Looks relatively fun. Not even close to worth the cash. I'll def play on location.

I feel like this could be in my signature block.

I think that you make several good points. Nevertheless, the release of the Ruby Red and Yellow Brick Road WOZ versions had a counterintuitive effect upon the value of the original standard and Emerald City editions.

The 2 subsequent releases sold at considerably higher price points than the 2 original versions, causing the "value tide" of all versions to rise. For example, the WOZECLE originally sold for $6,500 in 2013 (considered outrageously high, at the time). Today, that version sells for about the same as the Ruby and YBR versions.

The YBR version lacks the flying monkey mechanism. Yet, it was priced on par with or greater than the earlier Ruby edition when released. The Emerald City version (and some of the standard versions) had the incredible high gloss cabinet feature (replaced by Radcals after JJP had a falling out with cabinet supplier).

Succinctly stated, subsequent versions, albeit inferior, established a new and greater price baseline, which actually increased the value of predecessor versions. The dilution effect of more WOZ units and versions in the world was offset entirely by the price baseline phenomenon.

I'm just going to take the time out to add that the ECLE WOZ is EASILY the very best version...and it isn't close.

+ 1 million!!

Drug dealers!

I agree. Had a $6,500 ECLE WOZ. . .waited from 2011 to 2013 from deposit to delivery. That unique wooden apron and dominant green coloring fit the theme perfectly. I still find the video inside the crystal ball to be wonderful.

JJP's facility back then was a mere 1 hour drive from my house in southern New Jersey. When I picked up my game, Jack was exceedingly cordial and down-to-earth.

For sure, but supposedly the direct print glossy cabs can chip on location and can't be fixed at that point. We had one out for 2-3 years and never had a single chip, even at the corners. I still prefer the ECLE direct print over the radcals.

Watched the London video again and concentrated on the screen. It's using Stranger Things fonts and animations for Jackpot, Super Jackpot, etc. Not even modified, just straight-up the same. I hope they're temporary, but...well, Lonnie.

Price was the initial reason but also Lonnie on code was a close 2nd for why I went premium and didn’t want to lock myself into an LE.

Hopefully between Lonnie, MKV & GG they go to town on this code, why Lonnie didn’t just rip from BM66 and use that as a base I’ll never know, it would have been a great way to make the villain/henchmen modes like the villain modes from BM66 with the cash out or continue risk reward set up.

Updating that plan black bordering on the lcd with something more lively again like that used in bm66 is a must and will be a nice touch.

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Probably because Lonnie isn't that familiar with Batman'66 code since it's Lyman's and it's very well integrated. Must look like an alien landscape to him. Not super-encouraging that he's starting from a base of Stranger Things code (and that he thinks Rolling Stones is a great music pin).

Still, maybe Bond is Lonnie's time to emerge as the code swan he's always wanted to be. Fingers crossed.

I watched the video and I honestly can't say I would want to play this more than a few times. So much going on on screen, but the playfield action just looked kind of bland. The ball shooting out of the sunroof happens so fast, you blink and you miss it, cool idea but bad execution.

Yeah, putting a slight close delay spring on the hatch so it opens quickly, but closes a little slower would make it more interesting to watch happen.

Soft close, exactly!

Sounds cool but in reality, where would you put the spring so it doesn't interfere with the ball?? On the inside i kinda doubt there would be room to do so but of course without seeing it in person that's hard to tell right now.

One of the first things I'll investigate.

it's a mini strut, similar to what a kitchen cabinet door has, but would need to be more micro sized.
There will be room to the sides of the trap door, you can see it's wide and also you know the ball is not hitting the edges coming out.

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It'll likely have to be an improvised solution if it's possible. I doubt there's anything off the shelf that will work in a scale model that small. But hey, maybe I'll be surprised!

