Haven't played Avengers but this is a tough one. Going by what I own, I will have to go old, but that is a close call.

I haven't played avengers yet either (well, I played the home model at CES, clearly doesn't count) but am going with the new sterns. The light shows are better. Those color changing LEDs and the lighted Tron ramps really do make a difference. The old sterns are all awesome as well, particularly LOTRs and SM, but Tron and ac/dc are just at another level.

Also, anyone else notice the gravitation to shorter ball times between the old and the new?

All of the above. If I had to pick one "era" or the other, I'd go new. Much, much better for multi-player games with the shorter ball times.

I never thought of differentiating between sterns, I guess anything 2000 or newer is still new in my head.

That's tough! hard to beat LOTR and SM they have weathered the test of time

I would have to agree with DrJoe after thinking about it.

now if you said

older) IM, SM, Tron
or
older) RBION, FG, POTC
vs
newer) XMEN, TAV, ACDC

I'd pick either of the two older brackets

Couldn't have said it better.

NEW!

Had LOTR for eight years and it's too deep for my liking. I don't care for 2 hour pinball games. TSPP is the same thing (not the ball times, but the depth).

I like them fast and furious = New Sterns!

LOL!!! When I saw the title of this post I thought you meant OLD Sterns (Star Gazer, Big Game, Catacomb) VS. New Sterns (SM, AC/DC, Tron)...I really don't consider any of the pins you listed as OLD...

Phoebe

I picked the newer games. I haven't played Avengers yet, but I have Tron & ACDC ranked higher than all of the older Sterns.

Nice poll!

Marcus

Show us the audits as proof of your claim or this statement will be considered total hog wash as it should.

2 hours, yeah right!

4 players, 14 minutes for example: http://pinball.org/videos/tournament/papa/2012-pinburgh-division-b-final-lord-of-the-rings/

I'm all for the new. Although I'm 61 and had fun playing EMs, solid states and DMDs "back in the day", I have to admit that the newer games are a cut above.

Where's the "they all suck" option? J/k

How long have you had yours?

My family and friends refused to play with me any more because they could go make a sandwich and take a bathroom break when I played my ball.

I'm not saying my average game lasted 2 hrs but it was certainly a possibility. Sure I had games that lasted 5 minutes.....but if I got the modes stacked (which was more often than not) look out because your looking at a long game. Even 45 minutes is a loooong time to play one game on a pinball machine. I had more games that lasted 45+ than I could possibly count.

In the eight years I had it I probably played it a lot the first 4. After that it was less and less. Toward the end there would be months that would go by without playing a single game..... because I didn't want to commit the time.

I had it on standard settings but with all awards set to an extra ball. Yes I could have set it up much harder but on a game like LOTR you actually need 45 minutes just to get anywhere; and even with the occasional 2hr game I still never saw Valinor.

I can readily admit now that I do not like the super deep games (LOTR, TSPP). LOTR deserves it's top 10 rating and I can see how most love it. It has incredible theme integration, sound, call-outs....etc. A truly epic game in many ways......just not for me. Give me a good Steve Ritchie table and I'm happy.

How long have you had yours?

NIB when it first came out.

LOTR_Game_Minutes.jpg

Nice poll. O went with old Stern due to variety

Exactly.

How do you do that? That would have been awesome to see my average times.

The new ones because i hate TSPP and i have friends that own all the old ones.

I still think TSPP and LOTR are the two best Stern pins ever produced, so the old ones it will be. BTW, no love for Meteor?

I went into portals and got the game audits. Then, I put them in excel, and made a chart. I've heard so many exaggerations about long LOTR game times. I wanted to do my own analysis to find the actual game times on MY machine. As expected, people just spout off long times (like an hour or whatever) and everyone assumes this is correct. Well, it is not in most cases. I say if any disagree with that analysis, then post your audits to prove it. It's not a big secret. But, most people want to HIDE their audits from everyone for their own personal reasons.

The poll is very difficult for me to answer right now. I own LOTR and SM and now have had Avengers/Hulk LE for about a month and love it and definitely enjoy it more than I ever did with SM even though I am very happy with SM as well.
I have played about 20-30 games on TSPP, ACDC Prem, and TRON.

The poll will be easier to answer in 5 years. Right now I consider it a push. The newer games are just that, newer. Lets see how they feel in 3 to 5 years when the newness factor is no longer much of an issue.

I would totally would have pulled my LOTR audits if I had not sold it to a fellow pinsider. Wonder if he still has them on there?

I know I had some super long games on it. Like I said my friends and family would no longer play games with me.

The one you like

Flight 2000, Meteor and Nine Ball versus LOTR, ACDC and SM!