Quoted from Ed_in_Texas:My daughter, who is a huge Batman fan, turned 16 this past Tuesday. This was her birthday video and present:
It looks like you could be a shoe in for the Batmann 66 SLE
That is awesome-good stuff!
(Topic ID: 167575)
Linked Games
Batman (The Dark Knight)
Stern, 2008-
Batman 66 (LE)
Stern, 2016
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Batman 66 (Premium)
Stern, 2016
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Batman 66 (Super LE)
Stern, 2016
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Star Trek: The Mirror Universe
Pinball-Mods.com, 2014
Topic Gallery
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What I don't get is Gary is always stating that the pinball industry would not be successful without operators and having pinballs on locations. So why would you not want to offer a reasonably priced pro machine that is built to stand up in a commercial environment to commemorate the operators that supported you for 30 years? Quite wasting time with building the Pin and the super boutique games and just serve the basic bread and butter that has kept Stern in business.
Quoted from Jvspin:Just look at the pinside map and you will see far more machines being sold to private buyers than locations. I think Gary is targeting the right demographic.
I think location pinball is what attracts the majority of new people into the hobby. I myself got into the hobby because of the machines I remembered playing on location in High School. My point is operators are the reason Stern has stayed in business and to continue the pinball industry they need machines to be on location. Some $15,000 boutique game in some guys basement does little for the hobby.
Quoted from Rarehero:This is one game. If an operator wants a cheaper game for route, there are like 10 different titles with Pro models in production at the moment.
It starts with one game like "the pin" and then moves towards the high dollar boutique game-really what's next? These little side projects for Stern are causing backorder issues for all their main pro premium/LE titles and also causing major quality control issues. They have too much on their plate with trying to run the pin version Spiderman, Spiderman Vault, MMR, GB, and all of the other current production titles, let alone a $15,000 boutique game. Like I said stick to the bread and butter that got them where they are. I honestly hope when your Ghostbusters Premium arrives that it is flaw free. It sucks to be on the receiving end of poor quality control because a company is too busy with too many projects.
Quoted from Chambahz:How do you figure that having too many projects is what's been to blame for the quality control issues?
Holy jumping to conclusions, Batman!
When Stern messes shit up big time on their main Pro Premium/LE models( GOT Premium/LE-Orbit, Ghostbusters Playfields, Side Rails, KISS decals.....I could go on and on and on) Yes any diversion of key resources will cause quality control issues. Look I am arguing the point that Stern is wasting their time producing "low" end pins and "high" end boutique pins. I am excited about Batman 66 just not keen on the SLE bullshit. Wish they were making a pro is all.
What Stern should have done to commemorate it's 30 year anniversary is to give its loyal patrons a reasonably priced machine with three options-Good, Better, Best. This is nothing more than a greedy money grabbing move that also includes a three ring circus act for advertising. Yes Stern will sell 30 "Special Limited Editions" to wealthy fanboys but how many other people will they piss off in the process.
They should have priced them reasonable for their core customer base. They probably could sell considerably more units and make a higher profit margin than if they just sell Premiums, and LE's at a high map price...
Pro-$4495 (currently being called premium)
Premium-$5995 (currently being called LE)
LE-400 units(200 of each style) split-So oversees customers don't get the short end of the stick.-$7595 (currently being called Super LE)
Quoted from Nevus:If the NIB price is way over inflated, I won't step up to enjoy the NIB price because it's not worth the price
Yea don't forget about Sterns new price fixing policy with map pricing-no more "deals". This is going to hamper future sales because everyone will be forced to pay full retail. I will not pay retail-I will wait for a nice HUO and let someone else take the hit.
Quoted from Mr68:Blame rich people all you want. Its fashionable to do so
Charles please make sure and order the pinball "Armor" for my $15,000 Super LE, I want to make sure to keep it pristine so I can sell it after Stern's contractual agreement expires. Oh and please pass the-"Grey Poupon"
Quoted from SimonBaird:Operators would not be lining up to purchase pro batman 66 nor would the majority of HUO buyers.
