# EP 8 - Star Wars: Fall of the Empire (First Impressions)

**Source:** Flip n Out Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2025-09-12  
**Duration:** 43m 27s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://flipnoutpinballpodcast.com/ep-8-star-wars-fall-of-the-empire-first-impressions

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## Analysis

Ken Cromwell and Greg Bone provide first-impression commentary on Stern's Star Wars: Fall of the Empire pinball machine recorded immediately after a distributor meeting, ahead of the official 11 AM launch reveal. They discuss cabinet artwork (mixed reactions to playfield art, positive on backglass), key mechanical features (AT-AT collapse, Sarlacc pit, hyperspace ramp, Death Star ball lock, ion cannon pop bumpers), and significant differences between Pro/Premium/LE tiers, including the removal of the physical Magna-Save on Pro models and the LE's standard Expression Lighting. Both hosts express cautious optimism about the game's design and value proposition.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Fall of the Empire features over 1100 call-outs and movie clips from the Star Wars franchise — _Ken explicitly states 'over 1100 you know call outs and movie clips that they've gotten for this' during discussion of C-3PO voicework and audio assets_
- [HIGH] The Pro model features a fixed hyperspace ramp (non-interactive), while Premium/LE have moving versions — _Ken states: 'all your shots are going to be the same with the exception of the center lift ramp for that hyperspace shot. It's in a fixed position versus it being able to go up and down.'_
- [HIGH] The Magna-Save is virtual (software-based) on Pro models, not physical magnetic — _Ken explains Pro gets 'a virtual ball save so i guess then you just get you know a ball ejected into the shooter lane'_
- [HIGH] Limited Edition models come standard with Expression Lighting cabinet system — _Ken: 'the LE is going to come standard. Sorry, we're all over the place with this, guys. Well, listen, and I was going to say, bear with us, because we're on a time crunch, right? This thing just got over. There's a lot to absorb. Myself and Greg didn't get a chance to even collect ourselves between each other to see what was happening, which I kind of think is cool. And then our effort here is to just get a first impression and then post this so it's ready to go for you guys. So we're going to do a follow-up. Exactly. But so on the LE, it's going to come standard with your cabinet expression lights.'_
- [HIGH] 777 Limited Edition units will be produced — _Ken mentions '770 LEs will be out' (note: slight variance between 770 and 777 figures mentioned in intro vs later)_
- [HIGH] Pro and Premium manufacturing begins end of September 2025 — _Ken: 'Those are going to start being manufactured at the end of September, end of this month.'_
- [HIGH] The AT-AT walker toy physically collapses to its knees when shot, replicating the Empire Strikes Back scene — _Greg: 'when you hit it, it's just like the movie when they were tying the – what is it? I guess the pool cables or whatever, tying the cables around its leg, and it drops to its knees. So it literally drops to its knees, and then its head comes down like a dog laying down'_
- [HIGH] The hyperspace ramp shot travels behind the backpanel and emerges left side, described as highly repeatable — _Ken describes: 'that hyperspace shot. So once that's activated, that's an up, down ramp. When the ramps and the opposition allowing the ball to go underneath it, you bash underneath there, which then kind of lowers the ramp so that you can jump your ball into hyperspace behind the back panel and come out on the left.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I did not see a Jar Jar Binks. Did you see one of those? No, I did not. I am so glad that they stuck with the original trilogy."
> — **Ken Cromwell & Greg Bone**, ~0:50-1:10
> _Sets tone for episode by clarifying theme focus is original trilogy, establishing this as positive design choice_

> "I love that snow scene. We're going to get into the Spike 3 upgrade features, I think maybe towards the end of this quick episode to kind of give you an idea. That's the cherry on top of this in my opinion."
> — **Ken Cromwell**, ~9:30
> _Identifies Expression Lighting as key differentiator/selling point for LE tier_

> "I'm just, I'm not mad, but I'm not like, ah, yes. Yeah, sure, sure. And I get that. It was explained to us that there were multiple artists that were involved in kind of these compositions, the art direction by Jeremy Packer, Zombie Eddie over at Stern Pinball."
> — **Greg Bone**, ~12:00-13:30
> _Credits Stern art direction team (Zombie Eddie, Jeremy Packer); suggests playfield art was safe/conservative choice by committee_

> "I consider that a toy... toys are kind of interactive meaning they will do something in response to a ball"
> — **Ken Cromwell**, ~16:45
> _Establishes terminology distinction between static sculpts and interactive toys for discussion purposes_

> "Anything where a ball disappears and it goes to the back, like, I don't know, man. It's just fun. It's just cool."
> — **Ken Cromwell**, ~26:30
> _Expresses enthusiasm for hyperspace ramp mechanic as standout feature; gaming taste indicator_

> "I think visually that's gonna be super freaking cool when you're playing the game and that happens especially in that mode when you're trying to tie it up and defeat it and and you can hit underneath there and destroy it."
> — **Greg Bone**, ~41:15
> _Reframes AT-AT mechanic as compelling moment despite Pro version being static; attempts to manage expectations_

> "I want more of a purpose for the pop bumpers. I want a reason to actually have to shoot for them other than just points sort of thing."
> — **Ken Cromwell**, ~35:00
> _Articulates design preference for mechanics with narrative/gameplay purpose vs. filler elements_

> "I'm kind of disappointed in everything they're stripping away, which isn't a ton when you think about it."
> — **Greg Bone**, ~42:30
> _Expresses concern about Pro model feature cuts; indicates migration toward Premium as compromise_

