# DPP #151 "X-men BEFORE YOU BUY! Plus news!"

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-10-05  
**Duration:** 42m 22s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/donspinballpodcast/episodes/DPP-151-X-men-BEFORE-YOU-BUY--Plus-news-e2p988i

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## Analysis

Don reviews the newly arrived X-Men pinball LE, providing detailed pre-purchase guidance on gameplay, code status, and mechanical adjustments needed. He discusses quality control issues (plunge strength, micro switch registration) and solutions, compares it favorably to Foo Fighters, and evaluates the Pro/Premium/LE tier differences. He also covers incoming game news: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland reveal imminent, ABBA shipping delays causing it to miss Pinball Expo, and brief commentary on virtual pinball.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] X-Men LE has plunge strength issues requiring custom shooter rod or adjustment — _Don experienced plunges failing to clear back ramp consistently; resolved with custom 3D-printed Sentinel head shooter rod that is marginally longer than stock Stern rod_
- [HIGH] X-Men center ramp micro switch gate needs adjustment out of box to reset properly — _Don traced issue where shots registered but didn't count toward modes; leaf switch was held down due to excessive gate pressure; fixed with precision plier bend_
- [HIGH] X-Men code is incomplete at launch, following Stern's pattern of releasing 'minimum necessary build' with updates to follow — _Don states Stern is 'replicating the video game market where games are released kind of like with the minimum necessary build within there with more to come down the road'_
- [MEDIUM] Alice's Adventures in Wonderland reveal expected early next week (around October 9th) — _Don heard the 9th of October 'battered around' for reveal, recording on Saturday the 5th, expects Monday or Tuesday announcement_
- [MEDIUM] Alice in Wonderland ships with topper included (like Spooky's standard practice) — _Don mentions Spooky is 'shipping their toppers with the game' and Avatar CE comes with holographic topper already installed_
- [MEDIUM] ABBA pinball cannot ship in time for Pinball Expo due to logistics — _Don heard from 'official sounding sources' that ABBA 'just aren't able to ship and make it to the u in time to be at expo'_
- [MEDIUM] ABBA has weaker flipper strength and is 'okay, not great' compared to Queen — _Don reports early feedback from handful of players: 'flipper strength, not great, and layout queen-ish' and 'Game is okay, not great'_
- [MEDIUM] Dutch Pinball Alice in Wonderland limited to approximately 500 units production run — _Don states 'selling out and a measure of that would be for FOMO' and 'limited to maybe around 500 games'_

### Notable Quotes

> "The code, I can't comment too much on because we're still in that early Stern code period. They kind of have been replicating the video game market where games are released kind of like with the minimum necessary build within there with more to come down the road."
> — **Don**, early segment
> _Confirms Stern's strategy of releasing incomplete code at launch, a significant industry practice shift_

> "The problem was both from plunges off of my shooter rod and also the auto launcher, the ball would careen around but wouldn't quite make it up that back ramp into the plastic wire form into the metal that would then come to the left flipper so you can then hit the skill shots. So it was as if I looked, it seemed to be that the plunger was hitting the ball where it needed to be, so it didn't seem to be an alignment issue, which Stern doesn't usually ship with alignment issues for the plungers. But for some reason, it was just like it needed an extra little 5% just to make it on up there."
> — **Don**, technical section
> _Detailed account of X-Men plunge strength deficiency affecting gameplay experience_

> "Gameplay-wise, I can't say that they're enough of a reason to justify $3,000 unless that's really what you're after. So I don't think you're losing anything on the Pro with this one."
> — **Don**, pricing analysis
> _Assessment of Pro vs LE value proposition; implies LE premium is not justified by gameplay difference_

> "I think putting this game's shots up against Foo Fighters, it's as good or better, for sure... And that, I think, is the definition of high praise."
> — **Don**, comparative analysis
> _Strong endorsement of X-Men's shot quality relative to prior Jack Danger game_

> "I don't think every company needs to emulate that and create a game that they then have to either strip down or plus up... So in terms of just like we're making the best game we can, this is the one it's going to be... This kind of a good thing."
> — **Don**, philosophy segment
> _Praises Dutch Pinball's single-tier approach vs three-tier Stern/JJP model_

> "From what I'm hearing, game is okay. Game is not great... flipper strength, not great, and layout queen-ish."
> — **Don (reporting early feedback)**, ABBA section
> _Early critical assessment of ABBA from limited player base_

> "I'm not sure that anybody was laying awake at night saying, why won't they build my dream theme? Why won't they build my Mamma Mia?"
> — **Don**, ABBA theme commentary
> _Questions FOMO/desirability of ABBA license compared to Queen_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| X-Men | game | Stern Pinball game, newly arrived LE units, subject of detailed pre-buy review; designed by Jack Danger |
| Don | person | Host of Don's Pinball Podcast; owner of X-Men LE, Foo Fighters Premium, Ultra VP; enthusiast reviewer and custom topper designer |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer releasing X-Men with incomplete code at launch; uses three-tier Pro/Premium/LE pricing model |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Developer of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; single-tier pricing strategy; three units expected at Pinball Expo |
| Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | game | Forthcoming Dutch Pinball game with topper reveal, full reveal expected early next week; ~500 unit limited production |
| Pinball Brothers | company | Manufacturer of ABBA pinball; previously released Queen; facing shipping delays to Pinball Expo |
| ABBA | game | Pinball Brothers music-themed game; limited to 500/300 units; shipping delays prevent Expo appearance; early feedback suggests weak flipper strength |
| Jack Danger | person | Designer of X-Men and Foo Fighters; praised for shot quality design |
| Foo Fighters | game | Prior Jack Danger design at Stern; used for comparison to X-Men; Don owns Premium version dressed as LE |
| Pinball Expo | event | Chicago-based show taking place week after next (mid-October); venue for game reveals and sales; ABBA unable to attend due to logistics |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Manufacturer praised for shipping toppers with games; mentioned as differentiated from three-tier competitors |
| Avatar | game | Spooky Pinball game; Don owns CE version with included holographic topper |
| Lior | person | Likely sculptor/artist for Alice topper (Cheshire Cat sculpt); associated with high-quality work |
| Ultra VP | product | Full-size virtual pinball machine Don owns; 300-400 lbs, ~1,400 games, no flipper lag; considering selling/trading |
| Rec Room World | company | Retailer where Don purchased Ultra VP |
| Queen | game | Pinball Brothers music game; used as comparative baseline for ABBA design and performance |

