Stern Stranger Things

I liked season 3 a lot. Brian Eddy can design some amazing mechs, so my expectations are pretty high. Does this theme have staying power? What about 5 years from now? Will it be be like 24, or CSI?

Premiums usually ship 60-90 days from announce.

Not totally fair since one has been announced, reviled, and sold, while the other hasn't been confirmed by Stern.

I really think Stern got caught with their pants down on this release. They didn't expect Spooky to announce and sell the game 72 hours later. Lots of money tied up now.

The Stern release plans were baked before R&M was known publicly. Doubt they change it now. Why would they? R&M is already sold out with non-refundable deposits.

I can see any of these assets being used for the Playfield and cabinet. Pinside / Kaneda would still complain.

Tommy - I will say if you have a good relationship with your distributor, it would be a good time to give them a ring as an operator.

Are you really arguing with yourself? Wow.

I like that. Or “STh”

You guys really think today is the day? I'm not so sure.

And the Dragon on the cabinet.

The funny thing is....this is actually correct. street price is +$100 for all games except Elvira.

Yeah pinstadium has no chance on STH premium / LE

I agree. But you wouldn’t even want those spotlights on the premium / LE of this game.

So let me understand this: You want this game to be like Lights, Camera, Action?

No. STH. Done.

Just stop. LCA is one of the worst games ever flipped.

Eggo is cool but way too deep. 11 is cool but focused on one character. I still say STH.

Monday for more.

I think the art looks good so far, but these are screen grabs from a video. It resembles the show. I am going to wait for high res photos before passing judgement.

Stern games lately have had target splints built into the target bracket.

You think Stern is closed for the week? Nope. They’ll be closed Christmas Day. That’s it.

That’s being said I am sure many of the folks that have nothing to do with this release activity or current manufacturing line will be on vacation.

Yes. Video and audio from the show.

Pro "street" price is +$100 @ $5700.

As others have said, this game may be on location as early as TODAY to play. Thats how you launch a game!

A small number of Pros were delivered to distributors. They may be sold by now.

Stern Insider Brian Eddy podcast interview is up!

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DLP LED projector.

First game on location ? My Parents Basement in Atlanta Metro!

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Code is supper early. .62

New game setup menu when you first turn it on.

I have played two games. I like it a lot. Shoots familiar which isn’t a bad thing sometimes. Left orbit to right ramp return is cool. Like Deadpool Premium. The center drops are dangerous but not too crazy. The demogorgon modes are fun. Lots of video assets.

Don’t buy the pro for the Translite. Agreed. But I think this game is a winner overall from first impressions. The projector would add a lot however.

Nope. The left saucer fires the ball into the middle drop targets.

After playing the game on location, I enjoyed it a lot. Satisfying shots. I think the stream looks pretty great. I expect the premium to really shine also. Lots of haters but this wouldn’t be a pinside reveal without them.

The Quicksilver remake version of LZ isn’t happening. Smoke and mirrors or change of plans, but it’s now a full blown Pro / Premium / LE release.

A very reliable source said this a few weeks ago.

Nice photo. But the reality is that despite the visual similarities, these games shoot nothing like each other.

Must have been too smart. Over my head.

The people whining have not played the game. This happens every reveal.

If you are getting this game, some type of anti-glare glass (I prefer Roman/PDI, but they all are decent) is an absolute must. The purple GI makes for a nasty glare.

If they just said just Lonnie was on it, I'd agree. But after playing and also listening to Mike V and Brian Eddy on the stream talk about the rules, I think this game is in good hands. All three of them are contributing, and lots to do already on .62 or .64. I wouldn't be surprised to see substantial improvements by CES next month.

Nope. Seasons 1 and 2 only.

I am excited to play the premium/LE version of this game. Something tells me the projected content across a variety of targets and the "screen" will immerse you into the theme a lot more.

One really cool thing I think Stern deserves credit for is arranging to be able to have the game ON LOCATION ready to play the day they announce. I love that. So awesome to see the reveal of a product and be able to play it same day. Kudos for that.

I don't understand why some people have to turn this into a Playstation vs Xbox style fanboy talk like my 10 year old. It's ok to like both, or not like them at all.

Brian said in the Stern podcast interview that he wanted his first game back in pinball to be a nod to his 90's games. I don't think that's a bad thing. I bet his second Stern game is different.

There are currently 87 different abbreviations for this game. Well, 88 now with yours.

With Stern, it isn't really the FOMO. There isn't a rush on Stern LE models anymore since they priced the flippers out of range. More just like the "gotta have the new shiny" pinball.

When you enter the Upside Down, all the shots go dark except for the Upside Down shots. The game seems to get darker also. You know.

What happened to Jerry Thompson? He had been killing it with the recent games.

I wouldn't call it that, but yes it is not done. Watch the stream. Far from a box of lights.

SNFLXSTNGRTHGS

I am pretty sure the stream code was further along than the .62 shipping code. May explain the differences.

Interested to see how this earns compares to Jurassic Park.

There are lots of game adjustments that allow for exactly what you are saying.

