# Episode 648: "Has Kaneda Ruined It For Spooky Owners?"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2022-02-11  
**Duration:** 43m 15s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-648-has-62433037

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## Analysis

Kaneda critiques the pinball industry's musical diversity, supply chain bottlenecks, and manufacturer efficiency, focusing on Stern's backlog crisis, Jersey Jack's slow release cadence and organizational issues, Spooky Pinball's quality control and market perception problems, and Chicago Gaming Company's lack of momentum. He also addresses criticism that his podcast negatively impacts game values by arguing the market—not his commentary—determines secondary market prices.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Stern Pinball has approximately 5,000 backorders and will not fulfill all orders by end of 2023 — _Kaneda citing conversations with dealers and distributors about Stern's fulfillment crisis_
- [MEDIUM] Venom will be released April-May 2022 and will be a stronger market performer than Rush — _Kaneda's prediction based on Zombie Yeti's Facebook post about artwork and broader market appeal assessment_
- [MEDIUM] Stern Limited Edition games will reach $12,000 by end of 2022, with secondary market prices reaching $20,000–$25,000 — _Kaneda's market speculation and observation of current Elvira Limited Edition pricing trends_
- [LOW] James Bond will be George Gomez–designed and priced as high as $20,000 for SLE from distributors — _Kaneda's speculation about upcoming Stern title and pricing strategy_
- [LOW] Keith Elwin's next game will be Jaws, not Back to the Future — _Kaneda's prediction/bet based on licensing pattern logic (similar to Jurassic Park partial license)_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack Pinball is operating less efficiently under Pat Lawlor and Abbes ownership than under Jack Guarnieri's leadership — _Kaneda's comparative analysis of release cadence and organizational structure_
- [LOW] Toy Story will be released April-May with 500 Buzz and 500 Woody limited editions priced $15,000–$16,500 — _Kaneda's speculation about Jersey Jack's next title pricing and edition structure_
- [MEDIUM] Spooky Pinball's Halloween and Ultraman shipped incomplete and did not match Rick and Morty's quality threshold — _Kaneda's comparative design and theme integration analysis with specific observations about clips, music, and light show_
- [MEDIUM] Spooky Pinball produced 500+ Halloweens and 500+ Ultramans when they should have reversed the production quantities — _Kaneda's market analysis comparing production volumes to popularity and demand_
- [MEDIUM] Chicago Gaming Company's Cactus Canyon is 6-8 weeks delayed and unlikely to ship before Texas Pinball Festival — _Kaneda citing industry conversations and timeline observations about CTC's production delays_

### Notable Quotes

> "I think there's a lack of diversity in pinball and it's not really surprising when you think about it... because look who's calling the shots. Gary Stern, Jody Dankberg, George Gomez..."
> — **Kaneda**, early segment
> _Opens episode by critiquing leadership homogeneity as reason for narrow musical IP selection (Rush, Foo Fighters) over hip-hop, pop, and diverse artists_

> "A Michael Jackson Pinball Machine would probably be the best selling music pin of all time."
> — **Kaneda**, opening segment
> _Argues for market-driven theme diversity and notes Jersey Jack Guarnieri's hesitation over Michael Jackson license due to documentary controversy_

> "You don't even want to know how many orders they have with Sam Stern that are not fulfilled. I don't think Sam Stern is going to fulfill all these orders even at the end of 2023."
> — **Kaneda**, Stern section
> _Signals severe supply chain crisis threatening new product availability across market_

> "Sam Stern makes something for five grand and then the community is spending twenty-five thousand on it. Where's that twenty thousand dollar difference?"
> — **Kaneda**, Stern pricing analysis
> _Critiques secondary market inflation on Limited Edition games and questions value justification for $25k machines with minimal cosmetic upgrades_

> "Wake up Jersey Jack Pinball, where are you? This is the moment. This is the greatest moment for Jersey Jack Pinball to reveal their next title..."
> — **Kaneda**, Jersey Jack section
> _Criticizes JJP's inability to capitalize on Stern's backlog crisis 18 months after Guns N' Roses launch_

> "If you like Halloween and you enjoy this pinball machine, why do you care what I think? I don't have the power to ruin it... I'm not running over to people's houses and unplugging your machine."
> — **Kaneda**, Spooky Pinball section
> _Responds directly to criticism that his podcast negatively impacts Spooky game perception and secondary market values_

> "The market is what's objective. The market doesn't lie and the market is objective. You're not objective. You are a subjective fanboy of the company."
> — **Kaneda**, Spooky Pinball market analysis
> _Defends criticism by arguing secondary market pricing—not his commentary—reflects true game quality perception_

> "They put a totally incomplete game into the world, and they need to stop that... their next game needs to be like almost done on launch day."
> — **Kaneda**, Spooky Pinball conclusion
> _Prescriptive feedback that Spooky must ship complete, polished titles to regain credibility after Halloween/Ultraman launches_

> "Chicago Gaming Company... Churchill cabinets makes so much money that this is just like a pet side project. And it shows!"
> — **Kaneda**, Chicago Gaming section
> _Suggests CTC's pinball division is deprioritized relative to core cabinet business, explaining lack of momentum_

