# Enzo x Don’s Pinball Podcast – DEEP DIVE into Spooky’s BEETLEJUICE Pinball! 🍎🪲

**Source:** Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2025-11-18  
**Duration:** 64m 17s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyn8rXMU5sE

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## Analysis

Enzo and Don conduct an extensive deep dive into Spooky Pinball's Beetlejuice game following its midnight launch event. They praise the game's theme integration, mechanical design, innovative shot sequences, and Spooky's community engagement strategy, while addressing criticism about layout conservatism and artwork repetition. The discussion covers specific gameplay mechanics, code features, and defends design choices against negative community feedback.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Beetlejuice sold out pre-reveal in under 15 minutes — _Don mentions '1079 with show games and there's probably three to 5,000 people that want it' and discusses the midnight launch as a way to handle demand, implying rapid sell-out_
- [HIGH] Enzo received 90 emails for 20 spots in 90 seconds for the midnight launch event — _Enzo states: 'I was expecting five to 10 people. I got 90 emails for 20 spots in 90 seconds after going live for it.'_
- [HIGH] The game's brightness/darkness appearance is camera artifact, not actual game appearance — _Don: 'the camera makes it look worse than what it actually is. So the game is nowhere near as bright as what you're seeing on camera. And that's been verified by Kerry Hardy and Don himself has said this as well.'_
- [MEDIUM] Beetlejuice features the first instant replay bonus recap feature in pinball history — _Don: 'This has to be a first in pinball' describing playfield going dark to show instant replay of all shots hit during play_
- [MEDIUM] Beetlejuice uses stacked/ramp inception mechanic not previously seen in pinball — _Don: 'I don't know if I've seen that in a pinball game...a ramp and the ball just went behind the ramp and got another ramp'_
- [HIGH] Spooky intentionally turned off narrator callouts because they detracted from theme — _Enzo: 'they actually turned it off in the settings because it actually takes you away from the theme' and 'they turned it off and the game just got way better'_
- [HIGH] Christopher Franchi has designed multiple Spooky games including Monsters and Evil Dead with different artwork — _Don: 'Franchie did Batman 66 and like monster...Monsters' and references Evil Dead artwork comparisons_
- [HIGH] Beetlejuice production is 1,079 units total (999 standard + 80 show games) — _Enzo: '1079 with show games' confirming production cap_

### Notable Quotes

> "I was expecting five to 10 people. I got 90 emails for 20 spots in 90 seconds after going live for it."
> — **Enzo**, early segment
> _Demonstrates massive demand and success of Spooky's midnight launch strategy_

> "the camera makes it look worse than what it actually is. So the game is nowhere near as bright as what you're seeing on camera."
> — **Don**, mid-segment
> _Addresses major community criticism about game aesthetics being camera artifact_

> "This has to be a first in pinball. And I really [love] this...you get a full instant replay of all the shots you hit."
> — **Don**, mechanics discussion
> _Highlights innovative bonus feature in Beetlejuice_

> "What's a Beetlejuice game without a sandworm? Let's put it that way."
> — **Enzo**, sandworm discussion
> _Defends sandworm mech as essential to theme_

> "I think the work he's doing is just creating art...you can't critique him for like anything he's done"
> — **Don**, artwork discussion
> _Strong defense of Christopher Franchi against AI/tracing accusations_

> "if I had to pick, if I could only have one and it was Evil Dead and Harry Potter, the only reason I would choose Harry Potter is cuz of theme because I'm just not that into horror gore"
> — **Don**, manufacturer comparison
> _Compares Spooky and JJP quality while acknowledging personal theme preference_

> "they've gone to a very similar fan layout to Evil Dead...you can come up with some kind of crazy ball path, but if it's clunky to shoot, you're not going to get much from that"
> — **Don**, layout discussion
> _Addresses layout conservatism criticism by explaining design philosophy_

> "That to me is a pinball moment if I haven't seen one. And you're not even playing. The game's over."
> — **Don**, instant replay feature
> _Emphasizes significance of replay feature innovation_

> "Spooky powder coat their wire forms different colors. Huge huge kudos for that."
> — **Don**, playfield details
> _Praises attention to detail in wire form design_

> "you don't necessarily have to hit every single drop target just to drop it because it'll it'll come in in different modes and things"
> — **Enzo**, sandworm mech discussion
> _Explains multi-use design philosophy for sandworm toy_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Enzo | person | Gonzo's Pinball Flipperama host, organizer of Beetlejuice midnight launch event at Spooky factory, hosted 50-60 people at event |
| Don | person | Don's Pinball Podcast host, co-analyst on Beetlejuice deep dive, recently played Harry Potter |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer that released Beetlejuice; known for community engagement and theme integration |
| Beetlejuice | game | Spooky Pinball's Tim Burton IP game, 1,079 unit limited run at $9,999 MSRP, sold out pre-reveal, features sandworm mech and Spooky Speak technology |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Pinball artist who designed Beetlejuice artwork; previously worked on Monsters, Evil Dead, Batman 66; defended against AI/tracing accusations |
| Bug | person | Spooky Pinball co-founder/creative director mentioned for gameplay footage and community interaction |
| Evil Dead | game | Spooky Pinball game with similar fan layout to Beetlejuice; compared favorably for theme integration |
| Harry Potter | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game; Don recently played it and considers it phenomenal, theme-integrated competitor to Beetlejuice |
| Spooky Luke | person | Spooky Pinball staff member known for community interaction |
| Kerry Hardy | person | Industry figure who verified that Beetlejuice's camera appearance misrepresents actual game brightness |
| Flipping Out Pinball | company | Media company/podcast that produced Beetlejuice launch trailer praised by hosts |
| Monsters | game | Spooky Pinball game by Christopher Franchi mentioned as example of his varied artwork |
| America's Most Haunted | game | Spooky Pinball's inaugural game; set up at midnight launch event for attendees to play |
| Fall of the Empire | game | Referenced as example of classic fan layout with 7-8 equidistant shots |
| Gottlieb House of Horrors | game | Referenced as symmetrical fan-style layout example |
| Dungeons Dragons | game | Game compared to Beetlejuice's sandworm toy in terms of mechanical appeal |
| Jaws | game | Referenced as example of single-trick toy (Jaws Shark) vs Beetlejuice's multi-functional sandworm |
| Batman 66 | game | Christopher Franchi artwork example from pre-AI era |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Beetlejuice game design and mechanics, Spooky Pinball community engagement and midnight launch strategy, Layout design philosophy and conservatism criticism, Christopher Franchi artwork and defense against AI accusations, Innovative mechanical and code features (instant replay, stacked ramps, Spooky Speak), Theme integration and audio design decisions
- **Secondary:** Comparison with competing games (Evil Dead, Harry Potter), Camera artifact vs actual game appearance criticism

