# Episode 1166: "Pinball Things I'm Thankful For"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2025-12-03  
**Duration:** 26m 18s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-1166-im-144936394

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## Analysis

Kaneda reflects on what he's thankful for across the pinball industry, discussing each major manufacturer's contributions and challenges. He criticizes Stern's accessory release timeline (X-Men accessories delayed over a year), praises Jersey Jack's quality and craftsmanship, celebrates Spooky's continuous improvement and hiring of Christopher Franchi, thanks Barrels of Fun for diverse themes, and expresses gratitude for competition and diversity in the modern pinball landscape. He also updates listeners on Sonic the Hedgehog's production delay and acknowledges the broader industry's difficulty in sustaining home ownership appeal across thousands of plays.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] X-Men pinball has been butchered by the community since release; code wasn't good and the game was rushed out over a year ago — _Kaneda discussing X-Men's poor reception and the problems with releasing accessories for a game with incomplete code_
- [HIGH] Stern takes over a year to release toppers and accessories after game release, unlike competitors — _Kaneda asks rhetorically: 'Does Spooky Pinball make you wait a year? Does Barrels of Fun make you wait a year?' in comparison to Stern_
- [HIGH] Sonic the Hedgehog is delayed from April to June, July, or more likely October due to Harry Potter production backlog — _Kaneda states: 'Sonic the Hedgehog is now delayed. Now, it's not really delayed because it was never scheduled, but I'm hearing now that it is not happening in April. It is most likely June or July now. If I were a guessing man, I don't think it's going to come out before like October.'_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack has only produced about 1,000-1,200 Harry Potter machines despite having 4,000-5,000 orders — _Kaneda: 'when you think about how many Harry Potters they've made, they probably have only made about like a thousand to twelve hundred and they probably got like four to five thousand orders'_
- [HIGH] Barrels of Fun sold 525 Dune games in basically two days — _Kaneda: 'They sold 525 games in basically two days'_
- [HIGH] JP DeWin did animations/code on The Big Lebowski for Dutch Pinball (correcting his earlier statement that it was his first Dutch Pinball work) — _Kaneda: 'JP DeWin did the code or the animations on The Big Lebowski... So if he's doing Dutch Back to the Future, it's not his first rodeo with Dutch Pinball'_
- [MEDIUM] CGC is rumored to be working on a Halo pinball machine — _Kaneda: 'The rumor is Halo. We shall see.'_
- [MEDIUM] American Pinball's Cuphead project is likely to be completed eventually, though it's not returning as their first game — _Kaneda: 'Is it gonna be something that we really really want? I can't imagine they went through all of this Cuphead R&D and they are not going to make it. That seems weird.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "It's crazy to think like 13 or so years ago, he made the Wizard of Oz. Like 13 years ago. Like if he brought that game out today, it would be the most impressive game today."
> — **Kaneda**, Jersey Jack discussion
> _Demonstrates how far ahead of its time Jersey Jack's technology and design were, even over a decade later_

> "I'm so thankful that Melvin is over there, that he made Alice, that he's making Raza, that he's keeping the lights on so this company can get to Back to the Future. Because if it wasn't for Melvin, there would be no Back to the Future Pinball."
> — **Kaneda**, Dutch Pinball discussion
> _Reveals Melvin Williams' critical role in keeping Dutch Pinball solvent through intermediate projects to fund major releases_

> "You put Dune next to Star Wars, man, and I would rather own Dune than Star Wars any day of the week."
> — **Kaneda**, Barrels of Fun discussion
> _Direct competitive comparison showing preference for Barrels' Dune over Stern's Star Wars in terms of quality and theme execution_

> "The amount of quality across the board is better now than it's ever been in pinball. I mean that."
> — **Kaneda**, General industry assessment
> _Evaluates modern pinball manufacturing favorably despite higher prices, citing diversity of manufacturers and quality_

> "They have to make it so you want to keep coming back and back and back. And that is not easy. That is not what pinball was ever intended to be."
> — **Kaneda**, Discussing modern game design challenges
> _Acknowledges the fundamental challenge of designing home pinball machines versus arcade machines with different engagement requirements_

> "I'm thankful for the day that nobody wants to remake anything John Papaduke Jr. made."
