CES 2013: Stern Pinball

Posted By: Chris Hernandez In: Tech On: 09 Jan

For the first time ever, the sole maker of real pinball machines has made an appearance at CES. They are showing off their latest innovation in the space, one that has long been coming, consumer available pinball machines. No more spending countless quarters trying to beat your local pinball wizard, you can be your own pinball master without even leaving your house.

With over 20 years of experience in creating licensed pinball machines for arcades across the world, Gary Stern has been a major force in ensuring people can still enjoy a tactile pinball experience. This is despite the availability of digital alternatives, such as the high quality Pinball FX series.

Now, with two tables, Transformers and The Avengers, made exclusively for home enjoyment anyone can have access to a pinball machine (if you have the wallet for it). They are being sold through various outlets across the world, one being Playdium in Canada via Cineplex for an MSRP of $2400. You can find the American seller locations here. They have been on sale for roughly two months and have been showing strong sales, according to Stern, as I talked to him on the show floor.

I got a chance to test drive the Transformers machine, and it is as you would expect any quality built arcade cabinet to feel, minus the coin slot, which was removed to help keep the cost down. As it was meant for consumers it has been set up to allow for easy cleaning and maintenance, with long last LEDs to ensure it will require very few service calls. After playing through my three balls I didn’t manage to get a very high score, but I did really enjoy the game and it shows that physical buttons with real world physics is far more more enjoyable than any digital variant. So, if you are on the lookout for an affordable pinball machine to sink countless hours into, then Stern has a solution for you.

With quality construction, a semi- affordable price tag, and a global leader in pinball machines its hard to deny that these are something worthy of an investment, if you can’t shake that pinball fever.

You can also visit their site for more information and to buy online.