> "Ego is the hardest thing to overcome with all of these pinball companies. They want to be with the crowds, but if you don't have anything new to sell it's a waste of money to be with the crowds."
> — **Kaneda**, Haggis/company behavior section
> _Criticizes industry-wide tendency for manufacturers to attend expos for prestige rather than sales during delayed production cycles_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer facing severe backorder crisis (~5,000 units), planning Venom (Apr-May 2022), James Bond (George Gomez, expected $20k SLE), with prices escalating to $12k+ Limited Editions by late 2022 |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Premium boutique manufacturer criticized for inefficiency post-relocation to Chicago under Pat Lawlor/Abbes ownership; Guns N' Roses demand exhausted; Toy Story expected Apr-May ($15k-$16.5k CE); playfield quality concerns (pooling, clear coat chipping) |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Developer of Halloween and Ultraman criticized for incomplete launches, poor theme integration, minimal video clips, inconsistent audio design; production reverse of what market demanded (500+ Halloweens vs 750 potential); secondary market deflation signals poor reception |
| Chicago Gaming Company | company | Remake-focused manufacturer with Cactus Canyon delayed 6-8 weeks beyond announcement; portrayed as deprioritized subsidiary of Churchill cabinets; lacks momentum and credibility |
| Haggis Pinball | company | Developer of Fathom facing 9-month delays, significant cash burn, mounting customer pressure; no production updates or imagery released |
| Gary Stern | person | CEO/Chairman of Stern Pinball; identified as part of leadership group controlling theme selection; criticized for narrow musical diversity in IP strategy |
| John Borg | person | Legendary Stern designer; mentioned as key figure securing Rush license; example of internal design leadership at Stern |
| Keith Elwin | person | Stern designer; upcoming games include Foo Fighters (criticized as 'boring, stale theme') and predicted Jaws title |
| Jack Danger | person | Stern designer; upcoming Foo Fighters game; positioned as next designer to debut after Keith Elwin |
| George Gomez | person | Senior designer at Stern; expected designer of James Bond; criticized as part of narrow leadership demographic influencing theme selection |
| Zombie Yeti | person | Artist working on Venom artwork for Stern; organizes Pinball Industry Arcade awards; known for thematic art alignment with modern games |
| Pat Lawlor | person | Designer now running operations at Jersey Jack Pinball; criticized for lack of manufacturing/operations expertise; formerly at Williams |
| Jack Guarnieri | person | Founder of Jersey Jack Pinball; characterized as more effective leader than current management; lost company to Abbes family investment |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; unclear current contributions to product pipeline; may be working on upcoming titles; previously at Stern (departed before recent designs) |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Artist formerly at Stern, now relegated to minor work (Chicago Gaming toppers, t-shirts); called for reconciliation to rejoin Stern's art rotation for James Bond |
| Eric Meunier | person | Designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; The Godfather game in development; questioned for productivity given slow release cadence |
| Brett Abbes | person | Billionaire owner/manager at Jersey Jack Pinball (family wealth inherited from father); criticized for lack of operational expertise and nepotistic leadership; wealth described as 'hurting' company evolution |
| Kaneda | person | Podcast host/industry analyst; 386 Patreon club members; defends criticism as market-driven feedback not capable of 'ruining' games; positions secondary market pricing as objective quality indicator |
| This Week in Pinball | organization | Industry media outlet; referenced as source of narrative control; implicitly involved in sentiment-setting alongside Kaneda's podcast |
| Venom | game | Stern Marvel machine; expected Apr-May 2022; predicted to outsell Rush; strong market appeal; Zombie Yeti artwork |
| Foo Fighters | game | Stern rock-themed game by Jack Danger; characterized as 'boring, stale theme' by Kaneda; questioned against alternatives like Eminem, Lady Gaga, Pink |
| Halloween | game | Spooky Pinball title; criticized for incomplete launch, poor theme integration, minimal video clips; ~500 units produced; secondary market deflation |
| Ultraman | game | Spooky Pinball title; criticized alongside Halloween for incomplete launch and weak execution; ~500 units produced; customers losing $1,500+ on deposits |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Supply chain crisis and backorder management, Musical theme diversity and IP selection bias in pinball design, Secondary market pricing inflation and value retention of Limited Edition games, Manufacturer operational efficiency and product release cadence, Quality control and incomplete product launches, Spooky Pinball's market perception and secondary market depreciation, Jersey Jack Pinball's organizational restructuring and leadership effectiveness
- **Secondary:** Podcast influence on community sentiment and secondary market values

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.72) — Kaneda expresses frustration and disappointment across most manufacturers: Stern criticized for backlog mismanagement, Spooky for quality/perception problems, Jersey Jack for organizational inefficiency, Chicago Gaming for lack of momentum. Only moderate positivity toward specific games (Venom, Jaws predictions) and acknowledgment of market legitimacy. Defensive tone regarding criticism of his podcast's impact.

