Next Stern Pinball

[Dirty daz]

I hope its not Rolling Stones. No disrespect to a good band, but who is interested in 70 year old rockers. 

How about something edgy and modern like Stargate or Stargate Atlantis. Having the "Wraith Multiball" where you get the life sucked out of u fast if you dont make shots would be way cool. Many great parts of the show to add here.

Are u serious Ant about it being a snnnnnrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rolling stones. 

             wrath multi ball should be 4 power balls come out of the stargate at once

[Retropin]

I was talking with my wife and kids today and we came up with an idea for a pinball that really ran away with us and in all honesty has so much potential that i think its pure bloody genius!

The theme of this pinball MUST have instant appeal to a wide audience.
It must be able to take pinball out of the "hit A then B and get a video mode" type strategy
It must be interactive
It cannot get boring.. and so game strategy must be able to change.
It must launch pinball into the next generation and advance from the now stagnant DMD mode.

So... what theme could possibly embrace all of this... where would pinball get an instant wide audience whilst appealing to a whole new market?

Where could we get a cashed up 14 million people interested??

The answer??......





WORLD OF WARCRAFT


14 million users pay a subzcription to play this game.. thats AFTER buying the game in the first place.

Get this...

Your WOW pinball can be online via ethernet... you can play against anyone else online.. potential gamers worldwide.

DMD is SCRAPPED  and flat screen with graphics card installed instead.

As you advance targets you advance your quests.
Add ons can be purchased.
Whilst the PF may remain the same layout... the targets take on different values dependant on game quests.
each time you start up your pinball you carry on from where you left off.
You can play on PC and upload to pinball to continue a game.

In essence you pinball becomes a PC with a playfield.. it is NEVER a static game.. it ALWAYS evolves.. you exchange keyboard keys for targets or sequences on a pinball PF..
... But basically.. you play World Of Warcraft... the game is HUGE WORLDWIDE... its a game.. so pinball will have an instant attraction to these people who till now are not your typical pinball customer.

Imagine WOW on site??... all it would take would be internet access.

far out, strewth guvnor... this idea is a  friggin pearler!

[ktm450]

That is a great idea, get people out of their homes to play a real game.
Reminds me of one of the funniest South Park episodes called 'make love not warcraft', check out about 1.30 in, the guys are playing WoW for days on end non stop, slothing in front of the computers, when cartman has some special power and cant leave to take a shit, "thats a big boy isn't he"  GOLD!

[mildflame]

the whole WOW idea could get somewhere but the lcd flatpanel may take a few experimentsor may not fit in a budjet although would still proberly (once mastered) turn out to cost the same as trying to turn a computer program into running on a DMD because of the curcit boards and programming (please tell me if i'm wrong) i have been thinking about lcd's for a while but there must be a reason why they havent made one yet, im sure stern has thought about it, its just why havent they done something yet?

[Retropin]

the whole WOW idea could get somewhere but the lcd flatpanel may take a few experimentsor may not fit in a budjet although would still proberly (once mastered) turn out to cost the same as trying to turn a computer program into running on a DMD because of the curcit boards and programming (please tell me if i'm wrong) i have been thinking about lcd's for a while but there must be a reason why they havent made one yet, im sure stern has thought about it, its just why havent they done something yet?

Stern dont really DO anything... they have copied the industry leaders from day 1 its been almost an unofficial Stern business strategy.
Now they are the industry leaders and we all look to them to actually do something innovative..... problem is that they just dont have it in them.
The only innovations Stern have made are cost cutting exercises like digital print ( and not high res print either.. even the graphics package is budget) playfields, plastic aprons and the such.
We all know where Stern should be going and its away from the usual recipe.... couple of pop bumpers top right, few toys in the middle that wobble ( is that now animation?) crappy print centre PF.. shove everything up the back... Stern wont go there though.

Flat panel expensive?? Not really, i have one on my phone and i bought that as prepaid for $60

[Caveoftreasures]

I hope its not Rolling Stones. No disrespect to a good band, but who is interested in 70 year old rockers. 

How about something edgy and modern like Stargate or Stargate Atlantis. Having the "Wraith Multiball" where you get the life sucked out of u fast if you dont make shots would be way cool. Many great parts of the show to add here.

Are u serious Ant about it being a snnnnnrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rolling stones. 

             wrath multi ball should be 4 power balls come out of the stargate at once

STARGATE ATLANTIS. what a excellent show. bit pissed it got axed for the crap Stargate Snoozefest Universe. But Wraith anything on a pinball would be way way cool.
BRING BACK STAR TREK TV SERIES. (we had Next Gen, then Voyager, then Enterprise, mmmmmmm what is next ?


Bring back something Stargate Atlantis or something new and action packed like it was.

What about something like a ALIENS series with the original ALIENS theme but a new twist with all different worlds with all different Alien/Monster shows.

Channel 125 and 165 on Austar. Ohhh YEhhhhhhh. lol 

[v8racefan]

looks like a stones pinball is rolling in 2011!!

see PGJ link..

http://www.pingamejournal.com/current/

[Caveoftreasures]

When u read what they are doing with a whack of Batman pinballs that they are sending around the country (USA) and putting in CostCo Stores, they say the words mentioned below  > quote

"If the test is successful, Stern will further simplify the game design for tested market segments, such redesign including a much more simplified cabinet, replacement of the current dot matrix score display, and so forth".

