Pinball Expo 2024 - Which Pinball Manufacturer Came Out On Top!?

[@cooltoy]

What was your favorite game on announced or on display at pinball expo 2024? Let me know in the comments below!

[@bgomers7]

Despite not being in love with the Avatar theme, I was blown away with how beautiful the table was and thought it played great. Idk if it will sell well being $5k more than a Pro stern table but I thought it felt like the most premium and polished machine at the expo.

[@cooltoy]

@@bgomers7 glad to hear you enjoyed it, I thought it was fun. Certainly a well polished machine

[@dalegaliniak607]

ABBA was the surprise game that I enjoyed a whole bunch more than I thought I would. I don't mind the music and my wife is a huge fan and it played really nice. They also had some pretty good expo deals going on, came really close to picking one up.

[@Brian-kn1qw]

I loved Avatar the most! Can’t stop thinking about how it looked and shot. I’m calling Jen Monday!

[@cooltoy]

@@Brian-kn1qw hell yeah!

[@sonicfunB1]

My first Expo and I had a blast! Getting the chance to see all these new machines and take a tour of the Stern HQ was an awe-inspiring experience that I will be forever grateful for. I was pretty darn geeked to meet you in person, Doug. Thanks for chattin' with me for a few 😁 Avatar and Alice were beautiful machines, although not into either of those IPs. I was surprised how much I liked the vintage aesthetic of Pulp Fiction, and I thought the table design was great. I'm looking to purchase X-Men Premium, although that Metallica Remastered was KILLER! Caught a few of the seminars and learned quite a lot. Will definitely be attending in the future!

[@cooltoy]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your first expo experience. I too thought the Stern tour was amazing, I was so fascinated with how streamlined their whole operation was. It was a pleasure chatting with you, hope to see you again at expo next year!

[@jollygreen9377]

All of those tables look so good. Especially the Metallica and Looney Toons.

[@cooltoy]

Metallica was awesome to play 🤘

[@chadberserk1050]

Slowly but surely becoming a bucket list thing for me to attend.

[@cooltoy]

It needs to be. It’s such a well put together show and there is just so much amazing pinball at your fingertips here

[@kjhoskins]

Great stuff. The Alice in Wonderland table looks amazing. I'm still waiting for a Dragon's Lair table to come out. If I had my choice of tables, I would pick the Rush one. I love when you go to these expos; your videos are great. Thanks for sharing!

[@cooltoy]

Dragon's Lair would be awesome, I know a homebrew version got made a few years back by someone in Europe if I remember correctly. He tried to get it licensed to get produced commercially, but nothing ever materialized sadly.

[@saturncrush]

@@kjhoskins dragon’s lair? Did you hear about one being developed?

[@10beebo]

saw a bunch of pinball lovers at pops pinball earlier and i was so happy ‼️‼️‼️ loved seeing the happiness i was so excited

[@vpinhub]

You know, I really enjoyed the show, but spending some time getting to know you better and enjoying the incredible community was for me personally, AWESOME! Great work sir, looking forward to more!

[@cooltoy]

Thanks Marty, I see lots of biting my tongue in the future to avoid saying me personally ever again 😂 Had a blast hanging and seeing you this year. Hopefully we can do it again at TPF or Expo next year!

[@pj7342]

Jersey Jack said that flipper strength can be adjusted in a presentation on Elton around the time of that launch. Not sure if that's on prior machines or just new ones.

[@dennyk2294]

Nice recap video. Glad that I had the opportunity to briefly meet with you. Keep up the good work!!!

[@cooltoy]

Absolutely! Pleasure to chat with you and see you!

[@ryshask]

I remember everyone saying the same thing in regard to premium, le and pro for deadpool.. I just recently played a premium deadpool after years of pro... The disco shot is so nice.... Especially for us casuals who are not competing...

[@cooltoy]

Deadpool is such a great game!

[@combochuck]

Dude, thank you for posting updates! I didn't make it this year and am just keeping my eyes open for footage of the event. Great coverage!

[@cooltoy]

@@combochuck my pleasure, glad I could help share the experience of this year’s pinball expo!

