Open Disscussion, Sterns new Code readers

[Pin Del]

Just read today on my phone that Stern is adding, Or I should say "Thinking about adding " A new Code reader for people with smart phones can scan
a new little display they are going to add to all of their Spike 2 ™ games that will allow people to scan their scores & what games they have played & no telling what else .
This little system will use a modem in the games so "Stern" can keep up with any & everything a player who uses this system does .
I'm not looking to start a flame war here, Just it seems like a real dud & total failure that most likely will add hundreds to the price of new games,

BUT !

Is Stern just trying to get into the OPs cash pans Like Touch Tunes ( 23.5% ) on gross income the machines take in which we know is not as much as they think it is .
I believe the new Golden T will be the same way.,
Not only that, But it most likely will use Wi-Fi for the phones to be used .
& that seems like a good way to get your phone & your PC hacked to boot.

If so I think Stern is wasting time & Our money for something that will be a total fail !,
I can not blame them for trying something new, But JJP has already done "Dial-up" :
I have only been lurking as I still can not post using my Iphone & I AM signed in ?

What are RGPers honest thoughts about this deal ?

Pin-Del,
CARGPB28

[Kerry Imming]

I'm too old to be part of Stern's target market for something like this,
but I can't even understand how this could make money.

This seems like it would be a technical support nightmare. It would
have to be optional or games will quit working after technology moves
ahead to the next "better" thing. My newest game is only 10 years old
and that would be iPhone 4 time frame, a phone that is no longer
supported on any network.

- Kerry

[diana anderson]

my local arcade is waiting for there's to be shipped all it is is a scan and play.. It's basically the same thing as a digital download scan you use at the supermaket to get better deals on beer...and food

[Dan Espen]

Pin Del <delma...@gmail.com> writes:

> Just read today on my phone that Stern is adding, Or I should say
> "Thinking about adding " A new Code reader for people with smart
> phones can scan a new little display they are going to add to all of
> their Spike 2 ™ games that will allow people to scan their scores &
> what games they have played & no telling what else .

People won't be scanning their scores, the pin machine knows the scores,
the app on your phone will accept the score from the machine.

There most certainly is a way of "telling what else". The app is on
your phone. The pin ONLY knows when you played and your score. The pin
sends your score to the app so you have a nice record of the games you
played and your high score.

So, if this still bothers you, don't install the app on your phone,
or better yet, don't carry the phone in the first place. You are in
an arcade, you don't want to be using your phone anyway.

--
Dan Espen

[seymour.shabow]

diana anderson wrote:
> It's basically the same thing as a digital download scan you use at
> the supermaket to get better deals on beer...and food

Those are bullshit too, my phone doesn't support their app, so I don't
get any of the savings for 'digital' coupons (even though I'm in the
supermarket club.).

so you know what? Whatever the item is with the digital coupon only....
I don't buy it at all. Marketing fail when you start to only serve a
subset of potential buyers.

I don't really give a shit about the other aspects of carrying a phone
around with you (which I rarely do anyway) - I do care when they say
throw out this perfectly good item because it won't run the latest
version of Android, so we're not going to make our app available for
you. Phone works perfectly well as a phone and text device which is all
I need it for.

[diana anderson]

Then you should stay out of the self checkout and let a cashier ring you up ask them and they will do the digital coupon scan 4 you if you cant figure out on you phone

[Pin Del]

On Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 3:01:41 PM UTC-4, Pin Del wrote:

All good Points,
I'm with Kerry as being to old for all of the new things coming out these days or I should just say I hate change
once I get used to anything, That said, I have locations asking me to put machines in & I'm not paying todays new game prices to put the games on location & This is just something that adds to the prices it will take forever to make my money back on .
I had the machines in these same locations back when we had gambling machines, So those made up for the games ( pinball ) that did not make money .
I offered these locations to 2 good OP friends of mine yesterday & neither one wanted them either for the same reasons.

The way I see it is All of the people walking around with phones sticking out of their back pockets are not going to be dropping a lot of coins down a Pinball anyway since there is more to do on a phone than keeping up with my high scores on a game, If I wanted to do that I'd just download the Arcade/pinball App that was talked about here yesterday .
I'm NOT a iphone person though I do have a iphone 11, But I only use it to read the news or keep in touch texting with Family & friends & I do not carry it with me everywhere I go, I'm deaf so I dont talk on the phone .
I still can not post to RGP using the iphone 11even though I'm signed in so I have to get my PC going just to reply .

