Yeah...What sucks even worse is Kiss and WWE owners have been left waiting months for code updates and we now see where Stern's priorities lies...What about the supposedly "coming soon" Avengers update Stern promised months ago as well? BS.

always chasing new money. that's the priority.

I'm sure it's designed not too, however with the knowledgeable people in this hobby I am sure someone will figure out a way. Just like the LOTR LE shaker was not supposed to work on the standard but someone figured out a work around.

The theme allows them to skip the color lcd yet again

Yep. ColorDMD to the rescue!!

You really want to add $400 bucks to the $2000 above a huo SM? Bring lube for your resale later.

I was hoping for darker themed artwork. Spidey looks Japanese Anime on the pf.

And that friggen translite...wth Stern??

Why would this be any different than wanting ColorDMD for TWD premium?

Yeah, Ultimate Spidey is totally anime influenced. The cartoon is aimed at younger kids who are reading manga and into that whole big eyed look. He's younger too, back to the high school days.

I'm not a fan of the look, but it's not terrible. I miss the old school Green Goblin the most honestly. Green mask, floppy purple hat, the bat glider and pumpkin bombs, so great. The movie version sucks too, so not like it got worse, if anything it's better. The new sculpts are really nice.

But I suspect that I'm far from alone in wishing for an older look. That's not what's current, I know, but Marvel has a ton of different lines and universes. They seem pretty flexible about that stuff, wonder if it was even any kind of option.

Boo Urns

at least stern is not pulling the DMCA BS with stuff like that.

It would be the same if TWD VE premium will be $8500 and had no Color Dmd. So it is different.

Just to add, the following.
Gordon Morisons art was outstanding. Some one else stated that, "His figures in the art work usually were either pointing or looking at something that was out of frame".

I'm a little surprised at the art direction as it's the 35+ year olds that have the money to buy the machine.

Many games may not be sold because they didn't pay attention to the power of nostalgia.

I doubt many machines will be sold because someone's kid really likes the art.

You'd be surprised. I have one person who asked me to keep an eye out for any pins with marvel characters on them because their kid likes them.

I agree, the art is aimed at the new generation of Spiderman fans. Definitely not the SM that I or many others that can afford these machines are used to. Its one thing to use cut and paste comic images and another to use hand drawn custom art too. I'm not gonna knock it too much, as it is a neat looking game, but I lost huge interest once I saw the package details for the price. NOT!!!!

You - Here it is!
Him- Alright! How much??
You - $6600.
Him- Heck no!

Yup, that's pretty much how the conversation went. I'm keeping an eye out for an Amazing Spiderman or an Incredible Hulk instead.

I don't think I've read a single response by someone saying they prefer this art to the classic comic Spider-man look.

I know Pinside is not the center of the pinball universe, but sometimes I wonder what brain trust makes these decisions. Perhaps the art direction was required by Marvel to get the license?

because they paid for the booth and have a new product. has nothing to do with new technology. if you go there you will see the same manufacturers with the same products from last year simply to be present at the show.

I want Gary Stern to write a tell-all book that explains all these little things one day like the decisions on LCDs Stern must have been making the past couple years and the market research that led to a real, seriously made, Wrestlemania pinball machine. There has to be an interesting reason behind the choice because the classic look seems like the obvious way to go in line with the pinball demographic.

Iam a Stern fan, But what a waste of pinball manufacturing. It really puzzles me! i really thought after a game like met stern was going to take game design to a whole new level. lets face it, Its a business that needs to make money, the bottum line is whatever is good for the bottum line.

Probably.

Marvel gave Stern the current art book and said "Here ya go, this is Spiderman nowadays".

Absolutely. No reason to think Marvel are any different than other license holder in dictating the direction of the art.

I think the whole package looks great. In terms of features, it sits up there with recent premiums. So pricing should be similar.

The target customer is not current or even previous SM owners. It's collectors who want nib premiums or Le's. They have never owned an SM. Maybe they entered the hobby after its release. Money is not so much an issue as condition and collectability. SMVE will deliver on both. No question this will be the desirable SM version in future.

If I didn't already own a nice SM, I would most likely have purchased this. If Stern released Tron VE or TSPP VE I would also purchase those instead of a used one. If any of those titles, including SM, were to turn up on Pinside market or Craigslist NIB now (through a dealer or privately) they would have to be at least the same price as SMVE.

If an original SM turned up NIB on Craigslist at $6500 I don't think it would last long.

And add to this that these are available to a global market. It might be easy to get a really nice HUO SM in the US, but in Europe and Australia, not so. When SM was released originally, most sales in Australia went to operators and they were heavily routed.

Because one person would want it.

If 300 turned up at the same time people wouldn't grab all 300.

For an even worse price than in the US.

You'd be surprise how quickly we adapt.

I'm not saying they'll sell 1000's of these, but there will be enough demand for a few 100.

I like the idea that it should have been a Numbered LE from the beginning.

I think Stern might be testing the waters with their $7499 price point. If people jump on this pin then you can expect all future VE's to go for that as well. Now if the sales department hears nothing but crickets, well then they may be forced to rethink their strategy.