There are many interesting and wondrous things that constantly cross the PinGame Journal "World of Pinball" desk and this is the place to find out about them all! (Check out STERN PINBALL UPDATE for news about Stern Pinball) Read the words and click the links below to be in the know!

February 1, 2012 The BBC visits the Pinball Hall of Fame! A reporter and crew from the famed BBC ventured across the pond to pay a visit to Tim Arnold and his PHOF. The report is available on the BBC website however it is blocked to us lowly colonials. But never fear, the PGJ is here to give you access to the full report. Check it out below. Thanks to David Ainslie for his embedding help.

Listen to "Bald Mountian by clicking HERE

Listen to "Merry Old Land of Oz" by clicking HERE

Everyone has been asking for a sound update so today, we are releasing two fantastic music clips composed by Sound Master, Chris Granner. Who better to tell you about the pieces than Chris himself?...

"The Merry Old Land of Oz" arrangement started life in my mind as the main "Emerald City Multiball" background track (more on all the rules at some much later point), and the "show" that starts multiball calls for a big fanfare opening (which you hear in this arrangement). The thing I thought it needed to make it "go fast enough" for multiball was, 1) about 24 beats per minute FASTER than they take it in the movie, and 2) a collection of "inner voices", accompanying textures if you will, that had a little more energy than the "oom-pah" style of the original. Fun, right?! So, I get this together and send it off to Keith, who responds (paraphrase here) "I like it a lot...but it's too happy for multiball." Doh! I went back & read the rule set again. Double Doh! CLEARLY this play state requires something darker. JEEZ! where o WHERE will I find DARK in this soundtrack!?

Although that question has at least two dozen answers, there wasn't much competition in my mind: enter "Night on Bald Mountain" obviously! In the movie, the "fanfare" opening of this arrangement is a REALLY scary gesture in the brass -- which is used throughout that scene for something VERY specific which has its very own place ELSEWHERE in the rules -- so I couldn't use it here.

Bottom line: the fanfare for the opening to multiball is still to be revealed, but this tune has this super-intense texture to open, that leads right into that incredible brass anthem refrain, and just NEVER lets up -- PERFECT for multiball! The crazy thing about this is: "Night on Bald Mountain" was written by the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky and is a wonderful example of the late-romantic harmonic and orchestral style advanced by him and his contemporaries. But I'll tell you one thing for sure: they NEVER played it like the Hollywood orchestra did for the Wizard of Oz!

The version from the movie is half-again as fast, tempo-wise; in fact, MY version is at exactly the same tempo as the movie soundtrack's version, and no kidding, in order to "perform" the parts (on my keyboard), I literally had to slow the tempo down by a factor of three in some cases. JUST insane -- really gave me new respect for just how virtuosic those Hollywood orchestra cats were! (If you want to hear the piece performed more as Mussorgsky imagined it, just YouTube "Fantasia Bald Mountain." Remember? And does that mountain top look like a Balrog or WHAT!?)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy these two numbers, at least a third as much as I enjoyed putting them together! To be continued....." Chris

January 14, 2012--Pinball Design LIVE! Here's something you don't see every day, live pinball design, RIGHT NOW, as John Popadiuk, Ben Heck and staff work on the whitewood of their Ben Heck’s Zombie Adventureland LIVE, streaming on the internet.(click the play arrow, there'll be a short commercial and you'll be LIVE) As most live things, the action can be slow at times, but if you hang in there you'll usually be rewarded eventually. If you don't catch the live feed, there are videos to watch by clicking HERE

January 9, 2012 Jersey Jack Pinball releases more photos of the WOZ whitewood progress: Mark Weyna (l) and Bryan Hansen work on a Whitewood playfield; The Witch's Castle Playfield on a build-up fixture that will be used on the production line; and playfields will have colored inserts...shown is the Munchkin Land Upper Playfield

October 16, 2011--Jersey Jack releases color WOZ artwork

August 18, 2011--Jersey Jack Pinball releases images of playfield items and circuit board! The board has features that are covered under pending patents so only a small portion will be shown at this time. This board has been designed with serviceability as its primary feature. It uses traditional, readily available through-hole components to ensure minimum down time. Operators, technicians and collectors alike will be pleased at the many features incorporated into it and the JJP system. The factory warranty on this board is one year and JJP authorized distributors will be able to offer longer periods based on the needs of customers.

