I don't feel they have "taken over" but I do have some and I have owned quite a lot of them. They are just so easy to work on and to bulletproof. I think the -17/-35 represents the first solid state pinball system that still holds up today. It's design is simple and elegant.

Currently:
Elektra
Harlem
Mr/Ms Pac-man
EBD
Fathom
Lost World (no boards)

No longer:
Eight Ball (5 of them)
Silverball Mania
Strikes and Spares
Xenon
Centaur

They will always be classic playing games to me.

$4k - $6k is a lot different than $8k - $10k when manufactures are considering all costs of building and selling a pinball machine.

If you think about it, the play field, backless, and boards are ALL reproduced already.

So you could build one from scratch or, contract the parts listed below as a manufacturer. You would just need to come up with the top and bottom metal play field parts+wiring harnesses. You could do this for just about any classic Bally machine, for which PF's+Plastic sets have already been made:
These prices are not exact and do not include tax...
PF $800
BG $200
Plastic set (if re-issued) $150
cabinet stencils $150
manufactured or "Donor" cabinet+tranformer $200
rectifier PCB $85
Alltek MPU $200
new Display set $249
S+T sound $150
paint: $100

$2284 so far... -not counting the stuff that's missing or tax(if you're building it yourself)- most of the missing parts could be made on the cheap in China...

You -might- be under 3K in manufacturing/assembly costs per machine (if you paid paid Stern to assemble the games or got your employees to work for free!)...

Not sure on the current license holder (Planetary?) and the other legalities regarding the industrial electrical approval costs and such. What about insurance to protect you against lawsuits and such?

Also, they are going to sell them for AS MUCH AS PEOPLE WILL PAY. Same as every single thing ever made in the history of the world.

The market may be there for a FEW sales but I just don't see it. Once 5 or 6 Bally's sell for over $8K... it starts to become realistic. But how many "classic" Bally machines would actually sell at that price? 40-60 for each title? Not likely... 500-1000? VERY doubtful...

People have been doing that trick for years. Still, it's a good thread.

nah, you just need to burn the divide by 10 rom.

I always hated how Embryon's bonus caries over from ball to ball. That's just silly.

I plan on adding some under-acorn post lights under the two for the center bank plastic AND under the two top sling posts. The 12V versions should add quite a bit of light there.

Also, you are missing the two plastics on either side of the flippers and it seems darker there than it should be.