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Hosts are enthusiastic about Beetlejuice's design, mechanics, and Spooky's community engagement. They actively defend the game against criticism regarding layout conservatism, artwork repetition, and visual appearance. Minor criticism acknowledges layout similarity to Evil Dead but frames it as justified design philosophy. Tone is celebratory while addressing controversy.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Post-launch criticism regarding artwork repetition, AI use, and layout conservatism interpreted by hosts as coming from disappointed pre-order misses or competitive sentiment (confidence: medium) — Don: 'it was probably people that missed out, or they just hate the fact that they're getting so much attention'
- **[community_signal]** Spooky Pinball conducted midnight launch event with 50-60 attendees, received 90 deposit inquiries in 90 seconds, demonstrating significant community enthusiasm and effective engagement strategy (confidence: high) — Enzo: '90 emails for 20 spots in 90 seconds' and '50 60 people in my house'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Community criticism of layout conservatism, artwork repetition, and AI use being addressed head-on by hosts who defend design philosophy and artist credibility (confidence: high) — Don extensively defends Franchi's artwork and addresses complaints about repetition and AI accusations as ignorant
- **[competitive_signal]** Don ranks Harry Potter and Beetlejuice as top-tier theme-integrated games from JJP and Spooky respectively; both praised for asset density and code quality despite different artistic approaches (confidence: high) — Don's comparison: 'if I could only have one and it was Evil Dead and Harry Potter...both do theme integration so well'
- **[design_philosophy]** Some criticism that Beetlejuice uses same layout template as Evil Dead; hosts reframe as intentional design philosophy prioritizing playability over novelty (confidence: high) — Don acknowledges similar layout but argues 'bang for the buck' comes from innovation within proven layout structure
- **[design_innovation]** Beetlejuice features stacked/ramp inception mechanic (ramp behind ramp) and multi-functional shot design converting single shots into multiple interactive options via toys and code (confidence: high) — Multiple discussion of shots doing multiple things: ramp inception, spinner-scoop interaction, camera shot with multiple functions
- **[design_philosophy]** Spooky adopted conservative fan-style layout similar to Evil Dead intentionally to prioritize build simplicity, ease of tweaking, and approachable shot makability over experimental ball paths (confidence: high) — Don: 'they've gone to a very similar fan layout to Evil Dead...easy to build, easy to tweak, easy to manage'
- **[market_signal]** Beetlejuice's 1,079 unit cap contrasted with estimated 3,000-5,000 demand demonstrates scarcity-driven FOMO and supply constraint in boutique segment (confidence: high) — Enzo: '1079 with show games and there's probably three to 5,000 people that want it'
- **[community_signal]** Christopher Franchi confirmed as artist for Beetlejuice with extensive portfolio including Batman 66, Monsters, Evil Dead; history predates AI era supporting hand-art claims (confidence: high) — Discussion of Franchi's prior work from pre-AI era and comparison of artwork across different games
- **[announcement]** Beetlejuice confirmed as 1,079 unit limited production (999 standard + 80 show), sold out pre-reveal, represents boutique manufacturer's response to IP licensing opportunities (confidence: high) — 1079 unit cap mentioned, sold-out status confirmed, $9,999 MSRP
- **[product_strategy]** Spooky intentionally disabled narrator voice callouts during development because they detracted from theme integration; game improved by relying on audio cues and movie dialogue (confidence: high) — Enzo: 'they actually turned it off in the settings because it actually takes you away from the theme'
- **[technology_signal]** Beetlejuice implements first-known instant replay bonus recap feature showing all shots hit during play via playfield blackout and shot lighting sequence (confidence: medium) — Don: 'This has to be a first in pinball...playfield goes pitch black...gives you a full instant replay of all the shots you hit'

