Meh, I think you're over sensationalizing it.

First, they didn't know about flipping on the power switch.

Then when it came on, it was in coin-op mode.

Two simple issues easily remedied that pretty much every first-time game owner encounters.

It looked like they were excited about the game, so I suppose that's the important thing, no matter what the price tag happens to be.

50k?
That’s a bargain.

The guy is happy and can afford it and knew what he was buying for his business so enjoy!

The people who buy supreme pinball are a different type of person in general than standard pinball collectors.

Guy seems like a good person and excited about the purchase. Crazy money but what's cool is that this will only help promote pinball more, especially to a younger audience.

It was nice seeing the genuine excitement on his face!

Does anyone know how much these were when they were first released?

I believe there were 20 at the outset. SM home edition layout with a new skin.

Dude got a steal!!! There’s one for $100000 (FIRM) for sale on pinside market.

Makes the dialed in James Bond 60th seem like a cheap bargain.

Arlington? Dang, I need to drive over and play it (I used to work right across the highway from where the store is located about 40 minutes from my house).

Dude is happy, it's for his business (sees it as a marketing tool), so let him enjoy it even if he did pay $40K.

BTW, regardless of what some of us might think, things are worth what someone is willing to pay for them. I can think of a variety of products and services I think are a stupid waste of money, but that doesn't mean someone else doesn't value those things for other reasons.

Played one in Vegas at high end shoe store located in Caesar’s.

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These were between 9-10k when released, sold directly by Supreme. I had one in my cart but it disappeared by checkout. They sold out in like 10 seconds.

A friend convinced me it was a solid money-making opportunity and he was right !

Less than 11K delivered to the 48 contiguous.

Dumb question: but what exactly is Supreme? Is it some type of clothing brand? I have no idea.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_(brand)

A "lifestyle brand" that slaps their logo on various things that followers then go gaga over.

So, I couldn’t resist. I just drove down to the mall to see it in person and played a few games.

What I will say is that in person the pin has a very clean look to it with the dominate white and red. It was fun to play, but a slower game than what I am accustomed to liking.

Is it worth the price just as a pinball machine? Certainly not. Is it worth the marketing it brings? Well, it got me to drive across town, into the store, and I dropped a few bucks in it.

After enjoying a few games, now I’m off to In-N-Out for some lunch, then maybe stop by the dealership to see if they have any new Z’s on the lot.

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No denying, it makes an otherwise dull clothing shop look pretty attractive. If I was passing, I'd pop in just to admire the machine, then leave without buying any of the naff clothing.

The playfield looks like Spiderman Home Edition.

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That's because it is.

For a full background on this project, and the pretty hilarious dad-rage that it generated, visit here:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-x-supreme-new-machine

Do you want to buy a 40 cent brick for $30?
This brand is for you!!!!

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The thing about Supreme is that they started in an era when you couldn't just buy their clothing online, or in normal stores. If you were into the streetwear scene (which isn't my scene but I can appreciate it and have some limited insight into it) and you had a Supreme shirt it was a sign you made the journey out to get it from their shop.

So there was this aspect of rarity and dedication that came with it, and that built up a brand cachet that made it very exclusive feeling. "You can't just get this". I don't think that's something really that hard to explain on this site, look at the FOMO frenzy over limited stuff here.

Now of course it's not hard to get Supreme stuff anymore, but they still do limited things, again, FOMO works and we know it. That initial brand mystique has faded, but it's also still around, that feeling of being one of the insider cool kids.

Things like the Supreme brick are giant self-knowing winks, a "you'll buy anything we put our logo on" joke, and I think everyone is in on it, but it's still fun.

Looks like the rear levelers need to be adjusted way up.

Regardless, that cabinet art is STUNNING!

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Level bubble was dead center, but I was thinking that too.

It is really eye-catching in person.

The amount of steam people blow out their pipes about the Supreme pinball never stops amusing me

I dont get the whole guys who care about what types of sneakers they're wearing. But I guess that's what makes the world go around. The Supreme thing is kinda crazy. It's literally a boring game with no artwork. But then again people paid a lot more money for a gif of an ape smoking a cigar. I'd rather have the ugly pinball machine. Ok, this boomer is signing off.

No anti-glare glass!

Also a total rip off of an artist named Barbara Kruger.

So how much time before it pays for itself on location? (Round to the nearest century.)

Alright, doesn’t do anything for me, I don’t want to feel like I’m playing a huge Target ad....

It looks like a fancy trash bin with lights… wtf

I guess it's kinda relatable to this...

I have a friend who turned out to be one of my best friends, however we're completely different from one another and he's about ten years younger than me. We used to be workout partners at the gym. We both moved away from where we were living about the same time (me back to California, him to Florida, both of us back closer to our families). So Kenny comes to visit and sees my pinball machines and has fun playing them for the week he is out here visiting. He goes home and immediately buys one (TMNT) for his tattoo parlor he owns. Thought he'd be "the tattoo guy with the pinball machine". Which I think is super cool because he's like the guy in this video, wants to get his business noticed and is doing it in a small way through pinball. I can't imagine too many tattoo shops have pinball machines in them, and I'd stop and take notice if I saw one. I put him up on pinball maps as a location and he says he gets pinball people stopping in every once in a while. It was also fun talking him through set up over the phone.

