# Stern Pinball…All That Smoke & No Fire?

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2022-07-19  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/stern-pinball-all-that-smoke-no-fire

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## Analysis

Knapp Arcade reports skepticism from pinball distributors and podcaster Zach Meny about rumors of a Stern Pinball game reveal at San Diego Comic Con, despite speculation involving Todd McFarlane and Ozzy Osbourne. Meny cites Stern's historical pattern of not revealing games at shows and lack of production capacity in the current schedule. The article suggests the reveal may be delayed rather than cancelled.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Multiple pinball distributors express doubts that Stern will unveil a new game at San Diego Comic Con — _Author spoke with 'a couple of pinball distributors' who expressed skepticism about the rumor_
- [MEDIUM] Stern almost never reveals new games at shows anymore — _Zach Meny stated this as reason for skepticism about Comic Con reveal_
- [MEDIUM] Stern's production schedule shows a gap in August and more room in September, but none right now — _Zach Meny's analysis of production capacity constraints_
- [MEDIUM] Zach Meny doesn't believe Ozzy is involved with the next Stern title at all — _Zach Meny statement on The Pinball Show podcast latest episode_
- [LOW] Dwight Sullivan is expected to be on code for the next Stern pinball — _Zach Meny expectation based on production patterns_

### Notable Quotes

> "They have a cool new booth at the show with a World Famous comic artist who has historically been linked to the rumored next title and one of the most famous rock stars of all time and no reveal? As hard as it is to believe, that may be what's happening."
> — **Knapp Arcade author**
> _Summarizes the contradiction between setup elements (McFarlane, Ozzy rumor) and apparent lack of announcement_

> "Stern almost never reveals new games at shows any more"
> — **Zach Meny**, The Pinball Show latest episode
> _Key reason for skepticism about Comic Con reveal timing_

> "If they can't put the game into full production right away, Stern probably won't reveal it."
> — **Zach Meny**, The Pinball Show latest episode
> _Production capacity constraint explaining delay in reveal timing_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer rumored to announce new game at Comic Con; subject of reveal timing speculation |
| Zach Meny | person | Podcaster on The Pinball Show; provided analysis of why Stern reveal unlikely at Comic Con |
| Todd McFarlane | person | World-famous comic artist historically linked to rumored next Stern title; attending Comic Con booth |
| Ozzy Osbourne | person | Famous rock star rumored to be involved with next Stern game; Zach Meny skeptical of this involvement |
| Dwight Sullivan | person | Game designer/programmer at Stern Pinball; expected to be on code for next title according to Zach Meny |
| San Diego Comic Con | event | Major convention where Stern rumored to reveal new game; has new booth with McFarlane and rock star guest |
| The Pinball Show | product | Podcast hosted by Zach Meny and Dennis where reveal timing skepticism was discussed |
| Knapp Arcade | company | Source publishing this article; conducts St. Jude's fundraiser |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Stern Pinball game announcement rumors, Comic Con 2024 expectations and speculation, Stern production capacity and scheduling
- **Secondary:** IP licensing (McFarlane/Ozzy involvement), Pinball industry distribution and retail insights

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0.15) — Author maintains skeptical but open-minded tone; acknowledges rumor uncertainty while noting industry pattern analysis from credible sources. Positive framing of uncertainty ('more for us to talk about'). Balanced presentation of both sides.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Stern production schedule shows capacity gaps in August/September but no current production capacity for immediate reveal (confidence: medium) — Zach Meny analysis: 'Looking at the Stern's production schedule, there's a gap in August and even more room in September, but none right now'
- **[market_signal]** Stern appears to be constraining announcement timing to production schedule rather than marketing opportunities (confidence: medium) — Zach Meny: 'If they can't put the game into full production right away, Stern probably won't reveal it' indicating production-first strategy
- **[personnel_signal]** Dwight Sullivan expected to be lead code designer on next Stern title (confidence: low) — Zach Meny expectation: 'he expects Dwight Sullivan to be on code for the next pin'
- **[rumor_hype]** Unconfirmed rumors of Stern game reveal at San Diego Comic Con involving Todd McFarlane and Ozzy Osbourne (confidence: medium) — Author references 'the much talked-about San Diego Comic Con' reveal rumor and 'World Famous comic artist' and 'most famous rock stars of all time' linked to 'rumored next title'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Industry skepticism growing about Comic Con reveal timing despite booth setup suggesting announcement potential (confidence: medium) — Multiple distributors and Zach Meny expressing doubts despite apparently intentional Comic Con booth setup with celebrity partners

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## Transcript

First off, thank you so much to everyone who donated to the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital fundraiser. We’re up to $500 already for a very worthy cause (link below).

Now onto the news. Late last week I spoke with a couple of pinball distributors and after hearing what they had to say, chinks started to appear in the armor of the Stern Pinball is going to reveal its next game this week rumor. Many of them expressed their doubts that Stern is going to unveil anything at the much talked-about San Diego Comic Con.

They have a cool new booth at the show with a World Famous comic artist who has historically been linked to the rumored next title and one of the most famous rock stars of all time and no reveal? As hard as it is to believe, that may be what’s happening.

Beyond the above rumblings that I heard, Zach Meny of the fantastic The Pinball Show podcast stated on the latest episode that he doesn’t believe there will be a new game reveal by Stern this week. His reasons are as follows:

1) Stern almost never reveals new games at shows any more and

2) Looking at the Stern’s production schedule, there’s a gap in August and even more room in September, but none right now. If they can’t put the game into full production right away, Stern probably won’t reveal it.

Furthermore, Zach doesn’t even believe that Ozzy is involved with the next Stern title at all. He added that he expects Dwight Sullivan to be on code for the next pin.

This doesn’t mean that McFarlane and Ozzy aren’t somehow involved with Stern’s next game, but we may not see it this week.

We’ll see. Stern certainly is doing a good job at keeping us guessing, which I love because it means that there’s more for us to talk about and who doesn’t like talking about pinball?

Here‘s a link to check out Zach and Dennis on the latest episode of The Pinball Show:

https://www.thepinballnetwork.net

And here’s a link to the ongoing Knapp Arcade fundraiser for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital:

https://fundraising.stjude.org/site/TR/DIY/DIY?px=2742888&pg=personal&fr_id=133399

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: f2a75b9e-381c-467c-94de-76d5ec4e5372*