I could care less about how fast the flap closes on a $10 die cast toy-meh

What I am concerned about is the jetpack main toy/mech. So far it does nothing and does not look fun or worthy

People saying well Stern knows what they are doing and sorry collectors but take it or leave it. This is a shame watching the hobby head towards this direction. Pinball manufacturers at the end of the day are a business and their focus is to maximize margins and profits-all very well. Now here is my issue with the direction the manufacturers are heading towards trying to capitalize on a high end fake collector market. A perfect example of this is the James Bond 60th anniversary edition that is being revealed at Christies in London. What is Christies in London-they are one of the oldest auction houses specializing in auctioning fine art, furniture, jewlery, and wine. Basically a fine art auctioneer. Have we come to the point now where pinball is more of an 'art' piece and companies now want to make limited runs of art to sell?

I am turned off by Stern wasting another good license to sell as an art piece to high rollers. I feel they really wasted the Beatles license and now I feel like they wasted the 007 license. Bond on a wand or James Dong is not what I envisioned the game to be. I envisioned the game to be a 007 that incorporates all of the Bond films and would have truly interactive mechs that actually do something. Don't get me wrong-I am a big fan of good art-but I believe it belongs on a wall-not a pinball auctioned at Christies. Do I wish the manufacturers would just go back to the basics and get rid of the fluff-yes please.

I really feel they should have saved that rocket man effect for the Elton John theme.

THANK YOU!!

The Christies reveal is just marketing...people care, or else Christies wouldn't host the reveal. I owned Beatles for several years and don't feel the license was "wasted". I understand some folks wanted a different era Beatles or different game, but no pin is going to meet everyones checklist.

No doubt I support your cry for more basics and less fluff, however Stern's investing in marketing doesn't imply they aren't building great games. Let's face it, some great games have been produced recently. All about the passion of the team building the games...I couldn't be happier with Borg and Elwin's latest efforts. Going to be tough for Bond to live up to GZ/Rush (in terms of gameplay and fun factor)...hoping for the best.

Why did they decide to use such a small format for video content on the lcd? Not a fan of that.

People whining about prototype software missing features.. just give it a rest folks.

No wonder Stern doesn't have anything to do with Pinside.

If he was giving out free games you would bitch about having to pay taxes on it.

It does remind me of a slot machine with all the different things going on. Im surprised because it's a little distracting to see all of it and play pinball at the same time.

I hope they clean it up with future revisions. BM66 didn’t use the whole screen but was a good bit bigger than this.

Just seems like a waste to not utilize the display better and really feature all the assets that they claim were so difficult to get.

It's clearly prototype code...which is likely why the video was removed.

This games saving grace will come down to how fun it is to flip. Will it be a deep journey game with tons of combos, hurry-ups and enjoyable multi-balls? Or will it be a mishmash of rinse and repeat modes(too many?) with lack luster repetitive multi-balls? The dual ramps and third flipper are the best part of this table. Code could make or break this game.

I know it is prototype code but I’m thinking we are stuck with the tiny format for video unfortunately. Hope I’m wrong but that’s a major let down.

The video inside a frame is typical for Stern. The only thing missing is cutting to full screen for scoring and ball staging moments. Too early to tell. I imagine there will be full screen clips down the road.

Code makes or breaks all modern games...in don't think Bond is unique.

Is it really just marketing? Let me ask the question-'Who are they focusing their marketing efforts on?'

Launching a pinball machine at Christies high end auction house has to be one of the lowest points of pinball collecting history/hobby. You guys want the pinball market to turn into a bunch of ultra's that display their art pieces(pinball machines) in their home collections? -Oh Vey

I realize the video in frame is standard however this looks to be even smaller than BM66 and Star Wars which are two of the more recent that feature movie clips. Mando off the top of my head utilizes a bigger display as well.

This seems to be more along the lines of what they did with Beatles which is really small but they didn’t get a ton of content for that game so isn’t critical and not movie based.

If they really got all the Bond video assets and want full immersion it needs to be a slightly bigger format especially if there will be text overlays for shots etc..

