Hey guys! Earlier this morning I wondered to myself: what's the best pinball company? I can't decide between JJP and stern, though. So I'm just hoping for a little input from you guys. Thanks!
Hey guys! Earlier this morning I wondered to myself: what's the best pinball company? I can't decide between JJP and stern, though. So I'm just hoping for a little input from you guys. Thanks!
Bally all day. ALL DAY.
Of the alive ones tho, they're all okay I guess, but it's hard not to like the plucky little guys at Spooky. Stern has made some a great games, JJP will make a truly great one someday (they go back and forth, Dialed In was close but didn't have the theme...), and you can feel Spooky moving in that direction with every release as well. Is it Alice Cooper??
Is there a real distinction between Williams and Bally? I tend to think of the two as essentially interchangeable.
Quoted from Coolpinballdino:How does heighway and dutch make the list and not Sega and data east.
Sorry! I forgot
Based on my past purchases, I have to go with Gottlieb (w/ two t's) for EM's, Bally for solid states, and Stern for modern games.
thread title is "what's your(e) favorite pinball company" and poll is "what's the best pinball company"
my fav could be different than what I think is the best
Like them or hate them .... I think Stern is just fine. Deadpool has been a blast to play as is most of their newer games releasing (except GotG was a hot mess early on that got way better with some updates)
stern 2003- 2008 back when they made complete games populated playfields and sturdy cabinets. tspp,potc, spiderman, lotr, rbion, tron, family guy etc. man those were some great games!
Quoted from ccbiggsoo7:stern 2003- 2008 back when they made complete games populated playfields and sturdy cabinets.
Might wanna go 2003-2007.5 on that one
Quoted from CaptainNavidad:Is there a real distinction between Williams and Bally? I tend to think of the two as essentially interchangeable.
In the 70s and 80s, they were certainly differently companies with different games. I believe it was in 1990 (or at least around that time) that the merger happened.
A technicality, but I think you can lump DE/Sega/Stern, all as one, and free up some other options. Different eras, different names, but essentially the same company. The Baywatch (1995) I just sold was built almost identical to the X-Men LE (2012) I just brought in, clicking flasher relays and all.
Depends on the generation of games. My list as follows:
—Woodrails: Gottlieb (Harry Williams, no doubt, had some of the coolest looking playfield designs, but from a playability standpoint, Gottlieb really had better playing games).
—‘60s and ‘70s EMs: Gottlieb (with a very hearty nod to Williams as well)
—Early Solid State: Bally (Williams and stern cranked out some good titles, but it’s really hard to compete with games like Centaur, EBD, and Fathom)
—Alphanumeric Era: Williams (williams ushered in a new era with High Speed and with System 11abc)
—DMD Era/90s: Williams (and by association, Bally, since they were essentially identical companies)
—Post year 2000: Stern. (As much as I love what JJP is doing, Stern cranks out games that are honestly some of the best playing games, and they do so with extreme consistency. TSPP, LOTR, AC/DC, and so forth are all modern classics).
Quoted from ccbiggsoo7:stern 2003- 2008 back when they made complete games populated playfields and sturdy cabinets. tspp,potc, spiderman, lotr, rbion, tron, family guy etc. man those were some great games!
Yep - especially WPT and Sopranos! TRON was after 2008 though.
Quoted from TheLaw:Heighway obviously, close the poll now.
They actually got 2 votes so far!
DP too!
Quoted from CaptainNavidad:Is there a real distinction between Williams and Bally? I tend to think of the two as essentially interchangeable.
Well...before Williams acquired Bally there was quite a competition going on.
The company that kept things alive, fuck Williams/Bally thanks for the games but thats about it. If Gary Stern didn't keep it going it would have died in my opinion and they have made the best pinball machines out there to date. I like the 90's pins and the boutique companies which includes JJP also have created some great stuff but Stern is king. They get my vote.
Quoted from snowy_owl:Hey guys! Earlier this morning I wondered to myself: what's the best pinball company? I can't decide between JJP and stern, though. So I'm just hoping for a little input from you guys. Thanks!
Have you fallen down and hit your head?
I need to have a chat with our marketing department.
- Gerry
https://www.multimorphic.com
Stern
JJP
CGC
Spooky
All 4, in no particular order, make games I love to play. What a time to be alive!
Just in the past few days been loving to play some AC/DC, TnA, DI and MBr (I was a beta tester).
Edit: Bally/Williams also made some great games! My 4 above choices are based on modern existing companies making new games.
CGC so far., Spooky is my current experience as a customer so hoping for the best! Doug was great! Likes to talk like shop like Mike, and Joe from pinballs and pinball star. Great communication.
Ummm...No Deeproot either.
Not that I would vote Deeproot, just not on the poll. But maybe not considered a full blown company yet?
Quoted from Ericpinballfan:Ummm...No Deeproot either.
Not that I would vote Deeproot, just not on the poll. But maybe not considered a full blown company yet?
and yet Homepin is on the list.
This survey has lost all credibility as 10 people have voted for Highway and Dutch.....
1. JJP
2. Williams
3. CGC
4. Stern
As everyone knows what Stern does very well is pump out product....they release a game and it starts shipping almost immediately, which boosts sales as people buy on emotion without ever seeing or playing the game....CGC and JJP are frankly just the opposite...doesn't help their sales (IMHO)....
Quoted from PinballManiac40:and yet Homepin is on the list.
I think this is to appease the the minority who get flustered easily
Isn’t it weird that Williams bought Bally but people refer the merged Bally Williams as just “Bally”? There were great games before the DMD era y’all.
Quoted from CaptainNavidad:Is there a real distinction between Williams and Bally? I tend to think of the two as essentially interchangeable.
Is Midway in there somewhere too?
Maybe it was timing in my llife but nothing compares to Williams in the early to mid 90s. So many great games that i couldnt shove my quarters into fast enough.
My favorite now has only 1 game released to date with number 2 on the way. THE PINBALL AMIGOS
Quoted from oldskool1969:I love HOMEPIN in a special sort of way !
It was the marketing strategy that won it over for me.
The goalposts that continue to keep getting smaller as time marches on.
Quoted from chalkup8:Is Midway in there somewhere too?
If you can find someone that would say midway games are the best maybe
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