Did they announce MK as the next Stern pin?

Stranger Things Vecna Edition. Let's go Stern!!!

We're going back to the Grid! Tron: Ares starts filming on July 3. Wouldn't mind a new Tron altogether.

Still thinking Top Gun Maverick would make for a cool (and probably very popular) theme.

BTTF seems to always be on topic.

Heck, plenty of great themes out there, tons of music groups and hero based games still to be done.

Wondering if Stern will ever go back to doing some very generic, no license required, games?

Extremely unlikely. When was the last one they did like that?

On that topic, I asked ChatGPT to create 10 unlicensed pinballs..

1. "Phantom Pursuit"
2. "Wild West Rampage"
3. "Cosmic Crusaders"
4. "Time Warp Clash"
5. "Gizmo Showdown"
6. "Deep Sea Adventure"
7. "Retro Riot"
8. "Enchanted Quest"
9. "Mech Mayhem"
10. "Lost World Legends"

Licensed from williams/planetary.

Woah Nellie? Huge success.
Before that, early days of modern Stern high Roller casino, Sharkey's Shootout, Striker Extreme?

I don't really get the popularity, but it's requested enough I guess. They should just build on F-14 with the license. It would cut the dev time in half and be easy money.

Technically you're right (the best kind of right). But I think when people say "licensed" and "unlicensed" we all know they really mean existing/independent theme and pinball/original theme.

You forgot the

Would bomb with home collectors if they were released at this time, especially at today's NIB Stern prices. In the past, operators were not too concerned about the theme.

I stopped at "you're right."

Hahahahahaha. Monkian humor. Shameful. I must meditate now.

Yep. That sad list is likely why they don't do unlicensed themes anymore. Foo is as close as they're going to get, with the fake 80's cartoon overlay. I can see them doing more of that.

It's hard to come up with something truly original. These are all vague titles that remind me of either games that have already been licensed/made, or possible future licensed titles.

1. "Phantom Pursuit"
The Getaway

2. "Wild West Rampage"
Cactus Canyon

3. "Cosmic Crusaders"
Guardians of the Galaxy

4. "Time Warp Clash"
Back to the Future

5. "Gizmo Showdown"
Gremlins

6. "Deep Sea Adventure"
Fathom, or maybe Avatar 2

7. "Retro Riot"
???

8. "Enchanted Quest"
Lord of the Rings

9. "Mech Mayhem"
Transformers

10. "Lost World Legends"
Jurassic Park

Big Tina Talks Forever.

Lol, got a downvote just for having fun using ChatGPT.. chill !

Yeah pretty much.

Lets face it, any hints at BTTF are just code for Futurama. You just can't get a better theme. Instant buy for so many of us.

futurama-269665233-large-400x600-896813172 (resized).jpg

Just get JK Simmons back to taunt the player and commentate on their play, it was one of the highlights of the 2008 pin and he was also one of the best parts in the Raimi movies.

A good set of writers and Simmons will deliver gold and it’s rumoured to be comic based so no continuity issues with Simmons being on board plus he showed up in the MCU so at this point it should be a must!

Retro Riot could be Heavy Metal Meltdown.

Yeah JK was sorely missed in the comic reskin. He WAS JJJ.

10K by Christmas used to be a joke…WTH happened!?…just sayin’ :/

Bland layout. Go with "gold wings" it has more variety then bland f14 tomcat.

Ok so are we thinking Spider-Man in September? Then Elwin’s Jaws early next year? Or something else in between and Jaws in the summer?

Eddy and Borg should have games before Elwin's next pin.

A Kill Bill LE would look amazing! Honestly, I’ll take all of Quentin’s films as a pin!

Eddy/Dwight/Yeti are the Design/Code/Art team on the next Stern release, confirmed by Gomez.

Would make sense to release Jaws for the summer season, but most seem to think it's Venom next finally. Keith's last cornerstone was Gz, so he will have a release before Borg.

Elwin is kicking off 2024 first release of the year. Will we see a tease before the end of this year though that’s the real mystery.

Ok so Eddy Venom/Spider-Man then Elwin Jaws. Wow

Surprise us with a Reverse Jaws pin..

