Stern Pinball

"We still though have not heard from Stern on this. What is Stern doing? Stern's been very quiet... Are people getting phone calls from Zach Sharpee or from anyone at Stern Pinball from all the Jurassic Parks that have been affected? We haven't seen anything yet. So the ball is now in Stern's court to do something on this issue."

Stern hasn't responded to clear code issues like Jersey Jack has

"no widespread issues here at Stern can't speak for other manufacturers though"

Stern's response to playfield issues is inadequate - claiming no widespread issues while problems exist

"What did Stern do? They sent people who had ghosted insert problems, fully populated playfields. Do you know how expensive that is to do? But they did the right thing and they made those customers."

Stern handled the ghosted insert issue correctly by sending replacement playfields

"I think Stern Pinball, as much as people give them crap, I think overall, when you look at the volume of games that Stern ships in comparison to the volume of games from Jersey Jack or Chicago gaming or spooky, Stern games hold up really well. They do. I don't see Stern club threads turning into troubleshooting threads that often."

Stern Pinball has better quality control than other manufacturers

"you know who's expanding Pinball Stern fucking Pinball they're the only ones that are expanding Pinball they're the only company that is built to expand Pinball they're the only company that can ship hundreds of games a week to locations all over the world"

Stern Pinball is the real company expanding pinball, not niche manufacturers

"I think it's fair to say that Stern has had mediocre titles with the Beatles, with the monsters and with sort of rage black night. I think it's fair to say that those games all failed to capture the imagination of pinball buyers and players."

Stern had mediocre titles this year with Beatles, Monsters, and Black Knight - all failed to capture imagination

"the reason why I love just everything Stern does and Jersey Jack does... they don't rip people off"

Reliable manufacturers like Stern and Jersey Jack are what the industry needs

"stern games. They're one thing they're now missing. Okay. They're missing polish... The amount of screws that Stern has in a game is just embarrassing. Like everything's got screws through it. Everything."

Stern games lack polish compared to other manufacturers, with too many visible screws and cheap-looking parts

"It's like holy crap. Like this thing is loaded. Like it is packed. I mean, there is a lot going on in this game... they forgot to put half of this game into Black Knight because Black Knight compared to this has absolutely nothing."

Jurassic Park pinball is extremely loaded with features compared to recent Stern releases

"I really do get confused as to why the marketing team over at Stern doesn't realize that that we're the ones who care the most. And I just think they could do a better job of synchronizing it all at once."

Stern Pinball's marketing synchronization issues with game reveals

"none of these versions just sort of screamed out like I have to have it and I think the fear of missing out on getting a Stern LE like on day one or day two I kind of think like those days are getting to the point where they're over"

Stern LEs no longer create fear of missing out and aren't worth $9000

"This is going to be the week in which we see the next new Stern machine. You heard it here first. This week we will be introduced to the next major cornerstone title from Stern Pinball."

Prediction: Stern will reveal their next new machine this week.

"I think additional code updates in games that happen years after the game come out is the biggest loss of revenue for Stern pinball ever... it's crazy to me that they don't understand the revenue potential to charge additional money to get, you know, very enhanced code updates down the road."

Stern should charge for major code updates instead of giving them away free

"The Pinball hobby is growing and they are capturing the majority of the money that is flooding into the Pinball marketplace. They must be blown away... they've seen so many, so many charlatan companies come and go, so many other people try to show them how to do it in the Pinball business. And the Pinball business is booming and they are collecting most of that revenue and they deserve it. They deserve it."

Stern deserves their market dominance after surviving near-collapse and outlasting many competitors

"Stern Pinball in the next six to twelve months is going to open up a can of whoop ass so big on the rest of the industry it's going to be funny... they are about to dominate and they're about to put everybody in their place"

Stern will dominate the industry in the next 6-12 months with upcoming releases

"I think Stern is annoyed that I hear stuff and I predict reveal dates. And they, I think they try to throw people off. But we're going to see it soon."

Prediction: Stern tries to throw people off by changing reveal dates when he predicts them accurately.

