I don't think anyone really knows other than the distributors, and I am sure they will all say it is going well as anything negative at this point would just create more negativity.

If you are in the market for one I would just call <insert distributor here> and see if they have one available.

Currently, they are still available.
That's all the info we have until you hear "Sold out"

Lack of compelling video, increased price, increased production, is it any wonder they are not sold out? I can't imagine Stern expected for it to sell out immediately either once the flippers were removed from the equation.

After all the news and videos (or lack there off), here in the Twin Cities just from people that I know, LE pre-orders went from 6 down to 1. If you want one here, they are readily available.

I want to like this title. I have been a preorder even before Stern made the game. I told the distributer that if Star Trek ever got made I would want one. After seeing the initial picts I decided to back out. The art was less than inspiring and the game layout looks too similar to SM, which I already have. I still love the theme but not sure I will like this game, so now I will wait and see before diving in. Not surprised others are doing the same.

There is a severe lack of information on this title so far, but I think you are 100% correct. Disappointed because it's the same layout as Spiderman.
That's one of the benefits to me. I don't have SM, yet I love it because of the flow.
Just waiting to see what the ship does, and how great the LEDs are going to be.

Ditto, pinballpete.

I was in before I saw anything. Out now that I have. I really want to love it.

Expect the price of this game (all versions) to drop noticeably over the coming months....

I am out on LE, so mine is available from a well known dealer.

At this point, something pretty amazing needs to happen for me to want this game in any form. Totally, 100% bummed out.

All I want is the LOTR treatment for Star Trek. Original voice clips from a secondary individual (like John Cho or Alice Eve), nice artwork that I won't see on my kid's birthday cups, a few really cool toys, and a nice rules set with medium-grade wizard modes and a final one to really shoot for.

I wonder if the premiums will even get done if the LE don't sell out.

Apart from first impressions being sketch, just the sheer number of ST LEs produced means it should be readily available long after the inevitable declaration by a distributor that ST LE is "sold out!!"

With a premium edition of ST at $6500, I think they may end up having overshot on LE production numbers.

I think it will play much different than SM.

Of course the premiums will be made, the LE is sold out....... to the distributors..

To me it seems Stern has made every distributor take x-amount of LE if they wanted them or not.

Maybe a distributor can chime in here, but I doubt they will or are allowed too

I would think so,
many people don't want to spend the extra on the LE and opt for the premium. If they don't produce it, people may just skip it or go Pro. They would sell more if they produced the premium IMO.

Agreed. There has to be a ceiling on price where many buyers just refuse to pay. Stern may have just hit it...

Higher price and Ugly look...i'm passing!

Once again, it's ridiculous to judge it right now. If you look at the specs on the sales sheet, there are a lot of things we haven't seen yet.
We know it'll have speed and flow (Spider-Man layout), but don't know much else at this point.
Once it's finally had a few people see and play it, it could be gangbusters, and sell out.
If it's a dud, it'll sit with the distributors.
Fingers remain crossed. It's a Steve Ritchie design and I expect it will have the best light show Stern has ever produced. To me, that's one heck of a start.

It find it humorous that people say things like "best light show". Really? Do you play a light show? Does the ball interact with a light show? Get a disco ball.

For me the ball should at least interact with something. I still think one of the best is the crane on BDK. It moves, randomizes, the ball comes off the crane at all different angles, etc.

For all the leading hype up to this game for it to just be a SM re-theme was a serious let down. Not to mention it having zero toys that the ball interacts with, at least on the pro for now.

We've all seen the AFM saucer, the Metallica Sparky, etc. Enough of the "lets shake a figure and call it a toy" already.

I'm hoping the premium is light years ahead of the pro. As someone on facebook stated already, "It looks to be a big steaming captains log".

Lights, sound effects, and toys are all vital to a successful pinball.
Try turning the sound off, or removing all your bulbs and LEDs if you don't believe me.

I don't share your disappointment on the re-used playfield, but it's 100% legitimate. You're certainly not alone in that view either. I don't own Spider-Man but love the game so this may be like buying one NIB to some degree.

