I just sent a message to Stern Pinball asking about the possibility of adding some kind of WiFi support to their pins. Not for player-related things, but for maintenance and servicing.

For example, I think it would be a good idea for a connected pin to be able to asynchronously notify you if something goes wrong. It could emit a SNMP message each time a BIT fails or when it goes into ball-search mode, or even each time a game is started, when a game completes (including duration information). This kind of information could make a location more responsive to issues and help them with their periodic maintenance.

Even if they decided to use a proprietary protocol and their own monitoring app (but why do the extra work?) I think it would be useful.  Slot machines and video poker-type games have had server-based gaming for more than a decade now.  I think it is time the rest of the amusement industry catches up.

This seems like something that should be relatively easy to implement, and WiFI adapters are pretty cheap these days.