# The Pinball Show Ep 113: The Big James Bond 007 Episode

**Source:** The Pinball Network  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2022-09-26  
**Duration:** 115m 31s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mSbOpcDw6g

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## Analysis

The Pinball Show hosts Zach Manny and Dennis Kriesel discuss Stern Pinball's James Bond 007 release, covering the troubled launch (delayed due to Queen's death, photo leaks), official reveal details, pricing increases, and the unreleased Keith Elwin 60th Anniversary redesign. They analyze the three-tier release (Pro/Premium/LE), game features, and acknowledge the launch failure despite strong post-release sales.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] This is the worst launch Stern has had in the hosts' tenure covering pinball — _Zach: 'I have never seen Stern have such a bad launch' and Dennis agrees_
- [HIGH] James Bond 007 is selling 'like bananas' and is a 'certified hit' post-launch despite the troubled reveal — _Zach: 'this game is a certified hit already it is selling like [] bananas' and references distributor feedback_
- [HIGH] The game features mechanical scoring reels programmed by Mark Panenko, a former Williams employee now at Stern — _Craig Bobby segment: 'the L win single level Playfield game has actual mechanical scoring reels in the back box program by Mark panenko who used to work at Williams pinball back in the day and came over to stern in 2021'_
- [HIGH] Keith Elwin's 60th Anniversary Bond machine will have no set retail price, allowing distributor market pricing — _Craig Bobby: 'rumored to have no set retail price by Stern for its Distributors Stern will once again allow market pricing to rule'_
- [HIGH] Pro version of James Bond increased by $100 MSRP to $6,999; Premium increased $700 to $9,699; LE increased $1,900 to $12,999 — _Dennis provides exact pricing: Pro 69.99, Premium 96.99, LE 139.99 (in hundreds)_
- [HIGH] The Keith Elwin 60th Anniversary machine incorporates all 25 Bond films on a single-level playfield — _Craig Bobby: 'incorporates all 25 Bond films is anyone's heart beating faster yet'_
- [HIGH] George Gomez's James Bond design features custom artwork from famous Bond movie poster artists Frank McCarthy, Robert McGinnis, and Kevin O'Connor — _Craig Bobby: 'artwork by Frank McCarthy Robert McGinnis and Kevin Adam... Kevin O'Connor at Stern Pinball helped kind of pull it all together'_
- [HIGH] The launch delays stemmed from the Queen's death and inconsistent UK licensing response timing — _Zach: 'Queen had been deceased for I think over 48 hours before they made the determination then they changed it again they pushed it two more days back'_
- [MEDIUM] A bad product launch objectively affects sales even if the product ultimately succeeds — _Zach: 'objectively think that it did affect sales... they could have sold more had this reveal been better'_
- [MEDIUM] Mike Vinacore and Lonnie Rob worked on rules design together, previously collaborated on Stranger Things — _Dennis: 'I will argue that those expecting a very similar style of rule set or code... the last time those two worked together was on Stranger Things yes yes I believe that is accurate'_

### Notable Quotes

> "I have never seen Stern have such a bad launch which makes no time I agree which makes me think that it was something out of their hands"
> — **Zach Manny**, ~50:20
> _Direct assessment of the launch failure's severity and acknowledgment of external factors (UK licensing)_

> "this game is a certified hit already it is selling like [] bananas"
> — **Zach Manny**, ~53:30
> _Confirms strong post-launch sales despite troubled reveal, supporting the claim that execution doesn't necessarily determine commercial success_

> "whenever a potential consumer first quote-unquote experiences a game in the in this respect for Pinball it's usually a visual thing once they see pictures you are at the highest peak and probability of making that sale that immediate that immediate emotional is immediate and the hype is immediate upon visual reveal"
> — **Zach Manny**, ~55:00
> _Explains the market psychology of visual reveal impact on sales momentum_

> "they could have sold more had this reveal been better and I really firmly stand behind that"
> — **Zach Manny**, ~54:45
> _Industry analysis of the opportunity cost of poor launch execution_

> "this is a Gomez design machine is definitely not your slap Dash throw some Max and designs in a ring and then cut three quarters of them out due to inflated costs and overrun building materials as usual with Gomez designs there is a thoughtfulness level of detail and caring here that we frankly just don't see enough in today's modern pinball era"
> — **Craig Bobby**, ~20:00
> _Praises Gomez's design philosophy and execution, distinguishing James Bond from other recent Stern releases_

> "the L win single level Playfield game has actual mechanical scoring reels in the back box program by Mark panenko who used to work at Williams pinball back in the day"
> — **Craig Bobby**, ~25:30
> _Key technical detail about the 60th Anniversary machine's distinguishing feature_

> "those cries for we need more have been replaced now with fears from potential buyers about continual some might say aggressive price hikes as Stern dares customers to put their money where their mouth is"
> — **Craig Bobby**, ~23:00
> _Frames the pricing increase as Stern testing the market's willingness to pay for more features_

> "it was just there were multiple misses on multiple fronts and you know I'm not I'm not being facetious it is as long as I've been around the worst reveal Stern I've seen worse reveals but this is the worst I've ever seen from them"
> — **Zach Manny**, ~51:30
> _Emphasizes the cumulative nature of the launch failures across multiple aspects_

> "why is the game already at the show getting set up for the show the queen had been deceased for I think over 48 hours before they made the determination"
> — **Zach Manny**, ~47:50
> _Highlights the questionable decision-making timeline around the licensing delay_

> "I I don't understand it I I only picked up on it actually in the transcript of the Gomez interview on the start Insider podcast and I think the last time those two worked together was on Stranger Things"
> — **Dennis Kriesel**, ~31:00
> _Reveals difficulty in identifying rules credit due to incomplete public information_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of James Bond 007, the centerpiece of this episode |
| George Gomez | person | Lead designer of James Bond 007; praised for thoughtfulness and detail |
| Keith Elwin | person | Designer of the unreleased 60th Anniversary James Bond redesign, described as 'greatest of all time' |
| Zach Manny | person | Co-host of The Pinball Show; provides market analysis and game commentary |
| Dennis Kriesel | person | Co-host of The Pinball Show; covers technical and design details |
| Craig Bobby | person | Contributor segment host; provides detailed technical and thematic analysis of James Bond release |
| Mike Vinacore | person | Rules designer on James Bond 007; previously worked with Lonnie Rob on Stranger Things |
| Lonnie Rob | person | Code assistance on James Bond 007; previously collaborated with Mike Vinacore on Stranger Things |
| Kevin O'Connor | person | Stern artist who assembled and adapted Bond movie artwork for the game; previously worked on Bally's 1979 Kiss and Stern's 2015 Kiss |
| Mark Panenko | person | Programmed mechanical scoring reels for Keith Elwin's 60th Anniversary Bond machine; former Williams employee now at Stern (since 2021) |
| John Rothermal | person | Lead mechanical engineer on James Bond 007 |
| Jerry Thompson | person | Sound designer on James Bond 007 |
| Chuck Ernst | person | Animations designer on James Bond 007 |
| The Pinball Network (TPN) | organization | Parent organization for The Pinball Show podcast and other content channels |
| James Bond 007 (Stern) | game | George Gomez-designed pinball machine with three tier release (Pro/Premium/LE); features Sean Connery-era Bond films |
| James Bond 60th Anniversary Edition (Keith Elwin) | game | Unreleased redesign featuring all 25 Bond films on single-level playfield with mechanical scoring reels; limited to 500 units |
| Stranger Things (Stern) | game | Previous Stern release where Mike Vinacore and Lonnie Rob collaborated on rules |
| Rush (Pat Lawler) | game | 2024 Stern release mentioned as competition for Game of the Year |
| Toy Story 4 (Pat Lawler) | game | 2024 Stern release mentioned as potential Game of the Year contender |
| Godzilla (Stern) | game | Referenced for LE pricing comparison (LE 2500 vs Bond LE 1000 units) |
| The Pinball Party (podcast) | organization | New TPN podcast; experiencing strong early viewership numbers |
| UK Show | event | Event where James Bond 007 was planned to launch; delayed due to Queen's death |
| Brian Eddie | person | Software engineer credited with rules contributions on Stranger Things; speculated to have influenced Bond rules |
| Gary and Seth | person | Stern dealers who provided technical details on Bond game mechanics during dealer seminar |

### Topics

- **Primary:** James Bond 007 Launch Execution & Failure, Stern Pinball Pricing Strategy & Market Positioning, Keith Elwin 60th Anniversary Bond Redesign (Unreleased), Game Design & Mechanics (Gomez Philosophy, Three Flippers, Jetpack Feature)
- **Secondary:** UK Licensing Delays & Royal Protocol Confusion, Photo Leak & Marketing Control Loss, Post-Launch Sales Success Despite Troubled Reveal, Collector vs Operator Market Segmentation

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.55) — Hosts criticize the launch execution severely (worst Stern launch ever seen), but praise the actual game design, mechanics, and post-launch sales performance. Frustration with operational failures contrasts with enthusiasm for the product itself and vindication through strong sales numbers.

### Signals

- **[product_launch]** James Bond 007 had the worst launch Stern has executed according to hosts, involving multiple delays (Queen's death), photo leaks via 007store.com, inconsistent licensing decisions, and a week-long wait with 'grainy photos' before official reveal (confidence: high) — Zach: 'I have never seen Stern have such a bad launch'; discussion of 48+ hour delay in pulling product from show after Queen's death
- **[market_signal]** Stern increased James Bond prices across all tiers: Pro +$100 ($6,999), Premium +$700 ($9,699), LE +$1,900 ($12,999). Strategy targets affluent collectors with premium/LE models while keeping Pro price-conscious (confidence: high) — Craig Bobby: 'Stern chose to modestly raise prices by a hundred dollars on the pro machine... Stern chose to go where the real money now sits in the coveted affluent collector'
- **[design_innovation]** Keith Elwin's 60th Anniversary Bond machine features mechanical scoring reels programmed by Mark Panenko (former Williams, now Stern since 2021), departing from digital scoring standard (confidence: high) — Craig Bobby: 'the L win single level Playfield game has actual mechanical scoring reels in the back box program by Mark panenko'
- **[design_innovation]** James Bond Pro/Premium/LE features 'Bond on a Wand' (moving jetpack figure) that can be actuated by game or player, creating lock/multiball mechanics; player may be able to direct ball placement (confidence: medium) — Zach: 'Bond on a wand... the moving jetpack figure that carries the ball... Gary and Seth did tell us dealers the player or game can actuate at times this uh this mechanism'
- **[product_launch]** Despite troubled launch, James Bond 007 is selling 'like bananas' post-release and is a 'certified hit' based on distributor feedback (confidence: high) — Zach: 'this game is a certified hit already it is selling like [] bananas'; 'we've been hearing from a variety of Distributors about the sales so it's selling great'
- **[licensing_signal]** UK licensing approval for Bond was delayed due to Queen's death protocols. Stern delayed announcement but still shipped games to UK show pre-death, then had to pull them. Licenser became upset over photo leaks from 007store.com (confidence: high) — Zach: 'Queen had been deceased for I think over 48 hours before they made the determination then they changed it again'; 'the licenser got really upset about that and pulled them off the floor'
- **[design_philosophy]** George Gomez's James Bond design exhibits high thoughtfulness, mechanical density, fresh layout, and vibrant artwork — contrasting with recent 'slash dash' Stern approaches. Described as anti-thesis of cost-cutting (confidence: high) — Craig Bobby: 'this Gomez design machine is definitely not your slap Dash throw some Max and designs... there is a thoughtfulness level of detail and caring here that we frankly just don't see enough'
- **[product_strategy]** Stern released three standard tiers (Pro/Premium/LE) each themed to different Sean Connery Bond films, plus unreleased 60th Anniversary Elwin redesign. First time Stern has used per-trim-level theming variation (confidence: high) — Craig Bobby: 'the pro is based on Dr No the premium based on You Only Live Twice and the Le based on the bond classic Thunderball... Stern's departure and their art package theming generally hasn't to my knowledge been done before'
- **[market_signal]** Keith Elwin 60th Anniversary Bond machine (500 units) has no set MSRP; Stern allowing distributor market pricing to maximize value capture, similar to strategy for premium/LE collector models (confidence: high) — Craig Bobby: 'rumored to have no set retail price by Stern for its Distributors Stern will once again allow market pricing to rule and give Distributors another chance to make Bank'
- **[personnel_signal]** Mark Panenko joined Stern in 2021 from Williams Pinball, now programming mechanical scoring reels for Elwin's 60th Anniversary Bond redesign (confidence: high) — Craig Bobby: 'Mark panenko... came over to stern in 2021'
- **[content_signal]** TPN launched new podcast 'Pinball Party' which is experiencing strong early viewership (surpassing The Pinball Show's 5-year average by 3-4x), though some community friction from other podcasters (confidence: high) — Zach: 'I saw another pinball podcaster complaining and saying that the pinball party is over before it started... the numbers of the new guy surpassed that three to four times that of this uh five year of this very show'
- **[leak_detection]** James Bond 007 images were leaked from 007store.com (scheduled website upload conflict), distributed as low-quality 'potato cam' photos before official reveal, triggering licenser complaint (confidence: high) — Zach: 'the double 07 store then ends up leaking all the photos probably because they had their website scheduled'; Dennis: 'we had the grainy you know photos the potato cam style stuff floating around'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Despite severe operational launch failures, post-release sales and community sentiment shifted positive toward James Bond 007 game quality, validating Stern's design choices (confidence: high) — Zach: 'this game is a certified hit already... ultimately maybe Stern could probably struggle... but this is Pinball it's not like a lot of other Industries where there's not really a lot of competition against them anyway so it it was it still worked out'

