# Stern Pinball’s George Gomez Addresses Criticism of New Pinball Cabinets; Godzilla Poised to Become the Best-Selling Pin of All-Time; Next Stern Title? **Source:** Knapp Arcade **Type:** article **Published:** 2025-12-10 **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/blog/stern-pinballs-george-gomez-addresses-criticism-of-new-pinball-cabinets-godzilla-poised-to-become-the-bestselling-pin-of-alltime-next-stern-title --- ## Analysis George Gomez addressed criticism of Stern's new Spike 3 cabinet design during a YouTube interview with Cary Hardy, explaining the engineering improvements, material choices, and in-house manufacturing shift. He revealed that Godzilla is poised to become the best-selling pinball machine of all time, surpassing Addams Family's 20,260 units. Gomez confirmed upcoming titles include Transformers and Pokemon, with details on remastered games, production scaling, and retailer expansions. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] George Gomez personally redesigned Stern's cabinet over several years, with prototype built in 2023; he has designed over 40 coin-operated game cabinets in his career — _Direct statement from Gomez during Cary Hardy interview_ - [HIGH] Godzilla will break the record for most produced pinball machines, surpassing Addams Family's 20,260 units — _Direct statement from George Gomez: 'Godzilla is at some moment in time in the not too far distant future, Godzilla is going to break the record'_ - [HIGH] New Spike 3 cabinet uses four steel 16 gauge brackets for stability and has been through rigorous Drop, Drag and Shipping testing — _George Gomez explanation during interview_ - [HIGH] 70% of Stern's games are sold to consumers and 30% to operators — _George Gomez statement during interview_ - [HIGH] Next two games confirmed are Transformers and Pokemon, with Pokemon likely releasing in January — _George Gomez confirmation: 'George confirmed that the next two games are Transformers and Pokemon'_ - [HIGH] Stern has scaled from 9 people in product development to 55, plus 30 outside consultants; factory scaled from 35 to 500 people — _George Gomez statement during interview_ - [HIGH] Costco ordered more Star Wars Home Edition pinball machines; new Home Edition game with different layout expected for next holiday season — _George Gomez statement during interview_ - [HIGH] Stern is working on another Remastered game very early in development, may be ready by end of 2026, requires 70% of the effort of a new game from scratch — _George Gomez statement during interview_ ### Notable Quotes > "Godzilla is at some moment in time in the not too far distant future, Godzilla is going to break the record for how many pinball machines have been produced" > — **George Gomez**, During Cary Hardy interview > _Major business milestone announcement; Godzilla positioned to become best-selling pinball machine of all time_ > "With its new design, Stern has brought all cabinet building in-house. It has complete control over the process. Employees can now visually inspect all cabinet joints to make sure that they are assembled correctly and tightly" > — **George Gomez (via Knapp Arcade summary)**, During Cary Hardy interview > _Explains strategic shift to in-house manufacturing for quality control improvements_ > "The reason why Stern uses the HDF material on the outside of the cabinet is that its melamine decals can't be applied directly to a rough plywood surface" > — **George Gomez (via Knapp Arcade summary)**, During Cary Hardy interview > _Addresses technical justification for material choices criticized by community_ > "Williams Pinball - which is known for having some of the best pinball cabinets ever made, used MDF extensively in its machines" > — **George Gomez**, During Cary Hardy interview > _Historical precedent defense against MDF criticism; cites industry-respected legacy_ > "Stern is very aware that people want Limited Edition machines to be more valuable and it is considering ways to improve that" > — **George Gomez (via Knapp Arcade summary)**, During Cary Hardy interview > _Acknowledges community concern about LE differentiation and future value_ > "Sit tight, maybe it will happen" > — **George Gomez**, During Cary Hardy interview (regarding TRON and Lord of the Rings remastered) > _Hints at future remaster candidates without commitment_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | George Gomez | person | Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of Stern Pinball; personally redesigned Spike 3 cabinet over several years; has designed 40+ coin-operated game cabinets in career | | Cary Hardy | person | YouTuber who conducted the two-hour interview with George Gomez addressing Spike 3 cabinet criticism | | Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer launching Walking Dead Remastered with new Spike 3 cabinet design; scaling production significantly | | Godzilla | game | Stern pinball machine poised to become the best-selling pinball machine of all time, surpassing Addams Family's 20,260 units | | Pokemon | game | Upcoming Stern pinball game confirmed to release, likely January; co-designed by Jack Danger and George Gomez | | Transformers | game | Upcoming Stern pinball game confirmed as next title after current release | | The Walking Dead Remastered | game | Stern pinball machine that launched with redesigned Spike 3 cabinet, sparking community criticism and discussion | | Spike 3 | product | Stern's third-generation pinball hardware platform/cabinet with new design featuring steel brackets, improved materials, in-house manufacturing | | Jack Danger | person | Stern pinball designer who did early work on Pokemon game