# Video of Stern Pinball's New James Bond Topper in Action & a Closeup of the Playfield Screen

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2023-01-05  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/video-of-stern-pinball-s-new-james-bond-topper-in-action-a-closeup-of-the-playfield-screen

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## Analysis

Stern Pinball's James Bond 60th Anniversary Limited Edition features a new motorized topper shown in action video by Orange County Pinballs at CES. The playfield screen appears to be primarily instructional at this stage, directing player shots rather than displaying movie clips, though this may change during code development.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The James Bond 60th Anniversary Limited Edition comes standard with a motorized topper — _Knapp Arcade article citing Orange County Pinballs' video documentation at CES_
- [MEDIUM] The topper will eventually be available for sale separately for regular versions of James Bond — _Knapp Arcade speculation: 'I believe that the exact same topper will also eventually be for sale for Stern's regular versions'_
- [MEDIUM] The playfield screen is currently mostly instructional, directing players where to shoot — _Secondhand reports from people who viewed now-removed gameplay video before Stern's apparent takedown request_
- [MEDIUM] The playfield screen may incorporate movie clips as code development progresses — _Knapp Arcade analysis: 'That may or may not change as the code progresses'_
- [HIGH] A gameplay video was removed from Orange County Pinballs' YouTube channel, likely at Stern's request — _Direct observation of video removal with reasonable inference of takedown cause_

### Notable Quotes

> "While the topper comes standard on the 60th Anniversary Limited Edition version of James Bond, I believe that the exact same topper will also eventually be for sale for Stern's regular versions of James Bond."
> — **Knapp Arcade**
> _Indicates product differentiation strategy and potential accessory market for LE-exclusive features_

> "the small video screen in the playfield is mostly instructional, telling players where to shoot rather than playing clips from the Bond movies at this point. That may or may not change as the code progresses."
> — **Knapp Arcade (summarizing witness accounts)**
> _Reveals current playfield screen functionality and signals potential feature expansion during code development_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| James Bond (Stern Pinball) | game | Licensed James Bond 60th Anniversary pinball machine featuring motorized topper and playfield screen; shown at CES |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of James Bond pinball machine; apparently requested removal of gameplay video from YouTube |
| Orange County Pinballs | organization | Pinball distributor who brought James Bond to CES and uploaded topper video to YouTube |
| Knapp Arcade | organization | News/content source analyzing James Bond topper video and playfield screen footage |
| Consumer Electronics Show (CES) | event | Major industry event where James Bond pinball was publicly demonstrated |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Product features and hardware (motorized topper), Playfield screen implementation and code development
- **Secondary:** Limited Edition differentiation and accessory market, IP licensing and content restrictions (movie clips), Content moderation and Stern's control of information

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0.5) — Article is factual reporting on James Bond features without strong positive or negative valuation. Tone is informative and speculative about feature scope.

### Signals

- **[content_signal]** Stern apparently requested removal of gameplay video from distributor's YouTube channel, controlling information flow pre-release (confidence: high) — Video was removed; Knapp Arcade notes 'most likely at Stern's request'
- **[licensing_signal]** Playfield screen currently instructional rather than displaying movie content; possible licensing constraint on Bond film clips (confidence: medium) — Screen shows only shot directions at present; potential barrier to movie clip integration
- **[announcement]** James Bond 60th Anniversary Limited Edition topper revealed in video at CES; motorized feature shown in action (confidence: high) — Video uploaded by Orange County Pinballs distributor showing topper functionality
- **[product_strategy]** Motorized topper positioned as LE-exclusive standard feature, with potential aftermarket availability for other versions (confidence: medium) — Knapp's statement: 'comes standard on the 60th Anniversary Limited Edition' and speculation about future sale
- **[technology_signal]** Playfield screen is functional but appears early in code development; screen content scope may expand (confidence: medium) — Secondhand reports indicate instructional-only use; Knapp notes this 'may or may not change as the code progresses'

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## Transcript

This afternoon video of the topper for Stern Pinball's new James Bond Pinball machine in action was uploaded to YouTube by the distributor who also brought the machine to the Consumer Electronics Show, Orange County Pinballs. While the topper comes standard on the 60th Anniversary Limited Edition version of James Bond, I believe that the exact same topper will also eventually be for sale for Stern's regular versions of James Bond.

Apparently there was a gameplay video of the 60th game in action up on this YouTube channel at one point as well, but it has since been removed, most likely at Stern's request. According to people who saw the video (I missed the window to see it because I was swamped with work) the small video screen in the playfield is mostly instructional, telling players where to shoot rather than playing clips from the Bond movies at this point. That may or may not change as the code progresses. I have included a screen capture of the playfield screen from the original video below.

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 42f09a2d-5cc2-4520-9d7d-0e8b3b84abf1*