Stern (game company)
Stern is the name of two different but related arcade gaming companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. manufactured arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977 to 1985, and was known for 1980s "Berzerk". Stern Pinball, Inc., founded in 1999, is a creator of pinball machines in North America. Stern Electronics, Inc.. Stern Electronics was formed when the Stern family bought the financially troubled Chicago Coin in 1977. Chicago Coin's assets were purchased at bankruptcy sales forming the core inventory of Stern Electronics, Inc.; however, as a separate company, they did not assume any of the debt Chicago  Coin had amassed. The first two games made by Stern were "Stampede" and "Rawhide", both originally made by Chicago Coin, which only had changes made to their branding and logos. After a weak start, Stern Electronics' sales started picking up by the end of 1977. By 1978, they had switched over to fully solid-state electronics for their games. In 1979, Stern acquired the jukebox production assets of the bankrupt Seeburg Corporation, and the company became known as Stern / Seeburg. Coincidentally, Seeburg also owned Williams in the 1960s, when Sam Stern was its president. When arcade video games became popular  in 1980, Stern Electronics produced "Berzerk". In 1983, Stern became one of many victims of the amusement industry economic shakeout that occurred. In 1985, Stern Electronics left the amusement industry. Personnel from Stern Electronics formed a short-lived venture known as Pinstar, producing conversion kits for old Bally and Stern machines. Gary Stern was the president of Stern Electronics, Inc, Pinstar Inc, and Data East pinball. Stern Pinball, Inc.. By 1999, the pinball industry was virtually dead and Williams stopped manufacturing pinball machines and focused on gambling devices as WMS Gaming. During the same year, Sega left the pinball industry  and sold its pinball division, previously purchased from Data East in 1994, to Gary Stern, the son of Sam Stern. In October 1999, Sega sold the pinball portion of its company to Gary Stern, who had been running Data East/Sega pinball since 1986, and Stern Pinball was born. Stern Pinball, Inc. is based in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. As of 2021, longtime designers Brian Eddy, John Borg, and George Gomez are designing pinball games at Stern Pinball, alongside former professional player Keith Elwin. Some Stern pinball tables were also digitally released through "The Pinball Arcade" and "Stern Pinball Arcade