It's all speculation at this point (hence thread title) and maybe it's 1962 instead of 1964. Sounds like they want to keep it a low production game and the SLE could be their most expensive game to date @ 50K.

Frolic and Richiewrench better get started on their videos for Stern.

Needs 3 spinning discs to be any good.

Ugh. Not a fan of spinning disks. Hopefully it is more of a Dr Dude or Tron spinning disk than a JJPPOTC or Whirlwind type disk...

Beatlemania.

So now the rumor is before Munsters? Will we see a reveal at expo?

No reveals at Expo for either game. Munsters after Expo and before months end with Pro's shipping in November.

I can’t see how these machines would be a million dollar pinball license and also not be outrageously priced.

I am probably one of the loonies who would pay $4000 for a brand new sea witch from Stern in 2018. I wouldn’t want a Beatles retheme with an LCD; the reason I want seawitch is because it’s an original theme and design from the 70s. It captures what pinball was at that time and adding animations and modern sound effects ruins it for me. I’m fine with the mpu and mechs and lighting under the hood being updated but otherwise it’s pretty much perfect for what it is.

I know some % of beatles hardcore fans would push 10K or even 20K for a Beatles pin but not if there’s several thousand of them made. I just don’t see how this game makes money with a million dollar license fee.

You are dreaming if you think any company is going to remake a classic game for $4000. It would be at least the price of a Stern Pro and that makes it unlikely to happen for most titles. I could see a Whirlwind or Funhouse remake done for around $6000 to $6500.

They're leftover WWE LE spinning discs. If nothing else, Stern is good at recycling those unwanted pins.

Maybe Stern is good to engineer toy from other companies that they were not able to do with for example a triple spinning disc

$1,000,000 / $46,000 profit on "Diamond Editions" = sell 21 and license is paid for.

First rule of business - make your customers pay for everything. (see also: "Businesses don't pay tax, they collect it")

I guess I considered 50,000 for a pinball machine to be outrageously priced? I feel like a 50K pinball machine marketed exclusively to wealthy collectors while the same game minus a plaque sells for 7K is the top of the bubble that pinside loves to talk about. There are what, 7 kingpins and I think the last one sold for 50K, but shit that’s pinball history (and actually a great shooting game).

For a 50K game rumored without a coin door? I just think it’s stretching the possibilities there.

But I guess they sold 80 super LEs at 15K, which at 10k profit apiece would be 800K, so maybe not? Goddamn it. Am I the only sane person left? Has this hobby gone bananas? Where do people get this money?!?

I think those Batman SLEs fall into the "fool me once" category. Code didn't even begin to get acceptable for more than a year, the batcopter toy was bested by a $20 HALLMARK ornament, they never implemented the 80 owner name callouts in the game (they're in the ROM, though), playfield was the same softer excessively deep craterable wood as the premium and LE version (should have been the better PF wood - Stern knows what I'm talking about), the batsignal on the playfield was off-the-shelf and used the wrong batman logo for the era, cabinet wood was the crappy split-prone stuff without better B/W corner bracket reinforcement, the pinstriping wasn't painted, but cheap vinyl strips that came off or shifted from heat on your hands in 100 plays - the SLEs just had an overall lack of attention to detail and workmanship for a supposed "premium" 15k experience. Also there were NO SLE-specific PARTS EXTRAS for warranty issues. I had a coin door area decal problem and the replacement decal didn't even MATCH the SLE foil finish properly - and I'm not talking "close" I'm talking COMPLETELY DIFFERENT finish.

I certainly won't be doing it again. Stern does not know how (or doesn't care to) to do ACTUAL premium SLE machines.

The Batman SLE’s are worth every penny of $15k as that’s what they still sell for 2 years later. If they are worth less please LMK because I’ll buy every one available.

I think the $50 Beatles Diamond edition is a ruse so that when it comes out at $14800 or $19800 it will seem “cheap.”

What's it worth with a completely different, Stern-supplied non-matching coin door area sticker on the front of the machine?

Don't look for this game made on a Seawitch Layout.

One idea quietly floated is using the WWE playfield. Fully reworked and tweaked. Upper playfield ring turned into a raised concert stage.

Sounds like the dumbest rumor yet...........

I very much like the idea of a stage in the Game.

It's terrible in practice, at least the way it was done in WWE. Grinds whatever fun was happening to a complete halt.

There has been a lot of Seawitch talk lately...

tenor.gif

and the spinning discs could be 'like a records'.

Pinball customers are rich, have the patience of Job, accept a lot of crap (like un-reinforced cabinets) and buy everything that comes out. So basically like Apple fans.

Why wouldn't a company try and find the ceiling of what they'll pay? Capitalism baby!

And Tesla

This has been conducted in a different market - referred to as the "Starbucks Experiment"

Tesla is only catching us out once, never again. They talk it up and do not deliver. Pinball companies are much more responsive to their customers. Tesla could learn a lot from all the pinball companies.

That's terrifying

While I completely agree that Apple has been on a slow downward spiral since the death of their lord and master, Steve Jobs, I’m still using my 2007 iMac (first year with the metal case) with its original HD. I’ve maxed the RAM out and I can’t update beyond El Capitan but I don’t care. It runs smooth and I don’t have issues like my brother does with his PC. It’s kinda a game between us. We both bought our first computers around 2001 and he’s replaced his PC, at least, five times. I bought a Gateway PC in 2001. Replaced it with the iMac in 2007 and added a Mac Mini to my TV in 2010. Wiped them each maybe once or twice but never replaced the HD. Now devices like my iPhone or iPad have supplemented their hard use but Apple devices have saved me a lot of time and hassle in the long run.

