Good News and Bad News...

Cary Hardy·video·9m 47s·analyzed·Aug 8, 2025

Analysis

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TL;DR

Most rumored Stern titles debunked; Spike 3 details reveal upcoming price increase.

Summary

Cary Hardy clarifies that a previously discussed list of six rumored upcoming Stern games was mostly false, with only 1-3 titles likely accurate (Star Wars and Walking Dead Remaster confirmed, others uncertain). He reports details from George Gomez's Loser Kid Pinball podcast interview about Spike 3 implementation starting with the next game, including screen size increase, improved audio connectivity (wireless), and diagnostic software improvements. Hardy predicts a ~$500 price increase for Star Wars to justify new hardware features, expressing concern about community reception given existing pricing complaints.

Key Claims

The list of six rumored Stern games is mostly false, with only 1-3 titles being accurate
medium confidence · Hardy received feedback from 'internal sources' after his previous video; he cites Don's Pinball Podcast as original source of rumors
Star Wars is the next Stern game and Walking Dead Remaster is coming later this year
high confidence · Hardy states he is 'pretty damn sure' of these two titles based on internal feedback
Spike 3 will be first implemented on the next game (Star Wars) with bulk changes to screen size, speakers, and audio connectivity
high confidence · George Gomez interview on Loser Kid Pinball podcast; Hardy provides specific technical details
Wireless audio connectivity (not traditional headphone jack) will be featured on Spike 3 machines
medium confidence · George Gomez stated it will be 'much more sophisticated' than a simple jack; Hardy speculates Bluetooth or Insider Connected integration
Star Wars will see approximately a $500 price increase due to Spike 3 hardware upgrades
medium confidence · Hardy's prediction based on hardware improvements; he acknowledges uncertainty ('I hope I'm wrong on this')
Diagnostic software and menu system improvements are being rolled out across new Stern machines
high confidence · Hardy notes King Kong was first to implement this; operators reportedly appreciate the ease of access
Pokemon, Transformers, AC/DC, and Fallout pinball games are 'up in the air' and uncertain
low confidence · These were part of the debunked six-game rumor list; Hardy suggests they may not be accurate

Notable Quotes

“that list is mostly false and so again that really narrows it down to we have a potential one to three at most of those titles being accurate”
Cary Hardy@ 1:04 — Core claim about debunking previous rumor list; clarifies that internal sources contradict his earlier reporting
“i'm pretty damn sure star wars is next and the walking dead is the remaster going on for the remainder of this year”
Cary Hardy@ 1:24 — Identifies two high-confidence upcoming releases from Stern
“it's not what we were stating on that rumored list going on to the next bit of information”
Cary Hardy @ ~2:30 — Signals shift from debunking rumors to providing new Spike 3 information from George Gomez interview
“we're going to be seeing a price jump on Star Wars. how much let's just say 500 bucks more than likely 500 dollars”
Cary Hardy@ 5:31 — Predicts specific pricing impact of Spike 3 implementation; major community concern
“George stated that it's going to be much more sophisticated than that. So wireless in some form or another.”
Cary Hardy@ 4:29 — Describes Spike 3 audio connectivity feature; introduces uncertainty about implementation details
“i think a lot of people would rather like find a way to make the machines cheaper but it's like Stern's doing the opposite they're like we're gonna find a way to make it feel like you're getting more for your buck but we're also gonna charge more bucks for it”
Cary Hardy@ 8:42 — Articulates core community tension between feature additions and price increases; contrasts Stern vs. Spooky pricing strategies

Entities

Cary Hardyperson George Gomezperson Don's Pinball Podcastorganization Loser Kid Pinball PodcastorganizationNap ArcadepersonStern PinballcompanySpooky PinballcompanyStar Warsgame

