# Why We Needed Kaneda...

**Source:** Cary Hardy  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2020-06-26  
**Duration:** 22m 59s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=db_02IA2gao

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## Analysis

Carrie Hardy defends Kaneda's departure from pinball content creation, arguing that his critical, unsponsored voice provided essential balance to an echo chamber of overly-positive manufacturer-friendly podcasts. She criticizes the pinball community for attempting to undermine Kaneda's reputation through anonymous harassment and argues that free speech and diverse opinions are necessary for a healthy hobby.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Kaneda released episode 499 as his final pinball podcast episode and is stepping away from public pinball content entirely — _Carrie cites Kaneda's announcement: 'Episode 499 is his last pinball podcast. And from what he tells us, that is his last public thing to do with pinball.'_
- [HIGH] Kaneda was driven away due to attempts by people within the pinball space to undermine his reputation and hard work — _Direct quote from Kaneda's Facebook post that Carrie reads: 'am just to have people within the pinball space try and undermine my reputation and hard work.'_
- [HIGH] Carrie Hardy has no sponsorship deals and refuses to lie in product reviews, claiming she will reject sponsored content if honest assessment would be negative — _Carrie states: 'Chances are I'm probably never going to have a sponsor because I'm not brand safe' and describes incident where manufacturer requested hardware back after learning her review style._
- [MEDIUM] Kaneda's penultimate episode attempted to bring peace to the hobby and encourage reconciliation among community members — _Carrie mentions: 'the episode before this one is him trying to bring more peace into this hobby among certain individuals. Trying to get people to come together to bury the hatchet.'_
- [MEDIUM] Most pinball podcasts and content creators avoid critical commentary about manufacturers to maintain relationships and avoid creating rifts — _Carrie explains her appreciation for Kaneda: 'he gives me the other side of the spectrum that a lot of other content creators are not going to give you because they don't want to have the other manufacturers and stuff like that that they've made friends with.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "And this is why I hate people."
> — **Carrie Hardy**, 0:00
> _Opening statement expressing frustration with community behavior toward Kaneda_

> "he and I do not have any strings on us. We are not attached to a certain company business or not a distributor. We don't make money off of promoting any kind of manufacturer or business or anything. So what we say is how we feel, and we don't care if it offends you or not."
> — **Carrie Hardy**, ~1:30
> _Core thesis about independence from manufacturer influence in content creation_

> "A few determined cowards can ruin it for everyone else."
> — **Kaneda (via Carrie reading)**, ~3:30
> _Kaneda's characterization of those who drove him away_

> "I like this guy. And that was because he was different. He gave the opinions and feelings that I sometimes felt about what was going on in the industry."
> — **Carrie Hardy**, ~8:00
> _Explanation of why Carrie began listening to Kaneda_

> "not everything in this hobby and not everything that comes out towards us customers is good. Not everything should be praised and worshipped that is brought to us. We should not just accept what is given to us."
> — **Carrie Hardy (paraphrasing Kaneda)**, ~9:30
> _Core philosophy of Kaneda's critical approach_

> "He's the Howard Stern for pinball because everyone just wanted to hear what he was going to say next"
> — **Carrie Hardy**, ~23:00
> _Comparative characterization of Kaneda's appeal and role_

> "if you don't like something don't buy it if you don't like what you hear from a podcast don't listen to it if you don't like certain content that you view on youtube don't watch it that's all there is to it guys"
> — **Carrie Hardy**, ~27:00
> _Statement of principle about free choice and avoiding echo chambers_

