After posting this, I don't think the price hike is licensor related. Because even Stern's lighting kits went up in price, but the expression kit does have artwork on it, so that could also be why...
The game's write up on the Stern site says the Metallica selected artist, Rhys Cooper, did both art packages. The expression kit appears to be the same as included with the LE kit, so I would assume Rhys did the blade art. If the licensor fees are figuring in for other components, they could be spreading it over the EL kit also. Expression Speaker kits have no specific artwork/licensing, and those stayed $200 (although those kits are only a few months on the market). Knob, armor, EL kit all have significant price hikes. Topper prices are all over the map, but you could make up the story that this is an $800 topper priced at $1000 for licensor fees for the same reason as the EL kit. I'm not in the Metallica accessory market, but I know people who are. I hope there isn't a need for this to be the start of a trend. Thanks Cary!
"Gary, we're just gonna put the Metallica logo lit up with some leftover dome lights in the factory with LED's under those." Gary - "GREAT! NOW CHARGE $1000 FOR IT, PEOPLE WILL PAY IT.... I NEED MY VODKA!"
I feel Stern is missing out on some big opportunities to make some money here. Here's my pitch to Gary in the next board meeting... Me: "Gary, we have Pro, Premium, and LE Pinball machines at different price tiers." Gary: "Yes, this is the model we've developed over years, and it works well" Me: "Image this, Pro, Premium and LE toppers at different price tiers!" Gary: "You're a God damn genius!"
I bought the interactive topper for my Scooby Doo just like a week ago i thought that was a lot for a grand+ but compared to the toppers of stern lately i don't feel bad at all after buying the spooky one 😂 not to mention its awesome tho,
2024 Stern Strategy is this: Less LE's, more premiums (remasters and anniversary), but premiums build more margin with all the nickel/dime add-on accessories. No reason to cheapen those accessories though.
Welp, so much for that updated Borg interview. 🤷♂️😅 One more reason I don’t mess with toppers. Yeah, that Black Knight thing’s okay, but most are as cringe as their prices (I belly-laughed when I saw the “lenticular” Jaws one-and its price). 🤡
across all pinball there are maybe two good toppers. We should be thankful to the fools that buy all this tat for helping keep the lights on at Stern. The bigger a margin Stern can get the better so really it's great they can just reuse old designs.
Feel for the Venom owners who’ve been waiting for those peripherals for a super long time now. Realize Venom didn’t “do well” or get much love but still. Idk, I have a Venom LE for a few months and actually thought it was a fun game overall. Not a Pin-“Baller” so gotta swap machines out when I want something else, otherwise Venom is a game I’d have held onto longer.
I shouldn't be able to feel like I could make an equivalent or better topper than a large scale company like stern. 1k for a Metallica logo with some flasher domes slapped on the front? I'd expect to see that for 300 on Etsy
They should have made a topper with sparky or something like that. Love the game and a fan of the band. Î am going to get the game. Game looks awesome.
At least with the TMNT topper, you could easily remove the additional TMNT logo they put on the topper. After doing that, the TMNT one is not bad. Nothing you can do about this Metallic one though, LOL
That shooter rod and topper are ridiculous. The prices for the lighting and armor are ridiculous too but I can stomach that more than the others. The ModFather makes better shooter rods (and Laserrific for toppers) for much less. If things don't change with the pending gov't cabinet and the economy, pinball will price its way back out to near extinction on a company level. People can hardly buy groceries and pay their mortgage nowadays. Oh btw, Stern is putting toys in McDonalds happy meals, Happy Meals will be $20 now. ;)
Topper floor just seems to be $1k at this point, I’d be more surprised to see them higher priced than that. Imo the only accessory that makes a difference is the art/mirror blades. Expression lighting is cool but too expensive for what you get. Speaker expression lights are cool but I like the one you have on Foo over the Stern ones. In order for these Metallica accessories to really have hit the mark, they needed more skulls. Would have been cool to see a skull head shooter rod with some rgb in the eyes or whatever.. a literal simple design too, takes no effort to come up with a skull In terms of Spooky, let’s be real.. they might release a fantastic topper but their games just don’t touch what Stern puts out. Re: look at your own collection lol. Looney Tunes is a step in the right direction in my opinion but it’s now gotta be for a theme I really want to have.
