Haha wish I coulda went with ya buddy! Maybe next year😜

Thanks, Doris. (Somehow your comment ended up here instead of on my Building Pinball Machines from Scratch seminar.)

He understands perfectly. Make the item as cheap as possible and sell it for the highest that the market will pay.

And there's a reason why Alice won't sell or review well, and why Stern games continue to dominate the best reviewed and most loved games. It's about the shots. It's about the game. Its about the feel. Yes, there are collectors that are happy to show off their 40 game collections with maybe 100 plays, and when you watch, they can't throw a drop catch to save their life. Jersey Jack's and little boutique games like Alice certainly look pretty. But i want a game in my home that's going to grow to be more exciting by my 2000th game, and not one that I'm ready to sell by 200. Stern is the one making those games, and the only one that I feel comfortable saying has at least two younger designers and several coders in their stable that will make more games like that. Not to mention, Stern is getting fantastic shooting games into people's homes for almost half what these other guys are doing, growing the hobby specifically because they know where they can cut elements of that world under glass. Those boutiques are the games I play on location. Unfortunately, ask any operator how much down time a Spooky or JJP has vs their Sterns, and which they prefer to operate (and which price and ROI they prefer). To have the audacity to say that not only about the guy who is largely responsible for the preservation of our hobby, but also in the face of all observable evidence, my goodness. Art is maybe 5% of my decision making on what's going in my home.

@@Kevin-sh8hu You are in the minority. I had this conversation with my local distributor who is a hardcore Stern guy who sells nothing but Stern. He said it was about the gameplay, I said it was about the toys. He said more people want Pro's. 3 years later he told me I was definitely correct. Every new buyer wanted Premium's because of the toys.

​@@jcg9998I'm not in the minority by saying that a typical Stern game will be better selling, better received, retain better value, and require less maintenance than name a competitor table. A Pro Elwin or JD game will hold my attention far longer than most any table from another company, despite them costing half. I'll take a Godzilla, Jaws, Foo or Rush pro vs a Toy Story CE any day, and I love that theme more than any of those. Plus, I can probably grab two for that price. Now, if you want to argue that when Stern does invest in the toys that make a world under glass feel more complete, those games can be more fun and sell better than their Pros? Sure, I can buy that, but it sounds like Stern must know how to build a world under glass then, since people are willing to drop an extra $2500 on those elements. And how fortunate we are that they build their worlds in such a modular way to allow that choice for both home and location buyers, as well as creating more accessible entry points for new hobbyists. I'm down for a Premium if it's going to enhance the feel, give me more interesting shots or choices, and not get in the way with gimmick playfields, and I'm always down to discuss value of a particular pro vs premium Stern. Now, if you want my gut feeling on whether an Xmen pro or an Alice would last in my lineup longer, I'm going to take an easy guess on Xmen.