### Topics

- **Primary:** X-Men quality control and setup issues, Shooter rod customization and plunge strength, Three-tier pricing model (Pro/Premium/LE) value assessment, Stern's early-access code strategy
- **Secondary:** Alice's Adventures in Wonderland reveal timing and features, ABBA shipping delays and game quality concerns, Single-tier vs multi-tier manufacturing strategy
- **Mentioned:** Upcoming Pinball Expo game availability

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Don is enthusiastic about X-Men despite quality control issues, which he frames as solvable and typical for new releases. He views the game favorably overall and recommends purchase. His tone is critical but constructive. ABBA coverage is more skeptical (early feedback lackluster, theme less desired than Queen), but tempered by limited data. Alice coverage is anticipatory and optimistic.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Custom shooter rod modifications becoming aftermarket solution for X-Men plunge issues; Don creating demand among community (confidence: high) — Don fielded multiple requests for custom Sentinel head shooter rods after livestream; assembled and distributed several units to interested parties
- **[design_philosophy]** Stern adopting video game industry model of releasing incomplete code at launch with post-release updates (confidence: high) — Don explicitly states Stern is 'replicating the video game market where games are released kind of like with the minimum necessary build within there with more to come down the road'
- **[event_signal]** Three units of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland expected at Pinball Expo; additional 10 units in boxes rumored for show floor sales (confidence: medium) — Don cites 'rumors that I've seen' regarding three units at Expo and speculates 'even better than three would be if there's an additional ten in boxes ready to be sold'
- **[market_signal]** X-Men LE premium of $3,000 over Pro questioned for value justification when gameplay differences are minimal (confidence: medium) — Don states LE cosmetics and Beast slab feature 'are all things that are fun' but 'I can't say that they're enough of a reason to justify $3,000 unless that's really what you're after'
- **[announcement]** Alice's Adventures in Wonderland full reveal scheduled for early next week (October 9th window) (confidence: medium) — Don heard 'the 9th of October battered around' and expected 'Monday or Tuesday' announcement from recording date of Saturday October 5th
- **[product_strategy]** ABBA pinball unable to ship in time for Pinball Expo due to logistics constraints (confidence: medium) — Don reported from 'official sounding sources' that ABBA 'games just aren't able to ship and make it to the u in time to be at expo'
- **[product_concern]** ABBA early feedback indicates weak flipper strength and overall game quality being 'okay, not great' (confidence: medium) — Don reports limited early player feedback: 'flipper strength, not great' and 'Game is okay, not great... nothing revolutionary'
- **[product_concern]** X-Men shipped with plunge strength deficiency affecting skill shot accessibility; micro switch gate requires out-of-box adjustment to reset properly (confidence: high) — Don documented two distinct mechanical issues requiring manual adjustment or custom shooter rod replacement to achieve intended gameplay experience
- **[sentiment_shift]** Community skepticism about ABBA theme desirability; low pre-release hype compared to Queen (confidence: medium) — Don questions whether anyone 'was laying awake at night' wanting ABBA license, contrasting with Queen's perceived desirability as pinball license
- **[business_signal]** Dutch Pinball differentiating via single-tier manufacturing (no Pro/Premium/LE) with fixed feature set and scarcity-driven exclusivity (confidence: medium) — Don explicitly praises Dutch approach: 'I don't think every company needs to emulate that and create a game that they then have to either strip down or plus up'

