Re: Who's Buying Stern's Last Pin Regardless of Theme?

mattyb wrote:
Just curious to see how it might influence a purchase decision. After
SR's comment in a recent thread that Stern's demise "may be sooner
than later" makes me wonder if his "24" will ever get made. So CSI
could be it.

I would probably buy it even though I've never watched the show and am
still miffed over the half-ass code on BDK. MattyB.

At the risk of sounding "controversial" and things like the economy
& pop culture being what they are, I'd say Stern is dropping the
(pin)ball with most of their decisions lately. Some of this has
been talked about before, but their business MO isn't working:

1) producing silly trended themes such as television drama's,
etc. I would argue that most ALL of these things are weak and will
not stand the test of time. They'd be better off producing ORIGINAL
themes to lure people back to pinball. Modern television & the way
movies are produced today are complete and utter garbage - IMO. And
no, I'm not a LOTR's fan - but I do respect the popularity of the
theme and pinball players desire to own one.

2) recognising that over 40% of the new machines they produce
actually goes to home buyers AND NOT FINISHING CODE, goes against
common sense business practices. Look at how many HUO owners
retain their machines? Let's face it, turnover is GREAT for
these machines within the home. $5k is a lot of money to doll
out on a machines that hardly feels/looks much better than the
home model pins of yesteryear and I'm guessing most modern
Stern pin owners realise this before too long.

3) producing machines that now cost in excess of $4.5-$5k. I know of
at least 3 operators that can no longer afford to buy into pinball.
AS if there is even a "good" chance of a return anyway thanks to
where society is today and what Stern has done to the modern pinball.
The end product is simply not perceived to be "worth" what they
are asking. They're going to price themselves right out of business.

You may or may not agree with some of these comments - but you can't
argue with their lack of success. Lack of originality, overpriced pins
(despite the workforce being ALL Mexican), and that goofy Sega/D.E.
hybrid feel have all attributed to where they are today - IMO.

Sorry to sound like a Stern basher. I am not. Just passionate about
pinball and tired of seeing history repeat itself again. And again.
And again...



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