[@CircuitSky]

Ah I wish I would have ran into you today. 😕 Lots of space and lots of people for sure. We had a great time! My thoughts were exactly like yours on the Funhouse remake.. it was fun talking with some of the exhibitors there and hearing their passion about everything. Glad I got to meet Brian Allen because I dig his work. I told him that the best part of the new Funhouse was his art. 😉 We loved the Stern tour as well. Lots of fun! Heading to Galloping Ghost tomorrow (Sat). 😁 Great expo recap video! 👊🏻

[@cooltoy]

Brian's artwork on Funhouse (and in general) is so rad, I love his style. The factory tours were really impressive, I was blown away with how streamlined these big operations were.

[@DyoGTS]

I'm sad I couldn't make it this year. Won't miss it next year though!

[@cooltoy]

Yeah sometimes life gets in the way of us having fun. Hopefully you make it out to the show next year!

[@silentlyjudging]

This year I played a lot of older stuff, something called Future Queen drew me in, only downside I couldn't find terminator 2 pinball this year (only terminator 3). I set one high score on the missile command machine this morning

[@SirenBandUS]

Excellent overview, especially for those of us who aren't able to attend. Thanks!

[@cooltoy]

My pleasure! Happy I could assist showing off the experience for those stuck at home this year.

[@ManWorkingHere]

I attended Friday. I appreciated the homebrew area where people brought their own builds. One guy Chris from Minnie-soda had a nice 'garbage' pinball machine made from all recycled parts, wood, innards and stuff. Very clever job. I also liked the self-help vendor who offered a DIY kit to assemble your own real pinball machine. Retro-cade did offer a nice Golden Tee offering using PGA golf. - Chris also had a low-cost recycled Golden Tee cabinet to show. And what about the BERK family holding this event for 40 years ?! Amazing longevity for a great idea. Interesting seminars were available during the whole show also beside the factory tours. Do you also cover The Midwest Gaming Classic in Milwaukee, WI? They have a 350,000+ square foot trade show featuring over 10,000 games on free play, along with over 200 vendors and over 100 industry guests! They're the largest and longest running all-encompassing gaming event.

[@cooltoy]

The Midwest Gaming Classic looks amazing, I've ever had a chance to make it up to the show yet, hopefully one of these days I can make it. That Chris guy sounds like an alright guy. 😉

[@pj7342]

Question: Does the new Fun House has a build quality and feel of Chicago Gaming remakes of Attack from Mars, Monster, and Cactus?

[@cooltoy]

No, to me it felt slightly below the quality of Chicago gaming company

[@vindictive27]

@@cooltoy agreed on this, it wasn’t bad but it was definitely a step down - the Brian Allen art package was awesome though!

[@timborski1210]

Xmen and Metallica Remastered are my favs by far. Loved the OG Metallica and this one i will buy for sure to add to my collection.

[@cooltoy]

Good choice! The new one is a big step forward on an already fun and well shooting game.

[@MOONRAKER1922]

The code and mech is done for cactus 🌵 canyon they released pictures on pinside so it's here! Prob available December go check

[@cooltoy]

Good to know, thanks for the update.

[@steveblersch]

Looks like a great event to go to!

[@cooltoy]

It is, I highly recommend coming out to it next year if you can.

[@steveblersch]

@@cooltoy I’ll definitely look into that! Thanks!

[@King_Henry]

Fantastic overview and beautiful videography bro! This was verry refreshing, as is all of your vids. I appreciate it!

[@cooltoy]

Awesome! Thank you so much for the kind words.

[@hollywoodpolo9872]

Doug I love new shirt! Ninja Scroll looks cool I'd love to play it someday. Glad your having a good time at Expo! 😎😎

[@cooltoy]

@@hollywoodpolo9872 thanks! Shirt was a nice $7 score I found at a Ross Store

[@the_dumb_pinball_show-d4b]

I am not a huge Avatar fan but I bought it. I love it more than X-Men at the moment. It has a ton of shots. After 2/3 games I said X-men is better. After 50+ games I prefer Avatar. Thanks for the recap thought!

