Quoted from TigerLaw:First, glad to see a pinball company hiring people.
As for the slogan, lots of lawyers here probably remember this case:
"In 1997, Pizza Hut filed suit against Papa John's based on a series of advertisements that compared the ingredients of Papa John's and its competitors. At trial, the court agreed with Pizza Hut's argument that Papa John's slogan did not constitute statements of literal fact – that "fresher ingredients" do not necessarily account for a "better" pizza; this ruling was overturned in 2000 when Papa John's appealed the decision. Although the jury's decision on the misleading advertising was upheld, the appeals court determined that Pizza Hut failed to prove, under the requirements of the Lanham Act, that the misleading advertising and puffery had a material effect on consumers' purchasing decisions." - from the wikipedia article on the case.
Yeah, but there are material distinctions between the Papa John's case and the present statement. Puffery does not include demonstrable falsehoods.
Quoted from TigerLaw:I think this is a fair statement all around. Stern now has some private equity backing. Private equity is around to make money and return money to their investors. This is the primary goal of private equity. This does not mean Gary himself and his staff do not love pinball, but they have masters to answer to now.
This is what bothers me. I'm all for pinball and more manufacturers, better games, etc. Those calling the shots at Stern are not. Thus we see things like rising prices, lowered quality, cutting corners everywhere, marketing strategies like the artificial scarcity angle for LEs, every title being licensed (who would pre-order Stern games sight unseen these days without the allure of the license?), etc. The beancounters are running the show, which is sad for those who really want to make great pinball.