Got to play Avengers for the first time today

timberterror

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 17, 2009
Messages
2,652
Reaction score
53
Location
Anna, Texas
The theme of the machine is cool, but it sure seems cheaply made. I don't really want to make this a bag on Stern post, but how long will people keep paying prices for this crap.

The one I played is the standard pro version. The spinning disc was not flush with the playfield and in fact sat higher on oneside and lower than the pf on the other. The ramps are a joke. Flat pieces of acrylic with acrylic sides that wobble when the ball rubs them. The whole thing looks barren.

It seems to me that the only thing Stern is interested in is the bottom line. I think that's really the only goal when they build new machines. The price goes up and the cost goes down. How a company can continue to do business this way is beyond me. It really amazes me that people have no problem dropping 4k+ on the pros and 6K+ on the premiums.

The last Stern I have any interest in owning is TRON and I don't forsee that changing anytime soon. - Barry
 
This discussion turned into an epic cluster-fuck on Pinside. The new machines are fun, but they definitely feel flimsy compared even to 2004 era Stern stuff.

The Avengers Tesaract (sp) mount is breaking in home use (metal snapping, not just mounts coming loose). To me, that says there is no way this is a viable commercial machine.
 
Last edited:
Totally agree on all points...I wanted a Tron as well, but just couldn't bring myself to drop $4500 on a game(even though Tron is a fun game and great value compared to the "LE"games that are forever in Beta Testing Software mode lol). Especially when you can get 2-3 really good WPC-era games for the same price. In my opinion, the things Stern is doing screams of "cash-grab" and a company trying to maximize their profits before they dump the product or product line altogether. I do feel that they try to listen to the players and give them what they want, especially with JJP ramping things up, but unfortunately with the competition and JJP's price point, that gave Stern justification to raise their price without really raising BOM. Honestly, Sterns(whether they were DE/Sega or today's Stern) have always felt a little cheap to me. My wife, who certainly isn't a pinhead, but has played her share of pins was playing a POTC one day and remarked on how cheap the game felt and looked, and POTC was made in what I feel was Stern's best era(LOTR/TSPP etc).
 
Sadly this is a painful discussion. It is hard to beat on the one remaining manufacturer of pins. JJP hasn't really released theirs yet and with a two+ year build cycle the have not proven they can mass produce machines. When I see the list of best all time pins and see all of the Stern 2005+ pins a top the list, I think "Really!" I hope stern keeps making pins, sadly, I doubt I will ever own one knowing that when the pin is 10 years old and at a price point I am willing to pay, they will most likely not be in any shape worth paying for knowing their flimsy construction and cheap parts.
 
there is nothing "flimsier" about new sterns than the 90s b/w titles everyone fetishizes. It's all psychosomatic.

I haven't played avengers yet but it's been getting great review after great review since it came out, and that's after a lot of skepticism and doubt running up to it.
 
Dunno, my avengers is excellent with no issues what so ever. Lots of fun, however I have come to expect the required repair right after opening the box. In this case I was lucky I guess.
 
Maybe it was just the one I played but plastic ramp/shooter lane seemed very flimsy. The plastic pieces that make the sides looked like they were ready to fall over. I'm not sure if they are supposed to be glued or what.

Like I said in my original post I am not interested in a bash Stern thread as all manufacturers have had hits/misses as well as quality issues. I like several Stern machines and as of tonight I own 2 and there are several I'd like to own.

I know it's been beat to death but it just sucks that the le versions of the games they are selling are so much different than the "pro" models. It seems to me that instead of the LE's being souped up versions of the pro's, the pro's are stripped down models of the LE's.

For me the reality is I'll probably never have the funds to buy a NIB pin so I don't even know what I'm complaining about.......
 
Here's what I realized about the flimsy plastics on Avengers - it's not the plastics themselves...but there are many long or big plastics without enough mounting points. There's a long skinny plastic on the side, and I'm pretty sure it's just mounted on each end...maybe one in the middle...but in order to not be so flimsy it would probably need at least 2 more metal mounts. The big ship plastics are just huge and I think just mounted on one end...so - the other end is "floppy".
 
Back
Top Bottom