I am happy cause I have heard the word Stern said 100 times in the last 20 posts. Lol
Pinball machines are just like any series 1 release of any new car.
They are sent out, tested & examined, the feedback is given to the factory and the physical & software updates are made and the car is changed accordingly.
That's why there are Series 2 & series 3 releases on all products.
At least with Stern, when the code update is made, everyone has the same machine. Identical.
But with cars, the series 1 buyers never get the physical changes & updates the series 2 buyer gets.
That would piss me off a lot more, hence I never buy series1 anything.
The car companies never get it right or perfect on product release & they have billions, so how do people think a reviving Stern can ever get it right in a market climbing out of oblivion !
I am just happy we still have a pinball industry manufacturing industry that is still alive & improving everyday.
No one ever said the products were perfect but they are trying.
One point I do want to make Nino is that you have a few year wait on machines in your APR business apparently & you have always said "people will wait" so I sometimes scratch my head when u say you are pissed u have had to wait 6 months for Stern to complete a pinball with code ! !
In this industry, none of us can have our cake & eat it too.
Anyway, it is what it is.
Perfection takes time, and it won't happen overnight but it will happen.
Here's the latest FB posting - "We don't necessarily update games in the order they were released. The process is much more complex. We release code updates frequently, and will continue to do so".
So let me apply that to your comments above (bold);
At the time of payment, APR promise that Twilight Zone is fully and completely restored. Everything works - perfectly. The last warranty issue reported was years ago (was a shipping problem on a ST TNG)
At the time of payment, Stern promise a "shipping code" version of an incomplete game. You can buy side armor, toppers and fancy shooter knobs. At the time you receive your game, you already have a warranty claim, that is waiting on code updates, or could be faulty SD cards. The waiting period to complete the game depends on how well the subsequent game sells, and whether our coders are too busy working on Jaws, Muppets or Ghostbusters. We promise a code update to fix all these issues "around Christmas - but we are not sure what year.
Don't confuse "Waiting for a completed game" with "Waiting on a new game to be completed".
We apply Stern's model of NIB sales to pinball restoration - At the time of payment, Stern promise a Twilight Zone, with custom topper, custom siderails and a custom plunger knob (Extra $1500). As consumers are already accustomed to, the Gumball machine is currently in development, the upper flippers are disabled and the mini playfield don't work. We will finished the game after we have completed an Indiana Jones, Addams Family and Fishtales.
As others have pointed out, people will respond with their wallets. I've now seen it first hand. I'm not smirking about this, I'd rather the pinhead bought a KISS Premium to be honest.
