It killed the pinball side at least, dont think its still Williams anymore.
Pinball info
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Stern Spike 3 Cabinet :(
- Thread starter Kaufmanised
- Start date
That depends how many kits they sell no? Repeat buyers is what they want.
Depends on the kit price, priced right I could see if being quite a popular option for home users with limited space (Although youve still got to store the spare playfields), not sure how much it would save not having the cabinet/artwork and CPU board in it though. Would be a lot cheaper to ship though, you could get what 4 or 5 playfield to a single cabinet sized pallet, would have to be vertical as I dont think one would fit on a standard pallet horizontally.
Different times as it was operators mostly who had no space issues and us diehards back in 2000 and pin2k was way ahead of its time …
I was amazed when it came out and thought it was the future of pinball.
It still amazes average guy/gal even now 25 years later… that says it all.
Williams wanted out before they even produced them so killed it even though it was the first profit in years…
Anyway, playfield kits not **** cabs!!
ian866
Site Supporter
Does anyone have one of the new cabs in hand to comment? I would expect Stern to improve the design all in all. Are the panels interlocked somehow or does this design rely on the leg angles to keep things together? I would think eg that not having gussets behind the leg plates will increase the clamping force on the panels (until the bracket gives ofc).
ian866
Site Supporter
As soon as the first gorilla with an impact gun is let loose on one we’ll find out 
Spike 3 uses different plates, Gomez showed them in the video, put some screen grabs below. They have pegs or threads on the other side of the bracket that goes into the wooden sides and front for extra support and clamping.
After seeing George’s video and the holes are mostly hidden I don’t think they would bother me.
New cabinet design does not offend me. Be interesting if it stands up to the abuse a pinball gets (no one can say that yet?)
One question is can you still lift a machine with a pump jack table lift? Is the bottom panel only held in 3 location? Or still sort of slotted/recessed into the other cabinet sides?
New cabinet design does not offend me. Be interesting if it stands up to the abuse a pinball gets (no one can say that yet?)
One question is can you still lift a machine with a pump jack table lift? Is the bottom panel only held in 3 location? Or still sort of slotted/recessed into the other cabinet sides?
That's the key question!
Probably why there are the additional holes on the outside, this is where these pegs reside.
Not 100% sure as the video quality on the interview was a bit rubbish. I think the holes in the side are for the long metal brackets as there were bolts similar to the ones holding the head brackets to the sides for them, and on the leg plate its possibly just pins that fit in recesses and dont go all the way through to bolts on the outside, as they appear to be a lot further out than the holes shown in the external pictures.
From a design and manufacturing standpoint these choices are all valid.
It seems like stern were buying in cabinets, and probably with their success
The price of a bought in cabinet would have went up. It’s not something which can be outsourced
Or swapped to a different supplier easily. So they may have been ‘held to ransomed’ regarding these.
By swopping to a 2d (3 axis) cut design ethos with folded plate design bracketry this can be done by just about any
Decent respective machine shop. It keeps suppliers honest and prices fair. Easy to outsource where production rates
Increase or a particular supplier has manufacturing issues.
As George mentioned, the volume of a shipped cabinet versus flat pack to stern for assembly also makes sense.
Risk of damage is mitigated also.
The decision to have any form of MDF is a risky one. Or is it? If you think about it most of the kitchen cabinets out there
Are melamine faced mdf in a working humid environment for 10 - 20years.
It seems like stern were buying in cabinets, and probably with their success
The price of a bought in cabinet would have went up. It’s not something which can be outsourced
Or swapped to a different supplier easily. So they may have been ‘held to ransomed’ regarding these.
By swopping to a 2d (3 axis) cut design ethos with folded plate design bracketry this can be done by just about any
Decent respective machine shop. It keeps suppliers honest and prices fair. Easy to outsource where production rates
Increase or a particular supplier has manufacturing issues.
As George mentioned, the volume of a shipped cabinet versus flat pack to stern for assembly also makes sense.
Risk of damage is mitigated also.
The decision to have any form of MDF is a risky one. Or is it? If you think about it most of the kitchen cabinets out there
Are melamine faced mdf in a working humid environment for 10 - 20years.
Just noticed today when under one but it looks like pin2000 cabinet bottoms are made from MDF.
gnarled112
Site Supporter
They'll pass the manufacturing savings on to the consumer, right? 
