Stern Electronics

Stern Electronics was founded in 1977 in Chicago, Illinois, by industry veteran Sam Stern—formerly of Williams Manufacturing—and his son Gary Stern, following their purchase of assets from the bankrupt Chicago Coin company. From the outset, Stern Electronics established itself as an early adopter of solid-state technology in pinball, transitioning away from traditional electro-mechanical setups to fully electronic systems. Early pinball releases such as Stampede (1977) were rebranded Chicago Coin designs, but Stern quickly began developing original machines. Notable titles included Meteor (1979), which sold over 8,000 units, and Flight 2000 (1980), recognized for its innovative voice soundtrack and a feature-rich, space-themed layout. In addition, the company’s willingness to experiment led to the creation of Orbitor 1 (1982), a pinball machine with a distinctive concave playfield and spinning rubber posts that radically altered ball trajectory.

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Beyond pinball, Stern Electronics achieved success in the arcade video game sector, most notably with Berzerk (1980), which stood out due to its talking robots, maze-based gameplay, and synthetic voice lines—advanced features for the time. The company expanded its arcade portfolio by licensing and distributing titles such as Scramble (1981) and Bagman (1982), thereby capitalizing on international hits to build a strong North American presence. However, the broader video game crash of 1983 sharply curtailed Stern’s growth, and the death of co-founder Sam Stern in 1984 compounded the firm’s difficulties. Stern Electronics ceased operations in 1985, selling its pinball assets to Data East. Although it no longer exists as a separate entity, the company’s technical innovations and fast-paced pinball designs are regarded as influential on subsequent manufacturers, and Stern’s legacy endures through Gary Stern’s later ventures, including the founding of Stern Pinball, Inc. in 1999.