Stern Insider Connected - Explained by George Gomez

Stern Pinball·video·6m 31s·analyzed·Oct 19, 2021

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.016

TL;DR

Stern Insider Connected: QR-based player account system with achievements, challenges, and rewards launching across Spike 2 games.

Summary

George Gomez, CCO of Stern Pinball, explains Insider Connected, a dual-purpose platform offering players engagement features (achievements, badges, challenges, rewards) and operators tools for location loyalty and machine maintenance. The system uses unique QR codes for player identification across networked Spike 2 games worldwide, with a phased rollout starting with 7 LCD titles expanding to all 17 Spike 2 games by year-end, followed by operator toolset features in fall.

Key Claims

Insider Connected will support all 17 Spike 2 titles by year-end, with 7 LCD titles at launch
high confidence · George Gomez official announcement; specific rollout timeline provided
Achievement XP points are reduced if not earned at commercial locations (unverified achievements vs verified)
high confidence · Gomez explains verification system tied to glass-on play at commercial locations
Operator toolset will come online in fall (following initial player-focused launch)
high confidence · Gomez states operator features launching 'a little later this fall'
Pro games receive plastic bottom arch with integrated QR reader; Premium/LE games receive corner plastic replacement with node board
high confidence · Gomez describes hardware kit differences by tier with specific component details
Special themed bottom arches for Batman, Elvira, and Star Wars Spike 2 games to integrate QR readers
high confidence · Gomez explicitly names three games with custom bottom arch integration

Notable Quotes

“The magic of making a system like this work is knowing exactly who the player is when he's standing in front of the pinball machine.”
George Gomez @ ~0:45 — Core value proposition of Insider Connected: persistent player identity across all networked machines
“Any connected Stern game anywhere in the world will recognize that it's you when you log in using your unique QR code.”
George Gomez @ ~1:30 — Global scope and interoperability promise for player accounts across Stern ecosystem
“Achievements are game-specific goals that are integrated with the rule set of each specific game. They are unique and different from game to game.”
George Gomez @ ~4:15 — Clarifies that achievements are bespoke per-game design, not generic unlocks
“You can't get the full amount of XP unless you're getting verified achievements.”
George Gomez @ ~5:00 — Explains incentive structure favoring location play over home/unverified play
“If you choose not to join Insider Connected, your Stern Pinball machines will continue to work the way they always have, but you'll be missing out on all this cool stuff.”
George Gomez @ ~16:00 — Backwards compatibility messaging; Insider Connected is optional but incentivized

Entities

George GomezpersonStern PinballcompanyInsider Connectedproduct Spike 2productBatman (Spike 2)gameElvira (Spike 2)gameStar Wars (Spike 2)gameAutomated Amusementsorganization

Signals

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business_signal: Stern expanding operator toolset offering with location-specific promotions, player loyalty tracking, and machine maintenance integration
high · Gomez dedicates significant portion to operator benefits: location play, player loyalty, machine maintenance tools; operator toolset launching fall after player features
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community_signal: Challenge quest system enabling Stern and operators to issue time-based community challenges with reward incentives
high · Gomez describes challenge quests as operator/Stern-issued challenges with example 'play any three connected Stern games at Automated Amusements this week'
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market_signal: Stern positioning Insider Connected as competitive response to third-party platforms; incentivizing location play over home play through XP verification system
medium · Verified achievement XP bonus for glass-on location play vs reduced XP for unverified achievements suggests strategy to drive commercial location traffic
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announcement: Official launch announcement of Insider Connected platform with detailed feature breakdown, hardware integration specs, and phased rollout timeline
high · George Gomez CCO providing comprehensive product overview with specific Spike 2 title counts, hardware component details, and fall operator toolset timeline
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product_strategy: Hardware kit differentiation across Pro/Premium/LE tiers with different QR reader integration approaches (plastic arch vs corner plastic replacement)
high · Gomez explicitly describes Pro receiving 'plastic bottom arch with QR reader attached' vs Premium/LE receiving 'corner plastic replacement with node board'

Topics

Insider Connected Platform LaunchprimaryPlayer Engagement Features (Achievements, Badges, Quests)primaryOperator Toolset & Location LoyaltyprimarySpike 2 Hardware Integration (QR Readers, Wi-Fi/Ethernet)primaryThree-Tier Hardware Kit Differentiation (Pro/Premium/LE)secondaryVerified vs Unverified Achievement Systemsecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.85)— Gomez presents Insider Connected with enthusiasm and confidence; framed as expansion of player choice and engagement without mandating participation; no criticism or controversy evident in presentation

