Five Minutes to Tilt #6 – Martin Ayub on Finding the Most Trusted Source in Pinball
Pinball News editor reflects on 25+ years documenting pinball history and industry evolution.
Five Minutes to Tilt #6 – Martin Ayub on Finding the Most Trusted Source in Pinball
Untold Pinball Stories – Episode: Martin Ayub At the Dutch Pinball Museum, we believe pinball is more than machines. It’s about people. Stories. Legacy. In this episode of Five Minutes to Tilt, we...
Synopsis
Martin Ayub, editor of Pinball News since 1999, discusses his role documenting pinball history through journalism, tournament play, and community involvement. He shares how Pinball News has become an essential archive of industry information, illustrated by discovering his own 2005 article was the primary source for current research on Classic Playfield Reproductions' origins.
Highlights
- Martin Ayub founded Pinball News in 1999 in the wake of Bally's closure to demonstrate pinball was still alive
- Martin Ayub was UK pinball tournament number one for several years before retiring from competitive play
- Pinball News is the primary or only available source documenting the origin story of Classic Playfield Reproductions
- In 2000, Stern (then 'Sam Stern') was the only major pinball company left standing and prioritized business continuity over game quality
- Class People Republic pinball club in London operates 60-70 machines and is actively maintained
Notable quotes
“pinball should be about having fun yeah and if you not having fun why why are you doing it”
“back in 2000, it was just Sam Stern. The only company left standing and they were just putting out whatever games they could. They weren't great games, but hey, they kept the business going”
“I googled it. And there's hardly anything there. There's one article... And who wrote this? It was me. 21 years ago.”
“Because pinball history doesn't live only in machines, it lives in people, in stories that are often told once and then disappear”
Entities
- Bally· company
- Classic Playfield Reproductions· company
- Halifax Pinball· company
- Stern Pinball· company
- Austrian Pinball Festival· event
- Pinball Expo· event
- Texas Pinball Festival· event
- Pinball News· organization
- Gary Stern· person
- Kevin Weight· person
- Martin Ayub· person
- Sam Stern· person
- Class People Republic· venue
- Dutch Pinball Museum· venue
More from Dutch Pinball Museum
→ All content from Dutch Pinball MuseumVanaf nu te spelen: Pulp Fiction Pinball in het Dutch Pinball Museum
Vanaf nu te spelen in het Dutch Pinball Museum: de legendarische Pulp Fiction Pinball 🔥 Deze bijzondere flipperkast is volledig gebaseerd op de iconische film Pulp Fiction van Quentin Tarantino en...
Play the Decades | Dutch Pinball Museum
Beleef de geschiedenis van de flipperkast, van de vroegste kasten tot de allernieuwste. Met Play the Decades ga je op zoek door het Dutch Pinball Museum. Haal een knipkaart op, speel flipperkasten...
The Story Continues....
Na een energieke start met grootheden uit de pinball-industrie die we voor de camera kregen voor een verhaal van slechts 5 minuten — een échte untold story — hebben we de smaak goed te pakken....