"There is going to be no market share lost to Stern at all by the end of this year. In fact, I think their market share will continue to grow even more because they're going to keep coming out with the juggernaut themes."

Stern will dominate and grow market share over next 12 months, no competition will take share

"I think Stern is going to really blow people away over the next 12 months. You heard it here first. Well, you didn't hear it here first. I mean, I've been saying, Stern is going to continue to dominate."

Prediction: Stern is going to really blow people away over the next 12 months and continue to dominate.

"Stern pinball is Stern pinball is Stern pinball because they have 50 years people. 50 years of making these things. And everyone else runs in and thinks they deserve to be part of Stern pinball's glory."

Stern Pinball deserves more respect - they have 50 years of manufacturing experience while boutique companies are drama factories

"Stern Pinball is the greatest Pinball company of all time and and I mean that when I say that"

Stern Pinball is the greatest pinball company of all time

"within the first few minutes, you're hearing the Batman theme. You're hearing the Star Wars theme... It's just home run after home run after home run when it comes to theme. And that is why they do so well."

Stern Pinball dominates the market because of their excellent theme selection

"The mistake they made with black knight... They basically put what should have been a more niche specialty game down the same journey as like a Batman or a Star Wars... They should have done... We're making Steve Ritchie's like, you know, the third installment in the Steve Ritchie trilogy. And we're only going to make whatever like 300 and charge 10,000 each"

Stern made a strategic mistake with Black Knight's pricing and marketing approach

"How about you just give everyone all the enhancements from the factory from day one? How about you ship people games that are done? How about a $9,000 LE actually comes with the topper?"

Stern should ship complete games from day one instead of charging for additional enhancements

"this katana, I have to say, this is by far the coolest surprising delight items Stern has ever given any pinball buyer I've ever seen. So well done. I think this is the kind of stuff we want to see more of these manufacturers do."

George Gomez sending Deadpool buyers signed katana blades is the coolest surprising delight item Stern has ever given

"I think Stern pinball games are fine I think they're five to six thousand dollar machines that's it that's what they are there are five to six thousand dollar pinball machines they just know that the collectors out there are a bunch of suckers"

Stern games are overpriced $5-6k machines sold for $9k

"that's fine for Stern that's not good for all these other people with pinball dreams who want to create more themes and create more choices"

Stern's success is sustainable but bad for industry variety

"Stern, if you go into Stern's factory today, I guarantee you it looks a lot more productive and a lot more activity is going on than if you went into any other pinball manufacturer's factory right now."

Prediction: Stern's factory currently looks more productive and has more activity than any other pinball manufacturer's factory.

"I think Stern is in one of its most vulnerable positions right now in the entire industry... I mean, think about it. Deadpool, Beatles, Monsters and Black Knight. I mean, those are not like juggernaut hits for the company."

Stern's recent releases are mediocre B-level sellers putting company in vulnerable position

"Does that ring true now? Do we feel like Stern is stuck? Right. John Borg's dream theme is the monsters. You released the monsters in 2019 and you expect it to be a sales home run... Doesn't it seem comical? The monsters is a show that isn't even on TV."

Stern designers are stuck in the past making themes from when they were kids, holding company back

"Stern has the best artists in the game. Nobody has better art packages right now than Stern pinball. They're better than Jersey Jack. They're better than American pinball."

Stern has the best art packages in pinball, better than all competitors

"We're at this point now. We're every single Stern like toy that you're supposed to be able to bash. They just put a target in front of it and you're not really bashing anything."

Stern Pinball can't make proper bash toys anymore

"Stern pinball is super successful. They show everyone how to do it. And yet everyone finds different ways to try to ignore all of the free information Stern is giving them on a daily basis"

Stern Pinball shows everyone how to be successful but other companies ignore the formula

"You pay $9,000 for a Stern game that costs them $3,000 to make. You pay $7,500 for a $3,000 Stern machine. Again, totally believe that so many of you are getting totally ripped off."

Players are getting totally ripped off by Stern's pricing vs manufacturing costs

"Normally we've got two ramps, three pop bumpers, two slingshots, and two flippers, and then a bunch of targets and switches. That's pretty much the formula for most Stern games."

