Exclusive: Stern Pinball All Access Factory Tour!

[@jmiddlefinger]

I was at Logan that night as a civilian, lol. It was so cool to realize who I was sharing the room with

[@Bobbypinker]

So cool. I love seeing stuff like that built in bulk and seeing the process.

[@RetroRalph]

Thanks so much for watching man! It was a really fun tour, I feel grateful for being a part of it.

[@WickedGamerCollector]

John Wick pinball machine is freaking awesome. Love the movies and thanks for the indepth video about this.

[@RetroRalph]

Glad you enjoyed it my wicked friend, I hope all is well bro! Miss you buddy!

[@Arcadehollywood]

Way to go Ralph!!!! Your friend Jeff is proud of you!!!

[@RetroRalph]

If it wasn't for you introducing me to this wacky world of Pinball, I think I would still be spending all my time fixing CRTs vs. Playing Pinball... haha. Thanks for watching brother! I hope you're finally back home from all the traveling you've been doing.

[@Arcadehollywood]

@@RetroRalph Back in BarnCade!

[@RTSaki]

Awesome video, Ralph!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@RetroRalph]

Thank you so much for watching ✊🏼

[@Cueya]

😮 Arcade Matt!, love that guy!

[@ScottParisi]

Nicely done. Looking forward to doing this again in October.

[@RetroRalph]

Heck yeah man, you'll have a blast and they will have some of that space built out by then too!

[@arcadesunday4592]

Such a cool video. Nice to have seen what goes into building these machines. The biggest take away from this tour is that the interest in pinball is still hugh (which is so amazing in itself and so awesome for the pinball community). Great Stern Pinball factory coverage!

[@RetroRalph]

Glad you enjoyed it and thank you so much for watching! The interest in pinball seems to be growing, maybe not at the pace we all wish but it's cool to see new faces being interested in it. It was a foreign land for me up until 3 years ago and I'm personally having a ton of fun with it! Hopefully more players discover it either at arcade bars or buying one for their home. Thanks again man!

[@commandtheline]

The Northwest Pinball and Arcade Show in Tacoma, WA June 7-9 will have 20! John Wick pinballs on the show floor!

[@RetroRalph]

Dang, 20 of them?!? That's awesome!

[@csrival3152]

Ralph - glad to see you in our neck of the woods! The tour looked amazing. That facility…🤯

[@RetroRalph]

Thanks for watching brother ✊🏼. Yeah, the factory is next level 🤯

[@corytinz]

Great video Ralph, keep up all the great pinball content.

[@RetroRalph]

Thanks brother, I really appreciate you watching!

[@kineticist]

great meeting you! what a cool experience

[@RetroRalph]

Colin! What's up man! It was awesome meeting you as well, I will learn how to properly say "Kineticist" I promise... ;-) Thanks so much for taking the time to watch and leave a comment! Will I see you at Expo?

[@Johnny-re9kg]

@@RetroRalphkin-ette-i-sisst :)

[@RetroRalph]

Thank you bud, honestly, I'm saving this in my notes... LOL

[@kineticist]

@@RetroRalph haha it just takes a couple tries but once you get it you're in the club forever. also what @johnny-re9kg said :)

[@gocedimitroski]

Wow amazing. One day if i ever fo to America i would love to see Stern.

[@RetroRalph]

Heck yeah man, I hope you get a chance to come here! Also, thank you for being a supporter of the channel for so long, I really appreciate that!

[@kantidinda6218]

Don is always on another planet lol, so fun. Glad you are enjoyed geeked out, I would have done the same.

[@RetroRalph]

LOL, that he is but we love him anyway... haha. Heck, maybe that's the reason why we love him... Dude, this tour had "Kanti" written all over it! Are you attending Expo again this year?

[@IndieArcadeWave]

What a cool experience. I love seeing the behind the scenes like this. Our manufacturer builds the black boxes for Stern so that's all the behind the scenes I've experienced. It's awesome to see the rest of the process. It was super cool running into you, Cale, and Rachel at Logan's. Hopefully we can meet up again soon at the Electric Bat when I come to visit!

[@BrekMartin]

Great presentation! I only wonder if they use all the same cabinets, do they just turn a standard cabinet back to front to create the Billy Mitchell pinball machine, where the playfield is tilted toward the backboard?

[@PackageFromChina]

Yeah, ok this is really awesome !

[@RetroRalph]

Thanks wicked, miss you buddy!

[@Gambenoful]

Gomez is the goat. Monster Bash is my favorite pin. I picked up the CGC special when they released. Never parting with it.

[@RETROCENGO]

Such a great video, first time I watch/enjoy your videos, new subscriber here😊

[@RetroRalph]

Welcome my friend, great to have you, I've watched many of your videos, thanks so much for subscribing!