co-designed with George Gomez | | Addams Family (1992) | game | Bally pinball machine with 20,260 units sold; current record holder for best-selling pinball machine that Godzilla is poised to surpass | | Williams Pinball | company | Historical pinball manufacturer cited as precedent for MDF use in cabinet construction; Congo (1995) example provided | | Costco | company | Retail partner that ordered Star Wars Home Edition pinball machines; signals expansion of home edition distribution | | Raw Thrills | company | Game manufacturer with individual who has designed more coin-operated cabinets than George Gomez (mentioned as benchmark) | | Pinside | organization | Online pinball community forum where criticism of Spike 3 cabinet design was first documented and discussed | | Star Wars Home Edition | game | Stern home edition pinball game with strong retail demand at Costco; new variant expected for next holiday season | | JAWS 50th Anniversary | game | Stern pinball machine currently on production line | | Death Star | product | Ramp component on Star Wars pinball machine that required post-release fix issued by Stern | | Congo (1995) | game | Williams pinball machine cited by Gomez as precedent for extensive MDF use in cabinet construction | ### Topics - **Primary:** Spike 3 Cabinet Redesign, Godzilla Sales Record, Upcoming Stern Titles (Pokemon, Transformers), Manufacturing Quality and In-House Production - **Secondary:** Remastered Game Strategy, Limited Edition Differentiation, Home Edition Distribution, Stern Production Scaling ### Sentiment **Positive** (0.78) — George Gomez's transparent explanation of cabinet redesign is well-received; major sales milestone and upcoming title announcements generate enthusiastic tone. Knapp Arcade reporter explicitly praised Gomez's willingness to address criticism head-on. No significant negative sentiment detected, though cabinet design criticism preceded this interview. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** Limited Edition differentiation issues acknowledged; Stern considering ways to improve LE value proposition (confidence: high) — Gomez statement: 'Stern is very aware that people want Limited Edition machines to be more valuable and it is considering ways to improve that' - **[business_signal]** Significant production scaling: Product development grew from 9 to 55 people (plus 30 consultants); factory from 35 to 500; front office 150 people (confidence: high) — George Gomez directly stated expansion numbers during interview - **[business_signal]** Godzilla achieving best-selling status in pinball history, surpassing Addams Family's 20,260 units; major commercial milestone (confidence: high) — George Gomez direct statement: 'Godzilla is going to break the record for how many pinball machines have been produced' - **[licensing_signal]** Gomez expressed interest in remastering TRON and Lord of the Rings but non-committal; hints at future possibilities without timelines (confidence: medium) — Gomez response: 'Sit tight, maybe it will happen' regarding TRON and LOTR remasters - **[manufacturing_signal]** Post-release Death Star ramp fix issued; new cabinet design intended to address inconsistent quality from previous outsourced manufacturing (confidence: high) — Knapp Arcade notes: 'Yesterday Stern released a Death Star ramp fix' and Gomez on addressing quality issues through in-house production - **[market_signal]** Costco ordering additional Star Wars Home Edition machines; new home edition variant with different layout planned for next holiday season (confidence: high) — George Gomez statement during interview; signals retail expansion and seasonal product planning - **[personnel_signal]** Jack Danger performed early design work on Pokemon with George Gomez finishing; indicates division of labor on major title (confidence: high) — Knapp Arcade notes: 'Jack Danger did a lot of the early work on the game that he is co-designing with George Gomez and George is finishing the game off' - **[announcement]** Transformers and Pokemon officially confirmed as next two Stern pinball titles; Pokemon likely releasing January 2026 (confidence: high) — George Gomez confirmation during Cary Hardy interview - **[product_strategy]** Stern working on another Remastered game very early in development; may ship by end of 2026; requires 70% of effort of new game (confidence: high) — George Gomez statement during interview regarding new Remastered project timeline - **[technology_signal]** Stern shifted from outsourced cabinet manufacturing to full in-house production for quality control; new cabinet design with steel brackets and improved materials (confidence: high) — George Gomez explained cabinet building brought in-house with visual inspection of all joints; four steel 16 gauge brackets replace previous glue/staple miter joint design --- ## Transcript News Stern Pinball’s George Gomez Addresses Criticism of New Pinball Cabinets; Godzilla Poised to Become the Best-Selling Pin of All-Time; Next Stern Title? k knapparcade December 10, 2025 With its latest game, The Walking Dead Remastered, Stern Pinball launched a brand-new redesigned game cabinet without a whole lot of fanfare or explanation. As games began to ship, people - particularly those on the forums of the website Pinside, began to notice how significant the changes to Stern’s cabinets are. Over the past day or two, historically vocal critics of the Stern picked up on and shared pictures of the new cabinet on social media. Last night, Stern Pinball’s George Gomez - industry veteran, Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer of the Company, went on YouTuber Cary Hardy’s channel to address the recent