I wish Stern good luck on this, Its just not something I'd want to spend my money on & I agree with Scott to & see it as a Fail .

Pin-Del,

[Kerry Imming]

On 9/8/2021 2:39 PM, Pin Del wrote:
> I wish Stern good luck on this, Its just not something I'd want to spend my money on & I agree with Scott to & see it as a Fail .

I was wondering if it tied in with a payment system like PayRange (which
I've heard of but haven't used). A little searching turned up this link
and it looks like it does not:

https://sternpinball.com/2021/08/26/stern-pinball-launches-insider-connected-platform/

It's cute that it uses QR codes, even my Mom is beyond those :-)

- Kerry

[John Robertson]

Can this also be used to track games by serial numbers? I suspect
grey-market resellers might not have happy customers if Stern can (as a
worst case example) remotely turn their game off if it came from abroad
bypassing the normal dealer network?

What if a game is in customer's home and they have their router running
through VPN and accessing some other country for whatever legitimate
purpose they may have - does the Stern pinball call home (the factory)
every now and then and have an issue if it thinks it is in another country?

John :-#)#

--
(Please post followups or tech inquiries to the USENET newsgroup)
John's Jukes Ltd.
MOVED to #7 - 3979 Marine Way, Burnaby, BC, Canada V5J 5E3
(604)872-5757 (Pinballs, Jukes, Video Games)
www.flippers.com
"Old pinballers never die, they just flip out."

[diana anderson]

Stern is on there way OUT just like Gottileb,WMS,Bally was back in the day..Stay current or get left behind as generation alpha would put it..

[seymour.shabow]

diana anderson wrote:
> Then you should stay out of the self checkout and let a cashier ring
> you up ask them and they will do the digital coupon scan 4 you if you
> cant figure out on you phone

Nope, they tell you to install the app and they have no answers if you
don't have phone. No biggie it's usually shit I don't need anyway.

[Koji Sato]

On Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 2:22:43 PM UTC-7, lwin...@gmail.com wrote:
> Stern is on there way OUT just like Gottileb,WMS,Bally was back in the day..Stay current or get left behind as generation alpha would put it..

? Who is on the way in? Back in the day, those firms moved away from pinball not from not staying current in pinball, but mostly because the pinball industry was dead at that point.

WMS/Bally is technically still around in Casino gaming devices.

It is an interesting hobby, unlike others where I would more readily agree.. even with young players, I find a great appreciation of the nostalgia of the machines, and value in classics etc. If it were all about progress and tech, surely P3 multimorphic would be leading the charge by now?

[John Robertson]

On 2021/09/09 1:25 p.m., Koji Sato wrote:
> On Wednesday, September 8, 2021 at 2:22:43 PM UTC-7, lwin...@gmail.com wrote:
>> Stern is on there way OUT just like Gottileb,WMS,Bally was back in the day..Stay current or get left behind as generation alpha would put it..
>
> ? Who is on the way in? Back in the day, those firms moved away from pinball not from not staying current in pinball, but mostly because the pinball industry was dead at that point.

Not so much dead, as they could make more money doing other things - the
problem when corporations take over family businesses...

>
> WMS/Bally is technically still around in Casino gaming devices.

Yes, the factory was still making money, just not as good a return for
the shareholders and (as I understand it) US law pretty much requires
companies to turn assets into higher earning ones.

>
> It is an interesting hobby, unlike others where I would more readily agree.. even with young players, I find a great appreciation of the nostalgia of the machines, and value in classics etc. If it were all about progress and tech, surely P3 multimorphic would be leading the charge by now?
>

Some of us even build a business around supporting the people supporting
the games...

[diana anderson]

I was saying Stern is on his way out and JJ is on his way in..JJ has all the top people around him now to succeed and he also uses USA parts way better parts than the cheap China plastic Stuff stern uses..Stern will be a like a Gottileb Co in a couple of years then fold and liquidate the buiness..as for P3 thats technically not real pinball but more on the virtual market which is 100% different that the real machines anyway

[Koji Sato]

I think Stern has been on a tear, they work with some of the best art direction.
Designers they still have, Elwin, Eddy, Borg Gomez to name a few.

They've lost some key people for sure.. but this is with any firm in a free country.

JJP would be gone if it were not for a lot of investment money to keep it afloat. They are also dealing with a publicity nightmare at the moment due to Playfield issues.
Don't get me wrong, I like what they do and competition is good.. but I just don't see Stern as a company in any jeopardy from competition at this stage... in fact, they seem to be the one that understands the market the best.

How is P3 not technically pinball?