Quoted from Gatecrasher:Fathom would probably make the top five on my list of early SS to be reproduced but definitely not the "top choice". There is only one machine from the era that is the hands-down obvious candidate for that.
I would rather have an EBD any day over a Fathom in similar condition unless of course, I already had one or two EBD and wanted to add a Fathom to the collection. I have both and even today after 35 years the EBD still gets a lot more plays than Fathom does.
When you decide to undertake a project of this magnitude, you want to select the best title to make it a success. If you manage to pull the first one off, then you can follow-up with the lesser and niche' titles that target a more narrow audience.
If you recall, back in the 1990s Amtex selected what I consider to be the absolute best SS pin (Bally Eight Ball Deluxe) and the best EM pin (Gottlieb Royal Flush) to be their first two PC simulations. The company is long gone bankrupt now but at least they picked the two best machines. If they couldn't make it with those two, they weren't going to make it.
I don't know the entire story behind Amtex but the simulations were excellent and still are even by today's standards.
You make some great points and may be right. Also, I agree that EBD is the better game of the two and the more important to pinball history. I just think that if collectors were faced with a decision to spend $4K on a remake that they'll choose the game that is rarer, prettier, and worth more money in today's market. If I had to compare Fathom and EBD to DMD games I'd equate EBD to Addams Family and Fathom to MM.-They don't call it Mermaidevil Madness for nothing Addams was a way more popular game in terms of units sold than MM, I also think TAF is more innovative and is simply a better game all around then MM. and it also holds a special meaning and a place in pinball history more than MM does. There was also 5X as many TAF's produced as MM just as there were 3X as many EBD and EBDLEs sold than Fathom. But yet MM is the game being remade. Of course units produced and licensing issues have something to do with it. Either way, I doubt we'll see either EBD or Fathom produced but it's fun thinking about it!
Btw, I didn't know about the Amtex simulations but they look great for 1993! Also, what's the story with Sharkey's Shootout? I have never played one and don't know the ruleset at all, but is it Stern's attempt at modernizing EBD?