Stern is the name of two different but connected arcade game companies. Stern Electronics, Inc. made arcade video games and pinball machines from 1977 to 1985. The company was famous for the game Berzerk. Stern Pinball, Inc. was started in 1986 as Data East Pinball. It is a company that makes pinball machines in North America.

Stern Electronics, Inc.

In 1977, Sam and Gary Stern purchased Chicago Coin, a company facing financial difficulties, and formed Stern Electronics. Before this, Sam had owned part of Williams, an amusement company. He bought half of it in 1947 and sold it to Seeburg Corporation in 1964. Gary had worked under his father at Williams. From 1973 to 1977, Sam and Gary managed Williams together. Stern Electronics acquired Chicago Coin’s assets through bankruptcy sales, avoiding any of its debts. In 1977, Stern also bought Universal Research Laboratories, which had gone bankrupt earlier. Universal Research made circuit boards for Bally pinball machines, and Stern used these designs to create their own parts. This led to a lawsuit with Bally, and Stern agreed to pay royalties, totaling $700,000 by September 1981.

The first two games made by Stern were Stampede and Rawhide, originally created by Chicago Coin. Stern changed only the branding and logos on these games. After a slow start, sales improved by the end of 1977. In 1977, Stern produced their first solid-state pinball machine, called Pinball. By 1978, they used fully solid-state electronics in all their games. In 1980, Stern bought Seeburg Corporation’s jukebox production assets for $1.5 million. To boost sales in the declining jukebox market, Stern added screens and customizable displays to their machines.

When arcade video games became popular in 1980, Stern released Berzerk, which sold 20,000 machines. They stopped making pinball machines in 1982. However, Stern suffered from the video game crash of 1983, which hurt many companies. They received financial help from distributor Al Simon and sold Seeburg the following summer. In 1984, Sam Stern died, and Stern Electronics closed on February 1, 1985. From 1985 to 1986, former Stern employees started a company called Pinstar, which made upgrade kits for old Bally and Stern machines. Gary Stern remained president of Pinstar and later helped found Data East’s pinball division. When Data East was acquired by Sega in 1994, Gary continued leading the division. Although Data East operated from the old Stern Electronics building, it is unclear if they bought the company or only the facilities.

On March 16, 2023, Atari SA announced it had acquired the intellectual property rights to 12 Stern Electronics games, including Berzerk and Frenzy.

Stern Pinball, Inc.

By 1999, the pinball industry was almost gone. Sega left the pinball industry by separating its pinball division and selling it to Gary Stern, which led to the creation of Stern Pinball. Stern Pinball became the only company making pinball machines for sale, but it had difficulties in the 2000s, making about 10,000 machines each year and selling most of them abroad.

As of 2023, designers Brian Eddy, John Borg, and George Gomez, who have worked for a long time, are creating pinball games for Stern Pinball. They work alongside Keith Elwin, a top player in pinball competitions, and Jack Danger, a well-known pinball streamer. Stern Pinball, Inc. is located in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.

Some Stern pinball tables were also made available digitally through The Pinball Arcade and Stern Pinball Arcade.

Arcade games manufactured by Stern

• Astro Invader (1980) (programmed by Konami)
• Berzerk (1980)
• The End (1980) (programmed by Konami)
• Scramble (1981) (programmed by Konami)
• Super Cobra (1981) (programmed by Konami)
• Moon War (1981)
• Turtles (1981) (programmed by Konami)
• Strategy X (1981) (programmed by Konami)
• Jungler (1981) (programmed by Konami)
• Armored Car (1981)
• Amidar (1981) (programmed by Konami)
• Frenzy (1982)
• Tazz-Mania (1982)
• Tutankham (1982) (programmed by Konami)
• Pooyan (1982) (programmed by Konami)
• Dark Planet (1982) (designed by Erick Erickson and Dan Langlois)
• Rescue (1982)
• Calipso (1982) (developed by Stern, released by Tago Electronics)
• Anteater (1982) (developed by Stern, released by Tago Electronics)
• Mazer Blazer (1982)
• Lost Tomb (1982)
• Bagman (Le Bagnard) (1982) (programmed by Valadon Automation)
• Pop Flamer (1982) (programmed by Jaleco)
• Star Jacker (1983) (programmed by Sega)
• Minefield (1983)
• Cliff Hanger (1983) (laserdisc game using video footage from TMS)
• Great Guns (1984)
• Goal to Go (1984) (laserdisc game)
• Super Bagman (1984) (programmed by Valadon Automation)