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 1999, 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 Chicago Coin was one of the early major manufacturers of pinball tables founded in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in 1932 by Samuel H. Gensburg to operate in the coin-operated amusement industry. In 1977, Gary Stern and Sam Stern purc ...

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 The first two games made by Stern were ''Stampede'' and ''Rawhide'', both originally made by Chicago Coin, which only had changes made to their branding and logos.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 Solid-state electronics means semiconductor electronics: electronic equipment using semiconductor devices such as transistors, diodes and integrated circuits (ICs). The term is also used as an adjective for devices in which semiconductor ele ...

for their games. In 1979, Stern acquired the

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

production assets of the bankrupt

Seeburg Corporation Seeburg was an American design and manufacturing company of automated musical equipment, such as orchestrions, jukeboxes, and vending equipment. Prior to manufacturing their signature jukebox suite of products, Seeburg was considered to be one ...

, 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 game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

s 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 , also abbreviated as DECO, was a Japanese video game, pinball and electronic engineering company. The company was in operation from 1976 to 2003, and released 150 video game titles. Its main headquarters were located in Suginami, Tokyo. The A ...

pinball.

Stern Pinball, Inc.

By 1999, the pinball industry was virtually dead and Williams stopped manufacturing pinball machines and focused on

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

devices as WMS Gaming. During the same year, Sega left the pinball industry and sold its pinball division, previously purchased from Data East in 1994, 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. Stern Pinball, Inc. is based in

Elk Grove Village, Illinois Elk Grove Village is a village in Cook and DuPage counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Per the 2020 census, the population was 32,812. Located northwest of Chicago along the Golden Corridor, the Village of Elk Grove Village was incorpo ...

. As of 2021, longtime designers Brian Eddy, John Borg, and

George Gomez George Gomez is an industrial designer, video game designer, and pinball designer who has worked for Bally, Williams, and Stern Pinball, among other companies. He worked on the team that created the ''Tron'' video game, and headed the team that cr ...

are designing pinball games at Stern Pinball, alongside former professional player Keith Elwin. Some Stern pinball tables were also digitally released through ''

The Pinball Arcade ''The Pinball Arcade'' is a pinball video game developed by FarSight Studios. The game is a simulated collection of real pinball tables licensed by Gottlieb, Alvin G. and Company, and Stern Pinball, a company which also owns the rights of machi ...

'' 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) * ''Meteor'' (1979) (Highest production of all Stern Electronics' Pinballs) * ''Galaxy'' (1980) * ''Ali'' (1980) * ''Big Game'' (1980) (First game to incorporate seven-digit scoring in the digital era) * ''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) * ''Cue'' (1982) (Six machines built) * ''Lazer Lord'' (1984) (One prototype built)

Stern Pinball

* ''

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'' (1999; 2nd revision 2002; 3rd edition 2004 slightly updated of the Sega game) * ''Striker Xtreme'' (2000) * ''Sharkey's Shootout'' (2000) * ''High Roller Casino'' (2001) * ''Austin Powers'' (2001, designed by John Borg and based on the ''

Austin Powers ''Austin Powers'' is a series of American spy action comedy films: '' Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997), '' Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me'' (1999) and ''Austin Powers in Goldmember'' (2002). The films were produced ...

'' film series) * ''Monopoly'' (2001) * ''NFL'' (2001) (basically a modification of Striker Xtreme) * ''Playboy'' (2002) (Design by George Gomez and Dwight Sullivan) * '' RollerCoaster Tycoon'' (2002) (produced by Pat Lawlor Designs) * '' The Simpsons Pinball Party'' (2003) * '' Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'' (2003) produced by Steve Ritchie Productions RP * ''The Lord of the Rings'' (2003) (Design by George Gomez) * ''

Ripley's Believe It or Not! ''Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' is an American franchise founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. Originally a newspaper panel, the ''Believe It or Not'' fe ...

'' (2004, produced by PLD, based on the series ''

'') * ''Elvis'' (2004) produced by Steve Ritchie Productions (SRP), also 500 Gold/LE models exist * ''The Sopranos'' (2005, based on the series ''

The Sopranos ''The Sopranos'' is an American Crime film#Crime drama, crime drama television series created by David Chase. The story revolves around Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey-based American Mafia, Italian-American mobster, portraying h ...

'')(Design by George Gomez) * ''NASCAR'' (''Grand Prix'' in Europe) (2005; produced by PLD) * ''World Poker Tour'' (2006) produced by SRP * ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' (2006) (based on the movie ''

Pirates of the Caribbean ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' is a Disney media franchise encompassing numerous theme park rides, a series of films, and spin-off novels, as well as a number of related video games and other media publications. The franchise originated with the ...

'') * ''Dale Jr'' (600-unit limited edition, based on the NASCAR game with new Dale Earnhardt, Jr, #8 art package) * ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom originally conceived and created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The show centers around the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their ...