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## Transcript

[music] You got Say my name three times. Attention keyboard shoppers. Come on a little closer. Step right up. [music]
Whoa. Sand worms. You hate them, right?
I hate them myself. [music] Nice model. Want a cigarette?
Uh, no. [music] Thank you.
Trying to cut down myself. [music]
Learn to throw your voice through your bread party. [music]
Beetlejuice.
it's cute. [music]
Beetlejuice,
it's your time.
You know why? Because if I tell you, you'll tell your friends. And your friends are calling me on the horn all the time. I got to show up at shopping centers for openings and sign autographs and [ __ ] like that. And it makes my life a hell. Okay. A living hell.
Oh god, that is hilarious.
That is a good looking.
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, and good night. How you going guys? Guys, Don.
Yeah. Yeah, that's me. I was waiting for the audience to respond. No, it's phenomenal, man. I'm still trying to recover from the midnight launch of this fantastic game. I've seen that trailer about 167 times and it keeps getting funnier every time I see it.
It's uh you never get sick of it. I've watched it a lot of times. I've showed it to a lot of people and and he's extremely captivating, man. Really captivating. Well done to the boys at uh Flipping Out.
They know how to make a trailer, man.
They do. I mean, they've been doing it for a while now, right? So,
and I think because I have my finger on the pulse, this game is generating some interest among buyers. It may be a strong seller. That's my
It may be. I reckon I reckon they'll sell out probably. Who knows?
Let's not get
We know it's sold out. This is like uh what is it? We are Tuesday in Perth. We are Monday in America. Uh fun times. I wanted to get uh you on the channel because uh obviously you were involved. You had the midnight launch. Uh Gonzo did a video about his thoughts very quickly after the uh trailer dropped. Uh I haven't done mine. It's been a bit hectic. I just got back from Melbourne Expo. Uh I'm still recovering. Even though it's 3 hours time difference, but you know what expos man, you stand for like 12 hours a day. You talk a lot. It is uh tiring. So anyway,
uh we are here.
Uh let's let's deep dive into it. Uh, man, what a what a ride, eh?
Right. Can you believe it? As
what a ride. So, we all knew it was Beetlejuice. Franchie let the cat out of the bag. Apparently, it was his fault. I don't know if that's true or not, but let's blame him anyway, cuz you can't hate Franchie, even if you did wrong. It's he's such a lovable character that you can't really hate him anyway. So, um, like we knew it was coming, it hit, and it was everything that we knew it was going to be. typical spooky knocked it out of the park with theme integration, a relatively safe, reproachable layer as some people have said, and we'll touch on that in a second. Uh, but jam-packed with toys, mechs, uh, sculpts, uh, fantastic modes, uh, multiple shots out of one shot, which I really like, which we'll touch on, and a midnight launch, which has, uh, nostalgic elements to when we would queue up at EB Games or what you guys call GameStop, uh, to take in a game that was being dropped that day and get in early for the experience. And man, I think it is a [ __ ] fantastic idea. I think you knocked it out of the park. And I really think that you purely did it just so you could wear a guide hat.
I mean, yeah, it came with its fringe benefits. I mean, like, I don't know. Like, I had this idea. We knew this game was coming. I wanted to try to think of something fun for the community, you know, as a way to launch it. I like these media events and things that companies are starting to do now. And my hope was that they build enough that you could actually have like a public media day because, you know, everybody wants to go to these things. Everybody wants to get involved. How can we grow them? And so, nobody has done a midnight launch like when we we're lined up at GameStop or Best Buy or Bunnings for the sausage sizzle or whatever. Um, so it makes no sense, of course, because you know, pinball machines aren't ready on launch day typically to take home with you, but just like maybe we can get like five of us to just gather in a parking lot in the middle of a cornfield in the middle of Wisconsin and just put in deposits for a game and get excited about it. And it turns out that yeah, other people were interested, too. I was expecting five to 10 people. I got 90 emails for 20 spots in 90 seconds after going live for it. It was a free event that you could come to. And then it guaranteed you a spot to just walk up like an adult and just put in your deposit and not have to worry about the stress of, you know, trying to get in last minute or wishing you were on a distributor list six months ago like I told you to be. Like I told you to be. I saw the game. I told you get on a list for it.
Yeah.
A lot of people listened. But you know, ultimately there's only a thousand games 1079 with show games and there's probably three to 5,000 people that want it. So
what do you do? I'm open to suggestions. But this was fun. This was really fun.
Yeah. Look, it's an interesting thing because seeing all the push back from people that were missed out and obviously it's disappointing for them that they've missed out. I mean, people have been told for a long time to get on a list um and uh you know to to kind of all of a sudden uh not be able to get one and then you know critique the way it was handled or you know uh complain that they couldn't get through on the phones or complain that they missed out and now the game doesn't meet the expectations. uh you know it's a little bit unfair I think and we'll touch on that in a second but yeah man look I think it was a great way of doing it um and uh did did you find that like how many did you have in you you bought 20 but then did you invite some other people along that weren't going to order a game
yeah some people had some plus ones um I had some local friends that you know wanted to attend and got permission and then as soon as they found out that we had burritos at the house just all the spooky showed up so I had 50 60 people in my house. At one point there was a school bus out front for some reason. People were showing up and just bringing games and setting them up inside. We had an [ __ ] We had an America's Most Haunted. We had half of my collection downstairs. Um and then it was just shuttling back and forth between the theater to show people the trailer. Uh small groups to go get some time on the game and then just a big party near midnight at the actual factory with a like a 20 foot inflatable Beetlejuice. Um pizza tender. Um, a lot of people should up still hadn't played Evil Dead yet. We had those set up at the factory to play and it was just like it was madness across three campuses.
Yeah, look, I I think it was great and I think uh it's only going to get better. There's no doubt you guys will do it again and I'm sure other companies will probably start doing it. Um, because it's look, I think one of the things Spookies really excels at is their their interaction with the community. You know, Bug has always been really interactive with the community. Spooky Luke as well, maybe not as much as Bug, but they're there, they communicate, they talk to everybody, they're on socials. Um, and I think that's one of the things that makes buyers feel like they're part of the family. And now they got you there as well. And you obviously do podcasting and you know that, you know, whether that's going to change or not cuz you probably can't shill as much as you used to, I guess. But um uh you know it it's a it's a real captivating experience because it's a company that is such a it's a familyrun business but we all feel part of that family right and that's all part of the experience and I think that's what makes them the pinball company at the moment in the world because as much as I got my hands on Harry Potter um just on the weekend I finally got to play it and for me that game is phenomenal Um, and if I had to pick, if I could only have one and it was Evil Dead and Harry Potter, the only reason I would choose Harry Potter is cuz of theme because I'm just not that into horror gore, right? But they both do theme integration so well. Captivating modes. They're jam-packed with the [ __ ] assets and all that type of stuff, right? Um, and you know, you got two companies that that really have people there that just absolutely love what they're doing. Eric knocked it out of the park with Harry Potter. The boys at Spooky [ __ ] shot it to the moon um with what they've done in that game. Um, but it's been interesting. I want to touch on some of the stuff like my thoughts on the layout. At first, I was hoping for like some cool ball paths and interesting like unique stuff like TCM had and Looney Tunes. I understand why. And especially when you're trying to pump up games like, you know, a thousand in a year, you need something that's going to be easy to build, easy to tweak, easy to manage. I understand that part of it. I don't I'm not saying that is the reason why. But they've gone to a very similar fan layout to Evil Dead, right? Safe to say. Um but those shots you could do more with them, right? And some of those shots have other elements to those uh which we'll touch on now. Uh which is in my opinion more um what's the word I'm looking for? [snorts] Uh even though it's a very similar layout in relation to the fan. I hate using the word fan layout cuz everyone's going to say everything's a fan layout, right? But
like there there's fans and there's fans, right? I mean, we just got Fall the Empire, which is a classic just fan like seven, eight shots or so just everything's equidistant. Um I think of games like Ovirus House of Horrors where there's just kind of it's almost symmetrical right down the middle. You know, there's shots on either side. And not that that's a bad approach if it fits the theme and everything. I think of Beetlejuice if you started with a fan and then stretched it and then turned for play area up here and then, you know, orbit madness over here. It doesn't strike me as like like a finish. I mean, every shots every game's going to have shots from the flippers in some sort of array, right? Um but, you know, the fact that the upper flipper is back there, I think would disqualify it, but at this point, everything's a fan. It's just a meme. So,
