And those distributors will have them for a good, long time at $11,500.

I own a Hobbit LE HUO for $7200 and a POTC CE and at $12,500 it was a sticker shock but the game is deep in so many ways. My family racked in 500 games in a few weeks time. Mine has had some serious issues but Jack personally has taken over my case and I have sent the game back to be repaired in house on their dime as my local repair tech said it needed in house repair and assessment. I will stand by their level of customer service as top notch, which it has been for this issue.

I was fully expecting to be making a deposit on a WW today, so I am disappointed that it was not the reveal. I do hope that they have a WW reveal in three weeks at MGC. From Jack's commentary, it sounds like that is going to be the window. I plan on making a deposit for a WW CE during the reveal video via Joe @ Pinballstar unless there is something just painful that makes me slow down a bit. I am fully expecting that the price point for JJ games will be at the 8500/9500/12500 for wide bodies and likely 500-1000 less for standard bodies from this point forward. Pricey, but it's not priced for basic consumption imo. It's a high end toy for high end users. If it is more limited, there will be higher demand, even if it is artificial.

For everyone getting butt hurt over the cost original ECLE WOZ, you have to recall that those prices were prepaid/preorders prior to full designs. They were sold at an effective loss to spur interest in the company and develop a loyal player base. Those prices have adjusted to the market and with 2.0 boards you are seeing refurbished ECLE at $9500. I think the glitter powder coat looks great in the video but I do think that the removal of the monkey was an error. I am sure that it was probably a mech that has a file cabinet full of repair orders over the years, but it is still part of the appeal of the game. Had the monkey been in place, I would have had a WOZ YBR on order already. As it is, I am happy to wait for a RR or a ECLE as long as the 2.0 boards are installed. I would hazard that the majority of the cost is due to the box redesign and the glitter on play field/powder coat, and mostly the radcals.

Yep. backbox should be yellow or have enough yellow to tie it together. No doubt.
-mof

I don’t recall the monkey mech ever being a problem, there just really isn’t anything to the device. There were a few isolated issues with the coupler but that is all I can remember hearing about. I think removing the device as a whole is just a cost cutting, nothing more.

Is that why distributors are in this thread saying the have them available?

I disagree with adding more yellow. I think they added the right amount, the game doesn’t need to be murdered out with yellow to look good.

The other bummer is that the captive ball won’t come from the castle door on the upper playfield. It was great to get it there and attempt to score some jackpots on the door while the other balls were popping out.

You mod guys better get to work. Monky mod $200.

Money in the bank.

Sorry! POTC LE

Any POTC for that matter

Price is one thing but I guess since I have a RR and am a fan of JJP, I’m more concerned with how they continually drop the ball with managing their image. JJP is becoming the dropping mech company and really this unmatched yellow looks amatuerish. Just makes JJP look bad, like they are out of touch. And why not manage the optics of your company better right before the next major release of a new pin.

And why wouldn’t even the blank-check billionaire that makes this possible care a bit more about how JJP is perceived. Does he really have no care at all and think this is acceptable. Damn, why not put a few thousands into marketing.

I am in the exact same boat. Bought my NIB RR about a month ago from Automated services. I am extremely thankful I pulled the trigger and did not wait for YBR.

exactly. people buy pros and bottom line they save a couple thousand and dont care about a missing mech or gimmick. but this is the WOZ ultra model for 11,500 and its missing the monkey? i will see these crashing on secondary market. if you buy this expect to lose 3000 driving it out of the showroom!!!

Not that easy. Requires code change too.

People knew this was coming and put in their deposits. But once they find out the monkey was removed for 11,500 they will tell them to F-off and get the deposit back!

I think what's driving the issue with POTC is not the license or parts - it's their margins on it. This woz really showed their cards on where they want to take this - which is more money for their pins. I can almost promise the cost for POTC is way too high for their new business model considering it's literally the most stacked pinball machine ever. They went way overboard and after crunching the numbers Jack was like Fuuuuuuuuuuu this and said no more!

I can see a new Pirates version that is stripped down and more expensive. There could be a chance though they get more assets based on their toy story deal which could lead to better code/integration but legacy owners would benefit from that too. Long story short, NIB POTC might be the last "deal" from JJP we see, if available.

This must qualify as one of the strangest reveals of a strange game ever.

I would not let that sway you from getting a WOZ RR with the version 1.2 or 1.3 buffered 7.5v boards. There has been very little issues with these, no more then any other company with their products. Stay away from the non buffered 7.5's and 5v boards.

If the prices goes any higher, POTC will be my last nib JJP pin. Still waiting on my POTC LE. Nothing worse than sending in money and waiting on delivery. I do not want to pay $11,500 for a pinball machine, I hope wonka and Toy Story dont go this high

Since pinball enthusiasts will not be the ones buying these and because of missing mechs, I agree, WOZ banana will take a huge hit on resale market probably more than 3K

I’ll be truly shocked if they get the music and voices from toy story. I sure hope they do because if they don’t, I’m not buying. Would be a hollow game theme without those assets. I don’t give a shit what anyone says but art and generic music won’t cut it for this theme.

Post of the day!

^^ this. Our local distributor claims he’s sold all 10 of his Australian allotment already at AUD$18000. Pretty sure that’s only pre-order deposits based on the rumours that have been going around for a while. Once he tells them the price I’m guessing many will bail. Of course he’s not going to tell them they’ve removed mechs, they’ll need to find that out for themselves. So unless they’re on pinball forums, or go to meets, they might not realize what’s missing. Or the distributor will tell them it was a troublesome mech and you’re better off without it.

