90s vs Stern

[Joe Schmoe]

90s definitely. Black Rose, Dr. Dude, Cactus Jack's, Medieval Madness, and Scared Stiff. Stern never made those....

 

[Jeff Strong]

When the "golden age of pinball" occurred is open to debate, but few would argue that it was after 2000.

Good point. It really depends on the criteria. The 60's-70's era was definitely the golden age in terms of popularity (it was the only time when every arcade was filled almost entirely with pinball machines, they were in every bar, mom & pop shop, etc.). So I think there was more than one golden age for pinball, as with video game consoles and a lot of other things.

 

[Gorgias32]

I voted for the Sterns in this poll, but I was not into pinball in the 90s. It would be a shame to not be able to play those classics as well, though. Luckily we live in a world where you can play them all!

There's no question in my mind that we are now living through a "second golden age" led by Stern, but also heavily influenced by the competition provided by the smaller manufacturers, especially Jersey Jack, and driven by a collectors vs. operators market. The newer Sterns keep improving, building off of the huge technical and gameplay innovations of the 90s. It may be a much smaller market, but the quality and depth of the new games is a step or two beyond say Monster Bash, arguably the last fully-realized 90s pin

 

[Citizen]

Voted 90s. While I do enjoy various Stern tables, what it boils down to, for me, is that there are more tables I would miss playing if I eliminated the entire 90s decade, vs. the output from one individual company from 2000 on.

 

[Fuseball]

As much as I enjoy the modern Sterns, I really miss playing games not based on licensed themes. Many of my favourite WPC games were original IP - Bride of Pinbot, Theatre of Magic, Medieval Madness etc. Actually, it's more that I'm bored of superhero franchises... and heavy rock isn't my thing either. ;-)

I can't fault the quality of game design with the Sterns though. The best of them are definitely a step forward from the best of the late WPC games.