# Episode 704: "The B+ Pinball Podcast"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2022-08-05  
**Duration:** 21m 26s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-704-b-70108524

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## Analysis

Kaneda discusses widespread community burnout and frustration with recent pinball releases, particularly Toy Story 4's disappointing secondary market performance and the poorly-received Billy Joel rumor for Jersey Jack Pinball. He expresses concern that JJP's reputation is at risk after multiple potential missteps, highlights the industry's narrow approach to music licensing, and identifies Stern's Venom and American Pinball's upcoming title as the real contenders for game of the year, with Chicago Gaming Company criticized for chronic delays on Cactus Canyon LE.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Toy Story 4 collector's edition demand has completely dried up, with Kaneda's own CE sitting at $14k for two weeks with no offers. — _Kaneda, personal market observation from his own attempted sale_
- [MEDIUM] Jack Guarneri nearly inked a Michael Jackson pinball deal that was scrapped when the HBO documentary launched. — _Kaneda, described as 'a true story' but based on hearsay/industry gossip_
- [MEDIUM] Billy Joel is rumored to be the next Jersey Jack game by Steve Ritchie. — _Kaneda, citing online rumors but noting 'no one knows for sure if it's Billy Joel'_
- [HIGH] Pinball industry licensing decisions are controlled by older men making games for themselves, resulting in over-representation of 60s-80s rock music. — _Kaneda, opinion based on observed pattern of music selections_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack is making Toy Story 4 collector's editions 'the end of this month' (August 2022). — _Kaneda, citing second-hand information_
- [MEDIUM] Willy Wonka sat at distributor inventory for a year with only 500 units made. — _Kaneda, comparative market observation_
- [MEDIUM] Venom is guaranteed to win 'best art package of 2022' due to Zombie Yeti's artwork. — _Kaneda, prediction based on art quality reputation_
- [LOW] Cactus Canyon LE will ship without toppers due to delays. — _Kaneda, citing hearsay ('I heard now')_
- [HIGH] Stern added a 'home edition' feature to Insider Connected that auto-detects home machines. — _Kaneda, confirming feature release_
- [HIGH] Chicago Gaming Company's business model is entirely based on remaking existing games, yet still takes extremely long to deliver. — _Kaneda, observation/criticism of company strategy_

### Notable Quotes

> "Jersey Jack Pinball. You were supposed to bring balance to the pinball world. You were supposed to load the games with all the toys. You were the chosen one."
> — **Kaneda**, ~38:00
> _Metaphorical critique of JJP's fall from grace using Star Wars reference; captures community sentiment shift_

> "If this game is worth the money, if this game has the value there, if this game is worth $15,000, then why do I not have a single offer to buy mine for $14,000?"
> — **Kaneda**, ~42:00
> _Direct evidence-based challenge to JJP marketing claims about Toy Story 4 demand_

> "I think for the first time ever, we're going to have to see dealers and distributors offer a discount on these games."
> — **Kaneda**, ~48:00
> _Market prediction signaling unprecedented industry shift in pricing power_

> "Pinball does a very bad job at representing the variety of music out in the world that people love."
> — **Kaneda**, ~25:00
> _Core industry criticism about licensing strategy and demographic assumptions_

> "Get it done before you announce it. Get it done before you reveal it. Get it done before you take people's money."
> — **Kaneda**, ~65:00
> _Critique of Chicago Gaming Company's operational failures and delayed releases_

> "It is deflating trying to cover this hobby right now when we don't have a new game that people are excited about."
> — **Kaneda**, ~67:00
> _Personal burn-out admission from prominent content creator; indicates broader community fatigue_

> "This hobby, if it wasn't for Stern, I mean, it would get real boring real fast."
> — **Kaneda**, ~68:00
> _Acknowledges Stern's critical role in maintaining industry momentum during drought_

