JJP POTC LE 120 registered owners standard 6 registered owners there are definitely hits and misses if what you say about the Beatles games is true just one more example

Interesting, and kind of supports my earlier assertion about non-pinheads being happy with "Gold" as a collectible.

I believe Beatles Gold will be successful if Stern and their distributors can reach the target community (of non-pinhead Beatles fans). If Stern really wants to reward distributors, they will spend more marketing $$ to help sell more the games!

I admit Beatles Gold won't be played by me as much as my other games, but I'm still happy with the purchase and know my neighbors/visitors will enjoy it! Not every game needs to cater to me

snaroff

that is a VERY small number in total, with the majority being operators that are going for the "I have a unique game" idea which can work for some locations for sure.

Reality is that Pinside numbers show Beatles is doing similar to what distributors have said.

The other main data point is the delay of Munsters official announcement to try and give Beatles more time.

We had people over this past weekend for a party and Beatles and Star Wars were the most played games in my collection. My JJP Pirates only got a handful of games played. These guests were not pinheads. Theme is very important to the casual player.

The only actual band pin I would consider is Rammstein.

Not for everyone, I know.

That girl is thinking about shooting her dinner. Sweet.

All the new owners are going to say it’s the shit right now, it’s part of our pinball DNA. Sure it will flytrap catch non pinheads for a little while. But to seriously charge that amount of money for something so basic and stripped down is embarrassing. And yes I’m not rooting for this pin to do well since i would rather not see Stern pull this stunt again. (Flamesuit on!)

I wouldn't even be in at 5K, but I agree! I was in Chicago last weekend and Logan Arcade had one set up on free play (maybe accidently?). It was like 3pm so the place was empty so me and a buddy put about 10 games on it. Theme does nothing for me but I thought it felt really nice and had a blast playing it. If I had 8k to spend on pins (which I don't), there's a billion games I'd get before this, but I'd drop a buck in someone else's a few times with no hesitation.

I just disagree, pinball machines can be stripped down and still be fun. There is nothing basic about the Beatles pin. Any pin made is not basic, the are complex and it takes a ton to get one out the door, we have seen evidence of this over the last few years.

Not liking it is fine they make different games for a reason, but rooting against a pin and a company is a bit silly IMO.

There are only 2 pins in the top 10 on pinside I’m willing to pay 5k for.

Funny how silly and subjective this conversation is.

Do we all bitch about how a Tesla or Porsche are over priced and if they were 10k we’d all buy one? This perspective can be applied to all high end luxury items.

Buy or don’t buy it....who gives a shit! Whatever knocks your socks off, you only live once so enjoy it!

It's so weird that this is how it's been decided everybody is going to tackle their Beatles criticism.

How come we don't see this for other pins?

"Oh, I'd be in on Gorgar at $500. But $1200? NO WAY!"

"POTC is precisely $7,123.25 worth of fun. But you've gotta be smoking crack at $9000!!!!!"

"Deadpool is definetly $4,000 worth of fun. But $5500? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING?"

What is it with Beatles that makes this is the only possible way to critique it? Someone clue me in.

Honestly this shit is making me nostalgic for the cargument.

I remember when IM came out and EVERYONE was whining about how stripped down it was (yet prices skyrocketed when folks realized it was a fun/brutal game). No doubt Beatles is never going to compete with IM on gameplay, however the appeal of the band and cool retro design is why I took the plunge. And worse case, I sell it and lose 1k. Little difference from past NIB purchases. The Pinside obsession with prices is hilarious, since there are enough addicts to keep Stern in business. I use to talk tough about prices, but I've learned from experience that I still open my wallet for a hobby that interests me. Beatles may not be the most exciting game, but it interests me.

Oh yeah, it's BS that "it's part of our pinball DNA". Most folks see Beatles for what it is, and yes, everyone would love to pay less for their games!

snaroff

I'll try, but it may be long winded ha!

