STERN OF THE UNION ADDRESS – JANUARY 2020
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01/06/20

STERN OF THE UNION ADDRESS – JANUARY 2020

The Stern of the Union Address will be presented on the first Tuesday of every month (holiday and vacation excepted).  Without further ado my fellow pinheads:

 

Stranger Things:

Stern Pinball unveiled its latest game, Stranger Things!  This release was covered by numerous media outlets including IGN, Gizmodo, The Verge, Popular Mechanics, VentureBeat, Hardcore Gamer, Bleeding Cool, Gear Diary, Hypebeast, The Roarbots, Collider, Dread Central, Nerd Reactor, Built In Chicago, The Pop Insider, Dead Entertainment, Game Rant, Sky Statement, Destructoid, Tech Spot, Yahoo!, Übergizmo, Slash Gear, The Toy Book, Red Tricycle, Cinelinx, Geek, New Atlas and many more!  Read the full press release and see official pictures on our website – https://sternpinball.com/game/stranger-things/

Missed the live gameplay premiere?  Check out a replay of the event with Jack Danger and the game team here!

 

CES 2020:

Stern Pinball will be exhibiting at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, January 7th-10th, located in South Hall 1 at booth 21239.  Stern will be showcasing its latest games, including the first public unveiling of Stranger Things.  Please read the press release for additional details and follow this event on our social media sites all week long!

 

Bahamas Bowl:

Stern Pinball hosted a pinball tournament at the Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl game.  The bowl was sponsored by the city of Elk Grove Village.  Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson was also in attendance to emcee the pinball tournament where both schools competed to take home a pinball machine for their school.

“The pinball contest is exactly what we wanted. Elk Grove is a manufacturing town and we wanted to highlight one of our manufacturers,” said Johnson. “Stern is the biggest maker of pinball machines in the world, and we thought it would be a great way to show off Elk Grove. It was a win for everyone – for the teams, the players, the bowl, the Atlantis and Elk Grove Village.”

This event helped expose and generate awareness of pinball to a wide audience with Stern Pinball being featured in an exclusive TV commercial during the ESPN broadcast of the event!

 

IGN unboxing – Jurassic Park Premium:

While coming across a Jurassic Park LE in the wild is not totally impossible, you can find plenty of premiums and other great Stern Pinball titles near you using Pinball Map!  Check out this exclusive IGN feature video, highlighting our hit game Jurassic Park!

 

Stern Army Updates:

The Stern Army continues to grow with members spreading the gospel of pinball across the globe.  Here are our newest members and the pinball locations they support:

  • Private Matthew Parisi of Florida (Solid State Art Studio)

Congratulations to the following Stern Army members on their promotion from Private First Class to Specialist:

  • Specialist Matt Quantz of Texas (Einstein’s Pub)

Congratulations to the following Stern Army members on their promotion from Private to Private First Class:

  • Private First Class Michael Hosier of California (Coin-Op Sacramento)
  • Private First Class Lucas Bardin of Australia (General Public)
  • Private First Class Will Long of Ohio (Cartridge Gaming)
  • Private First Class Justin Fitzgerald of Tennessee (Music City Pinball)
  • Private First Class Donavan Stepp of Colorado (1up Greenwood)

For more information and to join the Stern Army, please reach out to SternArmy@sternpinball.com

 

Stern Army Circuit:

Stern Pinball and the International Flipper Pinball Association launched the official Stern Army Circuit!  All top 10 finalists will receive prizes from Stern Pinball for their achievement.  For more information and live standings of this circuit, please visit – https://www.ifpapinball.com/sternarmycircuit/

 

Stern Army Black Knight Ransom Championship Tournament:

The Black Knight Ransom Championship continues to rage on!  This global Stern Army high score tournament ends February 29, 2020, so make sure you find your local Stern Army event and start competing!  For full details and the current leaderboard on this exciting tournament visit – https://www.ifpapinball.com/blackknight/

 

Stern Insider All-Access:

Congrats to Cynthia from Texas, December’s Stern Insider All-Access winner!  Cynthia received a Star Wars Comic Art playfield autographed by lead game designer Steve Ritchie and lead programmer Dwight Sullivan!  Do you have All-Access?  To register and become a Stern Insider, please visit https://sternpinball.com/stern-insider/

 

Stern Insider Pinball Podcast:

The return of Brian Eddy! Brian’s back to discuss pinball and his newest hit game, Stranger Things, on episode 5 of the Stern Insider Pinball Podcast! Available to all Stern Insiders, episodes can be found here after logging into your Insider account –https://sternpinball.com/account/

 

Stranger Things Accessories Sneak Peek:

Available only to All-Access Insiders, check out a sneak peek of some of the upcoming Stranger Things pinball accessories coming soon!

