Newbie buyer question here...
When does Stern stop making new machines for specific games? Looking at games like Ghostbusters and Batman 66 which have been out a couple years but are either only recently finished code or still unfinished. Maybe the answer is “they’ve already stopped production;” I simply don’t know enough about this.
Follow-up question is if NIB machines dry up almost immediately following the production end for a particular game.
Thanks in advance!
It depends on demand for the game, how long they have the license for the theme, if both parties are interested in renewing or not to extend production, and how many games they may have been contracted to make under the license agreement. There's probably a few other factors in there as well.
There really isn't a set amount of time or a specific number for each title.
Quoted from Patrunkenphat7:Looking at games like Ghostbusters and Batman 66 which have been out a couple years but are either only recently finished code or still unfinished.
Code updates aren't related to what's happening (or not happening) on the production line. Updates released whenever a programmer has time to work on them. Sometimes even well long after a game has ceased production. A lot of times, it can be a programmer's passion project.
Quoted from Patrunkenphat7:Follow-up question is if NIB machines dry up almost immediately following the production end for a particular game.
Not always. It depends on demand for the game. Sometimes distributors have a small stockpile for a while after production ends.
Normally, a new Stern game is in production for 3 years. Mustang may have made it 2 years, but unsure how long WWE made it.
https://sternpinball.com/games/
You can see what games are in production and click on the [view archive] tab to see that ones that had been moved out, including GB along with SMVE.
GB could come back at a later time as a "vault" or a rerun.
Off the top of my head I think Metallica production was 5 years. It even went through several design updates (pro) with LEDs and redesigned backbox.
As far as code, Spider-man was released in 2007 and there was a (minor) update released in 2017. So that's 10 years.
Depending on title, I'm sure you can get a NIB pin 6 months after production stops, for a Pro at least. Probably can get a NIB WWE yet...maybe others.
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