That's pretty cool news if true! Good to see Stern breaking out of the box they've put themselves in.

everyone i've talked to about about the DIs on location around here (there are two) has raved about the game and said they really liked the originality and wackiness of the theme, even though they thought it would be corny when it was first revealed. i think classifying it a bomb is way off base.

I remember being so excited when Steve was going to do ST in 2013. STTNG is my all-time favorite game. I was somewhat disappointed when ST was finally revealed, and it was basically just STTNG minus the cannons, subway, diverters, video mode, a ship that actually shoots balls at you, full cast voice acting, side missions, wireforms, kickback, knocker, or hand-drawn art. I mean, 90% of my complaints just boiled down to modern-day Stern pins being cheap and sparse compared to golden age Williams pins. Steve Ritchie bears no blame whatsoever there. But even the layout felt recycled.

And yes, ST shoots extremely well for what it is. Satisfying shots and good flow. Steve Ritchie knows what he's doing, and he's brilliant at it. But I think the market right now is looking for something a little more creative and elaborate than 2 plastic ramps, a static bash toy, and very slight variations on the same general layout that's been done to death.