How are owners of the original CC going to argue that it's better than the remake when the remake has finished code? Bad news for owners of the original.

When will we start seeing for sale posts for original CCC games arguing how much better they are than the remake?

How about they stop making the best versions limited so everyone has a chance? This hobby sucks sometimes.

Who would buy an LE version of the machine without the stupid number on it? It's really frustrating how they make the best parts like the apron and topper exclusive to the LE.

I just laugh when distributors try to get me to order an SE from them because there's no more LEs... I was sold on all the upgrades that are LE only, but if they don't want to make those available then I'll pass.

CGC... You're leaving money on the table.

If there's a lesson to be learned here, it's that Pinballstar allocation is either low and/or already spoken for at pre-sale time. I'll have to find another distro to get in with before the next big release.

Can you guys add more LEs before you get deeper into the launch? Jjp does like 5000 LEs and other manufacturers up the limit all the time. The only people who will be mad are scalpers.

They don't seem to care much about flippers and price gouging with their approach, despite what they say. The whole LE business model is what creates those problems.

At least I wasn't really, really wanting this game. I wanted to buy it, but mainly because of the LE improvements. I can live without it, but I'm going to have a lower opinion of CGC going forward.

Did anyone else just never get a response from planetary pinball? I'm sure they got flooded with emails but they still have a banner on their website about CC with an email address. You'd think they could just copy and paste a response to everyone.

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The website clearly said the topper is exclusive to the LE. Of course they're backpedaling now that they see how much money they can make from selling it separately. I think the entire LE business model is terrible, but if you're going to play on people's FOMO, don't immediately burn them by offering the exclusive items separately after you sell out of LEs. That's adding insult to injury... And bringing up Robert Mueller's name for cover is pretty tasteless. It's like saying "sure we misled you but at least we're not the worst in the industry... Remember Robert Mueller?"

Pretty classless all around.

How long was this reveal in the making? CCR has been expected for years at this point. It's pretty amazing how they fumbled it with so much lead time.

CGC... Just do an open preorder for LEs, make as many as you get orders for, and then stop. You guys really have a knack for finding a way to upset everyone.

On the other side of this, when the pinball bubble inevitably bursts and every new LE isn't immediately gobbled up by buyers and flippers, and the new people in the hobby filter back out and you return to a pinball market made of repeat customers, the people who were frustrated that they couldn't get the best version of the game because of an arbitrary number will remember. The pinball market is brimming with active companies with regular new releases. There are plenty of alternative places to spend pinball dollars. Those of us who were in the market before the boom will be here after the boom.

It doesn't really matter what the next CGC game is. I know I won't be interested, because the two times I've tried buying a CGC game before have been incredibly frustrating, and never for a good reason. If you want to play the LE game, then best of luck. You'll get a lot of interest that way, but you lose those of us who don't care about numbers and just want the features. I'm not just talking about a topper but the entire package.

You're clearly going to upset some people no matter what you do at this point. Capping LEs, selling the topper individually, or increasing the number of LEs... There's no way around it. Some people will be unhappy. I don't understand this moral hard-line on keeping the number of LEs when it's clearly problematic. People are already flipping their spots for thousands of dollars. Is that better than giving everyone a chance to buy it? Price gouging people on day one because some people were lucky and some weren't? That's a line in the sand you can't cross? A sacred number on a plaque?

I guess this hobby has become corrupted by the desire to exclude people. Creating value by withholding something from eager customers just to make other customers feel special. I don't respect that. Not at all.

I emailed like a week ago and never heard anything. Awesome customer service over there.

Well I would say never getting a response is not incredible customer service.

So you're basically paying the LE price without the rest of the LE features. I give up on CGC.

What a mess. In this market, all you have to do is deliver a game, any game, and people are happy. You really have to try hard to piss this many people off.

This is the dumbest post I've ever seen on this website, and that's saying something.

Must be nice to actually get a response from Sara at PPS. I never got one.

Ok. Then build more LEs. You said it yourself. You can't just say this and then have tons of people unable to get the game on the first day orders open up, especially when you're charging the LE price for another version without a lot of the "additional features." I'm sorry but this statement rings absolutely false.

I've gotten a lot of downvotes in this thread. I had one post that had a ton of downvotes, then a few pages later someone said the exact same thing and got a bunch of upvotes. It's one of the reasons I have to take a break from this site every once in a while. It's mass hysteria and it's not even consistent. I understand everyone's frustration here. I'm frustrated... But it's crazy how different everyone's reasons are for being upset. Some people are unhappy because they can't get an LE. A lot of LE buyers are unhappy because CGC offered to make the topper available.

I've read so many comments from the lucky people who got an LE order in for a great price whining about how unfair it all is that I'm really starting to question my place in this hobby. I feel like this has brought out the worst in some people.

