Game thoughts from Mike...
Hello and welcome into the hobby of pinball collecting and our home at Pacific Coast Pinball. I get a lot of people asking what machine they should buy or what is a good investment, I thought I would take a minute to let you know my thoughts on that subject.
There are many aspects to pinball machines that make any one particular machine popular to a collector. This may be the fact that game is associated with a movie or movie star, event or theme that one can identify with. Notable features on a game, perhaps the number of targets or flippers or lack there of. Maybe it is the artwork on the cabinet or backglass that makes it appealing. The complexity of the game play or rule set. Game designers tend to have particular features on their games that are a sort of trademark to their name and style. All these things in relation to current world events, social and style changes can and will influence sales trends in the pinball collectors market. What's hot now may not be in a few years. It is very difficult to predict which machines will go up or down in value in the market.
Late 90's games from William's and Bally have been a very popular seller in the last few years. The very latest rise in sales I see is some very wonderful early solid state games from the late 70's and early 80's. These games are very appealing to some of the newer younger collectors looking for "Old School" games.
To some of us older collectors, we consider "Old School" to be wood rail type games. I personally think that this market is a sleeper on a slow gentle rise. These games while on the surface seem simple in nature are often very complex mechanically and very challenging to achieve their objectives. This combined with the fact that they are also well over 50 years old and are also considered antiques makes them sure to go up in value as long as they are kept in good condition.
No matter whether it is a modern DMD style machine with a bunch of gadgets or an old antique machine that makes you think of a simpler time, the important thing to remember in buying a pinball game is to get one that is appealing to you. This is a machine that is going to be in your home and be played by you and your friends. Get a game that you will enjoy and play, not something that someone else says is the best one, but you don't particularly care for so it just sits in the corner. These machines are made to be played and enjoyed by all!
That’s my two cents on the subject. I believe if you follow this advice of playing and buying what you like, you will be very happy. How could you go wrong? It’s a pinball game in your own home, how cool is that!