### Signals

- **[supply_chain_signal]** Stern Pinball estimated to have ~5,000 backorders; unlikely to fulfill all orders by end of 2023; dealers/distributors report massive unfulfilled orders across recent titles (Star Wars, Mandalorian, Godzilla, Rush) (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's conversations with dealers and distributors; repeated emphasis that backlog will create 'serious drought' on new pinball availability
- **[product_launch]** Venom expected April-May 2022; James Bond in pipeline (Gomez-designed); Foo Fighters available; Keith Elwin next title (predicted Jaws); Toy Story expected April-May from Jersey Jack (confidence: medium) — Zombie Yeti Facebook post about Venom artwork; Kaneda's market timing estimates based on industry patterns
- **[market_signal]** Stern Limited Edition prices escalating from $7k-$8k baseline to $12k-$15k (distributors) to $20k-$25k (secondary market); Elvira's House of Horrors Premium cooling in market demand; significant markup unrelated to manufacturing cost or material upgrades (confidence: high) — Kaneda's specific pricing observations of current market listings; analysis of production cost vs. retail/secondary markup disparity
- **[product_concern]** Jersey Jack Guns N' Roses playfield issues (pooling, clear coat chipping) never fully resolved; concerns about Toy Story playfield durability critical to company viability; Spooky Pinball Halloween/Ultraman shipped with incomplete features, weak theme integration, minimal video clips (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's direct experience unboxing games; emphasis on 'no margin of error' for JJP next release; observations of Spooky's incomplete launches vs. Rick and Morty threshold
- **[sentiment_shift]** Spooky Pinball experiencing significant reputation damage; customers losing $1,500+ on deposit positions (trying to sell $2k deposits for $500); secondary market heavily depreciated; community anxiety about new design team despite initial optimism (confidence: high) — Kaneda's market observations of deposit losses; discussion of Pinside thread dynamics; analysis of price decline for Halloween/Ultraman vs. other recent releases
- **[business_signal]** Jersey Jack Pinball relocated from New Jersey to Chicago under Pat Lawlor operational control; Abbes family wealth creates structural inefficiency; 4 designers producing <2 games per 18 months; Keith P. Johnson (coder) characterized as slow/missing deadlines (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's comparative analysis of design/engineering productivity vs. Stern's 4-6 titles/year; Episode 500 reference to Keith's coding delays; organizational critique of JJP structure
- **[design_philosophy]** Pinball industry leadership (Gary Stern, George Gomez, John Borg) driving narrow musical IP selection (Rush, Foo Fighters) over hip-hop, pop, female artists; criticized as myopic and unrepresentative of diverse player base; Michael Jackson opportunity missed due to documentary controversy (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's opening segment critique of leadership demographics; analysis of gender and genre diversity in theme catalog; reference to Guarnieri's hesitation on Michael Jackson license
- **[operational_signal]** Multiple manufacturers (Haggis Pinball, Highway, unnamed others) attending expos despite production delays, burning cash on travel/shipping for promotional appearances rather than manufacturing; ego-driven decisions prioritizing 'victory laps' over operational catch-up (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's advice to Haggis Pinball to skip Texas Pinball Festival; criticism of industry pattern of attending expos despite unfulfilled orders
- **[machine_intel]** James Bond (Stern, George Gomez) expected; predicted $20k SLE pricing; unclear if started by Steve Ritchie before departure; artwork assignment uncertain (hope for Christopher Franchi reconciliation) (confidence: low) — Kaneda's speculation about George Gomez assignment and pricing strategy; reference to Ritchie 'Dick Whitewoods' in development before departure
- **[personnel_signal]** Christopher Franchi (artist) previously at Stern, now relegated to minor work (Chicago Gaming toppers, t-shirts); discussion of potential reconciliation for James Bond project; characterized as having perfect art style for pinball (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's reference to Franchi's Aston Martin James Bond artwork for private collector; observation of career trajectory decline from full game art to t-shirts
- **[industry_signal]** Stark contrast between Stern's production velocity (4-6 games/year, ~5k backorders) and Jersey Jack's stagnation (18 months between releases); Chicago Gaming's remake focus; Spooky's new design team underperforming; suggests market concentration risk favoring Stern despite quality concerns (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's comparative manufacturer analysis; observation that only Stern maintaining momentum while others struggle; emphasis on Jersey Jack missing opportunity during Stern's crisis
- **[content_signal]** Kaneda's Patreon podcast has 386 club members; defends against accusations that his criticism negatively impacts game values; argues secondary market is objective indicator independent of his commentary; positions himself as controlling narrative on Pinside forums (confidence: medium) — Direct statement of club membership count; response to Pinside criticism that Kaneda is 'ruining games'; claim that 'if it wasn't for my shows, that thread does not blow up'

