# Special Report: And Just Like That...

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2023-03-09  
**Duration:** 8m 35s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/special-report-79754537

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## Analysis

Kaneda criticizes Jersey Jack Pinball's marketing strategy for The Godfather, arguing that selective promotional videos prevent consumers from seeing the full game before purchase. He contrasts the game's dark R-rated theme with its bright, carnival-like lighting and generic music, comparing it unfavorably to recent successes like Foo Fighters and Guns N' Roses. Kaneda advocates for waiting to see complete gameplay before buying and holds Jersey Jack accountable for maintaining quality standards.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] The Godfather pinball machine uses music that sounds like it's from Wizard of Oz and Toy Story 4, not the original film's iconic score — _Kaneda, based on gameplay footage from Great American Pinball_
- [HIGH] The Godfather has excessive lighting that contradicts its dark R-rated movie theme — _Kaneda's direct observation of gameplay footage_
- [MEDIUM] Straight Down the Middle selectively edited their Godfather video to show the game in the best light rather than showing all concerns — _Kaneda's interpretation of SDTM's video production choices_
- [MEDIUM] Eric Meunier's recent designs are becoming increasingly multiball-heavy, which concerns Kaneda — _Kaneda's observation of design trends in recent Jersey Jack games_
- [MEDIUM] Guns N' Roses succeeded because its lighting was strategically synced with the songs, unlike Toy Story and The Godfather — _Kaneda's comparative analysis of Jersey Jack game design_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack has moved to Chicago, and Kaneda questions whether Jack Guarnieri still has control over game design — _Kaneda's speculation about company operations_

### Notable Quotes

> "I am so tired of this selective showcasing of just enough of the game to take the money from us but not enough of the game to really feel like we've seen the game"
> — **Kaneda**, ~00:45
> _Core thesis about predatory marketing in the pinball industry_

> "The Godfather is a dark R-rated movie and now this game is lit up like a Christmas tree on a Christmas tree"
> — **Kaneda**, ~01:20
> _Specific design criticism contrasting theme with execution_

> "I only own right now in my possession one pinball machine on planet earth. It is an Eric Meunier game and it is Guns N' Roses"
> — **Kaneda**, ~02:30
> _Establishes credibility and preempts accusations of bias against Jersey Jack_

> "The only person that can sink Jersey Jack Pinball is Jersey Jack Pinball itself"
> — **Kaneda**, ~03:00
> _Places responsibility directly on manufacturer for quality control_

> "If you can turn on every single light at once, it doesn't mean you should"
> — **Kaneda**, ~04:15
> _Design philosophy critique applicable to recent Jersey Jack games_

> "You didn't see the gameplay. You saw a highly edited cherry picked video that only showed you the stuff they thought would make you want to buy it"
> — **Kaneda (to Bill Brand)**, ~03:45
> _Explains how selective marketing obscures full product before purchase_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer being criticized for marketing practices and design choices on The Godfather |
| Eric Meunier | person | Lead designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; Kaneda owns his Guns N' Roses design and expresses concern about his increasing reliance on multiball modes |
| Jack Guarnieri | person | Founder of Jersey Jack Pinball; Kaneda speculates he may no longer have significant design input following company's move to Chicago |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Artist who worked on The Godfather; Kaneda references his celebratory social media post about the game |
| Zach Sharpe | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle; Kaneda criticizes his selective video editing of The Godfather gameplay |
| Greg Bone | person | Co-host of Straight Down the Middle; Kaneda criticizes his selective video editing of The Godfather gameplay |
| Bill Brand | person | Pinball community member; Kaneda references his decision to buy The Godfather based on edited marketing video |
| David Fix | person | Mentioned as 'the happiest man' now that The Godfather's flaws are visible, implying he critiqued Jersey Jack games previously |
| Straight Down the Middle | media | YouTube show/podcast that Kaneda criticizes for selective editing in their Godfather preview video |
| Great American Pinball | company | Venue/distributor where gameplay footage of The Godfather was captured and streamed |
| The Godfather | game | Jersey Jack Pinball's latest release being heavily criticized for its lighting design, music choices, and overall thematic integration |
| Guns N' Roses | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game designed by Eric Meunier that Kaneda owns and uses as positive example of successful thematic integration and strategic lighting |
| Foo Fighters | game | Stern Pinball game cited as example of successful recent release with good cohesion; Kaneda implies it now looks better by comparison to The Godfather |
| Toy Story 4 | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game Kaneda criticizes for excessive lighting; uses as comparison point for design philosophy problems |
| Ghostbusters | game | Stern Pinball game mentioned as example of recent game that 'shot well' (was successful) |
| Jurassic Park | game | Stern Pinball game cited as example of successful recent release with good integration |
| Godzilla | game | Stern Pinball game cited as example of successful recent release |
| This Week in Pinball | media | Mentioned as publication; context suggests Kaneda references it but the specific relevance is unclear in transcript |
| Kaneda's Pinball Podcast | media | Host's own podcast, used to deliver critique and advocacy for consumer patience before purchasing |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Jersey Jack Pinball marketing and pre-release disclosure practices, The Godfather pinball game design and thematic integration, Lighting and music design philosophy in recent Jersey Jack games, Consumer purchasing behavior and FOMO in pinball collecting
- **Secondary:** Role and responsibility of content creators in game promotion, Eric Meunier's design trends and multiball-heavy game design, Jersey Jack Pinball's organizational changes and leadership, Comparative analysis of successful vs. unsuccessful recent pinball game launches

