Any idea of the reason why they stop ?
Has demand finally bottomed out after 5 years ?
License has ended ?

Nobody knows for sure but i would say it’s because the demand isnt there anymore. If they were selling like hotcakes im sure that they would continue to make them.

I'm amazed at the amount of adoration Metallica has gotten from the community, it was never more than a mediocre game to me, nothing even remotely original or innovative except I guess this is the game where Stern started to do a better job on the playfield art.

Awesome game Awesome code.

Metallica Deserves the respect it gets.

Finally fired up my LE after 3 months of sleep due to Maiden honeymoon.

Dialed in with color LCD, Hell yeah !

Gotta say Metallica is easy top 10. Just sensational.

Crank it Up !

A10 (resized).jpg

I get that and you have a right to that opinion. Whysnow however believes met, acdc, and tron are 3 or the worst games ever made which is pure insanity.

I can see why people don't like MET or AC/DC. I own a MET, and to progress it is a damn grind. Fun game, good flow, great dots and neat theater.... but the game is made for and by competitive players.

Lots of people who have bought AC/DC sold it because the rules were just too complicated to be fun.

It's weird to me when people say acdc is complicated. It's more straight forward them most recent games. I get why some people will not love them. I cant understand anyone that thinks they are terrible games though.

I have 33 games. I wouldn't take any of them out to put an AC/DC in. And I like AC/DC the band. I just don't think AC/DC is a good pinball game for me.

Guys, I am going to let you in on a little secret-Metallica is a 'Masterpiece' , don't listen to the haters. I highly recommend picking one up while they are still available, it has been on my top 5 list since I purchased it.

I flippin love Metallica-'Crank it up Biotches'

Completely understand. I hate GB but I can see why others love it, it's just not for me. It's just strange to me when you have one person that believes 3 of sterns best games are not just not worth having or not their flavor but are literally 3 of the worst games ever produced. There are a lot of truly bad games out there but MET, ACDC, tron, etc are not one of them. Even a game that I personally hate like GB is not one of them.

I was told 4 years ago when I bought my first Metallica that it was the final run.

Bought mine at the same time, and recall the same thing.

It’s a really good game that’s fun to play.

That’s always been the secret in Pinball. Not dumb games that don’t work or fantasy licenses by sham companies that convince voiciferous pinsiders to shill for them.

It’s not some big secret. There’s a reason this game has been on the production line for 5 years. Pretty simple formula.

Sales 101

I agree it is just fun-plain and simple.

Some people have said it is like chopping wood. Well any game is like chopping wood if you play it over and over again, any game will get stale(especially in smaller collection). I have played my STTNG 1000's of times, but it never get's old for me-same goes for Metallica-it is timeless. I like the simplistic layout and metal ramps that glide the ball smoothly. The objectives are achievable and it is not one of those journey games like LOTR or Hobbit. One of Stern's 'simple' pins that plays great and has great flow. I would not compare this game to GOTG, it is waaaaaaaaaaay better.

so good you didnt play it for 3 months?!?

i really like MET just thought id give ya some flak for that comment haha

Same here except it was 2 years ago. LOL. Pretty smart on Stern to not say anything about production plans. You always thought the next run could be the last.

I get the wood chopping criticism. In some points of the game, you are having to smash something multiple times. If you are just going after mb or collecting hits for CIU, it can be a grind. When you really learn the rules, then you start paying attention to the inserts and collecting hurry ups. There are other things to work towards as well. Once you start thinking ahead and planning your shots, you will find there is always something to shoot for and you are never stuck in a mode. I sold my ST because of that. You were always in a long mode and you had to do a lot of work just to get to a wizard type of mode like Kobayashi Maru. Even when you got to the wizard it was more of the same - shoot all shots.

Just about every single game mentioned in this thread is a solid game. At least now I know where to go to figure out what the best Stern games ever made were. The Metallica assembly line shut down thread. Pinside never fails to deliver!

I agree with everything you said from top to bottom.

sold my original run tron pro 4 years ago to buy my metallica pro. never EVER had sellers remorse.

Hold on, isn’t AFM the same thing (I mean chopping wood)? It’s pinball with 6 shots that you need to repeat to get farther along. Even if it is chopping wood it’s still fun.

o_O

Well if MET is chopping wood I have been and will be a Lumberjack for a long time. Bolted!

Sorry about the mods. I bought it that way

EE5C4E59-118A-4775-B385-47917EF2C39D (resized).jpeg

It's different in that you have to collect the items in order to play the modes. That's the chopping wood part.