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## Transcript

warning The Following episode contains adult language and screaming goats listener discretion is advised [Music] the pinball network is online launching the pinball show we've got content Galore this week on the pinball show Dennis and I give you the goods regarding new info about Stern Pinball's newest release James Bond 007 pinball as well as fresh production updates from Stern pricing changes moving forward the unreleased L win 60th anniversary Bond game a possible future Goldfinger Edition info on Steve Ritchie's upcoming jjp machine Cactus Canyon Le production updates This Is Spinal Tap a crystal strong take on the 2022 game release catalog and maybe not the pinball Market trains you wanted but the pinball market trends you need to hear hey if you're headed to the kitchen I'll take some buttered popcorn as well [Music] pinball is a game of skill for some it's a passion and a lifestyle [Music] it's time for the pinball show it's pinball with personality hey fellow listener I'm glad you guys clicked the play button this week for the pinball show I'm Zach many alongside secret pinball agent himself Dennis kriesel you know Craig Bobby has has like hum the last two episodes the James Bond theme would you like to hear my James Bond on on the recorder oh yes absolutely oh [Music] Lord oh there we go huh that's that's harder than it looked man I'm I'm finished I need a cigarette now nice blowing pushy Dennis how are you this week I'm fine I'm fine let me catch I gotta Catch My Breath from all that intensive recordering we call this song flute so that's just an Indiana thing I believe I I guess so because I never heard that before in preparation for this episode I just actually before we started recording watched an interview with Pierce Brosnan going over a lot of the major roles he played in his life and it started of course with James Bond whoa GoldenEye not not the bomb we're gonna be talking about today because gum has been focused on Pierce but nope we're we're talking about uh we're talking about Sean Connery you know we got a lot of messages and by a lot I meant a few that they really liked my impersonation of a Sean Connery really yeah okay I mean I I thought it was fine I didn't think anyone would write in about it but but Dennis they did say that my impression sounded more like the version of Saturday Night Live the Jeopardy Connor the Jeopardy yeah yeah your mother yeah that hole now gush it up that pushy ah so what's new did you order a bond I did not I was told I couldn't have the first pro and I'm told the second Pro oh we're gonna get to it's gonna be a bit of a wait you have to wait and play and maybe see if I can last that long speaking of seeing I uh I had to get spectacles oh my God I thought you were gonna say something uh you got spectacles I did I finally went to the eye doctor after I hadn't been since before the pandemic and I was noticing the road signs were looking a little blurry and I'm having more and more trouble reading like subtitling and stuff on the TV so I went in and I'm like yep you're nearsighted now I used to be farsighted but how does that change I don't well it's been 20 years I don't know wow so like yeah it's optional if you want to wear them I think maybe they're used to dealing with people who are don't like to wear glasses and I'm like just give me the script you know I can see see better I'm like oh look how much easier the TV's actually there I'm only I think I really only talked about the car uh but but yeah actually putting them on like because I play a lot of video games but I sit pretty far away from the TV and I was like holy cow there are labels and I can read them now very exciting I think that a lot of our listeners can attest to that my mom used to always tell me the more you play with it you go blind so maybe that's what's happening there spectacles rhymes with something and it I should have just said glasses but then it rhymed with asses what's what's the line on Austin Powers spectacles testicles wallet and watch oh and agenda remember the order of uh doing the cross on yourself oh yeah Specter says Google that much so you didn't order a James Bond you did order some bifocals so that's nice nope just no it was just driving glasses they're not bifocal cheaters you got some cheaters nope those are for reading what kind of frames do you get I don't know what that means like what uh the design of the the glasses I just pointed at two and said those you didn't have the person pick them for you I mean they I they didn't say I looked stupid so I was like and I've ordered I've ordered a pair of sunglasses as well those will be aviators those are my I gotta gotta pull the Biden style I always like aviators for for sunglasses you gotta roll just like Goose baby I don't know I'm gonna hit my head on the canopy oh poor guys we got a lot to talk about this week Dennis a shitload of talk about such as last week we didn't have an episode on the pinball show because we had a brand we had a brand new podcast enter the tpn channel that you did and of course you had to put yourself on it first I did I was asked contamination I gotta give the people what they want and the people wanted me and boy oh boy numbers don't lie I saw another pinball podcaster complaining and saying that the pinball party is over before it started I'm like oh that's kind of mean like you haven't seen the [ __ ] numbers then because that's it's doing very well numbers as they say don't lie oh they don't not on that one especially whenever the numbers of the new guy surpassed that three to four times that of this uh five year of this very show yeah uh wait no uh no no no no no imagine what your numbers could be with Greg bone though maybe higher maybe lower maybe why is he so popular I don't know they can't see him on the podcast so the looks difference like I I can't lose when that's not in play he was a little pistol this weekend I was I was trying to watch rings of power this last weekend one one evening I've been slammed on launch day for Bond and Stern finally get a chance to sit down at 11 o'clock at night and I'm I get messages I'm like well I guess L 160th is out now I need to go back downstairs and start taking over for that but no everybody's like oh [ __ ] Greg bonus fired up oh damn he is going off oh and I was like oh no what's going on now he was feisty he got a little feisty hmm yeah never put bony in a corner hi he's a little he's the he's the buffalo sauce chicken wing he is man he's got some kick he doesn't say much until it's that time and then he's got some kick you know who else has kick donkey onion layers it's Craig Bobby oh or as we now call him at tpn Bobby Bond he's gonna do that yeah third time people want it people want two things this last week in pinball listener and that is a little Bobby Bond and return of the wamp yes give us our wamps back shoot the lamp shoot the Wham they got rid of it mostly did they yeah I heard it actually heard it I did have it come up but only one time was the voice actor dejected was he like shoot the Wham slam I guess if you want to it's Jerry she just replaced me with a Japanese voice actor for all of it I think that's it was the whole line oh my gosh the last thing and then we'll jump to Craig Bobby I don't know if anybody realized this but my mind is oftentimes in the gutter listener I was watching the stream they did they did the talk stream this last week the first impressions of James Bond with Joel ingleberth Craig Bobby hottie from Frisco pinball and a very sleepy David Dennis and it was brought up his ability to do this the the theme song with his tongue a tongue thing a vibrato like he can do that and Joel sweet innocent Joel just comes out of nowhere and he's like I bet you make your wife proud and he was meaning it as like like proud of that he has such a vocal range James bonding but the way he said it oh Joel oh wow so young innocent y'all wow and I bet Mrs Bobby is very happy he's very happy see what you got Craig catch catch on the lick side what it's probably so [ __ ] good at it I've been waiting years for this my tongue uses Mighty as a sword [Music] James Bond s [Music] hello and welcome to the pinball shows top stories I'm Craig Bobby well my God we're finally here after literally months and months of intense speculation and years of rumor mongering on the possibility of a James Bond theme machine we finally saw what all the fuss was about Stern after a canceled official launch followed by an avalanche of leaked information details we now have the official videos and website unveiling this past week of the George Gomez design Stern Pinball Masterpiece James Bond now as the rumors already told us the game is based on the Sean Connery era of the bond franchise but with each Pro premium and Le trim levels each themed artistically around a different Connery era Bond movie the pro is based on Dr No the premium based on You Only Live Twice and the Le based on the bond classic Thunderball oh and let's not forget I yet to be released completely redesigned Keith elwin's 60th anniversary edition featuring a single level machine that incorporates all 25 Bond films is anyone's heart beating faster yet now Stern's departure and their art package theming generally hasn't to my knowledge been done before which ultimately served up to stir tons of confusion on the rumor front as folks just couldn't get their head around this idea as people generally thought the game would be based solely on one film or another of course Beyond George Gomez taking the lead design role Stern deployed Mike Vinikour this time on rules design with assistance from Lonnie Rob on code John rothermal took lead mechanical engineer with some assistance from Tom capera Jerry Thompson of course is on sound design with Chuck Ernst on animations and for that all important art package we had famed artist Kevin O'Connor last seen for his artwork both on the kiss machines by Bally in 1979 and the stern kiss in 2015. who as George Gomez Praises in his recent interview with Nate Shivers on the Stern's in-house podcast available to All Access subscribers had to methodically take images from Bond movie posters and film art library to repaint touch up or correct much of it so that Stern could use these retro images on these modern machines now I'll let Zach and Dennis go over all the interesting shots layouts and Macs that this exciting new release offers in its various trim levels and incarnations however I think when you stand back and look at what Stern has offered up we can easily come to this conclusion this Gomez design machine is definitely not your slap Dash throw some Max and designs in a ring and then cut three quarters of them out due to inflated costs and overrun building materials as usual with Gomez designs there is a thoughtfulness level of detail and caring here that we frankly just don't see enough in today's modern pinball era and something that many fans and collectors in the hobby you have been clamoring and crying out for with each passing new release in the last five years yes gone now were the cries for more mechs better art and better layouts as this machine is Mech heavy with a fresh and exciting Gomez layout and beautifully vibrant blonde movie themed art but let's not forget that nothing is for free and that everything comes at a price and in this case the price paid in Stearns James Bond is literally the selling price of these new machines yes those cries for we need more have been replaced now with fears from potential buyers about continual some might say aggressive price hikes as Stern dares customers to put their money where their mouth is and give buyers more but once again also charge significantly more for it now Stern chose to modestly raise prices by a hundred dollars on the pro machine the Mainstay of most operators and price conscious buyers if you call paying nearly seven thousand dollars U.S for a pinball machine as price conscious but this strategy keeps machines in theory being placed in the wild which keeps the stern name visible and their operator owners happy instead Stern chose to go where the real money now sits in the coveted affluent collector and home buyer Market who seem only too happy to continue to pay more for their beloved machines if there is a real or perceived perception that they are in fact getting more with a bond premium Now 700 more to 96.99 us and the Le limited to a thousand units going up another nineteen hundred dollars to twelve nine ninety nine oh I love gold but the most intriguing thing behind the bond release is that Stern chose to go further out on a limb and offer its customers the chance to buy an even more exclusive but completely redesigned machine for Bond's 60th anniversary celebration unlike what Stern did for the 40th edition of the Elvira machine that was basically just repainted and came with some additional collector swag items the 60th anniversary James Bond machine has been confirmed by Gomez to be designed from scratch by none other than the greatest of all time Mr Keith elwin himself rumored to have no set retail price by Stern for its Distributors Stern will once again allow market pricing to rule and give Distributors another chance to make Bank on a very limited number 500 60th anniversary James Bond machines George's recent interview on the stern all access podcast confirms that the now leak images of the elwyn's 60th anniversary machine if not 75 accurate does a pretty good job of outlining what we might expect to see with those images leaving out keymex like the scoring reel or cabinet design features Yes you heard right the L win single level Playfield game has actual mechanical scoring reels in the backbox program by Mark panenko who used to work at Williams pinball back in the day and came over to stern in 2021 Stern will deploy a small video display from their home pin Edition on the play field to display animations movie clips and game information the game also contains every actor who ever played James Bond as well as numex not seen on any of the Gomez designs wow could we be looking at the game of the year here in James Bond well when matched against Rivals this year and John Borg's rush and Pat Lawler's Toy Story 4 as previous Front Runners theme aside I think this George Gomez designed James Bond certainly edges out those titles in design and theming but with many question marks still looming about what we might see from the elwyn's 60th anniversary machine and still to come any live James Bond gameplay from Stern you guessed it we shall have to wait and see from the pinball show I'm Craig Bobby catch you on the flip side come on James Bond that Craig Bobby's good he's great what would we do I'm trying to think the next game that's rumored to come out I'm hoping he can do something with the stone to that too I guess Godfather [Applause] it won't be as fun but we'll get that triple Spain cannoli on I just can't wait to hear that original theme song for yeah I hope I hope they got Craig to do the laser sounds of the tanks [Laughter] [Music] Dennis all last week I've been receiving messages everybody wants to hear what our take is on the reveal the launch the game everything that is turned pinballs James Bond 007 released last Thursday this is a George Gomez design Lonnie Rob and