bump very cool

Great vid, thanks for sharing.

Stupid that they wouldn't let you take some video of TWD pin.

Thanks for the interview!

That's why you played twd Thanks for posting!

thanks for the interview.. I still don't understand why they won't show the pinball actually playing. I know they have a plan for releasing it, but I figured we'd see it by now.

Pretty sweet!

Great interview! Thanks for sharing...

Why didn't they ask him if Stern is going to release a Premium version of TWD??

because that would make too much sense not to mention get some game play!

That's already been answered. "Possibly, if the demand is there."

That has never been officially publicly stated by Stern that I am aware of.

Private emails don't count.

I sure would like some more information about those new rollovers. What's so gosh dang different about them?

I missed it who's "private email" and from whom? Im too lazy to go find it!

I don't know if that email was "private" or "official" but it was stated to me, on the record during an interview, by Jody yesterday. So call it official.

Will it happen? No idea! But it's definitely on the table as far as Stern is concerned.

Thanks for the video.

If you watch the TWD DMD, there's a champion for each mode. Saw CDC mode....but couldn't read much more.

very kewl vid.... thanks for sharing man

online and different displays!!!

That Well Walker is HUGE... oh, sorry that's George

Thanks for posting
I love the Sopranos bit

Thanks for the interview. It's pretty cool that George would take time out of his day for a 25 minute interview.

One thing I couldn't help notice was that the attract mode lights for TWD seemed pretty subdued compared to the Mustang sitting next to it. I'm not making a judgement, realizing the code isn't done and we're only seeing a portion of the playfield, but did you notice this or have any comments having seen it in person?

Very nice interview. Thank you for this.

LTG : )
Disclaimer : I hope George can stop by my pocket of pinball popularity someday.

So this will be the way Stern does it going forward then.

Their official stance on Premium models will be "maybe we will, maybe we won't".

Perfect.

Could be. Kind of makes sense. Pro buyers tend to stay in that price category. LEs will be X amount and numbered. Should they sell out a version with extra bling will be made for the demand just not collectible. If they don't sell out no need.

I'm on the side of the fence that really believes if stern planned on doing a premium they would have stated it in fine print like the did for avengers. If their new motto is maybe we / maybe we won't, then my future stern buying motto will be maybe I will / maybe I won't.

In seriousness, it don't bug me if they do or don't do a premium but they should state it in the release which is why I believe they won't do one.

I enjoyed hearing George speak and his insights.. Where in the world would pinball be without the likes of George Gomez!! Long Live George Gomez.... LOTR.......

In other words Stern believes only 600 people in the world will want to purchase a full featured version of TWD, ever, so they may as well get an extra $1200 out of every one of them for a backglass and a plaque. The reward for early LE buyers? A cheaper Premium available for everyone else.

Oh, what a surprise.

I'm speculating here, so don't take this as gospel, but it's informed speculation: I think the bottom line is the Premiums just don't sell that well. AC/DC is the exception, not the rule. If they get another game that obviously has legs more like AC/DC then they're not going to be fools and say "too bad, should have got the LE, here, have a Pro". They'll work to meet demand, while keeping the LEs limited. Maybe that means Pro cab and artwork with LE playfield for instance, no idea.

But I think unless the numbers are there they're not lining up the tooling and work ahead of time. I don't have the impression it will be like that, point blank, for every game from here on out. Probably a game time decision for each one, or maybe the designer has some say, no idea.

That's my guess at least. I'd prefer a Premium or at least info ahead of time too, but so it goes. Ops, home buyers with smaller budgets, and hardcore collectors are being served. Can't complain that much.

A well thought out opinion free of the jaded, snarky attitude that seems to infect so many. Who do you think you are trying to get away with that in a discussion forum on the Interweb?!?

aurich.gif

Hm... I thought the MET Prem/ collector editions did pretty well and sold out in a jiffy. Even though I don't think that the play/toy on the LEs made that big of a difference in play. If this means that there are title by title considerations to be met, cool. I have never played the Tron LE and would like to do so, just to see the extras put into it. And with TWD, I'd be very interested in playing a pro and LE and seeing what the comparison of the gameplay would be like between the two.

Awesome interview, George seems like a good guy. Proud to own a real nice example of his first machine Corvette!

That was a nice interview, thanks for sharing. Suggestion...next time use a couple of wireless mics.

