Stern could raise the price of a Pro up to $15k and start making the playfields out of cardboard and 1,000+ buyers would still be lining up because it's their 'dream theme'. They have realised they can make the same profit off of 1,000 machines as 10,000 machines, so why go through all that trouble?

I actually much prefer the look of the metal backboxes. They added the pitched speaker panel with graphics too. The old backboxes with that awful battered chrome trim just look cheap to me, even if they were a little heavier.