But it's not up to Rick, it's up to CGC!

I'd like to think they'd see the advantages of selling it for less (NIB buyers would be tempted to swing their way vs. other options for new games) ...but then again they thought it was a good idea to sell a "key" to the Color ROM already on the game for $199/$399...so, I'm guessing it'll be $8k for a base game, $10k for some kind of LE.

They totally COULD sell it for less and still make a ton. Game was already designed and tested 20 years ago, no cost there. The CGC system has been designed & tested on MMR, so costs are less there vs. MMR. They're building it themselves now, so they don't have to pay Stern...probably some cost savings there. They could probably sell these in the $6k's and do very very well.

I can buy a Pac-Man for $300...but Namco has been making new Pac-Man arcade games for years for what...$3000 or so? ...and they sell...because hardcore hobbyists are not the customers for these things. Casual people with rec rooms and money to blow are. They don't care if it's original. They want something brand new and cool.

We have to remember these remakes aren't necessarily geared toward hardcore hobbyists. People who've never heard of a forum or owned a pinball machine go to a new dealer and ask "What new games can I buy?". These games are for them.

It seems to be a Wisconsin thing. Hilly & Neo always think Wisconsin pinball prices, specifically the deals they might have scored due to their patience and connections = what happens everywhere else.

Sure, but at $9k it's a tough sell in the "modern pinball economy"...which is "theme, theme, theme". Theme drives sales before people even know what they're getting (see Ghostbusters and Batman). Nostalgic themes make people forget about the ridiculousness of price. If JJP can survive Dialed-In not selling so well up front...the good thing is they can keep it in production forever since they don't have to pay a license...so, if it picks up popularity down the road, it'll always be in their catalog to sell.

I'm very happy with mine. It looks and plays great. That being said, we can't dismiss that there were massive delays, playfields with thin insert ink, and charging us to unlock color code that was already in the ROM on displays we already owned was BULLLLLSHIIIIITTTT. That really showed me how they felt about the customers that gave them lots of money and patience. They'd rather shake us down for nickels than keep us around for the big bucks. Pinball's a small world. Take us for granted, I'll spend my fun money elsewhere....no loyalty to customers, no loyalty from this customer.

Every "original" MM is a copy. It was a mass produced product. It's not like the Mona Lisa or something. Most original MM's are filled with repro parts. "Original" is a pretty meaningless term for the most part when it comes to pinball.

...and original MM dropped a ton when MMr was announced. Try selling a restored one for $20k now. It happened before MMr!

...and Iron Man is a Zizzle! Remember that one? Lol

Who was your market? Were you trying to sell to Pinsiders and Craigslisters? People have to realize there's a different market for new games. It's not laser focused at US. Joe Schmoe who has a rec room and wants a cool pinball machine will look online, see he can get a NEW AFM, he can read it's a top 10 game, and order it with his credit card from a gameroom store. Those customers aren't looking here or on CL. They don't want to buy a game from "a guy". They want it new, with a warranty.

I think the Pinside crowd is over pre-orders and delays, so until there's real info, there's no excitement. If PPS does what it claims it claims it's going to...which is to reveal the game when it's ready to order, I think that'll change things around here. If someone's thinking about buying a new game...skeptical of Stern's QC, skeptical of wait times from other companies...they're itching for something brand new, and AFM is ready to ship the second you send a check...I think it will do well with this crowd. All depends on price...we don't know yet, so - STAY TUNED lol

Are Chicago Gaming and Churchill the same company?

Never. If any of their independent contractors chose to do work for JJP, they're booted.

The LCD in BM'66 is the same type of LCD that's in MMr. You just see the whole monitor instead of it being masked to a DMD aspect ratio.

Whatchoo sayin'....my $500 LOTR didn't reshape the market completely!?!?!?

I've already got the remake! It's the Super 3D Hologram Edition! Revenge From Mars!

