Sadly pinball is in decline in Paris. Like in the USA where you could once find pinball machines in the corner of every diner, bowling alley, bar and laundromat, Paris cafes often had pinball machines.
“un flipper”
As in England where pubs are disappearing as tastes change towards ethnic food like Chinese, Thai and Indian, in Paris smoking bans, fast food, economic slumps have contributed to the decline of French cafés. As the cafes go, so do the pinball locations.
“billard électrique”
Other threats such as video arcade games lead to first a burst and then a decline in pinball machine sales world-wide. Pac Man mania swept the world and brought about the teenage hangout space known as the local arcade yet only a few years later, home versions of the video games kept the gamers at home.
Add streaming TV and the comforts of home and it’s nearly impossible to get people out of their cocoons in modern times.
The French who once practically lived in their local bistros started cocooning in ever more comfortable homes. By 2010, cafés were closing at the rate of two a day in France.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/paris-cafes-lose-their-pinball-machines-as-numbers-dwindle
“Flipper”
Playing for time is something a juggler can understand. Just the sheer skill of keeping a pinball in play for as long as one can. Playing for score can be understood by athletes. Playing to activate modes, achievements, extra balls or free games can be understood by gamers.
But too many young people grew up on “redemption games” expecting to win tickets to exchange for cheap Chinese-made stuffed animals filled with sawdust. Other people only play games for a financial payoff – slot machines, lottery tickets. So pinball falls to the fanatics, those passionate about the game, about the history, about the sights and sounds of a mechanical device seemingly under the control of the player.
“The flipper is a living object, and you never play the same game on it,” says Colin. “The player has a physical relationship with the object that he has between his hands.”
https://www.thedailybeast.com/paris-cafes-lose-their-pinball-machines-as-numbers-dwindle
Paris Pinball Museum: Musée historique du flipper
One place in Paris where you are guaranteed to see pinball machines is “Flipper Museum”. The Historical Pinball Museum in Paris has one of the most amazing collections of pinball machines from very early flipperless penny arcade-type machines to modern Stern pinball machines.
you can visit the museum
only by appointment
contact pinballmuseumparis@wanadoo.fr
OPEN HOURS:
ONLY SATURDAY, SUNDAY
AND PUBLIC HOLIDAY 2:30 PM
