New Details on Stern Pinball’s Upcoming James Bond Game

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Sep 9, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

Stern teases James Bond surprises; Insider Connected expands with quests.

Summary

Stern Pinball's Chief Creative Officer George Gomez and Taylor Bancroft discussed the upcoming James Bond pinball game on MarcoPinball's PinTech LIVE stream. Gomez revealed the game features Pro, Premium, and LE versions, hinted at a 'big surprise' (possibly a higher-end Kapow version), and confirmed the Aston Martin DB5 with an ejector seat mechanic is included. Insider Connected will receive quest badges and expand to home games but not DMD-era machines.

Key Claims

George Gomez redesigned James Bond from scratch after Steve Ritchie left for Jersey Jack Pinball
high confidence · Official statement by George Gomez on MarcoPinball's stream; matches publicly known personnel move
James Bond game will feature Pro, Premium, and LE cornerstone versions with a 'big surprise' hinted at
high confidence · Direct quote from George Gomez; speculation that this refers to a Kapow tier or Super version
The Aston Martin DB5 is in the game with an ejector seat mechanic
high confidence · Directly stated by George Gomez on stream
George Gomez's favorite Bond film is Goldfinger and favorite James Bond actor is Sean Connery
high confidence · Direct statements from Gomez on stream; lends credence to Connery-era movie focus
Insider Connected will not expand to DMD-era Stern pins due to hardware cost constraints
high confidence · Direct statement by Taylor Bancroft on stream
Insider Connected is coming to Stern's Home Pin line of games
high confidence · Direct statement by George Gomez and Taylor Bancroft on stream

Notable Quotes

“Stay tuned for a big surprise.”
George Gomez @ MarcoPinball PinTech LIVE stream — Hints at undisclosed tier or version of James Bond beyond standard Pro/Premium/LE offerings
“Once you see all of the surprises…all of your favorite villains will be there.”
George Gomez @ MarcoPinball PinTech LIVE stream — Suggests either multiple movie assets or potential DLC model; confirms villain-themed content
“Insider Connected will not be expanded to DMD-Era Stern pins. Doing so would involve selling too much hardware.”
Taylor Bancroft @ MarcoPinball PinTech LIVE stream — Clarifies technical and business constraints on backward compatibility for Insider Connected system

Entities

George GomezpersonTaylor BancroftpersonSteve RitchiepersonStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack Pinballcompany James Bondgame Insider ConnectedproductMarcoPinballperson

Signals

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licensing_signal: James Bond game will feature multiple movie assets, suggesting Stern secured broad licensing rights to Connery-era Bond films
medium · George Gomez statement about villains being present and preference for Goldfinger/Connery suggests multi-film content scope
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community_signal: Steve Ritchie transitioning from Stern to Jersey Jack Pinball represents key talent migration between major manufacturers
high · Confirmed by article discussing Ritchie's departure and Gomez taking over game design from scratch
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announcement: Stern confirms James Bond pinball coming with multiple tiers and mysterious 'big surprise' hinted at, likely higher-end Kapow or Super version
high · George Gomez direct statement: 'Stay tuned for a big surprise' combined with specific mechanical and thematic details about game
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product_strategy: Insider Connected expanding with quest badges and Home Pin compatibility, but explicitly not supporting DMD-era machines
high · Direct statements from Taylor Bancroft about roadmap priorities and hardware constraints

Transcript

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This afternoon Stern Pinball’s Chief Creative Officer George Gomez and Insider Connected Technical Producer Taylor Bancroft were featured as guests on MarcoPinball’s fantastic PinTech LIVE Twitch / Facebook stream. They talked quite a bit about Stern’s new Insider Connected system (I admit, I’m addicted to it) but first let’s discuss what was said about Stern’s upcoming game, James Bond. As has already been discussed, George Gomez designed the game from scratch after Steve Ritchie, who started the game, left for Jersey Jack Pinball. George said that he designed the cornerstone versions of the game, the Pro, Premium & LE but that we should “stay tuned for a big surprise.” Hmmm, might this mean that there’s an even higher-end Kapow version of the game? Perhaps. Another statement by George lends credence to the likely existence of a Super version of the game with more code and film assets: “Once John Youssi all of the surprises…all of your favorite villains will be there.” Though I suppose that there’s an outside chance that it means that one movie’s assets come with the game and additional movies can be purchased as DLC. We’ll find out next week. George specifically professed his love for the Goldfinger Bond film, so I’d be shocked if that movie wasn’t somehow in the game. And his favorite James Bond is Sean Connery, which supports the rumor that the new game will be based on Connery’s movies. The original James Bond car, the Aston Martin DB5 is in the game…complete with an ejector seat mech. At one point in the interview, George even picked up a mech from the new Bond game that was laying on his desk and showed it to the camera. I took a screenshot of it and shared it below, but I have absolutely no idea what it is LOL. Now onto insider connected. Taylor and George stated that Quests with special badges are coming to the system. Insider Connected will not be expanded to DMD-Era Stern pins. Doing so would involve selling too much hardware. Insider Connected is however going to be introduced for Stern’s Home Pin line of games. These are a few notes that I took while watching it, but there was A LOT more to the interview. Definitely make sure to click on the link below and check it out in full: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1585598477