# Stern Pinball's Trojan Horse? Part Two

**Source:** Cary Hardy  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2021-10-07  
**Duration:** 9m 20s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4BuhZduibY

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## Analysis

Cary Hardy reviews Stern Pinball's new Insider Connected ecosystem based on details revealed in an operators webinar with George Gomez and Gary Stern. The system targets location operators primarily, offering free and paid tiers with features including forums, achievement systems, loyalty rewards, operator metrics, and tournament integration. Hardy emphasizes the product is optional for home players and rollout depends on operator reception and analytics feedback.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Insider Connected primary audience is operators, not home players — _Cary Hardy citing details from official Stern operators webinar with George Gomez and Gary Stern_
- [HIGH] Free tier called 'Insider Connect', paid tier called 'Insider Connected All Access' — _Hardy correcting his previous video's nomenclature based on webinar details_
- [HIGH] Stern is waiting for operator reception and analytics before deciding if system continues — _Hardy interpreting webinar messaging: 'they don't really know how this is going to go... waiting for reception from operators'_
- [HIGH] Match play integration will only be considered based on demand — _Direct quote from webinar feature list_
- [HIGH] QR code hardware will not be available for anything earlier than Spike 2 — _Explicit statement from webinar: 'there are no plans to put this on anything earlier than spike 2'_
- [HIGH] January rollout includes forums, treasure chest achievements with physical swag, challenge quests, and operator promotions — _Hardy reading feature list from webinar materials_
- [HIGH] Loyalty rewards will use 'golden tokens' for consumers and regular 'tokens' for operator loyalty programs — _Direct webinar feature description_

### Notable Quotes

> "the primary audience and focus group is going to be towards operators"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~1:30
> _Establishes that Insider Connected is primarily an operator-facing tool, not a home player feature_

> "they don't really know how this is going to go... they are waiting for the reception from these operators and getting feedback"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~3:45
> _Reveals Stern's cautious, data-driven approach to rollout; suggests uncertainty about market viability_

> "if things don't go well... they may give up on it, you may see it taken out of machines"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~8:30
> _Indicates system is contingent on performance metrics; not a guaranteed long-term commitment_

> "I feel like this is something that Stern should take a hit on when it comes to giving out hardware"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~5:20
> _Recommends Stern subsidize hardware adoption, mirroring console maker strategy (Sony/Microsoft)_

> "it's basically some of those things that it's something else to do on your game if you're tired of playing it"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~9:15
> _Articulates value proposition for players: additional engagement/achievement content_

> "you do not have to be connected to the internet by all means... you can easily pull the plug"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~9:45
> _Emphasizes optional nature of connectivity; addresses home player concerns about forced online integration_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer rolling out Insider Connected ecosystem; conducted webinar with operators |
| George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball executive who conducted operators webinar on Insider Connected |
| Gary Stern | person | Stern Pinball leadership who conducted operators webinar on Insider Connected |
| Cary Hardy | person | Video creator and pinball content analyst providing interpretation of webinar details |
| Insider Connected | product | Stern's digital ecosystem for pinball machines with free and paid tiers, loyalty rewards, achievements, forums, and operator metrics |
| Insider Connect | product | Free tier of Insider Connected ecosystem |
| Spike 2 | product | Earliest Stern hardware platform eligible for Insider Connected QR code kit integration |
| AMOA | organization | Amusement Music Operators Association; Pro accounts will be prioritized to members first |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Insider Connected rollout strategy and feature set, Operator-focused vs. home player functionality, Conditional product viability based on analytics and feedback
- **Secondary:** Achievement systems and loyalty rewards in pinball, Hardware subsidy strategy comparison to console makers, Optional connectivity and offline playability

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0.45) — Hardy adopts a fence-sitting position: acknowledges benefits (achievement systems, engagement, optional nature) but expresses uncertainty about market reception and long-term viability. No strong advocacy either for or against the system; pragmatic and analytical tone.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Stern's conditional rollout strategy suggests internal uncertainty about market viability; system dependent on operator adoption metrics and feedback (confidence: high) — Hardy interpretation: 'they don't really know how this is going to go... waiting for reception from operators... depends on how things look on how they're going to progress forward'
- **[community_signal]** Insider Connected includes optional forums for player-to-player communication and Stern employee interaction; achievement badges and challenge systems designed to extend engagement (confidence: high) — Feature list: 'forums that allow people to communicate between each other and Stern employees', 'achievement badge and system'
- **[market_signal]** QR code hardware kits being subsidized for operators; Stern may follow console maker subsidy model to drive adoption (confidence: medium) — Hardy observation: 'Stern should take a hit... QR code kits will be cheaper for operators... This is something that Sony and Microsoft do with their consoles'
- **[product_strategy]** Insider Connected January 2026 features include forums, achievements with physical rewards, quests, operator-issued promotions, and loyalty tokens; additional features rolling out over next several months contingent on analytics (confidence: high) — Hardy citing official webinar agenda: 'In January, you can look forward to forums... Treasure chest achievements... Challenge quests... Promotions... Loyalty rewards'
- **[technology_signal]** Insider Connected represents move toward connected, achievement-based gameplay and operator analytics/management tooling; no plans for pre-Spike 2 hardware (confidence: high) — Hardware limitation: 'there are no plans to put this on anything earlier than spike 2'; feature set emphasizes metrics, quests, and digital rewards