JJP continues to complete many items on the checklist for WOZ. This week Matt gets to show off his latest approved version of his Trumper Bumper Trees and the State Fair Balloon which is at the lower left of the playfield.

August 7, 2011--PGJ EXCLUSIVE WOZ "NORDMANITE" PHOTOS along with whitewood video released! As is his practice with most games he's involved with, Dennis Nordman likes to build a full size model out of foam core (Nordmanite) to get an idea of how various elements fit together as well as a feel for the ball flow in the game. (You can see his version for the game Whitewater in the current PGJ #147.) Wizard of Oz is no different. These photos, shown not only first, but exclusively by the PGJ, gives the best idea to date of how the finished game will look. Refer to the whitewood photos below for comparison. Notice the "Witch Dead-40" placeholder for the melting witch toy!

See the whitewood video by clicking below. Chris Granner's music for the game serves as background sound. (Click the arrows logo in the lower right corner for full screen viewing.)

July 29, 2011--It's a WIDEBODY! Jersey Jack Pinball released the full whitewood photo of its upcoming Wizard Of Oz pinball explaining it has to be a widebody game to fit all they have planned for the game in it. For more, visit the JJP site by clicking HERE.

Also, click HERE to hear the latest music Chris Granner has created for the game!

July 12, 2011--George Gomez joins Stern as VP of Game Developement. See PinGame Update for details!

July 1, 2011--National Pinball Museum is given a reprieve. As reported below (June 14, 2011) the NPM was set to leave its home on July 4th but it was recently announced that an extention to Labor Day has been negociated. Check out the museum's site by clicking NPM

June 26, 2011--Wizard of Oz playfield (left side) released! Little by little we're getting to see what all that pinball talent over at Jersey Jack Pinball is working on.

June 22, 2011--Stern has released the official Tron Legacy video

June 14, 2011--The National Pinball Museum is Forced To Close and the date (July 4) is only a little more than two weeks away. It's amazing what a new owner with no sense of fairness can do to a dream come true. David Silverman and his crew put an amazing amount of energy into this Georgetown location and it's a shame it has to end so soon. Check out more in the June 1 PGJ Newsletter by clicking PGJ Newsletter and look for more in a future issue of the PinGame Journal. Also check out the museum's site by clicking NPM and view some cool panoramic photos of the place from Bernie Kelm at Pano. After you click, just scroll down. Here's just one to give you an idea.

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With TRON, we continue the design philosophy that has been successful with Iron Man, Avatar and The Rolling Stones. Our games are playing shorter and have more randomness. Our TRON pinball puts the players in the middle of TRON movie and video game action battles. This is a fast moving game. TRON has 3 flippers, including an upper flipper to shot one of the two fabulous fast action ramps. We have not utilized a 3rd flipper in a while and players will enjoy it. In the center of the playfield, near the top, there is a motorized 3 bank target assembly the player must hit and lower to gain access to the illuminated, motorized spinning disc representing TRON's Identity Disc. The disc shoots the ball randomly across and around the playfield. Ramp shots take the player to an exciting Light Cycle multiball. The player shoots at the miniature TRON video game to start exciting features and collect big points.

TRON: Legacy is a visually exquisite 3D movie and our pinball has captured the same exquisite visual, including its 3D backglass. Music is from movie and perfect for pinball. This game is brought to you by the design team that gave you Iron Man and Avatar.

We have been playing TRON, and we are really having fun. Because this is truly a collectors and enthusiasts dream title, we will make a TRON Limited Edition version in late June.