Well actually it's a sequel, and there are plenty of sequels that are equal to or better than the original (Terminator 2, Aliens)

I agree with movie remakes, they're all fucking terrible....

That makes me think there will be the equivalent of a "Pro" and "Premium" model. If I had to guess...the "Pro" will be the same as the original. The "Premium" will have some kind of powdercoated trim, color dots included, shaker included, possibly art blades, 3D translite, "Bill Ung" style extra lights, etc.

Foreign remakes are a crapshoot...but I can see why they do them. It's the already iconic American remakes/reboots (Ghostbusters, Elm St., Terminator Gynysys) that are horrible.

LOL...OK, I have to keep narrowing my shitty remake focus. ANYTHING IN THE LAST 10 YEARS!!! lol

I think The Fly (86) and Little Shop of Horrors (86) are the definitive versions of those stories. Good remakes can be done, if the tone and style is completely different and the director/writer have something new and interesting to say about the concept. Remakes now are like "REMEMBER THAT MOVIE YOU LIKED!?!?!? Here it is AGAIN! But a little different! But with cameos and lines you remember! You weren't asking for this at all!!!!"

OMG are well still litigating Mechgate!?

Colorgate was far more of a slap in the face.

The color is Gold.

No, charging $199/$399 for the "key" to unlock color dots on the display.

Despite some of my disagreements with how they've done things, their customer service has been fine. I had a bad flasher board, and they sent me a new one immediately.

If you're updated to the most current firmware, the new color dots are there. You just can't choose the option for them unless you install their "Color Kit" chip. The chip just unlocks what you already have. It's bullshit, but I paid the ransom...it would annoy me to have the "better-than-ColorDMD" dots locked away. That being said, it showed me where their priorities are with customer satisfaction and loyalty. They got my $199, but that's the last they'll ever see from me. Had they done the right thing and just let this thing be a code update as it should have been, I would have been a future customer on future games.

I've heard that AFM was originally going to have more movement for the ship and it was costed out. Perhaps they're going back to what the designers had originally intended?

Oh, that's interesting...no uncompressed audio this time? I guess it'll just be emulated using the original sound files?

Well, that's no secret. It was supposed to be shown at one of the big shows last year...but they pulled it. Probably had some issues to work out...and on that level, it's better to hold the reveal till it's ready and done vs. revealing it and then delaying it.

"Robbed" is a bit harsh...but lets be real. It's an $8000 game in a limited market. The new dots should have been part of their project budget, as it's excellence CERTAINLY would have sold more units had it just been an included feature...thus paying for itself and then some. Let's remember, the game was a year or so late & had other issues. If the software update was just a software update, that would have been a great gesture to their generous and patient customers. Clearly, by charging for it - they've pissed off a lot of the people in this limited market.

Sure, you can argue that we're in an era of DLC video games...and people pay more to get more features on their games...but there are also plenty of games that offer substantial updates for free - as it makes early adopters happy & sells more games to new people when they hear about the new features.

On top of that, CGC isn't even specifically a pinball company. If pinball "fails" for them...they've got other things going on.

That's the King of Payne Special Edition.

MMR had coding the original didn't have. Shaker coding, coding for the new adjustment screens with lighting and coil strength options, & coding for the color display.

RicketyCricket (resized).jpg

It's the same ratio as a DMD. It's not wider. People forget that DMDs are not 16:9 ...they're much longer.

Leftover from what? Stern isn't building these games....and Stern knew they were making 500 GBLEs and most likely ordered 500 sets of green armor.

They'll be available as long as enough people want them to warrant CGC building them. There's no time limit on the license.

Theoretically they could do that for the "classic" version, too...since the standard DMD isn't a DMD, but a monitor with unused area on the top and bottom.

Yeah, if I were a customer, I'd prob get the middle version...although even though I don't care about the trim or topper that much - I would want the tri-color LEDs that are on all the saucers in the LE. Hopefully those can be purchased separately and added (or modded) to the middle version.