# SDTM: a pinball show Episode 19: This Month In Pinside

**Source:** Straight Down the Middle  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2017-05-30  
**Duration:** 31m 46s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9btcpbwABIo

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## Analysis

Zach Sharpe and Greg from Straight Down the Middle discuss Pinside community chatter including Star Wars delays, AC/DC Vault announcement disappointment, Dialed In! production rollout, Attack from Mars Remake updates, Heighway Pinball's Alien quality control crisis, and Spooky Pinball's Total Nuclear Annihilation backglass reveal. The episode highlights ongoing frustration with Stern's vault pricing strategy, manufacturing delays across the industry, and community drama around Heighway's delivery failures and customer refund issues.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Star Wars pinball has been delayed significantly past May the 4th and 40th anniversary deadlines — _Zach Sharpe and Greg state they delayed covering Star Wars for this episode because Stern was expected to give a teaser on May the 4th but failed to deliver_
- [MEDIUM] Star Wars artwork will be entirely photoshopped due to strict IP licensing from Lucasfilm, not hand-drawn — _Greg and Zach discuss rumors that Lucasfilm is controlling artwork tightly: 'They don't want hand-done artwork for Star Wars. They're not going to give that.'_
- [HIGH] Christopher Franchi is not doing Star Wars artwork and is committed to 3-4 other pen projects with Stern — _Zach states 'Christopher Franchi is not doing it. He did say on a recent podcast that he's committing to another – I think he's working on three or four pens that he's working on with Stern.'_
- [HIGH] AC/DC Vault has no new LCD screen, just updated artwork with Angus face repositioned — _Greg and Zach express disappointment: 'They just jacked the price up because of time. Yeah. There's nothing.' Zach notes they 'changed the Angus face to rocking out right above it' and moved the Helen sticker placement_
- [HIGH] Heighway Pinball's Alien is shipping with widespread quality control issues including missing components, poor LCD brightness, missing fiber optic cables, and missing artwork — _Zach describes extensive Pinside thread complaints: 'things not working when people get them things not there things missing' and details specific issues with powder coat, xenomorph, artwork, LCD brightness, and fiber optics_
- [HIGH] Heighway Alien Limited Edition customers who paid directly to Andrew Heighway are being denied refunds while distributor customers get refunds quickly — _Greg: 'if you get them from Cointaker, Melissa or somebody like that, you get your money back quick that's why you go through distributors to protect you from that but they're not getting their money back'_
- [MEDIUM] Spooky Pinball's Total Nuclear Annihilation will have 20+ coils and solenoids, the most of any game, justifying Premium pricing — _Zach quotes Matt Scott Danesi: 'he's said 20 plus, he's got more coils and solenoids in this game than any other game' and references Charlie Emery's podcast discussion about ramp cost being minimal_
- [HIGH] Jersey Jack Dialed In! changed head decals and ball lock station design, with new code release completing — _Greg and Zach confirm: 'They changed the head decals... They changed the Einstein's Theater to Quantum City Theater' and new code was released with positive streaming response_
- [MEDIUM] George Gomez stated at Texas Pinball Festival that Stern has 'three cornerstones, a vault, and some boutique pinball machines' planned — _Zach recounts: 'George Gomez said at Texas Pinball Festival. He said there's three cornerstones, a vault, and some boutique pinball machines. Now we've got one cornerstone so far, in my opinion. We've got Aerosmith.'_
- [MEDIUM] AC/DC Pro model pricing around $5,100-$5,500, Premium Edition at $7,000 — _Greg states: 'Stern AC/DC, they're going to clock in at about, you'll probably get a Stern AC/DC Pro Vault Edition for... $5,100. No. I don't think. Yeah, if you're talking to the right people. For the most people, $5,500. Premium Edition, $7,000.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "May the 4th be with you. Yeah, So May the 4th. My ass. That went nowhere."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~2:30
> _Expresses frustration with Stern's failure to announce Star Wars on the iconic Star Wars day deadline_

> "If you're going to do a vault. Do something with it. Yeah, do something different, man. A little different artwork... They just jacked the price up because of time. Yeah. There's nothing."
> — **Greg**, ~12:00
> _Core criticism of AC/DC Vault strategy—lack of meaningful upgrades justifying premium pricing_

> "Alien machines are trickling out of that factory like Johnny Pinball trickles the ball out of the pops. Actually, Johnny Pinball's doing it better."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~18:00
> _Scathing comparison of Heighway's production speed to a homebrew builder, indicating severity of delays_

> "He's well-spoken. He seems like a very likable guy... He's backing up nothing. I don't know if it's his fault. I don't know whose fault it is. I know that there have been plenty, plenty of lies."
> — **Greg**, ~19:30
> _Balanced but damning assessment of Andrew Heighway's credibility crisis despite his communication skills_

> "If you've got money in it what are you going to announce other than my game should be on my front door."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~20:45
> _Highlights customer frustration with Heighway's vague 'announcement coming' promises instead of delivering machines_

> "This is way too enmeshed. I need to separate this. It's becoming a shit show. You need to get through this stuff. Ship out the games or don't, man."
> — **Greg**, ~21:45
> _Commentary on Andrew Heighway's personal defense about owning a Porsche and boat—indicates crisis has become about personal reputation management rather than business execution_

> "See, that's what a vault should be. Yeah. They upgrade all the animations. Oh, true. Stern, for the love of God, AC/DC, at least colorize the damn screen."
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~14:30
> _Contrasts Chicago Gaming's Attack from Mars Remake substantial upgrades against Stern's AC/DC Vault minimal effort, setting expectation standard for vault editions_

