# Episode 1082: "Kaneda Goes Around the Horn"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2025-04-23  
**Duration:** 39m 26s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-1082-127269342

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## Analysis

Kaneda surveys the entire pinball manufacturing landscape, with heavy focus on Jersey Jack's anticipated Harry Potter reveal (expected May 2025), Barrels of Fun's Dune progress, Chicago Gaming's Medieval Madness Merlin edition success, American Pinball's struggling Cuphead, Spooky Pinball's market dominance, Stern's vulnerability and title shuffling, Dutch Pinball's Back to the Future pipeline, and Multimorphic's limited volumes. Key themes: release timing gaps, incomplete code at launch, theme licensing challenges, pricing pressures, and shifting competitive dynamics.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack's Harry Potter is expected to release in May 2025, possibly timed to May 2nd (International Harry Potter Day), with a major launch video already filmed and games on the production line — _Kaneda speculating on timing and production readiness, noting JJP historically misses milestone reveals_
- [HIGH] Barrels of Fun confirmed all Dune clips are from the actual film with actors (Timothy Chalamet, Zendaya, etc.) with no muted audio, unlike King Kong — _David Van Ness from Barrels of Fun directly confirmed to Kaneda in a phone call; Kaneda verified this claim_
- [HIGH] Barrels of Fun's Dune code will take approximately one year to complete — _David Van Ness stated during phone call with Kaneda_
- [HIGH] Chicago Gaming rolled out Medieval Madness Merlin edition at Pinball Expo with a prototype, not final production version, and sold approximately 1,000 units in a few days — _Kaneda directly observed this at the event and discussed sales velocity_
- [MEDIUM] Play Mechanics' upcoming Halo game (rumored) is designed by Mark Ritchie and coded by Tim Sexton (who left Stern) — _Kaneda citing rumor mill; notes connection to Raw Thrills arcade version_
- [MEDIUM] American Pinball's Cuphead is currently in the coding phase; Ryan McQuaid is no longer at the company — _Kaneda monitoring forum updates and discussing AP's future direction_
- [MEDIUM] Spooky Pinball has Beetlejuice confirmed as next release and likely has Goonies and Gremlins in pipeline based on company energy and messaging — _Kaneda interpreting tone and public statements from Spooky; Beetlejuice widely known, others are inference_
- [MEDIUM] Dutch Pinball could reveal Back to the Future on October 21st (Back to the Future Day) with early 2026 production timeline — _Kaneda speculating on optimal reveal timing and production readiness given Alice delays_
- [HIGH] Dutch Pinball's Alice is shipping at 15-20 games per week due to manufacturing challenges with fragile Lior sculpts — _Kaneda discussing manufacturing complexity and shipping velocity_
- [MEDIUM] Stern Pinball is conducting title shuffling and sent out surveys because leadership is unsatisfied with recent theme selections and soft sales — _Kaneda's analysis of Stern's strategic direction; notes Seth's disappointment with passing on Back to the Future_

### Notable Quotes

> "Jack Guarnari told us a few weeks ago, save your money. Don't buy any of these new games until you see our Harry Potter game."
> — **Kaneda**, Early in episode
> _Sets up JJP's positioning and collector anticipation management_

> "The thing with Jersey Jack, and I mean this, they've just never put it all together at once... they have not made games that shot as well and were as satisfying to shoot as stern pinball games."
> — **Kaneda**, Mid-JJP discussion
> _Core criticism of JJP's historical design weaknesses in flipper feel and asset implementation_

> "If it is another muted clip collage game, I think it's gonna be disappointing if that happens."
> — **Kaneda**, During Harry Potter expectations
> _Identifies key differentiator for Harry Potter success: full movie assets vs. muted clips_

> "There's never a bad time to release a great theme and a great game. And there's never a good time to release a bad theme and a bad game."
> — **Kaneda**, American Pinball/Cuphead discussion
> _Philosophical statement on theme selection and market timing_

> "I much rather be spooky only needing to sell a thousand of each title and keep that train on the tracks every year than needing to be stern pinball and sell 25 games a year"
> — **Kaneda**, Spooky vs. Stern comparison
> _Contrasts business model stress; indicates Stern's vulnerability_

> "Stern Pinball might be doing some title shuffling. I think Seth is not satisfied with the titles that they have locked up."
> — **Kaneda**, Stern Pinball section
> _Indicates strategic discontentment at Stern leadership level_

> "This company feels more vulnerable than ever before. And I think a lot of the mistakes they've made have been self-inflicted."
> — **Kaneda**, Stern analysis
> _Assessment of Stern's market position weakness_

> "Back to the Future is just one of those titles where it doesn't matter. You'll just wait. Like you've been waiting almost 30 years for a good Back to the Future pinball machine."
> — **Kaneda**, Dutch Pinball section
> _Explains BTFF's unique demand inelasticity_

> "To me, I don't evaluate it like other pinball machines. Because to me, it's just a proof of concept."
> — **Kaneda**, Alice discussion
> _Provides framework for why Alice should not be judged by modern game standards_