Transcript

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hey everybody it's George Gomez, I'm the chief creative officer for Stern Pinball and today I'm here to talk to you about Insider Connected. Insider Connected does two things: for players it offers a whole new set of engagement features both at the games and off the games, and for operators it offers a whole new tool set to drive location play, build player loyalty, and maintain the machines. The magic of making a system like this work is knowing exactly who the player is when he's standing in front of the pinball machine. It all starts by creating a free account. You can do this by either scanning one of the QR codes at the games with your phone, which will take you to a sign up page on the website, or going directly to the website and signing up. When you sign up you'll get a unique QR code that identifies you, and that's where the magic starts. What this means is that any connected Stern game anywhere in the world will recognize that it's you when you log in using your unique QR code. Logging in is easy. You'll have your unique QR code as a photo on your phone. You can scan it on the glass. You can also print it, carry it around as a card in your wallet, pull it out, scan it on the glass. Or you can go to the web app, pull up your account and pull up the code from there. So a year ago, with people stuck at home because of the pandemic, we decided to focus the launch feature set on players. The operator tool set will come online a little later this fall. When we launch we will support seven LCD Spike 2 (Stern's pinball hardware platform) games, but by year's end we will have the entire universe of seventeen Spike 2 (Stern's pinball hardware platform) titles with player focus features supported. So over the course of the next year we'll be rolling out the entire feature set of Insider Connected for both players and operators. One of the very first things that players will interact with is the achievement system. Achievements are game-specific goals that are integrated with the rule set of each specific game. They are unique and different from game to game. In some cases achievements might be a timed objective relative to some game rule. In other cases it may be some series of events within the game. Achievements show up as badges on your profile page. By the way, your profile page has a full set of privacy controls so you can choose what people see or don't see relative to your progress in the games. Another really cool thing about achievements is that if you get them on a game that is in a commercial location, they are marked as verified because we know you did them with the glass on. Every achievement contributes experience points to your profile. We call them XP. However, you can't get the full amount of XP unless you're getting verified achievements. There's also another system which we call profile badges. Very similar to achievements but not game-specific. So profile badges can be used to reward things like play streaks or calendar events or other features that span across game titles. The system will also bring all kinds of other cool things. For example, we have something called Challenge Quests, which are challenges issued by either an operator or Stern Pinball to the community, and the community can choose to participate or not. And of course behind those challenges, if you accomplish them, there are rewards. Insider Connected will also connect you to prizes, promotions, treasure chests, and location-specific challenges. Challenge Quests are time-based challenges. Players complete actions in games or in the app to earn rewards. Quests can be individual or they can be team-based. Challenges Quests can be issued or presented to the Insider members either by Stern Pinball or by operators. For example, a Challenge Quest could be "play any three connected Stern games at Logan Arcade this week." Treasure chests are in-game notifications awarded randomly to a player. They can be used to award real-world merchandise, store discounts, or virtual goods. One of the things that you'll see in Insider Connected is that both Stern Pinball and specific operators will be able to run promotions. So the connectivity kits for the Pro games will include a plastic bottom arch with the QR reader attached along with the wi-fi dongle. On Premium and Limited Edition games you'll get this, which replaces the corner plastic on your bottom arch. It has the node board for the reader and the reader and a plate to mount it, and you'll also get a wi-fi dongle. Of course you can also run an ethernet cable into the cabinet for either Pros, Premiums, or Alleys, and you'll have a faster, more secure connection. There are certain Spike 2 (Stern's pinball hardware platform) LCD games such as Batman, Elvira, or Star Wars that have special bottom arches. Those games will get a special bottom arch to integrate the QR readers and the connectivity kits into the game. So I've talked to you a little bit about some of the features in Insider Connected. Well believe it or not, there's even more stuff coming. There's a bunch of tournament-related stuff that's coming. There are other features that are actual extensions of the game that are coming, which you're really going to like. And finally, if you choose not to join Insider Connected, your Stern Pinball machines will continue to work the way they always have. But you'll be missing out on all this cool stuff. This is really going to be fun. You should join.