There are a lot of bad investments.... Cars, wifes, pinballmachines..... But i can't do without

I would love to buy a NIB but must admit the sticker shock gets to me. However, I seem to have no issue with paying top dollar for an A-lister in great shape. Maybe its because they have proven themselves over time. It seems with a new one you are taking your chances on that point. If you decide you just dont care for the the way it plays you will likely lose money when reselling. I am basing my opinion on Stern games since they have been the only maunfacturer of lately. I say all this at the same time Im wondering where Im going to find the funds for a new Tron.

I bought LOTR and Spiderman NIB last year. In the past , I waited like you. But in the states, the good titles do not seem to be dropping like in the past. I would not wait if i really wanted the pin.

I bought SM,BDK,IM,AVARAR LE,LOTR LE all nib, I am going to pre order a nib TRON LE. Cant wait.

TRON LE is ordered. Deposit in the mail. Now I must sell myself to pay for it and WOZ.... UGHHHHHHHHHHHH

Coasterguy, where did you place your order from? And Nimblepin...that picture kinda scares me.

Ok, I see the info now on the Tron thread but the picture still scares me.

Hmm...my response isn't one the choices in the poll. My first machine was an "almost new" floor model at a game room store. The playfield and cabinet are in excellent condition, and it plays perfectly, but I have since found broken and burned out bulbs that I've had to replace. Then I had to update the game code and boot ROM. Also, all I got with it was a Xerox copy of a portion of the manual. Somehow I feel like I was taken advantage of.

So, for my second machine, I bought a NIB Stern. Everything is there, in perfect shape, got the full original manual, etc. With this one, I'm not wondering what's wrong that I haven't found yet. My thinking is that I intend to keep the machine for many years, and take good care of it, so it's worth it on a cost-per-year-of-ownership basis to know that it will be reliable and not require a lot of maintenance.

To me, it's similar to buying a new car vs. a used car. The new car is covered by warranty, doesn't have any hidden problems that the owner is glad to get rid of, and doesn't have anything that's about to wear out. If I'm going to keep it and enjoy it for many years, then the cost is reasonable on a per-year basis.

So my first choice is to buy NIB. But if you can't spend that amount up front, or you want something that isn't available new, getting a used one is a reasonable choice.

Not yet,
however I'm interested in whats happening to the state of pinball today
as the new WOZ gets closer I can only speculate the offerings from Stern
with S.R. now on the team can only skyrocket?

I can't justify the money for a NIB. I still pick up pennies off the ground when I find them.

I have purchased SM and LOTR LE NIB mainly because of the lack of options here in Alaska. But they were also both proven top notch games. I would not buy a new title NIB, however much I like the theme. Playability is more important to me. Unless the one local op buys it, or I go visit Tatman , I won't get to play it first.

I would rather buy a very nice used game than a NIB, and I have been lucky so far, but I have no issues, other than cash flow, of buying a NIB. The wife cares though. The only way for me to get another NIB would be to sell my Vette, BoP and BK2K.

ps. Hope you get your Tron in by the time I visit in July, Tatman.

If you have the money to spend on it I can see why some would. But for me I guess my rational side always wins in these decisions. I don't think I will ever have a NIB because of the price drop if I wait a year or two. Plus it gives me time to find the machine and play it to see if it is one that I want to own. I can definitely see the great feeling of having a NIB delivered and open it up but I just can't see that rush overcoming my feeling that I overspent to get it.

So you are apparently still waiting on SMB.

I just bought my SM NIB last month, about 4 years after release. As far as I can tell, the price has gone up in that time. I agree that I wouldn't buy something NIB unless I knew for sure that I really wanted it and intended to keep it. And I wouldn't know that until I'd at least seen a lot of reviews and some videos of game play. There aren't many places to try them out in my area, as far as I can tell, although I would want to do that if I could. But I'm out of space anyway, so I'm not likely buy anything else for a long time. Unless I get addicted or something. And I'm sure that would never happen.

Speaking of which, do you guys think Tron will show up at Gameworks before it's officially released? I'm beginning to think it's unlikely, considering the game is supposed to go into production in early May. Do they not use Gameworks as a test location anymore?