Article: 194604 of rec.games.pinball Path: news.iupui.edu!news.indiana.edu!NewsNG.Chicago.Qual.Net!207.24.245.130!nyd.news.ans.net!bignews.mediaways.net!portc02.blue.aol.com!audrey03.news.aol.com!not-for-mail From: jonhey@aol.comnospam (JonHey) Newsgroups: rec.games.pinball Subject: Re: Williams has no (pin)BALLS! GO SEGA GO! Lines: 42 NNTP-Posting-Host: ladder06.news.aol.com X-Admin: news@aol.com Date: 05 Oct 1999 06:00:21 GMT References: <7tc10i$jgj@enews1.newsguy.com> Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: <19991005020021.09001.00000357@ng-cd1.aol.com> Xref: news.iupui.edu rec.games.pinball:194604 Last Updated: Monday, October 4, 1999 -- 11AM SEGA PINBALL BECOMES STERN PINBALL! (posted on Monday, October 4, 1999 -- 11AM) In a move that resonates with pinball history, Sega Pinball President Gary Stern (through a corporate entity) has purchased the Melrose Park, Ill., pinball factory that he runs from Sega Enterprises and will rename the company Stern Pinball Inc. Future products will bear the Stern name, while current Sega Pinball games will continue to carry the Sega name pursuant to a short-term license agreement. Stern Pinball will continue to make pinball and redemption games and to manufacture under contract coin-op video games for Sega. "Although pinball remains an important part of the coin-op business, pinball is not a core business for Sega," said Al Stone, president of Sega Enterprises USA. "We are sure that Gary and his staff will continue the success they have been bringing to pinball with the last models." "We have appreciated the years we have been a unit of Sega," said Gary. "We will continue in our development of and commitment to Mechanical Action Pinball. I have grown up in the pinball business. I am thrilled with this opportunity to continue plying the trade my father taught me." Gary Stern, along with his late father (and pinball scion) Sam Stern, first opened Stern Electronics around 1978 after purchasing the former coin-op factory Chicago Dynamic Industries (Chi’ Coin). They made pinball machines and other coin-op equipment, including a jukebox at one time. The company was later sold to Data East and then to Sega, although Gary has remained at the helm since the company’s founding. Through those years, private investors in the factory have also included coin-op luminaries like Al Simon and Marty Bromley. Congratulations, Gary, we wish you well as one of the true keepers of the pinball flame! Previous Instant RePlay Items (including AMOA/Fun Expo show coverage)   ...for on-line news, check the pages from News Digest, Hot Off the Press, etc. at our site, accessible through the Current Issue page. Watch this page for news postings on a frequent and regular basis in between magazine editions. © All contents of this page and the entire RePlay Magazine website at http://www.replaymag.com and http://www.replaymagazine.com Copyright 1999 RePlay Magazine. All rights reserved.