# Pinball Expo Hype...NIB Magic Girls for Sale, Tour Stern' New Factory, Meet the GTF Cast, New Games? **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2023-09-27 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/pinball-expo-hype-nib-magic-girls-for-sale-tour-stern-new-factory-meet-the-gtf-cast-new-games --- ## Analysis Knapp Arcade previews Chicago Pinball Expo with confirmed highlights: two NIB Zidware Magic Girl machines for sale, American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force cast meet-and-greet, and the first-ever tour of Stern's new factory. The author speculates on new game announcements, predicting two reveals and positioning Mystery Pinball Company and Pinball Brothers as likely candidates, while tempering expectations for major Stern announcements. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Two NIB Zidware Magic Girl machines will be available for sale at Pinball Expo — _Official Expo announcement cited by Knapp Arcade_ - [HIGH] American Pinball is conducting a seminar and meet-and-greet with Galactic Tank Force cast at Expo — _Official Expo announcement_ - [HIGH] Stern Pinball's brand new factory will be toured for the first time at Expo — _Official Expo announcement_ - [LOW] Author predicts two new game reveals at Expo — _Author speculation: 'I'm going to say "Yes" with an Over / Under for you betting folks of Two New Game Reveals'_ - [MEDIUM] JJP will release a new game before end of 2023 — _Author prediction: 'I do expect a new game from JJP before the end of 2023'_ - [MEDIUM] Stern's next major cornerstone game announcement will be at January Consumer Electronics Expo, not at Pinball Expo — _Author speculation about Stern's product roadmap and announcements_ ### Notable Quotes > "This morning Expo announced that two of the famous, or infamous depending upon your perspective, New In Box Zidware Magic Girl pinball machines will be available for sale at the event." > — **Knapp Arcade** > _Confirms sale of rare NIB Magic Girl machines, acknowledges mixed community sentiment on the title_ > "it gives me an excuse to share a picture of the game's amazing Zombie Yeti art, so I'll take it :)." > — **Knapp Arcade** > _Acknowledges Zombie Yeti artwork quality; reveals Zombie Yeti as the artist behind Magic Girl_ > "The show also features the first ever tour of Stern Pinball's brand new factory, which should be fascinating." > — **Knapp Arcade** > _Highlights unprecedented access to Stern's new manufacturing facility_ > "While I have no definitive information on this subject, I'm going to say "Yes" with an Over / Under for you betting folks of Two New Game Reveals." > — **Knapp Arcade** > _Explicitly frames prediction as speculation while committing to specific number forecast_ > "I don't think that we are going to see a new game from Jersey Jack yet, though I do expect a new game from JJP before the end of 2023." > — **Knapp Arcade** > _Sets expectations for JJP announcements and timing_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Pinball Expo | event | Chicago-based national pinball show; venue for new game announcements, cast appearances, and factory tours; event date approximately 3 weeks from article publication | | Zidware Magic Girl | game | Rare pinball machine; two NIB units available for sale at Expo; known for Zombie Yeti artwork; generates mixed community reception | | American Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; conducting seminar and meet-and-greet with Galactic Tank Force cast at Expo | | Galactic Tank Force | game | American Pinball's most recent machine; cast appearing for meet-and-greet at Expo | | Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; opening new factory for first-time tours at Expo; author speculates about product announcements and fall production issues | | Zombie Yeti | person | Pinball artist; credited with artwork on Zidware Magic Girl; confirmed as art department head at Stern Pinball | | Mystery Pinball Company | company | Speculated as potential new game announcer at Expo by author | | Pinball Brothers | company | Pinball manufacturer; speculated as potential new game announcer at Expo | | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; author expects new game before end of 2023 but not at Expo announcement | | Knapp Arcade | organization | Author/content creator covering pinball industry news and speculation | ### Topics - **Primary:** Pinball Expo announcements and attractions, Upcoming game releases and manufacturer product roadmaps, Stern Pinball factory and manufacturing - **Secondary:** Zidware Magic Girl and collector market, American Pinball product and community engagement, JJP product announcements timeline - **Mentioned:** Stern product pipeline and timing ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.78) — Enthusiastic anticipation for Expo events, appreciative of Magic Girl artwork, optimistic speculation on announcements. Light-hearted tone with acknowledgment of mixed community opinions on Magic Girl. No criticism or concerns expressed. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** NIB Zidware Magic Girl machines appearing for sale at Expo suggests rare inventory reaching secondary market or collector resale channel (confidence: medium) — Official Expo announcement: 'two of the famous, or infamous depending upon your perspective, New In Box Zidware Magic Girl pinball machines will be available for sale' - **[event_signal]** Pinball Expo confirmed to feature first-ever factory tour of Stern's new manufacturing facility, indicating significant capacity expansion or relocation (confidence: high) — Official Expo announcement: 'The show also features the first ever tour of Stern Pinball's brand new factory' - **[market_signal]** Zidware Magic Girl artwork by Zombie Yeti noted as 'amazing,' indicating positive community reception of artistic elements despite mixed overall game sentiment (confidence: medium) — Author commentary: 'it gives me an excuse to share a picture of the game's amazing Zombie Yeti art' - **[announcement]** American Pinball conducting seminar and cast meet-and-greet for Galactic Tank Force, indicating active community engagement and promotional push for recent release (confidence: high) — Official Expo announcement: 'American Pinball is conducting a seminar and is bringing the cast of its most recent pinball machine Galactic Tank Force for a meet and greet' - **[product_strategy]** Author indicates Stern has unannounced fall production and expects major cornerstone announcement at CES rather than Pinball Expo (confidence: low) — Author speculation: 'We could hear something about Stern Pinball's mysterious fall production hole, but I don't think that we'll see a new cornerstone game from Stern until January's Consumer Electronics Expo' - **[rumor_hype]** Author speculates on new game announcements at Expo with prediction of two reveals; names Mystery Pinball Company and Pinball Brothers as likely candidates (confidence: low) — Author speculation: 'While I have no definitive information on this subject, I'm going to say "Yes" with an Over / Under for you betting folks of Two New Game Reveals. Who will we see new pinball machines from? Mystery Pinball Company and Pinball Brothers perhaps?' --- ## Transcript We're only three weeks away from the next big National Pinball Show, Chicago's Pinball Expo and the Expo folks have begun to hype up the event. Over the past several days the Expo social media team has shared a couple of interesting things that are going to happen at this year's show. This morning Expo announced that two of the famous, or infamous depending upon your perspective, New In Box Zidware Magic Girl pinball machines will be available for sale at the event. I'm sure that a lot of people will find this cool and a bunch will say "So what?", but...it gives me an excuse to share a picture of the game's amazing Zombie Yeti art, so I'll take it :). Also at Expo, American Pinball is conducting a seminar and is bringing the cast of its most recent pinball machine Galactic Tank Force for a meet and greet. The show also features the first ever tour of Stern Pinball's brand new factory, which should be fascinating. The question remains, will we see any new pinball machines revealed at this year's Expo? While I have no definitive information on this subject, I'm going to say "Yes" with an Over / Under for you betting folks of Two New Game Reveals. Who will we see new pinball machines from? Mystery Pinball Company and Pinball Brothers perhaps? I don't think that we are going to see a new game from Jersey Jack yet, though I do expect a new game from JJP before the end of 2023. We could hear something about Stern Pinball's mysterious fall production hole, but I don't think that we'll see a new cornerstone game from Stern until January's Consumer Electronics Expo. Again, the new game talk is all just fun speculation, but I expect some of it to be right lol. I suspect that a lot of interesting News will come out of this year's event. https://pinballexpo.com/ _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 3e106233-5d3a-4fe4-ac29-3ac6bfc546d5*