AC/DC Vault edition pics are out on Stern's Facebook page. Previous versions were a big hit for Stern with many pinheads proclaiming them to be some of the best Sterns ever made. Yet a great number also expressed that the art package left something to be desired.

How do you feel about the new and improved art package?

Was this rerelease a labour of love with the goal to honor one of the best pins ever made or just a quick and cheap as possible rerun cash grab?

Does Stern have a responsibility to respect the artform of pinball itself or only a responsibility as a business to profit?

Aerosmith, with original hand-drawn art by “Dirty” Donny Gillies brought this artform to a whole new level IMO. Should we judge other pins by this standard now or be fine with OK photoshop from the last decade?

Do you prefer hand-drawn art like Aerosmith over photoshop? It's not everyone's taste.

Perhaps there are not enough artists in the world capable of drawing or perhaps they cost too much or there was not enough time. Are there really so few artists? Some Photoshop changes might only cost 10K and artist 100K (say) so there is savings here aka more profit.

But perhaps, if enough people appreciate the extreme attention to detail found in AS, then the sales will justify the extra cost. More importantly care and attention will show how much Stern honors and respects the artform itself which might end up growing the market leading to even more profit. But who knows, it's just a business after all.

Damn it, what I guess I'm trying to say is I wished they had done more with the new AC/DC art as AS raised the bar. Maybe Donny raised the bar too high on AS?

More importantly, where should Stern go in the future? Imagine a Led Zeppelin pin coming out in the future. Should they photoshop or get Donny?

(Note: before you DV me for opening a discussion, recall that we live in the West where it's ok to have discussions about things and not just toe the line. It's OK to critique art for example. We all want the same thing in the end... the very best for this great hobby. And by the way, I think AC/DC was a great game and was hoping to by one in the future. This thread is only about art.)

Let's be respectful and discuss the art of AC/DC Vault edition. Thanks.

The new playfield art

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Previous art (above). Aerosmith below.

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It's a valid point you make however when I say "hand-drawn" I'm referring to modern hand-drawn like GB and AS.

Sure, but when you create something like this rerelease, you can improve things like the art especially when the play is already so solid. So I don't see how your analogy holds here. My point here is that's it's a missed opportunity to improve upon the one thing that cried out for improvement - the art.