Value of Dragon's Lair and DEDICATED Space Ace?

LeeB99

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Hi,

I have both an original Dragon's Lair and DEDICATED Space Ace machines, which I have owned for MANY years. I was curious as to what the current value of these games are. Both of them have been upgraded with NOS (New Old Stock) Sony LD players, using the Hitec-Mechanical conversion. In fact, I provided Ron (the owner of Hitech) with his Dragon's Lair machine that he used to develop the kit on. I have the "new" reproduction laserdisc for Dragon's Lair (as well as a good original) and both sets of ROMs for both machines. The ROMs for Dragon's Lair allow you to play prototype footage not in the original game, and you can play the regular version by just plugging the original chips back in. The Space Ace optional ROMs is a re-write of the original code. I know that MOST of you probably know this stuff already, but I wanted to be clear about what I have.

Both machines are in great condition. The Dragon's Lair has reproduction side art on one side and full original art on the other. It also has a 100% intact factory control panel. At the moment, both audio channels are playing through one of the speakers (through a "y" connection) as I never really got around to troubleshooting the issue. It never bothered me enough to worry about it. Cosmetically both are very nice. The Ace is all original, with the exception of the laser player conversion. Sideart is mostly complete with just a couple of nicks and the original control panel overlay is completely intact with only minor cracking around some of the buttons. Not enough to make me want to replace it.

Any idea what these are worth???
 
The best (and shortest) answer is they are worth what someone is willing to pay.

I'd say:
DL - $1800-$2200
SA - $2000-$2300

You'll have laser fanatics step in soon enough to offer advice.

These are prices I'd seen on and off before the economic down turn. I'd say if you can get around the low figure let them go. If you are asking for insurance puposes then $5K a piece ;)
 
The best (and shortest) answer is they are worth what someone is willing to pay.

I'd say:
DL - $1800-$2200
SA - $2000-$2300

You'll have laser fanatics step in soon enough to offer advice.

These are prices I'd seen on and off before the economic down turn. I'd say if you can get around the low figure let them go. If you are asking for insurance puposes then $5K a piece ;)


That's way high. Usually with the upgrades these fetch $1000-1500 MAX. I deal in a lot of arcade machines and that is the usual cost on those. Sometimes they fetch less with no sideart ($700-800 or so)
 
That's way high. Usually with the upgrades these fetch $1000-1500 MAX. I deal in a lot of arcade machines and that is the usual cost on those. Sometimes they fetch less with no sideart ($700-800 or so)

...Says the guy who has Dragon's Lair listed in his "WANTED" wish list. I SERIOUSLY doubt that an original dedicated Ace would change hands for $1,500 or less ...unless the seller has absolutely NO IDEA what they have...
 
That's way high. Usually with the upgrades these fetch $1000-1500 MAX. I deal in a lot of arcade machines and that is the usual cost on those. Sometimes they fetch less with no sideart ($700-800 or so)

Even though he didn't specify, it was safe to assume he was asking for real world prices not cheap ass KLOV'er price.
 
I agree...

I agree that they are worth whatever someone will pay...

I wouldn't pay more than $950-1200 for a DL machine...

The Space Ace is a different story in my opinion...dedicated ones fetch more than converted, obviously..a good dedicated should fetch around $1300-1500 in this economy. Maybe a little more, maybe a little less...

ACEJEDI (Joe) really has a good idea on what laser games are worth now-a-days so you might want to PM him..or I am sure he will see this thread and respond.

His "price advice" has always been pretty "dead-on" when I have asked him..

I am sure you will find SOMEONE to buy them eventually. If you look at ebay, DL and SA's haven't been getting very many bids and when they have they haven't been going for much..proof that people either don't have the discretionary income anymore OR the people who want DL's and SA's have them and don't need another one! hehe...

Good Luck!!

Jess
 
The fact that there are currently NO Dragon's Lair or Space Ace machines listed on Ebay is the reason why I posted this question. It seems like whenever I look, there are not any listed, which led me to wonder if less of them are changing hands these days...

My Lair is MUCH MORE in line with the third one listed. The other two sound like project games. My machines are much nicer...
 
Last edited:
Check completed

Lee,

Do an "advanced" ebay search and check the "completed listings" box. You will see DL and SA machines that have either sold or not sold. I see two on there right now that were for sale in the past two weeks. One didn't even get a single bid and it started at $499. Looks like a nice machine too. Of course, the seller wasn't willing to ship the unit so that always limits bids...

The way you described your machines they sound nice. Wish I could afford to get the dedicated SA...hehe

Take it easy

J
 
If I had room for it, and the $$, I'd pay $1000 or more for a nice, working Dragon's Lair, easy.

(But I don't envy anyone looking for values in our hobby. Pac-Man machines in more or less identical shape have asking prices anywhere from $25 - $2000...and they sell. How the hell do you find a consensus when that's the reality?)
 
I would think the DL is worth 1000 at the very least and maybe more like 1200 or so. The dedicated SA has to be worth at least 1500 and maybe 1800 to 2k or so. Part of it depends on how fast you want them gone.
 
