Pricing arguments aside for a moment - this is a great time to love pinball... So many choices out there for NIB and so many people showing love to used games! Just wow!

Spooky:
- Jetsons contract (soon)
- Dominos contract (can you still get one?)
- Alice Cooper (soon)
- Rob Zombie (done soon, supposedly still available?)

American Pinball:
- Houdini (soon)

Heighway:
- Full Throttle
- Alien (soon)

PPS/CGC/Stern:
- MMR (ending soon?)
- AFMR (soon)

JJP:
- WOZ (I think they're still making them?)
- The Hobbit
- Dialed In (soon)

Stern/Whizbang:
- Pabst Can Crusher
- Aerosmith
- Batman
- Ghostbusters
- Elvira 3 (soon)
- Others still being made like ST I think...

Multimorphic:
- P3 system

Probably missing others, and look at all the independent games being made by all the crazy talented individuals out there...!

Now let me bring back the pricing argument for a second - I'm kinda glad, in a sick way, all these new games are so expensive, relatively speaking. If they were cheaper, my house would be full of pins, I'd be broke and my wife and kids would leave me!!!!!

Had the chance to play a bunch of games (new and old) over the weekend... Some surprising results based upon brief exposure (about an hour):

Stern Transformers Autobots - love the theme. Have been wanting one for quite some time. After playing it, I no longer want it. Still love the theme, but felt uninspiring. Bummer.

Stern GOT Premium - neither here nor there on theme. Loved the game play. This surprised me. Had a lot fun playing it and hit the start button multiple times.

Stern TWD Pro - neither here nor there on theme. Did not like playing it. Only put one game on it.

Stern WOF - hit the start button for shits and giggles. Very intrigued - would love to play it more. Can't see buying one, but interesting game. Isn't this game the one with a major code issue?

Stern Batman 66 - like the theme, watched reruns as a kid. Game play was not for me. I also liked the LCD integration. I like the mix of animations with clips from the show.

Stern Aerosmith - abhor the theme! Game play was great for me. Had that "one more game" appeal for sure. Can't handle the music for more than a few minutes. Really liked the LCD screen and thought the animations were very good.

Stern Spiderman Home Version - Not bad. Couple of really dark areas on the playfield that stick out like a sore thumb. I think it is overpriced for what it is, but could be a good deal on the used market if they actually sell some. One very annoying feature - the speaker mounted to the very front of the cabinet! Felt like someone was trying to talk directly to my nuts! And not in a good way...

JJP Dialed In - not a huge fan of the theme. Didn't bond with the game play. Wanted to like it, but didn't. Love JJP's use of the big LCD in the back box.

JJP The Hobbit & Wizard of Oz - I have TH and have access to WOZ. Think both are great. TH will stay with me for a very long time. Not a fan of the WOZ theme, but it is a great game. Wouldn't mind having one some day.

PPS/CGC MMR - like the theme, like the game play. Ramps/returns were buttery smooth! Would absolutely play it on location, not inclined to have one in my personal collection though. Gotta admit the castle is one of the coolest pin features ever. Also really like the humor in the call outs. This particular machine had the color upgrade for the LCD screen. A must have if you ever get this pin.

Have to admit I really like Stern's new LCD. While I prefer JJP's larger screen and what it offers, Stern's take is very good and will only get better in my opinion. Looking forward to seeing what they do with it on future titles. Star Wars could be a huge hit and I'm looking forward to the release. Also very much looking forward to JJP #4 and getting my hands on Heighway's Alien.

Forgot one game:

Stern Ghostbusters - theme OK. Didn't like the game play - played one ball and went to another game.

Yeah - crap load of choices. Very glad I got to play a bunch of new ones. I'm much more inclined to wait for the next round of new titles at the moment. If Alien is at the upcoming Pinfest show, I hope to get a few games in on it. That is a theme I really like so I'm hoping I "bond" with the game play!!! If I do, that might be a purchase.

Doesn't have to be new for me to consider buying... 2 out of 3 in my massive collection were used when I purchased!

I'm also interested in an EM - will be closely looking while at Pinfest.

Hobbit is, hopefully, not finished.

See what KH wrote... Lots of options out there, some good, some bad. Lots of used games available, some good, some bad. Absolutely better to have more than one choice for NIB as far as I'm concerned. I did the preorder thing once. Turned out fine in the end (The Hobbit), but I'll likely never do it again. Drove me nuts having paid money with nothing to show for 18 months.

Agreed Alien wouldn't be until next year as I won't preorder. Star Wars would seriously tempt me to preorder, but I will resist!

Can't argue with your points. Many have said the same. I didn't really have a ton of time to dedicate to any one game, and TWD didn't click for me so I moved on to the next machine that caught my eye. I will certainly put more time on it when the opportunity arises. Maybe there will be one at Pinfest and I can put more time on it.