> "I'm going to end up going with the Premium because I still think overall... it's simply because financially I've always felt more comfortable and justified in getting a premium for myself personally."
> — **Ken Cromwell**, ~52:00
> _Declares personal purchasing decision; models premium positioning between Pro and LE_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Ken Cromwell | person | Co-host of Flippin' Out Pinball Podcast; distributor/sales partner; recorded first impressions post-distributor meeting; email contact for Star Wars pre-orders |
| Greg Bone | person | Co-host of Flippin' Out Pinball Podcast; participates in first-impression analysis; discusses mechanical features and artwork reactions |
| Star Wars: Fall of the Empire | game | Stern Pinball 2025 release; Spike 3 flagship title; official launch day episode; three-tier pricing (Pro/Premium/LE); 777 LE units; features Spike 3 hardware and Expression Lighting |
| Spike 3 | product | Stern's new hardware platform used in Fall of the Empire; features 18.5-inch LCD screen, improved speaker system (tweeter + 4-inch woofer), Expression Lighting capabilities |
| John Borg | person | Confirmed as designer of Fall of the Empire; appeared in presentation video with George Gomez; legendary Stern designer |
| George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball executive; appeared in launch presentation video with John Borg |
| Seth Davis | person | Made distributor presentation for Fall of the Empire launch via webinar |
| Jeremy Packer | person | Art direction lead for Fall of the Empire playfield design |
| Zombie Eddie | person | Stern Pinball art department head; involved in Fall of the Empire art direction |
| Flippin' Out Pinball | organization | Podcast network and pinball distributor; taking pre-orders for Star Wars with $500 deposit (Pro/Premium) and $2,000 deposit (LE) |
| Expression Lighting / Cabinet Expression Lights | product | LED lighting system standard on LE, optional on Premium, not available on Pro; syncs with game effects |
| Magna-Save | product | Magnetic ball save feature in flippers; physical version on Premium/LE; virtual/software version on Pro |
| Steve Ritchie Star Wars (2017) | game | Previous Stern Star Wars pinball machine; aesthetic comparison point for Fall of the Empire playfield art |
| Keith Elwin / Elwin | person | Referenced as designer of Iron Maiden; cited as benchmark for purposeful pop bumper mechanics in games |
| Dwight Sullivan | person | Mentioned as code designer on previous Star Wars game iteration (2017); created lightsaber and boba fett moments |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Cabinet artwork and aesthetic design (backglass vs playfield art), Mechanical toys and sculpts (AT-AT, Sarlacc, Death Star, Millennium Falcon), Pro/Premium/LE tier differentiation and feature stripping, Spike 3 hardware platform capabilities and Expression Lighting system, Shot design and playfield layout philosophy (fan layout, repeatable shots)
- **Secondary:** Audio/voiceover assets and storytelling through movie clips, Pricing and pre-order deposits by tier, Manufacturing timeline and shipping schedules

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Hosts express cautious optimism and enthusiasm for mechanical features (hyperspace ramp, AT-AT collapse, ball locks) and audio assets. However, reserved concerns about playfield artwork lacking distinctiveness, feature cuts on Pro tier creating value perception issues, and code unknown variable. Mixed on tier differentiation strategy. Overall trajectory from initial skepticism to genuine interest as mechanics discussed in depth.

### Signals

- **[event_signal]** Distributor meeting and official launch reveal format: Ken/Greg record immediately post-meeting before 11 AM official unveiling, capturing real-time first impressions with minimal processing time (confidence: high) — Ken: 'We're recording our first impressions before the game is going to launch here momentarily in about an hour, 11 a.m. Central Time. We're recording this at 9.50 in the a.m. here, Central Time.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Hosts manage expectations on Pro tier feature concerns while defending overall game design quality; distinguish between mechanical design (positive) and commercial tier strategy (concerns) (confidence: medium) — Greg reframes AT-AT static as acceptable; both acknowledge Pro cuts are significant but game remains fundamentally strong; noted Code is unknown variable requiring extended play assessment
- **[competitive_signal]** Premium tier positioned as value-optimized middle option: includes physical Magna-Save, most interactive toys, Expression Lighting optional upgrade, compared to Pro cuts and LE cost premium (confidence: medium) — Ken states personal shift to Premium: 'I think I'm going to end up going with the Premium because I still think overall... financially I've always felt more comfortable and justified in getting a premium'
- **[design_philosophy]** Playfield art reserved reception (Ken: 'not jumping for joy over the play field art'); compared unfavorably to 2017 Steve Ritchie version in color palette and character-centric layout despite safety being intentional (confidence: high) — Ken: 'I'm just, I'm not mad, but I'm not like, ah, yes'; Greg: 'Without a doubt, man' to Ken's observation about Steve Ritchie vibes; Greg later: 'it's a safe art package'
- **[design_philosophy]** Conservative/safe artistic approach: playfield art uses character-centric layout (Luke/Vader center, functional character placement), multiple artist involvement suggests committee-driven decisions prioritizing IP safety over aesthetic risk (confidence: high) — Greg: 'It was explained to us that there were multiple artists that were involved... a safe art package. And, you know, I don't know that you want to stray too far away because, again, it's Star Wars.'
- **[community_signal]** Multiple artist involvement in playfield design suggests distributed creative authority; John Borg as lead designer with art direction by Jeremy Packer and Zombie Eddie managing committee aesthetic (confidence: medium) — Greg attributes art direction to 'Jeremy Packer, Zombie Eddie over at Stern Pinball' in multi-artist explanation; Ken confirms John Borg as designer in separate statement
- **[market_signal]** Pro model feature cuts (Magna-Save virtual, hyperspace ramp fixed, sculpts→plastics, AT-AT static, Jabba sculpt removed, no Expression Lighting option) creating perception of insufficient value gap vs Premium; hosts reconsidering Pro→Premium (confidence: high) — Greg: 'I'm kind of disappointed in everything they're stripping away'; Ken: 'makes me kind of want to go towards the Premium'; Greg: 'I'm going to end up going with the Premium'
- **[product_strategy]** Three-tier model shows strategic feature distribution: Magna-Save physical→virtual downgrade, Expression Lighting standard→optional→unavailable, sculpts→plastics, interactive→static toys across LE→Premium→Pro (confidence: high) — Ken systematically lists Pro model cuts: 'Vader and the Stormtroopers they're not sculpts, they're plastics the AT-AT Walker is static, the hyperspace ramp is fixed in the up position... Jabba the Hutt it's gone... no TIE fighter sculpt... magnet ball save is virtual'
- **[product_strategy]** Stern implemented purposeful mechanic design philosophy: ion cannon pop bumpers serve functional game purpose (recharging) rather than generic filler; spiral ramp AT-AT shot emulates narrative action from film (confidence: high) — Ken explains pop bumpers recharge ion cannons; Greg describes AT-AT spiral ramp emulating cable-wrapping scene from Empire Strikes Back
- **[technology_signal]** Expression Lighting positioned as key LE differentiator despite previous limitation to music-themed games; Pro tier cannot add lighting as upgrade option, creating hard tier ceiling (confidence: high) — Ken notes LE standard with Expression Lights, Premium optional, Pro 'it's not even an option on the Pro. It's another hit to it that makes me kind of want to go towards the Premium'

