# Kaneda Kong Reaction!

**Source:** Kaneda Pinball Podcasts YouTube Lives  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-04-15  
**Duration:** 45m 51s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bnxfp62-40

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## Analysis

Kaneda provides a critical live reaction to Stern Pinball's King Kong: Myth of Terror Island announcement video, focusing on art direction, design philosophy, and pricing concerns. He praises the game's mechanical animations and Elwin's design pedigree but criticizes the overly colorful, saturated art package lacking negative space and thematic cohesion, comparing it unfavorably to classic King Kong imagery and suggesting it represents Stern's broader design homogenization. Kaneda expresses deep skepticism about the sustainability of the three-tier pricing model ($13k+ LE) and the industry's ability to maintain value retention, arguing that FOMO-driven scarcity marketing has collapsed and pinball's high price point is now a liability rather than an asset.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] King Kong art direction lacks the negative space and dynamic composition of classic 1930s King Kong imagery — _Kaneda compares the pinball art directly to iconic King Kong poster imagery, noting excessive color and detail vs. minimalist, dramatic composition of source material._
- [HIGH] King Kong should have been designed on Spike 3 platform given the animation capabilities being showcased — _Direct statement: 'I'm disappointed it's not Spike 3, you know, not the bigger screen. They got these beautiful animations. I think the animations are cool and it's not Spike 3.'_
- [HIGH] The three-tier pricing model (Pro/Premium/LE) is fundamentally broken because Pro includes most features and costs $6,500 while LE costs $13,000 — _Extended discussion of pricing tiers; Kaneda states: 'It's just really getting stupid that the LE is twice the price of the Pro' and suggests only LE and Pro should exist._
- [HIGH] FOMO-driven limited edition purchasing behavior is collapsing and pinball games no longer reliably hold secondary market value — _Kaneda repeatedly states games are losing $3-4k in value quickly and that scarcity marketing no longer drives purchasing: 'none of these games are going to hold value.'_
- [HIGH] Stern's recent games across the lineup (Kong, Godzilla, etc.) are beginning to look visually homogeneous and suffer from design fatigue — _Direct statement: 'I just think Sterns are starting to all kind of look the same. And it's just loud, loud, loud.'_
- [MEDIUM] Kong's mechanical features (Kong arm interactions, spider pit) are less innovative than D&D's Dragon or X-Men's Sentinel hands — _Kaneda notes: 'I do think the Dungeons & Dragons Dragon and the X-Men Sentinel. I think both of those just far more mechanically interesting than anything mechanically happening in Kong.'_
- [MEDIUM] King Kong was designed as a homage to the rare 1982 Data East King Kong pinball game — _Kaneda identifies art style similarities and notes Data East only made ~8 King Kong machines, making homage odd given obscurity of original._

### Notable Quotes

> "That was like an assault on my senses... it's just so much color, so much happening... I can't absorb this game through the videos."
> — **Kaneda**, Early reaction section
> _Sets tone for criticism of overwhelming visual design and sensory overload of art package._

> "I just think Kong deserved a little bit more of a muted art deco throwback. Like if they had done like the 1930s New York City sky, the whole game was like that. I just think it would have been more romantic and more timeless."
> — **Kaneda**, Art direction discussion
> _Core design criticism arguing for thematic authenticity over maximalist approach._

> "I just don't think like anything's feeling like $13,000 anymore. You know, it's just we've just been beaten over the head with this stuff so much that I don't know if if these games can even deliver at the expectations."
> — **Kaneda**, Pricing fatigue section
> _Captures broader market sentiment about price-to-expectation ratio collapse._

> "It's just really getting stupid that the LE is twice the price of the Pro. You got to remember like twice the price. It's the same code. It's the same almost the same game."
> — **Kaneda**, Three-tier model discussion
> _Critiques fundamental pricing model inefficiency and consumer value proposition._

> "Maybe just to get us all away from like I've got the better version of the same exact thing this guy has, but my stickers are nicer or my translite is better or my speaker grill is etched."
> — **Kaneda**, Trim differentiation critique
> _Articulates frustration with cosmetic differentiation strategy reducing collectibility value._

> "I just think Spike 3, they need to they need to up their platform a little bit. And I think it's it's still just more Stern, you know? It's like Stern. It's like Stern on crack a little bit, but it's not."
> — **Kaneda**, Platform technology section
> _Suggests Stern needs hardware evolution, not just content maximization on existing tech._

> "FOMO and that's the driver to buy or lock in your nonrefundable deposit. I think those days are kind of coming to an end."
> — **Kaneda**, Market sentiment section
> _Declares end of scarcity-driven purchasing model that has dominated pinball sales._