Do you have All-Access? https://sternpinball.com/stern-insider/

 

Chronicles of Gomez:

Available only to All-Access Insiders, take a scroll through the Chronicles of Gomez as George shares some early development pictures of Batman ’66 (including the moment he showcased the game to Adam West!) and some early Stranger Things pictures!

 

The Beatles Pop-Up Shop:

Beatlemania was in full force this past holiday season in NYC with a special limited-run pop-up shop.  Offering a wide-selection of Fab Four-themed gifts, this unique retail environment immersed fans in the world of the legendary band.  Naturally our pinball machine was a perfect fit for the occasion!

 

Star Wars Pin:

Out with the old and in with the new!  Check out this new video highlighting the Star Wars Pin, an affordable, real pinball machine for the home featuring mesmerizing light shows, lighting fast gameplay and easy in-home setup!

 

Stern Pro Circuit:

Congrats to all competitors across all events in the 2019 Stern Pro Circuit season.  The field is almost set for the final 20 players who will be competing this March at the Stern Pro Circuit Championship!  Stay tuned for details on this one of a kind pinball tournament event! For full details on the Stern Pro Circuit presented by eBay, and to keep up with the current standings and schedule, please visit – https://sternpinball.com/stern-pro-circuit/

 

 

2019 Stern Pro Circuit Rankings – Top 10
1st  Steven Bowden San Antonio, TX
2nd  Escher Lefkoff CO
3rd  Raymond Davidson Everett, WA
4th  Keith Elwin Carlsbad, CA
5th  Aleksander Kaczmarczyk PA
6th  Karl DeAngelo Fontana, CA
7th  Bowen Kerins Salem, MA
8th  Lewis Bevans Pittsburgh, PA
9th  Andy Rosa Flint, MI
10th  Jim Belsito Murrieta, CA

Upcoming Stern Pro Circuit Events:

Stern Pro Circuit Event Date Website
INDISC 1/9-12 http://www.indisc.com/

While the 2019 season of the Stern Pro Circuit is wrapping up, we are excited to announce the official 2020 Stern Pro Circuit tour!  Official schedule and dates are still being finalized.

 

Status of Code:

We are continuously working to update and improve software for our machines.  There are always code updates and bug fixes in various stages of development; we will release them upon update completion.  Here are some of the latest updates and the status of things in the works.  If you would like to join our mailing list for code updates, please send an e-mail to Code.Updates@sternpinball.com.  If you do encounter any bugs please feel free to provide information to bug.report@sternpinball.com

  • Elvira – For all Elvira owners, please make sure you have updated your game to the most current code version (v0.89.0). This code contains bug fixes, additional polish and game enhancements.  Be on the lookout for a new code update soon.
  • Jurassic Park – For all Jurassic Park owners, please make sure you have updated your game to the most current code version (v0.96.0). This code contains multiple new wizard modes, bug fixes, enhancements and additional polish.  Be on the lookout for a new code update later this month.

 

Accessories:

Check out our Stern Shop for all accessories, collectibles, clothing and more including this month’s featured items: Star Wars Comic and Elvira Inside Art Blades!

All Stern Pinball accessories are also available to purchase from your local authorized dealer – https://sternpinball.com/find-a-dealer/

 

Belles & Chimes in the News:

Special shout-out to Stern Army Specialist Tracy Lindbergh for expanding and promoting pinball in Phoenix, Arizona through expanding Belles and Chimes in that region.  Read the full article here and click here to learn more about the Belles and Chimes organization

 

Pinball Applications for Engineering Education and Research:

Stern Pinball has teamed up with the Univeristy of Cincinnati to help students with engineering education and research through pinball!  This course covers pinball mechatronics and a senior level project composing of electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science and industrial design.  In addition, this course will incorporate playfield design as well as system integration such as AI and control research.  What better way to bring students to the classroom than the silver ball!

 

Happy New Year from Stern Pinball:

Happy 2019 and to an even more exciting 2020 from everyone here at Stern Pinball!

