(Topic ID: 198394)

Star Wars LE is likely my last new Stern Machine

By glasairpilot

6 years ago


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  • Latest reply 5 years ago by Zitt
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There are 224 posts in this topic. You are on page 4 of 5.
#151 6 years ago
Quoted from Rarehero:

I own 7 Stern games. Games I consider KEEPERS cuz they're THAT good. I've owned lots of others that I still like, even though I've let them go. I was defending Stern and their games since '06 or so. Most pinball hobbyists and collectors HATED Stern and shunned them...to them, only Bally Williams were worth playing/owning. Stern has made some great games...but I have the perspective of a decade in the hobby to see where Stern was back then and where they are now. They were making full featured games with GOOD and either complete or relatively complete code for less than $4k. Updates came quick when there were bugs. Prices rose, but I understood and respected their Pro/Prem/LE business plan. I was OK with buying an LE like Metallica...it was $800 more than the Premium, and that seemed reasonable for the value you got with that version. Prices kept going up after that, but the games were getting more stripped down in quality.
Here's why I bag on Stern so much now...for me, 2016 was the breaking point. I was super excited for Ghostbusters, and put in an order on the Premium, and then we had "insert gate". My game was delayed because of the insert issue, and in the meantime - I actually went out and played the Pro...and just absolutely hated it. Couldn't believe how terrible it was designed and how awful the code was. I stuck with my order since I loved the theme so much and was told the ghosting issue would be solved by the time the Premiums were ready. I played 2 brand new Premiums that both had ghosting within days of being opened...so, not only was the ghosting fix a lie, I still hated the game. I finally cancelled my order...cuz why would I buy a game I not only hate, but basically falls apart when you open it? So - there was that - THEN - the absolute ARROGANCE and GREED of the Batman '66 situation. $15,000 for a STERN!?!?!?!? Right after GB showed they cheaped out on quality playfields!??!?!?! Then it comes out with pre-prototype code and is STILL unfinished almost a year later.
Then we had splitting cabinets, node board issues, reset issues, bare-bones Star Wars, more goofy code....
This is why I'm not into Stern right now. Prices up, quality and fun factor down. Simple. If they ever get their shit back together, I'd consider being a customer again...right now? No F'ing way. ...and, once again - me not buying product I don't like doesn't mean I'm "destroying the hobby". I'm having much more fun with $60 Nintendo Switch games, and that's given me even more perspective about how insane it is to spend $8000 on a GAME.

great post

#152 6 years ago

Protecting the bottom line should not apply to LE's. They need people to get excited and spend a little more on it. Including the shaker and the better glass could have easily helped a lot with the critics. Finding a way to include extras on the LE gets you so much return in the long run.

#153 6 years ago
Quoted from Rarehero:

Why do you believe they'd fine tune it? It's done. Lyman did ACDC and Metallica - Aero will never have the amount of nuance and depth as those games. I think Lonnie did a good job with Aero in the sense that it launched complete & the game "knows what it is"...but it's just kind of a generic game like Kiss. I'll give Lonnie credit though, I think he might be the smartest one there. He knows he has limited time and won't have time to revisit a game if it launches incomplete...so, he does what he knows - the game gets out the door, and you can play it and it all works.
We've been really lucky with Lyman games, because he wants to make something amazing every time despite Stern not giving him the time to do so...so, his games launch with early code and he works on his own time to give us great games. But honestly, I don't think Stern really cares or appreciates what he brings to the table and all the free work he does in his own time. I'm not a fan of people working for free...but I see artists do it ALL THE TIME. They do it because they love their art, but in a commercial job, they're really just being taken advantage of. For Lyman's sake - I hope he realizes he doesn't have to outdo himself every time...he should take a cue from Lonnie...if they only give him 4 months to code a game, give Stern what they're paying for...a "4 month game". Simple, functional, everything lights up and works...but don't give them art. He's proven over and over that he can give them art that sells games....but, they're not paying for art. So, give them what they're paying for.

Can you imagine if JJP poached Lyman?

#154 6 years ago
Quoted from jgentry:

Strange, I have never seen anything like that from KT or Charlie who are Spooky. Never had a bad response online, at shows, by email, or on the phone.