> — **Kaneda**, Progetti Gaming/Turner Pinball discussion
> _Critical commentary on the reliance on legacy Deep Root/Zidware projects and desire for original content_

> "Stern Pinball, thank you for really like making pinball manufacturing your number one priority. And I can't wait to see what your new game is in January. Even if it's Pokémon, I'm excited about Pokémon."
> — **Kaneda**, Stern Pinball section
> _Acknowledges Stern's manufacturing capacity while maintaining skepticism about Pokemon theme appeal_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer criticized for slow accessory releases and code quality issues, praised for manufacturing cadence and game availability |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Premium boutique manufacturer praised for quality, craftsmanship, and recent gameplay improvements; mentioned Harry Potter production constraints |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Alice and Raza games; working on Back to the Future; Melvin Williams keeping company solvent through intermediate projects |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer praised for continuous improvement, transparency, and hiring Christopher Franchi; upcoming Goonies and Gremlins |
| Barrels of Fun | company | Released Labyrinth, Dune, and Winchester Mystery House; Dune sold 525 units in two days; praised for beautiful boutique machines |
| Multimorphic | company | P3 platform manufacturer praised for mechanical innovation; Kaneda wishes more companies would pursue mechanical complexity |
| Chicago Gaming Company (CGC) | company | Maker of Medieval Madness remakes and Williams classic updates; rumored Halo project in development; delayed Cactus Canyon upgrade kit |
| American Pinball | company | Returning after management reset with new leadership; Cuphead project status unclear; seeking new IP themes |
| Pinball Brothers | company | Manufacturer of Predator (300 units planned); credited with completing Andrew Heighway's Alien project successfully |
| Progetti Gaming | company | Completing Heighway's Alien fulfillment; bringing back Big Bang Bar with FAST boards; working on John Papaduke classic remakes |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Pinball artist hired by Spooky Pinball; credited as 'one of the most incredible pinball artists of all time' |
| Melvin Williams | person | DPX owner associated with Dutch Pinball; keeping company solvent with Alice and Raza projects to fund Back to the Future |
| JP DeWin | person | Graphics/animation designer; worked on The Big Lebowski for Dutch Pinball; working on Back to the Future animations |
| David Van Ness | person | Leader of Barrels of Fun; called Kaneda to discuss handling of situation with grace and understanding |
| Jack Guarnieri | person | Founder of Jersey Jack Pinball; created Wizard of Oz 13 years ago; dissatisfied with Stern's approach to machine design |
| X-Men | game | Stern pinball machine released over a year ago with poor code and rushed development; accessories (side armor, topper) now being sold |
| Sonic the Hedgehog | game | Jersey Jack game delayed from April to June/July or October; production constrained by Harry Potter fulfillment |
| Dune | game | Barrels of Fun machine; Kaneda prefers it over Stern's Star Wars; sold 525 units in two days |
| Back to the Future | game | Dutch Pinball's upcoming machine; target release end of 2025; JP DeWin working on animations |
| Cactus Canyon | game | CGC remake with upgrade kit that experienced delays in release |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Manufacturer quality and production timelines, Accessory and topper release delays, Game code quality and game-ready status at launch, Production backlog and manufacturing constraints
- **Secondary:** Competition and diversity in boutique vs. major manufacturers, Home pinball design challenges vs. arcade design, Artist and designer hiring and retention
- **Mentioned:** Legacy IP remakes and original IP themes

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Kaneda expresses genuine thankfulness for manufacturer diversity and competition, praising most companies' efforts while maintaining critical perspective on Stern's quality and timeline issues. Despite personal exhaustion and industry layoffs, tone is hopeful about pinball's future golden age.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Jersey Jack production constrained by Harry Potter demand; unable to launch new game lines while fulfilling existing orders (confidence: high) — Kaneda speculating about Sonic delay: 'I think so. Like but maybe it was like Godfather, like a game without a lot of demand... I would love to see Jersey Jack run two games at the same time and just make it that way'
- **[business_signal]** American Pinball returning with new leadership team after management reset; Cuphead project status uncertain (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I'm thankful they're coming back... They're not coming back with David Fix. It's a brand new company... I can't imagine they went through all of this Cuphead R&D and they are not going to make it'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Pinball Brothers and Progetti Gaming credited for successfully completing Andrew Heighway's Alien fulfillment; contrasted favorably with Haggis Pinball's failures (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'You could have ended up like Haggis and you could have gone under and you could have lied to people and you could have never got them their products... you course-corrected'
