hey, it was a good year...my birth year....

A lot of really good games from that year, don't forget Black Hole and Pink Panther are in that class too.

I agree. '79 - '81 are very hot. Also old Stern around '81.

I sold a Centaur with a CPR playfield and plastics for $3300 about 5 years ago. Never dreamed it would be worth more than that some day. I still have Fathom, Embryon, Medusa and Skateball. I try to ignore prices because I really don’t want to sell them. There’s just something special about them.

Fathom catapulted to that price point 6 - 7 years ago. I traded a nice one back then and watched the market carefully in the years leading to the phenomenon. Centaur (and Medusa to a lesser extent) were beginning to fetch escalated numbers in that timeline as well.

1981 was one of the best years EVER for pinballs. The games were built to last, themes are addictive, the art was impeccable...not the photoshop crap you see these days. It sucks that they are going up, but these are GREAT pins we are talking about.

As high as the market allows.

Personally, I won't pay any of those $2k+ prices for these titles. I think those prices are completely ridiculous. But some people want the game bad enough, so they have no problem paying those prices.

Those games are fun, but not quite $2k+ fun. I'd rather put the funds into newer DMD games.

I think they're easily $2K fun. I play '80-'81 machines more than I play any DMDs.

What are yoir favorite pins from 1978-1982?

Eight ball deluxe is 2k+ worth of fun all day, everyday in my opinion.

Same with Joker Poker, but joker poker sells for half

Was looking at a Xenon- roached out playfield with nothing but bad options in sight for replacement.

Choices at this time are overlay decal or $1000 playfield with wrong inserts. For $1000 for a core machine in a basket I walked away.

Seen some nice ones in the $2k-3k range, I'd rather spend the extra and get a nice one. For $3000 I'd rather spend an extra $1500 and buy a Walking Dead Pro though.

It's the best of the best concept.

NIB games are generally 5500-over 10K now.

Best of the best early 90's DMD games, 5K-8K
Best of the best early 80's games, 5K-8K
Best of the best late 90's oddities and boutique games, 8K-well over 10K.

I don't know what's so surprising. It's been like this for roughly 15 years. If you want the best, you are going to pay roughly the going rate for a NIB machine. Back when an original nice condition Monster bash sold for 4K, a NIB Stern was 4K.

I'm hoping Scott Daneisi iI is an attempt to modernize the early Bally magic.

Start hoarding your flipperless games if you wanna get ahead of the curve

CPR playfields are just entering silkscreening phase. Won't be long before they're available.

The availability of parts to restore these games fueled the price increases, as it should. Before the parts were available, all of the early Bally's except EBD were sub $1000 games. First Fathom I had in 1986 cost $350, second Fathom in 2007 was $2,000.

Compare them to NIB all you want, but they are not making anymore of these. Ever. So as more people get into the hobby, the prices will continue to grow for a scare resource. Paragon will be next to shoot up as the repro playfields become available.

People with no nostalgia for the game will buy newer titles for the same money or a touch more.

Nostalgia is the key.

Its just a matter if time before centaurs and eightball deluxe,fathom are reproduced. Just need the squalk and talk.

Great games command big prices no matter of era.

Frankly I would take a collection of predominately early 80s games with a few sys11 and a few classic DMDs sprinkled in over pretty much anything else.

Like others have said, great games all rise to NIB logic of price over time.

When 5500 is what it takes to get a new game, why wouldn't great, fully coded, fun games from earlier eras be similarly priced, esp as pinball increases in popularity and naturally these older games get discovered as people hang out in the hobby.

possibly, but very unlikely.

They will also be 6k and cheaped out parts if it happened.

These are great games for people who get tired of the "shoot right ramp, shoot left ramp, rinse and repeat" gameplay. Nicely restored and tuned examples provide plenty of excitement with ball times measured in seconds, not minutes.

Nostalgia is key for some, I agree. About 20 games in my keeper collection have nostalgia for me -- games that I played in the arcade that stood out from the crowd. But I've added another 10 or so keepers that I never played or even saw in the arcade which are fantastic playing games with no nostalgia.

Plenty of younger people who grew up with 90's games are getting into 80's games and even EMs. I think once the nostalgia crowd dies off, these games will get scooped up quickly and their popularity will remain high.

I have a Mr and Mrs Pac Man pin... I know most people do not like it very much... I love it... the feel of the flippers on the early Bally machines is the best...

I rejected a $4,500 for my restored Joker Poker.

Nostalgia is important to some degree, but I love wedgeheads and I was definitely not alive during their heyday or even played one until about 20 years ago.

I am starting to take interest in other EM's as well. I think once pinball gets in your blood, curiosity takes over and you find fun in all eras of games. That is what makes this such a fun and interesting hobby. There is always something to learn and discover. Especially if you don't limit yourself to a particular type/era of game.

