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SDTM: Star Wars pinball first impressions

Straight Down the Middle·video·35m 46s·analyzed·Jun 7, 2017
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

SDTM hosts offer mixed first impressions on Star Wars Pinball, praising visuals but questioning stripped-down design and designer PR missteps.

Summary

Zack and Greg from Straight Down the Middle provide first impressions on Star Wars Pinball based on official specs and images, not hands-on play. They praise cabinet art and music/video features but criticize the playfield artwork as underwhelming, note the absence of magnets, and debate whether the game is targeted at route operators rather than home collectors. They express frustration with Steve Ritchie's negative comments about Pinside and emphasize the importance of designer-community relations.

Key Claims

  • Star Wars Pinball was leaked via Lucasfilm video about a week before official announcement, received very negative community reaction

    high confidence · Greg and Zack discussing initial announcement timeline

  • The Pro model features oversaturated bright colors and blues; Premium Edition has snow-themed side art; Limited Edition has Chewie/Han Solo artwork

    high confidence · Zack and Greg describing cabinet art differences across three tiers

  • Star Wars has no magnets, which is unusual and represents cost-cutting

    high confidence · Direct statement: 'Where the hell are the magnets at, Greg?' with agreement that this is a cost-reduction measure

  • The game has 16 modes and 9 multiball modes

    high confidence · Greg: '16 freaking modes, man. Yeah, that's 16.' and later 'speaking of multiballs, Greg, there are nine multiball modes in this game'

  • Playfield artwork quality is poor and lacks integration with the Star Wars theme

    high confidence · Zack: 'the biggest thing that is lacking on this game is the playfield art' and 'it's too stripped down' compared to classic routing games

  • Steve Ritchie publicly called Pinside 'a disease,' alienating the core hobby community

    high confidence · Zack: 'Steve Ritchie came out publicly and said some nasty stuff about Pinside... He called Pinside a disease'

  • The game feels designed primarily for commercial route operators rather than home collectors

    medium confidence · Discussion citing a female pinball enthusiast's Facebook post suggesting Stern released the game to make money on route, supported by minimal playfield art

  • The Premium Edition is being criticized as poor value at $1,500 premium over Pro with only translite, armor, and art differences

    high confidence · Greg: 'why are you spending an extra $1,500 for a different translite... that's it' repeated multiple times

Notable Quotes

  • “the biggest thing that is lacking on this game is the playfield art”

    Zack@ 5:45 — Core criticism summarizing aesthetic disappointment despite other positive elements

  • “it feels almost like what they did with Batman 66. It feels like that they knew this title was going to sell, and so in some aspects it feels like that they did put a lot of effort into it, but then other aspects it seems like they didn't”

    Greg@ 8:13 — Suggests Stern took design shortcuts despite Star Wars franchise power

  • “where the hell are the magnets at, Greg? Oh, my gosh. What the hell?”

    Zack@ 16:15 — Highlights shocking absence of fundamental gameplay device in major release

  • “Steve Ritchie came out publicly and said some nasty stuff about Pinside... He called Pinside a disease”

    Zack@ 24:11 — Major community relations incident with designer insulting core enthusiast base

  • “you don't – you're not rude to fans. You're not rude to people buying your product. It's just senseless”

    Zack@ 29:05 — Articulates broader concern about Stern's marketing and PR approach

  • “the Pro is for arcades, the Premium Edition is for collector, and the limited edition is for the high-end collectors. But on this title, I feel like it is really geared towards commercial use”

    Greg@ 18:07 — Core complaint that game violates stated positioning of three-tier model

Entities

Zack SharpepersonGregpersonStar Wars PinballgameStern PinballcompanySteve RitchiepersonDwight SullivanpersonJim SullivanpersonJack Mariniperson

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Three-tier pricing model with Premium Edition premium of $1,500 offering insufficient differentiation; hosts question value of intermediate tier

    high · Greg: 'why are you spending an extra $1,500 for a different translite... that's it' repeated throughout discussion; core debate on Premium vs Limited Edition viability

  • ?

