Seems like it will be a while for the next with the manufacturing woes. GB was announced 4 months ago and seems like only a small batch of pros have been made. Hopefully Stern will use the time to get color displays finally in a pin. Painful to keep seeing great games with terrible displays.

Careful what you ask for. Have you seen what is popular in music nowdays? Ugh. Rather have grandpa rock than that garbage.

I would love that. Be great if it was a spoof with a ton of humor. Doubt Stern would do that, though. Probably stick with same formula that has worked. Can't blame them since they can't make them fast enough.

I know the consensus is acdc is the best seller but MET has to be up there especially since MET has the better pro. Seems like it's easy money to keep production running.

Star Wars pin is going to be hard to pull off. There are already 7 movies and more to come. I don't see it coming together well and high probability that Stern will phone it in. Easy sell on theme alone.

If Stern is doing Aerosmith with color display and top talent, it would be cool if they also did a retheme with a more modern band. Just change out the art, songs, and animations. Same for a new Star Wars pin. One based on the original trilogy and another based on the new movies.

I get Iron Maiden. Lot's of fans, fills stadiums, lots of merch, blah blah blah. There is a lot of pop music that is very popular around the world and a lot of aging bands with aging fans. Most of that music does not appeal to me but whatever. Any theme can be good if done right but none of this pop stuff sounds very exciting. It would be cool to see themes that are a bit more unique, obscure, or fresh. Everything seems very predictable and very similar to what they have done before. Not sure what else you can do with a rock pin. Songs will probably be modes, some kind of Sparky looking bash toy, a couple of ramps, and two flippers.

Visuals in the new Top Gun trailer look amazing. Old movie was a bit cheesy but true 80s classic. Problem with Goonies is it was just one movie and not as popular as other stuff from the 80s. I would love to see more 80s retro goodness so not going to complain if a Goonies pin is made.

Same here. I rarely watch any TV anymore. Someone told me Stranger Things was pretty good and my kids wanted to see it. Season 1 was awesome. Season 2 not so much but ended strong with season 3. They did a great job leaving you hanging at the end of each episode and wanting more. The show mostly centers around kids/teenagers but it's not a kids show at all. If it was a movie, it would probably be PG13 with the language, violence, and adult content. My kids did not catch most of the jokes because they were aimed at people my age that grew up in the 80s. It would probably be the one pin that my kids would totally be interested in.

Stern's qc guy has been on a long smoko. lol

Exact same thing with me. Heard good things about it and had some people tell me personally I would love it. Most TV shows don't really interest me so blew it off. Kids started talking about it and we finally gave it a go. We were instantly hooked and stayed up late watching extra episodes. I can't think of another modern theme that is popular among different ages. Adults are into it and so are the kids. My kids were almost bullied for not watching it sooner. Much better theme than some old movie or dinosaur band. Pokemon has some popularity with different ages but that sounds like a horrible pin imo. That stuff is better off in the video game world. I would love, love a Mad Max pin but I know that is a long shot. Less appeal but could be soo good.

Kills me that I didn't get into pinball until much later. $1800 was still a decent amount of money back then - close to $3000. Could of got a lot of now expensive games for cheap. Amazing how much the internet has changed our lives and economics in such a short time.

People are buying games completely blind? That's crazy. Wouldn't you at least like to see a picture or have some description of what you are buying? It's not like every Stern has been a masterpiece.

Not only that but how many people want LOTR that don't already own one or owned one in the past? And then you get into how many of those can actually afford a premium+ price for a new one. I also don't think many locations want an old looking expensive game when they can get a pro with lcd, better sound, and modern theme for much less.

So far, it seems like the vaults are just low hanging fruit that Stern fills gaps in production to keep workers busy. New art/code is one thing but redoing an entire game and running on a different boardset sounds pretty complicated. Stern would also have to deal with licensing and that could turn into a headache if they want to do new art and code. I don't see the business sense in doing that for a very limited run.

And Godzilla sure sounds like a codename for something else. Maybe car theme based on GTR's? I would love that but not getting my hopes up lol.

No modern game, even ones with the best licenses, can compare to production numbers of the past. The whole industry was different back then where the focus was location play. Now, the home user is the driving market. Home users want something special in a pinball with a theme they relate to. Look at all the hype threads. They are all in hope of some licensed theme. Look how many people are willing to drop thousands instantly on a popular theme sight unseen. Theme sells plan and simple.

