SOLD XM LE - Wolverine

[REVOLUTION]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

I'm the opposite.. if i know a game is gowing i stop playing it. I find it helps with the guilt of selling it

 

[tkaye]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

Hmmm. Interesting approach.
I understand that too.

 

[DRANO]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

Yeah, I'm torn with this pin.
Anyone who really gives it a fair chance, and doesn't buy into the year-old negative hype, really understands how cool it is and the quality of the modes and gameplay is far better than most people give it credit for. I would go as far as to say that it is as deep as LOTR (if not more). The shots and modes are well thought out... even clever! The dots are far superior to anything stern has done since LOTR and the original hand drawn artwork is also a huge plus. The last couple of code updates have gone a long way towards making this one of the better Sterns released in the last few years. There's no easy scoring loophole either (that I have seen) and the game makes you play the whole table. My only gripe is a couple of bad voice actors (Beast and Storm).
If I had waited and scored this pin cheap when guys in the US were dumping them for the cost of a NIB pro, this thread would not even exist.

The decision to try and move it is totally motivated by money and space . But, with so much going for it, It's a difficult and well designed pin that I have a hard time turfing. I think having been on the Stern NIB rollercoaster from the date of it's release just soured me. Maybe I need to get over it

 

[Chris Bardon]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

Even the bad beast and storm voices have grown on me over time-they're not *that* bad...

Only thing that I've found that could be called an "exploit" in X-Men is using Brotherhood/Hellfire for an easy villain relight, but that's not even that simple. First you have to light one of the MBs, but after that, one hit to the target bank will light the scoop for a villain if you don't play the MB right away. Easier than a bunch of lane completions though.

Watching the code evolve through the different updates has been really interesting though, and it's the first time I've been able to do that in pinball. Almost makes me want to go buy a WOZ to get the same thing.

 

[Honey Badger]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

There's no easy scoring loophole either (that I have seen) and the game makes you play the whole table.

Yup..start villain with weapon X multiball.

 

[DRANO]

Really? Any villain?
I'll give it a shot. I often try and pair weapon X with something like Sentinels, but haven't noticed anything unusually exploitive. I also know the game can be set up really easy or super hard, but I'll try this specific tactic next time and report back.

 

[Honey Badger]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

Yes, I usually pick Sentinels as all shots are lit instead of just a few. Easier to rack up points. I then usually do Shadow King next time around as Wolverine is usually lit a lot in that mode and your bashing him every second shot for Weapon X anyhow.

 

[Chris Bardon]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

Sentinels has all shots lit, so it's the easiest to finish, and Juggernaut also lights everything but Xavier. Sabertooth switches sides, but it's 3 shots at a time, so that's OK. Shadow king is just the one random shot though, so it's a lot more of a gamble-same as Omega Red I think. Might be a might be a good one to pair with a MB though-better chances of making the shot, BUT, also harder since I think the display priority is given to the MB scoring.

 

[ritewhereiwant2b]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

so, would ya put a price on it?

 

[DRANO]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

so, would ya put a price on it?

Tough thing to do.
As everyone knows, the early bad press really hurt this game. Americans paid as little as $6200 tax free for the game when it was released. Maybe even less if they purchased later. Some guys got pretty fed up with the first few rounds of poor code and bailed on this game.... some dumping for as little as $5000.
Now, even with much improved code, the regular FS posts on Pinside for XMLE these days seems to be anywhere from $5000-$5500.

So, while these guys are wiling to take a $1K bath on the game, us Canadians had to pay upwards of $7300-$7900 for this pin after taxes. And any Canadian trying to sell this game (like me) is always confronted with the old standby "well, I can get one in the US for $5000".

So, to make a long answer even longer, here's my rationale for a value.

Let's take the low end of the spectrum and say that XMLE is in fact a $5000 USD game.
I went to my bank last week and had to pay almost $1.08 CAD for $1 USD.

So, now my wolverine is worth $5400 CAD right?
Let's add some good 'ol HST at 13% . That's another $702
Okay... So now my XMLE is worth $6100. But wait.... I haven't got this game home yet. Dang!
But I'm super lucky and I found one in Ohio and it only cost me about $150-$200 in gas, food coffees and other nonsense to go get it... not to mention a day of my time, trips to the bank to get USD and whatever other bs.
Or, hold on, mabe I can just pay to have it shipped to Buffalo. Damn, NAVL wants $350! Let's stick to $200 and a road trip. So, now my (local) XMLE is worth about $6300

Now. Let's add the fact that I have a few extras in my game and have saved the next owner a crapload of work.
Shaker installed, custom blue mirror blades (which look awesome by the way - shameless plug there), full plastic protector set (that was a PITA to install), all white rubber, Cliffy's and mantis protectors, custom painted matching blue T molding on the head, real post mod with Cliffy's sleeves at both ramp entrances, clear vinyl protectors custom cut to protect all high wear areas (like the shooter lane). I'm sure I'm missing something, but I'd like to think that I've added at least $500 in extras. Let's discount that to $400 to be nice. So now I'm at $6700.

