Xiaou2, I'd really like a pic of you playing a Stern game or two as evidence that you've actually touched one.
A few local collectors have them, so Ive played them. They disappoint on Free-Play,
and pale in comparison to just about every other pin in their collections... with
very few exceptions.
I actually put money into an Indy, because I love IJ movies, and wanted to see
how it compared to williams IJ. It was a train wreck. And given my experience
with playing half the stern collection, you wont find me putting money in them
again.
LLUncoolJ.. be careful man... people who troll here do not like people who actually
make logical sense! heh
The fact is, however, is that licensed games sell much more than the generic themes do.
Nope. Thats called an OPINION. One that can easily be proven Wrong.
1 - it gives people an idea of what to do (load the couch on simpsons, shoot the ring on LOTR)
LOL! Umm, sure, like nobody can figure out how to shoot the trunk on Theatre
of Magic?!
Get real. That argument is pathetic, and only a mindless
zombie would eat that crap up. Its called "marketing excuse". Companies always
use idiot marketing BS to try to justify their poor decisions.
Stern could not make a non-licensed machine because they dont even have
an Artist! Their photoshop guy would not have any pictures to cut and paste!
Stern does not believe in spend money to make money.
He follows the concept of: "Theres a Sucker born every minute".
2 - it keeps the resale value of a pinball high - Simpsons & Harley Davidson will be popular the rest of our lives - so operators can resell them in a couple of years and make a good ROI
Right - and guess what, Haunted House will Always remain an alltime classic,
as will TOM, MM, and many more that will always be chosen over the Cheap
quality Sterns.
Plenty of people know WOF, but that does not mean they want a WOF pinball,
and WOF isnt Always going to be popular and well sold for the rest of someones
lifetime. More horsecrap on a stick.
Also, there has been a Simpsons done before, as well as other well known
themes, which do not do well, and are not highly desired at all.
I bet those Ops Loved the Burn they got from buying Riplys... thinking that if they
suck, they can resell them. Instead, they got a $4000 boat anchor.
3 - it appeals to home buyers. it's not some dud movie that everyone will groan about someday
DM is a groaner movie IMOP. As is T3. WOF is a groan just thinking about it.
TMNT, a decent theme... a poor game. There are tons of examples that blow
right through these marking lies & excuses.
And what IS a home buyer? Some mindless dummy who has $3000 to drop?!
Get real. There are far more people out there that actually do some research
before they drop +$2000.
You know what appeals to me? Stuff that looks, plays, and sounds Good.
Guess what, Im a Home Buyer. Ive Bought 3 pins to date, one of which was $3000.
Im one of the idiots who drop boatloads of cash on machines... who could be
keeping pinball alive, buying newly used machines... and possibly brand new
machines.
There are a Ton of people out there, old and new generation, who are considering
Pinball as a new part of their entertainment. But you are not going to get them
to bite if the game is not a real amazing machine. You wont even get a person to
play the thing on location if it isnt interesting enough... AND, even IF they play Once,
if the game isnt good enough, it isnt going to get played again repeatedly... nor
are they going to be interested in future purchase of that machine.
For me, BK2K was the game that I dropped over $10 at a time in back in the
arcades... and became my first used pin purchase as an adult. Williams IJ however,
was a game I played at a laundromat in more recent years... and I fell in love with it.
$3000 was a very large sum of money to spend for me, but I simply could not
live without it... and out came the credit card.
Anyway, I look at all that as pretty sound reasoning. Unfortunately, they've gotten unlucky with some themes that fit that model (NASCAR, Ripley's), and really unlucky on themes that didn't fit (WPT, CSI, 24).
Man, thats comedy gold. Unlucky?!?!?!!!!!! Its called Bad Decisions!!! That
Logic and Reasoning is pure and simple BS... and Stern proves it just about
every time. They just seem to be really good at getting sucker investors to keep
buying into it.
Frankly, I think they're doomed. The 'electronic entertainment' market is huge but it's shifted entirely to consoles. I mean you're looking at several million to $10B there. Pinball's dropped from ~$150M to maybe $2-3M if you look at 1990 - 2005.
Pins are not selling? (no market) Wrong. Watch ebay seller "Fun". Fun sells Pins like they are cases of Cola.
They are doomed because of poor choices. Not because there isnt a market for
pinball. In fact, Id say that the market for pins is actually growing, not declining.
Population is increasing, awareness of Pinball is growing. Demand will continue to
grow... and pinball prices are going to skyrocket over the coming years.
A great example of this is MM. Went from like $2000 used... to $7000 in a few years
time. The difference is the technology. Today, anyone can see all the games made
from the 1900s to Present. They can hear, see, and read about these games on the
net. Watch videos. Even Play these games with emulation.
Want to play them for real? The internet will help you find where they are 'on location',
or will lead you to Pinball shows and events.
They even include a crappy Pinball game with Windows. And we all know that
almost everyone on the planet uses Windows, and has at very least Tried the pin game.
Pinball has been on various video formats and consoles from nes, turbogfx, and
various pcs... as well as most recently, on modern consoles. And while this is good
advertisement... everyone knows that video pinball just does not match the real
deal.
Poorly designed, generic, cheaply made (too many corners cut) product = Poor Sales.
Plain and simple Fact.