> "I think this game could, I think it has the potential to be a huge game. Huge? I think huge. No, no. Oh, I do. Not even close to huge."
> — **Zach Sharpe / Greg**, ~28:00
> _Disagreement on Total Nuclear Annihilation's market reach potential—indicates tension between boutique vs mass-market appeal expectations_

> "They're not getting their money back and he keeps telling people there's an announcement coming, wait until the announcement, people aren't good with that"
> — **Zach Sharpe**, ~20:30
> _Captures core frustration of Heighway customers waiting for refunds while receiving vague promises instead of action_

> "I felt like people knew... Stern prices dropping so fast and so many coming up for sale I feel like people knew"
> — **Greg**, ~12:45
> _Suggests Stern AC/DC Vault announcement may have leaked to market before official reveal, affecting secondary market pricing_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Zach Sharpe | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle pinball show; collector and pinball enthusiast who actively discusses community trends and manufactures opinions on game design |
| Greg | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle pinball show; more cautious in opinions, focuses on build quality and gameplay mechanics |
| Larry | person | Owner of Flippin' Out Pinball distribution/sales company; provides escalators, coin doors, and mods; primary sponsor of this episode |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Pinball artist at Stern known for photo-realistic artwork; reportedly working on 3-4 projects with Stern but not Star Wars; has distinctive horror/Batman-focused style |
| George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball designer; stated strategy of three cornerstones, vault, and boutique machines at Texas Pinball Festival |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Rumored designer of Star Wars pinball machine |
| Dwight Sullivan | person | Rumored code developer for Star Wars pinball |
| Jim Sullivan | person | Rumored code developer for Star Wars pinball |
| John Trudeau | person | Rumored to be working with Christopher Franchi on potential future Stern games; mentioned in context of Jaws speculation |
| Andrew Heighway | person | CEO of Heighway Pinball; facing significant backlash for Alien production delays, quality control issues, and customer refund denials; perceived as well-spoken but lacking follow-through |
| Matt Scott Danesi | person | Designer at Spooky Pinball working on Total Nuclear Annihilation; claims game has 20+ coils/solenoids |
| Charlie Emery | person | Podcast host who discussed Total Nuclear Annihilation ramp costs; appears to be industry commentator |
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; described as having 'inside information' on rumors, not always accurate but well-informed on industry developments |
| Pin 2D | person | Community member who called Zach Sharpe and traded his Walking Dead machine for a spot on Star Wars pre-order list |
| DeadFlip | person | Associated with Stern Pinball; posted Beastie Boys album artwork on Facebook with 'Stern Pinball' watermark, then deleted within an hour; may have been teasing/joking |
| Nick | person | Part of Buffalo Pinball with Kevin; currently streaming with Dialed In! loaner machine |
| Kevin | person | Part of Buffalo Pinball with Nick; currently streaming with Dialed In! loaner machine |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer releasing Star Wars (delayed), AC/DC Vault, Aerosmith; facing criticism for vault execution and pricing strategy |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer rolling out Dialed In! with updated artwork and code; targeting two releases per year |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer releasing Total Nuclear Annihilation; known for quality build and vibrant design aesthetic |
| Chicago Gaming Company | company | Releasing Attack from Mars Remake with substantial upgrades; praised for vault approach as model example |
| Heighway Pinball | company | Manufacturer in crisis with Alien production delays, quality control failures, and customer refund disputes; major reputation damage from broken promises |
| Straight Down the Middle: a pinball show | organization | YouTube pinball show hosted by Zach Sharpe and Greg; community-focused content discussing Pinside trends and game reviews |
| Flippin' Out Pinball | company | Pinball distribution and sales company; primary sponsor of this episode; provides machines, escalators, coin doors, mods |
| Pinside | organization | Online pinball community forum where major discussions and complaints about games, manufacturers, and industry news occur |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Star Wars pinball delays and missing announcements, AC/DC Vault pricing, design, and market reception, Heighway Pinball Alien production crisis and quality control, Stern's vault strategy and manufacturer competition
- **Secondary:** Jersey Jack Dialed In! production rollout, Chicago Gaming Attack from Mars Remake features, Spooky Pinball Total Nuclear Annihilation announcement, Christopher Franchi artwork and design philosophy

