(Topic ID: 88367)

When will we see reproductions of early solid state games?

By solarvalue

9 years ago


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  • 83 posts
  • 43 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 9 years ago by lost8ball
  • Topic is favorited by 3 Pinsiders

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    #40 9 years ago
    Quoted from pezpunk:

    just thinking out loud ... I suppose they'd probably be pretty simple to emulate, but I'm not sure the BOM and assembly cost would be significantly less than a MMR, which would probably mean it wouldn't be a profitable endeavor. they'd still have to fab a ton of game-specific parts.
    just because something is lower tech doesn't mean it's necessarily cheaper, especially if it's obsolete. it might even be cheaper to use four LCD screens rather than genuine alphanumeric digital displays.
    edit: in fact, I wonder if it'd be cheaper to program a big LCD screen to display the backbox art and scores, rather than fabricating four alphanumeric digital displays, a backglass, a translate, backbox wiring, etc. per game!

    I agree. I think the BOM on many of the older SS machines would be more than newer DMD games. Here's the underside of a Flash Gordon vs. AFM just for reference.

    flashgordonpf.jpgflashgordonpf.jpg afm.jpgafm.jpg
    #61 9 years ago
    Quoted from Gatecrasher:

    Fathom was a flop commercially compared to Eight Ball Deluxe. I remember them both when they were new and EBD garnered a whole lot more plays than Fathom did. That's why so many Fathoms are still in decent shape.
    I have a Fathom now but back then couldn't have cared less about the game. As long as I had Eight Ball Deluxe I was happy back then. No other pin really mattered.
    If you could sell repop Fathoms, you could sell at least twice as many repop EBD.

    I agree that EBD was the more successful pin back in its day and is the better player of the two, but Fathom would be a much better choice for a reproduction based on how much more collectible it is today. I think the art package is far superior on Fathom which makes it a more desirable title in restored condition. If given the choice I think more people would rather have a restored/collector's quality Fathom paired with a player condition EBD vs. a restored EBD and a player condition Fathom. If you're reproing early Bally SS games I think Fathom is easily the top choice followed by Centaur. After that I could see games like Medusa, EBD and Xenon later down the line. With that being said, I doubt any of this would ever happen as there are about 10 DMD titles that it would make way more sense to repro first.

    #71 9 years ago
    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?

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