Cursed, you make some good points...
Firstly, correct, Avengers isnt out yet, but the general Sternfan concensus is that it will be a winner based on the theme alone which has been popular worldwide movie wise etc, and the hope/fact the quality and game design will be kept in line (as good) as recent titles like AC/DC and X Men. Remembering AC/DC achieved its biggest pro-rata results in Australia etc, but X Men has been huge in the USA and has also been very well recieved n sold in Australia. I have personally been to 4 peoples houses who have a X Men Pro, and 4 peoples houses with the LE X Men model as well, just in QLD alone, and know of apx half a dozen in Sydney as well..
I think alot more X Men machines would have been sold but alot of people are still getting over the huge financial outlay of having just payed for a AC/DC LE etc (most people bought the LE for $9300 plus etc) and also, some people are holding off buying a X Men til they see the Avengers...Its very early days for X Men so far. Also, I have alot of the Borg titles, and have played all of Borgs Stern titles, and X Men plays nothing like anything even close, and the software is excellent, feels very complete so how anyone could think that, would tell me they havent even played X Men as yet. X Men i believe is great, and I am a hard person to please when it comes to forking out $6600 and above on any pinball machine..
I dont think Stern will fail, they have been through tougher times and their product is better than ever, and stern fans are on the rise. Staff levels of talented people at Stern have never been so good design wise etc, and Stern has capital to move forward now more than ever. Pinball has become popular. If you can get thru the GFC, u can get thru anything probably.
People play all my games when they visit which includes all manufacturers. Stern games just happen to be the most modern and they usually attract the most instant attention. I have sold more B/W games than any other model than I have kept cause I find them overpriced n over-rated...I have tried to keep them, but on gameplay alone i keep games, not by over rated nametags/namebrands. Espescially when guests say the same thing time after time. Most people say B/W titles are over rated n over priced. I wont disagree they are some of the prettt-est n nicest art designed/themed games, but that over compensates alot of the time n makes them look better than they really are IMO.
Its hard to argue a 1999 model is better than the latest 2012/2013 model. Unless u have forked out 7 grand for a 14 yr old machine and u want to make sure u get ya money back, which is human nature.
I am not biased towards Stern at all really, I just dont believe that pinball started n finished with Bally/Williams only.....
Anyway, a good healthy debate is what these posts/threads are about and if anyone can learn one thing from our banter, then maybe we have done something good.lol Theres no right or wrong, just opinions.lol As long as we stay passionate about pinball, it doesnt matter about age, brand or pricetag, just hit those flippers n get every bastard u know to buy a pinball machine.lol and yes, I am probably wrong half the time n right the other half, just have to work out which half...
