# Episode 40: Star Wars Teaser Trailer Disappointment - It's my cousins fault!!

**Source:** The Flipside Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2025-08-28  
**Duration:** 15m 43s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** 24d220e4-f53c-45b4-8631-a8627d6e2a2c

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## Analysis

Retro Ralph critiques Stern's minimal Star Wars teaser trailer as lacking substance compared to previous game reveals (D&D, Kong, X-Men). He expresses concern about the trailer's vagueness and questions Stern's marketing strategy, while celebrating his first IFPA tournament championship and expressing excitement about potential Walking Dead remaster at Pinball Expo.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Stern's Star Wars teaser trailer shows only a logo flying toward the screen with no gameplay or feature hints — _Direct observation of trailer content discussed throughout episode_
- [HIGH] Previous Stern trailers for D&D, Kong, and X-Men provided 'little tidbits' and 'nuggets' for community discussion — _Ralph compares current approach to past marketing strategy_
- [HIGH] Retro Ralph won his first IFPA pinball championship at a knockout tournament with approximately 15 players — _Personal announcement by Ralph with specific tournament format details_
- [HIGH] Ball saves were turned off at Ralph's winning tournament, which was unusual and changed play strategy — _Ralph explicitly states this was the first IFPA tournament he attended without ball saves_
- [MEDIUM] Metallica remaster at Expo was praised and 'stole the show' with Ray Day contributing to code polish — _Ralph references past Expo performance as comparison point for potential Star Wars/Walking Dead impact_

### Notable Quotes

> "Look, you may not know this, but I know absolutely nothing about Star Wars. So what better person to come to when you want to come to the source of Star Wars knowledge, you come here, because it's so bad that it's good."
> — **Retro Ralph**, Opening
> _Establishes Ralph's comedic persona regarding lack of Star Wars knowledge and sets tone for episode_

> "Newsflash, they don't know what Spike 1 is. They don't know what Spike 2 is. They don't know what Sam is. They don't know what Spike 3 is because they don't know anything about pinball yet."
> — **Retro Ralph**, ~2:00
> _Critiques Stern's focus on technical specs that alienate newcomers to the hobby_

> "I'm getting the vibe that maybe this isn't like a, like a Stern's vision of a Star Wars game. That would be weird."
> — **Retro Ralph**, ~4:00
> _Expresses concern about whether game reflects Stern's original design vision or external constraints_

> "Stern giveth and taketh away because they just were giving us all these nuggets before so like why did you go... they're so inconsistent like accessories i don't know when we want to do them we'll do them whatever whatever"
> — **Retro Ralph**, ~8:00
> _Criticizes Stern's inconsistent marketing and product approach_

> "I have a trailer that just literally shows you a logo flying toward the screen. That's it. It's all I can talk about."
> — **Retro Ralph**, ~9:00
> _Summarizes frustration with minimal content in official teaser_

> "My cousin, however, who was six years older than me, was really into Star Wars. But you know what? He was kind of a dick. He didn't let me play with any of his stuff."
> — **Retro Ralph**, ~13:00
> _Humorous personal anecdote explaining childhood Star Wars exclusion_

> "Your guy right here won his first pinball championship. I'm super excited about that. It was a knockout tournament. It was IFPA."
> — **Retro Ralph**, ~32:00
> _Personal achievement announcement with specific tournament format_