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## Transcript

 The real dawn when you see one, sippin' on booze in the house of blues. I'm going, going back, back to Cali, Cali. I'm going, going back, back to Cali, Cali, Cali. Oh, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said. Oh, happy Friday, everybody. We're going to Cali for the Super Bowl. I want the Bengals to win, but if I were a betting man, I'd bet on the Rams. So here's what I want to do on this episode of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. I want to go around the horn. Let's talk about what's going on with each company right now in pinball. Let's talk about where we think these companies are going to go in 2022. But I want to start out with a little something. I want to ask each and every one of you, why isn't there a hip hop pinball machine yet in pinball? It's kind of crazy to me. I know I played notorious B.I.G. there. We've got Eminem, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Tupac Shakur, It makes you wonder why there's a lack of diversity in pinball. And it's not really surprising when you think about it, right? Because look who's calling the shots. Gary Stern, Jody Dankberg, George Gomez, you've got John Borg is the reason why they're making Rush. And it's nothing against their musical taste. But if you were to ask me if you wanted to sell a pinball machine to your pinball audience, I think that the majority of people who also like pinball final manuscript clips Quote quote什麼осс, JOHN CLAPP,்,ω Commons relaxation project and original Out there right now have machines that your wife enjoys that your wife loves these themes and the reason why I say your wife because because pop music crosses over genders and if you go to a rush concert look at the audience of a rush concert probably 95% men it's not like we have to shame rush to get other stuff out there but I'm absolutely floored that there's absolutely no musical diversity in pinball and if you think Top River R manifesto bargain Contract A FACT Jack Guarnari was very close to getting the Michael Jackson license and he panicked because there was the documentary on HBO about Wacko Jacko. Now, we all know Michael Jackson is gone. We all know Michael Jackson probably did some things he never should have done. But his music still does live on. How many of you out there are playing your Ghostbusters right now that was designed by John Trudeau, A convicted pedophile if you will. You didn't give up your games and you're probably still gonna listen to Beat It but I guess we now know what Beat It means but Michael Jackson Pinball Machine would probably be the best selling music pin of all time. So I just hope that the pinball decision makers can stop being so myopic. I think there's something special about a musical genre or an artist getting immortalized in pinball form Tantrum, and I think we're done with Dad Rock and we're going to get more of it. The Foo Fighters, I mean who really wants the Foo Fighters over Eminem? Do you? Would you rather have Lady Gaga or the Foo Fighters? I'd rather have Pink than the Foo Fighters. So I think this is just a hobby that needs to branch out and I think each and every one of you has diverse musical tastes and I think these companies need to recognize that and understand that and it's about time, like it's long overdue, alright? Alright, let's go around the pinball world and talk about what's going on with each manufacturer. Let's start with Stern Pinball. The story of Stern right now is the backorder of their games. I've been talking to some dealers and distributors and you don't even want to know how many orders they have with Stern that are not fulfilled. I don't think Stern is going to fulfill all these orders even at the end of 2023. So it is going to be a serious drought on getting your new pinball machine. If you I'm not going to stop revealing new products because they have to stay on schedule with the licensors But this is going to be the biggest issue that faces all of pinball But here's the thing I want to implore each and every one of you do not and I'm just doing this to save you money This week in Pinball, Johnny Pneumonic, Black Water, Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, Twippies Awards, transliteubernetes,"-Stirne was never ever ever say we're never making this game again databasegines col-, pagesräsr documentari rumors Zoom��서á dialogue content Quiet .html This week, on Facebook He says he can't trust his live interpretation.jego vlog The only game that are ever truly going to hold value Tim whit rotkind, Apples itís bathtubtext attribute today's presentation episode is Part Lambda uns общ peliku, and bksurable site web site Kelly wothall, nd comenz hence, chan parameters we're libing a not fi free and You know ie Uh tr ale O h ew wimage The Week in Pinball, Johnny Pneumonic, Black Water, Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, Twippies Awards, transliteelectronic PINBALL MACHINES and you can enjoy yourself personally if I'm gonna spend that much money on a game I need to see at least half of that amount of money went into the bomb of the game I need to see like amazing toys and sculpts and all this stuff it's still just a stern people I think everyone needs to like lift the hood on these modern sterns and see how little is underneath the majority of these games but if you're gonna buy All right, so we got Brian Eddy's venom coming. It is coming very soon. I saw ZombieEddy on Facebook. He got his Pinball Industry industry awards. He said he's working hard on the next game. His next game is venom. He's doing the artwork. Now, if I were you, I would get on a list to get a venom. I think venom will be out sometime in April, May. I also think venom will be a hit. I think this game is going to sell out on day one. Well, guess what? Every LE is already sold out. But I also think Venom is going to be a game that has more appeal than Rush. It really will. And if I look at the market, let's just speculate. I think Stern is going to charge $12,000 for Venom LE. They're going to keep raising the price. And we're going to see, I think by the end of 2022, I think Stern LEs are going to be $12,000. Mathаша ChayakWhich not quite all the Datenим Nice i AJn den, He Garden latex 6001idadesRock Abs envy and they don even sell you a topper with that fifteen thousand dollar game didn even read do really the artwork on the game it the same artwork it just printed differently every single l by raha has the same translate art they got really lazy i don even think the fortieth has like a true mirrored back glass for like fifteen grand now fifteen grand is just what they sold it to distributors for and if you