Mike Vinikour on the rules a little hard to find too what's on the rules there for a while yeah I I don't understand it I I only picked up on it actually in the transcript of the Gomez interview on the start Insider podcast and I think the last time those two worked together was on Stranger Things yes yes I believe that is accurate but I will argue that those expecting a very similar style of rule set or code keep in mind that by trade Brian Eddy was a software engineer and rules guy so I think Brian Eddy probably contributed quite a bit just knowing the attack from Mars rules and the the medieval rules very similar uh to to stranger things so I don't know if we'll get I don't know what we're gonna get but uh I certainly think Brian Eddy played a role on stranger things more than some people think artwork by Frank McCarthy Robert McGinnis and Kevin Adam now these individuals I think are Bond artists this isn't a pinball we're not pulling these from pinball these were sketches and artwork that's made famous from movie posters uh from the the six Bond Connery films and I I think don't quote me on this listener but I think Kevin O'Connor at Stern Pinball helped kind of pull it all together for pinball this is a Cornerstone release so we've seen a pro a premium and Ellie limited to 1 000 units Plus in a bit we will talk about an upcoming 60th anniversary limited edition game by Keith elwin that's coming out soon so many models so we got three of the standard Cornerstone models there's new pricing now Stern has increased pricing the pros that is the Dr No pro version of James Bond now 69.99 MSRP which is 100 bucks yeah went up 100 bucks so not bad everybody no less than I thought it would okay the premium went up 700 MSRP is now 96.99 the premium features the You Only Live Twice uh film art package and then the limited edition model based around the Thunderball theme 139.99 MSRP that went up significantly um versus The Rush Le 2500 if you care about the comparison to Godzilla okay so significantly and they're still keeping that 1000 unit alive and well yes it's a three flipper game we haven't seen that from George Gomez since his initial design and Corvette Valley Williams I think there's only two Pops in this game hmm I I've been looking at diagrams of it I I don't see a third pop unless it's hiding no you know I've noticed notice the stern has been willing to deviate and allow the non-rule of the the three nested pops yeah and they might have like a sling pop to mimic a third pop but I don't know if that's in here or not but yeah game features all six films that feature Sean Connery there are in the game Q gadgets Specter weapons villains henchmen Bond women even pushy Galore carefully integrated speech from all six Connery Bond films and the James Bond theme by John Berry as well as other film theme songs I don't know if people know that it's all I didn't it's all in there I like how you said carefully integrated speech not like that sort of slap Dash style we're used to the lamps but I just shot the scoob so what are the differences between these models a quick run down here all models are going to feature the Specter bird one rocket base I thought a different joke was coming no all models also feature the custom molded Aston Martin DB5 with ejector seat people were asking is that flap gonna hold up it'll hold up all models feature a right Post in Lane to Stage modes kind of like Keith Ellen likes to do instead of Scoops all models but he often favors the left he does all models have the Thunderball eject from the left side of the Playfield almost like the almost like the stage the locked ball and Elvira house a horse shoots it back up towards the the Target or the pops chunk all models feature diamonds are forever opto spinner oh opto spinner yeah not only that did you see the glitter on that spinner so shiny see I care about those little details sparkly there's nothing better than the sparkly spinner all models feature a special bond what they call assignments that are only possible with connectivity which is coming soon ah would be interesting to learn what that is sounds like modes um the premium Le stands out from the pro with a couple of different features one being what the enthusiasts are calling Bond on a wand I do love that name I do too whoever is credited for that sorry for for not knowing you're a wizard Jamesy that's that's a good one that's a good one so the bond is it's like a moving jet pack figure that carries the ball and uh the now this is information I have not heard out there but Gary and Seth did tell us dealers the player or game can actuate at times this uh this mechanism so maybe the game is programmed to pick it up and drop it but maybe just maybe and I don't know yet we haven't seen a stream or gameplay maybe the player can hit that action button to drop the ball where they want or maybe why not both why not both Gary and Seth also indicated that the moving jetpack figure you can hit the dragon tank Target there's two Targets on the dragon tank or they said in their seminar or lock ball star multiballs now this can be one of two things Dennis this can mean just by default when a bowl gets diverted up there and bond wand Bond wand when bondwan picks it up that is the initiation of a virtual lock or maybe you can drag it all the way over to that wire form I don't know to lock a ball because if you get to that wire form and drop it you technically would get it into the uh the physical ball lock yeah I'm I don't know if they don't reaches but maybe it's just interesting I won't say that's an odd decision but it does remind me of like Demolition Man where everyone only chooses the ball Locker in that case like I you know anyway that's a rules question so I don't I don't it just I I saw them talking about and I was like that's interesting the premium Le also showcases a stainless steel bird one Gantry with the diverter so it's like a big building in the back by the missile uh which has a spiral ramp and a three ball physical lock we like that the premium Le also features a Thunderball reverse a jack scoop with hidden custom sculpt James Bond and Specter diver figures think Creature from the Black Lagoon on Monster Bash it's like a clear window and then whenever you hit it it lights up and you can see something underneath and they're fighting down there in their scuba gear premium melee also has a custom molded Dr nose dragon tank with internal illumination so it's got a flasher inside the Le also has the traditional Le Aesthetics and upgrades most notably the teal Thunderbolt trim package that we'll talk about and a mirrored back glass clear glass shaker motor better speakers all that kind of stuff yeah your usual usual Le fair so let's talk about this game let's talk about what I'm calling tagline Failure to Launch this is Madam Matthew McConaughey movie all right all right be a lot cooler when will Matthew get his pen would you buy a failure to launch pinball machine I've never seen the movie oh so I mean if it plays well yeah but I wouldn't buy it off theme that's a damn shame like I've seen mud like I've seen my mind I've seen Interstellar where the sound balance is so bad [ __ ] off dude the interstellar we're not doing that because Interstellar is the best sci-fi film of all time and I want to hear all you nutty Event Horizon 2001 Space I [ __ ] it no it is 2000 2001 is what people like who are trying to pretend to be pretentious and no stuff it's a slow film no one cares well get them but then Horizon is awesome Have You Ever Seen Fire and zero g yeah it's beautiful open the door no it's it's Interstellar where we're going we don't need eyes to see really stellar and I wished I didn't have eyes to see how this launch had gone it was messy this is you know I've had you know I got like I've got my my fixian level of tenure I've been in the hobby a math since by if we count it from when I bought my first pin I've been in over 10 years in watercoloring yeah yes yes uh and I have never seen Stern have such a bad launch which makes no time I agree which makes me think that it was something out of their hands uh I'm gonna say partially okay there's got to be there's some culpability that falls within the corporate level absolutely and and it was from I mean I don't know I don't know how to approach it from announcing a launch date and then changing it but not changing it immediately and when I say immediately what I mean is it's all well and good and I understand that it's a it's a UK license and so with the death of the queen I I get it but also they it felt like they dragged their feet on making that determination like why is the game already at the show getting set up for the show the queen had been deceased for I think over 48 hours before they made the determination then they changed it again they pushed it two more days back so that stuff at least in part falls on Stern for the week yeah but so it's like it's super it's super pushed then uh where it's not their fault but you know it doesn't help is the double 07 store then ends up leaking all the photos probably because they had their website scheduled to do the you know to post all the pages and this was after the leaks that came from that convention and yes someone said they got upset and or the licenser got upset yeah the license or got really upset about that and it pulled them off the floor right so that's the that's and again that's you know that's a that's a partial obviously Stern didn't leak that but they knew that the control was lost the moment the games left the factory like you don't have control anymore they decided to go over there knowing that Queen had passed yes that's the thing that's so strange to me even if they had pre-shipped the games they still chose to you know plan to get them ready whenever the queen had passed they had to have called the license or and said hey this this is might get a little messy how do you want us to do you still want us to go to this convention what what are you guys what are your thoughts at there it's like okay so they didn't do the release because of the queen they still ran their show at the Uki though but I'm not you know I'm not English I don't like there were a whole lot of weird I I saw some stuff online about just like the inconsistency on things so like like cricket matches got to keep going but they suspended all of the soccer matches like I heard that one of their major convenience stores in respect for the queen like turned down the beep sounds I don't know if that was the of the doors or the checkout lanes and when you swipe stuff like they they reduce like is that like the flag they just turned them down it's like I don't get it it's so weird to me all of this makes no sense it was it was strange it was very strange and then we had to wait an additional week with grainy photos out there yes like you said and whilst I'm gonna use the word whilst wow and respect for the queen whilst all of this was happening and we have the grainy you know photos the potato cam style stuff floating around then the information leaks out about the L win game oh that's right there's an additional game which at that point in time this information I don't think dealers had their seminar yet because we had it today uh no you hadn't had your seminar yet so we were like is this true and if so are we going to be able to see this prior to people going in for an Ellie because that wouldn't be right and so I mean it was just there were multiple misses on multiple fronts and I you know I'm not I'm not being facetious it is as long as I've been around the worst reveal Stern I've seen worse reveals but this is the worst I've ever seen from them yeah usually they uh usually they have their [ __ ] in order when it comes to I I mean if I were if I was just me if I were Stern management uh marketing would have gotten a talking to about this I mean you have it's just so hard to know who's maybe it wasn't even a marketing who knows I don't know I don't know but it's a company that relies on its reveals I mean this isn't like just you know screwing up a social media post this it's a big deal when you do a launch this felt very very bungled people know that myself uh great we've helped with some launches of games in the past for different manufacturers so I've got a lot of questions asked to me this last week Dennis like you know if you're done consultation in the past does this hurt sales does this affect a company's ability to sell games whenever you flop a release and you flop it again and then you can't take orders and I told everybody the same thing and then especially now retrospectively this game is a certified hit already it is selling like [ __ ] bananas it's right it's selling and giving them especially now that we we have numbers I mean we've been hearing from a variety of Distributors about the sales so it's selling great but so yeah it's like it's like yeah it's a it was a it was a terrible launch quite frankly but this is Pinball it's not like a lot of other Industries where there's not really a lot of competition against them anyway so it it was it still worked out so I guess you know ultimately maybe Stern could probably struggle and say does it really matter if our launches are bad does it really matter if it looks amateurish they can but ultimately would I have responded to these people was was this sure it is you know hindsight is selling great so does It ultimately matter but I will say objectively this is when this happens it does objectively affect sales period dot they could have sold more had this reveal been better and I really firmly stand behind that because from a sales marketing standpoint whenever a potential consumer first quote-unquote experiences a game in the in this respect for Pinball it's usually a visual thing once they see pictures you are at the highest peak and probability of making that sale that immediate that immediate emotional is immediate and the hype is immediate upon visual reveal absolutely and then after that it only degrades yes every second every minute every hour day week it will continue to go down no matter what so yes I objectively think that it did affect sales now green scheme of things is it a big deal maybe not but it they can't say that it didn't affect the potential sales of this product it did but having said that what do we think about this game we think a lot of things Zach let's jump in pretty quick on some of these takes your first impressions when you first sold the grainy photos what was your eye turned to First was is it R was it Max was it uh oh it is James Bond and Sean Connor what were your thoughts yeah I'm I mean the first thing I I'd say I noticed was the trans lights and cabinet art old style yes very release movie poster-esque yes my my initial very yellow my initial thought was um strict license actually no my initial thought was woof but my next thought was a follow-up thought what was I bet the licensor is extremely strict about what you can use in terms of assets that was my take too yep fitting I also thought after after that so now I've got two afterthoughts that this would have been an assigned Steve Ritchie game because when he was at Stern he always got the unreasonable art package yeah the crap art yeah yeah exactly always kind of we don't mean Johnny crap we mean he's like you always got the the