- **[competitive_signal]** Kaneda explicitly prefers Barrels' Dune over Stern's Star Wars for quality and execution; boutique manufacturers gaining preference over major manufacturer offerings (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'You put Dune next to Star Wars, man, and I would rather own Dune than Star Wars any day of the week'
- **[design_philosophy]** Kaneda argues modern pinball must balance home ownership appeal (playable for thousands of games) with arcade machine legacy design; modern designers face unprecedented challenge (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'they've also gotta make the game compelling, not just for like 50 plays... 2,000 plays... That is not easy. That is not what pinball was ever intended to be'
- **[market_signal]** Barrels of Fun Dune achieved 525 unit sales in two days; indicates strong market demand for diverse themes and high-quality boutique options beyond Stern (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'They sold 525 games in basically two days'
- **[personnel_signal]** Christopher Franchi hired by Spooky Pinball as major pinball artist; represents talent acquisition in competitive boutique market (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I'm thankful that they gave a home to one of the most incredible pinball artists of all time in Mr. Christopher Franchi'
- **[product_strategy]** Sonic the Hedgehog delayed from April to June/July or October due to Harry Potter production backlog; Jersey Jack unable to run parallel game production (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'Sonic the Hedgehog is now delayed... not happening in April... most likely June or July now... I don't think it's going to come out before like October... when you think about how many Harry Potters they've made, they probably have only made about like a thousand to twelve hundred and they probably got like four to five thousand orders'
- **[product_concern]** X-Men pinball code incomplete over a year post-release; community criticism of rushed development; accessories released long after machine availability (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'the game's been out for over a year. It came out last summer and the code wasn't good and it got rushed out... Stern's got to figure out a way to just get the accessories and the games themselves released at the same time'
- **[rumor_hype]** CGC rumored to be developing Halo pinball machine; uncertain status (confidence: low) — Kaneda: 'The rumor is Halo. We shall see.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Despite acknowledging modern pinball's higher pricing, Kaneda argues quality is better than ever due to manufacturer diversity and competition (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'The amount of quality across the board is better now than it's ever been in pinball... It's not just one company and that's it'
- **[business_signal]** Melvin Williams strategy of releasing intermediate projects (Alice, Raza) to fund major releases (Back to the Future); critical for smaller manufacturer financial sustainability (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'Melvin is over there, that he made Alice, that he's making Raza, that he's keeping the lights on so this company can get to Back to the Future'

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## Transcript

 It's just one of those days where you don't want to wake up. Sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up. Welcome everybody to Canada's Pinball Podcast. We are now into December. I don't know about you, but is anyone else out there just feeling like the cobwebs from Thanksgiving weekend? You got all this food in you, all this drink, having like four or five days off in a row and spending it, like consuming so much stuff, playing pinball. And then Monday hits and you like crash into Monday. And you're like, I cannot just switch gears from what I've been doing, like Wednesday through Sunday and just go back to the working version of me. I think everyone's feeling it right now. It's a hard time in my industry. You might have seen the news. Omnicom has acquired Interpublic Group. And they announced this week they are laying off 4,000 jobs. And so right now I'm not impacted by this, but it's really bummed me out knowing that 4,000 people that were going into the holidays are now all of a sudden not going to have a job. It's just, oh, you know, it's just a hard world out there and it's not going to get any easier. I mean, 4,000 people would be a great selling pinball machine. And now none of those people are going to be thinking about buying stuff like toys. They're thinking about the necessities for them and their families. There's a lot to be thankful for in this world. I mean it. And as I think about the pinball hobby, and we're going to go around the horn and just talk about what I'm thankful for, for each of these companies that are in pinball right now. Hopefully I don't forget anybody. But there are certain things these companies are all doing right, or almost all of these companies are doing right. And what I love about this hobby is every single new machine is an opportunity for each of these companies to show us their point of view on what makes a great pinball machine. Their point of view on what a world under glass is. Their point of view on what a great pinball theme is, what great pinball art is, what great pinball music is, what great pinball design is, and it's a finite amount of space. And that's what makes pinball so much fun. And, you know, here I am today, and I'm looking now at this X-Men accessory video. Did you see this thing today? It's got this woman's voice who, I don't know, she's probably a Stern employee, but it sounds like