Signals

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business_signal: Stern rolling out diagnostic software improvements across entire machine lineup; King Kong was first implementation
high · Hardy reports operators appreciate ease of access to diagnostics, tests, audits, and adjustments; menu system praised
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sentiment_shift: Debunked rumor list generated negative community response; hoped it was wrong; new Spike 3 information partially offsets disappointment
high · Hardy states original list 'didn't get me excited it was very disappointing' and acknowledges viewers shared same opinions; intends clarification to 'hopefully soothe you and maybe even get you excited'
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design_philosophy: Stern emphasizing feature additions and hardware sophistication as value proposition; Spooky emphasizing affordability and maximum content
medium · Hardy contrasts two manufacturer philosophies: Stern 'finding way to make it feel like you're getting more' while 'charging more bucks' vs. Spooky 'give you everything...with as low a price as possible'
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market_signal: Community sentiment negative toward pricing; Stern pursuing feature-rich strategy to justify costs while Spooky positions as value alternative
high · Hardy observes widespread community complaints about pricing; contrasts Stern's approach of 'charge more bucks' vs. Spooky's 'lower prices' strategy
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personnel_signal: George Gomez serving as Stern spokesperson for Spike 3 platform details in media appearances
high · George Gomez interviewed on Loser Kid Pinball podcast discussing technical specifications of Spike 3 implementation

Topics

Rumor Debunking and Source CredibilityprimarySpike 3 Hardware Platform Details and ImplementationprimaryPinball Pricing Strategy and Market ConcernsprimaryUpcoming Stern Game Releases and PipelineprimaryWireless Audio Connectivity and Operator LogisticssecondaryDiagnostic Software Improvements in Modern PinballsecondaryStern vs. Spooky Competitive PositioningsecondaryCommunity Sentiment on Hardware Upgrades and Valuesecondary

Sentiment

mixed(0.35)— Hardy expresses relief that the debunked rumor list was disappointing (positive), but conveys significant concern about upcoming price increases and questions about Spike 3 value justification (negative). He's cautiously optimistic about Stern's technical improvements but skeptical about community reception. Positive sentiment toward Spooky Pinball's pricing approach provides some balance.

