The NEW Build Your Own Arcade Controls
Arcade Collecting => Pinball => Topic started by: JeepMonkey on February 05, 2008, 01:18:30 pm
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I am looking to upgrade to a nicer pinball machine. What I am trying to decide is if I would rather have a slightly older machine that is a classic, or a newer model. Just for example, I am looking at possibly an Addam's Family or a South Park (among others).
So for the same budget, would you prefer an older classic or a newer model?
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Highly depends on what is available, in what shape, and what your budget is...
...though South Park is not a game I would recommend unless it is really cheap.
FWIW, the most modern I would go personally would be just before the DMDs came in... around the time of Back to the Future and Funhouse.
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I am looking to upgrade to a nicer pinball machine. What I am trying to decide is if I would rather have a slightly older machine that is a classic, or a newer model. Just for example, I am looking at possibly an Addam's Family or a South Park (among others).
So for the same budget, would you prefer an older classic or a newer model?
Let's put it this way, if you have a budget that allows for an Addams family, then you go get whatever game you want. You can officially afford any pinball except new Stern's, and a select handful of overvalued 90's DMD's.
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Chad - DMDs? Not sure what that is.
Shardian - I have seen a few good condition Addam's Family's around here go for around $2200, not $3000+ like I see on eBay.
Really what I am after is a really good pin preferably under $2000. Any suggestions welcome.
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DMD is a Dot Matrix Display. All pins went to the DMD display in the 90's. Late 80's early 90's pins had Alphanumeric displays (Whirlwind, Funhouse, etc)
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Really what I am after is a really good pin preferably under $2000. Any suggestions welcome.
$2000 will get you a nice example of almost any game - there are actually very few that will cost more than that. Most of those are 90s DMD games that IMO are overpriced anyway.
If you can avoid being hung up on the "coolness" of a theme you can get some really really good playing games for way less than the A list prices.
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Really what I am after is a really good pin preferably under $2000. Any suggestions welcome.
$2000 will get you a nice example of almost any game - there are actually very few that will cost more than that. Most of those are 90s DMD games that IMO are overpriced anyway.
If you can avoid being hung up on the "coolness" of a theme you can get some really really good playing games for way less than the A list prices.
If you advise him to get a "Shadow" pin I will reach through cyberspace and pimp slap you. ;D
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I had that typed in and deleted it - even though it falls right into that category I didn't want to undermine myself by recommending a pin I have. :)
I've been looking around for a Genesis lately. The theme is sort of cool but the backglass is so horrifically bad that people part it out just so they don't have to look at the midget. Strong playfield layout, good ruleset, can probably be had working well in the $500 range if you can find one.
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I had a 1991 T2, that was supposed to be shopped out but the machine had a lot of issues, worked on it a year before finally deciding to sell it. I could never get the bar smell out of it plus I did not enjoy the game play. After much thought decided to go with a newer model figuring I have room for 1. So my Christmas present will be here Friday its a Lord of the Rings Pin.
dm
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Yow! Bet that set you back a small car.
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Well don't laugh, I figured I'm only going to live once so what the heck, the machine was a floor room model, with a 2 year warranty, I paid $4k
dm
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I had a 1991 T2, that was supposed to be shopped out but the machine had a lot of issues, worked on it a year before finally deciding to sell it. I could never get the bar smell out of it plus I did not enjoy the game play. After much thought decided to go with a newer model figuring I have room for 1. So my Christmas present will be here Friday its a Lord of the Rings Pin.
dm
Wow, that sucks you had so much trouble with the T2. I never did like that game either. Drains were way too easy, and I honestly don't remember ever accomplishing anything on it. I might have to try it out in pinmame to see if I can do better.
Cool on the LOTR though. BTW, can I have some money? ;) ;D
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shardian - I would never own a pin with Alec Baldwin on it.
DM - There was a nice LOTR pin for sale around here for $3k. If I hadn't been in Iowa for work I would have gone to check it out. Let us know how you like the game play.
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Another quality but lower price DMD pin is Judge Dredd. Really good game but doesn't seem to command the A list prices because of the theme. Demolition Man falls here too.
