Stern
IndustryArcade games
Founded1977 (Stern Electronics), 1986 (Stern Pinball)
Headquarters
United States
Key people
Sam Stern
Gary Stern, Chairman
Seth Davis, CEO
ProductsArcade video games, pinball machines
OwnerGary Stern
Websitesternpinball.com

Stern is the name of two different but related arcade gaming companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. manufactured arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977 until 1985, and was best known for Berzerk. Stern Pinball, Inc., founded in 1986 as Data East Pinball, is a manufacturer of pinball machines in North America.

Stern Electronics, Inc.

Stern Electronics was formed when the Stern family bought the financially troubled Chicago Coin in 1977. Chicago Coin's assets were purchased at bankruptcy sales forming the core inventory of Stern Electronics, Inc.; however, as a separate company, they did not assume any of the debt Chicago Coin had amassed.

The first two games made by Stern were Stampede and Rawhide, both originally made by Chicago Coin, which only had changes made to their branding and logos. After a weak start, Stern Electronics' sales started picking up by the end of 1977. By 1978, they had switched over to fully solid-state electronics for their games. In 1979, Stern acquired the jukebox production assets of the bankrupt Seeburg Corporation, and the company became known as Stern / Seeburg. Coincidentally, Seeburg also owned Williams in the 1960s, when Sam Stern was its president.

When arcade video games became popular in 1980, Stern Electronics produced Berzerk. In 1983, Stern became one of many victims of the amusement industry economic shakeout that occurred. In 1985, Stern Electronics left the amusement industry. Personnel from Stern Electronics formed a short-lived venture known as Pinstar, producing conversion kits for old Bally and Stern machines. Gary Stern was the president of Stern Electronics, Inc, Pinstar Inc, and Data East pinball.

On March 16, 2023, Atari announced that it had acquired the intellectual property rights to 12 Stern Electronics titles, including Berzerk and Frenzy.[1]

Stern Pinball, Inc.

By 1999, the pinball industry was virtually dead and Williams stopped manufacturing pinball machines and focused on gambling devices as WMS Gaming.[2] During the same year, Sega left the pinball industry and sold its pinball division, previously purchased from Data East in 1994,[3] to Gary Stern, the son of Sam Stern. In October 1999, Sega sold the pinball portion of its company to Gary Stern, who had been running Data East/Sega pinball since 1986, and Stern Pinball was born.[3][4][5] Stern Pinball, Inc. is based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

As of 2023, longtime designers Brian Eddy, John Borg, and George Gomez are designing pinball games at Stern Pinball, alongside top-ranking competitive player Keith Elwin and popular pinball streamer Jack Danger.[6]

Some Stern pinball tables were also digitally released through The Pinball Arcade and Stern Pinball Arcade.

Pinball machines

Stern Electronics

  • Stampede (1977)
  • Rawhide (1977)
  • Disco (1977)
  • Pinball (1977)
  • Stingray (1977)
  • Stars (1978)
  • Memory Lane (1978)
  • Lectronamo (1978)
  • Wild Fyre (1978)
  • Nugent (1978)
  • Dracula (1979)
  • Trident (1979)
  • Hot Hand (1979)
  • Magic (1979)
  • Cosmic Princess (1979) (Produced in Australia by Leisure and Allied Industries under license from Stern Electronics Inc)[7][8]
  • Meteor (1979) (Highest production of all Stern Electronics' Pinballs)[8]
  • Galaxy (1980)
  • Ali (1980)
  • Big Game (1980) (First game to incorporate seven-digit scoring in the digital era)[9]
  • Seawitch (1980)
  • Cheetah (1980)
  • Quicksilver (1980)
  • Star Gazer (1980)
  • Flight 2000 (1980) (Stern's first game with multi-ball and speech)
  • Nine Ball (1980)
  • Freefall (1981)
  • Lightning (1981)
  • Split Second (1981)
  • Catacomb (1981)
  • Viper (1981)
  • Dragonfist (1982)
  • Iron Maiden (1982) (Unrelated to the British heavy metal band)
  • Orbitor 1 (1982) (Featured a 3d-vacuum formed playfield with spinning rubber bumpers causing frenetic ball action; it was the company's last released game)[8]
  • Cue (1982) (Six machines built)
  • Lazer Lord (1984) (One prototype built)