This begs the question... if non-pinball enthusiasts are the ones that will be buying them, why go to TPF. The large expense of travel and sending the game and multiple people there to unveil a game to pinball enthusiasts at a pinball enthusiast convention makes no sense, if they aren't targeting that demo. (I am not disagreeing with you, just trying to make sense of it)

This reveal is a head scratcher on so many levels.

WOZBLA

Neither does TYBR by JJP

Exactly. Confused message from a confused. For example, they obviously have not given a single thought to the fact that removing mechs is not what pinball enthusiasts like.

It is not about being comparable when there is $3500 difference and each is a premium product. I have an ECLE but would not pay $10k for it NIB.

Why would people pay so much more for a pin with mechs removed? Very bad optics here as enthusiasts hate mechs removed and you would think that JJP would have learned that from pitates debacle.

I can only come to one conclusion. There is so much money available in the pinball market at this time (relatively speaking) that companies are cashing in any way possible.

Once the next recession hits (in the next two years) the weak shall be weeded out of pinball.

This is short term gain for JJP and long term pain IMHO

I mean shouldn’t they be crunching the numbers before revealing a pinball machine to the public and producing them in the factory? The idea that they only realized it was too expensive to make after they made them is crazy.

I thought this was going to be an entry level Woz like $6k for less toys it would have been a win win. Not more money for less game.

Not that we should have to do it with an $11,500 machine, but what about taking a YBR and replacing the backbox hinge, side rails, lockdown bar, and legs with the original emerald green? I see JJ has the legs and even the emerald green wireforms available in parts. I like the yellow wireforms, though. I think they work as extensions to the yellow brick road.

A quick and dirty 'magic wand' mockup:

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Yes, this machine is a lot $$$, and the monkey is gone, dammit, but I see the new cabinet and hardware, glittery yellow brick road playfield, wooden apron, and new backbox art as all being on the plus side of the equation. As with all things in life, your mileage may very.

Are any of the editions any different to play? Why not get an huo standard for $6500?

Why to people buy Magic Girls for 5 digit prices? They don't play at all.

Ah, collectibility, ok. This is turning into an existential question. I really meant it in terms of will I enjoy the standard gameplay the same as the others? Haven’t spent much time on it.

Yeah, didn't Kaneda pay $25K for a broken Magic Girl? And now he's ranting for 19 minutes straight on his latest podcast about a WOZYBR that costs less than half that and is actually playable?! LOL!

No, he paid 23k I believe, and that for a Magic Girl that was said to be functional.

If not for him the word that this American Pinball Magic Girl was noting but a box of lights would not have gone out as fast and unfiltered as it did. Hence, we have to tip our hats to him for being honest.

Come on - if they were making great coin, they would get more parts.

When I heard Jack interviewed about it, he didn’t say there was a shortage. He said they weren’t ordering more. These companies need to sell to make money. If POTC was a sure shot money maker, the would be making the games as fast as they could.

Wow I glad i didn't miss anything while drinking and having fun in Vegas watching March Madness!

It's a shame the hobby has gotten to this point.

I bought a WOZECLE for $6500 when it was announced 8 yrs ago or so? And now we get another "LE". WTF

How about getting Wonka, GNR and Toy Story ready and on the line versus dropping this ugly pig for $11,500?

As for the presentation. Absolutely cringeworthy. Does it surprise me? Nope, just par for the course.

Interesting that some are looking at the Yellow WOZ as a move to keep the lights on. I’m not sure what to think... but it’s disconcerting if that’s true.

I’m wondering: pick up some spare parts for my WOZ now? Dunno.

So they doubled the price from the original LE? How disappointing and greedy. I get that this is better than POTC to sell.

I bought WOZ & Hobbit LEs, and DI CE. I cancelled my POTC CE order, and probably won't buy more at these prices. I'm buying other stuff now, like a lovely set of Klipsch speakers for an Atmos home theater system, with Onkyo THX-certified amps. My point is, there are lots of draws for our coin, and overpriced pins may drop off the list, even when one has lots of coin. At least JJP, unlike Stern, are built well, but still, it's the price dude... Despite all these new machines, I'm just not buying pins currently. Sad, but not hard to figure why.

Does someone have a link to this presentation? I Need something to watch tonight that is entertaining!

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/399633166

I think it's pretty clear this is just a filler to keep the line moving until Willy Wonka. Unfortunate situation where on the one hand POTC hasn't sold well and they've run out of parts. Demand might be picking up a bit, but its not worth investing in a new run of parts when you've got 2 or 3 big new titles on the way.

On the other hand Willy Wonka isn't quite ready for reveal.

So what do they do to fill in this short window of production? A Vault edition like Stern does.

Problem is that they really only need to fill a small amount of production so they need to cap it or restrict demand. If they had come out with a "Pro Edition" that was cheaper they might end up with too many orders that they can't fill because the new title needs production capacity. And maybe they had also run out of Monkey Mechs so it wasn't doing a complete new run of them before they move over to WW.

I can see why they did it, but they probably could have done it better.

If Potc was a big hit I am sure they would make more (if there is more demand) getting a renewal should not be that difficult. I think it's a combination of PotC being very expensive and not a lot sold, I can't find one near me to play. So we can't play it easily and so not buying. I think maybe JJP is getting too carried away with hyper expensive pins $8500 is the cheapest edition.

Sure some can afford $8500 but a lot are more looking in the Stern pro-;premium price range.

I will say out of all my pins Woz is the best and most feature packed pin.

What’s the official word on parts for POTC since they aren’t making more machines? They stocked up with some surplus for repairs?

Yes. That would have opened up a whole new group of buyers. These $11,000 plus pinball machine markets are going to dry up fast. I’m already drawing a line on Stern’s $9000 LE’s.

Agreed but I think collectively jjp was crunching the numbers and said this POTC it's just too expensive as their bottom line was getting hurt worse than expected....