If they re - design the backbox, it moves away from looking like a traditional pinball machine. Maybe Stern don't want to go back to the Sega Showcase days?

Personally I like having a full-sized backbox. It gives games a more commanding appearance. I was never thrilled about the Sega convex showcase design because it looked unbalanced and awkward. (Like the big-bodied/little-headed guy from Beetlejuice) Heighway pinball looks the same, IMHO. My personal favorite backbox is the trapezoidal design for WMS 90s pins.

Using any less material would make it less durable. Plywood is the cheapest for Stern to use. I'm not sure if they care about saving the consumer 20.00 on shipping.

The majority of the market for Stern is for commercial use, not the home collector. Machines need to be made for durability. The traditional design of the cabinet and head has proven to stand the test of time. A machine needs to stand out and attract players to come play it, that is why the head and its size etc. need to remain the same.

Nothing says they can't redesign it later... like when they replace the DMD with an LCD.

I personally would be all for NO backbox. I want my DMD with player cues in the apron and more effort and time put into the gameplay and coding. I would be all for removing the entire backbox from the cost equation. Stern has never done any sort of interactive lighting in the backbox any way so the art does little for me and has always felt plat comparred to B/W games with blinkers, flashers, and spotlit art.

I also would enjoy the ease of moving and reduced weight.

Sterns "The Pin" (home use versions of avengers and transformers) had a new backbox design that was designed to be thin, removable, light weight etc. just as you describe. A lot of people on pinside complained about how they didn't like how the new back box looked (and also complained about almost every other aspect of the game as well). I got to play one when I was there for a factory tour and thought it was a lot of fun. If they could have got the price down a bit lower I think it would have been a big seller for them.

This would be cool too.

Agree. I'd love to see the entire backbox filled with an LCD someday. The lower third with a traditional DMD displayed and then the translite portion could have traditional artwork as a baseline and moving art and/or animation cycled for attract modes, gameplay, and wizard modes. I hope Stern leaves the backbox design alone. I want a pinball machine to look like a pinball machine on location. It should fit into a traditional lineup with a classic design. There's no need to redesign the wheel.

I hope they never change the basic shape of a pinball. That large amount of real estate on the backbox is needed to attract new players to the game, and to let people know what the theme is without having to walk all the way across the venue to stare confusedly at the playfield.

If a machine had a small / no back box and was against a wall in a bar, you would never even notice it. Death for location pinball.

Don't change it.

I do not want it to change. A pinball machine needs to look like a pinball machine IMO.

A bad design is a bad design, and The Pin was just that. All function without regard to form. Doesn't mean that it couldn't have been done better and more cosmetically appealing while retaining the functional characteristics.

Vertical play field

This is a good idea. Room for mechanical features!

If they put a large LCD screen I think that would take up most of the room. The large space would be great for passive heat dissipation and prolong the life of the electronics.

My thoughts too!!

It might be interesting to see an option where you could skip the backbox all together, mount an LCD tv of your chosen size to the wall, and use it on either a DMD-style readout mode or an LCD readout mode like WOZ.

Everyone says they always want big changes and improvements...but they want them to be invisible. Any change to the cabinet design has been met with severe criticism.

When Pinball 2000 design was hinted at (months before anyone had a chance to play); many pinball fans HATED it because it didn't look like a pinball machine...it's fate was almost sealed before it was even released because many people wouldn't even give them a chance (and them mediocre game play once it was released didn't help).

Same when Multimorphic first revealed their cabinet with the furniture style legs on the inside of the cabinet...existing pin fans HATED it and they had to offer regular style legs too.

I admit that I like having a backbox for looks more than anything... It just looks cool having the artwork lit up and advertising the game in your line-up. I wouldn't mind seeing the DMD display re-located to the playfield or even projected onto the upper part of the glass somehow like in Pin2K but from below to make it more integral to the gameplay.

I also think it would be cool if there would be a way to turn the backglass light off before a game as to eliminate glare while you're playing. -Either a menu setting or flipper combination.

If they make the backbox much smaller as well as the circuit boards, eventually the games will be so light weight that we as players will be able to toss them around when playing.

There's a mod available:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/dimming-backglass-for-stern-machines

Even if the back box is almost empty it still serves as a billboard for the game to attract people to play. Not to mention it keeps it looking like the iconic image of a pinball machine.

Very cool! I had no idea this product existed. I guess I'm not alone in my request. Still, I think it would be super easy for Stern to implement this feature from the factory with the new Spike system since it's just turning off/dimming the LED's on the control board vs. having to deal with a fluorescent tube in current/past models.

I'd like to see some concept sketches of new possible backbox designs now that the space is basically open to any shape or size.

I agree that having a backbox of some kind is needed just for simple display and player attaction, but there's nothing that says it needs to be square. Look at some of the unique videogame cabinet designs.

arcade-1.jpg

arcade-2.png

Only one OLED screen in place of back box.

A 16:9 LCD at the width of a standard backbox (28.75") = about 16" high, allowing for some trim.

So give some room for speakers below and trim, the bb could be about 22" high. This is about 9" less than what they are now.

I'd be OK with something like that, though I'm not a proponent of an LCD in the bb; I like the DMD fine.

But for talking purposes, I thought I'd chime in with my assessment.

Robert

"Would you like to order your new Stern with the Backbox Topper?"
"You mean a topper for the backbox?"
"No."

I'm beginning to think they may never get around to it! Can't beleive they haven't already converted to LCD. I mean we are in the year 2015 are we not?

Id prefer to keep back glass and have the LCD be size of large DMDs like one on Batman Forever.

Let's just keep that shit how it is. Looks great, gives the game the weight it needs.

Anything else looks cheap and crappy. Pinball is doing fine now, redesigning the cabinet of all things to look like a Dance Dance Revolution or Bowling game knockoff makes no sense.

I could see a Golden Tee type of thing. They have made "pedestal" cabinets for a while now, with Op's providing their own flat screen monitor.
But the cabinet would need to be weighted almost, to provide the same feel, and not be too light.
The Glare Guard would have to be huge, too.
But would be cool to play with a 50' display, maybe even a split screen/live play section.

I would say they are keeping their options open. Like when williams released solid state. I'm working on a SS hot tip with chimes, a knocker just for coin entry, and a score reel in the cab for similar sounds. I doubt they are dumb enough to jam spike and a new back box at the same time. One mistake would kill both ventures.
Fortytwo