Last week saw a ‘sort of’ unveiling of Stern Pinball’s next release, Star Wars Pinball and today, IGN.com received the goods to show the game in higher-res glory (albeit there is still some image compression here…not sure why they can’t do true high quality PNGs for their product). No release date has been announced quite yet but knowing Stern, I am sure that units will begin shipping out by the end of the Summer. MSRP has been unveiled too: $6199 for the Pro, $7899 for the Premium and LEs are $8,999 (plus shipping and tax, of course). You can check out the story here, which includes video of the game in action.
The Star Wars Pinball Models
UPDATE: Stern Pinball has listed the Features Matrix on their website; click here to download or view it (PDF file). All of the models features the original SW music tracks by John Williams; 400 HD scenes from the movies; color changing LED illuminated inserts; the 4.25″ second LCD; high-fidelity stereo sound system and the SPIKE-2 hardware system.
Let’s Start with breaking down the Pro. Personally I find this to have the most appealing backglass for a location but maybe that’s just me. Both sides have different art depicting the iconic space battles; right side has the Battle of Yavin from Episode IV, left side as the Battle of Endor from Episode VI. In addition to the big LCD that will play clips from the movies, the smaller display on the playfield will act as a sort of dynamic virtual target, displaying things like TIE Fighters for you to hit on the targets beneath. The game also uses the redesigned start button that was introduced with Aerosmith:
Comparison of the playfields, Pro on the left, Premium/LE on the right. In addition to differences in the ramps (beyond plastic and metal, the Premium/LE has two additional ramps, one coming out of the Death Star that can ‘explode’ open as well as one that goes behind the playfield). The art on top of the pop bumpers in the back-right also have different artwork on them; Admiral ‘It’s A Trap!’ Ackbar on the Pro, Lando Calrissian on the right. The backboard of the playfield also differs in the artwork. Otherwise I am surprised that the playfield art itself is exactly the same although that is something that could always change by release. There is also a light-saber duel mode, Victory multiball and three scenarios with four parts to them (Escape From Hoth, Destroy The Death Star, Escape From Tatooine, Battle above Endor). The Premium/LEs also feature a ball diverter on the lower right near the ball launch. It’s hard to see in the pics but is shown in the video.
The Hyperloop ramp (Premium/LE) that loops above the flippers is a pretty cool idea and without having played the game yet, my favorite feature:
From the video, here’s a close-up of the playfield LCD. You’ll notice that there is no magnet on the playfield; I half expected that as a way to “use the force”, much like Ghostbusters LE had the “magnaslings” to create spooky effects. Perhaps that could also come later depending on how far along the prototypes are. There is a magnet used in the “Super Speed Loop” acceleration ramp however since hitting the ball with a coil to do the same effect probably didn’t work out so well:
Close-up of the Death Star toy on the Premium/LE. This would have made it cost a few thousand more probably but I would have liked to see a projection mapped sphere that could make the Death Star look like it’s rotating or animate the explosion…
Now for better shots of the Premium & LE, Premium first. This has a little stronger focus on Episodes V & VI and there is a little badge above the left speaker grill. I wonder if this will have the unofficial title of the “Vader Model”:
For the Limited Edition (LE), we could unofficially dub it the Millennium Falcon model given its prominence on the cabinet. This is limited to a production run of 800 units, which I imagine will sell quickly since it is Star Wars. Playfield looks the same as Premium, you just get the extra art, extra side blades and higher collectability. I will not be surprised if Stern rolls out various upgrades for these like they did with The Walking Dead:
So given these new revelations, what do you think of the game now?
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neil brimelow
It looks like a first gen Stern Pin, albeit with LED lights and a mini-LED screen. The Pro looks really, really barren. I mean, come on, with a million Star Wars toys out there they couldn’t toss on some cheap toys for the Pro version?
Overall the pin really shows a lack of imagination. They should have done themed pins: One for Star Wars; one for Empire; and one for Jedi.
They could have done something cool, like made a trash compactor that holds the balls, like the gumball dispenser in “Twilight Zone.” and some cool/funny Ewok traps for Jedi, and Asteroids that break open for Empire.
I understand the license probably cost an arm and a leg, but given Stern’s quality, and that of their competitors, this pin feels like an early 2000’s Stern.