I've sold a few (Hyperpin's). Really need to ask yourself if 1 pin (plus cash difference) is worth it.
Being hyped on the AC/DC train, I'd look at trading mine for that one.
A year after trading, I'd wish I had never done it

I truthfully can say that I know that even if I traded for an AC/DC premium - I'd miss my Hyperpin.
I play my Hyperpin more than my Tron - which was my first NIB - also still my "newer stern" holy grail.

Yes, you are crazy - you have "pinball fever". Welcome to the club

If you never update your virtuapin, I could see getting bored with it. BUT I update my vpin every week with new tables, updated tables, etc. It keeps things fresh in the gameroom and lets me try other games that I will never see or play for real. Mine stays. Its tempting to free up a slot in the gameroom, but not that tempting.

I always thought that having a VirtuaPin would be awesome. And then I played one at DisneyQuest in Florida and hated it. I honestly don't know what brand it was though, but it had worse graphics and flipper response than me trying to play Pinball Arcade on my XBox or PS. It sounds like you have a very high quality one with all the bells and whistles. If I had that type, and could update it as luvthatapex2 suggested, I have to think I'd hold onto it. I haven't played the majority of games out there since I live in a pinball desert, and being able to at least get an idea of how most of those tables played to me would outweigh having a place for another real one.

As boogie said u will regret it. For one when you get bored with the real pins the Variety o. Vp is a great thing. And also the advances that are still coming are incredible. I think its a mistake.
Good luck

I would prefer basically any one pin over virtual pinball...sell it...

Sold mine, replaced with a real pin, and bought pinball arcade for PS3. Much happier this way.

It was a really fun project to build, and at first it was really impressive. It got old pretty quick though, and the flipper lag was actually causing me issues on real machines.

First, not all virtual pins are created equally.... mostly because many are homebrews... I've played other people's virtual machines and some are great, some are not so great.

"VirtuaPin" is one specific brand that (IMO) is about the best turn-key system you can buy. But even then, many need tweaking to get the best physics, gameplay, etc.

If I had unlimited funds and unlimited space, I MIGHT consider dumping my VirtuaPin- but maybe not even then.

Mine is fun-as-hell right now, and the technology and tables are constantly improving.

Would I like to have a REAL AFM, MB, MM, BBB, CC, and 20 more titles etc, etc, at the drop of a hat? Well, yes. But I cant.

The NEXT best thing is the ability to load up those games and enjoy them on my virtual machine.

I think about selling mine often but this is why I haven't.

That's another big reason i got one.

If I lived near some of these huge arcades, Id happily plunk quarters (dollars?!) into them. But I don't. The largest "arcade" near me has 3 games: No fear (usually broken), NBAFB (needs service) and Xfiles. lol.... quite a selection!

The other issue I have is I'm easily bored. For example, I bought a SS a long time ago because I loved the theme and the humurous callouts..... Well, as a pinball machine- it got old fast. However, this is a great game on my virtual machine- Why? Because I can enjoy 90% of what drew me to the game in the first place- great callouts, great theme.

I had a nice one I built. Pretty high end build, all the bells and whistles, was tuned well, worked great. I sold it and haven't regretted it once, it was taking up space I could put a real pin in. I don't regret building it either, was a ton of fun, and it was my gateway into the hobby, but the virtual stuff just didn't hold up for me once I got hooked on the real thing.

Only you can make that call though.

I helped do the interactive spider translite for the VP version. Now that I have a real SS to reference I could probably tweak some things in the graphics, but oh well.

This is a great time it be in the virtual game. VP itself just got a great update to 9.2 with loads of cool new features.
The Unity project just got its first beta release last month and is showing much promise with its three test tables.
Then add to the fact that Pinball Arcade is working hard on a full cabinet release as is Pro Pinball Timeshock and I can't see why anyone would want out now.

really? that's pretty damn sweet.

I recall specifically being shocked when I saw the spider working on the backglass display for that table! Thanks you for your contribution!

BTW, I think that's one area many people are likely not aware of. There is a hugely dedicated and generous group of people that contribute to the virtual pinball effort.. for free! There's just as many true "pinheads" over on the virtual side as here- though not many cross-over to places like this as many ONLY have virtual pinball.