> "I don't think that's music to the ears of distros and manufacturers... I think there's going to be winners and losers though."
> — **Kaneda**, Market consequences discussion
> _Predicts bifurcation of market with clear winners and losers under new value paradigm._

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| King Kong: Myth of Terror Island | game | Stern Pinball's 2025 pinball machine designed by Keith Elwin featuring unlicensed public domain King Kong theme, subject of Kaneda's critical reaction video. |
| Keith Elwin | person | Lead game designer of King Kong at Stern Pinball; legendary pinball designer whose pedigree Kaneda credits but whose game Kaneda critiques for art direction and pricing value. |
| George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball creative director who narrates the official King Kong announcement video; credited as representative voice for game design philosophy. |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer releasing King Kong; subject of Kaneda's broader criticism about design homogenization, pricing strategy, and technology platform limitations. |
| Kaneda | person | Pinball podcaster and community analyst providing critical reaction to King Kong announcement; influential voice in pinball discourse known for candid assessment of games and industry trends. |
| Kevin O'Connor | person | Legendary pinball illustrator credited as part of King Kong's three-artist art collaboration on Stern's official release. |
| Gregorus | person | Legendary pinball illustrator credited as part of King Kong's three-artist art collaboration on Stern's official release. |
| Jeremy Packer / Zombie Yeti | person | Pinball artist (known as 'Zombie Yeti') credited as part of King Kong's three-artist art collaboration; head of Stern Pinball art department. |
| Brian Q. Quinn | person | Comedy legend from Impractical Jokers who provided custom speech/voice work for King Kong pinball machine. |
| Dune Pinball | game | Barrels of Fun pinball game; referenced throughout as comparison point for art direction, theme integration, and launch execution; Kaneda gave positive assessment on recent podcast. |
| Barrels of Fun | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer producing Dune; subject of Kaneda's criticism for botched game launch despite quality game design. |
| Godzilla | game | Stern Pinball 2023 game designed by Keith Elwin; referenced as comparison point for Kong art aging and visual composition. |
| X-Men | game | Stern Pinball game referenced for mechanical innovation (Sentinel hands) that Kaneda argues Kong should have matched; cited as visually popping in person. |
| Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye | game | Stern Pinball game referenced for superior mechanical innovation (Dragon feature) compared to Kong's mechanical offerings. |
| Harry Potter | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game in development; referenced as upcoming competitive title; Kaneda expresses concern about muted video clips affecting thematic delivery. |
| Predator | game | Pinball Brothers game referenced as upcoming title in competitive release pipeline; Kaneda suggests potential gameplay value trumps current Kong announcement. |
| Back to the Future | game | Dutch Pinball game in development; Kaneda predicts it will feature authentic theme integration without muted video constraints, making it consumer priority vs. Harry Potter. |
| Naps Arcade | organization | Pinball arcade/content distributor referenced as source of Kong imagery and press release information. |
| David Vaness | person | Pinball industry figure who contacted Kaneda; referenced as disagreeing with Kaneda's Dune critique before Kaneda's positive podcast episode. |
| Spike 3 | product | Stern Pinball's advanced display/animation hardware platform; Kaneda criticizes Kong for not utilizing despite animation capabilities, suggesting missed opportunity for enhanced visual delivery. |
| Data East King Kong | game | 1982 Data East pinball machine (~8 units made); Kaneda identifies Kong as homage to this obscure original, questioning design choice given rarity. |
| Insider Connected | product | Stern Pinball's digital ecosystem mentioned in official announcement as feature allowing players to track Terror Island progression. |

### Topics

- **Primary:** King Kong art direction and visual design philosophy, Pinball pricing model sustainability (three-tier LE/Premium/Pro structure), Collapse of FOMO-driven limited edition sales and secondary market value retention, Design homogenization across recent Stern releases
- **Secondary:** Keith Elwin's game design track record and expectations, Mechanical innovation limitations in Kong vs. competing designs (D&D, X-Men), Hardware platform constraints (Spike 3 adoption)
- **Mentioned:** Competitive release pipeline pressure and consumer choice fatigue