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## Transcript

 Hey, what's going on pinball land? Welcome. It's episode number 808 of the Flip N Out Pinball Podcast. My name is Ken Cromwell with Greg Bone here on official Stern launch day. Stern Star Wars Fall of the Empire. What's going on, Greg? Not much, Ken. And guess what we got? We got Ewoks. I did see some Ewoks. Ewoks were making an appearance. I did not see a Jar Jar Binks. Did you see one of those? No, I did not. I am so glad that they stuck with the original trilogy. Yes, yes. So this is what we're going to do. Myself and Greg, we just got out of the distributor meeting. We're recording our first impressions before the game is going to launch here momentarily in about an hour, 11 a.m. Central Time. We're recording this at 9.50 in the a.m. here, Central Time. So we will release this as soon as we can get it uploaded, obviously after the official Stern reveal that's going to happen again at 11 o'clock. And, look, if you're looking to get in on Star Wars, Greg, how can somebody order one? Contact Ken Cromwell at ken at flipinoutpinball.com or greg, G-R-E-G, at flipinoutpinball.com. That is the letter N. Yes, and if you don't like talking to people via email, you can always jump on the website, flippingoutpinball.com, and you can order right there. What's happening right now, we're going to break down the models for you real quick. We're taking deposits on the pro and premium for $500. Those are going to start being manufactured at the end of September, end of this month. LEs will be on the line first if you want to grab an LE. You've got to get in on quick. It's a limited version. 770 LEs will be out. $2,000 gets your deposit in. And again, LEs will start going out the door here middle end of the month, right? September? Yep. Yeah, yeah. It should be at the end of September. And then you should start seeing pro premiums at the end of September into October. Enough of the nitty gritty. Let's get down to work here, Greg. First impressions. The good stuff. What did you see? Did you like it? Are you happy, Greg? So, you know, I always jump into, you know, I always think because it's obviously kind of what stands out at first. You know, a little bit of that artwork, it stood out to me. I'm kind of mixed on some of it. Like, that LE is beautiful. I've heard that the LE mirrored back glass is gorgeous in person. You know, I don't think the video really does that justice, per se. You can see, at least in the LE, you can see that beautifully lit, the new speaker system from Spike 3, which we'll get into later on. You see that woofer that they still have in there. They shrunk that size from what, Ken, five? Was that five and a half? They brought it down to the four. inch speaker, I believe, but now they have a tweeter above it in there. And it actually looks freaking awesome to me in those videos and everything. You're pro-premium stuff, man. So I don't know. That's where, because I'm normally a pro buyer, and I think, and I know you hate this because you hate those Ewoks. It's kind of that Return of the Jedi stuff there. Well, that's just the artwork. Yes. They're not Ewoks interacting, carrying the ball on the plate. I would have had a little bit more of an issue with that. I don't mind if there's Ewoks in the artwork. I didn't want to focus on Ewoks. Yeah, yeah, and they really didn't. But even the back glass is more of the forest scenes and everything, which, you know, the back glass, they crammed a lot into all these back glasses. I mean, it's honestly some super impressive artwork on there. But, you know, I think that I love, personally, I love that pro cabinet artwork the most. But I think I have to give it to the premium for the back glass. Like, I love I love that that trilogy back glass on on the premium. I would agree. And when you're looking at these models, the limited edition has it celebrates the Battle of Hoth. So you're getting that artwork of, you know, your AT-AT walkers, the snow scenes. I did notice the limited edition had different art on the left and right side of the cabinets. You've got mirrored artwork on the premium and pro. the premium does have that that vader versus luke lightsaber scene prominently displayed on the sides and then you've got your uh yeah absolutely i mean i mean look star wars it's lightsabers it's luke it's it's uh it's dark vader so that's what you would expect um and then you've got that that battle of ender which is your your your little ewoks which are coming in the speeder bikes on that on that pro model if i if i'm looking at uh from my standpoint and this is again this is the We're going to get into the shots and everything. And listen, I think this is going to be important, too. There's going to be a lot of content that's out there today, and you're going to be able to watch the launch video. You're going to be able to get several different opinions on this. So I don't really want to focus on explaining everybody what every shot is going to do and going left to right unless you want to do that. Like, that just comes across as you need to see that visually. But we do want to give you the key points of the game and what you can do and what you cannot do. and that's just the way that I'm looking at it. I think it's a no-brainer for the LE on this if you can get one. I love that snow scene. We're going to get into the Spike 3 upgrade features, I think maybe towards the end of this quick episode to kind of give you an idea. That's the cherry on top of this in my opinion, and I think that you're in agreement with that as well, but the backlash-wise, that premium is sick. That is the iconic kind of movie poster-esque scenery that you would expect to see from Star Wars. And then it takes us to the next part, which, you know, to me, I'm mixed on. I'm a little underwhelmed by the play field art. You know, it's nice. The Steve Ritchie, the 2017 game, I didn't mind that. You know, I like the grouping of characters there in the middle. I mean, it is nice to see the lightsaber duel in the middle of the play field. But it's still, you know, it's kind of very reminiscent color wise and everything. Do you not feel to that 2017 Star Wars? Oh, yeah. Without a doubt, man. In fact, when Seth Davis kind of made the presentation for the distributors today via webinar, and when they played the promo video, the trailer video, and then they played kind of the follow-up with George Gomez and John Borg. By the way, John Borg is a designer on this game. It's confirmed. The first thing that called out to me right away is that I had that original Steve Ritchie Star Wars vibes with the artwork in the package with just from first impression uh color palette you'll notice this is a fan layout um yeah i don't think there's anything this is the thing the artwork is not taking risks that would turn off anybody i don't think this if you're a star wars fan again you've got luke you've got vader in the middle of that play field lightsabers uh clashed in that classic x formation you've got yoda down in the middle between the flippers because below the flippers is a magnet that allows you to use the force for a ball save. Excellent idea. Yes, and we'll get into that because I want to talk a little more about that. Because it's a little different than most magnet saves in the middle down there. Yes, yes, for sure. So what Stern was really wanting to get across as far as the key product points, as far as the play field, essentially the main things that you're going to want to be able to, or the main things you can do in the game, take down the AT-AT walker, destroy the Death Star II. you can jump into hyperspace with the Millennium Falcon, which is a playfield sculpt. You want to survive the Sarlacc pit, and then you can use the Force. Those are