With that attitude we'll never see the Beatles, Hendrix, Ozzy, Zeppelin, Doors or Pink Floyd.

Or Bee Gees.

KISS code seems to be coming along and Aerosmith seems t be fun as well. I don't think you can go wrong on any of them honestly
Ac/dc are the cream of the crop, with ac/DC probably getting a slight edge.

Hmm, from the man who normaly knows things, Iron Maiden in Judas Priest font.....what‘s going on?

I’m sure there are arguments to be made about who it falls on to promote the machines but... did Metallica (or Kiss or Aerosmith) advertise/promote their own machine in tour flyers or in any media other than through stern? Considering it’s a great game and all getting the band to talk up the game might move a few extra units or at least let their huge fan base know there’s a machine made after their favorite band. Would have loved to hear them casually mention it when they appear on Howard Stern etc. If only there were a job that could allow me to tour with them, set up a few pro & premium models in the venue and lure some fans in to play...

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Stern already made a Iron Maiden machine.

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Are you hinting of some good news for TPF next week?

Then it's gonna be a vault

Legacy Of The Beast is coming

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Awesome ha. I will be disappointed if you don't use this font in every reply you make.

It would be even cooler if they were using Maiden font and not Judas Priest font.

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2016 Ghostbusters playfield problems, 2017 Trudeau arrest - both those years did not hit this mark - 2016, especially, was a Stern dumpster fire. They're still struggling to finish the 2016 and 2017 machines they threw out the door with unfinished code. Can they do 3 in 2018 that will sell?

Only if one of them is Elvira 3.

With Deeproot taking one of the designers, it sounds like Elvira 3 has either moved to Deeproot or is in trouble at Stern. TPF will be a good indicator - if there's silence, it's not coming in 2018.

That pic is hilarious. Where's it from?

Also, at least according to Wikipedia Stern put out at least three games in 2015 (WrestleMania, Kiss, GOT, plus Whoa Nellie), 2016 (SM Vault, GB, BM 66), and 2017 (Aerosmith, Star Wars, GOTG, plus AC/DC vault). So I wouldn't bet against them doing the same in 2018.

Hard to say. Word is Nordman turned in the design over a year ago to Stern. Whether they wind up making it or not remains to be seen.

When Stern is using the term "Cornerstone", Vaults(Spider-man, AC/DC) and Boutique runs (Nellie) aren't included in that count.

Ah, that is more ambitious then. So no vaults this year, only new releases?

At least we can tell from the silhouettes that they're not doing a wide body ...

I think there could still be vaults.

I'm skeptical about them having three cornerstone releases in 2018. Usually, when they have three in a year (like 2012, 2015, 2017), the first one is already out or been announced by now.

Since AC/DC was last year (even if Luci was put out this year - I think just to strech things out), my guess would be that we will see 3 games this year: 2 new titles and a vault.

Agreed.

But not three cornerstone titles.

That's 3 cornerstones in 2015, 1 in 2016, and 2 in 2017, but the only way they made that was by dumping BM'66, Star Wars, and GotG out the door with very unfinished code. That I.O.U. stack is building up, and they can't pull that cheat much longer. They need to catch up on code AND get machines with at least 1.0 code out the door. That's a very tall order.

True.. but they have hired more developers

I'm not saying they can't right the ship and dig out, but doing 3 cornerstones AND a vault AND digging out seems like a very Gomez-y statement.

I had not heard the term "cornerstones" before so I assumed that meant "we are shipping three pinball machines this year." Sinestro got me up to speed though a few posts back.

I understand that BM66 and GOTG were a mess (and maybe still are?) on the code front, but SW was actually pretty good within a month of the first games shipping, and has been essentially feature complete since fall. Doesn't mean that will be the case with any or all of their games this year, of course.

Should we be reading more into the phrase “cornerstone”? Its kind of an unusual way to say we’re pumping out 3 games this year. Any chance they pull something out of the vault cellar? A new nine ball or another stern “cornerstone” game

Perhaps they are referring to their own titles (Vault and New) vs contract/partner games?

Vaults are not cornerstones. Cornerstones are always new non-contract, non-boutique (Kapow, etc) Stern titles.

We already have one Stern boutique pin for 2018. Totally forgot about Supreme (easy to do).

Would like to see Elvira produced for sure.

Munsters would be a top choice for me if they did it in the future ...

Precisely.

only a couples days to go ... run to the hills!

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Fingers crossed double-hard Stern isn't copying layouts and code like the recent music pins. This deserves to be a really awesome, really special effort from top to bottom, including the art package. I REALLY want to own this one at the Premium level, but I won't support a half-assed, code unfinished effort. Those days are over.

Batman '66 was not a boutique. It was joint venture to some degree, but not a boutique. It has been made in regular numbers like any other cornerstone.

You don't need to worry about that. All indications are that Keith Elwin's design style isn't like anyone currently working at Stern.

Batman'66 was DEFINITELY promoted as a boutique pin. It did not have "normal" rollout (no Pro level, Super-LE added).

I hear you and hope you're right because I WANT this pin. But with Stern's recent track record of the last few years, I will worry about ALL of it until it's out the doors and into real-life. I will believe nothing Stern says, prints, or promises about future code or upcoming features. I will live in the here and now. The only safe place for a Stern buyer these days.

You may think what you want but it's still a normal cornerstone title. (Wich is basically a "new" game you can order from your favorite pinball retailer.)
It's definately not a usual Stern game but then again, it was the 30th anniversary and with JJP expanding to the higher price market, why shouldn't Stern? Batman Premium is still available, not limited, made inside Stern so what exactly is 'boutique' here?

Non-Cornerstone are Vaults and Titles you don't buy via Stern itself and/ or usual retailers like Pabst Blue Ribbon, Supreme, even Spiderman Home in a way.

Yes exactly, Fair enough for Stern to cash in on BM66
The strategy may be some what questionable ? however, huge license, huge effort
I finally got to play BM66 at Rotordaves Pincade and thought it was brilliant.

I'm a Bally/Williams man from way back but have to say the feel,flow and awesomeness of new Sterns 2015-2018 so far have been rather cool..

Glad Kieth and the team are working smart with IMDN to not release prematurely,
Lets see a 1.0 release ? + Rock solid hardware with audio, lights and graphics to blow our minds !!!
Good job team Stern, take the time to get IMDN right out of the box please

Cheers,
Ando

Based on Stern’s latest FB post about TPF it doesn’t look like there will be any reveal. Gary doesn’t even appear to be going.

I hope I’m wrong for sure, but not looking good.

Guys this bubble was burst last week. Bummer but it happens. If the reason is to squeak out more sales of existing games at TPF I think it’s a big mistake. It also sends a message to the most rabid of collector / fans that they really don’t want your business and would rather just throw the photos on IGN.

If the reason is licensing or it’s just not ready that’s different. We may never know.

I was holding out hope. This is like getting back with an ex that you hope has changed. Then they turn out to be crazier than ever.

Sounds more like deeproot...

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Zombie Yeti posted on Facebook that he will miss TPF "for good pinball reasons!".

So I don't think we will see a reveal there, but it's a good sign. I am sure now that Iron Maiden with Zombie Yeti on the arts will come.

Stern sticking to the plan of April release.

Well said.