Stern Simpsons Pinball Party (2003) and Spider-Man (2007): buying and inspection guide

Stern's The Simpsons Pinball Party (2003) and Spider-Man (2007) are two of the better-known licensed machines of the early 2000s, and they are often considered side by side by buyers, particularly when sellers advertise them as "home use only". This guide covers what each game is, what that phrase means, and what to inspect. It does not give prices; check current listings and community sales threads.

In this guide

The Simpsons Pinball Party

Stern released it in January 2003. Designers were Keith P. Johnson and Joe Balcer, with programming by Johnson and Dwight Sullivan.¹ It has a second-level playfield and five flippers in total, lets players stack modes and multiballs, and includes seven TV-episode style modes, one of which reverses flipper controls.¹ Voice work comes from Simpsons cast members Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright and Hank Azaria.¹ Wikipedia reports that reaching its final wizard mode is rare and that Stern leadership described it as one of its largest and most successful titles.¹

Stern's own game page describes a two-level playfield with a talking, moving Homer head and a Bart on a skateboard.² Like its other games of that era, it needs North American 60-cycle power and will not run on 50-cycle electricity in Europe or the UK.²

The electronics are the Sega/Stern Whitestar platform, which a pinball repair wiki lists as used by The Simpsons Pinball Party along with many Sega and Stern titles.³

Spider-Man (2007)

Designed by Steve Ritchie and released in June 2007, it uses Stern's S.A.M. board system.⁴ Production was 3,760 standard units and 500 Black Edition units, according to Wikipedia; Pinpedia mentions an additional "Red-Suit" run in July 2010, and Wikipedia says Stern remanufactured the game in 2016 in its Vault series with an Ultimate Spider-Man theme.⁵⁴ Check which one a seller describes.

The playfield has Doc Ock, Green Goblin and Sandman toys, a Venom ramp, three ramps, a central magnet and an upper right flipper.⁴ J.K. Simmons recorded callouts.⁵ Wikipedia notes a centre post between the flippers, the first since 1995's Jack-Bot, and a Pinball News review rated the game beginner friendly.⁵ Owner criticisms listed on Pinpedia include "photoshop heavy" artwork and grainy DMD animations.⁴

What "home use only" means

HUO means the machine was only used at home, typically in a game room, garage or living room, rather than on location in a bar or arcade.⁶ It usually suggests less wear, though sellers price for that.⁶ It is a claim about history, not a certification; judge the machine itself. Evidence includes a clean coin door and chute, even playfield wear, and no cigarette burns, spills or heavy glass scratches.

What to check on a used machine

A used-pinball buying guide recommends playing several games, running the diagnostic menus, having the glass removed for a close look, and inspecting under the playfield for rough soldering or charred wiring.⁶ Ask for coin door and backglass keys and never send deposits for a machine you have not seen.⁶ Beyond that:

• Playfield. Check for dimpling or worn wood around scoops and shot paths, and test every insert light.⁶
• Rubbers, posts, balls. These are consumables; budget for replacement, and see whether flippers still hold the ball and shoot with strength.
• Flippers. On Whitestar machines, weak flippers are often caused by broken end-of-stroke switches or failed coil diodes.³ Check both Simpsons flippers on each level.
• Displays. Whitestar games can show failed dot-matrix displays or degraded ribbon cables.³ On any model, check the display for dead pixels or missing segments, as the buying guide advises.⁶
• Battery damage. Leaking on-board batteries are described as the number one killer of pinball boards, and a corroded MPU can be beyond repair.³ Another pinball repair site says modern Stern games use lithium cells, which are less prone to leaking, but advises looking for wet or dark spots, dull solder points and green corrosion on the CPU board and neighbouring boards.⁷ Ask whether the machine's battery has been replaced or removed.
• Connectors and power. Corroded header pins, low 5 V supply causing resets, and a failed bridge rectifier are listed as classic Whitestar faults.³
• Toys and motors (Spider-Man). Make sure the Sandman bank, Green Goblin figure and Doc Ock magnet move and respond in test mode.
• Cabinet and artwork. Examine sun-fading and cracked decals.⁶

If you are not comfortable with electronics, have a pinball technician check the machine, because mains-powered backbox electronics and high-current coil circuits can cause injury.

Manuals and references

• Stern support hosts game manuals and service bulletins.⁸ Older Whitestar documentation may not all be there: the pinball wiki says Stern stopped archiving theory-of-operation and schematics PDFs on its website as of April 2014.³
• Internet Pinball Database (IPDB) and Pinside have per-machine entries, production data and owner discussions. Forum posts are owner opinion.
• Pinwiki has repair pages for Sega/Stern Whitestar machines.³

Choose by the game you will play, then inspect the machine

Before comparing asking prices, play each title or watch an uninterrupted gameplay tutorial. For Simpsons, pay attention to moving between the main and upper playfields and how you follow stacked modes. For Spider-Man, watch the ramp flow and villain features. A good-looking cabinet is easier to buy than a ruleset you will still enjoy after several weeks.

Stern's official manual directory lists The Simpsons Pinball Party and Spider-Man as individual downloads.⁹ Use the manual matching the machine, particularly where a listing advertises a later Spider-Man edition. Do not assume a manual for a home-format product describes the full-size 2007 game.

Does "fully shopped" mean everything has been rebuilt?

Ask the seller to list the work, when it was done and who did it. Cleaning, new rubbers and new balls are different from repairing electronics or rebuilding mechanisms. Request invoices where available.

Which machine is better for a first-time owner?

Condition, local service support and your preference matter more than an unexplained ranking. Compare inspected examples and budget for transport, setup and servicing rather than spending the entire budget on the asking price.

Video demonstrations

The Simpsons Pinball Party Tutorial

Spider-Man Pinball Tutorial

Sources and further reading

1. The Simpsons Pinball Party, Wikipedia: release, designers, features, reception.
2. The Simpsons Pinball Party, Stern Pinball: manufacturer game page.
3. Sega/Stern Whitestar Repair, Pinwiki: Whitestar games list and common failures.
4. Spider-Man, Pinpedia: specifications, features and reception.
5. Spider-Man (pinball), Wikipedia: release, production, features.
6. Buy a used pinball machine: guide and advice, Pinball Mag: HUO definition and inspection checklist.
7. Repair leaked battery damage, flippers.be: battery types and leak checks.
8. Support, Stern Pinball: manuals and service bulletins.
9. Game Manuals, Stern Pinball: manufacturer operation and parts manuals by game and edition.