New Stern Pinball Arcade: AC/DC Kickstarter is FULLY FUNDED!!!

[lettuce]

AcDc is an older table whose licensing was brokered before PBA was released. Gary mentions that after seeing the after market price for Ripleys go up that he would start trying to build digital conversion into the agreements. Prolly why we are getting Star trek and Ghostbusters. Also music rights are a pain in the ass, so unless the artists have a fondness for pinball we can expect to see KS for other music themed tables. I would imagine KISS requiring one, but I would guess Metallica may not. It all depends really.

Damn and i thought (as many probably did) this Stern agreement would mean we would get the likes of LOTR, POTC, Batman, Spiderman, Ironman, Tron, with ease...but this doesnt seem to be the case

 

[spoonman]

AcDc is an older table whose licensing was brokered before PBA was released. Gary mentions that after seeing the after market price for Ripleys go up that he would start trying to build digital conversion into the agreements. Prolly why we are getting Star trek and Ghostbusters. Also music rights are a pain in the ass, so unless the artists have a fondness for pinball we can expect to see KS for other music themed tables. I would imagine KISS requiring one, but I would guess Metallica may not. It all depends really.

Yeah, I'm guessing it's mainly the AC/DC songs which are the main cost. It's basically 12 extremely popular tracks.

They should pull a "Baseball Stars" and not include any licensed material, but instead add an Edit Mode.
We could then add our own AC/DC (or any other) music tracks. Not including any music would probably save them a ton of money.

 

[DA5ID]

I am all shades of excited - Star Trek was what got me into real pinball in the first place - and AC DC and Ghostbusters - just WOW. I will say AC DC is a players table - meaning if your in a tournament the top players will choose ACDC to take you down with - would love a digital version to practice and learn all the rules (different ruleset with EACH song).

I need clarification on the backer levels - it looks like the $150 tier is the lowest one that you can get the LE versions of star trek and ac dc. Is the LE option going to be exclusive to backers or available for purchase later? (still sore about TAF Gold).

 

[EldarOfSuburbia]

AcDc is an older table whose licensing was brokered before PBA was released. Gary mentions that after seeing the after market price for Ripleys go up that he would start trying to build digital conversion into the agreements. Prolly why we are getting Star trek and Ghostbusters. Also music rights are a pain in the ass, so unless the artists have a fondness for pinball we can expect to see KS for other music themed tables. I would imagine KISS requiring one, but I would guess Metallica may not. It all depends really.

KISS probably won't require additional licensing, if there was a digital clause in Stern's agreement. If nothing else Gene Simmons is a very astute businessman, though, so maybe not on this one.

Did Star Trek come after Metallica? I think it did. Someone get the timeline of the Stern tables and maybe we can speculate when Stern started baking digital rights into their licenses, eh?

 

[rob3d]

KISS probably won't require additional licensing, if there was a digital clause in Stern's agreement. If nothing else Gene Simmons is a very astute businessman, though, so maybe not on this one.

Did Star Trek come after Metallica? I think it did. Someone get the timeline of the Stern tables and maybe we can speculate when Stern started baking digital rights into their licenses, eh?

Metallica came 1st, then Star trek. But I dont know if the deal for Metallica came before Gary realized the potential in digital. I will say that Metallica has been very pinball friendly in the past so even if it was before the deal was inked it may not be as big a problem as AcDc.

 

[shutyertrap]

I think Metallica slid into the digital licensing window. Thing is, if they offered that as a launch table, getting AC/DC would be even less likely as many people fall into the either/or camp. No talk of Metallica will potentially make people more likely to kick for AC/DC.

I really wish the first bit of info we got on this app though was about the app itself and what we can expect. Yes, we have the info on the engine upgrade and graphical resources FarSight will have access to. We don't know price, we don't know release schedule of tables, we don't know if Pro or LE versions will be available for purchase or if only the Premium is. My hope is they take a page from Zen, and do not have a release schedule. When the table is ready, and I mean REALLY ready, then release. It may be odd to actually want the Pro versions, but when playing a tournament and that's the version to be played, it'd be nice to know the rule and shot differences.

