Quoted from Psw757:

I agree however maybe they are trying to tie the theme and era of band to that era of pinball with some modernization of sound and video.
What do you think would be a reasonable price point for this style of machine?

Quoted from PinMonk:

Accepting the "home use only" terms of the license then guaranteeing that by leaving coin doors off is a definite step backwards.

Quoted from Richthofen:

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.

Quoted from Psw757:

So the classic layout/old school is BS?
Can’t see Harry Potter being an old school layout.

Quoted from Normscoffee:

I suspect the SLEs will immediately sell out. I already put my name on one. I have BM66 SLE but am not in love with the game... actually thinking of selling it. I think this one will be a cool reskin and a brand I will enjoy having in my home. Flame away. I work hard for my money and enjoy my toys. I'm sorry.

Quoted from CrazyLevi:

We went over this with Supreme.
If this sells out, why would anybody be embarrassed for Stern?
People need to get used to the idea that they have a business plan now that apparently includes selling games to "us" and selling expensive boutique games to "them."
Their ultimate goal is to make profits. If they can do that by selling Deadpools to us yahoos and Beatles to my parents, that's a successful, positive business plan.
As usual, people here need to not take this stuff personally. I don't take it as a personal affront to my pride and dignity when McDonald's pulls the McRib off the menu. You shouldn't take it personally when they make and sell a game you don't like.

Quoted from drained:

No need to -- they are gonna sell these to beatle maniacs and that's it. They still want everyone else to buy a deadpool.

Quoted from TheLaw:

New Customers have a shitload to choose from...this is only 1 game that ins;t being marketed to them anyway

Quoted from JodyG:

Currently sold out most places while Metallica is run through the line one last time...

Quoted from TomGWI:

I don't know about you guys but I am waiting for the Monkees Vault edition to come out. They were a huge influence on the Beatles.[quoted image]

Quoted from flynnibus:

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Quoted from iceman44:

Based on Joe’s last interview it sounds like this is his final Kapow “boutique” pin

Quoted from flynnibus:

You don't price your product based on costs... costs dictate the minimums you must cover... not what you sell at. You price your product based on how you market it... ensuring you can cover costs and expected margins.
Until deeproot is transparent on what they are actually building - you shouldn't use them as any landmark on successful product strategies.

Quoted from flynnibus:

This is counter to most pricing and business thinking. You don't want to price individual items in the same family based on their ACTUAL value... all you do is end up cutting out your margin you are normally expecting to pickup across the board. You use pricing to distinguish what you WANT someone to think the value is. Normally there is a competitive angle there too.. but that piece is less 1 : 1 in the pinball market today.
I'm sure Stern is setting their BOM based on what they think the market will tolerate for the product. Benefits for 'more profits' come from volume. Raising the BOM is a risk... because any failure will be that much more of an impact. Given Gary's accounting background... you can see how they would easily follow this line of thinking. You have a target selling price... build the best you can within that.. because the market may not like your 'no limits' pin and we've lost even MORE money on that flop.. vs a flop that stuck to the target costs.

Quoted from iceman44:

I doubt they a sell a few hundred of these

Quoted from iceman44:

The chickens are coming home to roost on this one DC.

Quoted from cottonm4:

I need to borrow your pic. Thanks.
The Rules:
1st Rule) Drop Targets are Seawitch.
Last Rule) Light John, George,Paul and Ringo to increase spinner value. This is Seawitch.
All of the other rules are of this new pin. You are going to have to shoot things when you are told to shoot those things.
Rule) Drop 1-9-6-4 in order. Seawitch you just drop them. To drop those long shots in order will be a monster task.
Rule spell Fab Four) Those are the bottom drops and the 4 in the middle. Not too hard to hit on Seawitch, but if you have to hit something in order for Fab Four to lite up, the magnitude of difficulty greatly increase.
Those of you who think there is nothing here will be surprised. There are some hard things to shoot for on this pin.
I'll keep my Seawitch but I would like to play one of these on Free Play. I think this one will pick your pockets.
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Quoted from Whysnow:

If rumors are true that distributors get 10 packs (7 golds, 2 platinum, and 1 diamond) for 70k, then I would be down for a gamble if 9 others are...
I propose a purchase price of $7100 each person. The Distributor gets to make a grand and does nothing but instruct the drop shipment of games.
For that $7100 each person gets a number from 1-10. We do a random number generator and the first number picked gets the diamond, the next 2 get the platinum, and the rest get gold.
Worst case you pay $7100 plus your actual shipping (or free pickup if you live in chicagoland area) and get a gold. Get lucky and you get the diamond or platinum.
Any distributors want to make an easy grand?
I bet I can find 9 other gambling people to buy that 10 pack

Quoted from klr650:

Seems to be a Pinside forum glitch... Can't seem to see page 48... Anyone else having that issue?
Edit: OK, seems like there has to be 4 new posts before the next page can be seen. I have PM'd Robin to see if it can be fixed.

Quoted from Rolls-Royce:

But I’ll have more time than both of you to play Pinball with my new heated driveway fellas..... no more snow tested 2 days ago...Touché [quoted image][quoted image]

Quoted from Rolls-Royce:

...never is to late to apologize Pinside Members about that post. 24 hours back I was drunk, not buzzed... DRUNK! Just a few minutes ago after eating something the 1st thing to do after that, was to apologize here in "The Beatles Pinball thread" and erase that crap.
Regards

Quoted from vid1900:

Pinsiders know full well what "sold out" means.
They play dumb because that's easier than just admitting that they were wrong about the demand for the Beatles pin.
Even when every single distro says they have 0 left in stock, pindicks will say "Yeah, but collectors did not even buy the game to play, they kept them in boxes to try and flip a decade from now!!!!!!!!!!!1"
"The Beatles was not marketed to me, thus it must totally suck!!!!!!!1"

Quoted from fosaisu:

PM whysnow - he was offering ~$6k but maybe he's got some leads on distributors desperate to move this baby at a serious loss.