stringent you're gonna use what we use on the lunch boxes and that's that and I'm like wow I poor I poor guy it's like other than Black Knight it was like everything was just like a terribly strict and this feels exactly the same like I do not like any of these art packages oh strong take I just don't now I don't buy games based off the art so ultimately that doesn't matter much to me but but seeing that and before I noticed the max it was the same thing with with the play field and it's like they're just floating heads everywhere their faces everywhere faces upon face and it looks at the game the game art package is not it is not attractive I don't think I think it is objectively not attractive it reminds me of the Photoshop era and I think a lot of people when they saw these things especially the translate and cabinet art we're wishing for that I think he took it down but Christopher franchi had a mock-up that he did at one point and it's so much better it's so much better I've seen that Frankie always does that so it's like years ago but but people still people saved it because they do they learned people take stuff down on Facebook so so people saved it and I had people they were passing it around because they're like look at how much better look damn good I mean it did it did it's just I mean I wished I would have wished for his art over that but again based off of you know even what he had noted in the post at the time I don't think the licenser would have approved it that's true for me personally whenever I seen this the first time my gut insta or my gut reaction and emotion was this art does leave leave a lot to be desired there's nothing that I would call Beautiful on the cabinet on the back glass on the Playfield it was a Miss for me personally but art is subjective I did not nor do I think this is a beautiful artwork and I think you talked about it being fitting and I'll give it that I'm gonna give the left cabinet that the Thunderbirds premium left cabinet I'm going to give surprisingly I like how you said Thunderbirds surprisingly I think the back glasses are very bold that was a risky move and I do love them composition wise I love that it is if you know Bond it's Bond doctor no if you know Bond it is You Only Live Twice I do love that bold move I love that I don't like the faces on the Playfield and what just really Cuts me to the Core is seeing an art package on the right side of that cabinet that mimics some of my worst work in pinball promotion it's it is Microsoft Paint posters that have no reasoning the layout is horrible the the negative space is bad it does it just breaks up the entire storyline of the rest of the art package I don't get it yeah leave it for the 60th I don't understand it I I get that I uh another thing for me uh was I just think it's odd that I know it's more and more homeowner dominated but there's still a sizable operator market and for the TR the backlash slash translates to not say James Bond or 007 anywhere on them I think is extremely weird from a business standpoint marketing I agree and I I get that they have it on the front of the beneath the coin door no one looks at that no one sees that in an arcade and the same with the sides of the backbox they're often in rows so a lot of people I'm just thinking if you're like got a bunch of hipsters at a bar and they never saw these movies they're not gonna know what Dr No is well if it's a bunch of hipsters at a bar let's be fair they probably shouldn't watch these films well that's but that's not the point the point is they might know James Bond because of Daniel Craig so saying that this is about James Bond might mean something but when you look unless you know the movies this doesn't tell you that you have to actually go up to the game I just thought it was an again it is what it is it's just I think it was just it was odd I just I found a lot about it odd and again it just feels to me like it was just restrictive I like the whole choice I think it was an artistic choice and I think that that helps that package personally but from a sales standpoint yeah and and separate from like critiquing the design of the art itself and all right so they went with the posters I get it I get it it's an interesting idea not my style whatever uh no Goldfinger art package weird Choice most popular Connery movie I I just don't get it Dr no is is it's a fairly well rated movie on on Rotten Tomatoes there's only one explanation for that I mean come on yeah that would be my inclination too but again it's like there's a reason that Thunderball was the Le and doctors Thunderball would be the second would have been my second rank come on and be like Goldfinger and Thunderball are the two most popular ones and then after that you know I guess kind of whatever welcome to Elvira's 40th anniversary coming out 2020. I wonder you know I guess it doesn't really matter but it kind of feels like people might get mad about that if they were like do you want to buy Thunderball with you had the money and you really wanted Goldfinger and then you feel like they bait and switched you later I don't know people only get angry if the machine is no good Elvira people ate that damn thing up so I think it'll be fine but yeah I I could almost bet we're gonna see a a small 250 500 run of a gold finger even if they call it a Premium Edition or a studio release later the Lucy Edition we'll get it look the Thunderball I kind of do like that cabinet art though with the scuba diving Thunderbolt wasn't a bad Thunderball wasn't a bad pick you only lived twice I thought was weird uh but I also thought they picked Dr No for the pro to try and force people into the premiums and at least so yellow I actually like that there's lots of yellow I had a Silver Slugger so I'll I respect the fact that they're like let's just do a bunch of yellow what is showcasing the Bond girls too I mean you know yeah you know I but again I know someone who's a you and I both know them huge Bond fan has been very tempted about getting the pro but uh in the he's got a family and he's he and his wife have been talking about that they're not super comfortable with the side of that cabinet in their house and are they in bathing suits I thought they were I don't know yeah but I mean it's sort of a the poses are suggestive again straight from the poster but the poster was of an era and they you know with young girls in the house they that wasn't a message they were really keen on sending and the other art packages they don't find as offensive but they find the price a bit of a problem that's offensive yeah yeah yes and I didn't I didn't win does the does George Gomez designed offend no no what do you think about the design layout the geometry I think a lot of people i i people are eating it up yes yeah I mean we haven't seen as you noted other than his his freshman effort we haven't seen a three flipper from Gomez so I think that alone just feels like it reminds me of when people so badly wanted stranger things and Mandalorian from Eddie to kind of feel like uh a pull from The Shadow and this is like here you go we've got some you know and there's some elements here that's kind of like NBA fast break obviously the third flipper gives you like this Corvette feel so I think a lot of people are just really excited that it we don't see Gomez design much anymore and now he's definitely gone away from where he had been for so long so many fan layouts or or other just sort of two two flipper configurations because you know I don't believe that they're all fans but um but uh good argument but this ain't no fan No One's Gonna think this is a fan this is no fan and I'm starting to see the stock on George Gomez over the last couple years really rise up especially after uh Deadpool and what people have come to love in Batman 66 it feels like we've got Gomez here very elwyn-esque that they're going to get a following and a good sales push regardless of what they do from here on out so he's hit that special kind of Epsilon level to me where I don't know if he could have messed this up with how much he's been giving to the industry and everybody's loving him he's got that cult following if you will so I see this layout and it looks different it does like you said I I see elements of him in it which is what you expect from any veteran designer but they have certain things but it's definitely I mean with that third flipper and there's more than one shot accessible with it Gary I will say this not to interject but Gary Stern Seth Davis said during the seminar there are four shots from that third flipper now I don't know if that's going to be like a Led Zeppelin middle ramp okay I mean I see three in the photos at least of the photo of the pro for sure I see three I was saying on pinball party uh here on tpn go listen to it pink Gomez always seems to have some of the most genius geometry and flow and kinetic satisfaction but damned if and I love my homie got me but there's always seems to be one shot that is just straight poo on a Gomez game yeah I heard you say that and I think I think I call it the Poo shot well it's got some validity behind that look at all this past there's always one shot and I worry that that side flippered straight up to the ramp is going to be that oh you think it's the ramp I thought maybe you're gonna think it was the shot into the pops just above it well yeah but that's yeah I wouldn't want to ever shoot straight into the Pops from a right flipper or from an upper flipper but no it's just the the angle you're going straight into a a stainless or you're going straight into a metal guide and I just I don't know how satisfying that's going to be no diverter there that gives you that Arch geometry just bam and then comes back around it just it worries me it's like a Lord of the Rings right cabinet right ramp but that's the only one I have problems with everything else looks fun as [ __ ] man it looks different we've got drops that are that are right in front of the the missile surrounding and you got that bobbling around like yeah why is it Bob why does it vibrate Zach white is it vibrate does it vibrate on the pro as well I a lot of our buyers are just you know generally male but I've had a lot of the buyers reach out and say man for some reason my wife is really getting behind this game well you know it bobbles missiles Bobble I haven't seen the film I don't know what does it do it's been so long since I've seen it I can't I can't comment I like the idea of it I like the idea that the ball can bounce off of an object and hit targets that you need to complete the spell I think Specter I like that the ramps area is cool I I kind of think it's funky that little uh how you have to shoot in between the the two right ramps to do the orbit I kind of like that little [ __ ] shot people are getting behind this because it's different and everybody wants different right now and storage it's been working for Elwyn so the design I think is uh the design is a good good thing so with me the max as well yeah I people are saying that no this has got more in it than Toy Story and jjp used to be known for filling up their games well here's a different manufacturer and they say what what is up with Stern leading the industry on on mechs and features you got Godzilla that feels loaded down now you've got this it feels loaded down and a pro frankly that still has a lot in it the ejector seat it's you know it still has a lot of a lot of stuff in it do you think the max are a central feature of this game what do you think out of these categories we don't know the code yet do you think it's the layout or do you think it's the max which one do you think is going to be the highest rated by people well I normally would say the layout just because that's what you ultimately play but it's hard to divorce that from the max that's because the max are a key part of the uh here's the based off of some discussions from from folks I I'm gonna go I'll stick with layout and the reason is there are a lot of people that look at this and as you noted they look at the pro and they seem pretty comfortable with the idea of getting the pro that it has enough mechs in it that they would rather not pay the additional price on the premium especially given the difference on the market UPS versus Rush yes and so that's telling me that the the mechs that they were able to cost into the pro are sufficient that people feel there's value there that's a good analysis but that could also make you ask yourself whether or not that meant that the mechs aren't interesting enough to justify the up charge into the premium you know with the to go back to Godzilla because I'm more familiar with it obviously you have that nice building drop that was only available on premium Le and I think the thing is right but and tummy rep yeah I got tummy grab with the with the and the rotating back I mean I I you know what I don't people need to listen to me talk about Godzilla because they know my feelings yes already but I think Bond on a wand mechanically very very interesting I think people are also getting rescue 9-1-1 Vibes though it was a huge flow killer uh you know things that are that move the ball like that are very slow and going around and then just dropping it on one of two vertical targets doesn't on paper that doesn't sound like it's as much fun as the amount of real estate I thought one of the targets might have a magnet I was like that could be cool visually I think it's going to be incredibly awesome no you know what I mean though like if it drops onto a magnet and then the magnet held it there I was like that that could be pretty cool but I don't know if I could but I don't I can't Target as the Gap widens see that's that's one of the factors now of course is the gap of the pricing between the pro and the premium is widening so significantly people people are gonna people are gonna really start to I think question but part of the thing that that could be happening when you get back getting back to your comparison to jjp is maybe the bomb on the premiums and Ellie's has been going up as Stern has been you know inserting their price increases perhaps they've been like you know what we need to we'll raise the price and let's put a little bit more in the bomb on these in order to have it you know stand out and be a little more distinguished thus not seeing such of a an increase in the Pro as but my guess and you're the distro so you'll be able to correct me once and you if you you may need more time before you know but I think in the case of Godzilla the the mech difference was so compelling that a lot of people just had to go premium Le over the pro I I mean it was the one time I did I think on this you're going to see a lot more even split of people going pro versus premium Le your analysis per usual is spot on their dentist I will say that yeah when it came to Godzilla we we don't have a backlog of Pros right now so our next run of Pros we will have some available we are still we are still waiting for um maybe I would say majority of our back orders still for Godzilla premium so yes 100 unequivocally without a doubt the premium is the model there I won't say tenfold what it's a five-fold now on this you are correct we are getting a lot more Pro buyers now it's hard to differentiate is that coming because of Max or is that coming