I think STERN is insane. What are they thinking ? They are heading in the total wrong direction. People want excitement, features, neat tricks n toys, a pinball that is fun.
It seems STERN has decided "lets have a competition, lets build the cheapest, nastyess pinball in the world, lets make it the most blue n white, basic thing we can".

You increase profits by being great at something, not by cost cutting these machines to death. I read a article with photos, where Gary Stern said to a room of pinball/trade people in the USA, "that we have made some changes to our 2010 lineup, and some of the changes you are not going to like".

These words are something a Business owner should never say to his customers. I then felt that the clock of death was clicking faster with STERN.

Now a pinball for 70 yr old rockers ? How can they get it sooooo wrong ?

[pinnies4me]

It seems Stern (in various guises - old Stern, DE) were never innovators, just imitators. And with nothing left to copy, they have no direction. Stern copied the Bally board set originally, then copied the Williams System 11 for DE. I can't think of a game in any of their incarnations where they came up with something truly new.

Perhaps with nothing to copy, they are struggling with direction?

GS has said recently that there is not room for two pinball companies in the world now, and another company would likely see Stern fail. Sounds to me like a guy in fear. Maybe they do need another pinball manufacturer, so they can copy their inventions!!

Feel free to debate.

[Retropin]

Discuss??   Couldnt agree more.. have said it many times myself

[RottyGuy]

looks like a stones pinball is rolling in 2011!!

see PGJ link..

http://www.pingamejournal.com/current/

Another Stones pinny, how boring....

[ktm450]

It seems Stern (in various guises - old Stern, DE) were never innovators, just imitators. And with nothing left to copy, they have no direction. Stern copied the Bally board set originally, then copied the Williams System 11 for DE. I can't think of a game in any of their incarnations where they came up with something truly new.

Perhaps with nothing to copy, they are struggling with direction?

GS has said recently that there is not room for two pinball companies in the world now, and another company would likely see Stern fail. Sounds to me like a guy in fear. Maybe they do need another pinball manufacturer, so they can copy their inventions!!

Feel free to debate.

Totally agree with that, boards a direct copy, some mechs, a lot of games were copies of WMS games with a different theme. They obviously had insiders helping them out, as some of their games would have been on the production line only a few months behind.  Was discussed by a few designers on the Topcasts

[Caveoftreasures]

There is something i cant seem to get a handle on, that is, after all the other pinball companies shut, there would be many of dozens, if not a hundred or two hundred great pinball brains in the USA, from design and marketing, to software and engineering, floating around, looking for work, or if they had taken up jobs in other industries, they might be available at least on a consultant basis.

Surely, STERN could organise just a few of the great brains to get together and come up with something ABSOLUTELY GREAT for pinball in 2011.
Given that the ROLLING STONES is a UK band, and not even American (which does mean alot in the USA, one would wonder why a pommy band ?, and one that has past its prime 20 or 30 yrs ago).

WHO SAYS u have to have a "licenced brand" or "licenced name" to make a pinball ? Why cant they copy any of the greatest sellers of all times, and change just a few things, change the title, do something. Even remake any of the Data East or previous STERN titles, even under the same name, anything fresh n new without coming up with lame titles.  HAS ANYONE got any info on who or how STERN comes up with its next titles ?

Has anyone seen a chocolate wheel in Garys office, with a batch of bad ideas all over it, and if u spin the wheel, and it lands on something exciting, u just spin the wheel again ? Is that how the marketing dept works over there ?

It would be good if Gary Stern got on here and kicked my butt and came up with 10 reasons why i am wrong, and spoke of a new batch of exciting pins for 2011, but it will take a pinball machine with more than 1 x ramp, 1 x pop bumper, and a few flashing lights to do it. Lets all hope the next Stern release is better than the rolling stones.
Is anyone here considering buying a Rolling Stones pinny ? 

[tonyt]

Hopefully Rolling Stones isn't to Stern what Flipper Football was to Capcom. Hopefully for the sake of pinball they have made the right decision.

[Retropin]

It is an odd title to choose, but im used to Stern putting out machines that miss the market by a mile. Im a big fan of the stones... Let It Bleed is one of my favourite albums of all time. I must admit, im hoping this title is done well by Stern but i doubt it very much. It doesnt matter if RS are a UK band or USA band... i think youll find no one really gives a toss where music comes from so long as its good. Of all the coutries ive been to Australia has me scratching my head as it does label this band from here and that from there. For instance, i saw ACDC back in 1980 and it wasnt till i came to this country in 95 that i found out that they were an Aussie band.. no one had ever bothered to tell me before cos it didnt matter.. they were just a great rock band.

Anyway.. im actually looking forward to the release of this title, i reckon it will hold value very well later down the track just as the Bally version does.
Stones fans will be all over this just as Elvis fans were for the Elvis release... try scoring one of these for a bargain price... youll be bloody lucky!

I think the title holds a lot of potential and could be done very risque and tongue in cheek.
Id be a lot happier though if everything didnt wobble on a Stern title... wobbly stand up figurines just dont so it for me.

I can hear the attract tune for this game now though... opening riff to "satisfaction"..... bring it on!