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Stern Goes Blue for Tron

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·Mar 15, 2013
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.013

TL;DR

Stern officially launches blue LED DMD display upgrade for pinball machines at $399.

Summary

Stern Pinball announced in March 2013 that it would begin officially selling blue LED dot-matrix displays (DMDs) for their games, a feature previously only available as third-party aftermarket modifications. The blue DMD was designed to complement Tron: Legacy and was considered suitable for other titles including The Avengers, X-Men, and Avatar. The official kit costs $399 plus tax and shipping, featuring actual blue LEDs rather than filtered white LEDs, and became available from Stern distributors starting mid-April 2013.

Key Claims

  • Blue LED dot-matrix displays were previously only available as third-party aftermarket modifications before Stern adopted them

    high confidence · Article states 'What has previously only been available as a third-party after-market mod has now been adopted by Stern Pinball'

  • Tron: Legacy was the first game to truly benefit from a blue DMD

    high confidence · Article explicitly states 'The Tron:Legacy game was the first to truly benefit from a blue DMD'

  • The Avengers - Hulk limited edition was released with a green display

    high confidence · Article mentions 'recently-released limited edition The Avengers - Hulk, where the display was green'

  • The blue DMD display uses actual blue LEDs rather than white LEDs with a blue filter

    high confidence · Article states 'The LEDs used are actually blue, and not white LEDs with a blue filter'

  • The blue DMD kit would cost $399 plus tax and shipping

    high confidence · Article directly states 'The costs of the blue display is not cheap at $399 + tax + shipping'

Notable Quotes

  • “What has previously only been available as a third-party after-market mod has now been adopted by Stern Pinball”

    Article/Stern Pinball @ N/A — Establishes the shift from aftermarket modification to official Stern product

  • “The Tron:Legacy game was the first to truly benefit from a blue DMD”

    Article/Source @ N/A — Identifies which game drove the development of blue DMD technology

  • “Stern think the blue version would also look good in The Avengers, X-Men and Avatar”

    Stern Pinball @ N/A — Shows Stern's vision for applying blue DMD across multiple themed machines

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyTron: LegacygameThe Avengers - HulkgameX-MengameAvatargameThe Avengersgame

Signals

  • ?

    product_strategy: Stern offering color DMD upgrades (blue, green) as official aftermarket products, expanding customization options for existing game installations

    high · Article mentions blue DMD for Tron: Legacy and green DMD for The Avengers - Hulk, with plans to offer blue for other titles

  • ?

    technology_signal: Stern Pinball officially adopts blue LED DMD display technology that was previously only available as third-party aftermarket modifications, legitimizing the upgrade path for collectors and operators

    high · Article states Stern is now 'selling a blue LED dot-matrix display (DMD) for their games' and this was 'previously only available as a third-party after-market mod'

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Color DMD display choices appear strategically aligned with game themes (blue for Tron, green for Hulk, proposed blue for Avatar)

    medium · Article states 'The Tron:Legacy game was the first to truly benefit from a blue DMD' and 'Stern think the blue version would also look good in The Avengers, X-Men and Avatar'

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

Date: 15 March, 2013 What has previously only been available as a third-party after-market mod has now been adopted by Stern Pinball as they begin selling a blue LED dot-matrix display (DMD) for their games. The Tron:Legacy game was the first to truly benefit from a blue DMD but other games have also appeared sporting single colour displays, including Stern's recently-released limited edition The Avengers - Hulk, where the display was green. Stern think the blue version would also look good in The Avengers, X-Men and Avatar. The LEDs used are actually blue, and not white LEDs with a blue filter. The costs of the blue display is not cheap at $399 + tax + shipping; somewhat more than other blue DMD displays on the market. Like them, it comes with a sheet of tinted blue film to help hide the gaps between the LED blocks. The blue display kit will be available from Stern distributors or the company themselves from mid-April. The part number is: 502-6811-00. Back to the News page Like this page? Share it with your Facebook friends: Back to the front page