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## Transcript

 I think we're ready in the booth. Why don't you go ahead and hit that? Hey everybody, Don is dropping episode number 151 on your faces today. There's so much to get into. X-Men, what do you need to know before you buy this game? And how's it holding up now that I've had it for what seems like only a couple days? More to talk about in the run-up to Expo. Let's do it. Hit me with it. Oh, yes. Tell me this isn't something to knock down the block to. Got the haunted bumps in my briefcase. What's going on, everybody? It's Saturday. We made it to the end of the week. Hallelujah. Friday has come and gone. It's a nice Saturday here in north central Ohio doing another podcast from the road as we do because we never stop. and neither does the world of pinball news, apparently. Except for a brief period in the summer when we're just playing Venom and wondering what's coming out next. Tell you what came out now. X-Men came out now. The LEs are arriving on location, including District Dawn. So for those of you that know, you got to join the beast, or it's just beast. You got to join beast in my basement as we unbox collectively X-Men LE. What a gorgeous, gorgeous game. Foil art on the sides, on the front, on the insides. Colossus in way too much mirror on the back glass. It's amazing. Blinding to the eyes of how cool this is. How is the game shooting? Well, awesome is the word for it. I even did a brief live stream there. If people were wanting it, I threw it on up there. We'll do some more streaming here in the future when I get the lighting where it needs to be. But, yeah, game playing great. Only had a few minor issues. And so I thought, what better way to clickbait everybody than to say, this is the news that you need to know before you buy X-Men, even though everybody's already bought it. Man, the LEs, they're going to be sold out here soon with all the praise this game is receiving. Nevertheless, if you're still on the fence, here's some things to know before you get it. First off, game looks great. Game plays great. That's not even up for debate there. The code, I can't comment too much on because we're still in that early Stern code period. They kind of have been replicating the video game market where games are released kind of like with the minimum necessary build within there with more to come down the road. Okay, fine. The lighting package looks great. There's no expression lights in the cabinet, but they are in the backbox, and they're fun. They don't currently have as much interactivity that I see with things like John Wick or even the recently inserted Star Wars. I got my Star Wars cabinet expression lights, backbox expression light system, whatever they're calling it, installed. Looked great, man. I've got to go do a video of those. When I get back home, currently I'm about 700 miles or so away from my game, so I'm not able to go ahead and do that. But I did have a couple of issues. Number one was a fairly simple fix. I had a micro switch that wasn't registering. Traced the wires all back. Wires were fine. Wires were working just okay. The problem with the micro switch was the gate that activates it. It needed to be adjusted. It was putting too much pressure on that little micro switch so that it wouldn't reset so it could register the next one. It was essentially just being held down the whole time. All I really had to do was just put some bending, some bendage on that micro switch so it could relieve itself between balls and it's working fine. So this was on that center ramp. When I was doing the stream, I had noticed that shots up that center ramp weren't registering. And it turns out there's two micro switches as part of this. There's an entrance gate. This is the one to the left of the Sentinel head, which sends the ball up to that wire form that the Sentinel and the Premium LE can break on the right side. And so the shot was registering and making noise when I hit it, but it wasn't registering the actual hit, like it wasn't causing damage to Sabretooth, it wasn't counting for modes or anything, and it was a little bit frustrating. And so come to find out that that little V-shaped gate up there on the top is what registers that the ball has completely made it up the ramp and will award you the full shot. And that's the micro switch that wasn't fully being unburdened to reset for the next hit. So I eventually found that out. I dismantled the whole thing, tested the switch, plugged in other switches, took a look at all the diagnosis things, which was good that now I know how to do that. So I was able to determine that it was just a little adjustment needed to be made. I got out some pliers, put a very high-precision bend just to the critical spot in that little leaf switch, and now it's working just fine. and, oh, my God, the modes are so much more fun now when you're able to throw up the shots there and they actually count for something. Oh, that was frustrating. So got that figured out. The only other issue that I personally ran into so far on all the machines that I've played is that the plunge strength seems to be not quite robust as I would like. The problem was both from plunges off of my shooter rod and also the auto launcher, the ball would careen around but wouldn't quite make it up that back ramp into the plastic wire form into the metal that would then come to the left flipper so you can then hit the skill shots. So it was as if I looked, it seemed to be that the plunger was hitting the ball where it needed to be, so it didn't seem to be an alignment issue, which Stern doesn't usually ship with alignment issues for the plungers. But for some reason, it was just like it needed an extra little 5% just to make it on up there. Out of ten plunges, you know, one would make it up there, but it wouldn't be a very strong one, you know, but it would eventually roll down. So luckily for me, I had already had a custom shooter rod that I had made. I contacted an artist online. I purchased this 3D model of a Sentinel head from one of the comic books. It looks, I kind of like the look better than the Sentinel, the ship with the game, even though that one was lifted directly from the comic. This is from a different comic or from a movie series. Anyway, it's one of those guys that makes models of superhero masks and helmets that you can 3D print. So this Sentinel one was perfect. I loved it. I printed it in a very shiny purple Marc Silk so it, like, leans in the sunlight or in the overhead fluorescent lights. And I printed it with multiple colors so it comes out looking like it's painted, but it's not. It's not going to wear off. It's fantastic. And so the metal rod that I had used is actually marginally longer than the stern rod that it shipped with. So I swapped it out, and literally just doing that one thing, my plunges are so incredibly strong now coming off of that. Not to where I'm getting air balls or anything, but just effortlessly it goes up and comes right down and feeds, as I think it's supposed to, because there's skill shots that are off of that flipper that you're already off to the plunge, you know, to go up in the different lanes. Otherwise, the ball rolls up, rolls backwards, kind of dribbles out around the sentinel head, and then ping-pongs its way down the play field, where you can then catch it on a flipper. but it just doesn't have that satisfying start that a game needs to have. Now, I like being able to vary the strength of my shot because I do like skill shots where you're trying to hit a drop target or something. Jaws had a great way of doing this with its multiple skill shots in order, the first, second, and third. Godzilla did this as well, Iron Maiden. Even Foo Fighters, Jack Danger's prior game, had a really cool skill shot. Like you could plunge hard and just go all around