Lyman started his pinball career at Data East and his first game is listed as Tales From The Crypt in 1993. He continued at Data East through 1994 with Maverick and then went to Williams to program Attack From Mars, Medieval Madness, Monster Bash and was part of the software team for Revenge From Mars. Then returned to Stern, working on games from The Sopranos through Avatar. Now, after a short stint at WMS Gaming programming slot machines, he's back to pinball.

while plans are still uncertain, one thought has him concentrating on Steve Ritchie designed games for Stern. But no matter how his unique talents are used, he's sure to be a welcomed addition to the recently expanding Stern design team. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter. There will be more on this announcement in the next PinGame Journal.

March 26, 2011--Jersey Jack Pinball to use Williams parts! Jack Guarnieri, during his Texas Pinball Festival talk, announced that Jersey Jack Pinball, Inc. (JJP) has signed an Agreement with Planetary Pinball Supply, Inc, (PPS) a Williams Electronics Games, Inc (WEG) licensee, to utilize pinball replacement parts within its new platform of pinball machines. As part of the agreement, Jersey Jack Pinball, Inc. will have full access to the roughly 40 pinball patents assigned to PPS.

"We are thrilled and elated that this could even be possible. It's an amazing step in building full feature games where the player is connected to the game action for the ultimate fun experience" stated Jack Guarnieri.

The buyers of the Jersey Jack Pinball, Inc. games get the advantage of readily available familiar parts used in the games. "We are excited to help bring the proven replacement parts capability into the JJP platform and look forward to world class games using world class parts," stated PPS President Rick Bartlett.

Pictured here is Jack (center) with PPS's Matt Christiano and Rick Bartlett.

March 2, 2011--Steve Ritchie is back at Stern! Stern Pinball, Inc., the world's only maker of real pinball games, announced today game designer Steve Ritchie will be joining the Stern Pinball team. Ritchie is often referred to in the gaming world as the "The King of Pinball" and "The King of Flow" for his quick paced pinball games utilizing shot-based flow patterns mixed with target-based geometry.

Ritchie has been designing pinball games since the 1970s, producing such notable titles as Superman, Stellar Wars, Black Knight and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Ritchie was the first designer to incorporate multiball game play, ball lane change, transparent playing fields, as well as the first multi-level pinball machine. Ritchie had previously been contracted by Stern Pinball in 2001 to design eight machines including Elvis, Spider-Man and Terminator 3. "I am elated to bring my 30 years of design and game experience to Stern Pinball and work as part of the new Stern team," said game designer Steve Ritchie. "I am honored to work with Gary Stern and Dave Peterson, along with the talented Stern staff on an exciting new chapter in pinball history. Long Live Pinball!"

"We are all very excited about Steve's arrival at Stern," said Gary Stern, founder, CEO and chairman of Stern Pinball. "Steve's expertise in the art of pinball design and imaginative work will take our machines and game design to a whole new level. Our goal at Stern is to continually push the envelope of what is possible and has never been done. Steve's work is on par with that vision." (Stern press release)

For more on this announcement click HERE.

February 21,2011--Back Alley Creations', Matt Riesterer, has joined the Jersey Jack Pinball team as a modeling artist. Matt has been a customer/friend of Jersey Jack Guarnieri for many years and has has created many high-end custom after market items for pinball machines. Matt has been exclusively contracted to do the toys and models for the upcoming Wizard of Oz pinball as well as for future JJP games. "Matt's amazing work is a result of his talent, dedication and passion and I'm truly happy he has joined us in our efforts to create the best games possible," said Jersey Jack. Matt will use his exceptional talent to focus on the details of the Emerald City Limited Edition game.

"This is an awesome dream come true for me. I could think of no other person who I would rather do this with than Jack. He has assembled an amazing team of people and being part of this is an honor!" exclaimed Matt.

The Wizard of Oz Pinball Machine will incorporate many new design elements that will need to be created and sculpted. Matt's creativity and experience along with input from other members of the Jersey Jack Pinball Team will insure that this game and other games to follow, will be unique in design and attention to detail. They are all working to create something very special.

For more information about JJP and the addition of other team members see other features on this page or visit JJP by clicking HERE. For more info on Back Alley Creations click HERE

February 18, 2011--Jersey Jack Pinball adds another pinball veteran to the team! Former Williams sound engineer, Chris Granner has joined JJP and will be handling the responsibility of translating the classic Wizard of Oz song book to pinball.

