I have pinball too. It's hard to admit it's wrong....
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For Sale
Since it seems like the popular thing to do, I’ll jump in with some more confirmation of the slippery slope! I told myself 1 pinball machine and 1 arcade machine only for my basement. I got an Attack From Mars remake and MKII. It lasted two years - currently waiting on a Cactus Canyon LE remake and a Neo 25 (from Rewrite) to be delivered, ha ha!
At the peak of my pinball collecting the max I had at one time was 11. They're such space hogs, that just wasn't easy to sustain.
When I got back into fighting games that's when I got serious about candy cabs, and started shifting my collection.
Now I have 8 cabs, and 3 pins, so back to that same 11 number in the end I guess. I try and keep a one in, one out rule. Candies take up a little less space than pins though.
When I got back into fighting games that's when I got serious about candy cabs, and started shifting my collection.
Now I have 8 cabs, and 3 pins, so back to that same 11 number in the end I guess. I try and keep a one in, one out rule. Candies take up a little less space than pins though.
My wife would love for me to get a pin, she's all about it, but the problem is it's a big investment for something you might get bored playing after a year or so. I guess you could always sell it then buy another but that could lead down a dark and dusty road very quickly I imagine.
I briefly looked into monthly pinball rental, the idea being rent a pin for 2-6 months and then change it out when you get board with it but that gets expensive very quickly. The only places that rent pins essentially want them in bars, bowling alleys, and the like where they're generating revenue.
I shouldn't get into pinball.
I briefly looked into monthly pinball rental, the idea being rent a pin for 2-6 months and then change it out when you get board with it but that gets expensive very quickly. The only places that rent pins essentially want them in bars, bowling alleys, and the like where they're generating revenue.
I shouldn't get into pinball.
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bagheera369
Champion
So the best way to start, is go to pinball festivals. Philly has a big one for sure.
Meet some folks, make some friends, and then talk about tables you both enjoy, and calculate cost/value acceptance.
Right now, with the pinball market, almost anything you buy is going up in value, or at least holding over a 6 month time.
As long as you don't get into some of the dumb stuff I've seen recently, of 25K for a Rush LE, and 15K for a Deadpool premium(both NIB), you'll be fine, and should be able to recoup your investment should things change, and you need the cash back.
Yeah, at peak I've been 8 pins, 11 candies and a Road Blasters cockpit. That number is going down to like 4-5 pins, and 6-7 candies, and lots of stuff is leaving, just so I can feel like there's no longer a weight around the neck....as it's too much to work on/keep up/manage. We're lucky to be able to have these spaces, and these games...but man can they multiply into a problem if we aren't careful.
Those digital pinball tables basically suck right?
They look like they pretty much suck. Like playing an iPhone pinball game on a big display with controls. Nothing like the real deal for sure but I've never played on one so didn't want to pass definitive judgement....
They look like they pretty much suck. Like playing an iPhone pinball game on a big display with controls. Nothing like the real deal for sure but I've never played on one so didn't want to pass definitive judgement....
thomas3184
Grand Master
Yup, not the same at all. It’ll give you a taste though. It’s like mame on an lcd, but worse.
@thomas3184 Yeah, that's about what I thought. Thx for the confirmation.
Mrhide
Enlightened
I must have seen 200-300 pinball go through my hands in 2001-2015 ...
My biggest mistake was selling TZ to buy LOTR. Which I sold soon after, frustrated of playing 60 to 90 minutes games just to be sent back to the beginning because I did a-c-b and not a-b-c ...
I have bought back a TZ, which is never leaving.
and sorry but RFM was never RAD. Still is a dark PITA if you ask me but to each his own!
I am here because pin prices are just INSANE to me.
My biggest mistake was selling TZ to buy LOTR. Which I sold soon after, frustrated of playing 60 to 90 minutes games just to be sent back to the beginning because I did a-c-b and not a-b-c ...
I have bought back a TZ, which is never leaving.
and sorry but RFM was never RAD. Still is a dark PITA if you ask me but to each his own!
I am here because pin prices are just INSANE to me.
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Not trying to yuck anyone's yum, whatever you like is cool.