The toy does interact with the ball from what I understand, but from what I've seen, I think it only happens during Vengeance mode. To have it "active" at all times might be a little too much. I do hope it also traps/locks 3 or more balls at once. The sales sheet indicates that this is the case, but so far, the Pro video that I've seen looks weak in that aspect.

My two cents anyway.

For those that don't own SM, yes it may be something to get. I was on the pre-order list for a STLE for over 1.5 years if you can believe that. I canceled my pre-order STLE once I saw it. I still plan on playing the LE/Premium and decide if I want to buy one. As far as rushing out to get one, no need to do so on this title.

Which makes the fact that you pre-ordered 1.5 years ago absolutely hilarious!!

Why? I love the new movies. Thought S.R. would come up with something mind blowing. Epic Failure. Hence the reason I canceled.

I think Stern royally screwed up this time. I think their greed has shown it's ugly face and they are gonna be selling this underwhelming LE pin a year from now -2k. IMO

I'm hoping the premium is light years ahead of the pro. As someone on facebook stated already, "It looks to be a big steaming captains log".

Now that is funny shit! literally

Same here. I love Ritchie games and figured this was a sure home run. I wanted this game so bad. For me the money isn't the big problem as long as it is a home run. The problem when you set the price this high is that you have to hit a home run. I am just not convinced this one will be. I got my Tron LE in the mid 5k range and I love the play, sound, lights, and art. I doubt ST will be better even if it is a good game.

When did you play it?

And frankly, anyone who pre-orders a pin 1.5 years before it is announced is setting themselves up for disappointment. No way it could live up to your expectations.

I canceled because there is no reason to get an LE when you can play a premium and decide. I already said that. I own a SM also.

Rob you keep giving people a bad time for being on an advance wait list. Given the fact Stern has hit it out of the park on their last two pins and this tittle to some is their holy grail it really confuses me .... unless you have run out of constructive things to say?

No interest in ACDC Premium? Hell of a game!

I have heard from a few distributors that the LE's they had sold ok and a lot of people dropped out after seeing the pictures, the pricing, and the 799. I wanted to stay on board with mine, but the 2 last reasons are why I dropped out. I'm not thrilled by the poor video of the Pro either. I like Steve's games but this does look very very similar to SM. I often wonder when the innovative playfield layouts with cool toys where going to dry up. Seem that time might be upon us for the near future. A lot of recycling going on with these NIB games these days. If I play it down the road and have to get one, there will be plenty HUO LE's out there to trade or buy down the road.

I am still hoping to like it, to want it. Come on Stern; throw us a bone! The strategy of waiting until Expo (if that is indeed the strategy) has backfired magnificently. If Stern is going to ask more of consumers, it is only reasonable to think that consumers have a right to ask more of Stern, both in terms of information and features. I am not antagonistic in the least, but their approach can easily be interpreted as a manifestation of corporate hubris. I hope that is a misimpression--I don't know what is said behind closed doors at Stern--but that is what many are left to think unaided by Stern's corrective input. You can do better than this guys. Come on.

I listened to a podcast that was a 2+ hour interview with Steve Richie. He went into STNG in detail and explained that Paramount originally wouldn't let him have any violence in the pin, ie: "no shooting." Steve mentioned he was a big ST fan (IIRC), called them idiots and walked out of the meeting. Paramount later recanted and they and Stern worked something out. Quite a bit about the negotiation occurring with people who didn't know what the prime directive was.

I bring this up because the guy is clearly a trek geek. While it's possible he's nearing the end of his career and doesn't care anymore, I find that really hard to believe. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he's designed just about every best selling pin? Why would he allow his name to be attached to a piece of crap at this point in his career? I've never met a creative person worth a <flarn> that would. Trimmed down for cost? Maybe. Price bloated to boost margins? Probably.. but utter crap? Doesn't pass the smell test. What am I missing?

_{Post edited by swf127 : English my first language is!}

I dont blame one person who was on the list and then were hit with the price increase, followed by the amazing marketing campaign by Stern to immediately withdraw and take their chances since what we have seen to date is, IMO very underwhelming. I do not take offense to those who gamble without playing or those who are more conservative and wait to play before buying. This is what makes the hobby fun, we are all different yet at the end of the day we all still love the game!

