Well I'll be picking up my Maiden tomorrow, and I'm not super familiar with the music, but yes whatever the re-theme is it has to be better.

ICE T

Body Count!

I got 99 problems and a pinball ain't one!

PS- I saw Body Count on their recent tour and it was brilliant.

I say Stern should release Archer as a alternative to Iron Maiden and give Keith the do respect of seeing his game made in mass quantity.

Have you played Iron Maiden? I ask because I don't care at all about the band, but I do like Archer. Having played about 30 games now, I'm glad it wasn't Archer...it seems like it works much better as an intense music pin.

To anyone who isn't aren't going to play/buy this game because you don't like the theme: you're really missing out.

Archer! Please Archer and let me think....Archer!

I'll take a Batman 66 re-themed as Goonies. I'll take a Metallica re-themed as Coheed and Cambria. I'll take a Star Trek re-themed as Beastie boys.... Do you see the problem here?

Me in 2015: Wow a new Kiss pinball machine huh. Old man themes forever Stern.
Me in 2018: "Shout it... shout it... shout it out loud"

But really, I don't care for AC/DC, modern Star Trek, or Mustangs but I don't need them rethemed to some band, movie, and car I like to love those games. I'll take a theme I don't want over bad art any day, and this certainly doesn't have bad art.

Yes, and it could be just about any other theme. Few themes are more of a turn off to me than Iron Maiden. I just can't stand the music.

Still excited to play it, but man, that theme is not my thing.

I voted against a re-theme... The few times I've played a Shrek I feel like I'm playing Family Guy with different art... Oh, wait...

-Steve

Support as in would I buy it ? No, because I really like Iron Maiden and am only interested in buying it with this theme.

Would I support Stern as thinking it's a good idea ? Yes, because I think the theme is not something for everyone, but the (supposedly, haven't played it myself) great layout would probably sell a lot when it's themed like Archer.

SURF theme!

I must live in a closet... I know nothing about Iron Maiden and even less about Archer... Or I'm just old. I remember when Capt. Fantastic was a brand new game!

-Steve

Every time I watched Archer, I keep thinking Bob' Burgers

I would love to see a SAW pinball machine. With cool toys like a interactive "reverse bear trap", the "Venus Fly Trap" or "Pendulum trap"
Then a nice Jigsaw puppet on the tricycle.

+ the genuis Soundtrack from the movie and call outs like:

" I wanna a play a game. "
" Live or die, make your choice."
" There will be blood."
"GAME OVER!"

That would be my dream theme - *hope one of the pinball manufactures will do it*

The layout is very generic so literally any theme would fit. With all the hard work done, adding a new coat of paint would save a lot of time and development money.

It must tell you something when people are still buying a game when they don't like the theme. I would've thought theme would be the number one reason to buy a pinball machine...maybe game design and layout is more attractive now?

A lot? Is it so simple? The days of retheming EM or early SS games are long gone. There were plenty of kits available at that time. But with no call outs, little or no sound and no video that was easy.

The more elaborate display, ruleset, sounds music and call outs are, the more difficult and expensive they become. I believe this cost would now exceed artwork by far. Add on top of that the cost of another licence...

Only if it's significantly cheaper. But they won't do that.

I don't like Iron Maiden as a theme at all. Doesn't mean I won't like or play the game, but does mean I would never buy the game. That is why a re-theme would be great. Or could do a Tron/X-Men mirror image thing so you it is not a complete re-theme.

You are forgetting that themes sell pinball unfortunately (people like SW which is complete hot garbage in design, execution, and quality all because it has the star wars theme)

People not buying/liking IRMN are also doing so because the inverse. Stern is smart and went after a new market with raging fans that are also hypebeasts with a theme that they like. For me personally IRMN is such a grating theme that I personally cant put one in the house no matter how much fun it is to play.

I would welcome and purchase a reskin to something (hell almost anything) else. I agree with GAP that Stern should pick up the Archer rights and let Kieth see out the project as intended from the start. Kieth has a blockbuster on their hands and seems like good business once IRMN sales slow to announce the reskin of an alternative theme. They will get lots of sales, that is for sure. Toss on the reduced investment and it is just good business.

I am going to assume Stern is no longer doing re-skins so I will patiently wait and hope that someone else at least makes a good sound package for the game.

From what I've heard in interviews it sounds like Keith is excited to start working on a new layout after working with the Archer layout the past 4 years. I think he is ready to move on to a new game and theme which I am really excited for! Even a retheme of Maiden would take a considerable amount of time as he would have to oversee everything. I want more variation in pinball and less rehashes of the same designs and ideas. We get enough of that with the other designers at Stern.

