new sterns pinballs vs 90s williams machines

which ones do u like more.....

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personally i like the older machines more.

TWD, Iron Man, Iron Maiden, BM66, Tron and ACDC for the Stern Lovers

MB, AFM, MM, SS, TOTAN for the B/W fanboys

Centaur, Fathom, Medusa for the Solid Staters

A mix of the lot is where it's at !!

Both are good depending on your mood and the theme.

I think the only downside to stern machines now is the feeling of repeat. Same thing again. Though ghost busters is very different to other Sterns. Really like that.

Williams had a different feel between each title. So very understandable people think williams are better.

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I am most definatley a B/W fan and although I have had a couple of Sterns was never a great fan.

However, I find Iron Maiden such a great game, I hate the band theme rinse and repeat but the graphics on the display and the game shots are done so well I would certainly consider one in my collection.

Yes a question many ask and many have a strong opinion on. For me, it was definitely the 90's B/W machines, but now it's the new Sterns (or JJP's too). Don't get me wrong, I love and have a soft spot for some of the 90's B/W games and if I was more financial, I would own the best ones. But for me now, with a busy lifestyle and limited financially, I prefer to spend my free time playing pinball as opposed to fixing or 'tweaking' them, so it's the new ones all the way. They play so well, fast, smooth, are so bright and colourful and just bloody fun. I guess I didn't have a great experience with the two 90's B/W games I owned, as every few weeks, something played up and required fixing. For me, it's similar to owning a nice classic VL Commodore and a new VFII Commodore in the garage (yep, another car analogy). I would prefer to drive the VF daily as it's smoother, faster, more responsive and generally more reliable. But occasionally also great to take the VL out for drive too.

I know many would not agree but pinball is subjective.

The question I keep asking myself is this: Why would I spend $8-$10k on a nice old machine (90's B/W) when I can own a brand new one for the same money?

If I won a million dollars, I would have a mix of both!

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MB, AFM, MM, SS, TOTAN for the B/W fanboys

Spot on! But add TOM & CV to those 5!

B/W for the win, they had enough Imagination to create Original titles People actually wanted to own and or play.

Cant say the same for stern, they lack imagination.

For me it’s a mix but I hate fixing things, so recently I have been looking at pins with the Stern S.A.M system I think they are the most reliable.

Here is my collection rated out of 10

1. ACDC LUCI. 11/10

2. GHOST BUSTERS 11/10

3. PARTY ZONE 10/10

4. World poker tour 9/10

5. Roadshow 8.5/10

6. Star Trek Pro 8/10

7. Fish Tales 7/10

Pins I want

MET, JACKBOT or PINBOT, DEADPOOL, GOTG, and all the Spooky Pins and WOZ for Wifey. Oh and SHREK

I would say if you want reliability the SAM sterns for sure.

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new sterns pinballs vs 90s williams machines

They’re different and I like them both. And I love the good solid states, there are plenty of those, too. I’m lucky I guess, so many pinballs to enjoy.

Only downside to the B/W is 25 years on they continually break down.

There is good and bad in all the eras I'm afraid. High earners in there day is the proven way to judge a machine as this is an unbiased opinion handed down by the ordinary public.

Ok a few furphys in....I'm gonna gonna call it....new machines just don't have the true spirit of the silverball!

To me ...lifeless.

Pinball is romantic, nostalgic, artistic, mechanical, sound scapes of decades past....

I am happy to have a game on a modern machine...but would be just as happy to try a vpin or play xbox.....the tactility is shrouded by modernism and gizmos...very sad.

Dare I say it...even the mid late 90s to me now to me are hohum...after going through most of them. And the Americana type ones make me cringe...even more

Give me the hypnotic drums of grand lizard, the slashing swords of fury, the buzz of firepower, meteor, the oohs and ahhs of fathom, centaur and xenon......that's the spirit of the silverball...for me anyway........

So TZ sucks? It was a terrible earner wasn't it?