 

Stern Spotlight – Brian Eddy:

“My name is Brian Eddy and I’m a Senior Designer at Stern Pinball. Some may know my name from pinball’s past as I programmed and then designed some iconic games in the 1990’s like Attack from Mars and Medieval Madness. I started programming games when I was 11 years old on a Commodore VIC-20. I joined Williams when I was 21 and designed my first game, The Shadow, when I was 26 which means I’ve been making games of all types for almost 40 years. I’m really not that old, I just started young! Really! I like to think games keep you young or at least young at heart.

Along the way I’ve worked on many different types of games. After working on Pinball for about 10 years at Williams/Bally/Midway I moved over to arcade video game development at Midway where I did the sit-down arcade snowmobile racing game Arctic Thunder. Once Midway exited arcade development, I moved into console gaming at Midway where I led the team for Psi-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy and John Woo’s Stranglehold for Xbox, Playstation and PC. After Midway closed I was part of a startup company called Spooky Cool with one of Stern’s founders and slot machine icons, Joe Kaminkow! There I made an enormous city builder game with the Wizard of Oz license for Facebook and mobile platforms and then we transitioned into social casinos with a game called Hit it Rich. Spooky Cool was eventually bought by Zynga where I stayed on for a couple of years before deciding to come back to my first love, Pinball!

At Stern I’m responsible for creating amazing games from amazing licenses. I design the playfield, create the vision for the product and run the team which consists of a very talented group of people working on the mechanisms, rules, audio, video and traditional art, production, etc.  It’s a tight group of people who create the core of each machine with a whole lot of feedback from everyone in the engineering department. It has been incredible being back in pinball at Stern as I felt like I was coming home to family. Everyone has been very helpful and supportive.  Stern has the most passionate people working in pinball, just like the old days back at Williams. I’m enjoying it immensely!

In my spare time I enjoy planning my trip to Mars, riding my unicycle, and of course playing all types of games, especially pinball!”

 

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END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT (EULA)

