I don't think this is correct. I think stern will continue to sell more games to homes annually than all the other mfgs combined.

They are killing it.

I think sometimes people bucket the entire home market as one entity, when it's actually a broad spectrum of consumers with different buying choices and especially different buying power.

There are a considerable number of people who buy $8000 games for their home the same way I'd buy a $60 ps4 game.

Jeez. Stern is doing a great job.

If by “effectively targeting the home market” you mean absolutely dominating sales to the home market, then yes they are. But from your post it seems like you’re really asking if they’re innovating enough to keep you interested. Only you can answer that.

The Star Wars Home edition looks better than Stranger Things

Jurassic Park
Deadpool
Beatles
Iron Maiden

All of these are unconventional layouts. They balance out the EHOH, Stranger Things, Guardians etc. Stern just makes that many more games so they give the consumer a mix of options.

They’ll be just fine in all markets.

I think your basic premise is incorrect. They are trying some cool stuff. Animatronic ball eating, throwing T-Rex. Projector that projects images on the playfield. No other manufacturer is delivering games below $6,000. Lower prices means they are more accessible, not just for operators, but also home buyers.

Regarding code - I don't think you have been following the new releases. Most of these games have had a LOT of updates in rapid succession and have been basically complete within 60-90 days of launch. The 2 year Batman wait was terrible I agree and hurt the sales big time.

And per their website, it’s “affordable”!

I think there is no debate that Keith Elwin was a game changing hire for Stern. Some of the old school guys (Gomez with DP) have also had some super fun games. I do agree that some of the designs / mechs are not as fun or inspired. Not really a fan of Borg's last two games. Look at how the Herman mech moves on the Munsters. Borg has been recycling layouts for a while now.

If the market is people who write ridiculous word salads rehashing a million other threads we have once a week that nobody reads in their entirety due to their crushing banality, the answer is obvious:

No.

If the market is people who want the cheapest commercial pinball machine available, and want to choose from about 10 models in production at any given time and have the machine in their home within a week, the answer is also obvious:

Yes.

The entire hobby could sell more. The curse is, these things break constantly and many people have no idea how to fix even the smallest fault. And that's on top of the inconsistent seller and repair network. Personally, I don't see how anybody that is trying to make a buck operating would bother when claw and gimmick machines do so much better. I believe that Stern is fitting its market pretty close to the bullseye. Their biggest problem isn't what they are doing but IMO some of the arrogance I perceive from entities that hold licenses. The relative recent adoption of monitors and rgb lighting is IMO one of the major factors in all of this. That and the aging of the population that is willing to stay home to entertain itself rather than go out to bars.

If you want a solid, reliable, fun, affordable game, that you can actually order and have delivered, there are only two real players Stern and CGC. Everyone else is a bunch of amateurs with homebrew and overly complicated junk. I honestly wish CGC would produce new games instead of just remakes because they have the best quality in town. Stern and CGC are absolutely crushing it. End of line.

You can't crush the HUO pinball market any more than Stern is right now. Record sales, great themes, some great pins.

What more do you want?

In fact they crush the entire pinball industry.

So you are calling games like Dialed In and Wonka designed by Pat Lawlor overly complicated junk made by amateurs? LOL, ok. Same goes for Spooky with a games like TNA and ACNC.

Just because a company can rush out 5 new games a year with half of them being duds doesn't mean they are making the best games. Stern has been crushing it but selling the most of something doesn't = "the best". I wish all of their games were as good as JP.

Agreed. Stern is the dominate leader in the pinball space, pumping out games in numbers not hitherto seen this century. Stern’s innovation in code specially has been great and I’m glad to see they recognize the value in acquiring all the assets of Stranger Things they acquired.

I know I’ll be ordering a Stranger Things for sure.

All that said, I’m glad to see there are other companies out there I can also send my business to. Variety is the spice of life.

I have several Stern games on my short wish list. None for JJP, none for Spooky, none for anyone else. Rick and Morty looks fun but don't think I am smart enough for theme. Plus it's not cheap and wait is long. JJP is lol. What is it - $13k for some glitter on your WOZ? lol. JPOP RAZA? AP Hotwheels? Keep trying. Saying that Stern "can crank out machines like nobody's business" is a testament that their games sell. I would love to see more people compete on Stern's pro level with games that are fun to play, good themes, and produced in a timely manner. Don't see it, though.

