Just about anybody that is over the age of 38 remembers when there were only 3 major channels on TV (not counting PBS the 3 were ABC, NBC, and CBS). Also, the Wizard of Oz movie was only broadcasted once a year and was not available on VHS, etc. like it is now, thus for many it was an annual family event to watch the movie. I have nothing but great memories from each year, popping some popcorn and watching the movie with my brother and parents.

It is funny how generational themes can be. I am 43 and was 16 when Transformers was invented so I have absolutely no interest in that theme. It came after I was too old to play with toys anymore. That theme has a very limited age group to appeal to (basically 40 and under, and normally people that are under 25 years old don't have money to buy NIB pinball machines).

I am not sure Jalpert wants pinball to be pinball anymore. What is supposed to change to make it next generation? JJP is making new toys, new lighting systems, LCD instead of antiquated DMD and new improved playfield and cabinet printing. If you change it in more drastic ways it probably becomes something other than pinball like video games or redemption games.

I would like to see a better player like Keith Johnson playing it with concentration. It is hard to tell what the flow is like. Those videos looked like average players not really even trying very hard because they were busy talking while playing.

The nice thing about these mini-playfields in WOZ is that they feed quickly back to the flippers when they exit. I think a lot of mini-playfields have a lag when putting the ball back to the main playield, but the wireforms in WOZ will have the action never really lagging (especially the witch's castle does not appear to have any ball locks, I am not sure about the spinning house playfield and whether there is a ball lock there).

Not every pin should be a fan pattern. That would just be boring.

Also, most said that SM was not a great game until the code was updated.

Exactly! We don't want revolutionary pinball, we want high quality pinball with many complex features. That is what JJP is striving for and looks like they will attain.

I see what you are saying, and if you look at my collection I have LOTR LE and SM that are keepers. I don't want either company to fail. I think pinball is growing because there is new blood filtering in mainly because of Farsight's console pinball games (The Williams Collection and Pinball Arcade) bringing new interest to pinball or rekindling old pinball interests. I just would like to see Stern start evolving and they look like they have started with the AC/DC design and the rumors that they are working on an LCD system. I also think they need to continue to make more complex toys and definitely need to integrate a stereo sound system in all pins like Bally and Williams slot machines are now doing.
Additionally, I agree that theme is also important. AC/DC was a big band until about 1981, but their time was long gone by the time I was a teenager and they were not even getting the radio play that other groups such as Led Zeppelin were getting. Transformers was after my childhood since it was invented when I was 16 years old and past the age of toys. Somehow I have not watched the XMen movies and they did not have any XMen cartoons when I was a kid, but I am interested in watching the XMen movies now since the Avengers and the other movies associated such as Iron man were enjoyable. The lack of an LCD is a no-go for me for any pins right now. I will wait and see how the LCD in WOZ is before buying another pin. The evolution to LCD is happening whether you resist it or not.

AC/DC is very heavy metal that only has a small demographic of fans that happen to be very loyal/avid. WOZ is a family movie that is all encompassing demographically. That is the point. I listened to AC/DC when I was 12 years old and then grew up and AC/DC did not make much music at that point that was memorable. TNT and Dirty Deeds were memorable for their catchy sounds/phrases. After that, bands that had more harmony, melody and deepness such as Led Zep, U2, The Who, The Police, REM, etc. dominated the airwaves.

I am sure you could disable the feet if you do not like them just like you could probably disable that game slowing view blocking moving ramp in XMen LE.

I would guess that Stern will switch to a Stereo sound bar when they start making the LCD pins. Williams and Bally are using them in many of their slot machines, and JJP is using them a as well (it appears).
Stern probably wants to redesign just about everything about their system all at once to incorporate the new boards, LCD, cabinets, sound systems. It is easier than having to modify things structurally each time you add an individual element.