# Episode 803: "Did Joe Ka-Pow JJP With Harry Potter Rumor? **Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed) **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2023-05-16 **Duration:** 15m 50s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-803-did-83054360 --- ## Analysis Kaneda discusses an unverified claim by Joe Kamikau (posted to Facebook/Instagram, now deleted) that Jersey Jack Pinball has secured the Harry Potter pinball license. Kaneda analyzes three possible scenarios: Stern has the license and Kamikau is mocking JJP, JJP has it and Kamikau is sabotaging the reveal out of bitterness, or neither company has it due to J.K. Rowling's known aversion to pinball. Kaneda expresses skepticism about JJP's ability to execute Harry Potter well given recent design criticisms, and notes that even if true, the game wouldn't release for 2-3 years. He also flags manufacturing concerns around American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Joe Kamikau posted a mocked-up image of a Stern Harry Potter cabinet with a caption claiming JJP has secured the Harry Potter license — _Kaneda reporting what was posted to Kamikau's Facebook and Instagram (now deleted)_ - [MEDIUM] JJP's relationship with Warner Brothers properties (Wizard of Oz, Willy Wonka, Matrix) suggests they're the most likely candidate for Harry Potter if anyone has it — _Kaneda's analysis of JJP's licensing history_ - [HIGH] Joe Kamikau is affiliated with Stern Pinball and Kapow, not Jersey Jack Pinball — _Kaneda's statement on Kamikau's industry position_ - [MEDIUM] J.K. Rowling has historically objected to pinball licenses because she believes pinball machines end up in seedy bars — _Kaneda citing years of industry speculation_ - [MEDIUM] Stern's next releases are Venom, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Back to the Future, and various vault titles — _Kaneda's roadmap prediction_ - [MEDIUM] JJP's recent games have been mechanically underwhelming and lack integration of actual IP assets — _Kaneda's critical opinion of JJP's recent offerings (Toy Story, Willy Wonka)_ - [MEDIUM] The Godfather Limited Edition pinball machines are not selling well and have dropped in secondary market price — _Kaneda reporting what he's hearing from the market_ - [LOW] American Pinball may not have sold 2,000 Galactic Tank Force units despite claims; manufacturing and target design issues remain unfixed — _Kaneda speculating on sales numbers and manufacturing problems_ ### Notable Quotes > "Jersey Jack Pinball has secured the license for Harry Potter for pinball. No waiting, no speculation, they locked it in." > — **Joe Kamikau (as quoted by Kaneda)**, Early in episode > _The core claim that triggered the entire discussion and speculation_ > "If Jersey Jack Pinball is making Harry Potter, that's not good news for people that are about to buy The Godfather. Because if you had a choice between the two, everybody knows that Harry Potter sales would trump The Godfather sales." > — **Kaneda**, Mid-episode > _Illustrates the market impact potential if the rumor is true and JJP's business risk_ > "After seeing Jersey Jack Pinball's last two offerings and how they're taking all the magic mechanically out of the games, do you even want Jersey Jack Pinball to make Harry Potter?" > — **Kaneda**, Mid-to-late episode > _Core criticism of JJP's recent design philosophy and execution quality_ > "My job as a pinball podcaster is to give you the news, rumors, and scoops before anybody else will." > — **Kaneda**, Early-mid episode > _Kaneda's stated mission and justification for reporting unverified rumors_ > "You're not going to see this game in 2024, 2025. So even though it's back on the table as a rumor with a lot more validation behind the rumor, you're still not going to be able to buy this game for two to three years." > — **Kaneda**, Late episode > _Tempers expectations and timeline for any Harry Potter release_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Joe Kamikau | person | Apparent affiliate of Stern Pinball and Kapow; posted (then deleted) a mocked-up Harry Potter cabinet claiming JJP secured the license; the catalyst for this entire rumor discussion | | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer with strong Warner Brothers licensing relationships; subject of the Harry Potter license acquisition rumor | | Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; potential alternative holder of Harry Potter license according to Kamikau rumor analysis | | Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; primary analyst and skeptic of the Harry Potter rumor; provides industry commentary and market analysis | | George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball executive; known to be in contact with Joe Kamikau | | Gary Stern | person | Stern Pinball leadership; known professional contact of Joe Kamikau | | J.K. Rowling | person | Harry Potter IP owner; rumored to have objections to pinball licensing due to venue concerns | | Steve Ritchie | person | Pinball designer; next game after Willy Wonka at JJP is rumored to be Steve Ritchie design (possibly The Matrix) | | Mark Ritchie | person | Pinball designer; potentially involved with future JJP titles; rumors suggest Avatar: The Way of Water may be in development | | Dennis Nordman | person | Notable pinball figure; Kaneda notes his absence from streaming American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force as a red flag | | Steve Bowen | person | Pinball personality; Kaneda expects him to be promoting Galactic Tank Force but notes his absence | | David Fick | person | American Pinball leadership; claimed 2,000 Galactic Tank Force sales (figure Kaneda disputes) | | Mukesh | person | American Pinball executive; Kaneda speculates may be unhappy with Galactic Tank Force sales numbers | | Andrew McBain | person | Former Kaneda's Pinball Podcast Club member; now associated with Pinball Adventures/Credit Pinball | | Johnny Pinball | person | New member of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast Club (mentioned in closing shout-outs) | | Kapow | company | Pinball entity associated with Joe Kamikau; formerly produced Batman 66; potential future partner with Stern or other studio for Back to the Future license | | American Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer producing Galactic Tank Force; subject of manufacturing and sales concerns | | Spooky Pinball | company | Referenced as example of manufacturer providing transparent behind-the-scenes production updates | | Dutch Pinball | company | Referenced as example of manufacturer providing transparent behind-the-scenes production updates | | Harry Potter | game | Rumored pinball machine theme from Joe Kamikau post; alleged JJP license acquisition; long-standing community speculation about this IP | | The Godfather | game | Jersey Jack Pinball title; Limited Edition units reportedly underperforming in sales | | Galactic Tank Force | game | American Pinball title; subject of manufacturing concerns and sales disputes; features non-standard tank cabinet design | | Star Wars | game | Stern Pinball title; criticized by Kaneda for combining three films into one machine instead of producing separate titles | | Toy Story | game | Jersey Jack Pinball title; cited as example of JJP mishandling a popular IP theme | | Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory | game | Jersey Jack Pinball title; referenced as part of JJP's Warner Brothers licensing portfolio | ### Topics - **Primary:** Harry Potter pinball license acquisition rumor, Industry sabotage and unprofessional conduct among pinball manufacturers, Jersey Jack Pinball's recent design and execution quality - **Secondary:** The Godfather Limited Edition sales decline, American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force manufacturing and sales concerns, Stern Pinball's future release roadmap, Multi-film IP integration into single pinball machines (Star Wars, Harry Potter) - **Mentioned:** J.K. Rowling's historical licensing objections to pinball ### Sentiment **Mixed** (-0.15) — Kaneda is skeptical and cautious about the Harry Potter rumor, expressing doubt about both its veracity and JJP's ability to execute the IP well. Critical of JJP's recent design choices. Concerned about industry professionalism. Somewhat optimistic about the podcast's ability to cover interesting drama, but overall cautionary tone regarding upcoming releases and manufacturer quality. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force may have lower sales than claimed; manufacturing issues with custom tank cabinet; suspicious exact sales figures (confidence: low) — Kaneda's speculation that 2,000 figure is 'fake'; concern about tank cabinet manufacturing complexity; absence of developer streaming activity - **[community_signal]** Potential industry sabotage: if JJP has Harry Potter license, Kamikau's post (whether intentional or reckless) could have damaged JJP's marketing plans for major franchise reveal (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's analysis of three possible scenarios; deletion of post strengthens sabotage theory; unwritten industry rule about not spoiling competitor launches mentioned - **[community_signal]** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast Club growing (20+ new members this month, now 615 total); demonstrates sustained listener engagement despite industry uncertainty (confidence: high) — Kaneda's member shout-outs and explicit member count; multiple new sign-ups despite podcast focus on rumors and controversy - **[licensing_signal]** J.K. Rowling has historically resisted pinball licensing due to venue/bar associations; this remains a structural barrier to any Harry Potter pinball deal (confidence: medium) — Kaneda references this as long-standing industry knowledge; third potential explanation for why no deal may exist - **[market_signal]** The Godfather Limited Edition sales are underperforming; secondary market prices have already dropped below initial MSRP (confidence: medium) — Kaneda reporting market observation; suggests potential Harry Potter reveal could further damage Godfather LE sales - **[community_signal]** Joe Kamikau's post behavior (reckless/drunken leak or deliberate sabotage) is atypical and suggests either major industry upset or intentional interference (confidence: medium) — Kaneda notes Kamikau's post is 'not in his style'; comparison to Kaneda's own drunk-posting behavior as analogy; post deletion supports regret theory - **[product_strategy]** Even if Harry Potter license is confirmed, game would not release