Quoted from wlf_:
Someone at Stern is working OT this weekend! TWIP and Flippin Out podcast had photos but Stern got them pulled down, fast!
They're still findable on FB if you do a search of public posts for "Elvira Pinball"
How do these leaks happen, anyway? Were distros given photos (in which case, I get that one would have loose lips out of the many). Cant imagine someone at Stern has much to gain going rogue sharing them, when Stern is trying to get them pulled down.
I think it's completely calculated. This is genious promotion! They leak pics that don't show all the detail, so they leave plenty to our imagination: "I can't really see it, but it must be great, right?!!!"
This promotes the machine but doesn't give it all away -- like a JJP Pirates reveal, for example. Then they manipulate again and request that the pics are pulled.
This way, they've generated interest/discussion, yet they control the actual details so we won't get sick of this (premature) rollout.
This isn't the first time a Stern "leak" has happened a few weeks before release...and won't be the last. I'd bet money on it.