Drinks With Jack Featuring Gary Stern & Seth Davis (Part 2)

Stern Pinball·video·6m 58s·analyzed·Dec 19, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.019

TL;DR

Stern announces factory tours, All Access expansion, and community growth strategy.

Summary

Gary Stern discusses Stern Pinball's future direction, including relaunched All Access membership with expanded benefits, organized factory tours for 2025, new King Kong accessories launching soon, and a three-cornerstone release strategy (cornerstones, remastered games, special/Costco titles). Stern emphasizes community growth as essential, citing 40% of first-time buyers purchasing additional machines, and calls on existing players to recruit new enthusiasts.

Key Claims

Stern is relaunching All Access membership with expanded benefits including home leaderboards and features previously exclusive to pros
high confidence · Seth Davis (Stern executive) directly announces this feature expansion during official company presentation
Factory tours will be organized and scheduled for the 2025 calendar year through a booking system
high confidence · Seth Davis confirms organized tour scheduling as official policy going forward
Stern has 40+ pinball machines in the factory front area available for visitors to play
high confidence · Gary Stern mentions '40 or so pinball machines we have in the front'
King Kong accessories are launching with an additional mode coming
high confidence · Seth Davis announces 'King Kong topper' and 'a mode coming for that as well'
Stern has been behind on accessory launches but plans to catch up over next 3-6 months
high confidence · Seth Davis explicitly states 'we have been behind on getting all of our accessories out' and commits to timeline
40% of first-time pinball buyers purchase a second machine
high confidence · Gary Stern cites this as established company history: 'if they buy one game, they're likely to buy uh 40% or so to buy another'
Stern released a special game for Costco as part of community expansion strategy
high confidence · Gary Stern mentions 'the Costco game, the one we made for Costco, which is really important because we want to enlarge the community'
Stern's future release strategy includes three pillars: cornerstones, remastered games, and special games
high confidence · Gary Stern outlines: 'the three cornerstones, the remastered and a special game, and the Costco game'

Notable Quotes

“I'm more excited about the future of pinball than I've ever been. And I've been in this since I was two. So that's 78 years.”
Gary Stern @ ~22:30 — Strong statement of confidence in Stern Pinball's direction and future prospects
“If it doesn't grow, it's going to shrink. Just like Harley doesn't grow, it's going to shrink.”
Gary Stern @ ~24:00 — Core philosophy emphasizing necessity of community expansion to avoid market contraction
“You all are going to help us. You're going to help yourselves. You want your community to grow.”
Gary Stern @ ~23:45 — Direct appeal to existing community members as growth ambassadors for pinball
“You got to be their sherpa. Tell them it's cool. It's all good. You're going to enjoy it. You're not going to get hurt.”
Gary Stern @ ~25:30 — Marketing message positioning current players as guides to remove friction for new buyers
“Over the next 3 to 6 months, you're going to see uh quite a few accessories launch. We're going to be catching back up.”
Seth Davis @ ~18:15 — Explicit commitment to accessory roadmap addressing known community pain point
“We know that's what everybody wants. That's what we want. Uh it's just a matter of getting it done.”
Seth Davis @ ~18:45 — Acknowledges accessory delay as known issue while committing to resolution

Entities

Gary Sternperson Seth Davisperson Jack DangerpersonStern PinballcompanyAll Accessproduct King KonggameCostco Gameproduct

Signals

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business_signal: Stern acknowledges accessory production lag as systematic challenge but commits to 3-6 month catch-up plan with 2025 alignment targets
high · Seth Davis: 'we have been behind on getting all of our accessories out. So, I think over the next 3 to 6 months, you're going to see uh quite a few accessories launch'
?
business_signal: All Access membership being relaunched with feature parity expansion (home leaderboards, pro-level features) suggesting renewed focus on recurring revenue and customer retention
high · Seth Davis: 'we're relaunching all access. We've put that out there. We've added a bunch of benefits to it. So, we've got home leaderboards and a lot of the features that were reserved only for pros in there'
?
community_signal: Stern implementing organized factory tours through All Access membership renewal, positioning physical factory experience as engagement tool
high · Seth Davis announces scheduled tour system for 2025 calendar year with booking tool; 40+ machine playfield archive available to visitors
$
market_signal: Stern pursuing first-time buyer acquisition through Costco distribution as community expansion lever; cites 40% repeat purchase rate as growth model justification
high · Gary Stern: 'We need first-time buyers... if they buy one game, they're likely to buy uh 40% or so to buy another' and 'the Costco game, the one we made for Costco, which is really important because we want to enlarge the community'
?
product_strategy: King Kong accessories launching with additional mode content; represents post-launch content strategy continuation

Topics

Factory Tours and All Access Membership ExpansionprimaryAccessory Launch Roadmap and Production DelaysprimaryCommunity Growth Strategy and First-Time Buyer AcquisitionprimaryStern's Three-Pillar Release Strategy (Cornerstones, Remastered, Special Games)primaryKing Kong Accessories and Content UpdatessecondaryStern Pinball's Optimism About Future Market and Product Pipelinesecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Gary Stern expresses strong confidence in company future; commitment to addressing known community pain points (accessory delays); emphasis on inclusive growth strategy. Tone is enthusiastic and forward-looking, though candid about past execution challenges.

