Maybe. I can't help but think the market isn't big enough to sustain all of this, the excitement may turn into some deathwatching too. Who knows, not like any of us have access to numbers, but the prices keep going up, new companies keep appearing, and everyone I know is out of space for games. I know, we have a stupid bubble thread every other month, but is this all really sustainable?

Brian Eddy is one of my all time favs, I wish him nothing but the best of luck.

I don't understand why there's even interest here. Are we really so bankrupt when it comes to ideas that all we can hope for is a sequel to an old game?

That's kinda modern pinball from my perspective. Why TNA has been such a breath of fresh air.

I mean, you can't argue with opinion, what you feel is yours to feel. But my take as an owner? Nah. My friends who play it, the other owners I know? Nah.

They're doing fine I'm sure. But they haven't made a game since Metallica that I've had any interest in buying (to be fair I bought Star Trek, didn't last, nothing since, sold it for an ACDC, that I sold for TNA). I wouldn't say they're actually competing with TNA, they don't offer anything remotely like it, they're just way bigger than Spooky and doing their dominant market thing.

I'm sure they'll get by without me as a buyer, I can't speak for how many other feel the same.

Personally I'd be pretty stoked if TNA actually invited competition. More good games! A retro Stern with a modern upgrade could be pretty awesome.

Not even vaguely relevant to TNA, no. Why would you even compare them? Because they both don't have ramps?

What does more to offer mean? More bash toys? Who cares. New Sterns aren't compelling, to me, at all. Not because I'm a Stern hater, because they're making really boring games now. Titles like Star Wars are total turnoffs for me.

Why? No seriously, this no ramps thing has me really puzzled, do you think ramps cost $1500? Do you have any idea how many mechs TNA has compared to a cheaped out Stern Pro?

Nonsense. Just because a pinball exists doesn't make it good.

TNA is fun as a single player machine. It's exactly the game that pinball has been missing, utterly brilliant design, first game in years I've been excited for.

Star Wars is a soulless piece of disappointment manifest as a pinball. It's the pinnacle of modern Stern games. Slap a license on it, put in some sound clips, come up with a bunch of dumb math rules, and recycle a bunch of layouts into something numbingly boring. What a giant let down that title was. I'm a huge Star Wars fan, it sucked when I realized the game was so unfun.

I wouldn't trade my TNA for a Star Wars LE with cash on top, because even though I'd just sell it and make a profit I'd have to wait another 6 months to replace my TNA, and I'd rather have it over the cash.

I am, but licenses are definitely a huge part of it. So. Boring. It's like having your food pre-chewed, there's no mystery or interest. Closest thing we get to original are band pins, and that's tricky since there's so much turn on/off emotion with bands (hope Iron Maiden brings back the spark Metallica had). I know a little bit about licensed pin development now, it's a crutch at best, a stone around your neck at worst, that's how I feel about it.

and are enjoying the indie feeling Spooky provides

It's not so much "indie" as it is "actually being creative" and doing something new. I give credit to JJP for trying with Dialed In, was just a swing and a miss for me overall. Just too much of a feeling of old men trying to do what they think kids like. And the price of course, pass on that. But people seem to like it, and I'm really happy they took the chance, even if it isn't for me.

I know you found SW a letdown aesthetically and that you’re particularly attuned to that stuff. But I find it surprising that anyone that enjoys modern pinball can’t at least appreciate the multiplier switching and TIE Fighter whack-a-mole of the center button.

I hate the TIE whacking, it's the opposite of interesting pinball to me. The math rules are boring, they can't fix the snooze fan layout, nothing about that combination is fun to me. We've seen it all before, it's dull. Steve Ritchie is a pinball god, he could never make a game I like again and I would still always think he's one of the greats, but Star Wars isn't anything special.

To bring this sorta back on topic, the basic fan was done to perfection by Brian Eddy already, far as I'm concerned. Original themes too.

There’s no accounting for taste, of course, so hopefully Spooky keeps making games you like, or you find other ways to keep having fun with the hobby.

It's all personal. People can downvote me or whatever, who cares, I don't have to like the games they own. If you dismiss TNA as "simple" then you don't think about pinball on the same level I do, that's all. Spooky has a long waiting list, it's a hit by their standards and mine, I'm not worried about it.

Do I really have to write "in my opinion" after every sentence? Like what you want. I think Star Wars sucks. In my opinion.

This is true. I dunno, I'm just agitated in general these days.

I have no hate for Stern, lots of great people there, I'm just tired of games that feel like they're being made because they needed another pin for the line. Get a license, slap it on some ramps and shots, boom. That's an exaggeration, even boring pinball is a lot of work, but it *feels* like it.

I'd rather just play an old game than something new and soulless. Hope the rumor that Ritchie is doing an unlicensed game is true.

So like I said, I hope you continue to find things in the pinball world that work for you, even if new Stern and JJP machines aren’t doing it anymore. I enjoy your posts on design and other matters and it would be a shame if you burn out on pinball.

I respect what JJP is doing, but the price is just ridiculous, not paying that kind of cash for a damn pinball.

TNA is the first game in ages that excites me. Anyone remember this old thread I started?

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/maybe-its-time-to-build-a-simpler-pin

Still feel the same way. Turns out $6k is the price point, but Scott and Charlie did everything they could to keep the vision intact at that cost, I can't complain. It's at the upper end, but I'll pay it if i want it, unlike the $8500+ stuff.

Brian Eddy is amazing. Shadow is one of my all time favs, same with AFM, and no one needs to tout MM. I'd just hate to see him become a cog in a pump out games machine. Here's hoping.

That's fine, enjoy it. I don't want people to be unhappy or disappointed in their purchases. I just wish that for a theme near and dear to my heart like Star Wars that it got the world under glass adventure it deserved.