Wow! These responses show me that you either didn't read what I wrote, or completely failed to grasp what I was saying.

i guess i look at stern as a manufacturing company and not spouse.

When a company announces a product line, with buyers making decisions , based on the announcement , integrity from the company should prevail. This practice would be a significantly
positive influence on future sales, Its sad that trust VS short term profit thinking prevails!

Oh please all knowing. Then please grace us with the reason someone would be pissed other than them losing value on an LE?

Yep, bring on Tron Premium!!

Guys to be honest premiums are a long shot. Stern is considering retiring this model in general because they can make a zillion Pros and VE titles later. 3 tiers is confusing to folks not in the pinball world balls deep like us.

Stern has learned a lot since the first premium or LE releases and I feel they've put a safe business adaptation model into play for now.

as i said Cap , slightly pissed ,i would only be pissed because my other sterns are premiums and this one wouldn't be a match . Im still pretty stoked about the LE !

Trust me, nobody knows the difference between an LE and a premium unless you really know. My TF LE blends in just as well with my AC/DC and LOTR. Most people that are not pinball people (hardcore anyway) don't know the damn difference between one or the other.

I'd love to know if Stern would make a premium with all the game features of the LE and Pro art. Or... Would they omit some features?

After all, what non-pro buyers want is all the same functionality. With a game like ST, the differences didn't radically change the game. But there appear to be enough difference in TWD to make the game experience different.

Going all the way back to AC/DC, premiums have always had all the same exact gameplay features as the LEs. The differences have only been cosmetic.

True. But it looks like stern is changing their model. So, just for sake of discussion let's say they are going to really push a Pro/LE deployment. That might mean that a premium version that falls in between would encourage LE buyers in the early stages of the game

i would know , non pin people wouldn't have a clue .it would be awesome to just have premiums plus it save a few bucks , who needs a number plate and signature as long as the game has the same features !but this will be my first LE , thats exciting none the less !

I wonder if the premiums will have a nicer art package
Actually I like the Met premium translite over the LE

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premiums address a growing group of active consumers getting tired of the le gimmick and just want the full version without the disco hype.

What I'm saying is the premium looks nicer than the LE
Now that it's a year since release I still would buy a premium over the LE

why would you call me a sucker Vex , when you said exactly what i was saying , le is just some worthless bling over a premium with the same toys included. I would be all over a premium , if it was offered. but as of yet, it isnt.

Keep hope alive.....Maggie Premium

But what, if in this case, the premium doesn't carry all of the playfield upgrades?

i am not calling you a sucker at all and never implied you were. i was just joking with the le guys, that's why there was a smiley face beside the sucker like this.

we are on the same page with the whole premium thing, that's why i gave your post a thumbs up.

well , if that was the case , there isnt much a person could do by then as the LEs will be gone , it will be like when i bought met , pro or premium . only options.

ah , gotcha , sorry i misinterpreted that ! not always the easiest to read people in a forum .

Don't worry. It will. They're not going to design a third game with a different feature set from either the pro or the LE. That would be cost prohibitive for them for many reasons.

Not a single thumbs up for this post?

I don't get it. How could anyone not agree with this post?

Yes, leave the possibility of a Premium open, but tell us all that to begin with. "Premium version may be offered at a later date depending on demand" or something to that effect. Transparency is a good thing.

Seriously?

Maybe because, oh, I don't know... they would have preferred to buy the Premium if it was offered at the same time that the LE and Pro were announced?

It isn't just the LE owners that would be upset. What about the pro owners that would have bought a Premium? Now they have to sell the pro in order to buy the later announced Premium.

Was that really so hard for you to wrap your (small) brain around?

Lambs to the slaughter.

who cares, we are debating toys we like to play. if i buy a toy and more options become available for that same toy, why in the world would that upset me? don't we buy things we want to enjoy with friends and family anymore?

It would be nice I suppose but if Stern came out and said exactly those words tomorrow what would it really change? People still wouldn't know for sure that a premium was coming or not. They would still have the choice of either buying the LE right away or risk missing out on the full-featured game if the demand wasn't there.

Oh good GOD!

One more time! The reason people would care is because they bought the version that they DIDN'T WANT as much as the Premium!!! Now they are either stuck with the one that they did buy, or they have to sell it to buy the Premium which is what they would have bought in the first place if Stern had offered it or said it was coming.

Can you *really* not understand how that might be upsetting to someone? Especially when you add the fact that Stern has never done that before?

Or are you so utterly blinded by your desire for a Premium that you think that any post that even mentions the possibility of someone being upset by it, or there are any negative aspects to it at all, must be shot down as nonsense?

Wouldn't effect the pro buyers at all. If they thought the $$ was worth the upgrades they would just buy and LE in the first place. If the LE isn't worth it, the premium wouldn't be either. They are the same damn game with different art package. LE's owners who don't care about value wouldn't give a shit either, they have their little plaque and certificate. Premium owners won't have that little gem to flaunt around. I find it amazing you can't comprehend that it all comes down to $$$/value.

As nice as this would be to look at. I think they should keep the focus on the zombie aspect of the show to make it more timeless.

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i'm off to play my toys. first met, then tommy, and finish off with tz. if any of theses are made again i would not be upset but happy more could enjoy them. cheers!

ADD a poll...

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Neo, you got style.

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Your analogy is a bit off. The reason customers like the Premium model is because it's the full featured game at a cheaper price than the LE. Let's face it, the LE has a poor track record at holding its value, so the Premium is usually the a safer purchase.

douchebag.

too harsh

_{Post edited by centerflank: harshness}

Edit- well you get the jist

Yes i would buy one !!

Put simply, if the LE's are popular among the people who buy them, then yes, I would.

He he, having fun?

I hear you, but just want to add one thing. To me a large part of this problem is self-produced.
Personally, i'm more of a consequent person, if i pay good money for a toy like a pinball machine i insist on getting what i want (=full featured machine). It's not like buying bread where i need to compromise because otherwise i'll starve if "my brand" is sold out at the moment.
If there is no Premium and the LEs are sold out then i will pass. I won't let Stern decide what i can get (=Pro) and especially i don't want to teach Stern that they can get away with that. If everyone who wanted LE or Premium just settles for a Pro Stern can go on forever with this business model, if these people were more consequent and pass on the half-baked Pros Stern would need to rethink.
So while i do understand that Pro buyers who wanted an Premium may get upset if the Premium does come out, they pretty much put themselves into this position on their own.

The perfect model would be to have a Pro & a Premium. Both available to try before you buy so you can make an educated decision.

I really don't understand why people recommend to leave a away the Premium and just offer Pro & LE in the future. The "L" in LE is the problem, not the Premium. To me this is not even a question of $$$ but of being able to play it before i buy it.
Let's face it: The whole LE-concept (as it is) is just ludicrous and shrewd. I don't care if they additionally release 20 different LEs of every machine, but they really need to offer a full version of their pin without artificially building up pressure on their customers to either buy blind or having to settle for a stripped down version.

By not announcing a Premium explicitly they get some fence sitters to pony up for an LE due to fear of missing out on the next "big thing", or because they must have all the toys. By not announcing there will definitely not be a Premium, they are leaving the door open to capitalize on a hot pin. Smart business all around. If they announce there may possibly be a Premium it has no net effect to their business except to limit LE sales if the machine is considered subpar.

Some people will be upset, but someone is always upset at Stern about something. After a while I am sure it starts to sound like white noise.

You're honestly not worth having a dialog with. You almost never make sense. Like the above post.

How can you possibly not understand that someone could find the LE to not be worth almost $3k more than a Pro, but *would* find a Premium to be worth $1700.00 more than a Pro?

And you once again prove that you have completely missed the point with this comparison.

Not sure what's happened with you lately. You've been doing it a lot over the last several weeks, including a lot of your responses to Gweempose's posts.

It's like you have this macro response ready to go on your computer keyboard saying "If they make more _____ we should all be happy that we have more choices and more people could enjoy them" and you just fill in the blank.

Never once in any of these responses to you acknowledge the scenario where buyers of the Pro or LE would be upset because they would have preferred to buy the Premium if it was offered/announced up front. Why is that?

You can have a valid point, but when you refuse to acknowledge the most obvious of points on the other side, your argument loses credibility.

Very well said sir..............Joey

They would risk nothing by waiting. If the demand for a premium isn't there, HUO LEs will be easy to come by. They're making 600 of them.

Agree with this. If a Premium isn't made that most likely means the game is a "dog" or is not deemed worthy of the price over the Pro model and the prices will drop. This is what happened on TFLE and XMLE which didn't have a premium version. Best thing to do on this title is wait unless you absolutely "Must" have the LE version and wouldn't be content with a Premium. If it's a good game the Premium will follow. Stern will continue making full featured games to fulfill the demand of distributors and their customers.

Stern are actually brilliant the way they market. Never used to think this.

Show us the least they can get away with. Let us imagine what we would really like. Let us worry at missing out on an LE so better buy quick.

Game comes out. Oh dear, no custom speech etc. By then we are invested emotionally and materially so we convince ourselves it doesn't matter.

We then have a honeymoon phase and if the game really is good, keep it. Otherwise sell for a loss and say never again.

Rinse, repeat

We are our own worst enemies. No doubt about it. We base our buying decisions off of emotion instead of logic, and Stern has learned to capitalize on this. The problem is that the community still hasn't adjusted to the fact that pre-ordering LEs is no longer a smart thing to do. I blame it on Tron LE and BIBLE. Those two games created the whole "get it while you can" mentality. Even though there hasn't been a single LE to go up in value since, that mindset still lingers. I'm as guilty as anyone. I pre-ordered an STLE, and now a TWD LE.

Because the price difference between the premium and the LE are not that far off. I'm talking real prices not the bullshit MSRP people quote.