We only had two and I managed to make good money out of both of them but yes, some say it was a poor earner. Strange because I always saw TZ basically a wide body version of Addams Family. Many shots are very similar and many features the same but TZ being a fat version needed more to fill it.

Indiana was a good earner straight out of the box where as TZ needed a bit of adjusting to get good cash out of it. Both came out roughly the same time but both of these machines never earned as good as machines like T2, Getaway, Addams and the diamond in the rough would be Jurassic Park.

Through memory these were probably our best earners straight out of the box when they were current in just about every site they went to where as other machines were more inconsistent meaning they could do well at one site and just not make the expected cash in others.

But you need to take into consideration the 4 biggest earners I mention here was about the height of the pinball era of the 90's and by the time TZ and Indiana came out it was on the decline.

We had about 12 of each T2s, Getaways, Addams and JPs where as we only had 2 TZ and IJs. Like I said, pinball was declining and when operators go from 12 of each down to just 2, you know it is more than just the machines themselves and more the type of machine they are.

In my opinion, TZ is a pinball with a fault waiting to happen. Could never get mine playing right for long, just fault after fault, then another fault when you needed playing the most.

B/W are good machines still but they’re everywhere these days. For example Who doesn’t know where to, or somebody with, a Fish Tales to play. There’s always a B/W being repaired and restored somewhere right now.

Sterns feel special to me at the moment and have innovative designs as good as any other manufacturer. I looked forward to playing the ‘24’ pinny at the fest, just to see if it was a POS or ok player.

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For me it’s a mix but I hate fixing things, so recently I have been looking at pins with the Stern S.A.M system I think they are the most reliable.

Here is my collection rated out of 10

1. ACDC LUCI. 11/10

2. GHOST BUSTERS 11/10

3. PARTY ZONE 10/10

4. World poker tour 9/10

5. Roadshow 8.5/10

6. Star Trek Pro 8/10

7. Fish Tales 7/10

 

Pins I want

MET, JACKBOT or PINBOT, DEADPOOL, GOTG, and all the Spooky Pins and WOZ for Wifey. Oh and SHREK

 

I would say if you want reliability the SAM sterns for sure.

 

 

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I actually like fixing my machines when they need it, i find it therapeutic and rewarding. YES it can be frustrating at times but i have learnt so much over the years and i've found specific machine club forums (on Pinside) in particular a wealth of knowledge to tap into. Having mostly had B/W machines i lean more to that side but i'm very soon to own an Iron Maiden. I do like my Stern Monopoly machine also but i think my favourite is still my first ever machine, Bride Of Pinbot :)

I actually like fixing my machines when they need it, i find it therapeutic and rewarding. YES it can be frustrating at times but i have learnt so much over the years and i've found specific machine club forums (on Pinside) in particular a wealth of knowledge to tap into. Having mostly had B/W machines i lean more to that side but i'm very soon to own an Iron Maiden. I do like my Stern Monopoly machine also but i think my favourite is still my first ever machine, Bride Of Pinbot :)

Can’t agree more. I love working on them. When that credit dot comes up I’m immediately going for the keys!

I’m definitely into the late 80s early 90s.

I’m trying to get into the newer machines but it doesn’t help that the only two sited sterns where I live are never working properly. It’s so bloody frustrating. I swear the operator likes them not working. I’ve tried at least 20 times to see if he can fix them.

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I've restored 5 B/W 90's DMD machines and 1 data east since I started in this hobby about 6 years ago. After looking for a year for another to restore I gave up due to the ridiculous prices being asked for machines I would basically spend thousands on to get to a level I wanted. Don't get me wrong I really like restoring them but man why spend the same on a 25 year old machine when a new one is the same price almost. So I decided to try a new Stern. Yes they don't feel as solid as an old B/W but my Iron Maiden and Aerosmith are fun to play and have way more bells and whistles. While I am comfortable with any electronics repair on a B/W I am not so sure on a current Stern.

Would I like another B/W? Probably. Would I pay for the "privilege" , depends on how bored I get without something to restore. Meanwhile I'll play the Sterns and ponder what to do next.