that wire form and get back to the flipper, or you could do a mid-plunge and try to hit one of the drop targets to power up the van modes, right? So that was fun. I want that ability to do that. I think this is why I don't enjoy launch buttons as well because it's just kind of like you hit it once and then there you go. There's no way to modulate when you want to. Do a little softer plunge or just that nice strong, like I'm going to give you the whole rod. Boom. So I have that now with X-Men. It's not even a problem. The auto launch, though, still, and I haven't adjusted the strength of the auto launcher. Perhaps the auto launcher could use a little alignment adjustment minusculely. I haven't had the game long enough to really dig into that. I had the game set up for about three days, and then I had to leave to come out to Ohio. So it's like my brand-new game is sitting over there waiting for me to get back. I think my friends are coming by the house today to go play it. So, Monica, have fun at the pinball party that I'm missing because I'm out here at work. But I'll look at that when I get back. But for now, the plunges with this rod are working great. I mentioned that on my stream, and I've already had a couple of people that reached out, and they're like, can we get one too? Now, I did print up a couple of extra heads, so I've assembled some rods and I've sent them out. And, I mean, if demand is there, I can make some more or, you know, hit up a friend and get your own. I will say that I have noticed something similar with Rush. Okay, I had the Rush pinball machine. I purchased the accessories when they came out, including the light-up shooter rod, which I loved. I love this idea that the shooter rod itself can be cast in a translucent plastic-type material, and then it can be interactive and glow. I love it. I love the feel of it. I think it's perfect. A perfect shooter rod for Rush, man. It feels good in the hand. It feels good to use, and I like the lighting system. The problem I was having is similar to this one, where it was very rare that a full-strength plunge with this rod installed would actually clear the entire orbit. Now, with Rush, the skill shot is a plunge that's short of the orbit, So I didn't need to adjust it at all because it just made the skill shot easier for me. But I would have liked the option that if I want to, I want to just rip a shot right around the orbit, and this one wasn't doing it. Now, I've heard people doing things like buying a different strength spring to add more power there. You know, that reminded me of, like, my first semester physics when I'm doing Hook's Law calculations. But, sure, certainly that's an option. You can also vary the amount of washers that are in the assembly, either on the outside of the cabinet or on the other side where the spring is, and that can be a way to vary where your shooter rod is sitting. You don't want a shooter rod that is too long that won't allow the ball to firmly rest against the auto launcher, but you don't want it too short that you can't deliver maximum efficiency, right? So I think Rush could have benefited from that. There's been people that have put, like, washers or something at the end of the shooter rod so that the rubber is extended a little bit, and that's how they've gotten around it. But I can just say from my own personal experience, when I played the two games at the factory, they said there was... I think they were still working on an alignment or something. These were prototype games. But I was having the same issue out of the box with mine with the original shooter rod, and that is now gone with the one that I have put in there Now that may just be a completely me thing so I want to hear from other people that are unboxing their X right now Like how your plunge going dude I talked to one other guy that had made some adjustments and his is shooting just fine now So I don't know that it's an across-the-board issue. I think it's just these games are new in box, just being opened, and there's things that need to be adjusted. And this may very well be one of them. And this is my approach because I was already planning on putting in this new shooter rod anyway. Because I've had some issues before with softer rods, I really want, you know, good long ones. Man, there's so much innuendo every time we talk about a shooter rod. But I've gone ahead and made myself some other ones. I made one for Guns N' Roses. I made one for Munsters. And I used a rod that was just a little bit longer. And, man, it just gives such a satisfyingly strong plunge if you want it. And if you want a plunge shorter, you can. It's very hard to make a shooter rod plunge harder, you know, if it's too short. But you can always make it go shorter. So that's my opinion. there. Now, should you get X-Men? Probably. If you've enjoyed Foo Fighters at all, I would say for sure. I think putting this game's shots up against Foo Fighters, it's as good or better, for sure. Music-wise, that's an evolving thing. You may give the music nod to Foo Fighters because that was licensed actual commercially successful music. But we'll see where X-Men ends up. So for right now, I don't think you're making a bad decision if you've purchased it. If you want to purchase it, I don't think that's a bad decision either. I'll put my stamp of approval on it. But if you want to wait and see how the code develops, I think that's also an okay thing to do. As far as pro versus premium LE, I am very much enjoying the LE that I have, which is with everything that comes with it. But even the premium, I do like the fact that there is a moment created when the Sentinel's head comes up or down. It's got a very smooth action to it. You don't just hear the whir of a worm screw drive. It's very smooth as it translates up and down. The head does a lot of things as far as knockback and the dropping chin, but the Pro does that one as well. It's the raising up and down. I do like that. It is kind of a cool effect, although you could definitely make an argument that it's not technically needed to still enjoy the game. It is a fun little moment when I notice, like, okay, it is time. He's up. We can go for the multiball now and start damaging him. The other things that you get, the kinetic satisfaction of the beast slab up there, I do enjoy that. I'm glad I have it. I would miss it if it was gone. Every time the finger grabs the ball and flings it backwards It's a little giggle of joy I'm still not sure exactly what I'm doing that triggers that I still have to learn more about the code And how it's implemented Maybe there will be some more sound effects that go along with it But as far as just a mechanical linkage Of a plastic robot finger Sending my ball backwards In a way that you weren't expecting I do love that And I do love the fact that the wire form Gets crushed by the other hand Those are all things that are fun Those are all things that I would miss if I had the Pro. But gameplay-wise, I can't say that they're enough of a reason to justify $3,000 unless that's really what you're after. So I don't think you're losing anything on the Pro with this one. I'll give this one my stamp of approval too, and it's going to save you a lot of money. And if it's going on location, I think almost exclusively I'd put the Pro on location because the gameplay is there, and you're going to get a return on your investment even sooner. And that's what the Pros are made for. right that's what the pros are made for me myself i'm enjoying the hell out of the le i'm glad i have it i love the powder coat i love the armor the feel of it when i'm sitting there with the buttons playing the game i love the fact that i have the best back glass the best art all the foil it already has the art blades in there i don't have to do that the shaker motor is already in there the only thing