> "just because someone is talking smack about a particular pinball company or whatever i don't know what goes through your head to go you know what i don't agree with this person saying i'm going to attempt to ruin their life"
> — **Carrie Hardy**, ~16:00
> _Criticism of cancel culture directed at content creators with contrarian views_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Prominent pinball podcast host who announced departure from public pinball content after episode 499 due to reputation attacks; known for independent, critical commentary on manufacturers and pricing |
| Carrie Hardy | person | YouTube pinball content creator and video producer; unsponsored commentator defending Kaneda's departure and criticizing community culture |
| Canadian Pinball Podcast | organization | Referenced as content that Carrie Hardy's audience likely follows alongside her channel; associated with unsponsored critical commentary |
| Stern Pinball | company | Referenced as target of Kaneda's critical commentary, particularly regarding Elvira House of Horrors announcement and pricing |
| Elvira House of Horrors | game | Stern pinball game that prompted Carrie to initially seek out and listen to Kaneda's critical take on manufacturer pricing and marketing |
| Howard Stern | person | Referenced as comparative figure for Kaneda's appeal: controversial personality people tune in to hear what he says next |
| Slap Save | person | Former pinball podcast personality whose show no longer exists; Carrie appreciated his voice and articulation |
| Special One Lit | organization | Former pinball podcast that transitioned to become the Pinball Network; personnel changes contributed to podcast landscape shifts |
| Ken Cromwell | person | Content creator who left Special One Lit and Pinball Network to pursue Jersey Jack Pinball-related podcasting |
| Pinball Network | organization | Podcast network that evolved from Special One Lit |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Kaneda's departure from pinball content, Community harassment and cancel culture in pinball, Independent vs. sponsored content creation, Echo chambers in pinball podcasting
- **Secondary:** Manufacturer influence on content creators, Anonymous harassment on forums
- **Mentioned:** Pinball pricing criticism

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.65) — Carrie expresses frustration and anger at community behavior (opens with 'And this is why I hate people'), defends Kaneda against harassment, criticizes cancel culture and anonymity-enabled toxicity, and laments the loss of critical independent voices in the hobby. However, positive sentiment toward Kaneda's character and contribution to the community partially offsets the overall negativity.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Manufacturer influence and relationship management causing self-censorship among content creators regarding critical commentary (confidence: medium) — Carrie notes most podcasters avoid criticism 'because they don't want to have the other manufacturers and stuff like that that they've made friends with' and don't want to 'make them mad' or 'cause any kind of rift'
- **[community_signal]** Significant interpersonal conflict within pinball community involving harassment, reputation attacks, and cancel culture attempts targeting independent content creator (confidence: high) — Kaneda's post and Carrie's extended commentary on 'a few determined cowards' attempting to 'ruin someone's life' due to disagreement with critical commentary
- **[community_signal]** Kaneda's penultimate episode focused on peace-building and reconciliation attempts within pinball community despite his controversial reputation (confidence: medium) — Carrie describes: 'the episode before this one is him trying to bring more peace into this hobby among certain individuals. Trying to get people to come together to bury the hatchet.'
- **[community_signal]** Kaneda departing from pinball content creation entirely after 499 podcast episodes, citing reputation attacks and desire to protect his company from additional headaches (confidence: high) — Kaneda's Facebook statement read by Carrie: 'am just to have people within the pinball space try and undermine my reputation and hard work. The current climate is not one I wish to cause any additional headaches for my company.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Shift in community perception: Kaneda initially perceived negatively by many despite providing valuable critical perspective; now being reassessed as essential voice after departure (confidence: high) — Carrie describes initial feedback about Kaneda being 'bad for pinball' before she listened and changed her mind; titles video 'Why We Needed Kaneda' suggesting recognition of his value post-departure