until 2026-2027 based on Kaneda's 2-3 year estimate (confidence: medium) — Kaneda explicitly states game won't arrive in 2024-2025, emphasizing 2-3 year timeline - **[product_strategy]** Stern Pinball's near-term releases: Venom, Indiana Jones, Jaws, Back to the Future, plus vault titles; JJP pursuing The Matrix or Elton John next (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's prediction based on industry knowledge; indicates Harry Potter not imminent from major manufacturers - **[rumor_hype]** Joe Kamikau posted (then deleted) a claim that Jersey Jack Pinball has secured the Harry Potter pinball license with a mocked-up cabinet image (confidence: high) — Post directly quoted by Kaneda; deletion itself suggests post may have been premature or unauthorized disclosure - **[sentiment_shift]** Community skepticism about JJP's ability to deliver quality on major IP; Kaneda explicitly questions whether JJP should get Harry Potter given recent execution failures (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's critique of Toy Story and Willy Wonka; concern about mechanical depth and asset integration; comparison to Stern's potential capability --- ## Transcript Welcome to Ganneda's Pinball Podcast. I'm on my way back from seeing Guardians of the Galaxy. My phone is blowing up last night saying, Did you see what Joe Kamikau said about Jersey Jack Pinball and the fact that they might have the license to none other than Harry Potter pinball, which is a theme we always talk about on this show. So Joe Kamikow apparently posted on his Facebook and Instagram page a picture of a Stern machine mocked up as Harry Potter, and he wrote the following. Hey, pinball fans, here's the scoop. Jersey Jack has secured the license for Harry Potter for pinball. No waiting, no speculation, they locked it in. Now look, I've been delaying doing this show because I thought by now, right, by 418 Eastern Standard Time, we would have heard from either Jersey Jack or Joe Kamikow that this is not a real thing. We would have heard that someone hacked Joe Kamikow's Instagram and Facebook account. That didn't happen. we would have heard from Jersey Jack Pinball saying this is not true. And so as I was thinking about how I wanted to do this show and talk about this huge rumor, I'm going to be completely honest with each and every one of you. I don't know if this is true or not. At first, I thought this was Joe Kaminkow just trolling everybody. And also, I didn't make this post. I saw some people on Pinside saying this looks like a Kaneda move. No, this is not a Kaneda move. This is a Joe Kaminkow move. And so maybe this is Joe Kamikow. He's just upset that maybe Stern didn't get the license and he's throwing it out there. And if that's the case, we haven't seen anything like this before. Pretty unprofessional. So I think there's only three ways to sort of look at this post by Joe Kamikow. That Stern Pinball has the Harry Potter license and he's making fun of Jersey Jack Pinball. Okay, so that's road number one. Road number two is that Jersey Jack pinball has the license and he's just a little bit bitter. So he's spoiling the fact that they have it, which is not cool. You know, he's kind of sabotaging what they have going on because there's a little bit of an unwritten rule amongst the people that are actually behind the scenes at pinball companies because they all know what each other are working on, that they don't spoil each other's launches and reveals. So did Joe go off and get a little unhinged and do something unprofessional and spoil what would be Jersey Jack's biggest theme launch ever? So that's road number two. And then road number three is neither company has it because J.K. Rowling doesn't like pinball machines because she thinks they end up in seedy bars and she doesn't want her property anywhere near one. Right. And that's been the excuse we've heard for many, many years. So those are the three options. Stern has it, Jersey Jack has it, or nobody has it. Because if those two don't get it, we know that nobody else is going to secure this license. So let's go down this road right now and talk about whether or not I think this is true. And I don't know, right? I don't know. My sources won't tell me whether this is true or not. But I want to start with road number two. Because road number two is that Jersey Jack has the license and Joe is just bitter because if you think about the properties that Jersey Jack Pinball has aligned with, many of them are Warner Brothers properties. We saw Jack take that photo. Behind Jersey Jack was a photo with Harry Potter Wizard of Oz and freaking Willy Wonka So if there any studio that Jersey Jack is in good with it with Warner Brothers And another movie that Warner Brothers owned is The Matrix And we haven really seen Stern do many Warner Brothers properties And so that makes me believe that Jersey Jack Pinball may have secured the Harry Potter license. If this is true and Joe Kamikow posted this, It is definitely a little bit of an act of sabotage within the people behind the scenes at pinball companies. Now, you know me, Kaneda. I would absolutely disclose this information if I had it. See, I'm not sabotaging anyone's efforts because I don't work for a pinball company. My job as a pinball podcaster is to give you the