Stern Pinball

"And I still think Stern needs to go back and make only 500 LEs on everything. But they also need to add more. A few more exclusive modes. I think an exclusive topper."

Stern needs to cut LE production to 500 units and add exclusive content

"Is FOMO over for Stern LE Machines? ... I'm here to tell you right now, as I think about Transformers around the corner, are we going to see the same sort of running at an LE and are we going to continue to see consumers spend over sticker to get one of these Stern LEs? I don't think so."

FOMO is over for Stern LE machines due to poor value retention

"I will say the Stern anti-reflective glass is really, really nice. And it doesn't really need any better glass than that."

Stern's anti-reflective glass is really good quality and doesn't need upgrading

"And this is my thing with Stern. It's like, why is it so hard? Why is it so hard for this company to just realize that? Like, that does not look like the Walking Dead. When you look at the new Walking Dead game, that is not how Walking Dead fans connect with the IP. When you look at King Kong, that is not how King Kong fans connect with King Kong."

Stern consistently fails with art direction across multiple games - Walking Dead, King Kong don't represent their IPs properly

"Stern, if you're listening to this right now, do the right thing. There should be only a total of 500 Transformer LEs. That's it. I don't care. That's it... LEs for 13 grand should come with exclusive toppers and an exclusive mode or two."

Stern should limit Transformers LE to only 500 units and add exclusive content for LE buyers

"if you're an operator and you want a problem-free game that makes you money the most days it's in operation, you're most likely gonna go with the Stern Pro. That's what they're built for."

Stern Pro is the best choice for operators wanting problem-free money-making games

"It's like this company could make every single other pinball company's annual allotment in like one month. One month Stern Pinball's manufacturing power is insane."

Stern's manufacturing power is insane compared to other companies

"Why is it that the cheapest games that Stern makes, the damn Costco Star Wars games, get these beautiful boxes that have artwork on the box and we spend $13,000 on a 750 limited edition Pokemon machine and we just get a standard box."

Stern should put artwork on LE boxes like they do for cheap Costco games

"I'm like, why would you even buy a Stern premium? What is the point? Like, Pokemon LE is going to hold value. The game's not done. It's not going to be coded for like a year. So why would you buy a $9,500 premium? You could say, well, because I want to play the game now. But why? Why they're going to make those premiums forever."

Stern Premiums are pointless to buy now - wait for distributors to discount them

"Both of those can stand their own next to Harry Potter and then Stern is like a distant fourth... If you might start out by saying Spooky or Barrels or JJP. Stern is fourth."

Stern has fallen to fourth place among manufacturers

"a dude spending $13,000 on a Stern, which is crazy to begin with because no Stern machine is worth anywhere near $13,000. We all know it."

No Stern machine is worth anywhere near $13,000

"Stern is back. Stern is back, baby. Like, they are back. This company's been taking lashes not just from me, from everybody, and rightfully so... That company has been demoralized for like four years. It's been a toxic work environment."

Stern is back after years of criticism and toxic work environment

"I think if you're going to remaster anything, remaster stuff that's just impossible to get. I think Batman on the new platform would be fun to see. I think Ghostbusters would be fun to see"

Stern should remaster classic games like Batman, Ghostbusters, LOTR instead of AC/DC again

"Stern Pinball is like the opposite. Like they were doing things better years ago... So you're telling me you can make Godzilla for 10.5 with everything in it and get every single asset imaginable. And then years later, we're ending up with an assetless King Kong without as much magic."

Stern made better games years ago - new management and Spike 3 platform are worse

"And then you go over to Stern. And Stern continues to be, out of all the companies, the one company now where people feel like they're just not getting the value. It's at Stern Pinball."

Stern continues to be the company where people feel they're not getting value

"Everything else since then has been somewhat of a sales disappointment and a little bit of a cultural flop. If you ask me, D&D never really caught on. You didn't really see people catch on with King Kong. You didn't really see Star Wars take off. The Walking Dead didn't take off. John Wick didn't take off. Venom didn't take off."