### Sentiment

**Negative** (0.25) — Hosts express frustration with Stern's vault execution, severe disappointment with Heighway's Alien production crisis, and concern about Star Wars delays. Some positive sentiment toward Jersey Jack's Dialed In! updates and Spooky Pinball's new game, but overall tone is critical of industry execution and business decisions.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Heighway Pinball customers paying directly to Andrew Heighway are unable to obtain refunds while distributor customers receive quick refunds, creating two-tier customer service crisis (confidence: high) — Greg: 'people are asking for their money back they pay directly Andrew Heighway money and they're not getting their money back... if you get them from Cointaker, Melissa or somebody like that, you get your money back quick'
- **[business_signal]** Community concern that AC/DC Vault announcement may have leaked to market, causing secondary market price drops before official reveal (confidence: medium) — Greg: 'Stern prices dropping so fast and so many coming up for sale I feel like people knew... But nothing's for sure'
- **[design_philosophy]** AC/DC Vault perceived as minimal upgrade with no LCD update, just repositioned artwork, failing to meet community expectations for vault editions (confidence: high) — Greg: 'do something different, man... They just jacked the price up because of time. Yeah. There's nothing.' Zach criticizes lack of LCD screen upgrade compared to Chicago Gaming's approach
- **[design_philosophy]** Spooky Pinball Total Nuclear Annihilation featuring 80s throwback arcade aesthetic backglass in contrast to contemporary design trends; significant mechanical complexity with 20+ coils/solenoids (confidence: medium) — Zach: 'Total Nuclear Annihilation... backglass... It's a nice 80s kind of throwback arcade feel' and mentions 'Matt Scott Danesi himself... he's said 20 plus, he's got more coils and solenoids in this game than any other game'
- **[licensing_signal]** Star Wars artwork constrained to photoshopped imagery rather than hand-drawn due to strict Lucasfilm IP control; no hand-drawn artwork permitted (confidence: medium) — Greg: 'They don't want hand-done artwork for Star Wars. They're not going to give that. No, they're not going to be liberal on that'
- **[community_signal]** Andrew Heighway defending personal wealth (Porsche, boat) rather than focusing on business execution; CEO becoming defensive and enmeshed in personal reputation management (confidence: high) — Greg: 'he has a boat, and all this stuff. And then he's getting on to defend himself as a person saying, well, I have a Porsche, but it's a 1994... This has become unbelievable'
- **[personnel_signal]** Christopher Franchi not assigned to Star Wars despite his expertise in photo-realistic artwork that would fit theme; instead committed to 3-4 other Stern projects (confidence: high) — Zach: 'Christopher Franchi is not doing it. He did say on a recent podcast that he's committing to another – I think he's working on three or four pens that he's working on with Stern'
- **[product_strategy]** Star Wars pinball significantly delayed past May the 4th and 40th anniversary deadlines with no official announcement despite community expectations (confidence: high) — Zach: 'they're supposed to give at least a teaser on Star Wars. We got nothing. So May the 4th be with you. Yeah, So May the 4th. My ass. That went nowhere. 40th anniversary. 40th anniversary.'
- **[product_strategy]** Jersey Jack Dialed In! receiving production updates including new head decal artwork and ball lock station redesign with new code release (confidence: high) — Greg: 'They changed the head decals... They changed the Einstein's Theater to Quantum City Theater or something... they just released the Backglass'
- **[product_concern]** Heighway Pinball Alien experiencing systematic quality control failures including missing components, poor LCD brightness, missing fiber optics, and artwork issues (confidence: high) — Zach describes extensive Pinside thread: 'things not working when people get them things not there things missing... fiber optic cables aren't on there, Greg, when they're sending them out'
- **[rumor_hype]** Multiple unconfirmed game titles rumored for Stern including Jaws, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Beatles, and Beastie Boys; community speculation based on social media hints and leaked images (confidence: low) — Zach speculates on Jaws and Beatles based on Christopher Franchi's style match; DeadFlip Facebook leak of Beastie Boys album image deleted within an hour
- **[sentiment_shift]** Spooky Pinball growing in community appreciation; hosts express increasing confidence in build quality and design with Total Nuclear Annihilation announcement (confidence: medium) — Greg: 'Spooky Pinball's growing on me... if Spooky Pinball, with the quality, it's already a good game'

