Quoted for truth!
People would not be talking non-stop about Stern's shoddy materials due to cost cutting... if they didn't have shoddy materials due to cost cutting.
Some games have been better than others, yes. But the pool of buyers willing to play that lottery keeps getting smaller, as their competition keep putting out games that at least appear more interesting to me as a hobbyist.
Stern has chopped so many costs while raising prices for them to have this "gosh, you don't just understand what you are buying" perspective is just plain garbage. Your company is putting out a product that in some cases has been really sub-par, all while moving to a less repairable and reliable (but cheaper to manufacture of course!) architecture.
After a certain point the chickens come home to roost, and you see vids like this pop up.
Yes, some hobbyists take it to another extreme when it comes to pickyness, but if orders are slowing down, maybe its at least in part due to your current reputation for quality?
After re-watching this vid, I honestly can give Steve a pass on this. Assuming good intent, he seems to be talking about normal dimpling. And normal dimpling is (guess what!) normal. But some of the playfields we have seen from stern in the last few years have been anything but "normal" (or if they are the new normal, Stern can keep them, they have no business shipping that garbage to customers and claiming "Normal wear and tear").
Quoted from DaveH:Nobody gives a crap about my opinion on this, so feel free to ignore it.
Steve, I have tons of respect for you, but in this case you are confabulating newbie reactions with the truth that Stern uses softer less expensive wood in some games. I don't think you are stupid, please grant me that same courtesy. If you needed it, I could probably compile a list of games where Stern used softer wood, and I'm betting I'd be pretty close to the "behind the scenes" view that you have of the actual playfield processes and materials used in them. There is no need to sweep it under the rug. All Stern needs to do is not use the softer cheaper wood and people will stop complaining. Will dimples always happen? Duh, of course they will. It's a steel ball. HOWEVER the actual dimple itself varies greatly in size and depth. Those little ones that smooth out, nobody should care. The craters that end up looking like the moon that will NEVER smooth out? Those are the ones people care about. Don't sell us out as you sell yourself out.
