Summary
Stern Pinball’s latest games, including their highly successfulJohn Wickgame and a recolored anniversary edition for their popularGodzillatable, highlight the continued appeal and popularity of the classic arcade game. Stern Pinball has been responsible for a number of modern riffs on the game, incorporating updated technology and changing elements to their tables. This is especially prevalent in their 70th AnniversaryGodzillaandnewly releasedJohn Wickpinball tables, which will shift the playfield to adjust to the gameplay in exciting ways.
Setting up a pop-up arcade duringSan Diego Comic-Con, Stern Pinball got the chance to show off many of their latest tables, including to Screen Rant while they were in attendance. During an interview with Screen Rant at San Diego Comic-Con, Screen Rant got the chance to speak with Stern Pinball Director of Marketing Zach Sharpe about theJohn WickandGodzillatables, the biggest tweaks they’ve brought to the classic pinball style, and how the new contracts system has impacted the game.
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Stern Pinball’s John Wick & “Assassin Contract” System
Screen Rant: What’s it been like to see the response to theJohn Wick Pinballtable in-real time, and adjust it accordingly?
Zach Sharpe:With all of our pinball machines, we’re constantly listening and monitoring feedback from the community to make the best product possible. We purchase and play these too. We want to make them as cool and as fun for ourselves, as well as the community and fans worldwide. WithJohn Wick, there’s still a lot more to add to the machine.
In two month’s time, the game has already increased so much. There is more sounds, more speech, more lights, more action and feedback. We officially launched our contract system. So through “Insider Connected,” when you get that notification that there’s a limited contract, you better hurry up, because that’s worldwide. Those will be scooped up. So it’s been really fun.
One of the cool things Stern gets to do is adjust your pinball tables in real-time. What have been the biggest shift in focus so far withJohn Wick?
Zach:I would definitely say the contracts. It’s definitely enhanced the overall entertainment experience. While new rules and other and stuff has been added, that element of being ready to go at a moment’s notice, to interact with the machine, is unlike anything ever before in pinball. In pinball, you always just kind of play in your own time. I’ll play I’ll log in, I’ll get some achievements. With this, you’re competing against people worldwide. If there’s only 100 contracts, and that notice goes out to everyone, that contract can be done in 30 minutes.
It’s been fun to see the engagement, where you’re just playing the machine in a different way. It’s not like you’re hitting start, and then being like, “I’m going to try to get to the wizard mode.” No, you have to try for the car and the multi-ball, because that’s what the contract is for. It’s been fun to watch people interact with [the contract system]. You connect with people worldwide… it’s fun to just play and engage with the game differently than you normally would.
You also got to see Keanu Reeves playing the game itself at San Diego Comic-Con. What was that like?
Zach:I mean, for him to come to our booth and the game… I mean, he looks like a little kid playing it! He’s so happy. Hes got some skills, too. You can’t be surprised. I mean, he’s John Wick.
Zach:It was awesome seeing him interact with the machine. It’s just bringing that much more exposure to pinball worldwide.
Working With Toho & Lionsgate On Pinball
Why was it important to reflect the entireJohn Wickseries instead of just focusing on a single film, likeJohn Wick: Chapter 4?
Zach:It just doesn’t limit yourself. I think having all four films, you may kind of create a full pinball experience. Pinball is a unique game where it’s not necessarily linear. If you’re only doing one film, you just limit the content that you can explore with the gameplay experience. The more you have at your disposal, the more the team can kind of create this whole John Wick universe where you’re of navigating through and battling people. But it doesn’t have to necessarily start from point A to go to point B to point C to point D. It just broadens the content that you can kind of explore.
What has the collaboration process been like with Lionsgate on producing this game?
Zach:Every licensor is different. I would say with Lionsgate, they’ve been really hands-on and collaborative every step of the way, they’ve been great…. we’ve been working with them to get this out to the public. What’s really cool is we’re doing a John Wick sweepstakes through “Insider Connected” where we not only disseminate the message with our audience, they’re actually helping.