Stern's recent games have been sales disappointments and cultural flops

"the fact that Stern got that so wrong is really indicative in my honest opinion of a company that's missing the mark big time. There is no way Stern Pinball with all of their knowledge of this community should ever create such a failure of a remastered"

Walking Dead Remastered failure shows Stern is out of touch with community

"They easily could have done a poll. What would be the secret? We know they're doing remasters... why didn't they at least survey the community. Would you like to see kiss AC/DC? Would you like to see Tron?"

Stern should survey community before choosing remasters

"My worry is stern is going to chase the money and not chase the legacy. They are really going to be about volume, volume, volume, because now their customers are the private equity investors. That is my take on the modern world lately. The world has become a weird place where we are putting simple profits over people."

Stern will chase money over legacy due to private equity ownership, prioritizing volume over creativity

"Can we finally get to a place in the pinball universe in which the largest company in the world will just tell us a month in advance when we can expect to see their next game? Why can't they just do that? It's not like we don't know what's coming. It's only pinball."

Stern should provide month advance notice for game releases instead of keeping everyone waiting

"It just hasn't really worked out for anyone who's gone in early on any of these Stern games"

Stern Pinball's new pricing strategy hasn't worked out for early buyers

"Stern keeps burning its own customers. They did it again on Jaws"

Stern keeps burning its own customers with better versions after LE releases

"I mean you put these games next to the Stern machines. And they make the Stern machines look so cheap"

Modern boutique games make Stern machines look cheap in comparison

"Stern Pinball has lost. All the confidence and all the trust between the collectors and Stern. They just kept remaking stuff"

Stern has lost all collector confidence by constantly remaking games

"I just think all Stern are stupid buys now at new inbox prices. I think all Stern new inbox now are just stupidly priced. I don't think they've done anything to justify the pricing of any of their machines."

All new Stern machines are stupid purchases at current pricing

"It's now 2026. And Stern Pinball, I think, needs more than just a game that checks the boxes. I think they need a game that is magical. That has like mechanics. Mechanical engineering. That's awesome. They need a statement game for this new spike three platform."

Stern needs a statement game for Spike 3 platform, not just something that checks boxes

"Here's the thing that I think has happened is Stern's lost a lot of the base. The core people that are just pinheads that used to buy every new Stern and a lot of those people, they're just burned. They're tired. They're burnt out of losing so much money."

Stern has lost their core base due to poor value retention and buyer burnout

"I marched into that company, not as Kaneda, as Chris, a dude with 25 years of marketing experience. And I cared. They didn't even expect anything from me. I spent so long making an entire deck and an observation and an analysis of their company. They didn't even ask for it. I did it because I thought it was the right thing to do. And I cared. And they ignored every single thing I said."

Personal grievance with Stern management for ignoring detailed marketing analysis and recommendations

"What's happened at Stern Pinball isn't an isolated thing at Stern. It is what is happening all over the world. Companies are losing their identity. They are losing their culture and they are losing their creativity in the name of one thing. In the name of growth."

Stern Pinball has lost its identity and culture due to obsession with growth, bringing in outside executives who don't understand pinball

"Stern Pinball is in big trouble. And there is no denying the fact that Stern Pinball relative to everything else happening in the hobby is one of the least exciting companies right now. And they need, they need to get their asses kicked a little bit. I think to turn a page."

Stern Pinball is in big trouble and least exciting company in pinball right now

"You know, it's funny watching Stranger Things season five right now. I feel like Stern messed up. I really do. I feel like Stern should have released D&D to coincide with the final season of Stranger Things in which Dungeons & Dragons is like a central part of that show. But I digress pinball companies have the worst marketing."

Stern should have released D&D to coincide with Stranger Things final season for better marketing

"I think this has been one of the worst years in the history of Stern Pinball. And I think they're in big trouble"

Stern Pinball has had one of their worst years in company history and is in big trouble

"I think what we're going to see when we go through the award show is that stern pinball has some work to do. That quantity does not equal quality. And I've witnessed award shows, ladies and gentlemen, where stern pinball has swept, where they won almost every category. And I think what's happening now in pinball is a changing of the guard as I've been saying over the last year. I think the boutique companies have really improved their product."

Stern quantity doesn't equal quality - boutique companies have improved and are changing the guard

"I think Stern, out of all the companies, they blew it. Like they really blew it. They had a chance. To have both like the mass volume games and the collectible games that everybody wanted. And they absolutely blew it. They treated their customers that collected their games like crap. And they're never going to get them back. I mean it. They're never going to get them back. It's too late now."

