What Do Points Make?

Pinball News Website·article·analyzed·Sep 18, 2002

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.016

TL;DR

Stern launches ToPS, a single-machine tournament system for location operators.

Summary

Stern Pinball Inc announced the launch of ToPS (Tournament Pinball System), a single-machine tournament system designed for location operators. ToPS allows operators to set tournament parameters, prize structures, and payouts through machine menus without requiring phone lines or external servers. The system was developed over one year by Lonnie Ropp, Joe Blackwell, and Dwight Sullivan, with initial testing showing increased earnings at multiple location types.

Key Claims

ToPS can be installed in fifteen minutes or less
high confidence · Official Stern press release specification
Testing and development of ToPS resulted in significantly increased earnings during the development year
high confidence · Joe Blackwell quote: 'When we moved an older experimental tournament model to replace it with a non-tournament Monopoly™, the bar and its customers insisted on having its tournament game back'
ToPS requires no phone lines, no servers, and gives full location privacy
high confidence · Official Stern press release
Playboy and RollerCoaster Tycoon games are pre-wired for ToPS installation
high confidence · Official specifications in press release
Stern's previous attempt at a tournament system (Golden Cue) was abandoned due to prohibitive licensing costs with Incredible Technologies
high confidence · Article states 'that was using Incredible Technologies' network of interconnected game and the licensing costs were prohibitive'

Notable Quotes

“When we moved an older experimental tournament model to replace it with a non-tournament Monopoly™, the bar and its customers insisted on having its tournament game back”
Joe Blackwell, Tech Service Director, Stern Pinball @ N/A — Demonstrates market demand validation for ToPS system through location operator feedback
“When we moved a tournament game from a bowling alley where it tested great to a nearby bar, some bowling customers started going to the bar”
Joe Blackwell, Tech Service Director, Stern Pinball @ N/A — Evidence of customer attraction and cross-venue traffic generated by tournament pinball
“This is a great advance in pinball. Tournament is foremost in the minds of operators and players. Our experience and our earnings with tournament pinball showed us why everyone wants tournaments. ToPS™ earnings plus pinball resale value make pinball a great investment for operators.”
Gary Stern, Stern Pinball Inc @ N/A — Leadership endorsement positioning ToPS as strategic advancement for location operators

Entities

Stern Pinball InccompanyToPS (Tournament Pinball System)productPlayboy (pinball machine)gameRollerCoaster Tycoon (pinball machine)gameLonnie RopppersonJoe BlackwellpersonDwight Sullivanperson Gary Sternperson Golden CuegameIncredible TechnologiescompanyKelly Packard

Signals

?
business_signal: Location operator testing demonstrates increased earnings from ToPS-equipped machines during development phase, with customer demand validated across bowling alley and bar venues
high · Joe Blackwell quotes showing customers demanded tournament games back and that customers traveled between locations for tournament machines
?
community_signal: Stern engaging directly with location operators throughout development process to understand needs and validate market demand for tournament systems
high · Article states Stern 'developed the ToPS™ system with these things in mind after consulting with many operators and location owners throughout the United States'
$
market_signal: Stern positioning tournament play as key revenue driver for location operators to justify adoption of new hardware ($500 system cost estimate)
high · Press release states 'Tournament pinball games earn more money' and 'ToPS™ earnings plus pinball resale value make pinball a great investment for operators'
?
announcement: Stern Pinball officially announces ToPS (Tournament Pinball System) as a new single-machine tournament offering for location operators
high · Official press release from Stern with detailed specifications, pricing estimate ~$500, compatibility with Playboy and RollerCoaster Tycoon machines
?
product_strategy: ToPS designed with three distinct tournament modes (Progressive Cash, Fixed Cash, Non-Cash Prizes) offering operator flexibility in reward structures
high · Press release details three tournament modes with customizable parameters including cost, winner places, prize incrementing

Topics

Tournament system design and innovationprimaryLocation operator economics and revenue modelsprimarySingle-machine tournament architectureprimaryPrize structures and operator customizationsecondaryHistory of Stern tournament systemssecondaryInstallation and operator supportsecondaryLegal framework for pinball tournamentsmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Article is cautiously optimistic about ToPS, crediting the design team while acknowledging uncertainty about pricing and market adoption. Testing results are presented positively, and Gary Stern's endorsement is strong. Mild skepticism expressed about operator profitability requirements and unknown exact pricing.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

