TRON LE - Did Stern shoot off their own foot?

MadocOwain

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As a lucky owner of a TRON LE, I am amazed, as are my guests, by the enhanced lighting on this game. Everyone says the cycling lighting on the ramps are the coolest. While I'm happy they're there and making my LE more distinctive, I have to wonder whether the decision to leave the lighting off the Pro versions was a good idea. I would think the added glow and "WOW!" factor of the LE lighting would pull more traffic to the game than leaving it off. An operator isn't going to spend the extra money on the limited edition version, but the lighting would sure help their business.

One might take this as another sign that Stern is not interested in pleasing operators, along with the rumored $8k-$10k price for the Transformers LE game.

Your thoughts?
 
For a while, I was debating buying a tron pro... I would be madder than hell if I had, now.
 
i love my TRON LE, but i said all along that with this particular title the lighted ramps should have been in every version. i mean, neon glowing shit IS tron for crying out loud.


JMO.
 
Chances are the lighting isn't up to snuff as far as longevity is concerned when dealing with a pin on location and up and running so many hours daily...
 
The increased lighting effects were the only thing that pushed me over the edge to get the LE. The other LE enhancements: moving recognizer, LED's, chrome package, singel slot door, silver playfield, drop targets, certificate of authenticity I could easily have lived without. I think Stern realized that if they put the lit ramps on the pro then the LE's might not have sold as quickly since that was the big draw for the game. I'm sure borg intended to have those lit ramps from the beginning Its a shame that only 400 units will have this effect since the Tron theme alone almost demands it. I wonder what how many pro's will be sold vs the 400 le's?

The daft punk multiball is nice addition to the LE but I'm such a crappy player I'll probably only see it a few times. If Stern was smart then they would offer a special editon of the pro with the only add on being the lighted ramps. It would still be missing some of the LE bling so it might not upset the LE owners too much but it would probably sell even more machines. I imagine an upgrade kit for a few hundred dollars that included the ramp lights and updated code to run them would be a big seller for them as well.
 
I have wondered about this, but hope its not true.
I got an LE for the arcade I run. (#164)
I think stern is going to piss alot of people off with this LE / PRO shit. (like me)
As an op to me the pro line is shit and I dont want it,(I got avatar pro) The LE line costs too much and I dont want it. This = no more buy stern pins and stern out of biz.
The LE Tron was just something special I did because,..well its Tron, and its awesome, but it will be the only one.
But from now on I think I could do just as well buying nice $3000 williams titles that have never been here before and rotate them out.

Chances are the lighting isn't up to snuff as far as longevity is concerned when dealing with a pin on location and up and running so many hours daily...
 
Does the Pro version have the plugs in the harness for adding the LE effects?
 
Chances are the lighting isn't up to snuff as far as longevity is concerned when dealing with a pin on location and up and running so many hours daily...

Anyone look to see what light source is used for the ramps? I was assuming the lights were LED's which should last a long time. When I look under the playfield I see the ends of the tubes go into huge metal heat sinks. Maybe there is something stronger than LED's in there?
 
i always heard the tube lights were FIBER OPTIC.

im also curious what the shelf life is on these tube lights?? lights dont fail me now!

Anyone look to see what light source is used for the ramps? I was assuming the lights were LED's which should last a long time. When I look under the playfield I see the ends of the tubes go into huge metal heat sinks. Maybe there is something stronger than LED's in there?
 
i always heard the tube lights were FIBER OPTIC.

im also curious what the shelf life is on these tube lights?? lights dont fail me now!

Yeah, I think that shit will pretty much last forever....nothing to worry about. ...and, if something did go wrong w/ it - it's probably uber cheap to replace.

After seeing the Tron LE in person, I agree - it was a bad move to only do the ramp lighting on the LE version. The game is so colorful and striking....and the attract mode is - well, ATTRACTIVE. I think this would really grab people's attention in an arcade and compel them to drop coin.

Perhaps instead of "cheaper" Pro and "expensive" LE, Stern could price on a game by game basis. If the game is simpler like Iron Man, Avatar, or Stones, it could be one price tier. Something w/ a bit more bling like Tron goes up a notch....then something like Transformers (from what it sounds like) would be the "big daddy" expensive game due to having tons of toys and features. That way - within a given year, they'd have different titles w/ different price tiers ....rather than each title having multiple tiers.
 
Perhaps instead of "cheaper" Pro and "expensive" LE, Stern could price on a game by game basis. If the game is simpler like Iron Man, Avatar, or Stones, it could be one price tier. Something w/ a bit more bling like Tron goes up a notch....then something like Transformers (from what it sounds like) would be the "big daddy" expensive game due to having tons of toys and features. That way - within a given year, they'd have different titles w/ different price tiers ....rather than each title having multiple tiers.


excellent idea.
 