yeah. Look, and that's a fair comment, and I think that's why I was going to go on the fact that I I think when you those shots end up going somewhere and there's something else to do, technically, you're not really a fan layout because it's not coming around the orbit back right there. It's stopping somewhere and something else is happening and it's going somewhere else, right? Um even the full right orbit does something completely different, you know? So, I think you automatically and when you can kind of hit a standup target, lock a ball and then hit that stand up target to knock that ball, you know, like with uh that awesome mode with the um the strength test. Sure.
Right. Like that's fantastic. You you taken one shot, you've turned it into three shots.
Yeah. And that's innovation, but not at the sake of making like a clunky layout. You know, we want innovation pinball, but you don't necessarily get the best return on investment or bang for the buck by
messing around with what has worked or what's worked before. You know, you can come up with some kind of crazy ball path, but if it's clunky to shoot, you know, you're not going to get much from that.
If you can if you stick with a layout that's fun, first off, everybody's going to like it. That's just the truth. Um, but then you can use that creativity and that innovation by doing different things with each shot, doing things we haven't seen with Magnus before, doing things we haven't seen with the verters and and make them fun. You know, dress up would otherwise be kind of a boring metal ramp and have it interactive. Um, keep the pace of the game going and then use the code to bring innovation. And I think you see like the best reception from games that do that.
Uh, can you see my cursor here on the
cursing all over the place?
I'm cursing all over the place. The one shot that I really, really cannot wait to hit is the one that leaves this right flipper and it goes the left orbit and then it comes around the pops and then swings around the back of the waiting area and comes up to this flipper, right?
Uh, and you've got your own little playfield that technically is not an upper playfield. It's not a lower play field. It's a little bit like the danger room where is its own little pinball area, right? That to me has so much kinetic like watching Pete Bug or whoever's playing on this stream hit those shots. Um because you can just see there's some speed there. There's some satisfaction. Um there there's that one that I really really like. There is the shot that is the spinner into the scoop and then it jumps out at you and then basically hits the spinner from behind. You know, that's what she said. And uh that must feel satisfying, right?
Yeah. Cuz when you rip that spinner enough to carry it all the way to that scoop, that spinner is still going in that direction. And then when the ball launches back out, it's hitting that counterrotating spinner with full force from a scoop eject. And then it's just going to rip the other way. So it's like a double rip whenever you can get it.
And it's nice like the the innovation with that shot. that ramp that's right there on the left that's got a ball guide that the ball can kind of hug and that will aim it directly through those pop bumpers. So, it's not, you know, a shot that you can only hit two out of 10 times.
I mean, a fair shot.
And that's what I was going to I was going to ask you. There must be something here that's that's helping that ball because man, that's an impressive scoop eject coming out of there. Like, there's some power coming out of that scoop at the back.
It makes you feel awesome when you hit it, too.
Oh, yeah. you could see like even in a stream play like in the game play um the fact that the way it comes so perfectly straight you know it's going to be satisfying when that shot hits and when you hit it. Um so I'm really looking forward to that. The the camera shot which is the one right here which is you load the camera and then that's very similar to Evil Dead where you load one bullet load the second bullet
and then you hit Do you have to hit these at the same time as well? No, you generally and now I don't know if the code will develop that, but uh yeah, for now it's usually one or the other that's lit and you you hear the audio cue of the battery charging or the flash charging
and then that tells you that that hurry up is active and it usually coincides with the ball returning to a flipper. So, you can just go ahead and go right up there.
It's a great great use of an audio cue to know that there's a hurry up right there. Yeah, look, I I think it's uh it's a very very cool um uh little toy or mechanism, I should say. Um I want to touch on something that's just about to happen. I think I went back a little bit too fast. Um I do, while we're waiting for that, I do love next to the camera, there's obviously the scoop. There's another scoop. Uh there's like three scoops in this game. Uh and that is a scoop that you can hit from the front and the back.
Yeah. So your favorite shot there on that left orbit. You have to remember to drop that flipper before the ball gets up there. Otherwise, it's going right in there under the flipper.
Yeah. So you can hold this upper flipper, the third flipper, and then you can sneak it in, right? Sneak it in. I've been sneaking it in all my life, Don. Um you can sneak it into the back. Um that that's pretty cool. What I just want to quickly show you this, right? I'm going to play some sound. This has to be a first in pinball. And I really [ __ ] love this. Right. So, I'm what I'm going to show you is that you've just drained your balls. That's what he said. And then you get your bonus total. And what it's actually doing is the playfield goes pitch black, right? And it gives you a full instant replay of all the shots you hit, right? To show you where you collected everything. And it does like this recap of here. You know, what's that show? Here's your life where it shows you it shows you everything. Look at this. the bonus.
And it's lighting every shot that bug hit. one for a while. Yeah.
Right now, that that's some impressive stuff. I mean, that to me is a pinball moment. if I haven't seen one. And you're not even playing. The game's over.
Right. That to me has to be a first. I don't know of any other game that does that. Um and that's some impressive coding, too, because that's moving fast.
Yeah. Yeah. And and it's recording in real time every shot you're making and then playing it backward.
Yeah. I I noticed that in the uh gameplay and I was like, hold on a second. I went back in the bonus and I was like, that's showing me all the shots that we've made. Um which Yeah. Look, I thought that was a that was an extremely awesome way of uh showing something unique off. Uh [snorts] we'll move on to we got the three standup targets. Very similar to your avatar and um Evil Dead and all that that had that you drop that down and you can either get the sandworm into the mouth. Uh or there's just some little standup targets right at the back under the steam the sandworm's nipples. Uh and uh you can hit hit that. That's a satisfying toy. I mean, some people have compared it to like your Dungeons Dragon. Um, I I love the way that that interacts and moves. Some people have critiqued the fact that it dances because it didn't dance in the movie. Um, but I love that every mech in that mode is dancing in the game or you have to get them get those possessed in the Deo mode, right?
The movie didn't have pop bumpers either, so I don't know.
The movie didn't have pop bumpers. You're right. Uh, man, that's It looks like an impressive sculpt, eh?
And it's massive, too.
It's It is. Yeah. Massive. You It's another thing that does multiple things, too. You know, you uh you don't necessarily have to hit every single drop target just to drop it because it'll it'll come in in different modes and things. And oftentimes I'm just playing just trying to hit the orbits and the ramps and having fun with that. I've inadvertently hit it enough times that then it becomes into play or deo start or something. Um, but it it's fun because it's you don't have to just wait until the head is in the right position to smash it. You know, it's not like a one-trick pony like the Jaw Shark where when it comes up, you bash it, it goes away. This thing you can bash, you can shoot through its mouth, and when it's up out of the way, you can shoot underneath it to access those targets that are back there. M and look, I I think it was a, you know, obviously the the showpiece and the star of the game is that Samworm. Um because of the fact that um Oh, here's the classic. Uh I was going to touch on this and I'll just quickly show this now, actually.
Um yeah, I just think I just think it's a it's such an awesome mech. And you know what? What's a Beetlejuice game without a sandworm? Let's put it that way. Um so, just quickly, we're trying to hit the Showtime multiball here. right orbit starts showtime multiball. Another great pinball moment and he's struggling to get it into the orbit. Uh there you go. Um the game dies.
Help them please.
Which I think is fantastic.
Sure.
Creating suspense.
You got to help me.
Can you say this at any speed, Don?
Beetlej juice
generally. Yeah. Yeah.
Come up different ways.
I know Bug's trying to show a bit of like suspense and stuff, but
Attention Kingword shoppers.
There's such an iconic scene from the movie as well, right? So, um anyway, we got distracted. So, Sandworm, cool mech. Then we've got this right ramp. Right? Now this right ramp again is this classic example that you can take one shot and you can do multiple things with it. So we can hit that right ramp and it will come down this wire form. Right? Touching on the wire forms. I love the fact that Spooky powder coat their wire forms different colors. Huge huge kudos for that. Uh or that ramp goes up and you can hit the other ramp that's behind. We got like ramp inception happening here.
That's the rampception ramp. Yeah.
Right. So, I mean that's in in itself. I mean, you you've basically created two ramp there, two stackable ramps. Again, I don't know if I've seen that in a pinball game. Mind you, my knowledge of pinball games isn't the best, but uh that's the first thing I noticed. I was like, how cool is that? Is a ramp and the ball just went behind the ramp and got another ramp. How's that feel to hit?
Yeah. So, I mean, we've seen transforming shots like this before. I mean, Evil Dead had a lift ramp that went to a scoop to start modes. Um, October Fest hid that awesome roller coaster ramp above a flap, so you had, you know, an orbit or whatever drop.
But yeah, this first time I think we've had like stacked ramps like that.