I’m think Metallica makes sure they get paid well on this stuff . I think the fees are directly related to the band being greedy . Remember that they were the ones the threw a fit about Napster . I get it , but little did they know that was really the future and they ended up looking kinda of dumb .
I have many Borg games but idk I think it’s time to retire. Everything is just a redo of past games. You need to think outside box like Elwin and Damger does to get these prices. I have 48 pins
Im buying the machine but the accessories are LAZY!!! I hope the mod community can save the day. They could of had a jumble of album arts as a topper, made it looks alot nicer and then charged $1500 instead
Stern is quickly becoming the Disney of pinball; overpriced, rehashed, shitty cash grabs...and we all know what's happening to Disney stock. Once your reputation goes down the toilet, it is extremely hard to rebuild it. As someone who has a large collection of machines and accessories and toppers on almost every one of them, I have to thank Stern; you just killed my desire to buy any more toppers and accessories going forward. You crossed the line of absurdity.
Yep, super Lazy. Because it will sell. So… if it will still sell why bother putting any effort in. They did the same thing with the Godzilla topper. You could tell it was just a check the block kind of thing. They put zero effort or thought into it, and they all sold. So expect more of the same as long as people sell out overpriced junk toppers like this.
That topper is weak... There's not enough Metallica in the topper and why the on your nose flashers? It really needs to be up there and everywhere. Metallica, Metallica, Metallica, METALLICA, Metallica... Just all over.
imagine if you sold all your pinball machines before the coming crash.. Buying a nice porsche gt4-rs in all cash and actually having fun with your new hobby? Looks like you're a bit burnt out on being a consumer of these terrible companies.
Everything went up but the garbage topper. I ordered the expression lights, side armor, and plunger. My wife liked them and Metallica is her game. Sucked they jacked the price up. Just waiting for the premium now. Thanks for the video. I went with this topper ruclips.net/user/shortsQtRmV2n_rto?feature=shared $207 shipped with discounts. I ordered the 23” one with interactive RGB lighting.
After posting this, I don't think the price hike is licensor related. Because even Stern's lighting kits went up in price, but the expression kit does have artwork on it, so that could also be why...
Nope this is just them seeing how low they can stoop to and still sell shit
The game's write up on the Stern site says the Metallica selected artist, Rhys Cooper, did both art packages. The expression kit appears to be the same as included with the LE kit, so I would assume Rhys did the blade art. If the licensor fees are figuring in for other components, they could be spreading it over the EL kit also. Expression Speaker kits have no specific artwork/licensing, and those stayed $200 (although those kits are only a few months on the market).
Knob, armor, EL kit all have significant price hikes. Topper prices are all over the map, but you could make up the story that this is an $800 topper priced at $1000 for licensor fees for the same reason as the EL kit. I'm not in the Metallica accessory market, but I know people who are. I hope there isn't a need for this to be the start of a trend. Thanks Cary!
Their markup in the accessories is so high they don’t need to jack up the prices. It’s just normal Stern greed.
@@richm.7373 Gary needs more vodka
@slinger2112 good point on the expression lights having art on them. I forgot about that. Hmm, so this may indeed just be licensor related...
Finally, I'm not the only one that noticed the shooter knob
You should send Stern a big thank you for all the free subject matter so you can make more content.
The flasher covers are $1.50 each, that’s $6…. So the rest is $994
I mean even headstones, Creeping Death fog, or Jump in the fire guy would be an obvious choice for a topper.
I’m looking forward to third party toppers and shooter rods;)
Totally agree. They could have done the electric chair Eddy with some plasma orbs....but no. The Alice topper is amazing.
These prices are crazy. There is one other difference in the shooter knob, which is that it’s RGB and not just red LEDs like Rush.
Yo dawg.. we heard you like the metallica logo.. So we put a metallica logo 4 inches above the metallica logo #xibit
😂😂😂😂
"Gary, we're just gonna put the Metallica logo lit up with some leftover dome lights in the factory with LED's under those."
