I'll start.
I got into the hobby when TAF was a $2500 game, and FT was a $1500 game.
Edit: Wow-- this ended up being popular!
I should edit mine slightly-- the above reflects when I started collecting. I've been "around" the hobby long enough to remember my absolute fascination at seeing a SS game for the first time. It was so much flashier than the EM's I was accustomed to playing.
I was taking EMs to the tip by the truckload because nobody wanted them after SS machines hit the shops!
Back then it was called a "business" not a hobby. Even today it is a business for many and a "hobby" for some. Let's not forget that.
Williams was still in business. Watched This Old Pinball on VHS. Bought games from a container. And Pinlicious had no spoon.
Quoted from ralphs007:JJP stood behind their pinball machines.
JJP still stands behind their pinball machines, only now they are hiding back there.
Quoted from CubeSnake:"I am NOT a crook!"
That must be a quote from one of Robert Mueller's later deeproot seminars.
When I bought my first pin, a one-year-old Creature from the Black Lagoon, Gottlieb and Capcom were still in the pinball business. They both dropped out shortly thereafter. Word on the street was that if I had purchased a Gottlieb or Capcom instead of a WMS machine they wouldn't have folded so soon.
Added over 2 years ago:Quoted from pinballizfun:Stern games were released with full code.
Okay, now people are just making things up.
When Disco Fever's backglass looked cool and hip instead of ridiculously dated. Well maybe it looked ridiculous back then too.
You could take your time over whether or not to make an offer on the $200 Judge Dredd in the local Trading Post because you already knew it would still be listed for sale in next weeks edition.
NIB Sterns were $3200. Raiding an op warehouse for $500 WPC projects. I could get a nice Shadow for $800.
Iron Man 3 had recently been released. And...
Quoted from ryan1234:Judge Dredd is a $1400 game folks….
Hmmm...
My earliest memories was buying a $700 BOP, $1100 WCS, $200 Flight 2000, $400 Joker Poker, $2800 TSPP, $2300 LOTR, $4040 TRON, $1100 MSF, $2,800 IJ, $2300 TOM, $400 Mata Hari, $2,500 Sopranos, $400 Space Invaders, etc etc etc and the pins SITTING on Craigslist for about 2-3 weeks for a $20 offer less than asking AND taking it!
The real juggernauts of pinball Gottlieb, Williams and Bally were making games and the idea of the any stopping would have been silly talk. You would would of been flamed for the idea and no funny clear coat issues. Ah the good old days.
I remember seeing classic Stern games for $500 constantly. No one wanted them because they were concern that aftermarket parts would never be available.
CV was on close-out for $1799. I bought a sample off Brady’s showroom floor.
Bought a ‘‘em from a malt shop in Mount Pleasant Mi. for $100. President Reagan had not been shot yet.
Bought my first game from Jersey Jack from an ad in a magazine. Shipping via common freight was $65.
At starting point RGP (rec.games.pinball) was the internets discussion forum. I wanted deeper background info on the hobby. Took better part full day to skim all posts to get to the opening post that started RGP. On dialup internet14.4k modem. Rural internet then was like a slow tooth pull.
Yep dial up modem handshake did sound like donkey braying !
Enjoy the day Shane
Rapidfire was the big hit at the AMOA show in Chicago.....3 months later World Wide Dist had a warehouse full of machines they couldn't sell because they were not earning.
Also the days when if you installed the head on the cabinet and didn't pull out the power cord you were taking the head back off and putting the cord in the slot in the cabinet.
The good old days!
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-long-have-you-been-in-the-hobby-without-telling-us-directly?hl=grantopia and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.
Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.
Saint Johns, FL
Gaborone
Nowra
Almere
Toronto, ON