I disagree with this statement. With the LCD and a new layout and what I consider to be the funnest toy in pinball-"The Crane." The Pro model if priced in the mid 4's would have been very successful. Batman in general is huge and the nostalgic Batman series is well known. I think it would be a top earner at many locations for operators with the attraction of Batman and the new LCD.
Quoted from epichoff:Although the value has dropped alot on wwe le, with the new code, is one awesome game. Give it a try.
You could not pay me to own a WWE, it has plummeted in pricing for a reason. I also noticed you have a Avengers pin on your wishlist. Save your money and buy a Pro or LE-do not waste your time or money on the pin.
Quoted from SimonBaird:Pinball is not exactly the best option for operators now against cheaper, higher earning claw machines and the like. Add a couple of grand to the outlay and I can see even the most pin friendly operators ditching stern and either dropping pinball altogether or going back to b/w titles, which will take similar earnings at far lower capital investment. If this turns out to be the case then it is a really shame for the hobby as a whole.
This is another prime example of why a Batmann 66 Pro priced below 5k would have done well and help operators with attracting new players. WOZ has proven to be a top earner for operators because of the "attraction" with color changing LED's and LCD display. I think Batmann 66 has the same potential to become a high earner and help offset all the toy cranes and redemption games. An operator has to think about their ROI and having a high priced premium will damper potential sales from operators. I still am curious how Stern is going to justify a $15,000 price tag? I have a feeling it is going to be a shit show after the reveal. The rails would literally have to plated in 24k Gold for me to justify the price.
Quoted from frolic:I'm going to throw this question out there for all the people upset about being "priced out" of NIB:
If this is a boutique release, and not representative of Stern's "cornerstone" releases, and that their next big title will return closer to GB prices and have Pro/Prem/LE... would that satisfy you?
Ok I get that this is a "special release" and not a "cornerstone release"
My issue is the substantial unjustified pricing increase. How much really went into doing a re-design on an already designed pinball machine? It is a modified vault for chr&%$ sake. Stern should have priced them accordingly and if they were to offer a "Special LE" it should have been priced the same as the LE and they could still do their three ring circus marketing with a party with sword swallowers and magicians. Only 30 lucky winners of the contest would receive a special LE at the same price and nobody feels alienated. It is the price gouging that is pissing everyone off and rightfully so.
As for being "priced out" that is not the case, plenty of people have plenty of money-it is the "principle" of it all. These pricing structures simply do not support the product being sold.
Quoted from ATLpb:... pinheads will never be satisfied :/
Ain't that the truth brother
I am beginning to feel like I have a disease instead of an addiction :/
Quoted from iceman44:I'm thinking BM66 is gonna be like this
I hope your fantasies come true. I always thought the Jimmy Kimmel kids Christmas challenge was hilarious. Kids excited to open a present and then getting something they did not expect-priceless.
Batman 66 could end up being Sterns best pin ever 
Quoted from iceman44:Mine is $9500 and I'll take the renderings of the characters. Hard to beat that
Plus you haven't seen the rest of the artwork.
I got a tingle up my leg
I think that tingle down your leg is a stream of piss from pissing yourself for the potential money you are about to throw down on something you know nothing about. You will take what Stern gives you on this one-which is photo shopped cut and paste at its best. What is the difference from cutting and pasting other graphic images v.s. hand drawn custom art images?-nothing. "Oh its custom art"-bullshit!
Quoted from iceman44:Stern brings on the best hand drawn artist of classic Batman in the world and still get whining.
No Stern rips off previous artist rendition-cuts and paste onto a pinball and then all of the sudden it's "Hand drawn Art"
Quoted from iceman44:while we are at it, I'll take the best of the best from the once again, best hand drawn artist of classic Batman in the world.
Thank you very much.
Yo Yo Yo-ctrl+c to the ctrl+v Dawg-I feel ya!
Quoted from docquest:If that was the case I dont think the original artist would link the Stern Facebook post on their own website.
