this is a result of them becoming less popular.

You'd think the same would apply to arcades too. And while this is probably mostly true (my guess would be Japan's the only country where they're still going strong), my experience it's more likely to stumble upon an arcade machine than pinball. It was a pleasant surprise when I discovered a year old Batman racing game a couple of months ago.