Gary - "GREAT! NOW CHARGE $1000 FOR IT, PEOPLE WILL PAY IT.... I NEED MY VODKA!"
I feel Stern is missing out on some big opportunities to make some money here. Here's my pitch to Gary in the next board meeting...
Me: "Gary, we have Pro, Premium, and LE Pinball machines at different price tiers."
Gary: "Yes, this is the model we've developed over years, and it works well"
Me: "Image this, Pro, Premium and LE toppers at different price tiers!"
Gary: "You're a God damn genius!"
I bought the interactive topper for my Scooby Doo just like a week ago i thought that was a lot for a grand+ but compared to the toppers of stern lately i don't feel bad at all after buying the spooky one 😂 not to mention its awesome tho,
You had me at the shooter rod!!!!
2024 Stern Strategy is this: Less LE's, more premiums (remasters and anniversary), but premiums build more margin with all the nickel/dime add-on accessories. No reason to cheapen those accessories though.
Welp, so much for that updated Borg interview. 🤷♂️😅
One more reason I don’t mess with toppers. Yeah, that Black Knight thing’s okay, but most are as cringe as their prices (I belly-laughed when I saw the “lenticular” Jaws one-and its price). 🤡
@@Mo_Ketchups Ill hit him up today and make sure we are still good. lol
They are trying to make the Godzilla and jaws toppers look amazing
Like Borg always says "the name of the game is the name on the game"
Just another sign of $terns corporate greed. It’s absolutely astonishing that people actually pay this kind of money for these stupid vanity pieces.
across all pinball there are maybe two good toppers. We should be thankful to the fools that buy all this tat for helping keep the lights on at Stern. The bigger a margin Stern can get the better so really it's great they can just reuse old designs.
Does stern realize if they had invested just a modicum of thought to their toppers they could make wayyyyyy more money??
Stern where you pay top dollar to be a beta tester and pay extra to finish the machine.
Feel for the Venom owners who’ve been waiting for those peripherals for a super long time now. Realize Venom didn’t “do well” or get much love but still. Idk, I have a Venom LE for a few months and actually thought it was a fun game overall. Not a Pin-“Baller” so gotta swap machines out when I want something else, otherwise Venom is a game I’d have held onto longer.
Wonder if they are gonna make one and it just spells venom
Fully ready for 4 colour stencil sides standard everything and bulletproof games with complete code..
I shouldn't be able to feel like I could make an equivalent or better topper than a large scale company like stern. 1k for a Metallica logo with some flasher domes slapped on the front? I'd expect to see that for 300 on Etsy
Toppers & sugar rods need to have something unique.
They should have made a topper with sparky or something like that. Love the game and a fan of the band. Î am going to get the game. Game looks awesome.
At least with the TMNT topper, you could easily remove the additional TMNT logo they put on the topper. After doing that, the TMNT one is not bad. Nothing you can do about this Metallic one though, LOL
dope ontilt shirt!
Stern has been lazy and safe for too long. And remaking we'll loved and collectible games to cash grab...feels wrong.
No imagination!
That shooter rod and topper are ridiculous. The prices for the lighting and armor are ridiculous too but I can stomach that more than the others. The ModFather makes better shooter rods (and Laserrific for toppers) for much less. If things don't change with the pending gov't cabinet and the economy, pinball will price its way back out to near extinction on a company level. People can hardly buy groceries and pay their mortgage nowadays. Oh btw, Stern is putting toys in McDonalds happy meals, Happy Meals will be $20 now. ;)
@@Wolfanoz only $20?
@@CaryHardy Hey Gary has to eat too! Hamburglar eat your heart out!
Everything at stern is expensive even the t-shirts cost $15 just to ship
Those extras are $2000 of anybody-who-has-far-too-much-money's money. For anybody else, well...
Topper floor just seems to be $1k at this point, I’d be more surprised to see them higher priced than that.
Imo the only accessory that makes a difference is the art/mirror blades. Expression lighting is cool but too expensive for what you get. Speaker expression lights are cool but I like the one you have on Foo over the Stern ones.