I believe it was a guy by the name of Bryan Kelly and I apologize if he is not part of Spooky. I know it was their thread, he was in it along with two others. I will check who I have blocked and post. I know that if I am selling a product and people on my thread have nothing but vulgarity to input I remove them. I try to be considerate of other people's feelings when it comes to foul language or whatever. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a snowflake, but in business it should be professional.

#155 6 years ago
Quoted from glasairpilot:

I believe it was a guy by the name of Bryan Kelly and I apologize if he is not part of Spooky. I know it was their thread, he was in it along with two others. I will check who I have blocked and post. I know that if I am selling a product and people on my thread have nothing but vulgarity to input I remove them. I try to be considerate of other people's feelings when it comes to foul language or whatever. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a snowflake, but in business it should be professional.

Bryan certainly likes to swear. But as far as I know he's not affiliated with Spooky. He is one heck of a pinball restorer though (you should check out his IJ restoration thread, there's a ton to learn in there if you can get over the language).

Even if Spooky cared that Bryan was cursing in a Pinside thread discussing their products, they're not mods here so it's not like they have the power to bounce him out of censor his posts.

#156 6 years ago

For those expecting code releases from Stern to be of the same caliber as from years past, you're sure to be disappointed. Stern has increased their output and so there is more pressure on the best programmers to code more games leading them to have less and less time for nuance. As evidence, the latest games are not even 1.0, they are beta code so the most you can expect is that they get somewhat playable at a 1.0 release.

Think about it, in a few years, Stern will have 10-20 games that need code with more and more new games coming out - no coder will have any time to go back and fill in the blanks. Also remember that at the highest level, coding is an art form (rules nuance takes a lot of familiarity with pinball and not just coding skills) that not just anyone can pull off so they can't just hire more people and expect the quality to be the same. This is another factor that will cause a downward pressure on resale prices in the future - code quality decreasing. My advice is that buyers should expect that the initial code they get these days from Stern will be close to final code so make your buying decision based on that - no one is guaranteeing that present and future games will have polish like days gone by (TWD,MET). In an environment where everything is being cut (magnets from SW and LE stripping down to nothing special anymore), expect attention to detail in code to be on the chopping block too.

Stern pinball is WYSIWYG these days.

#157 6 years ago
Quoted from jgentry:

Price increases have been continuous since the move to the new building. Price increases happen almost solely due to a decrease in the bottom line.

Funny....I thought Stern kept raising prices because collectors are tripping over their dicks to buy overpriced, stripped down super duper limited LE's for 15k....

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#158 6 years ago
Quoted from spinal:

As evidence, the latest games are not even 1.0, they are beta code so the most you can expect is that they get somewhat playable at a 1.0 release.

Actually, to be completely honest with you, this technically isn't even Beta level code. To be considered Beta, you need to at least be feature complete... something Star Wars isn't yet. Missing video and Hoth mode stands in the way of it being truly considered Beta.

It's why I haven't pulled the trigger yet. I actually like the game, and plan on buying it. But I can't in good conscious, put that kind of money down on something that's at best Alpha level in development.

I'm sure it'll get there. But I'm holding off until it arrives at that level.

#159 6 years ago
Quoted from spinal:

In an environment where everything is being cut (magnets from SW and LE stripping down to nothing special anymore)

Why do people keep saying magnets were cut from Star Wars? I think this is just something people WISH the game had...but if they were never planned in the first place, then they were never cut. Technically it does have magnets - that's what whooshes the ball around the hyper loop thingie.

#160 6 years ago
Quoted from Rarehero:

Why do people keep saying magnets were cut from Star Wars? I think this is just something people WISH the game had...but if they were never planned in the first place, then they were never cut. Technically it does have magnets - that's what whooshes the ball around the hyper loop thingie.

Somewhere on here is a playfield layout drawing of 3 different stages (graphics, etc). The main layout remained the same, but there was a magnet in front of the small lcd screen in one of the drawings...not sure which star wars thread had it. I asked the same question a couple weeks ago.

#161 6 years ago
Quoted from Rarehero:

Why do people keep saying magnets were cut from Star Wars? I think this is just something people WISH the game had...but if they were never planned in the first place, then they were never cut. Technically it does have magnets - that's what whooshes the ball around the hyper loop thingie.

