Stern's Next Pin - TWD 2014 / 2015

[delarge]

There seems to be a shift of buyers commitment to the machine in the last two weeks. Not sure exactly why (code or lack of character voices ?). some cancelled orders - which may happen with any title or manufacturer (just ask JJP).

The idea of "try before you buy" needs to be seriously addressed by Stern / AMD. There's not one Mustang in Melbourne and obviously not one TWD yet. I think that Stern need to address this IMMEDIATELY and release games with completed code. I know it is a "dead horse" - but TWD SHOULD be a hit.

I find it almost amusing that the only way you can buy a Stern is to buy pre order. I'd like to know the sales figures with pre orders VS games sold "off the floor". There's NO "floor" in Melbourne. I can't send "car nuts" to try a Mustang, so they buy a Corvette pinball instead. Stern / AMD need to sort out their sales model.

To be fair, AMD have Zax Amusements as their Melbourne distributor listed on their web site and maybe AMD have enough Melbourne customers that it isn't a concern? There was also a Mustang LE sited at the Peacock Inn. I think I saw a Cashbox Amusements card on the machine. I do agree that Melbourne needs more Stern machines. I don't get to Sydney much these days, but love playing pinball when I hit Melbourne for a weekend.

As for a Dutch Pinball distributor, that sounds like a great idea.  Get in on the ground level!

Cheers!
Adam.

[Caveoftreasures]

It sounds to me that a few people are making some Massive assumptions about people supposedly cancelling orders and saying the Walking Dead game is no good when they haven't even seen the machine in real life, let alone played it.
I hate unwarranted negativity in pinball. It seems a few just bag Stern no matter what they do. It gets comical very quickly. Then it just becomes sad really. The baggers act like they could build and design better with little effort. Smells like bullshit to me. Lol
As for playing a machine, its a $89 flight to Sydney from almost anywhere in Australia.
If you are thinking about spending 7 thousand dollars or more, surely a $180 return flight isn't going to break the bank. Its early days, and some negative people have condemned all and sundry already.
Wow, it's just so cynical to me.
The facts are that Stern will sell its usual few thousand Pro models and its 600 limited edition models and a lot of people will be happy with a new machine.
Thank the stars Gary Stern and his team believe in their product and build machines for their loyal customers without committing suicide everytime they hear or read the same old lame baggers who were never going to buy anyway.

[Cow Corner]

Nothing supposed about orders LE being cancelled, check the backlash on pinside for the proof.

Stern need to pick their act up.

 

But if someone wants this game just wait awhile and pick it up cheap on the 2nd hand market.

7k and 10.5 k respectively for either model nib is highway robbery.

The pro will be a 5k game in 12 months and if recent LE trends are any indication it will also take a fair hit in price.

 

[Caveoftreasures]

A small few on pin side says little to me. The few cancelling probably never had the money to start with. Lol

Zombie zombie zombie. Killer !

[Retropin]

Nothing supposed about orders LE being cancelled, check the backlash on pinside for the proof.

Stern need to pick their act up.

 

But if someone wants this game just wait awhile and pick it up cheap on the 2nd hand market.

7k and 10.5 k respectively for either model nib is highway robbery.

The pro will be a 5k game in 12 months and if recent LE trends are any indication it will also take a fair hit in price.

 

The LE reviews are not too bad. But the point being made is that with Walking Dead, Stern had the chance to really make something special and given the title many expected just that. Bloody hell. its zombies and its one of the most popular shows in the world... really should have been a golden ticket for Stern.
The LE it appears is a reasonable game to play and the features lift it.. but that's the LE. The Pro is the LE with features taken out and is the machine most of the market would have aimed for. reports on this is that its.. well.. so - so.
So, to summarise, it could have been but those that have played it say it is not.
If just keeping a ball in play with 2 flippers floats your boat then anything is good fun.. but when you look for a classic that TWD could have been then again Stern fail to achieve.
Problem is that once the title is done, no one else can do it as all hype is lost etc.
Overall the Stern recipe is to embrace mutton and sell it packaged as lamb, this.. I admit, they do do very well

[Strangeways]

I'm VERY much looking forward to playing the game. I'm lucky as I know a buyer and I'll probably be at the "unboxing". Come to think of it, that's the ONLY way I'll get to play the machine (any Stern for that matter !)

 

[Cow Corner]

A small few on pin side says little to me. The few cancelling probably never had the money to start with. Lol

Zombie zombie zombie. Killer !

LOL

Wrong, it is a heap more than a few...the stern bubble is busting...but hey enjoy your 7k pro if that's your bag.