Exactly - what more are you looking for? I'm not a mega fan or anything. I saw the movies back in the day and really enjoyed them just like many others. Watched the shows again with my kids years later and they loved it. Good clean fun. Characters were awesome. You rooted for Marty and Doc to overcome all the obstacles and cheered when Biff got what was coming to him. Music was awesome. DeLorean was and is awesome. Fit the movie and the time period perfectly. Time travel always fun when you got the future, past, and present to play with. No game is instant buy for me but this would definitely be an exciting title if done. Problem is you would not get any callouts from the actors. Probably wouldn't get all the music you expect and may not even get many clips from the movies. It would probably end up being largely based on generic time travel with little references to the actual movies. Kinda like JP is more about dinosaurs than the actual movies. That's been the trend so I wouldn't expect anything different.

Fallout retro futuristic art design would make for one cool looking pin. I can see pushing the rpg element where you can be good or evil to get different wizard modes. Perks could be collected to make every game a little different. Collect bottle caps for currency to spend on upgrades, weapons, or whatever. That all may be too much for those not familiar with the game but so much you could do. It would also be easy to license since it's just a game. Stern could also claim that any pf issues are on purpose to add to the apocalyptic look. J/k!

Any western theme would be awesome but I would prefer the Clint Eastwood variety. The Good, Bad, and Ugly being top of that list of course. Love the quick draw feature in CC. How cool would it be to have a shootout with multiple targets popping up and down all over pf?

Demand is questionable when plenty take a while to sell in marketplace. It's not like these regularly get snatched up in an instant at insane prices. No doubt Stern would charge premium money for any Tron vault. If it has a dmd and very few upgrades, that's a tough sell imo. You would have to be a pretty dedicated fan to walk pass games like TMNT and JP to buy Tron vault for more money.

That's probably true but Stranger Things is popular period. There is no arguing that whether you personally like it or not. Same for all the Marvel superhero stuff. I would prefer to see other themes but no arguing it's a solid theme in terms of popularity. It's at least a better theme to work with than Elwin's other games. Hope it is his game. Going to be awesome to see what he does next.

That would be awesome. You could choose a monster Kong or Godzilla to battle other monsters. Have my doubts as well.

Same. The multiplier is awesome. It's like a mini game that adds another layer of gameplay. At any point in the game, you can build up a multiplier and make a shot incredible.

It's not for us, obviously. No need to bash it. Looks great for what it is imo. Some people may just want a cheaper, simpler game to stick in their basement for their grandkids to play now and then. You still have the pro, premium, and le for those that want more.

Think you just summed up all pinball and the entire hobby in one sentence. Love how we can call a $4000 game overpriced garbage but then turn around and buy games costing more than 3x as much.

Love it! You could even spin it into a Mad Max Interceptor knockoff. That way no licensing fees! Modify your police car with speed parts to chase down bad guys driving crazy cars in the post apocalyptic wasteland. Any decent car theme would get my interest, though.

They sell plain and simple. I would wager the majority of the top selling pins in past 15 years are rock band themes.

Brilliant CSI work everyone. It's a puzzle lol. You got to admit that's pretty funny.

Man, lighten up. You are taking things way too seriously. Stern said nothing about it being about a new game or anything more than just what it was - a few pics of a puzzle.

I see the appeal but not sure how capture the movie in a pin. What is there besides the scary music and impending shark attack? A few boat scenes I guess. If you go through a mode ladder buildup to the exciting shark stuff it would just turn into "who brought the dog" moments. Still sounds better than another superhero or classic rock band theme.

Why LE? Seriously. Why is that little plague so important and it's a terrible tragedy to 'settle' on a much cheaper premium with 100% identical gameplay? If you have to have one of these limited versions, all you need is patience. There are always chances to buy spots in line or games used in future.

I'm holding onto the idea that the old movies are awesome even though I have not watched them since I was a kid. Watching them again would probably ruin good childhood memories of watching monster movies after school. None of the newer movies look that great so never bothered to watch any. I still think Godzilla would make a great pin as long as it's not phoned in. If it turns into fan layout with Godzilla head that you shoot balls into mouth that would be a shame.

You do realize this is a pinball forum where people are passionate about pinball?

Gotta say you guys got me hyped on the movie. Watched in on youtube and wow, that sucked. Love all the ingredients but movie just seemed slapped together. Sometimes the critics are right. Not arguing it wouldn't be a fun pin theme but tough sell imo.

That's ok. I did really like Escape from New York which I saw for the first time not long ago. That movie had more of a believable story, better atmosphere, better characters, dialogue, action, etc. Still, I think these kind of movies have a limited audience which sucks. Even if I am not a fan, I still love to see more interesting themes than all the mainstream stuff. Please no more superheroes, classic rock, or Disney themes.

Same here. I love it but didn't think Godzilla was that popular. Probably has a lot to do with Keith and just the crazy market. Good time to bring games to market.