    business_signal: Stern's marketing and PR strategy criticized as consistently poor; failure to leverage designer personalities effectively; alienation of core enthusiast base contradicts business interests

    high · Zack: 'I just don't know why this big company continues to screw up every marketing and PR opportunity that they have' and broader discussion of how competitive manufacturers handle community relations better

  • ?

    community_signal: Steve Ritchie publicly called Pinside community 'a disease,' creating significant backlash and alienating core enthusiast base

    high · Zack: 'Steve Ritchie came out publicly and said some nasty stuff about Pinside... He called Pinside a disease' with emphasis on impact to community relations

  • ?

    community_signal: Early gameplay streaming being arranged through third-party content creators (Tim Balls, Crazy Levi, Jack Danger) to provide community assessment; hosts requesting factory visit invitation

    high · Zack: 'Tim Balls... is actually going to get a hold of it tomorrow... Crazy Levi might be streaming it' and 'if you guys are up for it let us come to the factory and review this thing'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Playfield artwork quality is poor and lacks integration with Star Wars theme; excessive use of empty playfield space; missing magnets compared to classic routing machines

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.107

0:00
All right, can you hear me dude? I can hear you! All right. I'm clear! What's up everybody this is a Zack and Greg from straight down the middle of pinball show So this is kind of new for us. We're doing a little FaceTime just to give you guys Our first impressions on the new Star Wars pinball machine by Stern So this thing's been rumored for how long great?
0:47
Yeah, yeah, and then we first got a couple months ago we got the indication that they were going to make it and then they leaked some what a short video from Lucasfilms about a week ago yeah and then everybody was like what the hell is that and we have grainy videos and our grainy yeah grainy video grainy photos and everybody was bitching on pin side about it and just it couldn't have went over more like a lead balloon when they announced it through that Lucasfilm and then they released this is June 6 so they released the actual specs the matrix and some of the some of the photos high-res photos yeah so so Greg and I it's not like we can play the damn thing right now but we're We're going to at least go through our first impressions on what we think about this. I've been soaking this damn thing up all day. What about you, buddy? Yeah, same thing, man. I was excited when they finally released something. I'll be honest with you. From the other day when I first saw it, I warmed up to it just a little bit seeing the stuff today. You sound like Pinside. So here's what Pinside did, all you guys out there. I haven't read what anybody's talking about. So I actually don't know anybody's thoughts. I've just been on certain Facebook pages.
2:42
I'm a super nerd, so I've got all this stuff in my memory now. But as you're looking at the artwork on the cabinet, what are you thinking, Greg?

Jack Marini (from Jersey Jack Pinball) handles community relations better than Stern designers, treats fans respectfully

medium confidence · Zack: 'do you see Jack Marini coming out and saying that Pinside is a disease? No' and praising his interview approach

  • The game is missing magnets unlike classic Williams routing machines from the 80s-90s which had magnets and cool toys

    high confidence · Greg comparison: 'Look at all the Williams games... Through the 80s and the 90s... They still had magnets. They still had crazy cool toys.'

  • “If money was an object, obviously, I would really have to put some serious consideration between the Stern 'AC/DC (Pro Vault Edition)' and the Premium Edition”

    Zack@ 31:13 — Demonstrates difficulty in justifying Premium Edition value proposition

  • “I don't know if it's a lack of appreciation he called him a disease, Greg? It's where people get their feelings hurt”

    Zack@ 27:36 — Explains emotional impact of designer's inflammatory language on community

  • “it's too many damn multiballs... I just wonder what that's going to look like”

    Zack@ 20:43 — Concern about mechanical design balance with 9 multiball modes

  • “do you see Jack Marini coming out and saying that Pinside is a disease? No... that's just what you do in business. You don't alienate the people that feed you”

    Zack@ 28:30 — Contrasts professional business practice at competitors vs Stern

    • Straight Down the Middle
    organization
    Pinsideorganization
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Tim Ballsperson
    Crazy Leviperson
    Jack Dangerperson
    George Gomezperson
    Williamscompany
    IGNorganization
    Lucasfilmcompany
    Game of Thrones Pinballgame
    Ghostbusters Pinballgame

    high · Zack: 'the biggest thing that is lacking on this game is the playfield art' and 'it's too stripped down'; Greg: comparison to classic Williams machines 'They still had magnets. They still had crazy cool toys'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Game appears designed as route operator revenue generator rather than theme showcase; minimal playfield art investment suggests commercial prioritization over collector experience

    high · Discussion of female pinball enthusiast's Facebook post: 'did Stern just simply release a game to make money on route. It's for routers' with hosts eventually accepting this thesis

