Are you a fan of the Ultimate Spider-Man comic artwork? I am not and is the main reason I passed on the new VE. I also think the VE call outs are much weaker than the original call outs, plus they took out the Goblin mechanism which is pretty cool whenever your battling GG. If you like the new art package and the new dots then go for the new VE otherwise stick with the original.

Is cost a consideration here? Or are you strictly asking which version people think has a better overall art/sound package?

SMVE comes with fixes, cliffys, shaker, side armor, and freshly coated NEW clearcoat. You don't need to buy much to compliment it's out of the box package as a whole. If it were me, I'd go VE in a heartbeat. But, I'm not a fan at all of the original artwork, call outs, or dmd.

The VE looks bright and has upgrades. the original to me looks murky and "out of the box" old

I have an orginal and I would get the ve if I had a choice, both are great and mabey if the orginal dmd gets color but I hate the movie clips

VE for sure, for all the reasons listed already. I just played one last night, it was awesome.

VE plays super smooth. My friend loves her purchase.

This is a major point, I feel the complete opposite thus no interest in the VE, I also prefer the option to do mine own 555 insert lights, both games play the same so its really cosmetics, I will say if I didn't care regarding the new art and terrible new callouts then I would probably go with the VE

If you're annoyed by flickering lights, I wouldn't buy the VE.....unless Herg has the LED OCD boards working for whatever hodgepodge system that is.

Simple really, do you prefer Movie or comic art? Original or new call outs? Moving real Green Goblin or Shrek on a diet?

I waited for the VE and decided to get an original. I don't like the ultimate spiderman artwork. Either way you go though, you've got an awesome game!

I don't think you can go wrong either way. First playing the SM at the Chicago expo 2014 got me interested in the game.

When I heard the rumor they would be doing a VE, I waited to buy one. It was worth the wait for me to get one new. It's very awesome and it's nice to know the code is complete.

I wish the new one utilized the new stereo sound. I like the artwork on the new one but not enough to trade out my old one.

Some LEDs, spotlights, and an LED OCD goes a long way toward giving the original a modern look.

I think it comes down to callouts (in which the original is best) versus artwork (most people seem to find the VE better).

Full disclosure, I own a Stern SM. For a baseline I will also compare the 2 SM's to FH, a near perfect game.

Artwork: Stern cabinets are nice but both playfields and plastics are a cut and paste mess, different styles of art mixed together into a package that just doesn't work. Pretty much this plagues any Stern game with a few exceptions (FG, etc.). Looking at FH you find the translight, plastics, playfield and cabinet that all look like they belong together. Both Sterns fail here.

Rule-set: All 3 games are really good.

Display: SM is a unholy mess, SMVE is much better, FH is really nice for a alphanumeric. Problem is that when you are playing you rarely look at the display so even though SMVE wins, it is a pretty minor win.

Sounds: This is the absolute death knell for SMVE, while you don't often look at displays while playing the game you do hear the game call-outs all the time. The call-outs on SMVE are just amateurish and terrible. Stern should be profoundly embarrassed as a company to put that garbage out in a finished product. The J. Jonah Jameson call-outs and others in SM are a big part of the game and are totally lacking in SMVE. Of course FH nails speech and music, you occasionally want to break the glass and choke Rudy because he gets under your skin, that shows they got it right.

Fun factor: All 3 are top tier games.

Other: Watch the attract mode of all three games, you will see that they actual gave a shit with FH. The Sterns are mailed in (Let's just randomly blink lights!).

So to summarize, in my opinion: It looks like Pat Lawlor was on a mission to make a perfect game and scored a 9.8 out of 10. For Steve Ritchie he did what he could but looks like he had no input on the display or art. For SMVE it looks like Stern corporate wanted to cash in and make a game as cheap as possible to maximize profits. So SM >>> SMVE in my opinion.

Totally agreed, and even the VE can use some help, I would love to run a right side flood light for example and am waiting on the lightshow mod to be ready to be ordered.

I didn't hear the callouts as the venue that I played at was loud (chatter and music) yet the pins turned down - but have no reason to doubt you. Maybe time to get Pinball Browser out

I'd go comic over movie. Wish Stern had done a comic Iron Man as their VE as well but oh well.

Spidey VE owner here.

IMO, the VE is vastly superior to the original. VE is a brighter looking game (colors) and has all the fixes installed. Remember, the fixes aren't just protectors installed, it also includes the magnet and the doc ock & sandman shots. As of now, Spider-Man VE is the best clear coat I have ever seen on a game.

Have you seen one in person yet?