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.68) — Kaneda expresses significant disappointment with Kong's execution despite respecting Elwin's design capabilities. Frustration centers on art direction choices, pricing sustainability, and industry-wide value collapse. However, he acknowledges Kong will likely 'look great in person' and praises mechanical animations, creating mixed-negative assessment. Broader sentiment is pessimistic about pinball market health and consumer purchasing power under current pricing regime.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Oversaturation of concurrent high-price pinball releases ($12-15k range) fragmenting limited consumer base; manufacturers cannot all maintain order volumes or secondary market pricing simultaneously. (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'you can't have all these pinball companies dropping games on top of each other and they're going to get all these orders... I think a lot of people are going to be much more discerning with your money... New In Box as a thing is just gonna keep declining.'
- **[competitive_signal]** King Kong positioned as flagship spring 2025 release but consumer interest fragmenting across competing titles (Dune, Predator, Harry Potter, Back to the Future); no single 'mic drop' dominance. (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I don't feel like it was a mic drop moment. And I also just don't know if Stern can even mic drop moment anymore... I think everyone's sort of feeling the same sort of vibe that like none of these games are going to be hard to get.'
- **[design_philosophy]** King Kong art direction fundamentally misaligned with theme aesthetic; colorful, busy Marvel-style composition conflicts with classic 1930s art deco and negative space of iconic King Kong imagery. (confidence: high) — Kaneda extensively compares Kong poster to game art, noting: 'I just think Kong deserved a little bit more of a muted art deco throwback... I I just think it would have been more romantic and more timeless.' Also: 'Sterns are starting to all kind of look the same. And it's just loud, loud, loud.'
- **[design_philosophy]** Stern exhibits conservative design risk-aversion; unwilling to differentiate art direction from existing formula despite theme requirements; maximalist approach vs. thematic authenticity. (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I just don't think Stern sort of like takes a theme and like does it justice for that theme, which means you might want to just go in a completely different art direction. I I think Stern's like sort of afraid to take a risk and make something just look different.'
- **[market_signal]** Limited edition production volume inflation (1000+ units) eroding collectibility premium justification; smaller limited runs (500 units) now required to maintain value retention. (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'If there was just like one King Kong version and it was 8 grand, you know, just one and they sold 5,000 units of it and everybody was happy like old school '90s approach... It should be 500 Kongs.'
- **[market_signal]** Secondary market value collapse accelerating; FOMO-driven scarcity purchasing model is ending as consumers recognize games lose $3-4k in value within months and recognize no shortage will occur. (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'none of these games are going to hold value... I don't think that's music to the ears of distros and manufacturers... FOMO and that's the driver to buy or lock in your nonrefundable deposit. I think those days are kind of coming to an end.'
- **[community_signal]** Kaneda publicly separates criticism of Dune's marketing launch from assessment of game quality itself; indicates confidence in game design exceeding initial presentation, positioning Dune favorably vs. Kong announcement impact. (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I want to just say this for everybody to hear... if you did, I think you heard one of the most fair, very positive assessments of Dune Pinball... I separate it my my frustration with how they launched the game from a marketing standpoint with the game itself.'
- **[market_signal]** Three-tier pricing model ($13k LE vs $6.5k Pro) is economically broken; LE commands 2x price while offering minimal incremental gameplay value over Pro, eroding collectibility differentiation. (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'It's just really getting stupid that the LE is twice the price of the Pro... It's the same code. It's the same almost the same game... the only way to maintain at least a $13,000 in value price for the game is if there was 500 units. Once you make a 1000, it's over.'
- **[product_concern]** Kong's mechanical features (Kong animation, spider pit, subway smash) are incremental vs. previous Elwin games; less innovative than D&D Dragon or X-Men Sentinel hand mechanics. (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I do think the Dungeons & Dragons Dragon and the X-Men Sentinel... far more mechanically interesting than anything mechanically happening in Kong... I missed that they would have the big Kong as the Sentinel.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Widespread pinball consumer fatigue from oversaturation of expensive releases; purchasing behavior shifting from FOMO-driven to discernment-driven; collectors no longer rushing to secure LE inventory. (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I just feel that there's just pinball at high price fatigue has set in now significantly... the fun is gone... the real and excitement of new pin day because it hits your wallet twice as much as it used to.'
- **[technology_signal]** Stark lack of Spike 3 adoption on King Kong despite advanced animation capabilities; community questioning platform evolution strategy at Stern. (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I'm disappointed it's not Spike 3, you know, not the bigger screen. They got these beautiful animations. I think the animations are cool and it's not Spike 3.' And: 'I just think Spike 3, they need to they need to up their platform a little bit.'