Speaking of collaborations, Stern is also getting to take part in the celebrations surrounding Godzilla’s 70th anniversary with a rerelease of your Godzilla table. What has it bee like working with Toho to bring that franchise to pinball as well?
Zach:Toho are amazing partners, we’ve been working with them throughout the years. The seventieth anniversary ofGodzillais a big deal for them. Outside of just pinball, if you look at all their promotions… it’s been a big deal. They were talking with us and brainstorming and we kind of all came to this idea. Even though [Stern’s Godzilla Pinball] was currently in production in this colored version, how cool would it be to do this kind of throwback black and white version?
That’s how Godzilla started 70 years ago, in black and white. To do that black, white, and gray color scale on the foil cabinet as part of the celebration and to make a premium Anniversary Edition, it just kind of all meshed extremely well. Toho was awesome. They were an open book, and the game team was like, “We’re gonna incorporate everything into this experience.” What’s cool with Godzilla is that he’s almost an anti-hero.
The bigger monsters are the true villains, but there’s always some collateral damage with the cities. He’s not proactively trying to destroy [the cities]. But there’s always buildings that get smashed. Godzilla’s really going toe to toe with Mechagodzilla and King Ghidorah and the aliens from Planet X. It was really just cool to just have this broad canvas to make a really cool pinball experience.
The funny story with the Mechagodzilla multi-ball, we incorporated a lot of the original film footage [into the game]. And with Mechagodzilla multi-ball, we made animations that emulated the original films. When they saw it, Toho was like, “Oh, we don’t remember that scene from that movie.” We’re like, ‘Yeah, because we created that.’ And they were completely floored. “This looks exactly like from the film! You fooled us, we were racking our brains because we couldn’t remember this exact scenes of movies… bravo.” I mean, they were just completely blown away with the animations that we did custom.
Celebrating Godzilla Through Pinball
I love how the Godzilla table will shift and change depending on how the player is doing mid-game. What was that process in designing that table with that element in mind?
Zach:Our lead game designer, Keith Elwin… is arguably one of the best pinball game designers ever. He loves dynamic stage changes. If you’re shooting a certain shot, he doesn’t want it to always interact the same. If there’s some kind of way he can work with his engineer to make sure it is theme appropriate, he will. He likes to integrate that whole experience. WithGodzilla, there’s no better way than having a building get destroyed, or having Mechagodzilla interact in different ways. He kind of just toys and tools around and iterates with ways to make the experience memorable.
What’s it like to be a part of that Godzilla legacy in a big year like this?
Zach:I mean, I’m a big proponent of the idea that “rising tides raise all ships.” If we can catch this wave of awareness, not only as part of Godzilla celebrating 70 years but also being a part of all these big initiatives — being at Comic Con, at CES, we’re gonna have a presence at Godzilla Fest in San Francisco in October. We’re just continuously reinforcing that pinball is still around, that it’s bigger and better than ever. Just wait to see what’s in the future.
What has surprised you the most about these two pinball games and how they’ve been received?
Zach:To me, pinball is a lot like going to the movies, or going to a restaurant where there’s no one size fits all. Sometimes you want to go see a comedy, sometimes you want to see an action movie. Pinball is the kind of same way, where everyone interacts with it differently. If you want a fast experience, playJohn Wick. If you want something a little more stop and go, you might play [ourVenomorJames Bondtables]. Everyone’s going to interact with machines differently.
I would say something that us were the contracts. That was something new that we had never tried it before. We didn’t know how the reception would be. We thought people would be like, “Oh, that’s cool.” But just to see the rapid response… people are complaining, like “I’m in Australia, and I got my notification at 3:00 A.M. and couldn’t get it…” You never know how people will react. You always want people to be really excited. That exceeded our expectations.
The Stern Pinball John Wick & Godzilla Tables are now available.
John Wick
“John Wick” is a neo-noir action-thriller franchise centered around a retired hitman who returns to the criminal underworld to seek vengeance. Known for its intense and stylistic action sequences, the franchise has redefined modern action cinema with its choreographed gunfights, hand-to-hand combat, and intricate world-building. The series explores themes of loyalty, honor, and survival in a secret society of assassins.
