(Topic ID: 292222)

This is the Way - Stern Mandalorian Pinball is Here!!

By zpinman370

2 years ago


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  • 7,620 posts
  • 817 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 5 months ago by brzezicki
  • Topic is favorited by 159 Pinsiders

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“This is the Way - Stern Mandalorian Pinball is Here!!”

  • Who's In 440 votes
    45%
  • Who's Out 198 votes
    20%
  • Don't Care 337 votes
    35%

(975 votes)

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Topic index (key posts)

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Post #2976 Super Awesome Pinball Show interview with Brian Eddy. Posted by jellikit (2 years ago)

Post #3298 First look and initial impressions. Posted by ZMeny (2 years ago)


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42
#2163 2 years ago

It looks like Another Stern Pinball to me, and that's not a diss, they've really stepped up their quality imo. Just flash back, if you were even around to remember it, to the dark times at Stern. Austin Powers anyone? (Of course, what did that game sell for?)

The playfield art looks great. No photoshopped collages here, we get solid hand drawn art packages on almost every game. It was special on Metallica, it's standard now.

Every character you want might not be present, but we got Luke on the sling, and that alone is cool to me. Custom callouts from an actor from the show. They do that more often now. Sounds like plenty of assets.

The Grogu doll is kinda lame. No sugar coating it, it's like they just skipped straight to the modders putting dolls on the playfield. It doesn't do anything, and I can't defend it. But I do get it, it's the thing people want to see, they expect Baby Yoda. The creativity was ... lacking on the attempt though.

I dunno about the upper playfield, have to play it. Why is it Mando's head? Kinda odd choice, but okay. End of the day it's really just a feature to check off on a matrix. "Tilting upper playfield, check". I feel like it won't have long lasting play appeal, it's more of a location gimmick to me. But pinball is such that the "location model" doesn't have it. So it goes.

And that's what you get with Stern. Really competent, well done, pinball to feed the pinball market. A LE to make more money for people who have to have the collector version. (Distributors are the new flippers now I guess? The greed cycle continues.) They'll make these, they'll do the code to whatever point where it's called done, and then start selling the next one. That's what they do, and they're good at it.

I feel no need to spend money on these games anymore personally. They're not anything more special or fun than plenty of other titles, the value proposition is gone for me at the prices they command. But if you've got the cash and want it I hope it's a lot of fun. I think the show is great, good license, happy to see it happen.

30
#2171 2 years ago
Quoted from ThePinballCo-op:

There are a number of Sterns at the co-op that I'm fixing quite often. Screws came loose and fell out of multiple ramps and the T-Rex in the JP. There were two wires that fell off the T-Rex as well. The subway on the Avengers has never really worked right. The ball also got stuck under the hand in the back right on ball plunges.

I'm really just talking about presentation. I hear you about the physical issues.

It is my opinion that modern pinball is mostly crummier in quality than in the past across the board. Not trying to turn this thread into Another Dimples Discussion, or Why Is My Clear Pooling and Chipping Off, but I think any of us who own 90s games know that there are things that aren't done how they used to be. It's been discussed to death, and it is what it is.

You pay more, and you get less, in a lot of ways. And as I said, I'm not a buyer anymore, they're just games and the prices are too wacky to justify to me. But as far as "fun discussion of new pinball goes" I just felt like saying Stern deserves credit for the things they do better now.

Otherwise it's just another pinball, and I think anyone lining up to drop $10k+ without even seeing it, let alone playing it, is crazy. I do think the LE backglass looks better after seeing the angled photo with the mirroring on Pinball News, but whether or not you think it's the best art package or not (personally not my fav of the three) it's certainly not worth thousands more to me compared to the others which at the very least look great.