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## Transcript

Well, I guess going forward, I'm going to start putting a disclaimer at the beginning of the video, whatever danger or harm comes to frogs. But here's the thing, guys. For a majority of you out there, you can obviously see that the frog wasn't real when it was boiling. If you don't believe me, I will put a link in the description down below for the material that I got it from, the video. it's not real i guess it didn't cross my mind to put that in front of the video for that no no frogs were harmed in the making of this because i honestly didn't think i had to i didn't think it was gonna be needed because i was like it it's just a fake frog and it's a fable and it's a frog i mean it could have been worse i could have like had a video of a dog dying we could have been a good couple we could have had something special but you one crazy ass bitch i had to guys what's up guys and welcome back to my channel where i talk and do everything pinball so if sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below let's make this video short okay so i did a video yesterday going over some facts and speculation which is going to be quite obvious when i go over this list right here about stern's upcoming inside connector hardware and software release and stuff like that so today a operators meeting with george gomez and gary stern basically webinar was up and they showed a bunch of details and definitely this product is targeted towards operators guys and as a matter of fact i will go over some points here that definitely show you that that is the primary audience it will definitely be going out into homes obviously but the primary audience and focus group is going to be towards operators so let do a little bit of damage control here by specifying the tier names because i got them wrong so your free account is going to be the insider connect which is free now the paid version is going to be insider connected all access the pro is going to be for operators i'm just going to read through this list like i said i want this video to be short so these are just a lot of highlights that i'm to just go through right here and you can pick and choose what you find interesting. So in January, you can look forward to forums that allow people to communicate between each other and Stern employees. Treasure chest achievements can include physical swag like t-shirts. Challenge quests can be issued by Stern or by operators. Promotions are timed and can be issued by Stern and operators and can include giveaways or other items. These promotions can include other brands also, so that's up for that. There was basically a picture of McDonald's up there. Now that was probably just a filler image, or maybe there might be a possibility of that going on in the future. Loyalty rewards will be golden tokens. Those will be issued by Stern. And then you'll have your operator loyalty, which is just tokens. and not till later this year will that be rolling out so let me add something here going definitely by this webinar they wanted to specify that any not in so much words that they don't really know how this is going to go this could go out and be a huge flop it basically they are waiting for the reception from these operators and getting feedback and getting all the analytics back to figure out whether or not this is something that they need to keep moving forward with so that's much more evident by some of more of these topics right here so operator metrics and graphs available daily weekly and monthly operators can create qr code to allow routes to be able to access service features like just volume without opening the coin door. More features to come in 2022 that will extend games based on metrics on rollout over the next several months So that key note also right there is that basically it depends on how things look on how they're going to progress forward. There will also be a tournament suite app too. Match play integration will be considered based upon demand. There will be ways to play other people on machines over the system at a later time. The kits are going to be prioritized to operators. Battle passes and seasons are being considered. DLC content considered to change skins on account. The pro accounts will be prioritized to the AMOA members first. And if you don't know what AMOA is, it's Amusement Music Operators Association. And then Stern will have a way to verify locations after. It also sounds like QR code kits will be cheaper for operators, which is valid. I think they should be. In a way, I feel like this is something that Stern should take a hit on when it comes to giving out hardware to try to get this system to gain traction. This is something that Sony and Microsoft do with their consoles. This is a well-known fact that the console makers, they take a hit, maybe break even on every system they sell because they're going to make the revenue back when they sell their games. so this can work the same way with stern they can sell this at a hit which i doubt they're going to but they could sell it to break even or maybe even take a hit to get the systems out there to get the traction moving and as of right now there are no plans to put this on anything earlier than spike 2 so there it is i mean like i said this is definitely a product that's going to be focused primarily at this time on operators getting these things out on location this is something that i feel if done correctly can really encourage location play obviously this is not going to be for everyone and i believe stern knows that as well that's why they're wanting to basically kind of get this out not charge anything at this point in time just to get analytics to figure out if this is something that they should move forward on so if things don go well if they see that you know what this is not profitable it not profitable to operators then chances are they may give up on it you may see it taken out of machines you know but i don see that happening as of yet i think that this may be a good thing it's just going to be something new something else that people are going to have to learn and get used to whether or not i'm for it or against it it's debatable without a doubt i'm not swinging one way or the other as of right now i am on the fence because i definitely see the pros for it i'm kind of an achievement person myself when it comes to games i'm not like a hundred percent thing especially when they're ridiculous it's but it's basically some of those things that it's something else to do on your game if you're tired of playing it like if you've just kind of gone through like yeah i've done this game so many times it's kind of neat that you're gonna have other things to do and like i said it's completely optional you do not have to be connected to the internet by all means it's something that you could try in your upcoming games by hooking it up to the internet getting your account set up see if you like the achievement badge and system and stuff like that and if it's something that you like then by all means keep going with it if you don't like it then you can easily pull the plug and you do not have to be online. For you location players out there, is this something that you feel is a good thing or not? Cause obviously this is going to be shunned against those that play primarily at their home but I feel that the location players out there will definitely see this as a nice plus. Give me the thumbs up guys, even you frog lovers out there by all means if you haven't already subscribe button ding my dong that way you can be notified whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure and until next time peace out so Thanks for watching!

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 2191ad3f-6f00-4ff4-9c43-b028c2c6bc1c*