> "The most fun I've had is just going to Jack Bar and enjoying pinball and drinking frozen margaritas."
> — **Kaneda**, ~75:00
> _Personal revelation that casual play venues now more rewarding than new machine acquisition/hype_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; prominent pinball media personality and content creator; self-describes as 'Gucci-wearing' and currently experiencing burnout from industry coverage |
| Jack Guarneri | person | Founder/executive of Jersey Jack Pinball; appears to be of Italian/Northeast heritage; discussed as nearly closing Michael Jackson deal; recently did interview with Pinball News show |
| Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP) | company | Boutique premium pinball manufacturer; formerly 'the chosen one' but now facing reputation crisis after Toy Story 4 demand collapse and poor reception to rumored Billy Joel game |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; seen as currently carrying the industry; developing Venom with strong art direction; has new president Seth Davis exploring 1990s music licensing |
| Toy Story 4 | game | Jersey Jack Pinball release; experiencing rapid demand collapse; collector's edition unsold inventory sitting at dealers; secondary market crashed; widely viewed as disappointing product |
| Billy Joel | game | Rumored Jersey Jack Pinball title by designer Steve Ritchie; musician with 150M album sales and Madison Square Garden residency; received brutal community reception; Kaneda assesses as likely real rumor |
| Venom | game | Upcoming Stern Pinball release with art by Zombie Yeti; predicted to be game of the year contender; question mark on mechanical depth; potential market-killer for Toy Story 4 |
| Cactus Canyon LE | game | Chicago Gaming Company remake of original Williams game; revealed one year ago at Pinball Expo; still not shipping; may ship without toppers; chronic delays criticized heavily |
| American Pinball | company | Emerging pinball manufacturer with upcoming original IP game; positioned to capitalize on JJP weakness; David Fix associated with company; timing critical for fall 2022 market |
| Chicago Gaming Company | company | Pinball manufacturer focused on remaking classic games; heavily criticized for chronic delays and missing announced ship dates; Cactus Canyon LE one-year+ delay exemplifies problems |
| Zombie Yeti | person | Pinball artist at Stern; created artwork for Deadpool and Venom; recognized for distinctive, high-quality art style; guaranteed to win 2022 best art package award per Kaneda |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Legendary pinball designer rumored to be designing Billy Joel game for Jersey Jack Pinball |
| Dennis Nordman | person | Designer associated with American Pinball original IP title; will compete against Stern's Venom in fall 2022 'battle' of new games |
| Brian Eddy | person | Stern designer; designed Mandalorian (mechanical depth questioned) and Stranger Things; has extra time for Venom development; ability to deliver strong mechanics in Venom uncertain |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Artist associated with American Pinball's original IP game competing with Venom in fall 2022 |
| Seth Davis | person | New president of Stern Pinball; publicly stated company wants to explore more 1990s music; Kaneda criticizes as outdated (90s were 20 years ago) |
| David Fix | person | American Pinball executive/owner; Kaneda references him 'cashing checks his mouth has been writing'; managing company timing against Venom release |
| Michael Jackson | person | Music icon; was nearly licensed for Jersey Jack Pinball but deal scrapped after HBO documentary; Kaneda advocates his music would sell well as pinball game |
| Todd Tuckey | person | Pinball industry distributor/dealer; Kaneda attempting to book for podcast to discuss Toy Story 4 sales reality; known for candid assessment |
| Stern Insider Connected | product | Stern tracking/engagement system; newly added home edition feature that auto-detects home machines; also developing smartphone app for QR-code scanning integration |
| Pinball Expo | event | Annual pinball industry convention; venue where Cactus Canyon LE was first revealed one year prior to current episode date |
| Queen Pinball | game | Unreleased pinball machine; will be playable at Super Awesome Pinball Show tailgating party September 24th; game/manufacturer unknown |
| Willy Wonka | game | Previous Jersey Jack Pinball release; sat in distributor inventory for ~1 year with only 500 units made; used as cautionary comparable for Toy Story 4 CE demand collapse |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Toy Story 4 market collapse and secondary market pricing, Billy Joel rumor and community backlash to music licensing strategy, Jersey Jack Pinball reputation damage and future game pipeline concerns, Fall 2022 game of the year contention: Venom vs American Pinball original IP, Chicago Gaming Company's chronic production delays and Cactus Canyon LE shipping failure, Industry-wide burnout, content creator fatigue, and community sentiment shift
- **Secondary:** Licensing diversification and demographic assumptions in music selection, Stern Insider Connected feature updates and app development

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.72) — Predominantly critical and frustrated tone. Kaneda expresses deep burnout, market pessimism about Toy Story 4 and JJP's future, disappointment in industry licensing decisions, and criticism of manufacturing delays. Some positive elements (praise for Zombie Yeti's art, excitement for Venom/American Pinball competition, appreciation for Stern Insider Connected), but overwhelmingly weighted toward frustration with industry state and manufacturer decisions.