The Beatles? I’ll Be 40 this year and they’ve been my favorite band since I was a kid. My first cassette from Wall To Wall Sound and Video was The Beatles 20 Greatest Hits. A slapped together comp done in the early 80’s. If Iron Maiden can sell all of its 500 LE’s before anyone even saw the art, The Beatles will have no problem. Their hard core fans are very rich and 15k is nothing.

Oh, and for the guy that asked about what was so special about 1964 just read some this:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_in_the_United_States

I didn't played WWE very much but from what I played (LE) it was ok AND it was different.

But I didn't mean to reference WWE I just think an elevated stage with the Beatles themseles would be cool.

1964 relates to their Ed Sullivan Show appearance.

What's that?

Wasn't that an early Tom Baker story? :p

Heard of The Beatles. Are they any good?

haha... I did see them "live" on Ed Sullivan show. When my dad said that's disgusting, I knew I found my all time favorite band. Circa 1964-65.

Stern's actions with B66 absolutely tainted my view of their company. The obnoxious "beg us to buy it" routine, the price, the reveal at Expo behind ropes, the partial re-use of BDK, launching with proto code (that still isn't done) ...the whole thing was just such a massive turn off, not to mention it was within the same year that GB was going through all the quality control issues with bad playfields. No pinball machine should cost that much, especially from a company that can't guarantee the quality of the product.

They pull this crap again with Beatles with the rumored prices, I'm done with them forever...it's just disgusting.

One thing to focus on ... Beatles catalog is deep (maybe 500 songs)? and what people want is for the pin to have a lot of it included. I’ll say the game should at least 50 songs. I don’t want 7-10 songs, I want 50-100. No need for the ability to swap in songs after release, the game should have them included. If not what is the point of a Beatles pin? As a counter point, if KaPow tells me they’ve selected 12 songs, I’ll be staying away, far away. Of all music pins, Beatles needs a catalog of music when it leaves the factory ... or else.

275 songs total. Unless it has a rule set similar to JJPoTC or The Hobbit, I’m not sure how to incorporate 50-100 songs. If it has 20 songs I’d be surprised.

Around 213 originals with another 69 being covers, even more if you consider the BBC songs. Not all of their originals were released or recorded by them.

You forgot to mention the Stern 30th anniversary party that you had to pay to go to and the Stern 30th anniversary book launch that they farmed out to a lightweight crowdsourcing company rather than paying upfront and doing it properly. It was definitely a time of peak arrogance at Stern. But when you've got 95% of a booming market and all your competition seem to trip before they can even start the race, you can kind of see why it happens. Poor management to let it happen, but understandable none the less.

I think Kapow had a lot to do with the way B66 was launched, especially when you hear the way Kaminkow talks. If Beetles is Kapow also (im not sure it is, I think he just helped get the licence) then i'm guessing it will be the same story.

Kaminkow said on a recent podcast (I forget which one now) that he helped Stern secure a licence which will be one of their cornerstone titles and the other will be the next Kapow title.

I had taken his comment that Munsters might be the one he helped with and Beatles was the Kapow. If it’s nots Munsters I would love to know what the second licence is.

http://www.head2headpinball.com/2018/07/03/episode-50-joe-kaminkow-from-kapow-pinball/

That’s the one!

Btw another great and enjoyable episode!

Considering BM66 SLE owners still do not have their custom callouts 2 years later, when it was a selling feature of the machine...i'd venture anyone who buys another SLE priced machine from them is an absolute fool. I feel think Stern is overestimating the market for a Beatles machine, as well as how much someone in the non-pinball world is willing to pay for one. They may sell a few SLE or higher priced versions, but I do not think they will sell out. I think this title has a better chance of turning into a WWE part II than it does turning into Iron Maiden or Metallica with respect to sales.

I’m not a SLE owner but I am an LE owner and I’m the first to admit the launch of the game and the first 12 months where a f’in disaster! To the point I could have easily washed my hands of Stern.

But now Lyman has spent the last 12 months pumping out code, I am genuinely a very happy LE owner and the games probably my favourite in my collection.

Lyman single handily saved Sterns plans for the SLE model and their hopes of releasing another SLE, without him Sterns SLE model would be DOA!

Lyman was doing great work on $3500 games. It's not like it's some special treat for $10k-$15k games.

I agree. I think Beatles fans who want a Beatles pinball is akin to Elvis fans. Elvis Gold was like $4k or so when it came out, and those didn't have much hype or demand. Sure there are die-hard Beatles fans, but when they see the price they'll laugh & move on.

I don't see a $25,000 intersection point between Beatles fans and pinball fans, let alone a $50k one. The Beatles ain't no SUPREME. Their marketing to the younger generation has fallen off the cart. Only 10-50% of the kids played Beatles songs in the "react" video knew them, and most songs had 10-20% awareness with kids. The hit 70's songs in general have more awareness.

I DO think they could find a fresh round of suckers for another $15k SLE offering. But if Stern can actually sell 100 $50k Beatles machines, I will be impressed.

SOMeone needs to start an over/under poll for this machine. For whatever model will the most built whether premium or LE.

I’m going with under 8k

It cant be 50k, or 20k, or even 15k.

I get to personally come to your house and point at you and laugh until I've had my fill if anyone pays this for a seawitch reskin.