> "I'm really excited about the potential of this Walking Dead remake because being able or remaster... they did such a good job with that and that stole the show at expo"
> — **Retro Ralph**, ~40:00
> _Expresses optimism about Walking Dead remaster potential at upcoming Expo_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Retro Ralph | person | Podcast host of The Flipside Pinball Podcast; pinball streamer and content creator; recently won first IFPA tournament |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; criticized for vague Star Wars teaser trailer and inconsistent marketing strategy |
| Star Wars Pinball | game | Upcoming Stern game; officially teased with minimal information (logo-only trailer); theme expected to be original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) |
| George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball designer; appeared on Loser Kid podcast discussing Spike 3 technical details; praised for knowledge sharing |
| Jack Danger | person | Pinball content creator; streamed classic Data East Star Wars pinball with John Borg, triggering speculation about potential design inspiration |
| John Borg | person | Legendary Stern designer; involved in classic Data East Star Wars game; known for Walking Dead original design |
| Loser Kid Podcast | organization | Pinball podcast that hosted George Gomez discussing Spike 3 specifications |
| Ray Day | person | Stern code designer; contributed to Metallica remaster code polish; worked with Lyman Sheets on remaster updates |
| Electric Bat | company | Pinball venue; staffed by Rachel and Cale; hosting location for tournament play mentioned in episode |
| Flippin' Out Pinball | company | Pinball distributor/retailer; promotional partner of The Flipside Podcast |
| Pinball Expo | event | Major pinball event; expected to feature Star Wars reveal, Walking Dead remaster, Predator, and Harry Potter displays |
| Walking Dead Remaster | game | Anticipated John Borg game remaster; Ralph speculates on potential Expo reveal alongside Star Wars as combo announcement |
| Metallica Remaster | game | Previous Stern remaster that 'stole the show' at Expo; referenced as successful model for Walking Dead potential |
| Predator Pinball | game | Pinball Brothers game expected to be showcased at Pinball Expo |
| Harry Potter Pinball | game | Jersey Jack game; described as 'old news' by Ralph but will draw first-time players at Expo |
| Rachel | person | Electric Bat staff; texted Ralph encouragement about Stern's teaser strategy; referred to as part of 'the crew' |
| Cale | person | Pinball community member; texted by Ralph; tournament competitor at Electric Bat |
| Jamie | person | Pinball friend; texted with Ralph during Star Wars trailer reaction |
| Cousin Joey | person | Ralph's cousin; six years older; restricted Ralph's access to Star Wars toys in childhood; described as 'kind of a dick' |
| Zach Sharp | person | Stern Pinball executive; target of Ralph's closing plea for more Star Wars information before week ends |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Star Wars Pinball teaser trailer, Stern marketing strategy criticism, Pinball tournament competition
- **Secondary:** Spike 3 hardware platform, Walking Dead game remaster potential, Pinball Expo expectations, Retro Ralph's lack of Star Wars knowledge
- **Mentioned:** IFPA tournament format and rules

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.35) — Negative toward Stern's marketing execution and trailer content (vague, minimal information); positive about personal tournament achievement and Walking Dead remaster potential; humorous and self-deprecating throughout regarding Star Wars knowledge gap; frustration with inconsistency in Stern's product announcements

