I just wish that they would explain things. I know that Gary doesn't want to look weak or troubled since there are other options out there, but not saying anything just causes speculation and frustration.
You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider jar155.
Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.
I just wish that they would explain things. I know that Gary doesn't want to look weak or troubled since there are other options out there, but not saying anything just causes speculation and frustration.
Production capability is actually low right now. Stern is understaffed. The move saw them leaving a big portion of their production staff behind and they haven't replaced those numbers yet.
Even if Stern doesn't know when production will be back at full speed, they can just explain the issue. How hard would it be to say, "yes, we've had a snag in production and rather than putting out a batch of games that don't live up to our level of desired quality, we've decided to put things on temporary hold. While we work to resolve problems on the production line, our software, design, and art departments are busy preparing future titles and refining our current catalog. As soon as we have a good expectation for when games will be coming off the line again, we'll update you. Thanks for supporting Stern pinball!"
I'll tell you how hard that was. Not real hard.
Quoted from Flato:Yeah forgot pirates to, so when u think about it outside of music pins isn't ghostbusters the first retro movie Stern ever did?
Yeah, but that doesn't fit the critical narrative!
Quoted from roffels:That's like denying the NFL is relevant to many people today because football existed 100 years ago.
All those EMs he loved were based on baseball, rock, ice skating, and cards. EMs had "original" themes, but overly recycled themes.
I honestly have no problem with the delay. It's all seemingly for understandable reasons. I wish we could just get an explanation of sorts. We don't need/deserve full transparency into what's going on, but maybe some acknowledgement and some reassurance from Stern. It would go a long way.
Quoted from o-din:Yep. The designers at Stern now never made original themed games.
That's not true though. Ritchie worked with several original themes. So did Trudeau.
Quoted from DNO:Just tried to give Stern some support before the armchair production bosses came and pissed on your thread while explaining how things should be done. Glad this stayed positive and not a bash-thread, lol
Hope they can shit out games fast enough to keep all these sales next time.
I just think this is something that "we" shouldn't care that much about, at least not to the point of putting Stern under the microscope to see what's "wrong".
The games will be made, how long ago was this game released? I don't see an issue. Ymmv
I think people have more of a problem with the delays on MET, ST, GoT, and other pre-GB games. Those were ordered a long time ago, many paid in full, and there's been no word on when they might be getting them. My buddy just canceled his GoT order after it sat there for like 4 months unfulfilled and no word in regards to what was going on.
Quoted from tpir:Which table announced back then has not been released yet? No matter where you ordered from, cancel, buy from somewhere else that has them in stock. What am I missing? Is this JJP only you mean?
Some people stick with their distributor through thick and thin. If you really like your distributor and you're willing to stick it out when they're trying to grow their base, you can be a big part in their growth and success into a bigger player.
Yeah, GoT premium/LE is rough. The pro is tons of fun. The art is garbage on all 3, but I can overlook it on the pro, since it's so fun to play.
It definitely feels like the GoT pro is the game that Steve wanted to make and that the premium needed to have extras, so the mini playfield was sort of patched in there at the cost of flow and reason. For those that love the premium, that's great, but it's going to go down as a big misfire in regards to the pro/premium discussion on this game.
In addition to supply issues, Stern lost some production staff in the move and they have been understaffed. They haven't been staffed even close to what they need in order to keep up with demand.
Quoted from ramegoom:Didn't say "dumb". I am simply pointing out some of the realities of manufacturing, and reading some of the comments here tells me some people don't understand it.
Unless everyone on this thread has first-hand manufacturing experience. Then I digress..
I didn't think you were implying that we were stupid. Pretty much everything you said was spot on.
My dad owns a machine shop that manufactures medical, aeronautics, defense, recreation, and robotics components out of metals and plastics. I do know how supply chains can screw things up, but his company prepares for those situations by maintaining reserves/inventory of components or raw materials that are prone to risk. Maybe Stern can't float that kind of investment, and that would be understandable. I think people just want some sort of recognition from Stern that they're aware that people are waiting extended periods for their games and that they're trying to resolve current issues to get caught up.
Quoted from vid1900:Just look at all the self-deactivated accounts from all the pin manufacturers/designers/programmers/reps to see the resource we have lost - for being an entire forum of pricks.
RGP went through this and it ultimately caused an overall mass exodus. Once the fanboys and mudslingers took over, people started looking for a moderated solution. Pinside did a great job stepping in and offering an alternative. Problem is, we're repeating past mistakes...
RGP and Pinside absolutely have changed how pinball manufacturers do things. Bally/Williams listened to RGP, feedback at Expo, and opinions from test machines. Every single company out there pays attention to customer feedback, it's how they stay alive.
