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Stern Star Wars
- Thread starter Jsyjamie
- Start date
I dunno guys... I see a Steve Ritchie game and I'm already swearing at my bank account for not having the stones required to get me one.
Have yet to play a game I don't love by that man.
Have yet to play a game I don't love by that man.
Yeah the Hoth side art is absolutely superb. ESB is comfortably the best Star Wars movie for sure
I'm not sure how you can assess gameplay from a static image alone though and surely that's the most important bit? When I started turning my sights to redoing the rules on certain pinball tables, I realised that 'bare' tables by far provide the most options for completely different game styles and modes that would change the tempo entirely. There is also a home-brew table out there that demonstrates just how far color-changing lights can be pushed as a dimension of game design:
I hate going on about only one game but it's the one I own and am most familiar with - but I worked out with just one modification (an auto-ball launcher) you can make F-14 a very aggressive, mode-based game with up to 7 ball multiball - no modifications to ball trough or anything else required... a very far cry from the game it actually is.
The rules will make or break this new table and I trust the geometry is sound as it's a Ritchie game, after all...
I hate going on about only one game but it's the one I own and am most familiar with - but I worked out with just one modification (an auto-ball launcher) you can make F-14 a very aggressive, mode-based game with up to 7 ball multiball - no modifications to ball trough or anything else required... a very far cry from the game it actually is.
The rules will make or break this new table and I trust the geometry is sound as it's a Ritchie game, after all...
What he said ^^
Elmo's Spring Break ?
proof of the pinball pudding is in the playing
the warp ramp on the PREM/LE looks intriguing to say the least
the warp ramp on the PREM/LE looks intriguing to say the least
Of course artwork doesn't make a good pinball game but it's an important part of the overall package. No one is saying this is going to be a **** game without having played it, but if people say they are impressed with the pf art then they are deluding themselves!
PF art looks complete sh1te. I hope I am wrong , but the data East genes are hard to shake
Such an iconic title , guaranteed to sell well if done properly, deserves better than dot matrix iron man/ word poker etc printing
Such an iconic title , guaranteed to sell well if done properly, deserves better than dot matrix iron man/ word poker etc printing
Some great games on that list. So it looks like the code should be ok. It will shoot well as it is a Steve Ritchie pin. Shame about the art.
Love SR, however theme overdone and with the simplicity of the pf, could have easily been designed on the back of a fag packet by any of us!!
This is the 3rd star wars game to be based on the original trilogy all of which have been created by the same company more or less, don't you thnk its kinds beating a dead horse. Yes the original movies are far superior (RotJ being the weakest in my opinion) but The force awakens and rogue one are billion dollar + movies and so will be the last jedi. Ideally it would have been better to have included rogue one into the mix of the original trilogy in this pin or waited and done it based on the new trilogy as that is whats hot at the moment.
However my generation don't even care for pinball which is seen in the comments so any star wars pin is better than no star wars pin
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Us "older Generation" are the only ones that think that way though. Sat and watched all the films before the new one came out with the kids. All i got on the older films was "they look crap compared to the newer ones".
the new movies would have worked well but they don't fit Sterns home user demographic which is us "old gits" or to be precise "old gits" in the US
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- Jul 21, 2011
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And with a new Xbox and a new Playstation out this year, things aren't going to change.
My house - 'oi, boys, do you want to play any pinball on planet earth or do you want to play Call of Duty WW2 in 4k?'
Game over man, game over.
My house - 'oi, boys, do you want to play any pinball on planet earth or do you want to play Call of Duty WW2 in 4k?'
Game over man, game over.
pinball in niche. it sits in the cultural zeitgeist but the majority of younger people have never seen one rather than play one. the best thing about public shows is getting exposure for the games. at Revival I was still getting comments like I didn't know these things existed any more. games like GOT and TWD click with the public that due to the theme these games cant be that "old". pinball is cool hip retro etc . hoping for mainstream may be hankering back to the late 70s or those short few boom years of 1991-93 . its the folks who played the games then that is fueling the market for games now. pinball arcade has been a great gateway for younger people to experience pinball . maybe ops would risk a pin on site based on something like Call of Duty but even at the Stern Pro level they are priced out.
no just cool ...
do you think that say a Call of Duty pin sat in a bowling alley for instant would appeal to younger players?
in the 80s when I saw pins on site the theme was important if I hadn't seen a game before. hence gorgar got my 10ps not future spa! like many my age I also enjoyed the vids but they gobbled the coins faster than the pins. I remember the day dragons lair arrived at Solihull ice rink and the queue to play it despite its 20p a go hike. that day all the other pins and vids sat unloved but after a month the novelty had worn off plus of course they couldn't keep the game running properly!
do you think that say a Call of Duty pin sat in a bowling alley for instant would appeal to younger players?
in the 80s when I saw pins on site the theme was important if I hadn't seen a game before. hence gorgar got my 10ps not future spa! like many my age I also enjoyed the vids but they gobbled the coins faster than the pins. I remember the day dragons lair arrived at Solihull ice rink and the queue to play it despite its 20p a go hike. that day all the other pins and vids sat unloved but after a month the novelty had worn off plus of course they couldn't keep the game running properly!
A strong license could certainly help but arcades are very out of fashion with kids sadly. The reason for that is complex and I could write an essay on it alongside some other people who do lots of work trying to improve UK arcades, but in short, arcades failed to play to their advantages in the face of cheaper and better home consoles. Arcades are still a viable business, but no longer as chains and no longer as money-printers.
