# A Sonic Spinball Pinball Machine May Be Coming…From Stern? **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2022-05-16 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/a-sonic-spinball-pinball-machine-may-be-coming-from-stern --- ## Analysis A rumor has surfaced through multiple sources (Zach Meny and Christopher Franchi) that Stern Pinball may have secured the Sonic the Hedgehog pinball license, allegedly after American Pinball lost it despite offering more money than their initial tentative agreement. This follows Stern's previous pattern of acquiring major licenses (Godzilla) and potentially acquiring Sonic ahead of American Pinball, which had hired Ryan McQuaid (designer of the popular Sonic Spinball homebrew) just weeks prior. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Ryan McQuaid was officially hired by American Pinball — _Stated as fact: 'had officially been hired by American Pinball.' Author previously reported this news._ - [HIGH] American Pinball reached a tentative agreement with Sega about the Sonic license — _Christopher Franchi confirmed this on The Super Awesome Pinball Show podcast. Direct quote: 'American Pinball had actually spoken and reached a tentative agreement with Sega about the Sonic license'_ - [MEDIUM] American Pinball gave the Sonic license agreement a week to think, after which another company took it — _Christopher Franchi account: 'the company decided to think about it for a week. By the time they came back, another pinball company had already swooped in and taken the license.'_ - [MEDIUM] American Pinball offered more money than the original tentative agreement but still lost the license — _Christopher Franchi: 'Despite American Pinball offering more money than had originally been agreed to the license was already gone.'_ - [HIGH] Stern previously secured the Godzilla license ahead of Spooky Pinball's interest — _Author states: 'when Spooky Pinball was interested in securing the Godzilla license, Stern swooped in and grabbed that license up out from under them.'_ - [MEDIUM] Stern's Godzilla pinball machine is 'the most well-received pin in modern history' — _Author opinion: 'And by most accounts it's the most well-received pin in modern history.'_ ### Notable Quotes > "American Pinball had actually spoken and reached a tentative agreement with Sega about the Sonic license, but the company decided to think about it for a week. By the time they came back, another pinball company had already swooped in and taken the license." > — **Christopher Franchi**, Recent episode of The Super Awesome Pinball Show > _Core claim of the rumor: details the alleged licensing negotiation failure that led to Sonic being acquired by another manufacturer_ > "Despite American Pinball offering more money than had originally been agreed to the license was already gone." > — **Christopher Franchi**, Recent episode of The Super Awesome Pinball Show > _Indicates American Pinball tried to recover the deal with increased offer but failed_ > "So a Sonic the Hedgehog game May now be in the queue at Stern." > — **Knapp Arcade (author)**, Article > _States the speculation/conclusion that Stern likely has the Sonic license_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Ryan McQuaid | person | Designer of the Sonic Spinball homebrew pinball machine; recently hired by American Pinball | | American Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer that hired Ryan McQuaid and allegedly reached tentative Sonic license agreement with Sega, but lost the deal | | Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; alleged to have secured Sonic license ahead of American Pinball; previously acquired Godzilla license | | Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer interested in Godzilla license but lost it to Stern | | Christopher Franchi | person | Confirmed the Sonic license rumor on The Super Awesome Pinball Show podcast | | Zach Meny | person | Reported the rumor of another pinball company securing the Sonic license on The Pinball Show podcast | | Sega | company | IP rights holder for Sonic the Hedgehog; allegedly in negotiations with American Pinball regarding pinball machine licensing | | Sonic the Hedgehog | game | Video game IP from Sega; subject of alleged licensing negotiations for pinball machine adaptation | | Sonic Spinball | product | Popular homebrew pinball machine designed by Ryan McQuaid | | Godzilla | game | IP licensed to Stern for a pinball machine; described as highly well-received | | The Super Awesome Pinball Show | organization | Podcast where Christopher Franchi confirmed the Sonic license rumor | | The Pinball Show | organization | Podcast where Zach Meny reported the initial Sonic license rumor | | Knapp Arcade | person | Author of the article; pinball industry news source | ### Topics - **Primary:** Sonic license acquisition and negotiation, Licensing dynamics between pinball manufacturers, American Pinball hiring and product development strategy - **Secondary:** Stern's competitive positioning in IP licensing, Ryan McQuaid and homebrew to commercial transition, Godzilla pinball reception and market success ### Sentiment **Neutral** (0) — Article presents rumor neutrally with appropriate speculation disclaimers. Author acknowledges uncertainty throughout ('may be coming', 'if this is true', 'There's a lot of speculation in this post'). Tone is informative rather than accusatory or celebratory. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** American Pinball's business development process potentially inefficient; lost major license deal despite financial willingness to increase offer (confidence: medium) — Christopher Franchi account: American Pinball took a week to decide on tentative agreement, by which time license was already gone; later offered more money but too late - **[competitive_signal]** Stern appears to employ aggressive licensing strategy, acquiring major IP ahead of competitors (Godzilla from Spooky, allegedly Sonic from American Pinball) (confidence: medium) — Author notes pattern: 'when Spooky Pinball was interested in securing the Godzilla license, Stern swooped in and grabbed that license up out from under them. So one would have to assume that Stern did so again.' - **[licensing_signal]** Licensing negotiations for video game IPs (Sonic) involving multiple manufacturers and potential deal failures (confidence: medium) — Christopher Franchi confirmed American Pinball reached tentative agreement with Sega but lost license to another manufacturer - **[personnel_signal]** Ryan McQuaid hired by American Pinball, expected to develop Sonic pinball product; potential lost opportunity if Sonic license goes to Stern (confidence: high) — Official hiring confirmed; author notes hiring 'naturally sparked speculation that American may try to build Ryan's Sonic pinball machine' - **[rumor_hype]** Sonic the Hedgehog pinball machine potentially in development at Stern after alleged license acquisition from American Pinball (confidence: low) — Christopher Franchi and Zach Meny reported rumor; unconfirmed by Stern or Sega; author explicitly notes 'There's a lot of speculation in this post' --- ## Transcript A few weeks ago I shared the news here that Ryan Ryan McQuaid, designer of the one of the most popular homebrew pinball machines of all-time, Sonic Spinball, had officially been hired by American Pinball. The hiring naturally sparked speculation that American may try to build Ryan’s Sonic pinball machine. Zach Meny reported on a recent episode of The Pinball Show podcast that there is a rumor out there that another pinball company other than American had obtained the Sonic license. This morning another source, Christopher Franchi, confirmed this rumor on a brand new episode of The Super Awesome Pinball Show podcast. Franchi stated that American Pinball had actually spoken and reached a tentative agreement with Sega about the Sonic license, but the company decided to think about it for a week. By the time they came back, another pinball company had already swooped in and taken the license. Despite American Pinball offering more money than had originally been agreed to the license was already gone. So if this is true, who might this mysterious other pinball manufacturer be? If we remember back, when Spooky Pinball was interested in securing the Godzilla license, Stern swooped in and grabbed that license up out from under them. So one would have to assume that Stern did so again. Stern actually built a Godzilla pinball machine after securing the rights. And by most accounts it’s the most well-received pin in modern history. So a Sonic the Hedgehog game May now be in the queue at Stern. There’s a lot of speculation in this post, but I believe that it’s very possible that we will see a Stern Sonic pinball machine. Time will tell… Make sure to check out the latest episode of the awesome (is saying that redundant? lol) Super Awesome Pinball Show here: https://superawesomepinballshow.libsyn.com _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 2eb46859-5234-4a8d-88de-2e4c637bcd7a*