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## Transcript

 Hey guys, thanks for checking out the video. This is Zach and Greg from Straight Down the Middle. You got nothing? What? You got nothing to add to that? To what? To our little intro there. No, it's good. It's good. I always have to carry the intro, don't I? Yeah, it's just what you do. Maybe. Everybody's got their job. Oh, is that my job? That's your job. All right. So this month we are going to discuss Pinside, right? This month in Pinside. Yes. Let's do it, Greg. I agree. There are some rather juicy topics to discuss, right? Yeah. First, I want to let everybody know that this episode right here that you guys are watching is sponsored by Flip N Out Pinball. Flipping Out Pinball, Larry runs that business. He offers all kinds of cool stuff to buy for pinball, including pinball machines themselves. Jersey Jack pinball machines, Larry's got them. Chicago Gaming Machines with the new Attack from Mars remakes, Larry's got them. And then soon, Houdini with American Pinball. What else can you get from Larry? Escalaras, that's always my favorite thing. Go up and down those stairs with that motorized cart. Or even across parking lots. Yeah, across parking lots. You guys check out our old video. If you scroll back, we did a thing with Larry. You can see how absolutely easy that thing is to use. Yeah, there's all kinds of attachments and cool stuff. Yeah, it's great to live. And you can lift appliances and do stuff. Yeah, it's got multiple uses. That way you can talk your wife into buying it. That's very true. So Larry's got that. He's got coin doors. He's got mods for The Hobbit. He's got all kinds of stuff. Yes. And he did tell us that one of his new coin doors is ACDC, and we're going to talk about the release of that. So maybe for your new ACDC machine. So if you guys are looking for a new game, Coindors, mods, Escalara, contact Larry at FlippinOutPinball. FlippinOutPinball. And do us a favor. If you go through Larry or any other distributor, let them know that if we – Influenced you. Yeah, if we influenced you at all, let them know that SDTM, Zach and Greg, this is the reason you're buying the machine. You know, I didn't know about Ghostbusters. I was kind of thinking about it, and I was watching those SDTM guys, and I was like, you know what? I think I want a Ghostbuster. So, you know, let them know. I don't know if it'll help us. No, but it's cool, though. Yeah. All right. So thanks again, Larry, from Flip N Out Pinball for sponsoring us. Agreed. So let's do some housekeeping first, Greg. On YouTube, we always try to reply as much as we can to the YouTube followers. You do a really good job of that, so thank you, buddy. Thank you. So Riz2336, what's up, Riz? Yeah. Big supporter. Yeah. Big commenter. Love some comments from Riz. Definitely. He said in our top ten pinball ball locks, he said, where in the hell is the Addams Family thing? And we thought of it at first. Yeah, and we talked, and it somehow got lost in discussion because we sort of talked like, that's one of the number one ball locks you think of. But then we were like, oh, it just picks it up and it's done. The more we were talking about it, we're completely wrong. We are. Riz is right. We are. It deserves to be in that top ten. It should have at least taken over Circus Voltaire. Easily. Yes. What the hell were we drinking? What were we doing? It was bad. Sorry, Riz. Sorry, guys. Yeah, the thing needs to be in the top ten. Yeah. Ball lock. Agreed. So you are correct. Any other housekeeping stuff you want to take care of? I don't know. What else is there? I've got a bad case of the Rob Zombies I can't get rid of. Yeah, this is very true. You'll get rid of it. I got that. You guys will see. It's a good game. You guys will see. We're reviewing that next. I think our next machine review. Rob Zombie. and I got it for the show thinking it'd be a cool review. I'll get to play around a little bit in the game room. And we were both excited about it because we never put our hands on a spooky. So we played the hell out of it. And you guys will see how we felt about it. We won't give any spoilers. I'll give you that. That's what you get. That's a preview. Alright. So that's coming up but oh boy I still get a bad case of them. I can't get rid of the damn thing. Yeah. This is weird. At this point, I got like $5,700 for an LE. Yeah. Good price. I'm going to lose my ass on this one, Greg. Yeah. It happens. See what happens when you do stuff on the show. There goes our new camera. I know. There goes our DSLR. Yeah. All right. Let's start with the gossip. Not the gossip, but the news. What are people talking about on Pennside? Star Wars. They are talking about Star Wars. We're like they're up. Yes, yes. And we sort of, we were holding off on this month in Pennside before because we thought, okay, they're supposed to give at least a teaser on Star Wars. We got nothing. May the 4th be with you. Yeah, may the 4th. My ass. That went by. 40th anniversary. 40th anniversary. The actual release. My ass. That was done. So we just had to do this month in Pennside. A disappointment. We were holding off, weren't we? We were. We were like, we want to give the viewers some insight. We want to give them some information on Star Wars, what we thought about the layout, et cetera, et cetera. Our opinion on it, yeah. Kaneda, he's really good. If you guys haven't checked out his podcast, he's really good with keeping up. I know, I know, it's Kaneda. But he's really good with the information, and he's really turned the show around. Check that out. But he is the inside guy, so he sometimes knows about rumors. He's not always right, but he was talking about May 4th, but it fell through. And I'll tell you what, who's our dude? What's his name? bought my Walking Dead. Pin 2D. Oh, Pin 2D. Pin 2D calls me up and he's like, I want your Walking Dead. And I'm like, you know what? I'm going to get a Star Wars. So I talked to a distributor, got on the list for Star Wars, which I'm high on the list. It's great. But he talked me out of my Walking Dead. Great. Now you have no Star Wars nor a Walking Dead. That's what people... I thought, man, I could get a Star Wars. I'm going to have to sell something anyway and I'm not ready to get rid of Aerosmith yet. Well, I've got some... He's got my Walking Dead. I originally thought, now I have no clue, I originally thought that Star Wars was being held back because I thought that Aerosmith was a very unexpected game in popularity and sales for Stern. That was the rumor. Yes, because I told Zach, I said, man, I said, why would they go ahead and release a title that they know regardless they're going to sell a crap ton of games when Aerosmith is still selling? Because if Star Wars came out and I had Aerosmith