I do wonder if with Stern's help, FarSight might be able to finally talk to Disney. We already know Warner Bros wants big bucks for their licenses, which is probably why LotR will require some negotiating, hopefully like what they did with Sony. That would mean some business for the Stern app, some for TPA.

The biggest question is, what does this mean for TPA? Will the new engine find it's way to it, or will it be a Stern only thing?

And finally, regarding cab support. FarSight needs to come straight out and say "no, there will be no cab" with this. They can change their mind later, but for now be blunt. Yes, I do believe Stern is worried about sales, as those with cabs would have access to something like Ghostbusters, a table for sale now. They are using this as a marketing tool, and they don't want to diminish their actual product in the least.

 

[Crawley]

This is both awesome and disappointing at the same time. Awesome is having some more recent tables AC/DC, Star Trek, and Ghost Busters. But yeah figured Stern App would get away from the need of a Kickstarter.

But damn the AC/DC table is so good and the rules are so unique to any other table that is currently offered in TPA. Plus they're doing the Premium/LE versions which is fantastic (no Pro?).

So kinda conflicted on this one. I'll probably bite and be in for the $150 but ugh was hoping for the end of the Kickstarters with this app and just pay a premium price for the tables.

 

[mpad]

I definitely want to know the answer to the question what the engine and physics improvements mean for good old TPA. Will the other tables get it too?

 

[rob3d]

I think Metallica slid into the digital licensing window. Thing is, if they offered that as a launch table, getting AC/DC would be even less likely as many people fall into the either/or camp. No talk of Metallica will potentially make people more likely to kick for AC/DC.

I really wish the first bit of info we got on this app though was about the app itself and what we can expect. Yes, we have the info on the engine upgrade and graphical resources FarSight will have access to. We don't know price, we don't know release schedule of tables, we don't know if Pro or LE versions will be available for purchase or if only the Premium is. My hope is they take a page from Zen, and do not have a release schedule. When the table is ready, and I mean REALLY ready, then release. It may be odd to actually want the Pro versions, but when playing a tournament and that's the version to be played, it'd be nice to know the rule and shot differences.

I do wonder if with Stern's help, FarSight might be able to finally talk to Disney. We already know Warner Bros wants big bucks for their licenses, which is probably why LotR will require some negotiating, hopefully like what they did with Sony. That would mean some business for the Stern app, some for TPA.

The biggest question is, what does this mean for TPA? Will the new engine find it's way to it, or will it be a Stern only thing?

And finally, regarding cab support. FarSight needs to come straight out and say "no, there will be no cab" with this. They can change their mind later, but for now be blunt. Yes, I do believe Stern is worried about sales, as those with cabs would have access to something like Ghostbusters, a table for sale now. They are using this as a marketing tool, and they don't want to diminish their actual product in the least.

FS just said this on FB

A) The price for the newer contemporary tables will be $9.99. Currently, the classics like Ripley's will remain at the $4.99 price point.

B) We have not announced plans to make Season Passes available within Stern Pinball Arcade. It is possible that we will release more tables that have already been digitized through the Pinball Arcade. We can't say at this point if tables will be cross buy but tables released to the Stern app will be enhanced compared to the TPA version.

 

[mpad]

That does not sound good for TPA getting improvements. So all time classics like monster bash are doomed to mediocrity.
Shame.
And I can only laugh at the "resources" being freed by not having rom emulation. OK, this may be true for mobile, but my computer is bored to death when running TPA.

 

[shutyertrap]

$10 for contemporary? Okay. That could have been a whole heck of a lot worse. I really didn't expect it to be the same as TPA. That means with the kickstarter, you are in deed pre-ordering, which should make that no longer a bitter pill to swallow.

 

[frostyarcade]

Just the fact that they mentioned the walking dead pinball in their video has me stoked!! Hope that is a future development!

 

[HotHamBoy]

So let me understand something:

TPA is developed for FOURTEEN different platforms, and they are targeting 8 platforms for Stern Pinball Arcade, including VR. On top of that, they now have to develop two table at the same time if they are going to support both apps concurrently.

