# Big Things are Coming to Stern Pinball's Insider Connected **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2022-05-16 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/big-things-are-coming-to-stern-pinball-s-insider-connected --- ## Analysis Knapp Arcade reports on George Gomez interview from Super Awesome Pinball Show, detailing upcoming Insider Connected features including Home Team login functionality, Operator Dashboard, monthly feature releases, and a new home game in development for 'The Pin' line. The author shares personal experience with Insider Connected adoption and enthusiasm for the platform's replayability features. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Stern Pinball is developing another home game for 'The Pin' line of machines — _Direct quote from George Gomez interview reported by Knapp Arcade_ - [HIGH] An Insider Connected 'Home Team' feature is coming soon, allowing game owners to log in and play on their Connected account at home without pulling out their phone — _George Gomez interview via Super Awesome Pinball Show_ - [HIGH] An Insider Connected Operator Dashboard is in development allowing locations to set up custom quests and view location trends — _George Gomez interview via Super Awesome Pinball Show_ - [HIGH] Stern programmers want to drop new Insider Connected features every month in an ideal world — _George Gomez interview via Super Awesome Pinball Show_ - [MEDIUM] Private label machines are taking a back seat at Stern despite being approached by companies regularly — _George Gomez interview via Super Awesome Pinball Show, reported by Knapp Arcade_ ### Notable Quotes > "An Insider Connected 'Home Team' feature coming soon. The feature allows game owners to log in and play on their Connected account at home without having to pull out their phone." > — **George Gomez (reported by Knapp Arcade)** > _Key UX improvement for Insider Connected home adoption, reducing friction for casual players_ > "In an ideal world, Stern would like to drop new Insider Connected features every month. That's what the programmers are saying they would like to do." > — **George Gomez (reported by Knapp Arcade)** > _Signals aggressive roadmap and commitment to platform evolution, though 'ideal world' qualifier suggests challenges_ > "Now that I have one, I'm absolutely addicted to getting achievements in games. It adds a whole new level of replayability." > — **Knapp Arcade (author)** > _Direct user testimony on Insider Connected engagement and value proposition for home arcade owners_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball Chief Creative Officer; designer of Deadpool and other titles; interviewed by Super Awesome Pinball Show | | Stern Pinball | company | Primary pinball manufacturer developing Insider Connected platform and new home game for 'The Pin' line | | Insider Connected | product | Stern's digital ecosystem for connecting pinball machines; receiving major feature expansion including Home Team and Operator Dashboard | | Super Awesome Pinball Show | organization | Podcast hosting George Gomez interview; hosts include Christian Line, Christopher Franchi, and Jeff Parson | | The Pin | product | Stern's line of home pinball machines; new game in development | | Knapp Arcade | organization | Arcade/collection venue operated by the article author; owns Deadpool Premium with Insider Connected, Jurassic Park Premium, and Guardians of the Galaxy | | Christian Line | person | Co-host of Super Awesome Pinball Show | | Christopher Franchi | person | Co-host of Super Awesome Pinball Show; known as pinball artist/designer | | Jeff Parson | person | New co-host of Super Awesome Pinball Show | | Deadpool | game | Stern pinball machine designed by George Gomez; author recently installed Insider Connected kit | | Jurassic Park | game | Stern pinball machine; author owns Premium model and plans to install Insider Connected kit | | Guardians of the Galaxy | game | Stern pinball machine; author owns and plans to install Insider Connected kit | ### Topics - **Primary:** Insider Connected platform expansion and roadmap, Home Team feature for at-home Insider Connected gameplay, Operator Dashboard for location management - **Secondary:** New home game development for 'The Pin' line, Private label machine strategy at Stern, Insider Connected adoption and engagement in home arcades ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.85) — Author expresses enthusiasm for George Gomez, Insider Connected features, and Stern's roadmap. Positive personal experience with IC adoption and strong endorsement of the interview content. Tone is promotional but genuine. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** Stern deprioritizing private label machine production despite ongoing commercial interest (confidence: medium) — George Gomez stated 'Private label machines taking a back seat at Stern despite being approached by companies all the time' - **[community_signal]** Insider Connected demonstrates engagement through achievement system driving replayability in home arcade setting (confidence: high) — Knapp Arcade author reports being 'absolutely addicted to getting achievements' and citing new replayability level - **[announcement]** Stern developing new home game for 'The Pin' line of machines (confidence: high) — George Gomez directly mentioned in interview that 'Stern Pinball is developing another home game for The Pin line of machines' - **[product_strategy]** Insider Connected UX improvement targeting frictionless home gameplay through account login instead of phone-based interaction (confidence: high) — Home Team feature eliminates need to pull out phone for home play sessions, addressing adoption barrier - **[product_strategy]** Insider Connected roadmap includes Home Team feature (login-based at-home play), Operator Dashboard with custom quests and location analytics, and monthly feature releases targeting ideal cadence (confidence: high) — George Gomez interview detailing 'Home Team' feature, Operator Dashboard, and programmer goal of monthly releases --- ## Transcript I finally had a chance to listen to the full George Gomez interview that the folks at The Super Awesome Pinball Show podcast dropped earlier today. The show's hosts, Christian Line, Christopher Franchi and new co-host Jeff Parson did a great job. I personally am a huge George Gomez fan. He's a really nice guy. I had a great phone conversation with him last year, after which he went out of his way to send my sons and I an autographed Deadpool translite, that I was able to put into my Gomez-designed Deadpool Pro that finally arrived at the Knapp Arcade last week. The interview contained a ton of great information about Stern Pinball and its game development process. Here's my notes on what I found particularly interesting from Part 1 of the interview: - Stern Pinball is developing another home game for "The Pin" line of machines. - Private label machines taking a back seat at Stern despite being approached by companies all the time to make them. - A big Insider Connected code drop with tons of new features is coming soon. - An Insider Connected "Home Team" feature coming soon. The feature allows game owners to log in and play on their Connected account at home without having to pull out their phone. - An Insider Connected Operator Dashboard is coming. It will allow locations to set up custom quests, see location trends, and many other things. - In an ideal world, Stern would like to drop new Insider Connected features every month. That's what the programmers are saying they would like to do. While I purchased an Insider Connected kit for my Stern Jurassic Park Premium a while ago, I admit that I haven't installed it yet. So, when my new Deadpool arrived, it was the first connected pin in my home arcade. Now that I have one, I'm absolutely addicted to getting achievements in games. It adds a whole new level of replayability. I'm definitely going to buy IC kits to install in my Guardians of the Galaxy and Jurassic in the near future. Again, if you haven't listened to it already, make sure to check out the latest episode of the Super Awesome Pinball Show (link below). The next episode of the Super Awesome podcast will include Part 2 of the George Gomez interview. https://superawesomepinballshow.libsyn.com _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 35d17a8f-e325-45c5-b344-86b1c21881df*