because of discrepancy in price between now a pro and a premium so it's hard to measure that but a lot more Pro buyers this time around having said that the premiums still are outselling pros at least two to one if not closer to three to one so it's still significant but a lot of people are going pro like Godzilla is so surprising to me that game is so well received number one on pinside top 100 whether you know appropriate whatever but people are waiting for the premiums when they can buy the pro and I I've played the pro several times it is it is a fun game but in the home environment the mechs uh were enough to convince me that I wanted a Premium Rush is kind of leveled out where we had an abundance of Premium buyers over the last five years people have really shifted towards the premium model of stern games uh the hobbyist that is but they were leveling out now we see just as many sales of Rush Pros we do premiums now so about even now was initially uh offset a little bit Turtles people are still buying more Pro than premium Mandalorian Believe It or Not people still barely they're they're buying premiums more than Pros well it does have them moving play for you so there are some things here this is going to be more of a closer a closer to call thing so you're right there code like I said we don't know what's going on with code quite yet I don't think you should put all your eggs into the stranger things basket because Brian Eddy did bring a lot to that package but I think that if you would have asked three years ago what a response to Aulani Rob and a Mike Vinikour code set would be it would be significantly different than the perceptions of that duo team today would you agree or disagree uh I I don't know if I'd say significant it's Mike vanacor didn't really have much of a code rep right was I don't know if stranger things was his first game or not but so you know he's more of an unknown Lonnie you know people have mixed reactions with Lonnie I think the main complaint I've heard with with Lonnie is a lot of people feel he always kind of does the same thing with the rules so where I think uh but with like stranger things what I think happened is when you pair him with with Mike I think you have something more you know different more than another voice involved but the one thing with Lonnie is uh a lot of competitive players well he may not be their favorite programmer like he does no balance I've heard that he balance as well and so because of that I think a lot of people like there are some people in the hobby that are very vocal kind of like anti-rop code but by and large I think most people are okay with it that's what I think in the perception wise uh in the hobbyist community Lonnie has trended up a little bit over the last year or so because he was just getting pelted I mean Dwight was really high up there Lyman really high up there Nago really high and then there was long he was kidding he was getting bruised and battered pretty good but now we're seeing you know people start to say no I don't want to be Dwight code I don't want I'd be fine with Lonnie actually his rules are balanced you know what you're going to get and I would argue that Lonnie on this code if you're apprehensive about code sets that Lonnie has done in the past we know that he is solid knows what he's doing been in the industry forever balance as well look at all those faces there's going to be a lot to do on this game so just by default a good solid score with a lot of depth I think will be received very well I don't know I don't know how far along the coast is this is a rumor that I've heard but I have heard that there are and we'll talk about production and delays in this game coming out a little bit longer taking a little bit longer to produce than usually when they reveal a game but I heard heard that we haven't seen a stream announcement yet because they would like to build up that code a little bit more before they start showing it off that's the rumor that I heard can't confirm that we do have new pricing as we alluded to what's your take on the new pricing too much not enough what the hell are you doing Stern are they pricing people out I mean I was I was surprised the the way they did it so I was expecting my prediction had been because of inflation that we were probably going to see something on the order of a 400 to 900 price increase okay the premium was in line with where I was expecting towards the higher end I guess but well kind of in the middle really between 400 and 900 700 so um the pro was an increase a lot lower than I expected given the current state of inflation I agree and the lease increase was a lot more than I thought it would be a lot more I agree so so yeah I mean so in one way I was not surprised and one way is I was surprised happily in one ways I was you know surprised sadly as sad as I get about Ellie's which I don't care about I'm with you as well I thought the pro would be going up more than 100 I thought that they would likely try to squeeze in a little little additional bump here and pricing across all models pretty evenly I thought we'd see maybe a three to four hundred dollar price increase for for each model so the 100 did surprise me the premium was a little bit higher than I thought it was going to be quite honestly and then the Le that kind of really surprised me because I guess they're thinking you know it just surprised me a thousand units well at thirteen thousand times and I think and I think that's the jjp effect yeah I know I I've ex I've typed it probably on multiple discords at this point it's um you know Le buyers are whales so why don't why don't you Harpoon them yeah but here's the thing you would have thought I would agree with that but they watched jjp kind of get egg in their face unless jjp like got 20 or 25 or 30 mil I forget how many millions and millions of dollars they got on day one selling out all the C they sold all the CES out Zach yeah they're all sold out Toy Story sales are affected because of price period Zach sold out CE whale what did not surprise me Denison listener is that when these Ellies did come out they did sell out immediately I could have sold his deals we had a large allotment I could have sold double that easily whales why I you know you know why it wasn't because of James for some reason I feel strongly about this it wasn't so much James Bond James Bond's like people love it and they're like okay I can it's like a Godzilla all right we're good there everybody knows that it's freaking Gomez people want to get that next for the Deadpool they want that next Gomez game he's like a king in this industry I think it's going a long way on this title I really do it could but I I think the Le's were going to sell out day one no matter what from Stern I think they would have and I think Stern's trying to it's an intro actually I would say of the strategies uh overall I think I like this approach from them I think what they're going to do is they're bifurcating the way the hobbyists work and I think they're going to continue to dramatically profit gouge on the Le's more and more continuing to Jack that price up until they start to struggle just a little bit with selling them all while trying to keep the pro as low as possible to still allow an in I don't think they want to alienate a lot of the hobbyists that just bottom line can't go into that price point and so that's the bifurcation what I'm not sure on is the premiums um I think what they'd like to do is make more money on the premiums than they have been but they don't want to go so far out that the premium is like more than what a lot of the other competitive you know as I it's hard for me to say that the other companies are really competition to stern but like they they still wanted to sort of see they want to fly around a cgc prize through an American pinball well because the thing with the premium is is the the angle that Stern does which even jjp has started to forsake is like other than like minor little things it's the same gameplay yeah so it's like L E's are for whales premium are for people that win all the mechs and Pros are supposed to still be the value option to get in if a whale was to Le what would premium be it'd be more of a well if you want to I mean if the premium prices keep going up they're both going to be whales but the premium is going to be like a beluga whale and the leo'll be like a sperm whale so your premium is still a whale I don't like it being a whale I think it should be more of like a um when you start throwing 9 700 out at games at some point you ain't middle class okay it's just I mean we there is a line there especially with inflationary pressure a lot of people have less discretionary income right now than they did a year ago now that might not be true because there's a lot of people out there including myself that are middle class that just don't always make great decisions maybe yes yeah I'm I'm over generalizing for a fact but but my my point my point is that there were people and we've seen them we've seen them in the we've seen them on the Facebook we've seen them in comment threads that were they would love to get a premium but given another 700 after last year the premiums went up what over a thousand I mean the pros went up last year 900 yes I know 400 of the price increase where the stern is are connected but still you had to pay it you didn't have an option to not take it so at some point it's just compared to how much their paychecks go up they're just like they don't they can't rationalize it anymore or they rationalize down and say okay I can't rationalize premium anymore so I'm gonna get a pro again you and I know someone loves James Bond dream theme Forum when they saw the Le price go out they knew immediately they weren't getting the Le and they preferred it to they really wanted the elderly and and they're struggling on the premium that's an option like they're strong like and they could afford it it's just at some point it becomes in the to some people it becomes irresponsible to spend that amount I hear you and listeners will want to hear this I've got to be careful here uh so I can't talk about as a dealer as authorized deal I can't talk about margins and and what we're making or anything like that that goes against Ryan Policky but I think what I can skate around and say because people have been asking well if the pro went up a hundred and the premium went up 700 and then the Le went up this much like how does that break down for you guys margin wise is it basically just whatever it went up that's forwarded to you like how does that work oh I like about all did all the profit go to the exact words yeah where did the profit go I can say that I I don't know if I can say but I'm I'm hoping that I can say that I was surprised both in a positive and negative way about how the breakouts landed for the dealers it did change things and I'm like oh well that's interesting that doesn't make sense and I'm like oh well that's nice I see that so there were some changes there I think I can say this you guys like information don't you listener that's why you love us over here at the pinball show you say that uh the MSRP for these and there are different forms of you can do a map minimal advertising price what we're allowed to advertise them for uh Stern in the past has had murps the the lowest were allowed to sell it for the the floor but we can't advertise at that price but so they matched a lot of these so very much like the other manufacturers other manufacturers Chicago gaming company they've got one price they've got one price jjp they got one price there you can't advertise any lower than that one price and that price is universal I heard from a not from a not Sac Source uh that the pros were completely unified so the MSRP is everything now correct that's right so yeah there there is for the pro there it's 69.99 is that do you think that's a strategy to try and eliminate some of the smaller Distributors because I had heard reports that the smaller Distributors often relied upon people you know they wouldn't advertise it but they would just sell it at a map or something and sell for lower and that's how they State afloat but now with it it could be I mean now with it being the same as the MSRP they're one advantage to turning to Joe Bob's Stern dealer is gone yeah yeah and MSRP is the same for Ellie's as well it's 1299 that's that's low she can advertise for that that is it uh I wouldn't mind people are like oh all these little dealers though really hard-working little dealers that are putting in the work I don't I wouldn't I would never want to see them go away but there are plenty of dealers out here that are just I'm sorry they're they're billiard stores and they know nothing about pinball they're dealers uh and they'll sell them if they can but they're not ordering inventory I want them to go away they're a succubus they're taking all of our hard-working dealers a lot allotments so yeah I'd be okay if they if they went away and went away far away it's it's an interesting Dynamic that we have in the dealership Network so the reason these things aren't coming out until later we'll talk about a production update but uh basically bonds aren't starting until November production is not starting until November we have a whole month people of October that we get no bonds that's very different that's Parts delays they told us Parts delays are the issues for that I'm very confused about that Zach because I just again especially with the delays that they ended up doing why why do the reveal now if they're so far out from production they don't normally do that well I think because it aligns with the 60th anniversary kind of thing of James Bond they knew that they were going to have events that they were going to they probably planned on having this thing out in August and then start going to these different 60th anniversary events you know there was a rumor that this has shifted in that Venom was supposed to be first but it got punted that I don't know I heard some of those rumors but I don't that's why we call it a rumor because it's not we don't know it's true I don't could very well be not true or maybe this is just a a hidden way to develop comor who knows so 60th 60th average so there's an L win Bond a lot of questions with the release of this game a lot of questions with the production of this game a lot of questions with Goldfinger and wire that's at and is it coming in the future questions about accessories they they said coming soon topper art blades armor as soon as the Godzilla Toppers coming who knows and the other question the big question in the room is yeah the 60th anniversary James Bond 007 game designed by Keith elwin here are some of the things The Listener that you may or very well may not know we know it's a it's a Keith L1 design we know that it will be limited to 500 units that's half of the Le for the regular Cornerstone we know that they're aiming at starting to produce this game in late December so we get a late December Q4 kind of uh release Here we know that it's going to be a street level uh single level it's going to be a single level Gary called it a retro inspired Playfield okay well yeah yeah no ramps no ramps inserted in there just like as a joke pushy it could be it could be any bond we could get