First Look At Godzilla 70th by Stern Pinball!

RetroRalph·video·4m 45s·analyzed·Jul 20, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.018

TL;DR

Stern reveals Godzilla 70th Anniversary Premium in monochromatic black-and-white at $9,699.

Summary

RetroRalph presents an early hands-on look at Stern Pinball's Godzilla 70th Anniversary Premium Edition, a monochromatic black-and-white variant of the original Godzilla game designed to celebrate the franchise's 70th anniversary. The machine features foiled artwork, side armor, a grayscale LCD display option, and is priced at $9,699—the same as the standard Premium Edition but with additional cosmetic upgrades typically found in Limited Edition releases. The game was debuted early at Southern Pride Pinball Gaming Pinball Expo before its official unveiling at San Diego Comic-Con.

Key Claims

Godzilla 70th Anniversary Premium is monochromatic black and white with foiled artwork and side armor
high confidence · Jon directly observed and photographed the game; provided detailed visual descriptions of playfield, backglass, and sideart design elements
The game is priced at $9,699, same as the standard Premium Edition
high confidence · Jon explicitly stated pricing during review; compared it favorably to James Cameron's Avatar Limited Edition pricing
The LCD display will have a monochromatic black-and-white mode via code update
medium confidence · Jon stated 'The promise is that the code... there should be a setting in the code for the LCD to have that be in monochromatic black and white as well' — noting this feature was not yet demonstrated but promised
The 70th Anniversary variant includes upgrades typically reserved for Limited Edition releases (side armor, foil artwork)
high confidence · Jon directly compared feature set: 'you're getting a couple things that you would typically get with the James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition)'
The monochromatic playfield does not make the ball difficult to see
high confidence · Jon addressed community concern directly: 'People keep asking... is it hard to see the ball? And no it's not hard to see the ball.' Played the game and confirmed visibility.

Notable Quotes

“This is the original game but presented in monochromatic black and white to celebrate the 70th. It has this really awesome sheen to it. It has this foiled artwork.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 0:48 — Core description of the 70th Anniversary design philosophy and key differentiators from standard Godzilla Premium
“It's beautiful, right? It's the same game we know and love but in monochromatic black and white.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 2:33 — Overall assessment after hands-on play; captures the appeal of the variant edition
“The cost is nine thousand six hundred ninety nine, same as the Premium Edition, but you're getting a couple things that you would typically get with the James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition).”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 4:10 — Pricing and value proposition summary; notable that premium features are included at standard Premium pricing
“If you didn't own this machine yet, this would be an awesome version because you're getting some unique upgrades.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 2:51 — Recommendation framing the 70th Anniversary as a better entry point than standard Premium Edition
“Someone made this funny Predator meme and when people are acting like you can't see it because it camouflages itself, which I thought was really funny, but no it's easy to play.”
Jon (RetroRalph)@ 3:55 — Community concern addressed with humor; confirms ball visibility is not compromised by monochromatic design

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyJon (RetroRalph)personFred MarcopersonSouthern Pride Pinball Gaming Pinball ExpoeventSan Diego Comic-Conevent GodzillagameGodzilla 70th Anniversary PremiumproductJames Cameron's Avatar Limited EditionproductRetroRalph

Signals

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community_signal: Community actively discussing and engaging with new variant; concerns about playfield visibility addressed and dispelled by hands-on review
medium · Jon referenced community asking about ball visibility on monochromatic playfield; noted Predator meme circulating as humorous take on concern; confirmed visibility is not compromised
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competitive_signal: Godzilla 70th Anniversary Premium positioned at $9,699 (same as standard Premium) while including cosmetic upgrades typically associated with higher-tier Limited Edition releases, suggesting value-focused differentiation strategy
high · Jon explicitly noted: 'same as the Premium Edition, but you're getting a couple things that you would typically get with the James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition)' — side armor and foil artwork cited as LE-tier features
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event_signal: Godzilla 70th Anniversary Premium débuted early at Southern Pride Pinball Gaming Pinball Expo before official San Diego Comic-Con reveal
high · Jon stated: 'This came a bit early because everyone is expecting this to be featured at San Diego Comic-Con... But it snuck its way into Southern Pride Pinball Gaming Pinball Expo and Fred Marco brought two of them'
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market_signal: Stern leveraging Godzilla franchise 70th anniversary milestone as marketing hook for limited-edition variant; timing deliberate tie-in to cultural moment
high · Official framing as '70th Anniversary Premium'; monochromatic design explicitly tied to celebration of anniversary; event-based marketing through Comic-Con Multiball integration
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Topics