--

Mini life advice section you can skip if you don't care:

My advice to everyone is take a small break at some point. Stop reading Pinside for a month, stop checking the news sites, stop listening to the podcasts. Just for a little bit, to get a little space in your brain. You can still play pinball lol. And then just evaluate whether it's actually sane to get so frothed up about a new game you haven't even seen that you're putting down thousands of dollars in deposits. Because I think when you get to the point like someone else in this thread mentioned, where you can't sleep the night before a game reveal, that you're maybe in a little deeper than is healthy.

Just my advice, ignore as you see fit. I think though that with everything in modern life, social media, the internet in general, that taking a break is a good way to get a little perspective on what matters. And if you find that taking a month off, or 2 weeks even, is hard, then that's kinda telling too in a way, right?

17
#2232 2 years ago
Quoted from colonel_caverne:

What would make you buy again a pinball machine? In fact i didn’t understand if you were talking about Stern or pinball in general.

If there was a game I wanted badly enough that I had to have it that would mean it was more important to me than one of the last 3 games I've held on to after culling my collection, I'd simply sell modded Tron or my Metallica LE and "trade in" for it.

In that sense it's not impossible that I'd get a new game again. It's a sunk cost, that's fine. I'm sure I could get enough of either title to pay for a Premium, or close enough that the cash difference would be whatever. The new games just don't excite me enough to do it I guess. Maybe if I get a trade op on an Iron Maiden or something, I'd like to own a game from Elwin at some point I think. No rush.

But pay cash for a new game, at these prices? From anyone, not just Stern? Pass.

It's just pinball. A game in a box. They're very cool, and I still appreciate them and the hobby, but blowing $10k on one isn't remotely appealing. That kind of play money can do so many more things for me. I think this site has become the frog in the boiled water, people think it's normal now. I promise you, people who aren't enabled by their fellow collectors don't think it's normal to spend that money, on a game you've never even seen, let along played, they think it's crazy.

They think it's crazy, and they're not even informed enough to know what a gamble buying a new game is just on the code alone.

You know when I bought my Metallica LE (I would have taken a Prem, didn't find one before the LE came up, wanted the hammer and lighting) ?

After the code was mature. There was a big update when the game became much better, some might recall it, and that's when I found one and bought it. Still have it all these years later, still enjoy it, couldn't care less that I "missed out" on the early code and having it new.

You don't have to have the newest game right away. Your neighbors don't care and aren't impressed. (And if they are, why are you spending all that money to impress your neighbors?)

Anyways, sorry, you asked, so there's the answer. Keep buying these new games folks, the rest of us can't buy them off you used later when the code is done if you don't!

#2330 2 years ago
Quoted from metallik:

New Pros are still 6Kish, not 10K.

For sure. But this is what I mean, only frogs who haven't checked their thermometer would think that $6k was actually reasonable for a Pro. It just feels like $6k isn't that bad because it's not $10k.

I'm not an idiot, nobody has to explain BOM to me, or inflation, or labor and factory costs, or distributor cuts or anything else. It's a free market, and I'm a capitalist who sells pinballs mods here and there for a profit. In theory it's possible Pinball Bros will cut me a check for Alien some day too, I'll believe it when I cash it, but I could absolutely benefit from people buying NIB games in theory. Buy away!

Quoted from tr8785:

PS. I literally just got done playing a wonderfully restored Shaddow, five minutes ago. There is no way original Shaddow holds itself up to a modern stern title.

To each their own. I like Stern games, when I cut my collection down I kept a couple. I also kept my Shadow. I'd sell my last Sterns before I'd sell my Shadow.

I think people make too much fuss over "muh code depth!" or LCDs. Shadow or Mandalorian, which is the better game? I'd be a fool to even speculate, I haven't played the latter. But I already have a good sense for which one has the better upper playfield, and which one has the innovative ramp mechanics than bring a special physical feel to playing you won't find anywhere else.

#2343 2 years ago
Quoted from snaroff:

Hey Aurich, nice seeing you back on Pinside!
While I understand the prices are hard to stomach, it's not much of a "sunk cost". It's a place to park some cash - if it's a reasonable game, you will get most of your money back (or better). NOB is clearly better than NIB, but most folks are impatient and choose to ignore the benefits.