### Signals

- **[product_concern]** Toy Story 4 CE experiencing unprecedented demand collapse; Kaneda's own $14k listing received no offers in 2 weeks; distributors facing inventory overhang for first time on JJP product (confidence: high) — Kaneda's personal market data and comparative analysis with Willy Wonka precedent; dealers/distributors known to be holding unsold inventory
- **[rumor_hype]** Billy Joel rumor received 'brutal' community backlash despite strong licensing fundamentals (150M albums, MSG residency); widespread perception of wrong fit for pinball audience (confidence: high) — Kaneda's direct observation of online threads and community response; JJP likely reading feedback and reconsidering according to Kaneda
- **[sentiment_shift]** Significant shift in JJP perception from 'the chosen one' to damaged brand facing reputation crisis; community no longer anticipates JJP launches with same excitement after Toy Story 4 and rumored Billy Joel (confidence: high) — Kaneda's comparative analysis of JJP's fallen status; statement that company must 'earn our excitement back'
- **[licensing_signal]** Industry music licensing skewed heavily toward 60s-80s rock acts by male decision-makers; systematic under-representation of pop, hip-hop, and contemporary artists; Kaneda criticizes as myopic and self-serving (confidence: high) — Detailed critique of music licensing patterns; specific artist examples (Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, Taylor Swift, Kanye West) offered as alternatives
- **[product_strategy]** Kaneda predicts unprecedented dealer/distributor discounting will occur when used Toy Story 4 LEs hit secondary market at $10k, undercutting new CE sales at $15k (confidence: medium) — Market logic observation; Kaneda frames as inevitable market correction
- **[operational_signal]** Chicago Gaming Company shipping Cactus Canyon LE one year late (revealed at 2021 Expo, still not delivered); may ship incomplete without toppers; pattern of missing announced deadlines endemic to company (confidence: high) — Kaneda's direct criticism; comparison to other delayed games (Haggis, P3, Multimorphic); industry-wide pattern observed
- **[competitive_signal]** Fall 2022 game of the year race wide open after Toy Story 4 collapse; Venom (Stern) vs American Pinball original IP positioned as key contenders; Kaneda frames as 'Yeti vs Franchi' art battle (confidence: high) — Kaneda's detailed analysis of September-November 2022 release window; market positioning of both titles as serious contenders
- **[technology_signal]** Stern Insider Connected added home edition auto-detection feature; developing smartphone app to replace QR-code scanning workflow; incremental UX improvements to tracking system (confidence: high) — Kaneda's confirmation of feature release and app development in progress
- **[community_signal]** Kaneda taking 30-day Facebook hiatus and scaling back social media; experiencing severe burnout from covering industry; cites personal circumstances (new son) and industry fatigue (repetitive delays, poor releases) as causes (confidence: high) — Kaneda's direct personal disclosure; explicit statement about turning off Facebook and needing break from noise
- **[rumor_hype]** Kaneda cites 'inside story' about Jack Guarneri nearly closing Michael Jackson licensing deal, scrapped due to HBO documentary timing; frames as 'a true story' but based on hearsay (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's account; unverified but specific detail about decision-making rationale
- **[market_signal]** Willy Wonka (previous JJP release) sat in distributor inventory for ~1 year with only 500 units made; Kaneda uses as comparable for Toy Story 4 CE overproduction risk (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's comparative market analysis; historical reference to recent JJP release performance
- **[personnel_signal]** Seth Davis (new Stern president) publicly stated company exploring more 1990s music licensing; Kaneda criticizes as tone-deaf (90s were 20 years ago, not contemporary) (confidence: high) — Kaneda citing Seth Davis statement about Stern's direction; criticism of timing and relevance

