# Stern to Build Medieval Madness

**Source:** Pinball News Website  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2014-05-14  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.pinballnews.com/news/sternmm.html

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## Analysis

Stern Pinball agreed to manufacture Medieval Madness remakes for Planetary Pinball Supply and Chicago Gaming Company at Stern's Melrose Park facility in May 2014. Chicago Gaming will oversee production using their electronics and WMS-specification parts, with final finishing and shipping handled from Chicago Gaming's Cicero facility. The arrangement signals capacity concerns for Chicago Gaming and hints at potential future remake projects like Attack from Mars.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Planetary Pinball and Chicago Gaming planned to remake Medieval Madness with 1000 limited edition units and undisclosed regular production — _Official PPS announcement and article reporting_
- [HIGH] Chicago Gaming Company lacked manufacturing capacity to build Medieval Madness remakes independently — _Article analysis: 'it wasn't clear they had the capacity to build the 1000 limited edition and an undisclosed number of regular models'_
- [HIGH] Stern Pinball's manufacturing facilities and staff would assemble Medieval Madness remakes at Melrose Park — _Official Stern Pinball announcement and article_
- [MEDIUM] Future PPS/Chicago Gaming remakes including Attack from Mars were expected to continue — _Article speculation: 'It's not known how far-reaching this agreement is, and whether Stern Pinball will also manufacture future PPS/Chicago Gaming remakes which are expected to continue with Attack from Mars'_
- [HIGH] Chicago Gaming supplies Stern with cabinets and backboxes through Churchill Cabinets company — _Article states: 'Chicago Gaming already supply Stern with cabinets and backboxes through their Churchill Cabinets company'_

### Notable Quotes

> "We think this arrangement provides the best solution to insure the timely delivery of a high quality game for our customers who wish to own this legendary title"
> — **Rick Bartlett, President of Planetary Pinball Supply**, May 14, 2014
> _Official rationale for outsourcing manufacturing to Stern; emphasizes quality and timeliness as key drivers_

> "We have a long-standing relationship with SPI and its high capacity manufacturing operation will allow us to complete the MMR games in a timely fashion"
> — **Doug Duba, President of Chicago Gaming Company**, May 14, 2014
> _Confirms existing partnership and acknowledges Stern's manufacturing capacity advantage_

> "We're looking forward to helping PPS and CGC exceed the expectations of Medieval Madness pinball enthusiasts"
> — **Gary Stern, President of Stern Pinball**, May 14, 2014
> _Stern's public endorsement of the remake project and partnership_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Planetary Pinball Supply | company | Licensing and distribution company holding rights to Medieval Madness remake project; led by Rick Bartlett |
| Chicago Gaming Company | company | Pinball manufacturer and supplier partnering with PPS on Medieval Madness remake; owns Churchill Cabinets subsidiary; lacks independent manufacturing capacity |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer providing manufacturing facilities, labor, and production line assets for Medieval Madness remake assembly |
| Medieval Madness | game | Classic Williams pinball game being remade by PPS and Chicago Gaming; planned for 1000 limited edition units and undisclosed regular production |
| Attack from Mars | game | Expected future remake project following Medieval Madness, potentially involving same PPS/Chicago Gaming/Stern partnership |
| Rick Bartlett | person | President of Planetary Pinball Supply; negotiated manufacturing agreement with Stern |
| Doug Duba | person | President of Chicago Gaming Company; oversees production of Medieval Madness remakes at Stern facility |
| Gary Stern | person | President of Stern Pinball; approved and announced manufacturing arrangement |
| Churchill Cabinets | company | Subsidiary of Chicago Gaming Company supplying cabinets and backboxes to Stern Pinball |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Manufacturing partnerships and capacity, Bally Williams game remakes and licensing, Planetary Pinball's licensing strategy
- **Secondary:** Chicago Gaming Company's production capabilities, Stern Pinball's facility utilization and business relationships

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.75) — All parties express optimism about the arrangement; emphasis on quality, capacity, and long-standing relationships. No criticism or concerns raised in official statements.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Chicago Gaming Company lacks independent manufacturing capacity despite prior game manufacturing experience (confidence: high) — Article states 'it wasn't clear they had the capacity to build the 1000 limited edition and an undisclosed number of regular models' leading to partnership with Stern
- **[business_signal]** Stern Pinball expanding facility utilization through third-party manufacturing partnerships; signals confidence in capacity and willingness to support ecosystem partners (confidence: high) — Stern agrees to use manufacturing facility and staff for PPS/CGC Medieval Madness remake production
- **[licensing_signal]** Planetary Pinball Supply controls remake rights to classic Bally Williams titles including Medieval Madness and planned Attack from Mars (confidence: high) — PPS leading Medieval Madness remake project with plans to continue with Attack from Mars
- **[announcement]** Medieval Madness remake officially confirmed with production partnership involving Stern manufacturing (confidence: high) — Official joint announcement from PPS, Chicago Gaming, and Stern Pinball on May 14, 2014

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## Transcript

Date: 14th May, 2014

When Planetary Pinball confirmed their intention to remake Medieval Madness with Chicago Gaming Company, it was not made clear where the games would be built.

Stern to build Medieval Madness remakes

While Chicago Gaming Company had some game manufacturing experience, it wasn't clear they had the capacity to build the 1000 limited edition and an undisclosed number of regular models.

Now Planetary Pinball Supply (PPS) and Chicago Gaming  have signed an agreement with Stern Pinball which will see the Melrose Park company use their manufacturing facilities and staff build the Medieval Madness remakes.

Chicago Gaming already supply Stern with cabinets and backboxes through their Churchill Cabinets company and they will oversee production at the Stern facility. The games will be built using Chicago Gaming's electronics system and using WMS-specification parts.

The games will then be send to Chicago Gaming in Cicero, Illinois, where they will receive their finishing touches and be packed ready for shipping.

It's not known how far-reaching this agreement is, and whether Stern Pinball will also manufacture future PPS/Chicago Gaming remakes which are expected to continue with Attack from Mars.

Here's what Stern Pinball had to say about the new agreement:

Planetary Pinball, Chicago Gaming and Stern Pinball

announce Specialty Manufacturing Arrangement

CHICAGO,  IL – MAY  14,  2014 – Planetary  Pinball  Supply  (“PPS”),  Chicago

Gaming  Company  (“CGC”)  and  Stern  Pinball,  Inc.  (“SPI”),  today  announced  a

specialty  manufacturing  arrangement  pursuant  to  which  SPI  will  make  its

manufacturing facility available to PPS and CGC to assemble their remake of the

Medieval Madness (“MMR”) pinball game.

CGC,  which  has  a  long-standing  business  relationship  with  SPI,  will  assemble

the game for PPS in SPI’s factory using SPI’s factory labor and production line

assets. The game will be assembled with parts supplied by CGC which consist of

original WMS specification parts combined with the new electronics and lighting

systems designed by CGC. Final prep, packaging and shipment will be from the

CGC facility in Cicero, IL.

“We  think  this  arrangement  provides  the  best  solution  to  insure  the  timely

delivery of a high quality game for our customers who wish to own this legendary

title” said Rick Chris Bartlett, President of PPS.

“We  have  a  long-standing  relationship  with  SPI  and  its  high  capacity

manufacturing  operation  will  allow  us  to  complete  the  MMR  games  in  a  timely

fashion,” added Doug Duba, President of CGC.

“We’re  looking  forward  to  helping  PPS  and  CGC  exceed  the  expectations  of

Medieval Madness pinball enthusiasts,” said Gary Stern, President of SPI.

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_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: ed1353ac-92c5-4108-aa13-c9be6fde4cae*