[@cooltoy]

Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@tnpatriot7468]

I saw it at the show....very nice looking machine. didnt wait in line to play it though.

[@cooltoy]

@@tnpatriot7468 which game?

[@tnpatriot7468]

@@cooltoy Alice in Wonderland. There were only 2 machines at the show, but a long wait the entire time. Looked pretty cool.

[@adamkalb1412]

Thank you Doug❤🏁Looney Tunes is most impressive

[@cooltoy]

@@adamkalb1412 I’m quite tempted to bring one home. Such a fun and silly game to play, puts a smile on my face each time.

[@Wolfanoz]

Doug did not in fact take a left toyn at Albuquerque 🤡

[@adamkalb1412]

@@Wolfanoz , "(stutter) that's all, folks!".

[@adamkalb1412]

@@Wolfanoz 😂🤣

[@adamkalb1412]

@@cooltoy 🥰

[@pj7342]

Nice video. Thanks. Enjoy.

[@cooltoy]

Thanks for watching!

[@Wolfanoz]

Great vid man, best one I've seen yet (probably the clearest to boot). Hope on making it next year possibly. Got my Metallica Premium ordered, cannot wait!

[@cooltoy]

@@Wolfanoz you are going to be so pumped when you play your new machine!

[@Wolfanoz]

@@cooltoy I tried hard for an LE (would have been my first one) but was told they sold out within minutes. Premium it is, Im still not upset. I missed out on the first game due to personal circumstances so yeah, mega pumped. It's a great game already made better, that's a no brainer buy. Sold two games waiting and to see. :)

[@timdodge653]

@@WolfanozI think I was the luckiest person ever I’m just a huge Metallica collector never been in the pinball world. I called the day it came out not realizing people called before it was ever announced and was told it sold out. Got a call an hour later that someone who reserved a spot backed out. Now I am happy and sad that I’m broke. The premium is still an awesome looking machine

[@Wolfanoz]

@@timdodge653 Good deal! I asked to be put on the waiting list for an LE while on the Premium list but don't think it's going to happen unfortunately. Either way, I'm happy. It's an MUCH better game now and it was great to begin with. Congrats again!

[@gonagai1359]

I'm so jealous @wolfanoz

[@joplinpinball916]

Great video. Thank you.

[@cooltoy]

@@joplinpinball916 thanks for watching, glad you enjoyed it 🙌

[@atulshrivastava2235]

hey doug! i liked xmen, same with pulp and galactic tank force. i havent played spooky games yet will play tmrw but i thought alice in wonderland wasnt bad. my fav new game would be jersey jack avatar!

[@cooltoy]

Avatar was quite fun. How long was your wait to play Alice in Wonderland?? I had heard they shortened people's games to 2 balls in effort to try and get the lines to move quicker.

[@atulshrivastava2235]

@@cooltoy so i played today in the evening and it was maybe 4-5 people in line so 10 mins. lineup was mostly gone around 8 pm so if you go now you will have no lineup, but ya it was shortened to 2 balls. i drained first ball but lasted maybe 3 mins on the second one lol

[@cooltoy]

@@atulshrivastava2235 glad to hear you didn’t have to wait long!

[@atulshrivastava2235]

@@cooltoy it was great running into you doug at the expo on sat. cant wait to see what other videos u make on the expo. i played metallica really late (lined up for an hour) and it was great!

[@Damaen16]

Does anyone know... at 13:01 what is the 2 player soccer-style game? trying to find it online, looks really fun.

[@cooltoy]

It was very fun! It's made by this company out of Spain: bitronic.es/

[@arcticroar]

I was wondering the same thing.

[@multicadematt]

My favorite table of the show was Looney Tunes. It was nice to meet you in person and have a quick conversation. Thanks for continuing to create wonderful content and running your own race.

[@cooltoy]

Absolutely, glad we got a chance to chat! Thanks for the kind words 🙌

[@KingEdAV]

No talk about AtGames? They ever get their act together and get the games running properly? Last, did any other higher end virtual pinball manufacturers have a booth?