AFM is one of my favorite games from the 90's but it can be an exercise in "chopping wood" at least the way I play it if your goal is to Rule the Universe. I generally try to avoid shooting saucers as it can be a drainy shot and instead concentrate on Multiball and trying to get the super jackpot. I also work the other primary shots (minus the saucer) to build towards total annihilation and getting down the 5-Way combo. I find that Super Jets and Martian Attack just generally tend to happen over the course of a game. I don't know how many times I've had 5 of the 6 requirements for Rule the Universe completed before even destroying my first saucer. Then it is wood chopping the same center saucer shot over and over again which is the point that the game stops being fun for me.

I'm glad I own a MET. Though I didn't figure out how great it was until I owned it. Before that I was complementary to it. But after having it in my house for a bit, I learned just how good it is.

lol, fair enough.
the reasoning behind this is I am lucky to spend an hour or two at most in the game room each week.

IMDN is getting all the love for now, Awesome game in different ways. I am having difficulty nailing a couple of shots, being right ramp and left outer loop from upper right flipper. Finding IMDN a little clunky but Keeps me coming back wanting to defeat The Beast.

Metallica orbit and ramp shots are smooth as butter. Modes are awesome. Great callouts, Cool dots, Casket multiball still my favorite mb of all time, Seek and Destroy one of the coolest modes ever ! and CIU modes...what can I say, Brilliant.
One day I will reach EotL.

Metal up yer ass !

Not so. One whack job is not a representative sample. The rest of Wisconsin folks are ok.

Snow, beer and pinball are ok and do not cause detrimental problems.

You definitely got the whack job part right lol!

The fact that Metallica is such an enjoyable game, despite the terrible songs chosen, shows how brilliant a design it is.

Agree 100%. Sad too because I really like the theme.

I wonder if the same will be said about IMDN in five years. It seems similar to MET with the music being just as polarizing.

Easily rectified w/Pinball Browser. This game NEEDS The Four Horesemen.

I think Maiden will be every bit as popular as MET. Its a great great game.

ditto

I'm not even a fan of Metallica but after playing it on location I wanted it.

If you don't like the music (I'm going to get flamed here), use Pinball Browser and try "Fade to Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute to Metallica" & "Fade to Bluegrass: The Bluegrass Tribute to Metallica, Vol. 2"

I agree, but likely Met was also more popular because of the Dirty Donny art package - was the first (and best imo) of Stern’s current hand drawn art “renaissance”.

I found this cd on the side of the road and listened the shit out of it

That would be cool in Met. Going to do it for sure.

Actually someone needs to merge that music and the original hillbilly call outs from TWD. That would be freakin cool. Where’s cleland ?

What he said

Another good song to put in the game to keep things fresh....yeah it’s just a mash up...give it s listen and at least get past the intro.

So now the real speculation can begin. With the run coming to an end which version will be the real collectible/highest ranked one......The LE has a known number and some like the art and others like me can’t stand it..just doesn’t tie into the playfield well for me. Monsters art ties in the best. Road case is probably the lowest number produced. But then you have the whole Metal vs wood backbox debate. Will be interesting to see where value of old pins are 10 years from now compared to what they will be making in the future.

Road case with monsters translite will be were it's at. Best looking combo and also the rarest.

Metallica and Iron Maiden are amazing games. Sadly, I don’t care for the music on either so I won’t own them. That doesn’t mean I won’t play them occasionally. I’m glad they are out there because legions of Pinball fans are enjoying them. Definitely one of Stern’s best!

The last run thing is probably about licensing(uninformed guess). I’m sure they could renew if the cost and demand were in alignment.

I really don't think ending the Pro runs will affect the pricing on the LE models considerably. The pricing for Metallica LE's has been pretty consistent with not many selling for over 10K. There are tons of Premiums out there and the art difference is marginal. I may be in the minority but I prefer the Pro model because it plays faster and better without the coffin lock. The LE looks better but the Pro plays better. Pro pricing might go up $500 or so just because of supply and demand?

I'd say you'll always be able to pick one up for a competitive price. They produced a large amount and the pinball community is heading toward saturation. So many pinheads are selling off machines to support a very expensive NIB habit that prices are going down and availability is going up. Just two years ago, popular pins would be sold in 20 minutes online in my area. Now there's a TZ, a TAF and a bunch of pins for sale. They are asking for the 2 year old pricing too, and they're not going to get it.

With all that playing, is the surface dimpled compared to NOOBOTSOTR (New Out Of Box On The Side Of The Road)?

How does the surface of the disc compare to the older run, shellac gramophone records?

Where do you see 2 year old pricing on TAF and TZ where they are sitting unsold? I’d sure like to know.

Sitting for over a month and priced like it's 2016

allentown.craigslist.org link

Lol 8200. Enough said. Back to the Metallica talk.