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## Transcript

And this is why I hate people. what's up guys and welcome back to my channel where i talk and do everything pinball so that sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below i really don't even know where to begin on this i don't even have a bullet point script to go by i'm really i'm just gonna wing this and this could be a drastic mistake on my part but i'm like you know what screw it let's just do this thing uh it seems like no matter what you do these days good or bad you're going to offend somebody so let's just uh let's go over this now chances are a majority of you that watch my content are more than likely fans or listen to Canadian Pinball Podcast content. And the reason I think that is, is because him and I, he and I do not have any strings on us. We are not attached to a certain company business or not a distributor. We don't make money off of promoting any kind of manufacturer or business or anything. So what we say is how we feel, and we don't care if it offends you or not. And I think the reason behind that is because this is optional for you to watch my content. It was optional for you to listen to Kaneda's content. It's an option. If you don't like our content Then you don't have to watch or listen to it That's the glory Of Us having free will That is the glory of that I am not forcing you to watch this He's not forcing you to listen This is all Your decision To watch or listen Of course my damn dogs want to come in here Because I'm doing this So now they want to come in here Go away Anyways, Kaneda put out an episode today that was his last. Episode 499 is his last pinball podcast. And from what he tells us, that is his last public thing to do with pinball. He's out. And the reasoning behind that, I'll let him tell the story himself on his just most recent post here on Facebook. It says, am just to have people within the pinball space try and undermine my reputation and hard work. The current climate is not one I wish to cause any additional headaches for my company. They have enough on their plate right now as I'm sure you can imagine. I do not know specifically who did this. No, it was not Yurik, so please don't hurt him. Nothing I have said or done on my show justifies this behavior. Unfortunately, this is the world that we live in today. A few determined cowards can ruin it for everyone else. Also, please don't blame the liberals for this. That's just weird. Wear a mask. A few things to remember. I am not dead. That rest in peace pin side thread gave me a chuckle. Oktoberfest is still the worst theme ever. I need a break, So if I don't respond to you right now, it's not personal. Be good to each other. Love, Kaneda, Brenda, and Bubba. Also included on there, just to make sure I get that in the shot, was a picture of him and Bubba to thank you. As well as the microphone that he uses and his headphones. So, yeah, that is what is going on in the pinball area. area now i know that there's obviously not a lot of you that listen to pinball podcasts so this really isn't going to affect you probably at all so it is what it is but a lot of us out there listen to kaneda because of the content that he gave us now typically and trust me i Guys, I've listened to a lot of pinball podcasts, and I didn't start listening to podcasts in general until maybe two, three years ago, if that. And it's one of those where I'll listen to an episode or two, see if the personalities of the people that are on them coincide with just me being able to tolerate them and listen to them and like how they speak and whatever can go on and on. Basically I listen to podcasts an episode or two to see if I would continue to listen to them And over the course of these years I have followed many podcasts and a lot of the podcasts that I used to follow no longer exist We've lost Slap Save, which was a big hit because I really enjoyed listening to his voice mainly. I still I still give him some shit about that because I really miss hearing his voice on the airwaves. And just the way he articulated his words was very, very. I don't know. I enjoyed it. So then we have Special One Lit. Special One Lit is no longer there because they were going to do the Pinball Network, and they basically stepped away from Special One Lit and went on to the Pinball Network. And then Ken Cromwell went off to do JJP stuff, and now he's doing JJP Pinball Podcast. It goes off into a whole spectrum of spiderweb storylines and drama that a lot of you probably don't even care about or follow But the point of this is that a majority of the people that I listen to A lot of them had the same thoughts and feelings towards games as they were coming out and I didn't like that. Me personally, I like to get information and people's opinions and thoughts from multiple areas. I don't want to be in an echo chamber. I personally don't like that. I like hearing information and opinions from multiple angles so that way I can make up my own mind on how I feel about it. If you surround yourself in an echo chamber, that is not good. And that was one thing, and I honestly didn't even start listening to Kaneda until Elvira House of Horrors was releasing and coming out. We got all the information about that because that game came out. and as per usual all the podcasts and other media outlets and stuff like that were talking this game up and how you know nothing wrong with the price and all this stuff and junk and i was sitting there going no there's am i really the only one that doesn't