Stern Pinball uses a repetitive formula but it's successful

"Here's what's going to happen is games like this. If they make what 600 L's, who thought that was a good idea? They're not going to sell 600 of these in early format. Those games are going to sit and they're going to sit for months and they're going to sit for years at distributors."

Stern's one-size-fits-all pricing will fail and distributors will have to discount games

"when you see the black knight next to willy-wonka and you put $9,000 price tag on each of them, you're going to know what I know. That it's a joke. The comparison of the two is a joke"

Comparing Stern games to Jersey Jack games at the same price point is a joke - they're not even playing the same game

"I don't think anyone who buys a $9,000 Stern machine feels like they're getting their money's worth"

Stern Pinball makes fun games but they're overpriced at $9,000 and most buyers don't feel they're getting their money's worth

"I do wish Stern would find a better place to show these games and like the kitchen. I mean, really, Stern, you're the biggest pinball company in the world. And the only place you can like showcase your games isn't a freaking kitchen."

Stern needs to build a proper showroom instead of streaming from kitchen

"Are you getting your money's worth for those pinball machines? Absolutely not. I think the majority of you out there who have kept buying these premium and LE machines from you know who for the most part you're paying way more than is going into these games"

Stern premiums and LEs are overpriced for what you get, customers aren't getting value

"Putting this game next to a 12,500 dollars Beatles platinum. Putting this game next to a 15,000 dollar Batman S. L. E. It's just it's just not even in the same league of those games"

Willy Wonka makes Stern LE games look inferior and overpriced

"Stern's got the talent but they don't have the passion to push this product... everyone at Stern has to design a game with profit as the finish line this game here's the best part about it it was designed with passion as the finish line"

Jersey Jack Pinball operates with passion while Stern is driven primarily by profit

"I'm starting to feel a little bit like it might be Stern Pinball that they might be, you know, the Sauron and the evil empire a little bit."

Stern Pinball is becoming like the evil empire/Sauron in pinball - arrogant and avoiding community shows

"We know these games aren't worth anywhere close to $9,000 or $7,500. But we still buy them because you do put out a fun Pinball product. We know we're getting ripped off, but we support you, Stern"

Stern games aren't worth $9000 or $7500 but people still buy them - customers know they're getting ripped off

"The biggest pinball company in the world. What a funny April fools joke. I mean, I have a sense of humor. I do. But I just found that to be pretty lame."

Stern Pinball's April Fools joke about revealing Black Knight at Burger King was lame and shows their arrogance

"It's like a movie studio putting out one movie a week and you can't even figure out when you're going to go see the first one, let alone the fact that the second one's already out. And that's what it feels like. They're just dropping stuff on top of stuff and nothing's starting to feel special anymore."

Stern releases too many titles too quickly - nothing feels special anymore, like a movie studio releasing one movie a week

"But we do know that Stern has a little bit of a formula. That a Stern game is always a Stern game is always a Stern game. And while they'll do different things here and there, for the most part, are you ever really blown away by that thing that Stern puts into the game? Are you? No."

Stern has a predictable formula and rarely delivers truly surprising innovations

"How is that not idiotic? How is that not ludicrous that Stern Pinball has Steve Ritchie"

Stern revealing Black Knight right after TPF was idiotic

"They're winning this battle. Don't be fooled. Yes, there are some companies chipping away. Primarily, the only one really chipping away at Stern is Chicago gaming company. Everybody else is not. Nobody else is really making a dent on Stern's black castle."

Stern Pinball is dominating the market and competitors aren't making a real dent

"the cadence and the volume and the frequency and efficiency of this company puts every other pinball company to shame"

Stern Pinball's production efficiency puts all other pinball companies to shame

"the final thing that they need to do to justify where the prices of their games are currently at... is to include a lot more mechanical innovations in their games. And they've gotten away over the last few years with stuff that isn't really pushing the boundaries of what they can do."

Stern's mechanical innovation is lacking but they excel at art, themes, and shipping more complete code