AI. It sounds like they wrote a script and they are having a female AI person narrate the accessories for this game. Rally the heroes of the past to save the future with the official The Uncanny X-Men pinball accessories. Level up your protection with the Uncanny X-Men side armor. featuring an x-men logo backer this incredible side armor further immerses players into the x-men universe and look nothing about it is like wow it's a little weird right it's a little weird trying to drum up excitement for a game that has basically been just butchered by the community since it came out i mean the game's been out for over a year it came out last summer and the code wasn't good and it got rushed out and now we're being asked to accessorize it. See, Stern still just doesn't get it. Who wants to spend good money on top of bad? If you've lost so much money on X-Men and you have if you bought it new in box, are you going to go buy these accessories? Or if you were smart and you weighed it, you really got a good deal on an X-Men LE. It's still a beautiful machine. And if you got an X-Men LE, you don't need the inner art blades. You might be looking at this topper for 1600 bucks. In the end, I think Stern's got to figure out a solution to all of this. They can't do it like this anymore. They can't have a game come out, code incomplete for over a year. They can't have a game come out where it takes over a year to get the topper, to get the accessories. Does spooky pinball make you wait a year? Does barrels of fun make you wait a year? Does anyone else out there in the pinball world make you wait an entire year for the topper? And as we think about, you know, different moves these companies need to make, I think Stern Pinball needs to figure out a way to just get the accessories and the games themselves released at the same time. I mean, that is not a hard ask. I know the Jaws 50th topper is coming out. And the only difference from the Jaws 50th topper from the regular Jaws topper is just the frame around the billboard is red why would that take a really long time to get approval is that enough is that good enough is that even creative enough does it even need a 50th anniversary topper I don't know I don't really feel like it does but hey if you're gonna do it does making the billboard framed in red make it unique I don't know like the billboard from the movie wasn't framed in red and I get you're matching the armor on the game, but that is what it is. I'm really tired today, by the way. So, Killian, a couple things happened that I got to just let you guys know about. So, I think it was like Sunday, super tired. We walked away for just a little bit, and we have our Christmas tree up, and all of a sudden, I'm upstairs, Brenda's upstairs, and we hear a crash. And the sound of like some broken glass, a sound you never want to hear when you have young kids in the house. and we run downstairs and there is the Christmas tree. It has fallen over, but not just that, the sound of a wailing Cassian coming from underneath the tree. Yes, the Christmas tree fell on top of Cassian and he's there just spread out on his belly, wailing and he's fine. He wasn't injured. And I'm like, I don't know what happened. I think when Brenda put the tree onto the stand, it wasn't exactly straight because I was holding the tree and she was supposed to see if it was straight or not because where he was under the tree, he was kind of like mid tree. So I don't think he was pulling on it because he couldn't reach mid tree. I think he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time And then I had to spend hours hours on Sunday cleaning up everything putting the ornaments back on which is no fun at all And then yesterday at about one in the morning our other son, Killian, he sat up and he just got sick and just threw up right in the middle of the bed. And I've been up like all throughout the night with a sick little one and he stayed home today. So you can imagine trying to get back into work on a week in which none of us really wanna work as we're laying people off and you're exhausted and then you've got to turn on your computer and everyone's expecting you to be creative, to be positive, to keep everything moving forward. And you spend most of the day working in PowerPoint and you're wondering, what are we doing? What are we doing? What happened to the old world in which we could just go to lunch with a client and be like, what's your problem? How can we help you? Why does everything always have to instantly become PowerPoint slides? It's like nobody's able to just talk it out anymore. We have to put everything in slide format. All right, but that's not why you're here. I want to thank each and every one of you for signing up for Canada's Pinball Podcast and staying with the show into December. Don't worry, I'm not going to be this exhausted on most of the shows. You know that and I know that. So what am I thankful for with each company that is out there in the pinball world? Well, before I do that, I want to say I got an update and this is not surprising. Sonic the Hedgehog is now delayed. Now, it's not really delayed because it was never scheduled, but I'm hearing now that it is not happening in April. It is most likely June or July now. If I were a guessing man, I don't think it's going to come out before like October. I don't because when you think about how many Harry Potters they've made, they probably have only made about like a thousand to twelve hundred and they probably got like four to five thousand orders so I just don't think they're ready for another line they should be but I just don't think they've ever had like a