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## Transcript

 I'm the nice guy, got the right body and the right mind, rolling up the party, got the right vibes, we like, hey there! Fresh boy, pull up and we'll lay low, on the bed, yeah, moving with the bass low, got the army right behind us when we say so! La-sit, la-sit, la-sit, la-sit, la-sit, la-sit, la-sit, la-sit, la-sit! Welcome to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, I'm your host Kaneda, the only Gucci-wearing pinball podcaster that if he gave his own show a review, he would give his show a B-plus every single time. We're going to talk about the pinball reviews that are going around around Toy Story. And it's funny. It's funny watching these dealers and these distributors who know they're going to be left holding the bag if the demand for this game starts to fall off really quickly. And it is falling off really quickly. We're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about everyone's response to Billy Joel. I thought people would be more excited that Steve Ritchie's rumored game is going to be Billy Joel pinball, but it was brutal. I think if Jersey Jack is reading that thread, they are realizing that maybe we made a mistake. Now, no one knows for sure if it's Billy Joel, but the rumors over at Jersey Jack, we're going to talk about those. We're going to talk about Stern and their insider connected. We're going to talk about Jack Guarnari did an interview. I want to talk about something he said on that interview. and overall it's August and I think everyone out there feels the same thing that I'm feeling right now. You're a little fatigued. You're a little burnt out. You probably need a vacation. If there's one thing I have not had in a very long time it is a vacation. It's really hard when you have a new son to travel to turn everything off because there is no vacation away from the work of being a parent. So that is why if you have seen on my Facebook page over the last week, I turned it off yesterday. I just didn't want to keep doing Facebook and the show. It was just such a time crunch and I just want to relax a little bit. I almost, I'm going to be completely honest with everybody here. I almost don't want to think about pinball as much as I normally think about pinball. Now, am I turning off my Facebook live forever? No. Am I stopping my Saturday morning spectaculars forever. No, I am turning it off. I'm going to start with a 30-day break. I just want 30 days, no Facebook, no messages, no people complaining about this and what I said over here. It's almost like you reach a point at times where you're just so tired of all the noise. And maybe I just want to simplify it a little bit. And I know that I'm creating more noise for you right now, but I know you appreciate this noise. That's why you pay a little bit of money every month for it. But this show is going to keep going on. All right, so where do I want to start on this episode of Canada's Pinball Podcast? Let's talk about Billy Joel. And I think Billy Joel is probably a very good chance it's a real rumor. I do. I think Jack Guarnari is a guy from New Jersey who grew up loving Billy Joel. He clearly grew up loving, you know, Godfather. He's an Italian, Jack Guarnari, you know, he's in the Northeast, you know, I'm Sicilian, I'm Greek. I understand like a lot of people really, really love Billy Joel in this part of the country. And the guy has like a residency at Madison Square Garden and he sold 150 million albums. And it's funny to me that people say, well, that's a stupid theme for pinball. A guy that has sold 150 million albums, if all he has to do is sell like 3000 pinball machines, it will be a commercial success, especially at these prices. And everyone is like, no, enough of this. And I have to say, I agree with you. I don't think we need a Billy Joel pinball machine. I don't think Billy Joel has the library that would make for a great pinball machine. I could pick five better artists right now that I think we would rather have than Billy Joel. Can I start right now? All right, Let's start with the Beastie Boys. Let's start with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Let's go to Nirvana. How about some Green Day? How about some Tupac, some Eminem, some Biggie Smalls, some Puff Daddy? How about any great hip-hop artist in pinball form? Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, right? Are we going to leave out that there are musical genres that are not just dad rock? How about Madonna? I know that Jack posed against the Jersey Jack logo outside of the factory wearing a white glove. And people were saying, is that him teasing Michael Jackson? Now, this is a true story. I said it on my Facebook. This is a true story that Jack Winari was very close to inking a deal for Michael Jackson pinball. And then the Michael Jackson documentary came out on HBO and it spooked him. And I actually think it was a good idea probably not to announce a Michael Jackson pinball machine during the period of time in which that documentary launched. Now that Michael Jackson is long gone, I still think his music is part of culture. I still think he is the number one pop artist of all time. And absolutely, Michael Jackson's music would sell so well in a pinball machine. And I think a lot of people would buy it. I really do. I don't think you'd