Quoted from LTG:

Tournaments can be a plus or minus for a business.
I've found for my location they were a minus. After almost 49 years I've learned what is good for my business and what isn't.
Not true of every location. It may be a huge plus for others.
LTG : )

Quoted from skink91:

That part was a confusing one to me: so if we drop 8-10k on a game for our homes, to participate fully we would have to go play it on location? Just to prove we had the glass on? What about ops that are cheaters?
That part just seems a bit half baked to me, unless I am totally missing something.

Quoted from thedarkknight77:

I hate to admit it, but this will end up being a huge waste of time and resources, all paid for by us true pinheads.

Quoted from DNO:

stern can make the money off selling these on every game, but if they try to charge users or operators it could fade quickly.

Quoted from flynnibus:

It's similar to TOPS - you don't have to use it - but it's never used anymore because it had inherent weaknesses and didn't do enough to address them.... so it died.

Quoted from Darscot:

This is never going to pay out of real money or goods to a player.

Quoted from Darscot:

You are correct you may be able to set this up based on your pin that can only occur at your specific location and does not interact with any other location. Stern will not go anywhere near this with their network but they may let you do it on your specific machine locally. If it has any kind of connectivity with their system or players in other legal locations it becomes a legalities nightmare that is way above this price point. It is just never going to happen.

Quoted from flynnibus:

The biggest issue is there is no incentive/method to avoid one guy mopping up every event. The basic high score format doesn't work for a population with significantly different skill bases. You are susceptible to the one guy rolling in, putting up big scores, and running off the competition and thus incentive to play. Quickly you see fewer and fewer people playing. The op tries to incentivize play by seeding the pot... but then finds the entry fees keep declining, and it becomes a losing proposition.
You can disallow paying out the same person multiple times, but when they've already run off the entries... it doesn't matter.
TOPS died its own death because it did not provide enough of a repeatable operator incentive to pay for it.

Quoted from GoodOmens:

Don't have to worry if your location uses cash, tokens, or is on free play. I, as a player, don't have to create a million different accounts for each place I visit. Genius if you ask me.

Quoted from Only_Pinball:

As an operator that is interested in adding this, what are you willing to spend per machine? Just curious.

Quoted from Only_Pinball:

I meant what are you willing to pay for the kits? Put another way, what do you think is a fair price ti retro fit you games?

Quoted from RC_like_the_cola:

I'd estimate ~$200 for the kits. Maybe $179 ish.

Quoted from shaub:

I feel like the retrofit kit will certainly be a huge stumbling block for operators existing machines. But I guess, the upcoming games with it pre-installed will be a chance to test the waters. As a player, I feel like a single machine at a location with Insider Connected would kind of miss out on the overall potential of the system but I guess that is unavoidable as anything non-Spike2 will lack obviously lack the functionality.

Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

I can see these running foul of local gambling ordinances real quick.

Quoted from Joe_Blasi:

local game vs side wide vs muilt state

Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:

No. You don’t HAVE TO buy additional content. If you WANT TO buy additional content, you may.
You don’t have to buy a color DMD with colorized game content. If you find value in that additional content you may buy it.

Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:

That's a strawman logical fallacy. No one is arguing you should own an incomplete game.
Trying to define "complete" in a situation where you can add things after the game leaves the factory is a fools errand. Do we buy computers that are not complete because we can add software to them to suit our use case? Of course not. The computer is complete as we purchased it. If we want additional capabilities we can add them.

Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:

Do we buy computers that are not complete because we can add software to them to suit our use case? Of course not. The computer is complete as we purchased it. If we want additional capabilities we can add them.

Quoted from Bublehead:

Here's a question or two that brings both the insider program and machine price hikes into focus...
Are the Stern price increases, that are putting machines further out of the hands of the common man,

Quoted from Bublehead:

making on location play more lucrative to operators?,

Quoted from Bublehead:

are operators willing to pay the higher machine prices knowing that it makes it harder to own a machine and more likely the common man will seek out location play as their best bang for the buck?

Quoted from Bublehead:

Does the Insider program help operators by making it easier for the common man to afford on location play by providing discounts or loyalty points that can offset the high on-location game pricing that is being used to offset the higher machine costs,

Quoted from Bublehead:

or is it more a perception thing, where the player perceives he is getting something for next to nothing?

Quoted from Bublehead:

One thing is absolutely certain in all of this- This is just another scheme of Stern's to put more of your dollars in their pocket, or the pockets of operators, and no offense to operators, but why would they drop $200 per machine unless it has some ROI? And that ROI is actually my wallet goin "CHING!"

Quoted from thechakapakuni:Can anybody use this on a pin today? Is there any reason or benefit to signing up if you don’t own a modern stern?

Quoted from flynnibus:

You didn't read his post - His post was the codes would be displayed on the screen instead of having them on paper.
If I need a phone to get that code, and then move that code to the scanner... what did the scanner save me vs already having to have a phone to participate? Opening an app?
Have you noticed most apps open without requiring you to sign in every time?
Have you noticed apps that can function without any sign-in at all?
How often do you carry around loyalty cards anymore vs having a simple sign-in or app?
The whole point is this scanner is completely unnecessary for the use cases outlined.. and there are so many better solutions that wouldn't require ANY new hardware but internet connection."

Quoted from flynnibus:

The free play scenario? I could do much better with this scenario...
I could make a simple paper sign and hang in the arcade that says "Text RARE12 to 202-555-1222 to get our app and get 5 free game credits for joining!" - and have players text, get a SMS back with app store links to open the app.. and just using their phone identifiers or phone numbers enable them for non-authenticated use and give them 5 free play credits in the app where all they have to do is scan the QR code of the game to redeem each of the credits. And because of the identifier, I can limit reuse. And now that they have the app, but no profile yet, I can offer them other promos to actually enroll and create a profile.

Here I've lured the customer into giving me tracking info... I've given them some free play in return.. I've convinced them to install the app.. maybe we've even gotten them to enroll... AND IT DIDN"T REQUIRE ANY SCANNER ON THE GAME.
Take this scenario and tweak it many ways if you want... let them scan a code instead of SMS... have a simple promo-code that is re-usable, but because it only allows it to be used once per phone identifier, you keep it from being an abuse issue. etc etc.
The friction is getting people to have the app and creating a profile - not 'signing in' etc. That's a nothing-burger. These issues can be improved with other means without thinking people are going to print out their QR code or resort to giving up the app entirely.

Quoted from yancy:

Ditto. Stern, are you reading this?

Quoted from flynnibus:

Another solution you could solve with online access. I mean, yes, dummy cards are nice.. but is it worth $200 PER GAME instead of giving your location a simple app or webpage to do the same thing? Or something they could have solved with flipper codes or sequences FOR FREE?

Quoted from Smack:

Would this be a standard button combo? If so word will get out and people will mute audio or crank it crazy high. Would it be operator specified? Do you really think a rotating staff at a bar is gonna want to remember button combinations to accomplish this kind of stuff regardless if it were standard or custom button combos?
I do not disagree that this is all possible without QR codes but it is much less convenient that what was discussed in yesterdays presentation.