> "What doesn't wear off in a pinball machine is amazing gameplay. What doesn't wear off are pinball moments you can't wait to get back to."
> — **Kaneda**, Closing Alice analysis
> _Philosophical statement on pinball longevity and collector motivation_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; central focus of episode anticipation around Harry Potter release; discussed challenges with asset implementation and flipper mechanics |
| Jack Guarneri | person | Founder/executive of Jersey Jack Pinball; made public statement to save money for Potter reveal |
| Barrels of Fun | company | Manufacturer of Dune; David Van Ness called Kaneda to clarify full movie assets (no muted clips); code completion ~1 year out |
| David Van Ness | person | Representative/leader at Barrels of Fun; confirmed Dune's licensed assets directly to Kaneda |
| Chicago Gaming Company | company | Manufacturer; focusing on Medieval Madness Merlin edition and Pulp Fiction LE completion; rumored to have Twilight Zone rerun planned |
| American Pinball | company | Struggling boutique manufacturer; Cuphead in coding phase; Kaneda predicts company may shift to contract manufacturing after Cuphead |
| Ryan McQuaid | person | Former designer at American Pinball; departed company; was working on Sonic, lost it to another manufacturer |
| Play Mechanics | company | Developer of rumored Halo game; works with Mark Ritchie and Tim Sexton |
| Mark Ritchie | person | Legendary pinball designer; rumored to be designing Play Mechanics' Halo as follow-up to Pulp Fiction |
| Tim Sexton | person | Former Stern designer; joined Play Mechanics to code Halo; left Stern for this opportunity |
| Multimorphic | company | Platform-based manufacturer; Portal recently released; operates at very low volumes (~few hundred units total in 12 years); kit prices rising to ~$6,000 |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Market leader; Evil Dead released; Beetlejuice confirmed next; possibly has Goonies/Gremlins in pipeline; business model targets ~1,000 units per title |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer facing vulnerability; King Kong released but uncertain if it's a breakthrough; leadership conducting title shuffling; Spike 3 coming |
| Seth | person | Stern Pinball leadership; Kaneda indicates he is unsatisfied with recent theme selections and conducting title evaluation |
| Keith Elwin | person | Stern designer; designed King Kong; rumored next game unknown; Kaneda speculates about future theme selections |
| John Borg | person | Stern designer; rumored next game is Pokemon; Kaneda questions if Pokemon theme fits demographic |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Manufacturer; Back to the Future in development; Alice shipping at 15-20 units/week; potential BTFF reveal on Oct 21 |
| Melvin | person | Associated with Dutch Pinball; discussed with Kaneda regarding Alice gameplay depth and manufacturing challenges |
| Brett Abbas | person | Financial backer of Jersey Jack Pinball; Kaneda jokingly suggests he would buy 999 Beetlejuice units if he had unlimited capital |
| David Feel | person | Sound designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; described as 'best sound guy in the history of pinball' |
| Kaneda | person | Podcast host/industry analyst; conducting comprehensive industry survey and expressing personal opinions on competitive dynamics |
| Gary | person | Spooky Pinball leadership; received payout/payday; stepped down from operational role to figurehead |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Harry Potter announcement and release timeline expectations, Jersey Jack Pinball's product quality and design philosophy, Licensing asset implementation (full vs. muted clips), Release timing and production readiness across manufacturers, Stern Pinball's market vulnerability and title strategy, Back to the Future hype and manufacturing capacity constraints, Spooky Pinball's business model and market dominance
- **Secondary:** Pricing escalation and collector affordability

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.45) — Kaneda is enthusiastic about specific games (Harry Potter, Spooky titles, Back to the Future) but skeptical about industry trends (incomplete code, muted clips, pricing, oversupply). Critical of Stern's strategic direction and American Pinball's viability. Guardedly optimistic about boutique alternatives. Frustrated with manufacturing delays and gaps between reveal and availability.