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## Transcript

All right, we're live. We're live. We're live. Annoying. Annoying. Share screen that we have to go do this now. Like this. Copy Facebook. Stern pinball. Why can't people just like give right, let's go here now. Patreon chat. I'm not watching the game until I see it live. So, I'm gonna see what people say. I mean, I saw some colorful stuff. All right. All right, here we go. Okay. All right. I know it's live. They weren't It wasn't supposed to be live until like an hour from now. Well, that just makes my Stern pinball. Let's go here. King Kong. All right. The myth of ter I'm gonna share screen and we should be able to see this. Um, let me know if you guys can hear it. Let's watch it ready? Nobody launching to Cana liking. No, David Van Es hit me up today, but I was like, "Dude, you got to hear my show today." Like it I was very positive about Dune today. Um, all right. Let me let me play. Hey everybody, it's George Gomez at Stern Pinball and we're here today to unleash an epic adventure featuring one of the most iconic monsters of all time, King Kong. King Kong has been a staple in pop culture since his first appearance in 1932 and he has been celebrated through time in television, books, art, comics, everything okay and now pinball. To celebrate King Kong's larger than life story, we're taking players on an all new interpretation of the fabled King Kong legend. From the creators that brought you Godzilla, Jaws, and Jurassic Park, we now bring you King Kong, Myth of Terror Island. Players will go on an epic journey exploring the mysteries of Terror Island, battling dangerous creatures in addition to facing the eighth wonder of the world. Witness Kong as he wres havoc across New York City. And now, lead game designer Keith Ellen will take you through this pinball battle of a lifetime. Hi everyone, I'm Keith Elwin, lead game designer of our latest game, King Kong: Myth of Terror Island. With King Kong, we wanted to create an entirely new interpretation of the iconic story. Players will join Anduro, Jack Driscoll, and Carl Denim on their journey to the mysterious Terror Island. This results in King Kong traveling back to New York City with disastrous and fun consequences. Thrilling gameplay features and challenges await on this four flipper adventure. Watch King Kong come to life as he reacts to player action through new animation software. Witness him swing his arms and torso to assert his dominance. Summon Kong by hitting the custom sculpted Gong Bash target, a kinetic bash ball and a decorated temple. Survive Kong's punchback kicking target, which launches balls back at the player, or can drop into the secret entrance to Kong's vertical upper and wire return. Unlock the secrets of a lost temple for bank sweep, which reveal the hidden island treasure target. Lock pinballs into a New York City train car and watch as an agitated King Kong destroys and flips it over to start King Kong. But beware, SL King Kong isn't the only danger players will encounter as they enter the pit on terror. Guarded by a custom sculpted giant spider, this area magnetically grabs and attacks the ball, so be prepared. Travel over dangerous terrain by exploring the thrilling helix-shaped biplane ramp featuring a custom sculpted biplane toy. Navigate the illuminated river zigzag secret ball path return. Or be ready for the river log diverter to pop up, setting up shots from the upper left flipper to the cliff's ramp. On the pro edition, players will experience a lot of the same action taking place on Terror Island and across New York City in their battle against King Kong. Get it gone. The game is really brought to life with a unique art collaboration by three legendary pinball illustrators. Kevin O' Conor, the legendary Gregorus, and Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti) aka Zombie Yeti all contributed to this art package. King Kong comes with all new original animations, music, and sound effects. It also features custom speech by comedy legend Brian Q Quinn from Impractical Jokers. He's in. No, No, no. That is not keeping Huff along. We're going in. And through the power of Insider Connected, players will be able to explore Terror Island on an unforgettable trip. We are beyond excited for you to battle the eighth wonder of the world and become the king of your game room with King Kong, Myth of Terror Island at sternpinball.com. Okay. Whoa. Um, oh wow. I kind of want to go now to um, let me stop airing. Um, a lot a lot to take in. I can't quite get my head around it yet, right? It's like there's so much color. There's so much happening um, that I'm not sure what I just saw. I got to be honest. Like it that was like a an assault on my senses. uh where Dune by comparison was like really easy to take in the entire playfield. Um I want to go to Naps Arcade. I'm assuming Jason probably has up pictures. Um but a lot a lot coming at you. Uh I think I read a lot of people's commentary about the art package being very Marvel like and like I I understand that. Uh, let's see. I want to see if there's more. Man, all these guys have like the press releases like right away. Like, it's okay. All right. I don't I just want to see. Okay. Let's like Let's just look at this thing. Just zoom out a little bit. Um, I want to just look at the artwork. Um, all right. So, we've got like a lot going on here, right? I mean, it is very colorful. It is very um you know there's like a lot of purples and magentas and blues. It's It's a very colorful game. And you know I kind of felt like it was going to go this direction. This This sort of um more comic book illustrated kind of