Whichever version has the laziest outline glow around the characters on the backglass; Pick the opposite.

OG SM owner here.

IMO, the OG is vastly superior to the VE. lol. The call outs are terrible on the VE. Really bad. Music is mostly the same, so at least they kept that. Cab artwork and translight are better on the OG, but pf and plastic art is better on the VE. Goblin is that horrendous ultimate version and he doesn't move on the VE. Sandman and Venom about equal on both. Doc Ock looks better on the VE.

They are both great games. I'd go with whatever is cheaper to be honest...that happens to be the OG. Newer doesn't always equal better.

They're the same game. Just buy the one you think looks better.

call outs on original would get my $$

Whole family was disappointed in the VE reveal. My boys hate Ultimate Spider-man. Cartoon is awful. Bad acting and the callouts follow in those footsteps.

i had a 2007 sm. just saw the new one at the show. i like the idea of the cartoon stuff but to me the thing looked really cheap compared to the old one especially the playfield figurines

I think the VE is a big visual improvement over the original. The dots are way better on the VE compared to the digitized movie clips of the original. Only downside is the loss of J.K Simmons but the callouts on the VE are still top notch. Worth every extra penny to have the stench of Tobey Maguire erased from this otherwise super fun pin.

Wait till they release the colorDMD and then we'll see which is better. Original SM all the way, VE call outs and Ultimate SM artwork do nothing for me.

There is a VE on location near me. Watch for the ramp decals, they are separating from the under side. The spider web looking plastic is also cracked above the right ramp, by an air ball I assume. Overall the game plays fast and looks great.

MOOT, not mute.

I agree with all these points. I had a Black Spiderman and do miss it. Would consider adding SM again and thought the VE was in my future until i saw the pre-teen artwork and heard the weak audio. Original much better IMHO.

you forgot to compare cost, although stated it was not a consideration ... c'mon it is. FH wins against SM and kills SMVE. My pick though is SM - because I prefer the original art, dots, dmd, sound, price etc. However, it is only your preference that matters.

VE would be my choice.

Original Red or Black for me. The VE art and callouts are hideous, I would have been all over SMVE with a better art and audio package even with the crazy price hike. Nearly 11k for this game NIB in Australia......yikes!

Not sure how adding color dots to the old one would change my opinion. Some people like chocolate and some prefer vanilla.

One of the main complaints of the original is the shitty movie rips. ColorDMD has shown that monochrome video rips look good when colored to look like the actual movie. Iron Man is greatly improved with ColorDMD. If they can work that same magic with Spider-Man, that display is gonna look pretty sweet.

Yes. IM movie clips are crap, but look actually pretty good with color.

I think those movies are giant turds though. They could be 4k clips on an LCD monitor and I'd still prefer the animated dots on the VE. Again this is just my preference.

VE not even close it is superior to the original in every way

I played the VE at Allentown. Awesome!!

Get it

Gotta disagree with this... They still look bad. IM is in my top 5 as a game.... But the movie clip dots suck and the color DMD doesn't help. I pulled my Color DMD and stuck it on another game - reinstalled red DMD

I am a huge fan of the original SM - I spent so much $ playing it over the years. I recently purchased the SMVE and glad I did.

My likes and dislikes (compared to the original SM) are here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-spiderman-ve?tu=zene10#op

I agree with previous postings that the call outs are week. That is easily fixed if you have the time. I've been having fun putting some of my favorite call outs from the original SM back into the SMVE. Video's of the mods are here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/stern-spider-man-ve-smve-call-out-modification

With either machine, you can't go wrong. After looking at the HUO upgraded machines being offered the delta in price shrank to the point I was willing to spend the extra to get a NIB pin.

I actually like the call outs on the VE. They're cheesy and fun. I think it fits the theme well.

Ok, all of them except Tell MJ mode.

No....Yes.....No.....Yes

.....Grammar.

Personally I like both, but if you can find a minty SM and save $, go with SM.

I prefer the original and I am a comic book fan. What I like about the VE is it has a really bright vivid playfield and I like the new no wear magnets but that's about it. I dislike the art Stern decided to go with. There are better images out there for Ultimate Spiderman that does not look like a anorexic bobble head. What I really dislike are the cheesy call-outs on the VE, they seem desperate and annoying compared to the original movie call-outs. I actually like the movie clips and it fits the theme well. I found a cq web rail original edition and suggest you try and find one-you will not regret it.

I say go with Spiderman VE. It'll be more collectible down the road, and (in my opinion) hand drawn art trumps photos of lousy actors any day.