### Signals

- **[announcement]** Jersey Jack Harry Potter expected to be announced/revealed in May 2025, possibly aligned with May 2nd International Harry Potter Day; major launch video already filmed (confidence: medium) — Kaneda discussing timing: 'whether it's May 2nd or a later date, it does feel like this game is right around the corner. It feels like it is most likely going to come out in May'
- **[product_concern]** History of JJP shipping games with incomplete or muted video assets; Kaneda expresses concern Harry Potter could suffer same fate despite premium IP (confidence: high) — 'You jump on the game and it's Willy Wonka with none of the assets. and it's Avatar with muted clips.' Contrasts with Barrels of Fun's confirmed full Dune assets.
- **[code_update]** Industry trend of games launching with incomplete code requiring 6-12 months post-release development; affects multiple manufacturers including Stern, Barrels of Fun, Spooky (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'The code is going to take about a year to complete...it's a modern trend that's coming back more in the pinball space.' Cites multiple examples of games shipping unfinished.
- **[manufacturing_signal]** Dutch Pinball's Alice experiencing manufacturing delays due to fragile Lior sculpts requiring careful assembly; shipping at 15-20 units/week vs. expected capacity (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'Those Liior sculpts are very fragile...you got to be a lot more careful...That has made manufacturing it a little bit more tedious'
- **[market_signal]** Pinball pricing trending toward $13-15K range instead of $10K baseline; Multimorphic kits rising from $3,500 to ~$6,000; reducing value proposition for buyers (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'it's really starting to feel like we're heading more towards 13 to 15 than we are heading towards 10. And that's a big problem in pinball'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Stern Pinball experiencing reputation damage from incomplete code (John Wick, X-Men), pricing without matching exclusivity, and perception of ignoring customer feedback (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'Pokemon is not gonna do what people think it's gonna do' and 'games are like abandoned...They know that it's over...not going to have a second wind'
- **[business_signal]** Stern Pinball appears vulnerable as boutique manufacturers gain market share; business model of selling 25+ games/year to maintain factory is unsustainable (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'This company feels more vulnerable than ever before...I think they need to almost like reduce a little bit...reduce to two cornerstone games a year'
- **[product_strategy]** Chicago Gaming successfully demonstrates reissue strategy with Medieval Madness Merlin edition selling ~1,000 units in days; planning Twilight Zone rerun exploiting nostalgia and FOMO (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'they sold what a thousand of them in just like a few days...Twilight Zone, Indiana Jones, Totem, Theater of Magic...you bring back these bangers...you're selling a thousand in one day'
- **[supply_chain_signal]** Massive demand-supply gap for high-profile licenses; Back to the Future alone could receive 10,000+ orders but Dutch Pinball can manufacture ~1,000/year maximum (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'They're going to get 10,000 orders. and they're going to be able to make at most like a thousand a year...all the boutique companies in pinball together...still wouldn't be able to fulfill the demand'
- **[rumor_hype]** Spooky Pinball rumored to have Goonies and Gremlins in pipeline based on company messaging and energy; Stern exploring title shuffling for 80s/90s nostalgia properties (confidence: medium) — Kaneda on Spooky: 'I'm almost convinced these guys might even have, Goonies and Gremlins, when I hear in their voice...they are very excited about what's around the corner'
- **[personnel_signal]** Tim Sexton departed Stern Pinball to join Play Mechanics; Ryan McQuaid no longer at American Pinball; indicates talent movement and company strategic shifts (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I think that's what Tim Sexton left Stern Pinball to go help his buddy, Mr. Sharp code' on Halo; 'I don't think Ryan McQuaid's over there anymore' at American Pinball
- **[design_innovation]** Harry Potter features advanced mechanics (rotating staircase diverter, multiple flippers, upper playfield) that JJP designed to be more satisfying to shoot compared to recent games (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'They fixed the mushy flipper feel...This is not going to be a game that comes out and plays in a sluggish fashion' referencing hiring of Stern designer and mechanical improvements