go on the marketplace now It's like a $25,000 pinball machine. So you start to do this math, right people? So Stern makes something for five grand and then the community is spending $25,000 on it. Where's that $20,000 difference? It didn't go into any better materials. They didn't give you a better playfield. You don't even get a custom call out from Elvira. You don't even get a topper. What happened people? Like what happened to this hobby? Three years ago if I told you Stern would be selling $25,000 pinball machines easily without adding much to the game, everyone would have said I'm crazy and here we are. Now look the Elvira's are kind of sitting there right now. I think some people went in right away but the market is beginning to cool down. People are saying like you know what I'm not quite sure. I'm not quite sure. Personally again this is me personally. I don't know how you unbox a $25,000 Stern Elvira you watch the playfield dimple to all hell because those Elvira playfields are horrible and then like you're gonna have the same mech issues as everybody else you've got the same cheap plastics as everybody else and then you realize like what did I do what did I do and then you have to go hunt and find a topper for like $2,500 bucks so you're now at like $28,000, $29,000 just to experience a game that everyone else is playing Pному3irringателиpea, нکoco, I still don't think he was the right artist for Godzilla but he figured it out but it's not really like his style. Venom will be much more aligned with his art style. Then we're gonna get on to George Gomez James Bond. This one's gonna be the really interesting game. This one's gonna be the game in which I really think Stern tests how high they can charge for a game. I'm just gonna go out on a limb. I think Stern is going to like sell a James Bond SLE. Get ready for it. I think they're gonna sell it for like $20,000 like from Stern or through distributors, but I think they're gonna price a James Bond SLE at that price. Now think about it. If you're them, why wouldn't you price it that high? It's gonna be a George Gomez pin. Was it started by Steve Ritchie? We shall find out. The Steve will be the only guy that can tell us if it looks like something he worked on before he left Stern I think there were three white woods that Steve Ritchie was working on before he departed Stern now Who is the artist gonna be for James Bond now? I would love to see Christopher Franchi come back and be in the rotation over at Stern I shared on my Facebook page Franchi did some James Bond artwork for Joe kamikows Aston Martin, Aston Martin, yes, Joe Kamikau has one of the craziest card collections and he's got a James Bond Aston Martin and he's got a screen inside the car that has all the villains and Franchi did the artwork for him. Super cool. It looks great. Franchi's art style is perfect for pinball. Will Stern forgive him and allow him to make games again? I mean, he's been relegated to almost nothing in pinball. Just minor touches on CGC toppers. He's doing like Stern t-shirts now. I mean it's got to be really really deflating you go from an entire pinball machine with three different like trim levels to doing t-shirts for Stern. Now I hope they can bury the hatchet. I hope they can move on because I think Stern needs Franchi back and that's just my two cents. And then we get to Keith Elwin's next pin which is going to be the one. I mean it's going to be the one. We've got Keith Elwin and Jack Danger are going to be the next two games we get in TyberReece abst Freeze Bundy LeLz Только 형itation I think Foo Fighters is an easier pass than Rush for me. Just really is. I think the Foo Fighters is a boring stale theme in pinball. Okay, Keith Elwin's next one. Here is what I think Keith Elwin's next pin is gonna be. It's not gonna be Back to the Future. I really don't think it's gonna be Back to the Future. And I almost guarantee you it won't be Back to the Future. See, I can make that guarantee because if I'm wrong on that guarantee, everyone will be happy. So it's great, right? Isn't it great that when Kanae is wrong, Urbex 시청zenture Z sü knitting opi We boot Gewinder gvf ss Eggs Seay p defense The same way Jurassic Park is inspired by the movies, they get the license for the music and the shark and that's it. They're not going to get everything else. They're not going to get all the footage from the movie, but I think it's going to be Jaws. And that's what I'm betting my hat on that Keith Elwin's next pin is going to be Jaws. So we pretty much know half of what's happening over at Stern Pinball. The other half is still a little bit of a question mark. And the one thing I think is not going to happen at Stern next year, even though I thought I think the backlog is so bad that we're not going to see a rerun of Ghostbusters. We're not going to see any vault additions at all. There's no way they can be doing vaults when they have thousands. I mean this. They probably have about 5,000 backordered games they have to make. And these are the recent titles like Mandalorian, likeGodzilla, likeRush, like you name it, they need to make it. Call us�astriner at You are welcome to quietly Vadu BOY for the unterptybrance session. Something about the short dining in T 那 All right, so speaking of someone else to get them product, wake up Jerseyjackpinball, where are you? This is the moment. This is the greatest moment for Jerseyjackpinball to reveal their next title, get orders and start cranking on them. Instead, we still have nothing new from JJP. Guns and Roses demand is gone. Like it's gone. It doesn't mean the game's not great. Just nobody All the orders have been fulfilled! It is so easy to go get a Guns N' Roses LE new in box right now. There are distributors sitting with them new in box that you can have tomorrow. Todd Tuckey has one. Other distributors have them. The Guns N' Roses game was great but it was like a year and a half ago. We are now ready to move on. And Jersey Jack Pinball, 18 months after they revealed Guns N' Roses, Atomicoice, We still don't have toy story. We still don't have their next game. And I don't know what's going on over at Jersey Jack pinball, But it just seems like a bit of a sloppy mess. Like what was the point? What was the point of moving this operation all the way to Chicago? What was the point of giving Pat Lawler the reins of this company and you still can't get your act together? This company is pretty much more inefficient The game was more efficient than it was in New Jersey. Dare I say this company was run better when Jack Guarnieri was at the helm? I think it was. I absolutely think it was. At least Jack was out there and talking to us and keeping some of the