But RFM is to me a gimmick game that gets old fast, and has very little replayability beyond showing people the hologram effect. It's not a good "pinball", it's a neat tech demo. And if the glass on it ever breaks you're fucked, and the CRT is an extra pain to deal with on top of usual pin problems.
It's not a game I would actually recommend to anyone. Play someone else's, go "neat", and get it out of your system.
But RFM is to me a gimmick game that gets old fast, and has very little replayability beyond showing people the hologram effect. It's not a good "pinball", it's a neat tech demo. And if the glass on it ever breaks you're fucked, and the CRT is an extra pain to deal with on top of usual pin problems.
It's not a game I would actually recommend to anyone. Play someone else's, go "neat", and get it out of your system.
bagheera369
Champion
Lol. Yeah, they are a mess.Not trying to yuck anyone's yum, whatever you like is cool.
But RFM is to me a gimmick game that gets old fast, and has very little replayability beyond showing people the hologram effect. It's not a good "pinball", it's a neat tech demo. And if the glass on it ever breaks you're fucked, and the CRT is an extra pain to deal with on top of usual pin problems.
It's not a game I would actually recommend to anyone. Play someone else's, go "neat", and get it out of your system.
I do have a special place for SW EP1 though, regardless of all the issues with Pin2000, and I wish I knew why.
I'll never own one, but anytime I see one out, it's usually getting a couple bucks.
A fool and their money
TBL is the absolute most I would spend on a pin, and as far as I'm concerned TBL and Aliens are my last NIB purchases. New prices are getting out of control; at least I can justify it for these two since they're low production, boutique type pins. Stern on the other hand, the only reason I bought Rush LE was because I've been a big fan for years, but I would otherwise not recommend buying any of their new pins. Build quality has been going steadily downhill, no more goodie bags with spares, razor thin clearcoats on their pfs, pfs not properly prepped, the list goes on.
Better to just go play on-site somewhere.
bagheera369
Champion
I agree.
I have an original run ST Pro, that I'm over the moon with, and the only other stern I have is an incoming AiQ Pro, used for 8200, with maybe 150 plays on it. Going to spend some time on it, and decide whether or not I like it more than TAF, TZ, or ST
ro, and then one of those 4 will likely go. The only other NiB I would like is a SE of Medieval Madness, and ideally no more than 9K for that, or I'll wait and buy used off someone eventually.
The 25K Rush LE was at an auction and close price was 20,500 ish, but they charge 25% buyer fee & tax combined, so 25K was finish price, which is absolutely insane.
I played a SWEP1 set to 5 ball once. I had to walk away instead of actually finishing all those balls. Cannot say I'm a fan lol. I've played the Wizard Blocks whitewood proto, and it's more interesting, maybe that would have been the game to make the concept work. I've played the Playboy too, but calling it a whitewood makes it sound like it had more development than it did, was a box of lights and a couple girls projected on the playfield. I think Pin2K was just a desperate ploy to save things from collapsing into the slot business, and clearly it didn't work.
It's a rough business. Anyone who's followed Alien knows how we're honestly lucky the games are being made now, calling the original company a debacle is too kind. But I got to work with some great people and see the sausage being made. I mean, David Thiel is a legend, the man did the sound for Q-Bert ffs, and is honestly just a master at his craft. Being next to him makes this photo worthwhile, even if it also has the Heighway name on it lol.
Speaking of TBL, was sitting here going back through photos after digging up that Alien shot from Expo 2016, and found this one from the Dutch Pinball suite at Expo 2014. This photo was taken at like 3 in the morning right before security kicked us out lol. Everyone was just high on the game, the team, the vibe, all of it. Felt like cool shit was happening, was easy to get sucked in.
Well it's 2022 and they're still struggling to get them out the door and been a lot of bad blood and people burned over the last 7+ years with it. Rough business as I said. You gotta give Stern credit, whatever their issues they've built games this whole time.
I'm the small fish in this photo, some heavy weight collectors here. Hundreds of games owned by this group collectively probably.
bagheera369
Champion
I spent some significant time among the Texas Pinball Festival crew, and pinball anywhere is a bit of an interesting scene, with some interesting characters.
Seeing the DeepRoot debacle, the money that was thrown around, and a chunk of what went down there......I tell ya....you couldn't get me into the pin industry for anything.