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## Transcript

 Wake up Maggie, I think I got something to say to you. It's late September and I really should be back at school. Sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up. Oh, welcome to Canada's Pinball Podcast, two for two. You know, let's do something we haven't done in a while. Let's just go around the entire pinball horn and talk about everything happening with all of these companies. We've been focused so much on Dune and King Kong, but there's a lot of other companies out there, some of which don't have much going on, some of which revealed games a few months ago and there's not a lot of conversation. But let's just see how we think the next few months are going to fare for most of these pinball companies. And let's start with the one company everybody's looking at right now, and that is Jersey Jack Pinball. Jack Guarnari told us a few weeks ago, save your money. Don't buy any of these new games until you see our Harry Potter game. I think a lot of you saved your money. I think a lot of you are waiting until all of these titles are revealed. Now, the rumor is this. Apparently, May 2nd is International Harry Potter Day. Apparently that is the day he defeats Voldemort. Now I've never really seen the world on May 2nd explode into some Harry Potter celebration. It's not like Star Wars and May 4th. But if this is a significant day in the Harry Potter sort of universe, do we think that Jersey Jack pinball in just two weeks is going to drop this game on the pinball world I don't know historically whenever Jersey Jack has had a moment to sort of reveal a game and line it up with a milestone of that property they've always missed the mark so I'm not sure I think they're waiting on licensor approval. They must have already shot a super expensive $100,000 launch video. That has to be in the can ready to go. The games must be on the line. I think if you knock on the door over at Jersey Jack Pinball, they're not going to let you in to see Avatar production because I don't think Avatar is on the line right now. But it does feel like, whether it's May 2nd or a later date, it does feel like this game is right around the corner. It feels like it is most likely going to come out in May. And I know that all the speculation around the theme is over. So now we're just wondering, is it going to be magical? and Harry Potter to me is a little bit of an interesting theme when you try to connect it to the pinball buying demographic I don't think it's a home run for the pinball buying demographic but I think it is a theme that most of us went and saw the movies most of us engaged with Harry Potter culturally, and also it's about magic. It's about spells. It's about bad guys and kids on broomsticks, and it has the potential to be a really, really fun pinball experience. And if we've ever asked for anything in a pinball game, it's the ball doing magical things, magical moments in the software, a world under glass, and Harry Potter is a theme that should translate into all of that. And if there's any company, when they really do make the effort, if there's any company that can make the most stunning pinball machine and has the most beautiful platform in all of pinball, they have the best sound guy in the history of pinball working on this game in David feel. They have the most beautiful sort of display and animations with their 27-inch screen. They have the nicest just overall details on their games. They have the best lighting that has ever gone into a pinball machine. And when they want to, they can load their games up with toys. The thing with Jersey Jack, and I mean this, they've just never put it all together at once. They've had a few Achilles heel issues. Mainly, they have not made, in the majority of their games, they have not made games that shot as well and were as satisfying to shoot as stern pinball games. That has changed recently with games like Elton John. Well, because they took one of Stern's main designers. They fixed the mushy flipper feel. So this is not going to be a game that comes out and plays in a sluggish fashion. The other Achilles heel is that they often tell us they get all of the assets. And then you jump on the game and it's Willy Wonka with none of the assets. and it's Avatar with muted clips. So with a theme like Harry Potter, to really pull the player in to all of those moments in the movie that you're gonna wanna recreate, you're gonna have to have the scenes from the movie with the voices of the actors synced up with the video clips. If it is another muted clip collage game, I think it's gonna be disappointing if that happens. But all of our questions will be answered in just a few weeks. So that is where Jersey Jack is at. I don't think they're worried about Kong or Dune. I don't think either of those titles is going to make them worried at all. I don't think that company ever worries. When you've got thousands of millions of dollars backing your pinball operation, you don't ever have to do anything normally. They could do whatever they want. and they will do whatever they want. I just hope that this is the moment that Jack's ship comes in. I hope this is his moment that delivers on that letter we read from him two weeks ago, where this is the culmination of his dream, and this is it. It definitely felt like this is it, and I'm excited. I know you're excited to see it. I bet we all want our expectations to be exceeded, And I also bet that most of us are somewhat prepared to be disappointed. It still is the world of pinball and it still is Jersey Jack pinball. Until they launch a major title and don't disappoint us, it's understandable why many of us are prepared to be somewhat disappointed. All right. Now, speaking of muted clips and not muted clips, I got a really nice phone call last night from David David Van Es over at Barrels of Fun. He just wanted to say, Chris, look, I heard you say on a show that you don't have friends anymore over at Barrels of Fun. And I just want to tell you that's not true. We are head down, working hard on this game. He hasn't heard most of the stuff I've said. And we had a nice conversation. It was really nice chat. And I do want to confirm for everybody, because I did ask him, that all the clips that they have with Legendary, with all of these actors like Timothy and Zendaya, everybody in the movie, all the clips that will be in the game, there are no muted clips. So you're going to get the scenes directly from the movie, transported into the pinball game. Thank you. I think that's great. You got to remember, these guys went and spent money on this license and got the assets that should be in the game. Go look at King Kong, no license assets, and we're still spending that much money on the game. It's not right, people. It's not