Stern Pinball have been pretty successful selling to the home collector market, but despite several attempts they haven’t matched that success selling games through regular retail channels to non-collectors.
Previous titles such as Transformers, Batman and Spider-Man
were pitched at family buyers with no experience of purchasing through
distributors who wanted a simple and easy process to get a full-size authentic
pinball in their home.
Now Stern are having another attempt to crack the home market with a Star Wars game which was unveiled on the Star Wars stand at the San Diego Comic-Con exhibition.
Stern Pinball’s new Star Wars Pin home game
Called the Star Wars Pin, the game uses a modified playfield layout from Stern’s earlier Spider-Man Pin title, with a new playfield art package and some Star Wars toys added in the form of a Death Star and an animated TIE-Fighter. The cabinet art package and backbox art uses elements from the Pro and the Premium arcade models.
The right side cabinet artwork
To reduce cost and make the game more accessible, there have been several changes compared to the arcade versions.
The cabinet is a lighter build, held together with bolts which are visible on the exterior. There is also no coin slot, although there is still a coin door for accessing the game’s interior.
The cabinet is bolted together
The lock bar is now a plastic affair, with the game’s start button moved up to make it more obvious how to start a game and add players. There is still a shooter rod, but the metal housing has been down-sized.
The game’s lock bar and start button
The backbox display has also been significantly reduced in size, although it is now an LCD which is the first time this type of display has been used in a Stern home game.
Although there are two speaker grilles on the display panel, it looks as though there is only a single speaker fitted which looks a little odd.
The Star Wars Pin display panel
Moving on to the playfield, the game features two all-metal ramps, three drop targets, three pop bumpers, and a spinner along with the Death Star and TIE Fighter toys.
The playfield