momentum going. There's nobody talking about the next game. There's no hype. There's nothing. And so when do I think we're going to see Toy Story? And is it even going to be Toy Story? Right? They had that license years ago and then And Aством's I don't think it's going to be like Avatar yet. It's going to be toy story I think we're going to see it in April May I think that is when they're gonna show it but Remember people they did not show Guns'n'Roses until the game was on the line Now are they gonna do the same thing again The big Big question mark with Jersey Jack Pinball is just one thing and one thing only. When they make these games, how are the playfields going to hold up? If there are playfield issues with Toy Story or the next title and in the first hundred unboxings people start to see pooling and clear coat chipping, I think they're done. I really do. I think they're absolutely done. If I were them, I would have to find a way to have some people under NDA really pressure testing these games. I worried that they not I really am worried that they not They clearly didn do that with Guns N Roses They didn even solve the problem I don think the problem ever been solved to be honest It not like the new ones are great And and here we are like here we are Are we going to see art around the posts Are they going to fix this problem We shall find out But man there must be a lot of anxiety over at Jersey Jack Pinball Like we got to get this right And there is no margin of error this time around Like this is it But I still think they sleeping on the market And I think now would be the best time for them to get a product out there I think we going to see I think it's going to be 500 Buzz editions and 500Woody editions. I think they're going to be $15,000 to $16,500. That's my guess. That Jersey Jack Pinball is going to charge $15,000 to $16,000 for the CE. I think they're going to raise the price of the LE again. And if they're smart, and I hope they do this, if Jersey Jack is smart, they need to put a cap on the total number of games they'll make for each of the StoryMccüzzarella flashbacks for fun pine Time run does a fun competiton last stop wat is beyond thousand of links common 생겼 The more limited you make your games, the more you can charge for them. I don't have a business degree, but I know that would work, especially in this marketplace. So that's Toy Story, but then what is after Toy Story? Like what is Steve Ritchie's game? When is Eric Meunier's Godfather coming out? And then you've got the other designer who did Metroid, what's he working on? How do you have four designers at a company? Think about this for a minute. Four designers at a company that can't even get out two games in 18 months. Four designers. Stern has four designers and then they each come out with a game every four months. It makes total sense. Jersey Jack Pinball is paying the salaries of people that are doing what? Like what is Steve Ritchie doing today? Is he running around sharpening pencils? Is he tweaking Pat Lawler's next game? What is he doing? For Chips, I'm Phil Dub of conservation타PS.com. Keith P. Johnson is one of the slowest coders ever. Ask Jack Guarnari who held up his machines. It wasn't just the designers, it was Keith. Now this was all in my episode 500 that Keith's inability to work quickly or even reach deadlines that were super long, he blew by them. And again, I get that Keith makes great deep code, but it takes forever. So think about that. If you've got the software department that is slow, I already said you can record yetiậyatory macro ح님 lorsquجه訴 these days if I stick it heh all out a safe like none of it makes sense like absolutely none of it make sense i would have done it like this all they need are that I would have done it like this all they need are to designers that they didn't need to designers that are great Eric Mainya and Pat Lauderriman so make my diziner that our grade and then unit to software teams that are grape working on each tighter Then you need to release a new game every six months. So two games a year. And then those people who are in the design department can go on to their next game. And then you're a company that acts like a pinball company of your size. You come out with two games a year. Stern comes out with like four or five, maybe six. Sometimes you come out with two games a year. It doesn't even have to be two games a year. Every six months. It could just be like, how about this? I'll make it even easier for Jersey Jack. Just every year you come out with a new game during the Bottom now it seems I can just go with you up I'm going to tell you why it is that way. They don't have their George Gomez. Who is the George Gomez over at JJP? Who is the one who knows what they're doing over there from a manufacturing standpoint? It's not Pat Lawler. Vally Williams made him look great. He didn't do all that hard work. The people over at VallyWilliams did. So who is their George Gomez? Brett Abbes? Come on, he was handed the company by his dad. I mean nepotism does not give you the know-how to run a pinball company. I just think that's the issue. And I think having an abundance of money is actually hurting JerseyJackpinball. You know what I mean? When you have an abundance of money and money is not the problem because you're a billionaire, then you don't need to stay on schedule, then you don't have shareholders that need to be answered to. It actually makes you lazier. And I know that's like crazy to say this, but I think the Abbess money is actually working against JerseyJackpinball evolving. All Jack Winari wanted was just some money to make it through the tough periods. He didn't want to lose the company to them. He didn't want to lose his company to Pat Lawler. He lost it to them. And now it's all being managed by them. And you can't tell me that they're doing a better job. I just don't think they are. I just don't think they are. And I think what would help Jersey Jack Pinball, I think they need like a CEO that's like their George Gomez, George Gomez, and they've never been able to put that person in place. It's not going to be Steve Ritchie. So we'll see. I wish I didn't even have to have this analysis of JJP. I wish I was talking about their next title. Guys, get it out. All right, we're going longer than normal here. All right, so let's talk about spooky pinball next. Look, I'm just going to say it. I know people think I've been really hard on this company. I've been unfairly looking at their games. There was a pin side comment last night where somebody said that Kineda is I'm ruining this game for everybody. That he's just a fool and he doesn't know what he's talking about and these games are