right. But again, that's consumers always willing to accept some of those cheap shortcuts. And as long as you keep buying, they're going to keep taking those cheap shortcuts. Look, David and I both agree this isn't how they wanted to launch the game. And I also told them I don't really want to revisit Dune until there's more in it because I really do want to evaluate this game when everything is going that they want going in the game. He did say that the code is going to take about a year to complete. And that seems to be this modern trend that's coming back more in the pinball space. And it's not just this game. King Kong isn't nearly complete. Spooky Pinball definitely takes about a year to fully code a game. but it's not about finishing it. It's about when you launch. I think you just need more than some of these current games are launching with because again, at these prices, I just think people need to see more of what they're going to get and not wait it out. I mean, just go ask anybody who bought in X LE how they feel right now after plunking down 13K and who just said hey stern gonna make it great they always make it great go ask john wick le owners how they feel right now about buying a john wick le yes stern's gonna make it great they always make it great they don't feel that way right now people all right so that's barrels of fun we've been covering off on them a lot lately let's go on to someone we haven't talked about recently but who's also probably laughing all the way to the bank and that's Chicago Gaming Company you know we don't really mention them Pulp Fiction they're about to complete all the Pulp Fiction LEs I know for a fact that Pulp Fiction LE has sort of had a few customers bail now that they're being asked to pay for final payment. I think some of you out there are over it. It's been over two years, but they're going to make all of those LEs. And now they're going to go make the Merlin edition of Medieval Madness. And look, they were really smart. They rolled in the freaking TPF with a prototype version of the Merlin edition of the game. It wasn't even the final production version, but it really is just another run of the game with just different armor and that's basically it and I think they sold what a thousand of them in just like a few days talk about the power of a game like medieval madness doesn't have like the complexity or the depth of a modern coded game it doesn't matter it's still got it, right? It's still got all those pinball fun intangibles that just make it still such a hot commodity in the pinball buying world. It's also at the right price. I know they raise the price a little bit, but man, it's really starting to feel like we're heading more towards 13 to 15 than we are heading towards 10. And that's a big problem in pinball. So after CGC's Medieval madness. It's interesting because, you know, the next title that's on the rumor mill is a play mechanics title and it's called Halo. And I think that's what Tim Sexton left Stern Pinball to go help his buddy, Mr. Sharp code. And it's being designed by Mark Ritchie. It's his follow-up game to Pulp Fiction. Now, when are we going to see Halo? Is that a good theme for pinball? I don't think so, but that is the strongest rumor about what this is going to be. It makes total sense because these guys kind of work at Raw Thrills, and Raw Thrills Halo is a really popular arcade machine for them, and I think they think there's going to be crossover. There's not. Other than that, it's also in the rumor mill that CGC is going to do another run of Twilight Zone. That is going to happen? When that happens, I don't know. But as we just saw from Medieval Madness, it almost doesn't matter. They know with these kinds of themes, they could rerun them whenever and they're going to sell a thousand in one day. Like it's just that simple. Twilight Zone, Indiana Jones, Totem, Theater of Magic, it doesn't matter. You bring back these bangers from yesteryears that pinball fans love new in a box with updated lighting you're selling a thousand in one day all right you know what's not selling a thousand in one day cuphead and american pinball i was in the thread the other day they're still working on this game they're coding this game right now and they're saying stuff like we can't wait till you see our beautiful new game we all know it's Cuphead. I don't think Ryan McQuaid's over there anymore. That's what's so devastating for him. The game's been designed. I think it's now all a software thing. And then it becomes, when do you launch Cuphead? When do you launch a game like this when you know you've got Harry Potter and Back to the Future coming out this year? When's a good time to launch Cuphead? Look, As I said, there's never a bad time to release a great theme and a great game. And there's never a good time to release a bad theme and a bad game. Now, I don't know if the game's good or bad. I don't. But I know theme alone, Cuphead does not cross over. Gang, this is zero market research land. This is Ryan McQuaid devastated that he lost Sonic the Hedgehog to somebody else because David Fix messed up that whole thing. And then he went to another video game property he liked, and he decided to make Cuphead. Is what it is. I'm curious to see what it is, but I am willing to bet that this game would struggle to sell more than 500 units at most. And then the future for American Pinball is just completely up in the air. I don't think they're designing any more pinball machines. I think Mukesh is done. I think he will contract manufacturer. I think a company like Multimorphic might be smart to hit them up. Like some of these smaller boutiques that really struggle with volume might as well just stop with those headaches and have these guys build stuff for them. You know, I'm also wondering with tariffs, does it make sense for some of these European companies to maybe think about having AP make their games? Like if Pedretti Gaming isn't screwing together the games very well, would it be smarter for some of these European companies to go have the games made in America? I don't know. My gut tells me we've seen the last after Cuphead American pinball game released. All right. Let's talk about who else is out there. So another title that released recently and is probably the nicest title on this platform's system is Portal from Multimorphic. Now, again, the issue is not whether or not people are curious about this. I think there is more curiosity around Portal. It definitely is a world under glass. It definitely is a good theme that showcases this platform's potential. the issue still remains this. There's just too long of a gap between showing the game, generating some interest, and people actually being able to play it. That's it. That's it. This gap is just too long. And I think Jerry needs to