Pierce to say that shoot the Rams Christmas Jones no amps retro inspired Playfield it is going to it's supposed to incorporate all 25 Bond films and the Bond actors Gary and Seth said there are ball activated mechanical devices in the game that's fancy a way of saying what is it like a bash Target yeah stand-ups keep the standoff lamp but I mean if they're maybe there are interactive mechs in this case that's an awful wordy way to describe it they described it also this Elwyn game this special game is a classic drop Target game with 10 drop targets there's a lot of drops in this day and age it is kinetic spinning disc versus the non-kinetic one I think I said all jobs hat probably okay does that make sense as I'm saying this I'm like am I allowed to reveal I think so multiple fast flowing Spinners The Insider connected podcast transcript interview said four Spinners which I can't think I was trying to think of a single level with four I could not right into the pinball Network at gmail.com if you know of a single level that had four Spinners I can think of three Spinners on several but I I struggled to find four in fact I I couldn't think of four and we often times on Keith Owen designs people love of the placement of his Spinners because they are fast flowing multiple combo shots also red they're all for opto whoa that would be sweet diamonds are forever now here here's a detailed out correct Bobby Roger Moore diamonds are forever forever hahaha do you expect me to talk no Mr Bond I expect you to expect you though remember that's a Ryan C call back there skipping stones a bit of a controversial topic here is that when describing this game Gary and Seth indicated to dealers that it would have mechanical scoring reels now Dennis talked about it earlier listener there was a leak on the double 07 Shopper websiters that showed the 60th anniversary game but it had an LCD screen with digital animations mechanical reels I I didn't zoom in and enhance but I saw that as well I had only heard score rails I hadn't heard mechanical because I wasn't part of the distro call but I was like really which made me think that that was a fun thing but if it came from that 007 website they didn't mock it I mean they didn't make their own art for that and speaking of woof oh my gosh is it's I get it 25 films but did we have to collage all the posters my sister wrote to me my sister she she does not buy a new unbox pinball machines but she she wrote to me about they do it she and her husband they have a couple couple machines and and she wrote to me and she goes I finally saw the the bond and I finally I at first I didn't know which and then I realized she'd seen the L wind Bond she's like why is there why is it a collage he was very nice about it but why is it a colossian I'm like I don't I I guess the license one thing posters and that's it I don't know what your sister's name is but she feels like a tabby it's happy she's not a tabby that would be the name of a cat it's better than calling her [ __ ] Crystal just pushy Crystal um Darian Seth also said there's a Playfield mounted LCD screen on the 60th anniversary James bondable is happening where like Highway alien in the Playfield yeah Playfield Mountain could be Star Wars this is gonna be like a a tablet but it's not really a tablet Toy Story style rumors were that they're going to take the same size monitor from the the home pin and put it somewhere on the Playfield but I'm like man if you're featuring all 25 Bond films damn it make the monitor bigger if anything don't make it smaller it's just gotta be a baby monitor the the monitor is this a monitor for answered the monitor for manatees that it does come with we saw these leaked photos if they are true comes with armor and a topper and people [ __ ] on this topper I think the top are sleek and sharp that's actually the best looking part of it I like it I don't know I for those of you who have not seen the pictures they're floating around on Facebook right now um yeah I mean my impression again couldn't I couldn't see the play field so I don't know that is another one when I saw the the you know the decisions the for the r and especially like digital reels and all that and and home pin style displays not home pin as in uh sure we'll get to that later uh my my impression was wow they are really just testing how powerful the L win name is and as it felt like everything else was just like not a reason that you'd want it but maybe that's all you need oh well I think it is I think they I think that how many calls have you Zach revealed this how many calls have you already had to order one of these because I have a feeling it's more than three I would say over 40 probably okay people want to know that's all it takes people that's all wins power but because he hasn't failed us yet no he hasn't but again it's like it's like how we used to do the same a few years ago with with Lyman sheets code yep it was on again I knew plenty of people if Lyman was on the game the game was bought and you could say well look at how uh Bare Bones Elvira or it's not a Vira but Batman 6 was and it it's like it doesn't matter you know that Lyman was going to make it good it's the code and in this case you know elwyn's rules and Owen's layouts have always been winners especially when we know his history of competitive pinball this is his first time to really showcase a nostalgic classic feel to a game my favorite thing is he was I guess on uh on a stream and it talked about how it wasn't uh he didn't he wasn't re-skinning Quicksilver and everyone just Twisted that too Ellen said he's not doing a double 07. oh really yes that's funny it's just like oh my gosh people this is like they convinced themselves the LIE sets in and they're like he lied to us Owen lies a trainer you say that and then it drops does Quicksilver have ah you know I don't I thought I had more than one bank so I don't I don't know and this I in the interview the Gomez interview on Stern Insider again I didn't hear the interview I read the transcript which the uh the transcripts uh voice to text was always the best because I think at one point Keith became Keith Olson so yeah I was getting very confused but um I think there's not only the drop a bank of drops but there's also a set of in-line drops oh I do love some inline drops I always want them to bring that back Dolly you could get a you could get a fathom Revisited and revisit those inline drops or a TNA 2.0 Which Scott Danesi said don't call it a 2.0 but spooky calls it a 2.0 we'll call it what we want to I would do what we want we made Halloween so that's about all we know for the 60th anniversary James Bond 007 Keith elwin designed game I don't know when people ask me I don't know pricing you know there's rumors out there that dealers get to set the pricing I have no clue I don't know my allotment of how many we will get I don't know when they will reveal this game they did say very soon and if they're planning on producing it in December I would say maybe one of these events at the end of the month here might be a good guess all right so that's all we know that's a lot we know a lot Dennis are we behind the curtains now we know maybe too much oh maybe we do pushy we even know about production scheduling updates over Stern Pinball a lot of changes since we've last spoke listener for example Star Wars premiums online right now your last call for Guardians Pro starting this week first week of October we're finishing up some Led Zeppelin premiums and then starting oh we're starting a new additional run of Godzilla premium oh people don't like it yes they do we love your adorable one person who doesn't like it third and fourth weeks of October wait huh okay turtles so turtles turtles was bumped from December to this month and bumped Back to December now they're bumping it back up to October huh okay now Turtles is in October I've got terrible Turtle rage if I went into turtles because I'm getting really confused oh probably because you're not part of the turtle club yep first and second weeks of November Star Wars home edition oh the movie and the comic versions and they're gonna do all those home pins uh before Q4 here so second week in November they're gonna simultaneously run the James Bond Pro four locations only everybody was like can I get in can I get in on your first round for me and you're always like no Dennis I'm not allowed people think I'm always lying I'm like why am I subjected to your stupid I'll send you the form that Stern now makes dealers fill out for every damn one of these location Pros is it the stern Army is it not what's the address who's the operator what's the operator's email what's the operators oh my God second week in November is James Bond Pro four locations end of November Jurassic Park home and James Bond Elise seems so far out for a game that just revealed early to mid December James Bond premium that first run might get before Christmas time unless the crystal Grinch Steals it oh why are not steals late December is James Bond 007 60th anniversary edition late December and everybody right now saying uh Zach what about Elvira's house a horse uh-oh then Dan um the [ __ ] have left the building they're going to be bumped to next year oh oh no but it's okay because the old price has still been locked in okay so here's the thing on that uh they're hoping q1 production but there's still gonna be a price increase for Elvira they just don't know what it is yet just like I said last time and then if you guys are looking forward to James Bond Pro for your home or a premium the second runs of James Bond Pro and premium will be April 2023 and then effective you heard me right April 2023 for the second run Pro and premium of the new Cornerstone release of James Bond October November December January February March April [ __ ] seven months Jesus you know how many emails I get to answer it says hey if I were to buy a premium can you get me in the first round of the premiums that's coming out in November it always makes me feel bad I don't blame those people because I would want to first run too so I'd call around too but I'm like guys I don't have a lot of first like they're like either you can give me a first run or I'm out I'm out until I change their mind but it is I mean it is a long way yeah being asked to wait 60 days for the second round it's just so hard to see a see a sale go away other questions about production scheduling include effective immediately all of the home versions of stern pinball machines have new pricing so we get are they lower we get immediate pricing for Bond when it comes up that price increase we see the same thing for the home pin versions which are now all 49.99 I get to the bank ouch so starting now and then new pricing people are like well at least the old games are gonna Now new pricing for anything non-bond and non-home game will go into effect January 1. as usual that's standard as usual but for those of you and I'm sorry for those of you who have a Jurassic Park premium then they're not going to run until next year a Deadpool a you know you take your pick of Avengers if you've ordered it even if you've paid for it dealers will contact you for additional funds in order to pay the remainder or else they'll have to cancel you know that's why my I know one of my least favorite Stern business practices is that yeah now I I guess I get it because I don't think Stern's actually requiring the money but I still think it's kind of tasteless it's not the buyer's fault that they had to wait this long no it's not I hate that I damn I hate it too and I can't put myself in their shoes and say I wouldn't do that because technically I am doing that because I'm forwarding it on to the dealer or yeah that's not your choice no because the price for the prior price if I were to say you know what I can still sell it to you at that and I'll just eat the cost and pay you to take pinball machines which doesn't make businesses the agreement that we have signed on a threshold of floor of a price so we talked about earlier the MSRP and the map practice so I'd be breaking a deal and losing money it's just but when you've got Jersey Jack like when they raise the prices on the gnrs and they said everyone's already got a pre-order in Old price is honored we just saw multi-morphic uh raise the price of their modules but anyone who ordered before I think September 1st got to lock in the old price you know it's when you're the outlier even if you're the biggest manufacturer you're still the outlier like everyone else is doing it in a way that most people would think of as quote unquote Fair yeah and I think Devil's Advocate would say the Stern Pinball CFO right now sit in his office and say well that's cute if we only sold as many games as multimorphic does then we can talk about that she raising your prices and maybe we'll see that oh Mr CFO if that is your name you know what I say about all that that's what I say you know what I say about all that gtf we're not going to talk about GCF right now but we are going to talk about jjp another three letter an acronym an initialism it's an acronym usually I call them initialisms when we say the letters out a week or two ago on The Flipping Out pinball stream go like follow And subscribe the jjp team come and they hung out with the gang over at Studio B and they played Toy Story 4le it was very enjoyable they talked a lot so much so that they did exclusive news came out hashtag where's the media right [ __ ] here I missed this part because I only caught the very end of the stream JT Harkey has been working there for a long time he's a a programmer he's worked on you know the wonkas of the world he's worked on GNR she's worked on all of it he announced that he is going to be the lead programmer on the upcoming Steve Ritchie title mid speed three big news so Steve Ritchie's going to get the lead of JT Harkey harkey's good too I like him I like him Peter Dorn was also there he's the jjp project manager and he said something that went against what Jack Guarnieri recently said about license and Toy Story Toy Story 4 he said quote say what I'm saying Craig Bobby he's building a catalog we gotta watch him Dennis he's building a catalog on us [ __ ] Hulk 2D2 sitting on the bench Peter Doran said the following quote Toy Story is a phenomenal license to have Disney has the absolute right to tell us what to do with the game so when we were directed to do Toy Story 4 that's all we had to do with the license we really didn't have a choice but Jack said that they were like we'd love to do Toy Story 4. what a great idea let's do it what do we make of this stuff I you know I'm wondering if this I I've heard Jack G is more and more distance from the day-to-day of the company I I mean push comes to shove I would probably trust the words of the project manager who would be more directly involved more but you know just all things being equal but I'm wondering this is some damage control because I mean we we all saw I mean we have eyes we all saw the reaction of the community after Jack did that interview I think it was on super awesome and was like oh no we yeah Disney asked us to do Toy Story 4 but we were all like all in yeah oh yeah it's like then the community's response has been you have got to be kidding me doing just one just the first three or all four