Stern Pinball: About to go "Into the Pinverse" With Venom at Comic-Con; Production News

Knapp Arcade·article·held·Jul 8, 2023

Analysis

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TL;DR

Stern teases new pinball announcement at SDCC; Venom expected, production ramping.

Summary

Stern Pinball will host a seminar titled "Into the Pinverse: From Comic Book to Pinball" at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20th featuring Seth Davis, marketing head Zach Sharpe, and lead designer Brian Eddy. The article speculates this event will announce a new pinball machine, most likely Venom (designed by Brian Eddy), though a Spider-Verse themed machine is theoretically possible. Production updates show The Avengers (Pro) currently on the manufacturing line.

Key Claims

Stern Pinball seminar at San Diego Comic-Con is titled 'Into the Pinverse: From Comic Book to Pinball' and will announce a new pinball machine
high confidence · Official Comic-Con programming schedule confirmation; seminar title and date (July 20, 2:30 PM PT) confirmed
Brian Eddy designed Venom (Pro) pinball machine
high confidence · Knapp Arcade author states 'I know for a fact that Brian Eddy designed it' regarding Venom
Venom (Pro) game has been ready for production for an extended period
medium confidence · Knapp Arcade author: 'The game has been ready forever' — suggests long development/readiness timeline
The Avengers (Pro) was on the production line as of the Factory Friday update
high confidence · Stern Pinball Factory Friday behind-the-scenes content showing The Avengers (Pro) in production
Stern vaulted Spider-Man in 2016 with new comic art revamp
high confidence · Knapp Arcade: 'The last time this game was vaulted, in 2016, it was revamped with new comic art'

Notable Quotes

“This panel will feature a moderated Q&A with Seth Davis (CEO), Zach Sharpe (head of marketing), and Brian Eddy (lead game designer). The conversation, led by GameSpot host Tamoor Hussain, will center around the art and design process for their newest pinball machine to be announced at SDCC”
[name withheld pending review] @ Comic-Con website — Official confirmation of key Stern executives and announcement of new machine at SDCC
“The game has been ready forever and I know for a fact that Brian Eddy designed it.”
Knapp Arcade (author) @ Article body — Insider claim about Venom's design and production readiness
“honestly I suspect that this is just overthinking things and Venom is coming just like we've expected since last year's San Diego Comic-Con.”
Knapp Arcade (author) @ Article conclusion — Author's assessment that Venom is the most likely announcement, with expectations dating back to prior year's Comic-Con

Entities

Stern PinballcompanySan Diego Comic-Conevent Seth Davisperson Zach Sharpeperson Brian EddypersonTamoor HussainpersonVenomgameSpider-Verseproduct

Signals

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announcement: Stern Pinball will officially announce a new pinball machine at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20 during 'Into the Pinverse' seminar; Venom is the leading candidate based on long development timeline and designer confirmation
high · Comic-Con official programming confirms seminar title and announcement of 'newest pinball machine to be announced at SDCC'; Knapp Arcade confirms Brian Eddy designed Venom and game has been production-ready for extended period
?
event_signal: San Diego Comic-Con serves as strategic venue for Stern's major game announcements and licensing partnerships; high-profile panel with CEO, marketing head, and lead designer suggests significant product launch
high · Official SDCC seminar scheduled July 20, 2:30 PM PT with Seth Davis (CEO), Zach Sharpe (marketing), Brian Eddy (lead designer), and GameSpot moderator; panel description emphasizes 'newest major release' and licensing strategy
?
product_launch: Venom pinball machine announcement expected imminently at Comic-Con; game has been in development/ready state for extended period
high · Knapp Arcade insider claim: 'The game has been ready forever and I know for a fact that Brian Eddy designed it' and 'Venom is coming just like we've expected since last year's San Diego Comic-Con'
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manufacturing_signal: Stern's production line is actively manufacturing Avengers Pro, indicating ongoing output capacity while preparing for new machine announcements
high · Stern Factory Friday behind-the-scenes content showed Avengers Pro on production line as of recent update
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Transcript

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Whooo that one is going to leave a mark. I apologize for not getting this news out yesterday, I've been up to my eyeballs in work. Thankfully, it is not the weekend and I have time to talk about our beloved hobbies again, pinball and arcade stuff. Catching up, thank you to all of you who reached out to me yesterday with the tip that the title of Stern Pinball's upcoming seminar at San Diego Comic-Con has been released. On July 20th at 2:30 PM Pacific time Stern will give a talk at the show titled "Into the Pinverse: From Comic Book to Pinball." Here's the description of the talk from Comin-Con's website: This panel will feature a moderated Q&A with Stern Pinball’s Seth Davis (CEO), Zach Sharpe (head of marketing), and Brian Eddy (lead game designer). The conversation, led by GameSpot host Tamoor Hussain,will center around the art and design process for their newest pinball machine to be announced at SDCC, as well as Stern’s larger focus on changing the landscape of the gaming industry as a whole. Key takeaways for those in attendance will be knowledge of the components of a great license from a company that’s licensed some of the world’s hottest brands, how an IP is turned into iconic pinball machines that appeal to fans and collectors alike, and a deep-dive into the creation of Stern’s newest major release. https://www.comic-con.org/cci/programming-schedule Well, there's one more clue for us on what Stern's next game will be. This seminar title still works with a potential Venom pinball machine release. The game has been ready forever and I know for a fact that Brian Eddy designed it. The other remote possibility that this opens up is a pinball machine based on the popular "Spider-Verse" series, which has become even more well-known since the 2018 movie "Into the Spider-Verse" and its sequel which is currently out in theatres, "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." The series actually began with a comic series that ran from 2014 to 2015. If Stern is releasing a Spider-Man Spider-Verse themed pin, kudos to them because have not heard a thing about it. There was some talk at one point that Stern might vault its popular 2007 pinball machine Spider-Man again. The last time this game was vaulted, in 2016, it was revamped with new comic art. Another re-theme of the pin to Spider-Verse could be cool, but honestly I suspect that this is just overthinking things and Venom is coming just like we've expected since last year's San Diego Comic-Con. In other Stern Pinball news, the Company released its "Factory Friday" peek behind the scenes yesterday afternoon. It showed that Avengers Pro was on the production line last week.