great and I'm ruining the games for everybody. If you like Halloween and you enjoy this pinball machine, why do you care what I think? If you like Ultraman and you think the game is great, why would you care what I think? I don't have the power to ruin it. Like I'm not running over to people's houses as you start to play a game and I unplug your machine I slam a sledgehammer through the playfield like what am I how am I ruining your experience? See I think what's happening is this. I think ultimately these games are still a very big question mark on whether or not they're gonna turn out to be great or whether or not they're just gonna end up being a couple of mediocre pins. Because I think pinball is like that. Your game's either great and people talk about it for years and want one for years or people forget about it. And I think the jury is still Out on this one, but I think deep down everyone realizes that spooky should have launched these games way more polished. I don't think they're fixing the hedge multibot issue that I brought up and I think people are realizing that this wasn't really what they wanted like they I think they just want it more in these games when they shipped and I keep seeing people compare this to Rick and Morty let's just like stop with this BS. Rick and Morty is a much more popular theme than Halloween and and Ultraman. Absolutely much more popular right now, much more contemporary. Rick and Morty had Scott Denisi on it. Had Scott Denisi music. Had Scott Denisi light show. There's nothing in Halloween or Ultraman from a musical standpoint or a light show spectacular standpoint that is as good as Scott Denisi's Rick and Morty. Rick and Morty was one of the best theme integrated pinball machines ever with all of the clips and Justin's callouts. The best callouts and the history of pinball. That's the thing is like Rick and Morty did stuff super super well. It wasn't the perfect game, it was a clunky shooter, but what it did do well, it did really well. And when you look at Ultraman and Halloween, I don't think there's anything that people are pointing at where it's like they did this really well. The theme integration is not done well. The clips are miniscule at best. The music is like all over the place sound wise. As far as I get it's creepy in your basement. These games are never gonna be the next Rick and Morty. The other thing is there's only 750 Rick and Mortys in the world EVER. Ever. There's 500 more Halloween's. And there's like 500 Ultraman's. Spooky Pinball did it in reverse. They should have made 1750 Rick and Mortys and 750 Halloween's. And 250 Ultraman. You see what I'm saying? They're making more of a game The game that's not nearly as popular and then the game's not doing anything super special. You know and then the elephant in the room is the people who worked on some of those previous spooky games are no longer there. So that is why people are anxious. That is why people can't even sell their $2000 deposit spots for $500 people. People are taking a $1500 bath on their deposit. Why is that? Is that because of Kaneda? This week in Pinball Podcast, Terminate Like one guy with a podcast behind the paywall, which by the way, we're at 386 club members people. We're not declining. It's great. All the haters out there, they can't stand this fact that this is working and we're still controlling the narrative. I mean, look over at the haggis thread. If it wasn't for my shows, that haggis thread does not blow up. But let's get back to spooky. It's like nobody wants to be accountable for why this is happening, for why these games during the hottest pinball all on esteem on the sociais the black bob and Chit di Pier zancis acht moren recipient a consecrav Shore 2021 at infekciu fi n hockey LarryInspirgram Why is this happening Why is it that I losing bucks on a machine that new in box When a Stern machine if I had it new in box I making to right now And look that it That all it comes down to And all you owners who have a Halloween that want to cheerlead it doesn matter what you saying because the market is what objective not you You a fanboy who owns it I don't care if you think it's great, the market doesn't. It's not Kaneda, it's the market and the market doesn't lie and the market is objective. You're not objective. You are a subjective fanboy of the company. And so when all is said and done, my questions about these games and my criticisms of how they launch these games has been more accurate than your fanboy excuses. And spooky pinball is not going to get better if you keep blowing smoke up their asses. And I was in the thread last night and people were saying that this new design team over at spooky is one of the best new design teams that's in pinball. Okay, blow that smoke up their butts and see what happens. See what happens with the next game. That's not the feedback they need to hear. The most valuable feedback they need to hear is why people This week's topic is Pinball and why people are trying to get rid of their games. Why people wont even buy the games. I saw someone say like, well I could see why the tournament players don't like it because the game doesn't shoot traditionally well. I could see why these people don't like it because they don't like the theme. Are we really at the point now where the best pinball players in the world are now being ignored because all they care about is gameplay? Gameplay. This is a machine that's all about gameplay. You can't just ignore it or chalk them up as tournament people who don't like stuff like this. It's not just hardcore tournament players. There's a lot of things in these games that at the Whitewood stage probably should have been corrected and it is what it is. Now look, I'm just going to tell you right now, I'm going to wait until this game is done to do my final review. And the last point I'll say is this. People are saying I'm mad. This is the funniest criticism of Kaneda. I'm mad that the prices are going down because I can't do a quick flip that I wanted to do. How dumb are people? If I wanted to quickly flip in Ultraman, why would I buy the last one on the line? Why? Wouldn't I have bought number 50, not number 500? I'm not trying to quickly flip this game. That was never my plan. And if I wanted to do a quick flip, I would have. And so that's not why I'm upset. I'm upset Spooky Pinball Not liking this people. This feedback, this is not what they're used to. They're used to like being the bells of the ball. Not any more. And to get their goodwill back, their next game needs to be like almost done on launch day. And they need to take these millions from these two games and hire enough people so that the next title is done on