Thanks TPA - You've Ruined Everything!

[Richard B]

Has anyone checked out the prices on Pinside yet? Every machine in the top 10 has increased in value between 1-2 K, and those not in the top ten at least $500 - $1500! Worst? A Pinbot, which 1(!) year ago was valued at $800, now fetches $2130 - $2470. I thought Stern was nuts charging $6,000 for a Pro version of Walking Dead. Now I see they're just properly adjusting their prices to the marketplace. I bet Spider Mike, Tatty Adams, and all those other 'stards in those videos who own 30+ machines are real happy right now, and this is during the worst economy since the Great Depression! Pinball, now more than ever, is only for the wealthy.

 

[Mayuh]

So very true. Yet it's also a global phenomenon and prices are extremely high even for total rotten pins. Globally.

But don't blame it on farsight (alone). The only showed people what a fantastic game pinball is and reintroduced pins to the public. Along with the extreme skills and techniques players developed over the years, papa.tv and so on it's becoming mainstream again... Now the prices are at a level, people are actually willing to pay. That's free market. Nothing else...

I suspect the prices will go down again. A new in the box Stern costs about the same as a fxxcked up Monster Bash. Go figure, which one I would buy

 

[mpad]

MONSTER BASH, of course!

 

[Mayuh]

MONSTER BASH, of course!

Hehe, I'm not a big stern fan... I'd prefer the Star Trek NIB with warranty and there is spare money for a few Mass Bier too
Anyway ymmv and this is a good thing...

 

[TomL]

I think you've discovered FarSight's true revenue source:

1. buy up as many of one table as they can afford.
2. build digital recreation of table and release on TPA.
3. watch as prices for the physical table skyrockets.
4. sell off physical tables at a huge profit.
5. repeat.

 

[kinggo]

Pinball, now more than ever, is only for the wealthy.

that's just not true. It always was. The machines were always expensive and the running costs also. The fact that pinball was lost for a decade did decrease the prices but I honestly don't see what good that did to pinball. Williams/Bally(Midway) is gone and Stern is nowhere near to them. If demand is increasing, supply will follow. How is that bad?
The difference is that now even in the USA there's no more new games for a quarter. But I was always paying a lot more per game than that.

 

[Fungi]

that's just not true. It always was. The machines were always expensive and the running costs also. The fact that pinball was lost for a decade did decrease the prices but I honestly don't see what good that did to pinball. Williams/Bally(Midway) is gone and Stern is nowhere near to them. If demand is increasing, supply will follow. How is that bad?
The difference is that now even in the USA there's no more new games for a quarter. But I was always paying a lot more per game than that.

Actually, I haven't played a table in the wild for years now, only at expos where they're on free play. How much is a credit going for now days. $1? 'Cause if it is... yikes.

 

[kinggo]

Don't know, I'm on the other side of the pond and I was always paying at least 0.5$ per game or more. The last few games I played this year was 5kn (~80 cents) for 5 ball game. And there was never an option to pay less if you buy more games at once.

 

[Richard B]

I think you've discovered FarSight's true revenue source:

1. buy up as many of one table as they can afford.
2. build digital recreation of table and release on TPA.
3. watch as prices for the physical table skyrockets.
4. sell off physical tables at a huge profit.
5. repeat.

Not a bad idea.

 

[Baron Rubik]

Just played the new Stern - Walking dead at Play.expo Manchester. Awesome table.

But I'd still prefer a BK or TZ personally.

 

[Reagan Dow]

The brand new ones seem to be 1 for a game or 2 for three games. In the US that is.

 

[Reagan Dow]

Don't know, I'm on the other side of the pond and I was always paying at least 0.5$ per game or more. The last few games I played this year was 5kn (~80 cents) for 5 ball game. And there was never an option to pay less if you buy more games at once.

Huh. Are even the new games 5 balls?? We only get 3.