figure this out. Because that's it. I just don't know how to stay interested in these things when it's like you reveal it, you take orders on it, and games might not ship for months, months. And so it's just hard, right? And I know like with each of these launches, like you just know they're only selling like a few hundred. They're not selling a thousand. They're not selling 500 portals. They're not. I don't know anymore. They're like a nano boutique company still. And it's a little bit of a shame to me because I do see really great engineering in this game. I see a lot of great passion in this game. I just don't even see an opportunity to play it. There's nowhere I can go drive and play one. There's nobody I know that even has one. So it continues to remain a very sort of like unique novelty item for a collector that has a lot of different things and just wants something different. And that's fine if it's working for them and they're making money and they're able to stay profitable with such a low volume of sales. I just don't know what the future holds now that these kits are costing closer to $6,000 versus $3,500. All of a sudden, the value proposition is not there. And I've asked this and I'll ask it again. I would just like to know how many total multi-morphic systems have you sold? It continues to be a mystery. It's like nobody wants to tell you. Jerry, how many have you sold? Spooky has sold more of one title than you've sold in 12 years, bro. Why wouldn't you just go make a normal pinball machine? All right, let's talk about Spooky Pinball. So, you know, they're just kind of in the driver's seat right now. Thank you for the pink Spooky Shill t-shirt. Canadian family is loving it. But these guys, like, they've sold everyone. They're popping champagne while they're in Benton, Wisconsin, so they're probably cracking open PBRs, but these guys are in the driver's seat. They get to go in every day into a company they love, make the product they love, have two to three more themes that they love even more than Evil Dead coming around the corner. We all know Beetlejuice is next. I'm almost convinced these guys might even have, Goonies and Gremlins, when I hear in their voice, and what I mean by that is reading Luke on my Patreon chat, what I hear from them though, and the energy and the vibes are they are very excited about what's around the corner. They're very excited about Evil Dead. They're very excited about the next three to five years of this company. I've said it many times, people, I much rather be spooky only needing to sell a thousand of each title and keep that train on the tracks every year than needing to be stern pinball and sell 25 games a year to keep that train on the tracks. I'll tell you which leadership is waking up in a better mood. I'll tell you which company has less stress. I'll tell you which company has less pressure. the reason Gary's smiling so much is he got his payday and he deserved it Gary stepped down he's just like all right he's just like a figurehead now but the pressure on Seth and George to deliver what they need to deliver to keep that company going we're going to talk about Stern next but man I wouldn't want to be them so spooky pinball in the driver's seat all the way up until December. Think about it. They get to enjoy their spring, summer, fall. You know, sounds pretty beautiful. And then they know they get to release Beetlejuice and sell a thousand in one day. Hold one for me, boys. I'm buying one. It's going to be so fun to watch how fast that damn game sells out. And I ain't joining your damn fan club. I think I already am. I think it was like on auto payment. No, I think I canceled it eventually, but you know what? They're going to hold me one. I have a good feeling it won't be hard for Canadian to get one of these titles. I might buy all 999 and corner the market on the damn thing. That's what I would do if I was Brett Abbas. I would just like buy every single spooky machine they made. Like think about it. Like if you've got billions of dollars, I would just do that. I would just corner the market on my competitions corner. That would be the most baller move. Brett Abbas has purchased 999 Beetlejuice machines. If you want one, you must buy an Avatar LE and a CE. That's the only way you can get your hands on a Beetlejuice. Have you noticed these Jersey Jack ads, by the way? They just keep popping up. It's like, it doesn't matter, Jersey Jack, how many times you advertise Godfather. Nobody's buying that game. Nobody is buying it new in box. Stop with the Facebook spam ads on titles that have zero demand. They want us to buy Guns N' Roses LE still for like what, like 9,500. That game is selling for 6,500 new in box people. I'm telling you, if you need a GNR LE, just hit up Mike at automated. He's got more of those than I've had hot meals this year. All right, so let's go to Stern Pinball. King Kong, it's out. The Keith Elwin's 800-pound gorilla game. Did it light the world on fire? Is it the next Godzilla? I don't know. It's way too early. There's been so much conversation around this game. What's next? Right, we know about Kong. What's next? Is it going to be John Borg's Pokemon? Does John Borg make sense to even make Pokemon? We know he's not a Pokemon fan. He's one of us. He's a child of the 80s and early 90s. He's not a Pokemon fan. We all, most of us, 95% of us, missed out on Pokemon. Do you really think the pinball buying demographic, the pinball buying demographic is going to open up its wallets to see Pikachu battle Jigglypuff? I'm telling you right now. Pokemon is not gonna do what people think it's gonna do. It's just not. Yeah, on location, fine, but that's not where they need most of their sales. And I'm sorry, but unless you have kids that are diehard Pokemon fans, I just don't see this demo, like, latching on to Pokemon. After Pokemon, you know, there's been some stern rumors. We're sort of heading into a period now where we don't know. Like if I were to ask you, what's Keith Elwin's next game? You don't know. When he was working on Jaws, we also knew King Kong was after that. We knew it. If I asked you what Jack Danger's next game is, you don't know what it is either. We're all hoping it's Super Mario Brothers or Sonic the Hedgehog. If I asked you what John Borg's game next is, do we know? If I asked you what Brian Eddy's next game is, do you know? Stern leaks will happen, but I do think we're entering into a period where Stern's done a good job keeping what's around the corner next. I also believe that Stern Pinball might be doing some title shuffling. I think Seth is not satisfied with the titles that they have locked up. I think he's seen the soft sales that have happened with some of the recent theme selections. I don't think he's happy with it. I know he's not happy that they passed