Just my opinion for the most viewing pleasure

Yes you're right. I agree, lots of wasted space. Hopefully they make the clips fill the frame horizontally and just crop off the bottom for scoring.

I don't know who stares at the videos on screen when they are playing pinball. Seems like more of a thig people watching you play look at to me.

I watch while others are playing and why have video content if nobody looks?

The video and music are the most difficult part of utilizing the license and bringing the immersion and theme to life, anyone who says they don’t ever look at the video is absolutely full of shit.

If I’m paying 10k plus I want the video and I want it formatted so it’s actually enjoyable to watch and not a strain.

Agreed, but 99% of the pinball I've played in my life has been solo. Video content is cool, but it would be great if the LCD could be better used for game status. Some games are better at this than others...all over the place. On one hand, it's cool that Stern designers have creative freedom to do what they want, OTOH, it would be nice if they could standardize on some UI that spans games (which includes reasonable fonts, to help read what's on the screen

Wonder what Gary's father would think of the direction pinball is heading towards today? Is Stern selling out? -Inquiring minds want to know

From my perspective, the "art" of a pinball machine isn't solely about the ink/decals/artist. The "art" is the entire package...including audio, video, shot choreography, mechs, etc.

More importantly, MANY collectors on Pinside already treat their games as art pieces. In other words, they don't play the games, so the only reason they exist in someones home is to display them as art! I know folks cut from this cloth, and they aren't any lesser than those of us that play the hell out of our games.

Freaking out over Christies, or reading into it is misguided...sorry.

Eh, if they are already displaying video, I would rather it be aesthetically pleasing (fill the frame) than be frame inside a frame. It's just poor design.

Number of tilt warnings is the only other status besides score and ball number I want displayed on screen. Especially games that give you extra tilt warnings as a bonus. JJP does it with inserts but just a simple way of tracking on the screen would be great. Besides that, what other info were you thinking?

I am not freaking out-only putting my palms to my face in disgust is all

Palms to face makes total sense

Wondering what Gary's father thinks? A slight freak out

What do you guys plan on talking about for another month or so before games hit the wild?

-Does the jetpack do anything?

-Will someone slow down the flap on the car?

-Will someone make the rocket really move?

-Who is making the knock off scuba diver mod for Pro?

-When will Stern polish the beta code?

-Should I eat pizza for dinner tonight-or tacos?

It's game dependent. On Rush, the left side of the screen has a HUGE "Rush" graphic that mimics the status on the PF...it provides little added value. Not a big deal, but it takes away valuable space that could be allocated to status that ISN't displayed on the PF. Some of the Rush modes involve a ton of shots to complete and the status on the screen just isn't that helpful (hard to read/follow). Same is true for GZ...in terms of bridge/tank status.

New code is supposed to be on route to the games on show so hopefully if it doesn’t fail this time hopefully a lot of new stuff.

After all this is a hype club, all thoughts and opinions welcome but maybe those that are really disliking what they see can start a Bond looks shit club, all the repeated negativity is starting to dampen any positivity anyone has for this game.

This game is kinda turning into a shitshow. Started when Steve left and Gomez taking over. The leaked foggy photos with games they shipped out and expected to stay secret? Really?

Now a reveal at Christies? Really? Sorry but this is not the avenue or direction I believe pinball should be taking. Focus on the operators(your bread and butter) not the 1% Ultra's. -Let's please get back to the basics. I believe Stern can survive and thrive with a business model that caters to their core customers(do they really need the greedy fluff?)

Worst recent example is Rush which is a game I love, but damn that screen is hard to read.

Other than pricing and pinmister obsession with Christies, I'm just not hearing repeated negativity. Considering the early state of the game, seems like a majority of the posts are upbeat. When we get to see actual game footage (endorsed by Stern), the negativity/positivity will amp up. It's really unfortunate that people get offended and take things personally. Just because someone is voicing their opinion doesn't imply they don't belong on a hype thread.

The reveal has most certainly been a shitshow, as for the game...time will tell!!