The strongest draw I could see in UK arcades if there was a pinball ticket redemption machine with a big license. Likely being a ticket game it wouldn't be much cop rules-wise for the rest of us but I think that thin end of the wedge would help in the long run.
The fact remains that pinball has some appeal because it is a physical creation and is a game that exists with real objects - hence why toys are so important to pinball - while I don't think it'll ever reach the old popularity because arcades don't have their popularity, I don't think it'll ever vanish for good. In fact I'd say that pinball's already seen its absolute lowest point and the only way is up from here. The only thing that would truly kill off a company like Stern is if hologram technology hits Star Trek level, and virtual pin tables suddenly leave nothing to be desired because of it... no risk of that for a long while.
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If the comments on the video indicates that they would rather play a AAA video game ie star wars battlefront 2 rather than a pinball says a lot. Having a Call of Duty pinball would have the same backlash as the youth would rather play the video game all day long. Basing a pinball on a video game is usually a bad idea.
A Halo pin could be awesome...
It would be but it comes down to the question, would you rather spend £6k+ on a halo pinball or £60 for multiple halo games with single player compaigns lasting over 20 hours.
Because kids don't have to spend over a grand in today's money to buy one game, or keep venturing out to a rare arcade (something they usually cannot do on their own, being not transport independent) that has one game that may be in questionable state of repair or price or setup.
Kind of a no-brainer really. But a decision based on factors that are not actually about the game itself.
Arcades nowadays need to stoke the flames of their business with encouraging people to come in for the day and spend their whole time there - and to want to engage with a points system! Achievements in consoles prove that people still want to prove themselves to others - points become understood when an arcade hosts regular competitions and people start caring about having their initials on the board.
Every successful self-standing arcade I've seen today covers all bases and includes consoles and PC games as well to round it all off - as well as food, community stuff etc. to encourage the Asian-style PC club / PC bang (the Korean term!) atmosphere that keeps people all day. That, or it's a side business run by someone with a love for arcade/pinball like Tilt in Brum, where it probably runs at a loss propped up by the main business.
Until people start playing pinball for pinball, licenses absolutely do help. There's a reason Addams Family sold like hotcakes; and today, I promise you that you squeeze more passers-by onto a game with a license that is recognised than you would get players approaching something like Pinbot, Attack From Mars... it's true sadly. Licenses are a hook for people who aren't, well, whales, to use a term from another industry (anyone with an account on this forum, especially anyone that buys NIB Stern, is a whale. Not a derogatory term but there is virtually no overlap in trying to market to new people and trying to sell repeat product to whales that know what they want.)
Spot on. The arcade's answer to this today is making it a question of ~£10-20 to play everything as much as you want all day, and the costs for new hardware in the arcade's perspective are considered upkeep costs for helping to drive the sale of daily entrance tickets and to encourage more money to leave wallets by means of food, drink and competition/raffle type extra sales.
For examples of this, Arcade Club and The Heart of Gaming more or less get this right, with I think Arcade Club being the utter pinnacle on UK shores. On the US, there are many more...
Of course that's a choice kids can only make when there are actually local arcades giving them that choice... otherwise all they will know of pinball is cheap stuff on iOS, and a few of the more intrigued ones will stumble on Pinball Arcade and will be looking to see more.
Coin-op arcades as a destination is basically a dead concept and only works for things like service stations.
It cerntainly doesn't help that in todays market pinball and vids hardly make as much money for operators in comparison to redemption games and fruities hence why I rarely see vids and pins in arcades and bowling alleys anymore. However arcade club does show that vids and pinball are popular with the general public. Licenced games as you say are needed but as always a theme that resonates with the younger demographic but pleases the older demographic as well, star wars is one of them.
Star Wars is still one of them but Stern knows who pays its bills right now... they are aiming very, very solidly at the home owners market and they know the age distribution in today's economy, of those with the space and spare cash to afford a pinball game.
If they wanted to catch the kids market, they would be asking to license with Pixar products... or hell, they already have something agreed with Disney as they're making Star Wars... why not a DreamWorks product?
All that said... I hope they redo the entire bottom-half of that playfield. Just commission an online starving digital artist for fecks sake... they're cheap as chips and ridiculous quality for your money if you shop around. In today's age, commissioned art is a luxury that is affordable for the rest of us, not just royalty.
If they wanted to catch the kids market, they would be asking to license with Pixar products... or hell, they already have something agreed with Disney as they're making Star Wars... why not a DreamWorks product?
All that said... I hope they redo the entire bottom-half of that playfield. Just commission an online starving digital artist for fecks sake... they're cheap as chips and ridiculous quality for your money if you shop around. In today's age, commissioned art is a luxury that is affordable for the rest of us, not just royalty.
Indeed I have seen some amazing artwork by fans on the likes of reddit and honestly freelancing artists are in need of work so it would be a win win situation. As a 16 nearly 17 year old teen I'm thinking what people my age are interested in other than binging netflix. Summer blockbusters are usually a big hit but its saturated with super hero movies but I have to admit I would like to see a daredevil (netflix) or a Guardians of the Galaxy pinball would be interesting. Being hypocritical stating video game pins won't work but a nintendo themed pinball ideally metroid, zelda, f-zero would be f-in awesome especially since the brand is universally known from young kids to grandparents and the fact that nintendo land is going to be a thing at universal studios