Story dated 18th September 2002, new pictures 26th September 2002. As we reported back in April, Stern Pinball Inc have been working on a single-site tournament system and now it is about to be rolled out. Yes, it's called ToPS (note the capitalisation) and it works as we described before. It's not a networked system and it works on a single machine. Prizes and the levels they are awarded are set by the site operator through new entries in the Portal menu system. ToPS can be fitted to Playboy and RollerCoaster Tycoon games (and later) by the addition of a game-top multicolour LED display, a controller board and a tournament start button on the lockdown bar (those blanking plugs on Playboy finally come into their own). This isn't Stern's first attempt at a tournament system. The company (or Sega as it was at the time) tried the idea with Kelly Packard's Golden Cue but that was using Incredible Technologies' network of interconnected game and the licensing costs were prohibitive leading to the abandonment of the idea. Now it looks as if the need to have a phone line connection has been done away with and it's single game tournaments through ToPS. So what can we expect to win? That depends entirely on the game operator. You could win prizes, tickets or cash - either fixed value or incremental - but that's all set in the game menus. What is not yet clear is exactly how the prizes are awarded. Games don't currently have any way to pay out prizes and the installation kit doesn't provide one, so is ToPS only suitable for managed sites? Whatever, the deciding factor for the success of tournament play has to be the cost of the ToPS system. As yet no firm pricing information is available (reports put it around $500) but the software is already included in the game, so the major costs are the display and the controller board. The system has to bring in enough additional earnings to pay for itself (like all amusement devices in commercial use) . To achieve that, the operator may have to experiment with different reward systems and the prizes have to be sufficient to encourage players to opt for the tournament game rather than regular play. It's way to early to know whether ToPS will be a success but credit is due to Stern and the system's designers (Messrs. Blackwell, Ropp and Sullivan) for their work and let's hope that the system helps revive pinball in the eyes of arcade owners and that the extra price doesn't prove to be prohibitive. Anyway, here's Stern's official press release: Stern Pinball is excited to announce the release of its Tournament Pinball System (ToPS™). ToPS™ is a flexible, operator adjustable tournament system. Running a tournament with ToPS™ is easy; the pinball machine's computer does all the work and computations for the operator and location. Tournament pinball games earn more money. Stern's Tournament Pinball System is an in-house tournament system. ToPS™ uses no phone lines, no servers, and gives full location privacy. Stern developed the ToPS™ system with these things in mind after consulting with many operators and location owners throughout the United States. During its development, ToPS™ equipped games significantly increased in earnings, both from tournament play and practice play. Testing and development of ToPS™ has been shepherded at Stern over the last year by Lonnie D. Ropp, Director of Software, Joe Blackwell, Tech Service Director, and Dwight Sullivan, game software designer. Locations recognized the increased earnings and value to customers of ToPS™ equipped games. "When we moved an older experimental tournament model to replace it with a non-tournament Monopoly™, the bar and its customers insisted on having its tournament game back," Joe Blackwell explained of the tests. "When we moved a tournament game from a bowling alley where it tested great to a nearby bar, some bowling customers started going to the bar." There are three types of tournament modes. The first is Progressive Cash Prizes, where the payout grows with each play. The second is Fixed Cash Prizes, where the total payout amount is pre-set by the game operator. The third is Non-Cash Prizes, where points, tickets, merchandise, or other items of the game operator's choosing are awarded. Tournaments can be crafted to fit the needs of the operators' business and the location type. ToPS™ adds numerous operator choices to Stern's Portals™ software for easy operator tournament set-up. Besides the type of tournament to run and when it starts and ends, adjustments include: cost of tournament play, number of winner places awarded prizes, adjustment of prize incrementing, and much more. The Portals™ accounting functions are augmented with many additions to provide complete tournament information to the operator. Players can also enter a PIN number for security. The Tournament Pinball System can be installed in fifteen minutes or less. The ToPS™ contents include: " Dot matrix multi-color display to be installed on top of game backbox " Remote control, power supply for the display " Wired 'Tournament Start' button for the game's lock-down bar " Connecting cable " Tournament board that is to be installed inside the backbox " Detailed manual " Location promotional material Playboy and RollerCoaster Tycoon™ are pre-wired for ToPS™ installation, as will be future Stern pinball machines. An operator need only take out a few plastic plugs, mount the Tournament Start button in its existing hole, screw on the pcb and display, and plug in the cables. The Tournament Pinball System can be moved from one pinball machine to another with great ease. Playboy, RollerCoaster Tycoon™, and future Stern pinball machines are 'tournament ready' and can have ToPS™ affixed to them. The game operator can use his own dollar bill validator. ToPS™ has custom text messaging. Using the remote control that is provided with the tournament display, the game operator can program food and drink specials, upcoming events, and any other information they would like to convey. Courts have held that pinball is a game of skill. Nonetheless, Stern advises operators to check local laws, as they should for any tournament game. There is a patent pending covering ToPS™. Gary Stern says, "This is a great advance in pinball. Tournament is foremost in the minds of operators and players. Our experience and our earnings with tournament pinball showed us why everyone wants tournaments. ToPS™ earnings plus pinball resale value make pinball a great investment for operators." Back to the news index Back to the front page © Pinball News 2002