and I was kind of looking for a new game, I'm going to go with Star Wars. Or if you were getting ready to buy Aerosmith and you thought, oh, Star Wars is going to come out. Yeah, exactly. But if there was some time in between, it's like, I'll pick up Aerosmith. Yeah, so I told Zach, I said, man, I just think that it's stupid marketing on Stern's part to do that because Aerosmith is getting great reviews. People are loving it and it's selling. They're going to buy it regardless. Yeah, they're going to buy it. And then everything started getting pushed back, but it's getting pushed back so far now that I don't know if there's problems? The ball is in their court. They can do whatever the hell they want to. They know this is their dynamite thing. Here's the thing. I still go back to what George Gomez said at Texas Pinball Festival. He said there's three cornerstones, a vault, and some boutique games. Now we've got one cornerstone so far, in my opinion. We've got Aerosmith. Batman was last year. All of that was last year. We've got Aerosmith. And I thought, here's what I think we're going to see. I think we're going to see a summer release of Star Wars, but just a late summer. Yes. And then we're going to have an announcement at Expo for the next pinball machine. October. Yeah. And then with a release date by the end of the year end of December shipping them out And they have the three cornerstones Yeah They have vault We talk about that here in a minute So what do we know about Star Wars The rumors are that it is a Steve Ritchie game That's almost pretty much concrete. Code done by Dwight Sullivan, I believe. So that's going to be a pretty dynamic duo there. Other than that, we don't know. The rumor is that the artwork is all going to be Photoshopped because the intellectual property for Star Wars is very structured. They don't want hand-done artwork for Star Wars. They're not going to give that. No, they're not going to be liberal on that. Now, Darth Vader is Darth Vader. Here's a picture of him. Yeah, that's how it's going to be. They might jazz it up in the background and stuff, but that's what people are worried about. People are worried about no hand drawing. At least have, like, Christopher Franchi. Yeah. Because he's just photo realism. Yes. So you're basing the hell on photo. But he's not doing it. No, but you basically have a photo. It's like a photo, but it's hand-drawn art that you can be proud of, and it adds a different feel to it that's better than Photoshop. Photoshop just – Photoshop's happening. That's some mid-2000s stuff going on there. We'll see. Let's hope they don't jack it up. Early 2000s. But we know that Christopher Franchi is not doing it. He did say on a recent podcast that he's committing to another – I think he's got three or four pens that he's working on with Stern. Yes. And we've talked a little bit with Christopher Franchi. Yes. And, yeah, he's got some exciting stuff. He's not giving away any of the details, so we don't know anything. Yeah, but she's locked in. That's understandable. Great guy, though. Yeah, he's a very cool guy, man. Very cool guy. Very talented artist. I can't wait. Love his work. If you guys go back and look at his portfolio, some of the things that if he could get his hands on, what do you think he's going to do? What's your – okay, Expo. We're marking it right now. What is it? End of May here. Beginning of June. What are you guessing the release expo is going to be? Man, I have no idea. I somewhat speculated, finally, of Jaws. I think so. And that's the only thing I can think of. You think Franchi and John Trudeau on a Jaws? I think so, possibly. That's what I'm feeling. I just don't know. It kind of fits his style, Franchi's style, because he's a very, it's the Batman, a lot of horror stuff. I feel Jaws fits. And that calls for that photorealism. Yes, again, yeah. Oh, my God, yeah, for sure. I don't know what are we going to have Greg here's the little hints that we're getting on social media so Stern throws out a little hint where they celebrate Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on their Facebook page and they said scratch the chin is it time for another Turtles machine which I'd be happy about no if they do it based on the cartoons I just don't feel if it is Francia's doing it I just don't think Chris's His artwork is phenomenal. No, I don't think... But that's too cartoon. It doesn't... I don't know if I would go for that with him. Not that I think he'd knock it out of the park, but there's... Or the other rumor is possibly Beatles. Yeah, but do you think they're going to... Because I heard Beatles too, and I can see him doing that. I think he'd do an amazing job on that because the photo realism. And John Trudeau, who he's been rumored to be working with right now. But do you think they're going to do three bands in one year? Because you're going to have... I don't think Stern gives a shit. They sell. Yeah. They sell. Who cares? Look what they're doing with the vault. The ACDC. That's what I'm talking about. That'd be great with Aerosmith. Aerosmith, ACDC. They don't give a shit. I don't think they care. Yeah. Let's call it Jaws. My bet right now is going to go for Jaws. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. And then Deadflip. You showed me that one. Yeah. That was squirrely. What do you make of that? I was a little paranoid. What do you make of that? You think this is real? So we can let them all know. It was on his page, yeah. Yeah. So, Dead Flip is associated with Stern, right? And on his Facebook page, he posts on his background art the album of Beastie Boys. I don't know which album it was, but it's the Beastie Boys album. And in the right corner, it says Stern Pinball. But then nobody was talking about it. Nobody talked about it. And he pulled it. He pulled it after about an hour. Oh. Pulled it. I got on there and I was like, is this real? Zach's like, hell, I don't know. it might be. So I was like, I'm going to Pennside. I better check this out. And nobody talked about it. Nobody brought it up. There was no, hey, did you see that? There was literally no chatter that I found. So you think Deadflip's just effing with us? I couldn't. Come on, Chad. You messing with us? Let us know. I don't know. So Beastie Boys, would you like that? Yeah, I'm down with it. Who didn't at our age love Beastie Boys? Me. Really? No. Oh my God. Can you imagine that? Is that a shocker, guys? SDTM fans, Is that a shocker? Stop. Come on. They're a little... I don't know. They were cool. What are they? They're not really rappers. No, they were... They're not really punk. Oh, my God. They're a statement of the 90s, man. They just scream. Oh, I think it's a cool pin. I mean, I wouldn't like... Oh, I got to have my Beastie Boys pin. I think it's