Ask Jack Anything: Episode 5

Stern Pinball·video·15m 59s·analyzed·Feb 2, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

Jack Danger discusses Stern's product roadmap, design philosophy, and community growth strategy.

Summary

Jack Danger answers fan questions about Insider Connected features, Stern's production strategy, game design philosophy, and community growth initiatives. Key topics include the three-tier pricing model (Pro/Premium/LE) remaining permanent, upcoming home games beyond Star Wars and Jurassic Park, Happy accidents in pinball design, and Stern's commitment to location-based pinball exposure through Stern Army.

Key Claims

More home games are coming from Stern beyond Star Wars Home and Jurassic Park Home
high confidence · Mario asked about home games and Jack explicitly confirmed 'yes, there are more home games coming. And I'm not talking about Star Wars Home or Jurassic Park Home. So take that for what you will.'
The three-tier pricing model (Pro/Premium/LE) is here to stay and works well to accommodate different price points
high confidence · Charlie asked if Stern will move away from three trim levels. Jack responded: 'Absolutely not. Unless it's a conversation happening behind closed doors that I'm not aware of, the Pro, Premium, LE model works spectacularly to accommodate everyone.'
Gary Stern does not want anything to do with sports games anymore
high confidence · Jack stated: 'If you ask Gary Stern, and you can probably go find him saying this like over and over again in the annals of pinball history, he doesn't want anything to do with sports games anymore. Like at all. Sports games are off the table.'
All Spike 2 games are still considered to be in active development for potential updates
high confidence · Regarding Elvira code updates, Jack stated: 'The official statement is that all Spike 2 games are still considered to be in active development. So there is no yes or no on that.'
Insider Connected Connections area allows following other people but cannot currently show followers
high confidence · Jack explained the current Insider Connected functionality: 'Currently, there is an area of the Insider Connected app called Connections. You can't see who follows you, but you can follow other people.'
Video game IP is an untapped area Stern wants to pursue for pinball
high confidence · Jack stated: 'you got your movies, your bands, your TV shows, and video games is very obviously a niche we want to get into and I would say we will get into.'
Happy accidents are a regular part of pinball design process and have led to significant shots
high confidence · Jack explained: 'the snicker shot was a happy accident and one of my favorite shots on Deadpool' and described how George Gomez and Keith Elwin discovered this through testing.

Notable Quotes

“the snicker shot was a happy accident and one of my favorite shots on Deadpool”
Jack Danger @ ~11:15 — Illustrates how unplanned design discoveries become beloved game features through playtesting iteration.
“The Pro is still like one of the best deals in pinball for a new box. So like it's great for operators to put those on location. The Premium is a great spot to be if you just want everything associated with that game. And obviously the LE is the LE.”
Jack Danger @ ~15:45 — Defends the three-tier pricing model by outlining market segmentation strategy targeting different buyer personas.
“video games is like the biggest entertainment industry, right? So, to marry that with pinball is just a no-brainer.”
Jack Danger @ ~37:00 — Signals Stern's strategic focus on video game IP licensing as major growth opportunity, distinct from movies/bands/TV.
“a Deadpool sitting in the window at a bar and someone walks by, they're like, 'Oh, I love Deadpool. What the heck is this thing?' and then they come up and they do this and they pull the plunger a bunch of times.”
Jack Danger @ ~42:00 — Explains location-based pinball discovery model and how themed IP drives casual player acquisition.
“Michael Grant is killing it with the Stern Army stuff and uh we've got a lot more to come.”
Jack Danger @ ~45:30 — Confirms Stern Army leadership transition to Michael Grant and ongoing community growth initiatives.
“Spike 2 games are still considered to be in active development. So there is no yes or no on that.”
Jack Danger @ ~20:00 — Keeps door open for future Spike 2 game updates while avoiding firm commitments on specific titles like Elvira.
“There's a tightrope we're walking where we need to make a game that if you buy it and keep it in your house, it has enough there to keep you engaged and interested, but we also need the new players or the less advanced players to also have something obtainable up front to beat up on.”
Jack Danger — Articulates design challenge of balancing depth for experienced players against accessibility for newcomers.

