My point is that suggesting the Whoa Nellie price point and "ease" of production is a good jumping point for a Stargazer remake isn't really sound.

Nobody made any money and the project was a failure.

since the OP approved a broader price discussion of classic sterns, i will throw my two cents in...

Nine Ball (~$1500) and Big Game ($1200-$1500) are my favs from this era. I really really like quicksilver too, but I know that's more of a pipe dream to own one. I would much rather own Nine Ball AND Big Game and still have money left over then own Star Gazer (which I still do love).

(full disclosure, I have nine ball, big game, and star gazer in my line up right now and have owned meteor)

The the bean counters maybe but it was a great gam.....ahhhhh that's a shame.

The problem is, not enough people would. After the first 10 copies sold like hotcakes, there would be a huge group looking at it and saying "What, for that?". Most people just wouldn't appreciate it. So just because I want a Stargazer, doesn't mean there is enough demand to remake it.

Fortunately a couple of my friends own it, so I get to play it from time to time. Not the same as having it in my house, but at least I get to visit them.

People are paying $6000 + for TNA these days. I bet there would be a market for it.

Like I said, still not worth the trouble and expense for Stern most likely, especially in the wake of the Whoa Nellie debacle.

Quicksilver has gotten crazy popular - I passed on one due to condition 18 months ago but that was probably a mistake.

I found a Catacomb which is a brutal, fast, short ball time kind of game. And the bagatelle does have skill.

From initial videos I thought Catacomb looked a better player than Stargazer but yet to play one for real.

For you? Ok. But what if you can't stand the color green?

Ha, don't worry most of it will he wood colored
Great play, worst looking of the bunch

how many games does Stern realistically need to sell in order for it to be worth it?

Looking back at recent past titles I estimate that if they can sell 500 in total then the game average, 1000 in total and it is above average, 2000 and it is great!

If Stern made a modern Stargazer PRO model for 5300 they could sell 500 of them. Make a LE (updated art) to go along with it and I bet you sell another 500

That's a tuffy right there

Honestly, that was a contributor to me selling my Quicksilver! Echoing what others said: Best max-bonus sound-effects of any Stern, and wicked-fast game-play. Alas, even with a mostly-Stern collection, I can't own all the good classic Sterns, so I've had to let F2K, Stargazer, and Quicksilver go over the years, and although I will likely never stop remorsing on them, the minty Nineball and Chetah, and decent Seawitch all serve to console me.

...for an exact replica?
Or would you expect an updated,
new and improved version?

Sorry OP for the brief diversion.

yeah, but I bet there would be a whole segment of the typical LE buyers that would buy it just because it is LE and has new art...

I wonder if Gerry Simkus (original artist is still around and wants to make some new/updated art)? could be cool

I would happily pay 5300 for an exact replica.

I would pay premium prices for an updated version with equally good art, new LCD display and graphics, etc... I would of course want to be able to run "classic" mode on that updated version.

I don;t doubt people would buy it...but 500? Are you watching all the reviews and talk aboot what people like now? I don;t know if there are enough old school folks to make up for the people raging against no bash toy or ramps.
I wish they would try though

Agree. I think they could sell 50 but 500? No way. The demand and market isn't high enough for them yet. If originals were like 8K right now, maaaaaaybe. People would look for a cheaper alternative. But with all new parts and play fields being auto-cleared, new displays, and new back glasses, we are essentially already playing reproduction machines... Just buy a "restored" original.

I'm not in the business of inventing imaginary BOMs for games that I really have no idea what would cost to develop and build, I leave that up to others.

But I wonder if thats really worth their time at $5300. You have to build a completely new cabinet. these games all have plenty of drop target mechs and mechanical parts. Whoa Nellie they ain't.

You'd pay 5300 for a brand new Stargazer? Why not $5,800, or whatever a regular Stern Pro goes for these days?

I have Quicksilver, Star Gazer, Nine Ball, and Sea Witch.

QS is the best player, bar none. Runner ups are SG, NB, than SW.

Love these era of Sterns, in fact these are more fun than most Bally games of the similar era IMO.

I love how these threads always turn into show and tell

How come nobody ever chimes in with "I got a stargazer, and it's a real piece of shit?"

These classic sterns rise above the Ballys because they generally have more interesting rules and playfield layouts I'd say. And much better drop target mechs.

It was a POS, so was SG and SW.

You happy?

Probably because if someone feels a game is a piece of shit, they sell it.

No way could Stern sell 500 Quicksilvers or Stargazers at over 5 grand a pop. No way.

I dunno, isnt Stern ready to re-skin and test out all the love of the classics?
To me, sticking with a $500-800 routed up Meteor sounds a little better, a little better all the time.

How about we get back to numbers for realistic prices on Classic Stern Machines - I would love to see what Pinsiders have to say about that not read post about "what if Stern made a remake'!

I know it is easy to get off topic but not everyone wants to keep reading about remakes that will never happen or if they did happen would be at a price point beyond logical.

Isn't that what they are doing with Beatles?

And they are much quicker.

Heresy to some.

Blasphemy to others.

But Methos and Levi,
you speak the truth!

These discussions of Stern re-running classic games are stupid. They've already proven with Nellie they're utterly incompetent when it comes to copying the gameplay "feel" of older games.

That being the case, I sure wish some of the horde of people that feel like Seawitch is somehow inferior to the other classic Sterns would sell me one for like...500 bucks.