Check the first playfield

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#162 6 years ago
Quoted from dnapac:

Somewhere on here is a playfield layout drawing of 3 different stages (graphics, etc). The main layout remained the same, but there was a magnet in front of the small lcd screen in one of the drawings...not sure which star wars thread had it. I asked the same question a couple weeks ago.

Gotcha! Well - sometimes things change during production due to creative reasons & not cost. People would probably still say "it's bare" with or without that magnet.

#163 6 years ago
Quoted from Rarehero:

Gotcha! Well - sometimes things change during production due to creative reasons & not cost. People would probably still say "it's bare" with or without that magnet.

I personally don't think this is a bare playfield. Yes, I was disappointed at first with the lack of playfield magnets, but the play is incredible...lots of speed...just plain fun IMO.

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#164 6 years ago
Quoted from flashinstinct:

The Ottawa pinball show was held on the first weekend of September. The game (only one on free play) sometimes didn't even have a line up (Saturday afternoon) and I could play a few games straight. It was on sale for like $8300 LOL and every one of the collectors I talked to weren't that impressed.

I played it there too. My kids did as well. At about 2PM on Saturday we waited for a 3-player game in front of us to finish and then we started playing. By the time we finished, there was one couple behind us waiting to play. We finished our games and walked away. Neither one of my kids spoke of the game again and none of us went back to play it again. Instead, my son ran back to STTNG, and my daughter started playing Heat Wave again. If a Star Wars themed game can't lure back two children to play a second time, two children that continually beg me to watch any of the Star Wars movies over and over again at home, then to me this is a massive failure.

Back in 2015, at the Ottawa Show, KISS debuted. I remember standing in a line 10 people deep to play and remember glancing at the game, and line during the rest of the show that weekend and always seeing at least 8 people in it.

#165 6 years ago

Well on positive note I've played a well set up sw pro about 30 games last 2 days and I like it a lot.

I bought as pro and really like it as well. I have plenty of pins at home the grandkids hardly play them.I will only get to pins I want since I play them 98% of the time.
Doesn't surprise me kids walk from games. My grandson puts it on 4 player and plays a few balls then adios. He is the oldest and best player.

#166 6 years ago
Quoted from flashinstinct:

Check the first playfield

Thanks for posting this. Wouldn't it be cool to have a poster size version of this hanging in the game room.

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#167 6 years ago
Quoted from dnapac:

I personally don't think this is a bare playfield.

Please play more pinball

Iron Man was once known as the most stripped down "cheap" game ever....but even Iron Man has a really cool reveal of a bash toy, and that bash toy has a magnet in front to attack you back...plus Whiplash's magnet that "whips" the ball around & War Machine's "cannon" kickback. This was a game that was slightly less than $4k at launch, and initially was TORN TO SHREDS....but compared to Star Wars, IM seems full featured. SW Pro is $5400 and has nothing on the playfield to interact with at all. It's got an LCD (zzzz), a Tie Fighter on a spring (lol), and a Death Star that does nothing. All 3 of Iron Man's main features, despite being simple or recycled, fit the theme perfectly. Nothing on the SW playfield is exciting or really relevant to the theme.

#168 6 years ago

Iron Man also has code that's well-suited to its layout. Nothing cute or fancy, but challenging and satisfying.

I don't know that a magnet would have been good for Star Wars. That game is meant to be breakneck fast and full of precise flow. I think the code is a misfire on that game. It doesn't support the design well. They make for an odd pairing.

#169 6 years ago
Quoted from jar155:

Iron Man also has code that's well-suited to its layout. Nothing cute or fancy, but challenging and satisfying.
I don't know that a magnet would have been good for Star Wars. That game is meant to be breakneck fast and full of precise flow. I think the code is a misfire on that game. It doesn't support the design well. They make for an odd pairing.

It's because it is a GOT cut n paste.