vibe to it. Uh I I'll say this, the animations look really good. Let Let me let me just zoom in a little bit on this because I'm like I don't even know if that is the Empire State Building. I think it is. Kind of has to be. I mean, I I like the translate on the LE a lot. It It has um nothing wrong with a nice damsel in distress and like little James Bond dude and Kong breaking a free of the chains. No, no spike three on this. I like this like art deco, you know, sort of they got this art deco kind of vibe going with like the armor too. I I think that's the thing is like it's got this like romantic art deco like throwback, but then the the art is so modern and more sort of Marvel contemporary looking that I'm I'm not sure like if that art deco classiness comes through. I would have I would have liked a little bit more of of sort of like old Kong movie poster art deco vibes and I just don't think art deco and comic book go together like you can see it here like it's a little bit of a Slash like this it's almost like you're losing some of that art decoess in favor of um bright really bright I mean like these colors here are much more like X-Meny vibes than King Kong vibes It doesn't look like art deco trim. I that that I don't know. There's not like an art deco an art deco vibe in my honest opinion. Um. All right. Let's see what else we can do here photo-wise. All right. I mean, it's like I don't even know where to look on the playfield. There's just is so much going on, you know? There's a little bit um like let's just try to pull this up there. There's a little bit of um I don't know where to go, right? There's a lot there's a lot I mean it looks like there's a lot to do game. There's um a lot of inserts. Uh lots of purple right on those in the art scheme. Um I you know look gang I I um I'm trying to think I I don't think there's anything in it that's like wowing me but I bet it's so much fun to shoot. It's an Owen one, right? I just think it's um it might suffer a little bit from like a lot of different creative things happening at once. So, I um I look I think this game is going to like be a blast to play. I'm I'm just Yeah, I'm just trying to find a way to get my head around it all, you know, because I'm like looking at some of these photos. Um, I mean, if we go back to there's a I mean this this just looks like it's just so much easier to take this game's imagery in. You know what I'm saying? Like Like when I look at Dune, going back to Dune now, like the simplicity of the the universe they're trying to capture under glass. And then I go, you know, if I go to King Kong after this. It's like an assault on the senses. Um, but I don't know. They I I don't know. See, to me, like this kind of fits Dune and because it's more about, you know, creating the world of Dune and the sand city or whatever, you know, planet to life. I don't know what a king New York City this is capturing. like this is just a lot on your senses. So, it it's it's but it I don't know. I'm sure it's going to look much better in real life. I don't think it like I don't know. It's just a lot. It is ve very Alvara looking. Um I'm wondering if there's going to be a black and white Kong which would mute a lot of this. Is that the Empire State Building and the artwork in the middle? I think it might be. Let me see something here. You know, I'm wondering if the Empire thing is like trademarked and they don't have the trademark for it cuz you know the when as I look at this I think that's the old Empire State Building. Um look at all these inserts, gang. Like look at all these like th this whole playfield is covered in inserts. so what do you guys think? I'm uh let's go back and watch the video again because there's just a lot. Let's um let's do this. Stop sharing. Let's watch it again. on. Hey everybody, it's George Gomez at Stern Pinball and we're here today to unleash an epic pinball adventure featuring one of the most iconic monsters of all time, King Kong. King Kong has been a staple in pop culture since his first appearance in 1932 and he has been celebrated through time in television, books, art, comics, video games to celebrate King Kong's larger than life story taking players on an We're going to do the shorter second. Where's the shorter one? I don't where where is where is the shorter video of no talking. I'm looking for it. It might be on Facebook. Let's Let's go here. I just keep seeing the longer video. Where's the shorter video? Is there another v gang? Is there another video? Stern's website. Okay, let's go there. Stern pinball. It's always funny to me how the assets are all over the place, like nothing's ever in the same place. Let's uh let's go to Stern right. I'm seeing the 4-minute video again. I don't see this short video. Um, let's see. Games. I I don't see the video, gang. I don't know where it is. Is on Stern's game page. Let's go back. Is that buy a game? I'm on the game page right now. Shop now. King Kong. Just put the link, gang. Someone Someone put the link in the chat. Someone drop the link in the chat. Can someone just drop the link in the chat and I'll play it? Go to the nap article. All right, let's go back to naps arcade. Oh my god. This is why like I don't know why they don't just give everybody all the assets. Let's see. nap had the two videos. There's so much. Okay. All right, here we go. A one minute video. Let's watch it on YouTube. All right, so apparently this is a better video. All right. King Kong, Myths of Terror Island, brought to you by Stern Pinball. Okay. Um Okay. Um yeah, like gang, I I um you know, it's like one of those things where I was kind of hoping for a little bit more New York City