Stern Pinball - What's Next?; Spooky Evil Dead; DPX Alice & More
- May 9
- 4 min read
Happy Friday everyone!
Friday is usually pinball day here at my house. Unless I have some sort of Family activity planned, after work on Friday I almost always head on down to my basement arcade for an Arcade Happy Hour with a drink and at least a few games.
I've pieced together a number of odds and ends from the world of pinball for everyone to wrap up the week.
You know how I like factory photos. Spooky Pinball shared a good one the other day of a ton of its latest game Evil Dead on the production line at its factory in Benton, Wisconsin.
Another picture that I grabbed the other day was of the first production Dutch Pinball Exclusive Alice's Adventures in Wonderland arriving in the United States at the Pennsylvania distributor Cointaker.
The game just missed making a public appearance at last weekend's Pinfest in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It's here now and I believe that it will be set up at Pinbar 61, Cointaker's fun arcade bar, along with Barrels of Fun's Dune, Stern's King Kong Premium and a bunch of other awesome games. Man, I'm talking myself into making the several hour trip over there lol.
Next up is the Stern Pinball rumor mill. I've heard from more people than I can count that the next Stern Pinball machine(s) are designed by John Borg.
I still strongly believe that we are getting a Walking Dead Remastered pin from Stern, most likely this fall. Though a Tron Remastered remains a dark horse in the race. There's rumblings that a new Tron pin is already basically done and the new movie in the series "Tron: Ares" is scheduled to hit theatres in October. If a TRON game really is ready and Stern doesn't release it then, then what are they doing?
The third cornerstone game of 2025 from Stern, after Dungeons & Dragons and King Kong, is also going to be a Borg-designed game. I've been saying for over a year that it's based on something Star Wars-related. Initially I was leaning towards it being based on the recent Disney+ series Skeleton Crew, but I really don't think that's the theme any more.
I wrote several times in 2024, including as early as in September, that another possible candidate for Stern's 2025 Star Wars cornerstone game is Episodes 1, 2 and 3.
"The other possible theme that I have heard for this upcoming Stern Star Wars pinball machine is… a Star Wars Episode 1, 2 and 3 trilogy game.
Star Wars Episode 1 already was the theme for a 1999 Williams Pinball 2000 game. A title that I actually owned for a while years ago. I liked it, plus the NYC bar that I bought it from never emptied the quarters from it when Fast Eddy went in to pick it up for me. It was loaded :).
2024 marks the 25th Anniversary of the first film in the prequel series, Episode 1. Again, this rumor says that the Prequel Trilogy pin is a John Borg-designed game.
So there you have it, you heard it here first…a Star Wars game is in development at Stern Pinball and it’s either Skeleton Crew or SW EP 1, 2, 3. Of course the peril of being first is that I haven’t gathered enough intelligence on this yet, hence the two themes."
So in my mind, Skeleton Crew is out as a theme. Episodes 1 through 3 are still a strong possibility. I want to throw another possible theme into the mix - Darth Vader. There's been some murmurs that Stern is making a Darth Vader-themed game. I kind of doubt that Disney would let Stern make up it's own story for a Darth Vader pin, like it has for Jurassic Park, Dungeons & Dragons and King Kong. However, Marvel already has a ton of Darth Vader comics that could easily serve as the basis for a Stern game.
There is a precedent for a Vader pinball machine. Back in 2004 a company called Funrise Toys made a cheap tabletop Darth Vader pinball machine. Zen Pinball also has a Vader-themed virtual pin for its Pinball FX game.
If I'm handicapping the race for the Stern Cornerstone game, to me it's still Star Wars Episode 1-3 in the lead with Darth Vader entering the mix. Of course, remember that these are just rumors and even if they are right companies sometimes change their plans.
Earlier this week, I wrote about the cool Golden State Pinball Festival, which takes place in Lodi, California from May 16th through the 18th.
Well, there's another show happening that same weekend. It's for our Canadian friends - the YegPin Pinball and Arcade Expo. YegPin takes place in Sherwood Park, Alberta at the Millennium Place from Thursday, May 15th through Sunday, May 18th.
The event will feature over 300 pinball machines, including the latest games like King Kong and Dune, in addition to tournaments, vendors, a beer garden and more.
So the fun shows keep on coming.
I'd love more info on the Evil Dead machine. Might try to grab one of those up.
If the pinball gods are listening, I am still (foolishly) waiting for a Matrix or LOTR Remastered.
How about a Boba Fett pinball machine?
Of those Themes, I'm definietly most interested in Star Wars Prequels. I too remember the Episode 1 game. This will be fun going up against Harry Potter.