How is not including an lcd cost cutting? That's gotta be the dumbest logic I've ever heard. They've never had an lcd so it's not cutting costs to still not include one.

I'm super chapped by their cost cutting because I didn't get a new car included for free when I bought walking dead.

To the original poster: good job saying over and over how stern is cutting costs without any examples whatsoever. To that I'll simply disagree. I don't see any cost cutting in the last few years since the pegs came out.

Why would anyone argue the back box redesign is a cost cutting measure? The new back box is great. No more wrench that's always lost. The DMD angle is improved. The whole machine is slightly lighter now and easier to move. Man people can't make any changes or move forward without old timers constantly complaining about things changing.

What machines don't have lockdown bars? If you mean the clasps, I don't think that is a bad change. Just cause something changes doesn't mean it's cheapened. The clasps hold the lockdown bar on tighter.

They've actually improved their transistors moving from stl20 to stl40s rated at more than irl540n.

It's wrong that I don't think this is a bad change? Then tell me, what do I think?

I wish people would quit touting crap about what they paid. Who cares what you paid. If you can't shut up about what you paid then it was obviously too much for you to pay and you shouldn't have bought.

Q/C is irrelevant of price paid. Pinball machines are coin op products and you should not expect them to be perfect. It's common knowledge that the prices have increased. No one at stern mislead you to think that's because thousands of dollars are spent on Q/C. So if you don't like the price, don't buy.

I have recently sold most my B/W games partly because I'm tired of repairing games all the time. I have a row of 12 sterns that never break. I can turn them on and play a game without hearing some switch error ding or have to track down a credit dot (both of which if I turn a game on and hear I can't have fun and have to fix instantly). I've bought several nib sterns and the quality is fine.

You know what game I had major q/c issues with? My nib woz. But I fixed the issues and moved on rather than start a cry thread on Pinside about how much I paid.

Try waxing that with a good paste carnuba wax. That does wonders for a lot of these types of problems.

Yep. Well people are collecting coin op machines. It's not the case that people are routing collectible machines. New or not, pinball has a cost of ownership. This is what it means to get into the hobby. If people aren't prepared for these things perhaps they'd better be served by taking up chess or horseshoes

The bottom line is that the stern quality is not worse than before and is inline with this industry in general for the last 25 years. People probably need to adjust their expectations.

No, I don't. It's not a trade where they're charging more because you're getting more. Instead they simply increased the prices.

Dude put some screws in that backboard and wax the play field. Then go enjoy your new game.

The post above that you quoted doesn't tell anyone what to think. It tells him what to do to solve his problem. I guess people here don't want solutions and just want to pump the cry thread though?

The photos he provided didn't show a playfield with no clear. It showed some duller spots in the clear where waxing will help.

The guy with transformers playfield issue was legit but contacting Gomez and Gary stern was not the solution. Contacting his distributor was. A single issue like this one sucks. But it doesn't mean stern quality has gone down hill. It's a one off. There will be several one off issues on any given run. They need to be handled. Simple problems like missing screws in a backboard don't warrant several visits to Pinside. Instead put some screws in and enjoy the game.

Lol. It's just the mentality. When I buy a game nib or used, it goes into my workshop not my house. There it gets cleaned and waxed (even if nib), play tested and tweaked as needed. Once perfect, it goes into the house. I've had to regap / align flippers, tighten screws, fix minor flow issues, all on nib games. It's just part of the experience.

I guess there are those that get the game and spend a few minutes or hours fixing it and are enjoying the game right away. Then there are others that get the game and spend days/weeks refusing to fix the game "because they paid so much stern should do it" and instead of enjoying their purchase they spend days / weeks in the forum crying. I guess it's clear which you are.

Yep. This.

I pull them out of the bag and clean them with window cleaner before installing them. That makes them shiny like most aftermarket balls.

If the clear was extra thin, using novus 2 (a harsh running compound) may have actually done it in for good. Otherwise I would treat it like a car. Wax it with a good carnuba.

Not sure what you're talking about here. The GoT I just got has the thickest clear coat I've ever seen in a new game. I've also gotten several games from route ops through here and some of the new sterns clean up like they're brand new.