skyline coming through a little bit more because I think what I think what's happening is like they're kind of jamming together. That gong is from the island, but the subway car is from New York City. And I just think there's a little bit of a missed opportunity to have King Kong, you know, maybe climbing a building or having that Empire State Building come up from underneath the playfield in a dramatic moment when Kong goes from Terror Island to New York. Um, it's kind of all just what you see is what you get. It's kind of all there. Um, so my here's my here's my here's my quick take on this thing. like it's um it's very colorful. I don't I I like the illustrations of Kong. I just I think here let me show you what I'm what I mean. I I would have liked a little bit more of this, you know? I I just think when you when you think about King Kong, okay, it's just like if we just look at this image, this iconic poster, I think what makes this moment so dramatic is the negative space, right? And I think what makes this art look so dynamic is the negative space, right? Kong's up there on the top of the world. You know, death is imminent. He's holding on to the girl and, you know, and I think when you get to Stern's art, there's just, you know, there's so much going on that I I think it does, you know, take away a little bit. You know, I'm looking at some more of like inspiration. You know, the Kong art is like interesting, right? Because some of it is just so bad. Um but but like when I go to the um the game again, let's go to game again. It's It's a lot, right? It's just coming at you. It's It's coming at you with with a a lot of color. I And I I almost wish they would have the King Kong font a little bit more iconic, you know? I I do like it better than Godzilla. Um, but I'm not, you know, I'm not I I'm Yeah, I disappointed it's not Spike 3, you know, not the bigger screen. They got these beautiful animations. I think the animations are cool and it's not Spike 3. I I think in a lineup, anyone who's stood over X-Men, it's it's going to pop in person. We We know that. Um it's just a matter of whether or not like we're really seeing money. So I um What's your What do you guys think? let you guys I I don't I kind of I feel like it's a hard game to get your head around, you know, cuz when you see Jaws, like it it's like an easier layout to absorb. And as I'm looking at Kong, there's like so much happening. And again, I I think it's going to be like a really rewarding shooter, but I just think there's like a lot. And And again, like it it feels a little like everything louder than everything else. Where I think Kong like if you know what I'm saying? If If I I think Kong deserved a little bit more of a of a mute art deco throwback. Like if they had done like the 1930s New York City sky, the whole game was like that. I I just think it would have been more romantic and more timeless. And I think what's I think what everyone's picking up on now is just these sterns are starting to all kind of look the same. And it's just loud, loud, loud. And again, I get it. It probably looks great in person, but I just don't think Stern sort of like takes a theme and like does it justice for that theme, which means you might want to just go in a completely different art direction. I I think Stern's like sort of afraid to take a risk and make something just look different. Um, no. I I don't think it's like it's just it's a lot to take in. I don't I can't absorb this I can't absorb this game through the videos. I I that's my my take. I can't there's a like I can't get my head around the game. Um is it uh a must buy le grab it now or they're going to be gone? Uh I don't know. I don't know. I don't know like if that's going to happen today. I I still think we're also gonna get like a a Dune gameplay video, right? I I think also what I'm noticing is is there's just like a lot of stuff happening at once and I think fatigue has definitely set in and it's here to stay. Um, I think that's it. You know, James, like I just don't think like anything's feeling like $13,000 anymore. You know, it's just we've just been beaten over the head with this stuff so much that I don't know if if these games can even deliver at the expectations. And I'm I'm worried about Harry Potter now too, gang, because I'm like now it's like, oh, there's going to be muted clips. Um, like I I think Dune like is growing on me. David Van Es is not happy with me, but I told him, "Dude, listen to my show today." Like my my podcast today was very positive about Dune and and what it achieved in theme integration. But I I you know, you got to pay to listen to that. I'm sorry. Like I still you know look I still don't understand why no like I all these companies invited me to go to their factories but nobody gave me assets so it's like I I it is what it is. It's fine. I mean look the assets are out. Kong better deliver. Um time to come out with the hating now. I don't I don't think people are going to hate on King Kong. I don't I I just I'm just not sure if like this model can just can keep going like this. The my bigger worry is that it's just this three tier model at these prices and like I don't know the Pro looks pretty damn good, right? It's like it's just really getting stupid that the Ellie is twice the price of the Pro. You got to remember like twice the price. It's the same code. It's the same almost the same game. Like it's like the only reason why there should only be an LE and a pro then you know I mean I I mean that like the only way hold any value now is if there was no premium but like it's just I mean if I it's just stupid to have this three tier model now. It