Stern Pinball

Machine NameYearLead DesignerLicense Source
Harley Davidson1999John Borg & Lonnie D. RoppHarley-Davidson
Striker Xtreme2000Joe BalcerOriginal Theme
Sharkey's Shootout2000John BorgOriginal Theme
High Roller Casino2001Jon NorrisOriginal Theme
Austin Powers2001John Borg & Lonnie D. RoppAustin Powers
Monopoly2001Pat LawlorMonopoly (game)
NFL2001Joe BalcerNational Football League
Playboy2002George Gomez & Dwight SullivanPlayboy
RollerCoaster Tycoon2002Pat LawlorRollerCoaster Tycoon
The Simpsons Pinball Party2003Joe Balcer & Keith P. JohnsonThe Simpsons
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines2003Steve RitchieTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines
The Lord of the Rings2003George GomezThe Lord of the Rings (film series)
Ripley's Believe It or Not!2004Pat LawlorRipley's Believe It or Not!
Elvis2004Steve RitchieElvis Presley
The Sopranos2005George GomezThe Sopranos
Grand Prix2005Pat LawlorOriginal
NASCAR2005Pat LawlorNASCAR
World Poker Tour2006Steve RitchieWorld Poker Tour
Pirates of the Caribbean2006Dennis NordmanPirates of the Caribbean
Dale Jr.2007Pat LawlorDale Earnhardt Jr.
Family Guy2007Pat LawlorFamily Guy
Spider-Man2007Stevie RitchieSpider-Man (Sam Raimi's film trilogy)
Wheel of Fortune2007Dennis NordmanWheel of Fortune (American game show)
Indiana Jones2008John BorgFirst four Indiana Jones films
Batman (The Dark Knight)2008George GomezFirst two films in The Dark Knight Trilogy
Shrek2008Pat LawlorFirst 3 Shrek films
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation2008Pat LawlorCSI: Crime Scene Investigation
242008Steve Ritchie24 (TV series)
NBA2008John Borg & Ray TanzerNational Basketball Association
Big Buck Hunter Pro2009John BorgBig Buck Hunter
Iron Man2010John BorgFirst two Iron Man films
Avatar2010John BorgAvatar (2009 film)
The Rolling Stones2011Tom KoperaThe Rolling Stones
TRON: Legacy2011John BorgTRON: Legacy
Transformers2011George GomezTransformers (film series)
AC/DC2012Steve RitchieAC/DC
X-Men2012John BorgX-Men
The Avengers2012George GomezThe Avengers (2012 film)
Metallica2013John BorgMetallica
Star Trek2013Steve RitchieJ.J. Abrams Star Trek films
Mustang2014John TrudeauFord Mustang
The Walking Dead2014John BorgThe Walking Dead (TV series)
WWE: Wrestlemania2015John TrudeauWWE
Whoa Nellie: Big Juicy Melons2015Dennis NordmanOriginal Theme
KISS2015John BorgKiss (band)
Game of Thrones2015Steve RitchieGame of Thrones
Ghostbusters2016John TrudeauFirst two Ghostbusters films
Batman 662016George GomezBatman (TV series)
Aerosmith2017John BorgAerosmith
Star Wars2017Steve RitchieStar Wars original trilogy
Guardians of the Galaxy2017John BorgGuardians of the Galaxy (film)
Iron Maiden: Legacy of the Beast2018Keith ElwinIron Maiden
Supreme2018George GomezSupreme (brand)
Deadpool2018George GomezDeadpool
The Beatles2018Joe KaminkowThe Beatles
Munsters2019John BorgThe Munsters
Black Knight: Sword of Rage2019Steve RitchieSequel to Black Knight (pinball) and Black Knight 2000
Jurassic Park2019Keith ElwinJurassic Park (film)
Elvira's House of Horrors'2019Dennis NordmanElvira's Movie Macabre and a sequel to Elvira and the Party Monsters and Scared Stiff (pinball)
Stranger Things2019Brian EddyStranger Things
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles2020John BorgTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Heavy Metal2020George GomezHeavy Metal
Avengers: Infinity Quest2020Keith ElwinAvengers (comics)
Led Zeppelin2020Steve RitchieLed Zeppelin
The Mandalorian2021Brian EddyThe Mandalorian
Godzilla2021Keith ElwinGodzilla
Rush2022John BorgRush (band)
James Bond 0072022George GomezSean Connery James Bond films
James Bond 007 60th Anniversary2022Keith ElwinAll James Bond Films
Foo Fighters2023Jack DangerFoo Fighters
Venom2023Brian EddyVenom (character)
Jaws2024Keith ElwinJaws (franchise)