 

[delarge]

Hmmm I hardly see the Internet chatter from a handful of people as the Stern bubble busting. They've weathered the storm for the past 14 years, now going from strength to strength, new premises and manufacturing machines for other companies. I think they're now listening to what the hobbyist wants in a machine (see Metallica) and I'm guessing they'll continue to listen.

[Retropin]

Hmmm I hardly see the Internet chatter from a handful of people as the Stern bubble busting. They've weathered the storm for the past 14 years, now going from strength to strength, new premises and manufacturing machines for other companies. I think they're now listening to what the hobbyist wants in a machine (see Metallica) and I'm guessing they'll continue to listen.

Metallica was a one off. Wade Kraus and Dirty Donnie had already done a Metallica and presented it to their mate James Hetfield.
Stern then realised the opportunity and approached the band to make a commercial version. Metallica agreed with various strict stipulations on how it was going to be done and had the final word on every decision made about the machine.
Its a classic.. everyone agrees, but its only a classic because Stern weren't allowed to make their usual game. Had Stern had free reign over this title then it wouldn't be receiving the accolades it currently enjoys.
You wont see another Metallica from Stern, they are just not capable of it.

[Retropin]

This might sound fun n strange at the same time to any of you who are dads and have kids.
My 5 year old son loves watching The Walking Dead with me and although I was against him seeing zombies etc, his mum had watched it with him a lot before I knew and he wasn't scared of the zombies but more excited to see the crew on the movie running them over etc.
So like his mum, and totally unlike me, he likes scary stuff and doesn't get scared during the night when he goes to bed etc. I don't mind shows like The Walking Dead but I hate all other really scary suspense movies, they really freak me out and I do wake up with nightmares etc.

Anyway, I was getting to the fact that my son asks me where the zombies are at night times. He asks how come we never see any around our house at night or when we are driving at night. Even though I told him its only a TV show, he says that's boring and he still wants to find some and run them over for fun. So I told him I know a special place where they hang around. I told him they only ever wait at shopping centres of a night time. (Waiting for women who spend up big on their husbands credit cards I should have thrown in for the fun of it.lol)
I chose the shopping centre for a few good reasons.
Firstly, all quiet at night and no one around. I can drive around the shopping centre a bit crazy and not break any road rules. And here comes the convenient and well placed speed humps galore.....  I drive over a speed bump and tell Hunter that I just ran over a zombie. He gets excited and laughs and has a jolly good old time thinking we just have run over zombies. Its a simple trick but we have lots of fun doing it. Lol

After about ten speed humps (now flattened zombies) we head home with Hunter declaring the suburb is safe until our next mission. We stopped on the side of the road and there was a garbage bin all messed up and spread all over the place. Hunter declared that the zombies were hungry and had done it. We were just about to drive off and Hunter started calling out Zombie Zombie. There's a zombie in the bush.
I got out the torch and to my surprise there was a kangaroo staring at us from apx 10 metres away. It scared the hell out of me cause its eyes lit up bright in the torch. For a few seconds I almost forgot zombies weren't real.
Anyway, I told my son were buying a new zombie pinball. He was very happy, then went sad. I said what's wrong, he said "we are still going to drive around and kill zombies aren't we daddy"....
I said yes ofcourse. So I am wondering who is going to enjoy Sterns new pinny more, me or my five year old son..... L

Unf*^ing believable   

The reason its MA15+ is not because young kids might get scared, its because of the high level graphic violence FFS. Only a completely f*^ked up twat would think that its fine for a 5yr old to watch and then go re-enact the scenes in their car.
Holy crap!

[Dann36]

I find it almost amusing that the only way you can buy a Stern is to buy pre order. I'd like to know the sales figures with pre orders VS games sold "off the floor". There's NO "floor" in Melbourne. I can't send "car nuts" to try a Mustang, so they buy a Corvette pinball instead. Stern / AMD need to sort out their sales model.

Zax Amusements has most new sterns on the showroom floor for people to try including Mustang.

[Caveoftreasures]

This might sound fun n strange at the same time to any of you who are dads and have kids.
My 5 year old son loves watching The Walking Dead with me and although I was against him seeing zombies etc, his mum had watched it with him a lot before I knew and he wasn't scared of the zombies but more excited to see the crew on the movie running them over etc.
So like his mum, and totally unlike me, he likes scary stuff and doesn't get scared during the night when he goes to bed etc. I don't mind shows like The Walking Dead but I hate all other really scary suspense movies, they really freak me out and I do wake up with nightmares etc.