#170 6 years ago
Quoted from Rarehero:

Please play more pinball
Iron Man was once known as the most stripped down "cheap" game ever....but even Iron Man has a really cool reveal of a bash toy, and that bash toy has a magnet in front to attack you back...plus Whiplash's magnet that "whips" the ball around & War Machine's "cannon" kickback. This was a game that was slightly less than $4k at launch, and initially was TORN TO SHREDS....but compared to Star Wars, IM seems full featured. SW Pro is $5400 and has nothing on the playfield to interact with at all. It's got an LCD (zzzz), a Tie Fighter on a spring (lol), and a Death Star that does nothing. All 3 of Iron Man's main features, despite being simple or recycled, fit the theme perfectly. Nothing on the SW playfield is exciting or really relevant to the theme.

I said "personally". I respect if you feel that way, but I don't. I think the integration of the displays and modes is great, and I love the speed and rush. Again, I think it's a great pin, don't criticize me if you don't feel the same. I wish I could play tons of pinballs, but I don't live in an area that has a lot.

#171 6 years ago
Quoted from jar155:

Iron Man also has code that's well-suited to its layout. Nothing cute or fancy, but challenging and satisfying.
I don't know that a magnet would have been good for Star Wars. That game is meant to be breakneck fast and full of precise flow. I think the code is a misfire on that game. It doesn't support the design well. They make for an odd pairing.

Bingo. I always thought Steve was a really odd match for themes like SW Trilogy and GOT ...that non-stop speed doesn't really lend itself to those themes and the coding depth that's attempted within those designs.

#172 6 years ago
Quoted from dnapac:

I said "personally". I respect if you feel that way, but I don't. I think the integration of the displays and modes is great, and I love the speed and rush. Again, I think it's a great pin, don't criticize me if you don't feel the same. I wish I could play tons of pinballs, but I don't live in an area that has a lot.

I'm not criticizing you. I'm criticizing the playfield. Obvious bare is obvious. If you enjoy the game, that's fine...but you can't convince people with eyes that the playfield has features on it.

#173 6 years ago
Quoted from Rarehero:

Please play more pinball
Iron Man was once known as the most stripped down "cheap" game ever....but even Iron Man has a really cool reveal of a bash toy, and that bash toy has a magnet in front to attack you back...plus Whiplash's magnet that "whips" the ball around & War Machine's "cannon" kickback. This was a game that was slightly less than $4k at launch, and initially was TORN TO SHREDS....but compared to Star Wars, IM seems full featured. SW Pro is $5400 and has nothing on the playfield to interact with at all. It's got an LCD (zzzz), a Tie Fighter on a spring (lol), and a Death Star that does nothing. All 3 of Iron Man's main features, despite being simple or recycled, fit the theme perfectly. Nothing on the SW playfield is exciting or really relevant to the theme.

Good comparison Rarehero,

I officially quit dreaming about buying SW pro today because of this post, and decided I need an IM.

#174 6 years ago
Quoted from glasairpilot:

I believe it was a guy by the name of Bryan Kelly and I apologize if he is not part of Spooky

Bryan is not an employee of Spooky Pinball, he was just commenting in a Pinside thread. Like anyone can.

As far as the Spooky games having bad language, I can tell you:

AMH has no bad language at all, that I have heard.

Rob Zombie has an Adult mode with swearing, which you can disable. In normal mode, there is no swearing. No different from a number of Stern games.

rd

#175 6 years ago
Quoted from rotordave:

Bryan is not an employee of Spooky Pinball, he was just commenting in a Pinside thread. Like anyone can.
As far as the Spooky games having bad language, I can tell you:
AMH has no bad language at all, that I have heard.
Rob Zombie has an Adult mode with swearing, which you can disable. In normal mode, there is no swearing. No different from a number of Stern games.
rd

Thank you, and I apologize for associating the two. I don't care if a game has trashy language or if people use bad language as it is their choice. I find it troubling that in a public forum people can't be courteous enough to not throw the f-bomb around when they do not know who their audience is. I just grow tired of hearing adults talk like a 9 year old that heard the f word for the first time.

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#176 6 years ago
Quoted from glasairpilot:

Thank you, and I apologize for associating the two. I don't care if a game has trashy language or if people use bad language as it is their choice. I find it troubling that in a public forum people can't be courteous enough to not throw the f-bomb around when they do not know who their audience is. I just grow tired of hearing adults talk like a 9 year old that heard the f word for the first time.

