It would be huge deal because yes many folks will buy those top titlles. After that it will taper off but heck that's few years of eating up sales .

Why? If a new game comes out that is actually good, people will buy it. If a company releases a lame game, it won't. If a new Stern, to me, is better than a old game, I'd take the stern. I don't care who makes it, I care about if I like it and gameplay. Hell I got a checkpoint because the theme, and I miss my waterworld. A lot of the older games people swoon over, are fun for a week or a month, then you get tired of the lack of rules etc.

Think you may be getting the cart before the horse here....it was in the works for a year to remake MM...and it is one of the few titles that can sell a remake for $8K

Saying 4 titles a year sounds too optimistic to me...the remake asking price isn't there to keep this going for a long period of time

Well, possibly, but companies/games that are moving the ball forward like Jersey Jack I'm not sure it's going to effect much.
If you're making a GREAT game, it's going to sell.

MM, AFM, MB are GREAT games regardless that they are 17 years old. That just goes to show you Stern did NOTHING to advance pinball in the 2000's.

I'm NOT bashing Stern here, because I own a tron, metallica and LOVE, LOVE star trek - It just was the same ole thing and even less - look at IJ4 and avatar. They look like a 1985 game with 1 ramp.

Stern has fixed the problem and are at least making feature rich games again on par with 90's games from Williams. But they need to step it up to keep up with JJP and JJP needs to fix their production output.

Myself, I've owned most all the 90's B/W and I'm kind of done with that segment of games. I own 4 still but personally I'm ready to move on to new stuff. If someone has never owned a MM and wants to pay $8K for a remake - knock yourself out. Congrats to them for finally getting an affordable one. I hope they enjoy it as much as I did when I owned mine for 4 years.

Dan

doesn't mean because their making MMR more will follow. either way i don't give a ...

Competition is healthy for this industry. Thoughts, Stern will see a hit but if they do it right with titles and design and QC they will do fine. One thing for sure that they still own that I think will take years for JJP and or any other pinball company to do is release 2-3 games per year. This is where they still have us holding tight onto our money till the next Big Release. I look forward to the future of pinball and what the competition brings.

I agree that there's a limited number of titles that could justify $8k. And, as long as vendors release titles that have something new - technology, gameplay etc - then there will be buyers for those.

If nothing else let's hope Stern does some nicer clear coats and cool themes to keep up

They are already working on reproduction #2, so get ready for more classic games!

Stern has done a bunch of it's own remakes.

Look at how many times they reran TRON. Even when they cheapened it up with decal cabinets and non 3D translights, people will keep buying a great game.

While I see the potential drain if it was a big remake fest, I think it can be said that the companies feel this when the "other guys" release a new machine that has a ton of hype. IMO, there is prob enough buyers to sustain the influx of Williams remakes, at a slower pace. I don't think there are really that many machines that can give the "OMG BUY NOW HAIR ON FIRE" that MM can, and (I don't know for sure) but I think they would hurt themselves if they had such an aggressive production schedule (4 per year). Sure, MB, AFM, CC and a couple other are candidates, but at 8k+, I would imagine the list of pins would be limited beyond that, and in some cases smaller runs, but who knows. I think there is enough interest to give us a few years of remakes, but at a slower pace.

At the end of the day, it is a great time to be in the hobby, just need to hold on a little more, as the ride is getting crazy.

After seeing what happened with MM, they'd be dopey not to...
(I hope AFM is next!)

You can get a AFM for 8K, I'm hoping for BBB !

Ok...yes, BBB would be first for me as well. I didn't even think that was on the list!

Does PPS have Capcom rights too?

with prices reaching the level they are for most titles, not just "A" titles, there is no where to go but up in terms of manufacturing. I see absolutely no reason NOT to remake these classic titles if there is sufficient demand. AStern has a lock on the market and they control pricing. With more manufacturers entering the game. choices go up and prices go down. How on earth can this be bad?

Now, if you are a pinball speculator. I can see how you would be upset. Bubbles, by their very nature, will eventually burst.

I know I'm probably setting myself up to be let down, but I'd really hope that other remakes weren't going to command $8k. I just don't see it being the gold rush with any other pin. Well, maybe BBB or Kingpin, but that's a different kettle of fish.

isn't Stern already in trouble???

Market will reach saturation in the next few years at these prices, at which point prices will drop but then pins will be more affordable. More affordable means more for on location, and more for on location means more exposure. More exposure means more buyers. More buyers mean prices go up, and prices going up means more manufacturers want a piece of the action. And the wheel turns...

BBB would sell like hot cakes. It is an awesome game, better than its ranking. I think people down voted it because they felt the price was too high. I'd certainly pay 8k for a NIB BBB. If Planatary can get the rights that game would be a gold mine. Kingpin...not so much (in my personal view).

And isn't it high time for a LOTR remake? No design time needed, all the code is written. Spark up the line and let us have a "Best of Stern" remake party. One version, 5.5k, NIB! Blast them through the line. THOSE would sell out.

They may consider it now

This.

Completely agreed. I would be at the front of the line for a LOTR re-run. Doesn't need to be a special edition or anything (I would even prefer it not be!)

They already did a LOTRLE with added hairdick and it took a while to sell them all. When you can get a HUO one for 5K I dont see that ever being redone.

Maybe if they re-run LOTR they can print a playfield that doesn't look like hammered s#!t.

Stern has been doing this for years to meet demand.
Look at TSPP, LOTR, and more. Multiple runs in multiple years.

