Quoted from mronemoretime:

I ordered my GZPrem on 3/4/2022, and it is scheduled to finally be delivered 3/28/2023. 389 days later. I paid in full over 2 months ago, and I've been reminding them periodically. It seems like these are widely available now. Just wondering if I'm doing something wrong here. Plus this is the 5th game I've bought from them. Should I find another distributor? I know this has been a HOT pin, but am I an outlier, or does this seem normal?

Quoted from mronemoretime:

I ordered my GZPrem on 3/4/2022, and it is scheduled to finally be delivered 3/28/2023. 389 days later. I paid in full over 2 months ago, and I've been reminding them periodically. It seems like these are widely available now. Just wondering if I'm doing something wrong here. Plus this is the 5th game I've bought from them. Should I find another distributor? I know this has been a HOT pin, but am I an outlier, or does this seem normal?

Quoted from JodyG:

Stern has publicly stated that they are bringing some of the external operations in house at the new facility. It can be assumed that these are some of the operations which caused delays in the past, so they can be more in control of lead times.
Having another production line running will also hopefully allow them to be able to better stock their distributors going forward. I am not sure how many lines they are going to have...but having at least 3 separate lines would allow them to produce new release Pro/Prem/LE machines concurrently at launch, and strike at the point of peak FOMO and "gotta have it now" folks.

Quoted from gandamack:

A full month dedicated to IMDN? I would bet May gets split up with another title.

Quoted from Sorokyl:

Making LE, prem, and then Pro in that order is a calculated decision and I doubt they'd make them all at the same time even if they could.

Quoted from radium:

I’m surprised theyre making more Bonds

Quoted from Jackontherocks:

I am thinking of getting the Maiden. Quick question are any issues if existed on previous made 2018 version being addressed or fixed or tweaked for new run that anyone is aware of on Maiden?

Quoted from Jackontherocks:

I am thinking of getting the Maiden. Quick question are any issues if existed on previous made 2018 version being addressed or fixed or tweaked for new run that anyone is aware of on Maiden?

Quoted from Jackontherocks:

I am thinking of getting the Maiden. Quick question are any issues if existed on previous made 2018 version being addressed or fixed or tweaked for new run that anyone is aware of on Maiden?

Quoted from Herm:

I have an HoH premium on order and last week when I checked I was told last week they said there was a parts delay with Elvira. Any weight with that?

Quoted from John-Floyd:

hopefully they will ditch that awful yellow T-molding on IM Premium. It’s one of the first things I’ll be changing when mine arrives.

Quoted from OGpinball:

Agreed - Bond seems to be everywhere and anywhere you want to buy one.

Quoted from PanzerKraken:

They will likely cut the run short, most places got a ton of these and it seems like every dealer has some still in stock. I think everyone expected it to do better, initial orders were quite high, our local place got a TON of them in. And then now dealers are kind of stuck with stock now as word of "meh" code is out there. They should consider pushing back the run if possible to help move stock, or if anything they are gonna shorten the planned April run.

Quoted from ASAC_Schrader:

I wish Stern would stop shooting themselves in the foot by releasing games with early unfished code. It kills sales of the game. Same happened with Stranger Things. Then once they get it good they stop making the game. Such a weird business model.

Quoted from Grantman:Yes, I'd like to know what the thinking/reason is behind this. If the games have a reputation of "the code sucks," then they are obviously not going to sell as many.

Quoted from Sorokyl:

It takes longer to write software than develop the hardware, especailly with all the video assets. Also, you don't exactly know what you want the software to do until you've finished the hardware. Having games out in the wild does help inform how the software should be tuned (but doesn't really excuse lack of modes)
Let's say it takes 1 year to have the SW in a good place after the pin HW is finished. if you're doing 2 games a year, and it took 18 months to develop the HW, you're trying to keep 5 games underwraps simultaneously but that's not working that well, so the community knows about most of the games that are out there, and they're not buying game A because they know they may want game C instead.
Maybe one of your employees left and went to the competitor, and they know about your killer new feature that you've already developed but aren't releasing for 2 years, so they could realistically beat you to it.
Maybe your licensing agreement starts when you sign it, and it's not practical to wait 2.5 years before you actually start shipping pins.
I'm sure people can come up with a lot of other reasons you might not want to just sit until your SW is done. I think you guys just don't understand how long SW development can take to get to the 'final' iteration.

Quoted from Jason_Jehosaphat:

Oh, fork!
For real?
Not good.
I'm waiting for my shipping alert from my distro but it's not coming and I'm starting to worry. I know this last run was interrupted and as a result went from one week to three. I also know that some distros are still waiting for their machines. I'm trying to nail down when I can assume that I missed out. Don't you think distros will have all the games their going to get by, say, April 1st? I thought Stern ships games as quickly after they're boxed as possible. If Foo has been on the line for more than a week, EHOH has been OFF the line for more than a week, no?

Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

Bond Prem owner here. Right now... the Action Button doesn't do anything and MOST of the modes on the instruction card don't actually exist in the game. You'd think they could atleast program the modes listed on the instruction card which was printed before any of the games shipped.

Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

Bond Prem owner here. Right now... the Action Button doesn't do anything and MOST of the modes on the instruction card don't actually exist in the game. You'd think they could atleast program the modes listed on the instruction card which was printed before any of the games shipped.

Quoted from Jkush18:

I was in the second round of most recent EHOH runs. Got shipping notice yesterday and game should arrive tomorrow! Distro in GA.

Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

Bond Prem owner here. Right now... the Action Button doesn't do anything and MOST of the modes on the instruction card don't actually exist in the game. You'd think they could atleast program the modes listed on the instruction card which was printed before any of the games shipped.

Quoted from Herm:

I got the arrival notification from my distributor and it’s heading my way today. A friend of mine who was chatting with his distributor about my order said that Stern is half way through the production run. The other half should be done next week.

Quoted from FalconDriver:

Kicking myself as I got my deposit back last year.

Quoted from Pin_Fandango:

I see this in a lot of distros. This titles are not sellling? Or is it that actually nothing is selling?

Quoted from SantaEatsCheese:

You'd think they could atleast program the modes listed on the instruction card which was printed before any of the games shipped.

Quoted from JodyG:

Foo Pro's and a random Star Wars cab on the line today.

Quoted from JackG:

Thank you, Gubbin for sharing the info you received. I believe Bond 60 is off the line as FF Pros are starting to be shipped out. So let's move the schedule along. I heard some other rumors, but none confirmed so don't want to share that. Also, on the latest George Gomez podcast interview on Free Play Pinball Podcast, Gomez kinda alluded to Stern doing a vault this year. Looks like there's a spot right after Deadpool in July. But putting all these old games first and with the demand of FF, I'm wondering if Stern is ready for another price increase in the summer with a vault or in September? Most likely at least by new year again.
Mar 2023 - Foo Fighters Pro (mainly for ops)
Mar 2023 - Foo Fighters LE
Apr 2023 - Foo Fighters Premium
Apr 2023 - Bond Pro & Premium
May 2023 - JP Premium
May 2023 - Iron Maiden Pro & Premium
Jun 2023 - Godzilla Pro & Premium
Jun 2023 - AIQ Pro & Premium
July 2023 - Deadpool Pro & Premium
July 2023 - FF Pro (home buyers)
Aug 2023 - FF Premium
Aug 2023 - Star Wars Pro & Premium
Sep 2023 - Cornerstone - Rumored to be Venom
Oct 2023 - JP Pro
Nov 2023 - Godzilla Premium
Nov 2023 - Mandalorian Pro & Premium
Dec 2023 - Bond Pro

Quoted from JodyG:

Foo Pro's and a random Star Wars cab on the line today.

Quoted from crujones4life:

Hold up! Why is there a Star Wars LE on the line in 2023?! 6 years after they were made?! It's almost as if Stern has access to a time machine of sorts...a DeLorean possibly?[quoted image]

Quoted from JustEverett:

Waiting since Oct 21 here. GZ arrives tomorrow. There seems to be so much demand the GZ that it’s just really tough to find. I did find one about 6 months ago I could have swapped too, but I decided not to burn the bridge with a distro I’ve enjoyed working with for years.

Quoted from Damagio:

I placed my order for GZ Premium on 7/22/22. Was hoping for February/March, but that did not happen. I didn't really expect it to....just hoping. June will be here soon, and hopefully that will be my lucky month. I knew it would be a long wait, and my dealer told me that right up front. Sounds like I am getting closer.

Quoted from Damagio:

I placed my order for GZ Premium on 7/22/22. Was hoping for February/March, but that did not happen. I didn't really expect it to....just hoping. June will be here soon, and hopefully that will be my lucky month. I knew it would be a long wait, and my dealer told me that right up front. Sounds like I am getting closer.

Quoted from Damagio:

I placed my order for GZ Premium on 7/22/22.

Quoted from TonyP66:

Same exact time as me! I am thinking June or November run from Flip N Out.

Quoted from Damagio:

I am really hoping for June! I've had a hole in the line up for too long! LOL

Quoted from Damagio:

I placed my order for GZ Premium on 7/22/22. Was hoping for February/March, but that did not happen. I didn't really expect it to....just hoping. June will be here soon, and hopefully that will be my lucky month. I knew it would be a long wait, and my dealer told me that right up front. Sounds like I am getting closer

Quoted from gandamack:

Wow. I decided I wanted a Zilla Prem in Feb of this year. Placed an order and got it two weeks later. I find it slightly annoying that some distros take deposits outside their allotment numbers. Not cool in my opinion.

Quoted from johnnyutah:

March 19th I decided to check out the marketplace here on Pinside on a whim and a Stern Dealer had a NIB GZ Pre for MRSP listed. I called and bought it. They said they had 2 they just got from Stern. I’d keep checking the marketplace here, they seem to pop up the last few weeks.

Quoted from gandamack:

Wow. I decided I wanted a Zilla Prem in Feb of this year. Placed an order and got it two weeks later. I find it slightly annoying that some distros take deposits outside their allotment numbers. Not cool in my opinion.

Quoted from AMartin56:

Same here but I paid a bit over MSRP to get it done

Quoted from Sarge:

My (former) distributor made me buy an "overstocked" JP pro in order to get the Zilla Premium they had listed in stock, (would only "bundle" them together) then gave me the shaft when the playfield was shit, and also lied about shipping options/cost.
Worst customer service I've ever received.
No wonder they had games in stock...

Quoted from Sarge:

My (former) distributor made me buy an "overstocked" JP pro in order to get the Zilla Premium they had listed in stock, (would only "bundle" them together) then gave me the shaft when the playfield was shit, and also lied about shipping options/cost.
Worst customer service I've ever received.
No wonder they had games in stock...