Really, the first decision to be made is what era pin you want, how much you want to spend, and then we can suggest titles from that range. Right now there are just too many to keep tossing them out there.
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I spent 3 to 4 months looking for a machine, nib is impossible to find unless you want to pay $6k plus. I found several that have been on routes for $3400 - $3600. BMI gaming had one, that the customer purchased new in the box, 1 of the hobbits was missing a head, so the machine was sent back to bmi, which 2 weeks later the hobbit is no longer headless so I purchased as a demo model with 2 year warrenty. The money is gone now
dm
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What exactly does the warranty cover? If anything goes wrong, will they come fix it at no cost? Just parts, etc? Seems like a warranty could be a very valuable piece of paper if you play often.
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Odds are pretty low a new pin in home use will die within two years... that's not too hard a warranty to put out there. A floor model is pretty much a home use pin for a commercial machine.
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Odds are pretty low a new pin in home use will die within two years... that's not too hard a warranty to put out there. A floor model is pretty much a home use pin for a commercial machine.
I don't mean completely die. Lets say a plastic gets cracked, a switch fails, a flipper sticks, etc. Is this stuff covered. That is what I meant.
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The warrenty is 90 days bumper to bumper, 2 years parts, lifetime tech support by phone for what its worth.
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I was generally looking for something 1992 - Present. Is there more than one category of pin from 1992 to now?
There seems to be a Demolition Man for sale around here a couple times a year. Others I have seen in my area are Johnny Neimonic (sp), Tee'd Off, No Good Goffers, T2, Twister, Leathal Weapon 3, F14 Tomcat, Independance Day, Tales From The Crypt. But I would be willing to drive a few hundred miles if I found something I really want.
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If I had room for more machines & $$$, was no big deal. These are the machines I like, stargate(I have heard these had lots of issues), Twilight zone, Junk Yard, or Magic Show(not sure what the exact name is). Those are all nice machines.
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I guess my recommendation would be to concentrate more on getting a good playing pin that is in excellent shape. There are tons of good players with prices that can vary by $1000 dollars or more. So, pay more attention to condition than to the actual game.
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Magic Show(not sure what the exact name is).
Theatre of Magic. Pricey.
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That's it, nice machine but $$$
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Costs way more money than it is actually worth as a game, IMO. I've played some practically HUO examples and the game just doesn't grip me like a $3500 game. It's all Williams low run hype.
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I looked on ebay Monkeys arcade has a buy it now for $5k, pretty machine but way to much for a 1995 machine
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Get a Starship Troopers :
http://www.ipdb.org/machine.cgi?id=4341
Fun game, lots of toys, sounds, multiball sequences. Overall a very fun game and
not that expensive. I see them for around $1200 or so on Ebay. :cheers:
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I'm looking forward to the next Milwaukee Super Auction as that seems to be a great place to get pins. I bought both of my pins there and feel I got a great deal on them.
Class of 1812 - $800 after fees and it's in great condition.
Jurassic Park - $1,080 after fees and I've had to put about $80 into it so far and it plays great.
Really hoping to see Black Knight, BK 2000, LOTR, TZ, Indiana Jones, or Data East Star Wars.
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Those are all good titles except Star Wars. All of the Star Wars pins play like total crap. Sad but true - just not well designed games.
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$1080.00 for a Jurassic Park is a very good price I have seen those going for $1800.00
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I was really happy to find JP and to have no one else be interested in it at the auction. My son is huge into dinosaurs so he is absolutely devoted to it. That's where I think the theme pins have their biggest value. My family doesn't care whether the gameplay is super deep or just fairly deep, they care if it's fun to look at and reminds them of something fun. If I could find the right price on Pirates of the Caribbean or Spider-Man I'd jump on one of those too, even though they haven't received very high marks overall. The family would love them anyway.
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The last auction in town had a larger than normal number of pins, but of course I was out of town. They had a Jurassic Park, Guns And Roses, and I think a Simpsons. There were more than this, but these were the ones I was interested in.