just doesn't work with the gap being where it's at and the and the amount of less you're going to make. Well, no. just go I I mean just go ElliM Pro. You know what I'm saying? Because like they're they're putting almost everything in the pro now. Like if it's if it's Kong is animated and the spider is not there, what are you really losing out on? Yeah, the I think that's Thank you for bringing that up, Jay. I do think the Dungeons and Dragons Dragon and the X-Men Sentinel. I think both of those just far more mechanically interesting than anything mechanically happening in Kong. I guess Kong just you just you just I just thought we were going to get something big. Look, at least he interacts with the game and smashes the subway. Like Godzilla doesn't do anything. I think this game is going to have um a lot of um opinions. I think when people see it being played, I think when they see the code, I think I think that, you know, I think it's going to be satisfying. It's an Elwin game. Um I think we're just starting to get a little bit of fatigue in general, right? I mean, I just feel that there's just there's just pinball at high price fatigue has set in now significantly. Like the barrels game is almost $13,000, maybe more. It It's just a lot of money. It's a lot of money. So, I I do think they missed a golden opportunity to have King Kong's big hand do what the Sentinel hands do in uh in in uh in X-Men. Like, it would have been probably would have been smarter to have the big Kong as the Sentinel. And you you know, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I mean, I'm not a pinball designer. I do know that our expectations have been, you know, they're they're so big now because the prices of these games is so significant that we're kind of setting ourselves up. I think maybe in an impossible situation and gang, I mean, it's just life. I mean, maybe, just maybe, uh, pinball just can't survive and thrive over $10,000 for every game, especially when those games just continue to lose money and you're going to massproduce them. And I think that's just created an overwhelming sense of um, uh, uh, you know, the fun is gone. like the the real and excitement of new pin day because it hits your wallet twice as much as it used to. And I I think that's kind of the reality of modern pinball now is you know just just too much money. Uh and you know at least with these boutique games you know you're getting only 888 Evil Dead. There's only going to be a thousand Dunes. There's only going to be, you know, and and I think the next thing that's going to happen again is this like unlimited run of Harry Potter CES is going to be another death blow to spending, you know, 15k on the game. The le limited quantities. Yeah, it's too high, Scott. It should be 500 Kongs. I I think that the for some reason the inability for this hobby to like they they jacked up the price of all the LE and CES and then they jacked up volume and they also didn't make most of them worth collecting. So you've just got like I don't know, right? You just got this burning the candle at both ends and all of a sudden it's just they're just not. Now look, I know when Keith Ellen makes a game, he doesn't care about like the le like, you know what I'm saying? He's trying to make the best game possible. And the fact that we have to evaluate these games now by trim level and by value is a little unfortunate, right? If it if there was just like one King Kong version and it was 8 grand, you know, just one and they sold 5,000 units of it and everybody was happy like old school '9s approach. Is that better? Maybe. Right. Maybe just to get us all away from like I've got the better version of the same exact thing this guy has, but my stickers are nicer or my translite is better or my speaker grill is etched. You know, it's just it's just like, are you really having more fun in that moment of gameplay? Are you really having more I I think this color scheme gang again just this is just me standing over X-Men recently uh is going to be is going to look great in person. I do I think King Kong is going to make Godzilla look dated. I I think Kong is going to make Godzilla look really dated. I think it's going to be the most visually popping of Elwin's games ever. It's the wrong colors. I don't know yet, Josh. I have to see this in person. Godzilla for sure will not look dated. I I think it will. I think I I don't think Godzilla art's going to age that well. I don't think it looks like clown puke. I mean, you guys are like I mean, this one's pretty bright. The pro is like go. I mean, let's see. I'm going to share screen. It's It's very Elv. Look at the inserts, gang. There. There's like Look at all these inserts up the middle here. There. There's like There's like 80 inserts in this game. I mean, there's a lot going on in this game. I I think there's too much going on, though, you know? There's just there's too much going on. And when I think about, you know, let me see something I'm like looking at Let's see. Hold on. I just was like, you know, when I look at this art package, it's like just the right amount of detail and colorful, but it also fits the theme really nicely. You know what I'm saying? And then like when I go to Kong, it's like a lot a lot's Um, yeah, I think I think they really were trying to like the data east. Let's do this pinball. I think this is what they were going for. archives. I mean, it's like it's basically like it's it's this I mean they made a they made a modern version of this. So it's like I mean I feel it's like exactly the same even up to those doors opening up. Um, all right. Well, look, we got 168 people in here. I want to thank