on Back to the Future, and that's why he sent out that survey. Now, whether or not they can go get those things, we shall see. But I am fully expecting Stern Pinball to wake up a little bit and go get more 80s nostalgia, go get more 90s nostalgia, but more early 90s nostalgia. They have to know that's the sweet spot. All of the focus groups they've done with Gen Z Kids on how to like future proof their business would send that company into obsolescence. They know this now. They made some really big mistakes. They let some of the boutique companies swoop in and take some of the titles that they should have got. I think between now and the end of the year is going to be really interesting for Stern. I think we're finally going to see the Spike 3 system. I don't think it's going to change that much. The screen size will probably be the biggest thing we notice. It definitely feels like Stern is no longer feeling just like the dominant gorilla that is unbeatable. They definitely feel, and I've been covering this hobby for a long time, this company feels more vulnerable than ever before. And I think a lot of the mistakes they've made have been self-inflicted. And I think they've spent too many years not asking the buyers what they want. And I think their business model on how they used to sell LEs and that's what got distros to order everything else in these bulk orders and treating the distros as their customers, it caught up to them. And like all big companies that fail to adapt or fail to listen to the customers, I think they just grew way too big during COVID. I think they need to almost like reduce a little bit. I think it would be wise to maybe make only two cornerstone games a year, but spend more money on getting themes people really want. Get all the assets into those games. I don't think anybody would have a problem if you had like, just imagine a world in which Stern only had two cornerstones and it was Keith Elwin's Back to the Future, you know, and it was Jack Danger's The Matrix. I'm just saying, hypothetically, like imagine a world in which that's what we got. And then on top of that, you get a remastered or a remake of a Stern classic. I worry about them because the whole thing of them needing three cornerstones a year and to make thousands of games a month to keep the behemoth of this new factory going. I just don't know how that's sustainable and I think it's going to put pressure on all of them I think we're going to see more and more of these games released with incomplete code I think we're going to see more games that are like abandoned a little bit like John Wick and X-Men where Yeah, they're working on it. But are they really going to work on it? They know that it's over like these games are not going to have a second wind not anymore There's too much out there. Like a game could have a second life maybe four or five years ago when there weren't 14 pinball companies, but not now. You know, also pricing, you know, they've just priced so many people out and they're really not giving you the best bang for the buck. The fact that a $13,000 Stern doesn't even come with all of the accessories and a $13,000 doesn't even have enough exclusive anymore to really warrant the price. People don't forget this stuff. All of this stuff sends a message and it's the wrong message. It almost pains me to watch them time and time again. For short-term sales profits, they're absolutely just going to destroy their long-term loyal customer fan base. So that's it with Stern. I don't think Kong's going to be the magnanimous hit they need it to be to make up for some of the recent sales flops. And I'm just really curious when we see spike three and how much it's going to cost. And if Stern attempts to make some sort of adjustment to its three-tier model system, which is now starting to feel sort of unnecessary. All right, so that's Stern Pinball. Let's go on next to Dutch pinball. I don't know anything about what's the latest on Back to the Future. I know they're working on it. I don't think they inked a deal with anybody else. I fully expect this to be Dutch's game after Alice. Alice has been delayed though. So the numbers don't really work out for them building all of the Alice's by the end of the year. So what I could see happening is this. This is the scenario I could see happening. I could see Dutch pinball revealing Back to the future in October on Back to the Future Day They reveal it but the game won be on the line I could see that happening with an early 2026 production timeline Back to the Future is just one of those titles where it doesn't matter. You'll just wait. Like you've been waiting almost 30 years for a good Back to the Future pinball machine. And so you'll wait a few more months. This game is just money in the bag. And everyone has the same worry. They're going to get 10,000 orders. and they're going to be able to make at most like a thousand a year. So yeah, none of it makes sense. There's one title alone. Like all the boutique companies in pinball together could just get together and say, hey, let's just all make back to the future. It's been designed. The parts have been engineered. Let's just stop making our original titles and everyone's manufacturing facilities, Spooky's, American Pinballs, Multimorphics, Turner Pinball. Everyone just stop what you're doing. we're going to mail you the parts for Back to the Future and everybody just start making them and they still wouldn't be able to fulfill the demand for all the orders they're going to get in one year if everybody did that other than Back to the Future news which I don't have any on is Alice's Adventures in Wonderland it's going out it is now shipping to customers and it's going to be like a slow ship I think it's something like 15 to 20 games a week when they finally get everything up and running I know that manufacturing this game is a little bit trickier than they expected. And the reason why is those Lior sculpts are very fragile. So unlike just going nuts, screwing in a cheap plastic, you got to be a lot more careful when you're screwing in those beautiful sculpts. So that has made manufacturing it a little bit more tedious for the people that are used to just taking a wrench to a piece of plastic. And here's the thing about Alice. Like, I've seen the streams and yeah, the code is not like crazy deep. I told this to Melvin today. I'm like, you know, your game to me, I don't evaluate it like other pinball machines. Because to me, it's just a proof of concept. You wanted to prove a concept that you could take a non-working J-pop foam core game and turn it into a working playable machine within a year. And you proved you could do that. And by proving you could do that, you saved Dutch Pinball from going under. Because Dutch Pinball didn't have Back to the Future ready. And