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Stern's inconsistent approach to product marketing and accessory announcements; unclear decision-making timing on promotional efforts (confidence: medium) — Ralph: 'they're so inconsistent like accessories i don't know when we want to do them we'll do them whatever whatever like they don't even care' and 'Maybe there is no strategy. There is some strategy. There's got to be some strategy'
- **[community_signal]** Electric Bat venue hosting ongoing tournament play with competitive players (Cale, Rachel); Ralph competing in final week of tournament series for casual play after intensive competition schedule (confidence: medium) — Ralph discusses attending Electric Bat 'down at the bat' with final tournament week; mentions Cale and Rachel as crew members; describes prior near-weekly tournament attendance
- **[sentiment_shift]** Community frustration with minimal Star Wars teaser content; anticipation for additional reveals before end of week; expectation Stern will follow up with more substantial information (confidence: medium) — Ralph texted multiple friends and community members about trailer reaction; Rachel from Electric Bat counseled patience about Stern's teasing strategy; closing plea to 'Zach Sharp' to 'drop it' before week ends
- **[competitive_signal]** Ball save disabling at IFPA tournaments significantly impacts play strategy; Ralph won first championship by adopting conservative 'keep it safe' approach rather than risky plays (confidence: high) — Ralph: 'i've never been to one where they shut off ball saves so it was really stressful because it totally changed my strategy of play i was like okay don't do anything risky keep it safe and uh and i won'
- **[design_philosophy]** Uncertainty about whether Star Wars reflects Stern's original vision or external constraints; Jack Danger streaming classic Data East Star Wars with John Borg triggered speculation about possible design inspiration from vintage game (confidence: medium) — Ralph: 'I'm getting the vibe that maybe this isn't like a, like a Stern's vision of a Star Wars game. That would be weird' and speculation about whether streaming that game was 'a hint that maybe it's a remake of or not remake, but it's going to be heavily inspired by this one'
- **[event_signal]** Pinball Expo expected to feature major announcements: Star Wars reveal, potential Walking Dead remaster, Predator showcase, and Harry Potter gameplay. Ralph speculates combo announcement of Star Wars and Walking Dead remaster could 'steal the show' similar to Metallica remaster performance (confidence: medium) — Ralph: 'if they come rolling into expo with a banger star wars game boom right and then they drop on top of it like like they do the day two thing and like oh by the way here's walking dead tons of television assets or series assets on the lcd that could be a banger combo'
- **[licensing_signal]** Star Wars licensing from Lucas Films Limited confirmed on trailer; original trilogy (Episodes IV-VI) theme expected based on rumors discussed (confidence: high) — Ralph notes Lucas Films Limited branding on trailer and confirms rumor that game features original trilogy (episodes four five and six)
- **[market_signal]** Stern's Star Wars teaser contains only logo reveal with no gameplay, features, or design hints—contrasting sharply with previous game teaser strategies (D&D, Kong, X-Men) that included 'tidbits' and 'nuggets' for community discussion (confidence: high) — Ralph repeatedly emphasizes trailer shows 'a logo flying toward the screen. That's it' and compares to past teasers that 'showed little tidbits we got little nuggets in there'
- **[product_strategy]** Walking Dead game remaster in development with potential television/series assets for LCD screen content; John Borg original designer; Ray Day and Lyman Sheets contributing to code updates (confidence: medium) — Ralph discusses potential Walking Dead remaster with new art package and television assets, comparing favorably to Metallica remaster success at past Expo
- **[technology_signal]** Stark disconnect between Spike 3 technical capabilities (hardware platform) and actual marketing focus; teaser emphasizes platform upgrade rather than gameplay, features, or theme details, which alienates newcomers to hobby (confidence: high) — Ralph: 'Newsflash, they don't know what Spike 1 is. They don't know what Spike 2 is... So I don't even know what the point of that is. I guess for us who have been in the hobby for a while to get hype around Spike 3, I guess'

