People hated it so they stopped making them. Now people crave it because they didn't make many of them. It's weird.

I thought that since everyone hated it I would like it. I did not.

I’ve played it a great deal. Its typical JJP multiball heavy and has meaningless character code choices, with no assets other than the name and 1 character photo. The ball floats all over the place and becomes hidden quite a bit of the time. Plus JJP dumped the 2 best mechs on the PF, the 3 spinning rings and the opening treasure chest. No one wanted it after that. The only reason it has become higher in value is because there simply were only 1k made. No other reason. JJP stopped making POTC because literally no one wanted it and they sat on distributors shelves till announced production was ended. JJP got tired of all the warranty claims from poor PF, mechs that stopped working, etc. Add to it the usual JJP poor quality, its not a good purchase by any stretch of the imagination, except buying one at MSRP and then offloading to the crazed collectors.

We've been lucky enough to be the caretaker of a friend's LE for the past 6 month or so. I can say without a second thought that it is a really great game.

In my opinion, i feel it is jjp's best. At first it can be a little overwhelming, because they crammed so many movies into one Pin. But once you start to understand it, it starts to click. I really like the layout, and think it flows really well for a wide body. Tons of shots, mechs, the inner outlane is refreshing, one of the best upperplayfields ever, awesome cannon shot, left ramp diverter. The integration is really really well done despite the lack of movie clips, and the callouts and sounds are solid.

Im a pretty heavy theme buyer and despite this one being a B- (for me), i would love to add it to my collection. It has major lastability.
However, the 25k price tag is too tough of a pill for me to swallow. -Mostly due to it's low production numbers.

I do not own it! I have played at many times fortunately . I actually do think it’s a fun game
The low assets thing definitely is a problem . The money shot up because there were only so few made

So basically, FOMO.

$25K to say you own a B- game.

Love the logic in this hobby.

I've had it for just a week and I absolutely love it and can't stop playing it. Maybe my opinion will change at some point once the honeymoon phase wears off. But the the rocking ship upper playfield is just special along with the canon that shoots a ball at the other ship. The chest mod is a must as it was supposed to be there. I'm happy with 1 spinning disk. Code update will eventually come which will only make it better. The fact that so few were made is the reason the prices are high.

Supply and demand. They didn’t make many and prices went way up once people started to want them.

Cycling all through those characters for whatever rule reason. Forget that.
I prefer my Stern POTC.

I don’t know why it’s so valuable but If I were JJP I’d do a run of 1k and call it some kind of new addition for 12k. They’d insta sell out because of the perceived value compared to the wild market price. Heck they could probably even do 15k. Surprised it hasn’t happened yet.

Iron Man syndrome.

I suspect JJP hated making them almost as much as people hated buying them.

Even at whatever inflated price people think they could sell them for, probably just not worth the trouble. The game really was a headache for everybody involved.

It also had a ton of issues. So the mix of bad sentiment and difficulty to manufacture (or so the belief goes) JJP moved on.

People then realized it was pretty fun and wanted one.

FWIW - I think Dialed In had even a shorter run.

Because it's a fantastic game and JJP didn't make enough of them to meet the demand once enough pinheads became aware of this.

Pure and simple.

Supply..not necessarily demand on this one.

It looks sexy sitting in between fun games.

LOLOL
ZING!

I think it’s a great game. Beautiful really. High quality overall although the playfield has issues. Playfield issues are not exclusive to JJP by the way.
Not worth the price it goes for but I enjoy it quite a bit. I played it for the first time a couple months back

Kind of like Circus Voltaire

It's because of supply and demand. If there were 5000 of them made like GNR it would be a sub $9k game. Likewise If there were only 1k GNR's that game would be $30k plus.

I've had a JJPOTC since NIB at the end of their production. I think it is one of the best games and is one of my favorites. So many strategies to explore and so much to figure out and explore. I like it a lot and it will not leave my collection. The fun factor is definitely there once you understand it. Not popular with the tournament type players though.

Let's get the story straight. Eric showed the development process and let people play the prototype at Expo and Level 257 with the moving chest lid and the patented triple disc. Things happened with the triple disc and lid that couldn't be corrected/perfected in time for production, so those got removed before launch. Pinside was outraged, canceled orders, etc. Actor use of voice and video would have had to have been individually licensed and way too expensive. ($500k per film (x5) for Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) movie clips.) They did get the actor "Gibbs" to do the call outs. Once pre-orders were all made, JJP moved on to the next Wonka pin that was ready for production. There were also rumors that the pin was hard to make on the production line.

