What's wrong with the theme? Classic monsters, campy old TV show charm, hot rods, and humor. I'm not exactly a fan of the tv show but that doesn't matter. It just sounds like a fun mix of things - kind of like Monster Bash / Batman 66 mashup. I am more excited about this game than some old arena rock band or random Marvel superhero theme.

Iron Maiden is not a band pin? What the junk are you smoking? Iron Maiden is a band. Heavy metal band is still a band. They fly around on a jumbo jet and play in arenas. They have been around for decades. Stern made more than a few pins of bands like this and they all have a monster/devil/creature thing going on. I get why. Top selling pins are band themes so easy money. I just bet Stern could of sold a lot more Iron Maiden pins if they used a different theme for that layout.

Yeeah, ok. Guess I already got a monster theme pin with Metallica. Be nice if Munsters go heavy on the 60's stuff and car culture. All that would go so great together. Is this going to be regular release or like BM66 and no pro?

Amazing! Hard to see detail but looks awesome. Can't wait to see more!

Same here. I want great art with vibrant color and non of that low-res photoshop crap. A B&W limited run premium/LE might make be cool but I think they would loose sells if it was the premium or LE.

Awesome release! Looks like a lot of fun. All models look pretty good but still not sure about the B&W premium. Cool Stern is trying something different to give each model a unique look. Pro looks pretty solid but the LE really looks nice. No way I am paying that kind of money, though. I don't care one bit about the whole limited scheme.

So what if the layout is similar to another game? There is only so much you can do with the limited space and 2 flippers. Every game feels different to me. If it plays good then that is all that matters. I would like to see a third flipper, though.

Heard they copied the flipper thing, too. Two flippers down at the bottom - pfff - how original.

Seriously? You know the whole LE is a cash grab. LE buyers line up each and every time with no memory of past woes. Why not bump the number up if demand is hot? How is that a f-ed up thing? Stern is in the business to sell pins. I would bump it up to 1000 and watch them fly out the door.

Unethical? I don't recall Stern ever making any hard "promises" to anyone. Their website might say 500 but where in writing are you "promised" 500? It's called the limited edition and it is still limited whether 500, 600, or 1000. If you are buying it solely on the reason there will be only 500 and not 501, then maybe you should rethink your purchase.

LOL - you think future LE sales are going to drop!? You do realize that Stern has played plenty of games in the past with customers (remember having to apply for the honor to buy a massively overpriced BM66?), raised prices dramatically, and suffered numerous qc issues and still sells games out in short order. Munsters LE sold out in what - 5 minutes? Past LE's have sold out sight unseen simply based on theme. Customers are demanding more, not less.

Stern can do whatever they want. They can change the art, change the game code, remove features, add features, or change prices. They are not obligated to anything. If you choose to preorder based on what someone said, some production number, or what the internet says then you are taking a risk. You can call it unethical, bad business, or whatever. That's just reality. Wait to see exactly what they are selling, touch it, play it, and then decide if that pin is worth the asking price. Simple as that.

A plaque, flyer, or what someone that works for Stern is not law. Things change. Stern has been promising code updates for games for years. How is that working for you? I couldn't care less for those that buy LE's and try to flip them for profit. I say Stern should sell 1000 if there is enough demand. Any LE buyer is welcomed to cancel their order and get their deposit back. If plaques are that important to you, buy a pro instead and get your own plaque made for a few bucks.

The nerve of Stern making pins people want and making money.

Agreed. I think some of the fun gets lost when you have such complex rules. I also find it very irritating when there are modes that you will never see unless you are one of the top 10 players in the world. These complex rules are often full of bugs and loopholes where code never seems complete. Focus on simpler rules, theme integration, good animations, and extra callouts. That's what made the B/W pins so great.

It does make sense. One version would probably be something between a pro and premium and priced like a premium. You would no longer have the option to get a solid pro at cheapest nib price. You would no longer have the full features of premium/LE. If there is such a demand for LE's, Stern should offer more of them. Each could have different art packages and perhaps more Super LE's. You could even sell alternative translites and speaker panels on the side so pro/premium buyers could customize their games.

Could be power issue at the location. Maybe too many pins connected to one circuit. Heard other Spike pins doing that so who knows. Never seen a SAM pin do that including the two I owned and played 1000's of times.

Not sure why everyone looks for what is missing in every new Stern. Not every game is going to have the exact same ingredients and that would get boring. There is already a huge amount of complaints of fan layouts that look similar to other games. Every game has limitations due to cost. I see a lot on the pro including magnet, bash toys, spinner, pop up Spot thing, full light show, metal ramps, and more. For todays standards, that's not bad. Looks like the fancy lower playfield ate up all the premium costs. I do agree that huge, impossible to miss, targets is not appealing but think Stern is shooting for a simpler game this time. Think Monster Bash. Hopefully, the code will be perfected and not just called "finished" after a few basic updates. I think that is where Stern falls short most of the time regardless of layout, theme, art, etc. Some games get polished and go from mediocre to great. Some just get to mediocre and called done. Others seem to be completely forgotten. There doesn't seem to be any standards when it comes to code.

So would you rather have WPT or Munsters? I have not played either but Munsters looks more fun to me. It would be nice to have loaded features like a TZ with great theme, art, and code for $3500 but that's not a reality for today. Even JJP had to cut features in POTC by going to simple spinning disk and that is $9500! I don't get how prices have shot up so much in the last 5 years or so but they have. Stern still has the cheapest nib even though it is pushing $6000.

Cannot argue with that. Stern keeps raising their prices and people keep throwing money at them with every new exciting title. Even before there is any pics of a game, people are trying to put deposits down. Amazing. That's not how I roll but that makes no difference. I'm not upset with Stern at all. That's the market talking. Same with the LE's. Market is demanding more. Hope Stern sells a record number of Munster pins and the next pin is even better. Maybe in a few years the market will be flooded with great Stern pins and I can get one cheap! lol

Sorry, but that's just a dumb argument. People are paying outrageous prices for old, beat B/W games with shallow code. They are so in demand, CGC is making good money selling remakes of games with shallow code like AFM and MB. Stern had zero problems moving every single Beatles at a fat premium price. Obviously the market is not driven by so called deep games. Look at how slow JJP is getting out their deep games and how much do they cost? Games are fun not because of the coil count or number of lines of code. Games are fun because of how everything is designed as a whole. Not everyone wants a game that needs a 200 page instruction book to play and modes you will never see. Lyman is not going to work on every single game and Stern is not selling a nib for $3500. That's just ridiculous. It's obvious Stern designed Munsters to be an easier game with easier goals a lot like MB. Calling that inexcusable is even more ridiculous.

Gary? Uh, ok. How did I misquote you when I just quoted your entire post? You said "shallow code is for lazy or rushed programmers in 2019" and then "shallow gameplay is inexcusable". Is that a misquote? If I am Gary Stern than yeah, I would be insulted by that. I don't have to run a pinball company to know that the ultimate way to know whether a pin is designed well is sales. I don't plan on buying one but sounds like it is selling extremely well.

Even if it was simulated tv glare it doesn't look right. It has to be done on purpose but slight chance display issue. Do all games look like that?