Yeah, the 180 ramp is easy to hit. It's not steep like some 180 ramps I've played. Um, but it's a very shallow ramp that's underneath it that when the lock is ready, that's what feeds balls to the wire form going to the couch. And that one is backhandable even. Um, so, you know, the shot gets even, you know, easier to hit up there once it lifts up. Yeah, look, I I think that's great. And then obviously we've got this shot here where Beetlejuice sculpt is where we can hit it. You can then hit it again and lock a ball behind a standup. And then you can hit it again which will shoot the ball around and then do a mode which we we spoke about earlier which is like a strength test like you used to play at the car and hit it and see if you could hit the dong at the top. You know, that that is a fantastic and and the fact that Beetlejuice grabs the ball and shoots it from his crutch with a with a really fast uh I see that comes out of his chest quite quickly. Um
yeah, there's a plunger that's up there. So he the ball raises up with the mech with the sculpt on a magnet and then the plunger knocks it straight down the wire form.
Yeah. So so cool. Then we got a captive ball. like I'm going to try and get a uh one of the things that a lot of people criticized, right, is that the game's too bright and too dark. And what I say to those people is the camera makes it look worse than what it actually is. So the game is nowhere near as bright as what you're seeing on camera. And that's been verified by Kerry Hardy and Don himself has said this as well. And when it's pitch black, it's not really pitch black. The camera just doesn't do it justice. But we got a captive ball right here, right? Which again is multiple shots and you can inter uh I don't remember what the captive ball's used for. Do you recall?
I know it's quite remember. I'm still So I'm not like, you know, up up till now like I played the game several times, but I've never been able to capture footage of it that I can then disseminate later. And I can't come home and like refer back to photos because I don't have any. So all of my gameplay is like me just standing in front of the game. So I'm still learning all the rules and modes and things myself.
Yeah. Not to mention I don't remember it
update.
What's that? Sorry.
Not not to mention every time I show up there's been another huge code update. [snorts]
Uh yeah, we'll work that out. That will come to me. I can't remember. But then there's another scoop there. So the game is just packed with stuff that is interactive multiple times. There's a lot of things to hit at. The shots all seem very makeable and as Kerry Hardy likes to say, very approachable. Um, and the obvious thing I didn't talk about, which is the way that you start the game. This has to be the first game where you plunge a ball and you drain it for the magnet to catch it for it to chuck it back in the game. And I'll tell you what, if someone wants to learn uh how to uh make a magnet that chucks a ball, they need to take lessons from Spooky because that thing like goes to the moon and back, right?
Yeah. Yeah. And this was the uh the first time I had played the game. They're they didn't give me a whole lot of overview. They're just like, "Here it is. Go play it." And of course, I hit the launch button and my ball immediately drains. And I'm like, "The hell did you guys do?" And then boom, gets caught on the magnet and thrown up there. And I'm like, "Oh, that was awesome."
Yeah. Here we go. It's going to do it now.
Shot seems to delay a bit on that bridge out. So, it's probably going to happen to a lot of people the first time they play this. Their ball will immediately drain and they're going to be like, "Well, what's going on? I just waited a half hour in line to play this." and then their ball's going to get grabbed and thrown back up and and they're going to be on board.
Yeah. So, everyone has seen the footage. We don't have to keep showing it to you, but I just wanted to quickly recap for those that didn't pay attention to the stream and didn't know what those shots did, man. It is a theme integrated like you wouldn't believe. I love Beetlejuice. I haven't watched it for a long time, but as as a film that I remember seeing as a kid, we then they showed it again at my cinema. There was a special version of it. I don't remember why it got re-shone years later. Um, but there are elements of that film that are just so nostalgic and you will always remember or be able to quote. Uh, and you know what a theme and to think a company passed on Beetlejuice just blows my mind. But, you know, uh, when a boutique company can pick it up and jam-pack with like three flippers, three pop bumpers, five sculpts, I think there's like five mechs, uh, you know, getting all the songs, getting all the assets.
I mean, each scoop has lighting now, too. Like, they're still innovating and generating. Um,
the light show, the scoops
done. Yep.
You can talk to it now.
Yep. Spooky speak. We'll get there in a second. Uh and uh the fact that like we got a game that there are no call outs that everything is come from the film. This film's got so much content in it that ironically a lot of the actual movie uh movie speaking dialogue is the word I was looking for. Can be used in pinball, right? Um, I know you they have got someone that did call us, but they've actually turned it off in the settings because it actually you away from the theme.
The way they use audio cues seems to work like when when the camera shots ready, you hear it charging. Like that's your cue. That's much better than a disembodied voice saying like, "Camera, hurry up. Get it." You know? Yeah.
And they did have kind of a spooky voice narrator for this game. It was kind of goofy. Like for this one, it just didn't fit. They turned it off and the game just got way better.
Yeah. Yeah, look, I think I think it works well. I don't There's only certain games you could do it. Um, and I think this is one of them works really well. I want to touch on the artwork, mate. If if you can't I mean, we got to give a shout out to Franchie. Franchie is just uh doing God's work. Uh I am a huge Franchie fan. I think he's the best pinball artist in the world in my opinion. There's a way that he does faces and images and all that. There was a lot of negative comments about the fact, and again, it was probably people that missed out, or they just hate the fact that they're getting so much attention, but the negative comments were that a lot of people felt that Franchie's artwork uh is repetitive, is the same color palette, and he uses like, for instance, let's use the snake Beetlejuice, multiple areas on the game and the playfield, right? And that there's AI. Now, my comments to those are these, right? And I'm gonna shut all those down right now because I get [ __ ] really heated with [ __ ] like this because people just are so ignorant that you know Franchie did Batman 66 and like monster um um you know the one that you like. What's it called?
Monsters. Yeah,
monsters. I was going to say monsters, but it's monsters.
Right. Back then there was no AI. Right. So what's he doing? What what was he doing back then that he's doing now? Right. That's number one. And number two, you look at like you could pause clips from Evil Dead, right, and look at the artwork he's done. There's people are going, "Oh, it's all traced." It's not. They're completely different. Like if it was traced, it'd be identical, right? And it would look like it was photoshopped. Um, and there's, you know, you you can't critique him for like anything he's done because I think the work he's doing is just creating art, but taking taking a machine that is basically sits there when it's not on, right, and becomes a big piece of equipment that is in your living room, but turns it into a standalone piece of artwork. Uh, and I don't really care what anyone says. He's the best in the world that does that job. Um, you know, you got other pinball artists like Zombie Yeti and Brad Albbright. I mean, Brad Brad Albright's new on the scene and he's killing it, right? But, you know, there's a stall of franchise like, you know, comic art, it can get tiring after a while, right? Like, I'm a huge fan of the X-Men art. I'm a huge fan of the Godzilla art. I'm a huge fan of the turtle art, right? But there's a style that has repetition. You Christopher Franchi, even though Christopher Franchi's style of art is very similar throughout all these games, they don't look all the same,
right? Because it's not comic art. Comic art is very different, right? And don't get me wrong, I still love comic art, but there it is much harder in my opinion to do what he's doing with the faces, the the detail, the repetition of stuff on like being on the side of the cabinet and then being on the side of the headbox and then being on the playfield and then being on the [ __ ] backbox. I mean,
and like
I've walked up this game multiple times. I remember the first time I saw it. I remember the last time I saw it. And not once has it occurred to me, you know, that there's one too many snakes on here. Like, I didn't even notice that.
Yeah, but Don, the thing the thing is, dude, is you're never going to be able to look at all of it at the same time. It's impossible, right?
Like, you might be able to look at the playfield, but then you don't see the head box and you don't see the side, right? Or you're looking at the coin door and all you're going to see is the coin door and your crotch. You're not going to see anything else. So, I don't understand this like, oh, there's too much of the same. Like, yeah. I mean, Turtles has got five turtles. Uh, four turtles, right? I want to see those turtles on all sides of the [ __ ] cabinet. I don't want to see them just on like one side only,
right? Yeah. And, you know, if you go back to what this thing is, it's you're supposed to be a commercial machine in an arcade. That art is supposed to be there to draw you over and get your quarters in that machine. So, like from every angle, you want to see what that IP is. You know, you don't want to have a bad side. And I look I I feel for artists, you know, people like Franchie, Zombie Yeti, Brad Albbright, because now unfortunately we live in the world that they're always going to get accused of using AI, even if they have or haven't, right? And even if they want to use AI, they're well entitled. I mean, I use AI in my work. It doesn't make you any less of an artist. I think it just depends on how you're using it. But I feel for them because it's just they're automatically getting put into that category of well, you're not really an artist anymore because you can just get someone to do all of it for you. Especially after the whole Harry Potter saga, right? That just really cemented the fact that AI is being used in pinball because before that, I don't think anyone really thought about that. Right. Right.