Will they ignore the blind haters? Sure. They'll also ignore the blind fanboys. But the honest criticism or the honest praise, that very much gets noticed and passed along and up the chain at Stern, JJP, Spooky, Heighway, and Dutch Pinball.
Quoted from PureTO:I see lots of ST Pro! Hope one is mine!
Haha, I thought of you first.
Yeah, most of the assembly being shown was on Star Trek Pro. That's a good sign. They showed tons of playfields for GB, Metallica, GoT, and SM VE too.
Quoted from indypinhead:I logged onto FB....don't see a video anywhere though
https://www.facebook.com/sternpinball/videos/10154188752729244/
Quoted from xTheBlackKnightx:Operator RGP sub postings and collectors got Bally/Williams to add maintenance slide rails on their game designs out of conversations that were developed by the route operator's creativity back in 1992.
Of course, modern Stern development decided that this was an unnecessary feature on pinball machines...
Maybe I should develop a "mod" of the original rails to be installed in today's games?
Might make some big money, Mezel are you listening?
http://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=1956
You can already buy them.
I don't really care about LCD. I don't love the look of red DMDs either, but LCD doesn't excite me. Color DMD is the best of the display bunch, I feel. I wish we could just get color dots as a standard.
Quoted from o-din:I guess the real question is who was going to buy Williams pinball when they could hardly give away games like CV and the rest of the industry was struggling to survive.
CV is not very good...
Quoted from Manimal:Slots on the other hand had to evolve into electronic games. It took a long time for people to give up the mechanical reels, but they finally did, and now all they want are video games and bonus rounds with cartoon flying pigs
I still only play slots with mechanical reels. If there's not something physical spinning, I don't like it.
Quoted from vid1900:That is why Stern always says: DO NOT PREORDER GAMES
If your distributor goes out of business between now and the Fall, you will loose all the money. Nobody, not even Stern, will be able to get it back for you.
This is why Stern should handle LE sales directly and distributors should handle pros and premiums. It's the LEs that cause the preorder scramble.
Quoted from seenev:Has anyone ever cancelled an order with games exchange before? I sent an email earlier today and got an immediate response, but when I asked to cancel my order he stopped responding. My previous communications have all had quick, if brief replies. I sent a follow up email a while later and still received no response.
I've seen them recommended here before but has anyone cancelled and order with them? Is this normal?
I know that JJ was traveling today and is out of town until Wednesday. You may hear back while he's on the road, but he's out of the office right now.
Quoted from JEFFPINS12:My distributor asked for the full $8,000 for me LE last month and then I bank wired it , now he is claiming saying he never got it yet I did wire it ! Whah can I do ?!?! I even showed him my bank statement I am fureous
There's going to be records at both banks. I wouldn't worry too much.
Quoted from seenev:With the price and waiting with Stern these days, might be worthwhile to get a JJP.
Uh...
Quoted from seenev:I didn't necessarily mean a new JJP.
In that case, WoZ is a ton of fun if you have the desire to really dig into rules.
Quoted from PanzerFreak:JJP has more issues then Stern? Really?
Yes, but JJP works very hard to fix things, while Stern is very passive. If you're patient, things will work out, but JJP games are far more problematic at launch and in the short term after.
Quoted from TaylorVA:Don't you mean buy themes not brands? Or buy themes not games?
I mean...SHUT UP, TAYLOR.
I mean buy pinball machines, don't buy the name on the "manufactured by" sticker. You know what I meant, old wisenheimer.
Quoted from RobT:I ordered my Hobbit at about the same time that a friend ordered a GB Premium. Guess who got their pin first?
Guess who will sell theirs first.
Quoted from PersonX99:You realize the code isn't complete on GB yet? If everyone gets their game, the "Where is the code?" thread is going to explode.
Seems like code is the only thing Stern can get out the door right now...
Ghostbusters is actually in a pretty good spot already with code. There will be tweaks and refinements, sure, but it's by no means barren.
You're currently viewing posts by Pinsider jar155.
Click here to go back to viewing the entire thread.
Wanna join the discussion? Please sign in to reply to this topic.
Great to see you're enjoying Pinside! Did you know Pinside is able to run without any 3rd-party banners or ads, thanks to the support from our visitors? Please consider a donation to Pinside and get anext to your username to show for it! Or better yet, subscribe to Pinside+!
This page was printed from https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-delays?tu=jar155 and we tried optimising it for printing. Some page elements may have been deliberately hidden.
Scan the QR code on the left to jump to the URL this document was printed from.