Entities

Jack Dangerperson Gary Sternperson George Gomezperson Keith Elwinperson Michael GrantpersonZach SharppersonStern PinballcompanyInsider Connectedproduct

Signals

?
business_signal: Stern reaffirming commitment to three-tier pricing model (Pro/Premium/LE) as permanent strategy with no plans to change
high · Jack: 'Absolutely not. Unless it's a conversation happening behind closed doors that I'm not aware of, the Pro, Premium, LE model works spectacularly to accommodate everyone.'
?
community_signal: Stern prioritizing location-based pinball discovery as primary growth lever; Stern Army initiative under Michael Grant leadership expanding
high · Jack: 'Michael Grant taking the helm of like Stern Army to like get more people interested in playing on location... Someone just having it in their basement isn't going to expose that to a ton of people... But a Deadpool sitting in the window at a bar...'
?
design_philosophy: Confirming happy accidents as integral to pinball design process; iterative testing with pro players validates unexpected mechanics
high · Jack describes snicker shot on Deadpool: 'George explains like he put this target here, he hit it, and every once in a while it would go up that ramp... pulled Keith Elwin in... just shoot that over and over again and it was repeatable'
?
licensing_signal: Gary Stern has made explicit decision against sports licensing going forward; all sports IP off the table
high · Jack: 'If you ask Gary Stern, and you can probably go find him saying this like over and over again in the annals of pinball history, he doesn't want anything to do with sports games anymore. Like at all. Sports games are off the table.'
$
market_signal: Home games positioned as accessibility tier for casual/new players; Costco distribution channel for broader market penetration

Topics

Insider Connected app roadmap and featuresprimaryThree-tier pricing model strategy (Pro/Premium/LE)primaryPinball design philosophy: happy accidents and iterationprimaryStern's community growth initiatives and location-based pinball exposureprimaryUpcoming home games and untapped IP categories (video games)primarySports games licensing: Gary Stern's position against sports IPsecondarySpike 2 game support and potential future updatessecondaryBand licensing strategy and IP selection criteriasecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Jack is enthusiastic, encouraging, and openly supportive of community ideas while being transparent about business constraints. Tone is informal, humorous, and collaborative. Expresses genuine passion for pinball design and community growth. Minor frustration visible only in joke response to question about unanswered submissions.