Product announcement / New variant releaseprimaryGame design and aestheticsprimaryPricing and value propositionprimaryCommunity concerns and receptionsecondaryLimited edition marketing and differentiationsecondaryPinball exhibition and event showcasementioned

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Jon is enthusiastic and complimentary about the 70th Anniversary variant, praising its aesthetics, playability, and value. He expresses genuine appreciation for the design execution and acknowledges its appeal both to existing Godzilla owners and newcomers. The only mild hesitation is his personal indecision about whether to trade his existing Premium Edition for this variant, but this reflects collector ambivalence rather than criticism of the product itself.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.014

Hey guys, welcome back to the channel. In today's episode, we're going to take a look at something really unique and something that came a little early. This behind me is the Godzilla 70th edition from Stern. It's black and white and it's been designed to celebrate Godzilla's 70th anniversary. Everyone knows Godzilla was a super popular game by Stern. Some say it's the best game ever. I own one and absolutely love it. But this came a bit early because everyone is expecting this to be featured at San Diego Comic-Con And that's what the official press release said But it snuck its way into Southern Pride Gaming Expo and Marco brought two of them for you to enjoy So if you do see this video and it's still time and the show is still going on you can come down and check it Out but if not the next stop is going to be San Diego Comic-Con. So what makes this game so unique? It's the original game but presented in black and white to celebrate the 70th It has this really awesome sheen to it. It has this foiled artwork. And then if you look on the side, it has Godzilla in Japanese lettering but in red. So it really pops out. The game itself is the same exact game but all of the items on the play field have been put in this high def gray scale kind of look again to celebrate the 70th in this black and white look The back glass is also black and white. The only other thing I'll say that you'll see that really makes this game different is that the LCD in the back is going to have a mode where you can run it also in black and white to go along with the whole idea that this is a black and white theme. It does have side armor which Stern seems to be doing on most of their more recent premium games. It doesn't come at an LE price tag. It's actually $9,699. I did get a chance to play it yesterday, and I own the full-color one, but I got to say, it's pretty cool. There's something about it that really makes it pop, and if you're not a Godzilla owner, this would be a pretty cool one to pick up, and you get a couple little extra bonuses that you don't get if you bought the original one. So anyways, what we're going to do is I'm going to show you a little bit more around the game so you can check it out and take a closer look, and then I'll give you some final thoughts. Okay, so I just wrapped up playing and my honest thoughts are it's beautiful, right? It's the same game we know and love but in black and white. So I think I'm kind of that victim who gets really excited about anything new. It's just how I am. And pinball's been really cool because there continues to be new stuff being released, so it's easy to get wrapped up in the hype of it. But if you didn't own this machine yet, this would be an awesome version because you're getting some unique upgrades. You're getting the side armor, the foil in the artwork, which, you know, some people put their machine side to side and they'll never see it, but, man, does it look really, really nice. The promise is that the code, so here they haven't featured it, but there should be a setting in the code for the LCD to have that be in black and white as well. It plays amazing, just like the original Premium does. Yeah, I think my take is I really like it. It's beautiful. I already own one, and it's going to be interesting if I feel compelled enough to get rid of the one I have for this one. I don know I still haven decided but I got to admit I make poor choices So don listen to me go take a look at it for yourself whether you can do it here or San Diego Comic or just be like me and be crazy well I didn order it yet and pre-order something you haven't seen but I'll tell you if you're asking if it's beautiful or not it is beautiful the one thing that keeps coming up is people keep asking because it's a black and white playfield is it hard to see the ball and no it's not hard to see the ball someone made this funny like predator meme and when people are acting like uh you know you can't see it because it camouflages itself which i thought was really funny but no it's easy to play it's fun to play it's freaking godzilla so it's amazing so you can't go wrong by in this game because it's super fun again the cost is nine thousand six hundred ninety nine same as the premium but you're getting uh a couple things that you would typically get with the le anyways that's it for now guys i'm gonna go play i'm at at Southern Pride Gaming Expo. I want to have some fun. So I will see you on the next one.