Bear in mind these prices were 5,6 years ago with inflation would be a few hundred more.

I paid (all prices including shipping)

2012,2013
$6500 XMLE
$4700 Tron pro
$4700 IM VE
$7700 STLE

2018
AFM LE $8300
TNA $6300

LOTRv doesn't exist.

And people need to stop obsessing about what an awesome "pro" LOTR was and how loaded it was. That was like 15 years ago and a few years later Stern would be teetering on the brink of insolvency. You aren't going to see "entry level" games like that again for that kind of price, from any manufacturer.

If you think a rhetorical LOTRve would be a modern "pro" price you are absolutely out of your mind.

I think a LotR vault would be cool, but one thing I would be afraid of is the sound and music. Obviously they would want to upgrade all the audio, but they would have to recreate Chris Ganner's compositions from the original game for it to work well. I have a feeling that if Stern did make a LotR vault, they would just rip music straight out of the movie soundtrack, or try to do what Jersey Jack did with The Hobbit and create some sort of grand, orchestral soundtrack. While those types of soundtracks are great, they just don't work for pinball games imho.

Why is that obvious?

Stern has released several vaults and they've "upgraded the audio" exactly zero times.

If anyone wants a low play stock HUO LOTR LE in VA send me a PM. I knew the first owner, he put ~50 plays on it. I've put 200-300 max on it. Playfield looks new. Flips like new. Has plastic protectors and most of the AOME figures with the Pinbits holders. Certificate and goodies included of course. No wear whatsoever. Will not ship it.

Been considering selling, just throwing it out there in case anyone wants a really nice one now.

Sound should be upgraded because it’s 2019 and the old game sounds like it’s a transistor radio from the 60s

Well, Spider-Man vault had all new audio for the voices, but I think the main reason I think it's likely is just because of how old LotR is now. When looking at the other vaults Stern has made, the technology Stern was using hadn't changed much since the original game, but Stern has upgraded CPUs for their games a couple times since LotR. I don't think most people would be happy if a LotR vault came out and it still used sequenced music (I mean, I'd be happy, but that's because I have a soft spot for that kind of sound.) and the low quality voice clips from the original. It would be a pretty different case from their other vaults.

When Gandalf yells "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!" or Gimli yells "SUUUPER JACKPOT!!!!" its clear enough for the whole house to hear and understand!

No reason to get so worked up over it. It doesn’t exist.

I actually think Stern should ask around $8,000 for it and maybe remove a couple features. That balrog was always a pain in the ass to keep working right.

But hey, it hasn't been announced or built, and isn't for sale, so it's really not a big deal either way.

I’d love an LOTRVE at $5.5k. But you can’t even get a Pro for that anymore, so it’s not remotely realistic.

'know it would sell but don't want one' - huh??
'those who think it should be UPDATED and priced at 5.5k'? - You mean the people living in fantasy?

You're not even making sense... just dreaming.

considering the inflated prices of pinball these days I suspect it would be priced in the $7500 range...it would still sell well at that price (IMHO)

Enjoy that mbrle with the wonky feeling flippers. Loved my AFMr LE, single reason its gone is because the CGC remakes feel different. The entire package is amazing, but I felt like I was trying to adapt to the flippers, and not just play the game as it should be. They just don’t feel right/good no matter how many mental gymnastics you do to convince yourself otherwise.

Was SMv at a pro price? No it was at a Preium price point

Stern couldn't use the old movies for the original SM with the new spider-man movies out. All the work Stern did on the SMv and it didn't sell well.

Bought my LOTRLE NIB just coming up 9years. Most likley lest played game in my collection, we never play comp games on it. Great 1 player game if you have the time

20181219_172044 (resized).jpg

Put a ColorDMD in that thang! So much better!

Yep this game screams for a colorDMD and shaker....

The LE is also screaming for a condom.

Huh?

Beard dick. Once seen cannot be unseen.

Remember, you asked. Now you shall bear the curse as well.

lotr_beard_dick (resized).jpg

I still don’t see it???

Damn your eyes, Maken! Don’t ruin everyone!!!

You’re going to pin-hell man...

57F49FB3-1939-40AE-AD3F-233EF341D6D4 (resized).png

Gif didn’t work .

If Stern does do a LOTRv, it will almost certainly be the same platform as the LE: Whitestar CPU/SAM driver. People saying Whitestar is a problem haven't been paying attention: Stern ran a bunch for replacements less than a year ago. I'm guessing it was a large quantity as it filled pent up demand and more are still available today.

I also believe they learned their lesson on SMv: there's not much point to investing in redevelopment / enhancement. Maybe something simpler like just coloring existing graphics.