Hey man, I have good timing I guess. I came back to give some people emailing me an update and saw all the Mando talk, hadn't been following it at all. New pin time always fun.

It's a good theme, cool designer, I'm looking forward to some gameplay video. Or actually playing, what a thought. I love Star Wars, always happy to see new cool stuff for it regardless.

I just find that not being around Pinside for months at a time makes the price stuff just feels weirder than ever to read about. It's not my first rodeo, but still, the new level of greed on the LEs before they were even revealed feels unhealthy to me. Sure, let the distributors gouge people instead of the flippers, I don't care who makes out really. But neither are really a symptom of a healthy ecosystem. Those sunk costs will become more properly sunk at some point.

Blah, blah, bubbles. Just saying, always good to remember that sunk costs eventually do sink.

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#2350 2 years ago
Quoted from metallik:

maybe your idea of how much it costs to make pinball machines is flawed?

You don't have to explain the costs to me, I listed a bunch of them in my post, I've fought for including things in the BOM on a game. And I'm a free market capitalist when it comes to luxury goods, let's let people spend their money as they want to. Or charge what the market will bear. It's cool, really. Just ... is the value still there? That's the real question.

It's just a discussion, but value and costs are not the same thing.

Distributors jacking prices isn't a cost thing, it's a value thing. They're gambling that enough people will find the value that it will balance out any blowback they get. Maybe they're right. Personally I never found much value in a distributor to begin with. Take my payment and your cut, and then my game drop ships from Stern and I call them with any problems? Alright.

I bought my TNA straight from Spooky and gave them all the profit. I liked that better personally.

Quoted from metallik:

Your frog theory is a little whacked, as game sales keep going up and up...

Maybe I should call it the Disco Stu theory instead.

#2362 2 years ago
Quoted from RDReynolds:

He always does. He’s awesome.

breathtaking.gifbreathtaking.gif

I should email you btw, people been buggin' me lately.

46
#2420 2 years ago
Quoted from dnapac:

The artwork is just a SW remake...seriously, hire a real artist...

It's almost like ... they hired the same artist who drew the Star Wars comic version to do this one, but this time he got to draw all his own assets from scratch instead of needing to just recreate what was there already in a new style.

His name is Randy Martinez. I think his style fits the game well. We've come a long way from the old days of Photoshop collages, but there's always someone who sees this and has to make it weirdly personal because it's not what they want and feel like they need to say "hire a real artist".

mandalorian-pinball-premium-details-ambient-20 (resized).jpgmandalorian-pinball-premium-details-ambient-20 (resized).jpg

#2431 2 years ago
Quoted from Fizz:

In the mandalorian series, what is Grogu's favorite toy, which he plays with all the time?
The knob from one of the ship's control levers... A LITTLE F'ing SILVER BALL! And he even uses the Force to get it sometimes.

I think I saw it on Stern’s site as an aftermarket shooter rod. I’m sure that was the plan from the get go, it’s sort of an obvious accessory to sell really.

11
#2439 2 years ago
Quoted from seenev:

How many episodes was Luke in? One?

You know you’re reaching the weird argument stage when someone is mad Luke Skywalker is featured on a Star Wars pin.

At least the real supporting star of the show, my man Kuiil, made the Pro back glass.

#2463 2 years ago

Of all the little details Luke making the sling probably makes me the happiest. I don’t hate the new movies, but there’s no denying the catharsis old fans felt seeing young Luke wrecking sh*t at the end of Season 2.

Our boy got his peak Jedi screen time, and we get a reminder on the pin, that’s great. It’s the kind of thing that could have been lost in license nonsense.

I choose to be happy for things like that. Maybe you’re not that kind of fan, that’s okay. If I ever get a chance to play this game I’m gonna look at it and smile.

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