This game does not play easy by default out of the box. It plays like a normal difficulty pinball machines. It’s fair.

For good reason, lots of folks are excited to see the projector. This could be amazing or a dud. Interested to see it myself!!!!

All Stern except Elvira and Beetles went up $100

Obviously there is a TON of Hopper voice work coming in future code. Maybe the playfield design wasn't Brian's only nod to his 90's roots.

Not sure what example they played but the shot wasn’t that hard for me. I wonder if the game was setup at a really shallow or steep pitch. Where did they play it?

I played the one in Atlanta on location at My Parents Basement quite a bit and was able to hit the shot many times. Strange.

I don't get this either. Dwight games in general have been fantastic. Cool strategy and high energy choreography. With Munsters, I believe Gomez gave poor direction on this. He told Dwight to make a simple game and didn't let Dwight be Dwight. Munsters will get an update soon that will make folks happy.

Thats too bad. I am trying to find the the post where I saw it mentioned by someone usually "in the know". Guess it doesn't matter if Dwight himself already said no. Well, he didn't really say yes to Ghostbusters either until much later in the game so....

I don't think so. The 12/23 launch date was planned for a long time. I bet part of it was to crank out some additional sales volume before the year end.

Play Game of Thrones and Star Wars. Not shallow. George Gomez told him to make Munsters shallow, which was a mistake. Dwight mentioned this direction in interviews. Back to the Lonnie show...

Yes - George told him to make a simpler game.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-76-dwight-sullivan/id1263342244?i=1000427623557

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-76-dwight-sullivan/id1263342244?i=1000427623557

Agreed. They have already negotiated the terms of the license agreement and assets they would have access to. It is done.

Typically 60-90 days from release.

Absolutely not. Shots feel great and lots of iconic elements from the show even at .75 code. One is on location near you in Nashville, I suggest you check it out!

The issue with the up post seems pretty wide spread. The game on location here had it break also.

My understanding is the post separated from the assembly. I have not inspected in person.

You want Spike. Order from Pinballlife.com. Easy install.

When you watch the video, the projector looks much better. Forget the photos that are way above the machine of off axis. Player position is what matters.

I think you need to buy an Alice Cooper game if you want that. Spooky has a few left.

Why do you think Stern flew Jack out to CES?

Well that sucks. No one really wants to see the Pro streamed anyway, we can all go play it now.

I am sure someone at CES will shoot some video. Curious to see where they are at with the content.

How is that a comparison? A commercial projector?

You are comparing a projector in a huge conference room that potentially hundreds can view to an apron mounted projector that ONE person needs to view. Not a fair comparison kpg

The image is meant for the player. One person. Not a conference.

I agree it is not properly implemented for CES or a CNET live video shoot with lighting rigs. It was designed for game rooms.

I think we can all agree that it is disappointing that Stern made zero effort to showcase the key feature of the Premium / LE version of this game. They could have taken a Premium to a small room or a light controlled environment to show the feature that everyone is waiting to see. Jack could have streamed it for a couple hours. Instead they chose to show the game in a light blasted CNET live CES stage. So if I was the game designer I wouldn't be happy that my flagship game is being presented for the first time in public in the worst possible venue. Zach should have taken the pro the the CNET stage.

It is not all about the screen, the cool part is the projections on other objects. The drop targets, standup targets, both ramps, and a marquee above the ramp all can have images / video.

I didn't think the good Dr had time to check Pinside anymore since he is busy selling The Big Lebowski. Oh wait.

Coming soon from Scott: “Pinshadeiums”

Magnetic ramp canopies that enhance the projector effect on the ramps. $299.

We need to create the Rarehero vs Levi dimpling thread to isolate all this garbage.

he is trying (really hard) to be funny.

KPG you have come a long way in your pinball evolution. The right attitude is everything.

It's certainly possible. The question there is wether Stern thinks it is worth the development effort to add it to existing games. I'm petty surprised also that they haven't released it yet. I bet if JJP started releasing it built in to the games, we would see it quicker.

Yeah I am aware of the testing. As soon as it's a standard feature that comes with the game I think things will accelerate. Lots of cool stuff possible. Operator alerts, earnings, adjustments, remote code updates. For the home player they could have some cool stuff also. Stern has the head 2 head competitions with two games next to each other where they try to complete certain game objectives first. That could translate to online very easily.

or mom jeans.

Thanks for the stream Jack. One thing I noticed is that the left ramp seemed to be rejecting a LOT when the magnet lock was active. Was it a setup issue? Curious what Brian thought about it.

Anywhere from 6 months to 2.5 years from game release. I wish I wasn’t serious.

In my experience on 2 games, it is much easier to make from the left flipper.

If you power up the game with the coin door open, you will get the 48v message. There is an interlock switch that disables node board power when the coin door is open.

Wonder if it is a simple code issue causing the warning to display incorrectly?

I don’t think anyone has produced a “true” old school style mirrored backglass in years. The reason is not that they don’t want to. It’s that they can’t because the old mirroring process can’t be done anymore due to environmental rules. That’s the way it was explained to me by an industry insider a few years ago.