And now he's already talking about getting another game or two for his shop.

Supreme brand is all about the name. Can wrap a turd in a Supreme wrapper and people will spend $$$$$ for it.

True! Even more if you use this while producing said turds.

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Sunshine Laundromat in Brooklyn had a Supreme on location back before the pandemic. I played it there; I didn't really know anything was special about it at the time. Don't know if it's still there after their two-year-long renovation.

Math should be easy...

$40,000 for pin
$1 per play (3 balls)
40,000 plays to recover initial cost of pin (excludes power, maintenance, marketing funds you would have spent on something else, etc.)

Let's assume 20 plays per day x 7 days per week = $140 per week earnings
$40,000/$140 = 285.7 weeks
285.7 weeks = 5-1/2 years

Assuming 10 plays per day = 11 years
Assuming 5 plays per day = 22 years

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Now, let's look at the ROI on the pins we all buy for our houses

$8,000 per pin on average
$0 per play (3 or 5 ball)
Assuming an average of 1 to 100 plays per day, earnings are $0 per day/week/month/year
ROI = NEVER (unless you are able to sell the pin sometime in the future for more than you bought it for, but this is the same for a pin on location)

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Don't get me wrong, I think the hype surrounding the Supreme brand is just stupid. However, for someone in that space to leverage the brand as a marketing vehicle to attract the types of customers he needs in his retail store, then I see that as a business decision that is potentially viable (every business owner takes risks). If the machine draws in X number of customers and they spend Y number of dollars buying merchandise they would not have paid attention to otherwise, then having the Supreme pin in the store is a success.

#1 - This machine purchase is for a business, not a home collector like most of us are. As such, it's a huge tax write off for him, including the electricity used to run it. That's a huge savings right there.

#2 - If that machine pulls people in the door, it's creating brand awareness. On top of that, it may just get some people to look around & buy something they otherwise would not have. That equals more money for him.

#3 - The machine will probably generate word of mouth advertising for the owner as well. Many people have never seen a pinball machine, don't know what they are & don't even know they exist. I'm sure many will play it & pass the word along to family & friends whose curiosity will be piqued & they may go down there just to see it & play it. They may even buy something.

#4 - The machine also acts as an advertising tool as I kinda mentioned above.

Companies spend tens of thousands to millions of dollars on advertising every single day. Some is successful & some isn't. This is a nonstop advertisement to anyone walking by that store that will say, "What the heck is that thing!?" & go in & check it out. They may play it & maybe even look around & buy something. You never know.

At the end of the day, paying $40k for that machine is just silly, imo. There's so many others that are far better & far less expensive. But as I said above, there's a cost associated with doing business & that's what this purchase was for this owner. Having that "Supreme" brand name on there is what makes the difference.

That all said, I hope he does well with it & it brings him some solid business & in turn brings us some new people & families into our beloved hobby.

Said another way… Stern brand is all about the name. Can wrap a turd in a Stern wrapper and people will spend $$$$$ for it.

It really works with just about any brand you don’t like or understand or want to put down.

No. Stern does not work the same way supreme does. Stern is not going to sell bricks with their name on it for thousands of dollars. I don't mean that they refuse to do it either, I mean if they tried it, nobody would buy them. They do try sometimes kind of, the most recent example is the Rush thing they put out. I'm just saying no, you can't compare Stern to Supreme they aren't even close to the same thing or idea or brand or buyer.

Still cracking up on how hard it is for pinboomers to wrap their head around what is Supreme lol.

Maybe not a brick, but what about toppers?

John

A way to impress people by buying overpriced and branded red/white junk for them to see? Am I close?

When I have a Supreme hankering, I just swing by the local Taco Bell.

Ooh, just typing that I feel one coming on!

It’s “dope” man. Whatever!! Back to real life.

Same crowd that's impressed by reissued, overpriced, poorly made shoes from the late 80's/early 90's. So, basically, the Supreme pinball machine is a perfect fit for a shoe store that specializes in the current sneaker culture. It's absolutely on-brand there. Not necessarily defending them or the expenditure, but I get it.

I think it’s a great video watching these guys that know nothing of pinball getting excited about the game and setting it up.

Who cares how good the game plays or how much it cost; gameplay and game value was never the target of this release. It’s a collectible. Let it be what it is.

If I ever come across one, I’ll be happy to put a few $’s in.

Dope? Ok Grandpa. I think what you mean is its bussin FR FR ong *100 emoji*

Yeah, those dopes should be collecting baseball cards or hot wheels cars, or something really worthwhile!!