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## Transcript

 Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Flipside Podcast. I'm your host Retro Ralph. We are here for episode 40, and boy do I have a lot of stuff to say. Look, you may not know this, but I know absolutely nothing about Star Wars. So what better person to come to when you want to come to the source of Star Wars knowledge, you come here, because it's so bad that it's good. You know what I mean? It's so bad that it's good. All right. I don't have time for any promotional efforts today, but just go get your pinball machines over at Flip N Out Pinball. I don't have time for this. We just got to go right into it. So check this out. So Stern hits us with this. I don't know if they're being serious or not, but Stern hits us with this teaser trailer today, right? And I'm excited because I was like, ooh, look, you know, they did the last one they did for D&D, the one they did for, wait, what was it? Shoot. Kong, the one they did for X-Men all showed little tidbits we got little nuggets in there so we could go talk about it and then we're all texting our friends I'm texting Kale, I'm texting Jamie I'm texting my buddy Nick I'm texting all these people I'm texting all my buddies oh my gosh, did you see this? yeah, well today, this is what they showed us so what the hell was I going to text them? this is it really that's it that's it okay i have a couple of problems with this number one stern you're saying you're always concerned about bringing new people into the hobby we'll guess what? Newsflash, they don't know what Spike 1 is. They don't know what Spike 2 is. They don't know what Sam is. They don't know what Spike 3 is because they don't know anything about pinball yet. So I don't even know what the point of that is. I guess for us who have been in the hobby for a while to get hype around Spike 3, I guess. But shout out to the Loser Kid podcast because George Gomez was on there and he shared a lot of tidbits about Spike 3. So that was interesting. So if you want to go check that out, Loser Kid did a great job. And George Gomez is like sexy with his flowing lock, so you gotta listen to him. He's like, you're like, oh my gosh, I need to listen to this guy, he's got all the knowledge. And by the way, George, I apologize once again for my lack of knowledge in saying that the Spike 2 system was being taxed. I did not realize that those assets were pre-rendered and that it was very low CPU intensive on Spike 2. But again, no one knows about Spike anything! Because they're new people! Anyways, I digress on that. So all right, Spike thing aside, there just isn't a whole lot there. Like, show me something, and I'm a little worried. I'm a little concerned, because it kind of looks like I'm getting the vibe, and I could be wrong, and if I'm wrong, that's fine. I hope I'm wrong. I'm getting the vibe that maybe this isn't like a, like a Stern's vision of a Star Wars game. That would be weird. Now, wait a minute. Hold on. We should go back and look at that real quick. There had to be something on that trailer that would make it more official, right? Like, like there's something on here that would say, uh, whoever the hell owns the rights disney lucas whatever the heck it is all right what is it let's see it's got to be right all right where is it i thought it said something okay lucas films limited okay whatever all right so whatever still i'm a little worried because i was hoping that the rumor had been that this was an original trilogy was episodes four five and six by the way i don't even know i had to ask like multiple friends i asked a friend at work i was like dude okay what up with this if it movies one two and three Why is it four five and six He like oh my gosh you know nothing about Star Wars I was like yeah actually I don I don know shit I don know And you wonder why I was born in 1979 I'm technically Gen X, right? So my Star Wars would have been Back to the Future. That was my Star Wars, if that makes any sense. That was like my movie that I would rewatch a million times. My cousin, however, who was six years older than me, was really into Star Wars. But you know what? He was kind of a dick. He didn't let me play with any of his stuff. He'd let me go in his room, and he'd let me sit on his weird computer chair with no back, and I had to sit there like this. Joey, Cousin Joey, I'd like to play with your Star Wars. No! I would really like to play. No, don't touch it! Don't look at anything. So yeah. So for me, Star Wars was like this forbidden fruit. It was this taboo thing I couldn't even touch. No. No Star Wars for Ralph. So yeah. So sure, I watched them a little bit in my childhood and stuff. but I'm not as amped up and pumped about it as maybe some people are, but I'm more about if the gameplay is good. If this is a banger game with a cool layout, then I'll get into it. I'm about gameplay. I'm about gameplay. Give me good gameplay. Give me good theme integration. I don't have to always be super crazy about the theme, but if it's good, it will suck me in. Suck me right in. And now all of a sudden I'm in that world that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter about all the childhood trauma for Star Wars and how my cousin wouldn't let me play with any of his cool-ass