High Speed all the way. Enough said.

John

I'd take High Speed for both game play and audio. Although the coin drop on Xenon gets attention. Value is similar in my mind, everything else equal. Condition is king though and in todays upside down world of pin prices anything seems possible. Does theme make a difference for you? Quite different in that regard.

High Speed is the better game, and looking at your collection High Speed is "more different" than your other pins. The ramp shot on High Speed is killer.

These are two totally different games. High Speed has more to do and better gameplay. Xenon has better sound effects and art package, and the chaser lights around the backglass are too cool. If you have an eclectic collection, High Speed is probably a better fit. If you gravitate towards a collection of futuristic and sci-fi-themed pins, Xenon is a must. Re-salability shouldn't be a problem for either. I have both and High Speed would get sold/traded first.

* plus Xenon and your Space Invaders would look so good next to each other.

High speed for flow, Xenon for theme… Sound on Xenon will drive you nuts if you don’t like error inducing crescendo of the background sound.

Easily high speed in every aspect other than maybe just sheer looks. High Speed is no slouch for looks but its nothing too special, Xenon is really pretty. Gameplay, mechanics, software, ect, basically everything that matters all landslide to high speed though

High speed. Once you master the xenon tube shot there's not a lot else to do the mb doesn't have a point other than hey it's multiball. Xenon definitely better av package though.

High speed can get old too but there more than one way to play it at least.

Xenon been in my collection for 4 years now, my interest in High Speed lasted a week and I was done with it. I still have not beat the prior owners high score on Xenon.

It's going to come down to your personal taste.

High Speed

Another vote for High Speed here.

You are trolling right?

Then you are asking the wrong question. You should be asking High Speed vs. EBD... That way you can't make a mistake!

Xenon is a simple piece of nothing.

Xenon is one of those pins which is easy to pickup but difficult to master in my opinion.

What pins do you like now?

Xenon looks cooler. Everything else goes to High Speed. Remember you don't play the looks you play the game, and that's not even a contest between these two.

It's all subjective, of course. My pick would be Xenon because of the theme and the art. I enjoy playing both, but man, that Xenon just looks *good*.

High speed

true enough, but some of us spend just as much time admiring the artwork of our pins as we do playing them.

High Speed can't compete with the sexy voice of Zenon. "Try me again".

Another vote for high speed. Better gameplay overall. I love revving the playfield before launching the ball.

I kept Xenon and sent HS down the road a ling time ago. Note that I have a larger collection. I love System 11’s and old Ballys. In a small collection I wouldn’t keep either one. That being said my opinion won’t help you because Jungle Lord is the best game ever.

High speed in a big way.

Space Invaders to start.

High Speed i had nothing to do after multiball and making the jackpot shot.

Xenon you can run up the MOTA bonus and collect or try and get the special & extra ball off the drops.. harder than it sounds because if you drain you have to start over again on the next ball. I think I have done it once in 4 years.

I’m bias towards Xe. She’s so damn hot. I keep trying to convince my wife to get GAME OVER tattooed on her upper thighs but no luck so far.

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I haven't spent enough time on HS. I love Xenon, but I'm biased since its the first pin I owned and the total package is just so sweet.

I think the only way that would be possible is if they bought in 1980. Set up it at the local bowling alley and a fuse blew the first weekend it was out and the operator didn’t know how to service the game and folded it up to be untouched for 43 years. If it TRULY has 100 actual plays it would probably be impossible to prove. The playfield would be pretty much flawless depending on how it was stored. Would love to see some pics of that.

100 since restored maybe? There's some nice restores out there. But yeah, a flawless original would be nice to see. That being said, the play count doesn't really matter so much as the condition vs. price.

People can claim anything. Does it LOOK like it? If it does I'd buy it. You can enjoy it, and sell it if you don't want to keep it, moving a super clean game like that won't be hard.

I've remade both these games interestingly. I prefer the simplicity of Xenon, but I did add a story mode and new features. High Speed got a sequel but Xenon never did. Although Xenon II by the Bitmap Brothers is an awesome shoot 'em up.

Time for my Nana nap I think.

You gotta roll it.

HS has some good adjustments. By default the ramp shot and saucer spot the player one of the nine stoplights. You can shut those off to require the player hit the stand up targets in order. Makes the game difficult and with the flow **chefs kiss**.

Actually, it's quite a challenge in HS to avoid the ramp after the jackpot, and go specifically for stoplights, get them all and you light an extra ball.

Pin-bot has a similar rule. It's amazing how many don't know about this little rule, but it adds a neat layer of depth, as it is quite difficult to achieve.

Xenon Play wise is a dud for me.

Get both.

Xenon sure, its limited on shots, and unless you dig it for looks, it's never a hard sell. I like hitting those little roll over switches and I love playing it for tournaments because no one else does!

High Speed is great in any collection. Spinner orbits hell yes.

You have an interesting line up and both games would be great to have for more variety.

High Speed is amazing. Great combination of music, sound, lights, software, and game layout. I won’t be selling mine. I like Xenon and would like to own one. She gives off a fun vibe with the sound and looks. High Speed is way more fun.

It's easy to avoid the ramp on HS, hell 9 times out of 10 you don't make it anyways!

A clean shot should go 100% of the time. Mine is set up like this anyway, even with the old original ramp. I'm told the Freeplay 40 ones improve the smoothness going up. Nothing more frustrating than not making a shot when you did everything right to normally make it happen. I suspect this was part of the reason you moved it along so quickly.. I would too!

Original ramp.

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Tough one! I agree with the folks here that say to get both.

That said, if you can only afford one (and I have 2 kids so I understand!), I would go with High Speed.

Don't get me wrong, I love me some Xenon, and I almost bought a Xenon twice because she literally has some of the best looking artwork outside Magic Girl and people played the hell out of them (just look at the burned up playfields on most).

Sure the shots are limited and once you master that tube shot, you more or less mastered the game, but again - that backglass and playfield art is just amazing and play isn't bad by any means... but I still think High Speed.

I love Ballys and like to work on them but I think System 11 is the sweet spot. Still fun to fix but with a lot more to do in the game for play.

High speed is just great with several ways to play it as has been mentioned.

Xenon is beautiful but I don't want to play more than a game or 2 at a show.

Good luck.

It's interesting, while I would in general say the art on Xenon has an edge with the layered backbox depth, cab and playfield.

The High speed art, particularly the backglass is also one of the top pieces in pinball for sure. If we are just talking just backglass, IDK... I might even take HS over Xenon for that. The view from the police vehicle, with the two officers expressive faces, and the displays in the dash, with a rear view mirror.. man.. it's pretty great.

Just felt it needed to be said, since most of the comments are just talking about the Xenon art. It's not like High speed has poor art by any means!

If you are just going for the tube and neglecting the drops you are missing half the game.

Not to mention the lit spinner, back to the top with those rollovers that are pretty fun.