[10]

Arcade games manufactured by Stern

  • Astro Invader (1980) (programmed by Konami)[11]
  • Berzerk (1980)[11]
  • The End (1980) (programmed by Konami)
  • Scramble (1981) (programmed by Konami)
  • Super Cobra (1981) (programmed by Konami)
  • Moon War (1981)
  • Turtles (1981) (programmed by Konami)[11]
  • Strategy X (1981) (programmed by Konami)
  • Jungler (1981) (programmed by Konami)
  • Armored Car (1981)
  • Amidar (1981) (programmed by Konami)
  • Frenzy (1982)[11]
  • Tazz-Mania (1982)
  • Tutankham (1982) (programmed by Konami)
  • Pooyan (1982)[11] (programmed by Konami)
  • Dark Planet (1982) (designed by Erick Erickson and Dan Langlois)
  • Rescue (1982)[11][12]
  • Calipso (1982) (developed by Stern, released by Tago Electronics)
  • Anteater (1982) (developed by Stern, released by Tago Electronics)
  • Mazer Blazer (1982)
  • Lost Tomb (1982)
  • Bagman (Le Bagnard) (1982) (programmed by Valadon Automation)
  • Pop Flamer (1982) (programmed by Jaleco)
  • Star Jacker (1983) (programmed by Sega)
  • Minefield (1983)[11]
  • Cliff Hanger (1983)[11] (laserdisc game using video footage from TMS)
  • Great Guns (1984)
  • Goal to Go (1984) (laserdisc game)
  • Super Bagman (1984)[11] (programmed by Valadon Automation)

References

  1. "ATARI ANNOUNCES ACQUISITION OF BERZERK AND FRENZY IP". Atari. Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  2. Headlam, Bruce (28 October 1999). "Pinball Line Closing Down". The New York Times.
  3. 1 2 "Pinball Runs Out of Wizardry". Chicago Tribune.
  4. Davey, Monica (25 April 2008). "For a Pinball Survivor, the Game Isn't Over". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 April 2008.
  5. Pinball, Stern. "About". Stern Pinball.
  6. Pinball, Stern. "Stern Pinball Enhances Game Design Studio". Stern Pinball.
  7. "Cosmic Princess". Pinpedia.
  8. 1 2 3 "The Internet Pinball Machine Database". www.ipdb.org.
  9. "Internet Pinball Machine Database: Stern 'Big Game' Images". www.ipdb.org.
  10. "Pinside Game Archive >> Stern (Manufacturer)". Pinside.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Stern Electronics – coin-operated machines". www.arcade-museum.com.
  12. Sharpe, Roger C. (June 1983). "Insert Coin Here". Electronic Games. p. 92. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
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