claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.036
Stern's new president Seth Davis explains Vault strategy, Metallica success, and pricing philosophy for 2025.
Stern has held prices flat for approximately 2.5 years and intends to continue holding prices as long as possible, with no imminent price increases planned.
high confidence · Seth Davis stated directly: 'We have been holding price flat for about two and a half years at this point... There's no eagerness to go out and raise prices... I know people have been running around with rumors saying there's big price increases coming. I don't know where they're getting that one from.'
The Vault strategy was implemented because dealers reported it was too difficult to stock 20+ game options simultaneously, requiring portfolio consolidation.
high confidence · Seth Davis: 'We were getting feedback both from consumers, but very much from our dealers, that there were so many choices that it was hard for them to stock all the choices... there were like 20-some games for you to choose from – that was just really too many choices.'
Most games entering the Vault have expiring licenses, effectively removing them from production beyond the 2-year minimum threshold.
high confidence · Seth Davis: 'for most of the titles we're putting into the Vault, you know, the licenses are going to expire. So when we say they're going in the Vault for a minimum of two years, that effectively is going to put almost all, if not all, these titles outside the license time periods.'
Metallica Remastered exceeds expectations with 'off the charts positive' reception from consumers and dealers.
high confidence · Seth Davis: 'The response has been tremendous... it's been off the charts positive in terms of people's reception to this.'
Stern makes manufacturing and product decisions approximately 2 years in advance, currently planning for 2026-2027 releases.
high confidence · Seth Davis: 'we make these decisions almost two years before these products come out... we're figuring out what 2026, 2027 look like now.'
Remastering an existing game requires approximately 80% of the work needed for a completely new game.
high confidence · Seth Davis: 'George would say it's 80% of the work of a full standalone game, right?... you're doing almost everything above and beyond that and around that to make it a new game.'
“we're figuring out what 2026, 2027 look like now, right? Because you've got to do all this work and all this setting up in advance.”
Seth Davis @ ~22:30 — Illustrates the long lead times required for pinball manufacturing and the risks inherent in committing to products years in advance.
“It's a miracle every time for any manufacturer – and any manufacturer will tell you that... how tough it is for people to ship games, how hard it is to bring a physical product together with a digital thing and get it out into the marketplace.”
Seth Davis @ ~38:45 — Acknowledges the complexity of integrating physical and digital components in pinball manufacturing, positioning it as a significant industry challenge.
“There's a difference between all the games you have behind you and there's a difference in all the IP and the things that are coming up.”
Seth Davis @ ~63:15 — References the diversity of Stern's IP portfolio as a key market differentiator and strategy for maintaining growth despite industry challenges.
“if I'm going to drain a shot, it's not because I can't see it. It's because I brick it, like I normally do.”
Josh Larson @ ~29:15 — Illustrates how improved lighting and visibility in Metallica Remastered addresses a key usability issue with the original DMD-era game.
“Metallica was done right. Whereas, like, to juxtapose it with the Vault of Spider-Man – it wasn't super well received... it went in the wrong direction with Spider-Man.”
Scott Larson @ ~32:00 — Points to Spider-Man Vault as a cautionary example of how remastering can fail if it strips away the charm of the original, in contrast to Metallica's success.
“I love pinball, which everybody sort of says, whether they're an enthusiast collector or not.”
Seth Davis @ ~44:15 — Davis self-aware observation about the universal appeal claim made by pinball industry newcomers, positioning himself as an outsider perspective.
“There's no eagerness to go out and raise prices or do anything like that. There's eagerness to keep them under control as much as we can.”
business_signal: Pinball industry facing headwinds in 2025; overall durable goods market experiencing correction following pandemic-era growth spike.
medium · Josh Larson: 'with pinball the way it's been going lately, the road's a little bumpy. And it looks like 2025 could be bumpy as well for the entire industry, just not for Stern.' Davis acknowledged broader economic cycle: 'The last few years in the world have been nuts... everybody had to readjust.'
business_signal: Seth Davis (Disney/GE background) appointed as new Stern president, bringing outside perspective to pinball manufacturing and product strategy.