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After a fruitful Q1 in pinball (+Harry Potter), Venom and Jaws seem... lackluster. Jaws will need to be GZ level or better. Theme-wise, I care less about Jaws than GZ (0%). Heck, other manufacturers aside, Stern is hard-pressed to top Foo. Venom/Jaws ain't it IMO.

All depends on the game though. There’s no way I thought I’d be interested in a Foo Fighters pin until I saw the gameplay streams, completely changed my mind and ordered a pro

Toy Story was also supposed to be an amazing game, now dime a dozen and not really spectacular gameplay or world under glass, but it is fun.
Foo? fun too, but I see A LOT of people dumping these games with less than 100 plays all over the marketplace, kind of weird... I played it, It is ok, do not need to own one. Maybe it is overhyped and the last-ability is not there?

Jaws for me is a cool theme, especially over Potter - which could easily be underwhelming without a perfect world under glass in the current trend of keeping the BOM cheap - especially because I do not trust JJP ability to produce a fun machine.

I am ready to be disappointed by JJP whereas Stern has put out hit after hit in the last 3 years.

I think that's more to do with "Will buy every new Stern, then dump after a few months" mentality Stern enjoys -- which also aligns with your point about Foo. Stern Pros are the cheapest on the market (excluding "Home" pins obv). Maybe theme doesn't matter. People will buy them anyway. Distributors still have NIB inventory of most games of the last 3 years. Don't know if that's because they are still selling or not selling.

Some of these were first-run Pros where the buyer then decided to upgrade to a Premium instead. That signifies more demand for the title, not less. Not sure how many, but I've seen at least several offers saying that.

Yep, had a Pro so I could get the testing for the flipper done right away and the mods going while waiting for the LE. Sold the Pro, have the LE now.

More worried next theme is Brian Eddy. Not a fan other than medieval madness /attack. Mando was just okay. Stranger not my fav. Hope with new higher price they have more bom to work with.

Keep hoping.

Not a fan of The Shadow, one of the greatest pin designs ever? Attack from Mars?

I'm still hoping for an encore of The Shadow or AfM-level greatness from Eddy.

I've seen a post or two about it being too easy. Any truth to that, or maybe is it an early code thing? Or just false?

I haven’t seen posts saying the pro is easy, just the pro flows better. I think both the pro and premium/le are flow monsters and not easy. I’ve played both a dozen times but certainly need more time on it.

I think i wasn't clear, my fault. I meant as in on the easy side to solve, complete, subsequently get bored of.... That kind of easy. Not shots.

The machine is not easy at all

Foo Pro is absolutely easier than the Prem/LE. For example, you can start Area 51 on the Pro by simply spamming the right ramp. On the Prem/LE you have to hit the ramp AND THEN loop the mini playfield an increasing number of times and then outer loop the mini PF to hit the hidden target when the diverter raises. MUCH harder. On the Pro you can (and I often did) start it by accident - it's that easy.

Also, I think people are getting TO the unfinished Overlord wizard mode that's not in it, but there's a lot of side stuff like Sonic Radio and the (also not in the game yet) Combotron. I think there's quite a bit more to be fleshed out in the code and it will end up in Deadpool territory, but with less linear paths to the end.

Yeah, Foo (both models) is on the easy side, but deservedly so. A big part of it is that all the shot angles are so perfect. The spinner is dead center and easy to rip with any flowing feed, the upper ramp is exactly in the sweet spot from that flipper, the overlord shot is easy too, and the left ramp is close up and also easy to hit. This is the opposite of both Bond and Rush, where every shot feels like it's just out of the sweet spot.

The game structure is also fairly easy, since the modes are simple and you can retry and resume until you finish them, unlike say AIQ. Not every game has to be a punishing titanic battle, some can be a fun upbeat romp. I agree that Foo is the next Deadpool, and that's a positive assessment. I don't think there are a lot of owners dumping Foo because it's easy, although there may be a few.

I personally enjoy scoring high at pinball and because of that I enjoy Foo Fighters. You nailed it on the geometry - spinner to side ramp is like butter. I think there is a ton in this game that is achieveable but there are still plenty of ways to have quick games if you're not staying focused or finding the shots. And even if some of the modes are on the easier side, there is a variety of difficulty in there when you account for Roswell and Chicago. Its got a lot to love at only .94 - I suspect anyone getting rid of it for non-upgrade reasons maybe just took a shot based on the layout but don't like the band.