# Stern Pinball - Avengers Launch Party - Chicago - Emporium Arcade Bar **Source:** Stern Pinball **Type:** video **Published:** 2013-03-05 **Duration:** 3m 18s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HOTKqQep6w --- ## Analysis Stern Pinball hosted a launch party for Avengers at Emporium Arcade Bar in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood. Multiple players provided hands-on reactions to the new game, highlighting mechanical features like the Hulk ramp mechanism, Loki multiball lock system, and fast-paced gameplay. Attendees praised George Gomez's design work and expressed enthusiasm for Stern's recent game releases. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] George Gomez designed the Avengers pinball machine — _Multiple references to 'George Gomez delivered again' and 'George's games' in context of Avengers gameplay_ - [HIGH] The Avengers game features a Hulk mechanical ramp element where 'Hulk's fighting the pinballs and when he lifts up the ramp' — _Player explicitly describes this as 'something new I've never seen'_ - [HIGH] The Loki mode involves locking three balls on the right ramp to enable multiball — _Player describes: 'you lock the three balls on the right and then you're able to get that multiball'_ - [HIGH] The game features a six-ball multiball mode — _Player states 'The multiball with the six pinballs was insane. It's so hard to get though'_ - [MEDIUM] Avengers is described as one of the most challenging Stern games released this year — _Player: 'This one's one of the most challenging I've seen in a while'_ ### Notable Quotes > "George Gomez delivered again. It's pretty awesome." > — **Attendee (unknown)**, N/A > _Validates George Gomez's continued design quality and reputation_ > "The multiball with the six pinballs was insane. It's so hard to get though." > — **Attendee (unknown)**, N/A > _Describes challenging multiball mechanic as central game feature_ > "Hands down, my favorite Stern Pinball. This game is one of his top games out of all of them." > — **Attendee (unknown)**, N/A > _Expresses strong positive sentiment comparing Avengers to Gomez's entire catalog_ > "My favorite part of the game is when it gets fast-paced and you gotta like pay attention. You can't look at it too closely. You gotta have an overall sense of the game." > — **Attendee (unknown)**, N/A > _Describes gameplay pacing and skill requirement philosophy_ > "They just keep getting better and better with the technology, all the different gadgets involved in the game." > — **Attendee (unknown)**, N/A > _Indicates appreciation for mechanical innovation across recent Stern releases_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | George Gomez | person | Legendary pinball designer at Stern; confirmed designer of Avengers pinball machine | | Stern Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer hosting launch event and producing Avengers game | | Avengers | game | New Stern Pinball machine based on Marvel Avengers franchise; features Hulk ramp mechanism and Loki multiball lock system | | Emporium Arcade Bar | organization | Chicago venue in Wicker Park neighborhood hosting Avengers launch party | | Hulk | product | Mechanical toy/feature in Avengers pinball where character fights pinballs and lifts ramp | | Loki | product | Game mode in Avengers pinball involving three-ball lock on right ramp to enable multiball | | Tron | game | Existing Stern pinball machine present at Emporium venue for comparison | ### Topics - **Primary:** Avengers game mechanics and features, George Gomez design quality and reputation - **Secondary:** Launch event and venue atmosphere, Player difficulty and skill requirements, Stern Pinball's 2024 game releases ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.87) — Overwhelming positive sentiment from all attendees. Multiple players rated game highly (8.5/10), praised mechanical features, and expressed enthusiasm for George Gomez's design. Some acknowledgment of difficulty level but no criticisms of game quality or design choices. ### Signals - **[community_signal]** Stern Pinball hosted launch party event at commercial venue with multiple players providing real-time feedback and gameplay demonstration (confidence: high) — Emporium Arcade Bar launch event with coordinated video capture of player reactions - **[design_philosophy]** Avengers game features fast-paced gameplay requiring overall playfield awareness rather than close focus; incorporates mechanical toy features (Hulk ramp) and complex multiball modes (confidence: high) — Player quote: 'My favorite part of the game is when it gets fast-paced and you gotta like pay attention. You can't look at it too closely' - **[product_strategy]** Avengers game emphasizes mechanical innovation with new ramp mechanics and six-ball multiball as standout features (confidence: medium) — Player: 'when he lifts up the ramp. That's something new I've never seen' and multiball described as 'insane' --- ## Transcript I really enjoyed it this is a really strong table the game was great it's a lot of fun I like it I'm loving the new Avengers game from Stern Pinball great times here at this event game is awesome I thought it was a lot of fun I got a free play oh no no I'm not last play I'm not last place George Gomez delivered again it's pretty awesome it's very very cool to see my games getting played my favorite part of the game is when it gets fastpaced and you got to like pay attention you can't look at it too closely you got to have a overall sense of the game it's pretty intense I have an obsession with trying to collect all the characters my favorite part was when I got stuck in a corner and everything was punching at me and I got a ton of points favorite features when Hulk comes out and starts ravaging on the playing field my favorite part of the game is when Hulk's fighting the pinballs and when he lifts up the ramp that's something new I've never seen I like the little test thing that goes around I like the spinning mechanism in the middle throws me off my favorite feature is the Loki where you go over the left and you lock the three balls on the right and then you're able to get that multiball the multiball with the six pinballs was insane it's so hard to get though it's a tough game some of these guys are struggling with it but everybody's having fun George's games you know a lot of these games are difficult to me it was a real fun game challenging but not too difficult my favorite avenger oh my favorite avenger is the little one maybe Thor probably Thor he's hot it's got to be the Hulk he's the main deal on the pinball machine I mean hero not enough said green big green my favorite avenger is Black Widow this is an awesome place Emporium here in Chicago Wicker Park neighborhood this is Games and Beer it's awesome they've got some of my children here see there's a Tron right over there I'm like oh my God I must have been 26 what an awesome atmosphere it was great did a good job this one's one of the most challenging I've seen in a while awesome features was so great they just keep getting better and better with the technology all the different gadgets involved in the game I'm loving it 8 and 2 out of 10 hands down my favorite Stern Pinball this game is one of his top games out of all of them oh this is why I do it this is absolutely the best part I've played all the tables that came out this year this year pinball machines to say just great having a lot of great designers so I can't wait to see whatever they have next Stern Pinball rules we're going to work really hard to make our quality the top there is and the games the best they are Stern Pinball rules Pinball's definitely big it's here and it's here to stay Stern Pinball rules I win I totally just had the most amazing multiball going and I completely blew it I could have won the whole arcade but I didn't I funded that Stern Pinball rules a lot of diapers I get to get each passing _(Acquisition: youtube_auto_sub, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 875f01d6-049f-4b89-9f6d-77efaf47068d*