agree with this am i really that person that just like completely doesn't understand why people are talking the way they are about this particular game and that is when I actually before I even started listening to Kaneda I contacted my friends in this community and some of those people were podcasters and asked them about Kaneda so hey so what's what's the big deal because as of this time and still to this day you know it seemed like he had a negative vibe to him like it was just like he was not a good person or whatever and that was a lot of the feedback that i got was that he was just you know bad for pinball and i'm like all right cool i wanted to get everybody's opinion but i still wanted to make my own decision so i started listening to him and lo and behold the first episode i listened to is him going on his uh lovely rant and thoughts and opinions on Stern's announcement for Elvira. And that was when I was like, I like this guy. And that was because he was different. He gave the opinions and feelings that I sometimes felt about what was going on in the industry. And people thought that, you know, he doesn't care about pinball and stuff like that. But I think he's one of those that probably cared more than a lot of you do. Because, and even like he states, even in his most recent podcast and many podcasts before that, not everything in this hobby and not everything that comes out towards us customers is good. Not everything should be praised and worshipped that is brought to us. We should not just accept what is given to us. That is one of the reasons why I kept listening to him because I'm like, good, he gives me the other side of the spectrum that a lot of other content creators are not going to give you because they don't want to have the other manufacturers and stuff like that that they've made friends with. they don't want to make them mad they don't want to cause any kind of rift and that was what i liked it was the fact that and i gave him stuff i gave him crap about this when we started talking back around that time i was like hey just want to let you know that i enjoy your content i mean you know and then we started going back and forth about elvira and how we felt about it and then over the course of months we became friends and we've been shooting messages back and forth to each other and stuff ever since then so it's not like we're in a long-term friendship or anything guys but it was one of those were when something was brought out we were immediately just going back and forth about how we felt about it and now we didn't like it or we did like it and that was one thing that i enjoyed listening to about his show was hearing you know honesty no smoke being blown and it was just good to hear that and I don't think we're gonna have another content creator that will be like him I mean I'll be close to that because I have no strings to hold me down either I mean if I piss people off I piss people off But all I doing is giving my opinions just like he did and how I feel about things And if you like it, you don't. And if you do, you do. I mean, it's whatever. To each their own. But here's the glory of it, guys. If you do not like what someone is saying, don't listen to them. Go on about your life and enjoy your life. just because someone is talking smack about a particular pinball company or whatever i don't know what goes through your head to go you know what i don't agree with this person saying i'm going to attempt to ruin their life i do not understand that mentality this whole cancel culture thing i don't get it And this is where I'm just like, really? I mean, people have that such strong emotions about something that they feel that they need to justify those emotions by essentially throwing a little tantrum? and it's a win for them if they get their way. It's like this mentality that people have this whole thing about freedom of speech, freedom of speech. I can say whatever I want and you can say whatever you want. Now, of course, if you start saying things that this person doesn't agree with, then their attitude changes from say whatever you want to shut the fuck up. that's what that turns into. It's all about freedom of speech, and you can say whatever you want, unless you disagree with them, then you need to shut the fuck up. That's what that mentality is. I don't get it. It's like, not everybody can, and not everyone should, think and feel the same way. Whatever those of you out there watch my content, I would hope that whenever you do watch my content, you don't already have an opinion and you're praying or hoping that my opinion comes out or you don't hope that your opinion comes out of my mouth. Everyone has their own mind. Everyone can make their own decisions. I have never told people what they should or should not do with their money, nor do I expect you to do the same for me. It's like I feel people should enjoy being different, but it's almost as if you're a black sheep, then you're essentially definitely treated like one, shunned. and then like I said I had no script I didn't know where I was going with this I just feel like I need to vent a little bit the thing is with a lot of you out there and I say you and I don't a lot of individuals out there that feel that they can just say all the negative energy that they can about others on forums or any other kind of format the thing is a lot of those people are hiding behind an avatar and a name that they've given themselves on a freaking thread the power of anonymity just to be able to say and do whatever because