Quoted from BeatlesOnly:

After 10 days of reading Pinside posts about the Beatles machine, I have distilled my thoughts into this one giant post.
1. Depsite several Pinsiders trying to clue everyone else in that this pin was made for Beatles fans, the significance of that fact doesn't seem to be sinking in for some. It's not so much a pinball machine as it is a collectible licensed Beatles product. It isn't going to play by the rules of any other pin release. I gleaned from the posts I read that Pinsiders like to buy a machine, play it for a while, sell it and buy a different pin. I get that, but that doesn't describe a Beatles collector. For the most part, they don't buy a rare Beatles record, play it for a while, then sell it so they can get a different record (unless they are upgrading condition). Boredom is rarely a factor with premium Beatles collectors. This is likely the only pin these guys are ever going to have, and they'll keep it a long time. (But wait until the next Beatles pin, distros!)
2. One distro told me he sold his Diamond for $30K; another sold for $25K; the one on eBay has a bid of $25K with time to run. Those are the only Diamond distro sales I know of personally. Other Pinsiders have reported $25K asking prices, so that seems to be the starting line (with one exception noted in #4 below).
3. The vast majority of Pinsiders posting on the Beatles pinball topics have no comprehension of what the Beatles memorabilia world is like, or the number of collectors worldwide. Any licensed memorabilia has a waiting market of persons for whom $25,000 is not an issue. I think I saw a post suggesting there were tens of thousands of pinball enthusiasts; multiply that by at least 100 for the Beatles collectors. They will collect anything related to the Beatles. Collectors at every price point. Got something really cool and rare? Name your price.
4. Beatles memorabilia values are still going up despite the band breaking up almost 50 years ago. Think about that - that's 2.5 generations. Some suggest that now is the time to get out of Beatles collecting (much like those saying now is the time to get out of classic cars) because the core fanbase has more money now than it will ever have, but it is graying and will eventually die off. Maybe, but the Beatles aren't just any band; they're regarded by many authorities as the most significant band of all time (notice I didn't say "best" because that term is meaningless without clarification). You want to see the Beatles' appeal to today's teenagers? Go to a Paul McCartney concert. The guy is still performing in his late 70's, and the audiences have loads of kids. Values for top items like autographs, the rarest records and the coolest limited edition licensed items are not likely to stop their upward march anytime soon. (Best comparable item - Yellow Submarine jukebox.) I'll venture a prediction that the Golds might possibly see some resales under $7500 (only by non-Beatles-fan sellers); Platinums might remain at or near MIB original price; but Diamonds will not depreciate in your lifetime. I suspect many of the 100 Diamonds will never see any play, and those prices 8-10 years from now will be insane. If you're lucky, some distros may sell now for less (like the Beatles Store apparently did by jacking up the price of the Golds), but you'll be competing with buyers who know they can flip them for a profit with a little patience.
There is one caveat, and it's a BIG one. If the Beatles grant licenses for more pinball machines (Sgt Pepper, Yellow Submarine, etc.), all bets are off. Price differences between the three versions should come down. It will be interesting to see Apple Corp saying "The first one sold out - why should we reduce the license fee?", and Stern saying "Yes, but you're diluting the marketplace." The 10-pack strategy and the $8K-$25K price range might not work a second time. It may be more like $8-10-15K.
5. Again, some Pinsiders ignore the fact that the license cost from the Beatles must have been very high, maybe more than any other pin license ever. The reason you don't hear the actual Beatles (as opposed to covers) in commercials and films is because it is more expensive to license than any other music. Therefore, all arguments comparing the price to other pinball releases are moot and without merit - "apples to oranges" as they say.
6. The Seawitch vs. totally-new-game-from-scratch discussion is pointless, as is any discussion about playfield features compared to any other game. Read #1 again. I'd never heard of Seawitch, or Stern for that matter, until this month. Loops, drops, multiball, backglass, HUO, distro, Pro/LE/SLE, code, mechs, IAAPA are some of the pin terms I learned just in the past two weeks. Beatles pin buyers (at least the Plat/Dia buyers) don't know or care doodly about Seawitch, drops or loops, etc.
7. In the 1970's my dad took a used coin-op pinball machine and pool table as payment for a debt. Haven't played pinball in probably 35 years. I agree with some who have opined that the scoring into 8 digits seems odd for a 1960's-based theme, as my only previous experience is with 4 or maybe 5 digits. Wish I still had that machine, or could remember its theme, but it's long gone.
8. I also agree that having no MSRP on the Platinum and Diamond machines is horrible for end users. I have been collecting different kinds of things for 50 years, and I've never seen that strategy before. Distros who can afford the carrying cost of a 10-pack must absolutely love it.
9. Yes, I have put my money where my mouth is. I know of what I speak.
10. And one forum suggestion from someone who has been a member of several special interest forums: if you feed the pot stirrers the attention they can't get anywhere else, they never go away. Stop feeding them.

Quoted from pinballaddict78:

I bought the game yesterday. Have been playing it all morning. The Beatles are one of my favorite bands and after playing this at IAAPA I went ahead and picked this up.
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Quoted from KevInBuffalo:

If you missed it live:

Quoted from TheLaw:

Same as in Seawitch