  • ?

    leak_detection: Star Wars Pinball leaked via Lucasfilm video approximately one week before official announcement; initial community reaction was extremely negative to grainy footage

    high · Greg: 'we got grainy videos and our grainy yeah grainy video grainy photos and everybody was bitching on Pinside about it and just it couldn't have went over more like a lead balloon'

  • ?

    community_signal: Designer behavior crisis: Steve Ritchie's inflammatory public statements create PR damage and alienate paying customers, contrasted negatively with Jack Marini's professional approach at competitor Jersey Jack Pinball

    high · Zack extensive criticism: 'don't bite the hand that buys your product don't be a fucking asshole' and comparison showing 'Jack Marini coming out and saying that Pinside is a disease? No'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Game designed with three explicit tiers: Pro for arcades/route, Premium Edition for collectors, Limited Edition for high-end collectors. However, Star Wars feels overly geared toward commercial route use rather than home collector appeal

    high · Greg: 'the Pro is for arcades, the Premium Edition is for collector, and the limited edition is for the high-end collectors. But on this title, I feel like it is really geared towards commercial use'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Community sentiment toward Star Wars Pinball improved slightly after official high-resolution specs release, though significant reservations remain

    medium · Greg: 'You sound like Pinside' and 'I was excited when they finally released something. I'll be honest with you. From the other day when I first saw it, I warmed up to it just a little bit'

  • ?

    technology_signal: Video mode implementation appears basic and unskilled (IGN footage showed only TIE fighters with button mashing, no depth)

    medium · Zack: 'on the IGN release, it was just a bunch of TIE fighters and you just press the dang, the apron button as much as you can. There was no skill'

    • 2:53
    I don't mind the pro. I like that left side with the shit. You know, I wish I was a bigger Star Wars fan. The Millennium Falcon? No, not the Millennium Falcon. The other side with the snow. The TIE Fighter? Or no, the... Yeah, I love that ship. I don't know what the hell that ship is called with Luke Skywalker's ship, right? No. The things that freaking walk through the snow. That's a premium. Oh, that's a premium? Yeah, that's a premium. You bastard. I'm not the one that doesn't know my shit.
    3:25
    Well, they're not labeled. They're not labeled. Okay, okay, yeah, okay, pro, pro. Start with the pro. The pro's got the, on the cabinet art, it's got the real bright colors, blues, explosion, which I think is a bit oversaturated. Yeah, the colors are, yeah, it's a little dominant. honestly I like it though I like the bright colors on the pro yeah I like it plus on the side art there Darth Vader yeah the trans lights really nice on the pro pretty smooth. What's your favorite out of the three though? I know we're going through them, but how do you think that rings? What do you mean? Translight wise. What's your favorite one? My favorite is actually the LE, believe it or not. Really? See that's the one I'm kind of disappointed in. Everybody hates the LE, but I think it's simplistic. It actually looks like it's hand drawn. And I think you could do some really cool things behind the glass there with some RGB LEDs. So I'm really digging the LE. Actually, the premium is the least of my – I like them all. I like every single Translight they've got on there. Yeah, I mean, I don't hate them all. I don't hate the Captain Art on any of them, really.
    4:47
    I just – you know, my main thing, honestly, is that light. Yeah. I can't – I just – It's not terrible, but when you look at it, I think that they should have went with maybe clear inserts, done like what you did with Star Trek.
    5:07
    They've done all clear inserts with the RGBs in there to do the colors. It's just something that doesn't flow.
    5:14
    It's just something really odd. I know some people on Pinside brought up that it looks like a Sega. and I think a lot of it looking like a set it's just like 90 inserts in there that are just different colors the greens and the reds and stuff and I think would have went with all clear with that nice blue and the purples and stuff they have in there and the blacks I think that that it would have looked a little smoother and a little nicer maybe yeah the play field I think the play field art is the same on all of them but that's the one big thing that is lacking on this game is the play field art I tell you what when I'm looking at the cabinet myself the premium everybody's raving on the premium I hate the cabinet art on the premium I can't stand it like so I get the the snow feature but it just does not match up with the right side of that cabinet which is then the outer space with the destroyer I I can't stand that at all and then the le if you look at the cabinet are in the le that's my favorite I love that oh my god it's awesome leave that leave it very any like stupid thing to bitch about but I don't know if I like the different side art on each one I don't know if I don't like the symmetry like it's just it's kind of odd to me I know you're never going to see them both at the same time or anything else like that. But for some reason, I don't know if I really care for there to be different art on each side. Yeah. I don't know. I like the, on the LE, I love the side art with Chewy and Hans. And then I think both cabinet sides match really well. The, what is it called? Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba. The armor. Like, it doesn't light up. I wish it would have lit up, but. with the armor on that it does look good I do like it did you see where somebody posted that it's part of the Falcon or whatever it's like the inside I saw that it doesn't I'll be right back keep talking yeah I don't think it looks bad it's just like it just turned off the majority by I don't know it's grown on me a little bit today but it's fine it's it's better nothing when I buy a an le or a premium with color on the on the the armor I want it to not be black that's fine but then then charge me less money and and just give me the regular rough black I Well, it's like we talked about before. Man, I hate to say this, but it feels almost like what they did with Batman 66. It feels like that they knew this title was going to sell, and so in some aspects it feels like that they did put a lot of effort into it, but then other aspects it seems like they did. Yeah, I don't know. If you're asking me which one art-wise that I like the best, I like the Ellie the best, and then the Pro, and then the premium. I don't know why I'm so backwards on that one, but that premium, man, that thing does nothing for me. Yeah, I don't know, it's not bad. It's not terrible. No, I mean, I happily have one, but no. All right so the play field that you were talking about all the art is similar on all three models But on the Pro versus the Premium LE you losing a lot of play field things So that we know that, let's talk about the Matrix here. We know that both, all models have that little LED screen over the stand-up targets. The three stand-up targets to the right side of the play field. they all get color changing RGB the same amount too I believe and then they all get 400 HD video scenes from original films which is just badass yeah but you said that we talked about that earlier that's nice but how often can you look at that damn LCD all the time no I don't I can't I'm playing the damn game And I don't think all the clips is everything down there. But hell, even if you did, I'm watching my ball.