brand new game on the line when we still have to make all of these other versions of this game when Guns and Roses was on the line were they running another game I forget I think so like but maybe it was like Godfather like a game without a lot of demand maybe it was Toy Story yeah it was Toy Story right it went GNR and then Toy Story so I don't know I don't know I would love to see Jersey Jack run two games at the same time and just make it that way like every six months we get a new game from Jersey Jack that would be so much fun every six months a new Jersey Jack game. I mean, that would be pretty cool. All right. So what am I thankful for over at Stern Pinball? So here's the thing. I think we're all thankful that Stern just exists, that Stern exists, that they are here and they make games available, a new game every four months, a brand new cornerstone game comes out into the world. So I am thankful that they just continue to hit us with incredible cadence and incredible manufacturing abilities. The quality needs to get a little bit better. The new factory hasn't been cranking out the greatest quality machines, but this hobby would be so boring if Stern Pinball were not a part of it. And Stern Pinball has made so many great games over the years, and I am very thankful for everything they do and the amount of games they put out into the world. If I could give them some advice, I think they need to get the themes better. I think they need to think about the LE market differently. And I think they need to get these accessories and the codes of their machines further along so that when they reveal a game and they ask us to buy it, we know everything we need to know. I think the days of like rolling the dice are over because just too many people have lost too much money and the games aren't always going to end up great. They're just not. And even if they do end up great, you'd rather wait like six months and get an LE for five or $4,000 cheaper. So Stern Pinball, thank you for really like making pinball manufacturing your number one priority. And I can't wait to see what your new game is in January. Even if it's Pokemon, I'm excited about Pokemon. I want to see it. I'm even more excited to see if this pinball buying demographic buys that theme. Let's go to Jersey Jack Pinball. What am I thankful for over at Jersey Jack Pinball? This is easy. I'm just happy that Jack Guarnieri like made Jersey Jack. That he was not happy with the way Stern Machines looked. He was not happy with what they were putting into the games. And it's crazy to think like 13 or so years ago, he made the Wizard of Oz. like 13 years ago. Like if he brought that game out today, it would be the most impressive game today. So in a lot of ways, Jersey Jack was well ahead of its time. They put the big screen into the game. And I'm just thankful that Jersey Jack makes what I still believe is the most beautiful, the most premium, and the most stunning pinball machines that have ever been built. It really is on a different level. There is just a level of quality and finesse and craftsmanship and detail that takes place in a Jersey Jack game that you just don't see anywhere else. And I'm very thankful that the games finally shoot as good as they look, because for the longest time, even though they looked great, the gameplay was anything but great. And I think they've figured that out. And I think the next three to four games from this company are really going to be some stunning games that you and I are going to want to own if we want a beautiful game based upon a theme we love that shoots amazingly well. I'm also very thankful for JP to win, who's made some of the greatest graphics and the greatest animations in the history of pinball. I need to correct myself. It's not like he's going over to Dutch pinball for the first time. If you remember, and someone reminded me of this, I forget who it was. So thank you, whoever said this to me. JP DeWin did the code or the animations on The Big Lebowski. So if he doing Dutch Back to the Future it not his first rodeo with Dutch Pinball So that is exciting that he going to be working on Back to the Future Since we're on to Dutch Pinball, let's go to them next. What am I thankful for with Dutch Pinball? Well, I'm thankful they don't make me have to spend money very frequently because they've only had two games basically come to market in about 13 years. I'm very thankful, and I mean this when I say this, The most thankful thing I feel when I think about Dutch Pinball is my personal friendship with Melvin Williams. And Melvin, you might be listening to this, and I mean this. I'm so thankful that Melvin is over there, that he made Alice, that he's making Raza, that he's keeping the lights on so this company can get to Back to the Future. Because if it wasn't for Melvin, there would be no Back to the Future Pinball. The company would not be able to make it to make Back to the Future. So when it comes to Dutch Pinball, the thing I'm most thankful for is Melvin, my friendship with him, and how this man is going to create a bridge so each and every one of us will finally get to see Back to the Future sometime at the end of next year. Let's go over to Spooky Pinball. What are we thankful for with Spooky Pinball? It's hard. It's hard to pinpoint it. I think each and every one of us is just so thankful that Spooky Pinball remains a company that is basically listening to everything we've been saying about them over a decade. And I'm thankful that as a company, they've continued to improve their product game after game after game. I'm so thankful that they are not a company that rests on its laurels because