cool. It's equivalent to Rob Zombie to me. It's fine. I'll listen to them. Okay. So, we've got Star Wars. That didn't happen. Why are you getting hung up on Beastie Boys? I'm not. ACDC Vault. Okay. They're kind of weird. I don't know. So next, Greg. ACDC Vault. Yeah, so we think Stern's coming out with Star Wars, and then they're like, bam, here's a little ACDC Vault for you. Here's our vault for you. Yeah, out of nowhere, kind of honestly. And I'm disappointed by the vault. Thank you. Not that it's ACDC. I am too. But, man, if you were going to do a vault. Do something with it. Yeah, do something different, man. A little different artwork. And I think that the majority that people are going to be disappointed about is I think that there was hope for an LCD in it. Something. Yeah, something new. You just jacked the price up because of time. Yeah. There's nothing. Yeah. They took the Pro. They gave us pictures of the Pro so far. Yeah. They took the Pro, and they changed the Angus face to Angus rocking out right above it. But did you notice? Here's Tricky Stern, and I know they did this for a reason. They put him in a place where you can't put the Helen sticker on there. Oh, yeah. Yeah. They get mad. I don't know. I feel like I bash them sometimes. I bash them because I love them. I know you love them. It is a weird thing with you. And I don't dislike them. It's just some of the things. I just feel that this stuff is more financially driven, which you've got to be. I understand business. I definitely understand business. The door's open, man. I do understand business. But I feel like that so much is financially driven that it's not. They just don't give the people what they want or what they need necessarily. Why are we going back to DMDs? That's what I'm saying. We're done with the DMDs. Okay, I don't know if you've got to rewrite a lot of code to, if it's that much work. I think most people would rather say, you know what, I'll delay six months for a vault. If you're going to give me ACDC, I'll give you an extra six months. Just do the damn thing right. Yeah, because I would have loved an LCB on there. They're not redoing Lucy for the premium. No, which I understand that. I'm not knocking them for that. I don't know. That's the cool artwork. Yeah, it is, but I don't know. Give the people what they want, damn it. Yeah, I'm not happy about it. All those poor prices for ACDC. Oh, yeah. Well, that's what I was telling my friend. I told you what I was going to tell you was going to happen a month ago. Oh, yeah. And I got a buddy who's wanting to get into pins. And he just can't decide on what title he wants his first thing to be. And he goes, I kind of like a Tron. And I said, here's the problem with Tron. I said, what are they fetching? Six grand for a pro? Does that sound? Used more sometimes. Okay. And that's what I told him. I said, man, you go right now and you drop six grand on this pin. and Stern announces a vault, you're automatically losing almost a grand, if not more, automatically off the top of that. So I said, if there's one pen I'd stay away from right now, it's Tron, for that reason. No, that's a good point. And I think I don remember pen side chattering about it much beforehand but ACDC prices dropping so fast and so many coming up for sale I feel like people knew Oh, yeah. I didn't know because I really wasn't expecting ACDC. Yeah, but what did we say a couple videos ago? We said a vault this year is going to be ACDC. Yeah, I mean we talked about it, but I wasn't certain, certain. Maybe just that speculation drove the market. I had a couple little people telling me, yeah, it's going to be ACDC. But nothing's for sure. No, call me crazy, Greg, but I'd rather have that Angus face. Oh, I don't have that Angus face. I'm one of the people who likes that wicked hand-drawn Angus face. Well, and we talked about build quality. I've never owned ACDC, so... The pro sucks. No, I'm not talking about gameplay. Build quality. It was a better quality then than what you feel you're getting now. I don't know, man. ACDCs are like Metallicas. You can find those now. You've got to watch out by the pop bumpers. Oh, man. A lot of wear there. I won't go there with that. down. I was going to say, your older machine might still be your better bet just because of build quality without cracking cabinets, that sort of thing. So ACDC, they're going to clock in at about, you'll probably get a pro for... $5,100. No. I don't think. Yeah, if you're talking to the right people. For the most people, $5,500. Premium, $7,000. Very true. I don't want it, so it does nothing for me. So our next thing on Pennside, some nice news. Is there some things on the line? It's moving out. Dialed in is on the line, ladies and gentlemen. We posted on our Facebook, open up those wallets, boys and girls, because it is dialed in time. They changed the head decals. They did. They look good. It's a little darker. I don't know. It's nicer. Well, the spaceship's instead of the handholding. Yeah, I enjoy it. It changes the art up a little bit from the cabinet to the head. I'm totally fine with the handholding. Oh, I was fine with it all. But this looks better. Agreed. Yeah. And then they changed the ball lock station. Yes. They changed the Einstein's Theater to Quantum City Theater or something. And I'm ready for this. I'm ready for this dialed in. I love that they're rolling out within a year. That's what his goal is. His goal, I think, is two a year. But Jersey Jack, they're rolling out, and hopefully I can buy one at some point. I'm looking forward to them. Yeah. Every time I've played it, it felt like a good, solid, quality machine. I actually prefer the standard body over the wide body on this game. I don't know why. It's just it plays a little faster. It's more like a regular pinball machine. That's right. I felt the other ones with them being wide body. It was this nice flow, beautiful feel, but dialed in again. It had that nice quality. It had some smoothness, but it had the speed that I think you needed. Nick and Kevin, Buffalo Pinball, they've got a loaner right now, so they'll be streaming a lot of Dialed In coming up here. Yeah, they did that new code. It was nice. It was a good stream. It was a fun stream there. Yeah, it was. So check them out with Dialed In. But they're rolling off the lines, and hopefully you or I will have one here soon. What do you think? Yeah, I think you'll have one. I won't have one. I probably will. He will. I probably will. I'll play it at your house. What else is on the line? I think Attack from Mars Remake is very, very close. Yes. If not already on the line. Yes. So those are going to be rolling out, and people are really flocking to that title. Yeah. Because of the price, because of the features, because of the upgraded dots, because