Pinball Machine Manufacturer

In the era of role-playing computer game Spore, the pinball machine--first developed during the Great Depression--seems a quaint relic of another time. At its height, there were an estimated 150 pinball machine manufacturers in America. Today, there is just one: Stern Pinball, in Melrose Park, Ill.. Each year Stern, a private, family-run company, makes about 10,000 machines. They are still made by hand, much the way they were decades ago, but now have digital features and are built around licensed brands such as Playboy and Jurassic Park.