Wine and beer. First time in a week that I've been well enough to drink, and I went overboard. Very nice to breathe again tho.

I had a sinus infection a couple weeks ago. Smoked a cigar when I felt 100%

From my trip to Toronto a few months ago - my first time playing Strange World! image-140.jpg.

_{Post edited by swampfire: Keeping it classy (ish)}

not happening. nice try though. I.M. is the farthest back any vault edit will go. the reason I.M. was made a vault is because of the initial low production run.

and they had a heap of unused parts lying around from the first run. I think you might be right.

They may or may not have had spare parts....regardless, it's a CHEAP pin to build. Easy money.

Predator was ($4,750)
Wait until Heighway pinball releases its second machine, sold as a kit for less than $4k.

Hilarious. You think Ben Heck bought a private jet?... From what I know Antonio Ortuno (Quetzal Pinball) did not even break even with 14 pinball produced. And these 14 pins will certainly hurt the hobby a lot, I presume?

Some might - but the boutique pins which have very low overhead costs may actually resist better than one with a large factory to maintain.

Not bashing stern by the way. But stating boutique pins will kill the Hobby does not make sense.

Hmmm...

factory line ready - check
experienced workers - check
parts - check
cases of light sockets to use up - check
relationship with license holder - check
license a phone call away - check
easy run dropped in between upcoming pins - check
public demand - check
middle earth hype frenzy peaking - check
opportunity to kick JJP in the sack - check

I'm not convinced the license is a phone call away. I hope so but Tolkien's estate is very stingy with every license they provide. Being they had it once before I am sure that will go a long way. Then there is New Line Cinema to deal with also I would imagine with all of the actors on the artwork and voice overs. I am no expert but I would think the license poses some challenges.

It was twice approved, a pin the estate is proud of, easy decision when at the end of the line is more revenues... But, has Jersey Jack negotiated all things Tolkien/pinball during their launch??

My studio works with a dozen or so licensors. I can tell you with absolute certainty that when you make a licensor good money they are very willing to work with you.

Might have been during their lunch.

Look at all the tolkien/middle earth video games that come out. There is no way renewing a license for an existing and previously approved game would be the show stopper. It's basically just a matter of cutting a check. Even $50 or $100k would be nothing when there are a couple million bucks to be made running 300-400 games.

Have any Predators shipped? I haven't seen any near me. I'm actually rooting for Heighway, but they're late for the party, like all the rest.

Many of these guys are doing it for their ego. That's pretty obvious. If you can't win PAPA, saying you run a pinball company or design pinball machines is a close second.

I never said boutique games will kill the hobby. They're more of a brief distraction.

It'd stir up a ton of shit between JJP and Stern if they announced LOTR as hobbit was rolling out the doors.

I'd say a lot more people would want tron since those are harder to come by

Did someone email jack yet to see if he wrote in his contract with the lotr people about exclusive rights?

Depending on the VE release date, price and also JJPs ability (or inability) to meet deadlines:

This could potentially do a lot more than bruise their nutsack, it could be a knock-out punch for the whole company.

I highly doubt JJP (or any startup) could withstand a title flopping.

Now, JJP can certainly have a lot to say about this: if their next reveal of TH addresses some of the recent criticism and starts to win back interest- well maybe they could survive this kind of competition...

Also, if it looks like they can actually get machines running out the door at a reasonable pace- that would also help....

He has the rights to The Hobbit, not LOTR. They're two different movie franchises…in terms of licensing, one has nothing to do with the other.

Baloney. They rejected price inflated routed crapsters that got spitshined by sellers thinking they made bank because "well one sold on the ebay for 8k so now mine's worth that!!!!!!!!!". They rejected seller's rationale of how they should pay an INCREASED amount for a 20 year old game because it came from back in the day. This new wave of remakes is A W E S O M E for buyers. The resultant crash in the old guard grail pins crushes the collectible/mint upcharges. This is a terrible time for sellers who bought the high end pins within the last few years IF they believed they would get their money back.
By the way - what do you mean by "unknown cost reduced NIB model"? I assume you mean you suspect it is cost reduced compared to an original but you don't know for sure.

I agree with some of this...