    10:02
    It's not as important to me as I guess it is to a lot of other people. I like that all the models have the RGB. I think that's pretty damn cool. Well, the screen on all models, too. The little LCD in the play field, too. that's a plus yeah probably strip the shit out of them that's right what i noticed on this game if you're just looking at the layouts um unlike a lot of pro versus premium le's on here the recent stern releases um you're not really losing out on a lot of key gameplay features it doesn't look like you've got you've got the hyper speed um ramping or or wire forms uh and you've got an extra Millennium Falcon ship. You've got what else is different? You've got metal instead of plastic, but you've got a ramp that goes up. You've got the exploding Death Star. But that hyperspeed though, if that comes off nice, it's going to be pretty damn big. And then the metal ramps over plastic. Usually metal ramps over plastic. I prefer metal. But it's not like a deal breaker or anything for me. But this reminds me a lot of Game of Thrones Pro. Like, it just feels really naked.
    11:20
    The Pro just does feel a little stripped. I think this game is going to rely heavily on Steve Ritchie stuff. It's gameplay, it's speed, it's flow. I think this game is going to play very, very well, actually. I think so, too. I don't think that it's going to be one of those things like dialed in when your initial reaction is like, what the is going on?
    11:47
    And then you get your hands on it and play it, and you're like, this game is fantastic. I don't think it's going to be that kind of overwhelmingness, but I do think that it's going to play well, and I think that people will warm up to it. I think the biggest, honestly, for me, The biggest toy or attraction to this entire title is the music and the video clips. I mean, the Hyper Drive Accelerator, that's cool. The Exploding Death Star, I don't think is cool at all because the Death Star don't open up like an egg in Lost World. I mean it's a cool feature but are you going to need to spend an extra $1500 on a getaway ramp? I don't know I could just buy the stuff on Ghostbusters to go from a pro to a premium yeah so no, not necessarily and that being said I mean I'm sure that the metal ramps everything's going to be smooth and it's not like that you're having that upper play field but I was telling Zach the other day I finally got my hands on a Game of Thrones pro, and I'd only played the LE before. And I actually, people might shoot me over this, I actually prefer the way that the pro shoots versus that LE. There's something just smoother about it, easier to follow and understand the rule sets for whatever reason. And I'm kind of hoping that that's the way this ends up, in a sense, that it just shoots a little smoother and something else, It is hard to pass up such a cool visual show with that ball flying around the track. Yeah, I think it's going to be cool. But gosh damn, man, the part with $1,500 more for that, I hate that. I just wish for $1,500 that the separation between the models was a little more. I'm not talking about stripping down the pro more. make the pro fun make their good stuff on there up some special things about that premium too and then the LE just like you were talking about the Star Trek LE that damn thing is beautiful that's an LE it's an LE, it's a true LE and that's what I want to see like you said, the Lattiprails and different stuff that is Stern's best LE and it will be their best LE ever they should always, especially on Star Wars put that much effort and aesthetics into a limited edition. You're not going to find another limited edition like Star Trek. This feels like a pretty premium, the LE.
    14:31
    I agree. Yeah, I agree. I would agree with that. So what else is on the play field? We got TIE Fighter, a bash toy that I think is pretty cool looking. Yeah, but is it even really a bash? I know it's like sitting on a spring. Yeah, I'm hoping that there's a coil or something back there that jostles it around.
    14:51
    The impact of it jars it on the screen like a freaking bottle. Yeah. The LCD screen on the actual play field itself looks really cool. Hopefully they can decorate the bezel a little bit.
    15:07
    This is new that we didn't think was going to happen, but they have two pop bumpers and a sling, actually, instead of three pop bumpers it's two pop bumpers in a sling so go ahead I think it's just different that's nice change up the drive they got the right scoop like you have on Star Trek as the left scoop now the interesting thing you'll see an insert that says video mode and they were showing some clips of video modes on the IGN release now I'm hoping there's more to it because on the IGN release, it was just a bunch of TIE fighters and you just press the dang, the apron button as much as you can. There was no skill. It didn't look like in it. So we were ranting and raving last month about if you've got a screen, do some video modes with it. And hopefully this is a step in the right direction. Yeah, maybe there's a few different video modes. Maybe they kind of listen to some people. Maybe there's a couple different ones that you can, you know, that will randomly activate or something. The other thing that's missing is magnets. Where in the hell are the magnets at, Greg? Oh, my gosh. What the hell? All the things that are involved in all things. Like, why would you do away with magnets? I don't know.
    16:26