have a problem selling a Michael Jackson pinball machine. But here the bigger issue and I see this with Stern and I see it with Jersey Jack Pinball is that the decision makers when it comes to licensing and the decision makers when it comes to music especially this is a very narrow lane that this industry has gone down. It has mostly been music that is all rock and roll. Pinball does a very bad job at representing the variety of music out in the world that people love. The pinball demographic, I get it. This is where you kind of have to be a little bit careful on how you speak. This demographic on the surface isn't that diverse. But I want to argue against that. Like even though on the surface, you know, pinball is primarily men. It's primarily Caucasian. But when it comes to our musical taste, we are way more diverse than what we look like on the surface. And look, look what happened with Rush, right? Some people like Rush. Some people don't. Some people like Guns N' Roses, some people don't. But I would argue that pinball's problem with music, it's a very myopic approach. It's always just these rock bands from like the 70s and 80s. Like we haven't really gotten anything from the 90s. Everything we get in pinball is really artists that go 60s, 70s, and 80s. But when are we going to see more representation from the pop industry? When are we going to see pop music? When are we going to see hip-hop music? How many of you out there don't like pop music or don't like rap music? I bet you do. And I would love to have like a Linkin Park pinball machine. Look, I'm just going to say it. Like I would love it if every once in a while we would bring out an artist like Madonna or Justin Bieber or Taylor Swift. If you think Taylor Swift pinball would not sell, you're crazy people. You are absolutely crazy. But you're never going to know unless you do it. And that's the thing is like the people that are controlling these decisions, I do think they're older men and they're simply making games for themselves. We even heard from the new president of Stern Pinball, Seth Davis, that that company wants to start exploring more music from the 90s. And it's like, wake up, Stern. It's 2022. The 90s were 20 years ago. And it's just sort of comical to me that these pinball companies, you know, they need to sort of give us more and more that's recent and more that's relevant. You know, and I think that's why there's so much anger against Billy Joel. It's like we've got enough. Right. I think that's the overwhelming feeling. We've got enough music from these decades. Give us something else. And I will say, too, when I was playing the Billy Joel song, I had a bunch of people respond and are like, who is that? And yeah, there are people out there in their like 30s who don't even know any of these Billy Joel songs. And so I think it would behoove all of these companies to go into some other genres of music. I mean, I'm just going to say it like a Kanye West pinball machine would be awesome. All right. So that's it. Like Billy Joel looks like a stinker. Now the question becomes is this. Is Jersey Jack pinball going to be in trouble if they go from Toy Story 4, which the demand is already dissipated. Are they going to go from that to Godfather, which basically hardly anybody wants? How are you going to turn this slow movie drama into a pinball machine? So if they go from Toy Story, which is a whiff, to Godfather, which could be a whiff, to Billy Joel, like this could be like three strikes in a row. And for a company like JJP, that's a boutique. I don't think they can have two misses in a row. But man, I don't know, man. I'm getting worried. Like Jersey Jack used to be like the chosen one, right? I felt like Obi-Wan, like you were the chosen one, Jersey Jack Pinball. You were supposed to bring balance to the pinball world. You were supposed to load the games with all the toys. You were the company that was supposed to put the magic back into pinball. And now it's starting to feel like that's gone. I feel like nobody now is going to anticipate the next JJP launch the same way we did when we saw Guns N' Roses. They're going to have to earn our excitement back. And I really hope they're getting in a room together and figuring out how do they do that. Now, look, Jack Guarnari went on an interview with the Pinball News show. And it was like, I don't know, the show was like two hours long. But I want to just highlight something he said. Jack said they could have made more collector's editions of Toy Story 4. He said people are calling him up trying to get one and they're already sold out. So let me ask Jack Guarnari a question. Let me ask all the other pinball content creators out there a question who are saying this game is worth the money. Let me ask all of you one thing. If this game is worth the money, if this game has the value there, if this game is worth $15,000, then why do I not have a single offer to buy mine for $14,000? Why is that if it's such an in-demand product? The truth is the demand is gone and they all know it. And we're reaching a point right now getting kind of scary because distributors and dealers have never been left holding the bag too badly on a Jersey Jack product. But this is going to be the game where they are left holding the bag on it And look the market is showing us that the demand is gone Like have