Quoted from Ollulanus:Seriously, if stern did limited run re-releases of the best of their classics (say, SG, SW, Catacomb, QS, Stars, Meteor).
Early SS loving pinheads have been asking for this for years, but also ask for unrealistic low MSRP prices. IMO Stern has felt that reproducing throwback titles wouldn't be profitable or result in enough sales. They tried their limited versions of "throwbacks" with The Beatles & Bond 60th. Yet they still could not get away from screens in these games either. Their throwback approach led to mixed results & eye-popping prices. They look nothing like early SS games, other than the fact the playfields are single level.
PFLE is the first modern game to really embrace throwback features & looks from those early SS games. I'm sure the immediate sellout of PFLE has surprised many in the industry. CGC & Raw Thrills are probably completely amazed at the immediate sales success of PF.
On the podcast it sounded like PF was a one-off, lets-wait-and-see how this goes project. Sounded like they don't want to jump into regular pinball development. But positive word-of-mouth & robust sales can quickly change all that. I think PF is going to be the attention-stealing darling of TPF next weekend. Thier panel will be really interesting to hear. I could easily see Raw Thrills/CGC teaming up to develop another throwback title. Embrace this new segment of the market & just run with it.