[@cooltoy]

I went by their booth several times and they had the bulk of their machines messed up because they needed to do firmware updates out of the box and the WiFi at expo wasn’t working well for them to do the download. By Saturday evening they seemed to finally be working, I played the machine and it’s certainly improved in the lag department compared to last years awful showing. However it still doesn’t feel fixed to me and needs a little more work. Since the product has already been on the market for a year that tells me AtGames is still prioritizing profit over performance because the product should have never been released until they had a lag free user experience

[@mosquitos777]

Great video,thanks 🙏🏻👍🏻

[@cooltoy]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@JackpotMike77]

Avatar was the best overall machine. It was wildly creative. It was, for the most part finishined. avatar has the best lighting ever. Good call outs. Deep rules. It has some very hard shots that feel incredible. Good mball, never gets boring. More of a family-friendly ip. Xmen was a big more quirky, while creative the animations were flat. The muzac is bad, although it's getting revamped. Couldn't hear the music with that stupid dj playing old records xmen was good, but overall 2nd place. Its a game that will take alot of practice and getting used to, and can be drain monster. My biggest gripe on xmen is the left flipper only really has 2 shots, and its pretty useless, but its in the middle of the game and sees the ball alot... xmen will sell and be popular but it plays very different. I foresee many people reselling them fast as its not what they thought. Look to pick one up on used market. It plays very different than anything anybody has felt, which is good for creativity and progress, not for everyone. You either love it or hate it, no in between.

[@cooltoy]

Yeah the light shows on the jersey jack machines are just on a whole other level. I totally agree that Avatar had some really incredible shots and I was quite impressed with some of the mechs in the machine and how smoothly they would change and interact with the gameplay. Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

[@JackpotMike77]

@cooltoy i will say it's my pick of the show but yes it's very expensive. A pro xmen is very creative and quirky for a low price. I think the pro is a good value. That said, I'd rather buy the best and avatar had too many take your breath away moments. I put a grand champion score 87 minute game on the CE in the blacklight tent on Thursday and some of the modes, like the flaming torch were out of this world just mind bending lighting. I walked away from that game feeling like something special had happened and I was reborn...and playing anything after felt 2 dimensional...flatter.

[@cooltoy]

Holy cow that’s an incredible achievement. Great game, I’d be walking on cloud nine too after pulling one of those off. That says a lot about the game too that you can play it so long and still be enthralled and entertained.

[@JackpotMike77]

@@cooltoy avatar is much easier than xmen and labyrinth. Is it too easy it gets boring long term???!???

[@colemangreen4191]

@@JackpotMike77I would say yes. I wasn’t trying too hard because I felt bad for the line and played like 20 min. The shots and layout is just inferior to competition. Lower playfield is lame.

[@elsquibbs]

13:06 Is that the guy who makes electronic puzzles out of old pinball parts? This year at Pintastic, there was a guy at a booth who brought these puzzles which were pinball parts bolted to plywood. The idea was you had to figure out what the goal was and how to reach it. Very different

[@jeffmill]

Best: X-Men Worst: Barry o BBQ Great show so far.

[@videogamevegas]

CoolToy, As always, great coverage! I still have to be careful until the official WHO Endemic is announced, but once we get that, I plan on going to this expo and hopefully some others. I still haven't played so many Sterns that I want to. Godzilla, Elvira, Black Knight Sword of Fury, so many I want to experience. I may have to wait until VPin. I also want to play Elton John, Labyrinth, X-Men, and Avatar. Oh, and of course the new Metallica! I love the original Stern Metallica and it's so much fun to play! So many other creators went to the Expo, but most were doing shaky cam stream stuff. I'm glad I got your ULTIMATE footage! Feels like I'm there! Sounds like a great time and thanks as always for sharing! vgv

[@nathanmaber1276]

Thanks for this video mate!! Awesome work. I’ve ordered a Metallica premium. Used to have an LE. Are you still loving your labyrinth? They’ve only just arrived in Australia

[@cooltoy]

Awesome! Hope you enjoy your new premium. I actually still haven’t bought a labyrinth yet. Been waiting for a decent deal on a used one to pop up. I’ve played it a ton here at expo and I still absolutely love the game.