I have played a Simpsons and really liked it. I have been curious how the GNR and JP plays.
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I was really happy to find JP and to have no one else be interested in it at the auction. My son is huge into dinosaurs so he is absolutely devoted to it. That's where I think the theme pins have their biggest value. My family doesn't care whether the gameplay is super deep or just fairly deep, they care if it's fun to look at and reminds them of something fun. If I could find the right price on Pirates of the Caribbean or Spider-Man I'd jump on one of those too, even though they haven't received very high marks overall. The family would love them anyway.
Have you played a Pirates of Caribean? The more I play it and get to know it, the more disappointing it gets. The DMD work is a complete joke. The sound is a complete disgrace. Just so you know, there is ZERO licensed sound or music of any sort from the movie. The game plays okay, but the ball was dropped so horribly bad on the theme that I can't help but not like it. They could have made a sweet generic pirate themed pin and done much better.
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It plays a lot like Waterworld, if that helps.
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I played the pirates several times due to I could get this pin nib, cheaper than a floor model lotr pin...I just did not like the gameplay at all & do not care for the theme much.
dm
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Well there you have it. Glad I mentioned it. It just really surprises me that in this day and age they can't take an awesome theme and make it work. The sound and music is half of the theme!
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What do you call this feature?
In the Data East Simpsons, there will be a rod that comes up to prevent the ball from going down the channel around and behind the flippers.
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I hear that's not a rod, it's a Todd.
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Personally, I have an eye on a Whodunnit that is local. It is one of those hidden 90's gems that run around $1500 in excellent shape. The plan is to finish shopping the Charlie's Angels, play it till I get bored (shouldn't take long), sell it for $500 or so, then use my tax rebate thingy for the rest. The wife has already given the green light on it, as she LOVES it in pinmame. The tax rebate is the break I needed to free up some fundage.
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Whodunnit is a good title, IMO. A lot of people crap on it because the list of suspects/etc is limited but I enjoy it quite a bit. That telephone shot is a good mode shot - challenging but not so damn hard that a novice can't hit it once in a while.
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Who Dunnit is a total dog, IMO.
When you get tired of it, which you will, you will be begging people to buy it.
I'm sure I could say the same about pins you might like to. For instance, I can't stand TAF. I saw one on site at Gatlinburg 2 years ago, and said to my wife "this pin is pretty much the most popular pin ever, we have to play it". After playing it a few times, we both decided it sucked. I can't even get into it in Pinmame.
Apparently you missed the key points of why I want Whodunnit.
1. It is one of the better inexpensive DMD's
2. THE WIFE GAVE THE GREEN LIGHT.
#2 is pretty much a deal maker on any arcade related purchase. ;)
The only other 2 pins she would love to have are Scared Stiff and South Park. Those are both well out of my price range, especially in the condition the Whodunnit will be in. The Whodunnit will be $1300-$1500 and is in excellent shape.
Besides, if I ever get tired of it I can always trade it back to the guy I'll be getting it off of.
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SS is an average Williams DMD but way overpriced. South Park flat out sucks.
I wouldn't use Visual Pinball for decent evaluation of any DMD game. Most of them have way too many toys to be reasonably represented in a little 2D half window. It works well for games prior to the thousand toy parade, though.
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SS is an average Williams DMD but way overpriced. South Park flat out sucks.
I wouldn't use Visual Pinball for decent evaluation of any DMD game. Most of them have way too many toys to be reasonably represented in a little 2D half window. It works well for games prior to the thousand toy parade, though.
We both played SS and South Park ALOT before I ever even heard of Pinmame. SouthPark was at the local arcade and the movie theater for a long time. Scared Stiff and Theater of Magic were mainstays at the ice skating rink where Michelle was a member and employee when we were H.S. and college. The Whodunnit was with Wade for a few years, and now is with another major local pinhead. I can go play it any time I want (time permitting of course).
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I'll be the first to admit that SS is easy as hell. I consider it a failure when I don't finish the Stiff-o-Meter. even Michelle can finish the meter for goodness sakes. Difficulty is not a determining factor for us though - playability is. I can play SS all day long. I can hit every shot, and it is a great flowing game.