like your key takeaways. You know, the art corresponds to that. So, you know, I think making that decision, but all the shots correspond to characters. So I know that your hands are, you know, you're a little tied on that, and, you know, you kind of have to go in that direction with the characters, and it dictates your art on the playfield and how that does when you go that route. So, you know, I'm not mad at it. I just, I mean, I don't know what I would have wanted more, but I'm just, I'm not, I'm not like jumping for joy over the play field art. Again, I love the back glasses. The cabinets look good, but the play field art, I'm just like, I'm not mad, but I'm not like, ah, yes. Yeah, sure, sure. And I get that. It was explained to us that there were multiple artists that were involved in kind of these compositions, the art direction by Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti), Zombie Eddie over at Stern Pinball. So again, it's a safe art package. And, you know, I don't know that you want to stray too far away because, again, it's Star Wars. For the most part, please don't screw up Star Wars. Exactly. They didn't screw anything up there. No. You'll notice you were talking about the areas of the play field are each kind of represented by a character. And with those characters above the area, it seems like there are sculpts, right, that are going to represent the general areas of the play field that you're shooting for. And so, you know, artwork out of the way, that takes us to some of the better stuff. something like toys on there. So, Ken, we saw there's sort of two central toys. I don't know. I guess maybe three. And that's kind of the weird thing. It's like when you see this in videos and you watch the trailer and you watch things, it's like, okay, there's... What's going on? But really, you've got three kind of pretty decent toys in there that do a lot. Well, let me ask you this. What do you consider... I mean, there's a difference between a sculpt there's a difference between a toy right yes i would you would it be safe to say that that toys are kind of interactive meaning they will do something in response to a ball yes yeah yeah i consider that yeah and then sometimes you know like magnets and stuff i'll you know again i'll consider that a toy i'll consider that but it doesn't have to be accompanied by a sculpt or a particular actual toy if that makes sense uh in there because like you said that there are sculpts in this there there are quite a few sculpts you've got um darth vader over a scoop over to your left you've got which is just and it's the darth vader head helmet it's his helmet yep right it's like a bust and then directly across from him is another scoop and from my understanding again we'll get in the shots but uh at least i know you start some modes there but it's under a stormtrooper uh helmet and head sculpt and then you've got a tie fighter back there you've got a cool actually the job of the hut sculpt looks pretty cool back there at that uh what is that the sarlacc how do you what is it sarlacc pit yeah the the sarlacc pit yeah is uh right there so yeah and he he's he's wrapped his tail he's got his tail it's kind of like a leia thing it's got a ball because in the trailer i thought oh shit did they miss that a ball like that there was a missing ball that jumped and but he's got his tail wrapped around the ball like He hugging it like a Leia type thing Yes Yes it funny Yeah which was pretty cool And then what did you have You had the Millennium Falcon sculpt in there So and the Millennium Falcon sculpt it looks like when you activate the hyperdrive on that Millennium Falcon, actually, the back, like, the jets light up, so you get that kind of that blue thing, which is cool. Yes. Because right underneath there is a hyperspace ramp that's directly into the middle, the back middle of the playfield that leads to, and I love this, games that have kind of that that back panel shot that goes behind the back panel and come out another direction. That's, that's that hyperspace shot. So once that's activated, that's an up, down ramp. When the ramps and the opposition allowing the ball to go underneath it, you bash underneath there, which then kind of lowers the ramp so that you can jump your ball into hyperspace behind the back panel and come out on the left. And I've heard that it's, it's just a great repeatable shot. Like it always feels good. You know what I mean? We've seen similar stuff like that. You know, I mean, to, to a lesser extent you would have with iron maiden, You know, nice jump ramp there. You know, we sort of had that same thing in Rush. You know, you obviously have it in Lord of the Rings that was phenomenal because you jumped through, you know, the actual backbox, you know, the backboard as well. Yes. Which is cool. Exactly. You know, we've seen that before. So that one, that one's sort of interactive. And then your Death Star. You know what's smart about that shot to me? Because you brought up a great point. I love, I think most people for, they do like a repeatable shot. And a lot of times that comes in the form of like a repeatable loop shot, you know, off of an upper right or upper left flipper. With this shot, again, like you were saying, in dead center, being able to repeatedly hit off that left flipper and just knocking out that hyperspace shot is – I mean, because most people, even when they play normally for the first time, you're aiming your shots probably up towards the middle of the play field, right? You're not worrying about left or right so much. So that's a great spot for that. It is. And it's like you said, that up the middle shot always feels good just because it's just you naturally progress to that, and the ball just naturally finds its way up there. So I'm like you. It just feels good. Anything where a ball disappears and it goes to the back, like, I don't know, man. It's just fun. It's just cool. I agree. I agree with you, man. I like that. And then, you know, you get me pumped about a repeatable loop shot that goes behind the back. Yeah, it's fun. That's what I'm saying, man. That's what, like, at first impression, when you first look at it, you're like, oh, okay. But then you start to dive into it, and you're like, okay, man, And there's some fun stuff here that's going to be fun to shoot and hit on there. Well, interestingly enough, I mean, just us talking about it, like now I'm even more interested in that shot. I know, I'm the same way. There's probably going to be the best shot in there. And then you go over, you've got the, so this is kind of a super cool, I don't know, I think it's super cool, man, because I was kind of impressed by it and I thought, you know, You could have probably done more with it, but I really like where their mind was with it. So you got the AT-AT, and it's a full-figure sculpt there. But then when you hit it, it's just like the movie when they were tying the – what is it? I guess the pool cables or whatever, tying the cables around its leg, and it drops to its knees. So it literally drops to its knees, and then its head comes down like a dog laying down or a cat. and yeah it's the it's the exact scene from the movie those those legs kind of fall he falls forward and his head kind of collapses into the ground it actually it replicates extremely well on the extremely well have it set up and that's what that that's the impressive part of it is it looks i mean if you were going to do like a little animated film or something and you had an at at like that that's exactly what you would want for your your animated like action figure film or something you know what i'm saying like that's what you would want like they they executed that perfectly. And I have to do this. I don't like making it about my personal friends