But the price-inflating speculators (who have the most to lose) have no one to blame but themselves....

As Stern sees the resale market for old titles exceeding the old NIB price, they will obviously start running the numbers on re-issues and remakes.

Folks should get used to pins coming out of the vault at Stern.... i think their new model will be:
2 new titles a year
1-2 vault re-issues
1 (maybe) assembly project for a parner (ie MMr, MMr, AFMr, etc)

I'd like that to happen so I can get a so so to decent shape LOTR for location

Six pages so there must be something to the rumor right?

What are you basing that on? I can't think of any pre-Stern (meaning Data East/Sega) game that has any real demand. Now maybe old school Stern, like early solid state stuff ...

I really think the volume that could be sold on this title is enormous (in pinball terms of course). The IMVE had no real pick-ups over the original title. Better sound on this would mean a very large interest from those that have owned the title before. I have little interest in getting another LOTR in its current guise, but I am 100% in on a SAM ported version.

What if they skipped SAM altogether and ported it into the new system? Ooooh...

beyond this thread, how many people have really heard this rumor?

Try finding a pristine Data East 1991 Batman.

Maybe Tommy?

Or a Back to the Future with the newly agreeable MJF allowing his likeness!

I don't think many people will line up for D.E. Batman..but GNR is a maybe, but even that's a longshot.Sterns most popular titles were LOTR, TSPP and RBION. I highly doubt this thing will happen in any shape or form.

GNR would sell big time but its widebody so very doubtful.

All would sell very well.

image-8-128.jpg
hqdefault.jpg
pinball2.jpg

And just like dick-beard, remaking it would continue the penis tradition, so it was meant to be.
72285.jpg

Unless that was somehow cheaper or easier I can't see any real advantage, SAM should already have enough free memory to handle upgraded sounds. If they were to do such a thing.

Here's what I would see being a solid seller:

1. High rez decals, printed on the same metallic material as Iron Man VE and Mustang LE. Would make the gold really shine.

2. Would love to see better printing on the playfield too, but I don't know that the playfield printing has improved all that much.

3. Upgraded sound, on SAM or otherwise, so that we get clear samples and music.

4. New cabinet style with a speaker panel decal that matches the cabinet design.

What about tron?

D.E. Batman is somewhat rare. Around 3,500, almost all routed. Finding a pristine one is hard. There is a whole thread on Pinside about the difficulty in getting one.

Keaton's Batman has become somewhat of a classic with the passing of time. Kids that watched that movie in '89 are now well paid adults. Would be nice in a large collection, especially with LED's and higher sampling rate of the lifts.

DE Star Wars?

Might be some interest with the new movie coming out in 2015....

Plus, I hear if you get it autgraphed, the value can skyrocket!

DE Star Wars with the home rom added by default should be released during the ep7 hype,
(Stern advertized that home rom on their website so they know about its relevance).

Stern actually considers it an official release! No doubt a VE for Star Wars would include the new rules.

I disagree on RBION. A VE for that title would be a mistake.

GNR VE would definitely be a hot one!

Looks like ACDCVE just got put on a 10-20yr hold.

We know they had The Sopranos running on SAM back in early 2006, so porting to the new system is nothing new.

IPBD:

A few games with the S.A.M. Board System were built and shipped overseas to test. At the end of testing, the games were shipped back to the U.S., converted to the Whitestar Board System, and sold.

Doesn't sound like a huge deal does it?

How long do you think Stern will sell this if they pull the trigger? Iron Man VE is still being sold and that came out several months ago, right? I need some time to get my finances in order because this would be a very tempting purchase.

It was developed simultaneously, not ported.

You'd think JJP would dictate this with their release of TH

JJP can't dictate anything. They have the license to make "The Hobbit: Motion Picture Trilogy" pinball machine. LOTR is a different license.

+1. JJP can't even dictate what Smaug does in the game, much less who gets to work with the LOTR license.

Would you buy if LOTRVE came true and it had upgraded sound and metallic decals @ $6k?

Not RBION. You can buy a HUO RBION for $3k. And there's not a lot of demand. Don't see that one selling well at all.

Good point.
It has to be titles in high demand and that would sell at today's price.