the laurels were not amazing. We went from a company that had hot glue gun technology all the way to being the first pinball company ever to have spooky speak, this voice activated way to interact with your machine from glue guns to that. I'm so thankful they gave a home to one of the most incredible pinball artists of all time in Mr. Christopher Franchi. I'm thankful for their transparency, for their friendship as well. And I'm just very thankful that these guys have carved a niche. They know what we want and they're giving it to us. And they're looking at every inch of a pinball machine and saying, how can we make it better? And how can we keep getting better? And knowing that Goonies and Gremlins is around the corner, I am thankful that they are going to create an utter frenzy every single year now for the next three years as people try to get their hands on those games. I'm thankful because it's going to make the pinball content I get to create so exciting, getting people hyped up for those themes. So what am I thankful for when it comes to Barrels of Fun? My favorite named pinball company in the history of pinball. Look, I'm very thankful that the people over there at Barrels of Fun have brought out three games so far. They've brought out Labyrinth. They've brought out Dune and Winchester's Mystery House. I'm very thankful that David David Van Es and team over there are making what I believe are very, very beautiful boutique machines. And David David Van Es, he's a nice guy. And I mean this like today he called me. We had a conversation. And I want to say this. There's a world in which David could have handled something differently. And he handled it with a lot of grace, a lot of understanding. And I respect that. And it goes a really long way. And he got me on a weird week. He got me on a weird day. And my initial emotional reaction to him was a lot more unhinged. And I am very thankful, David, that you do call people up and you take the time to explain things and you want to understand people. And I know you have a big heart and your heart is in it. And you know that making pinball is really difficult. And you are also a company that is trying to get it better. You know, when you put a game like Dune next to any Stern, you guys should be very proud. And I know I shouldn't have to knock Stern to say something nice or thankful about barrels, but it's true, man. You put Dune next to Star Wars, man, and I would rather own Dune than Star Wars any day of the week. You know, and I'm thankful that these guys got Carl on board. I'm thankful that they picked a theme that most of us would have laughed at. They took the risk and they hit it out of the park. They sold 525 games in basically two days. So I'm very thankful that this boutique company is giving us something different. And I think they're going to continue to do that. And you start to like aggregate all these boutique games and we are living in a new golden age of pinball. Yeah, the prices aren't the best, but think about all these offerings coming from different factories, different people. Like I said, different points of view, different creative interpretations of themes. It's awesome. awesome. Like it's not just one company and that's it. It's not just Bally Williams and Data East or Gottlieb or Capcom. Like the amount of quality across the board is better now than it's ever been in pinball. I mean that like quality pinball playing experiences. And you know, look, I know these games don't have the mechs like they used to, but the game has changed. If you brought most of those older Bally Williams games into your homes, you'd be bored with them so quickly because they were never meant for home ownership. Like these guys have a hard go. All these modern pinball companies, they got to make something that goes into your home that you're not going to be excited about making money off of it because you're not making any money off of it. The chances are you're going to lose money on the resale value, but they've also got to make the game compelling, not just for like 50 plays. They have to make it compelling. A thousand plays, 2000 plays. They have to make it so you want to keep coming back and back and back. And that is not easy. That is not what pinball was ever intended to be. All right, who else is out there in the pinball world? Multimorphic, P3, Multimorphic, Jerry over there, Portal, Kaneda, what are you going to say? What are you thankful for over at Multimorphic? Well, this is easy. I'm happy to see Multimorphic doing what they're doing mechanically. I still think, and I've said this before, I think the greatest mechanisms are in multi-morphic games. And I still to this day wish they would just make it easier to put more of those mechs all throughout the game because you don have to work around the screen But in the end what Jerry is putting into his games even if he has to like fit it in in the upper third of the play field, it is absolutely incredible. The mechanical stuff these guys have been putting into pinball machines. And I wish more pinball companies were reaching for mechanical complexity and fun the way that Multimorphic is. So thank you guys for showing the rest of the pinball world what's mechanically possible because I think a lot of these companies have removed the mechanics. The artwork is complex. The shots are the new toys. That's the way it's been going. So it's nice to see like multidimensional mechanisms still happening in pinball and a lot of them are happening over at Multimorphic. All right, who else is on our list? CGC, baby. Kenada, what are you thankful for when it comes to CGC? Well, I'm thankful that