From Newsgroup: rec.games.pinball

Biggest pinball headline lately is Stern officially releasing a Pokmon machine. It's a full new title, not a reskin, and it's being sold in the usual Stern tiers with Pro, Premium, and a Limited Edition run.

From what's been shown so far, it looks like Stern is leaning hard into the "catch and progress" idea instead of just tossing Pokmon art on a generic layout. That could be a really smart move if the rules feel like an actual journey and not just a checklist, because Pokmon is one of those themes where people will forgive a lot if the game nails the sense of momentum. On the other hand, if it ends up feeling like you're just grinding the same shots to fill meters, the honeymoon is going to be short no matter how strong the license is.

The other thing worth mentioning is the timing. This is landing right as people are already in "what's coming in 2026" mode, and it instantly sucks a lot of oxygen out of the rumor cycle. It's also the kind of theme that can bring in brand new buyers who never cared about pinball before, which usually ends up affecting the used market in weird ways. Suddenly older family friendly titles get hotter, route operators pay attention again, and everybody with limited space starts doing the "what am I selling to make room" math.

If anyone here is going to see one on location soon, the first real question is going to be whether it shoots like a great game that happens to be Pokmon, or like Pokmon first and pinball second. The license is obviously massive, but the long term verdict is going to come down to flow, shot satisfaction, and whether the code feels deep in a fun way rather than deep in a homework way.

Also, reminder for show people, Pinball Expo 2026 is already on the calendar for October 14 to 17. If Pokmon is as big a deal on the floor as it seems like it will be, that show is going to be a magnet for lines and first impressions.

Curious where everyone lands on this one. Is Pokmon an instant buy theme, an instant ignore theme, or one of those rare licenses where even the skeptics are at least willing to flip it a few times before deciding.
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