I actually just did that and got a Metallica Premium this past Saturday for under 6K, Metallica just has so much going for it can't see why anyone would let a Met Premium go for a new Star Wars.

Sorry Hilton, the LCD screen is a huge deal. Maybe more so in a HUO environment but location non pinheads are gonna love it.

Especially on a Star Wars

Why?

Because it's new

The LCD on AS is just right - it's really, really good. DMD games do feel dated now for sure.

I bought AS and I wouldn't have bought it if it was still DMD.

So, yes, the LCD on SW is a massive jump.

the coin box does not lie and only time will tell...

I can say in the long run it really makes no difference. One of the best things about Madison Pinball is that after over 4 years none of us has taken a single quarter out of the coinbox. We put 100% of everything that comes in, right back in to buying more new games.

It is the only way we can even fathom buying 8k plus games to share on route with others.

This is an interesting thought. This past week I was on vacation in San Diego and found a place that had a Ghostbusters and a GOT. The GOT was set up to the easy mode or whatever where it always picks house stark to not confuse the novice player. Pretty lame to me but the average joe probably doesnt have any idea there are more houses that you can play. Also, the ball save timer on both games was insanely long.

I wonder if Star Wars has a similar novice setting that forces you into a character.

Doesn't South Park still earn well on location?

Metallica is a great game but games get old after a while. Probably going to sell my ACDC as I don't play it much anymore and that helps me clear out space and cash for something else

Oh...Fathom is a good game.

Sorry I have Fathom on the brain.

But then you have other people complain there is no real backglass when you turn the display on Dialed In off.

It's harder on the player though. For someone who doesn't know exactly where to look, trying to understand what's going on with the screen on The Hobbit is a near impossible task. For location, the smaller, easier to glance at screen is better. Star Wars seems to suffer from information overload though. Stuff just stacks on top of stuff and things are shoved into all corners.

It's still beyond me how Dwight can put out such outstanding code right off the bat with SW ( almost zero cool toys and not much more the flowing ramps. ). And he had a master piece game like GB with more toys and " stuff " than any modern stern pinball in a long time and the code is only OK.

I just don't get it.

no, not really. It does steadily OK, but IMHE it is not worth the space.

I mean... we had one on route for about a year and sold it... so that should tell you something. It still did OK, but not good enough to keep around.

If you are looking for the low brow kid humor then bang for buck you would be better off with a DE simp or TMNT for the cost vs what the kids will drop to play it.

He has he FORCE!

IMG_0315.GIF

I think a big part of ghostbusters is the designer of the game on that one not sure the designer and the software guy were in tune on that game

And now in English...

As a guy with nothing newer than 1981 in his collection, I'll simply say that Star Wars is the one and only Stern machine I would see myself ever owning. I thought it was that good already and they typically improve as code matures.

If the code matures like GOT the next few updates over the next 3-4 months are gonna be awesome.

Because he left Ghostbusters unfinished. They moved him to Star Wars early. Also, Star Wars borrows heavily from Game of Thrones.

No offense but I was at an angle behind a guy and he was rapidly hitting the center button destroying Tie Fighters. With the leaning over and focused look on his face. Rapid up and down movements with his hand.

About a half hour later a guy was working the flippers while his friend reached around slapping the button destroying Tie Fighters.

I noped tf out and promised myself that SW will never be in my basement.

No offense.

lol... So you're saying this game encourages a good "reach around" eh? Good imagery you've got going there

I'm not a an expert yet by any means but I'll take a stab.

So I didn't see an overwhelming advantage for any character which is good. I mean Han starts that Boba get mode easily and that can be huge points worth he multipliers. But other than that I was getting big ass scores with all the characters. I don't know all the advantages of picking each yet.

So the coolest thing I've learned so far is that if the character you chose is not in one of the planet missions that is portrayed in the game (the modes) you don't get to play that mode. The game just spots you that mode and lights it solid off the bat.

For example. Luke and Leia are the only two characters in the speeder bike chase mode. If you pick R2 or Han, that mode is lit solid off the bat.

But Hoth II is different for Luke than Leia. Luke fights Vader and Leia and R2 are escaping from could City. While if you are Han you get that mode spotted for you since you are frozen in carbonite.

So very very well done in my opinion.

Bonus is a mystery to me. Seems nuts like B66 with unlimited bonus X.