I hear people all the time saying South Park sucks, but why? The theme is great, the sound is great, the DMD is above average, the playfield is layed out well. If I had to guess, the majority of people give it a thumbs down due to the non-family friendliness of it.
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I hear people all the time saying South Park sucks, but why? The theme is great, the sound is great, the DMD is above average, the playfield is layed out well. If I had to guess, the majority of people give it a thumbs down due to the non-family friendliness of it.
IMO the theme sucks, the sound is annoying, I'm not a fan of DMD games, and the playfield has a freakin' toilet on it.
Toilet on the playfield = no buy for me. Austin Powers gets a major thumbs down from me for all the same reasons.
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I would rather spend $2000 on 3-4 70-80's classic's than any new DMD pin.
That way if you get bored of one game you can play the others.
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I hear people all the time saying South Park sucks, but why? The theme is great, the sound is great, the DMD is above average, the playfield is layed out well. If I had to guess, the majority of people give it a thumbs down due to the non-family friendliness of it.
IMO the theme sucks, the sound is annoying, I'm not a fan of DMD games, and the playfield has a freakin' toilet on it.
Toilet on the playfield = no buy for me. Austin Powers gets a major thumbs down from me for all the same reasons.
I played an Austin Powers...that is a HORRIBLE pin.
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Who Dunnit is one of the better inexpensive DMDs? Wow.... :dizzy:
I think that the WPC-S series of Williams games is just about the boat anchor of DMD titles, with the exception of World Cup Soccer.
Anyway, if you like Who Dunnit, then great for you. But when you see a lot of super nice examples of a title, particularly a low production one, selling for $1200-1500, it should really give you some insight into popular opinion.
I have yet to see a single Who Dunnit that wasn't nearly cosmetically perfect.
And, objectively, it's not a title that plays anything like most traditional machines (and I think it'd be a poor choice for a single game in a home environment)
To each his own. That is the beauty of pinball- there is something for everyone.
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I would rather spend $2000 on 3-4 70-80's classic's than any new DMD pin.
That way if you get bored of one game you can play the others.
You'll be hard pressed to find 3-4 of those in good shape for $2000. 3, maybe, but not the real players.
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I see that locally there is a 2002 Playboy pin for sale on ebay. With four hours left it is only at $1500. I thought this sounded very cheap. It appears to be in good shape.
Does this pin play worth a damn or is it purely a cool looking / theme only pin?
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I would rather spend $2000 on 3-4 70-80's classic's than any new DMD pin.
That way if you get bored of one game you can play the others.
You'll be hard pressed to find 3-4 of those in good shape for $2000. 3, maybe, but not the real players.
Depends on what you like... classic 80's sterns, gottleib system 80's (except BH & HH), and wms sys 3-6's except BK usually go in the $500-700 range for pretty decent clean games, sometimes cheaper for worn out ones that may not look as nice but are still fun to play, many are really good players even if they are not the most popular titles, a little more up the $$ ladder are lots of good bally games & some later wms games like High Speed that go for around $750-1000. Places to look for games in addition to eBay are Mr. Pinball, Craigslist & rgp.
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I had that typed in and deleted it - even though it falls right into that category I didn't want to undermine myself by recommending a pin I have. :)
I've been looking around for a Genesis lately. The theme is sort of cool but the backglass is so horrifically bad that people part it out just so they don't have to look at the midget. Strong playfield layout, good ruleset, can probably be had working well in the $500 range if you can find one.
There's one here locally for $1000, but probably more than you want to pay. I just saw it today, thought I'd share. =)
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Who Dunnit is a total dog, IMO.
When you get tired of it, which you will, you will be begging people to buy it.
I wouldn't go that far... It's an interesting concept and a good theme. I wouldn't want to own one though.
I talked with the guy who runs action pinball in Denver about a year ago. He mentioned that addam's family and twilight zone were pretty polarizing for the pin playing population. Usually people gravitate towards one or the other, and stick with similar styles of games. I've found that to be true as well. Addam's family has a much more classic pin feel with an open playfield, but enough bells and toys to keep it modern. Twilight zone is a control freak's pin -- everything is about making specific shots all the time.
