Batman 66 by Stern new info

Quoted for truth.

So what happend did Stern raise the number of SLE to 80? (lol) this is first world problems, Jpop did this with MG too except he didn't actually build anything Jpop took the rarity thing to the extreme.

$15K give me Tron, IM, and Met pro.

IMO this means Tron SLVE sometime in the future $$$$$$$$$$$$$

Low BOM + high price = winner

Hmmmmm.... interesting thought.

I can't wait for them to upgrade Tron with a VE.

LCD screen, arcade mod standard, SPIKE 2.0 sound, tons more bling.....

I'd rather not see Tron, never liked it in the first place but I know a lot of people love it.

Anything with an LCD would be a huge upgrade.

Can you imagine a Walking Dead with Zombie heads getting lopped off and all of that great material to work with!!!

Or Ghostbuster clips. Man, they sadly missed the boat by being so far behind the curve on the LCD from everybody else out there.

You mean all things that a BIGGER run would make better?? No, sorry, that argument doesn't work for the 'OMG stern is screwing everyone' crowd who are upset that stern would release YAGE (yet another Game Edition).

It's nothing more than people acting like they've been insulted, when they aren't even the people involved. That's drama - not discussion. It's like being upset about your neighbors are doing in their bedroom... if it doesn't impact you, don't get so upset about it.

People are so wound up tight about just how much their games will be worth... anything that has the very sense of hurting the value of their game Pinside acts like there can be no good at all from this. It all comes from the worry about values.

A pinball discussion would be about is this good for the health of the company so we can have other games in the future.. or how it impacts the price we pay.. or how the games may differ and which is the better game, or who is getting one, etc. Instead the 'discussion' here is about 'zOMG did you just see Stern fist us????' - yet there is no 'us' because the noise makers aren't even the customers of the game.

Hey now... don't go and start victim blaming!!! It doesn't support the idea of lets get worked up over things if you want us to start applying logic and common sense to the arguments!!!

Really??? Wow, that number is wayyyy lower than I would have expected (or hoped).

Just forget it, I agree with you 100% and still have not gotten a valid reason for the disdain of Stern making more SLE's, its because so many pinheads are about the value in the NIB market and the deal in the used market if anything could cause a person to hate this hobby its exactly that but no one wants to admit it, its suppose to be fun, its not a business to me at all, never will be.

Correction - Stern has given some open ended, vague responses to some customers.. while leaving nearly everyone in limbo to know if they are covered or not and under what kind of timelines.

And yes, they could have acknowledged it and made most of this noise go away.. but they haven't, and won't.

Trust me, I've been saying since day 1 stern will make this right, and no stern won't make any announcements about it... but because I know that's what was goingto happen, not because I think thats the 'best approach'. I was just trying to get people's expectations in line. But with Stern's actions they have to accept the consequences of their lack of public commitment. And that includes dealing with the stigma and uncertainty around their products.

Breaking news: Stern sells out of the now-80 BM66 SLE's and is now releasing 130 total SLE's!!

There is a new application process, the requirements to apply are the following:

1) Must have $15,000 to spend
2) Must have a heart beat, or at least legally considered "alive" and/or "living"

I will disagree with you there, when I created a fix for the left loop GOT issue they finally got around to fixing it by rewriting the code so the ball is supposed to intentionally drop in the pops.......wait.......crap, never mind, carry on, my bad.

This is my point. Zero parameters provided by Stern to help a customer understand what is acceptable and what is not. Nothing. It's certainly not in the warranty, yet Gomez has openly and acknowledged - in detail - the fact that Stern realizes that the quality requirements applied to games back in the day (when pins were purely commercial coin-op machines) do not apply to the games today (that are largely shipping direct to collectors).

So, yes, Stern might be applying remedies on a case-by-case basis, but the consumer as no point of reference to understand what is acceptable and what is not. Thus, it becomes a total crap shoot when buying.

Sorry but I have to disagree. I have bought all the LE's as from ST and I do that because I just like to have the version that is not around every corner. I have also sold them for less when I needed space/finances for the next machine.