you ever seen a Stern LE with off sticker not sell right away Name me one game where off the price and still no offers. So who's lying to us then? Who's misleading us? Who's Win Schilling right now? Is it Canada? Am I Win Schilling like the animosity about this game? Or are these dealers and distributors who are sitting on inventory who are telling us that they wish they could get more CEs because they have buyers, someone's not being honest. Now, because my game is sat now for two weeks at 14K without a single offer, I am here to tell you I think the market on the collector's edition is completely dried up already. I think the demand for the collector's editions is gone already. And I can't imagine they're going to make 1,000 of them. If they make 1,000 of these games at 15k a pop. They're going to sit at distributors forever. Everybody knows this. Like Willy Wonka's sat for a year at 12.5 and they only made 500 of them. And Willy Wonka is arguably a better game. It's got more in it. It's more challenging for most of you. You're not going to see the end of the game in like a month. I, you know, I just don't know what to say. Like, you know, and this is part of the thing that's been burning me out is this whole Toy Story 4 game has just completely burnt me out. It's completely burnt me out. You know, I try to step away from it, but every day I have conversations with friends who are in on this game and can't get their money back. And it's really deflating when you think about that. Here's what I think is going to happen. I think for the first time ever, we're going to have to see dealers and distributors offer a discount on these games because the moment these used LEs start selling for like $10,000 and it's going to happen. The moment they start selling used LEs for $10,000, there's no way people are going to open up their wallet and spend $15,000. Now, Jersey Jack Pinball must be in a rush to get the CEs on the line. Now, I heard they're making the CEs the end of this month, and that's a good thing. They need to get these CEs out. They need to get people opening the boxes and just getting all googly eyed because of the shiny armor and the topper. But that's it. That's all you're getting. You're not getting a different game. You might be getting a couple more call outs, but you're getting the same exact game as everyone who's going to be buying an Ellie for thousands off sticker. I'm just saying it like I just don't think anyone out there unless you're like the biggest Toy Story 4 fanatic. Why do you want to own a collector's edition of something which is not going to be collectible? It's not going to be sought after. And you know, it's not the movie you want. And this is the narrative I keep saying because I love Toy Story. I love Toy Story so much and it still upsets me. Okay, moving on. So here's the silver lining in all of this. Now the door is wide open for someone to come out with the game this fall winter to really win best game of the year. I was thinking about it like who wins the Twippy for best game of the year? Like it's not going to be Toy Story. It's going to be wide open. I don't think it's going to be Rush. So here's what it's going to come down to. I think it's going to come down to the game of the year. We'll come down to Venom, possibly James Bond if it comes out in time, and then American Pinball is going to have a golden opportunity to launch their game with a more receptive audience because I think again I think a lot of the JJP fans are feeling underwhelmed Venom's gonna be the big one people I'm really excited to see what Venom turns out to be because we know that this game is going to be the best looking game like it's already gonna win best art package of 2022 it is like Zombie Yeti look at his work on Deadpool. Venom is going to look absolutely amazing. The big question mark with Venom is this. Can Brian Eddy put some mechanical, magical, cool stuff into this game? Because he didn't do it with Mandalorian. He kind of did it with Stranger Things, but I think the extra time he's had to make Venom has given all of Stern extra time to make the games even more special. So I do think Venom is going to be a game where if it does have a killer mech, like this is a thing. If Venom has a killer mech and is super fun and it shoots great and it looks sexy and it's much, much cheaper than Toy Story, it's going to be a big, big problem. This could be the game that just absolutely destroys the demand for Toy Story. Now, what do we think about American Pinball? Does American Pinball have a chance, right? Now, I think American Pinball and David Fix, it's like this would have been a golden opportunity to get this game out now. It's like, I think American Pinball is going to wait until after Venom is revealed, or they're going to reveal their game right at the exact time Venom comes out. Here's where the fun battleground is going to be. We are going to have a Zombie Yeti Venom versus a Christopher Franchi original IP game by Dennis Nordman. I mean, think about that. To me, that's the great battle we're going to see in the pinball fall of 2022. Yeti versus Franchi, two new games coming out at exactly the same time. Will David Fix finally be able to cash the checks his mouth has been writing I don know Will it be Galactic Tank Force or Space Force versus Venom Now I will say this Knowing