or all Superior choices to just doing Toy Story four absolutely it's like an objective fact and I'll pull back the curtain a little bit here whenever I heard Jack Guarnieri say that on that podcast interview number one I was like even if that were the case what the [ __ ] why would you say that number two I was taken back by it because it did go against the information that I did have as well coming from the offices in the in the factory over Chicago it heard they had to do it I had up until that interview that is all I had heard but again you know I'm hearing things second hand and stuff so I'm like okay well Jack's now saying no they chose it and it's like he's an official employee owner type I don't know exactly his relationship is anymore with the investors but that's like when he came out and said like it was voluntary it's just I mean even it was true it looked really bad and it just looked like you didn't know you like you had bad decision making and it did not air there are additional pieces of the feature at when we were doing the Toy Story 4 thing for straight in the middle uh there were additional pieces that just didn't make the the cut you have to hit the floor so we were going to release it later but I can say you know Pat Lawler is not is no longer with there's Jack pinball he had full intention and did discuss that on the featurette and he said it just didn't fit in the future end but he said that and that's where I had the info from straight from the horse's mouth is that what they say why does that to be the horse's mouth I don't know he doesn't look like a horse he's not very horse-like but straight from his mouth he said initially uh you know paraphrasing here he said initially yeah the idea was to do just the Toy Story branding and theming um assets would have been significantly different maybe not uh not up to the par of what we wanted but then over time as the film got delayed and then the license kind of got delayed design maybe got delayed all that then yeah they were then pushed to hey are you doing Toy Story 4. like that's that's the newest product that we have out film wise that's got the best digital assets everything else is archaic now uh with visualizations you we want you to do Toy Story 4. So I was surprised too yeah you know what else surprises me no that there's going to be no Stern tour physical tour this year at Chicago pinball Expo interesting it's always they always have a tour it's gonna be very they had to do it virtually last year but there was Chicago still had a lot of pretty stringent pandemic requirements last year during Expo but that but those are lifted now this year jjp stepping in and said we're going to do the factory tour at Expo but we're not going to charge a dollar for it I think the other ones I think Chicago Expo was charging 50 bucks for a Stern tour this is free not only is it free you're not in school buses these have training up coach buses the people people who love their bags yeah charter buses oh so I'm glad you caught that make sure that you hop on a bus I think Thursday morning and head over to the factory it is a cool Factory I liked it only other news this week uh we've got and we don't have time to talk about we got Chicago gaming company they're expected to start shipping the Cactus Canyon remake Les in a couple weeks here finally yeah so those should be coming out two three weeks have been solved yeah they have the parts for it and everything it's just building them now and then uh home pin revealed This Is Spinal Tap a pinball machine and was it I mean yeah I I you know what I I'm gonna say this don't give I could care less about that theme I don't even think I've seen that whole movie The Art is atrocious the topper almost makes me want to like it but it looks like I built it yeah I got I gotta say Stern kind of got a mini boon with the the cheeks about the James Bond art and then then that Spinal Tap Play field pictures came out and it's like okay you want you want true Photoshop error here you go no so so true so I don't but the price though the price is just the price and that's the thing there are some people that they love the theme they give a lot of it the past that price it's like 10-5 us it's it's a lot nope I think all a potential buyer interested party would need to know is that this person designing this game or running this company chose to put an LCD screen and a [ __ ] orange DMD and if you look anything past that I don't care if it shoots like a Keith El one is a bad product come on come on read the room get with the time it's no yeah it's uh it's it was a shockingly weird decision and I was wrong it's not ten five it's 9 500 is the price okay so much 5 000 too much the design doesn't that did not look horrible though the layout no I I would say uh again I only saw like 20 seconds of gameplay because again potato cam no one bothers to do anything proper uh but it did look like it would play better than Thunderbirds yes yep yep it looks like a [ __ ] game I I don't really uncover it it's not 95 I I you look at that and you're like it's not it doesn't look like a 9 500 game at all even in this market that's your news pink uh Dennis pinball market trends takes all shapes and forms it comes in all sizes and colors it doesn't discriminate it's a living breathing segment that people have come to love and respect and follow and Trust it's the type of pinball segment you want to take home to meet your parents but it's also the segment that may get caught out in the backyard smoking a stogie with its future father-in-law to you all it's simply unfiltered entertainment but the best forms of entertainment always come with a healthy dose of Truth this is pinball market trends trending up this week is Stern pricing I say that tongue-in-cheek but it is true that Stern's recent announcement of price increases some of the models being very significantly increased it will have an effect on the market moving forward some may call this another correction in the ever evolving living breathing market now to a certain extent sure but overall I'm not yet convinced as long as Stern Pinball continues to be the Preferred Product for hobbyists and operators it's certainly going to help uphold the value of newer games especially that Spike 2 catalog and now it certainly does make sense for some titles such as Guardians of the Galaxy Led Zeppelin to be retiring which is going to help hold the value of those titles that probably wouldn't see significant additional sales from a future January 1 price increase that's coming but games like Avengers Infinity Quest Iron Maiden Deadpool Jurassic Park and even the competitive pinball darling Rush those games are sought after even with a price increase coming Jan 1 they will still sell they will still sell well and the reference to the correction that I'm speaking of is that these new inbox titles by Stern that are going up at the beginning of the year will help stabilize the secondary Market on used Spike 2 games you're not going to see Deadpool significantly creep down now because new premiums are no longer 89.99 for 96.99 you cannot purchase a brand new box Iron Maiden penalty but if you have a used one and new Le's are going for thirteen thousand dollars that makes that fifteen thousand dollar secondary Market Iron Maiden Le stay at 15 000 a little longer and I say all this hesitantly because I don't believe that it's going to drastically affect the marketplace maybe as it has in the past with these price increases but it certainly is another technique and tactic to use to continue selling products that everybody has to have regardless of price it seems like and stabilize that of trending down values of the remainder of your catalog it's economics people turning up this week is pinball party podcast we only report the facts this poor guy jumps in with a new new podcast here we jump into episode five once you join TV yeah you like seduced him into joining tpn well you know like there's a spot join all Shucks in it and kicking rocks and they know me yeah you just ask him he seems like actually I know it's like because I'm gonna be on the episode that premieres on the network [Music] foreign there you go there's your hair horn pushy pinball party podcast the only reason I'm training him up is because objectively numbers do not lie hot damn maybe it's because it's our only podcast last week whoa that thing's soaring high a lot of great feedback too [Music] so for those wondering if it's not doing well I assure you it's doing very very well also treating up this week is pinball machine artwork prior to 2022. oh what happened so what's gonna win this year I'm gonna guess it's Gotta either be Toy Story 4 or or maybe Rush what happened stern look I get it I get it with the whole Frenchy thing you know I understand believe me that doesn't mean that you can't have artists come in that do what he does give us some of the people love fancy art their hands were tied Zach tight hands or death sentence they're like a tiny net as I get it like just give us back what we want and we want zombie Yeti and we want Frenchy that's what we want dirty Donnie I put dirty Donnie I know this is gonna be a strong take I put dirty Donnie there with uh with Johnny crap give me some Randy Martinez again even jjp come on don't we I've had some Randy Martinez I know he could do lots of art but I just imagine that James Bond Playfield and he says the bond just has Mandalorian helmets on in every spot that's Sean Connery it's like it's been it's been randified I want to see baby Yoda strap down to the laser hold finger table about to get cut in half like for what whatever people want to say about Christopher Franchi like this freaking art is gorgeous like I want them to take Francis portfolio this is Stern even if they don't want to hire franchi again take all of his hard work even the [ __ ] he's trying to sell these not supposed to be selling take it to all these artists and be like can you do this this is this is what the pinball people want and just give us that man even American pinball I'm paying attention to you as well no more Oktoberfest we want good artwork artwork cells feels like we're taking a step backwards am I crazy you know no I don't know I mean you've been talking about you talked about on the party podcast about um you know pinball improving every year and I'm I'm kind of wondering and maybe it's just because of the releases and obviously we're not the end of the year yet but I'm starting to think 2022 might be seen as an inferior year to 2021. you Godzilla biased bastards you I I know that's not it's not fair really for me to to bring that up but I mean ah you may be right I don't want to agree with you on that do you think we see another reveal from Stern this year no I do I do especially not with Bond production happening so we get one more one more reveal from Stern essentially we get a jjp reveal maybe I think maybe spies are telling me that that come down to Parts oh look at you go check it out EGP Chicago gaming do we get in I mean they're still doing characters Kings do we see anything else this year from them all signs point to yes what stay tuned stay tuned what about from uh haggis what about from August no no no no no no no no no no no no no I still have to unbox my fathom it's sitting there pinball Adventures you know what maybe getting closer punnier things have happened you know that's not the only game they got in the works what about multi-morphic well they just had Weird Al this year I don't not with the backlog on that now okay now that doesn't count third party reveals Turner pinball so there might be a third person bring up Great Lakes pinball while we're at it weren't they gonna do Deja Vu or something I've been in this I'm like Pepperidge Farm okay I've been in this hobby a long time I remember some of the companies that didn't ever put out anything so raising brand Two Scoops yeah I just wrapping of it Stern you know what we want please just give us what we want that's all we want bring back the art bring back the lamps there's gonna be a mutiny Dennis if the wamps call outs don't get updated we want those back the wamp gate is right up there with when Scott like ruined the beep on TNA yes that's right yeah it does deserve to Trend down the newest update for Godzilla they got rid of a lot of shoot the lamps yeah and we are not happy no we need those whams they're like racist call out as a bubbly Bobo and we want them back we want yes it's we demands them back we bring joy to ourselves by saying that one it's like when Scott denisi changed the beep it's like he's like well it's more better audio balance and all that for the song I'm like no I don't care I Beep don't it should be obnoxious and BP I was B I don't beep with my TNA anymore I did on the old beeps wow and it took he took my beep Joy away and now my wamp Joy is gone we need it back elwin don't be hard-headed don't make me choose Rush don't make me choose rush over Godzilla you're a hard-headed guy I need my lamps but we want our lamps I need to shoot How Will I Know to shoot them if you do not tell me to that's right and sadly it's not all praise and trendings up here on pinball market trends training down this week I gotta do it Canada's pinball podcast now I was hesitant to even put this discussion into pinball Market trains because this segment's often filled with gimmicks silliness entertainment techniques bad impersonations but today I'd like to be a little bit more Frank a little bit more serious because trending down a fellow podcast channel is something not to be taken lightly in the past I've poked my friends and trended them up and down and it was done so with an understanding and good fun but this last week I've heard myself sometimes my family my personal information discussed on Canada's pinball podcast or live stream to the point that even I am tired of hearing about myself on someone else's media channel many of you listeners may not know the things I'll be referencing many of you don't care to hear about pinball media drama and admittedly feels kind of icky even having to spend time on this so I understand that doesn't make it any less important though to discuss and my focus and discussion this week on Canada's pinball podcast may not be of central Focus to the provider and host themselves but rather to many of those who consume said content I've listened to many episodes of Chris's podcast watched a lot of live streams he's talented in so many ways very entertaining controversy sells literally sells he does the patreon thing which he's doing well with there's so many attributes to this person and what talents they have and can provide for this industry Community hobby but sadly a pervasive pattern of behavior occurs that needs further analysis Dennis is no longer on the call he'll be back so these are my thoughts my experiences and before you write this off as just more pinball drama I encourage you to listen and maybe even you a good exercise on putting yourself in other people's shoes Chris cooleris or Canada as he calls himself has a pattern of behavior that at this point is pretty calculated chart it up pretty easily and while I will not map that out I will say that a lot of his recent content not only discusses myself but also has the potential at harm his content is consumed by many his