Transcript

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Speaking of the factory, if everyone if there's people out there that missed the tour, is there a way to come tour the factory outside of that? Well, there will be. Um, so with all access, we were relaunching all access. We've put that out there. We've had All Access for a while. Um, we've added a bunch of benefits to it. So, we've got home leaderboards and a lot of the features that were reserved only for pros in there. Um, we're also going to be setting up a tool so that people can schedule tours to come in. Those tours will be scheduled for next calendar year. So, there'll be a way for people to come in and visit and come say hi if they just want to do their own private tour, if they can come to town or they happen to be around. So, we're we're making it actually like organized to have tours uh going forward cuz uh we're pretty proud of the space. We also you guys all whoever came on tour saw the I don't know 40 or so pinball machines we have in the front. So, you come on a tour, you'll get to play around with those. Um and and we've kind of created a bit of a an archive of our games. So, we have a lot of our games out there and that's really taken shape in the last year or so. And you'll be able to buy some of the new merchandise that Seth is modeling for us. He's he he's our model right now and he's I'm too old to be a model, but he's the model. Stand up, Seth. Stand up, Seth. Stand up. I'm wearing the Gary Stern 2025 collection. Don't fire me. I'm not wearing anything Stern right now, and I feel terrible. Um, God, you're not okay. Not a thing. Take my microphone. Okay. Get a shirt next to in back. They'll give you a shirt. We'll figure that out. Gary, when are we riding motorcycles again, dude? That's a good question. Riding. Look at that shoe. Yeah, these are Minnie Mouse. So, I dropped my I I It's always a rider error. And when we did Harley pinball, I ended up trading some Harley pinball machines for my first first Harley. And uh it's just it's the same enthusiast base except we have crossed the millennial divide. I belong to Harley Club and although I'm the oldest one in it, I look like the youngest one. These guys look terrible. terrible. So any event, I dropped my 800lb new Harley that I had won in a raffle on my foot. And by the way, when you buy a new Harley, when I got this one for free, it only cost you about $8,500 to take it out of the dealer because you have to put a topper on it and and the light blades and so forth and so on. You change the lights, you change luggage rack, you change the muffler. Same thing as tricking out your your uh pinball machine. Got to trick them out. Same thing. Well, let's talk about Let's tell them about the new accessories. Let's talk about the new accessories. Exactly. Let's talk about the new accessories. Yeah, exactly. Thank you. Take it away. Take it away. Talk about obviously the new accessories we launched are the King Kong accessories. So, we have those on the tour. We have King Kong accessories. Uh we also know that we have been behind on getting all of our accessories out. So, I think over the next 3 to 6 months, you're going to see uh quite a few accessories launch. We're going to be catching back up and for next year, we have a plan for all of our accessories to be a lot closer to the game launches. So, you're going to see some of those examples. We We know that's what everybody wants. That's what we want. Uh it's just a matter of getting it done and we made some substantial inroads on that. So, you'll see the King Kong topper. Uh there's a mode coming for that as well. You notice that Seth is the serious part of this conversation. I'm not. He He is the serious part. But I have one serious question. All right. Which of the three cameras am I supposed to be looking at? All of them. All of them. I don't know. There's a lot of cameras here. So, I should go like this. This, This, this. Look at him. Oh, I'm facing the wrong way. Camera, too. Oh, okay. Turn this way. Shift. I'll shift this. Are you Are you about to fire me here live on stage? Here we go. No. No. There we are. Oh, now he's coming over this way. No, Jack, this is Jack Jack, it turns out this is actually your job now. How's that going for you? I'm I'm loving it. I being back in being back in front of the cameras uh where where I like to be. Aren't you supposed to have control of this conversation? What? Gary, I can't control you at all. You You do what you got to do. We don't really play man-to-man defense with Gary. It's pretty much his own. So, say your piece. What? What are we doing? I don't know. What? Go ahead. You're You're on. Go ahead. You said you have something to say to the camera. I asked No, I asked which camera I'm supposed to look at. I don't have anything to say to it. Okay. What What do you What's the future look like here at Stern Pinball? What What are we doing? Where are we going? How are we growing? What are we showing? I' I've generalities and that's that I'm I'm more excited about the future of pinball than I've ever been. And I've been in this since I was two. So that's 78 years. But with what we're doing, with the games we're coming out with, the variety of games, uh, you know, the three cornerstones, the remastered and a special game, and the Costco game, the one we made for Costco, which is really important because we want to enlarge the community. We need firsttime buyers. We know that firsttime buyers, our history has shown that if they buy one game, they're likely to buy uh 40% or so to buy another. Why is Why is he picking at my feet? I don't know. Get a thing on there. It was creep creeping me out. I didn't know what it was. So, he's picking at my feet. I'm being for a change. I'm being serious. And he's picking my feet here. So, any event um so that introduces a lot of people. We need to We need to increase the community. We need uh firsttime buyers. You all you all are going to help us. You're going to help yourselves. You want your community to grow. If it doesn't grow, it's going to shrink. Just like Harley doesn't grow, it's going to shrink. And the way you grow is one of your friends is interested in pinball, but they're scared. They're going to buy spend 8, 10, $12,000, and you know, is there, you know, is their wife or husband going to think they're foolish? Did they make a mistake? Uh, boy, I bought stuff. And I said, "Why the heck did I do that?" You guys got to tell them. Got to be their sherpa. Tell them it's cool. It's all good. You're going to enjoy it. You're not going to get hurt. You're going to make, you know, you're going to keep value. You're going to uh have people to fix the game. We'll tell you what to do. Hold their hand. Be their sherpa. Hold their hand and help them get into your your hobby. Yeah. [singing]