Episode 241: Zach Sharpe. All things (Stranger and otherwise) about Stern Pinball
Hear about their excellent 2019, CES, The Stern Pro Circuit, INDISC & The IFPA Open, leaks, TWIPy's and more.
Kineticist’s take
Stern's marketing director reflects on record 2019 output, Stranger Things success, pricing pressures, and competitive pinball growth.
Synopsis
Zach Sharpe, Stern Pinball's Marketing Director, discusses 2019's record output of six games (The Munsters (Pro), Black Knight: Sword of Rage, Jurassic Park, Elvira: House of Horrors, Star Wars, Star Wars (Comic Art Pro), and Stranger Things), the Stranger Things launch strategy timed for Christmas, Brian Eddy return as a designer, game pricing increases driven by tariffs, the Stern Pro Circuit structure and upcoming March 2020 final in Chicago, Stern's charitable giving and Stern Army growth, and the role of awards like the Twippies in validating game design: balancing sales metrics with community recognition.
Entities
- Stern Pinball· company
- Indisc / IFPA Open· event
- Texas Pinball Festival· event
- Twippies· event
- Black Knight: Sword of Rage· game
- Deadpool· game
- Elvira's House of Horrors (Premium/LE)· game
- Jurassic Park· game
- Star Wars· game
- Star Wars (Comic Art Pro)· game
- Stranger Things· game
- The Beatles· game
- The Munsters (Pro)· game
- IFPA· organization
- Netflix / Duffer Brothers· organization
- Papa· organization
- Project Pinball· organization
- Stern Army· organization
- Stern Pro Circuit· organization
- Brian Eddy· person
- George Gomez· person
- Jeff Lee· person
- Josh Sharpe· person
- Zach Sharpe· person