I was not implying that they were stealing anything just that it is not custom art. For $10-$15k a pop for the Batman66 I am not sure if they could have had the artist do his rendition for Stern or not?
Quoted from docquest:I hope the art style on the vintage trading cards they showed earlier isnt on the game. Not a big fan of that look.
Yea I thought it looked very generic
Quoted from vid1900:Have you ever seen better B66 art than that?
Even if the same artist was available in the allotted time that Stern had, it does not mean that he could create better art the second time around.
Usually an artist has several renditions and can alternate and customize images according to the vendors wishes in a timely fashion. If you look at the backglass on the new PBR machine you will notice art that has been re-used and manipulated to create a custom piece. This simply looks like cut and paste but further photo reveals should show everything.
Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:For awhile the story was - refunds are available up until Expo. After the meet & greet, the funds are considered locked in. Unfortunately you don't get to see anything prior to the m&g. So if you paid a down payment, you have committed to buying a game prior to seeing it. If you wait to see it revealed, you can't get your money back. So you have to be a bit of a gambler, a fool, a madman or have deep pockets - to buy a prem or LE before expo. Do you feel lucky, Punk?
That is pretty lame-imo. Most deposits for previous LE's have been a refundable deposit after the reveal(official announcement with pictures and spec info) of the game. WTF-if this is so popular and so limited then what is the big deal with offering potential buyers the right to refund their deposit and allow the distributer to sell to another person after the reveal. If demand and supply are skewed there should be NO problem refunding a deposit if the buyer is not comfortable or has changed their mind. Bad business practice 
What I shake my head at is there are some really nice, kind, genuine people that happen to be distributors for Stern that are forced to abide by ridiculous business practices. Otherwise they jeopardize their relationship and allocations with Stern. Pinball mafia mentality at its best.
No soup (pinball) for you
I was thinking there is a positive about selling a bunch of $10-$15K boutique games-is it helps suck out money from collectors that otherwise might have spent their money on re-conditioned or older games. When I see someone's collection with a bunch of boutique games-I say thank you for not hoarding all the under-rated Sterns and classic Bally-Williams. These boutique games help balance the rapid inflation that we are experiencing. I have seen people sell a few older collectable titles in order to obtain the latest and greatest boutique pin-again I say thank you.
Speaking of....Anyone selling some games to buy a Batman66?
Quoted from Elvisinmypants:man.... you can't even imagine the depth of my social retardation
There is nothing wrong with being a lurker
Batmobile History:
Quoted from labnip:ok, it's Oct 1 CST.
no more entries for the Super LE
Congrats to all the lucky winners of the contest...
Quoted from hank527:Quality is way down and price is way up. I'm on the fence on a premium.
You will have plenty of time to see hear and possibly play an LE before premiums are on the line. If you are on the fence this is a title worth waiting until the dust settles, you will have plenty of time before you will need to make a decision and pull the trigger.
Quoted from dgarrett:Perhaps that's my distributor covering my game, and his deal for his customers
Who is your distributor? If he is reputable and willing to go above and beyond to protect the interest of his customers that is a distro many pinsiders would like to know about. Inquiring minds want to know who is willing to back up the customer and who is sticking with backing Stern's redonkulous policy.
The Batman66 is another 'partner' pin, meaning that Stern partnered with Kapow and now has an obligation as a partner to maximize sales. If you look at Mustang-Ford helped Stern with an initial investment for development, Pabst also ponied up some cash and now Kapow. Are these partnerships part of the problem? The pros and cons of partnerships come into play and Kapow is trying to maximize their potential sales just like their slot-machine segment. These partnerships may help with Sterns development cost but may hamper the image of a company who will be portrayed as a sell out and not staying true to their core values. It is a fine line when trying to maximize profits while trying to stay true to your core.
Quoted from DaveH:The thing I don't like about this theory is that it completely tries to take Stern off the hook. "Hey, it wasn't us, the partner made us hose you".