[@richardabkstorm9009]

Actually my pick of the show is Ninja Eclipse by Turner Pinball...Excellent game and the best by far (to me)!! 👍🙏

[@cooltoy]

It’s come a long way from its first prototypes. I had fun playing it and I definitely think it’s well made. I just think it’s going to be hard to grow the business at his current price point given how many other competitors are already at that price currently.

[@richardabkstorm9009]

@@cooltoy Are you saying the price is too high Doug? I thought it was a steal at 7k actually because it's so well made and a great playing game...He seemed to already be sold out too...

[@cooltoy]

Yes and No. I honestly think his asking price is fine with what all he is delivering and in terms of the quality of the machine and a good value to my eyes. However to grow and succeed in the market I struggle to imagine too many scenarios where he can compete against the bigger manufacturers at the same pricing level they are all already at.

[@gallimead]

Didn't get to play Avatar, but it looked beautiful from what I saw. Played Xmen, and was very impressed. Spooky, is tenacious. Keeps chipping away, and good things with TCM, and Scooby-Doo The line for Alice, was too long. But the attention to detail, is superb. Some of the shots, look impossible, or challenging. Pinball brothers. Abba. Played it. The helicopter (why?) And disco ball take up far too much real estate, when the lighting itself could of been programmed to mimic a disco ball. This game is going to sink

[@cooltoy]

I know that on paper ABBA is one of the most successful touring and album selling groups of all time. However I doubt that’s going to translate into pinball sales. I’m scratching my head at that choice for a pinball theme as well

[@johnmcclane2139]

I'm 100 percent convinced now that there will be a Tron "remastered" or even a new or remastered LoTR game. Stern needs to get these license agreements worked out. The community needs access to these IPs without paying 10-15k for used decade old machines.

[@cooltoy]

@@johnmcclane2139 I’ve got my fingers crossed for both of those titles. I’d love remastered versions of those games!

[@Wolfanoz]

Tron according to Borg is more likely than LoTR. And possibly Walking Dead (that would be a kickass game with an LCD and upgrades).

[@johnmcclane2139]

@@Wolfanoz somebody will have to make a LoTR game. Whether it be a completely new modern one or a remastered version. It is one of the most popular franchises in the world, even with the horrible new tv show.

[@skippychurch2965]

God i would buy a lotr right NOW if they remade it

[@churchofsolipsism2716]

Yeah, another LotR would be amazing; the low resolution photoshopped graphics from the 2000s give me eye cancer

[@klacustoms]

Games I thought were fun, cool and something I would probably buy. X-Men Great pinball design layout. While everyone has been talking about the lower left side corner flipper, which I thought was cool with a challenging touch, the pop bumper as to where it has been placed, gives a little bit of control, especially when nudging at the the perfect time. Awesome gameplay. Very creative. Jaws - Not the premium with the multi level and added flipper, but the basic Jaws version, I thought was better. Sometimes having all the bells and whistles is not always great, which I thought the premium was more of a hindrance. Sometimes, simple is a good thing. Give me the roll up windows and the manual transmission. Lol! John Wick - Couldn't enjoy. If you sneezed, the game would tilt. Lol! If you nudged ever so slightly, it would tilt. Ninja Eclipse - Same issue. Tilt sensitivity was high, but the gameplay and theme was fun. Even though these 2 have been out for a while, they are what pinball machines are supposed to be, fun. Toy Story 4 and Cactus Canyon remake. Love these games a lot. Aliens - Sucked. Too many dead spots in the gameplay. Always hitting that middle shot. Boring... Zzzzzz. Pulp Fiction I had a hard time trying to get into that game. One audio sound in particular I found to be annoying and distracting while playing that I thought it took away from the experience. It was cool to open the briefcase. Best game and experience there, The Big Lebowski. That machine is perfect!!!!!! The gameplay was so much fun!!!!!!! I found out about a secret while I was playing the game. Some guy told me to hold the right flipper and hit the start button when you launch the ball. That takes you up to the top level so you can get a chance to play bowling down on lower playfield. I guess that one has been out for a while. Additional bonus, when some guy dressed up as Walter came by the pinball machine and interacted with the players in front of me. Way cool! I would hate to see the real Walter to lose on that game! Lol! Top 5 if I were to buy from 1 being first to 5 being last. 1- The Big Lebowski 2- Toy Story 4. 3- Jaws single level playfield 4- X-Men 5- Ninja Eclipse.

