INTERVIEWING GARY STERN ?

[Caveoftreasures]

Just for fun, I wanted to see what AP members would ask Gary Stern if they had the chance and great opportunity to sit down with the gentleman and ask anything pinball related ?

What questions would you ask Gary Stern if you were the interviewer ? 

I have listed a few that i would ask >

1. Whats your favourite few pinball machines to play that you have produced and why ?
2. Which title didnt sell as many as u had really hoped for, which is now out of production ?
3. Whats your bigest selling title to date ? (pre AC/DC which might take the top spot soon ?)
4. Where will STERN be in 5 years ?
5. What major changes do u see happening from a technology point of view with pinball machines, ie - LCD larger displays
6. What does Jersey Jack Pinball mean for the Industry ?
7. Who will run and navigate STERN in the next 20 years when Gary Stern has retired, or isnt with us anymore ?
8. Will STERN produce a pinball machine soon that is not linked to a movie licence or other style of licence - ie - a machine that is completely made up/designed from imagination, a new concept not seen before. (ie-invent a monster or a imaginery action figure etc)
9.  Has STERN ever thought about selling the business, and if so, why didnbt you.

The list goes on. Anyone else got any serious questions they would ask Gary Stern in an informative interview ? 

[Cow Corner]

Get Karl Steffanovich on the job, he has got that interviewers haircut that can break down the hardest mortal souls...works a treat everytime....he might be able to break GS down as to why he is making so many different versions of current machines for no other reason than profit?
 

[Pop Bumper Pete]

Where is the inovation/risk taking that your father showed??????

How is it possible to take the Playboy license and make an ugly machine????

[pinnies4me]

How is it possible to take the Playboy license and make an ugly machine????

 

[Caveoftreasures]

do we have any serious members with some journolistic type questions, who can add to the post.    c'mon guys, can someone add something witty and intelligent. 

serious batch of buggers on here. I will be happy to ask the questions when i go to the Stern factory, if u post them. (except the ugly question n playboy) 

I thought the forum was full of switched on members thirsty for knowledge.   

[Cow Corner]

My question is dead serious....why is he ripping off he pinball buying public by making 3 or more versions?
also you can add does he think we are idiots by doing so? I would be asking him this type of stuff, when will he bring pinball back to the players( instead of the douche with the most coin) by making one machine for all I wouldn't be pandering to the blokes allready saturated ego.
Punch him in the guts for me too please.

[Pop Bumper Pete]

Does he ever get feedback from the movie stars his machines feature?

[Pop Bumper Pete]

serious batch of buggers on here. I will be happy to ask the questions when i go to the Stern factory, if u post them. (except the ugly question n playboy)  

I thought the forum was full of switched on members thirsty for knowledge.    

I think i have just been called dumb an ignorant

[Caveoftreasures]

Stern has to make money to survive. the 3 models of one title at least cater for different tastes within the pinball community.  are they expensive to buy a LE model, yes without a doubt. remember there is a Global Financial Crisis still happening, and the fact that Stern is still alive after 4 or more bad economic years is a miracle.
   Alot bigger and richer companies have fallen by the wayside. The fact that Stern is still producing so many models is a testement to the dedication of the management of Stern to keep going and provide a great product. The alternative is too see the last pinball company die and thats not good for pinball.

As for Gary Stern having a inflated ego or whatever that comment was, I have never met the man so i couldnt agree with that, or say anything bad about his personality.
If the man is confident, and not a shrinking violet, full of optimism, well thats what u need to run a multi-million dollar company these days, espescially in this economic climate.

If someone ever sat down with the guy, like I hope to one day if I ever get lucky enough to meet the man, I ofcourse wouldnt ask him anything negative. I would like to learn something from the man, not insult him or give him a hardtime. I could however, ask him about the great Ironman pinball he created etc etc.   That might be more to his lking.

That question Pete about the movie stars and their feedback is a good one. I would like to know if the Stars who feature on the machines are lucky enough to be given a free pinny for their house. and how many have started collecting new Sterns as a result of getting their first machine ?

[Caveoftreasures]

[gnoquote author=Caveoftreasures ]

serious batch of buggers on here. I will be happy to ask the questions when i go to the Stern factory, if u post them. (except the ugly question n playboy) 

I thought the forum was full of switched on members thirsty for knowledge.   

I think i have just been called dumb an ignorant
[/quote]

wtf. not at all. it was tounge in cheek pete, nothing else mate. relax.

[pinnies4me]

I think i have just been called dumb an ignorant

Better than being called a "pastycook"

[Cow Corner]

Surely if your were to do a fair, honest and balanced interview you would raise the good and the bad? I think the pinball buying public has a right to ask.
Stern have made some great machines but that doesn't change the way I and a lot of other pinball buyers feel about the way they are going with multiple versions of machines and multiple versions of le's etc.
The last thing I want to see is another infomercial.

[Caveoftreasures]

U raise some good points Daz, but if I raised any questions and upset the man, I may never get the chance to talk to him again, so to speak.

I mean, I could ask about cost cutting with pegs replacing slide rails and plastic aprons instead of metal ones etc etc, but i already know the answer will be because of the global financial situation, and Stern is doing what needs to be done to keep the costs down. If they have some of these items as "upgrades" that the consumer pays for, then its not so bad. I mean overall, I would approach an interview wth Gary Stern so to  speak, from the point of view that its an honour to sit down with the man, and his time is valuable. You could ask some tough questions (like cost cutting etc) but as long as he isnt backed into a corner and not made to feel bad, then u might be able to ask a few questions like that.

If I wasnt a fan of Stern (which I am 100 % a fan these recent times) and if u only liked say Jersey Jack Pinball, u could go hell for leather til the man throws u out.lol  

But I think sitting down with Gary Stern these days would be a really interesting and enjoyable chat. Just thinking of walking around the Stern factory would give me goosebumps. That would be a really lot of fun. I am thinking of selling a few more pins to fund a trip to the factory. That would be a blast.

[Cow Corner]

I still think you miss the point of what a interview really is but if you want to do the infomercial go nuts. Maybe you can be their pr guy?
"An honour to sit down with the man"..wow really..., fair enough...but wow...it would be cool but still not an honour to meet some of the designers and they are more interesting.He wouldn't even rate on a list of intersting people I would like meet but as I love to say...horses for courses..Good luck with your Stern fact finding mission.

[Pop Bumper Pete]

What license would he really love to get, but they just want too much $$$?

which of his designers (past or present) is the biggest diva?

(Back on the ugly games) Is the lighting bad in the art department???? AC/DC, RBION, AP, Playboy