i need to personally do is add a knocker and i think i'll be pretty much complete i'll probably pull off the speaker panel and i'll probably pull off the coin door and get those powder-colored as well, just because I'm weird and I like doing that. Also, the shooter housing, don't forget that. But, yeah, man, I think as a product, I'm digging it. And, you know, once the $2,000 topper comes out, then we'll have to have talks about that. I am in development on my topper for X-Men, so it's going to come out. I think it's going to be awesome. I mean, I'm designing it myself to be what I would like to see. And, honestly, it's as if I've clairvoyantly looked into Stern's mind. I kind of have an idea of what the topper they're going to come out with is probably going to be like. After seeing the Foo Fighter topper, I think we're getting something similar to that is where I would go with it. And so I'm building kind of my version of what that concept would be. And definitely not something for mass market distribution because I'm going to put a lot more into it as far as getting everything sculpted and real instead of just plastics. But I will be making something that I think is super cool. And if you want to get emailed and be put on an interest list so when it's available, maybe I could do a run of five of them or something. Go ahead and do that, Don's Pinball Podcast, gmail.com. Y'all know how to get a hold of me because I love the messages that come in. Shout out to the Patreon members and the two new members that joined this week. Welcome to the fold, my children. Welcome to the fold. So, yeah, I'm enjoying X-Men. Yeah, it's super fun. Yeah, I'm liking the modes, and I want to go back and play more so I can get through the rest of the game. I was thinking about it today, and just to belabor the point even more, there is similarities with Foo Fighters as far as the code. You know, Foo Fighters was shoot a couple of shots and then, you know, shoot up into the van to go ahead and start one of the cities that you can pick. This one has modes that also you get to pick. They're also activated by shooting a couple shots. This one has a couple of different locks that you can use, either Cerebro or the retention pin on the right in lane, to go ahead and get those modes started because they're not a scoop in this game. It's kind of neat. It's as fun as it is, and I didn't even notice that there wasn't a scoop to start modes. So, yeah, but the picking of the modes, the qualifying of the modes themselves is very similar to Foo Fighters, but I do like that there's more of a story-driven element rather than just a city on a tour kind of thing. So I'm hoping that the code has more longevity for me than Foo Fighters had. I own Foo Fighters Premium, dressed it up like an LE. I put 500 games on it, and I don't think that's a bad thing at all. I really enjoyed the game. I got a lot of good, fun gameplay out of it. It wasn't a forever game for me, and that's okay. Would I own it again at some point down the road? Maybe. But yeah, I think given the two, I'm like an X-Men even more than I like Foo Fighters. And that, I think, is the definition of high praise. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is coming. Super excited to learn more about this. We've seen the topper get revealed now. The Cheshire Cat sculpt. I think this is Lior's doing, so top quality there. And then a plain backplate that looks like it'll be RGB illuminated. While I didn't see that there's any mechanical movement occurring with the topper, There's supposed to be some sort of effect where the cat's eyes are tracking with you, and this may be similar to kind of a Haunted Mansion gag where the eyes are actually convex or concave, and your perspective changes how it looks. Maybe it's just a laticular effect, but either way, you know, it sounds cool. It seems to be a perfectly serviceable topper for a pinball machine, and I like the fact that it's a creature and it's, like, staring down at you. So, yeah, and the fact that it's shipping with the game, anytime we see that, love it. I love what Spooky's doing, shipping their toppers with the game. My Avatar CE is going to come with that awesomely illuminated holographic topper already installed, so I dig that. So, yeah, this is looking like, you know, if you were going to put out a pinball product into this packed, busy space in this packed, busy season, this is kind of the things you have to do, especially, man, it's an original license, but it's got that John Papadiuk lineage. So this game seems to have enough notoriety That it could be a successful product And success for this product would be measured By selling out And a measure of that would be For FOMO, which I think it is percolating A bit, I've been seeing more and more people Now that we've seen the reveal of the topper Saying yeah, I'm really excited for this game I'm glad I have a deposit in for it Dutch Pinball, let's bring it And speaking of bringing it, it looks like three of these Games are going to be at Pinball Expo If rumors that I've seen are to be believed Great. Six would be better, but we'll take three. Even better than three would be if there's an additional ten in boxes ready to be sold to customers from the show floor. How awesome would that be? A show special for this game that's going to be limited to maybe around 500 games. I like the fact that they have one version. I get why Jersey Jack does what they do. I get why Stern does what they do as far as having a pro for locations, having premiums for collectors and LEs for collectors with stupid money, and board impulse control. But I don't think every company needs to emulate that and create a game that they then have to either strip down or plus up. So in terms of just like we're making the best game we can, this is the one it's going to be. It's going to have everything in it, and we're going to keep it limited to drive those sales and drive some exclusivity from people that own it, which will in turn infer its own value. Yeah, I think that's kind of a good thing. So I'm kind of tapped out with my pin budget right now. This game still hasn't been fully revealed. So, you know, meanwhile, X-Men's here, Avatar here. I'm not going to wait on those because I want to get early builds of them. So I'm not getting an Alice in Wonderland, and I think that's okay. I'm very excited to go play this game. I have high hopes for it, and I'll be able to tell for sure once we get the full reveal, which should be coming in just a matter of days. Now I'm hearing early next week, like Monday or Tuesday, for the reveal. I was hearing the 9th battered around The 9th of October As of recording this is Saturday the 5th Friday will be the 6th So 7th, 8th, 9th would be Wednesday But we may see something even sooner than that Can't wait So next week at this time we'll have seen the reveal And we can talk all about it All the shots If we think those little spinny twirly turntables In the outlanes are a good idea Or just a spot that they should have put a spinning teacup To be determined But yeah, new game from DPX coming out And it's going to be at Expo So I'm excited about that. ABBA is here finally in the country at a couple of locations. One of them was just streamed by Tahoe Pinball, so shout out to the guys out there. We got one of the first gameplay streams from location. Audio wasn't the best because it was a location, but thanks for putting that gameplay out there. And then at least one has landed in a personal home in the United States. And I'm thinking of actually road tripping if I could be so graciously invited to play this game. one place i don't think abba's gonna be is that next week well week after next uh pinball expo in chicago from what i'm hearing there from some official sounding sources is that uh the games just aren able to ship and make it to the