ever, but my buddy Jeff back in 2016 when we were talking Star Wars pins, he's like, that's a feature that needs to be on a Star Wars game, is being able to wrap that cable around that AT-AT walker and take it down. And where you're not physically wrapping a cable, there is a spiral ramp that the ball is going to go around, so it makes like this whole 360 turn, emulating kind of the motion of going around the T.T. Walker before it collapses, which is cool. It is. Yeah. And then to the right, we have the Death Star is back. Death Star 2, another one. You took down the first one in the first Star Wars panel. Guess what? You've got a little Death Star 2 coming your way. Bring him back. Which is a three-ball ball lock, physical ball lock, which we always love, a good physical ball lock. You know, and it's like, you know, it's cool. It works. You know, the door comes down. You shoot her in there. It locks the ball. Shoot another one in there. It locks the ball. Shoot the other one in there. It locks the ball. and then they come rolling out at you. So that's kind of all your sculpts. You know, most of those, so your interactive toys and sculpts-wise that are considered toys with it. You've got your Death Star. You've got your AT-AT. Jabba the Hutt's static back there. You know, you've got that Sarlacc pit that he's kind of wrapped around there, which is basically, you know, it's a funnel-type thing, similar to what? I guess like Pirates of the Caribbean, that, what was that called? Do you remember what that thing was called? I don't it's not like I ever worked at Jersey Jack pinball I don't know how I would that's why I relied on you kid I relied on you I was swinging a miscrag not a lot of time on pirates and uh it is what it is before your time there is before it's a funnel it's as if you were going to be pouring a bunch of uh flour into like a little narrow area how you would funnel it in but the ball funnels through there yeah ball funnels through there and then um you know obviously like what we talked about the Darth Vader head the the uh the stormtrooper head those are static and stuff on there uh millennium falcon is interactive because you do have the hyperdrive jets that uh activate so you get that blue aura yes yeah i consider that and then uh you know there is a like so there's there's two ramps over to the right there's that ramp that goes up to that sarlacc pit but in front of that ramp there's a drop target which is i i always do i am always an advocate for that like i i love a drop target into something that once you drop that drop target it opens up to another shot. I don't know why. I wish stuff like that was utilized more. I like secret shots that you just can't hit all the time and you have to open up. I can't remember the character. It's that funny little alien little weird thing. I can't remember what his name is. But they also said, which is pretty cool, he'll pop up, he'll taunt you and stuff, and it'll pop up. Kind of reminds me of the Sclery Brothers in Ghostbusters when they would do that and block your shot and mess with you. Don't say that. Now you're getting me down on it. I hate the Scolari brothers. I can't stand them. Oh, man. I don't know. I like them. Terrible. The Scolari brothers that throw the ball back over my flipper and drain an already hard game. That's my one thing. Drag them out. Out on Star Wars. You ruined the whole game for me. That's it. I think that this guy, because it's heading back further, and I think the angle, I don't think it's going to be as brutal. I think it'll be fun, and I think it's going to work. It's going to be fine. It's definitely going to be fine. and then um he's the the salacious bee crumb drop target he's that little roach yes yes that's what it is yes yes yeah the little roach yeah you're kind of yeah that's a good like a possum roach that's what yeah he's a little possum right i don't know what that is but i guess it's him that's way we're going to describe him and then you just you got the other ramp over there um you know which is cool there's a lot of good shots there's two two uh two pop bumpers on on each side so not not normally where you'd place it almost um i won't even say godzilla-ish they're down the lower portion of the playfield again like can start off the podcast with you guys are going to be overwhelmed with with so much great content today and videos and stuff so you guys will see what i'm talking about but kind of the lower i'm glad i'm glad we didn't cover all the shots i'm glad we didn't do any of that i'm just thinking here we are covering all the shots because there's some unique stuff in it like you got it you got to give the people a little bit of a visual and and it plays into our opinion as well plays into our opinion okay um but so yes you have those pop bumpers on like the lower third just on each side and those do something oh oh do you remember what they said that that that recharged something like fueling it was something no you know what i'm glad you brought that up because i think we were talking in a previous episode where i don't even you know i'm just kind of burnt out on jets and pops in general i think they take up a lot of real estate and they don't really do much for me the ball gets trapped up in there a lot and it just kind of randomly does its thing, and it's almost like it creates stop and go to a certain extent. The placement of far left and far right, one pop bumper each side, just under midway up the play field, I think is really, really smart. Because I do like other games that utilize, like you said, Godzilla. You know, TNA had that one kind of pop bumper. You have that kind of similar effect on both sides. I'm in for that, because now that's like another way to kind of have the ball do something that's a little bit unpredictable, but it's not a time waster. Well, and I like a purpose to it, like the way they coded it in with the refueling of, I wish I remembered what it was. It'd be a little better. But I like that there's more of a purpose to it because I hate pops that, oh, you're just building to be able to get to super pops and get more points. That's great. And I love what Elwin had done with games like Iron Maiden where you're having to knock out a certain amount of pops, ramps, all that stuff. But I want more of a purpose for the pop bumpers. I want a reason to actually have to shoot for them other than just points sort of thing. Couldn't have said it better. Yeah, so I like that. I like that. I think that's fresh, like super fresh and super awesome. They're ion cannon pop bumpers. So I think he was talking about you have to recharge the ion cannons. Yes, yes. By hitting those pops. You are exactly right. Yeah. Like, perfect, perfect. Okay. Thank you, Ken, for saving me. I needed it. Yeah. No, that's a, hey, well, I had to redeem myself for not knowing what the Pirates of the Caribbean jjp funnel is but yeah i'll have to go back and take my my lashings on that so you know all that we kind of got our opinions on artwork and everything but but just as a game as a package you know everything the shots the toys obviously we don't know a lot about coding we do know that that that c-3po uh is going to be doing call out like those are calls from c-3po yep um there are tons of assets and movie clips would they say like over 1100 you know call outs and movie clips that they've gotten for this so that's huge to me in that i mean i think that's definitely something everybody was clamoring for that everybody wanted because i do feel even though we had the clips in the 2017 game we didn't have enough it is still just didn't explain the world you know as we talked before on you know our speculations on this game dwight had great moments with lightsaber battle boba fett all of that stuff but it was