Yeah, I am all for that to keep things fresh. I could totally see IRMN reskin in a few years when Kieth is fresh and Stern needs a fill in game again (assuming a reskin means way less work and could be done quickly, like a VE).

Yes!
I’ve played many games of maiden and the game is great but I can already feel the music is getting old. I like maiden music but don’t love it enough to hear it this much.
But it is the best new game I’ve played in years.

Yep make this thing Archer and I'll buy a pro for location and a premium for my house. That being said I just got mine last night, only had one game on it before Pinball at the Zoo shut down for the night but it certainly seemed awesome.

Re-theme... I'm not a Maiden music fan at all but it is what it is and should be left alone... Thankfully it is more of a Maiden Eddie themed pin. No pictures of the band...

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A pinball machine is not only a gameplay.
MM would not be the same machine without its sound package..
It is not like I don’t care about Iron Maiden, i hate this band as I hate Simpson’s theme. I could never own this pin.
So the idea is interesting as Stern already did it by building GOTG with the Metallica layout.

I totally disagree, Star Wars is a masterpiece and one of Steve Ritchie's best. There where some quality control issues on some games but the code and gameplay are very solid. I have owned since November and it still gets the most plays in my home. I frickin love my Star Wars and it is bolted to the floor. Different strokes for different folks.

I also would love to see a re-theme using IMDN layout. I am not big on re-themes but I also am not big on IMDN.

I played Iron Maiden Wednesday, Love the shots layout, despise the music side. I saw original idea archer gameplay and was impressed. Played it finally and I hate that theme. Would have bought a premium blind with any other theme on that design. Very fast, very cool game even the left ramp shot. Love that the ramps are metal( I'm a location so constantly have broken plastics due to people not knowing how to play any game). Wishing for retheme. Hurry up stern, you've done it so much in past, I actually want you to do it this time please.

For years now there is always crying about that Stern used the same layout again and again. Now we get new pinball magic a new and good layout never done so before and all you want is it remade again with different theme? Come on guys???

Load up family guy code on a shrek for a REAL hoot!

Only if they make it into My Little Pony or the Osmonds...

If Stern can make money on a retheme they will do it! It is a testament to how good the game is that people are talking about it. No one is clamouring for a WWE retheme.

I don't care one way or the other, as long as I get mine as Iron Maiden.

I grew up listening to a lot of metal music and while Iron Maiden wasn't my favorite band to listen to I still like their music and I'm really enjoying the game as it was designed. But if not liking the music is the main issue with the game you guys may be in luck. The game isn't a band theme but rather a Legacy of the Beast Eddie theme which is really cool. Legacy of the Beast has it's own storyline:

As dark forces conspire to corrupt the fabric of reality, Eddie’s immortal soul is shattered and strewn across the cosmos – leaving a weakened, primal Eddie to battle across space and time facing off against the twisted legions of The Beast, seeking out the lost shards of his soul, and bringing order to the realms. With each victory, and with the aid of old friends, Eddie will restore his fearsome powers as he draws ever closer to facing the Unholy foe behind his fall… and thwarting a plot to unravel all of Creation!

What I would suggest doing is finding some dark and ominous instrumental music tracks and swapping them into the game via pinball browser in place of the Maiden tracks. This would act more like a score than a soundtrack.-If it were me I'd go with music from John Carpenter's album "Lost Themes". This would totally remove the band from the game and leave behind just the really cool Eddie storyline. In a way this is kind of works like an original theme because the Legacy of the Beast comics aren't well known or mainstream. The callouts and rules on this game are awesome and fit the Legacy of the Beast theme well!

Check out some of John Carpenter's "Lost Themes" album if you want to hear some music that would work well for this game.

I wouldn't want a retheme....I'm more hoping that Stern moves in this direction of layout....in other owrds "Not cookie cutter".

That'd be a whole new set of licensing costs/approvals and all new display work and code adjustments. Long way to go for some respect.

Assasins Creed ( Revolutionary War version).

For me no re-theme is needed as I’m an Iron Maiden fan, but the question is interesting to me as I have often thought the same thing about Dialed In.
The layout on DI is brilliant but the theme & sound package not so much.

Maybe Iron Maiden wouldn't appreciate their pinball being remade as something else? That would certainly piss me off if I had worked with Stern in designing this machine to be a representation of my band/brand.

When Metallica came out... so many people were not fans of Metallica either.... or ac/dc...

Just play the damn game

They did retheme Metallica into Guardians of the Galaxy though

Yes...now we get a new and original layout from Stern ( they took the mini ramp of LOTR all the same) we all want the game...but not into a turd theme as Iron Maiden.

Stern wants us to buy..you would buy a game with a theme you hate?