I can only speak for myself, but while we're financially comfortable, I'm not rich by any means. My annual budget for pinball is about 2,500 +/- per year, some more if I find a CL/FB/etc. true steal of a deal. It's all personal preference for me and personal taste. If someone handed me 8K today and said you HAVE to spend this on pinball machines or I'm taking it back, I could get some games I PERSONALLY have a blast with (without thinking maybe Baywatch, JP, and JM...or TWD pro and JP and a Firepower?). If I was in a different financial position, maybe it would be different, but I have to try and get the most fun and value out of my pin budget.

I'm not sitting here saying "oh this has a spinner, that's X value, 3 drops, that's Y value", but thinking about it in terms of making my money get me the most fun. If money was literally no object to me, sure I'd buy a Beatles at 8k, and every other game at MSRP.

Even in the example you used (which I know is made up, I'm not getting hung up on that) - I'd pay $500 for a Gorgar right now, but not $1,200. Why? Not because I don't like the game, but $1,200 is halfway to a game I personally like MORE than Gorgar.

It's also not a critique of the game itself - I only have a handful of plays so I'm not the authority on it, but I had a blast playing it, it was a fun and seemed well built and felt good but it's the value proposition like I said above. I can get more game for my money and have more fun with those games, but it doesn't change the fact that I liked Beatles when I played it. Dialed In might be (at least for me) the best game I've ever played in my life, but it's the same idea. Love the game, but knowing my budget, if someone hands me 9K and says go buy DI...or 2 used Stern Pros...or 3-5 other pins...it's a trade off.

So while I think about Beatles like this - I think about every other game and purchase like this too.

If you must put a price tag on measuring fun, it should be based on resale loss instead of initial purchase price. Unless you plan on keeping a game forever, does it really matter what you paid for it initially? If you buy a NIB DILE for $9k, and lose 700-1000, can you justify the enjoyment you experienced for the loss? There’s value in amount of game play the machine experienced while in your possession, no? I think that’s a better question to ask rather than “Is Beatles $8k worth of fun?”

Right. So Beatles....is it $800 worth of fun? Cause that's what you'll lose when you sell it. Maybe $400. Maybe less.

All I know is there is certainly some cargument-type grab for the "not $8K worth of fun!!!" argument. People simply cannot resist it.

There's something about the fungument. Something irresistible!

You mean the stunt of making a game and letting people decide if they want it.

You sound like someone that is bitter because NIB games have priced you out.

I was not particularly thrilled when I saw the rollout of the Beatles. I do like the theme, but would have preferred a different era and playfield. I have gotten to play the Gold several times on location, and the game is silky smooth. It’s not a deep game, and not one that I would want in a small collection. The game, however, is a blast. The loop shot is so smooth. Kudos to Stern on this game. I’ve been pleasantly surprised playing it.

It really depends on when you sell it. Yeah if you buy and sell within the next few months, you'll probably only lose maybe $800 which is fair. But in 3-5 years? I honestly can't see the Beatles Gold selling for more than $5,500 at most on the secondary market. But that's fine as long as you aren't one of the weirdos that buys every game, barely touches it, and then chases the next NIB high.

If most distributors paid $70k for a pack of ten, and are able to sell their Diamond for at least $20k, and sell their two platinums for at least $10k each, then I can see distributors closing out on this for about $6,500 NIB when demand is totally dead and they have a couple taking up valuable space in the warehouse.

The Beatles is a cool game. People are just irritated that that they have to wait for the price to become more worthwhile for them.

Interesting theory.

So do you think the reason that 50 people have said "BEatles is fun...but it's not $8K worth of fun!!" is because they think they can will a lower, more acceptable price into existence if they say that enough?

I'm gonna start doing that on steak. I'm over to Beeflovers forum to declare that a Kobe tomahawk steak is tasty, but it's not $200 worth of tasty! I'll repeat this many, many times.

