Tough call, they are very different games.. This is one of those matters of taste like a Williams v Stern debate.

Just eyeing your collection, (which looks awesome!) - it seems like you have a penchant for classics (the Class of '93/'94/'95.)

If you want a game that shoots like a Bally / Williams pin, that is what The Hobbit feels like to me and it makes sense because that (appears at least) to be the JJP idea. (Williams v2.0) The Hobbit ball times are going to be on average, longer where you will be getting control and making shots based on plenty of hurry-ups. While the ball travel may not be breakneck, it can still be a hectic game based on hurry-up goals and the obstacles posed by the trolls / monsters / pop-ups, etc.

New players will play Hobbit and feel like they did well. Seasoned players will find a challenge in objective / roadmap. Scores will be more consistent.

GB, to me, reminds me a lot of Tron, as if JT was channeling Borg as pen went to paper.. Often-short ball times with just-enough occasional rewards to keep people coming back 'one more game.' Great theme, great art package, fun sound. New players will play it b/c of the theme and come back for more abuse. Seasoned players will enjoy the difficulty and challenge.

I think in a collection like yours (if I were you ) I would look for diversity in game play. I think GB would give a different gameplay than some of your other games, while the The Hobbit will 'feel familiar.'

In full disclosure: I have a TH paid for/ soon-to-be-enroute and I'll be down for a GB Premium or 2nd hand LE when they are eventually available, unless a nearby friend gets one first. I *was* on the pre-pre-list for a GB LE but lost my spot to pursue another game that was on my bucket list.

FWIW: After 1,000 plays with an average scores > 300,000 (so ~15 minute games), I'm thrilled with how my WOZ playfield has held up.
To pre-empt the "but that's home use" indictment, sometimes I question the notion that home use might somehow be better on a machine than route use. My games get way more action in my basement than most games in bars and restaurants I've ever seen.. though I do maintain them pretty diligently.

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I digress to say I don't think the playfield horror stories are indicative of everyone's experience.

Yep. I'm glad people aren't hoarding awesome titles and I think great new titles from Stern and JJP are great for breaking loose some of those games people thought they'd keep forever. It is nice to cycle out for fresh stuff, with awesome new titles inbound, there are great pins for sale of all era. I don't see folks selling a pin as an indictment on that pin's fun-ness. Some of us can only smack the silver ball against the same set of targets so many times before we are ready for something else.

On the magnaslings, I don't think it is unreasonable to at least mention and discuss the potential for wear, until Stern shows us the neat contraption they built to test the wear for the magnaslings. High powered magnets pulling on hard metal into soft wood, I mean it seems like a reasonable concern, to me. Maybe just throwing some mylar will fix it, hopefully Stern already has something in place when those ship or even better, hopefully nothing will be necessary at all. I think reasonable people can recognize at least that the wear on them is an unknown for the time being - and leave it at that.

Slings have always been high-wear areas, anyway: Nearly every Williams IJ on the planet has a black smudge near the slings. Keep it waxed or use a Makrolon pf protector if you are really worried.

I am glad Stern tried something new and I look forward to owning a GB Premium or LE to try them out in full magnetoApocalyptic glory.

Sorry didn't mean to derail the thread with WoZ Stuff. I just got word from a local operator that has a GB Pro on the way for the Pensacola Area, hoping to be there to break it in properly until I can get my own Premium on order.

To the thread topic, based on a bunch of factors, her logic was that GB was a better choice for the business than Hobbit. Lower cost of entry, a home-run theme, Trudea-gap quarter stealing flippers are all the operator's friend. For the collector, they are just totally different beasts; an Apples and Oranges comparison. Some folks like Apples and some folks like Oranges.