It’s been a while since I had a good old Rumors article here on the site. These articles are funny. I personally enjoy writing them because I love talking about pinball and speculating, but they always seem to bring a ton of heat in terms of criticism. Well, I’m doing it anyhow lol.
Let’s talk about Stern Pinball. The first Stern rumors that I am going to talk about have a similar angle, the company looking for themes that appeal to a younger audience.
Interestingly, I’ve heard that these two themes are also slated to be “Studio” games with a more limited release of 1,000 units or less. Perhaps they’re testing the waters to see if younger demographics will bite.
These themes are the Activision first-person shooter video game Call of Duty and the video game franchise / Amazon Prime Video television series Fallout. What do you folks think about those as potential pinball themes?
Despite the recent talk out there that Fallout might even be next in line for production at Stern. For me, all signs still point to Stern announcing a new Dungeons and Dragons cornerstone game at the very end of December, with a reveal in early January and the first public appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which takes place in Las Vegas from January 7th through the 10th. I have confirmed that Stern has a booth at the event (See Below).
Beyond those two new (to me) rumors, I still think that Stern has another Star Wars game in the works. Given its relationship with Disney and past Star Wars titles that is not exactly going out on a limb lol. The two likely candidates for a Star Wars pin that I have specifically heard mentioned are Skeleton Crew and Episodes 1 through 3.
I finally had a chance to watch the new Disney+ series Skeleton Crew with my family last night. We enjoyed it. I don’t think that it’s off to as strong a start as say the series Andor, the Rogue One prequel, but I liked it.
Beyond that, there’s been a lot of chatter about a Stern King Kong pin, potentially from Keith Elwin. Some people believe that was the theme that Gary Stern was referring to when he mentioned in a presentation that Stern had secured his “Dream Theme” earlier this year.
Don’t look for Stern to contract manufacture a Dutch Pinball-designed Back to the Future pinball machine like I speculated might happen when the two companies met to discuss the theme during Pinball Expo. I’ve heard that Stern will not manufacture any games that it does not have the license for itself.
That’s what I’ve got on the Stern rumor front today. Have you heard any? If so, make sure to comment or send me an e-mail on the side at knapparcade@gmail.com . I always love to get e-mails and I really love them when they contain rumors lol.
Time for the disclaimer…these are rumors. They’re fun to talk about. Please take them in that spirit. They are not always 100% correct. I think that I have more hits than misses with them, but inevitably some will be wrong - either because they’re just flat out wrong or they were a game that was actually in the pipeline that was cancelled, like John Borg’s Indiana Jones which was five or so months into production before it was terminated.
Whenever I write one of these articles, it makes me think of that one-hit wonder song from the 1980s lol.
Thanks for reading!
"Look at all these rumors
They're surrounding me everyday
I just need some time, some time to get away from
From all these rumors, I can't take it no more
My best friend said there's one out now
About me and the girl next door"
UPDATE: The Stern Pinball - Pokemon rumor has been out there for a while. Thanks for the reminder!
Did Stern Pinball Just Confirm that Pokémon is Coming Soon?
Is Stern Working on Pokémon Pinball?
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And I don't know what Star Wars are popular these days, but yeah...you can safely pencil one in. Ditto for another Marvel in 2-3 years. I'd love to hear why the IJ deal fell apart. Stern and Disney seem to work really well together most of the time.
I still don't know anyone credible who thinks Pokemon has been worked on in any way besides someone maybe tossing the idea out there in a planning meeting. Just feels like people trying to wish that one into existence and they keep repeating it. I've heard a much stronger rumor that they did option the Super Mario Bros Movie though. SMB is a much safer bet sales wise, and it comes with movie assets. (and omg if they got Jack Black to do custom callouts as Bowser) I've heard they optioned the Fallout Show, but COD is news to me. COD is such a whatever theme. Strong brand name, but then it's just a generic military-theme/Michael-Bay-simulator (and they'd still have to…
Thanks for article. Considering how Mandalorian machines are tanking in price at this time and the cool reception for recent Star Wars properties on Disney+, I think anything Star Wars not based on orignal trilogy is doomed to fail. Personally, I like the orignal Star Wars premium, but I would love to see Stern make a new topper for it.
Stern Pokémon has been floating around out there for a long time.