12 for 12 - Episode 7: Stern Pinball

"Ever since I was a young boy I've played the silver ball."
The Who's classic, Pinball Wizard, famously immortalized the love and lore of pinball long before my first quarter dropped in the 1980s. And since the 1930s, Chicago has been the epicenter of these electronic, coin-operated magic boxes. There is no more celebrated, or unsinkable, game made in Chicago than the pinball machine.
Today the game is on the rise all over the world thanks in a big part to the Chicago-based wizards keeping the ball in play, Stern Pinball. Offering a full-range of collector and arcade quality pinball games, merchandise, parts and accessories, Stern is the oldest, largest and last-standing commercial pinball manufacturer in the world.
Releasing three new cornerstone titles every year-largely from licensing agreements with film, TV, music or sports properties-Stern ships an average of 55 games everyday, all over the world. Some recent highlights include: Ghostbusters, Spider-Man, Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Kiss, Metallica, and WWE. And with each title, Stern typically produces a Pro, Premium, and Limited Edition version of each game.
For Stern, pinball is a family affair tracing its lineage to the beginnings of modern pinball. Chairman and CEO, Gary Stern, founded the company in 1986. His father, Sam, was a former owner and President of Williams Electronics, and along with Bally and Gottlieb, helped form the very foundation on which the game and industry were built. Now home to Hall-of-Fame game designers, engineers and programmers, for the last 30 years, Stern Pinball has continued this legacy by leading the industry in innovation and design.
Like the game itself, the demand for pinball has also been growing in a big way. Arcades and barcades (arcades plus booze, minus kids) have been springing up in city centers and suburbs all across the country. The Chicago-area alone is home to nearly a dozen barcades, and in addition to classic arcade games, many of these venues offer gourmet food, high-end beers and craft cocktails. The lights, sounds and smells are returning gamers to a more analogue playing experience. Barcades are also creating a retro game culture celebrating 70s, 80s and 90s nostalgia, while introducing these games to new generations of players.
Although the current pinball resurgence is a welcomed boom, throughout its 30 years in business, Stern Pinball has stared into the abyss and faced the threat of obsolescence on more than one occasion. They deserve a lot of credit-not just for producing new games-but for keeping the entire pinball industry in-play by adhering to a simple strategy: ALWAYS CREATE FUN. The secret to their success is the reason we play; and thanks to Gary Stern and his team at Stern Pinball, more pinball wizards from around the globe are discovering the magic and allure of the silver ball.

[@mannymangoat2897]

Easley the best cinematography I have ever seen on pinball tables. Beutifly shot. And yes there are other smaller pinball companies out there. It's all good I love sterns pinball god bless Gary and everyone who makes these tables a reality.

[@michaelj.kastner5165]

Deadpool is Insanely Phenomenal Stupendous!!!!!! There are shots that are soo incredible/satisfying that it will make you burn huge calories during a game!! Phenomenal game flow!!!

[@ForceFlow]

Cool video. Technically, Stern is the only *major* manufacturer. However, Spooky Pinball and Jersey Jack Pinball are also manufacturing pinball machines in the US.

[@djargus]

Based on number of games, Jersey Jack Pinball is a major manufacturer. Spooky Pinball does low numbers (250 for America's Most Haunted, 500 for Rob Zombie's Spookshow) intentionally. Other manufacturers such as Heighway and Dutch Pinball are trying to increase production, hopefully soon they will succeed and Stern and Jersey Jack will have more competition and incentive to up their machine's design and quality.

[@JoshVoyles]

Last standing manufacture in the world? Clearly not the case especially at the time of filming. It's a nice little doc, but starting off with inaccurate info made it hard to think about anything else for the rest of the video.

[@thlstlght]

yeah that bugged me right away. minor oversight i'd say. it felt a stern commercial but i still really enjoyed it.

[@PhirePhlame]

Agreed. This little half-truth (which could easily be unintentional) paints the picture of Stern being the only pinball manufacturer *at all,* when they're simply the only *major* pinball manufacturer left.

[@ShittyBill]

Yep. Just played Dialed In. Soured me too

[@carolwarren7655]

Thanks for an awesome 12 minutes! Magic City Pinball League in Birmingham, Alabama!

[@freemanontheland123]

Stern is not the last standing manufacturer in the world. Jersey Jack Pinball, Spooky Pinball Chicago gaming company, American pinball. And Multimorphic Inc. Truth be told. Peace and cheers from Canada.

[@jamesklatt]

Bally table kings of the world arise!

[@alejandroalartiz9451]

James Klatt And Williams too.

[@James-jw6ho]

I spotted a couple of Medieval Madness remakes that they were assembling for Chicago Gaming for a short period.

[@SLAMT1LT]

Very entertaining vid. Making pinball games is the best kind of fun.

[@Cheapskate6]

Fuck i love pinball!

[@blackdaan]

i remember being a lil kid.. not able to touch the both buttons.. i was so annoyed.. untill i grew up a little more. i played the game remembering one 1 day i kept that ball so long. it was crazy long for my feeling. but thinking about it.. it could have been 10 to 15 minutes lol :p

[@dediharrisma2128]

love love love

[@KarlLind]

This is rad!

[@000CrEEpEr000]

"is that ramp a bitch"... Lmao

[@lordsqueak]

Saw a familiar set of knuckle tattoos in there, "Let's heck"

[@TheCanadianArcade]

great episode! We did a review on the Ghostbuster Pro pinball a few months back!

[@Twelvefortwelve]

Thanks! Just took a peak - great video (and a great game)!

[@dylandailey3191]

lol Jack danger's knuckles at 9:33

[@EscapismPinball]

Nice one Adam. Have a look at Spooky and Jersey Jack as well. Stern is not alone here.

[@Twelvefortwelve]

Will do! Thanks for the comment.

[@wrightguyz]

American made...you gotta hand it to them....just wish I could afford a few games...ahh well...pinball will be around a lot longer, thanks to STERN

[@aaronlaluzerne6639]

I'd love to see stern make pinball tables based off of Mad Max, Evil Dead Army of Darkness, and the best 30 minute KZbin video of all time KUNG FURY!!!!!.

[@djargus]

Problem with Stern saying that they've been a company for 30 years can easily be shown that it isn't true (Data East and Sega Pinball are unrelated to Stern beyond having Gary Stern as the manager of the pinball divisions, especially Sega Pinball, before he decided to start his own company). Also the fact of claiming they're the last pinball manufacturer, which is also untrue based upon the many other companies (especially Jersey Jack Pinball based in Lakewood, NJ, Spooky Pinball based in Benton, WI, Heighway Pinball based in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, UK, and others). Just put out the facts, don't let Stern control the conversation.

[@milesdyson5211]

How many of these people are Legal to work ?

[@mgabrysSF]

If they did something other than licenses, they might not get stuck doing pinball based on the biggest movie flop of the year with art as interesting as a Google search. Remember when Stern did original content? Me neither.

[@KarlLind]

I do, back in the late 80's and early 80's. Stargazer, anyone?

[@purplegreenredyellow]

They make solid tables, too bad every one is basically a big ad for a movie, or tv show. These new machines do Not get my quarters.

[@FloydMaxwell]

I also dislike rock band machines. Pinball should be an adventure, not a genuflection.