toys. and how I had to just sit there with my back hurting on a really stupid, really dumb chair from the 80s that had no back for no reason. It was like a weird doctor's chair, computer chair, super weird. And I'd have to sit there, sit there and do nothing and just stare. He'd let me maybe play with his like broken GI Joes. Oh, cool. Thanks. I get to play with those. But I love GI Joe. GI Joe was my thing. It was GI Joe. It was Thundercats, stuff like that. That was what I was into you know so i don't know but anyways i'm not even talking about star wars anymore so i'm a little concerned about this trailer because i don't know what it is now you you what i don't get is why not just give me a little bit more and i know i know rachel over at electric bat she texted me she's like look bro you need to calm me freaking shit because uh this is what they do they tease and i was like but rachel stern giveth and taketh away because they just were giving us all these nuggets before so like why did you go it's like i love stern you guys know that but they're so inconsistent like accessories i don't know when we want to do them we'll do them whatever whatever like they don't even care and they're like oh the they're like oh the you know the trailer the the trailer oh the first like last three ones we've given them hints they have no hints zero and i kind of get the strategy some of it could be like well they're just going to be hyped that it's star wars period and that's it i don't know maybe that's the strategy i don't know Maybe there is no strategy. There is some strategy. There's got to be some strategy. So I'm sure they're going to hit us with something. And then I'm going to have to eat crow because it's going to be like tomorrow. They're going to be like, oh, yeah, you thought we'd do the Tuesday and then we'll wait a couple more days and drop the trailer. Boom. But then I'm feeling kind of messed up because I'm on the phone with Jamie and we're just talking. And then all of a sudden, all of a sudden I see this. Hold on. I see. And I can't click on it. That's awesome. Cool, man. That's cool. All right. I can't even click on it. I don't know what's happening. Let's see. Let's see if I can. All right, I can't. Oh, there it is. Here we go. So then all of a sudden, I'm watching Jack Danger stream the day to East Star Wars with John Borg. So I'm like, what are they even what's going on here? I'm like, is this a hint that is this is this a hint to us that maybe it's a remake of or not remake, but it's going to be heavily inspired by this one because the trailer made me feel like it's going to be whatever it's going to be. And so I don't know. and then they did like they did the dnd thing and then they did the you know then they did the kong thing and those were all like original i don know it so confusing there but maybe this is good maybe the fact that maybe they don care They like look I don care I don care Ralph if you saying good or bad stuff because it all good to us because you talking about it. We have you talking. Now, I would prefer if I had something to show you, but I don't. I have a trailer that just literally shows you a logo flying toward the screen. That's it. It's all I can talk about. So I can't be like, oh, I'm super stoked because I don't even know what it is but had they just given a little bit more and then i see borg holding the what's this guy's name java like making coffee the hut java the hut java java java i want to java the hut with you with java is it java i think it's java just so you know like all right look i don't know that much about star wars but if you want to like if i'm going to validate myself as really i don't know crap there was an old video i did uh where my buddy was doing a star wars restoration and this i mean it's obviously a little bit of a joke but i'll run it really quick so you can see just the depth and breadth of my star wars knowledge because it's pretty good here we go welcome back so today's episode we're going to talk about uh hold on i got an incoming skype call retro ralph This is Darth Vader. I need you to join the dark side. Um, sorry, name's not ringing a bell. Who are you again and why are you calling me? The dark side, you know? The First Order? The bad guys in the Star Wars universe? Look, man, I don't know who you are, but you need to lose this number, okay? I forgot. Ralph knows nothing about Star Wars. I'll need a new approach. Let's try this. Yes, it's me, Lord Helmet. I need you to come now to Mesa. I have something important to show you. Lord Helmet? Like THE Lord Helmet? Dude, why didn't you tell me that in the first place? I'm coming right now. Alright, I'm here, so, uh, who are you exactly? Well, I'm not Lord Helmet, sorry about that. I am Lord Vader. But there's a reason I called you here today. Yeah, man, it's all the way down to Mesa. It's like an hour drive. What's up? so yeah i know the acting's pretty bad in that you know i've gotten better over the years that was a long time ago but yeah see i'm not qualified i'm not qualified i'm qualified i don't know what i'm qualified for i'm qualified to share my opinion on whatever it is but um yeah so i don't know guys i wish i had this is a 10 minute drop in a 10 minute podcast it's super short i i don't know what i don't know what to