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

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Jul 8, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.015

TL;DR

Stern teasing new game at Comic-Con; Venom pinball likely announcement.

Summary

Stern Pinball is holding a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 (July 20) titled 'Into the Pinverse' to discuss their newest pinball machine announcement. The seminar title and context strongly suggest Venom pinball is the upcoming release, designed by Brian Eddy, though Spider-Verse theming remains a remote possibility. Factory Friday footage confirms Avengers Pro is currently in production.

Key Claims

Stern Pinball will announce a new pinball machine at San Diego Comic-Con on July 20 at 2:30 PM Pacific
high confidence · Official Comic-Con programming schedule published; seminar confirmed with Seth Davis (CEO), Zach Sharpe (marketing), and Brian Eddy (designer) participating
Brian Eddy designed the upcoming game to be announced at Comic-Con
high confidence · Author states 'I know for a fact that Brian Eddy designed it' regarding the seminar's featured game
Venom pinball 'has been ready forever'
medium confidence · Author's insider knowledge claim; suggests game has been completed and awaiting announcement for extended period
Avengers Pro was on Stern's production line as of last week
high confidence · Factory Friday behind-the-scenes footage released by Stern Pinball

Notable Quotes

“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.”
Knapp Arcade (author) @ main body — Direct confirmation of insider knowledge regarding Venom as the likely Comic-Con announcement and Brian Eddy's design role
“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) @ main body — Author's assessment that Venom has been anticipated since 2023 Comic-Con and is the most likely announcement, dismissing Spider-Verse theory
“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.”
Comic-Con website description @ quoted material — Official confirmation that a new pinball machine will be announced at the seminar and indicates broader Stern strategic messaging

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyVenomgame Brian Eddyperson Seth Davisperson Zach SharpepersonTamoor HussainpersonSan Diego Comic-Con 2024eventSpider-VerseproductAvengers Progame

Signals

?
event_signal: Major industry announcement scheduled at San Diego Comic-Con 2024 with senior Stern leadership and gaming media moderator
high · Official Comic-Con programming confirmation with CEO, head of marketing, and lead designer participating; moderated by GameSpot host
?
leak_detection: Venom pinball details (designer, production status, announcement timing) have circulated in community for extended period prior to official reveal
medium · Author references expectations 'since last year's San Diego Comic-Con' indicating information has been anticipated/known informally
$
market_signal: Stern prioritizing major IP licenses and high-profile event announcements; Comic-Con presence signals continued focus on pop culture/entertainment partnerships
medium · Panel description emphasizes 'licensing some of the world's hottest brands' and 'appeal to fans and collectors'; event choice indicates strategic marketing to broader entertainment audience
?
personnel_signal: Brian Eddy confirmed as lead game designer for major upcoming title at highest level (Comic-Con panel appearance)
high · Official Comic-Con programming lists Eddy as panelist discussing 'lead game designer' role for announced machine
?
announcement: Venom pinball machine expected to be officially announced at Comic-Con seminar
high · Author claims insider knowledge that Venom 'has been ready forever' and was designed by Brian Eddy; seminar title 'Into the Pinverse' aligns with Venom theming and Marvel branding focus

Topics

Upcoming game announcementsprimaryMarvel IP licensing in pinballprimaryComic-Con 2024 eventprimaryStern Pinball production pipelinesecondaryDesigner/development team rolessecondaryPinball game theme speculationsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Author expresses enthusiasm about the upcoming announcement ('Whooo that one is going to leave a mark') and treats speculation as exciting speculation rather than concerning news. Tone is optimistic about Stern's product pipeline and Comic-Con presence.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

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.