More is better Tiger. They all do their own thing. I own a nice American Pinball game in Oktoberfest. 3 JJP games now. An old Alien, new Aliens coming from Pinball Brothers. 2 CGC games, and waiting on CC. And a Deeproot pin that is paid for via Jpop.

Couldn't agree more, variety is the spice of life!

Just because Stern is crushing it, no ned for the "pinside mob" to try and tear it down. Although, it's the vocal mob minority because SALES tell a different story.

Sometimes Stern is a victim of their own success. Hire Elwin and make 2 great games, JP being one of the best ever.

With the rising cost of new machines, the lack of space in homes, and the decline in resale value for most machines, I think the home market will start to level out. I know a few guys that use to own pins and have sold them because they can go play local pinball and play the newest titles. Not everyone shares that mentality but I understand it.

This is kind of a catch 22 though. With the rising cost of new pins and the stagnant pricing of locations pinball play, I do believe we are reaching a peak where it’s not sustainable. I believe traditional operations of pins is going to the way side and corporate business will be the only business that will buy every new title. Business that don’t make money with pinball, but make money keeping people in the doors to buy other products like food and drink.

This is just my opinion, observations, and experience. I could be wrong though.

By amateurs I meant boutique. So basically not suitable for route use which I don't believe any JJP games or Spooky games are. I have not owned any American Pinball so I can't speak to their reliability. Perfect for home use or someone that doesn't mind putting the hood up here and there. Stern and CGC are suitable for route use which was my point.

Gosh, this is all so true.

My game room is simply full at the moment, in fact, I have a total of eight games at my office since I have zero space in my house. I’m at the point where I can’t buy anything without selling something, and I don’t want to sell anything because I: (a) really like my collection and still play everything in it, and (b) don’t like losing my butt on machines. If I take too big of a loss, I get criticism from the Mrs, who is also into pinball but like everyone doesn’t like losing money.

For the current home use market to continue to thrive, there has to be a healthy used machine market. For there to be a healthy used machine market there has to be a constant influx of new players and collectors.

Competitive pinball has brought in new players and turned some of those new players into collectors. Stern brings in some new players with the release of each major theme, so far we’ve never seen mass pin acquisition from non-pinhead fans of specific themes, but each major release of new IP must drive a few new collectors here and there. We heard that masses of KISS and Star Wars fans would buy masses of machines and I don’t think that ever materialized, but surely a few new collectors sprung from each release.

Stern (and everyone else for that matter) pushing up prices on new machines has in some ways set expectations on the value of older machines. WOZ machines have appreciated (or at least appear to have appreciated) since the yellow one came around. Regardless, there needs to be new buyers.

You cant deny that Stern is king, they crank out 3-4 games per year, great themes, and the past 2 years has been pretty amazing besides some playfield issues. These newer machines are all fantastic

Beatles
DP
Black knight
JP 2
Iron maiden

That is what I did, it just did not make sense to have 100k in pinball machines in my basement. Now I just keep a few fun bang for buck pins around to tinker with and play and go hit some location play for my NIB fix.

Speaking to dealers who carry multiple manufacturers Stern crushes on new and used space for new home buyers.

Outside the walls of the Pinside echo chamber the GB, SW, and JPs just crush it at the price point for those new game room collections.

Stern is better at business than all the other manufacturers. They may not be better at “pinball”. They kept things going in the lean years, which is where you are truly tested. Now, more competition and a healthy level of interest has prompted Gary to start innovating a little. That’s awesome.

They are taking the risks now that you have to take as a big company to stay on top. Until another company comes in that is good at keeping costs down, building a product a lot of people want, and juggling the day-to-day, Stern is safe.

They want a game specifically tailored to them, that will fulfill all of their hopes, dreams, and desires.

That’s what Deep Root is for.

You asked if Stern is effectively targeting the home market. They are far and away the #1 supplier for the home market.

It’s like asking if the sky is blue, or if a dog has a tail. It makes no sense to ask the question, and even less to dedicate 5,000 words to it.

Maybe you meant to ask a different question?

This is OP's answer. A couple of hundred Pinsiders raving about their favorite new title isn't Stern's chosen market, as many of their offerings (BM66, Supreme, Beatles) suggest. Oh, we're part of it -- otherwise we wouldn't be seeing a new Black Knight at all, and they wouldn't bother with the deepest rules at all.

It’s a bit like saying GM doesn’t cater for the home market cause they sell a couple of bland cars.
Stern offers some great machines for the home market for players with a range of abilities.