still like they still just it it didn seem like they amassed a lot of like story and storytelling in that game And it seems like that that's one thing that they're really shooting for in this is that storytelling aspect and giving us all of those clips and making us feel more Star Wars than before. Yeah. Yeah. Well, we'll see how the code works itself out. That's the one variable that you're not really able to see in an initial presentation. Yes, exactly. Which is huge. It comes down to I can appreciate a good fan layout. I always think fan layouts are safer layouts. They're fun to shoot. They're easy to understand. And this comes across, obviously, as just a left-to-right, for the most part, fan layout, two flippers. I think it's also important to understand everything that we kind of described is going to be in your limited edition and premium models. There are some differences to the Pro. Stern made it a point to say that, for the most part, all your shots are going to be the same with the exception of the center lift ramp for that hyperspace shot. It's in a fixed position versus it being able to go up and down. And then you've got some of the sculpts, which become flat plastics, and the AT-AT walker is static, meaning he doesn't collapse. But as far as, like, from a shot perspective, you're getting essentially the same game, which I think a lot of people will appreciate. You're not missing an upper or lower play field or anything like that. And that being said, I'm glad you brought that up. I was kind of, you know, normally I'm not a premium buyer. Typically I will almost always stick with a pro, just depending. But once I heard that, I guess I didn't expect so much to be stripped. Like it was nice that you still had your Death Star lock on everything. but for some reason like i just think visually when you're playing the game that that that atat is i think it's just gonna be a cool moment man i think i think it's something that that right now you could sit there and i think it'd be easy to say oh yeah it's whatever man i mean it just it kneels down at fall but i think visually that's gonna be super freaking cool when you're playing the game and that happens especially in that mode when you're trying to tie it up and defeat it and and you can hit underneath there and destroy it. I think that's going to be a cool moment, but I'm kind of disappointed in everything they're stripping away, which isn't a ton when you think about it. Oh, you didn't mention the MagnaSafe is gone, and we didn't really get into that on those shots. So real quick with the MagnaSafe. So the MagnaSafe is like we've seen on other games, 007 and stuff before, it's down there below the flippers, And then, you know, you hit that magna save, it'll throw the ball back up in the middle. But the unique thing that they did with this is that if you do an out lane drain on the left-hand side, there's like a little lip at the apron that kind of curves the ball up towards that magnet. So if you drain on that out, that left out lane, you can use that magna save and that ball, when it gets that magnet, it'll either throw it. If you, if you've collected enough letters, it'll throw it out, kind of up the, the right out lane and into the shooter lane to save you and then if you've collected it's like a death save almost right yeah yeah almost like a death say yeah exactly and so but if you collect enough letter or all the letters it'll grab the ball there in the middle and throw it back into the play field so it kind of changes stuff but but your pro it it's lacking that they said that you get it but it's a virtual like it's a virtual ball save so i guess then you just get you know a ball ejected into the shooter lane, I assume, sort of thing. There wasn't a lot of clarity on that. But I still think that that would be a cool – I don't know, man. Like I want that physical magnet in there too that can grab that ball. Because also there's more skill, I feel, on hitting that and getting it to actually grab. And there's more variance because it's pinball. You know, things vary. And when you've got it virtually, it's going to take into account, okay, it was maybe over that same spot. Or, again, don't know how it's exactly going to work. But I'm kind of leaning towards a premium on this. I've always been a premium buyer, and it's just simply because financially I've always felt more comfortable and justified in getting a premium for myself personally. Pros, you know, there are some games that I actually didn't mind having a pro. Stranger Things is one of those games where, yeah, I'm missing the projection mapping and maybe I'm missing the back panel magnet. But I love Stranger Things pro. Me too. So it can be hit or miss. in my notes that I took during the seminar and I'll just go through, it'll take 15 seconds as far as the pro Vader and the Stormtroopers they're not sculpts, they're plastics the AT-AT Walker is static, the hyperspace ramp is fixed in the up position there's no sculpt that's above the Sarlacc pit, which is Jabba the Hutt it's gone, which would be Jabba yeah, no TIE fighter sculpt and then the magnet ball save is virtual. It's removed from there. But again, for the most part, all the shots are there. But one more thing, though, that's missing that they announced. So the LE is going to come standard. Sorry, we're all over the place with this, guys. Well, listen, and I was going to say, bear with us, because we're on a time crunch, right? This thing just got over. There's a lot to absorb. Myself and Greg didn't get a chance to even collect ourselves between each other to see what was happening, which I kind of think is cool. And then our effort here is to just get a first impression and then post this so it's ready to go for you guys. So we're going to do a follow-up. Exactly. But so on the LE, it's going to come standard with your cabinet expression lights. You know, most of our cabinet expression lights, besides John Wick, has been on music pins. But this is going to have the cabinet expression lights. The premium, you will have the ability to add the cabinet expression lights. But, again, another hit on the pro. Yeah. You can't add the cabinet expression lights. Yeah, it's not even an option on the Pro. It's another hit to it that makes me kind of want to go towards the Premium. I'm not mad at the Pro, but I do think that I'm going to end up going with the Premium because I still think overall, and this doesn't affect most of you guys because most everybody out there that's listening to this is going to be, you know, they're going to have it in a home environment. But I do think that this game is going to kill it on location because it doesn't look like an overly difficult shooter. It's still Star Wars that people love. and it looks like it's going to actually be a blast to play. Again, don't know the code, you know, but I have faith that that code is going to be good. Some of the things that they are currently doing with it, I think is going to be good. So I still think it's going to kill on location. And I think that having stuff like that ATAT and stuff on location, I think it might have to be a premium for location. Yeah. Oh, okay. I can totally see if you want to have, obviously all the features you've got to go, premium. Pro is safe. Again, I'm usually in the premium market, so that's kind of where I'm at. I'm happy with that premium. Yeah, so I guess overall impression of the game itself, and I do want to close this out and get into the Spike 3 features because this is going to sound a little bit odd because when they were teasing Spike 3, they were kind of putting it into the promos, and you heard George Gomez kind of releasing some information on some other podcasts, kind of getting people a little bit hyped about it. I was like, ah, you