Agreed. The price is quite silly for what you get.

I doubt they will sell very many, but we will see.

I'm not really sure about the "looks like a toy" thing. I could see that observation with the original Pin line (Avengers/Transformers), but the Spiderman version is much closer to a full-size machine. When you see it in person I think it looks legit.

I do think the price will be tough to justify with pinheads, but I also feel Stern is in the right direction with this concept. If they can get a slightly more fleshed out game, I think they could have a NIB experience both casuals and pinheads would want for the price.

As far as the Mary Jane captive ball feature, it is neat. However, from a rules perspective the scoring in that multiball is pretty lopsided and you will find that the ball landing in that captive slot is completely random. I've had it land in it four times in a row, thus giving me four of the same multiball in a row. Can get repetitive in those cases and it's kind of unfair if you're playing against someone else.

Noted - I guess it's not for me - but is it relatively similar to a SMVE in terms of play ? It kinda looks like a similar layout but I'm not that familiar with SM in general

It's a brand new layout, totally different.

Unfortunately, it's not close.

Yep, that's what I thought.

Avatar does this. Not sure if themech is the same though.

I was at American Vending Sales in Elk Grove Illinois last week and they had one in the showroom. The kicker is it had a coin door and the dollar bill validator was factory installed as well. When I asked about it AVS said it was one of two built so far. The other is said to be on test in a bar in Peoria. I guess Stern may market them as space saving commercial units?

I wonder how it will hold up in a commercial environment?

Was it much more expensive? Did they need to move the speaker?

In Avatar it is implemented differently. You shoot the ball into the Link area, and two bars come up which keep the ball in place. In Spiderman Home, there are two posts close to each other and the ball has to land there from the top. Then, the player has to hit the ball off the posts back into play (in Avatar, you shoot the ball, it rolls off the switch, dropping the posts, then it falls into play). Similar for sure, but definitely not the same.

Going in a different direction, what would be a good topper for this? I don't like toppers, but my cats love to jump on top of the back box, and I don't want them up on my brand new machine.

Don't let them in the room with the machines.

Since I'm in a 1 bedroom apartment, that's not easy. 4 in the bedroom and one in the living room, vs. 3 cats. And this one, I have no idea where it's going, so it will have a temporary home near the kitchen until I can clear out a space.

I suppose I can get a machine cover as a temporary solution, or maybe a permanent one.

I hear you.

The cover might be your best bet.

Just let your cats jump on top of it. They like to be in high places and it's just an aluminum (I'm guessing) backbox. They aren't going to damage anything.

Well my Lucy loves to jump on top of my Xenon, and now I have claw marks down the left side of the backbox because she jumped up and missed, and slid down the side.

Here's the game with the coin door on it. The Dominos was at the new Crown Point Indiana store.

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Interesting. I guess you have things they can get to from the side of the machine? My cat only has the option to jump on to the glass from the front, then onto the backbox that way (not being able to touch any art because she jumps up from the front).

Thanks for posting that. It looks like they installed a normal start button as well. That's one of my pet peeves with the stock model--it's too easy to accidentally start a game.

Yes, the Xenon is next to a piano.

They make an anti cat spray. Spray a towel or paper towels and put it on the top of the backbox. Shouldn't take long before they associate the top as a bad place.

You could install a "Cat Scat Mat". They look like a spike belt but they are made of plastic so they shouldn't poke holes in your cat or scratch your backbox. They can be cut to size with scissors.

These are available at gardening supply stores. Here in Canada, these are carried by Lee Valley.

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More something for a Walking dead topper

Akm playing lots of good gameplay.

It finally arrived. I was able to put it together by myself!

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"Quit talking and start chaulkin"

Hows she play?!

What r people paying for this game? Just wondering how much less then a standard pro.

It's very fast and furious, especially multiball. It's not a high scoring machine, which is OK with me. It's quite noisy and shakes the floor. It is a lot of fun, though.

The machine cost me 3,999.00 PLUS shipping. It does play as well as the Standard, just not as much to do - which was a selling point for me. I never thought about owning a modern machine as I do not like them, but this one seemed like it wouldn't be too difficult for me.

Got the GC score. OK it's on 5 balls, but I'm learning the machine!

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Game play looks great. Thanks for the video.

Strange, the sticker on my machine says January 27, 2017, and my playfieled number is 011 of 160.

Mine was about $3850 shipped via freight on a pallet to my door. I bought it from a Georgia seller on eBay that has a few in stock.

How many of these have been made? Does anyone know if Stern plans to release more themes on this platform?

Well, my playfield shows # 11 of 160, so possibly 160?

I guess it would also depend on how this one sells, which no one really seems to know.

Yeah, we know it's possible up to 160 playfields were made. How many machines were actually assembled with those playfields, that's another story. I think with chippe01's purchase, that makes at least four or five known/documented owners on Pinside (a couple of folks have it marked as being in their collections).