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.78) — Kaneda expresses strong disappointment and frustration with Jersey Jack Pinball's marketing practices and The Godfather's design execution. While he maintains respect for the company's talent and resources, his tone is critical and urgent. He does express admiration for Guns N' Roses and respect for Foo Fighters and other successful recent releases, but these are used as contrasts to highlight current failures.

### Signals

- **[product_concern]** The Godfather's bright, carnival-like lighting and generic music are fundamentally misaligned with the dark R-rated film theme (confidence: high) — Kaneda's detailed comparison of the game's visual/audio presentation to Toy Story 4, Wizard of Oz, and slot machines rather than the original film
- **[design_philosophy]** Jersey Jack games are increasingly using excessive lighting effects that fail to create meaningful thematic atmosphere, particularly comparing Guns N' Roses success to Toy Story and Godfather failures (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's analysis that Guns N' Roses synced lighting with songs while Toy Story and Godfather light up everything indiscriminately
- **[market_signal]** Players are being incentivized to pre-purchase based on selective marketing videos before seeing complete gameplay (confidence: high) — Kaneda's core argument about 'selective showcasing' and reference to players locking in deposits after limited previews
- **[content_signal]** Content creators like Straight Down the Middle are accused of selectively editing promotional material to present games in best light rather than showing complete picture (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's criticism that SDTM 'selectively put together their video to show this game in the best light' and comparison to unedited Great American Pinball footage
- **[design_innovation]** Eric Meunier's recent designs are becoming increasingly multiball-heavy, potentially reducing engagement and skill requirements (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's statement: 'Eric, when is this feedback gonna actually reach Jersey Jack Pinball?' regarding multiball-heavy brewing designs
- **[business_signal]** Jersey Jack Pinball's relocation to Chicago may have shifted decision-making authority away from founder Jack Guarnieri (confidence: low) — Kaneda's speculative statement: 'once this company has moved to Chicago, I don't know now man, I really don't know what's going on'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Significant community skepticism toward Jersey Jack's recent output, with explicit concern about game quality and value proposition (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's urgent tone, calls to 'stop with the pinball shenanigans,' and appeals to consumers to wait before purchasing
- **[competitive_signal]** Stern Pinball games (Foo Fighters, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, Godzilla) are being positioned as superior alternatives to recent Jersey Jack releases (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's list of successful Stern games and statement about how good Foo Fighters looks 'now after seeing what this game is'