u in time to be at expo which is a big womp womp man this game shouldn have missed Expo Alice is going to be there And from what I hearing ABBA can kind of use all the help it can get Now, success for ABBA is not going to be measured in 2,000 units of pre-sales. I think there's only, they limited the size to 500 and 300 for the two versions, and even that is probably too many. You know, from what I'm hearing, game is okay. Game is not great. games getting compared to Queen, the Pinball Brothers prior game that was released, which makes sense because that's their newest game. It's also a music pin, also a band from the 70s, also, I'm trying to say, you know, as notoriety as Queen is, but probably not as desired. Queen is a pinball license, I think, is legitimately desired. I'm not sure that anybody was laying awake at night saying, why won't they build my dream theme? Why won't they build my Mamma Mia? Why won't they build my money, money, money? I want my Abba Abba Abba, right? Gimme, gimme, gimme. That's a lot of triple titles there. But so far, what I'm hearing, and again, this is very early from only a handful of people that have played it, flipper strength, not great, and layout queen-ish. So it makes sense. It's from the same company, probably the same designer. I'll have to get my hands on the flippers to know for sure. But it's probably a game that's going to play a lot better When it's been fully set up And fleshed out in a home environment And in a busy location or busy Show floor Probably isn't going to be in the best light You know I can't wait I'm very excited I really want to play this game I want to play this I mean I want to play every game But like when I look at Blues Brothers And look at this I want to play this a heck of a lot more I like the lighting of the game I like the concept of the helicopter I want to see how that ball lock feels And we'll kind of go from there So we should hear some more And again, only two of them I know of Are in the US right now And only a handful of people Probably in the planet outside of Pinball Brothers Have even played this thing So grains of salt with all this But I'm hearing some lackluster flipper feel Maybe that can be adjusted And game is okay, not great It's okay, you know, Queen Shoot's okay, nothing great, nothing revolutionary No like great comboed ball pass Or anything, but it is what it is. So yeah, but really sad if they're not going to be hidden by Expo. So check out TahoeBinball. They're on Twitch. They put up the gameplay livestream. I'm sure more of those will come in the coming months as we get more of this game, but that is where it is right now. Speaking of now, I've been looking around the game room kind of thinking, I want to keep this thing trucking. I want to keep rotating in new games and rotating out my old ones, but which one would be the next one to go? And I set my gaze now on my Ultra VP, my virtual pinball machine. And I'm starting to think, I was talking with my wife last night, I was like, what do you think what do you think about maybe potentially listing the Ultra VP for sale or trade for something else? And she's like, well, we haven't been playing it as much in the last few weeks. Maybe. So at this point I'm considering it. Now this is the Ultra VP, I bought it from Rec Room World. This was, in my search for a virtual pinball machine, this was the best one I could find. I watched all the videos, watched VicVP's videos, watched the Rec Room World game room videos, Arcade Matt just did a great episode on the Ultra VP. I did Don's Pinball Podcast Episode 9, extolling all of the virtues of it because I loved it. Essentially, it's a full-size, wide-body, commercial machine, weighs 300-400 pounds, has high-definition screens in it, and it's the only virtual pinball machine that I've play that doesn't have flipper lag. And that is due to the processing power that is utilized in this machine. This is very much like the top of the line best one that you can find. I still think on the market today, there's this one and there's one other one that's built in Australia that I think really meet the assignment of actually delivering replicatable gameplay that closely approximates actual pinball. And the flipper lag is the thing that is missing that really accomplishes that. Now there's haptics, there's coils in the machine, so when pop bumpers go off, they're synchronized with actual coil motors, so you feel that. It's got the 3D audio, so as the ball is rolling up in the play field and then back down and draining, like it physically feels like a ball is draining in there because the audio is that good, because of like the six-way speaker system that they have set up in there. The subwoofer is awesome. High-definition screens on the play field, on the backbox, the insert LCD screen, and then the LCD topper screen as well with the police beacon lights. The fact that there's some actual strobe lights as well built in the back plate of the cabinet facing the player. So, you know, because any kind of flash that's coming from the actual gameplay field, unlike an actual machine, it's just a screen light, so they can only be so bright. That's why they installed actual LED lights at the back, so you can get that strobe effect that really mimics actual gameplay. And it's loaded with about 1,400 games. The games come on a solid-state drive. You can unplug them, plug them back in, switch them around. I do have two drives because they did release an update. And so, you know, one of them's got different games than the other one does. You can switch back and forth. And the thing that I loved about it, and this was specific to the Ultra VP, is that when you boot it on, it boots directly into the Pinup Popper software where it's like, okay, here you go. It boots quick, like 90 seconds or less, and then you're ready to go. You just hit the flippers and you can scroll through all the games or there's a menu system so you can search by title, search by manufacturer, search by decade, search by your own favorites list, recently played, you know, movie games, adult games, whatever. They're all in there. There's about 1,400 of them total. Everything from Bally Williams is represented in there, and some of the more recent Sterns are in there as well, as well as, like, the entire back catalog of every EM machine ever. And I'll tell you what I really loved about this game was that, you know, yes, if I wanted to go play Fishtails, I could just boot it up and there I go. All the Fishtails music is there. The big mouth Billy Bass topper is on there with the topper screen. The gameplay and rules and music and sound, it's all in there. You know, playing in actual fishtails would be better, of course, but you can physically nudge this game. There's an accelerometer. Like, you get all the gameplay of it. And then you can switch over to Elvira and the Party Monsters and play that. You know, you can switch over to Whitewater and play that. You can play a couple different versions of Medieval Madness, some with extra 3D graphics, other ones just replicating the actual feel of the game. So, like, that's all in there in one machine. And so that's fun to do because sometimes you just want to play Medieval Madness for a little bit, but you don't want to go out and buy a Royal Edition, right? So that's what this machine was really built and made for. The other thing that I liked about it was that when people were talking about games like the cricket sound in Frontier, right, rather than going and trying to track down a Frontier that's on location that I can play, it might be a hundred mile drive away. When I get there, it might not be working or may not even be there anymore. I can boot it up downstairs and in 90 seconds I'm playing Frontier. hearing the cricket sounds, right? Looking at that Charlie Daniels character that's on the