criticism of Stern’s new SPIKE 3 cabinets. During the marathon two-hour broadcast, George explained that he personally has redesigned Stern’s cabinet over the course of the past several years. The project began in 2022 with the first prototype of the new cabs built in 2023. For those who may not realize how significant his involvement in its creation is, George has designed over 40 coin-operated game cabinets during his decades-long history in the amusement game industry. That is literally more cabinets than anyone in history other than one individual who works at the game manufacturer Raw Thrills. During its multi-year development process, Stern’s new SPIKE 3 cabinet has undergone rigorous Drop, Drag and Shipping testing. It is made of a similar 18 MM plywood core and HDF sandwich as Stern has been using on its game cabinets since 2018. The reason why Stern uses the HDF material on the outside of the cabinet is that its melamine decals can’t be applied directly to a rough plywood surface. The new HDF material is actually smoother than the material that Stern has been using over the past several years, which should allow for even smoother decal application. George feels as though the new cabinet design, which uses four steel 16 gauge steel brackets to add stability, is superior to the previous cabinet’s locked miter joint design which was held together by glue and staples. In the past, Stern had no way of knowing how much glue the cabinet-maker used on a machine’s joint. Furthermore, huge fully-assembled cabinets had to be shipped from the cabinet-builder’s factory over a long distance to Stern adding many variables to the quality equation. With its new design, Stern has brought all cabinet building in-house. It has complete control over the process. Employees can now visually inspect all cabinet joints to make sure that they are assembled correctly and tightly, which wasn’t possible in the past with the old design. Regarding the criticism of Stern using MDF in its new cabinet, George Gomez explained that Williams Pinball - which is known for having some of the best pinball cabinets ever made, used MDF extensively in its machines. As an example, he showed off Williams 1995 pin Congo. The Congo cabinet uses two pieces of plywood with the entire rest built from MDF. George Gomez seemed extremely proud of Stern’s new cabinet design. He believes that the new better materials and build process will address the inconsistent quality in builds of the previous cabinet. While I have collected pinball and arcade machines for years, I am not personally an engineer so it has been difficult for me to assess what these cabinet changes actually mean for Stern games. That’s why I didn’t jump the gun and held off on talking about the issue until I had more information. Now that we have an explanation for the changes, what does everyone think? Do you own or have played a machine that uses the new cabinet design? How does it feel? I’d love to hear some real-world feedback. In an “Oh By The Way” moment, in the middle of the video George Gomez dropped this HUGE news… “Godzilla is at some moment in time in the not too far distant future, Godzilla is going to break the record for how many pinball machines have been produced” Whoa. People have been wondering how many Godzillas Stern has sold. George just said that it is about to become the most sold pinball machine in history, passing Bally’s iconic 1992 game The Addams Family - which sold 20,260 units. Additional notes from the broadcast: \- The new cabinet does not cost significantly less to produce than the old one. The efficiencies are in improved quality. \- 70% of Stern’s games are sold to consumers and 30% to operators \- Yesterday Stern released a Death Star ramp fix that owners can reach out to Stern to get \- Stern is very aware that people want Limited Edition machines to be more valuable and it is considering ways to improve that \- Jack Danger did a lot of the early work on the game that he is co-designing with George Gomez and George is finishing the game off (rumored to be Pokemon) \- George confirmed that the next two games are Transformers and Pokemon. While he didn’t say so definitively, to me it sounded as though the next game in January will be Pokemon \- Stern is working on another Remastered game. It is very early in the process. It may be ready by the end of 2026. The effort that Stern puts into remastered games is still 70% of the work of designing a new game from scratch. \- Stern knows that people want remastered TRON and Lord of the Rings pins. George would love to do it. He said “Sit tight, maybe it will happen.” \- Stern has gone from 9 people in product development and 35 people in the factory when George Gomez began working there to 55 people in product development plus 30 outside consultants, 500 people working in the factory and 150 people in the front office. \- Costco just ordered more Star Wars Home Edition pinball machines. We will probably see a new Home Edition game with a different layout in time for the next holiday season. \- JAWS 50th Anniversary is currently on the production line at Stern Whew, that's a lot of fantastic information. Kudos to Cary Hardy for the great interview, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. And Kudos to George Gomez for the transparency and his willingness to address questions head-on. Hardy LIVE! w/George Gomez from Stern Pinball - YouTube Cary Hardy Hardy LIVE! w/George Gomez from Stern Pinball Cary Hardy Search Info Shopping / •Live • Images Courtesy of Retro Ralph Images from Cary Hardy's stream _(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: ce8b7c70-d338-410f-bce3-0afcd3649d58*