Stern Pinball has completely blown their opportunity to make collectible games and treated collectors terribly

"I think Stern's three tiered model is what's now dead I do I just think Stern's you know Stern Stern's trying to have it all at once now and it's just not gonna work like I just don't think they're gonna be able to sell their L.E.s for 13"

Stern's three-tiered pricing model is dead

"No, I mean this when I say it, I think pros are going to 3,500. I think premiums are going to 5. I just mean it. There's just so much of everything old that's out there. The new stuff is where all the excitement is going to be."

Stern prices need to drop significantly - pros to $3500, premiums to $5000

"I really think Stern has no way out. I'm just going to guess, but I think in just a couple of years, Stern pinball is in big, big trouble. I mean, imagine if they lost Keith Elwin. If Keith Elwin just went somewhere else, imagine how much trouble Stern pinball would be in. That's how vulnerable they are."

Stern Pinball is in big trouble and vulnerable

"That stern pinball over there culturally has become a bit of a toxic work environment. And you can kind of feel it. You can kind of sense it."

Stern Pinball has become a toxic work environment

"I'm tired of little pez head dispensers being shooter rides. This is just so lazy. What is happening? I wouldn't mind this stuff if the games were much cheaper."

Stern accessories are lazy and overpriced, particularly criticizing Star Wars accessories

"Star Wars is embarrassing. Walking dead is another flop."

Star Wars pinball is embarrassing and Walking Dead is a flop

"The value of all of their models is contingent on the LE holding value. If the LE doesn't hold value, it doesn't stabilize the premiums and the pros. It's like a house of cards."

Stern's three-tier pricing model is collapsing because LEs are losing value

"And this is why if Pokemon in two weeks is a flop, I think Stern's in big, big trouble gang. They have to be. I don't see the unboxings. I don't see the orders. I don't see the enthusiasm anymore."

Stern Pinball is in serious trouble with consecutive flops and Pokemon needs to succeed

"I would have given Keith Elwin like two years to design all three games as individual titles. That's right. I would have allowed Keith Elwin to make a new hope game in Empire Strikes Backgame and a Return of the Jedi game."

Stern should have made three separate Star Wars games for the 50th anniversary instead of one mediocre game

"Ever since the private equity company took over Stern people during COVID, this is what happened, man. The private equity came in during COVID. They demand the high margins. Gary has cashed out. I think they're just bleeding this thing until it's done, baby."

Private equity takeover of Stern during COVID is bleeding the company dry

"I don't like the fact that you are now giving people who bought the premium the ability to have the same lit up side armor as the LE owners. I mean, it's like Stern doesn't get it. Like the very simple concept here of you continue to screw over the LE buyers."

Stern continues to screw over LE buyers by making premiums look just as good

"I don't know if you're a Stern. How you think that we would look at that image of that cabinet corner that we would look at that and say this is an improvement. That this looks like a quality build now. Does anyone believe that?"

New Stern cabinet corners look terrible and are an embarrassment

"There's something happening over at Stern. It's not good. It's not good. There's, I do think we talk about this a lot. I think this company is at a moment of inflection, and I just don't really understand the strategy."

Stern Pinball is at a moment of inflection with a confusing strategy that won't work with consumers

"Like who was always like the cheapest option in the market? I mean, seriously, the mass produce, they make the cheapest game in a lot of ways... for what you spend, you are not getting your money's worth. And you know this right now, right?"

Stern makes the cheapest games in the market and you don't get your money's worth

"A lot is riding on this game. If this game is not a hit, Stern is in trouble. I think Stern is in trouble either way."

If Stern's next game flops, the company is in big trouble - they're already in trouble either way

"When I go to Ikea and I buy furniture and it's got those little pegs like the Stern cabinet and it's got brackets, I don't expect my dresser to fail or my cabinetry to fall apart but it's still cheap because I bought it at Ikea and it came flat in a box and I assembled it. This isn't like true craftsmanship happening now over at Stern with these cabinets"

Stern's new cabinet construction using brackets is cheap IKEA-style furniture despite being functional