I don't mind sharing what I paid for mine:
Seawitch $2100 - 1 small wear spot on the playfield, new plastics & drop targets, repainted cab and backglass 9/10
Star Gazer $1200 - Blown out playfied, missing boards and hacked up wire harness. With Greatwich playfied/bg, boards and misc parts all in for $2600
Meteor $800 - Excellent condition w 2 bad displays
Big Game $900 - Players condition with bad backglass

This is a logical reply to original post. Why can't a dozen people just answer a simple question here on Pinside? A good many of my friends involved in the hobby no longer visit pinside because of the direction it is headed. Most feel pinside has become a total waste of time and I am really starting to agree.

Never seen a Star Gazer in my area, 1 blown out Seawitch in poor condition owner would not sell, owned 4 QuickSilver which is a great game & best sound. 1 Big Game, 1 Dragonfist, & 5 Flight 2000 owned & sold. QuickSilver is one I would like to get back.

I have owned SG. I still own NB, Seawitch, and Meteor. They are 3 of my favorite games. I prefer them to the classic Ballys. Although I have alot of love for Skateball and flash Gordon which I also own. I didn't think SG was as good as the 3 classic sterns I kept. So I cut it loose for the stupid money it gets 2 years ago. I would love a QS. I passed on a beater at Allentown a few years back I regret. I'd also like a Stern Stars. Anyone have one they'd part with?

Mike

Human nature? All those who play the reincarnation game are always reincarnated from George Washington or Napoleon Bonaparte. Or some other noted historical figure. Nobody is ever reincarnated from the stable boy who shoveled shit all day long.

I'm with you. As long as it was an exact replica of the game with real backglass, original playfield and updated rules, I'm in for quite a few Classic Stern Remakes.

Let's open the vault Stern!

Marcus

138 pinsiders own Seawitch.

56 pinsiders own Quicksilver

62 pinsiders own Star Gazer

It might take awhile to scare up a dozen to make a logical reply.

I gave $1100.00 for my Seawitch in March 2016. It had new rectifier board (installed), new drop targets(not installed), a decent back glass, and a blown out play field. And it needed shopped badly.

But it seems prices have been trending up since 2016. I do not consider $1100.00 to be a "current" price in today's market.

I have only been here about 3 years. What did pinside used to be like? What did I miss?

I bet stern is considering rerunning this for sure. Interested to see if they try it. I doubt they would do anything other than Star Gazer and Seawitch though.

Hang on... was all this one huge WTB thread?

My opinions--and full disclosure: I do NOT have but DO want SG and QS. For CQ examples, with the understanding that true mint examples could fetch even more,

SG, QS, DF: $6000
SW, NB, CAT, Cheetah, BG: $5000
Ali, Viper, $4000
Meteor, F2K, Stars, others, $3k and under

Ahh....no.
You post 10 Nine Balls - all at around $1,500 - and all ten will be sold within one hour.
$2,500+ for anything semi-decent.

Quicksilver and Star Gazer are the prizes. Few made, great art, great gameplay.
I'm partial to Seawitch myself, and so are many other pinheads.
Had one as a kid, and have one now.
Loved it then, love it now. Excellent title.

Was Iron Maiden 1981 even mentioned?
That's quietly become one of the most sought after classics around, at heavy coin.
Point being...these are all players in a great gen of games, and very very few are dogs.

Had a 1981 Iron Maiden. Rare for a reason. Beautiful game, but man, it sucked donkey balls!

Agreed on the IM. I aquired 2 gorgeous condition examples a few years back. One being HUO. Sold both shortly after (for very good money because of the rarity and condition) The title just didn't feel complete and the game play didn't play nearly as sweetly as Quicksilver and the rest of the top 5 Classic Stern pins.

I really like my Iron maiden, rules are fun, but it’s a drain monster... not for everyone...

Yeah surprised nobody mentioned this one in all the remake posts. Everybody and their dog wanted one a few years ago. It was the grail classic Stern. Now nobody seems to talk about it at all.

It sure is a beautiful game, but it's the exact reason art is not part of my criteria for ownership. A game's gotta be a good player. I don't care what it looks or sounds like.

I've heard Viper is the same.....beautiful game, but a total dog. I have yet to play one.

Interesting factoid: Iron Maiden and Stargazer design and mechanics done by the same guy: Brian Poklacki

Brian only has 4 machines to his credit. Hypnox (never produced) and Que (6 made), Star Gazer (869), Iron Maiden (1200 approx)

All his designs were very unique to say the least. Only one of them was a hit and then only/mostly after its hey day in the arcade: Star Gazer

Sold my non working Stargazer in original condition (old rubbers, some wear) for $2000 last year

I don't see a whole lot of Cheetahs for sale either. Cheetah is one that, when I first got it, I thought it was just plain fugly and probably wouldn't be one that would ever stay. But the game play has really grown on me over time.

Viper is a blast! Great art and super fun.

Most have not had the opportunity to play a working example. Great art and challenging.
It will never be an A for game play, but a solid B+ for the era.

The wide body Sterns were hit and miss.

Great: Cheetah, Big Game, F2K

Not so great: Iron Maiden, Viper, Split Second, Orbitor 1, Freefall

But hey so were the Ballys but to a lesser extent.

Great: Paragon, Embryon, Hot Doggin
Not so great: Future Spa, Space Invaders