high · Interview confirms Davis's recent appointment from Disney background; hosts note his fresh perspective as potentially catalyzing industry change ('there needs to be some shakeups in pinball').
sentiment_shift: Dealer community strongly advocated for portfolio consolidation, indicating frustration with excessive SKU count and difficulty maintaining inventory variety.
high · Davis: 'We were getting feedback both from consumers, but very much from our dealers, that there were so many choices that it was hard for them to stock all the choices.'
competitive_signal: Metallica Remastered success demonstrates market appetite for thoughtfully executed legacy game updates, positioning remasters as viable product category alongside new releases.
high · Davis: 'The response has been tremendous... it's been off the charts positive... it shows us what's possible.'
design_philosophy: Stern approaching remasters as substantial development efforts (80% of new game work) requiring IP partner cooperation rather than minor cosmetic updates.
groq_whisper · $0.209
Stern has experienced significant growth in the pinball market due to Gen X gamers aging into disposable income and home space to own machines.
high confidence · Seth Davis: 'the dramatic growth that we've been able to see in the pinball space and in the business overall has been gamers grew up, right... 45-year-old Gen Xers that have been gamers all their life... now have the space and hopefully the money to be able to afford the best games in the world.'
Seth Davis worked at Disney in video games and streaming before joining Stern; he also has prior manufacturing experience at GE.
high confidence · Seth Davis: 'Most of my time at Disney was in video games. And then towards the end, I was in streaming... But before I was at Disney, I did work in manufacturing at GE.'
Seth Davis @ ~56:00 — Directly addresses pricing concerns and market sensitivity; signals commitment to price stability as a strategic priority.
high · Davis and Josh Larson discussion contrasting Metallica's comprehensive upgrade approach vs. Spider-Man Vault's aesthetic shift that removed original charm elements.
licensing_signal: License expiration is primary driver of Vault removals, with 2-year minimum ensuring affected games fall outside license windows; suggests coordinated renewal strategy unlikely for many titles.
high · Davis: 'for most of the titles we're putting into the Vault, you know, the licenses are going to expire. So when we say they're going in the Vault for a minimum of two years, that effectively is going to put almost all, if not all, these titles outside the license time periods.'
market_signal: Stern holding prices flat for 2.5 years despite ongoing inflation; positioning price stability as strategic priority rather than immediate revenue growth.
high · Davis: 'We have been holding price flat for about two and a half years... There's no eagerness to go out and raise prices... I hope there won't be [a need to raise prices].'
market_signal: Stern prioritizing transparency with dealers on product roadmap and manufacturing decisions to address historical information opacity that allowed rumors to flourish.
high · Davis: 'we haven't been transparent enough or forthcoming enough with consumers... part of the strategy is to just be more upfront with people about this is what we're doing, and this is the time period for which we're doing it.'
personnel_signal: John Borg remains active Stern designer and was directly involved in Metallica Remastered to ensure quality parity with original and modern expectations.
high · Davis: 'John Borg is still one of our active developers here, and he wanted to do everything right by the game and, you know, make all the improvements they learned after the product came out to make it better.'
product_strategy: Stern is evaluating classic game remasters for future releases; Josh Larson provided wish list (Lord of the Rings, Tron, AC/DC, Pirates of the Caribbean, Simpsons, Futurama) that Davis acknowledged receiving similar requests.
high · Davis: 'Yeah, look, I've heard most of those before, so not a lot of surprises on that list... we've got to be thoughtful about it... we're kind of going through and figuring out what's possible.'
sentiment_shift: Positive reception reversal on remastering strategy following Metallica Remastered success, contrasting with previous negative reception to remaster concept.
high · Davis: 'in some ways it's redoing an old game, which has, you know, been a touchy subject for people before. But we thought we were doing it in a way that people would really appreciate it. And that has really been the case kind of across the board.'
business_signal: Vault strategy represents deliberate portfolio consolidation to address dealer complaints about oversaturation (20+ SKUs), with license expiration as secondary driver.
high · Davis explicitly states: 'dealers, that there were so many choices that it was hard for them to stock all the choices... it was hard for them stock all the choices and have all the choices available.'