I'd be in for a rerun of CC or MB. PPS probably needed to charge extra for their first rerun to get their rerun gears turning and build up a financial safety net, but that doesn't mean that they'll have to charge that much for follow-on games. Maybe still $8K for CC, but they could probably cut a little on AFM, maybe $1-2K lower and then AFM is within striking distance of being an affordable pin to most pinheads. The next 6-12 months will probably be the most interesting in the hobby in decades.

I would think its fair to say some people had $8000 to spend opted to purchase a MMR instead of a new stern. Seems safe to say it could take some sales away from Stern, etc. however Stern is still the market leader, and I don't see that changing much

I think the bar for any sought after game that is in "new" type condition is going to be set at that 7-8k range. This seems to be the sweet spot where manufacturers can make enough money to take the risks associated with manufacturing them and there is enough money out there for them to be bought.

That is true at least short term. I'm glad pinball is alive and well but it too will cycle back. Demand overall will decrease, prices and profits will dip. Hopefully it never gets as bad as it was when there was only stern.

Guy has gotta wonder what will happen though as countries like China and India's standard of living and discretionary income levels go up. You'd think with another couple billion consumers out there that there's gotta end up being a million or so new pinball lovers.

People will also always want the "Latest and greatest." I think MMR has been snatched up due to low production numbers and the fact that a lot of people have never owned one. There are a few other low production number/high cost pins they could do this for but after that it would be a tough time. No one is going to scramble for a reissue of High Speed, its an amazing game but with new CPR playfields and backglasses it would not be a win for them. Also the machines that can be had for around 1-2K$ right now would not be a smart move either. Taxi is a very well regarded game but you can find one at baseline for about 1500$ They would either have to remake it and keep it at that price point or go lower which I am guessing would be tough.

Agreed. Prices on LOTR aren't crazy enough to demand a re-do, and with Stern's current pricing model they would charge a lot more than $5500 for them.

The only Stern machines that should be re-done are Tron Premium (with LE lighting) and Ironman LE. There are just too many of the old Whitestar games like LOTR and TSPP produced to demand a remake.

Why ask for re-runs of games that can be bought HUO for less than NIB prices today? Re-runs are nice, but I like the fact that Stern purposefully pushes ahead with new games rather than throwing in the towel and simply re-manufacturing old games.

No sense to ask. They ARE being made...and Sold Out.

This is the only reason i do not have one..... the PF looks like crapola

IMHO, they can produce a new revision of an older pin AT A PROFIT for quite a bit less than $8K. I'm convinced they can do it for less than $5K. With all the demand for MM, they simply figured "why leave money on the table?" I also think demand for remakes won't be fully gauged until the run for "standard" MMR's has been completed. The demand could be anywhere from 100 to 10,000 additional pins.

As they reproduce other (ahem....less desirable) pins, it wouldn't be far fetched for prices to decline.

The floodgates for reproducing old pins is wide open. If there is profit to be made, its going to happen. Those transfixed on the $8k price aren't seeing the big picture.
There most likely are bean counters going over each & every pin, and weighing the economic viability of production. Is there enough demand for a pin such as Funhouse at $5000 to make it profitable?

I'm convinced pinheads will continue to buy if they perceive that they're getting a good "bang for the buck".

Imagine how many Woz , hobbit preorders and Star Trek sales were cancelled or not ordered over the mm announcement. It had a big effect on the industry and positive for pp and not much else.

lol
i agree, but the game is soooooo good.....

I'm going to say that it is a totally different world from when LOTRLE was released. A full featured game like that in today's market? But I'm not an idiot, I know Stern won't actually do it, because although it would sell fast, it would gut the next machines in line. Everyone would hold on to their money waiting for the next great reissue.

Gene has the rights to BBB.

I'm sure he would license them to PPS for less money than Williams licensed MM.

Out of all the pins in the world, BBB has to be the ultimate "Grail". The last NIB one I saw was $25K

I'd be in for a BBB. Sweet game, absolutely loved it the 2 times I've been able to find one.

i would be interested if it is a great game, it sure looks like fun.. i don't care about how few were made and how much they cost now. gameplay is all i care about.

Also, because Gene already made 190 BBB, he has all the art, molds, and other manufacturing needs already made.

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Assuming he held onto everything.

Good point, even if a rare pin has crappy gameplay people would still want it.

At anything more than $6k a pop, I would guess/hope people would jump off the hype train of a previous title's success. It's one thing to pay $6k for a game that was built with a full team to 'try' and build upon what has been done in 'the now'; it's a whole different animal when people are paying $8k for a game that literally costs the producer $3k max per unit (having no need for a design team/coders/etc (because that was already completed 10+ years ago) saves the reproduction company a LOT of overhead cost, and if those inherent savings are not passed onto the new supporting consumer base (even though the reproduction company makes a hearty profit per unit sold at $6k) it will likely (and deservedly) result in a lot of resentment from the people supporting that company making the reproduction for their greed in how far they try to stretch their profit margins).

The same thing can be said and applied to Stern/JJP for new titles and what they expect for 'fair and/or reasonable' MSRP price. It's one ting to deservedly raise prices based on what is put into a product, it's another to simply expect it...

MM is the only remake I'm really into. (and I'm not really into it @ 8K - waiting for HUO) Most of my favorite pins are System 11 and earlier and I can always get them and fix them up way cheaper than a new remake would cost. Besides, restoration is a large part of the fun of this hobby for me. MM is one I just gotta have tho and PPS knew this was the case for a lot of people. Unless I win lotto, I don't see many more NIB purchases for me. WOZLE was my first and MMR is one I'd do if a bit cheaper. AFM, BBB, CC, KingPin, MB Etc, I'll wait and see...

If you've seen Gene's warehouses, you know he does not throw anything away.