Transcript

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Hey there pinheads. Jack Danger here back for another Ask Jack where you ask Jack and Jack tries to answer whatever you asked. Let's get into it. The box. All your questions are in here. I put them all in here. It's performative, but it makes me feel like I'm doing something. So, let's pick one. Our first question comes from Kim. And Kim says, "Is there or will there be a way to add friends on my Insider connected app?" Currently, there is an area of the Insider Connected app called connections. You can't see who follows you, but you can follow other people. So, you just got to find the connections area inside the IC app, but I'm sure we have more fun stuff along these lines coming soon. All right. Sawyer asks, "Would Stern ever sponsor a world record attempt as the longest pinball marathon?" Many people have attempted this. Hell, I've even attempted it where I did it playing for as long as you can, standing up without sitting, without doing it. Was a mistake. Stern sponsoring that. I think you just need to reach out to like Zach Sharpe to see what he would be into. Uh, nothing's out of the question. And honestly, I kind of love things like that. Just gets people stoked about it. The news usually catches on to it. So, yeah, reach out to Zach Sharpe at Stern and I'm sure we can get something going. Matt V asks, "What is the longest running thing you guys have left in the Banging Clack room?" Oh, so for those of you that don't know, our Bang & Clack room is a room where we're battle testing all of the mechs for games, both current and upcoming. And typically, we'll leave some things running long after a game has come out, just so we can see what the longevity is beyond the testing we've done. And the longest running thing we have seen in the Bang and Clack room is a Game of Thrones dragon still flapping its wings all these years later. It's It's bonkers, but that thing's a freaking tank. Mario asks and it's a nice long message and thank you. Says his family is really stoked into pinball suddenly, which is awesome. But they're asking are more home games coming? The answer is yes, there are more home games coming. And I'm not talking about Star Wars Home or Jurassic Park Home. So take that for what you will. There's more coming. Casey asks if there's any chance Stern will provide an API to the community to leverage data for insider and such. An API, you know, we have conversations like that on like what we can make available to the public. Right now, we're keeping everything very encased and closed off so that we can control everything to make sure everything is working correctly. There's still so many things we have to roll out to you. And we would love to hear some ideas on like what you would like to see on Insider in the future. So, with the API thing, not in the foreseeable future, but we still personally have a lot of really cool stuff to roll out to you. So, stay tuned. Robert asks, "Will there be a code update for Elvra as an adding to the code or at least fixing some bugs in the game? To me, it's one of the best games Stern has done. Alvara is a banger. It's such a good game." The official statement is that all Spike 2 games are still considered to be an active development. So there is no yes or no on that. As things roll out with uh you know we mentioned some stuff like backwards compatibility with Spike 3 and speaker rings stuff like that. There's always a chance that we will go back to those games to add adjustments to them for the system. And usually if we jump into a game to adjust some system settings if there are some known and easily fixable bugs we will address those as well. So hopefully that answers your question. Trans Meta asks, "Gold Golden Girls when?" Stay tuned. If you'll buy it, internet, tell Gary. I'll design the thing freaking tomorrow. Or George. Tell George. We got a question here from Remy. Remy says, "Hey, Jack. Uh, love your work. Can you tell us what's your dream pin to play from a theme, technical, toys, interactivity, etc.?" For a very long time, one of my favorite games to play was Batman 66 because it was sort of like a choose how you want that game to play. And you went down certain paths to adjust how the scoring worked, how the modes worked. But like Deadpool really is the game that has stuck with me the longest. Deadpool is it's a fairly simple game. Not a ton of complex toys and mechs on it, but there's something about the whole package that really speaks to me. Like the shots can be pretty fun. There's humor all over it. The artwork on it is spectacular. All the original songs coming off of it. The modes are pretty straightforward. I It just altogether is a really really awesome awesome game. So go find a Deadpool and play it, please, and come back and report uh what your findings were. It's a great game. All right, we got a question from Charlie who asks, "Will Stern ever move away from producing three trim levels?" Absolutely not. Unless it's a conversation happening behind closed doors that I'm not aware of, the Pro Premium LE model works spectacularly to accommodate everyone as far as like your price points are concerned. The Pro is still like one of the best deals in pinball for a new box. So like it's great for operators to put those on location. The premium is a great spot to be if you just want everything associated with that game. And obviously the Ellie is the Ellie. So, I think the three trim levels are here to stay, but I'll let you know if they change, I guess, or if I hear anything. They're here to stay for now. Timmo or Timo or man, Tim O, I apologize for butchering your name, asks any plans for NFL pinball in the near future. If you ask Gary Stern, and you can probably go find him saying this like over and over again in the annals of pinball history, he doesn't want anything to do with sports games anymore. like at all. Sports games are off the table. So, NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, all of that stuff, you're probably not going to get it from Stern anytime soon. So, sorry to burst your bubble. There's a lot of sports fans at Stern, too. There's like internal football, fantasy leagues, and I don't participate in any of them because I don't know a single thing about sports. All right. Cass asks, "Hey, Jack. When designing a pinball machine, how often do happy accidents occur versus trying to work out the perfect shots? Happy accidents are it is a part of the process. It will happen on every game that you will shoot something and something weird will happen. In fact, the snicked shot was a happy accident and one of my favorite shots on Deadpool. And it's one of those things where George explains like he put this target here, he hit it, and every once in a while it would go up that ramp and so he would choose to shoot it. it would go up the ramp and then he pulled Keith Ellen in who obviously can shoot whatever the hell he wants and he's like just shoot that over and over again and it was repeatable and they're like hot freaking dog there it is. So yeah, happy accidents happen all the time in pinball because there's a lot going on here and you can understand what you want everything to do, but sometimes the ball just does what it wants to and sometimes that's repeatable. Oh, yeah. Jason asks, "Do you Okay. Do you agree with the comparison of listening to SCA music is the same energy as an 11-year-old getting a cheesestick packed into their lunch in school?" Following the cheese analogy, for me, it's more like when freshly cooked mozzarella sticks and marinara are put in front of me. That's when the SCA music kicks in. Or when I'm watching America's Funniest Home Videos. Best Scoth song, period. Go