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#177 6 years ago
Quoted from glasairpilot:

Before you get too crazy about the title, let me explain. I have now bought 4 NIB machines, MMrLE, LOTR, GBLE, and SWLE. Before that I have owned some mint HUO machines - TZ, XMLE, TSPP, RFM, STLE, and a few others. On the HUO machines (again these were perfect) I paid $5000 for TZ, $4000 for XMLE, $3500 for TSPP, $3500 for RFM, $8000 for STLE.
I found all of these machines to be high quality, fun, and easy to sell when I grew tired of them. I also liked the fact that they powered up and were ready to play within 5 seconds of turning on the power. I liked XMLE so much (I know, some people think it is a dog) that I bought it back for more than I paid for it the first time. Same with TZ. I know I could sell my STLE for what I paid or more, because it is a great game with good flow, nice toys, and a great light show (especially with the green laser mod.)
Now to the new machines: I sold MMrLE, not because I did not like it, but because I was moving and did not have room for all the pins. I lost $400 on it an did not worry about it since I felt that was reasonable. The machine played great and was well built. It is just a great classic. I might buy it again when my new game room is done. LOTR was the same. Great game that is easily modded to make even better. Deep rule set and lots of fun. Afforable also. Now to GBLE. Super excited when I bought it. Thought it was fun for the first few games just because of the different layout of the subway, slimer, etc. Of course, I paid $8500 for it and since it came with a shaker and is a cool looking pin I was still fairly happy with it even if the play was not quite a exciting as I thought it should be. Not as excited now since I have mine listed at $7400 which is the cheapest in the country and not a single inquiry. So, my SWLE arrives for $8,700. The art is rather dull in my opinion, and I even put in the premium back glass art since everyone I asked said it was much better. I actually like the game play. The hyperspace loop is cool and the shots are challenging, but the death star shot is too tough considering it is such an important shot. It blows my mind that they made this one shot so tough. My biggest aggravation, though, is the fact that this nearly $9000 machine did not come with a shaker motor. Yeah, I know, I should have read the description better, but really? That is like ordering a new top of the line Lincoln and having to pay extra for air conditioning. That put me over the edge. Furthermore, the lack of thought of the call outs (especially when you are saving the princess) is annoying. Leah will say the same thing 7-8 times in each mode and it makes me wish I had a blaster to shoot her instead of saving her. I just feel that Stern is cranking these out too fast and we don't get what could have been a great game. Now, who's fault is that - well that is easy - ours! I am done with the craze and will look to remakes, JJP, or buy some classics. I just don't see $9000 as a good deal anymore considering the stripping of options and a rushed product.
Instead, if I buy new, I will wait for PPS to hopefully remake CV, TZ, and a few others since I know what I will get for code and game play there. If I do buy another Stern it will be a perfect used machine and I will let the first owner take the hit on the price. I no longer need to be a tester for Stern.
To be fair, I still think Stern makes a good product, and I wish them well, but they have pushed the limits of what I will pay. Time to go back and see what else is available for me.

hmmm what a whine!!!

even the title of the thread is indecisive. We dont really care what you decide!!!!

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#178 6 years ago
Quoted from Fifty:

If a Star Wars themed game can't lure back two children to play a second time, two children that continually beg me to watch any of the Star Wars movies over and over again at home, then to me this is a massive failure.

It's because the game is so friggin' hard. And if the game you played was set up wrong there were a lot of cheap drains, I'd bet. (And even if it was set up right...there's some tweaking to be done!). I'm not surprised they weren't interested for long.

#179 6 years ago
Quoted from John1210:

hmmm what a whine!!!
even the title of the thread is indecisive. We dont really care what you decide!!!!

Just thought I would share my thoughts. Not a whine at all, just seeing what others think. Your opinion is duly noted as well. Thanks for the input.

#180 6 years ago
Quoted from Rarehero:

you can't convince people with eyes that the playfield has features on it

#181 6 years ago
Quoted from Rarehero:

.....and a Death Star that does nothing. .

Now we know that an "egg" appears when the Death Star is destroyed, I think it is not a bad thing it does nothing on the pro.