know what? I don't know that that's going to be a big seller. I was surprised to see them leaning into the Spike 3, into a lot of the pre-marketing or the marketing assets pre-launch for this game. I'm actually very curious and excited about the whole Spike 3 platform. And did you want to just kind of go over one at a time, like features, to kind of give the listener a little bit of an idea of what the Spike 3 platform is going to offer? Because it's going to be on this title. it's not anything that is going to be backwards compatible meaning you're not going to be able to convert you know spike two games to spike three they said that's so time consuming it's not a drag and drop um that is a massively time consuming thing they they made it sound like that it might be a possibility at some point in the future on particular games that would be compatible and be able to do it but they they basically i mean it was like a hard no you know anything coming out in the future it's a rerun or a game or anything will not be spike three it's just it's it there's too much to convert a spike two to a spike three right right uh spike three commands a whole new operating system i think the first thing people are going to notice and something that i'm excited about you've got the increased screen size on the 35 larger which you're up to an 18 and a half inch display 18 and a half inch it goes edge to edge as far as up and down and left to right it but It doesn't look like it's crammed in there. It does look pretty like it was born to be in there, so to speak. It was like an insane, great engineering because that's one thing, too, because my question always was, I was kind of always like, well, Translight's already kind of squished. How odd is that going to look when they put a bigger display in there and cramp that Translight even more? But the Translight size remains the same. All that's the same. they just like beat up engineering on squeezing that in on the the the lcd speaker panel um but it looks good there's nothing out of sorts you get a bigger screen and it doesn't look awkward actually like what i was speaking before like on those le's with the tweeter and stuff above um and and also listen guys so as far as what we know for you premium buyers and i assume it's going to be the case on the pro 2 you can add those tweeters so it's going to be an aftermarket thing that if you want to add those tweeters to your game you can but i i dude i think it looks so gorgeous i think that it's going to make your your spike 2 le's look a little boring well and that's where i'm going to wonder because you know how everybody kinds of the benefit of having stern titles is they they look so uniform and and so nice together so i you know this bigger screen size does it make everything look a little bit smaller i don't know maybe you just need a whole new section of spike 3 games um going back it's just like that's the spike 3 area um you've got They said new full HD resolution. It's 125% more pixels than the Spike 2 screen. And then the color depth enables 256 times as many colors as the Spike 2 platform. Exactly. And speaking of the speakers, I know we were just talking about the speakers there. You know, it's got an upgraded amplifier. I guess, what, two times the wattage in there? Yes, two times the wattage. Yeah, yeah. It's all like mid range. Like we said, the mid range speaker got 50% higher power handling in there. We already mentioned the separate tweeters, which is nice. And there's going to be wireless headphone support. I think Yeah, so I what are your thoughts on that? Do you like wireless headphone connectivity I do because I think that that what most people are going to anyways like like very few people have a set of corded headphones laying around anymore so i think that that's nice just to be able to grab your your ear pods i'm assuming that this all compatible they kind of made it sound like there's so still some of this i wouldn't real clear were you i mean is everything rolling yeah i i think they don't want to cite bluetooth technology because i think there's you know there's pat tm on that so yeah so until they're able to get like approvals of what they call they're just calling it wireless but obviously white wireless is one of two things you know it's either wi-fi or bluetooth and the way that it was explained is it's like it's what you would expect with wireless headphone or earbud uh connectivity so but i think most people have got a pair of beats or they've got some other wireless headphones um they've got airpods they've already got something so i think just the compatibility and already thinking forward on that to just be able to literally just walk down there and connect to your wireless headphones is amazing for the people that like to play like that. I never use them. Never use headphones. I don't. But maybe on a Saturday morning if people were asleep. I don't know. Because I've got a couple games right below our bedroom, and the kids have got friends over, and they're wanting to play, and I'm trying to sleep. I don't hear the pops and stuff going off, but I hear that freaking game blasting. I don't even have my games up loud. But I'm like, you should probably. Well, Seth Davis was talking about audio, too. he was like, the upgraded audio system here with Spike 3, he's like, you can blare these games now super uncomfortably loud without distortion. So I'm more excited about the audio from a speaker standpoint. I'm also excited about the screen. Well, and I talked to people that heard it, and they said it is a noticeable difference. Even on the LE, it's a noticeable difference from the past LEs. ease yeah yeah so i again that's kind of the cherry or the icing on the cake or the cherry on top for uh for this this star wars reveal well and there's some just not not to not to keep you listeners uh uh hanging here but you know um just a couple quick notable things that that come with that spike three two and these are less impressive this is more of the nerdy stuff but um you know it's it's going to come uh four times the performance uh for computing and video processing power two times the memory three times faster higher quality larger uh storage micro sd memory better hardware video decoding and playback and i believe they upgraded the wi-fi too which that to me we probably should open the store or open the the i was going to say the story we should have probably opened this podcast with that because from the tech side that i deal with i've got so many people that have a problem with the shitty dongles and wi-fi connectivity sometimes now in the spike too so i think that that is going to be one of those underlining things that you take for granted like toilet paper that upgraded wi-fi is going to be the biggest hit of this game well and seth even said look and even if you're in a real compromising position with signal strength you have the ability to add a wi-fi antenna or extender too to just kind of open that door to to be able to get that too. One other thing that I wrote down in my notes, and again, this might not be a big deal for some people, but I just think it's a cool kind of feature or amenity to have. These games now will have the ability, predominantly focusing on the home owner, not necessarily the location owner. You can turn the setting for your game to kind of go into sleep mode. So if you step away from it for a while, you don't have to worry anymore about turning your game off. It'll go into sleep mode to conserve power and energy. And then when you go up to the machine and hit a button just kind of wakes from it comes out of a sleep state and do a woken state and and you're just ready to play there's no more turning the game i waiting for it to load it's just kind of always ready to go