I overheard one of the Stern guys talking to Steve Ritchie out front of the hall at TPF and saying "you ready for the launch on Tuesday?" I wasn't eavesdropping so it's not like it was a top-secret discussion, and they might have just been screwing around, but I guess we'll find out tomorrow ...

If they're actually launching tomorrow we may not have much time to speculate. So fire away!

Do HUO LEs sell above retail after launch much anymore? If you're OK waiting six months or so, seems relatively safe to wait and make sure you're satisfied before you pull the trigger.

Fair point, Canadian market is different and I imagine it's a PITA importing from the states.

That would be funny.

@knockerlover’s overreaction is an even better April Fool’s joke than the Burger King stunt! Well played, sir.

I’m stumped - they seem to have gone with Lexan, so are you saying they couldn’t source sufficient cellophane for the job?

Still a couple of weeks out - word is there will be a good number available for play at MGC weekend of April 12. Meanwhile DeadFlip will be doing a live stream April 9 so you can see how it shoots.

Fair point. He’ll probably have to wait three additional months and get a HUO for less than retail, with any luck already tweaked to play right. Not a bad thing unless he must that NIB experience!

Would they have you load six balls in the pro if it wasn’t going to use them all? Are there games that actually do that?

Certainly possible that a specific multiball will be Premium/LE only, but does it follow that the Pro will ship with six balls but not have any modes that use six balls? Isn't it more likely that there will be at least one mode that's on all versions and uses six balls?

The story is that you acquire the Sword of Rage to defeat the Black Knight. But for some reason the Black Knight is depicted several places on the playfield and cab holding a glowing sword. Is that also the Sword of Rage (so you're stealing his sword to use against him)? Some other sword he likes to switch up with the flail? Who knows. Probably best not to think too much about it.

So is the price structure confirmed for Wonka? Is the $9k one that Kanada was comparing to BKSR Premium the cheap one or the middle-tier?

There will surely be a couple on route in Denver if you can't hold out, just a short drive to the north! There's a launch party/tournament at 1Up Lodo on May 5: https://www.facebook.com/events/288279355418094/

Read through the FTC link you posted there - setting minimum sale pricing (not just MAP) is not necessarily illegal. The law has changed over the years and what used to be “price fixing” isn’t always considered illegal by the courts anymore.

“Reasonable price, territory, and customer restrictions on dealers are legal. Manufacturer-imposed requirements can benefit consumers by increasing competition among different brands (interbrand competition) even while reducing competition among dealers in the same brand (intrabrand competition)... an agreement to set minimum (or "floor") prices or to limit territories may encourage dealers to provide a level of service that the manufacturer wants to offer to consumers when they buy the product. These benefits must be weighed against any reduction in competition from the restrictions.”

Don’t take it personally, just means some people (including me) disagree with your opinion.

If I were a buyer I would totally do this. Magnasave is a fun concept and it’s a bummer that it’s essentially unusable as configured. In 20-30 games I successfully used it once on a slow dribbler that could easily have been saved by nudging. (I really like the game otherwise, BTW. Fast and aggressive, keeps you on your toes with all the action on the lower half of the playfield).

Happy to be of service!

CBGuy (resized).png

I own a SW so it's not like I'm biased against the lockdown button. Just don't think it works for Magnasave. But it sounds like some of you are actually getting productive use out of it, so maybe it's just a matter of adjusting your game to hit it way in advance. Or maybe I'm just getting slow. Still isn't as cool as a button on the side, but it's an easy mod so no big deal.

The Pinballlife ones also work great, just as easy to install, and half the price.

Nice, Stern may be responding to competition and adjusting their prices! At the same cost, may as well go with the Stern branded one (I’d assume that’s the one you want for BKSR, but probably worth emailing Stern to confirm).

I wouldn't recommend modding a cab without playing the game first. But I think most people discussing adding a side button have already played BKSR a fair bit (I know I have). And a few of us have probably even played the original BK, which gives some sense of how side button Magnasave plays.

Don't leave us hanging, what was the top score for finals?

It won’t be. Look on YouTube for videos, it’s a quick and simple process.