Pinstar

Pinstar was a short-lived pinball venture Gary Stern formed in the Chicago area after Stern Electronics — the arcade and pinball company his family had run since the 1970s — closed on February 1, 1985. Staffed by former Stern Electronics personnel with Stern continuing as president, Pinstar operated for about a year as a stopgap before Stern helped found Data East's new pinball division in November 1986.

Pinstar's only release was Gamatron, a conversion kit shipped in December 1985 that let operators refit worn Bally "-35" four-player machines with a new playfield, backglass, and populated components. The kit connected through a Pinstar daughterboard wired into the existing Bally/Stern MPU, and its software and playfield design were carried over directly from Stern's 1980 title Flight 2000. In 1986, the Spanish manufacturer Segasa, trading as Sonic, bought the Gamatron design, redrew its artwork, and released its own version under the same name — while still crediting Pinstar's copyright on the playfield.