    You know, I mean, that net of all things is calling for the magnets. Again, like, that's what I said. Like, I think that they're kind of cheapening out. and let me bring up a good point that me and Zach talked about there was a chick that I follow on Facebook and she kind of oh do you Greg? well I mean she's a pinball chick she's a real hardcore pinball and verbatim I could probably pull it up what she said but you know she was kind of talking you know the collectors kind of got their little panties in the wad about this and did Stern just simply release a game to make money on route. It's for routers. You put the damn thing in an arcade or a barcade or anything, and that's what this game is for. And I thought that that was a very good point because the play field wasn't the most extravagant art and everything else. It didn't seem like they cared too much about that. So it was one of those things that you just put on route to make money. And you sort of... Yeah. Yeah, I mean I felt like some games when they come out based on different designers they link, there will always be commercial machines with Stern I believe and they're always going to be route heavy. That's what their aim is. But you see some titles tend to throw it a little bit to the collectors on the premium LEs They give them different things to play around with different strategy Which I like that they should That's right. That's the purpose of an LE especially. That's what they said. It's for home collectors. That's what they said at all these presentations. The pro is for arcades, the premium is for collector, and the limited edition is for the high-end collectors. But on this Tidalite, I feel like it is really geared towards commercial use.
    18:20
    Now, code could make that all different. We do know that there are 16 freaking modes, man. Yeah, that's 16. As long as it's not super simple and stupid, it could be a really fun game.
    18:36
    But back to what we were saying about the routing. You know, I agree with that. I'm the one who told you about that girl's post. and I was like, you know what, that could make a point. But then I started thinking about it more, especially when there was the lack of the magnets. Yeah. Look at all the Williams games. Oh, my gosh. Through the 80s and the 90s. Yeah. They were meant to be routed when they came out. That's right. And they still had magnets. They still had crazy cool toys. They still had a lot to grab you and pull you in. You know, we were talking about how that cockpit on that LA Freak and how people really thought that there was going to be something on the train's line. It looked like you were blasting through space. And you kind of throw, well, okay, it's going to be a routing game. It doesn't really matter. But then we talk about, look at Paragon and different stuff. Look at some of the things that were just fantastic.
    19:33
    I don't know. I kind of thought that and I agreed with that. It's a game to be routed. It's a game to make money on route. but then I kind of was just like, man, it's, it's too stripped down for that. I mean, well, I mean, I just picked up a, a Williams, Indiana Jones. And if you just, that thing is loaded down and that's 25 years ago or so. Yeah. Because that's what brought people in. When you came up there, you wanted cool little gimmicks and stuff. That's what made you stick around and play. Yeah. You want to activate those gimmicks and there's no real gimmicks besides the warp on here. Now, if that's easily achievable or something, it could hold up pretty good under a routed circumstance. But then again, is it really going to hold up in the home environment if it's a super easy multi-ball to get? And speaking of multi-balls, Greg, there are nine multi-ball modes in this game. Nine.
    20:29
    Nine of them. That is a lot of multi-ball. So I'm kind of looking forward to that. But then again, that's my only concern about, that's my only, actually the only complaint I have for The Hobbit is it's too many damn multiballs. So I just wonder what that's going to look like.
    20:48
    Yeah, I mean, I think that there's obviously the initial judgment and the initial impression. But I don't, I think anybody hating this game, anybody raving about this game, I think that it is way too early.
    21:10
    Even some gameplay, you've got to get your hands on one. What's intriguing about this game, if you guys look at the pics here, there's so much space that, in the back there especially, that is just kind of a waste. I hope that they do diverters or something, but the rollovers and the pops, that's like a quarter of your damn play field and you're not really doing anything up there.
    21:38
    No, it doesn't seem like much at all, does it? I mean, it doesn't. I mean, because everything kind of sits close up front. I don't know. I do like the fork ramp. Have you seen that?
    21:49
    Under the Death Star, there's a ramp that comes up under the play field and it serves as a ramp to get to the Death Star to lock your balls as well as a ball lock behind it through the orbit. Like it'll hold a ball behind the ramp as well. So that's pretty cool. I mean, there could be some things that really surprise us with this game.
    22:10