Once the pin got out there, people played it and liked it, they wanted one. The demand went up.

In my business it is the one game I get the most inquiries about if I ever want to sell it or trade it.

LTG : )

It’s a shitty game people love to over pay for. Pinsanity

FOMO

Isn't that the backbone of most Stern games? I know B66 is built off that with so many villain modes, among many other games of theirs, especially the music pins.

In an effort to say something positive about it I'd say its a better game than GNR at least?

GNR is the most overhyped mediocre game in pinball history.

Mental illness

In a home collection, this is what I’m looking for - lastability - games that will sit as art pieces when not being played and when played, provide that magic I’ve come to love with the hobby.

We’re lucky enough to have this one, purchased early on, sitting in the music room aside WOz - two beautiful widebodies that compliment a room of art. Not many rooms in the house and the music room is what some would have considered the living room. We’ve turned it into a room where we make music and appreciate art/music - and pinball. While most people who enjoy that room play with the instruments, when the machines get turned on, friends (both adults and kids) gravitate towards JJPPOTC. If all machines throughout the house get introduced to someone - they most often end up wanting to play JJPPOTC.

Myself, I enjoy splitting time on all of the home machines, and occasionally I’ll venture out to locations to try something new. But adorning the house with pinball masterpieces of art that I can play is my preference.

I think that those pinheads with similar tastes/values (demand) combined with the low availability (supply), and in my opinion, the tremendously fun gameplay that JJPPOTC provides via its amazing package of mechs/toys, audio and visuals are some reasons for its current market value.

It's expensive to make the haters mad.

One of my favorite games and hands down the best JJP. The last minute decision to pull the triple spinning disc mech killed early sales and then the game abruptly went out of production before most people had a chance to play one.

Its got a lot going on on the playfield even though they removed the mechs, but man it is HIGHLY overrated. I wish I owned one only so I could sell it.

I love my POTC. how the heck can you go wrong with pirates? The voice overs, the sounds/effects, a shooting cannon, ability to steal another players gold.. not going anywhere for me.

just needs a freaking code update final version!

I bought and sold one for a friend and would LOVE to have it above any other Jersey Jack games. It is the BEST 4 player machine built . Once you understand how to use the characters you can build strategy to beat your opponents like stealing balls, gold and points. So much fun with a group of friends plus deep enough that you can always learn something new. Everyone has their preference and the things I mentioned that I love about the game other people don't like in a game. Still I love it and would be my grail game if I could ever afford one...

Ah, so that's why JJP quit production early and many cancelled their orders.

It is a fantastic game and not enough made to go around. Not to sound mainstream, but this pin is awesome in a home environment. Most PoTC pin in the wild (my experience) are in bad shape/not set up proper.

The decision to remove the 3-disk mech was the best decision. Most people that complain about it never played it. I played it extensively and worked on it at expos. I’m telling you, the mech sucked. The current single disk mech moves the ball around more than the 3-disk ever did.

Pirates was also considered insanely expensive at the time it came out. Even the base model was around $9k shipped. That may seem par for the course now, but at the time it was a bit much for most buyers to cough up on short notice. The idea that 'nobody wanted it' is a gross oversimplification. Of course, there's always going to be the guys who hate all JJPs, hate all widebody games, hate all upper playfields, hate loaded games, etc ... If you read a lot of the early threads from before disc gate and all of the delays, you'll see that most of pinside was going gaga over this title.

There is definitely a lot of hype. I agree that it was initially priced high. I’ve not had much time on one, but I recall having opportunities to play it at length and choosing other titles after a game or two.

Like so many JJP titles, it’s stunning in appearance. This is not a criticism. For me, the gameplay wasn’t attractive enough for me to seek one out at that price point.

As always, I’m glad it brings happiness to its owners. That’s the point after all.

11EF09CA-914A-40D4-B8F2-6EAA4C28D896 (resized).jpeg

Ay yi yi

JJP quit production because they felt it wasn't selling well enough - in large part to the undeserved condemnation of the overall game after the triple ring spinning disk and opening chest (which is now available again as a mod) features were removed.

Doesn't change the fact that it's still a fantastic game.

This is the same thing that happened to STh. You'd think people would learn to stop judging a game right out of the gate on reveal day, but nope. They keep doing it over and over and over...

