Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast January 2026 recap

American Pinball acquired; Stern delays cornerstone; Pokémon rumored; Stern expands Europe

Synopsis

Pinball News and Pinball Magazine editors Jonathan Houston and Martin Eyre recap January 2026 industry news, focusing on American Pinball acquisition by Texas-based J.B. Vincent LP, Stern's delayed cornerstone game announcement (widely rumored to be Pokémon), and interviews with Gary Stern and John Buscaglia about Stern's European expansion and licensing challenges. The episode reveals strategic pivots at American Pinball toward classic game remakes and discusses broader industry trends including crane arcade competition and data connectivity in modern pinball.

Entities

• American Pinball· company
• Ametron· company
• J.B. Vincent LP· company
• Pinball Republic· company
• Planetary Pinball· company
• Stern Pinball· company
• CES (Consumer Electronics Show)· event
• EAG Expo· event
• Texas Pinball Festival· event
• Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye· game
• James Bond· game
• Pokémon· game
• Star Wars: Fall of the Empire· game
• Uncanny X-Men· game
• Venom· game
• Walking Dead Remastered· game
• Brian Vincent· person
• David Fix· person
• Gary Stern· person
• George Gomez· person
• Jack Danger· person
• John Buscaglia· person
• Jonathan Houston· person
• Martin Eyre· person
• Insider Connected· product