[@JURAYSARCADE]

Great video!!!! Definitely see why Don loves the back glass on the LE

[@oflo-bandofthehand]

This is so cool, it took me years to save up to get my first machine. I love my Elvira House of Horrors pinball machine. Hopefully one day I could catch a tour at Stern Pinball. Thanks for making this video!

[@sverkerx]

Nice done, Ralph!

[@adamwest3266]

Came to see an actual walkthrough tour of the facility. Realized it was just another youtuber showing his self talking over most of it.

[@nickmadsen2572]

Fun video! Thank you for sharing your experience at the Stern factory.

[@RetroRalph]

Thanks bro!

[@Johnny-re9kg]

Great video Ralph. Thank You for that!

[@RetroRalph]

Glad you liked it and thank you so much for watching!

[@ritualdelo]

This was a Rad tour man … Thank you for bringing us an inside look into the beast stern …

[@RetroRalph]

I got you brother! Thanks so much for watching and for always supporting the content!

[@JayPase]

Stern for me is almost Nasa like in it's importance and significance to society. Such scale, precision, and quality. Long live the king George Stern and Stern Pinball. + More George Gomez content plz 🙏

[@RetroRalph]

I agree and I also agree that we need more George Gomez! I'm going to see if I can get him to come on a livestream, I think it would be fun to interview him. He's more than made his mark on the video game and pinball industry! The limited time I spent with him was really awesome!

[@pj7342]

We are very fortunate Stern exists, and that the experienced pros from the 80s and 90s are still working while passing on their knowledge to new designers and so on.

[@erikaspinballjourney]

Great video Ralph! Was awesome getting to meet you and hang out. Hoping to release my video soon too! Love your editing style 🤘😎🔥

[@RetroRalph]

Thanks Erika, it was awesome to meet you as well and talk about pinball and content creation! The editing on this one was all Mason Conrad, he's been helping me with the channel for years now... so the credit goes to him. If you want to see more of his work, check out the Past Times video I did, he really nailed it on that one too! Anyhow, thanks again and I really appreciate you watching and supporting the video!

[@erikaspinballjourney]

Mason if you read this amazing job! 👏👏👏 killing it #goals

[@LooseFlip]

Danke schön! Wunderbar!

[@jasonsimpkins9069]

Pinball is the best. Wish i could afford a brand new one

[@AnthonyVitale]

Excellent video!🔥 Loved learning about the manufacturing process.

[@RetroRalph]

My Italian pizano, what's up brother! Thanks for watching man!

[@TiltingT]

Looks like it was a great time!

[@dannyseville2543]

I've always been into pinball more than video games. Something about them just really grabs me and hooks me. The only video games that come close to pinball are driving games when on a full rig. Even on my tablet I have pinball games.

[@MandoMike]

In the words of Napoleon Dynamite "Lucky!" It would be cool to be a part of that tour! I have a few Questions: 1. With licensing, does the license holder get paid upfront to use the IP, I know they have to get permission, but do they request a payment in with a contract, or maybe a residual of products sold? 2. I wonder with you saying the wiring harness is hush hush, if it's the technique used? 3. Will pinball ever go wireless, meaning no harness, but have a long table length PC board that could handle all electronics, solenoids flippers, etc with 5v, 12v, and 24v capability. But GREAT video Ralph! Thanks for showing us!

[@RetroRalph]

It was an awesome experience, very grateful that I got the invite! #1 I'm not sure but that's a great question! #2 It could be, they had a machine and then a tester that they designed, maybe they don't want the competition seeing it, not sure. #3 Some of the boards run at 48v so I'm not sure but that would be pretty cool! Thanks so much for watching brother, I really appreciate it!

[@TwirlingFern]

I enjoyed the video.

[@RetroRalph]

@@TwirlingFern Thanks so much man, I appreciate you watching!!

[@Foxcitiespinball]

Fantastic video! ❤

[@720erik2]

Ralph your enthusiasm and passion for gaming especially pinball is off the charts which is why I ask why don’t you develop and create your own pinball? I’d rather buy from independent creator rather than Stern.

[@purdue98]

They should do one original ip cornerstone release a year and make it cheaper for the pro and premium. Like Vampires or something.

[@gettin_lit6594]

Hey yeah ...👍👍

[@jamesgrizzel653]

Dude. So cool.

[@RetroRalph]

Thanks for watching brother!

[@JasonDavis103]

I love the video. I wish I had been able to be there and tour that place. Side note: the little "intro" graphics with music between each part of the video gets tedious. You don't need them, just edit future videos without them. :)

[@arcaderacer586]

Cool video. You can see some Of those solder machines & manufacturing in the “how its made” pinball on youtube. Old video

[@RetroRalph]

I'm going to have to check that out, is it on netflix?

[@arcaderacer586]

@@RetroRalph its a youtube video “how its made” they used to be on pbs or something. Its a old video of the stern factory. Search for how its made pinball and you should find it

[@arcaderacer586]

I saw it on youtube. A look how stern pins are manufactured

[@AlexWarwick]

Awesome video! Do you plan on getting the John Wick pinball machine that you showed in the video?