news, rumors, and scoops before anybody else will. And we all know that everyone who knows all these friends inside these pinball companies, they know what's coming well before you do. So I want to give you the most amount of information possible so you can make up your mind. See, here's the problem if it's true. If Jersey Jack Pinball is making Harry Potter, that's not good news for people that are about to buy The Godfather. Because if you had a choice between the two, everybody knows that Harry Potter sales would trump The Godfather sales. It's a much better theme for pinball. And that is why Joe Kamikau, who's not affiliated with Jersey Jack whatsoever, he's in Stern's camp. If he revealed this, that is a move that would hurt Jersey Jack Pinball's business. And look, here's the other thing. Kapow is its own entity. Kapow is not part of Stern Pinball. But we know that Joe is in good with George Gomez and Gary Stern. And Kapow hasn't made many pinball machines. We know Kapow did Batman 66. And if we're going to get it back to the future pinball machine, it is most likely going to be between Stern and Kapow to get all of those assets. And here's the thing. After Joe Kamikow posted this both on Instagram and Facebook, the post has now been deleted. Now, wow, the plot thickens. So that makes me start to feel like the post is accurate and he shouldn't have put it up. I don't know if Joe Kamikow drinks or not. It seems like a move Kaneda would do after he had a few whiskeys in him. But this does not seem like Joe Kamikow. It's not in his style. And that's why it leads me to believe that maybe he is trolling everybody and just wants to throw Harry Potter out there in a trollish manner. Because everybody's been speculating for years whether or not we're ever going to get a Harry Potter pinball machine. And maybe he has it. And this is his way to say, Jersey Jack's not going to get it. But yeah, let me just pretend they do and they have it locked down. And I'm going to use a photoshopped image of a Stern cabinet that has Harry Potter on it. I don't know, though, that doesn't seem like Joe's style either. I don't know why anyone is talking about Harry Potter in 2023. Let's just say one of these companies has Harry Potter. It's not coming out anytime soon. We know what Stern's next releases are going to be, and it wouldn't be Harry Potter anytime soon. It's going to be Venom. Then I think it's going to be Indiana Jones and Jaws or Back to the Future. And then some vaults thrown into the mix. I think Jersey Jack Pinball is going to be The Matrix or Elton John. Everyone's hoping it's The Matrix. That can aid his rumors, right? And then we're going to get to Mark Sadan's title. Now, Mark Sadan's title, we don't really know what's after Steve Ritchie's game. And the rumors we've been hearing were games like Avatar, The Way of Water. We haven't really heard Harry Potter as a secured thing. And Harry Potter just always hangs over everything in the pinball community. Here's the other thing I was thinking about a few years ago. If you told me Jersey Jack Pinball was going to make Harry Potter I would have been super excited I would have been like there no other pinball company that can do it justice But after seeing Jersey Jack Pinball last two offerings and how they're taking all the magic mechanically out of the games, do you even want Jersey Jack Pinball to make Harry Potter? I mean, that's what I was thinking about. I feel like this company needs their next game. This Steve Ritchie game is everything to me when it comes to Jersey Jack. They need to show us they can do it all. They can make a game where the flippers feel great, a game where the assets are in the game, the actual assets from the property make their way into the game. And they need to bring some more of that mechanical magic into the games themselves. And if they can do all of that, because a theme like Harry Potter deserves all of that, but I get really nervous. Aren't there like seven Harry Potter movies? how are you going to integrate seven films into a singular pinball experience if i were doing harry potter i wouldn't try to put them all into one game i would do like chapters one through three chapters four through six and then maybe the final edition or four through seven i would break it up make two games you know someone said this the other day about star wars why would you try to put the three original Star Wars games into one machine and make it a mess. Stern Pinball could have made A New Hope and done it right and put everything from that movie into the game. And then they could have done Empire Strikes Back as a separate machine and Return of the Jedi as a separate machine. And they would have sold 10,000 of each one if you did it right. Instead, they put them all together and it's not really Star Wars. There's nothing mechanically in the game that's Star Wars. And that's just three movies, right? Three movies, but they're so big. Independently, those Star Wars movies are so big. And the Harry Potter franchise is ginormous. But now you've got so much source material to work with. Can you really fit it all into one game? And the way Jersey Jack's been going with assets and theme integration, I don't get excited. It would probably be muted clips. Are they really going to ink a deal