so once Lebowski demand was over, they needed something on the line. You know, Barry's idea back in the day was to make more Bride of Pinbots. Remember that crazy scheme? But this at least gave them something to make for a year as we move towards Back to the Future. Do I think this game has like amazing gameplay? No. Do I think the code is like super deep and going to be like satisfying if you're jumping from modern sterns and JJP games to this? No. And guess what? They never said it would. And this is why I'm not that hard on this game. Again, it was a proof of concept. I think they nailed what they intended to do. Look, and there's only 500. And look, they're not even sold out yet. You go on pin side. Now there's three spots. More spots will pop up for sale. In the end, when they say we're going to make 500, do I think all 500 people are going to pay in full and want their game? And I know people are like, well, there's only 300 coming to the US. Look, I think in the end, I got to be honest here. I think in the end, there might be like upwards of 50 people that might just want to bail on their spot. I just think that's the way it's going to go with Harry Potter. And, you know, back to the future is next and all these other games because it's not cheap. Because you got to remember too that like almost all 500 people that ordered this game never played a single game on it. And so they're going to see games getting delivered. They're going to see that it is a more basic game, you know, and the artwork and the novelty of it all will wear off. What doesn't wear off in a pinball machine is amazing gameplay. What doesn't wear off are pinball moments you can't wait to get back to. What doesn't wear off are like magical toys that you get excited every time you see it go. And that's my thing. It's like I don't think Alice has those things. And I think the buyer of Alice knows that. Because anybody who bought Alice is a pinball diehard collector. Otherwise, why would you buy it? You know what I'm saying? This is for people that want a unique conversation piece in their lineup. You wouldn't buy this game to put on location to make money. You wouldn't buy this game if you want some incredibly satisfying code. You wouldn't buy this game for the toys. You know what I'm saying? You wouldn't even buy this game just for the art package. You buy this game because of the story, because of the uniqueness of it, and just the fact that it's different. And it's just going to be rare. That's why you buy it. because you have to be standing in front of only 500 places on planet Earth to ever get this experience. I'm not saying it's going to be the greatest pinball experience, but there's something to be said for that. In a world in which, in six months from now, there will be probably 4,000 King Kong machines out in the world. 4,000. To the point where no one will want to talk about it much anymore. 4,000. You know, that's just the difference. That is the difference. Again, I'm not saying that Alice is anywhere near as good as King Kong, but there's something to be said about that sort of level of exclusivity. All right, who am I missing in this pinball recap? This is taking too long. Turner Pinball, let's go to them. Merlin's Arcade, right? Feels like forever and a day they launched that game. I don't know what he does now. I really don't know what he does. I just don't think he's going to get anywhere near 500 sales of the game. I think the low price and him going around the shows built up a lot of goodwill. I think he's got some interesting tech underneath the game. When he lifts that play field, it's so clean and beautiful. I just don't know though. How do you get people to spend, what was it, like almost $9,500 on the nicer version of the game? It's the same price as a King Kong premium. I just don't know how you do it. And I think Chris has got to figure something out because this marketing strategy of taking this Jon Norris game, developed at Deep Root, bringing it to market. I bet he saw what happened with Alice. But Chris's mistake is he sold all the Raza stuff to Melvin. He had all the Raza stuff. I think he even owned all the Raza stuff and he sold it to Melvin. Now Melvin's going to go and make Raza and make money. And Chris has now got nothing left. I mean, I don't know. He's going to make food truck. It doesn't feel like he's got a strategy here. Chris, I know you listen to the show, man. Call me up. I think you need some help here, man. I think you need some help. If I was to guess, I would say he's probably struggled even to sell 100 Merlin's Arcade at any trim. And I don't know how you get any more sales now, considering the influx of all of these new games. And lastly, I'll end with Pinball Brothers, Pedretti Gaming, right? Pedretti Gaming apparently is supposed to be making Totem again. No idea if that's going to happen anytime soon. And then Pinball Brothers Predator just seems like all momentum is gone. This game was supposed to come out this week, Friday, the 20-something, the 25th, was supposed to be the date they revealed it, and it was supposed to be at Allentown the following week. Now, I don't even think the game's even coming out anytime soon. They're doing interviews where they're using tariffs as an excuse why they can't make games anymore. They're stopping production. So I don't know, man. I think the Pinball Brothers, I don't think they want to stay in this much longer. I don't. I think they're maybe looking for an excuse to just get out. And here's my thing, gentlemen. You can just get out. Like you made ABBA, wasn't good. You made Queen, wasn't good. The only thing that had a decent sale was Andrew Highway's Alien. And that's because of the theme. You guys aren't able to make a modern pinball that even closely competes with what's in the pinball market. And there's no room now for C students. I mean it. Like there's no room in the pinball market for C students that are charging A student prices for their products. I was just curious to see Predator because I love the theme. But deep down, I know that if I had to pick a company to make Predator, you're like eighth or ninth on the list of who should be making this iconic movie. And I bet the rumors are true that you don't have Arnold, but we shall see. But man, it just feels like nothing now. They started to tease it, and now they're back to showing ABBA code updates, which is on code 1.45. What? I thought 1.0 is the end. I guess when nobody buys your game, you've got to shoot way past the finish line, and still nobody wants it. Everybody, thank you for being a member of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. Kaneda out. I'll get on right home One of these days Oh, oh, oh Thank you.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 17ffc9ed-56e6-4785-a536-ac6b8ab4242b*