Ep 19: Fight Night

TL;DR

Zach Sharp discusses Stern's manufacturing, licensing strategy, and marketing approach amid COVID disruptions.

Summary

Key Claims

• Stern manufactures games in the order: Pros first, then LEs, then Premiums

  high confidence · Zach Sharp directly corrected Jeff Teelis on this manufacturing order, stating 'Pros always come first, then LEs, then Premiums.'

• Due to COVID-19, Stern pivoted to smaller Pro runs followed by LEs and Premiums for titles like Turtles and Avengers

  high confidence · Zach Sharp explained: 'especially with Turtles where, you know, it's a smaller run of Pros followed by LEs, maybe sprinkling in some more Pros and then Premiums. And, you know, similar with Avengers'

• The Marvel Avengers game trailer received over 300,000 views on Instagram in 48 hours

  high confidence · Zach Sharp stated: 'in 48 hours, the game trailer on their Instagram page had over 300,000 views in 48 hours'

• Stern's production facility shutdown lasted approximately one to two months during COVID lockdowns

  high confidence · Zach Sharp: 'we had stay-at-home orders shut down for, was it almost two months or a month and a half?'

• Stern operates multiple production lines allowing simultaneous development of different games despite backorders

  high confidence · Zach Sharp: 'we've got multiple lines, so there's no reason to completely stall development on new games'

• The planned Turtles launch event at Nickelodeon in New York was cancelled due to COVID-19

  high confidence · Zach Sharp: 'we were going to be doing a really cool event in New York right by Nickelodeon... But COVID happened and no in-person travel'

• Stern is approaching or near 100% production capacity post-COVID

  medium confidence · Zach Sharp: 'I think we're close. You know, I am not in the factory that often... But I think we're getting near, if not near 100%'

• The Avengers game was not leaked before its official Marvel announcement, making it the first major Stern launch without a pre-announcement leak

  medium confidence · Jeff Teelis: 'I thought it was the first launch where it hadn't been leaked before. That Marvel video, the post that came up, was the first time that we saw it'

Notable Quotes

• “Pros always come first, then LEs, then Premiums.”

  Zach Sharp @ ~early interview — Direct clarification of Stern's manufacturing order, correcting industry misconceptions

• “It's easy to do a sizzle trailer. It's easy to write a press release and put together all these sales materials on, you know, these incredible-looking machines where if it wasn't a good game or it didn't look pretty, then, you know, I might have my work cut out for me a little bit harder.”

  Zach Sharp @ ~mid-interview — Insight into how game quality directly impacts marketing effectiveness

• “every game launch is going to be different in its rollout... it's always helps when we can work with our partners even more so than just our small pinball bubble.”

  Zach Sharp @ ~mid-interview — Recognition of how major IP partners (Marvel) amplify reach beyond pinball community

• “I don't want to minimize the amount of work I do behind the scenes. And I always like to say marketing is a thankless job. Usually you'll get panned on if something goes wrong, but if everything goes right, you don't really get kudos either.”

  Zach Sharp @ ~early-mid interview — Commentary on the invisible labor and risk asymmetry in marketing work

• “My biggest mistake might have been using a word that Gary doesn't like in a press release and getting my hand slapped on that.”

  Zach Sharp @ ~mid-interview — Humorous but revealing detail about internal editorial oversight at Stern (Gary Pepys)

• “We definitely have some things in the works. I mean, I'd say this is the first baby step in that direction, but we definitely have some future plans for more polished, professional-produced, competitive content.”

  Zach Sharp @ ~late interview — Signals continued investment in broadcast-quality competitive pinball content

• “It was definitely intentionally meant for a more casual audience, no doubt.”

  Zach Sharp @ ~late interview — Confirms the Heads Up Challenge was designed to appeal to non-enthusiasts and mainstream audiences

Entities

Signals

• ?

  manufacturing_signal: Stern manufactures in order: Pros first, then LEs, then Premiums, but COVID shifted strategy to smaller Pro runs with more Premium/LE emphasis due to reduced commercial venue activity

  high · Zach Sharp: 'Pros always come first, then LEs, then Premiums' but 'with Turtles... it's a smaller run of Pros followed by LEs'

• ?

  supply_chain_signal: Stern factory shutdown lasted 1-2 months; now approaching or near 100% capacity but managing significant backorders across domestic and export markets

  high · Zach Sharp: 'we had stay-at-home orders shut down for, was it almost two months' and 'I think we're getting near, if not near 100%'

• ?

  licensing_signal: Major licensors (Marvel, Nickelodeon) are increasingly hands-on in launch strategy, timing, and marketing approvals; Marvel's 90M+ followers enabled massive organic reach

  high · Zach Sharp described Marvel coordination directly on Avengers launch timing; Instagram post had 300K views in 48 hours and 100K+ likes; planned Nickelodeon event was cancelled due to COVID

• ?

  product_strategy: Stern maintains multiple simultaneous production lines and overlapping marketing activities across 3-5 games per year, managing different licensors and brands concurrently

  high · Zach Sharp: 'we've got multiple lines, so there's no reason to completely stall development on new games' and discussed overlapping work on different machines/licenses

• ?

  content_signal: Stern produced Heads Up Challenge broadcast as virtual pivot from planned Comic-Con in-person tournament; intentionally designed for casual/mainstream audiences; signals future investment in professional competitive content