Thanks again for making SS better!

This, exactly. I'm a tester for Pro Pinball Timeshock and the first build is supposed to be available soon. Can't wait!

I keep going over this question too. I LOVE having all these sweet tables to play. I will never be able to afford a MM, CV, AFM and such. It's great to be able to play them every day if I want. On the other hand, I don't have much room, and selling it could free up a spot and some extra cash to buy something else. My cabinet is custom built and plays very well, hardly any stutter or flipper lag, if any. I guess I could just build another one if I really missed it that much. I have had a few family members come play pinball, and all of them ask me about building them one. No one seems as interested in having a single real machine instead.

I am debating the same thing. Pinball arcade is the reason I got back into real pinball. My first purchase was a high end force feedback cab. I liked playing it until I started buying real tables and have not turned it on since I got my STLE. I want to buy ACDC Luci but don't have the space and am considering selling the virtual cab to make room and have some funds. I have no desire atm to play it but am not sure down the road I won't regret it. It is hard to go from real back to virtual because it is just not the same feel and don't think I will ever get used to it again as long as I have real tables.

I've thought about tearing mine down to make more room another real pin too, lately. Can't imagine anyone would buy my home-built plain thing.

I had high hopes for Pinball Arcade when it was first out and they said a PC version was coming, but so far the gameplay of it and the still lacking proper cabinet support is a let down. Mostly I'm just holding out for Timeshock at this point.

I just did the art, all the programming was done by Herweh in Germany. Here's the spider I made for it:

Scared-Stiff-Spider.png

Get pinball fx2 on there and scrap the hyperpin stuff and I get it breathes new life into that thing. You don't have to remove the hyperpin stuff but you might never see a reason to load it again.

fx2 looks nice, but then you are tied to their several titles....

I didnt see any classic tables in their lineup (just originals) , or do they offer some?

No, but that's the beauty of it. They don't waste their effort trying to make a real pinball machine in a virtual environment. They do unique stuff that show cases what can be done in a virtual pinball world. And they have a real physics engine to boot. There's a round ball (visual pinball is really a square object with a round graphic), with spin, friction, etc. The rulesets are all extremely deep. And it doesn't have to replace any of the existing stuff you might have. You can have the whole thing installed side-by-side with hyperpin. I added this stuff and haven't loaded hyperpin since. If you're going to have a virtual pinball machine, why not show off all the cool things about what a virtual pinball can be rather than have "less-than" simulations of real machines you can buy?

I know you know this, but many people new to virtual pinball don't realize that Hyperpin is a front end that loads machines from different emulators, or programs from different game makers. Virtual Pin and Future Pin are the emulators that people mistake for Hyperpin. Hyperpin is used to tie all pinball programs together in a menu. With the many options available, and many other pinball programs popping up, like Pro Pinball Timeshock, Pinball FX2 and Farsight's Pinball HD, having a front end tie them together is a nice option. You can launch your favorite tables from an easy, intuitive menu.

I've actually become partial to Pinball-X for the front-end.

The active backglass tables were tending to create problems with HP when I was exiting back to the main menu...

I hope I get the chance to play a really good pin simulator before long. The ones I have tried so far were all disappointing.

Yea I know. But pinball fx2 has its own front end for loading its tables and my point was the once installed, you may not want to see or care about the older VP type tables.

Hyperpin seems to take a long time to load and I could never get pinballx working reliably so I ended up writing my own thing. But the only thing I use consistently is pinball fx. That may change when time shock comes out

I am always updating my virtual table so it seems always new. Installed a Shaker Motor, Led Lighting, Solenoids for bumper and flipper action and noise. I love my virtual machine. I also own 11 real pinball machines, but its great to try out machines that I don't own. There is a difference in game play, but I still get to play machines that I don't own virtually. Tables coming out now, (Whirlwind, Cirqus Voltaire, Attack From Mars, Monster Bash (soon) look awesome and play well under VP 9.2) The front end I run is Pinball X. My machine has played flawless with no crashes after installing Pinball X. My recommendation is to keep it. Mine sits next to my Mame machine I built years ago. I can't wait to see the progress and updates with future tables.