Got some good time on a Pro today and my first impression is it looked better in person than in pictures. I thought I would really enjoy the game but it left me feeling meh. I thought I would dig the wide open playfield with shots towards back but it did not feel fun to me for some reason. I was confused by what the hell was going on with all the missions and modes. So I just aimed for the lights and managed to do fairly well. It just felt boring or like it was missing something special? I really think the Premium/LE may be the way to go on this one because the Pro felt flat to me. It was super fast and has good flow but I felt it was missing a bash toy or something? The reject off three bank is quick and if you don't react it drains. I also did not care for the skill shot-TFTC cut and paste. It did not play like AC/DC but you can tell all the cutting and pasting that was done with this title. The other really lame video mode is the tie fighters-totally pathetic! Star Wars screams for decent video modes, I would like to see some video modes with speeder chase or attack on the Death Star? I did like the hurry ups-well because I love hurry ups. One thing I noticed is the power of the flippers on the newer Sterns, I thought my GB flippers were powerful, Star Wars flippers are lightning quick. Time will tell but for now I am seeking out some older gems and passing on Star Wars. I am hoping the Premium/LE added features make this title special and more enjoyable than the Pro because I was just not feeling it today. Hoping it will grow on me because it is a dream theme of mine.

That's right, bottom line.

ZERO chance DI out "coin drops" SW. ZERO Short term OR Long term.

Add Alien into that mix as well. ZERO

+1000 - the players at my location appear to drop money based on theme. I'm not buying dialed in because it looks like a glorified redemption machine. While I think the game plays awesome and is fun, I think star wars will crush it in earnings just from the theme alone even with half baked code.

The general public doesn't drop coin dependent on the completeness of code. They do it based on familiarity and Star Wars is such a ubiquitous theme it's guaranteed to earn.

you would be surprised Ice. I have to say, that time and time again my pinhead/collector/player idea of what will do well on route ends up being wrong. The people playing on route are largely not like us.

While we dont share any actual numbers in public, you can read into things pretty clear.

GoT prem sat next to Aliens (an aliens which does not function 100% btw) and GOTprem is sold and gone. After doing this for a few years you start to learn the reality of the world. I can say without a doubt that SW will do well at the start, but if the code does not match the theme then DI will kill it in 12 months time.

We have had DI for a little while now and also were fortunate enough to have 2 protos for a short bit back in April. Needless to say, having them for 2 weeks in April was enough to convince us to buy one and it has not disappointed.

Granted based on price alone SW will be the better investment, but we dont do this as an investment. If we did, then we would just have 30 EMs on route as dollar for dollar they will make you the most money with the least overhead startup if that is your thing.

But this makes no sense when you say "the people playing on route are largely not like us"

Code shouldn't matter to them like us. Theme should matter most long term.

Nobody knows wtf a DI is? I think it tails off dramatically.

Plus you have so far to go before you even break even with DI.

An OP with a SW pro should kill it $$ wise.

I think the more interesting stat would be # of repeat players in each machine. Seems like SW will draw a ton of first time players based in theme, but DI would bring back more repeat players due to overall uniqueness and fun factor. Obviously no game will top SW on theme for a route.

I would have to disagree. I think DI is going to do very well on location because of the Bling factor. It has a large display and very colorful playfield and toys. WOZ does very well on location because of the Bling factor not because of theme. 40 year old dudes are not like hey man let's go play some Wizard Of OZ! In reality they are like wow look at that colorful game with a bunch of shit packed in it-we should play it.

I was recently at an arcade and some newbies were playing DI out of all the other available games, it definitely stands out.

If its me say up at Pinballz in Austin and I'm going every now and then, I'm dropping some dollars into DI just out of the novelty factor, then I'm going over to Star Wars to play it deep because of the theme.

bingo! and the code has to be intuitive enough yet have enough fun factor to keep people coming back for more.

I think the WOZ theme is the MAIN reason people play it, not the bling factor, plenty of bling out there. At least you know the story, we all grew up with it. And 40 year old dudes aren't going to shift over to a DI because its colorful.

SW's is colorful.

What I mean is that we will explore a game like SW/GOT/GB regardless of anything. We are good enough players and understand that adventure and willing to pain through the boring parts or mental gymnastics to figure out how to score.

the JJP games are able to both draw in and keep casuals coming back. There are things to see and things to do that 'feel' fun to casuals. My prediction is that DI will do every bit as good as WoZ and Woz is regularly the best earner of any game out there and consistently for years now.

