# "Exclusive" Means NOTHING to Stern Pinball **Source:** Cary Hardy **Type:** video **Published:** 2023-01-07 **Duration:** 5m 0s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ4-mSrqCsM --- ## Analysis Cary Hardy criticizes Stern Pinball for falsely marketing the James Bond 60th Anniversary Edition topper as 'exclusive' when it became widely available for purchase just three days after the limited edition release. Hardy questions whether the exclusivity claim was a deliberate lie or a result of poor demand, and warns consumers to be skeptical of future 'exclusive' claims from Stern. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] The James Bond 60th Anniversary Edition topper was marketed as exclusive but became available for purchase to the general public just three days after release — _Cary Hardy directly states this based on official Stern marketing and product availability_ - [HIGH] The topper is now available for approximately $1,000 — _Cary Hardy explicitly states this pricing_ - [MEDIUM] The exclusivity claim may have influenced purchasing decisions for buyers who spent ~$20,000 on the limited edition machine — _Hardy speculates this was a reason for purchase but doesn't have direct confirmation from buyers_ - [HIGH] Stern originally planned to limit the topper to 500 units — _Hardy references this limit in the original marketing_ - [MEDIUM] Keith Elwin games have been restricted from many consumers — _Hardy makes a vague reference to Elwin game availability restrictions, likely referring to limited production or high pricing_ ### Notable Quotes > "Exclusive means shutting out all others from a part or share. So when Stern shows you a brand new pinball machine and says exclusive topper, you'd believe that when you spend this kind of money you're going to be the only one... And then merely three days later, lo and behold, this topper is going to be available for anybody that's got $1,000." > — **Cary Hardy**, early > _Core criticism: defines what 'exclusive' means and shows the contradiction between marketing promise and reality_ > "I'm definitely curious as to why they were limiting it to 500. And now it's a matter of just like, hey, we're going to make more. Demand? Or a lack of demand on the 60th anniversary edition?" > — **Cary Hardy**, middle > _Questions Stern's motives: whether the reversal was due to high demand or surprisingly low demand_ > "I think where you screwed up their stern is by putting the word exclusive on that trailer because now it's no longer exclusive now it's like if you want it you got the money you can get it that's not exclusive." > — **Cary Hardy**, middle > _Identifies the specific problem: the use of the word 'exclusive' in marketing made the reversal feel deceptive_ > "My condolences to those of you out there that spent the 20 grand on this machine and now you have a topper that a lot of other people are going to have as well" > — **Cary Hardy**, near_end > _Sympathy for collectors who may feel their premium purchase was devalued by the exclusivity being broken_ > "I would caution you on every new thing that gets released in the future from stern when they use the word exclusive take it with a grain of salt" > — **Cary Hardy**, end > _Direct warning to the community about trusting Stern's future exclusivity claims_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Stern Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; criticized for marketing practices and 'exclusive' claims | | Cary Hardy | person | Content creator/critic reviewing Stern's exclusivity claims on James Bond 60th Anniversary | | James Bond 60th Anniversary Edition | product | Stern Pinball limited edition machine; featured topper marketed as exclusive | | George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball designer; the 'Gomez version' of James Bond machine referenced | | Keith Elwin | person | Designer associated with restricted/limited availability games at Stern | | Bond 60th | game | James Bond 60th Anniversary Edition pinball machine | ### Topics - **Primary:** Marketing and exclusivity claims, Limited edition product strategy, Consumer deception and trust, Stern Pinball business practices - **Secondary:** Secondary market pricing and availability, Collector sentiment and FOMO ### Sentiment **Negative** (0.15) — Cary Hardy is critical and frustrated with Stern's marketing practices, specifically the false 'exclusive' claim. While he states he's 'not mad,' the tone throughout is clearly sarcastic and disapproving. He expresses sympathy for premium buyers who feel deceived. The sentiment is negative toward Stern but somewhat sympathetic toward affected consumers. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** Stern's strategy of reversing exclusivity limits may indicate pressure to generate additional revenue from topper sales or concerns about limited edition game demand (confidence: medium) — Hardy's speculation about why Stern would reverse the 500-unit limit so quickly - **[community_signal]** Stern's marketing of James Bond 60th Anniversary topper as 'exclusive' followed by immediate public availability creates trust and credibility issue with premium buyers (confidence: high) — Topper marketed as exclusive, became available for general purchase within 3 days at ~$1,000 - **[market_signal]** Reversal of 500-unit production limit on Bond 60th topper may indicate either unexpectedly high demand OR unexpectedly low demand for the limited edition machine itself (confidence: medium) — Hardy questions 'Demand? Or a lack of demand on the 60th anniversary edition?' as possible reasons for the reversal - **[market_signal]** Bond 60th Anniversary Edition priced at ~$20,000 with exclusive items as justification; exclusivity reversal potentially damages perceived value proposition (confidence: high) — Multiple references to $20k price and exclusive items as part of purchase value proposition - **[sentiment_shift]** Negative community sentiment toward Stern's marketing credibility and exclusivity claims (confidence: high) — Cary Hardy's prominent content criticizing the practice and calling it a 'lie'; warning others to distrust future 'exclusive' claims --- ## Transcript Your release video for James Bond's 60th anniversary edition states that the topper would be exclusive. With a lie detector determined, that was a lie. I'm not even mad. Now, I might not be mad about this, but those of you out there that spent 20 grand on a machine and thought that you were going to be getting some exclusive things on there, turns out Stern was like, Gotcha, bitch! now hold up let me look this up real quick just to make sure exclusive i need to look at the definition of exclusive just to make sure now there's multiple adjectives here but i think the one that applies to what we are talking about is shutting out all others from a part or share. So when Stern shows you a brand new pinball machine and says exclusive. Topper exclusive, whatever. Then I think you would believe that okay then when I spend this kind of money on this particular machine that I going to be the only one and 499 others that have this particular item And that may be one of the reasons why those of you out there purchased this tremendously overpriced machine. And then merely three days later, lo and behold, this topper is going to be available for anybody that's got $1,000. So it's a great day for those of you out there that purchased the Gomez version of the James Bond machine, because now you're going to have a topper at a fraction of the price that you would see on a lot of toppers that they put out today. But it's not going to be good for those of you out there that spent a lot of money to get this machine with supposed exclusive items. Now, I'm definitely curious as to why they were limiting it to 500. And now it's a matter of just like, hey, we're going to make more. Demand? Or a lack of demand on the 60th anniversary edition? Or maybe Stern is about friggin done with this license holder with all their restrictions I mean because who knows how long it took him to get that topper approved let alone another one that they would have to create to match with the gomez edition i think where you screwed up their stern is by putting the word exclusive on that trailer because now it's no longer exclusive now it's like if you want it you got the money you can get it that's not exclusive. I mean, it's bad enough that you've already restricted so many of us out there from being able to enjoy a Keith Elwin game. Then you pretty much blatantly lie to the consumer out there on what they're going to be able to exclusively own. Here's the pulse, all right? And this is your finger. Far from the pulse, jammed straight up your ass. Say, would you like a chocolate-covered pretzel? I mean, you were already wrong about the demand for this overpriced machine. Now you're wrong again by stating something is exclusive, and it's not. And like I said, congratulations to those of you out there with your Gomez Bond and your ability to now own a topper for your game for half the price as their latest topper release My condolences to those of you out there that spent the 20 grand on this machine and now you have a topper that a lot of other people are going to have as well i just i trying to wrap my head around this because you wanted this game to be special you were stacking all your chips on this game to be something special for collectors and you high end buyers and stuff like that and then now you're like you know what one of the things that made the game special uh let's just give it to everybody now i'm not mad about this and i don't feel you should be either but i would caution you on every new thing that gets released in the future from stern when they use the word exclusive take it with a grain of salt _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: c8e0b6a3-bac3-4c6c-96d6-2c362a2cc0a3*