[@jacksonwallace6211]

I'm really interested in a lower priced pinball machine. I keep hoping someone will recreate an EM pinball like Disco or Circus or Moonshot or Genie. Just anything with a few goals to get an extra ball that I can put in my home for less than a couple grand. The industry seems so hyper-focused on video pinballs over $6k and I'm not at all interested. I could go pick up a Stern Disco today if I had $1200 dollars to burn. That's the home market. We have EM machines we can go get now. Show us something better.

[@cooltoy]

I think it's probably just to hard to mass produce something at that price point unfortunately. Even if someone built it overseas they would end up paying half their profit away in shipping costs to bring it state side. As much as I would love to see a cheaper consumer model pin around that price, I just don't see how it can be done and still profitable for the company in this current economic climate myself.

[@TheCornerCade]

Hey buddy I saw you down there I wanted to grab ya and say hi but didn’t wanna bother you, you moved quick haha! Also no atgames but poly Cade coverage!?

[@cooltoy]

Every time I went by AtGames booth their machines were still updating. I'll go back later and maybe they'll be done with their updates then.

[@TheCornerCade]

@@cooltoyyeah for real that was disappointing we bought the Jurassic Park and wanted to play in live at the expo.

[@nactishe_theWizard]

Dude.. OF COURSE the chiefs won the Superbowl! :-)

[@cooltoy]

@@nactishe_theWizard 🤞

[@jaystengel7511]

Stern won by a longshot. Avatar blah. Flashy lightshows are for simpletons.

[@afattori316]

Sad you need a black light tent to see the UV ink on Avatar, otherwise it’s a fail. The UV is way better on Metallica. Sorry, Avatar UV in a home or arcade environment is a fail, most can barely see it. The lower playfield is a waste and price tag is ridiculous. Wait and buy used, or lose $3 to $5k within a year or less. I am in for a Metallica premium. I can’t justify $13k for an LE. Getting a premium for $8.7 NIB.

[@willierants5880]

I mean ABBA? Really? Who was asking for this? I even like some of ABBA's music, but this genre of music just isn't something I've heard anyone asking for. Perhaps the demand is in EMEA, which is great. I hope to play it, but if I don't I doubt I'll care. Standouts * Stern with X-Men and Metallica Remastered, I mean holy cow Stern is on a rampage * Alice I was so stoked for this release, a bit bummed when we finally saw it, but my gripes were just mental expectation fog with one exception. The 500 game limit. You aren't going to win me over as a fan if all you are interested in doing is 500 games of anything. Either make pinball machines or don't. Catering to the exceptionally few, nah man I don't have time for that. Get out of here. It's a beautiful game and I think it could be a much bigger hit if they lowered the price and produced as many as they can sell. * Avatar looks great, plays great, I like it. Can't afford it though. I think Stern takes the show. Again. No big surprise.

[@touchingevil2302]

No Madters of the universe 80s cartion pinball an no Harry Potter pinball 👎🏻👎🏻

[@cooltoy]

I’d love to see a MOTU pinball, there’s actually a really cool home made Harry Potter pinball machine here at the show this year

[@reffob-qr8kj]

Thanks for the tour! I am drooling over that Metallica can't wait to see one in person. X-Men I've played it's incredible. I've also played Avatar 🫤 Want to try Alice as well but suspect I'll have the same reaction: 10/10 aesthetics, 5/10 gameplay from what I've seen but want to try it.

[@cooltoy]

Definitely go straight to Alice when you get in the door, the lines have long so it’s best to get to it sooner than later.

[@Pinballgeek49]

Alice is sold out , you can’t even get one