Author Topic: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production  (Read 57353 times)

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Offline swinks

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Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« on: March 20, 2015, 08:14:39 AM »
Stern did a press release of BJM but think they have priced themselves out to not sell many.

RRP - $6500 USD = $8500 AUD + AMD markup = $9500 - $10000 + freight to your door.

As much as the machine looks cool and I was personally hoping for a cheaper machine in comparison to their regular games and being non licensed I think they are hitting the point of cutting out the home owner. Even the US guys are coughing at the price.

For the US guys it works out to be $500 more than the latest pro and you are getting legs and a crate but it is a solid state not a EM but with EM score reels. It has lots of comical call outs like a dmd machine so a nice blend but the RRP is dam high.


Here is the press release:


Stern Pinball Announces Immediate Availability of Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons™ Pinball Machine
World's Leading Maker of Arcade-Quality Pinball Games and Whizbang Pinball Announce It's Melon Season!
MELROSE PARK, Ill., March 19, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Stern Pinball, Inc., the world's oldest and largest producer of arcade-quality pinball games, and Whizbang Pinball LLC officially announced the availability of their Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons™ pinball machine.
Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons™ pinball takes players on a journey through the Mellon Family farm renowned for abundant produce. Players score points on the farm operated by the lovely Melony Mellon and her twin sisters while avoiding the wrath of their over-protective shotgun-wielding father. The colorful easy-to-learn game features a fun classically styled pinball playfield tuned for a balance of randomness and skilled shooting challenges. The game rewards players of all skill levels.
"Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons™ offers an entertaining classic pinball experience," said Gary Stern, Chairman and CEO of Stern Pinball. "We're excited to work with Whizbang Pinball to provide players and operators with a unique pinball game and a fun playing experience."
"I love the combination of designing a retro-style playfield powered by today's latest technology," said Dennis Nordman, Whizbang Pinball co-founder.
This unique blend of classic and modern technologies creates a new breed of pinball machine that presents pinball as an art form while maintaining the reliability and serviceability of modern commercial pinball machines. The playfield, backglass, and cabinet art and styling, central to the game's unique visual quality, feature detailed original characters and fresh hand-drawn artwork that blend elements of mid-century pin-up art and classic pinball themes.
Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons™ offers many unique features including:
Original retro-style playfield designed by Dennis Nordman
Original retro-style hand-drawn graphics by Greg Freres featuring fresh fruit, a cool truck and the ever popular Mellon family
A unique, durable, weathered fruit crate cabinet design
A supplemental set of powder-coated legs for ease of operation and transportation
A standard coin-door for location play
Illuminated mechanical score reels
Retro-style bumper caps and flipper bats
Dual-action bullseye melon targets
A retro mechanical Knocker
Space for crushed beer cans to set the perfect playfield angle (players can choose their own brand or use Whoa Nellie! branded cans)
Pricing and Availability:
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price ("MSRP") for the United States: US$6,499
Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons™ is available through authorized Stern Pinball distributors and dealers around the world.
Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons™ merchandise and accessories are now available through the Stern Shop: http://costore.com/sternpinball/welcome.asp and select authorized distributors and dealers around the world.
About Whizbang Pinball LLC
Founded in 2009 by Greg Freres and Dennis Nordman, Whizbang Pinball LLC is a design studio that presents boutique pinball as a new art form by integrating its extensive pinball industry experience with its artistic vision for a unique combination of art and technology.
About Stern Pinball, Inc.
Stern Pinball, Inc., headquartered just outside Chicago, Illinois, is the oldest and largest producer of arcade-quality pinball games in the world. Stern Pinball's highly talented creative and technical teams design, engineer and manufacture a full line of popular pinball games, merchandise and accessories. Recent Stern Pinball titles include WWE WrestleMania, The Walking Dead, Ford Mustang, Star Trek, Metallica, The Avengers, X-Men, AC/DC, Tron, Transformers, Avatar, Iron Man, Batman, and spiderman. A broad range of players enjoy Stern Pinball's games from professional pinball players who compete in high-stakes international competitions around the globe to novice players who are discovering the allure of the silver ball for the first time. To join the fun and learn more, please visit http://www.sternpinball.com.
All trademarks and product names are the property of their respective companies



the picture is of their original version, as Stern have not released any images yet.
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Offline coon82

