Pinball machines and titles are a weird thing.....very much like cars really.
You walk onto a car yard, see the ugly-est of colours n think no one will buy that, 2 days later it sold and the new owners love it....same with makes n car brands, they are also like pinball themes, u think who would buy a car from that manufacturer, but alot of people do....funny world.
I think the point made about Stern only making limited numbers to make a title sell etc, is spot on. Stern have probably got their business model to the point where they sell the 500 LE models, sell probably 500 to 1000 Pro models and they are OK. Anymore than that and its all double cream.
Now that Stern are making a much better pinbal machine, I think they will do better n better compared to before, because even if u liked the theme, sometimes the game wasnt up to scratch. Now if u like the theme, the game is well n truly made so much better with better designs, so instantly, they have a better chance of selling, and u have a better chance of buying.
Also siting a game must be getting harder n harder to make money......3 new titles a year means the operator has to have bigger pockets to keep up with the latest n greatest title, or a desire to find new sites over n over again each year to accomodate the new titles as they come. Thank the heavens for home users n collectors otherwise Stern probably couldnt stay open on operators alone worldwide. Also, I dont think there is really such a thing as a good or bad title for putting onsite, it all gets down to the age demographic, and the style/location of the place u are siting a machine.
Example, motorbike shop for say a NO Fear pinny.
Example, a Gilligans Island pinny in a travel agent
Example, a Avengers pinny in a comic book shop
Example, a Wizard of Oz in a bowls club (only joking)....have to think about where u would site a WOZ ??
Example, a AC/DC in a Pub, but people will walk up to anything anywhere if they feel like a game or if they are bored.....
Also, because Stern send machines to 30 countries, u have to remember that alot of other countries think completely different compared to us Aussies.
In some countries, just by playing the Star Trek at a pub, might score u 2 girls for the night instantly cause they are trekky fans bigtime because they study at a coolege accross the road.lol Live Long n Prosper.lol