 

[kinggo]

3 was normal here also. But Tron, Iron Man and Avatar that I played this year were all 5 balls. But that doesn't mean much, they were all at the same place that is now closed. And I have no idea where to find another one. Back in the 80's and early 90's there was a pinball machine in almost every bar but now

 

[Reagan Dow]

3 was normal here also. But Tron, Iron Man and Avatar that I played this year were all 5 balls. But that doesn't mean much, they were all at the same place that is now closed. And I have no idea where to find another one. Back in the 80's and early 90's there was a pinball machine in almost every bar but now

I hear you. There is a pool hall/game place about 2 ,I'm from my house. They have a ton of redemption games and three pinball tables. Getaway, Simpson pinball party and the star wars pinball 20000. I LOVE getaway and the Simpsons. There are also two bars, one with Theatre of majic and one with southpark but the sound is turned down on southpark so it's not really fun

 

[Richard B]

Thank god for Z-Bar - they've just upped their count to 11 tables. Unfortunately, a lot of them are crappy stuff like Star Trek Bally, Six Million Dollar Man, and other pre-1980s junk, but at least they still have their MM, STTNG, and TZ, and have brought back their Tommy and Machine: Bride of Pinbot, and added SWE1 and RFM. Not as good as having them in my house, but still pretty awesome.

 

[rehtroboi40]

Has anyone checked out the prices on Pinside yet? Every machine in the top 10 has increased in value between 1-2 K, and those not in the top ten at least $500 - $1500! Worst? A Pinbot, which 1(!) year ago was valued at $800, now fetches $2130 - $2470. I thought Stern was nuts charging $6,000 for a Pro version of Walking Dead. Now I see they're just properly adjusting their prices to the marketplace. I bet Spider Mike, Tatty Adams, and all those other 'stards in those videos who own 30+ machines are real happy right now, and this is during the worst economy since the Great Depression! Pinball, now more than ever, is only for the wealthy.

Especially since I now have to spend a grand updating my PC into something that supports TPA without slowdown and plays at 1920x1080 on my TV. If you really want it to add up, try spending $400 on a console to play what has been hyped up as the best version, but goes months without DLC or updates like I did. Or watch the version you initially supported go more than two years (and counting) without any updates.

Worse still, you could buy a console, in part, because TPA has been announced for it and appears on their website, only to get nothing!

 

[Eaton Beaver]

I think the only real life pinball table I would ever consider purchasing would be a The Pinball Arcade virtual pinball table. I feel like I could never purchase an actual arcade game either with MAME on my computer. I heard on one pinball podcast that pinball is the "new poker." That was the most absurd thing I have ever heard and no way a televised pinball tournament would draw more viewers than say the WSOP. I have tried to watch those PAPA tutorial videos or even tournament videos and it doesn't hold my interest.

 

[MWink]

Especially since I now have to spend a grand updating my PC into something that supports TPA without slowdown and plays at 1920x1080 on my TV.

There's no reason you have to spend anywhere near a grand on a PC to play TPA smoothly. I don't think I even spent that much on mine when I built it in 2008 and it plays TPA perfectly (well, ignoring the post-processing blurriness).

 

[Kratos3]

I think the only real life pinball table I would ever consider purchasing would be a The Pinball Arcade virtual pinball table. I feel like I could never purchase an actual arcade game either with MAME on my computer. I heard on one pinball podcast that pinball is the "new poker." That was the most absurd thing I have ever heard and no way a televised pinball tournament would draw more viewers than say the WSOP. I have tried to watch those PAPA tutorial videos or even tournament videos and it doesn't hold my interest.

I've watched some and it just ends up pissing me off how they seem to just make shots. The way they work the flippers is downright amazing, too.

 

[David T. Melnick]

Has anyone checked out the prices on Pinside yet? Every machine in the top 10 has increased in value between 1-2 K, and those not in the top ten at least $500 - $1500! Worst? A Pinbot, which 1(!) year ago was valued at $800, now fetches $2130 - $2470. I thought Stern was nuts charging $6,000 for a Pro version of Walking Dead. Now I see they're just properly adjusting their prices to the marketplace. I bet Spider Mike, Tatty Adams, and all those other 'stards in those videos who own 30+ machines are real happy right now, and this is during the worst economy since the Great Depression! Pinball, now more than ever, is only for the wealthy.

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Yes indeed! It pos me...* however, I truly believe it's not due to TPA. In my experience, it is simply due to economics; that is, the national politicians mismanagement of $. EG: "both" parties voting recently for another 1.1 trillion raise in the national debt. Note: it's close to their X-MAS vacations. Expect yet another blame game (by Fox News, etc.). Just think of Monopoly $.