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #1 on: March 20, 2015, 08:39:28 AM »
Very expensive indeed....
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Offline swinks

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #2 on: March 20, 2015, 09:41:08 AM »
in a recent interview on one of the podcasts, it was going to be (comical) voice call out dmd style game (so not a ding dong game) and they started with a particular game and took all the components out and then redesigned the layout a bit including return lanes to the flippers etc.

they said it was going to now come with an autoball feed not a manual one and has the new spike system in it
« Last Edit: March 20, 2015, 09:42:48 AM by swinks »
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Offline oldskool1969

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #3 on: March 20, 2015, 10:52:45 AM »
That is VERY expensive and was hoping for one as I like this soooooooo much.
Might have to sell a few machines to fund this. Shame.
Still want one though.
If it isn't broke, it isn't pinball.

Offline swinks

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2015, 11:08:21 AM »
Stern now claiming it is a fake press release but quite a few pinsiders have slammed the price so maybe Stern are doing a damage control due to the price.

Jonathon from Pinball Magazine stated it was from a official press release so good old Stern Marketing might have have just seen the bubble burst - now starting to be too greedy...
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Offline swinks

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #5 on: March 20, 2015, 01:41:41 PM »
here is a pinballnews update though these images are of the original

http://www.pinballnews.com/news/whoanellie.html
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Offline intopins

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #6 on: March 20, 2015, 03:17:27 PM »
Love this part - "The recommended retail price of the Stern-made Whoa Nellie! game is $6,499, pitching it around $1,000 above the price of a current Stern Pro model game and crushing any hopes it would be more affordable than a regular Stern game."

Offline swinks

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #7 on: March 20, 2015, 03:58:18 PM »
yes, and it is non licensed, runs the cheaper spike system, no ramps = should be cheaper or equal to pro's but dearer  !@#
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Offline Homepin

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2015, 04:12:49 PM »
Licence fees are usually a LOT less expensive than many people make out. There are MILLIONS of other expenses and costs involved but (in my case anyway) the licence fee is insignificant in the overall cost of the machine.
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Offline oldskool1969

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #9 on: March 20, 2015, 06:24:32 PM »
my heart is STILL set on one.
If it isn't broke, it isn't pinball.

Offline Caveoftreasures

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #10 on: March 20, 2015, 06:30:46 PM »
For those who can't afford it, get a better job. Lol

Ahhhhhhhhh, it's a one off run in very very limited numbers. The price was never going to be cheaper.
It's a luxury item with a crap Australian dollar, it had to be anything but cheap.

Pinball BNIB is never cheap. We all expect and understand brand new car prices go up year after year but when it happens to pinball everyone freaks out a little.

How did everyone think Stern was going to pay for its research and development costs on the SPIKE system, pay for its massive new factory and all the new top end office staff ? The prices had to go up.

It's just a shame our dollar is 75 cents USA and not the $1.15 it was.
If the dollar was excellent no one would be complaining.
What can you do. Pinball is now a Luxury item through and through.
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Offline Caveoftreasures

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #11 on: March 20, 2015, 07:24:46 PM »
If it plays half as good as it looks it will be excellent.
The colours remind me of a brand new Fishtales.
Behind every garage door could be a pinball collectors
"Cave of Treasures" 55 in my collection

Into  Stern -JJP - Cars , Road Bikes- Jet Skis - Star Trek n Sci-Fi & Electronics    
Beware of Stalkers & Walkers when playing The Walking Dead

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Offline Retropin

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #12 on: March 20, 2015, 07:29:16 PM »
Toyota wanted $28K for their Ute when I bought my Great Wall.. now they are $21K or thereabouts. Its called COMPETITION!

Ill say it again... a business expands because they are doing great and need extra space ... in other words, they have made a balanced decision that extra investment will bring greater rewards IN THE LONG RUN due to greater manufacturing numbers etc.
If this means STERN have to have more management then they are stupid... management don't produce.. they create red tape systems. Its the people on the floor that make products and its product that brings in $$$'s.
When a company expands management and expects the customer to fund the increase in OFFICE staff... it has its head firmly up it own 'arris.
Stern created SPIKE because it will be cheaper for them.. tiny board with SMD. Whole board can be made by machine in the thousands at a reduced cost of through hole components.

Its a mode on TAF that we all know   ...   G...R...E...E...D!