I bought an LE new and I never really dug the game, It just sits in my room and not played much, I thought about selling it, But it does look cool and it's almost like a piece of artwork. To each his own, Some people like it and others don't , just like every other game that was ever made.

Picked up mine this way when none could be found. Paid handsomely for it used then Stern announce two weeks later they decided to do another run.

Here’s my take, I’ll buy a game here and there out the gate. Like when I bought Godzilla LE, R&M and XMLE. So it’s possible for me.

But more likely I’ll wait and still be able to buy one, got STLE and AFM LE months after they were announced. The majority of games I’ve bought years after they were announced. I just got DP, SW, JP and BM66 all NIB but years later. Will probably buy Maiden if the make more.

I think I was in more the habit of wait and see and if it had legs I’d get it later on. With Potc that never came about. It’s not that I did anything wrong or different. Stern and JJP had a history of building many years out. But to me I was thinking about The Hobbit and Woz and thought JJP was going to keep making them for a while. But it didn’t work out that way. I’d have bought one but once the price skyrocketed I moved on to games costing a fraction.

I figured if it was good and in demand they’ll keep making but the worse games probably dealers would have in stock or I wouldn’t want it anyway. I think JJP Potc and Stern Stranger Things are the exceptions to the normal.

For the little time I had on it in the wild where I couldn’t hear a thing while playing. Trying to figure out things with the selection of characters as no question its better suited for home setting.

Yep - this has been covered in countless Pinside posts and threads, but all games are typically more enjoyable in a home environment. And even more so with JJP games it seems.

I have owned 5 JJP games, played them all on route as well, and found gameplay enjoyment (due to set up preferences, condition, quieter environment, etc.) on each to be drastically better at home. Consequently, anyone who is judging JJP POTC based on limited route play has likely not experienced it at its best.

That said, "haters are gonna hate" and no game is for everyone. I happen to love the game and it's a favorite in my collection. If I didn't, I would have sold it for $20K+ a long time ago.

Not so popular at the time but thats because pinball wasn’t that popular as now. The last years pinball getting more and more popular and discover one of the best pinball machines ever made but cant get one…

Never got a chance to play one & I honestly don't really care

Picked mine up from the factory NIB. Played the snot out of it for a while. It was a good game. Loved the ship playfield and canon shot. Sounds/callouts were very good. I really liked choosing between the different characters. Loved the difficult extra ball shot. Modes were pretty meh, though. Each one was just collect the lit characters. That was the weakest part of the game. Sold it because they were going for $$$. If they would rerun it again for what I originally paid for it, I'd probably buy it again, but no way that's going to happen.

JJP shows off game early...
It's loaded... but expensive and complicated
Market reaction is one of hesitation due to high cost and JJP-general complexity/overload kind of look/feel. The game just didn't get people running in droves to buy it.
Spinner gate happens and JJP changes final product. Backlash from changes further hinders demand for the game.
So now you have crazy price plus negative response in the community --> Delayed Sales

POTC sells soft... JJP has new leadership and is pushing billionaire son as the new lead in the business... Lawlor's killer license Wonka is on-deck and generating buzz.

So what happens? JJP pulls the plug on the expensive, probably lower margin POTC in favor of rushing out an overpriced stripped down WOZ and focusing on the next title. The assumption is it's a top-down decision because both Jack and Eric look like someone killed their dog at TPF when they broke the news.

Now POTC is dead-man walking.. and those who were hesitating now scramble to get what is now the 'you can no longer have' POTC title. Price escalation sets in.

With enough time and games in the field.. POTC finds its home in the community in terms of accepting what it is and it's still a loaded, beautiful game... so the price escalation continues.

Even after Wonka fizzles... JJP won't revisit POTC.. Why? Probably due to the margins and high complexity of the game. Think again... what's in the pipeline.. GNR... again JJP doubles down on the NEXT thing and won't look back at their prior title that was too expensive.

In hindsight we have a title JJP leadership pressed the abort button so they could instead focus on Wonka. A decision that probably was good for short term capital spending, but Wonka wasn't the killer-title they hoped it would be.

Question is, with Toy Story flopping at the new price point... will JJP retreat in pricing, or maybe... go back to the well and try to sell POTC at this new higher price point that may make the margins worth it.

I'm assuming JJP didn't lower the price after they cut advertised features that people put down payments on? If so, then the blowback was justified.