So Harry Potter,
if it's really low effort to do this, then why aren't more people doing it? that you took the words out of my mouth, right? Yeah.
Where is it? Where where's the other franch? Like where are realistic human faces with contrasting color pops and like at a color temperature that you don't even realize you're you're seeing,
you know, because it's just everything's popping there. I'm I'm trying to use artist terms. I'm not an artist. But that's what I notice, you know, is there'll be if I look at something like Evil Dead, yes, it's got a lot of greens and purples, but there'll be like a flash of like some reds or some hot pinks or something just to highlight and pop. You know, I see that used in the tattoo world to really pop out darker colors.
Yeah. But I mean, colors on on pinballs are always going to be based on the theme. And uh like, you know, there was criticism on Franchie's uh Franchie did a little sample art of Batman 89 for when Stern was potentially going to be looking at doing an 89 and in the end they went 66. Um that it was way too purple. And it's like, well, hold on a second. Batman with Michael Keaton was predominantly a movie about the Joker who is purple,
right? And you know is we're highlighting the fact that we want these things to pop. Like I've got Batman 89 and it's just black. The whole thing's black. It's just a bit of yellow on it. And I like I would kill for it to have purple and like greens and neon noir and like purple powder coating. uh you know there is colors being used because of the fact those themes have those colors really work with those themes. Evil Dead and Beetlejuice are very similar in color palette. That's just cuz the movies are that very similar. That's all. Uh if the next movie is um I don't know uh I don't want to say a movie that I think you guys are doing in next cuz then it kind of like you know makes it awkward. But, uh, you know, if it was like
Galaxy Quest,
Galaxy Quest, that would be purple as well, mate. Unfortunately, I think [snorts] purple, purple, blue. Uh, you know, if it was Highlander, Highlander would be like black, blue, red. Um, uh, what else? I got a Highlander poster here that I haven't framed yet. There you go. Like red, blue. Yeah, black, red, blue, and like a little bit of brown. Like, do you know what I mean? Like it's just the idea that he's just rep using repetition in colors is just so ignorant because it's like well look at the theme, right? Look at the theme, you know? It's just Anyway, I get really defensive of uh Franchie. So, uh he's my homeboy and I've got a Christopher Franchi slap shirt that I couldn't find that I wanted to wear tonight. [snorts] Um I'll wear it on actually see this machine in person and tell me you don't love it.
Yeah.
Yeah,
mate. It's everything always looks better in person. I think even with the critique that people have criticized The Walking Dead on, I I think people need to chill out a little bit and just wait till you see it in person. It might not be for you. And I I think that the playfield on that is a little bit over the top. I still prefer it over the old colors or the the old cabinet, but you got to see it in person cuz even like King Kong, right? Like I criticized King Kong's color palette when it came out, right? I was like, "Man, that's like a lot of pink, purple." But when it came it wasn't as bad. Like it was not as bad. Uh [snorts] I think the camera adds 10 extra pounds, right? So obviously it's adding
extra pounds of saturation.
It's adding 10 extra pounds of saturation. So yeah, I agree with you. I think people need to just uh shut the hell up and wait till you see it in person. Um but yeah, man. I I was very envious of you guys. I really wanted to uh I know you extended an invitation said come, but you know, it's not across the pond unfortunately. It's well across the pond. Um, but look, I, you know, if anyone was going to knock this game out of the park, it was Spooky. And I think with the callouts, the music, the modes, the animations, the animations, some people always say that Spooky have a like a style of animation that kind of is um not I don't want to say on the cheap, but it kind of looks a little bit gimmicky, but that's their thing. Like, I like that it's not meant to look realistic. It's meant to kind of look a little bit not cheesy because that sounds negative, but you know what I mean? Like the animations look a certain style, which is their style. And I really like that, right? I think it you you can tell that's a spooky game
because their animations are kind of
And I think they level up with each title, too. Like the team just keeps getting better.
Yeah. So, you know, comparing animations from Halloween to now, like they're radically different.
Yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, worlds apart. Uh, and you know, the the the business is always going to evolve. I mean, if it's not learning from its previous errors, mistakes, or just recommendations from other people, um, you know, you're not doing something right. And I think even from their reliability, Q from 10 years ago to now, I mean, I've I've had Looney Tunes, Scooby-Doo, Evil Dead, never had a problem with any of them. So, again, this critique that there people have been, oh, what's it going to be like? It's like, well, man, like those games get smashed, and I've never had a problem with them, right? So, not that machines are man-made. Things can go wrong. I'm not going to say they're not going to, but I can tell you what's going to happen if something does go wrong is that Morgan, right, who is doing God's work, uh, is a gem and a a huge asset to the business because she will get back to you very promptly, sometimes even on Saturdays. I'm not going to say she does Saturdays cuz that's going to throw her under the bus, but sometimes she has, right? And uh you know, their customer service is again why you feel like you're part of the family. Um and my hat goes off to them. And I think honestly that thousand game is the sweet spot because as soon as you start doing 3,000 to 5,000 games, Morgan's not going to be able to get back to you as promptly
or the you know, games are going to have to start getting pushed out faster. That's that's the nature of going bigger, right? And the problem that some companies have had because they've gone so big, you got to pump them out. And what happens when you got to pump them out, right? You you force it? You like what's the what's the saying in Australia? We have a saying that if you force a fart, you get [ __ ]
Yeah. My grandmother told me that when I was a toddler, [laughter]
so uh Yeah. Sorry guys, this isn't a PG channel. Um but you know what I mean? Like it's one of those things that you got
quality for speed. You know, you got to you got to pull the the the time or the money from somewhere, you know, if you're going to do that.
Yeah.
And so, you know, wanted more games. They win a thousand more than the last run. Um and they even pumped out some extra show games for people, too, which people are still mad about. Um you know, but I think they're they're kind of doing all they can. Um you know, distributors started taking money early on. That was kind of a distributor decision. We'll see what happens with that going forward. Um, but I think ultimately when you're only making a thousand quality games and you've got
three times that of interest that wants it there, people are going to be upset no matter how you do it. And so trying to just navigate like what's the most best way to do this?
Yeah. And look and I think again when you've got a company that is really you know uh driven by people that are family based and uh interacting with the community and on the forefront of not hiding behind a corporate shell or you know u not liking to just you know there are smaller companies out there that just those people that work there don't like to be in front of a camera and that's okay right but I think sometimes when you are so in the forefront like buggies and and Luke, you you tend to be um people think they can be more vocal because they know that those guys are watching or kind of reading comments as well. Um so, you know, someone that's missed out on a game knows they can say something harsh because, you know, they know that it's going to get read. Um but, you know, you're talking about two guys that like you watch that um little mini documentary that was like 20 minutes that Flipping Out did and they interview both Luke and Bug. Um, and you can see you got two guys there that are wearing their heart and their sleeves. They genuinely are not working. Like those guys don't have a job. Like they are just building home brews that they can sell, right? Like [snorts] it it is literally uh two guys that wear their heart and their sleeves. They're down to earth. They're very levelheaded, very um uh what's the word I'm looking for? I can think of it in Italian, but I can't think of it in English. um very kind of grateful and very um
humble, pragmatic. I feel like
man, we got to be a little we got to take them down a notch here or they'll be
Yeah, I know. Everyone's going to say I'm Win Schilling the [ __ ] out of them. But I am. Look, I'm going to give credit where credit's due, mate. Like, they are if not the best pinball company in the world. Uh and I would say JJP is up there with them because after Harry Potter, uh I I played, you will see my video on Harry Potter, man. I played ball one and I had to step back because I really love that theme. I think it's a fantastic theme and I watched it as a kid at the movies, uh the books. Uh I played my ball one and I stepped back going, "What the hell just happened?" Like what have I just experienced? Like the ball was coming out of even my orifice. Like I was like, "There's so many ball paths. What the hell is going on?" Right? And at one point I shot the right orbit on Harry Potter and it's come around so fast. It's like I'd love to know the record like the Guinness Book of Record for the fastest ball path.
That right orbit where it comes all the way around and then just hits your left flipper and you didn't even notice and you drain the ball. Uh like that just caught me off guard. I was like that has to be the fastest shot in pinball history. Um you know, like for what they're doing, they're knocking out of the park as well. And uh you know, it's a it's a great time to be in pinball like
Yeah. I mean, everybody will celebrate a great game, you know, no matter what company it comes from. And, you know, I every time a great game is released, I hope it pushes the other companies that much harder to try to top it because
I I would like to think that Spooky is where they are today because of Galactic Tank Force.
