Some companies are in the business of making money.

shhh, dont tell anyone, but there was three companies in the 60s 70s 80s producing 10 new titles each per year

I think what they meant was it is good to have so many companies actively producing pins now it's good for pinball as a whole.

So you want a pinball machine that costs a shitload to fix every time something goes wrong with it?

JJP is this way => https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/forum/jersey-jack-pinball
Spooky is that way => https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/forum/spooky-pinball

I for one do like the rate Stern is pumping out pins at and the direction in which these titles have developed in the last few years. Not every pin is great but maybe once in two years there is a machine I'd consider to be a potential keeper.

JJP makes titles for children and old people with rules for über-pros. Spooky is unobtainable in Europe.

I am happy with all the new pinball machines.
If I like a machine a lot, I will buy it. If I don’t like it, I will play it in a bar.

It means pinball as a whole is healthy. Remember there are people outside of the pinside echo chamber that are excited for the current state of the hobby and the game itself. Stern has a specific business model and it's around manufacturing as many fun titles as possible for a reasonable price. Accomplishing that takes concessions on other things like number of toys on the playfield and a cheapening on some materials.
It's clear Stern has taken the direction lately of investing in code over toys for their games. There used to be incessant complaints about lack of code updates and they have improved by hiring new programmers and completing comittments on older games like GB.
For operators like myself, I prefer this strategy. It makes the games rock solid with much fewer service calls. Players get bored of toys quickly. Like the hand on TAF get so old and annoying. You're just killing the gameplay.

Producing so many games of course some are going to be winners and some will be losers.
Also theme draws people into machines and the layout keeps them playing. I'm glad Stern is experimenting with so many themes to satisfy such a broad segment of the market.

There are plenty of Ferrari games already out there and more to come. Don't get caught up in the pinside echo chamber. It's a tiny group of loud individuals and doesn't represent the hobby as a whole.
You can always get your game restored by HEP and have a perfect example if you want to drop the coin.
Unfortunately I believe the market for that level of game is incredibly small.

My two cents.

Stern can churn out 15k pins per year and does, allowing them to pay their employees and make a profit. Problem is their customers don’t all want the same title, so they must build a mix of titles to create enough total demand. The annual demand for any title varies from 500 to a few thousand units so they need to run current titles plus new ones.

Demand for a title is influenced by price, yet Stern doesn’t primarily use pricing to alter demand. Instead their strategy is to release a variety of titles and keeps their pricing level relatively high to higher.

Also keeping quality down.

Stern's release schedule is built around what their factory produces and needs to be kept busy. When sales begin to flag, the next title is rolled out.

This is exactly the same model that Spooky follows, but instead of needing to make 50 machines a day Spooky makes 2. Charlie releases new titles when his team needs something new to build (like how they finished Alice Cooper and now moved to Rick and Morty and we won't see a new Spooky game announcement until 2021).

Maybe it’s hit or miss but I bought several (6 in 12 years) Stern nib pins and they’ve been fine quality. XMLE needed a new Aux board. Other than that great quality. Too soon to call SW premium but so far 2 months it’s been great not a single issue. I was staying away from Spike pins I’m a bit scared of node boards but not scared enough to pass up SW.

As for too many pins by Stern that’s not a concern for me I’ll buy one every 2-3 years so I can pick and choose the few I like. They don’t all need to be home runs.

There is no guarantee that "fewer" equals "better".
I'm happy to see at least one higher volume producer, and multiple smaller output manufacturers.
We could easily be back to one (and only one) manufacturer, or none at all.

The other thing to consider is games stay in production at Stern for at least 3 years. There's about 10 different titles you can order from them currently? There's no need to buy on day 1.

Do you drive a Ferraris or do you drive something more comparable to a ford? If a 6K stern is a ford that means you need 60K to get the pinball equivalent. Have fun with that, I'm sure a few dummies would still buy it.

I saw that movie to, You do realize Ferrari got beat by Ford and got bought by Fiat then Chrysler/Dodge up until a few years ago when the separated companies. JJP is trying to be Ferrari but it has to be a passion project and the economy has to stay strong. Stern is the Ford company that is more attainable and spreads the enthusiasm for Pinball Internationally. Most people aren’t going to be able to afford a Ferrari and JJP has even decided to a go with less in the future because 1 flop or bad license stings yards when that’s what your entire fiscal year is banking on. HEP games are like the Ferrari’s of the hobby. Ferrari’s also aren’t daily drivers and that’s one thing no one gives Stern credit for. No one wants to works on these things except for some older retired guys or people that do it for a living. How many times do you see WOZ’s in arcades or shows turned off?

Why is it good to produce a crapload of new dumb threads?

