Sample vs. Production pin.

[koz319]

Just curious what the general thoughts are about getting a sample vs. production pin. 

I've been looking for a Cirqus Voltaire for a little while, and a sample machine recently became available that is local to me.

I'm not sure if these are normally more/less desireable, or hold their value more/less vs. actual production models, or if there are other (mechanical/maintainability) considerations I should be aware of.

Anyone have any thoughts or advice?

Thanks!

Koz

[ClubNinja]

This won't directly answer your question, but I swear I've seen more sample Cirqus Voltaires than any other game.  Either way, it's always expensive.

[koz319]

This won't directly answer your question, but I swear I've seen more sample Cirqus Voltaires than any other game.  Either way, it's always expensive.

Yeah, I've noticed the same thing - there seem to be a lot of CV samples out there, which is why I'm wondering if it's an issue.  And they're definitely a little pricey

[ChadTower]

Either way, it's always expensive.

The irony being that when Williams went under distributors were closing out CVs for less than $2k a pop NIB.   

CV is one of the few collector piece pins I really like.

[ClubNinja]

CV is one of the few collector piece pins I really like.

Same here.  It's a good play AND pretty nice to look at.  And it doesn't have movie licensed graphics and sounds all over the darn thing.

[shardian]

CV is one of the few collector piece pins I really like.

And it doesn't have movie licensed graphics and sounds all over the darn thing.

Stern doesn't even bother getting the licensed sounds for most of their movie games. Examples: POTC and Batman. Both have random ---smurfy--- sound that has hardly anything to do with the movie.

Spiderman and LOTR do have movie sound though. Weird huh?

[ChadTower]

That doesn't bother me much and isn't really anything new.  There have been lots of licensed pins in the past that didn't even have the actual actors on them.  Back to the Future is a good example.  I like the pin Spiderman because of the general theme - I'd rather it was less tied to the movie than more.  Same with Dark Knight and LOTR.

[RayB]

Every little piece of a movie or TV tie-in costs extra. Back when I worked on NES games, for the Terminator movie license, all [my employer] had rights to was the title, the title logo, and rights to imitate the scenes and robots in the movie. The terminator could NOT look like Schwarzneger. They didn't have the rights to "his likeness" or his voice. It would cost too much to get those rights.

Same goes for sound samples. Each one has to be licensed and paid for.

[shardian]

Every little piece of a movie or TV tie-in costs extra. Back when I worked on NES games, for the Terminator movie license, all [my employer] had rights to was the title, the title logo, and rights to imitate the scenes and robots in the movie. The terminator could NOT look like Schwarzneger. They didn't have the rights to "his likeness" or his voice. It would cost too much to get those rights.

Same goes for sound samples. Each one has to be licensed and paid for.

That is where I wonder about licenses on pins.

For instance, when Steve Ritchie did Spiderman, Sony gave him the ENTIRE audio track from all 3 movies (3 wasn't even out yet) to do whatever he wanted with. That interview led me to believe that Sony had an active part in the pin as a promotional item - not Stern paying Sony for the rights.

[ChadTower]

I wouldn't be surprised if each of the pins had slightly different contracts.  Hard to use one to compare to the others.

[koz319]

http://www.hassellcastle.com/cvsample.htm

Thanks for the link... somehow I had missed this.  I'd read a list of differences,  but it was nice to be able to see them.

Most of them I don't really mind, but I don't know if I'm wild about decals on the playfield.  Think I'd rather wait for a production model.

Do you think there should be any noticeable difference in price between a sample and a production?

Thanks,

Koz

[shardian]

You know what Stern SHOULD have done? Captialized on the Discovery Channel craze a few years back and got a show. They could have made kick ass one-off pinball machines for corporate clients just like Orange County Choppers does.