In order for these Metallica accessories to really have hit the mark, they needed more skulls. Would have been cool to see a skull head shooter rod with some rgb in the eyes or whatever.. a literal simple design too, takes no effort to come up with a skull
In terms of Spooky, let’s be real.. they might release a fantastic topper but their games just don’t touch what Stern puts out. Re: look at your own collection lol. Looney Tunes is a step in the right direction in my opinion but it’s now gotta be for a theme I really want to have.
@michaelfokas8884 I think their next is a further step in the right direction. We shall see, though.
@ I hope so, they appear to be a company with good folks involved. Rooting for them to do well as the market needs competition for our benefit
$1K for that topper? 😂😂😂😂😂
So no John Wick accessories once again. I enjoy my Wick and would like to see a topper. Bummer.
Once they do make one, it might be $1,499.
@@johno2021 I'm guessing $1999.99 :)
Yeah, topper wise, it would've been cool to see the band up there, but...
I’m think Metallica makes sure they get paid well on this stuff . I think the fees are directly related to the band being greedy . Remember that they were the ones the threw a fit about Napster . I get it , but little did they know that was really the future and they ended up looking kinda of dumb .
I gave them a pass on the Rush shooter knob because it looked dope, but the Metallica shooter knob looks like a Home Mod. Lmao.
I'm going to put a Metallica sticker on my Jurassic Park topper and call it a day.
@@ScottParisi Metallica is waiting on that check...
$1,000 for the topper. Thats insane.
@JMyoutube1 not too far from expectations with what they typically are - just wish the topper looked the price.
They were lazy when the static dolled the pro JP trex
I have many Borg games but idk I think it’s time to retire. Everything is just a redo of past games. You need to think outside box like Elwin and Damger does to get these prices. I have 48 pins
This is just garbage on their part...on all sides. Thanks Cary for calling this over expensive laziness out, you da man, as per usual. 💯👍🙏
dude, stern's entire model is the opposite of logic.
Im buying the machine but the accessories are LAZY!!! I hope the mod community can save the day. They could of had a jumble of album arts as a topper, made it looks alot nicer and then charged $1500 instead
Price increases?? Huh???
The topper is the worst
Are we seriously not getting a skit on the topper and shooter rod prices? Really? THIS is lazy Cary
@@Srt8Adam i put as much effort into this video as they did with the topper.
Why would Stern put any time or effort into this stuff, everyone will gobble them up regardless.
Stern is quickly becoming the Disney of pinball; overpriced, rehashed, shitty cash grabs...and we all know what's happening to Disney stock. Once your reputation goes down the toilet, it is extremely hard to rebuild it. As someone who has a large collection of machines and accessories and toppers on almost every one of them, I have to thank Stern; you just killed my desire to buy any more toppers and accessories going forward. You crossed the line of absurdity.
yeah that duplicate logo looks terrible... 4 flasher lights for $1k... wow
All so shit!!!!!!! 😢
Toppers are way overpriced… the topper in this game is silly same logo twice. I think they know already what game it is 😂
Don't buy it
Don't buy it
Yep, super Lazy. Because it will sell. So… if it will still sell why bother putting any effort in. They did the same thing with the Godzilla topper. You could tell it was just a check the block kind of thing. They put zero effort or thought into it, and they all sold. So expect more of the same as long as people sell out overpriced junk toppers like this.
That topper is weak... There's not enough Metallica in the topper and why the on your nose flashers? It really needs to be up there and everywhere. Metallica, Metallica, Metallica, METALLICA, Metallica... Just all over.
imagine if you sold all your pinball machines before the coming crash.. Buying a nice porsche gt4-rs in all cash and actually having fun with your new hobby? Looks like you're a bit burnt out on being a consumer of these terrible companies.
Stern servin up the wack sandwich once again .. 🤦♂️
Gary is such a cash grabber. What a bunch of trash overpriced awfully designed accessories. Well, saved me $2000+
fools and their money buying this expensive sh&^!
Everything went up but the garbage topper. I ordered the expression lights, side armor, and plunger. My wife liked them and Metallica is her game. Sucked they jacked the price up. Just waiting for the premium now. Thanks for the video.
I went with this topper
ruclips.net/user/shortsQtRmV2n_rto?feature=shared
$207 shipped with discounts. I ordered the 23” one with interactive RGB lighting.