I'm perfectly happy with Ford pins. Keep them coming. The more the better. Nobody needs even one but fun if you can afford them.

The only thing I would say is maybe Stern should let them bake a little longer. The raw cookie dough is a bit much sometimes.

More like it means the economy as a whole has been healthy. Just look back ten years if you would like a comparison.

(Paraphrased from post number 1)

If you don't like this thread just wait 3 minutes and there will be another one.
We should be grateful there are this many threads available.

In other words threads are a quantity thing, not quality.

Does that mean Deeproot is DeLorean?

Edsel

I don't know, that's giving them a lot of credit

I want a Toyota pin, who makes those? Affordable, DEPENDABLE, easily repaired, did I say dependable? Just took my 98 Landcruiser to the Dealer to be checked out, 200K and nothing wrong. Nothing.

Whats wrong with the quality? I mean the rate thing is just ridiculous. More games more choice better all around.

The quality of a lot of the themes leaves a lot to be desired. Bargain basement themes for the most part.

i have no idea why it’s a good idea to produce threads at this current rate and quality.

You might as well ask why's a tree good? Why's a sunset good? Why are boobs good? They just are!

Judging from Posters declaring they will no longer purchase Stern due to unresolved quality issues sales should have dropped 25%. It is no secret Stern is producing machines with built in obsolescence with NLA parts showing up for relatively recent Titles. These will never live long enough to become Classics. They make money when a NIB sells, so they must keep banging out new Titles to keep the cash registers ringing.

If you add in all the other issues making them swear to never buy Sterns I think it's more like 136%.
No wonder Stern has to make so many!

https://www.motor1.com/features/345015/how-much-is-a-ferrari/ $200 K to $300 K ?

That would kill the hobby and location pins.

LTG : (

So this isn't a joke? You genuinely believe Stern's sales have dropped 25 percent in the last year or so?

Posts like this are why people in the industry point and laugh at Pinside.

It says sales "should have"...based on "posters declaring they will no longer purchase"...not that they actually did. You going to actually read posts before you comment on them?

Oh yeah? They laugh at a site encompassing 63,295 hobbyists, at least a portion of which are their sales base for every new NIB they pump out? I always forget that you are Gary Stern's best friend, Charlie's best friend, etc. You befriending the guys at American Pinball too?

What in God's name are you blathering about? You sound like you just took a hit from Jadaveon Clowney.

Yes, they laugh at this site. It's a never-ending river of bad information and uninformed opinions on what it takes to stay in business as a pinball manufacturer. If Pinside ran any of the existing companies, they'd be out of business in a week!

And you know it!

I’m stuck on you using the word blathering.

How does Stern make money other than NIB sales? OEM parts like any other manufacturer? Sure some...but if the NIB game isn't selling neither is the OEM part.

To keep with the original car analogy, how does Ferrari make money from a car becoming a "classic"? Increased sales of their newest model based on brand? Sounds familiar.

Boys boys! Clam down, or take this to PM... This thread is about how the hobby needs less pinball machines

OP wants less pinball machines, but to be fair he also wants them to be more expensive.

He didn't say less, he just wants to know what the value is in a crap load.

And at least I’ll say this. It’s good to know that a lot of people on here are full of shit, that say they are no longer buying Stern games with all the issues, but then still continue to do so.

Now I know I can skip over that next “My Stern Playfield is dimpling!” thread.

I would like my pinballs to be Ferraris at Yugo prices.

If some manufacturer used that as a slogan, people would be lining up to buy them.

Just having fun. I want people to keep buying NIB’s. Makes all the other older games that much more available for me.

Because when there are lots of companies producing lots of different machines, you get more variety. Yeah, Stranger Things and Elvira are boring fan layouts, but look at Jurassic Park, Iron Maiden, Beatles, Willy Wonka, TNA, Rick and Morty, Oktoberfest, Houdini, Deadpool, etc.

So...I'm not sure what you're asking for here. Have only one game released per year, but make it so special and catered to your tastes that you will be sure to buy it (and not have to suffer through releases of games that don't interest you)?

Which era of pinball would you prefer to be living in? If you don't need a new machine every 3 months, then you're living in a great time for pinball. Once per year, just pick your favorite of the 10 machines released in the last 12 months and buy it.

Complaining is free. Starting dumb threads is free. Claiming you were buying Stern games three times a year and now refuse to buy any is also free.

Unfortunately none of that shit actually gets you a pinball machine. So despite all the over the top posturing the NIB addicts here will keep buying Sterns because they remain the cheapest and best games on the market and the only ones you can have in your home a day after they are announced.

Finally, an actual cheap shot involving clowney

LMAO!!!

nice