Lastly, let's add the fact that I'm not as desperate as some US sellers letting it go for $5K, so I'd probably list it at $5500 USD if I was down there anyway

Realistically, I think this game should go for $6700-$7000 and that's still me eating a lot on the original purchase price. It's also why I was looking for trades. People seem more willing to trade something of value than to give you the same value in cash. Not sure why?

Anyway, with Stern committing to at least one more code update very soon, I'm not going to cry if I don't get my price or equivalent value in trade.

And sorry for the long response. I'm just tired of others here and on other forums who like to take the BS approach of "this is what it sells for on Pinside"

Hope this answers your question.

 

[McMean]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

Great explanation Drano. I dislike the "It sold for xx one time in Alabama, so that's what it's worth" approach. You've debunked that logic quite well.

Daniel

 

[ritewhereiwant2b]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

No need to apologize for a balanced, well thought-out answer. Sounds like you have invested in it and should get the return for that investment...

 

[DRANO]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

No need to apologize for a balanced, well thought-out answer. Sounds like you have invested in it and should get the return for that investment...

Thanks
But that is likely to never happen since I have over $8K invested :FP:
At least not until more people try XM without prejudice and general opinion on the game changes... and I think it is already slowly starting to shed it's bad rep.

I'm willing to lose a little on this game, but still think the numbers stated in my earlier post are much more realistic than the US equivalents we all read about on Pinside.

 

[spiroagnew]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

I guess there are two ways to look at this...try and move this unit while there is buzz about the "forthcoming" code update, or keep it and hope that the new code turns the machine into something special. With no authority on the subject, but taking into consideration all the hype about X-men code since Expo, I think if something does get released, it will make the game a darling among collectors again.

But what do I know...I have been accused of going out of my way to avoid playing Stern machines.

 

[DRANO]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

But what do I know...I have been accused of going out of my way to avoid playing Stern machines.

Haha! Stern snob!

Well, to be honest, the current code is actually really good.
It has a few areas that can be polished, sure... but had the game been released as it is today, XMLE would never have suffered the reputation it still has. It's a real shame.

Coding is Stern's Achilles heel IMO. If they could release games with good code, they'd be running them off the production line in much larger numbers... as we've seen with just about any Steve Ritchie pin. Seems he gets the royal treatment when it comes to coding and games from guys like Borg get put on the back burner.
They don't call him the king of pinball for nothin'

I don't think this upcoming (and likely final) update is going to be a game changer. It's likely just going to finally offer the super wizard mode. The mode exists with scoring and rules, but has no animations yet.
Maybe they'll do a few other little housekeeping type fixes. I'm not holding out for new voice acting for beast and storm... but they've grown on me anyway.

It'll just be nice to say that the game is FINALLY complete!

 

[ritewhereiwant2b]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

...but still think the numbers stated in my earlier post are much more realistic than the US equivalents we all read about on Pinside.

Agreed. Once a fan of Xmen sees your post and is in the market for a pin, Im sure the sale will happen fast.

Im new to PR and see that you have quite a collection. There are a couple of pins Im interested base on reputation alone. I will keep my eye open here for possible sale postings.

Best,

Kevin

 

[Monkeybug]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

I read on pinside that someone said that this game will be 10k by next Christmas with the code updates.

 

[DRANO]

Re: FT: XM LE - Wolverine

I read on pinside that someone said that this game will be 10k by next Christmas with the code updates.

At least :lol:

 

[DRANO]

Just going to give this old thread a bit of a bump
New code is fun and deep... but I really am starting to need some space in the lineup and want to move out a game or two for some breathing room. Predator is coming home and I am already busting at the seams.

Cash is preferred. I would want to get as close to $7K as possible considering the codition of the game and all the added extras... but also willing to do trades for games that I may enjoy for a few weeks and then sell. Same difference to me.

Let me know what you got?
Particularly interested in trades involving Godzilla, I500, Centaur, TOM, Swords of Fury and nicer examples of TOTAN or The Shadow.
Will consider other games as well.

 

[prock]

+1 on the code.. my brother put the new code on his XM LE and it's great.