'' (2007; produced by PLD) * '' Spider-Man'' (2007; produced by SRP, based on the Spider-Man films) * ''Wheel of Fortune'' (2007) (based on the TV show '' Wheel of Fortune)'' * ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jen ...

'' (2008) (based on all three movies; produced by PLD; modified version of ''Family Guy'') * ''Indiana Jones'' (2008) (based on all four movies) * ''Batman'' (2008) (based on the films ''

Batman Begins ''Batman Begins'' is a 2005 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan and written by Nolan and David S. Goyer. The film is based on the DC Comics character Batman, it stars Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne / Batman, with Michael Caine, ...

'' and ''

The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and the second instal ...

'')(Design by George Gomez) * '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' (2008; produced by PLD, based on the TV show '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'') * ''24'' (2009; produced by SRP, based on the TV show 24) * ''NBA'' (2009) Lonnie Ropp, Gary Stern (designers) Based on the older Sega pinball ''

Space Jam ''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action/animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka, with animation sequences directed by Bruce W. Smith and Tony Cervone, and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Hersch ...

'' * ''The Lord of the Rings Limited Edition'' (Dec. 2009) gold mirrored backglass, shaker motor, gold package. * ''Big Buck Hunter'' (2010) John Borg (designer) * ''Iron Man'' (2010) John Borg (designer) Based on the film ''Iron Man'' * ''Iron Man Classic'' (2010) (home edition) * ''Avatar'' (2010) John Borg (designer), Based on James Cameron's ''

AVATAR Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...

'' * ''Rolling Stones'' (2011) ''

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

'' theme * '' Tron: Legacy'' (2011) John Borg (designer), Based on '' Tron: Legacy'' * ''Transformers'' (2011) George Gomez (designer) * '' AC/DC'' (2012) Steve Ritchie (designer) * ''X-Men'' (2012) John Borg (designer) * ''Avengers'' (2012) (Design by George Gomez) * ''Transformers The Pin'' (2012) (intended for home use) (Design by George Gomez) * ''Avengers The Pin'' (2013) (intended for home use) (Design by George Gomez) * ''Metallica'' (2013) (designed by John Borg, art by Dirty Donny) * ''Star Trek'' (2013) Steve Ritchie (designer) First Pro debut with all LED lighting as standard. * ''Mustang'' (2014) John Trudeau (designer) *'' The Walking Dead'' (2014) (designed by John Borg) * ''Wrestlemania'' (2015) * ''Kiss'' (2015) * ''Game of Thrones'' (2015) (designed by Steve Ritchie) * ''Whoa Nellie!'' (2015) * ''Spider-Man Home Edition'' (2016) (Design by George Gomez) * '' Spider-Man Vault Edition'' (2016) (redesign of the existing Spider-Man with new playfield- and DMD-graphics, and new music and sound effects) * ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and Egon Spengler, ...

'' (2016) (based on the first two films) * ''The Pabst Can Crusher'' (2016) (retheme of Whoa Nellie!) * ''Batman '66'' (2016) (based on the ''Batman'' television series from 1966) * ''Aerosmith'' (2017) * ''Star Wars'' (2017) (designed by Steve Ritchie) * ''

Guardians of the Galaxy The Guardians of the Galaxy is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It may more specifically refer to: Comic book teams * Guardians of the Galaxy (1969 team), the original 31st-century team f ...

'' (2017) * ''Iron Maiden'' (2018) (first design of Keith Elwin) * ''Supreme'' (2018) (retheme of Spider-Man Home Edition)(Design by George Gomez) * ''

Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in '' New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, De ...

'' (2018) (based on the comics) (Design by George Gomez) * ''The Beatles'' (2018) (Ka-Pow Pinball collaboration, with only 1,964 machines produced) (Design by George Gomez- evolution of Sea Witch by Mike Kubin.) * ''Primus'' (2018) (retheme of Whoa Nellie!) * ''The Munsters'' (2019) (based on 1960s TV series ''

The Munsters ''The Munsters'' is an American sitcom depicting the home life of a family of benign monsters. The series starred Fred Gwynne as Frankenstein's monsterEpisodes referring to the fact that Herman is Frankenstein's monster include #55, "Just Anothe ...

'') * ''Black Knight: Sword of Rage'' (2019) (designed by Steve Ritchie as a sequel to ''

Black Knight The black knight is a literary stock character who masks his identity and that of his liege by not displaying heraldry. Black knights are usually portrayed as villainous figures who use this anonymity for misdeeds. They are often contrasted wit ...

'' and ''

Black Knight 2000 ''Black Knight 2000'' is a 1989 pinball game designed by Steve Ritchie (who also provides the Knight's voice) and released by Williams Electronics. The game is the sequel to the 1980 pinball machine '' Black Knight''. It was advertised with t ...