February 15, 2011--Stern makes it official, their next pin, Rolling Stones, is in production. Look for more detail in a future issue of the PGJ. To learn more about this latest game from Stern, visit their web site by clicking STERN.

February 5, 2011--Jersey Jack Pinball continues to build a pinball-experienced team for its first game, The Wizard of Oz. News from Jersey Jack Pinball reveals the recent addition of former Williams/Bally and Stern programmer, Keith Johnson to the team. Others not mentioned here before who will help with the process in one way or the other include Rick Bartlett, Roger Sharpe, Drew Maniscalco and Jim Thornton.

However, the specific needs of playfield art has prompted yet another addition, Greg Freres. Greg designed the art package for a number of games from Bally and then Bally/Williams including Bally?s Rolling Stones, Skateball, No Fear, Revenge From Mars, and, with designer Dennis Nordman, Elvira and the Party Monsters, Dr. Dude and Scared Stiff.

While we know that established sci-fi/fantasy artist Jerry Vanderstelt (Lord of the Rings and Elvis pinball) will be doing the backglass and cabinet art for The Wizard of Oz, Greg has been brought on board to produce the playfield art for the game. Successful playfield art is best achieved by an experienced artist who understands the interaction between the playfield elements and the ball as well as facilitating communication with the player. Greg?s experience in the creative pinball process makes him a valuable addition to JJP.

With Greg and Dennis together again, could there be a JJP game in their future? The answer is ?yes? there is, in the form of game #2. This pinball will not have a licensed theme, but be something totally original.

For more information about JJP and the addition of other team members see other features on this page or visit JJP by clicking HERE.

January 25, 2011--The game, in slightly different form from the one shown in Germany last week, is currently a the UK's EAG Expo. Take a look at some recent EAG photos from Gary Flower below and scoll down to see photos from the German show.

January 21, 2011--World famous pinball designer Dennis Nordman has joined Jersey Jack Pinball! Dennis has designed some of the best loved pinball machines including, Pirates of the Caribbean, Whitewater, Scared Stiff, Elvira and the Party Monsters, Demolition Man, Indy 500, and others. Joe Balcer, who is designing the Wizard of Oz, Jersey Jack's first release, will collaborate with Dennis on design elements and together they are sure to create a great game. Dennis will also be designing game #2 for Jersey Jack Pinball.

Recently, Dennis and partner Greg Freres have been working on the Whoa Nellie! Big Juicy Melons custom pinball game from their Whizbang Pinball company, and have produced a limited edition of four special games. ?Words can?t describe how thrilled I am to be given the opportunity to design pin games again," Dennis says. "Jack is a great leader and motivator and I know we will build an exciting product.?

Jersey Jack promises more exciting news about developments of The Wizard of Oz as well as more additions to the company in the near future. (The photo here with Dennis sitting is the only time Jack will get to be the taller of the two!)

January 18, 2011--The first unofficial photos of the Rolling Stones from the IMA industry show in Germany graciously sent to the PGJ by Drugi@Flippertreff.de and the shot of Gary Stern with the Stones by Heri Eiden. NOTE: This is not the final, approved art. The purpose is to give show attendees a peek at the game in developement. Look for final, approved, official photos on this PGJ web site when they are released.

FIRST STONES PIX!--The game mock-up to the left shows the latest version of the art to be previewed at German and UK industry shows this month. This version is meant more as a preview, as most aspects are still in the completion stage back in Melrose Park at Stern. As you can see, the art resembles the style of other official Stones licensed products.

For more about Stern Pinball, Inc. click STERN and visit their Facebook page as well!

January 16, 2011--Jack Guarnieri of PinballSales.com makes public his plans to manufacture pinball machines! JUST ANNOUNCED-Art by Jerry Vandenstelt! Jersey Jack Pinball will produce commercial grade machines for sale to the general public with their first title, The Wizard Of Oz, slated to be available in December, 2011. Jack discussed some details on the Spooky Pinball Web Cast which can be heard by clicking SPOOKY but there is an EXCLUSIVE PGJ REPORT on our "Articles" page in which Jack makes details public for the first time, reveals the game's artist and where game designer, Joe Balcer, shares his thoughts, as well! Click HERE to check that out!