Frankly, I think they're doing the 'pro' and 'le' thing all wrong. Do it like cars instead. There's the base package (pro) and the luxury model (le). Then have addon's to the pro so you can make the game like the le's (but perhaps costing more money for pro + parts than an LE would cost, hence making the LE attractive from that standpoint).

I don't see how anyone loses in that scenario. Everyone's happy. Stern did a good job this release of making nobody happy with the no video mode on pro, cheap coin door on LE, lots of quality control issues, etc.
 
This would not be tied into the music/modes, but it might be an option for those with the pro model. It is fiber optic "side wire" as opposed to the EL wire that some people want to use for a mod (yes I know the LE is fiber optic). Not cheap, but less than a LE version. http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Colormax2000.htm

I don't have a dog in this fight, but I thought about getting a Tron. The Pro just didn't do it for me without the lights and the LE has too many things that I just don't care about, Recognizer, chrome, certificate, led boards, a few inserts, coin door (for location reasons) and anything else I missed. I really just wanted the pro with the "light tubes". I would have paid for the lighting upgrade without all the other stuff.

This fiber optic thing might be an option for those like me as a mod.

PS. If the rumors are true about the new pricing I will only be in the market for used games in the future.
 
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Stern got it right with the lights - while i havent seen one in person (its on order though!), the videos and 100 percent positive feedback i hear is impressive.

With a win in the bank for them, they still missed ALOT of opportunity for "Base" (pro as they call it) sales - i know of at least 10 sales not made on the pro, and the buyer did'nt want to step up to the LE. What a shame.

Stern will argue the upgrade is part of the updated package / appeal of the LE, thats the business model. But what they need to recognize is the Lighting is a fundamental theme tie in, buyers are smart enough to recognize its not a Financially viable update (whats it cost? 75 for all the parts?), the difference makes the pro look like a Classic (check the IM 2900 version with no magnets - awful).

They are Cannibilizing their product line by doing this. I am the exception of course since i bought into the LE (rapid fan!).

I think Stern has a "clever" plan though. As i stated in the past, the LE was a way to justify a price increase across their product line. Its psycological -

They start with weening us onto accepted costs (Pro = 4.5k, LE = 6k, Classic = 2.5k).

They amp up the LE to make the Pro look like nothing (this has been as of the last 3 releases? Right around Iron man).

What the future holds (Transformers) - Now that we have LE model selling well, they understand the market will pay "up" for more. Next up - LE is the new pro in terms of price.
 
There is no half-life on the fiber optics. They are powered by a LED board. IF a LED goes out then obviously you will need to get it replaced but you will never have a brightness issue that EL wire will show. EL wire does have a half-life and will get dimmer over time.
 
Frankly, I think they're doing the 'pro' and 'le' thing all wrong. Do it like cars instead. There's the base package (pro) and the luxury model (le). Then have addon's to the pro so you can make the game like the le's (but perhaps costing more money for pro + parts than an LE would cost, hence making the LE attractive from that standpoint).

I don't see how anyone loses in that scenario. Everyone's happy. Stern did a good job this release of making nobody happy with the no video mode on pro, cheap coin door on LE, lots of quality control issues, etc.


I don't think that is a bad idea at all, but the other side of it is that if they are going to have a Pro and LE model, the LE model has to be distinctive enough from the Pro to make people want to buy it over the Pro. If you could upgrade the Pro to be pretty much the same as the LE, it doesn't make much sense to offer both models in the first place.

I definitely think it was a mistake to not have the lit ramps on the Pro. Like others have said, that really typifies what Tron is all about.
 
The increased lighting effects were the only thing that pushed me over the edge to get the LE. The other LE enhancements: moving recognizer, LED's, chrome package, singel slot door, silver playfield, drop targets, certificate of authenticity I could easily have lived without. I think Stern realized that if they put the lit ramps on the pro then the LE's might not have sold as quickly since that was the big draw for the game. I'm sure borg intended to have those lit ramps from the beginning Its a shame that only 400 units will have this effect since the Tron theme alone almost demands it. I wonder what how many pro's will be sold vs the 400 le's?

The daft punk multiball is nice addition to the LE but I'm such a crappy player I'll probably only see it a few times. If Stern was smart then they would offer a special editon of the pro with the only add on being the lighted ramps. It would still be missing some of the LE bling so it might not upset the LE owners too much but it would probably sell even more machines. I imagine an upgrade kit for a few hundred dollars that included the ramp lights and updated code to run them would be a big seller for them as well.

Well said.
 
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