#182 6 years ago
Quoted from glasairpilot:

" Spooky to a much smaller extent just took up 250 or so more sales from stern with TNA."
Man, I hope not. I have blocked everyone associated with Spooky Pinball. It seems they can't finish a thought without the "F" word being in it. Excessive profanity is a big turn off to me - especially in business. I asked them to please tone down the profanity as I wanted my kids to be involved on pinside and I think it was Brian told me to F-off as a response. They can keep their machines.

lol

#183 6 years ago
Quoted from Shapeshifter:

Can you imagine if JJP poached Lyman?

No I can't. I love Lyman games normally. However his style suits Stern games. JJP games are different, and I don't think that style would fit well.

#184 6 years ago

I am a HUGE Star Wars fan, and sadly have zero interest in Stern's Star Wars pin. Total swing and a miss in my books.

#185 6 years ago

The NFL is anti-American?

#186 6 years ago
Quoted from guyincognito:

The NFL is anti-American?

Wait 'til you hear what he thinks of Evil Knievel.

#187 6 years ago
Quoted from guyincognito:

The NFL is anti-American?

They have the whole socialist/commie thing going on a bit.

#188 6 years ago
Quoted from guyincognito:

The NFL is anti-American?

NFL, MLB is about as American as it gets....

#189 6 years ago

Some really great posts & thoughts in this thread last couple days. Great read. You completely summarized my thoughts Rarehero.

Quoted from Zampinator:

Short term: Way more $$!
Long term: Losing customers, & their command of the market share, = less $$.
They are playing with fire. They have lost me as a customer & many others.
My Dialed In LE should be here in 2 weeks. That $ used to go to Stern, not anymore.

I've also come to this realization with Stern. When I (thankfully) got my full refund back from Alien preorder disaster, I strongly considered getting SW. But ultimately decided to pass for all the reasons mentioned before, and bought an IMVE instead. And this is coming from a diehard SW fan who owns an RS Propmaster Sandtrooper costume. They had me in their grasp but let another easy sale slip through their fingers. Theme alone will never motivate me to purchase again. Stern has to earn my business, and they are just blowing it right now.

Also took the rest of that Alien money & bought a TNA as well. Glad to see I am not alone here. I think Stern is in for a serious wakeup call in 2018. Certainly playing with fire. I know my money isn't going in their pocket for the foreseeable future.

#190 6 years ago
Quoted from TheLaw:

They have the whole socialist/commie thing going on a bit.

If Stern takes a knee it's over for them!

#191 6 years ago
Quoted from camcamaro1991:

That being said, on the GB the current 1.13v code is garbage, the magna slings need an off mode, b/c a half loop and drain SDTM or out-line drain is just BS, once they fix the manga slings random BS as there is no way to counter for a magnet powered drain I will be happier.

Why would they "fix" this? That's how slingshot work. Even regular slings toss the ball to the outlane constantly. A good player keeps control of the ball and avoids the slings. The slings are always a massive danger zone. Not a bug. Should not be fixed.

#192 6 years ago
Quoted from iceman44:

If Stern takes a knee it's over for them!

Unless it is the Tim Tebow kneel

#193 6 years ago
Quoted from markmon:

Why would they "fix" this? That's how slingshot work. Even regular slings toss the ball to the outlane constantly. A good player keeps control of the ball and avoids the slings. The slings are always a massive danger zone. Not a bug. Should not be fixed.

Normal slings don't just drop the ball down the middle. Dopey magna slings do. Just one of the many things GB does that doesn't respect the player's skill. You're right tho, there's nothing to fix. The game was designed to play like shit, so - it is what it is.

#194 6 years ago

Cost cutting does not always lead to higher profits. I've been thinking for years: why doesn't Stern just nail the art on every damn machine they release from now on? - I mean hit it out of the park.

I mean Aerosmith was a work of art and ghostbusters also very nice but what about others? Look like talented high school art class efforts to me - lazy photoshopped pasterama where you can just see from a distance that it's just done good enough but the love is missing. I mean really, SW looks just OK - I have not heard a single collector say they love it - it's not terrible - just ininspired.

The rerelease of AC/DC is another example. An embarrassing lack of effort there like someone phoned someone and said to change a couple of things before 5PM the same day.

Why so little effort? Well my only guess is to save money - cheap bastards.

Now here is my point. Are they really saving money if they sell less games?

