Sources
Contributors to this record: Flipcommons AI Descriptions (System), Flipcommons Catalog.
- description
- Flipcommons AI Descriptions (System)Stern SPIKE 3 is the third generation of [[manufacturer:stern-pinball]]'s SPIKE control system, the embedded electronics platform inside its pinball machines. It arrived in September 2025 with *[[title:star-wars-fall-of-the-empire]]*, whose launch announcement introduced the next-generation platform alongside the game itself[1][2][3] — the electronics were news in their own right, down to a SPIKE 3 stinger closing the game's teaser trailer.[4] ## The hardware Like the SPIKE generations before it, SPIKE 3 is a distributed system rather than a single board set: a CPU board holding the game software is networked with input/output boards over a custom control bus carried on ordinary Ethernet-style cabling, 48-volt boards driving the coils and flashers while bus-powered boards read the switches and drive the lamps.[5] The generational change sits at the head of that bus: a custom processor built on the Raspberry Pi platform, with four times the computing and video power of [[system:stern-spike-2]] and twice its memory.[6] To the player the new capacity surfaces as presentation: a larger 18.5-inch full-HD display with greater color depth and a new immersive audio system, backed by more efficient power handling, improved [[gameplay-feature:wifi-connectivity]] and support for wireless headphones.[1] ## The machines *[[title:the-walking-dead-remastered]]* (2025) followed two months after the Star Wars debut, [[person:john-borg]] reworking his own 2014 design around the new display and audio,[7] and the pair of SPIKE 3 machines anchored Stern's floor at CES 2026.[8] The cornerstone titles that came next, *[[title:pokemon]]* (2026) and *[[title:transformers-more-than-meets-the-eye]]* (2026), ship on the platform in every model.
- technology_subgeneration
- PC-Based[9]Flipcommons Catalog
- manufacturer
- Stern[9]Flipcommons Catalog
- name
- Stern SPIKE 3[9]Flipcommons Catalog
- status
- activeFlipcommons Catalog
- slug
- stern-spike-3Flipcommons Catalog
Citations
- Stern Pinball — https://www.sternpinball.com/2025/09/12/stern-pinball-announces-star-wars-fall-of-the-empire-the-newest-line-of-star-wars-inspired-pinball-machines
The Star Wars: Fall of the Empire pinball games launch on Stern's next-generation SPIKE 3 technology platform, which includes a larger 18.5" full HD display with true color depth, along with a more powerful processor, and a new immersive audio system. SPIKE 3 electronics also feature more efficient power handling, improved Wi-Fi support, and wireless headphone capabilities.
- Kineticist — https://www.kineticist.com/news/stern-star-wars-fall-of-the-empire
the game's official reveal on September 12, 2025
- Pinside — https://pinside.com/pinball/machine/star-wars-fall-of-the-empire-pro
MSRP (September 2025)
- Kineticist — https://www.kineticist.com/news/stern-star-wars-fall-of-the-empire
Spike 3 also received its own micro stinger at the end.
- Stern Pinball — https://wp.sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Pokemon_Pro_web.pdf
The SPIKE Pinball system is a rugged, distributed, and embedded platform custom-designed for the rigors of the pinball machine environment. [...] A Stern Pinball machine based on the SPIKE system will have at least two nodes networked together with the SPIKE node bus, a custom industrial pinball control bus that is designed around industry standards and optimized for the pinball environment. The primary CPU node is networked to one or more input/output nodes over standard Category 5 UTP (unshielded twisted pair) ethernet cabling. [...] A SPIKE 48V node typically controls high-power outputs such as game coil mechanisms and high-brightness LEDs. [...] SPIKE standard I/O nodes are low-power nodes that read switch inputs and output to standard-brightness LEDs.
- Kineticist — https://www.kineticist.com/news/stern-star-wars-fall-of-the-empire
Custom processor based on the Raspberry Pi platform [...] 4x more computing and video power than Spike 2 [...] 2x more memory
- Stern Pinball — https://www.sternpinball.com/2025/11/04/fight-the-dead-fear-the-living-in-the-walking-dead-remastered-stern-pinballs-newest-pinball-machine
The development team, led by John Borg, the designer of the original game, have created a modern version of the original masterpiece. [...] The Walking Dead Remastered features Stern's next-generation SPIKE 3 technology platform, which includes a larger 18.5" full HD display with true color depth, along with a more powerful processor, and a new high fidelity immersive audio system.
- GamingShogun — https://gamingshogun.com/2026/02/07/sterns-spike-3-platform-steals-the-show-a-new-standard-for-connected-pinball
It simply wouldn't be the Consumer Electronics Show without Stern Pinball. [...] they stormed the floor with two heavy hitters: Star Wars: Fall of the Empire and The Walking Dead Remastered
- Stern Pinball — https://wp.sternpinball.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Transformers-More-Than-Meets-the-Eye-Feature-Matrix.pdf
This one-of-a-kind pinball experience is powered by Stern's next-generation technology with the new SPIKE 3 platform.