I would buy an SLE if that were possible, but they want me going through hoops and sorry but I just will not do that just to be able to spend a ridiculous amount of money on a toy. I was fine with the SLE knowing that there would only be 30 and therefore almost unobtanium as they were to be sold to longstanding relations of Stern that would probably not sell it.

With this move they just made the SLE into an LE, the LE is therefore the premium and the premium is the pro, only with a higher price. Maybe they did that because they could not downsize the machine enough to have a pro and still a game that is worth buying ?? Again: just my thoughts, nothing substantial about that. But it makes me wonder.

Been thinking of cancelling my LE order and leaning towards it more and more because that is the only way I can express my feelings about this method of doing business.

On the flyer they announnced 30 SLE's and everything else is crap. Or does anyone think that someone else than Stern has made that flyer. Come on...

Tron is the bomb!

But we agree that re-releases could be incredibly upgraded. If Batman '66 does well, a simple LED upgrade like Iron Man VE could be a thing of the past.

It's your prerogative if you want to have the 'pinnacle' game and are willing to pay for it. But that would make your concern that the game you thought was exclusive is now diluted. Yet, we don't even know what the differentiation between the Stern30 games will be and this set.. (never mind we are talking about dozens of games, not hundreds).

And I agree with you that if you don't like the actions... don't buy their game. That's actually what matters.

I don't agree with your motivation for buying LEs.. but that's your game. If I wanted the stand-out games.. I'd be buying the actual limited availability games from the past that we know are finite and unusual.

meanwhile, in the investors office.

more please. (resized).jpg

Tron is (like IM *was*) selling for a healthy premium from the initial $4600 ish when they were new. Unlike SM which you could get as many as you wanted. Tron is a bit more in demand and IM was a darn sight in demand before the VE.

Also Tron is an easy lisense for Stern unlike ACDC.

Plus there is a real demand for a *better* Tron. I mean people would generally rather have the LE and I think LEs go for $9+

So if they did a (Batman VE) not a total remake of the Tron LE which would piss some people off but something like Tron with nicer armor maybe lighted, nicer Eli ramps, color changing lights, LCD or two and maybe an expanded or reworked ruleset.

My gosh people would be sending in checks today if they had that in the pipeline.

I dont believe that for an instant and would like to know where this number is from.

I was told 300 sold and that was a couple of months ago. Hard to beleive that with that few, the majority woudl be listed on pinside (we know pinside is only a small fraction of the collecting population).

I just wanted to make the point that this concerns more than just the 30 people that have bought the SLE. It also concerns others, whatever their motivation is.

The differentiation between the versions does not matter. An LE will never be an SLE, just as a pimped out Tron will never be a Tron LE.

What bothers me the most about this is that Stern cannot be trusted, even with their own announcements.

I have to laugh (in a sad way) that the increase in BMSLE # is the same as what they did for the release party.

First there were 400 tickets sold, then they magicaly found another 50, and now another 40.

Same shit, different day.

It just teaches us you cant trust a word out of Sterns mouth. They will change the contract with customers at every point they get a chance it seems. They have done just enough to keep pulling the wol over our eyes

TWD >> no premiums. BS
Code is a priority see our updates... LOL BS
BM66 >> just need a deposit and prices are coming >>> increased another 1k... BS
only 30 super LEs>>> BS
Epic party, only 400 poeple... LOL more BS

You pfs will be fixed.... now I am told they are only taking care of LE customers at this time and stay tuned...
I have a feeling I cant trust what they say anymore.

When I cant trust a company and all their decisions seem to be based on their short term gains then we have an issue.

That surprises you? You know who I trust.

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Pinside is not a small fraction of the collection population

Tron LE only 400 total and 203 owners on Pinside is that a small fraction?

XMLE only 550 and 236 owners on pinside

AMH 150 made but 95 owners on Pinside

FTH has 36 owners on Pinside and no one I know even wants one period. I know 8-9 people who own or owned IM and no one that ownes FTH or wants one.

I'd guesstimate FTH = AMH plus or minus because maybe more on location but I'll tell you there is Zero buzz about the game.

EDIT: lol, Rai posted right before me with the same thing.