back glass or whatever. Or is it Kenny Rogers? He looks a little bit more Kenny Rogers than he does Charlie Daniels. But, like, I've gotten kind of, like, become a fan of Frontier because of my virtual machine and playing that just for the silly cricket noises. And then when I go to District 82 where they do have a Frontier on location, like, I get giggled. I get to go play it because, like, oh, man, I play this all the time at home. Now I have the real one. So it's fun for that reason. Monica and I were out at the Catalina Brewing Company in Tucson, Arizona, and they had just rotated in a Prospector, right, this old EM machine with, like, Laurel and Hardy on the back glass for some reason, had a very satisfying spinner feel. Like, we were competing on score and, like, thoroughly enjoying this EM machine. When I went home, I was able to boot it up, and I'm like, hey, Mon, come downstairs. Look, it's Prospector, that game that we were playing at the Catalina Brewing Company. Isn't this awesome? And we get to play it indoors. So, yes, real pinball is more fun and more satisfying, better to have and look at than virtual pinball is. I don't think there's an argument there. The argument for having a virtual machine, if it's good quality, is you have a variety of access to everything. You know, Big Bang Bar, I can pop it up whenever I want. People come over, they haven't played it, boom, it's there. Haggis Pinball was making Fathom. I was able to boot that up, and it's a fun game to play virtually because it's not that complicated of a game. Physically, it looks amazing, and so it's fun sometimes just to boot it up and have Fathom just sitting over there as I can because I love the art and the theme of that game. But, of course, you know, there's people who are still waiting for their Mermaid editions. Oh, man. So I haven't fully committed to, like, I'm not putting up a pin site or anything. These things sell for $82.50, I think, brand new, and that's without a lot of the other options. The full build-out is about $9,000. They do have, I think, the 8.0 version is coming out soon. They changed the speaker grills a little bit. You know, my version, I think, is the 6.0. But functionally, you're not going to notice too much of a difference. Just a couple of bigger speaker screens. I think they put some speaker lights in there too. But, yeah, you wouldn't be paying $8,200 for it. You wouldn't be paying $7,700 for it. If I was to list it on Pinsight, I'd probably put, like, I don't know, $7,500 or best offer. You, of course, as a listener of Don's Pitball Podcast, would not be paying that much, and I am entertaining trades on this as well if you want to discuss. I'm open to it, or I may keep it, you know, whatever. But if you're interested and you want to learn more, it's a great machine. You know, come by and try it out. You really have to play these things in person to get, like, how the resolution is. The new software update had a 3D version, so you can put 3D glasses on. And playing the Simpsons pinball party in 3D, like, it looks like virtual reality when you look down at this cabinet. It's really well done. But you can't convey that virtually. You've got to come and you've got to play it. You've got to play it here. So, you know, holler at me and come by and play it. See if your friend's got an Ultra VP. You know, or hit me up if you're thinking of one. Or, you know, if you were thinking of ordering one, you want to save a couple thousand dollars on a machine that's still robustly awesome, holler at me. I just wanted to pass that on to everybody. Now, I decided to close this show with a top five, right? I was listening to the Pinball Nerds podcast. Shout out to Robert Orbity Orbital Daniels, or Agar. And he did a top five with his son, or his top three. I decided to make it a top five for video game themes that would work in pinball. And I think, yes, this is a great topic. Let's talk about this. I even expanded on it and I did a top five gas station chains in the United States just because of some recent travels And I also a fan of gas stations as a fun roadside attraction and all the cool things that they can provide When you're on a road trip and you see that sign coming up, you're like, I know this place. The food there is going to be awesome. The gas prices are going to be good. Let's stop there. And all the regional differences that happen because I travel around the U.S. So for Patreon, I did a bonus episode where I ranked the top five gas station chains in the U.S. that you see on a road trip. So go check that out. also a little bit more insight into some actiontivity going on with Pinball Brothers. I tacked that on there as well. It's there right now for the Patreon members, especially those two new guys. Welcome to the fold, my cuddly children. Let's get to know each other. So I decided to go over and expand the video game top three with a video game top five. Top five that I put out there. Because there were a couple of games I think they left off that I think would work really, really well. All right, so, of course, they're top three in order. I believe it was Fortnite is number three. Yeah, I think that could work. I also want to say video games and pinball, these may not be video games that I personally play. These are video games that have broad mass market reach, and I think that's why they would work and be more commercially successful in a video game. Of course, if you love Undertale, you can make your homebrew game because you just viscerally love that game so much, and it will appeal to you and your casual fans there. Cuphead kind of seems like it would have just enough reach to be commercially viable and successful. It has great art, so it will be eye-catching. But I think you really need the bangers if you want to sell thousands of these things. So Fortnite, sure. Fortnite's got a lot of characters. And here's the other thing. There's already cross appeal with this license of Fortnite. All right, I've never played Fortnite. I know my teenager loves it. So it's played by all kinds of people. But when you go to Spirit Halloween, they have costumes, and they have had for years based on Fortnite characters. When you go to Target in the toy aisle, there's toys of these characters of this game in physical form. So it's already crossed over from video game to computer entertainment to commercial-grade products to costuming and toys and things. So I think when you see something like that that's reached into other media outlets and other product lines in tangible reality and are doing well enough to be featured in brick-and-mortar stores, there's a power behind that license. And I think if what we're trying to do is grow pinball, grow arcades, and get more people aware of it, I think that's how you do it, right? You know, putting another Elvira machine in a Dave & Buster's or in a Great Wolf Lodge isn't going to move the needle much with the kids that are going there, the kids that are already putting money into. you know, the shooters, the house of the deads and the whatnots, you know, but if there's, you know, a Fortnite ticket redemption machine and then a Fortnite pinball machine, I think more people would be gravitated over there. Adults may play with their kids to help them out. Hey, this is pinball. Let me show you how to do it. And then there you go. You get families bonding over pinball with the license like that. I think for that reason it could work, even though I've never played a day of a Fortnite myself. So yeah, I agree with Fortnite being on the list at number three. Number two, I think they did Pokemon, which we've talked about that. Everybody has an experience with Pokemon. I have a friend a little bit older than me that to this day is still playing Pokemon Go as an adult, just out in the universe, man. It's fantastic. Other people are still doing