Abs [laughter] Galactic Tank Force walked so Beetlejuice could run,
mate. I love Galactic Tank Force. I'm going to do a video just on Galactic Tank Force, so we'll get to that another day. Uh, but hey, you never know. Maybe maybe that's uh maybe that's what happened. You know, in those like Marvel movies when something happened in the timeline and it branched off.
The butterfly effect. Yeah. Yeah. Maybe there's a little bit of Galactic Tank Force in all of us. [laughter]
That is one sexual innuendo.
I like it.
Maybe there is. uh your reaction on like uh watching people play Beetlejuice for the first time. Like it must have been pretty cool to be able to see everyone's faces and
that was wild, you know, because I knew I liked it. I knew what I felt about it, but I I couldn't tell anybody. And then all of a sudden, the curtain lifts and I, you know, I'm showing people the trailer for the first time and I'm watching their faces, jaws on the floor and I'm like, "This is awesome." Like they're super excited. And then the next minute I take them over to the factory. I'm like, "There it is. Go." like that's Beetlejuice. Go play it. You can play it right now. And you know, they're just having a blast on it. You know, they come back thinking like this exceeded my expectations. And this game was hyped to the 11th degree, too. You know, we were tell everybody early on, get on a list. You're going to want what what you see. You're going to wish you were there. And then I'm thinking, you know, are we building it up too much? And, you know, everybody has a concept in their head of what they're going to see. And then when it exceeds even that, you know, you've got, you know, a good game that you've made.
Yeah. And look, I'll I'll give kudos where kudos is due. I mean, Canada 6 months ago didn't know anything about this game. Didn't even know, hadn't even seen it. He didn't have insider info like you and Kerry had. And he was telling people to get on the list
because he's like, "It's Beetlejuice. If anyone's going to knock out of the park, it's spooky, right?" And uh you know, like you know, I I even said to people after experiencing Evil Dead back in July, get on the list. like just just get on the list for like whatever else is coming because Kerry and yourself have said that you think this is great. Wait till you see the next three games.
Just just get a subscription right now if you can.
Your opportunity so when you see the trailer you can say yay or nay. Like that's the position you want to be in. And uh you know
so here let me let me ask you something right and I don't want you to answer this because you're like involved. I want you to answer this as a fan. Right.
The fact that obviously they've sold How many games did they keep for themselves to sell on the phone? 70 or something.
About 70. Yeah.
Right. Do they need the distributors?
Um
cuz they're giving away a couple million dollars on the table. Right.
Right. Hey, so I mean, yeah, that's all the that's that's the question, you know, and I'm sure this has probably come up even at Stern, like, do we need these distributors when we could sell direct and capture all those funds ourselves?
Well, when you're a big company, I get it. Logistically, I get it, right? But for a small boutique company, like I know you're helping those little distributors make a little bit of profit to keep the doors open, right?
And you are helping everyone else. Let's grow pinball together. Like, I get that, right? Let's just put that aside for a second because I'm the first one that wants to grow pinball and like I'm happy to give you something to help the next person, right? But in theory, they could have sold all a thousand themselves very easily.
So, as long as if we're in the realm of hypotheticals, sure. But if you remember like the last four games were plenty available well after launch day and I'm sure they were thankful for those distributors that they had, you know? I mean, back in the Elon days of COVID when Rick and Morty and Halloween were selling Sight Unseen, you know, that was fine, but then you got the Scooby-Doo, which is still available. TCM, which is arguably their greatest game still available. Looney Tunes still available. Evil Dead was available for 4 months, you know, and you need that sales network.
Um, you know, we're entering maybe the beginnings of a new era now. Maybe we're going back to, you know, COVID demand for theme integrated machines that are, you know, fairly priced. Um, but yeah, Beetlejuice did this, but if you know, Beetlejuice only sold 200 units direct, you know, then you need to have that sales network as a backup. Plus, you know, these guys have personal relationships with all these distributors, too. Like, they're all team as well.
You know, they they come in, they give feedback that's helpful. So, you know, I I don't think it's as simple as just, you know, these people are just, you know, taking some of our sales to drop shift. You know, drop ship, what do we need them for? you know, like there's a whole uh you know, these are the people that are bringing games to shows, bringing other games to shows, um bringing in new customers and things, too. So,
look, I'm glad you said that, right, because I wanted you to say it because I didn't want to see like I was leading you into that because again, that's another one of the couple questions and points I've seen online where people were criticizing, well, yeah, like people can get on lists because the distributors have got their best customers and their chummy friends. How am I going to get the list? It's not fair. Blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, well, hold on. It's very easy to say, "Well, Spooky could just sell and then manage it all." Right? And you could even manage these [ __ ] and I will call you an [ __ ] because I'm going to say you're an [ __ ] right? These [ __ ] that are getting a Beetlejuice, right? And these [ __ ] are selling their spot for $10,000, right? Just because they wanted to make money. And a genuine person who is a big Beetlejuice fanatic is missing out, right? Some will argue that that is more manageable and controllable if it was just going through. You know, I've heard of dealers that are are taking a lick of 500 bucks for passing on my spot that you've sold for 10 grand to the next person, right? I think that's a dick move, but uh I don't think you should be able to on sell a game until you own it personally, but that's a topic for another day. Um, so I'm glad you said what you said because I think business relationships, networking, uh, distributors buy stock, so you know, I mean, I know it's not sold, it's sold through type of thing. Um, but they're all valid points, right? And I think people need to understand that you you need that network because when times are tough, they're going to buy stock off you. And yes, some will say that the gentleman from Automated, which I don't remember his name, and I apologize, I should remember his name. I think it's Mike. I could be wrong. Uh, Mike from Automated. I kind of have it embedded in my head.
Yeah,
I have embedded in my head because I think Canada says it nearly every episode. So, like it's like Mike from Automated. Um, so you know, poor Mike has got like he I remember Canada did a tour, right? Mike's got like 100 games in his loft like you know, and this is the part that people forget. People forget that distributors are having to buy stock in some instances are forced to buy stock to keep these agreements in place. not mentioning companies, but you know, and they just sit there in a loft because the market's quiet and they got to keep buying games.
I could see being legitimately upset if a distributor was, you know, had a small group of friends they were working with and each of them got 10 games to go and flip or something, you know, and there was like some kind of organized cabal like that would be a problem. It would be a problem if a distributor, you know, got an aotment of 50 games, sold 40 of them and kept the other 10 in a storage locker, and then, you know, all of a sudden came up with gently used games later, you know, that would be a problem.
Yeah.
So, as long as it's, you know, yeah, this person's flipping their game, but each person on the list was entitled to only one purchase, and then it's their game to choose to do with, you know, they can take the cash now. What they're not going to have is that game later, you know.
Yeah. Hey, look, I just thought it was an interesting an interesting point, but I was like, "Okay, well, let's talk about it. [ __ ] it." Uh, I I do think you're an [ __ ] if you buy a game that someone genuinely missed out on and then you flip it for uh I heard there was a guy here in Australia apparently sold his spot for 10 grand.
That's crazy. Now, that isn't in in dollar redu, but still,
that's Aussie dollar [ __ ] I don't know what's that. That's like what is
now? Are you smart for playing the the short sale game, right? and you get this deposit, immediately sell it, pocket the three to whatever grand profit and then 6 months later when games are being delivered and maybe you can purchase it back for, you know, 12 grand and then you still made $1,000 in the meantime. You still
Oh man, that person's that person's not purchasing that game back. If you if you sold that game for 10 grand, you're you're a dick. Like it it just you don't even sold the game, you sold the spot.
Like you've sold thin air for 10 grand, mate. You're a dick. I'm sorry. hate on me all you want, but like it's just it's just not something that I I I am going to sit here and not condone. Um, and to be honest, if I had my way, I'd manage it. I'd be like, "Okay, serial numbers registered to the person's name, and if you sell your spot, you don't have warranty. You can you can sell the game after 6 months, right? Or after 3 months or something, you know, if you sell it before that cuz you want to pocket money, you don't get warranty. Sorry. Um, that's that's how I that's how I would do it. I'll probably seen
companies approach this different ways, too. I mean, barrels of fun. If you bought direct, you're not allowed to transfer your deposit. You need to go through with the sale first. Take Oh, take delivery of the game, then you can sell it, you know. And, you know, for them, that's the answer. Um, you know, I guess we'll have to see how it shakes out. But,
I would say if you were on a list like you were supposed to be, this wouldn't be a problem affecting you.
That's it. That's it 100%. Um, uh, let's talk about the topper because I can't believe we've completely missed that topper. Um,