Transcript

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A few days ago, I went over my live stream last week, and we discussed the six rumored, remember that, I specified rumored, titles coming from Stern. The next six games. Now, it's not uncommon for us to know the next one or two at most, but six? That's a lot. so here we go let's talk about this really quick since that video and again these weren't my rumors because some of you were specifying gary i hope you're wrong or whatever and it's like it's not my rumors i'm merely regurgitating what information was divulged to me from don's pinball podcast so and i was right there beside you stating that i hope it's wrong too because i did not like the list in its entirety and now since a few days have passed the video has gotten a lot of views and i've gotten feedback from internal sources and look here is what i can say about those six games on that list and from the source is that list is mostly false and so again that really narrows it down to we have a potential one to three at most of those titles being accurate and i'm i'm already saying i'm pretty damn sure star wars is next and the walking dead is the remaster going on for the remainder of this year but that does pull into question a lot of interest in what's going on with pokemon is there a transformers is there going to be an acdc and are we going to get the fallout more than likely that's what it looks like is that all those other ones that were kind of iffy about other than the first two are up in the air and it's one of those where i'm glad like i said that original list didn't get me excited it was very disappointing and i know a lot of you out there shared the same opinions in the comment section about how this is the bad list So I trying to give you the information to hopefully soothe you and maybe even get you excited about what is to come next year from Stern And all I can say is it not what we were stating on that rumored list going on to the next bit of information that we have here I say a bit it quite a blot if you listen to Kevin Loza Kid Pinball podcast that was released today they had an interview with George Gomez and a majority of that interview was discussing Spike 3 when are we going to see it what kind of changes are we going to get from it and so I do recall just some bullet points that I thought were pretty interesting and by all means I strongly recommend if you want all the details then you need to watch or listen to the podcast yourself links will be in the video description down below and I think Nap Arcade has pretty much done a bullet point on that as well I'll put a link to his website regarding all that information too but what we know so far about Spike 3 is that the next game which is alleged to be star wars this is where we are going to be first introduced to major changes in regards to spike 3 being implemented we've already been segwaying into spike 3. and i say that was the power supply that is now quiet doesn't have that noisy harrier jet taking off anymore by the way i know i haven't really mentioned in a video or anything But thank you, Stern, for making a change on power supplies to something like that. I haven't been bothered by the sound of King Kong or anything like that. So thank you for that. And in regards to what we're going to be seeing with Spike 3, like I stated, it's going to be implemented beginning on the next game. It's not going to be all of it. Evidently, there's going to be more that's going to be going in there in regards to lighting, more than likely expression lighting or something of that nature. So we're going to get the bulk change on this upcoming game. Probably a change in the screen size, speakers, and as well as audio connectivity. Because it was stated that people want to be able to plug in their headphones into a headphone jack. And George stated that it's going to be much more sophisticated than that. So wireless in some form or another. and it's like okay how is that going to be managed that's my next question on that especially in locations I mean and I kind of wonder if it gonna have something to do with insider Connected And when you log in then direct audio maybe gets to your earbuds I don know That's something that really hurt my interest about where we're going with sophistication and how we connect our headphones or earbuds to a pinball machine. Is it Bluetooth? And it's like, okay, well, that's not, you know, too old or new or anything, but it's a matter of being able to do that on locations and everything. So definitely curious about that. But like I stated, implementing on the next game. So this is also what the next ordeal is that we're going to have to deal with. And that is the fact that chances are, guys, we're going to be seeing a price jump on Star Wars. how much let's just say 500 bucks more than likely 500 dollars now obviously no one's going to like this we're already complaining and bitching about the prices as it is and we're concerned about prices going up again so the only thing that they can do to counter the fact that we're not going to be happy with a price jump especially with 500 maybe more is if they make it feel like we're getting more in return for our buck and that's going to be subjective as hell kind of thing so i'm kind of curious from your perspective it's like what do they need to do to justify the price increase of an extra 500 bucks and again i hope i'm wrong on this i hope that we don't see a price jump at all but if we do the less the better kind of thing but i think we are going to see that i don't think we're going to see a boost in hardware power without a price jump i don't see that happening and something else before i forget because i've already missed it is the software when it comes to diagnostics and everything that has also been slowly implemented into the new pinball machines. I think King Kong was probably the first, but they're going to be getting all the rest of their machines with that same type of software. I really like the menu system now. Much appreciated. I think a lot of the operators love the ease of access to certain diagnostics or tests or audits and adjustments Very nice Really enjoy that But that pretty much it Just a quick video going over a couple of things One, obviously, being the rumored list is mostly false, so hopefully that satisfies a lot of you out there. And secondly, some information in regards to the Spike 3 system. And again, more information in regards to Spike 3 in the links in the description down below. Special shout out to all my Patreon supporters out there. Your monthly contributions and support is very much appreciated. And I will see all of you at the end of the video. I think even if we feel like the Spike 3 implementation, the new hardware is cool, I still don't think that the prize jump is going to be well taken by the people in this hobby. I do not. We're already complaining so much about the pricing on pinball machines. and it's like I think a lot of people would rather like find a way to make the machines cheaper but it's like Stern's doing the opposite they're like we're gonna find a way to make it feel like you're getting more for your buck but we're also gonna charge more bucks for it whereas I feel like you have other companies like Spooky that's trying to do the opposite it give you everything and as much as they possibly can with as low a price as they possibly can and i know you're probably thinking carrie there you go again chill and spooky you're doing it you're doing it okay but you know touche but you know with the fact that i i know what's going on with them and what they're bringing us and i'm pretty excited about it and i think you should be too if you have not put yourself on a waiting list for their next game do so right now peace out guys Keep those flippers strong and true. Carry this songs for you.