All those bells and whistles don't fix the massively broken physics engines in VP or FP. Adding solenoids to kick or flashers (that flash in the wrong places), or real dmds don't do anything to fix the fact that the ball is a square object that goes to the wrong location when you flip it off the flippers. Go play a real pinball game and try to shoot up the middle on a moving ball. Them try on VP or worse, FP. You should know this well since you're pondering selling your cabinet and started this thread.

I would have sold my cabinet also except for the fact that pinball fx2 is actually a payable game with real flipper physics. The ball behaves (off the flippers) like a real ball and goes where you would expect. Tables with 3-4 ramps, 3-5 flippers, lots of toys, and deep rules. Its a players version of a virtualized cabinet. Would be great if the Dmd could move to monitor 2. But the physics engine is good as are the unique tables.

Here's the thing:

I think you need to look at these machines as a DIFFERENT toy....

It's not a video game
It's not a pinball machine
It's something different.

It can do amazing and wonderful things a pinball machine cannot. It will also never replace the tactile experience and physics of a steel ball bouncing around a wood box.

I bought gold for my WII. Doesn't mean I need to throw my golf clubs in the garbage (though for completely different reasons- Ive considered this!)

I have a virtual pinball machine, and I also own over 40 real pins at the moment, so I can share my thoughts without prejudice.
Until the middle of last year I would've never built a Vpin. I had the software on my laptop, it was fun but not great. Not great enough to go through that build anyway. But with the newer software, and newer hardware, I was impressed enough to take the leap. And I'm glad I did. So many of these tables are amazing, and some of the designers are really artists. Running on an I-7 with 1080p monitors, DMD, analog controls, BAM, forced feedback, etc, I can say my Vpin is pretty damn close to the real deal. It's not perfect yet, but I can see where it will be in the very near future.
I hasn't stopped my addiction for real pins, I've been in the pinball world for 35 years, but it does remove the urgency. It's like methadone for a heroin addict, it's not the same but it still gets you high. (so I hear, I've never even seen heroin) It's also a wonderful way to test games to see if you actually want them, or if you just need a fix.
One of my biggest problems with modern games is the music. Some real pins get on my last nerve. Within a few hours I'm ready to sell the game, and I do it often. I just can't stand MIDI type music, particularly DE games. There are Ultra-versions of many tables where the programmer changed the music to actual tracks from the movies or whatever. I really enjoy some of those tables. Terminator 2 is one of them. I hate the music and call outs in the actual machine, but on the Vpin the soundtrack is fantastic. Rich and clean running through my 380watt THX sound system.
There is much hatred towards Vpins in the pin-world these days, and that's cool by me. But with the price jump of 2012-2013, I honestly backed away from many games anyway. 8K for a pinball machine won't happen for me. I don't care if I had 100 million in the bank, that's just ridiculous. Particularly for games that were pulling 2500 the entire decade before.
I can see where these pins become a huge part of the market in the next 5 years. Especially for people that don't work on games, or have limited space, or don't want to spend 10k on a game or two. No maintenance and 1000's of tables for 1/4 (or less if you build it) the price of a new Stern. I can build a Vpin and a MAME machine for customers and they can basically have an enormous arcade in a very small footprint. And I don't get calls every hour about them being broken. I'm building two for a local pinball museum now, the owner has to have 2000 pins, and even he wants one. Haters need to realize it's not a replacement for real pins, but it is an alternative and a great addition to any collection, large or small.

What ? No poll?
I vote to keep it.

Sorcerers lair, ms splotion man are two of my favorites with great rules and a lot of flow. I like fear itself and infinity blade a lot also. The first Star Wars pack wasn't bad once you got into it. Clone wars has a lot to do. Does empire strikes back, but that can feel line a grind.

I generally went to physical adjustments and stepped up the pitch about 8. It doesn't allow me on the leaderboards but speeds up the game a bunch so I didn't care. The rulesets in most those games are so advanced and deep that it seems unlikely you'd get bored fast. The games are pretty fun and a new one comes out every few months. And you can't replace this with a real pin since its not emulating real machines.