day one. I'm sorry. Yeah, you can polish it, but we're not talking polish. Like they put a totally incomplete game into the world, and they need to stop that. At least they put a game into the world. Chicago Gamingcompany, where is the game? Where is Cactus Canyon? I went into the thread and we're still deconstructing Ryan White's abysmal launch of this game at Pinball Expo. Where's the game? Like it's going to be March and no Cactuscanyons will even have gone to customers. So why did they reveal it so early? Really strange. CTC is a company to me that's just so hard to get excited about. I have the opportunity to find out what Ben Heck's next game is. I don't even care. I don't even care. Cuz when is it gonna be? When is Ben Heck's next game? When is Mark Ritchie's Pulp Fiction coming out? This company, they don't do anything. It's like years go by and then they remake a game. Now we're not gonna get Lyman Sheets on the code of this game. I'm just like, I don't know. I think CGC is a company where this is like clearly not their main priority. It's not where they need to make money. Like Churchill cabinets makes so much money that this is just like a pet side project. and it shows! And so, look, I hope you get your games but I'm hearing now that Cactus Canyon is still like 6-8 weeks out. Two more months and you're still not going to have it. I almost bet you that nobody is going to have their Cactuscanyons by TPS which is pathetic. It really is pathetic. And they never should have launched it if they knew that they had supply chain issues or delays on parts. Then why launch the game? The game alright so look haggis pinball still no update still no pictures still nothing new to talk about Kaneda's the bad guy. I hope they get their people their fathoms. That's it There's nothing new to say Damien owes customers games and the pressure is mounting If I'm them you know you kind of want to make sure you get games before TPF but I want to give Damien and Marty and all of them some advice right now and they should take this advice You've been delayed 9 months. You've burned through money you weren't expecting to burn. You are now a company. This isn't a personal project anymore. You took people's money. They should not travel to TPF. There is no reason this company should spend money on airline tickets or shipping games to TPF. You don't need to sell more fathoms. You sold them all. But they're still gonna do it. And this is the mistake all these companies made. PINBALL made it. HIGHWAY made it. You're gonna spend tens of thousands of dollars to fly to Texas to what? To just get patted on the back, shake hands, kiss babies, and take credit for your great build quality. But you shouldn't do that. You should stay behind and make the games. Because if you're over here, then who's doing the game manufacturing? And they all do it. They all make the mistake. They all want to do their victory lap. But it's just gonna put the company The Financial And let's see I don't want to see him at Texas I don't think we should see them at Texas because they need to make up for some of the lost ground and they're gonna come No, this is the thing ego is the hardest thing to overcome with all of these pinball companies They want to be with the crowds, but if you don't have anything new to sell It's a waste of money to be with the crowds. So Dutch pinball. I finally saw someone got their EA machine I think it was EA number 71. That's great. Not seeing too many of them. The Big Lebowski still, you know, I love it. I just don't see myself ever owning one because they just seem so problematic. I'd be nervous. I would just be nervous. I would want to have to buy a backup of every part, but I still think it's the greatest world under glass since I've been covering pinball without a doubt. I think Barry's one of the most creative designers ever. I think it shows what you can make when you're passionate about a theme and you You don't even care about bomb and you put everything you want into a game and it's sad to me that here we are and it's like nine years later like it was 2013 nine years later and we have not seen that many pinball machines that even come close to putting the world under glass like the big Lebowski did and that's why this hobby to me people it's fun to cover but man there's not much progress there's not much innovation you're not getting that much for your money so that's why I would stop chasing after these things as if like they're the second coming of The We're sort of just taking what we get they're not really giving us like that magical thing We should be getting for this much money. What's left on punny factory. I don't think there's anything there Deeproot is having an auction who knows what they're gonna auction off. I bet those Raza's this is my guess I bet those Raza prototypes are gonna end up with yellow bird. He was obsessed He bought like number one and two he paid in fall. I bet you yellow bird ends up He works some backdoor deal with Bobby Mueller to get those Raza prototypes. That's just my guess. I've never seen a guy that wanted them so badly. And finally we have Home Pin. Probably, arguably, easily, maybe yes so, the worst pinball manufacturer on the planet. Makes everybody else's efforts look good. You know, if you're like spooky right now, you really want Spinal Tap to come out, it will take the attention away from your games right now. Now, we are starting to see some pictures of Spinal Tap being put together and in an idiotic decision, the volume meter on the amp which is supposed to go to 11, they showed a picture of the back of the light board and volume 11 is in the middle of the dial. It's not all the way past 10 which absolutely ruins the entire joke that it goes to 11. I can't wait to see this pinball machine because it's going to look so like out of place All these modern pins that are incredible and I don't know why Mike did this. I don't know why he decided to make a pinball company I don't know why he sunk all this money into this effort He's also not the most Likeable guy and so you put all this together like you make a crappy machine you don't win people over with your personality And then you go get spinal tap which some people consider a dream theme and I think it's gonna be a complete and utter disaster I mean, it's got an orange DMD Knapp Arcade, David David Van Es, BASICmellowof PinballGrITEvird Free crimes mount Redulogy Endingī Knapp Except comercial Allções because it's Puma anschiu Axi Cantina Univ Alex In And make sure you come tomorrow to hang out at the Saturday morning spectacular. I'll talk to you soon.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0494c061-b296-4d5f-9547-86edb6fc655f*