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Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast January 2026 recap
PodcastAnalysis updated 5d ago3 hr 17 min listenBy Martin Ayub, Jonathan Joosten
The first month of 2026 certainly brought us plenty of excitement in the pinball world, even though we didn’t get any of the eagerly anticipated new game launches. So, join Jonathan from Pinball...
Highlights
- American Pinball has been sold by Ametron to J.B. Vincent LP, a Texas-based private investment company, with operations continuing at the Palatine, Illinois facility
- Brian Vincent, new owner of American Pinball, plans one title in 2026 and one to two titles annually thereafter
- American Pinball has secured a licensing deal with Planetary Pinball to remake seven classic Bally Williams titles
- Stern's new cornerstone game is widely rumored to be Pokémon, with Jack Danger as lead designer and George Gomez finishing the game
- Stern's February 11 media open house will reveal the new cornerstone game, with Texas Pinball Festival (five weeks later) marked as 'first public showing'
- Gary Stern admits Stern made a mistake with Star Wars licensing and vows it won't happen again
- Stern is opening a new European sales office in Amsterdam headed by John Buscaglia
- 70% of Stern's games are in home settings and 70% of play is on location
- David Fix continued working on Galactic Tank Force updates after leaving American Pinball as a passion project with company blessing
Notable quotes
“We are planning one title this year and one to two titles in each year going forward after the first game”
“Rebuilding trust in American pinball as a priority”
“They made a mistake with the Star Wars licensing and vows that they won't allow that to ever happen again”
“70% of our games are at home... 70% of our play is on the street”
“It's like gold prospecting isn't it? There are a few little nuggets in there which are really good”
“Cranes are a big trend in operating in America... crane arcades... nothing but cranes in them”
“A $5,000, $6,000 driver versus a $15,000, $25,000 American driver”
“Nobody notices... if you're not... if you're not a vegan. I'm saying people just eat, right?”
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
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