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Why is it hard to understand? Music is art and art is subjective. I could just as easily say you should love my favorite band because I think they are great. I just don't understand why only old, classic rock gets to be a pin.

Bond doesn't appeal to me either. Mostly because there are so many movies and Bond played by a variety of different actors. I just see Stern coming up with generic Bond character and villains to avoid extra licensing costs.

You think Stern would license all the bond actors? Sounds expensive. It would be cool to have great villains like jaws, bond girls, Aston Martin cars, music, etc but all that would need licenses which translates to $$$$.

Well, yeah any game that plays well will be liked. Saying it would be most desirable pin ever is a bit of a stretch. You honestly think grown middle age men would prefer Pokemon, a kids cartoon thing, over popular rock bands, popular 80's'/90's movies, and everything else???

It doesn't get more adult than TMNT?

I don't know how you would do a Bond theme. Dozens of movies and different actors playing Bond. It would end up being a generic spy theme like how JP is basically just dinosaurs. Totally agree about the modern Bond movies. Difficult to follow and nothing memorable.

Massive hit? Was TMNT a massive hit? Kind of same thing to me. I grew up watching Scooby as well as other cartoons but that doesn't translate to me spending $7000+ on a pin. Works great as family pin but I think most collectors prefer something a bit more adult.

Plus you would competing with old games and using old design/license. It would be a ton of effort to update all art, animations, code, etc. You cannot vault LE's so it would be some pro/premium mix priced above premium ($10000+). A new title gets you much more excitement plus the all important LE cash cow.

I was there right after it opened and you could barely move through the Harry Potter section. My boys were there earlier this year on school trip and it was still packed. I am totally not a fan but I cannot think of a bigger title that appeals to all ages. People love all that fantasy, magic, sword, wizard whatever nonsense.

That or the Fast and Furious series. Over the top characters, cool cars, upgrades, chases, cheesy lines, etc.

Could be something. My idea would be playing Biff as he steals the Delorean. You go through time trying to get rich (points) and manipulate things to your advantage like stealing the sports book. Maybe you could even get the actor to do callouts. Super fans probably wouldn't like that but the Delorean was always the star of the show imo.

That and people are gladly paying higher msrp prices. Stern cannot make games fast enough and even had to put off releasing games trying to catch up. The highest priced games (LE's) sell out almost instantly these days. People are already putting money down on Bond without even seeing the game.

Bubble burst is right around the corner? That's crazy! You should start a pricing thread with that fresh take.

People buying expensive luxury items like nib pinball machines are not going to be that affected by inflation. People have been and will continue to pay high prices for pins. TS4 is hardly an example. Fans were unhappy with the product more than the price. If JJP produced a better game based on all the movies they would of easily sold at those prices. It's not like previous successful JJP games were cheap. If Stern's Bond looks pretty good, it's guaranteed the LE's will sell out quickly even with inflated five figure prices. Many are already sold without even a picture or idea of price. As long as I have been in the hobby, people have always complained about prices but games are currently selling better than ever. I don't get it but that's the facts.

Plus the demand for LE's create a lot of hype on release and no doubt help increase sales of pros/premiums. LE's also force buyers to commit early which gives you instant cash flow before games are even built. Locking in buyers is crucial with competition growing. I don't see how you could criticize Stern's business model when they cannot build enough games to meet demand.

Stern doesn't gain anything giving out production numbers and it would be useful to the competition. Private companies don't have to release that kind of info like public traded companies. It would be interesting to see what the overall top sellers are but we pretty much already know which ones are on top and which ones on bottom.

A KK pin would look pretty awesome next to GZ. I grew up watching those old monster movies so I'm all for it.

If it's a popularity contest, there are plenty of things super popular that would appeal to non pinheads. But that's not your core market. How many 45+ year olds would buy a Pokemon pin even if it was "done right"? I sure wouldn't.

Same age and agree. I've heard their songs through the years but cannot think of one. Still, it's better than another dinosaur rock band and step in the right direction. Hope it's successful so Stern will consider more modern, alternative band themes or at least more variety. Love to see a country, punk, grunge, or electronic theme someday.

Why? To further push up prices and create more unhappy customers? If Stern can sell more LE's, they should make more.

Sure hope there is not another Spiderman pin in the works. There already was a pin based on the movies and one on comic books. It's only one character and all you would do is fight the same old villians. Plus there have been so many superhero themes it's overplayed. So many other great themes to consider. I would love a Simpson Treehouse of Horror but not going to argue Futurama wouldn't be great either. Both have so many great characters, art style, quotes, and humor.