that Stern got the licensed IP knowing that they've got Venom gives them a huge up in terms of where the excitement and fan base will be. But I think we're going to see this battle happen between September and November. So this two-month window, those are going to be the two games everybody is talking about. The game everyone's not going to be talking about is Cactus Canyon LE. Where the hell are these games? It's about to get really embarrassing. It's about to be one year since they unveiled this game at Pinball Expo, and people still do not have their games. I heard now they might be shipping the games without the toppers. Oh, that's a great marketing move. let's make you wait a year and then send you the game incomplete what is going on why did they even reveal this game i think chicago gaming company to me out of all the companies out there has really been the most frustrating because they take forever to remake something think about that their entire company is just remaking something that was already made like nobody had to design the layout nobody had to design the toys like everything was already done years ago and it takes them forever to remake something. And I get there's some reverse engineering that goes into it all. But man, get it done before you announce it. Get it done before you reveal it. Get it done before you take people's money. Another sad example of taking people's money and then not having the game ready for a year. And that's been the story with like Haggis and P3 Multimorphic. It's like everyone's still waiting. Everyone is still waiting. I saw that Damien is now offering people fluorescent plastic protectors on their games with a note saying, thank you for being patient. Okay, so your money gets locked up. They blow by the release date for a year and you get some free plastic protectors. You can tell why Canada gets burnt out, right? It is deflating trying to cover this hobby right now when we don't have a new game that people are excited about. I was just blown away because we normally are excited by New Jersey Jack games. That didn't happen. Stern Pinball is taking forever. Like we've been waiting since Rush, right? Doesn't Rush feel like five years ago it came out? Rush Pinball and then nothing for six months. This hobby, if it wasn't for Stern, I mean, it would get real boring real fast. Okay, let's talk about Stern Insider Connected. Stern added a home edition to their Insider Connected. So if you have Insider Connected, you can update it and it's a smart update. It knows that that's your machine in your home. so you don't have to scan yourself into your own machine. What a genius thing. I can't believe like it wasn't always that way. Think about that. It's like, well, now this machine knows it's in your home, but it's been here for a year. Yeah, but now we know. But you know, like I haven't had a ton of time on Insider Connected. It seems like a great idea. They're also working on an app, which I think is smart because it's still kind of archaic that you're scanning QR codes and then logging into a website. Stern should make it an app and make it much more user-friendly that way. All right, what else is going on in the pinball world? If you haven't seen, I uploaded the non-refundable merchandise to Canada's Pinball Podcast merchandise site. If you haven't been there, check it out, canadapinballmerch.com. Everybody, have a great Friday. I'm gonna do my best to unwind. I know for some of you out there, you're looking out for me. I wanna say thank you for the people who have reached out and said, hey, take care of your family. We get it. We really enjoy the show. I'm still going to do this show every week for you guys. I'm going to bring the energy. It has been a little bit deflating this summer in the world of pinball. The most fun I've had is just going to Jack Bar and enjoying pinball and drinking frozen margaritas. That has been the best pinball moment of my summer. I want to thank you guys for all of your support each month. It means a lot to me. I love doing this show for you every single week. We will be back with more episodes of Canada's Pinball Podcast. I'm trying to get Todd Tuckey on the show because I want him to talk to us candidly. And I know Todd will about the reality of Toy Story sales because it's really hard to get distributors to be completely honest about what's going on with this game. Oh, one last final news item. Queen Pinball will be at the Coin Taker tailgating party with Super Awesome Pinball Show or the Super Awesome Pinball Show tailgating party, I should say, September 24th. The game will be there and it will be playable. and I'm trying to see if my schedule will let me go there. My birthday is the day after. So my birthday is September 25th. So I need to see if Brenda has something nice planned for me because, you know, it's hard to go to the wife and say, hey, you know, all those things you're doing for my birthday, I'd rather go sit in a parking lot and play pinball. Now, I love the tailgating party. It was sad that they postponed it, but hopefully we can all get together this year because that's when pinball is the most fun. We're just together drinking beers, playing pinball and not spending $15,000 on collector's editions. Later, everybody.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 2c591c24-7d92-4248-ba8b-ce36a27d47dd*