Then when my withering attack on the taste value of kobe beef finally grabs hold of the market and the price dips to $90...BOOOOM!!! I'm swimming in fn steak baby!!!

no you hype beast Stern lover...

they are saying it is fun but not 8k of fun, because they are not willing to pay 8k for this stripped back money grab based on an antiquated music license with 50% of a handful of songs. I am not sure why you are so damn dense to understand that the game is selling poorly for a reason. They priced it TOO high!

I swear to fucking god if I don't get a goddamn update on the Beatles store current price or ability to cart games I'm GOING TO LOSE IT!

You are going to be waiting a long time. Just look at Automated which is stern largest seller. They are typically one of the last if not always the last distro to have LE's or whatever in stock. None of those games were ever discounted much at all. They sold their last XMEN LE about 14 months ago for $6450, they also sold one of their last Transformer LE's for 6K to the same person. They just sit on them and wait it out. Prices slowly creep up and what you think is a terrible price now seems just fine for someone coming into the hobby 2-3 years from now. I've yet to see a desperate stern dealer liquidating stern NIB games. If anything as the supply dwindles they start raising the price and sticking it to people. Another great example is WNBJM. There's a distro that has a couple left, call and see if you can get one for a nice discount of what they originally listed for. You will find they are a 1.5-2k over the over original price. They are not beating down doors to sell them because they know eventually someone will want it and they can make a huge premium.

Considering how many games Stern is flooding the market with and no indication of slowing down production, I'm not worried about the few distributors that can afford to sit on meh stock for years at a time. Like the games you specifically point to, they never made a ton of them in the first place. They made 3-4x as many Beatles Gold. Beatles Gold will not be hard to find in 3-5 years. I'm probably wrong about it getting a substantial NIB discount, but I think you're drinking the Kool-Aide if you think the price will ever go above original MSRP.

Yeah it's called supply and demand. They can will it into a lower price by taking a chill pill and not buying it right away. Granted, Stern has already sold the first half of the lot to distributors...but it'll be interesting when Stern decides to do the second run to finish out production and many distributors are like "nah, I'm good"

Cut your flesh on the glass for the full Sunn O))) experience

Well I think your wrong with you math one more time.

Assuming all the naysayers and haters are correct and they won’t go past the first run of 1000. That means 50 diamond - 25 in US, 125 platinum - half in US and 850 gold of which 425 are for the US market.
Half of the first run is going over seas, they are on the record saying that.

If they don’t make more, that doesn’t leave many in the US and will be a very small second hand market. This will keep prices high, simple supply and demand.

I personally think all 1964 will be made for what it’s worth.

I've never said it will go that high. A few games do but those are not the norm. Most people are paying $7600 for them NIB so expect HUO to go for between $6500-$7200 which is inline with what all of the HUO games drop these days. I've never seen a stern dealer give a huge discount on NIB games though. You saw some nice discounts on KISSLE from one distro but even then it was only a few hundred lower then before and certainly not below cost. There's still some WWELE's around and no one seems to be worried about liquidating them either. Most distro's are pretty patient and also pretty stubborn and will sit on games for a long time before even considering selling at a loss. GOTG is another good example, most distro's still have LE's and some have a bunch of them. Call around and see if anyone is looking to sell them at a loss.

Let's leave their sexuality out of this.

Even if they sold them at 6.5k they'd be making decent money. The diamond and platinum should pay for more than half the pack, and then they have 7 Golds to sell. That should pay for the whole pack and provide around 25% ROI which isn't far from the typical what, 30% ROI they see?

I promise you that is not how they are looking at in. Many also did not buy a 10 pack and only bought a few golds so that doesn't apply to them at all. The ones that bought a 10 pack at thinking finally cash in on the diamond, make great coin on 2 the platinum, slowly make good money on the golds and if needed discount down to our normal pro margins and sell for $7400-$7600. No clue how you think distros are making 30% profit. Most games are being sold at or below 13% profit for the distro. I'd be a distro if that was the case.