of the upgraded system. See, that's what a vault should be. Yeah. They upgrade all the animations. Oh, true. Stern, for the love of God, ACD, at least colorize the damn screen. Yeah. There's just got to be something different, not just a re-release. So they did all of that. They added a lot of stuff on Attack on Mars. Makes it cool. So those are getting ready to come out as well. Okay. Next, let's talk about this month's shit show. Yes. You know what I'm talking about, Greg? I do know what you're talking about. Highway Pinball. Alien. Alien. Alien. Alien. none of the damn things are coming out of the factory so it doesn't matter there's just stories upon stories upon stories you can read the whole thread on Pinside things not working when people get them things not there things missing you guys this shit is ugly which I am so shocked about all of this for the fact that Full Throttle other than the title they didn't sell many other than the title got reviewed very well quality everything was good when I heard I can make an hour video about the issues with Alien but that's what I'm saying that's why I'm really surprised because I thought ok they're definitely a huge competitor right now you're going to have Stern, JJP and it came out with a machine in three years Greg well I know but like competitor with Alien with Alien was going to throw them in oh yeah would have if they can build a machine but that's what I'm saying so I had very high hopes for Alien Alien machines are trickling out of that factory like Johnny Mnemonic trickles the ball out of the pops. Actually, Johnny Mnemonic's doing it better. And he tells me, stop bringing up Johnny Mnemonic. Stop bringing up Johnny Mnemonic. Stop bringing up that turn game. But Andrew Highway, here's the problem. He comes across very well. Yeah. He's well-spoken. He seems like a very likable guy. I agree. He's backing up nothing. I don't know if it's his fault. I don't know whose fault it is. I know that there have been plenty, plenty of lies. So it's becoming very tough to believe in this company for me. LEs were supposed to roll out two years ago. But now they're rolling out LEs. Oh, they're going to be out. They're going to be out. They're coming out, but then they're not including the powder coat. Or then they're not including the xenomorph. And then not including the artwork. Or you put the artwork on, and then the LCD, they give you the extra artwork, but the LCD doesn't make it bright enough. The fiber optic cables aren't on there, Greg, when they're sending them out. it's weird with the quality control no no no thanks I'm just disappointed I just hate that for them because I was hoping that they were going to be one of the next great competitors I was hoping so too and I was so pumped about Alien if you look at the pin side thread this is the shit show that this thing has become is some of you pin siders have gotten really nasty too towards the company here's what it's like right now in the last I don't know 24 hours or so this is where we're at the company people are asking for their money back they pay directly Andrew Highway money and they're asking for it back and they're not getting their money back you get them from Cointaker, Melissa or somebody like that, you get your money back quick that's why you go through distributors to protect you from that but they're not getting their money back and he keeps telling people there's an announcement coming, wait until the announcement, people aren't good with that, like if I've got money in it what are you going to announce other than my game should be on my front door. Yeah, and they keep saying they're boosting up production. There's nobody working, really. Yeah, it's disappointing. I don't know what to do. I don't feel great about this at all. Yeah, I don't either. Hopefully, it'll fix it. I mean, I think that that's the bad thing, sort of on a side note. Sorry to interrupt you. No, no, you're good. There's been people that are like, they're getting documentation. He purchased a Porsche, and he has a boat, and all this stuff. And then he's getting on to defend himself as a person saying, well, I have a Porsche, but it's a 1994. I'm like, oh, this has become unbelievable. Like, why does this guy as a CEO have to explain his expensive, like, way too enmeshed. There's a psychologist in me. This is way too enmeshed. I need to separate this. It's becoming a shit show. You've got to get through this stuff. Ship out the games or don't, man. Mama used to always say, shit will get off the top. Yeah, you've got to do something. just fix it please all right so moving on to the next thing let's talk about Scott Danesi and what he's doing spooky pinball yeah he he has made a game called Total Nuclear Annihilation that's we've talked about that before is in our ball lock video this bad boy got picked up by spooky pinball they gonna make it make it at a time I think But Toku Tokular Kokular It an ear implant Total Nuclear Annihilation I had to change the name a little bit because Atari kind of had that Total Nuclear Annihilation game. But they're putting it into production. Yes, and they just released the Backglass. Yeah, here it is. I think it looks gorgeous. It's a nice 80s kind of throwback arcade feel. I'm sure there's people already bitching about it. I think it's cool. I'm surprised they released it already. I think they're end of the years when they're coming out with this game. So that sneak peek. I'm most excited to finally see some Playfield art on it just because you're so used to the white wood. Yeah, it's still a cool game. I'm ready for some art to be on the Playfield. If they follow suit with that back glass, that would be awesome, won't it? Yeah, I think it's neat. It's not like artwork that you're seeing now. So it's a nice change up. I like it. I think it's solid. I like the color scheme. Great job, guys. And Spooky's growing on me. Yeah. And if Spooky, with the quality, it's already a good game. Yeah. So you don't have to worry about that. You take Spooky's build quality and put to it. I think this game could, I think it has the potential to be a huge game. Huge? I think huge. No, no. Oh, I do. Not even close to huge. I do. You've got a lot of. It's a boutique one. It's not huge. That's my thought. But we'll tell you. I can go with that. Here's the thing. Everybody thinks this thing is going to be cheaper. this game should not be any cheaper I'll tell you why, it's because Scott D'Anoisi himself on some of the different interviews and stuff, he's got 20 plus, he's got more coils and solenoids in this game than any other game so it's just ramps what was Charlie Emery saying on I think it was his podcast, he was saying look, ramps are plastic, those are cheap like don't expect this game to be any cheaper, it's going