"I only want it if you can't have it" is the basis of the LE business model. It's the worst thing about modern pinball... Holding back features for a select few just for bragging rights.

My favorite is the Elvira signature edition that cost an extra $5000 for a piece of the sofa and a signature. Meanwhile, you could buy Elvira's also limited edition coffee table book with a signature and piece of the sofa about 6 times larger than the one on the game for a few hundred dollars. It takes a lot of FOMO for that to add up.

Gary Stern is calling Elvira right now seeing if they can get some panties for the next LE model in a few months. That's the other side of this too... All of these companies either up their LE numbers, or come out with newer, better LE models of the same game later on. There's nothing sacred about the LE models, which is why I find all the pearl clutching even more ridiculous.

That sucks. I bought a game from automated and had issues. I generally don't say out loud on here negative things about distros, but I've heard several stories about automated in addition to my own experience. Word to the wise...

CGC supposedly has this view as well, as Doug said in this thread a day or two ago:

"We build a large number of LEs because we want everyone to have access to the features we have developed."

So I honestly don't know why they just don't increase the number of LEs. I mean I guess I know... Because selling the SE+ effectively allows them to sell a lot more LEs without having to supply any of the LE components aside from the topper. The SE+ model is the best model for CGC as far as profit/revenue. Still... Their customers are very enthusiastic and want the best version of the game regardless of the exclusivity factor. It's just too bad that CGC's interests are more aligned with the flippers than the people who just really want the best version of the game.

That could always change though. The LE business model could become more toxic if enough people are frustrated by things like artificial scarcity, multiple LE models per game, changing model tiers... Etc.

I was never into the LE market, but I've only recently started to find it more frustrating as the differences feel less superficial than ever.

Well I was going to buy CCRLE but since I can't get it I'm just not buying the game, so there's one sale lost.

Not falling for it. The wooden arch was one of the coolest features in my opinion. It's an entire package not just a topper.

Every pinball machine is limited... Wasn't the standard edition of JJPPOTC the version with the lowest number of units produced? Fewer than the "Limited Edition" and "Collectors Edition." And yet... If you had to choose a JJPPOTC model to buy, no one would not choose the Standard Edition, even though it's the most limited version, because scarcity alone means nothing.

That's probably why CGC cut out the Classic Edition with CCr. The bare bones models do not sell well. People want features and they seem to recognize that... And yet not at the same time.

PPS told me the same thing.... Basically if you commit to buying the SE+ you get priority on the wait list. I told them I thought that was very troubling that they would pressure people to commit to a version they don't want on the off chance they get an LE spot. I declined to prove to them that I had contacted them about the LE and never heard back after I heard that, and they basically insinuated that I made it all up. Real winners over there.

I think it's pretty egregious, but it seems like people in this hobby will put up with almost anything so I'm not surprised. What can I say? I tried to give CGC/PPS a nearly five figure sale and they didn't want it. Oh well.

So if I have this right:

They create an LE and sell out immediately.

Lots of people are upset that they couldn't get one.

CGC says "We build a large number of LEs because we want everyone to have access to the features we have developed."

They announce a new version SE+ that includes the topper so that people can get it without worrying about the limited numbers.

They then decide to limit the version that was supposed to quell criticism about LEs...

I'm just tired of the limited number game to try to drive sales. If this is really another limited edition, as it seems by definition if they put a max number on it, then why not just sell more LEs and give people all the features of the LE? Because they want the LE money without having to give the LE features.

Why would we bother when you told us SE+ orders get preference?

They're just trying to deflect blame. They say they answered every email/text, then when a bunch of people here say they never got a response, they assert that it's the customer's fault for never proving to them after the fact that they indeed reached out, even though they admit it won't make a difference unless the customer agrees to buy an SE+ in the hopes they'll get bumped up to an LE. The entire thing feels like a scam to get more sales with the false hope of getting an LE.

Insinuating that we're all lying when we don't want to resend our contact info to a company with these kinds of business practices is also very low. Notice how PPS didn't dispute in their comment what several of us reported... That they're prioritizing SE+ orders regardless of when you tried to join the waiting list for an LE. How is that not a shady business practice?

I've had Sterns dimple pretty bad. My current Stern hasn't dimpled too bad after a few thousand plays. I think it's because the game flows better than some of the other titles. I considered buying a CGC MBr secondhand a while back but decided against it when I saw the dimples. It was allegedly a low play machine but it was really bad. I disagree, though, with the idea that all the dimples blend together. I had a ghostbusters that got hammered from airballs and it never got better with time. It only got worse. I don't think dimples should be a disqualifying condition for purchase, but at current prices it might make you think twice if you're being sold a game that's supposedly in mint condition.