George Gomez Replaced Steve Ritchie as Designer on Upcoming Stern Pinball Machine

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·May 23, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.013

TL;DR

Gomez replaces Ritchie on new Stern machine after Ritchie exits to JJP.

Summary

George Gomez has taken over design duties on an upcoming Stern Pinball machine after Steve Ritchie's departure to Jersey Jack Pinball. The previous work on this licensed title has been scrapped. The new Gomez-designed game is expected in 2023 and will feature three flippers, differing from his recent two-flipper designs.

Key Claims

Steve Ritchie's work on an upcoming Stern Pinball machine has been scrapped due to his departure to Jersey Jack Pinball
high confidence · Confirmed by George Gomez in Super Awesome Pinball Show podcast interview Part 2
George Gomez has taken over the design process for the licensed title Ritchie was working on
high confidence · George Gomez interview confirmation, paralleling his takeover of Deadpool design
The upcoming George Gomez-designed game is expected in 2023
medium confidence · Article states 'probably some time in 2023' based on interview context
The new Gomez game will feature three flippers, unlike most of his recent designs
high confidence · George Gomez confirmed in extended interview portion referenced in UPDATE section

Notable Quotes

“George Gomez took over the design process for the license that Steve Ritchie was working on for Stern.”
Article author (Knapp Arcade) — Directly confirms the personnel transition and design takeover
“we have a new Gomez-designed pinball machine from stern to look forward to in the future, probably some time in 2023.”
Article author (Knapp Arcade) — Establishes timeline expectation for the new machine
“the upcoming George Gomez game will have three flippers, unlike most of his recent designs that only have two.”
Article author (Knapp Arcade) — Identifies a notable design characteristic differentiating this game from recent Gomez work

Entities

George Gomezperson Steve RitchiepersonStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack Pinballcompany Deadpoolgame World Cup SoccergameSuper Awesome Pinball ShoworganizationKnapp Arcadecompany

Signals

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competitive_signal: Jersey Jack Pinball successfully recruited Stern Pinball designer Steve Ritchie, triggering design scrap and reassignment at competitor
high · Confirmed Ritchie departure and subsequent Gomez takeover of his project
?
design_philosophy: George Gomez applying three-flipper configuration to upcoming game, deviating from his recent two-flipper design trend
high · Extended interview portion confirmed three-flipper design for the new Gomez machine
?
personnel_signal: Steve Ritchie's departure from Stern Pinball to Jersey Jack Pinball triggered design reassignment, with George Gomez taking over the in-progress licensed machine project
high · George Gomez confirmation in Super Awesome Pinball Show podcast interview Part 2
?
product_strategy: New George Gomez-designed Stern machine expected to release approximately in 2023
medium · Article states 'probably some time in 2023' based on Gomez interview context

Topics

Designer personnel transitions and design takeoversprimaryStern Pinball upcoming machine pipelineprimaryGeorge Gomez design philosophy and flipper configurationssecondaryJersey Jack Pinball competitive recruitmentsecondaryLicensing and IP for upcoming Stern gamesmentioned

Sentiment

neutral(0)— Article is factual reporting with personal tribute to the author's brother. No emotional valence attached to the pinball industry news itself.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

Hi everyone. As you could tell, I haven't made any posts here at Knapp Arcade in a week or so. Early last week, my family very unexpectedly and tragically lost my younger brother. I've spent the past week or so processing everything and helping to take care of his personal affairs. Yesterday was the funeral so that aspect of the process is over. Vecennia Jordan was an e-commerce and Internet pioneer. He personally played a large role in helping make the Knapp Arcade social media pages as popular as they are today. I want to make sure that I keep things going here with these pages to continue that legacy. He and I always had a fun time playing pinball whenever we got together. Jord was very proud that he routinely was able to kick my butt on the World Cup Soccer pinball machine that I used to own after I sold it to him. Rest in Peace, Vecennia Jordan. I miss you pal. That's all that I have to say about that. So here's a small, yet very interesting piece of news to get us back in the swing of things. A few days ago, the folks at The Super Awesome Pinball show podcast published part two of their fantastic interview with Stern Pinball's Chief Creative Officer, George Gomez. I'm still listening to it and may find more interesting bits of information to share here later, but one thing that really stood out to me in the interview was the confirmation of the rumor that the work for the upcoming pinball machine that Steve Ritchie was working on for Stern when he left the company for Jersey Jack Pinball has been scrapped. Much like when he designed his last amazing pin Deadpool (I just bought one myself and have a George-autographed translite), George Gomez took over the design process for the license that Steve Ritchie was working on for Stern. So, we have a new Gomez-designed pinball machine from stern to look forward to in the future, probably some time in 2023. UPDATE: OK, I've gotten further into the interview and another interesting piece of news is that the upcoming George Gomez game will have three flippers, unlike most of his recent designs that only have two. Here's a link to Part 2 of the Super Awesome Pinball Show Interview with George Gomez: https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/23182166?fbclid=IwAR3dXAsiVNT8DyxLXb29nxc4V0oyp5Ew5EuJ696thHn_C6iyWDtDz769EC0 Stern Pinball's George Gomez (Source: Wikipedia) A picture of my brother and I from Christmas