Maybe the software isn't quite ready yet and they don't want to show it in alpha/beta state?

Rob

I'm sorry but i find no interest at all in TWD, looks stupid, and boring theme. But then again i have never played it so who the f**k am i to say anything.

The ACDC premium was well worth the extra cost over the pro so that's why it sold well. MET premium probably did well too. ST is a contrast where the premium didn't offer enough over the pro to justify the cost to many like myself. Plus, when they take 8 months to update code, it pisses customers off.

Rob

This is a good point and could be why they decided not to do a premium. Maybe they only have a year on TWD license so they know they're not gonna have the game complete wise in time to get a good production run of premiums.

We say "probably". We have no idea. Presumably Stern has that data.

Good post.

One thing about this new approach is that it seems pretty obvious that if a Premium version of TWD (or any title in the future) is released by Stern, it is very unlikely that it will be done anytime soon.

Unless there was some kind of immediate and obvious over the top demand for TWD (which is highly unlikely since we know code won't be complete for quite some time), it simply makes no sense that they would release a Premium any time soon.

And by the time the code is done 9-12 months down the road, will there really be a sudden big surge in demand for TWD? By that time you will have other pins released and announced by Stern itself, not to mention the competitors. The next big thing will be out when TWD code is complete. When MET got it's huge code update that was universally praised, it still didn't seem to result in a huge surge of people wanting a MET.

It's almost like a self serving prophecy. Stern doesn't think there's enough demand for TWD to justify a Premium, so people will be even more inclined to take a wait and see approach...which in turn means less immediate demand.

A lot of Pro folks would upgrade to an Premium if one was available. Stern is contradicting themselves by saying TWD is the #1 watched show 19-49 year olds (something like that) then saying "If there is enough demand we'll make a premium." They should of just offered a premium from the beginning as it seems they are utilizing lesson's learned from Mustang to not have a premium on this theme which is a bad example.

Bookmark for later view. Thx

+10 RobT

Stern ships games with super skeet code which makes folks reluctant to buy early.

High prices make folks even less likely to buy early due to risk.

Now we've got people who refuse to buy a "stripped down pro" while refusing to buy "an overpriced LE". Without a premium at launch buyers wait... but for what?

Well, that's a recipe for suck

I really like the Premiums. I can wait for a year. Gives me a chance to play the PRO for sure, maybe a chance to play the LE. Would like to know for sure on day one whether a PRE is going to be made. I think TWD LEs will sell-out very quickly, like Metallica did.

2x post

Interesting interview, and interesting comments!

coooooooooooooool!

What if Star Trek Premium didn't sell well too? What if Metallica Premium wasn't a huge seller in the end? When was the last time you saw an Avengers Premium?

All I'm saying is Stern has these numbers, and we don't. So it seems silly to pretend we know better. Yes, there might be 20 people here on Pinside who really want a Premium. Or 40 even. Is that enough to actually do it? (I don't know.) Maybe the game will kick ass, people will keep buying it and asking for the Premium (want to make an impact? talk to your distributor) and it will happen.

My basic stance is this: Stern isn't full of idiots. When I talked with Jody on the phone yesterday we chatted for a good hour about pinball, it could have been a 10 minute talking point call, but it wasn't. The things we talk about here? They talk about them at Stern. We talk about it every day? So do they. And I mean everything. LCD displays in games? Yup.

These are sharp guys who love the game and want it to stay alive. Are they perfect and infallible? No. But they're sharp, and have access to data we don't.

The home market has been slowing for over a year now. It's not just the premiums. AC/DC premium did good because it's a killer game and the home market was on fire then. Not any more. Game rooms are full and so are distributor's warehouses. There are way more games for sale now than there was just three months ago. Look at the market here. It's loaded with HUO and NIB games. Call your local distributor and see what he has in stock. Chances are good he has more than one older title in stock NIB. Prices of older NIB games are dropping. Especially premiums and LE's. You don't need to be an insider to see these things.

Stern really doesn't know if the demand will be there. Simple as that. If they thought they could sell anything they can build, they wouldn't be building MMR and they wouldn't be backing down to only two new titles a year. Contrary to what many here seem to believe, the market for $6k+ luxury items for the home isn't unlimited. Stern gets this. If you're convinced they're going to build a premium, you shouldn't be. For the good of the hobby and Stern's bottom line, I hope they do build it. But I don't think they will.