Do you route games too? Just curious

Well you are the one spending WAY too much $$ on a DI pin to put on route so lets see what happens. DI is a HUO pin, and i think it will be a stinker on route.

No but i play games on route AND I stayed at a Holiday Inn last night.

I respect the route guys like Hilton and Vegas Freemont.

That's why the whole "quality comparison" issue is TOTAL BS.

Have you played DI? I was a skeptic as well-then I played it

Not yet, watched the streams, and would like to play it on location for sure. No desire to own it.

If i was an OP I'd be scared to death to spend that much up front unless i was Freemont Arcade.

Ya I would have thought SW would be better on route too but it's tough to argue with someone who does it and (seems) to know the numbers.

You guys should make a bet for charity and see which one earns better in madison

Great, now can we get back on topic to those who have PLAYED SW?
Thanks!

This is my feeling on the game. Someone mentioned kids flocking to it. It's maybe the most recognizable theme ever so of course it's going to get some hits. I've watched video of the game and I can say my kids would think it was awesome for the first few games, just because it's star wars. That would wear off.

This will be a home run on location...if ANY company made a star wars game it'd be a home run on location. You could put the OLD SW games on location and they'd do OK. If some seasoned players think it's "fast & flowing" and put money in along with Joe Sixpack and his kids it's going to do great. Throw it in an Applebee's on $1/play and watch the cash flow in!

No doubt. 1000%.

I can see why JJP pins would be better earners in the past. Stern now has the LCD too which is huge imo. I wouldn't buy another pin without one.

So when it comes down to "better build quality", blah blah blah, I go with what Freemont says and he has 30-40k plays on his Stern pins in Vegas. Ny Ny hotel.

There is only a perceived "better build quality". I own both. Freemont operates both, so does Hilton.

Freemont just picked up a SW pro for location. Let's see how it does. Didn't get a DI.

The Vegas goer is the ultimate short term quarter dropper

Have you played it yet?

Casual players want a game with toys and want to see how to make them activate. SW has the death star and that's it. They will try to get that once, and after that, they won't understand anything after that. DI and other jjp games have toys. How to get into the witches castle, get the house spinning, kill the witch, activate smaug, kill pop ups, activate phone, get selfies, watch all the magnets, etc.. Pinheads appreciate quality code that most people never even know about. SW will have fun rules to us, but I can see it getting old fast to a lot of people. DI is a game that groups of people will get a kick out of. I still think SW wins the initial quarter drop from theme, but I'm guessing DI would possibly get more repeat casual players.

Video & callouts at Pintastic made me want to grab one for the collection (X-Men was going anyway). I figured if I liked it I would move to the Premium down the line & if I didn't it wouldn't be hard to trade/sell.

1st impressions after a few games,

Game is FAST, think GOT or Iron Man. I think they had it too steep at the shows and that made it seem even faster & a drain monster.

Skill shot is weak, you almost always hit the middle stand up target. My 1st thought after seeing it was the skill was going to be the drop targets (like LAH).

Ramps are smooth, left ramp is almost exactly like Star Trek Alpha ramp.

Right scoop is like Metallica Fuel but on the right side and it's a scoop.

Tie fighter loop is cool and controllable if game is level & you know its coming.

Stand up targets are the biggest drain danger.

Code seems pretty far, bunch of characters to choose & choices within the characters. Seems like there is room to add to both of those things.

I like toys, but the lack of them is making me pay more attention to what shots I need to hit & advance. Game does well telling where it wants you to go. It makes me want to slow the ball down & control it more. Usually I'm more a run & gun player who doesn't pay much attention to the rules.

Video clips & music like I said earlier was the hook for me, so far it seems like a good amount especially this early, REALLY hope there's more to come.

Scoring seems silly high, I'm not sure what a good score is at this point.

As far as earning on route, I would think just on ball times alone this will bring in the $$$. Waiting to play SW & Dialed In at the show you could see how the SW line moved and DI took awhile due to a big difference in ball time (torture while in line).

Star Wars definitely has that 1 more game feel like Iron Man to me (so far). My daughters friend who was here earlier just texted her to see if she was awake because she wanted to come back & play SW again..