tell you guys because there's not really much that was shared. And that's kind of why I felt inspired to drop this episode. I think I'm going to do it tonight because I'm going over to the bat. By the way, guys, guess what? Your guy right here won his first pinball championship. I'm super excited about that. It was a knockout tournament. It was IFPA. And here's what sucked about this tournament. So I'm surprised I even won it. There was only about, I think it was like 15 of us in the tournament. I have to go back and double check that wasn't a big tournament it was the first term was a couple of couple of season players there they had ball saves turned off i i have played i don't know a pretty good amount of ifpa tournaments not as many as as others obviously but uh i've never been to one where they shut off ball saves so it was really stressful because it totally changed my strategy of play i was like okay don't do anything risky keep it safe and uh and i won so i was very excited about that i mean honestly guys joking all joking aside this was really cool and uh i i'm i was on cloud night i was so excited when it happened if you guys don't follow me on facebook it's retro ralph on facebook i i i post a lot of pinball stuff that happens so if you want to like follow along i usually post once a day something fun about pinball what i'm working on mods whatever and uh yeah so i was really excited and thank you for everybody that congratulated me um i don know we see how i do with the bat I slept like total ass last night So we see if I can uh I don know We see if I can do okay It the last week of the tournament I already like I think you can lose two weeks I haven gone like almost every week this tournament So it just going to be it just going to be for fun but I still want to do I still want to try to do well So I going to see see how it goes Have a good time Hang out with uh with Cale and Rachel and the rest of the crew down at the electric bat But that all I had to say I don know There nothing really more to say other than what I just said I've done it all. I've said it all. And I hope that next time I make a podcast that we have more to talk about because there's a lot of exciting things. We got Star Wars right around the corner. And then the thing that I'm kind of, I'll be honest, and it's not just because I don't know shit about Star Wars, but I'm really excited about the potential of this Walking Dead remake. because being able or remaster because we saw the remasters start with with metallica a john board game and he did they did such a good job ray day did the code i believe or helped with the code you know lyman sheets code but he really he really like you know put some polish on it some additional polish on it and uh man they did such a good job with that and that stole the show at expo so if if they come rolling into expo with a banger star wars game boom right and then they drop on top of it like like they do the day two thing and like oh by the way here's walking dead tons of television assets or series assets on the lcd that could be pretty cool new art package that could be a that could be a banger combo but we'll see i don't know what else we're gonna see at uh at expo i'm sure we'll see predator there and uh let's see obviously harry potter will be there but that's that's you know it's old news now i mean we're talking about that's like a couple months ago it's old news no not old news i'm sure there's a lot of people that are gonna play it for the first time and by the way it's a really fun game still need some code tweaks but it's a fun game so anyways that's all i got guys i hope you enjoyed this i enjoyed it i feel like i'm out of my mind i have no oh wait that's the wrong button i have literally dude no sleep last night it got really hot in our bedroom last night i don't know what the hell is going on it was a nightmare it's a nightmare so it was like i couldn't sleep and i'm beside myself but i'm gonna go into the bat focused and we're gonna do it we're gonna pull out the w imagine if it doesn't count and i won tonight it's not gonna happen but i mean that would be that would be epic i'd roll in there like, what's up? Let's do this. Java the hut. Make the coffee. I'm ready to go. Come on, Java. Come on. I know it's Java, by the way. I know it's Java, but how funny is Java? Java does sound like I want to Java with you. Java. Java. All right. I'm out of here. Thank you so much. Thumbs up. I'm delirious. I don't even know. This is going to be a weird podcast, but I don't care. I don't care. Are you not entertained? All right, let's go. Let's get out of here. I got to head down to the bat. I haven't showered today, and I'm going to shower because I don't want to smell. And I will see you guys on the flip side. Don't let me down, Zach Sharp. Don't let me down. Don't let me down. This can't be. You can't leave us like this. This one little itty-bitty trailer. No. No, Zach Sharp. I'm talking to you. Do it. Drop it. You have it right there. Before the week's over, send it. Send it. Ship it. Ship it. Ship it, Sharp. Ship it. Do it. Do it. All right, we'll see you guys. I'm out of my mind, man. All right, thank you, guys. We'll see you next time.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 482c3b96-387f-4dda-b535-d4dcc4b6429e*