No not an excuse by any means but just stating the circumstances involved. Time will tell if these partnerships are lucrative for Stern. I cant imagine that Mustang did that well, and I cant see Stern selling very many of the Pabst machines either. Would Stern have done better if they just did a Batman VE with slight variations priced competitively without a partner or will they rake in the cash selling boutique pins with a partner? One partnership that may be working is producing for PPS. The added production lines seem to help with the overhead cost of their new building and with PPS about to announce AFM the lines will continue to flow.
Quoted from joelreeves:The Batsignal looks pretty cool
Yes that $5 bat signal is awesome(really helps justify pricing), I bought one years ago for my BDK.
https://www.amazon.com/Batman-Signal-Mega-Mini-Kits/dp/0762445262/ref=sr_1_1
I know people are excited for this title but for me it is meh. First of all I am in my thirties so I never grew up watching the show, I think I have seen clips, but never watched the show. I grew up with the modern Batman series and can relate with all of the movies. I think some people are drinking the Kool-Aid on this one. It is just a BDK with bright colored cut and paste graphics, custom side-rails, a $5 Bat signal and an LCD-Wow! This whole idea of artificial scarcity with it being limited to try and justify the pricing is really pathetic. Oh its so bright and pretty and has an LCD-please put the Kool-Aid down. There is no way in hell this machine is worth $15,000. Stern might as well serve pitchers of Kool-Aid at the release parties. Hopefully people will do their due diligence and not become sheep following the herd.
Quoted from iceman44:But hey, hop on over to the JJP thread and pick yourself up a nice $9k cell phone game aimed at you "kids"
Us kids? Hey get off my lawn you old fogey (;
I actually think the new JJP game looks interesting and it looks like the third flipper actually does something. What I really like is it is a unique theme-NOT a franchise or trademarked game. It would be awesome if Stern could get away from franchise themes and go with creative artistic independent themes. Good job Jack-thinking outside of the box.
Quoted from iceman44:Love the "outside of the box" thinking. Let's see how many they sell with that kind of thinking
That is the problem. How many can we sell if we attach the theme to a franchise instead of an independent unique theme? Appeasing the masses is not always the solution to selling more units. WWF, Mustang did not sell well but neither did Whoa Nellie. Theme is huge but so is game design and layout. It is a crapshoot with games nowadays to appeal to non-pinheads as well as pinheads. I commend manufacturers who allow their designers free rang to explore their creative possibilities. In all reality Dialed In is a perfect theme for todays day and age. Everyone is plugged into their devices and it fits our current era. Think of No Fear, Radical, etc. they all reflect the era. Like the theme or not-it does relate to our society. What is funny is 10-15 years from now when this game will be dated because of technology advancements, people will view it much like we view No Fear today.
I am a huge Stern fanboy, but I got to say today JJP has surprised me and has earned my respect. I-like many other pinsiders have a bad taste in their mouth from the whole Stern Batman66 price gouging circus act.
Quoted from iceman44:Please explain to me how this JJP thing isn't a "price gouging circus act"?
I was not saying JJP was not price gouging-just that he had the balls to pull off an independent title is all. Everyone who has ridden the Jack train has a bad taste in their mouth as well, I disagreed with the majority of his business practices. Trust me I am no JJP fan but appreciate the move towards releasing a 90's Bally/Williams style independent theme.
1 month later
Ok we are 120 pages in now and all of the discussion is about pricing- I cant believe there is no gameplay video yet? WTF
Also the pin striping on the Super LE is a bad move. Even if Stern tries to clear coat, it will be highly susceptible to rubbing off easily, especially on top of the lock bar-What were they thinking? 
People are going to have to mylar their games if they want to protect the pin-striping-lame
3 weeks later
Well it looks very bright and vivid with the colors. I am liking the direction that Stern is going with lately using bright colorful graphics, just like Ghostbusters Batman66 really pops. I also really like the Spinning playfield mech. I bet Gomez and the team got a hard on designing it, it looks really cool and intricate. One thing I heard was there are going to be tons of clips from the show that display on screen. Could it become a distraction from trying to play and watch the ball? Then there is the price tag. I know pricing has been discussed in the last 133 pages but will this game be worth the coin? Tis the question
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