check it out. We got a question from Leo here that says, "How popular does a band need to be for a pin themed after them to make sense?" Well, that's interesting because like Iron Maiden huge, but you could say like there's a decent amount of people that maybe don't know their music that well. Metallica obviously huge. You go further back to your Led Zeppelin and your Rushes. You can't see it, but I have a Primus over here. And if you laid out a bunch of pinball themes in front of me that I would assume Gary would sign off on, Primus doesn't seem like it would be one that would be high on the list, but they were cool to work with because they wanted a pin. We were happy to accommodate and we just made that awesome relationship happened. So, how popular they are doesn't play the biggest role, but it kind of has to make sense. For instance, I love the band The Aquabats. Let's keep talking about that. I'll never get to make an Aquabats pinball machine. They're freaking awesome and they're huge, I guess. But I guess it all depends on who you know and what you know and if the right situation comes along. So, it's sort of a crapshoot, if you will. But, we try to lean on IPs that have a very sizable built-in audience. It just makes sense from a business standpoint. Don't I look so professional? If you didn't notice, I'm at the uh Dead Flip Studios right now. This is an interesting question from Oliver. Oliver asks, "Could future Stern remasters include the Data East in Sega back cataloges?" I love that idea. I pitch that idea all the time. All the time. I want a 40th anniversary laser war. The first game Stern ever made. Re-release it at the same price point that it came out at in 40 years. No, I'm just kidding. I think it's an awesome idea. Like there were so many great titles in that period of time and licensing has changed and it changes all the freaking time. So who knows what's still easy to get. But thankfully because things were like DMD era, the licenses shouldn't be too hard to Well, we would want to put stuff on screens and stuff for Spike 3. You're right. Dang. I don't know. I love the idea. You need to spam Gary's inbox and let him know it has to happen. Tales from the Crypt would be an awesome remake. I want to see Data East Simpsons. Jensen asks, "Why don't you answer the questions I already sent to you?" I only have so much time. Okay, I'm sorry. Or maybe your question was, "Why do you suck so bad? Ask my freaking mom." It's been a long day. Calm down. Worthwhile Panda, love the name, asks, "Do you think it would be good for companies to make some games that are more simplified in order to help attract new players?" Yes, 100%. There is a tightroppe we're walking where we need to make a game that if you buy it and keep it in your house, it has enough there to keep you engaged and interested, but we also need the new players or the less advanced players to also have something obtainable up front to beat up on. So, it's something we strive to do, but from a package standpoint, that's kind of where we were parking the home games that we're selling at Costco, like the Jurassic Park home, best home game ever, the Star Wars Home, potential future home games. So, yes, there is a place for that. There's a market for that, and we're hoping to continue to fill that void with upcoming titles. I got a question from Quinn here and it says, "I was curious if you guys at Stern were planning to make a video game pinball as in based off of a video game. I think video games is a amazing untapped area of IPs. You know, you got your movies, your your bands, your TV shows, and video games is very obviously a a niche we want to get into and I would say we will get into. I mean, video games is like the biggest entertainment industry, right? So, to marry that with pinball is just a no-brainer. So, I would say just hang tight. We got a question here from Nicholas. It says, "Hey, Jack, I saw on the recent announcement of the factory tours. I think it'd be pretty cool perk for LE buyers to have the option to visit while that game is being produced. Maybe even meet the game designer and play a prototype. Is that something you could see Stern offering in the future?" That's a cool idea. Lining something like that up would be, I think, a logistical nightmare because by the time we announce a game, most if not all the Ellies are built. So, that would have to we would have to figure something out where it the title got out early to the people that are dedicated to buying any LE that comes out and then we walk. There's some logistics there, but I think there might be a case for like us walking you through on a day where like that title's being built, period, and then we can walk you through every step. Heck, we could maybe even allow you to screw a plastic on a ramp or something. No promises. Again, I love that idea. I just think logistically, I don't know how we would execute something like that, but truly anything's possible. Who knows what the future holds? And we got a question here from William. William asks, "As the largest pinball manufacturer in the business, what are Stern's efforts and commitments to growing the pinball community and hobby?" Wonderful question. Obviously, without community growth, pinball suffers and then as a business, Stern suffers and all the other manufacturers along with us. So things like Michael Grant taking the helm of like Stern Army to like get more people interested in playing on location, supporting more location pinball because honestly that is where a lot of people are going to discover pinball machines. Someone just having it in their basement isn't going to expose that to a ton of people walking by. But a Deadpool sitting in the window at a bar and someone walks by, they're like, "Oh, I love Deadpool. What the heck is this thing?" and then they come up and they do this and they pull the plunger a bunch of times. Maybe they hit the start button a whole bunch of times and there's at least some engagement there. But then like maybe you are interested in what's that person next to me doing? Why are they playing so much longer? There might be a conversation there. So we're making a lot of advancements in what we're trying to do to get people out to locations because we think that's going to be the best place for people to be exposed to this stuff. One of the bigger problems with pinball on location is a lot of these games are in bars and then kids can't go in there. But there's a lot of really cool pinball co-ops opening up, pinball cafes. There's like some around here that are like in coffee shops. For you folks out there, keep putting them on location or inviting people into your uh home, strangers into your home to play pinball. But the hope is that we can keep supporting these locations to have events to offer them cool stuff to give away to entice more people to show up to play pinball to expose new players, new enthusiasts to then take the helm for themselves to go learn how to play pinball better and then expose their friends and so on and so forth. So yeah, we've got a lot of plans on what we can do in the future. again. Michael Grant is killing it with the Stern Army stuff and uh we've got a lot more to come. So yeah, and with that folks, we're going to close the lid on your questions. Thank you again every single week for sending me all sorts of fun questions to answer. Not as many hard-hitting ones this time around. So make sure if you've got some very tense, complicated, sometimes rude questions, feel free to send them. It's fine. sternpitball.comaskjack or askjacksternpinball.com. I'm Jack Danger. Have a wonderful time and I'll see you on the next one. Goodbye. Mr. Submarine commercials like stuck in my head, bro.