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Next Stern - Star Wars it is

frosken

Member
Apr 2, 2020
30
30
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46
Ottawa Area
Yes. Going again in October.

Minimum wage in Illinois is up 25% since the last Stern price increase. Is that not significant?
I wonder if ICE visited Elk Grove Village lately...or if they put a state of Indiana flag in the building. ;)

I am also wondering if they use temporary employers to which they don't need to pay them state minimum...

I honestly don't know Stern's employment practices, just an observation of the numerous factory visits before they moved to Elk Grove.
 

frosken

Member
Apr 2, 2020
30
30
18
46
Ottawa Area
That’s fair. Labour isn’t cheap but they also added 100,000 SF to their location (via a move). That probably wasn’t a good idea in hindsight either. 100,000 extra square feet is a hell of a lot
IIRC, the last building move was unplanned. the Data Centre next door bought them to relocate to a bigger warehouse "at the same cost" as the previous one (on Lunt). They didn't need "that" much space, but with the extra inventory that they have, it helps can store them in house.

Yes they can produce more and yes, COVID time was still prevalent in late 2023, but things have changed significantly since then...

A lot of collectors made money (at the pinball manufacturer's expense) during the machine shortages selling them over MSRP (and not only machines, cars, homes, etc.)...Stern decided to bring up the cost to take their piece of the pie...and overload the supply...and now it's backfiring.

It'll be interesting to see the pinball manufacturers financials and inventory in the next 12 months...

I wouldn't be surprised if Stern decided consolidate both of their buildings into the Busse building to save $$$.
 

Steve Lennox

Active Member
Jan 6, 2021
170
58
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42
Whitby, Ontario
looks like nice assets on the playfield - Im still not excited for another SW. I like the speaker/sound set up in Spike 3, but the backglass looks off to me. Either way, Im outta money and outta space, so I hope to see one show up locally soon.
 
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shinynick

Active Member
Jan 10, 2013
177
161
43
Georgetown, ON
From what I’m hearing there will not be a price increase on Star Wars! If anyone is interested in this title, please let me know ASAP especially if you want an LE!
 

Chris Bardon

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2012
1,426
255
83
Mississauga, ON
It does seem a little strange that there's already a spike2 star wars game, and yet they dipped back in. It's obviously a different game with different rules and pf, but does that just speak to a lack of confidence in being able to re-run the last game? I was never a huge fan of the rules on the last SW, so maybe this one will be better? It would be nice to finally have a killer Star Wars game. The playfield doesn't look like anything overly special honestly, but perhaps that's just being used to things like Jaws, UXM, Kong, Foo Fighters, etc doing strange and interesting things with ball paths. Wide open pop bumpers staying around are good to see at least. Hopefully Nick gets one in soon-I'd like to flip it and see how the new speakers sound.
 
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frosken

Member
Apr 2, 2020
30
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46
Ottawa Area
As the pro's are always lacking in features compared to the Prem/LE, Some titles don't have "that" much of a difference as per features and gameplay.

I feel after seeing the videos and matrix that the pro is lacking considerably on this one. I figure there will be many mod makers to add the missing pieces on the pro but not having the magnetic ball save sucks. Also don't like the pro setup that you cannot install expression lighting (like Foo).

I also anticipate there will be a race to create a sticker set for the pit. It looks so...clear...

My $0.05...
 

kool1

Well-Known Member
Sep 14, 2021
817
575
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Oakville ON
As the pro's are always lacking in features compared to the Prem/LE, Some titles don't have "that" much of a difference as per features and gameplay.

I feel after seeing the videos and matrix that the pro is lacking considerably on this one. I figure there will be many mod makers to add the missing pieces on the pro but not having the magnetic ball save sucks. Also don't like the pro setup that you cannot install expression lighting (like Foo).

I also anticipate there will be a race to create a sticker set for the pit. It looks so...clear...

My $0.05...

Game looks fun. Will play at Expo but if I buy it will be a pro. Shots all there, the AT-AT doesn't do much and I don't need the magnet ball save. Can add a couple of sculpts. Death Star ball lock is still there.

The lack of an EL cutout sucks for sure but probably not the end of the world.
 

Pinfarmer

New Member
Sep 7, 2019
29
16
3
45
Sarnia, Ontario
Looks like a phoned in Costco model. Consider the effort and creativity in a game like Godzilla then this generic fan with a few dollar store bobble heads. No good mechs. May still be fun as hell. But looks like a location game.
Can't wait for a few years to buy a matured UXM. What a difference to this blandness.
 

Chris Bardon

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2012
1,426
255
83
Mississauga, ON
Gameplay stream from the Stern team. Still not a great sense of how to dig into the rules, but it does look like that magnet can do some fun stuff: