5 Mods that Increase Your Pinball Machine Value

Cary Hardy·video·12m 3s·analyzed·Nov 16, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Five mods that reliably increase pinball machine resale value.

Summary

Cary Hardy explains the difference between mods and accessories, then identifies five modifications that reliably increase pinball machine resale value: mirror blades, PinSound, speaker light kits, shaker motors, and Color DMD. He establishes four rules for value-adding mods (universality, break-even pricing, community consensus, and low subjectivity) and discusses honorable mentions including NVRAM, PinWoofer, InvisiGlass, and PIN Stadium.

Key Claims

Color DMD is the #1 mod that adds value, with an estimated $500 price tag increase on DMD-era games
high confidence · Direct statement as #1 ranked mod with specific valuation claim
Most mods installed on pinball machines do not return their cost when selling
high confidence · Opening statement establishing context for the video
Mirror blades are more universally accepted than custom art blades due to lower subjectivity
high confidence · Rule 4 discussion explaining why art blades didn't make the list
Shaker motors are relatively inexpensive and add tactile value appreciated by most buyers
high confidence · #2 ranked mod with cost and acceptance reasoning
PinSound is particularly valuable for movie-licensed Data East and older games but not newer Sterns
medium confidence · #4 ranked mod with platform-specific application limits noted

Notable Quotes

“If you line 10 pinball enthusiasts up and you ask them five or more would agree... the majority of pinball enthusiasts would agree that these particular mods do add value”
Cary Hardy @ Rule 3 explanation — Establishes the decision-making framework for mod selection
“Just because you install all purple lights throughout your GI and it looks good to you, I guarantee you that a majority of pinball enthusiasts are not gonna like the look of that.”
Cary Hardy @ Rule 4 explanation — Illustrates the subjectivity problem with aesthetic mods
“If you put a color dmd on your dmd era games you basically added an extra 500 to the prize tag of that particular machine”
Cary Hardy @ #1 mod ranking — Quantifies the value-add of the highest-ranking mod
“Everyone thinks that whatever they spend money on and put into their game, they should automatically be able to get that money back. Sadly, that's not the case.”
Cary Hardy @ Opening context — Frames the reality of mod investment vs. resale value
“The less room for subjectivity the better”
Cary Hardy @ Rule 4 — Core principle guiding mod selection criteria

Entities

Cary HardypersonStern PinballcompanyColor DMDproductPinSoundproductPinWooferproductPIN StadiumproductMyth PinballcompanyInvisiGlassproductNVRAMproduct86 PixelscompanyDeadpoolgame

Signals

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community_signal: Cary Hardy actively soliciting community feedback via Patreon for mod value validation, indicating collaborative approach to content validation
medium · References to Patreon discussions and request for community input on additional mods
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sentiment_shift: Community feedback on PIN Stadium shows mixed reception with players requesting removal rather than paying premium, indicating adoption resistance despite installer belief in value
high · Specific statement about feedback from Pinsiders and Facebook regarding PIN Stadium rejection
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market_signal: Concern that aesthetic mods (custom LED colors, InvisiGlass, PIN Stadium) impose subjective costs on buyers who don't value them, leading to buyer resistance
high · Multiple examples of mods that reduce rather than increase resale attractiveness due to subjectivity
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product_strategy: Color DMD identified as most reliable value-adding mod with estimated $500 price increase, emphasizing low-voltage operation and visual improvement over monochrome displays
high · Direct ranking and specific valuation claim with technical justification
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technology_signal: Color DMD emerges as standard value-add upgrade for DMD-era machines, with speaker light kits and shaker motors gaining acceptance as baseline enhancements
high · Ranking Color DMD #1 with community consensus; speaker kits and shaker motors in top 5

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.036

0:00

Real quick edit here guys, I posted a comment yesterday regarding this video asking people about the mods for your games and some people need a refresher on what a mod is compared to an accessory. So let's go over that real quick because it's important for this video. On my Deadpool, I have Art Blades. These are the Stern Art Blades. So that's considered an accessory because the manufacturer created it. I have a different shooter rod, but Stern didn't make this. That's a mod.

0:34

I have art blades on my Jurassic Park, but these are the pin graphics, illuminated graphics. That's not made by Stern. That's a mod. So that's the difference between these two main things. If you want to talk about a topper being included, if the manufacturer created it, it's an accessory. If a different company created it, it's a mod. That's the difference between the two so just keep that in mind for this video guys. So you've bought a machine Now you're gonna throw money into it by mods So you buy this mod that mod this mod you powder-coat everything you buy new rubbers LEDs Now comes the time to sell it Chances are you're not gonna be getting your money back on those mods But I've got five mods in this video that are guaranteed to increase the value of your game.