content is paid for by many but much of his behavior has been and is at times harmful negative and cringy to a lot of the people that you respect in this industry I've been accused of a lot of things this last week by Chris including but not limited to him getting banned from the Chicago pinball Expo that's a rumor going around and publicly and live on the internet first reaction was to blame myself and my wife Nicole many for the reason that he was banned from a pinball convention that's simply not true we've talked on here in other media Outlets have talked about the upcoming fundraiser at the pinball Expo called flip in the script on autism it's a fun fundraiser to help with children's autism efforts and treatments therapies the loser kit pinball podcast Josh and Scott have created this fundraiser and they've put in so much work alongside many other media Outlets to make this thing a success which makes me proud to even be in the industry when people are giving back to the extent that they will be Canada got wind of this fundraiser and wanted to participate and while everyone would love to maximize participation in a fundraiser for for children sometimes it's not always the most appropriate to have every party involved Chris has burned a lot of bridges in this industry and has caused harm and for those people receiving such harm it is hard to forget and it's hard to stay focused when a participant has caused so much conflict in the past I was told he was banned from Expo and once Chris found out that he was asked not to participate with uh whether it's live streaming or interviewing or anything be through a fit and made insinuations that he would make attempts to disrupt a fundraiser that was going to go on he also took the time to again publicly live internet blame myself for organizers to ask him not to be part of a fundraiser again if he only knew I mean just simply simply not true he blamed tpn for why he couldn't be a part of the fundraiser again objectively and factually not true and that's fine as long as the truth is out there the the issue and the pattern behavior that I'm just frankly I'm getting just tired of dealing with is creating a narrative a drip feed for others to consume that does affect the reputation of a person whether it's the truth or not if you spoon feed little bits of false information long term it does have lasting effects and whether you delete a video after you're severely inebriated saying hateful things toxic things placing blame where it should not be placed and saying people by name that type of high emotion is hardwired pretty quickly to the consumer of that content so whether you delete that video later or you say you're sorry When You're Sober that doesn't take away the damage that possibly incurred we'd all make mistakes Lord knows I've got a Santa Claus List full of them but the difference being if I've made a mistake not only do I learn from that mistake but I immediately change my behavior and as I'm consuming a canadus pinball podcast over the years two or three times a year we will receive such Behavior quickly followed by deleting all evidence that it happened so that only your true hardcore target audience intakes that information and then immediately followed with a quick apology oftentimes I was drunk I'm sorry look you know you can't tell me you've not done made a bad decision when you're drunk and and many of us can say we have but the boy can cry wolf only so many times but when Behavior becomes patterned to this point apologies are no longer acceptable the only thing acceptable is action last week during this intoxicated rant that Canada had I was brought up numerous times my home for sale was brought up with you know information to wear my family and I live he was talking of of my financials there were links in his chat with his strongest supporters discussing this I had people we were my wife and I are selling our home and I've had some of you know some of the the strong followers he has linking other people on our home for sale the page linking others to our home and our information to keep up with what Canada is talking about this is public information I mean it's doxing-esque but it's that's not the big deal here I mean you gotta do is Google it's out there but color me crazy if I feel a little bit weirded out by or scared by the fact that myself my family are being brought up in a live public conversation fueled with hate and anger and done so in a way to put a spotlight on us as the cause of conflict when we have or had nothing to do with any of the complaints being made I'm speaking on my platform because I'm trying to do so in a fair way that while I don't want to talk about this I'm choosing to talk about this because I'm saying it's it's making myself and my wife uneasy we've been through a lot this year and adding additional stress and feelings of unease and possible safety issues we just don't need it I've said before it's not so much Chris coolers I'm worried about pattern behavior I I I can predict I'm more concerned with maybe some of you listening right now that are so enmeshed in the narratives in the toxicity I can't predict your behavior I don't know you and it only takes one person to try to be a hero for someone like Canada that they may look up to it only takes one person to make that quote unquote just a mistake while I was drunk for my entire world to be gone so I understand some of you listeners this is a hobby for you and I want it to be the most gratifying entertaining fun-filled hobby ever I don't want as someone whose livelihood is around pinball I don't want you to have to worry about this kind of stuff it doesn't affect your life sure but it affects mine and I just ask that you're cognizant of that and you don't brush that off as if it is everyone's hobby for some people it is their lives this is supposed to be fun this drama playground Behavior spatting back and forth I'm encouraging you to realize that that type of quick blanket that you throw over something may be encouraging it we don't need this type of behavior I want it to be a hobby for everybody but it can only be that way if if people are safe you know Chris sells negativity he boasts about getting leaked information he pokes at content creators in general just not for being his perception of as good as he is creating podcasts as content creators to try to bite our tongue you know it it is what it is but other things at this point I'm in a position to speak out against and that's where I'm at today I'm tired and no longer will I accept this type of behavior towards myself or to others when he calls for the termination of Industry employees marketing employees of Stern Pinball of Jersey Jack pinball he publicly calls for their job terminations that behavior is unacceptable and the irony of all of it is him doing so live from his place of business his place of employment a marketing firm Chris said in a recent live stream that his employer was all in on himself in the pinball industry and the content he creates I hope that that is merely a fabricated statement by himself because I don't know any company that would be okay with an employee from their property their building calling for the job terminations of another fellow marketer and at the end of the day just like this podcast we don't have to listen but keep in mind that doesn't make it go away I can turn my cheek to a live stream I can turn my cheek to a podcast but it doesn't mean that I'm any safer it doesn't mean I'm shielded the only way for it to stop is for Chris to stop the behavior many of you support him not only by consuming his content but by paying him and look you can you can rationalize that all you want I'm only paying for the rumors that he gives I'm only paying for the entertainment damn it you're paying for his content and his content many times is harmful to other people that's where I talked about that blanket no longer should you pull the wool over your eyes for your own selfish entertainment purposes there is a line there people and I have no issue with someone supporting what they believe in whether it be audio consumption or monetary fulfillment but don't try arguing with me that by doing so you get to pick and choose what you're supporting that's garbage and I will leave the somber pinball market trends with this moving forward no one should be quiet about rhetoric that wants to minimize behavior during an intoxicated State there are many of you listening and people you love many women in the world that have been affected who have been harmed who have lived in fear simply because a man had won too many that shit's got to stop that behavior is unacceptable that behaviors often misconstrued by its strongest supporters this isn't cancel culture I can't stand that [ __ ] either this is Humanity this is morality this is right from wrong it is pretty easy to dissect that's why I'm speaking out on it on my platform that you can choose or choose not to listen to now or in the future but it's important to me in this silly little hour to two hour show every week every other week is my way of not only informing and entertaining but to grow from and I just hope that with the many listeners that we have some of you can grow along with me for most of you it is just a hobby I want it to continue just being a hobby but never forget that behavior is behavior no matter where it happens and ladies and gentlemen that was this week's pinball market trends I do truly appreciate your time let's close it out Dennis how can people get a hold of you easiest way is to email collectorgamers podcast gmail.com or go to facebook.com click the gamers podcast use messenger tool I check those regularly well you've been on fire with watches with Dennis go check that out follow subscribe to that as well you got another this or that talk coming out don't you oh tots tots for days got tot coming up on Thursday tots are hot I've taught we do the polls live we do it only on YouTube so I can do the polls and I think you teased a little bit of a pinball sprinkle in this next episode I've got one oh I only did it on our private uh TP and Discord but since you've leaked confidential messages yes I actually uh there will be a match-up that will involve a pinball machine as one of the choices I've got so many guests who are pinball people that it's like I might as well you've got to go check actually I don't listen to request it too so I was like I gotta go check that out you can check out straight down the middle we've got some fun exciting stuff coming up that's more official uh in the coming I guess in the coming months it's going to be released we also have some Halloween themed uh ball content coming up in the month of October for straight down the middle and flipping out pinball if you're ready for a brand new pinball machine or a used pinball machine some pinball accessories or whatnot arcade games You Name It We got it over at flipping out pinball product showcase this week I'm gonna say all the premiums that we have in stock because come January 1st those damn things are going to go up 700 why not buy what we have in stock now for the price it is right now Mandalorian premium brush premium why are you going to pay more money January 1st get it now bye bye bye put it in the storage for for Christmas but buy it now save some money Oktoberfest classic we do have in stock Mandalorian Pro and premium like I said Rush is in stock Star Wars Pro I think I even have some premiums coming get the get the old price now Led Zeppelin Pro and premiums get the old price Cactus Canyon remake essays we do still have some in stock every time we get those things in they're like oh see you later Godzilla Pro I'll see you later Cactus Canyon they're in and they're out Toy Story 4la and C we still have spots available for that GNR Le we have some pre-owned ones there as well as Amando Pro pre-owned iron maidens I'm gonna List It follow us on Facebook I'm gonna list some used Iron Maiden Pros and that thing ain't getting made till next year so you know the price is going to shoot up on that Elvira 40th anniversary oh so many people are tickling they just tickle they want it so bad but they just don't want to pull the trigger bye bye bye maybe they will now that Elvira's have been bumped to next year here's your chance to have a brand new sparkly purple one with custom dagger shooter Rod you guys can order accessories pre-order accessories from us we're taking lists for Bond topper that may be or shooter retain a list for all of it we didn't even talk about the LA side art the black and white a mixed on it I think it'll look good though golden tees 2022. oh cgc Shaker Motors we haven't had those for a while we have those back in stock now so go buy buy on those bye bye bye escalaris check us out at Expo I think we're going to bring a couple if you guys want a pre-order for a Chicago pinball X but we will be there I gotta give a shout out to flipping the script fundraiser for autism loser kid has partnered up with tpn and other media entities to be to be helping with that so that big stream so come check it out I think I'm I have to do a guest spot I don't I'm interviewing somebody oh no what a heavy burden for you I don't know I think I'm the headliner I ain't gonna be there I sent them some EGP stuff do you agree with me being the headline of that show and no really who would you go with Scott or Josh yeah why not Scott and Josh they would be a bigger headline than me well I mean more people like them sell sell you're being nice now which I makes me think you really do truly believe that film it oh well TBN last week There's pinball party podcast episode five go check it out because it featured you not the headliners AG mini but whatever the tertiary headline the opening act triple drain pinball podcast episode 23 live from Cleveland tpn this week a bunch of stuff's going on so much that I can't even list I do want to take the time at the end of the episode here wishing a friend of the show or Paul pretzer of the Delaware pinball Collective a speedy recovery for a recent surgery that he had so wishing you the best Paul we're thinking about you get well soon get well soon and until next Fortnight maybe maybe I'll do one next week I don't know for Dennis Crystal I'll always be your headline in pushy segment I say just remember you you can't shoot the lamps anymore just go for the and always practice safe pinball and just remember the True Media is right here have a great week everyone [Music] a person is the person no matter where they're at they're not a [ __ ] I think it's a Horton Hears the Who or no no matter how small that's what yeah you got my Dr Seuss tropes going you're seussing it up but you know what I say this is all a bunch of caca market trends I can't do that it's time for people oh Market chocolate there you go it's like a brand new damn game the man Lauren new season is going to come out everybody's gonna have a bone for the man up pick it up shoot the center lamp over and over again yes oh you've been mining the spinal taps too much Bob about to get a [ __ ] spinal tap on the 6th of October about time you got that back fixed some black and blue damn man tickled me like Craig Bobby tickles his wife poor y'all [Music]

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 25a034e2-5000-4a2c-94a7-09ad99cc8572*