Wishful thinking there .... $4999 maybe.

Funny that you guys are discussing Seawitch. I had a sleepless night in HongKong the other night, and I came up with some simple gameplay upgrades for Seawitch which would bring gameplay into the 2015s. Very simple to implement.

You could easily run the game from the new Stern Board. Those things probably cost like $100. Would be way cheaper than anything else.

Maybe I'll have a chat to Gary when I'm up that way in October. I'm coming Gary! My shout!

rd

If it isn't "enhanced", who will buy it?

You can buy a completely mint Seawitch for sub $2k. Why pay $5k for the same thing?

One of my gameplay ideas was - drop all three drop target banks (the main aim of the current Seawitch) and the game adds a ball and starts 2x playfiled scoring. Manage to keep the 2 balls in play and knock down all three banks again, add a third ball and start 3x scoring.

I love my old games (check out my collection..) but looking at it from a marketing point of view, which you need to do as a businessman, a lot of new buyers want multiball. They want LED lamps. The old traditionalists aren't going to buy it anyway. Same as Whoa Nelly.

rd.

There's so much potential with this concept (of re-releasing/creating classic pins) ... It just needs someone passionate driving it along.

I sorta think they are exactly the same.

You look at the Whoa Nelly threads ... The long time EM guys ain't buying them. Don't see one in Odins games room any time soon ... He could buy one if he wanted to, but he'd rather buy 10x genuine old ones instead.

Same with the SS guys. I don't want to speak for them all ... But Classic Stern and Dr Dave would probably not be the first in the queue to purchase a $4999 Seawitch, they already have mint ones they probably paid $1000 for years ago.

The "demographic" for purchasers would be the same as Whoa Nelly. Guys who want a EM/classic looking machine, but want it to work 100% every time they turn it on, and something that doesn't scare them when they lift the playfiled and see 100x 40 year old relays down there ... That's pretty scary for most people.

So a "new" Seawitch could look externally identical as the 1979 one ... Except with the gameplay features that a modern game offers. All "turn off-able" with a change of the menu. Imagine a Seawitch or Meteor with a 3 ball multiball and 3x scoring running? How cool would that be?

rd.

You won't find a brand new looking 35 year old machine anywhere. . Unless you find a NIB stashed somewhere (like those two Black Knights a few years back) or do a complete ground up resto like that awesome $5000 Centaur that was up for sale on Pinside a while back.

"Mint" is all relevant in my eyes, but I'm a realist. None of my games would be good enough for some of the dudes on this forum, but they are all tidy for their age and what they've been through since they've been made. "Mint" was the wrong word for me to use here ... "Tidy" would have been more appropriate.

There was a "very tidy" Seawitch for $1400 in Los Angeles not long ago ... I almost grabbed it but I have my mates Seawitch living in my house anyway, so I didn't.

I scored an "extremely tidy" Meteor for $700 in Los Angeles last year. Probably as tidy as any of the SS machines I own, plays super sweet too. Cool game. The guy had it for sale for months and months for $800 and couldn't find a taker.

rd.

Not that one, fortunately.

rd.

Guns N Roses Vault Edition anyone?

rd.

Gary would make anything if he could spin a buck!

I woulda said Rocky n Bullwinkle but unfortunately there wouldn't have been many takers for that one ... (Even though it's a cool game)

I guess GnR is pretty much the only mass produced DE game that pulls big bucks in the used market? Nothing else comes to mind really... JPs and Tommys are pretty cheap in comparison.

rd.

Business 101 says they'd be better to make 500 machines at $4999 than 1500 at $3000.

Hypothetically.... Assuming a build cost of $2500 (pulled totally from thin air, for the basis of comparison ...)

Retail $3000 : $500 profit x 1500 machines : total profit = $750,000

Retail $4999 : $2500 profit x 500 machines : total profit = $1,250,000

The $2500 cost is probably low but you get the gist. Same as Whoa Nelly, they knew they weren't going to sell 2000 of them so they made it $6000 and hoped they'd move 400-500 of them.

And those are retail prices too ... Not wholesale. But you get the drift ...

rd.

Ain't gonna happen. Ever.

Because if they do that, then everyone will say "hey, why is my KISS Pro $5999 retail when they can make a machine for $2999? It's basically exactly the same!! Same cabinet, same computer!!" Etc etc etc.

rd.

They are cashing in. A KISS pro is $5999.

They tried that already with THE PIN at $2999.

By all accounts it didn't set the world on fire.

I fully understand what you're saying ... And I concur ... However I think the pin market is a bit more complicated. You have a lot of guys who only want cheaper pins, sub $1500ish. Then you have the big spenders (lots here on Pinside) who only want the A-grades. None of these market sectors would buy THE PIN. It sorta falls in the gap in the centre.

I think if you had a new Seawitch at $3999 retail, it would sell very well.

rd.