with all of those actors and all of those films and be able to make a game that has everything you want Harry Potter wise? I mean, I didn't think in a million years you can mess up Toy Story. I don't think there's anything you could do if you made a Toy Story pinball machine that would make me, the world's biggest Toy Story fan, not want one. And leave it to Jersey Jack to figure out how to make a Toy Story that Toy Story fanatics don't want. They figured it out. So if they get the Harry Potter license, I don't know. I don't know. I think Stern would do a better job with it now. But this rumor is crazy. It's crazy because until Jersey Jack or Joe Kamikow speaks out on this rumor, it's going to hang over everything in pinball like a little bit of a dark cloud. We're all going to be wondering whether or not this is going to happen. And it also shows the ability for people in the industry to absolutely change the game and sabotage other companies' efforts. I mean, we haven't seen anything like this happen before. And I do think Joe Kamikau should come out and make a statement either way right now. I think Jersey Jack Pinball not making a statement makes me feel like it's true. They did not say anything when I said Steve Ritchie's game is going to be the Matrix. I know these companies will never confirm a rumor, but if a strong rumor given to you by someone like Kaneda isn't accurate, it's actually to their benefit to say, hey, we heard your show. We know you love giving rumors. We just want to say this one isn't right because what they really need is everyone's attention on the Godfather and I hearing left and right Godfather LEs are not selling I mean now Godfather LEs are already selling for I mean that is not a good sign All right So we going to see everybody This is a really interesting way to start the week. You know, people always ask me, how do you come up with new stuff to talk about? Well, just leave it to Joe Kamikow on a random Sunday night, saying Jersey Jack pinball just secured one of the biggest licenses in the history of pinball. and that's why we have stuff to talk about man the gloves are off it's gonna get crazy if he spoiled jersey jack pinball's plans but again like i said you're not gonna see this game the 2024 2025 so even though it's back on the table as a rumor with a lot more validation behind the rumor you're still not going to be able to buy this game for two to three years and so i'd rather us stay more focused on what's happening this year and into early next year, which Harry Potter is not one of those games. The other rumor I'm hearing, again, take it for what it's worth, is that Galactic Tank Force, there might be some issues with manufacturing this game. I would love for American Pinball to open up the door and show us that manufacturing has begun. They are sending this game out to customers. Some of these deluxe editions, they have not fixed the target issue in front of the tank. Where is Dennis Nordman on this game? This is the biggest red flag for me in all of this. Why isn't Dennis Nordman streaming this game? Why isn't Steven Bowden streaming this game right now? They need to get as many sales as they possibly can. I'm going to make a hunch, an assumption. You know, I love this. I think Mukesh might not be happy with the total number of actual orders they got. I don't believe that David Fick sold 2,000 of these games. I don't believe it. I absolutely don't believe it. Whenever you give an exact number like that, it's fake. What's the actual number of games? But that might not even be the problem. They might have sold, let's say they sold 1,200 Galactic Tank Forces. Good on them. They might have an issue with manufacturing this thing. Remember, most pinball machines don't come in a tank cabinet. And now we have to make 700 of these tank games. They're not going to fit in a normal box. They just made it more difficult on themselves to do it this way. And remember, this is an all new cabinet. I don't know. I don't know what's going on over there. I do know that it's mid-May and I would like for American Pinball to open up the door and show us what's going on behind the scenes like we saw with spooky pinball. We saw it with Dutch pinball. You're not going to get credit pinball adventures. I love the fact that Andrew McBain used to be a member of the Canada Club, and then all of a sudden he quit the Canada Club. Oh, well, we're now at 615 club members and not 618. Before I end the show, I sent a little email out to all of our new club members. We got like 20-something new club members this month. I asked them if it was okay if I gave them a shout out, and some of them replied so i want to say johnny w welcome to the club samantha welcome to the club brian k welcome to the club and valeria welcome to the canada club i've met some of you at shows it's so awesome seeing people join the show and i really do appreciate having all the new club members and bringing new people into the fold we're going to be back this week with more shows of canada spinball podcast but yeah did joe kamikau did he try to sabotage jjp let's see what happens this week. I think one of these parties is going to have to say something real. Later. _(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 13ed108e-f4b3-4f13-b0d7-292f6921a004*