they continue to make medieval madness games forever. I'm just thankful for the quality of their games when they get their games out. I know there's been some issues with the upgrade kit with Cactus Canyon. But for the most part, I think only one company and only one company in all of pinball could have taken Valley Williams classics and made them better. And that is what CGC has done. And, you know, if someone's going to remake Twilight Zone or remake Toad in or remake any any classic game, you'd want that company to be CGC. So thank you guys for doing it. Not sure why it takes you forever to do it. Not sure why you can't talk to us on a weekly basis. But thank you for making all of those stunning remakes of Bally Williams classics. I do hope we see an original license theme game from this company sometime soon. the rumor is halo we shall see all right who else is out there in the pinball world american pinball oh look i'm just thankful they're coming back baby i'm thankful they're coming back they're not coming back with david fix it's a brand new company i think mukesh is gonna hopefully like get a license theme people want is it gonna be he-man it's not gonna be cuphead is it gonna be something that we really really want i can't imagine they went through all of this cuphead r&d and they are not going to make it. That seems weird. I do think they're eventually going to make the Cuphead machine. I'm just thankful that they're returning. They didn't quit for good. I think they needed to go away. I think they needed to hit rock bottom. I think they needed to just reset. Now, have they reset? We shall see. But I am thankful they're coming back with a new leadership team. All right, Pinball Brothers. I'm thankful for the fact that these guys are sticking it out. they're sticking it out with predator you know like we're only gonna make 300 i'm thankful for the fact that like they are only gonna make 300 i'm thankful for tariffs because it makes these machines like easier maybe to say no to oh canada you're not saying nice stuff i don't know like what am i thankful for with the pinball brothers i want to say this the both the pinball brothers and pedretti gaming i mean this when i say i am thankful you guys are there you've made like the people whole on Alien and that matters, man. A lot of people got burned on Aliens and you guys came and you made the machines. That was not easy. Picking up Andrew Highway's failures and making it work is not easy. You could have ended up like Haggis and you could have gone under and you could have lied to people and you could have never got them their products. It was going in that direction for a long time and you course corrected. So thank you for that. I'm thankful that Progetti Gaming is going to bring back Big Bang Bar. Probably going to use fast pinball boards so it'll play a lot better than Funhaus. So I'm thankful that game's coming back. I'm also thankful they're going to bring back the J-Pop classics. What the quality will be, I don't know. What the artwork will be, I don't know. But I'm just thankful. Again, I'm thankful for these options, baby. Look, none of us need any of these games. I mean, when you think about it, why would we not be thankful that we've got all of these companies? because look, the company's executing really well. Just put the pressure on the company's not executing well. So I'm thankful for competition. I mean, if I were to put everybody together, Turner Pinball, I'm thankful for what you're doing with the boards, how you're trying to streamline manufacturing. I'm thankful for that stuff, man. Now, all Chris needs is a theme we really want. We don't need like leftover stuff from Deep Root. I'm never sure why anybody wants to make leftover Deep Root stuff. I mean that, Melvin. It's like, you know, you're going to sell all the Razzas, but at some point we're going to run out of J-Pop and Zidware and Deep Roots stuff. And that's good. I'm thankful for the day that nobody wants to remake anything John Papadiuk Jr. made. I'm thankful for that day in the future. I feel like I'm missing someone and I'm going to hear about it tomorrow. But I got to go get ready to go get Cassian and get Killian in the bed. Everybody, look, I'm very thankful for each and every one of you. I want to send a shout out to Tux Browning, who's over there in Texas. Tux is a great guy. He's battling through something really difficult. Life is really precious. Every day above ground is a blessing. Life gets hard. A lot of us have a lot of stuff going on that people just don't know about. There is the surface level version of all of us. And then there's everything inside. And it's a miracle if you find a partner in life that actually gets who you are. It's even more a miracle if you even understand yourself and you really understand what makes you tick and how to make yourself a better person every day. So I'm very thankful that each and every one of you tune in to Canada's Pinball Podcast every single week. I am beyond exhausted, but I had to get a show up today. So I hope you're thankful that I got you something up, that I got you a show. Unlike Guns N' Roses fans right now, Axl Rose was supposed to release two new songs today and then nothing. It's so funny. If you go to my GNR forum, if you want to read disappointment, read all the Guns N' Roses fans that are so pissed off that they thought they were going to have the greatest Tuesday ever. And now they've got nothing. Everybody be good. We'll be back soon with more shows of Canada's Pinball Podcast. So come and get it

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 1b1cdcd3-8c48-45f3-89f5-3e86050d2d23*