Rumors About the Upcoming Stern Pinball James Bond Machine

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Sep 6, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.016

TL;DR

Unconfirmed rumors: Stern James Bond game based on Sean Connery films, Goldfinger possibly featured.

Summary

Article reports unverified rumors from a Pinside forum post claiming Stern's upcoming James Bond pinball will focus on Sean Connery-era films, possibly Goldfinger specifically, with price increases across all trim levels and an official dealer reveal scheduled for a specific Tuesday morning.

Key Claims

New Stern James Bond game will be based upon the Sean Connery era of Bond movies
low confidence · Anonymous Pinside forum post cited by Knapp Arcade; no official confirmation
An artist submitted a Goldfinger-based Bond pinball art package to Stern in 2019 that was rejected
medium confidence · Knapp Arcade states this was brought to their attention; provides contextual support for Goldfinger rumor but source unnamed
Stern will raise prices on all three trim levels (Pro, Premium, LE) of the new Bond game
low confidence · Anonymous Pinside post; unverified by official Stern channels
Stern is scheduled to officially reveal the game to dealers at 8:00 AM Central on a specific Tuesday
low confidence · Anonymous Pinside post; timing claimed to be two hours before LE sales to All-Access members

Notable Quotes

“an individual stated that a distributor told them that the new Stern Pinball James Bond game will be based upon the Sean Connery era of the movies”
Knapp Arcade (reporting anonymous Pinside post) @ not specified — Primary source of the central rumor; chain of hearsay (distributor → individual → forum post → article)
“an artist submitted an art package to Stern for a pinball machine based solely on the Bond movie Goldfinger back in 2019. Ultimately that package was rejected by either Stern or the licensor, but it lends some credence to the rumor that the game is only based upon one Sean Connery Bond film, Goldfinger”
Knapp Arcade @ not specified — Provides circumstantial evidence for Goldfinger focus; acknowledges information is several years old and may be outdated

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyJames Bond (game)gameSean Conneryperson Goldfingergame Pinsideorganization Knapp ArcadeorganizationAll-Access membersorganization

Signals

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licensing_signal: Historical context suggesting potential licensing constraints around Bond film selection (2019 Goldfinger package rejected)
medium · Artist-submitted Goldfinger art package rejected by Stern or licensor in 2019; suggests licensor approval requirements
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market_signal: Rumored price increases across all three trim levels (Pro, Premium, LE) for new Bond machine
low · Anonymous Pinside post claims price increases but provides no specific amounts or rationale
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announcement: Stern reportedly scheduling official dealer reveal of new James Bond game at specific date/time
low · Rumored 8:00 AM Central Tuesday reveal to dealers, two hours before LE sales to All-Access members
?
rumor_hype: Unconfirmed rumors circulating on Pinside about Sean Connery-focused James Bond pinball game with possible Goldfinger single-film focus
low · Anonymous forum post on Pinside cited by Knapp Arcade; hearsay chain (distributor → individual → post)

Topics

Upcoming game theme and scopeprimaryPricing strategy and increasesprimaryOfficial reveal timing and distribution strategysecondaryLicensing and IP constraintssecondaryRumor sourcing and credibilitysecondary

Sentiment

neutral(0.5)— Article reports rumors without editorial bias; author maintains skeptical distance by emphasizing unconfirmed nature and time-gap concerns ('that was several years ago and things may have changed')

Transcript

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In a recent post on Pinside, an individual stated that a distributor told them that the new Stern Pinball James Bond game will be based upon the Sean Connery era of the movies. Sean Connery played 007 in the following movies: Dr. No (1962) From Russia With Love (1963) Goldfinger (1964) Thunderball {1965) You Only Live Twice (1967) Diamonds are Forever (1971) Never Say Never Again (1983) It is not currently known which of these movies will be featured in the game, BUT...it has been brought to my attention that an artist submitted an art package to Stern for a pinball machine based solely on the Bond movie Goldfinger back in 2019. Ultimately that package was rejected by either Stern or the licensor, but it lends some credence to the rumor that the game is only based upon one Sean Connery Bond film, Goldfinger. Of course, even if this was the case at one time, that was several years ago and things may have changed. The post went on to say that Stern is going to raise prices on all three trim levels of the game, Pro, Premium and LE. Lastly, Stern is supposedly going to officially reveal the game to dealers at 8:00 AM Central next Tuesday, two hours before it is scheduled to list some of the Limited Edition machines for sale to All-Access members on its website. https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/bond-james-bond-stern-007-hype-club/page/2#post-7122152