December 4, 2010--David Silverman's National Pinball Museum opens! David has collected well over 800 games including many rare and one of a kind machines. Many of these will be on display in the museum's 14,000+ square foot facility. Plans call for a lot more than just a place to play including exhibits, classes, lectures and special events. The muesum is located at the Shops at Georgetown Park, 3222 M Street N.W., Suite M325, Washington, D.C. Regular hours will be Thursday ? Saturday, 10am ? 8pm Sunday, 12 ? 6pm. There's lots more info at the museum web site. Check it out by clicking NPM

October 23, 2010--Pinball collector, author, player Gary Flower is inducted into the Pinball Expo Hall of Fame. Read more about Gary and his intricate involvement in the pinball hobby for over 30 years by clicking HERE

October 13, 2010--Stern releases its Iron Man Classic model. This is a "home use only" version of its coin-op game Iron Man Pro. Read a PGJ EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW with Stern Pinball's, Gary Stern about the game and other Stern plans at PinGame Update by clicking above.

October 13, 2010--Rick Bartlett of Bay Area Amusements along with mega collector Matt Christiano announces the purchase of the Willams Pinball assets from Australia's Wayne Gillard (The Pinball Store). The new company will be called Planetary Pinball Supply (PPS). Rick reports that he mysteriously ducked out of the Pacific Pinball Exposition a little early a week ago Sunday to catch a plane to Australia and supervise the filling of a container mostly with parts. It is currently on a boat traveling across the ocean and anxiously awaited at PPS headquarters in San Jose. Matt hopes to continue as well as expand Wayne's efforts to try, for one thing, to get parts made and into the eager hands of collectors around the planet. For more on this historic business transaction, check out their web site at Planetary Pinball

September 14, 2010--AVATAR official press release--click PinGame Update above for more. September 9, 2010--AVATAR in production! See exclusive offical photos at PinGame Update August 18, 2010--Stern's Avatar nears production start! Read more at PinGame Update. (Avatar translight shown is a prototype and not the final, approved version. Official photos will be available on this site when available)

IT'S A FAMILY AFFAIR: Hot off a second place finish at the recent IFPA World Championship, Andy Rosa took first in the "A" division at the MPE. But the Rosa family wasn't finished as son Andrew grabbed the "B" division title and daughter Ahna flipped her way to the top of the "Wizards In Training" bracket. Read more about this first ever Michigan show by clicking HERE.

John "Koz" Kosmal, organizer of the Michigan Pinball Expo (MPE), was interviewed by international best selling author and Detroit radio personality, Mitch Albom about the MPE to be held in Rochester Michigan on July 8-12, 2010. Download a podcast of the interview by clicking HERE and get more info on the MPE at their web site by clicking HERE.

Ground Kontrol Arcade won the prize sponsored by Stride gum by posting the most points "donated" by supportors (including a good number of PGJ readers!) who played an on line game called Cowbots 2010. GK's Art Santana promises the money will be used for good: increasing the number of games at the arcade including adding to their already impressive lineup of pins. Take a look at the GK site by clicking HERE.

The countdown clock has stopped and the brand new Stern website is LIVE! Visitors to sternpinball.com will be greeted with many new features that make this, according to Jody Dankberg of Stern, more of a public, consumer site than the old commercial, industry type. Read more at the PinGame Update page.

Stern Pinball, Inc. is conducting a limited market test exclusively in select Costco stores. The test includes a total of 48 reduced feature, lower cost, custom designed Batman? pinball machines with less complex playfields. Participating Costco stores have three games each. Stern is conducting this test to study products best suited for various segments of its market. These games are shipped from the factory set on free play and have only one fixed coin setting of five credits per one coin. Stern plans to sell no more of this test Batman? in this configuration in the U.S. If the test is successful, Stern will further simplify the game design for tested market segments, such redesign including a much more simplified cabinet, replacement of the current dot matrix score display, and so forth.