1:32

Oh, we are about to piss some people off. I'll tell you that right now because everyone thinks that whatever they spend money on and put into their game, they should automatically be able to get that money back. Sadly, that's not the case. So I have rules. I have four rules and these are the rules that I'm going by and the reasons why I chose the particular mods that I will be listing in this video. Rule number one, the mod has to be damn close to universal, meaning not just for one game. For example pin vision done by 86 pixels for like twilight zone yes great great mod and you whenever you buy twilight zone you should be able to charge more with that mod in it but that's the thing is that mod is only for that game so that's not going to be on this list rule number two is that the price that you spend on this particular mod you should at least break even when selling your game with the mod installed meaning people are not going to give you much grief for charging a little bit more for your game because of the particular mod that is installed rule number three is that the majority of pinball enthusiasts would agree that these particular mods do add value meaning if you line 10 pinball enthusiasts up and you ask them five or more would agree and rule number four the less room for subjectivity the better meaning just because you installed all new comet leds or whatever throughout the game it's not guaranteed to increase the value of your game because of this particular sentence that usually gets added on when mentioning these mods yes you can say oh i've got all new titan rubbers installed throughout or i've got all new leds or i've got powder coating stuff like that and it's like yes technically these can be honorable mentions and add value but the main point is that they have to be done tastefully and that's the big subjectivity is that what is tasteful that's to each their own so the main rule on number four is that it needs to be at least customizable for the potential buyer to where they can basically make it their own. Just because you install all purple lights throughout your GI and it looks good to you, I guarantee you that a majority of pinball enthusiasts are not gonna like the look of that. So with those four rules in place, let's get started. Number five is mirror blades. Now this is where a little a bit of subjectivity comes into place because, trust me guys, on my Patreon page, a lot of discussion was going back and forth on this, that people like art blades better, but the thing is, there's different types of art blades for each game, which leaves room for subjectivity, because each individual may not like that particular art style, but mirror blades are pretty universal and more acceptable to the masses, because everyone knows what a mirror does, and there's no subjectivity there. So I will agree that, yes, art blades do help, but it's not a guarantee that the particular art blades that people put in these games are going to be accepted. I mean, there are a lot of other third parties out there that create art blades that don't look good. I mean, again, subjectivity here, but like retro refurbs, I've seen some stuff where I'm like, I wouldn't want that on my game. Number four, Pin Sound. Now, this, it goes across a number of machines. Granted, not your newer sterns or anything like that, but Pin Sound products in general are definitely an upgrade to your machine. But particularly, Pin Sound is a great addition to the movie pins. And like for instance I got one in my Last Action Hero You could put them in your other Data East games like Star Wars and I just got finished doing the Batman stuff like that Increasing the audio package with the pen sound card is definitely appreciated by potential buyers

6:17

What is it? Yes. No, I'm not letting you lick me. I've seen where you've been licking me. Number three is Speaker Light Kits. Now this can be done through a number of places I'm just gonna name two off the top of my head and that's Myth Pinball and Pinwoofer. The pricing for these are acceptable and I feel that definitely it's customizable for any potential buyer out there that does give it a nice visual appeal. Number two is Shaker Motor. Now this is obviously able to be easily installed on your newer sterns and some of your other modern machines and for those games out there that did not initially come with the shaker motor let's say for instance the getaway you technically can install a shaker motor on these with one of the previous mods that i mentioned earlier pen sound so technically all your older games back here even tales of the arabian nights if you so wished oh wished i didn't even think about that one but like you could put a shaker motor on that shaker motors are relatively inexpensive and they added a nice tactile experience to your pinball machine and i think majority of people like them opposed to the minority that could do without and the number one mod on this list that is guaranteed to add value to your machine color dmd this i don't think i will get any flack from pinball enthusiasts out there for having color dmd on this list if there's anybody out there anyone that actually looks at color dmd and goes yeah not that good of a mod something is wrong with you you're definitely in the minority because it is widely accepted that if you put a color dmd on your dmd era games you basically added an extra 500 to the prize tag of that particular machine the perks you get from it is that you're no longer using high voltage the obviousness of the screen being brighter more visually appealing and depending on if you use lcd or led doesn't matter it's definitely going to look better than your regular orange dot matrix display so i'm going to give you a couple of honorable mentions here guys that we were discussing on patreon and like one of those was nvram it's cheap and i think it's definitely well appreciated if it's installed on your older games back here if you have that on your listing that you have nvram installed that basically lets the potential buyer know that i shouldn have to worry about it but buy like battery damage on the boards or anything like that it relatively cheap like i specified so i wanted to have that at least as an honorable mention now what also gets brought up here is pin whopper when it comes to upgrading your speakers on a game now granted this could potentially increase your value but there's that room for if tastefully done to an extent because not everyone cares about like a deeper sub or those particular speakers that just have a better sound to them because a lot of the times for a lot of people the factory speakers on these machines are fine and you're not going to really notice a difference but there definitely is those people out there that like to have much better sound and just to have a machine blaring in your face while you're playing i hear nothing but good things about it so i will at least give that an honorable mention that penwoofer is available to put on your game i just can't guarantee that a potential buyer is willing to pay the extra 300 plus because you updated the audio another honorable mention is invisiglass so i'll put that on there but i just feel that for me if i was buying a machine and they wanted to charge me an extra, I don't know, was it 300 bucks or something like that for Invisiglass because it's on there, I would request that they just keep it. How about you knock off 300 bucks, you can keep the glass. I don't need it. Because Invisiglass, to an extent, is subjectively useful because it depends on what environment you play in. If you're in a well-lit, lights above your games and everything area, then Invisiglass could potentially be very useful for you. Whereas for me, I play in a dark environment, plus I have Penn Stadiums in all my games, doesn't do me any good. So again, I guess I could bring up the fact that subjectivity, Penn Stadiums is another add-on that people put on their games and they think that automatically increases the value of it. But there's plenty of feedback from the public that I have seen, whether it be on Pennside or Facebook, that do not care for the product. So chances are you'd have a good amount of people that would request you remove the Penn Stadiums just so they could save the extra 500 bucks. So there are a few honorable mentions. By all means, I'm looking forward to getting feedback from all of you out there on other mods you feel should be included. So I'm not saying that these are the top five mods, but merely five mods that will add value to your game. If I get enough like information back from the public on which ones are actually I feel legitimately would add value, then I'll make another video in the future. Just keep those four rules in mind, guys. I mean, all of this technically is subjective, but the less subjectivity, the better. Do you agree? Do you disagree? Let me know in the comment section down below, and until next time, guys, peace!