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Environmental Discs of Tron Roadside Pickup

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Re: Environmental Discs of Tron Roadside Pickup

#71

Post by bagels »

koz1000 wrote: post #56
Luc wrote: post #4

I saw this a few days ago on an arcade collector's forum (not based in the US), and the majority reaction was disbelief. People seemed to think it was a hoax. That thing is museum quality. I wonder if it's due to those suburban garages, allowing people to pile up stuff for decades. That and having more cash to buy goodies than most of the rest of the world, of course.

The more likely reason is that it was a test machine, as shown by the paperwork in the cabinet and the low play count. It was put on location for a few weeks to gather earnings data and then probably pulled back to the factory. A lot of those test/proto machines were then scrapped or sold at a very low price to someone on the design/production team if they had the means to take it home. Back in this era it was very r…

Test machine theory is also supported by the fact that they are in Chicago, where Midway is/was based.

Re: Environmental Discs of Tron Roadside Pickup

#72

Post by cpfohl »

orev wrote: post #36

So a guy who just so happens to specialize in old games, and just happens to have an exhibition going on specifically about Tron, who happens to have a friend who owns an arcade and a network of people who know how to evaluate and restore arcade cabinets, just happens to be visiting people in a place (it sounds like) he doesn’t go on a daily basis, hears an offhand comment from his young niece who happened to be ridi…

You wildly underestimate how willing people are to avoid lose money in order to avoid the time and effort it takes to get rid of some kinds of stuff ;)

Re: Environmental Discs of Tron Roadside Pickup

#73

Post by elliottcarlson »

No where near as cool; but ages ago when I worked at Tumblr, and when we were expanding the office, they were going to throw out the MAME arcade cabinet - since I lived about 15 minutes walk away, I put it on a dolly with a coworker and we pushed that thing through Manhattan to my apartment building. Got some great looks from people as we tried to navigate it up and down curbs. Still have it over 8 years later sitting here in my home office.

Re: Environmental Discs of Tron Roadside Pickup

#74

Post by xwdv »

bovermyer wrote: post #11
xwdv wrote: post #3

It’s such perfect condition I have to wonder if they bought a cabinet then made up a faked story about finding it out on the curb outside as trash for clicks.

Bitter, cynical, and jaded is no way to go through life, son.

Neither is blinding accepting everything at face value.

Re: Environmental Discs of Tron Roadside Pickup

#76

Post by koz1000 »

bagels wrote: post #71
koz1000 wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The more likely reason is that it was a test machine, as shown by the paperwork in the cabinet and the low play count. It was put on location for a few weeks to gather earnings data and then probably pulled back to the factory. A lot of those test/proto machines were then scrapped or sold at a very low price to someone on the design/production team if they had the means to take it home. Back in this era it was very r…

Test machine theory is also supported by the fact that they are in Chicago, where Midway is/was based.

That's right. Bally/Midway left the city for the suburbs during the boom years, with offices in Rosemont and factories in Franklin Park and Bensenville.

The Franklin Park factory is actually still in use. It now makes equipment for Life Fitness, which has a historical tie back to Bally.

Here's the factory back in 1982: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62s_BIYg5Gs

And today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UUpzCJaNrQ

Re: Environmental Discs of Tron Roadside Pickup

#77

Post by parpfish »

cpfohl wrote: post #72
orev wrote: post #36

So a guy who just so happens to specialize in old games, and just happens to have an exhibition going on specifically about Tron, who happens to have a friend who owns an arcade and a network of people who know how to evaluate and restore arcade cabinets, just happens to be visiting people in a place (it sounds like) he doesn’t go on a daily basis, hears an offhand comment from his young niece who happened to be ridi…

You wildly underestimate how willing people are to avoid lose money in order to avoid the time and effort it takes to get rid of some kinds of stuff ;)

The hard to believe part isn’t that somebody was putting this cabinet on the curb to toss it.

The hard to believe part is that this specific guy found it at this precise time/place

Re: Environmental Discs of Tron Roadside Pickup

#78

Post by mayormcmatt »

Luc wrote: post #4

I saw this a few days ago on an arcade collector's forum (not based in the US), and the majority reaction was disbelief. People seemed to think it was a hoax. That thing is museum quality. I wonder if it's due to those suburban garages, allowing people to pile up stuff for decades. That and having more cash to buy goodies than most of the rest of the world, of course.

My uncle had a 1968 Dodge Charger in his garage, covered, that hadn't been taken out since then. At that time it was working, but the hoses and seals had deteriorated since (though the paint job was perfect) and he wanted it to be his retirement project to get it running again. Parkinson's set in and he wasn't able to follow through on that, unfortunately, and he ended up selling it for a considerable amount of cash.

You never know what's in peoples' garages.

Re: Environmental Discs of Tron Roadside Pickup

#79

Post by vikingerik »

epiccoleman wrote: post #65
nsxwolf wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a crazy rare version of an already rare arcade cabinet. I've seen exactly one of these in my entire life. The price may not be that silly if it is in good condition.

As someone who just recently spent a wistful afternoon looking at listings on Pinside, this price barely even seems crazy. It's a bit different since pinball tables have all the mechanical bits and bobs, but still. Owning a Medieval Madness table has become one of my "boy, if I ever won the lottery" fantasies, and will likely remain that way.

There are pinball distributors that will do short to medium term rentals, a few hundred dollars for a couple months. Medieval Madness is probably in short supply for that, but there are quite a few other options for newer games, often ones a few years old that just came off a public location. Renting could be a way to go if you really want it but can't swing ownership.

Re: Environmental Discs of Tron Roadside Pickup

#80

Post by 83 »

sidewndr46 wrote: post #34
tibbon wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Large objects can be so hard to deal with that they are often discarded, regardless of theoretical price or value. Motorcycles, Hammond organs, etc. So often it might be worth quite a bit it someone in another location, but especially after someone dies, there often isn’t the energy to deal with it. So on the street it goes. You can find some people asking $6000 for a Hammond B3, but then someone can’t give away a D-…

Same thing with aquariums. If you want a 150 gallon you have to pay. If you want a 2000 gallon and are willing to go pick it up and move it, it's usually free.

I run into this with tools at auctions. Want a small milling machine you can move into your garage on your own? $2k. Want a giant one from the 60s that takes a crane to move in? $400
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