Pinside is not a small part of the collecting population. Maybe for pro models, but definitely not for boutique and LE models, pinside IS the market. Just use AMH as an example, pinside owns 95 of the 150 (they probably own like 150 of 150, but only 95 owners show it, lol). In any case, 95/150 = 63%. Full Throttle shows up as 36 owners. 36/73 = 49%, which doesn't seem impossible. The other option, 36 / 300 = 12%, which seems pretty low for a new game. But who really knows.

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Answered. Never mind.

Relax. It's not as though they personally assured us that Predators are being made.

There is one guarantee with Stern...there will be a code update released for new games that enables support for their $400- $500 add on toppers...after that enjoy waiting 6+ months for another code update.

Bed time for the grandkids at the Stern household

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FTH has a few enthusiastic supporters but yeah, I just don't get it. Also the operator in Denver told me its a poor earner.

is that the guy from oasis? what does ian know that we don't?

Sure looks like him.

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I figure with AMH that Spooky directly marketed to only Pinside. My impression was that FullT was likely selling good overseas/UK since that is where they are from. I also got the impressionHeighway has done a good job of marketing outside of Pinside?

I am amzaed if only 70 sold, but sweet for me Rare game to own and I really dig it.

I guess non-licensed themes really dont sell.

surpising as it has been consistent for us since we put it out. Granted in Devner they get a way better measure since they have so many games and players.

Or pinsiders just don't get motorsports.

Well grab your ankles , your fellow hobbyists are screwing you too with used game prices . Stern's just spreading the love...

Did you hear the latest news?

They just announced BM66 SLEVE for 2017! Only 10k, with even more bells and whistles!

Hurry and get your deposits in before they sell out!

It isn't like they are the first to take deposits and later announce more LEs will be made.

Has Stern confirmed the 50 additional SLE games? Are we sure that Gary didn't misspeak in the interview?

It's been said time and time again...if you want things to change, speak with your wallet. As pinball prices increase along with the bullshit, I've purchased two beautiful classic Bally games in the last month instead of a new Stern. I've also never considered preorders from other companies to be an option as I am not going to wait for 2 years for a game.

if JJP#3 can deliver, highway, AP and all the others succeed, stern will ''maybe'' (thats a strong word for stern) start to listen, care a little bit more and stop the nonsense, think about the future of pinball, collectors, not about asking more and how much money they can squeeze out of our pockets each and every time a new game is announced.

personally i think competition is good and that will change everything.

After the interview came out stern facebook page they said they would have an announcement regarding the SLE's this week before expo. Since Stern isnt denying it right away i'm assuming its true.

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80 SLE's now....but at a lower price.

Motorcycle racing is a huge draw many places outside the US. The top riders are as recognizable as rock stars are over here. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Full Throttle was a great earner/seller outside the US.

Is that just a guess or do you have inside information?

I've also wondered if they would do this at some point. They're the 800-lb gorilla of this industry, and have been cost-cutting for some time. They could easily absorb a significant price drop and deal the competition a possibly deadly blow.

But as of yet, it doesn't seem to make business sense to do so. Why drop prices when you can raise them and still sell more? Because the competition isn't a threat yet. No one has made any dent in Stern sales, they're still back-logged on deliveries despite price increases. If one day sales stagnate due to real competition, I'd still be on the watch for Stern to bring the hammer down.

Pump up, and sell out, before they get to that point is also a route that makes sense.

and still a higher total take for Stern...

SSDD

All of this seems sketchy on the part of Stern and although speculative, I see it as a sign of a business in trouble. Lets be realistic, how much more does it cost to produce a super LE in comparison to a pro or premium for that matter. Then Stern sees people bite into the apple so they produce more essentially devaluing the advertised 30 super LE's. Non-refundable deposits, application process etc. What has pinball come to?

I'm unable to make Expo except Wed and part of Thursday until 1, so I'm out on the meet and greet too. Bummed, but I'm guessing the run of BM66 premiums will continue for a couple years. I wish I was going to see all the game reveals, mysteries, and drama of all the boutiques, APinball, etc. etc. 10 years making Expo, and will miss the most exciting one in a decade.

Please post video, I'm sure it will take most of next week watching clips and reading posts, to see it all.