So, as an example, is it a wise business decision to cheap out on AC/DC art? Lets say they found an artist that would completely redo the art for AC/DC of the same caliber as AS - how much would this cost them? Let's say $50,000 (could be less I'm not sure). And let's say they make $1000 profit per game.

So now the question is: if they rerelease AC/DC with brand new art that is just crazy good like GB or AS would they sell 50 more games than they normally would? I say yes and they have a chance of perhaps selling many more.

Now what about SW? What if it had much better art? I'm sure they would have made that investment back in spades.

My main point is that this is just one example where I think the management is failing and hurting the hobby and perhaps even their own bottom line.

Anyone else had these thoughts? Why is Stern so OK with mediocre efforts and not going for home runs more? The big bucks have to be with the home runs. Get some balls and go for it Stern! You can do so much better!

#195 6 years ago

Licensing restrictions. I spoke directly to Steve Ritchie about this regarding Star Wars. Simple as that.

#196 6 years ago

I've thought about this. Lots of people wanted something different. I'm curious, what did you want? More cartoon? More animated? More realistic? Just curious. What did you want to see on the translite/cab.

#197 6 years ago

Whenever the art sucks, we always hear from Stern that it was the licensing restrictions and I for one just don't buy it. Sounds like a convenient excuse.

Have you ever noticed that movie posters often don't suck? Well, they probably are under the same licensing restrictions. Also, license holders want the art to look as good as possible as well - it's not like they would have any interest in having their art look bad. I just don't buy it.

Look I'm not saying it's easy, I'm just saying they are not investing enough effort and cash into it as they should (my main example was AC/DC rerelease). They need to aim higher - this is 2017.

#198 6 years ago
Quoted from spinal:

Whenever the art sucks, we always hear from Stern that it was the licensing restrictions and I for one just don't buy it. Sounds like a convenient excuse.
Have you ever noticed that movie posters often don't suck? Well, they probably are under the same licensing restrictions. Also, license holders want the art to look as good as possible as well - it's not like they would have any interest in having their art look bad. I just don't buy it.
Look I'm not saying it's easy, I'm just saying they are not investing enough effort and cash into it as they should (my main example was AC/DC rerelease). They need to aim higher - this is 2017.

The original Star Wars poster was pretty awuful...Luke and Leia were horrible. What do you want on the pin cab and translite...to make it good.

#199 6 years ago
Quoted from spinal:

Cost cutting does not always lead to higher profits. I've been thinking for years: why doesn't Stern just nail the art on every damn machine they release from now on? - I mean hit it out of the park.
I mean Aerosmith was a work of art and ghostbusters also very nice but what about others? Look like talented high school art class efforts to me - lazy photoshopped pasterama where you can just see from a distance that it's just done good enough but the love is missing. I mean really, SW looks just OK - I have not heard a single collector say they love it - it's not terrible - just ininspired.
The rerelease of AC/DC is another example. An embarrassing lack of effort there like someone phoned someone and said to change a couple of things before 5PM the same day.
Why so little effort? Well my only guess is to save money - cheap bastards.
Now here is my point. Are they really saving money if they sell less games?
So, as an example, is it a wise business decision to cheap out on AC/DC art? Lets say they found an artist that would completely redo the art for AC/DC of the same caliber as AS - how much would this cost them? Let's say $50,000 (could be less I'm not sure). And let's say they make $1000 profit per game.
So now the question is: if they rerelease AC/DC with brand new art that is just crazy good like GB or AS would they sell 50 more games than they normally would? I say yes and they have a chance of perhaps selling many more.
Now what about SW? What if it had much better art? I'm sure they would have made that investment back in spades.
My main point is that this is just one example where I think the management is failing and hurting the hobby and perhaps even their own bottom line.
Anyone else had these thoughts? Why is Stern so OK with mediocre efforts and not going for home runs more? The big bucks have to be with the home runs. Get some balls and go for it Stern! You can do so much better!

You pose a question and state that the only answer to the question is that Stern are cheap and lazy. I answer your question with facts that I have directly from the source. Steve gave specific examples to me of how difficult Disney / Lucasfilm was to deal with respecting the art. How they required extremely minute details changed to their liking. You reply that you don't care, the art sucks, and your interpretation is the truth.

Whatever.

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