What's the last pin that Stern put out that was truly loaded under the glass? There are arguments to be made, but I'd say Ghost Busters from 2016 was the last fully-loaded game from them. It's a like a Bally/Williams it's so full of mechs, and theme, and just "stuff". Even the Pro is packed. What do you guys think? I'd love to hear some more opinions.
GB Playfield1 (resized).jpg

I just listed every Stern since 2016, but since we've had a few votes for older games, I added an extra category for miscellaneous older games.

With nearly 100 participants, it's interesting to see how the votes are shaking out. Ghostbusters is in the lead by a wide margin, followed by JP, with honorable mentions for Elvira3 and Simpson's Pinball Party.

Well, I started with Ghostbusters and went forward to present day. My thinking was that very few people would argue that GB isn't "loaded", but that there might be some argument as to whether or not any other newer Sterns were as loaded as GB. And I obviously couldn't add every Stern ever made to the poll. Other people are free to post their PF pics. In fact, I'd love to see some playfield pics along with some supporting statements for other nominees.

Truth be told, it never crossed my mind that people would say a game as old as TSPP (2003) was the last fully-realized Stern game! Interesting.

Here's a pic of the JP playfield. Can anyone sell my on why you consider it loaded? JP has great shots, and great rules, but it still feels a bit empty to me. Particularly on the pro.

I know that the dinosaur mech is cool (which is missing from the Pro), but for me, I feel like JP would need some pop-up dinosaurs, or some magna-saves/slings, or a bit more "something" to feel completely loaded. I wonder if even simply having assets and call-outs from the movie would push it to packed/loaded status? That's one thing I love about GB, is all the clips from the movie. That adds to the feeling of the pin not being a compromise in any way.

87d2de7d3c67c03b5dd69e6c93a09a1f6a84239f (resized).jpg

Oh yeah, this isn't a "What was the last fun/great Stern" thread. I was inspired to start this thread, because I played a GB on location a couple weeks ago, and as I was playing I was struck by how packed the machine felt. I really felt like there was nothing more that really could have been added to the machine. And GB was made only back in 2016, which is pretty recently. And yet, it doesn't feel like anything was removed or trimmed to get to a BOM. Even on the Pro.

And yet, as time goes on, Stern has been accused of being more and more budget conscious, and providing less and less value with their machines. And so I thought I'd see what other pinsiders thought. Because for me, GB feels like the last no-compromise machine from Stern. It has the art, assets, rules, and layout. I feel like with every release since, I can find some sort of compromise that was made, or something lacking in one of these areas, in order for Stern to get to a certain price/cost. But like I said, I could be wrong, which is why I wanted to see what the rest of the community thought in this thread.

Nope, I didn't! But the only JP near me is a Pro, so that could affect things a little. Regardless, part of my point is that on GB both the Pro and Prem. feel loaded to me. Either way JP is a great game, no question.

I feel like I've quantified, for me at least, what makes a game feel "loaded under the glass" all ready. It's a combination of mechs, art, assets, ramps, and layout. And it's also just a feeling that you get while you're playing. And so I don't think a picture of the PF alone is enough to make that determination. I think you have to consider all trim levels as well, not just the higher-levels.

The word that comes to mind for me when thinking about a loaded game is...uncompromising.