now you you said it, uh, I want to say probably 6 months ago that this topper is like legit animatronic, 10 times scarier than the other one. And I was kind of going, how much scarier can it really get? Or how much more crazy could it get? I don't know if you said scary. I think you may have said crazy. Anyway, um, I tell you what, it is creepy as hell. Mhm.
Like he is creepy as hell and it's impressive like the detail in the painting and the sculpting and even Bug had said that the company the movie studio had said are you sure you can make a thousand of these
and get them consistent?
Yeah.
Right. Uh but the blinking eyes, the moving like you know and a lot of people didn't realize that to get spooky speak which is obviously the talking part which we'll talk in a second uh you need the topper up. Uh, some people thought that was a bit of an odd move, but I was like, well, hold on a second. Evil Dead was 888 games. They sold 800 toppers. Like, everyone's buying a topper, right? So, very rarely. And, okay, maybe if someone hasn't got the height in the loft um or you can't afford it that you're going to miss out on Spooky Speak, you're not losing out on much. I mean, the the talking to the machine is fantastic. I understand that you can like, you know, ask her who his favorite podcaster is and it's probably going to turn around and say it's Dawn, but um
I wish that'd be I'm going to recommend that. Now,
look, I'm sure there's Easter eggs and things that you can talk to this game, but look, I I love the idea of this Spooky Speak. I think it's another I've always been a an ambassador for introducing a different dimension. Like, I'd love to see more things like the whirlwind fan, right? just chuck a smoke machine in my face. Like when you blow up the Death Star,
a fan in my face. Like I remember as a kid I wanted to play that because that one had a fan. It was awesome.
Yep. Yep. Like I I'm a like I'd love to see a game with like smoke coming from under the cabinet. Like just a smoke machine from under the cabinet. Like if it's a I don't know, Casper the friendly ghost
feedback vest so you could feel the pop bumper hits.
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm working on a floor mat for that actually. But that's a story for another day.
Um,
but you know, the I'm a huge fan for any any more kind of elements of uh me getting involved or the machine involving me. Uh, so I think the Spooky Speak was fantastic. The topper is sensational. Uh, it's tall. It looks taller. How much taller is it than the Evil Dead topper?
Same height.
It's the same height.
Now, the the hair on the head is does exceed the height, but I mean that'll rub against the ceiling. Um,
well, I guess that the spooky topper is kind of rectangular the whole thing, right? Whereas this is what makes it longer up all the way. So, if you take the full height of that cellar door through its motion, the this one's the same height.
Yeah. And I guess the snake's head is or the body is making it look taller because there's nothing else in the way, right?
Literally just his erect head.
Pand attention walking into a room with his glowing eyes staring at you and his light up rattle right there.
Yeah. I I keep looking at it every time it pops up, right? And it's like in my history on YouTube and it's it's [ __ ] these two these two like beady eyes, right, just staring at me. And I'm like, man, that's even creepy for me. And I'm 41 years old.
Yeah.
Um, so I can I can imagine Retro Ralph when he has one, he's going to have to put like a blanket over the head of this uh uh bloody snake Beetlejuice uh to hide it from his kids. Um, but yeah, like it's just, you know, again, knocked it out of the park. Uh, I think we missed I don't think we missed anything. We've covered everything.
Yeah, I think that's about it. It's comprehensive game.
Yeah, we we we touched on everything. We're on the hour, which is normally what I like to do. Um, was there anything that you do differently for your launch party? Chicken treat next time, maybe.
Oh my god. Yeah, we we need to have an extra building or something cuz I want to bring like three times the people next time. It was so much fun. We need a band. We need even more food. I'm thinking like set up an exterior tent.
So, I was thinking about this, right? I'm like, how do you do this in a way? And me and you spoke about this a few weeks ago cuz you know, it's like, you know, the thing with emailing in, like you said, some people's emails might not work, some go to spam. And I can understand people getting, you know, like, oh, how do we know that my thing went through? Sure. I think your idea was cool where you said that you can send in like a postcard or something and then it just goes into the drawer and then we just live draw it and pull everyone's postcard out, right? Yeah.
Um I think it's a great idea because it gives everyone like a month to get their postcard in. Uh now you're relying on the fact that the postcard gets delivered. That's another
send your card with tracking and shipping confirmation.
Well, I had a better idea.
Oh, yeah.
Why not just do like I don't know. Do you guys have Eventbrite in America?
A what?
Eventbrite. It's like a ticketing system, like a website,
right? So, basically, you can charge $0. It's even if you, let's say you're a business and you're holding an event, right? And you just want numbers and people RSVP. They go on, they register their name, they got to put their full [ __ ] details in and then the Well, we just had a VIP night at work and I used a system like that to get my numbers so I knew how much I should cater for, right? Um, now the downside with that is that you might get 40 RSVPs and only 30 rock up.
Mhm.
For a game launch, I'm very unlikely people aren't rocking up, right? Unless they're like dying or they've got gastro or something. So, your your strike rate is going to be much better than my VIP night at the store. Um, so I thought that is a good way of doing it because that guarantees cuz people get an email back saying that they got a ticket.
Mhm.
Right. you know that they've got a ticket and then you literally can print out Eventbrite tickets and chuck them in a barrel.
I love that.
That's just my suggestion, right?
That's my suggestion. But it's a great way of doing it.
Yeah.
What you said is fantastic. I think it gives people a month. It makes it fair. You can get thousands of people to enter and then it just becomes like a lottery, right? It's just a lottery. And even to be honest, man, even even the 70 people that let's say the next game Spooky Do they keep a hundred for themselves, right?
I think you register instead of people trying to ring the phones and the phones [ __ ] crash and you know Morgan's only got two hands and like she's like picking up the phones and maybe a lottery, maybe register, you're interested by the game, you know? I mean, so to use my my theme park analogy or analogous situation, when Disney opens a brand new ride or Universal opens a brand new ride and they know there's going to be six-hour lines of people waiting to get through,
they at 7 a.m. they will have a virtual queueing system where everybody registers, goes online at the same time and then are assigned a boarding group
and once they're all gone, you know, and then you at least you know right away you're in, you're out.
Yep. No, look, I think it's great and I think for the next one, like you said, get a marquee. Let's get a pop-up carnival. Maybe like a little mini roller coaster.
Some, you know, we get some chicken treat catering.
I'm here for like
What's the equivalent to chicken treat in America? You got to have something similar.
I don't know. Um maybe Kenny Rogers Roers. We don't have that anymore. Um
Oh, yeah. Kenny Rogers. True.
No one here is frying pineapple, so I don't think we have an
really There's no one in America frying pineapple. You guys fry everything.
I know. I know. We fry cheese curds and put them on burgers.
You guys fry Mars bars, don't you?
I mean, at Carnivals. Yeah. Yeah. So,
yeah.
Yeah. We need a Carnival fast food. Maybe
what I think you should do, Don, is you should go to next time you're at Disney Florida, right? Take a little cart, fry some pineapple, and give it a shot. Sell some. See what people think.
Perfect. I will get banned from Disney property, I'm sure.
We'll do those little camping those little countertop camping oil deep fryer things.
Yeah. Yeah. All right. Perfect. [laughter] We'll make it happen.
Uh, right. Okay. So, look, it's safe to say everyone that went to your event was extremely like happy with it. Uh, I've seen Sterling comment. I saw obviously Kerry was there. Everyone said they had a blast.
Yeah.
Uh, and man, you're the host with the most. Everyone
Everyone knows that if anyone has to host a party, it's Dawn. You're definitely the host with the most. So, uh, I'm glad it all went well for you and, uh, I'm sure that you'll wear that guide hat once more in the future. Sorry, not once more, again in the future.
Let's bring it.
I'm pretty sure you've got guy tattooed under that [ __ ] beanie.
I mean, it's coming. It's coming. I gota I got to cover up the Drake tattoo that I have on my forehead, but yeah. [laughter]
So, yeah. Look, uh, al anything else you want to say before we finish up?
No, I want to go get a pizza.
Go get a pizza for for breakfast? Nice.
Yeah, let's go.
That's dedication. Why not? All right. Well, on that note,
I guess like and follow and listen to my content.
Yeah. Okay. So, I'm going to plug Don's Pinball Podcast. It's amazing how many people don't even know Don like on people like who's Don? If you don't know who Don is, you're not living, right? So, Don's Pinball Podcast. Like and subscribe. He's got Patreon. So, Patreon donations are fantastic cuz it does help run the channel. Uh, and you know, Don always gives back with prizes and trans lights and uh, you know, all crazy stuff and 3D printing [ __ ] and all that type of thing. Uh, actually, I haven't seen any 3D toys from you in a while.
I got a new one to launch. I'm just been lazy.
At least you're honest. Uh, but please head over to Don, like and subscribe. And he's also got [ __ ] And it's not the [ __ ] you're thinking of. It's We Are Pinball with our boy Chenus. And uh, head over to that. I don't know how you keep up, man. I'm barely struggling to keep up with my life, let alone podcasting. And you got [ __ ] multiple podcasts.
This is the pinball world, man. We're living in it.
There you go. Anyway, like and subscribe. Hit that horn for me because we haven't heard that horn yet.
Oh, I heard it nearly the other one. My favorite one. in this house. There's some in this house. There's some insight.

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 37595a3b-2aac-48ca-b4b0-bcdb4a944b47*