I think your best bet is to look around locally and see if you can play some different kinds of pins. If you could find a local collector to talk with and possibly play his collection, that would be better.
But don't rush into it or you may have regrets. Unless you're a good salesman and can sell any given pin for more than you paid for it. :D
Edit: I almost forgot, one of my favorite older pins is pinbot. It's got a good feature set and a reasonable depth for the era.
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classic 80's sterns, gottleib system 80's (except BH & HH), and wms sys 3-6's except BK usually go in the $500-700 range for pretty decent clean games
Anything more than 500x4 > 2000.
A well shopped SS game in decent shape is worth more than $500. Some can be had in the $600-650 range but you're not going to get four of them for $2000. The ones you do get in the $600 range are going to be bad players like Caveman and Rock.
Note that I said "3 maybe, but not 4, for $2000". Even the figures you gave prove my statement.
You can always find a mediocre game poorly shopped for $500 or less but that's not what this guy wants.
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There is a local company selling an Addams Family on ebay. I am interested in it, but it has the lock bar across the coin door :banghead:.
I hate it when I find a machine I like and there are holes from a lock bar.
FWIW - I sold my Solar Ride last night. It is a 1978 SS. Everything worked and the playfield was is real good shape. It was missing a dozen bulbs or so. I paid $375 at an auction over a year ago and sold it for $400. I was just happy to get about what I paid for it, not really concerned with making a profit. I might have been able to get a little more, but I just didn't want to mess with selling it for a long time.
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That is probably about right for that game nonshopped.
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bad players like Caveman and Rock.
Caveman is no good eh? There's one for sale local to me. Looked interesting because it has a video game on it too. Guess I should pass?
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bad players like Caveman and Rock.
Caveman is no good eh? There's one for sale local to me. Looked interesting because it has a video game on it too. Guess I should pass?
It's probably only worth owning for the novelty factor, neither the pin portion or the vid portion were very good, IMO.
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A good list.
Firepower
Blackout
Scorpion
Black Knight
Xenon
Mars God of War
Jungle Lord
Centaur
EBD
High Speed
Grand Lizard
Pinbot
Flash Gordon
Comet
Space Shuttle
Countdown
Fireball II
Kings of Steel
EM's
Bow and Arrow
Royal Flush
Spirit of 76
Space Station
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I agree a lot with shardian on pins I would like to have a Who Dunnit if I had room, also the Austin powers is a pretty bad pin.
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Caveman is no good eh? There's one for sale local to me. Looked interesting because it has a video game on it too. Guess I should pass?
It's terrible. If you want it for historic value, get one, but if you want a game worth playing, find a Baby Pac or Granny and the Gators.
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Chad are you a huge pinball fan by chance, a lot of the the titles I have never seen, the baby pac yes but not caveman
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Chad are you a huge pinball fan by chance, a lot of the the titles I have never seen, the baby pac yes but not caveman
I know guys who are far more hardcore than I am, but for BYOAC standards, probably.
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He he...there is also a Disco Fever local to me. 8) The theme amuses me but I don't know if I'd actually want it in the basement. Anyone ever play one?
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Contact the seller and go play it to determine if you like it or not, pinballs are very subjective, one person may hate the game and another may love it.
Keep in mind that with older machines you will need some electronics knowledge as well as a little mechanical aptitude to keep things running.
If you need to do any board work and you cannot do it yourself you will almost guarantted having to sooner or later pay for repair work unless the machine has already been rebuilt and/or had new replacement boards installed.
If you want "fully shopped" machines as stated above, then buying a used 80's machine is not going to be worth your time unless you buy from a dealer and get a warantee, which if you do that you will be paying probably about 2x what you could resell it for, in which case a newer machine may be a better buy for you.
Regarding Caveman, I am probably in the minority but I think it was a kinda ok game, I would not want it as my only pin but as a novelty game if I could get one really cheap I would consider it. I think it is a better game than Baby Pac since it's full size.