People talking about using contemporary boardset and new graphics and sound, are talking about a new game: that wouldn't be a vault. I'd be really surprised if they did that and called it a vault.

The game IP is the asset, not the platform it runs on. As long as it has the same playfield and playfield features, it's still a vault. To most players in the wild, it's the same game, just with color graphics and higher res cabinet and playfield graphics. They don't know/care about what's under the hood.

You forgot about the vaginal eyeball.

I don't disagree with that sentiment: I just don't think any of that is relevant because I think it's too farfetched. It doesn't really matter what people think is a vault, it's what makes sense for Stern to do as a vault.

Nah. That’s sexy.

Unless you’re not into that. Hey man, it’s the new millennium.

.

I paid $4895 shipped

When discussing games Stern has done in the past...

"At any given point in time, if there's demand from the marketplace, we will produce it." - G. Gomez 2015

"A game is only ever over if the customer base doesn't want it." - G. Gomez 2015

Spike 2 LotR is going to be Stern's most successful vault ever - by a mile. Current owners will want it for the upgrade to color and newer Stern niceties, and customers new to the hobby will be all over it.

Please.

LOTR was my first NIB game back in 2004. It's built like a freakin tank. It's been on location, it's been to shows and it's never had any issues other than the GIMLI switch needing replacement within the first month. Other than the faulty GIMLI switch (which many folks had), my game has played flawlessly for 15 years. When it was on location for 1-month at Neon Retro in Pasadena, it was played 1000 times per week (it's a free-play, pay-per-hour arcade).

With a ColorDMD, LED OCD, and upgraded speakers it rocks. I doubt Stern would pursue a Spike version, but even if they did, it wouldn't be as awesome as the SAM version. The Spike games are more cheaply made...period. Just picked up a TRON LE and did a detailed shop job on it and was reminded how well SAM games are constructed when compared to the new Spike games.

snaroff

LOTR is Whitestar, not SAM.

Funny how Whitestar/Sam era games are now lauded for their quality. At the time, the B/W collectors hated every little detail about Whitestar/Sam games...called them cheap and poorly built - but they are better in most ways than the new Spike games.

Why do you write about something fictional as though it exists?

I just bought an LotR from 2004. It needed some TLC, but it's in damn good shape. Holds up very well! After some minor tweaks, plays like new.

It's a strange delusion that a bunch of people in this thread seem to have.

Light and sound you can do yourself, they'd have to dramatically improve the art package IMO to make it worth it.

Sound? They have way compressed sound no amount of aftermarket upgrades will improve that.

Ah, well you can see how much of an audiophile I am... I don't even notice.

Can read this https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/lotr-speaker-upgrade-worth-it#post-639183-parent

They said the sound is more compression than typical Stern machines that’s one area where the LE got an upgrade more memory.

Just sounds thin (no depth) if you get what I mean.

You guys are all insane with your upgraded audio.

Pinsound is ruining classic games one "improved" sound package at a time.

You want a new game, buy a new game!

I'm busy upgrading to solid gold chimes on my EMs!

The audio may have been compressed for the whitestar system. They may have better quality files on hand for when they port it to SAM

LOTR’s sound quality isn’t up to the standards of modern games, but it’s a phenomenally designed audio package. In the same way I can still enjoy NES & Sega Genesis games, “retro video game audio” can be amazing in the hands of a great artist. Chris Granner pushes the limits of Whitestar for incredible audio on LOTR & TSPP compared to other Whitestar games. The music is rich, the sound Fx are great, the bass is deep. Sure it sounds “older” than your new games, but that’s not a bad thing. Old sound chips in early 90’s games still sound awesome too. I can listen to BK2K, Addams, Dr. Who, Whitewater all day long.

Then enjoy your mono sound orange dots classics. I’ll be rockin’ my Colored stereo crystal clear upgraded movie sounds on my WPCs.

While I share your enjoyment of retro 8-bit synth audio, I REALLY dislike the compressed sound of the samples on various pins. In the early 90's memory was very expensive so 'I understand', but the audio hardware on Whitestar must have simply been old and dated by 2003.

So IMHO, I'd add Pinsound to LOTR before a colorDMD. Fantastic community mixes exist for LOTR, so it's a real game changer.

One of the many reasons B/W collectors hated Stern was the sound, as it was indeed dated. DCS & WPC’95 blew it away. Still, that being said, LOTR’s sound absolutely pulls me in and is a joy to listen to. Granner did an amazing job. I’ve got a ColorDMD in mine, but would never do Pinsound.