Offline swinks

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #13 on: March 20, 2015, 07:31:11 PM »
For those who can't afford it, get a better job. Lol

Ahhhhhhhhh, it's a one off run in very very limited numbers. The price was never going to be cheaper.
It's a luxury item with a crap Australian dollar, it had to be anything but cheap.

Pinball BNIB is never cheap. We all expect and understand brand new car prices go up year after year but when it happens to pinball everyone freaks out a little.

How did everyone think Stern was going to pay for its research and development costs on the SPIKE system, pay for its massive new factory and all the new top end office staff ? The prices had to go up.

It's just a shame our dollar is 75 cents USA and not the $1.15 it was.
If the dollar was excellent no one would be complaining.
What can you do. Pinball is now a Luxury item through and through.


as stated in the past just because stern develop a new controller system that is cheaper to make and cheaper to install etc doesn't mean the price should be hiked up. A smart business would plan ahead and recoup costs over a period of time, not slam their customers with all the extra costs due to development and new factory - slam the MMr contractors.

the fact that they are claiming it was a fake launch after almost everyone that made a comment on the pinside thread said they were out based on the price alone. I bet Stern are just getting greedy and trying to cash in on the boutique market but they are the holden / ford producer of pins with a base range, medium and HSV range. Boutique pinball is dearer because there unit costs are dearer as well as many other factors. Stern might of just seen the limits of the bubble plus  Stern's marketing guy is a goose - no more launch videos and not launching product professionally and constant price hikes.

admittedly the dollar value does not help but this pin is $500 more in the US than the Wrestling and TWD pro pins ??? and it does not have ramps, dmd or playfield toys and is a one player only roll over em score reels??

that aside it is a sweet looking pin and look forward to videos.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2015, 08:07:01 PM by swinks »
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Offline pinsanity

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Re: Stern - Big Juicy Melons - going into production
« Reply #14 on: March 20, 2015, 08:33:59 PM »
as stated in the past just because stern develop a new controller system that is cheaper to make and cheaper to install etc doesn't mean the price should be hiked up. A smart business would plan ahead and recoup costs over a period of time, not slam their customers with all the extra costs due to development and new factory - slam the MMr contractors.

the fact that they are claiming it was a fake launch after almost everyone that made a comment on the pinside thread said they were out based on the price alone. I bet Stern are just getting greedy and trying to cash in on the boutique market but they are the holden / ford producer of pins with a base range, medium and HSV range. Boutique pinball is dearer because there unit costs are dearer as well as many other factors. Stern might of just seen the limits of the bubble plus  Stern's marketing guy is a goose - no more launch videos and not launching product professionally and constant price hikes.

admittedly the dollar value does not help but this pin is $500 more in the US than the Wrestling and TWD pro pins ??? and it does not have ramps, dmd or playfield toys ??

that aside it is a sweet looking pin and look forward to videos.

+1

Stern are just trying to milk the market while it lasts. Unfortunately they will end up killing the golden goose that they created in the first place.

ACDC was and will remain Stern's high water mark, but as swinks said they got greedy from that point on because they saw the sales and decided to implement bracket creep pricing that has far outstripped both inflation and currency fluctuations on subsequent titles.

People can bang on with glib internet statements like getting a better paying job, but the reality remains there is a finite amount of customers both in Australia and globally who can both afford and justify regular circa $10,000 outlays on a novelty item that is for all intents and purposes a beta unit on initial release and which may or may not receive updates of any significance. People won't buy because it is an unpolished product and Stern won't polish the product because the sales aren't there - round and round the merry go round.

Of course, those with a pecuniary interest will continue to preach about how sales of the Stern title du jour are going gangbusters and they can't keep up with demand, yet continue to overlook the fact that the time period required for titles to ACTUALLY sell out from distributors continues to widen with each title released. There are still Mustang LE's available in both the US and Europe from multiple distributors and we are rapidly approaching its one year release anniversary.

Stern can make "The Pin" and sell it for $3000US RRP on Amazon (Amazon also takes their percentage cut out of that price so the real RRP would likely sit in the mid to high $2000's). For that price it has over 90% of what a standard Pro model Stern machine contains. Yet people continue to go on about how Pro models represent great value because Stern can't afford to build them for less.

Can you hear that noise in the distance? That's the sound of a rapidly expanding bubble stretched to its limits and about to explode.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2015, 09:25:51 PM by pinsanity »