    The way it plays and the way it flows. I think, here's my synopsis on it. I'm very excited about it. I think there's a lot of cool stuff in the game. I think it will play really well. And I've liked Dwight Sullivan's coding the last couple games on Game of Thrones. and Ghostbusters. So I'm super excited about it. What I'm bummed out about is the integration of the theme. So I'm fine with everything. If it was a regular old run-of-the-mill theme, this is effing Star Wars. Like, up your game, and if you're coming out with a premium LE, have that thing where you can't even see the play field. There's so much shit on it. So that's my only complaint. but I'm not going to be one of these haters out here that says, you know, it's bare. It looks like shit because it doesn't, it looks awesome. The cabinet looks awesome. Translate looks awesome. The ramps look awesome. Everything looks awesome on it. Like stop, stop fooling yourselves. The damn thing looks really, really nice. It's just more bare than we're used to seeing on games.
    23:21
    Yeah. Cause I, but you know, like I said about playing a game of Thrones, bro, like I actually kind of want one. this is the ugliest you've ever seen the play that you talk about lack of integration lack of toys there's nothing you can you can find smooth shots in system 11 Greg save your money this is this is 2017 baby we need some technology well Steve Richie's Steve Richie's known for pevin that smooth in this I don't doubt that what what I yeah from and this is another pet peeve of mine I'm being a little punk ass today aren't I Steve Richie came out publicly and said some nasty stuff about Pinside and about the people on Pinside.
    24:27
    And I just don't know why this big company continues to screw up every marketing and PR opportunity that they have. I think Steve Ritchie's probably a cool guy, probably a kick-ass, blunt, straight-to-the-fact thing. but don't don't rip the people like if you he called pin side a disease like it's somewhat agree just because there's so you can't how you gonna agree on that that's that's that's the that is stereotyping like no other like I'm on pin side am I a disease no but being serious here I think it's frankly I think it's quite bullshit and it's an apology needs to be served because the people that are passionate about his effing product are the people on pin side like don't don't bite the hand that buys your product don't be a fucking asshole. That's just me. I agree with that. I do agree with that. I'm just saying, you know the arguments up inside how you get trolls. There's assholes on there. There are, but he's calling basically everybody on the inside. He's kind of grouping everybody as a whole. And it's not. It's passionate enthusiasts. And you are literally alienating your core market. I mean, you can't do that. The market is not real large. And I would say 80% to 90% of the market, if not more, is on Penn's side. And real hardcore enthusiast who's going to go drop 8,000, 9,000, 10,000 games. I mean, I think for arcades, I think probably 80%, 70% probably of sales go to commercial operations. The hobby scene is very, very small. But those are the people who really love you as a designer. and those are the people who really appreciate what you've done for a game. Take the criticism, bite your fucking tongue, and don't throw people under the bus like that. Like that doesn't, Greg, that doesn't... Routers are concerned with making their money but I think that the majority of people who route it not the way people talk it obviously not a money thing So I think that they as passionate as a home collector about what they put on route. Now, is that going to keep them from buying this game to make money on it? Probably not, but I think that it upsets them and piss them off on the way the game works. Now, Pinside, you know, a designer and got shitty. I think a lot of the routers are as passionate as a lot of the computers I get that too it's very upsetting because now for me to buy this game I'd like to own this game at some point but for me to buy it I feel dirty buying it because I know the person who helped develop it doesn't really appreciate me or my enthusiasm for the products that Stern sells I don't know if it's a lack of appreciation he called him a disease Greg? It's where people get their feelings hurt. I did. I think, I just think it's a, I think it's a dick move. And if I'm, if I'm offering a, right, I'm not, I mean, I guess maybe it sounds like I'm trying to take up more, but, um, you know, I'm definitely not. It's just, you know, people are like when, when they're met with criticism on something that they've worked hard on, they, they, they get butthurt about it and they just can't, they don't really want to accept that, so then they lash out themselves instead of trying to prove somebody wrong and allowing the game to come out and be what it is.
    28:22
    Here's a good point. I'm not picking sides or anything because I love stirring machines. I question the personalities now there, but do you see Jack Marini coming out and saying that Pennside is a disease?
    28:36
    No. And like when we did that Donald interview, Jack treated us like he knew us for the last 10 years. Yeah. And you know what? I'm not even going to question if he was genuine or not, but that's just what you do in business. You don't – I don't know. I'll get off the point because – what? It's publicity. It's marketing. You don't alienate the people that feed you. You know, you don't – you're not rude to fans. You're not rude to people buying your product. It's just senseless. I don't know. I'm looking forward to the John Williams music. The video that you guys will see, if you guys go to the IGN thread, it just had some horrible music. But I'm super looking forward to this game, Greg. I don't know. It doesn't have enough right now that it's like, oh, my God, I have to go out and buy it. But once I see gameplay and stuff. Well, you give it time. I'd be like, Greg, oh, man, you know, I've just been thinking about it. I really think I'm going to go buy me one of those Star Wars. Yeah. What would you buy right now? Not money aside, you tight ass. Would you go pro, premium, or LE? What do you think viewers should aim for? If I were to buy money, I'd go with the LE, obviously. Why over the premium, though? Why over the premium? I just, like you said, I don't like the look of that premium, really. I'm with you, man. Honestly, I kind of like the rails and the armor and stuff on that. I know it's kind of minuscule.