so for those of you that are looking to play pinball on the fly and you can't wait that 12 seconds to get your game to boot how long does a stern game take to be it's not very long they're one of the fastest booting games i think are like maybe manufactured there's another company i could think of that would benefit more from a sleep state uh as far as like a game booting up but uh that's that's it's it's it is cool to it is cool to see i appreciate it overall uh what what are your what's your overall takeaway again first impression right so we'll we'll get more today we'll see more today uh we'll see more gameplay game in general dude i'm happy with it again um i i think it you know it's not anything that just overwhelms me you know like oh yeah but i also am super excited about it still because i do think that it's going to be fun and from the people that i've talked to that have shot the game already they have said that it's a fun game that you don't want to walk away from it it's got that one more game factor so you know while it's not really anything like you know overly captivating in the sense that we saw something brand new uh in the world of toys and mechs it's still got that one more game factor that keeps bringing you back that it's just pure fun and i'll always argue that that that's the number one thing in pinball uh to me is just is the game fun does it make you keep wanting to to put quarters in it um and you know those of you at home just make you want to keep hitting the start button but you know what i mean um but yeah dude i think it does have that i i'm i'm pumped about it and and again uh you know to the spike three in my opinion uh i think that this is awesome i think that this is a really good step forward especially with no price increase uh you know all the the r&d and everything they put into this to bring this and then one thing that i love that that seth said was this isn't a one-time thing this is a one-off thing like we will because of this system we will be able to continuously keep improving and adding to what we do with it and from an operator standpoint it was confirmed that all the previous node boards for spike 2 are in the spike three system also so if you are carrying inventory on those or you're worried about having to learn a new node board system right like everything is going to be the same which is nice uh wiring up of the backbox and stuff is different because they've got different electronics back there but the removal of the backbox was brought up and that should be very similar if you needed to get a game in a tight spot um so all in all spike three tip my hat as far as what it sounds like it's going to do i think it's cool from the from the actual the game reveal or star wars as a title. Look, I just think it's a very safe approach to the game. I'm happy that they focused on the original trilogy. That's what I think most people are looking for. All the iconic assets are going to be in the game. For me, I think it's going to be taken to the next level. When I start hearing the audio and you start seeing the visual assets and you start hearing the call-outs, it's a whole different level of appreciation that you'll take on with the game versus seeing photos, still photos, and a PowerPoint presentation. So, you know, let's see where it goes. But again, if you're looking to get your game, you're going to want to probably do that at the conclusion of this podcast, which I think is going to be in two minutes. You can go to flippingoutpinball.com. You can place your order there. You can email Greg Bone at greg at flip the letter N out pinball.com and say, hey, I would like to order my game. And this is the version I want. Pro premium, $500 deposits, L.E. $2,000 deposits. And all those games will be coming out here within the next couple of weeks. Stern Pinball is fast. You're not going to be delayed. You're not going to be waiting. You're going to get your game sooner than later, which is always, always nice. So if you're looking for the latest, you're looking for the greatest, it's the hot new title, and it's available now. My email is ken at flippingoutpinball.com. You can email me as well. And look, if you have a couple questions, happy to answer those for you too. I'll tell you what I know, and I'll be honest about what I don't. Yeah, exactly. But all in all, good reveal day today, and it's Star Wars, right? It is. And one more tidbit to leave you guys with, one more I know we've kind of overloaded you with information and opinions and everything else, but some good news, you know, speaking of Stern being fast, one thing that they've never been fast with is accessory rollouts. And with this game, we were told that those accessories will be out for this game by the end of the year. So no more waiting until this time next year to get some accessories for this game. we should see everything and it be available by, I would assume, Christmas. That's a great point because you remember the whole Star Wars R2-D2 topper incident that took place. It was like one of the most crazy, crazy waits for a topper in history. And actually, it's also been suggested that let's say you're comfortable sticking in with your old Star Wars, but you want to get a new topper for it and you missed out on that R2-D2 topper. the topper that's going to be released for this current star wars just might be backwards compatible for your existing star wars game so stay tuned on additional information look look ken we can't shut up just when we thought we were wrapping this up we just you just keep hitting these people with some shit man just keep hitting them i know i know hey but you know what it's the force i i'm getting a little bit more excited as i'm kind of talking this out with you and uh i hope everybody is too right so with it being friday i have a feeling it's going to be a heck of a weekend for us. It is going to be a heck of a weekend. I'm pretty open on the weekend, especially the launch weekend, so don't hesitate. Don't ever feel like you're imposing. I'm happy to help out. I know you are, too. And, yeah, I don't know, man. Happy launch day. Let's see where it takes us. And then, as far as episode nine, I think we record that middle of next week, and we'll have a little bit more of this game under our belt, which will be cool. Maybe we'll see a stream or two by then. And we'll be back to regular cadence. You can go support the show also at Patreon. So if you go over to patreon.com slash FlippinOutPinballPodcast or go to patreon.com and go into the search field and type in FlippinOutPinballPodcast, we've got some different tiers there that you can join. Next week, actually, we have what is it? It's our meet and greet. Not our meet and greet. The after hours with Ken and Greg. We're going to get on a video webinar with everybody and talk some pinball. So that's going to be fun. Jump in there if you want to take part in that. If you don't mind, if you're on our Facebook page or even if you're not, go on our Facebook page. Could you just hit the like or follow button? It just allows more of our posts to be shared throughout the whole Facebook network. You can also catch us on YouTube, Instagram, and even on X. It's been a crazy week, social media in general. You got anything else? Nope, that's it, man. May the force be with you, Ken. Thank you for everything, and I look forward to you being down in the pit getting your ass kicked with me today. Yeah, let's go in the Sarlacc pit. The Sarlacc, yeah. We're in the Sarlacc pit. We're in the Sarlacc pit of pinball today to close it out for Greg Bone. I am Ken Cromwell. Don't forget to take some time out of your day and play some pinball. So long, everybody.

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 8c242a06-51d3-477e-afc2-d7c57f014ecf*