Anyway, I was getting to the fact that my son asks me where the zombies are at night times. He asks how come we never see any around our house at night or when we are driving at night. Even though I told him its only a TV show, he says that's boring and he still wants to find some and run them over for fun. So I told him I know a special place where they hang around. I told him they only ever wait at shopping centres of a night time. (Waiting for women who spend up big on their husbands credit cards I should have thrown in for the fun of it.lol)
I chose the shopping centre for a few good reasons.
Firstly, all quiet at night and no one around. I can drive around the shopping centre a bit crazy and not break any road rules. And here comes the convenient and well placed speed humps galore.....  I drive over a speed bump and tell Hunter that I just ran over a zombie. He gets excited and laughs and has a jolly good old time thinking we just have run over zombies. Its a simple trick but we have lots of fun doing it. Lol

After about ten speed humps (now flattened zombies) we head home with Hunter declaring the suburb is safe until our next mission. We stopped on the side of the road and there was a garbage bin all messed up and spread all over the place. Hunter declared that the zombies were hungry and had done it. We were just about to drive off and Hunter started calling out Zombie Zombie. There's a zombie in the bush.
I got out the torch and to my surprise there was a kangaroo staring at us from apx 10 metres away. It scared the hell out of me cause its eyes lit up bright in the torch. For a few seconds I almost forgot zombies weren't real.
Anyway, I told my son were buying a new zombie pinball. He was very happy, then went sad. I said what's wrong, he said "we are still going to drive around and kill zombies aren't we daddy"....
I said yes ofcourse. So I am wondering who is going to enjoy Sterns new pinny more, me or my five year old son..... L

Unf*^ing believable   

The reason its MA15+ is not because young kids might get scared, its because of the high level graphic violence FFS. Only a completely f*^ked up twat would think that its fine for a 5yr old to watch and then go re-enact the scenes in their car.
Holy crap!

It's no different to the cartoons kids watch full of play acting and he knows its make believe which is why we pretend and have a little fun with it. My son at five has more brains than certain adults.....As usual, I will ignore your personal and insulting comments. Didn't take u long did it. Stick to talking about pinball Gavin. Don't ever talk about me or my son ever again. I won't tell u ever again.

[Caveoftreasures]

I am hearing some people are hearing that a Premium model is on the cards when all the LE models are sold.
Wondering if it will have a different cabinet art ?
Any thoughts.

[Cow Corner]

This might sound fun n strange at the same time to any of you who are dads and have kids.
My 5 year old son loves watching The Walking Dead with me and although I was against him seeing zombies etc, his mum had watched it with him a lot before I knew and he wasn't scared of the zombies but more excited to see the crew on the movie running them over etc.
So like his mum, and totally unlike me, he likes scary stuff and doesn't get scared during the night when he goes to bed etc. I don't mind shows like The Walking Dead but I hate all other really scary suspense movies, they really freak me out and I do wake up with nightmares etc.

Anyway, I was getting to the fact that my son asks me where the zombies are at night times. He asks how come we never see any around our house at night or when we are driving at night. Even though I told him its only a TV show, he says that's boring and he still wants to find some and run them over for fun. So I told him I know a special place where they hang around. I told him they only ever wait at shopping centres of a night time. (Waiting for women who spend up big on their husbands credit cards I should have thrown in for the fun of it.lol)
I chose the shopping centre for a few good reasons.
Firstly, all quiet at night and no one around. I can drive around the shopping centre a bit crazy and not break any road rules. And here comes the convenient and well placed speed humps galore.....  I drive over a speed bump and tell Hunter that I just ran over a zombie. He gets excited and laughs and has a jolly good old time thinking we just have run over zombies. Its a simple trick but we have lots of fun doing it. Lol

After about ten speed humps (now flattened zombies) we head home with Hunter declaring the suburb is safe until our next mission. We stopped on the side of the road and there was a garbage bin all messed up and spread all over the place. Hunter declared that the zombies were hungry and had done it. We were just about to drive off and Hunter started calling out Zombie Zombie. There's a zombie in the bush.
I got out the torch and to my surprise there was a kangaroo staring at us from apx 10 metres away. It scared the hell out of me cause its eyes lit up bright in the torch. For a few seconds I almost forgot zombies weren't real.
Anyway, I told my son were buying a new zombie pinball. He was very happy, then went sad. I said what's wrong, he said "we are still going to drive around and kill zombies aren't we daddy"....
I said yes ofcourse. So I am wondering who is going to enjoy Sterns new pinny more, me or my five year old son..... L

Unf*^ing believable  

The reason its MA15+ is not because young kids might get scared, its because of the high level graphic violence FFS. Only a completely f*^ked up twat would think that its fine for a 5yr old to watch and then go re-enact the scenes in their car.
Holy crap!

That there is extremely irresponsible parenting.

[Caveoftreasures]

How did I guess CC you would have something typically and usually NEGATIVE to say.
You should also keep your comments to pinball. I don't take parental advice from drunks or druggys.
I will go back to ignoring the same two sour mouths I have ignored in the past.