This may seem like a strange thread topic but bear with me a minute. I don't post much on the internet. Used to be heavy into a couple of owners forums for cars I own but dropped out due to the fact it became tedious dealing with some of the personalities. As for pinside I created a profile when I sold a game a couple of years ago and never checked back much.......until the recent release of SW. Thought it would be fun to check in on excitement there had to be for a title of this magnitude.

Quick history. Bought my first pin 4 years ago that I still love and play to this day. The much maligned stern IJ. Always the most popular game with my guests. Since I have bought 4 NIB pins......IM Vault, Star Trek pro, GOTLE and now SWLE. All stern products but have played and enjoyed other brands. Fortunately I have a lot of pins available in Vegas to try and play. It has been a crazy fun hobby and where I thought I would only have a couple I now have 4. So enjoyable and the modern games have so much to do. Just love to play them and lose an hour or two in pure gaming bliss. So much better than video gaming.

So imagine my surprise when i see the venom spewed at a game that hadn't even been released yet. Not everyone of course (I have read a ton of members post I enjoy) but by a very vocal group. Then I go and do some searches on games I love and see the same pattern. So it spurred me to actually write a long post. And here is my .02 on new game releases and its treatment here and I am sure other places.

First you can't tell much from a video. SW is soooo much more impressive in person. The Death Star which looks small in the vids is actually very impressive in person and the hyperspace loop is incredible. Video can't convey this. Even those 3 picture video that show different aspects all at once just can't represent how sound, video and gameplay are going to come together. It has to be experienced. And honestly while I can get a feel for a game on location it is so much better in a home setting. You can set the game up as you like and immerse yourself in it. As for game field pics......useful and fun to look at but nothing beats in person.

That said I respect that it is hard to buy games sight unseen especially with how much games cost. But doesn't all great things in life cost? Yes games are expensive. Fortunately they seem to hold value well but do you buy cars and expect them not to depreciate? Have you ever bought something and had an issue with it shortly after purchase? Of course. Why should pins be any different? Of course there is nothing wrong with posting your opinion or negative experiences but "I hate this" or "it's so disappointing" without ever having played or seen it in person is just not constructive.

Bottom line this is supposed to be fun.....for a lot of you it obviously is and for me it is just incredible fun. I guess my overall point is focus on the positive of a great hobby/activity and tune out the noise. If you have a machine in your home to kill time with then any day should be a great day. Thanks for reading and honestly thanks to the majority of positive members of pinside!!

The problem with a long post is some of the message gets lost when people scan. I fully support everyone's right to state their own opinions.....positive or negative and I say that later in the first post I made. If you have a problem or negative experience you should share it. It can help other people or lead to progress that makes things better for everyone. What I don't like is seeing a game crushed if you have never even played it.

There are great things about pinside and truly I find most of the people entertaining. I guess I don't spend enough time on the internet to not find negativity for the sake of negativity disappointing. Think of all the great things that modern pins can do. Personally I think we all have a great idea in our heads about how to knock it out of the park for a license we are passionate about. I can say I was not in love with the layout for SW when I saw it as it did not match what I thought it should be in my head. But the theme was worth it to me then I actually played it and formed the opinion that it is damn fun. Others may not share that opinion and that is fine. But like anything in life I like to see or read educated opinions based on experiences not on knee jerk reactions.

There are lots of very cool people and things on here. Very supportive people. Just was wondering if others have noted the blind negativity I noticed. I am a positive, glass half full kind of guy and I have played many games I don't like or don't get why they are popular. However I have never made that judgement without playing the game first as I have been surprised more than once.

I can honestly say I wish I had more garage space for more cars and more game room space for more pins. Only my wife, and my pups bring me more happiness.

That said I own a business and I can't fault a company for building machines in the most profitable way possible. Yes all manufacturers should strive to put out a good product and have good quality control but in the end the market must be telling them that the way they are doing things is working. I have only had a couple of problems with my machines and I sadly have zero repair/tech ability. I quake a little every time I have to open one up even for something simple. Fortunately I have a great distributor/repair guy who has always been fantastic about taking care of any issues I have had in a timely fashion. Over 4 NIB pins I have only had a couple of warranty type issues and Stern always took care of it promptly also.

But that is my experience and I understand that others may have had bad experiences. I guess I would say if I didn't have a local guy available to take care of my needs/warranty issues in a timely fashion I might not enjoy this as much but I do so let the fun continue.