just saw that. very cool

--Jeff

I figure it'll be the same non-pinhead questions that are asked by every mainstream outlet, starting with "pinball still exists?!"

Wonder if he'll actually finish the interview....would be nice for him to finish something

He should have said prices are up 32%

I love his description of drop targets! LOL!!!

I think he meant X-Men instead of Avatar.

More Tron are being made!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wohooo!!!!!

And second "Pin" is Avengers.

viperrwk

Who else thought, "oh no, here we go again", when he asked, "tell us the history of Stern..."

And he's still claiming that they're the only Pinball manufacturer in the world. I guess Captain Nemo, Full Throttle & WOZ don't count?? SMH, he'll be changing his words soon enough!!

Gary needs some new material. He's like a broken record. All his interviews or talks sound the same.

3 legged stool ford taurus wire favorite game is on the line blah blah blah

Harry Williams, all our games are licensed, were not the last maker, pavlovian...

Someone should make a Gary Stern Quotebot that replies to random Pinside posts with a Gary Stern cliché

I was really hoping to hear how many miles of wire are used in a machine.

And the best part? You can put it on free play, no quarters!!

The CES audience hadn't heard his spiel before.

viperrwk

ok, for us that missed it do they have another way to view it?

Only question I would ask is "where the eff are my code updates"

where is my new god damn sly game.....

It's like pulling on a Barbie doll string with Gary.

*creek!* "Do you know there's half a mile of wire in a pinball machine?"

*creek!* "There's more man hours in a pinball machine then on a Ford Taurus!"

*creek!* "Do you know all pinball machines are made by hand?"

It's Pavlovian pinball.

Pavlovian... What good does it do to tell people this? I doubt many people understand what he is saying. It is really an odd thing to qoute when you are selling a product.

From what I understand these "Pins" are modular, so you probably aren't going to hear the trivia about how much wire is in a "real" pinball when these don't have that much wire.

I think you're vastly underestimating the target audience. He's not selling snake oil to dirt farmers. He's selling expensive luxury items for the home. If you can afford a new pin and you've never heard of Pavlov's dog, you probably inherited your wealth. He's used that same spiel with distributors for years.

A presentation by Gary Stern before the Century Club at the ASI 2004 Industry Show:

"We have to make a game that everyone can understand and enjoy. We make what we call mechanical action pinball. The casual player doesn't notice a light in front of a target. He sees a target drop, or Kenny fall over dead or the Balrog come out. A physical state change. He gets an idea of what to do and he feels good when he does it. It's self-educating and he does it again, it's Pavlovian pinball. We're trying to make a game today to get the casual player without losing the core player."

http://www.sternpinball.com/PR_about.shtml

He didn't say anything about propping up the Russian economy with his vodka purchases... Count me disappointed.

It's like pulling on a Barbie doll string with Gary.

*creek!* "Do you know there's half a mile of wire in a pinball machine?"

*creek!* "There's more man hours in a pinball machine then on a Ford Taurus!"

*creek!* "Do you know all pinball machines are made by hand?"

malibu_gary.jpg

I still think it's an absurd (and confusing) selling point (feature, benefit) to a purchaser.

Try to explain WHY this increases sales saying this...

If he said it was "addictive", that might be more understood by the average person.

But to say it's Pavlovian is pretty far out there.

He claims to be targeting a "casual user", or "broadening the player base".

Saying Pavlovian does not do that.

I saw Walter White in one of the videos......wonder if Jessie and Mike where there.

Agreed, it's not the best terminology. If anything, to me, it's a little demeaning, regulating the "casual player" to a fool who only continues to hit a few drop targets, etc. because the "points beep and go up." However, I would be shocked if the term "Pavlovian" went over anyone's heads -- it sounds fancy, but essentially, 8th-9th grade concept.

Sterns new design team

th-11.jpeg

Should he start making up different answers to the same questions? Have you ever listened to politicians? Actors? Anyone who is interviewed on the same subject over and over again?

Feels a little bit like pot and kettle in this thread, as most of the Stern bashing that goes on is constant regurgitation of the same ol' same.

yup.

He's not doing the interview for us, its for this new customer base they are trying to reach.

I think it's funny that Stern continues to cheapen their games where on the other hand, JJP seems to be all about quality.

Having both companies competing head to head for for sales, I hope this opens Sterns eyes that they're no longer alone in the pinball manufacturing world, and that they have to "up their game" to compete in this market.

How can you say quality when they have not been placed in the hands of a non-biased route operator?

I'll say it; a so-called quality product is not of much use if is not released.

JJP is not producing a machine at anywhere near the price point of "The Pin". It is not even the same target market. For that matter, JJP is not producing a pin anywhere near the cost of the "Pro". If you want to compare, compare WOZ (once it is released) to Stern Premiums/LEs.

He's not talking to casual players at that show. He's talking to distributors with lots and lots of money. He wants to let them know his product is addictive. And that they should buy a bunch of them to sell to the marks (potential addicts).

JJP still as yet has not proven their business model. We'll know in 2 years time if they are still here whether they pulled it off or if there was not much of a market for $7500 pins.

while this may be true, I believe at the $6500 price mark for OZ they are coming close to breaking even. I applaud them for keeping true to the original price point while continuing to add features, but there's a reason why the hobbit price is higher.. They finally realized what it cost to make a pinball machine. On the same token, I still think you're getting more bang for the buck with JJP comparing apples to apples (Stern LE to the one model that JJP has)

But there is a "Standard" WoZ and a ECLE WoZ from JJP.

Only thing I'd say is they should have had George do the talking. He's just better at explaining this stuff I feel.