STERN PINBALL

END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT

This limited software license Agreement (“Agreement”) applies to your use of Stern Pinball Software pre-installed on a Stern Pinball Machine and any Authorized Updates made available to you. BY USING YOUR STERN PINBALL MACHINE, YOU AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. If you do not agree to the terms of this Agreement, do not use your Stern Pinball Machine or any Authorized Updates. Please read this entire Agreement, which governs your use of the Stern Pinball Machine, Stern Pinball Software and all Authorized Updates. ADULT CONSENT TO ENTER INTO THIS AGREEMENT, YOU MUST BE AN ADULT OF THE LEGAL AGE OF MAJORITY IN YOUR COUNTRY OF RESIDENCE. YOU ARE LEGALLY AND FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL ACTIONS USING YOUR STERN PINBALL MACHINE AND SOFTWARE AND ACCESSING OR USING ANY ONLINE GAMING PLATFORM, INCLUDING THE ACTIONS OF ANYONE YOU ALLOW TO USE AND ACCESS TO YOUR MACHINE AND ANY ASSOCIATED ACCOUNT. YOU AFFIRM THAT YOU HAVE REACHED THE LEGAL AGE OF MAJORITY, UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU ARE UNDER THE LEGAL AGE OF MAJORITY, YOUR PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN MUST CONSENT TO THIS AGREEMENT. DEFINITIONS.
  1. “Stern Pinball Machine” means a Stern Pinball arcade game machine.
  2. “Stern Pinball Software” means software (including but not limited to firmware) pre-installed in the Stern Pinball Machine, including all Authorized Content and any Authorized Updates that Stern Pinball may make available to You from time to time.
  3. “Authorized Content” means all Stern Pinball and third-party owned software and content incorporated into or used with the Stern Pinball Software or otherwise embedded in or utilized by a Stern Pinball Machine, including but not limited to graphics, images, music, vocals and voices.
  4. “Authorized Update” means an update to the Stern Pinball Software distributed by Stern Pinball or otherwise made available by Stern Pinball, including for download on its web site.
  5. “Unauthorized Content” means all content, including but not limited to limited to graphics, images, music, vocals and voices, that does not comprise Authorized Content or an Authorized Update.
  6. “Unauthorized Software” means any software (including but not limited to firmware) not pre-installed by Stern Pinball on a Stern Pinball Machine or that does not comprise Authorized Content or Authorized Update.
  7. “You” means the purchaser or current owner of a Stern Pinball Machine.
LICENSE. Stern Pinball hereby grants You a nonexclusive, non-transferable, limited, and revocable right and license to use one copy of the Stern Pinball Software and Authorized Content and any Authorized Update solely for your personal use, or that of your patrons and customers if you are a commercial entity, for playing a single Stern Pinball Machine. The Stern Pinball Software, Authorized Content and Authorized Updates are licensed, not sold, to You, and no ownership rights are transferred by this Agreement. The Stern Pinball Software Authorized Content and Authorized Updates are protected by U.S. and international copyright. All rights not explicitly granted to you in this Agreement are reserved by Stern Pinball.
  1. As a condition to this Stern Pinball Software license, You agree that:
    1. You will not copy, reproduce, alter, replace, distribute, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, display, perform, create derivative works based on, or otherwise modify the Stern Pinball hardware or Stern Pinball Software or any Authorized Update, in whole or in part; and will not commercially exploit any of the foregoing.
    2. You will not use or install any Unauthorized Content or Unauthorized Software. Use of Unauthorized Content or Unauthorized Software may result in your Stern Pinball Machine ceasing to work permanently and/or losing access to Stern Pinball’s online game network, either immediately or after a later installed Authorized Update.
    3. You will not create, develop, distribute or assist anyone else in creating, developing or distributing any Unauthorized Content or Unauthorized Software intended for use with a Stern Pinball Machine, whether to add to or modify the gameplay, any audio content (whether music, sound or voice), or any video content of any Stern Pinball Machine, or to gain advantage in any online or other game modes, or otherwise.
    4. You will not share any Stern Pinball Software, Authorized Content or Authorized Update with any other person or company and will not permit anyone else to access or copy any Stern Pinball Software or Authorized Content or Authorized Update installed on your Machine for any purpose.
    5. In view of the rights held by third-party owners of Authorized Content (e.g., music and video clips), Stern does not have the legal authority to give permission to stream the gameplay of Stern Pinball Machines.
    6. You will not attempt to defeat or circumvent any anti-piracy, security, and/or technical measures to control access to the Stern Pinball Software, features, functions or content, prevent unauthorized use, or otherwise prevent anyone from exceeding the limited license rights granted under this Agreement, “Security Measures”. Attempting to defeat or circumvent any Security Measure may result in your Stern Pinball Machine ceasing to work permanently either immediately or after a later installed Authorized Update.
    7. Stern Pinball may update the Stern Pinball Software from time to time without further notice to You, for example, to update any anti-piracy, security, and technical measure.
PRIVACY POLICY Your use of the Stern Pinball Machine, Stern Pinball Software and any Authorized Updates are subject to Stern Pinball’s Privacy Policy which can be found at https://sternpinball.com/privacy-policy/   WARRANTY EXCEPT AS PROVIDED HEREIN, THE STERN PINBALL SOFTWARE, AUTHORIZED CONTENT AND AUTHORIZED UPDATES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT ALLOWABLE UNDER LAW, STERN PINBALL DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, STERN PINBALL DOES NOT WARRANT THAT OPERATION OF THE STERN PINBALL MACHINE OR ANY ONLINE OR CONNECTED GAME NETWORK WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES STERN PINBALL IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES; ANY LOSS OF DATA, PRIVACY, CONFIDENTIALITY, OR PROFITS; OR ANY INABILITY TO USE THE STERN PINBALL MACHINE, STERN PINBALL SOFTWARE OR ANY AUTHORIZED UPDATE. THESE EXCLUSIONS APPLY EVEN IF STERN PINBALL HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF THESE DAMAGES, AND EVEN IF ANY REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. Some countries do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so this limitation or exclusion may not apply to You. These terms apply to the maximum extent permitted by law and unless prohibited by law. These terms do not change your rights under the laws of your country if those laws do not permit that change. TERRITORY AND CHOICE OF LAW This License is valid only in the country in which you purchased your Stern Pinball Machine. This License will be subject to and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Illinois, U.S.A., regardless of conflict of laws principles. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts in Cook County, Illinois, U.S.A. for the resolution of any dispute regarding this Agreement or the subject matter of this Agreement and to waive any jurisdictional, venue, or inconvenient forum objections to such courts. This Agreement may be updated by Stern Pinball from time to time with the current version posted at www.sternpinball.com/EULA. Your continued use of the Stern Pinball Software an Authorized Update after an updated Agreement has been posted constitutes your acceptance of all of its terms.
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