    30:05
    And again, you're having to justify that price jump. But if I ain't having to pay for it, money's no object for that. I'm going with that sweet-ass armor. Yeah, I think that I would go with the LE as well. I would strip every black powder coat off of the entire machine. And I'd probably take it to a powder coater. And I would change it all like a metal, like the Millennium Falcon, the metal on there. That would look really cool. And then I'd take that damn white T-molding off because that matches nothing on the game. So I'd go with the LE. I might end up liking the Pro a lot, depending on what that hyper speed ramp looks like or hyper drive accelerator. The premium is just kind of, I don't, everybody makes a great point about the premium. Like, why are you spending an extra $1,500 for a different trans light, armor, and essentially that's it. and I get that, but I just like the art better on the LE. I really, really like the LE cabinet art. I think this thing is freaking top-notch. If money was an object, obviously, I would really have to put some serious consideration between the pro and the premium, because so many people with Walking Dead, between pro and premium, people dog the shit out of the pro man. I played it. I actually kind of liked the pro one. I don't necessarily know if I fully like it just because over the premium, the shaky ramp, but somebody said there was a fix for that. Yeah, yeah. Most likely, I would maybe end up buying that premium. We'll have to see. There's a guy by the name of Tim Balls. I love that name. Tim Balls, I reached out to him today. He's actually going to get a hold of it tomorrow. They're supposed to have it in London as gameplay. Him and his buddy is, I think Crazy Levi might be streaming it. They're going to record it and then talk about it. So check out their podcast that talks about Star Wars gameplay. And then, of course, we'll watch one of our favorite people, Jack Danger, stream it at some point at the Stern Factory. So that would be badass as well. I'm looking really forward to it. Dude, like I am so looking forward to him getting in there. Yeah, it'll be a lot of fun. So anything else you want to add to this, Greg? Our first impressions on Star Wars? I mean, it's so vague, and there's still just not a lot without gameplay to really be able to form any kind of conclusion. But like you said, you know, his first impressions, I think the play field's kind of ugly as shit, and it does look cheap, kind of like a Sega. But hey, I'm a Sega-loving man.
    32:49
    You know, I'm not going to hate on that. I can't wait to review this thing. I'm looking forward to reviewing it. You think that if anybody's watching from Stern invite us out we would love to come and review this thing right there at the factory. We'll be as as honest as we can and really be happy about the cool things and we'll be pretty transparent about the things we don't like but if you guys are up for it let us come to the factory and review this thing. What do you think Greg would you go? Well hell yeah because I want to be proven wrong on it. Not that I'm really going to say, oh, that's a terrible game, but I just want to put my mind to rest, and I'd like to put viewers' minds to rest on our thoughts on gameplay. I'm digging this thing, man.
    33:36
    I don't know. I don't want to listen to everybody else and all the hate. Like, it's Star Wars. It's pinball.
    33:45
    It's Steve Ritchie. He's kind of sour in my heart right now. Man, it's Dwight Sullivan. how can it be what yeah what no no Gomez is a playful like I just his ramps and designs that's a playful thing the Steve Ritchie thing is like come on asshole like just stop don't do that all right man let's let's uh let's let's call this a video and then we'll throw it up and see what if you guys what do you guys think about Star Wars we're kind of opposite of what everybody else is saying on pin side but do you guys agree with us disagree why why not you guys are wrong on that premium artwork though that the frickin one sides white and the other side black it just looks like shit all right throw us your opinion and tell us what you use under your initial impression is also add in there of how How likely do you think it is that it's going to change the gameplay? What's your speculation on gameplay? Because that's what I'm curious about. And I know people hate speculation, but what's the fun of pinball without speculation? Yeah, of course. That's why we're doing this damn impromptu FaceTime video. Well, we were supposed to meet up and film, but Zach's a good dad and had to go to... Cheer competition. A cheer competition, the night for his daughter. Oh, man. Pumped. And we had to get it out there, man. We were just like, it's too much to pass up, so that's why we did the FaceTime thing here. So hopefully you don't hate us too bad for viewers. That's right.
    35:24
    And then, again, let's see if Stern can reach out and let us come to that factory and check out this game. You think that's going to happen?
    35:33
    We are. We're rising on the radar. No, we're not. No, we're not, Greg. I'll see you later, buddy. See you. Bye.
    35:45
    Thank you.