Stern will continue to build its full line of traditional coin op pinball games as well as collector models.

Costco Store test locations are the following: Carlsbad, CA; Rancho Cucamonga, CA; Simi Valley, CA; North Fresno, CA; Reno, NV; Tigard, OR; Issaquah, WA; St. George, UT; San Antonio, TX; Houston, TX; Overland Park, KN.

May 13, 2010--The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (Oscars) will present a special 35th anniversary screening and disscussion of TOMMY on May 21, 2010

The event, open to the public, will include a new digital cinema presentation with the original quintaphonic soundtrack and a onstage panel dission hosted by Murry Lerner (The Amazing Journey: The Story Of The Who) with special guests director Ken Russell and editor Stuart Baird. For more information and tickets, visit the Academy website by clicking HERE.

April 12, 2010--Stern, in conjunction with the IFPA, announces four (count them ...four) simultaneous Iron Man launch parties around the US!

Hot on the heels of the official Iron Man press release distributed last week came an announcement from Josh Sharpe of the IFPA that they will be hosting four Iron Man launch parties.

The episode began with a message to Stern:
ATTENTION! Stern Pinball, Inc. the following episode of ATHF was inspired by our Family Guy pinball machine and features a design that we believe is the future of pinball. Please take notes and produce this machine accordingly. Thank you kindly, [adult swim]

January 14, 2010--Stern's Big Buck Hunter Pro pinball officially released.

Slated to be on the production line late this month, Stern has sent out the official press release for this game. Based on the popular arcade game of the same name, besides the Stern crew of Lonnie Ropp, John Borg and Lyman Sheats, it features contributions from Raw Thrills/Play Mechincs' Eugene Jarvis, Geroge Petro, Mark Ritchie, Scott Pikulski and Ken Hale as well as John Youssi who created the art package for both games. You can read a very preliminary overview of the game by clicking HERE, read the full Stern press release by clicking HERE and look for an indepth discussion of the game, including a "behind the scenes" glimpse at the design process, in a near-future PinGame Journal!

January 11, 2010-Stern Pinball featured on Factory Made episode! The Discovery Channel's "Factory Made" series featured a segment on how a pinball machine is made using Stern's NBA as its focus. The pinball segment is part of the seventh episode in the show's current, second season.

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January 10, 2010-- National Public Radio features David Silverman and his National Pinball Museum.

This morning on the NPR broadcast Weekend Edition, Liane Hansen conducted an interview with David Silverman about his collection of over 800 games and his goal to create the National Pinball Museum. What a great showcase for pinball ... you da man, David! Take a look and a listen to the interview by clicking HERE and check out David's museum web site by clickingHERE and help out by giving a buck or more to the cause by clicking "sponsorship."

It's been a long time coming, but Tim Arnold has moved his Pinball Hall of Fame into a stand-alone building that is owned, not rented. The Las Vegas Pinball Collectors Club has purchased a building that can hold about twice the games and is about half the distance to the Strip as the old place. There are photos at the PHoF web site which you can see by clicking HERE. Look for more on this promising upgrade in the January, 2010 (#138) issue of the Pingame Journal!

The episode "Thursdays with Abie" (which featured an appearence by Detroit area local celeb Mitch Albom, author of "Tuesdays With Morrie") contained a pinball opening that consisted mostly of a giant pinball machine named Couch Gag Chaos featuring the Simpsons family being bumped and shot around the playfield, all finally draining, as all pinballs do. You can see the opening along with the entire episode at the Fox site by clicking HERE and click on "Thrusdays With Abie" (Season 21, Episode 9). The Simpsons have been the subject of two pinball machines, check out the Stern Pinball site to see the most recent, Simpsons Pinball Party by clicking HERE.

This game is jam packed with features including the ability to customize the playfield giving the player the ability to play the resulting game. Get all the details by clicking HERE.

Stern Pinball, Inc. announced today that it has closed a financing and partnership agreement with a group of investors led by David J. Peterson, a founder and Managing Director of Hagerty Peterson & Company, LLC. Under the agreement, the new investors will provide capital and services to Stern Pinball, Inc. with the goal of expanding the Company?s business. Mr. Peterson and his colleague, Daniel P. Wallace, will join the Company?s Board of Directors. Gary Stern will continue in his role as Chairman and CEO of the Company.