that. That game came out when I was in medical school, not even residency. I remember rounding on the wards playing Pokemon Go in the hospital. There's a man with a tube in his throat, and there's a Charizard right behind him. Let me just flick this Ultra Ball real quick and see if I can trap him without getting caught, like legitimately. So, of course, of course that would work great. That would work great as a theme. Hopefully it's coming next year. I think Stern Pinball would be the one to do it. Grab that license and just print thousands of games. Let's make it happen. Limited edition versions? It should be like three different versions, right? Based on the three different characters you get. Anyway, I think that would work. Yeah, and I wasn't expecting this to be their number one choice, but it was Grand Theft Auto V. and I thought, okay, I don't think, you know, reaching into a mixed bag, I would expect to pull that out. But after it was explained that, yes, this is probably the biggest video game of all time, it's still being played, there's a huge online version of the game that came out that people are making, you know, TikTok content out of, just doing silly things with, like playing the game in ways that it was never intended to be played, which just shows that there's passion behind it and in this game. The game's got stories, the game's got characters, you can adapt them to modes, And it's the kind of thing that if you were just like a normal person out at the movie theater, right, you know, you're 20 to 26 years old, you look over and there's a Grand Theft Auto V pinball machine. Like, what is that? Let me go wander over there and see what – oh, my God, look at this thing. This is crazy. Let me play this, right? So, yeah, I think there's some appeal there. I wanted to add a couple of more machines here. Yeah, these two I think would really, really work. I'm going to go throw out – okay. Halo. Halo has been rumored to be coming out as a game. I'm not sure of the manufacturer yet. Halo hit the Xbox. It was like a launch title for them. And I have a friend, again, my age, who's been playing Halo since it came out and is now on to whatever iteration that it's on now. I myself never really jived with it. The first-person shooters are kind of hard for me to warm up to. I'm more of a third-person adventure game kind of guy. You know, give me some Dragon Quest, man. Give me some Zelda. I love that. Although, playing first-person Skyrim, I did really love that. But I like a bit more of the mystery dungeon exploration rather than just the team battle match, capture the flag kind of stuff. But take a look around at an arcade if you've been to one recently, particularly a Redemption arcade. I think Raw Thrills is the one that has that big Halo shooter now that's out, the big double-screen sit-down cabinet machine, which looks like all of the eye candy, man. It's huge. It takes up a lot of real estate. It commands your attention. And me, for somebody that's not even really into that, is like a high echelon theme that I love, I still go over there and sit in the cabinet and marvel at it and watch people play it because I think it's really cool. So I think the same thing could translate to pinball. How that would work, you'd have to find more of a fan of the game than me to see. Is this Mark Ritchie's next game coming from Chicago Gaming Company? Okay. Let's see. That's just one of the rumors that I have heard. There was one other just dynamite video game that has staying power. It's been out for decades. It's amazing. It's still relevant. It's still in Happy Meals. It's still in Halloween costumes. Of course I'm talking about the game that everybody's kid is probably playing instead of their homework right now, and that's Minecraft, all right? Minecraft has a film coming out with Jack Black. I mean, you can do a Minecraft game. You can do a Minecraft movie game. you know if they're if it's moving into films now like it's got to have broad appeal they've already focus tested a studio wouldn't take that big of a risk on something like this without hope that it would you know find an audience so let's piggyback on that man go grab that license and make that game um i think a lego themed game would work i would love to play lego batman the pinball machine you know made by one of the modern companies now with like all the code in it and all the jokes and everything. And so Minecraft, I see, is being similar. It's a world-building game. You can have mechanisms that change and adapt based on your gameplay, right, where, you know, things can be built up, things can be crumbled, things can be destroyed. Mechanisms can lift and lower from the play field. And there could be fun little video modes with it as well, as well as all the sound effects, the call-outs, the blocky aesthetic. Like, nothing else is going to look like Minecraft sitting in the arcade other than Minecraft. and there's a company that's also making sit down card redemption games Minecraft Dungeon as like a big four player or six player stand alone cabinet experience of an arcade game that already exists as well so I think this ground is well trod and I think Minecraft would work more than a lot of these other things I know Cuphead is strongly rumored to be coming out I think it has potential to be just a banger but like Minecraft? Devastating And you know it's not Nintendo that owns that It's Mojang or whoever So it's not like you're just like up against A brick wall of trying to convince them What you're trying to do I mean it's a property that's made for licensing And I think it really could work I want to give a shout out You know an honorable mention To one other license that is also Has a ton of longevity to it Everybody and their uncle are playing this game Still to this day and it's got like 300 different iterations that have come out, and that's Call of Duty, the Call of Duty license. Just because I think Call of Duty as a standalone pinball game with a topper, with a light show, with the music, would pull people over, and maybe these are more commercial location viable games. But after all, aren't these commercial games to begin with? And if we build a game for location, that's the one that you want to have at home so you can replicate that arcade experience. So go ahead and let me know what your thoughts are, what you're thinking. Do you want to go pick up an X-Men pinball machine? Email jeff at madpinball.com. He'll hook you right the hell up. And then you can join in on all the fun that we're having with this game and how it's going to grow over time. So shout out to a friend of the show, Mad Pinball. Jeff, you're just the diamond of a guy, man. Eastern Ohio's biggest supplier, and currently he's over at a pinball show in Pittsburgh. Otherwise, me and him would probably be having nachos right now. Go check out the Fresh Pinball Podcast that he started with his buddies and partners in crime, the Angeli Zac Stark brothers. And then we're all going to be at Expo 2 partying and hanging out in, like, less than two weeks. I cannot wait. So thanks for joining me on this action-packed episode of Don's Pinball Podcast, number 151. And for you Patreon folks, even more content is continuing on over there. Let's have a discussion. Let's go on a road trip. Anything else? Email don at donspinballpodcast at gmail.com. I'd love to talk to you guys. join the discord join the facebook group watch the youtube page for more cool content that is in the works so many projects on the way it's pinball man we're having a good time uh shout out to everybody else that's creating content buddy retro ralph you've been killing it recently orby's back everybody's firing on all six cylinders let's do it be good to yourself and others later

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 0ad138b0-c6f1-409d-a58d-d7dd94307c48*