no one knows who you really are. There you go. And this is something that even, you know, Kaneda has brought up before in the past, and I totally agree with it because I've brought it up to him as well, is that a lot of these people say what they say because there's no repercussions for their actions or their words. Whereas those of us like myself, I don't hide behind anything. My name is out here. It's who I am. I say what I say. Like, you know, so who's more powerful here? The people that are out as who they are in front of a camera or those of you that hide behind anonymity and then try to ruin others' lives because they say things that you don't agree with. How powerful do you feel? I think it's pretty cowardly. It's pretty shitty. But the main reason behind this video is my thoughts and reasoning behind why we needed Kaneda in this hobby. And that was to get the other side of the spectrum guys We needed somebody else to be able to voice their opinion To bring knowledge to those of us That are blinded by other content creators That talk nothing but lollipops and gumdrops About this hobby We needed to have the dark horse I mean a lot of people criticize him and say he's the all kinds of bad things for pinball but I looked at him and I've even told him multiple times that he's the Howard Stern for pinball because everyone just wanted to hear what he was going to say next did I agree with everything that he ever said No That the glory of it that I listen to multiple outlets and I make up my own mind. But it was nice to have someone else on the airwaves to put out opinions that did not coincide with every other podcast or content creator that is currently on the market right now. It's like, why? You need variety. You need different opinions, good or bad, whatever. But my main point is that it was nice to have both sides of a spectrum for this hobby, whereas I feel like that we just essentially lost a good portion of the spectrum that you're only going to get essentially from people like me where I just tell you how it is, how I feel. I'm not being bought, sponsored, or anything like that. Chances are I'm probably never going to have a sponsor because I'm not brand safe, but it is what it is. I've even had people refuse to give me products because they, I guess, probably assume that I'm going to talk bad about it. There was even a time when I was in Chicago and I was given a bunch of hardware for pinball to do videos on and reviews and everything. And then I ran into the person that actually made these products and told them, like, yeah, just so you know, I've got all these items and everything and I was going to do some videos on them and he requested them back. I was like, all right. I didn't pay any money for them, so yeah, sure, sure. I mean, so that's the way I look at it. And the thing is, I'm only going to promote products and stuff like that if I actually do believe they are good. And if they're bad, I'll tell you they're bad. So if it's one thing that if someone gives me a product and wants me to do a review, that is one thing I definitely specify to them is that, look, if it's bad, I'm going to say it's bad. If it's good, then I'm definitely going to tell people it's good and I'll promote it. But if it's not good, I'm not going to lie to people. I'm not. I'm sorry. I have a little bit more integrity than that. I'm not going to lie to you. I don't lie to you guys because I don't want to have to remember. I got too much other shit going on in my life To remember what I said about a particular machine What I said about a particular product No, I don't want to have to remember how I feel about it The only thing I want to remember is How I actually felt about something Or how I actually feel about something I'm not going to fucking lie I'm not going to blow smoke or anything like that I really don't know what else I need to mention about this We'll see where it goes with comments and feedback that I get on this. It's typical for a lot of people. If I mention Kaneda at all, then the downvotes go up. But you know what? It is what it is. I really don't know what else to say. Kind of wish I would have wrote some stuff down, but I felt like I needed to get this out while it was sort of fresh on my mind so I can get back to working on other stuff. it's the the glorious thing about life guys is free will if you don't like something don't buy it if you don't like what you hear from a podcast don't listen to it if you don't like certain content that you view on youtube don't watch it that's all there is to it guys i mean what sucks most i think is just like the episode before this one is him trying to bring more peace into this hobby among certain individuals. Trying to get people to come together to bury the hatchet. End all the stupid drama from someone that's very controversial and people think so negatively of he was wanting everyone to be at peace and just enjoy pinball for what it is. And then you have the people out there that get their rocks off on trying to ruin someone's life because they don't agree with what they have to say. And that is what it is. I don't know if I'll even post a video honestly on this. I just felt like I just needed to vent. but I don't know we'll see it during the editing process if I even feel like releasing this but uh if you like what you've seen here then yeah give me a thumbs up and subscribe if you want to or not whatever but uh until next time guys peace out Thank you.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 07cef37e-561b-4a3a-9868-db5a4e825b67*