?We?re very excited about this new partnership with Dave and his colleagues,? said Stern. ?They have an impressive history of building successful businesses and are bringing fresh insights to the Company that we believe will be very helpful.?

?We were impressed by the commitment of the Company?s customers, suppliers and employees to pinball, which we share,? said Peterson. ?It will take some time, but we think we can help the Company better serve that community and expand.?

The story is about the era when pinball was illegal and the efforts to remove the stigma of gambling and prove the game requires skill and not chance only. Take a look by clicking HERE.

July 8, 2009-- Pinball Pioneer Steve Kordek is featured in a Chicago Tribune article on pinball with an associated story on Stern Pinball Inc.

Freelance writer, Lisa Pevtzow interviewed pinball people around the globe to create this feature on pinball which hit its stride in Chicago and look in on 98 year old classic designer Steve Kordek. She also talked extensively with Gary Stern of Stern Pinball, Inc and presents an updated view of the company and its head. (Link currently broken--we're working on it!) Click Chicago Tribune-Kordek to read both stories.

March 15, 2009 ESPN "Sports Center" puts pinball front and center

The text message from Trent Augenstein read, "I'm going to be on Sports Center tonight, briefly." He was. However, the spot focused on ex NBA player Todd MacCulloch who switched to pinball for his professional sports excitement as he won his first ever individual trophy in any sport at the 2009 Texas Pinball Fest tournament. Todd finished second to Trent's first place effort but as Todd's first, it was a special moment.

?The Big Guys Pinball team is pleased to announce that a licensing agreement for Nucore has been finalized. WMS Gaming Inc. approved a licensing agreement between Big Guys Pinball, Illinois Pinball Corporation and The Pinball Factory. This agreement will allow Big Guys Pinball to market and sell Nucore worldwide. Nucore will be exclusively distributed by Pinball Life of Huntley, Illinois. Big Guys Pinball will be releasing Nucore pricing and component details in early March so visit them by clicking HERE for more details.

PGJ's Mini Interview with Nucore's Chuck Hess

PGJ?Chuck, we have talked a lot in the past about how you were going to navigate the dangerous licensing waters as you brought out this product. Your announcement reveals that you are covering pretty much all the bases. Was this a requirement you had to meet before Nucore went officially public?

CH?No, we weren?t forced to get licensing from both Wayne and Gene but it is just the best way to make sure we would have zero legal problems. Legal problems would be costly for us and could have stopped Nucore sales because of possible drawn-out battles.

PGJ?Now that is out of the way, do you have some big factory somewhere to produce all the systems to have Pinball Life distribute?

DH--We are a two-man operation doing pretty much everything. We are making custom hardware. One board will come with the Nucore base package and it will provide a key function that we couldn?t emulate safely in software. It will also provide for future expansion boards allowing the addition of a real cabinet knocker or a mod to greatly enhance Bill Ung?s saucer mod, for just two examples. These custom boards will be mass-produced, but we have designed, built and tested the prototypes. Don is really the genius behind that.

PGJ?What was your reasoning in adding a distribution level to the venture? Are you both going to hand it over to them, rake in the profits and spend your time on the beach in the Cayman Islands?

DH--What we gain by using distribution is control over the marketing and sales of our product while losing the minutiae of handling orders. We picked Pinball Life due to their stellar reputation, worldwide distribution and neutrality between all parties. I really do believe in specialization of labor and Pinball Life will serve us well. Once we start selling Nucore, Don and I will be doing all of the support along with help from our testers and other Nucore users. It will hardly be like sitting on a beach sipping mojitos with purple umbrellas. We have a lot of work ahead.

FOX Business News. On April 29, 2008 FOX Business News visited the Stern Pinball factory to see the latest game Indiana Jones on the assembly line and talk to designer John Borg. The video will be included on a future PGJ Media Clips DVD. Also, the same day, myFOX Chicago aired a live report at Stern interviewing Gary Stern.