This guy gets it. The internet pile on/lack of nuance/lack of independent thought is hilarious. Cary Hardy, Kaneda etc got a bit tedious imo.
Didn't he start it by leaking the photos? Might be wrong of course but I thought he'd kicked it all off.
Yeah, pretty sure Retro Ralph was the poster of the initial pictures that started the conversation.
Yeah he did but as per the video, don't think he quite realised the storm that was coming
Welcome to the real world as myself and Phil found out with the Bond reveal
Ahhh shiiiiiit. I must have missed this one mate. You got be careful out there on that InternetThat was some serious re-framing of the observations from Ralph there.
Most people I heard were concerned that the cabinets would not be as strong as they are now. That metal brackets were not as robust as joinery, with the vast majority wondering how many times the new cabinets will be able to be moved. All legitimate questions, surely.
But he's suggesting "people with negative energy" (who he won't name) are saying the cabinet will just fall apart? WTF?
His assertion that in effect, we should wait for it to fall apart before commenting is just trying to steer the narrative. I guess he's just trying to repair a bit of damage from the blowback he's received for sharing the pics as he described.
People have been questioning Stern cutbacks for a while now so understandably, consumers are on the lookout. It was really no different for JJP playfields after G&R, people were correctly scrutinising their playfields on Toy Story & Godfather.
What I don't like is the dismissing of genuine concerns about an expensive items by insinuating people 'haters' and overly negative. It's borderline propaganda and an insult to anyone who knows anything about carpentry to suggest a metal bracket is better than mitred butt or a dovetail. Absolute 80ll0cks.
He was absolutely right about the fact that any newbie getting into pinball should get a Stern though, because they shoot best and are the most reliable. Sterns can be chucked around in the back of a van and are easy to manoeuvre, then when they're switched on they tend to work.
Therefore, when people see Stern changing a winning formular and using a basic butt joint, dowels and brackets, why shouldn't customers be concerned the cabinet might have less structural integrity? Why does that mean someone has 'negative energy'?
Comparisons with Ikea furniture are not 'unfair', it's the natural comparison people will make.
Most people I heard were concerned that the cabinets would not be as strong as they are now. That metal brackets were not as robust as joinery, with the vast majority wondering how many times the new cabinets will be able to be moved. All legitimate questions, surely.
But he's suggesting "people with negative energy" (who he won't name) are saying the cabinet will just fall apart? WTF?
His assertion that in effect, we should wait for it to fall apart before commenting is just trying to steer the narrative. I guess he's just trying to repair a bit of damage from the blowback he's received for sharing the pics as he described.
People have been questioning Stern cutbacks for a while now so understandably, consumers are on the lookout. It was really no different for JJP playfields after G&R, people were correctly scrutinising their playfields on Toy Story & Godfather.
What I don't like is the dismissing of genuine concerns about an expensive items by insinuating people 'haters' and overly negative. It's borderline propaganda and an insult to anyone who knows anything about carpentry to suggest a metal bracket is better than mitred butt or a dovetail. Absolute 80ll0cks.
He was absolutely right about the fact that any newbie getting into pinball should get a Stern though, because they shoot best and are the most reliable. Sterns can be chucked around in the back of a van and are easy to manoeuvre, then when they're switched on they tend to work.
Therefore, when people see Stern changing a winning formular and using a basic butt joint, dowels and brackets, why shouldn't customers be concerned the cabinet might have less structural integrity? Why does that mean someone has 'negative energy'?
Comparisons with Ikea furniture are not 'unfair', it's the natural comparison people will make.
I thought he was more balanced than that. He literally said that in effect the truth likely lies somewhere in the middle. Hardy just made another video on it. (Course he did). He was kind enough not to mute some of this one behind patreon . Pretty good summation though of his interview with George.
. Pretty good summation though of his interview with George.
CBA to watch an hour long video about bracket's but after a skip through, he paid 10k for a 4k game with iffy art, worse animations, then the main CPU board broke within days, plus it turned up with inferior cabinet construction that wasn't mentioned anywhere at release. He's not bothered and is still quite happy, fair play, I wouldn't be!
I don't think most of us are attacking Stern, we love Stern games, they have the best designers, huge range of IP, and until now decent reliability and build quality, but its frustrating watching them make unforced errors, while their competition are offering more.
I don't think most of us are attacking Stern, we love Stern games, they have the best designers, huge range of IP, and until now decent reliability and build quality, but its frustrating watching them make unforced errors, while their competition are offering more.
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