[@RetroRalph]

I'm getting the John Wick LE, it's on order, I can't wait to get it!

[@ien2023]

I guess Ralph work for STern now?lol

[@RetroRalph]

They're relocating me to Chicago as we speak... LOL. I kid I kid...

[@LeoDavidson]

I didn't know they still made these in the US instead of China or similar.

[@RetroRalph]

Made in the USA baby!!!

[@louiecicci999]

Great video, but I think you should have had the Stern pinball jacket on, not the Atari....

[@RetroRalph]

Good call!

[@tntamusements]

Sadly, MY invitation must have been LOST in the mail! :-( I guess I am too old and fat now for these new KZbinrs!

[@Arcadehollywood]

Sir Todd, your an original Gaming Content Icon!!!

[@IanJacobyandcompany]

this rules

[@RetroRalph]

You rule! Thanks for watching brother, appreciate you.

[@Rock-k4g]

I cant get in these pinballs. Idk why. I played a couple and I was board

[@RetroRalph]

Maybe it's just not your thing... or you haven't stumbled upon a theme that speaks to you. Getting the hang of modern pinball can take a bit of time. Thanks a bunch for checking out the video!

[@ThePerfectStormGaming]

Did you come in through the back door??? 😇

[@RetroRalph]

Sorry to disappoint you but I used the front door... LOL.

[@ThePerfectStormGaming]

@@RetroRalph 💔 say it ain’t so Ralph. Say it ain’t so!!!

[@jasonblueboostwerdrick8889]

Nice vid but it’s Logan Arcade. Not Logan’s. Makes me wonder how you pronounce Illinois.

[@RetroRalph]

Thanks for watching and for the correction 👍🏻

[@doctoroctos]

Did I just watch a 21 minute stern commercial?

[@RetroRalph]

If me sharing my opinion of my experience is a commercial, sure 👍🏻 Thanks for watching.

[@doctoroctos]

The excuse about guns being blown out of proportion is not true. Keanu makes up 1/2 of what makes Wick cool, the other half is the cool guns. Cutting them out of the art was ridiculous. Nobody accepts the license excuse, and neither should Stern have accepted it in negotiations. Since then the company has been on damage control, including this invite.

[@RetroRalph]

You’re entitled to your opinion but for me personally, the game is really fun and having guns on the artwork doesn’t have any impact on my enjoyment of the game. So you think Stern shouldn’t have made the game because the license holder wouldn’t approve the use of guns on the artwork? I respect your opinion but I don’t agree. 👍🏻

[@catsaretasty]

Why do they cost $12,000?im not a arcade owner 😂

[@ien2023]

Because they can get away with that price because of the demands. Stern is bankin.

[@RetroRalph]

You don't need to buy one to play pinball, go to pinballmap.com/ and find arcades and barcades in your area. Plus you'll get to meet other players, make friends and all the human interaction stuff... ;-)

[@arcadesunday4592]

There is SO MUCH detail that goes into these machines. Yea it's expensive, but that's what it costs to produce (unfortunately). I'm in the same boat! I could never afford one of these (for home use) but maybe one day they will be affordable on the second hand market.

[@IanJacobyandcompany]

@@RetroRalph THIS

[@arcadesunday4592]

@@RetroRalph very good point ! A bit far away (myself) but awesome that these options exist.

[@Backintoons8515]

Price for pinball make no sense

[@RetroRalph]

You don't have to buy one to enjoy pinball. Plenty of places to play, check out pinballmap.com/ and find a place to play near you. Thanks so much for watching!

[@DarthTinderalla-qm9zw]

There's a $65 damcoola console with a light gun for you to waste money on and tell us how bad it is.

[@CaptNRetro]

I wasn't invited and now I boycott

[@RetroRalph]

I would have invited you ;-) I hope all is well brother!

[@adamstar7516]

Most telling part of the video was when you said Stern was going to cheap out and not even have a roof on the Aston Martin. If it wasn't for the license owner forcing them to add a mech roof it wouldnt even have one. Typical cheap cheap cheap Stern!

[@RetroRalph]

You’re assuming it was them trying to cut costs.. It had nothing to do with that. They intentionally left the roof off in the initial design because they felt it would be problematic to have a roof opening as many times as it would and be able to maintain reliability of the mechanism. But the licensor forced their hand so they had to develop a roof and then do extensive testing to make sure it was reliable. It was less of a cost cutting measure and more about long term reliability. As a bond owner, I have yet to have a problem with the roof so it looks like they did a great job 👍🏻

[@foxbodystang8587]

You’re coming up Ralph…3 or 4 pins now?

[@RetroRalph]

3 right now and a 4th on the way 😬😬😬 they multiply man.