It's not a surprise to me. True depth of field, 3D sound, pulling the pin, the mechanical "clack" of the flippers and physically holding the machine all play into the experience.
Have yet to build a virtual-pinball cabinet (but it's on my short list). Flipper clack, holding the machine will be there. Depth of field will not. We'll see how enjoyable it is.
I'm thinking one day I'll probably buy a real pinball machine for my office. Though looking at one site they are pretty expensive ($5k - $20k depending on the model), though I'm sure you could find one for under $5k which is starting to enter the realm of "maybe my wife won't kill me".
Pins are fun to own but the pricing has gotten inflated since 2019. If you get into your local pin community you can likely still find machines for $2k-$4k though they may need a little work to bring up to top level. The pricing varies widely based on the condition and popularity of the particular machine. Fortunately, the pinball collector community is large so there's good availability of information and parts to maintain and restore machines.
You can start down the rabbit hole at www.pinside.com