Edmonds, WA
Quoted from flynnibus:I can't believe people are saying things like 'warranty' - seriously???
The new game has all kinds of unknowns still... will the board set be reliable? how easy will it be to repair? What about the quality of the new repo'd parts? Will their LED system be good or bad? Remember.. every 'new comer' has great ideas.. ideas that don't necessarily have years or decades of experience and shakedown behind them.
WPC is well known and understood - it's pros and cons are quite clear. And the originals will hold their value because it's the real deal with quality that people appreciate.
Prices will correct because there will be another avenue for those 'that just have to have one' - but the original will still be an 8k game in today's prices. As long as it's playfield isn't blown out or needs major restoration... 8k seems like a win and jump on it.
If you just want a game to play.. and don't care about anything.. buy a new one. But WPC vs unknowns?? I think the WPC wins there.
Absolutely agree with everything you've said. I'd take an $8k original in decent shape over a repro any day. On top of the stuff you listed there are also other points like repro decals (which never look quite right) instead of screened art, lack of Color DMD compatibility, etc. Every part will be a repro. How many repros of anything -- whether toys, stickers, translites, playfields, plastics etc -- look absolutely perfect? In my experience they are usually slightly wrong. Apply that across an entire game and you could get some serious deviation from the original machine, possibly even affecting the most important thing, which is how it plays.
Full disclosure: I own and operate an original MM. I would love to buy more of them to put on location for $8k but I just don't trust this yet, especially not for route use.
