At $3k idk how it will sell well. Zizzle had it pretty damn good at what $199? I would probably pay 500 for a pin that HOU and limited. For 3$k I can find so many other pins that are "Real" and TF pro is going for like 4?

"Meh"

That sums it up. If it was a thousand or maybe $1500 I'd expect interest...

jody is scampering around trying to get people to talk it up lol

Does anybody know what to expect here? Is this going to be like Iron Man Classic?

Edit: nope, looks like a 'new' game built out of left-over parts. Well, now we can't complain about NIB Sterns being too expensive, this baby's only a cool 3 grand!

I can't even comment, they banned me. Whoever runs their facebook account is clueless about customer service and marketing...

"The all-LED playfield lighting provides optimal color and performance."

LED strips, rather than individual bulbs?

Jody cant keep up between asking people to talk the game up via pm on fb to deleting posts on fb lol.

Guessing that's the ball lock area on the left ramp return. That all-spark toy in the middle looks like the TOTAN lamp... layout looks a bit cluttered and crazy, but I suppose we shouldn't judge it until we have more than one playfield pic to look at.

Seems like Jody has his hands full. Damage control anyone?

My predication... Complete and utter failure.

I would totally buy one. I have a god son and a handful of friends kids. But at that price it is in real pinball price range. I've been trying to snag a zizzle forever.

Playfield pic

tf.jpg

Price point is so far out it is not true.

Anybody who wants to play pinball will buy a real one.

Otherwise play it on an ipad etc.

That guy is such a douche. If you even say one word, I mean even anything that is not close to praise your comment will be removed. Not even constructive criticism is allowed! I am not joking here.

Jody = Stern Nazi

Personally i don't think this is a bad idea perse.
Just the price point is really out of this world. If, and i say if, because the official price has yet to be announced, it really shoots by it's target audience.
This should be 1000$ max for it to succeed. Making pinball more known is always a good idea, but Stern seems to make a mess of this otherwise good idea imo.

I agree. At that price point I could only see something like this working... 1500 MAX and even then...

I think it's a good thing.
J-Pop touched on something similar to this concept at CAX; I guess Gary was kInDa paying attention. (Didn't really hit the right price point though... Ouch! )

Getting more people into pinball will mean more NEW machines for the future and hopefully we'll see more diverse offerings when it comes to themes... So, nothing but positive vibes from me.

Plus, that new TF PF looks like a flowriffic beast!
Come on Black Friday/Cyber Monday!!!

Price is key if its 500-1000 then its a legit thing. Anything over that is crazy. Most people who are thinking of getting a pinball are going to walk into there local place that sells pool tables and dart boards and quickly see prices that while high are still better than a possible 2-3,000 abs china pos.

The average person does not walk into Costco to walk out because their kid would not let up because they saw a pinball machine and could not live without it. I just don't sell sales being made in this fashion.

It was briefly listed at 3k (list price 4k!) on Amazon but they've removed the price.

Setting aside the question of whether anybody will want one or whether it's fun to play, I think it's a good thing that they're trying to make low-end options for people who can't afford NiB pro models. Now, that only works if the price point is far enough below full-featured machines, or what's the point?

I'd also be worried about how much value this thing is going to retain if the investment is $2,000 or more.

Who knows, it might be more fun than the regular TF

Bet it plays like AFM on SPEED !!!!!!!

Looks god awful too me. I think the real one looks real nice, but this one hit every ugly stick on the way down.

Agreed, 500-1000.

I am wondering if Stern does any market research at all. I can't imagine they took this product to potential buyers and asked, what would you expect to pay for this. I expect clearance priced machine shortly after xmas.

Investment?

It's a toy and most toys, expect to lose 80% plus!

Well, plus it's exclusive to Amazon right now...so how will one actually get to see in in person to make an informed decision on an expensive product? Definitely need to see a promotional video.

Guys Guys Guys..... CALM DOWN!

Do I really Need to say this??

-----> THIS MACHINE WILL BE 10K BY CHRISTMAS!

At the price i have been told they would need to sell so many of these to even break even on dev cost alone.

What really sucks is when this flops if the cost of machines goes up again not matter the reason all of us will be convinced its because of this.

I can't see an upside in these that would be worth damaging and devaluing their brand over.

[Yes, I know... insert "Stern's brand is already crap" jokes here.]

I'm sort of surprised they didn't create a new brand for these - still built and sold by Stern, just under a different name, like an automaker. I suppose having the Stern name on them will help with marketing, but I'd be more concerned about the negative perception of this junk creeping back over the entire name.

I'm guessing there is a reason they are Amazon exclusive, where you can't actually see one in person... and probably with no return policy or a huge restocking fee.

This tread has some great posts so far.

Is this really just a money grab trying to cash in on the pin bubble right now? Does this fall under the same licensing agreement? I just find this all VERY confusing as to what the idea was behind this move.

Not from Amazon. No way

Amazon is like 2 miles from my house (or at least one of their warehouses) and they are usually very good/quick, but some products I've seen from other sellers through Amazon do in fact have a return/restocking attached. Since this is an Amazon exclusive, it shouldn't. I was mostly being smart-alec. Although... I do know people who work there. Maybe I can go sneak a peek when they come in stock...

No, there have been "home only" editions of pinball games forever, like Fireball (1978), Vacation America (2002), Iron Man (2010).....

at Zizzle we looked at a $995. full-size home model, but that was about the limit for an average family. $1000. is a lot of coin for a christmas present. we could build it for that and make money, but would be all "Made in China" as was the smaller version. we had a lot of orders but the price point was too high for the "toy" business, so it did not go far in development.

ahhhhh...the TOTAN lamp......with a cube ontop....hope it lights up...!!!

Is it me or does that layout look a lot like IM but without the Monger toy?

That's what i feared. To get out of costs Stern has to charge at least 2000$ to make money of this "pin".

It is a playfield in a shoe box. Al Bundy approves.

this is nuts. I will just stick with the 90% of the "real" DMD machines I can get for 3k.

And why on earth did they attach the legs that way? They could have at least made it LOOK like a pinball.

wowww

My only question is how does this deserve 3 different threads going? Really?