First Look at Stern Pinball Venom Animations; “Choose Your Host. Change the Game”

Knapp Arcade·article·held·Jul 17, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.014

TL;DR

Stern teases Venom pinball with host-selection tagline and detailed playfield glimpses.

Summary

Stern Pinball released a teaser video for Venom featuring game animations and the tagline 'Choose Your Host. Change the Game,' suggesting host-selection mechanics. The video revealed details about the playfield layout, character roster (Doppelgänger, symbiotes, Marvel heroes), sculpted toys (Carnage, Doppelgänger), and mechanical features including a captive ball roller-coaster ramp. A full official trailer was announced for the following day.

Key Claims

Venom features a 'Choose Your Host. Change the Game' tagline indicating multiple selectable Venomized characters with different attributes
high confidence · Video embed from Stern Pinball; author states 'I assume that means that players can choose to play as several different Venomized characters, each with their own attributes'
Venom playfield includes Carnage and Doppelgänger sculpted toys
high confidence · Author's detailed playfield breakdown from video analysis
Venom features a captive ball roller-coaster up ramp mechanic
high confidence · Author describes 'Some sort of captive ball rollercoaster up ramp thingy' from video observation
Venom character roster includes Doppelgänger, Black Spider-Man, Hulk, Wolverine, Captain America, and multiple symbiotes
medium confidence · Author cites 'a lot of details about the machine itself over the past several days' but does not specify sources for this roster information
Venom has a fan layout with two flippers and Venom's head positioned between them
medium confidence · Author's rumored details section; sourced from unspecified prior conversations

Notable Quotes

“Choose Your Host. Change the Game”
Stern Pinball (official tagline) @ Teaser video — Official game tagline revealing core host-selection mechanic; first public statement of this feature
“I can't wait to see this game in action. What we've seen so far looks really cool! New pinball launches rule.”
Knapp Arcade @ Article conclusion — Positive sentiment toward the reveal and enthusiasm for new game releases
“Kudos the the folks on in the Poor Man's A Pinball Podcast group for finding the video.”
Knapp Arcade @ Main article body — Credits community discovery of the teaser; shows community engagement in game reveals

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyVenomgame Knapp ArcadeorganizationPoor Man's PinballorganizationCarnageproduct Doppelgängerproduct Marvelcompany

Signals

?
announcement: Stern Pinball released an official teaser video for Venom featuring animations and game tagline; video initially set to private then restored to public
high · Author states 'This morning a short teaser featuring animations from Stern Pinball's upcoming new cornerstone pinball machine, Venom surprisingly appeared on YouTube' and documents video status changes
?
machine_intel: Detailed playfield layout revealed including two-flipper design, Venom head center feature, captive ball roller-coaster ramp, character sculpts, plastic ramps, and wireform layout
high · Author provides comprehensive breakdown of observed playfield elements from video: 'Two flippers with Venom's head in between,' 'captive ball rollercoaster up ramp,' 'Carnage and Dopplganger sculpts,' '3 wireforms, 2 to the left and 1 to the right'
?
design_philosophy: Venom features selectable host characters with the tagline 'Choose Your Host. Change the Game' indicating character-based gameplay variation
high · Official tagline from teaser video; author interprets as indicating 'players can choose to play as several different Venomized characters, each with their own attributes'
?
product_launch: Stern scheduled full official trailer reveal for the day after the teaser video; launch schedule details were being shared within community
high · Author states 'we're getting the first official full trailer for the game tomorrow' and mentions receiving 'Stern launch schedule for Venom'
?
community_signal: Pinball community actively discovering and sharing official reveals; strong positive sentiment toward new game announcements

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

This morning a short teaser featuring animations from Stern Pinball's upcoming new cornerstone pinball machine, Venom surprisingly appeared on YouTube. I have embedded the video and a bunch of pictures from it below. The video shows us the game's tagline for the first time..."Choose Your Host. Change the Game". I assume that means that players can choose to play as several different Venomized characters, each with their own attributes. I've heard a lot of details about the machine itself over the past several days. Venom supposedly has: A fan layout. Two flippers with Venom's head in between Tons of characters including Doppelganger, Black Spiderman, Hulk, Wolverine, Captain Americas and an number of other symbiotes The game has Carnage and Dopplganger sculpts Plastic ramps with decals Some sort of captive ball rollercoaster up ramp thingy. You know the ramp that takes the coaster to the top of the hill before a drop? It's hard to describe but it looks cool. The top part of the playfield is packed with a pretty open bottom. 3 wireforms, 2 to the left and 1 to the right Kudos the the folks on in the Poor Man's Pinball Facebook group for finding the video. I can't wait to see this game in action. What we've seen so far looks really cool! New pinball launches rule. UPDATE: Apparently the video has now been set to private so the embedded vid below won't work until Stern makes it public again. We still have the screenshots that I took and other details below to drool over and discuss until Stern gives us more. UPDATE 2: I've added the Stern launch schedule for Venom that someone just sent me. As I've mentioned previously we're getting the first official full trailer for the game tomorrow. UPDATE 3: The video is now back up. See below: