Funny, I have used these exact same arguments to convince my wife and myself on the Pro models.

I don't think any of the recent Sterns are clunkers, but some LEs have lost over $1000. The Pro seems like a safer bet, unless it's fatally flawed.

Yeah, I'm kinda disappointed in you KwiKimart! Let's give this new game a chance.

To many others on this thread: I called the whambulance. I mean seriously, a 4% price increase and it's game over? No LCD display and you're ready to quit? Not limited enough?

I have yet to regret a single Stern Pro that I've bought. I feel a little sad for you all tonight. Well, and for myself because I have insomnia.

Holy crap, that's crazy. The Pro only went up a few hundred.

I'm interested to hear what the delta is in the USA. If it really went up 1-2k, then I agree Stern is getting a bit greedy on the LE. Maybe they did the math and decided there were enough non-pin rich Trekkies that all the LEs would sell at this price? Who knows.

This is by far the dumbest and most obnoxious post I've read this week, and that's saying a lot.

After reading this whole thread, I still don't know what the price increase was for LE in the US. My data says $400, is that right?

Why? Because it only has 2 ramps, 3 spinners, a kicker, a bash toy that rises from the playfield, 2 magnets and about 20 stationary targets? Or because the layout isn't claustrophobic (ala X-men)?

I love my MET Pro, but IM has a very similar BOM cost. I agree that if I had to choose one to keep, it would be MET. Best. Artwork. Ever!

EDIT: the other reason IM goes for so much is that people love to bling it out. I've kept mine stock except for a shaker and FF speakers, so I only have about $5k in it.

Metal apron: $59 at PBL
Playfield support brackets: $55 at PBL

IM has a standard lockdown bar. I've added the support brackets, but I kept the plastic apron because bounce-backs are awesome when they happen.

Indeed, smart man! I think as people begin realize how similar their layouts are, the prices for IM will drop a bit. No question that the ramps in MET are sturdier. Please don't quote this if I have a FS post in the near future.

From my favorite Wordsworth poem:

Sweet is the lore which nature brings
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous form of things
We murder to dissect

Thank you. This "active item count" is a novel way to look at things, but it's just a metric. There are some "active items" that I think we can agree add little or no enjoyment to a game. The moving band on AC/DC is one example; the crashing tower in LOTR is another. It would be interesting to see the active item count for the current Pinside top 20.

The whole Stern vs JJP thing reminds me of this old ad (blonde is IM, brunette is WOZ). Skip to 0:28...

#t=28

Wow, seriously? I think it's the best of the three.

I agree that this is one of the nicest LEs Stern has done.

People have been fretting over Stern's survival for years, but all of the things people bitch about are really just Gary Stern running his business like a BUSINESS. Cost-cutting, exploring new markets ("The Pin", "IM Classic"), multiple versions of the same game, releasing games before code is complete --- all of those are necessary to survive, IMHO.

Exactly, same here. New pins make great temporary trade bait! I never would have discovered how great Avatar is if I hadn't done a temp-trade with my IM.

If so, the same thing would happen to SM, LOTR or any other great pin that didn't have ColorDMD support yet. And alphanumeric pins would drop like a rock...not going to happen IMHO. A display is just a display.

Just for comparison, look at LOTR. I bought one NIB in 2003 and watched as it held its value and even increased in value. Honestly this surprised me since Stern did 2 more big runs of LOTR that should have saturated the demand. Looks like Tron Pro will go the same way...

Right, I'm just saying that I don't think we'll see a noticeable depreciation in DMD titles (or even pre-DMD) right away. Some JJP fans predicted that the LCD would make the DMD seem "antiquated", but that hasn't happened yet. I DO agree that there are many recent titles where DMD tech was poorly used for movie clips. But titles like AFM and Metallica that have great dots won't feel "stale".

Having said all that, if someone does a Whirlwind DMD project, I might have to jump on that!

ST is Starship Troopers. STD makes no sense at all (Star Trek Darkness?). I'd vote for SST (Stern Star Trek).

Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.