I would be OK with seeing other home pins in this style. I just hope they don't go the Transformers/Avengers route and simply re-theme the existing design. I like the idea of new layouts.

When I talked to Stern management in October 2016 they said they were building 125. There were also plans to make a few with a coindoor.

This is a true LE with only 125 made and with the lowest cost.

New layouts cost money and Stern does not like to spend money.

This is what I fear too.

Just watched the video above and was pleasantly surprised. My only two gripes were A) the ramps seemed a bit clunky and killed flow at the top 180deg turnaround (probably a design concession so they could make straighter ramps and use less plastic or something), and B) the slings were on a common coil, which we've known for awhile. At $4K I'm still in the mindset that I'd rather go for a traditional HUO. I've spent exactly $8K combined on my HUO RBION and HUO ST Pro and I know I'd rather have those than "this + the next model" on this platform. At $3K, I could start to see this as a real possibility, especially for my son.

If you think of the numbers on this one, if it has only ~125 made, and let's pretend Stern is taking in $3K on each (+/- I have no idea what the Distributors cut is off of the street price), that's only maybe $375K in revenue. From there, profit is much less after you take out BoM of each machine and spread R&D and Design over just 125pcs.

Therefore I wouldn't be surprised if the next machine is a rehash of the same layout with different theme... perhaps different ramp shapes to help differentiate them in a showroom.

This would be a phenomenal platform for Stern to release some themes like Zelda on. Would probably sell to a bunch of Pinsiders with small children.

Good to see project pinball using these as well. Perfect for them. Let's hope Stern stays committed to the platform.

So for those who have played what are your thoughts? What if any issues have you encountered?

This doesn't sum up everything, but a few standout things:

Pros:
- Good playfield layout with a wide variety of shots. Some shots are easy and some are tough.
- Decent sound and art package.
- DMD is unique and works well.
- Game *is* really fun.

Cons:
- Cheap materials used all around and cost cutting that's obvious across the board.
- Shallow rule set. Little to no scaling in score values as modes and features are replayed, and some goals are pathetically simple in order to qualify the wizard mode (example: Doc Oc insert doesn't even require you to play the multiball--only start it).
- Game flips a bit slower than full commercial games.
- Trough ball detection isn't that great. On mine it tends to kick a ball to the shooter lane too hard and it bounces back into the trough, only for the game to not recognize that this happened. I either have to shake the game hard or power cycle it (I can't just reach in since there's no coin door).

There are a few other minor issues, but some other positives I didn't mention. In the end the game is a lot of fun if you can deal with some of the quirks.

I still love it, but it's like a constant multi-ball feast! I've had the machine about 2 months and have had no issues with it, and the fun factor is still there for me. Even my sister, who really doesn't like pinball, had a blast playing with me.

The Villain Vengeance mode is really intense, with constant multi-ball for at least 60 seconds, and this is where I score most of my points.

I feel like it can be, depending. The Mary Jane lock is the biggest offender because getting it is 100% luck. The shot itself to knock the ball off the lock is really fun, but when you just happen to get four in a row, well.. That multiball can get old quickly.

Looks like they've considered what many have stated here and changed to a blank coin door, perhaps with an option for coins/dollars if requested?

IMO, this new design looks light years better with a blank door than what it was before with the SM art there. Looks much more like a traditional design now.

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The coin door makes life so much easier. Stuck balls in the trough was a common issue for me and I'd either have to shake the game hard to get one to pop out, or power cycle the game. Taking the glass off and lifting the playfield to do it was too much trouble. Being able to reach in through the coin door now is a better solution.

Also, it looks like the start button is recessed now. That is a positive change as well. New games would be accidentally started by simply brushing up against the game and with the recessed start button that will no longer happen.

Huge improvement. I hope stern runs with this platform and develops several games for it.

Did you add the coin door? If so where did you get it? Any mods been done? Art blades, Spider-Man ramp lighting by anyone?

Mine is on its way!

I own this. It is a 4 player. The field is regulation size, but the entire unit is shorter and smaller. It made it an easier move into my basement. I had a Xenon that I had to disassemble to get it into and out of my basement.

I have the same issue with the ball bouncing back, but for me the ball sticks at the end of the trough where the rail for the shooter lane is. I generally just slide the game to make it drop in the shooter lane, but if I do wait, it does correct itself with the ball search.

I too have had many restarts because of the start button placement.

And I recently noticed something that I think is a bug. I don't see why this would be intentional, but when Villain Vengeance mode ends, spelling WEB does not award Double Scoring, no matter how many times you make it. You can't get Double Scoring again until the next ball.

If you look carefully at 7:56, you can see WEB was completed as the WEB lights flash. Display does not show "Double Scoring" and the double scoring light is not lit.