Since every man and his dog started importing containers into Australia the rankings of A, B list etc are more relevant than ever. Why? Because for every 1 MM,AFM,CV,TOTAN or MB brought into the country there are 3 Getaways, 4 Fish tales et al, and a boatload of Segas and Data Easts in the same container that the importer was FORCED to accept as part of the conditions of getting their hands on one of the A titles mentioned. It cannot be more obvious why the "resellers" in Europe have this restriction - everyone wants the A list and no one wants to import a container load solely consisting of what is generally regarded as "lesser titles". This for them is the easiest way to get the rid of the unwanted warehouse filler stock.
If you regard price/value as part of the definition of a title's rankings, then MM has gone up in value for every year after its release in 1997, and has never been out of the top 3 in ranking in 15 years. Despite there being 4,016 of them as a standard model pin (more than all the Stern LE versions combined), they are now selling for $20,000+ for a restored to factory standard version in the US (which I personally find ludicrous). Once MM went to this price, its "little sister" AFM quickly followed suit and broke the $10,000 mark. These are not coincidences, this is a free market that recognises quality and is willing to pay for it (A list title or not).