How are they going to manage this? Does this mean TPA won't get the polish it needs on all those platforms? Does this mean older tables won't get the much needed updates within TPA? Can we write-off VR support for TPA. Will TPA be phased out?

I really don't see how FS can stretch themselves so thin, this is ridiculous. AND there's a kickstarter? Why not wait til the app is out for a kickstarter? AC/DC can wait, they should just do a different table that won't require the same licensing expenses. They are asking for more money on an untested, unproven new app while their current app still needs a ton of work on every platform it's on.

Edit: Also, why Wii U? That platform is dead. NX comes out Spring of next year, why not target that instead? I don't see that listed. It seems like a waste of resources. Is this app coming really soon or what?

 

[Xanija]

I wonder if the LE versions of AC DC and Star Trek will be Kickstarter exclusive as the TAF Gold. I don't understand the comment from FarSight about the LE question:

Sebastian Hoppach, For now, we are only focusing on the premium versions. It is possible that we will digitize LE versions in the future. This license is strictly for the AC/DC pinball table.

The LE versions are at $150 upwards. So why this answer?

 

[infernogott]

Let's just hope the Stern App doesn't mean the death for TPA.

 

[Kolchak357]

Will casual fans go for a $10 price tag? Won't they ask why 3 Alien pins cost as much as one Stern Star Trek pin?

Not talking people on the forum, but the average casual fan.

 

[shutyertrap]

Maybe the casual fan isn't who they are after. Stern wants potential buyers, and dem ain't casual!

 

[rob3d]

So let me understand something:

TPA is developed for FOURTEEN different platforms, and they are targeting 8 platforms for Stern Pinball Arcade, including VR. On top of that, they now have to develop two table at the same time if they are going to support both apps concurrently.

How are they going to manage this? Does this mean TPA won't get the polish it needs on all those platforms? Does this mean older tables won't get the much needed updates within TPA? Can we write-off VR support for TPA. Will TPA be phased out?

I really don't see how FS can stretch themselves so thin, this is ridiculous. AND there's a kickstarter? Why not wait til the app is out for a kickstarter? AC/DC can wait, they should just do a different table that won't require the same licensing expenses. They are asking for more money on an untested, unproven new app while their current app still needs a ton of work on every platform it's on.

Edit: Also, why Wii U? That platform is dead. NX comes out Spring of next year, why not target that instead? I don't see that listed. It seems like a waste of resources. Is this app coming really soon or what?

From what they said on facebook and the KS there's a couple of table packs planned for The stern app at the outset. The majority of those mentioned are all souped up versions of tables that are already in TPA. After the initial Table packs are released I imagine the table schedule wont be monthly like TPA. Maybe every couple months they release a Modern stern with one or 2 releases a year being the Brand new IP stern is making a table for. They mentioned on FB that there will be no season passes available which is what leads me to believe that the stern app wont see monthly releases.

They also they made it sound as if their pinball physics 4.0 will be rolling out to all tables including tpa, so while it may not have the bells and whistles like the stern app the core of TPA will continue to see updates.

and as far as the KS I think they just wanted to add another big name to their launch, because right now all they have is Star Trek and 3 releases planned for the 1st table pack.

 

[Garycope]

I've been a TPA player from day one, have all the tables. I hope they continue TPA because I'm not getting started with another pinball app. All the money I put into TPA for my iPad and now they're going to focus on Stern. In fact the only reason I bought my iPad was to play TPA. I'm 63 yrs old and love the 70s 80s and 90s tables. I don't think it's right for the stern tables to be upgraded and graphicly better than TPA, they still have a lot of fixes lighting and graphics that I already paid for. I also stopped Kickstarter donations with Dr Who because every time I download an update I lose all my Kickstarter tables. So now I just buy when they're for sale.

 

[Kolchak357]

Maybe the casual fan isn't who they are after. Stern wants potential buyers, and dem ain't casual!

But how many of them are there? Is this a viable business model?
Fingers crossed this works.