Everyone has their own opinions, but for me, 1978 through 1982 was the 'golden age' of pinball. SO MANY great titles released during that time, and I'm not surprised prices are going up.

Now, who wants to sell me a Centaur??? I overpay for pins.

Awesome game. It's not just underrated, it's ignored and not appreciated at all in pinball circles. Such a shame.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/mr-mrs-pac-man-pinball-restoration/page/2

You should have seen the Bally Row at the Pinball at the Zoo show this year featuring 21 solid state Bally games from 1977-1983. It was packed pretty much the whole time, very fun to see.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BwvqQs8lMlj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I started with EM and I'm adding solid state to the mix but draw the line on lcd screen games. Too much going on for my taste and I don't like taking my eye off the ball for any reason.

1981 Classic Sterns have also shot up in price.

Catacomb
Dragonfist
Viper

Lightning, Freefall and Split Second, maybe not.

Fathom will be 8k soon. Sick game!

There was a Joker Poker at Allentown with a new playfield, a bunch of new parts, a Pascal board, nice cabinet, and nice backglass that failed to sell at $2300. I couldn't believe no one bought it, but... it's a data point.

So what's the next hot group of games going to be? System 1 and early System 80 Gottliebs?

Thanks for the link. Machine looks great! I've got a project machine I need to get working on one of these days. Picked up a nicer playfield at Pinfest, so at least that's a start.

And threads like this continue to fuel the fire...

Sounds like a joke but I have honestly seen both of those upticking in price. Once whatever the current popular trends get bought up there has to be a next trend and I think you are oddly right in your assumption here. People basically learn to appreciate what is available and as they get snatched up they increase in value.

Williams system 7 games. Warlok, Cosmic Gunfight, Time Fantasy, Barracora, Defender, Star Light, etc...

The point was most were well *over* $2k. Some pushing $3k, $4k, and even $5k or $6k.

Would I pay $1k-$1500 for a nice EBD? Sure. Would I pay $3k+? Nope. It's a fun game, but I can find better uses for that $3k.

System 80 games have always had a decent following, and a few specific/popular titles are already fetching solid prices. I've been finding it a bit more difficult to get my hands on system 80 games lately, especially after all the prices for bally/stern/williams games started taking off a few years ago.

System 1 games can basically be upgraded a bit using a pascal MPU with all the extra features. The hulk I've been bringing to shows always seems to get a ton of plays.

Some of the system 1 games are reasonably desirable, but there are a few duds too. However, even the decent ones seem to struggle to fetch more than $800 (such as sinbad and close encounters).

I like the System 80 odd playfields, Gold Wings is great, Spring Break I'm still warming up to as I learn the shots and ruleset. Hot Shots I'm "meh" on but my wife and the younger son like it so ok it can stay for the moment. I tried a few down at Allentown, Genesis looked interesting but I didn't care for the gameplay.

ship seems to have sailed long ago on many of those sadly

I would love that whole list if anyone is selling...

Two words: Zipper Flippers

Bally prices are soaring...I still recall a conversation with Steve Young when I was beginning to accumulate classic Bally games. He told me, that yeah you can find them now but prices have already gone up, you missed the boat on that one. I agreed with him that prices had spiked some and I would be paying a premium over what prices were a year or so ago. That conversation took place in 2003.

Anyone looking to buy classic games would be well served to play them first. Most of the old classics will always be great games, but some other games of that era are forgettable and just benefiting from the current classic Bally/Stern buying frenzy.

Haunted House is easily my favorite

I missed a Black Hole that went for very good price at Allentown, needed a little work which doesn't bother me. Played a few games at Pintastic and didn't care for it, a good friend says give it more time and it grows on you. I trust his advice enough to pick one up even though first impression wasn't good. Have not had the opportunity to play HH yet, my wife loves the theme though.

=)

2017-09-01 16.23.44 (resized).jpg

I have owned 3 HH pins, and people kept begging me to sell them and offering VERY good money. It is a great game and very challenging...not to mention the gorgeous art package.

I love the fact that there is a large contingency of new pinballers who look down on any game that doesn't have a DMD, ramps, etc. They don't know any better. These 80's games are the shit.

Take Catacomb for example. I got to finally play one a few months ago. The rules were incredibly hard to grasp, and once they were understood, I have never had to use so much brainpower on the fly while playing pinball. It was completely captivating to me. Never played anything like it. Great shots, drops, spinners, beautiful artwork, a difficult multi-ball, etc etc. I'll take a bunch of unique shooting games like that anyday.

Have you played bally paragon?

Yeah

You got that right. EBD is the best pin ever made made period IMO.

I had my EBD sitting right next to a Stern AC/DC, a Metallica, and an Adams Family on the other side and guess which machine got the most play?