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## Transcript

 And just like that, ladies and gentlemen, Kaneda's encouragement to wait and see enough of a game before you order. And we're seeing it right now. And look, it is still way too early to say the Godfather is going to be great or bad or a rainbow puke game or like stay true to the original film. But I want everybody right now to remember I'm going to show you why I encourage you to wait and play a game before you spend your hard earned money on these pinball machines because I am so tired of this selective showcasing of just enough of the game to take the money from us but not enough of the game to really feel like we've seen the game, we've seen it played, we see how it all comes together and now everybody collectively is shoulder shrugging and let out a big Edited to translate as we see this gameplay footage from Great American Pinball in which The Godfather pinball machine looks like it's using music that's from The WizardOfOz and Toy Story 4. It sounds more like a carnival and a slot machine than the iconic movie that was made 50 years ago. Not only that, Godfather is a dark R-rated movie and now this game is lit up like a Christmas Christmas Tree on top of a Christmas tree. It is the ultimate rainbow light show like more so than any other Jersey Jack game before it and none of it works if Godfather is the theme. And I almost feel like we're getting bullied, right? That we're not allowed to not like something anymore in pinball at these prices. I saw the artist, our friend, Mr. Christopher Franchi. He's celebrating the fact that he worked on this game and, you know, saying stuff like everybody be happy. It's pinball. You know, it's a fragile industry. Well, Why do we have to be so happy I would be really happy if you made games based on themes people love I would be really happy if those themes were integrated in the right way I would be really happy with more games like Foo Fighters and maybe Ghostbusters that shot well and Jurassic Park and games like Godzilla and games like Guns and Roses And for those of you out there who say I rooting against Jersey Jack Pinball let me remind you I only own right now in my possession one pinball machine on planet earth It is an Eric Minier game and it is and roses. So I am not rooting against JerseyJack. But if I'm going to have this podcast and I'm going to talk to you candidly about how I feel about every new game that comes out, I'm not going to hold back punches. And that's why you're here right now. And I just want to tell you right now, I think we are at a point in this community where we need to stop with the shenanigans. The shenanigans are this. It's making strategic videos that do not show you enough information and then asking you to buy the game the same day. I mean, look, we all know That went straight down the middle went to see this game. Greg and Zach are really smart guys. They know a lot about pinball. They've seen a lot of pinball machines. They walked into that room, just like you and I are watching the stream right now. And they saw the rainbow explosion. And they saw the music that sounds like it's coming from a Willy Wonka freaking Wizard of Oz had a baby slot machine. It's like Welcome to the Wonderful Wizard of Godfather. And they saw all that. And they heard the music. And they heard the call outs. And they saw the light show. And So what did they do? Did they show us that? Did they film that? No. They selectively put together their video to show this game in the best light. And look, I don't blame them, they're distributors. But for those of you out there who saw that video and thought you saw enough to pull a trigger on a game you didn't even want in the first place and now you're seeing this, I just want to remind you. This is why I'm telling you wait and see I'm not telling you don't buy the game. I'm not telling you to boycott Jersey Jack pinball I'm not telling you Eric Meunier's multiball heavy, even though I'm getting scared He starting to look very multiball heavy and we need to work for those multi balls Eric When is this feedback gonna actually reach Jersey Jack pinball and I mean it when I say it Don point any arrows at me The only person that can sink JerseyJackPinball is JerseyJackPinball itself The only people to blame if these games don sell is JerseyJack itself They have the time they have the resources they have the talent they have the millions of dollars making these things I don I have no say what goes into these games And I not I am not telling you don't buy the game. What I am telling you is anyone who bought the game yesterday and locked themselves into a nonrefundable deposit, how do you feel right now after seeing that stream? Shouldn't you have just waited another day? Why did you impatiently run towards the game? There's no FOMO. And now the bitter reality is sinking in. After this stream, if this game turns out to be like this, you know, like a Godfather version of freaking Toy Story 4, Finnalate DLCashtreamsradio Jack you And here's the good news, like I said, the ball's in our court. The moment you don't buy, the moment you don't run to this stuff, the moment you don't turn into my friend, Brill Brand is saying, everyone's buying the game, they're selling a ton. Everybody I spoke to is getting one. Okay, everyone you spoke to. And you know what he said to me is after seeing the gameplay, I bought one. And I had to remind Bill, because he's a very smart man. He's got a lot more money than me. He's got faster cars than me, nicer houses. I said to Bill, you didn't see the gameplay. You saw a highly edited cherry picked video that only showed you the stuff they thought would make you want to buy it. They didn't show you anything they knew would make you be a little bit concerned about the game and now everyone is seeing stuff that is a little bit concerning I not gonna lie It a lot of bit concerning This isn the godfather if you can turn on every single light at once It doesn't mean you should and I don't know why Jack is making these games as if they're like Constantly in a track mode like you're trying to lure people in from like down the block on a New Jersey boardwalk arcade These things are going into people's homes moje year, pe أيงóy?p't muchís zodoco, peigen stuggling a yeñóny영 묻yiń the en éllé reê Mob Reamar Berín per ignorance Tex Kanye ta This week in Pinball Podcast, Terminate Worked really well for Guns N' Roses. It was done very strategically and the lights synced up with the songs in the game. And then you get to Toy Story, it's just everything louder than everything else. Light up everything all the time, nothing feels special. And that's just where we're at. And I think instead of like banning guys like me, Jersey Jack Pinball needs to start listening to this feedback All of these are the most popular games in the world. The soul of this company was always Jack Guarnari and I can't imagine he has much say now in these games. And once this company has moved to Chicago, I don't know now man, I really don't know what's going on. But you know, I think waiting and seeing now is like the way to go. And I'll say this right now too, David Fix is very happy right now. The happiest man is David Fix and I'll end the show by saying the following. How good, how cohesive and how much better does Foo Fighter look now after seeing what this game is when you actually see gameplay footage. Kaneda out. Thank you guys for the support. I'll see you at Texas. Yeah, that's right!

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 3bb7f324-3dd7-41f8-94d8-8cd35f920904*