> Sure, videogames are fun and all, but there's something about pinball machines
> that they can't match. You see, raster videogames are pretty much the same thing
> every single time you play them. I could play any CPS2 fighting game or any game
> for that matter, and my game playing experience is the same every time. The
> computer uses the same old patterns, the enemies emerge from the exact same
> places, and it's just way too predictable. I mean, I could play 50 matches of
> any fighting game and make every match completely identical because the computer
> reacts in the same way to everything I do, every time. On the other hand, when
> you play a pinball machine, there's NO telling what's going to happen. It's
> nearly impossible to predict how it's going to ricochet off the bumpers or where
> the ball's going to go at any moment, and EVERY single game you play is
> completely different. Plus, because the ball's moving around so fast and so
> unpredictably, you have to stay on your toes and keep glued to the game. If you
> break your concentration for a split second or try to simply mash the buttons
> when the ball gets near your flippers, you're going to lose. On the other hand,
> mindless button mashing can get you through many fighting games quite well.
> Anyway, going to play some more High Speed 2: The Getaway and Twilight
> Zone....later

That's 'cos with video games, you're playing against the computer's AI, which is a strict set of rules and instructions that never varies unless it's programmed to. With pinball, it's you versus a very different strict set of rules: physics. Combine that with the unpredictable bumper strength and trying to predict where the ball's going to be when it's headed for one of the outlanes and mentally calculating which way and with what strength to nudge the table or exactly what point you should tap the flippers to get the ball up a particular ramp, and you have a very frenetic, fast-paced game that requires far more mental agility than any video game.