I think he is just defending a game he believes in, maybe he has advanced knowledge that you don't, who knows. But what Rob is doing is no different then what WOZ and Avengers owners do. Say Avengers sucks and watch the shit storm that ensues.

Bwahahaha! First off, I was on an "advance wait list", ya boob!

Secondly, it's ironic for you to accuse me of running out of constructive things to say when you are the one running around making this post in multiple threads:

I love pinball and have for years, and have been eager to buy all of Stern's machines, and in the past few years they have done well and the "pinball market" has been pretty good. What bothers me is that Stern has rewarded my loyalty by constantly raising prices on me, all the while refusing to care about code (for the most part) and forgetting to take the time for quality control and testing. Now I will have to pay more and fix more things than I ever have, all while having to hope they commit to finishing the code on my $8K machine.

The price increase on Star Trek was the last "F-you" that Stern has thrown my way, and as such, I AM OUT.

A lot of specialty companies are glad to have rabid fans for their products, and continue to release their products at a good price and keep the hobby strong. Stern has manipulated the market and raised prices so much that it's sickening.

Say what you want, this is just my opinion.. my money, etc. I will still enjoy pinball, either way.. just not buying any Sterns for now.

4 of us MN guys cancelled our LE's.

Premiums are to be delivered in November.

Didn't pre-order, I never do, but I was planning on getting one until I saw pics <yawn>. Now I don't want one.

I've said it before: if I still had SM in my collection, I would definitely pass on this...at least until after playing it.

Avengers sucks.

Many people cried and bitched about their Met LE's being pulled out from under them and I know a couple people that paid around $8500 for their LE after the Initial releases sold out.

Now this next time around Stern ups the amount of LE's (which many people wanted them to do after the Metallica screw up) and raised the price some to help eliminate the flippers and I see some of the same people still bashing them.

I just don't get people sometimes.

One things for sure: WAY too many people are judging this pin without enough information.
Once it hits the streets, we'll see if it's the next coming of Christ, or a complete dog.
At that point, machines will sell or not. There's no real benefit to Stern either way.
So it really all rests on the final product.
Aggravating process though.

I agree with Rob on this one, if I didn't still have SM in my collection I might have grabbed the LE that I had on pre-order for a long time.....light show, lasers, and the SR layout, although re-hashed....

I wanted the Lcd in this one for crying out loud, freaking Star Trek! And with supposedly so much time in production I figured we'd get something new and more innovative. I still have to believe that the lcd was the plan all along and they realized it was too late and too difficult to pull it together for this pin....

And finally, I guess it sticks in my craw like the another guy said that it feels like a big "F" you with that price hike and not much to show for it, anybody see more there versus Metallica?

All I can do is judge it on what I see right now and I can get my three flipper Venom groove on right now without this.....

If this game had amazing art and a new layout I am convinced this would have sold out faster than Met LE.

Bottom line: it is much easier to criticize ANYTHING (movies, art, books, sports cars etc.) than it is to praise something, especially when based on so little information.

Remember when AC/DC was first released and the pictures came out? The criticism of that pin was probably even worse than all the crap we are seeing now with STLE, and we know how that turned out for Stern in the long run. While it is obvious that there are people who do not like AC/DC it is still a fact that it is very highly regarded by the pinball community as a whole.

The same thing could easily happen with Star Trek, especially since it is another Steve Ritchie pin. Lyman isn't the programmer on this though and that sucks, but let's at least wait and see what this pin plays like and what the modes and rules are like before reaching conclusions.

Well actually I guess it is too late for that.

That's Stern's fault, they are letting very little information and crappy videos define the pin right now, really stupid......

I believe there was a ton of praise for Metallica, Xmen and Avengers right out of the gate.....especially Metallica

I keep reading how quick METLE sold out... The main reason is... there has never been a Metallica pin before .. now how many times has ST been made before.. If people think Stern ST is to pricey they can buy a STTNG or Bally ST or a DE ST

Stern should have released ST before Metallica & put up the LE numbers on Metallica

Just my thoughts