everybody. Um, if you listen to today's show, you might have heard me last night. I want to just say this for everybody to hear. OB, I was disappointed with the barrels launch and after all the weeks of talking to the team over there for them to, you know, fumble the game out like that. But I also want to encourage everybody to listen to today's episode of Canadas Pinball Podcast because if you did, I think you heard one of the most fair, very positive assessments of Dune Pinball. And so if you think that I ragged on the game and destroyed it, I did not. and I separate it my my frustration with how they launched the game from a marketing standpoint with the game itself. I think Dune is going to surprise a lot of people. I do you complain prices are too high then you state that the Ellie should be even more limited which incre No why does why does the Ellies being limited have to increase the price Jim? Why Why can't an Ellie be 13,000? That's way more than it should be to begin with. And the reason why there should only be 500 is that's the only way to maintain at least a $13,000 in value price for the game. Once you make a,000, it's over. Um, all right. Where's the uh naps arcade? I mean, it's like the same art style. Let's see. It's weird to do a homage, right? It It's weird to like What? Didn't they only make like eight King Kong Data East games? So, it's it's a little weird to like homage it, you know, like this. You know what I'm saying? Because no one's, you know, nobody's nobody's seen. Nobody has the other one. Uh there is a lot of purple going on. Like when you like those doors like I'm getting like cuz purple's not really a color of the jungle. It's not a color of the city. So I that's what a lot of people are picking up on like a lot more, you know, purple's like a weird color environment for an environment. But look, I think um yeah, I think this is good. I think I think this is going to make everybody wait and see a little bit more. Um and I think that's the case. I think um I'm going to go get lunch with Brenda. Um I'm still sort of back and relaxing today, unpacking, doing a lot of laundry. Still a little jet-lagged. I go back to work tomorrow. But just want to say guys, uh go King Kong. Hopefully we see a Dune gameplay video today. Maybe Carrie has something. I don't know. I I think uh Dune with it with its atmospheric effects. I think Dune might surprise us. I don't think King Kong like dropped the hammer now and like no one's going to be able to beat Kong, you know? I I don't feel like it was a mic drop moment. And I also just don't know if Stern can even mic drop moment anymore. And And I mean that like I just think Spike 3, they need to they need to up their platform a little bit. And I think it's it's still just more stern, you know? It's like stern. It's like stern on crack a little bit, but it's not I don't I just don't it's just that 13 grand and the prices of the premium. just I don't know anymore like if it's if you can if if you can justify it every game, you know, look, Harry Potter is all going to come down to like theme integration and getting theme integration. Like I if if Harry Potter is muted clips I then I think we might all just be waiting for Back to the Future because Back to the Future will not have muted clips. Absolutely not. All right everybody look be good. Lots of discussions going to happen around this game. I just encourage everybody if if you don't need to buy an LE right now to just wait, spend some time on the game. Uh, you know, you don't need to buy right away. Uh, I I'm I I it's still an LIN and it's an LE. I I still think they'll they'll sell probably most of them. It just is the way it is. But I also think a lot of people are probably gonna wait for Harry Potter just to see everything, see Predator, see Dune in action. Um, it's I think everyone's sort of feeling the same sort of vibe that like none of these games are going to be hard to get. None of these games are going to hold value. The pinball hobby is still like priced like it's co and I think that's a very liberating thing. I don't think that's music to the ears of dros and manufacturers. I think the old world of like all we got is FOMO and that's the driver to buy or lock in your nonrefundable deposit. I think those days are kind of coming to an end. I I feel that I I sense it in a lot of you and I think it's liberating. I don't think it's going to end anything in pinball. I just think there's going to be winners and losers though. Like you can't have all these pinball companies dropping games on top of each other and they're going to get all these orders and hundreds and hundreds and thousands and thousands of orders. I think a lot of people are going to be much more discerning with your money and I think you're going to, you know, not be comfortable with some of the big hits you're going to take on some of the recent games you've bought. And I do think that new and box as a thing is just gonna keep declining because of the oversaturation and the overpriced nature of everything right now because I just don't think making you happier. And I mean that. I think you guys got a lot of really great pinball for a lot of a lot better prices than you are now. And I think you're kind of just like I'm good enough right now. Uh because you know I just think we feel like everything's like like take DNDLE like it's gonna be nine grand pretty soon for the LE like $4,000 loss. So you know like oh I could have got it for nine. That's what's going to happen to everything. All right everybody let's go get some food later.

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0a713b24-a435-48cc-9891-afb7500c2f9a*