Quoted from NPO:I could understand logic if we were talking about how A-titles rising in values makes the B games go up. Look at SS, AFM, WH20 for examples - they went through the roof - and now games like DM, JD, BSD, and JP as a couple examples have jumped significantly. Back in 2012, DM was $1200 - $1600. I personally passed on a solid working example at $1200.
"Oh my, the game I wanted so badly has gone from $3400 to over $5000....guess I'll settle for BSD..." and look at the prices for that game recently. Those who don't have crazy money to spend will go for the lesser titles, and then those start climbing. Not really a shocker.
All this talk about "X game has recently been discovered to be a good, deep, fun game...!!" Well, yeah, when people can't afford A-title prices for a game they could have afforded last year (looking at you, Scared Stiff) , of course they're going to hunt for good games in titles they used to not be so focused on.
Remaking a game though...? Not following it.
Explanation: It's what I like to call “the artificial ceiling effect” or "the Robin Hood effect”. You have no further to look than at Stern titles to understand how it affects the market. New title commands a certain price. As long as Stern is making runs, the price of HUO examples stays below that. If the game is good demand builds but price is capped by the NIB cost. Once the title goes out of production people grow concerned about availability and price climbs for all examples of the game. The game continues to rise in value due to its relative standing of desire compared with new titles that are produced and the fact Stern and other pinball manufacturers have been gradually raising prices for many years in a row.
Now say for example, Stern decides to release Iron Man again. All those who bought Iron Man above original NIB price (including me) will lose value (whether trade value or real dollars). If one wants to own/play/enjoy as many of the plethora of game titles worth experiencing over the span of 10-30 years in the hobby, the most financially sound strategy is to buy those titles that rise in value the most and 'ride the wave'. At the end when a decision is made to leave the hobby the true cost of ownership will have been "the least possible" given the market circumstances and if one is very prudent or lucky, even a profit. Since money is finite, most would agree that that's exactly what they would prefer - enjoy the games without the cost, all things being equal.
I focused on a mix of A/B titles when buying so with the remakes I won't be affected as much financially speaking as someone who only chose AFM, CC, MM, MB, and CV which have been the expensive A-listers due to quantity produced and great theme/gameplay for the last ten years at least. If and when PPS remakes a particular title, that caps the value just like for new Sterns even though the original's value may remain higher than NIB remake due to the collectibility factor. Even those titles just below in value are soft-capped because the rumor of "it'll be next" causes people to shy away from taking the risk of a loss.
Being a bachelor I have more funds to freely enjoy, but I think a great many collectors have collected more than they could justify when taking the following test: "If your machines lost 50-100% of the purchase cost overnight would you regret any purchases?" I would say I currently have 2-3 times the collection size I would feel comfortable with in that scenario. I just want to play the games so if I had access to all in an arcade or friends' houses I would only own a few.