Laser games are a niche market. While the graphics were very impressive for the time, it is generally accepted that the gameplay sucks balls. For that reason, I think it is hard to nail down a price. If they are as nice as you say (and they appear), you might get toward the upper end of what people are mentioning, but you'll likely have to wait months, possibly years, for the "right buyer" to come along.
 
Prices Out of Date

I'm sorry, but you guys quoting prices in excess of $1,500 for either machine are completely out of touch. There was a period maybe 3-4 years ago when prices were reaching those levels and higher for really pristine original or restored machines, but even assuming the OP is accurate in his descriptions, those don't exactly sound like mint machines and the economy has assured you won't get anywhere close to that level. Ebay, Craigs List and KLOV are pretty much the only places arcade games sell anymore, so based on those prices, I would expect maybe $1K for the DL and possibly $1,200 for the Space Ace.
 
The fact that there are currently NO Dragon's Lair or Space Ace machines listed on Ebay is the reason why I posted this question. It seems like whenever I look, there are not any listed, which led me to wonder if less of them are changing hands these days...

My Lair is MUCH MORE in line with the third one listed. The other two sound like project games. My machines are much nicer...

Bear in mind that there are a number of legal avenues for a person interested in the gameplay to do so (DVDs, iTunes, etc.) and that may have an impact on the possible demand. Your likely market for maximum price is from die-hard collectors who are insistent on an original experience, which in 2009-2010 I would say is a small segment of the possible Dragon's Lair/Space Ace player.

One could argue the gameplay is not the same, etc. etc., but IMO it's the same purist argument in records re. CD versus vinyl. Most people (joe sixpack) won't care. If somebody can get their fix of 1983 nostalgia for $5.00 off of iTunes, they'll do so.
 
Interesting that some of you guys appraise a DL or SA in the same price bracket as a 60-1 or MAME machine. MAchines that can be built every day of the week 24x7 where as the DL and SA were in limited numbers (and even more so over time we've lost how many?) Wow .... just wow.

It's all good - everyone has an opinion and that's what this forum needs to keep it interesting.
 
Lee: I have stuff in my wanted list but it doesn't mean I have MONEY for it all every five seconds and I like having expensive arcade machines shipped. There are THREE Dragon's Lair games available within 4 hours from me, $800, $1000, and $1000 and they are still available.

MY prices are correct.

eBay completed items even with SHIPPING adding $300-350 on the value of some does not even stretch on some prices.

My question is this how can this game which may have a problem be worth $1500 MORE if it is working? It had no bids.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Space-Ace-Drago...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item2557c15046

And who said that a 60 in 1 is worth $800? Those are RETAIL prices you see people TRY and sell them for. CHristmas time you get the money, but a $60 board and $100 cabinet = $800 multicade = not the case. It's not like every auction for multicades ends at $800+


There was a NICE Dragon's Lair that went for $1400 in Georgia on eBay because it was right around Christmas.

Just because something is NOT listed this second does not mean the value is as high as you say it is.

If they are as nice as you say they are, there is still no way they would fetch that high.

This is a day and age where games that used to go for $700-1000 fetch $200-500. Just don't see why people don't see that sometimes.
 
If they are as nice as you say they are, there is still no way they would fetch that high.

This is a day and age where games that used to go for $700-1000 fetch $200-500. Just don't see why people don't see that sometimes.

If you deal in a lot of arcade games then you know a blanket statement like that is wrong. Tell me that a 700-1000 Star Wars arcade is now worth 200-500. Yeah right. They still fetch 700+ easy depending on condition. A clean Lunar Lander would not be in the 200-500 range now. If you have some clean Star Wars and Lunar Lander games you wanna sell for 200-500 let me know, i will be happy to flip them. A Space Ace dedicated is rare , rare enough to demand a pretty high price. This to me just sounds like sour grapes.
 
If you deal in a lot of arcade games then you know a blanket statement like that is wrong. Tell me that a 700-1000 Star Wars arcade is now worth 200-500. Yeah right. They still fetch 700+ easy depending on condition. A clean Lunar Lander would not be in the 200-500 range now. If you have some clean Star Wars and Lunar Lander games you wanna sell for 200-500 let me know, i will be happy to flip them. A Space Ace dedicated is rare , rare enough to demand a pretty high price. This to me just sounds like sour grapes.

Well then maybe you should make the OP an offer...I think you are reading way too much into the statement that 700-1000 games are now 200-500. It's not every game and yes, you can still probably sell a minty Star Wars cockpit for good money, along with a number of in demand games. Having said that, fewer and fewer people are maintaining large collections simply because people move, they get married, they have families, they lose their jobs, etc... The generation that loves these games is aging and not every college kid that graduates and has disposable income has the interest or space to collect. On top of that, the economy is very, very poor right now and people are cutting back on arcade game purchases. It's a buyers market. Heck, some of the best deals for some of the rarest and nicest machines I have ever bought have been in the last year.

Space Ace has always only appealed to niche laser collectors and most of us have all the games we can handle right now. I'm sure you can find a buyer, but thinking that this is 2001 and dot com millionaires are going to pay ridiculous amounts of money to own a Space Ace is silly.
 
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