Questions from a Newbie!

[pinteresting]

I've been collecting arcade machines and pinball machines for years. I've never gotten into pachinko machines but I have to say that I am intrigued now. I started out looking for a pachinko ball machine for my 78 year old mother. She loves Lupin and still reads her japanese books about Lupin. I think they are some sort of Japanese comic book. Anyway. I have a few questions...

1. Is there a specific brand of pachinko machine that is better than others?
2. Are there machines that are more collectible than others? If so, what makes them more collectible?
3. Are the vintage machines much more collectible than modern machines?
4. Are there specific collectible titles are machines that are hard to find?

I'm thinking of adding a couple of these modern machines to my garage arcade. Very excited.

Thanks in advance.

[CarlW]

I've been collecting arcade machines and pinball machines for years. I've never gotten into pachinko machines but I have to say that I am intrigued now. I started out looking for a pachinko ball machine for my 78 year old mother. She loves Lupin and still reads her japanese books about Lupin. I think they are some sort of Japanese comic book. Anyway. I have a few questions...

1. Is there a specific brand of pachinko machine that is better than others?
2. Are there machines that are more collectible than others? If so, what makes them more collectible?
3. Are the vintage machines much more collectible than modern machines?
4. Are there specific collectible titles are machines that are hard to find?

I'm thinking of adding a couple of these modern machines to my garage arcade. Very excited.

Thanks in advance.

1. Better is a relative term. My opinion is the most popular machines are made in larger quantities and more therefore; make their way to the US.
2. Pretty much same answer as 1 but definitely a collectible CR modern is Sankyo Star Wars. Definitely collectible vintage is Nishijin Power Flash.
3. On eBay; there are more vintage machines sold than moderns. The majority of modern machines are sold by importers directly (not through eBay).

4. See number 2 and have fun.

[emmadog]

link to info on the best playing vintage machines in my and many others' opinions:
Arrangeball

[pinteresting]

Okay. Great. I just didn't know if there were some manufacturers that were notorious for building poor quality machines.

[hanabi]

Hello

I have a couple of vintages, an arrangeball and some moderns, they all offer something different though and I would never part with any of them.

A few of the guys here prefer vintages as they like the mechanical aspect and design, but personally I much prefer the moderns as (the opinion of a Pachinko Girl ) they are more exhilarating to play, they mesmerise with a flashy light show, most have video screens and I like the soundtracks, and the frantic play of 'Fever' rounds of course. A lot are Movie and / or Animation themed, so if you are 'into' specific movies etc then you may find the corresponding modern title.

As moderns have a relatively short life in the pachinko parlours, some of the earlier film themed ones like Star Wars are collectable as newer collectors come into the hobby and hope to find them, especially being titles that they understand or recognise. I don't have any of the more recent titles, but understand they often have extra interactive features.

My most fav pachinko of all time is 'Horror Mansion' I just love the creepy horror of it all, but for cuteness I like 'Garfield', and for a music soundtrack to dance along to, I like 'maharaja'

Whether to go 'vintage', 'modern' or a mix of the two will probably be decided by whether you prefer the mechanics of a vintage and like restoring perhaps or whether you have specific themes in mind.

Hey they're all pachinko and pachinko is FUN!!

[pinteresting]

With the modern pachinko machines, is there a skill involved in the gameplay? I assume there must be otherwise, it would become very boring.

[emmadog]

little to no skill needed for any of these machines. remember these weren't made just to be fun so people could have something to do. they're designed to make money and any skill acquired by a player would interfere with the massive amount of revenu these machines generate. good machine designs give the player the illusion of a skill aspect such as skill stop machines.the player presses a button to stop the reels but the computer ultimately decides what the results are.

[compirate]

It varies with the type of game. The standard Deji (digital) where you win if numbers or charactors line up is very random. The skill comes from not wasting balls firing willy-nilly and stopping when you've stocked the maximum number of spins possible. Then you wait for a few to pass then start firing again. Also timing your firing during a bonus so that no balls are passing the bonus door when it's closed. Back in the day, those balls cost you 4 yen to 'rent' and redeemed at 2.5yen, so every one cost you something.

The next style is the Hanemono (wing) type. A bit more firing skill on this type. Having the balls fall around the center feature when the wings open is important. I consider this type to be the most fun to play. A little more action going on.

The third type is the kenrimono (rights) type. This type takes the most skill. Balls have to go certain places in a certain order to win. On one game I have, a ball has to go in a specific pocket near the top, then the next one has to be landed on a rotating wheel with a notch in it. It will sit there till the notch comes around, but can be easily knocked off by another ball if your not careful. Once that ball drops in the notch, the bonus door at the bottom opens and you have to get 15 balls in there. Then you have to land a ball on the wheel again for each successive round. This game pays off really well, but it takes some work.

As was said about Pachislo, I really feel it is computer controlled when it wins, but depending on the game, you are responsible for how much it pays out. I am positive some of my games just feel sorry for me and give me bonuses! On some games, you have to hit the buttons in a certain order and in the excitement of it, I've screwed it up, even when it told me what order to do it in . Some games tell you that you have to hit a certain color '7' on the left reel, normally pretty easy to do but you'll miss every once in a while. The bonus rounds end up shorter if you mess up too much. I have at least one game that no matter what you do, when it gets a bonus it will always allow you to play every round and pays out the max.

Sorry, left out the Arrangeball, more of a 'classic' then modern, my opinion, but full of electronics. I don't have one so I'll let someone else chime in if you need further info.

[pinteresting]

Thanks for the great explanation. I ordered a Lupin III today. I'm also trying to buy a Star Wars pachinko online. I'm very excited about these machines. I've never owned one other than when I was a child and my parents bought one. We were too young to appreciate it then.

[pinteresting]

So I'm trading emails with someone for a Star Wars Pachinko machine. What is the going rate for one of these?

[Drunkenclam]

anything between $200-600 prices are wild on that one