'', which he designed for Williams in the 1980s.) * ''Star Wars Pin'' (2019) (intended for home use) (Design by George Gomez) * ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later also referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton and centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of cloned dinosaurs. It began in 1990 whe ...

'' (2019) * ''Elvira's House of Horrors'' (2019) * ''Star Wars Comic Art'' (2019) (redesign of the existing Star Wars) * ''Stranger Things'' (2019) * ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Michelangelo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Miche ...

'' (2020) * ''Avengers: Infinity Quest'' (2020) * ''Heavy Metal'' (2020) (Based on the popular magazine '' Heavy Metal'') * ''Led Zeppelin'' (2020) (designed by Steve Ritchie) * ''The Mandalorian'' (2021) (Lead designer Brian Eddy) * ''Godzilla '' (2021) (lead designer Keith Elwin) * ''Jurassic Park Pin'' (2021) (intended for home use) * ''Rush '' (2022) (based on the Canadian rock band

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

's music, designed by John Borg) * ''James Bond 007'' (2022) (designed by George Gomez)

Arcade games manufactured by Stern

* ''

Astro Invader ''Astro Invader'', originally released in Japan as lit. '' Divine Wind'', is an arcade fixed shooter developed by Konami, and the first arcade game published by Stern Electronics. ''Astro Invader'' was ported to the Emerson Arcadia 2001 in 1982 ...

'' (1980) (programmed by

Konami , is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machines, slot machines, and arcade cabinets. Konami has casi ...

) * '' Berzerk'' (1980) * ''The End'' (1980) (programmed by

) * '' Scramble'' (1981) (programmed by Konami) * '' Super Cobra'' (1981) (programmed by Konami) * ''Moon War'' (1981) * ''

Turtles Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

'' (1981) (programmed by

) * ''Strategy X'' (1981) (programmed by

) * ''Jungler'' (1981) (programmed by

) * '' Armored Car'' (1981) * ''

Amidar ''Amidar'' is a video game developed by Konami and released in arcades in 1981 by Stern. The format is similar to that of ''Pac-Man'': the player moves around a fixed rectilinear lattice, attempting to visit each location on the board while avo ...

'' (1981) (programmed by

) * ''

Frenzy ''Frenzy'' is a 1972 British thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is the penultimate feature film of his extensive career. The screenplay by Anthony Shaffer was based on the 1966 novel '' Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Squa ...

'' (1982) * ''Tazz-Mania'' (1982) * ''

Tutankham is a 1982 arcade video game developed and released by Konami and released by Stern in North America. Named after the Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun, the game combines a maze shoot 'em up with light puzzle-solving elements. It debuted at the Eur ...

'' (1982) (programmed by Konami) * '' Pooyan'' (1982) (programmed by Konami) * ''Dark Planet'' (1982) (designed by Erick Erickson and Dan Langlois) * ''

Rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, or the urgent treatment of injuries after an accident or a dangerous situation. Tools used might include search and rescue dogs, mounted search and rescue ...

'' (1982) * ''Calipso'' (1982) (developed by Stern, released by Tago Electronics) * ''

Anteater Anteater is a common name for the four extant mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue") commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together wi ...

'' (1982) (developed by Stern, released by Tago Electronics) * ''Mazer Blazer'' (1982) * ''

Lost Tomb ''Lost Tomb'' is an overhead-view multidirectional shooter written by Dan Lee and released in arcades by Stern Electronics in 1982. Armed with a gun and whip, the player uses dual joystick controls to explore the chambers of a South American ...

'' (1982) * ''

Bagman The term bagman (or bag man) has different meanings in different countries. One group of definitions centers on the idea of traveling. In British usage, "bagman" is a term for a traveling salesman, first known from 1808. In Australian usage, ...

'' (Le Bagnard) (1982) (programmed by Valadon Automation) * ''Pop Flamer'' (1982) (programmed by

Jaleco was a corporate brand name that was used by two previously connected video game developers and publishers based in Japan. The original Jaleco company was founded in 1974 as Japan Leisure Company, founded by Yoshiaki Kanazawa, before being rena ...

) * ''Star Jacker'' (1983) (programmed by Sega) * ''Minefield'' (1983) * ''

Cliff Hanger A cliffhanger or cliffhanger ending is a plot device in fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or a film of serialized fiction. A cliffhang ...

'' (1983) (laserdisc game using video footage from TMS) * ''Great Guns'' (1984) * ''Goal To Go'' (1984) (laserdisc game) * ''Super Bagman'' (1984) (programmed by Valadon Automation)

References

External links

*
Stern Pinball, Inc.
at the Arcade Museum website
The GameRoom Blog: Cheap, Pretty and Fast: A Look at Classic Stern Pinballs
{{The Pinball Arcade * * Companies based in Chicago Companies based in Cook County, Illinois Pinball manufacturers Video game companies of the United States Melrose Park, Illinois Entertainment companies established in 1977 Video game companies established in 1977 Manufacturing companies established in 1977