Quoted from CrazyLevi:You are asking them to react to...what exactly? What has changed for them in the last 24 hours?
Not the last 24 hours, the last 24 months! They've probably shipped more replacement PF's, probably have dealt with more minor tech. support calls than ever, and the code feedback email inbox is probably full. An operator lost a sale on a used location game to me 2 weeks ago because the cabinet looked like... well below is one of two cracked sides (and it had ghosting to boot).
Kiss, GoT, AS, GB, and SW are fine games, but IMO they don't stack up collectively to the SM, TWD, ST, MET, ACDC era of games, both from a gameplay and QC standpoint. Pre-Spike were the games that really made them kill it for years. But with all the current crap (even if Pinside is a vocal minority), they have to be looking at all sorts of trends since Spike. Did AS and SW really hit sales expectations for 2017? I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if they fell a touch short. People really warmed up to DI, meanwhile last I read there was still a local NIB SWLE in stock. With LE's usually being a juggernaut, who would've anticipated SW LE's to be in stock months after release? That's a trend worth noting, and it didn't happen overnight. Another one to follow in the coming years - does any Spike title get its license renewed like MET and ST, or does demand dry up?
One thing any business can do is fight hype with hype. It's quick and can keep money from flowing to the competition. There are so many "pinball dollars" floating around out there. Starving your competition means more of those dollars can float your way. Right now if I were at Stern, I'd be seeing lost revenue floating to a competitor for what's now the 4th time. I'd also see TNA taking in about $1mil in revenue for Spooky. You can either waive goodbye at that money or try to do something about it, and with them probably knowing at least how SOME of the market is perceiving them right now, some positive PR or some freggin' good will to a customer base (that now has at least some options) isn't the worst idea.
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