Making Stern out to be the evil empire of pinball is ridiculous. It's not like they're a Monsanto or Chase size corporation that's to big to fail. One bad title can send the company to the brink as we saw a few years back with WWE and Mustang. Stern was literally days away from shutting the doors permanently until they reorganized with fresh investment a few short years ago. While the tactics they employed on this occasion (if true) may be questionable they are the 800 lb gorilla in the room and can hound each and every competitor however they choose to. Spooky did step on their toes with their latest band release and it's obvious that Stern loves their classic rock themes. I read threads here every day here saying that competition is good for the industry. Stern has been laying down the ground work for all these upstarts since the turn of the millennium and had to throw the gauntlet down at some point. If you can't stand the heat get the F out of the kitchen.