Yeah I gotta know how those 10 packs are selling at the Beatles store and whether or not Kapow has updated their website.

Where's vic? Help us out!!

Don't speak for others, you hype beast Alien + Predator lover!!! (hey at least you've given up on trying to spell "shill" correctly. Kudos!)

I'm getting feedback here that people actually think they can get Stern to lower the price by posting endlessly about it being fun.."but....(WAIT FOR IT)....NOT 8K WORTH OF FUN!!!," which will lead to a site-wide boycott of Beatles and single-handedly affect market prices on a game they want to buy for $4,000.

I remain skeptical. And hungry. I'm still waiting for my brutal PR campaign of steak value to make Kobe beef cheap enough for weekly consumption!

I don't really care how other people spend their money, so I'm bored with the price discussions. There are more egregiously stupid purchase decisions being made every day by rich idiots, the world keeps turning.

But I am a fan of early solid state layouts, and it's nice to see people who wouldn't normally give them the time of day suddenly discovering they're fun because they're on a new game, $8000 or otherwise.

this is a PRO model. They will sell for what PRO models do of all other games in the secondary market.
Sorry, but that is just the reality of this over inflated "limited" gold on a hype license.

I was told they are obligated to make all 1614 of the gold editions so anyone thinking that these are ever going to be limited is mistaken.
Those are likely the same people that still believe 50% of every title goes overseas.

I guess BM66 premium was a pro to then. Where are my under 5k bm66 games at. I'll take all of them.

You can say it's a pro all you want but it doesn't change that it's not and that prices will fall in line with other similarly priced games on the used market.

Don’t recall anyone saying 50% off all games mfg go overseas but I do recall Joe K stating that part of this lincensing deal with the parties involved did require that.

lol

nope, BM was offered as ONLY a premium and LE model.

Beatles was offered in pro, prem, and LE editions.

You sure?

Could have sworn BM66 was premium, LE, SLE and the The Beatles was gold, platinum, and diamond but maybe my memory is failing me.

Beatles was offered in Pro Pro Pro models, with choice of price and trim color.

you seem to really be struggling with understanding this???

BM66 is actually different models...

Beatles is this >>>

You should contact stern and let them know their website and all of their promotional material has the games labeled incorrectly. Make sure you let them know who you are so they jump right on it.

I received my Gold model a couple of weeks ago. The wife and I love it. We have owned at least a dozen NIB pins over the past 12 or 13 years. This might be our favorite. Anyway I am a member of a "closed" (of course anyone can join) Facebook site called "The Beatles Universe". On December 7, I posted a picture of myself standing next to the Gold pinball. I was expecting maybe a dozen or so "likes" and 7 or 8 "comments". As of today I have received 651 likes/comments - from as far away as Australia. Dozens asked where I bought it. We like it and that is what matters. God I hope they don't come out with a Led Zeppelin - I don't have any more room.

It's weird that the definition for "stripped down" on Pinside is "No ramps".

This game has three(!) drop target banks, four flippers, a spinning disc, a magnet and two spinners. Plus the usual 3-bank of pops. It has more shit than most Sterns. But somehow it's a "chopped down cash grab" because it doesn't have $5 worth of plastic ramps.

Yeah OK

Two corrections but I agree with your point!

4 flippers and two spinners.

It’s missing all the POS plastic crane machine toys that Stern puts in their games.

Will it be a reskin of a Depeche Mode machine?

Does anyone have an official coil count yet?

We all can't be an Adonis like you....

People have been very receptive to the game. Its certainly loved a lot on location.

I get that it's not the code deep kind of fun that some of us love. It is a lot of easy to achieve and understand fun. Every game has its role and this one plays it beautifully.

BREAKING NEWS........

beatles laurel hardy.jpg (resized).jpg

People on Pinside REALLY are dumb enough to think a plastic ramp costs more than a drop target bank