to be just as much as any other spooky game and it should be If that's your flavor of game, I think you're going to love this game. If it is a damn good game, though, and it is cheaper for whatever reason, just happens to be, then I think it's an even bigger plus for it. It's a bigger seller. I don't think they need to. I think they will do themselves a disservice if it's cheaper. Oh, I agree. I'm not saying that. I think there's a big enough 80s crowd. Oh, yeah. For sure. 80s gameplay crowd. I'm an 80s fan, but 80s gameplay. The music is terrific. Yeah, I agree. So, stay the course. I think it's going to be really good. I like it all. Very pumped about it. I still haven't played it. Have you played it? No, not at all. I've not played it yet. So I will hold any gameplay reservations. Now let me ask you this. This is going to sound stupid. Is it on location? You're kind of stupid, so it works perfectly. It happens. Is it on location at Logan's up there? Or how does Deadflip stream? I think Scott Danesi is the only one that has it. He goes over to Scott's house. He just goes over to Scott's house and plays it. Okay. I didn't know if they randomly threw it in there for something because... Nope. Nope. Yeah, it's at his house. I think they're trying to make some prototypes now. Okay. Cool. So different people can mess with it at the back. Okay. I've watched some of the streams, but briefly. I haven't paid attention to where it is. If you want to watch the gameplay, go to Dead Flip's second stream. Updated code and different callouts, music and stuff like that. That's where they actually reveal the back glass. We'll show you some pictures as well. He did a good job with that. A little TNA action. Are you ready for a little TNA? I like it. I'm excited. Who isn't? Last but not least, I think this is about done for our pin side this month. Nothing really going on. You guys are getting nastier and nastier towards one another. We're all brothers. I think they should do that so we have something to talk about. There's some mean son of a bitches on Pennside, man. There is, there is. Wow. Just be nice. We're all in this hobby together. We've got to bring it back. The other rumor, this is total speculation, this is total conjecture, but Jersey Jack, the rumor is that they're going to announce their fourth pin at Expo. Yes. And it's going to be Pirates of the Caribbean. Yes. What do you think about that? I'm not wild about it. I'm not either. I went and saw the latest film. Thought it was a good film. As good as the others. As good as the others. Yeah. It's good. They're all different. Yeah, they're all different. It was good. I enjoyed it. Didn't feel like I wasted my money or anything for sure. Yeah, right. You were bitching on Facebook about spending 80 plus dollars taking your family out there. It was 80 dollars. Okay, we're in the midway. We're not California, New York, or Chicago. So I'm sure that you'll be like, oh, my gosh, I wish I could get ticket prices for that. But for around here, it was two kids, two adults, one popcorn, one Coke. Oh, you made them all share. We all shared. Oh, my God. $80. Was it free refill? Free refill. Who's the one that had to go get the refill? We didn't go get a refill. You all shared one Coke. We shared one. It was big. But still, $80. Was it worth $80? Yeah, just because kids. I loved it. Just because it was a kid's birthday. I went and seen Guardians of the Galaxy 2. They need to make that into a pin. A lot of people are calling for Guardians. But back to Pirates. It's already been done. We don't want it. Yes, I think I would be more open to it, even though I feel that it's a franchise that's obviously, it's got to be down the downturn. Yeah, by the time it would come out, there's not going to be any more. There's nothing. And the fact that Stern had already done it. Jersey Jack is a dead end. I don't know how much you got into it, but keep backing out. I just don't understand it. If Stern would have not come out with the pin, then I could somewhat be not excited, but I could be like, okay, cool, man. I'd like to play that. I'd like to do that. But the fact that Stern has already came out with it, that's what kills it for me. And it was a decent game. People like it. It's a fun game. Yeah. It's not a fantastic game. It's not like Back to the Future where they're like, Jesus Christ, redo that thing. Yes, yes. And it's not as old as Back to the Future. Pirates of the Caribbean is a Stern game, and it's a solid Stern game. Yeah, so JJP, if these rumors are true. If you can back out now, back out. Yeah, I just don't think it's going to be real strong. Take a six-month hit. Yeah. Refocus. Redevelop. Agreed. Retheme. Just retheme. Yeah, retheme. Make it just something. Pitch the license and retheme it. Make it another black rose. Who cares? Black rose. I want a black rose. I do, too. I like the looks of it. Who in the hell are we to say, though? We're not. We're not. Who cares? We're not. But a lot of people seem a little disappointed by it. We're just trying to speak for the people, aren't we, Greg? For sure. Yeah. So that's about it in this month of Pinside. Keep the comments coming. Keep the subscribes coming. Keep the likes coming. Like us on Facebook. Subscribe to us on YouTube. The private messages. Yeah, messages, man. We try to get back to you. It's cool. It's all good. We like to talk pinball. And if you guys want us coming up to your area to review some machines, give you an interview, follow us. We'd love to find a way to come up here and do that. You going to any of the upcoming shows? Replay FX, I think we're going to try to go to. Are you? The Grand Ole Game Room. That's in November. In November. We're going to do some stuff for that. Some recording, maybe be on the panel or something. Yeah, we were invited, and it was very nice and gracious. Nashville Grand Ole Expo. Not too far away from us, so it's nice. And it's new. Yeah, it's new. Last year was first year. Is that right? Got good reviews. Larry and Flippin' Al should be bringing out a lot of games. Yeah, I didn't hear anything negative about it. So, you know, I think going second year. I'll go to Expo again this year, Chicago. Chicago, yeah. I'm going to try to squirrel your ass into going with me. I'm going up to Chicago, hopefully at the end of June. Good. Try to do some things up there for the show. Hopefully I won't really say anything because it's not solid yet. But, you know, hoping to bring you some pretty cool stuff. Let's make it solid, Gary. All right. Until next week. Yeah. See you guys. Have a good one, guys. Peace out. Peace out. That hypocrite smokes two packs a day. Dang, dang, dang. You wake up in your... Dang, dang, dang.

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 20101106-ee87-4e09-9aa1-bac9fe91357a*