# DPP E2 "Bond 60th reveal! Stern updates for the new year! Thoughts on Godfather"

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2023-01-04  
**Duration:** 28m 9s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/donspinballpodcast/episodes/DPP-E2-Bond-60th-reveal--Stern-updates-for-the-new-year--Thoughts-on-Godfather-e1t25pm

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## Analysis

Don's Pinball Podcast Episode 2 covers Stern's Bond 60th Anniversary Limited Edition reveal at $19,999 (500 units), detailed playfield analysis, Stern production forecast showing game schedules through December 2023, a new 'Trusted Dealer Spotlight' segment featuring Mad Pinball, and extended speculation about a rumored Jersey Jack Godfather pinball machine by designer Eric Menear, with Don proposing alternative theme ideas.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Stern released Bond 60th Anniversary Limited Edition at $19,999 MSRP with 500-unit production limit — _Don directly references Stern's website pricing and release; confirmed in opening segment_
- [HIGH] Bond 60th features scoring reels (electromagnetic EM-style throwback), asymmetric spinner with single post, and LCD screen in middle of playfield — _Don provides detailed playfield breakdown based on released images and videos from Stern_
- [HIGH] Bond 60th sold out on Stern's website same day of announcement; distributors quoting $19,500 shipped — _Don confirms direct website sell-out and reports distributor pricing from friends_
- [HIGH] Stern production forecast shows James Bond, Godzilla, Elvira, Iron Maiden, Jurassic Park, Avengers, Star Wars, and Deadpool in scheduled builds January-December 2023 — _Don references leaked/shared dealer forecast calendar with specific months and game titles_
- [MEDIUM] Elvira Premium underwent price increase since original pre-orders, affecting existing deposits — _Don notes customers with year+ old deposits will pay higher price; doesn't specify new price_
- [MEDIUM] Iron Maiden is likely entering one of its final production runs by May 2023 — _Don speculates based on game age (released before Elvira) and production schedule slot_
- [MEDIUM] Godfather pinball is rumored as next Jersey Jack game designed by Eric Menear — _Don states 'what's the rumor? The Godfather' without naming source; identifies designer as Eric Menear_
- [MEDIUM] March and September 2023 are empty on Stern production calendar, likely reserved for next two unannounced games — _Don observes gaps and speculates timing for new Stern announcements (late February for March release)_
- [HIGH] Mad Pinball (madpinball.com, Jeff as contact) is a legitimate Maryland/Ohio-based dealer verified on Stern's official dealer list — _Don describes personal purchase experience with Godzilla Premium and verification steps taken_

### Notable Quotes

> "It's pretty good. I don't think it's worth $5, but it's pretty good."
> — **Don (referencing Pulp Fiction milkshake analogy)**, ~12:00
> _Encapsulates Don's stance on Bond 60th value proposition: well-built but expensive relative to alternatives_

> "Stern is a powerhouse. I think actively in production they've got like 8 games of which there's multiple types of them. And they'll just switch up their production line and just start running these things for one to two weeks, make 400, 500 of them, and then switch to something else."
> — **Don**, ~18:00
> _Characterizes Stern's manufacturing capacity and flexibility versus boutique competitors_

> "The shots that he lines up, they're really fun to hit and satisfying. When you miss one, you don't feel cheated. You're just like, I just need to get better."
> — **Don (on Keith Elwin's design philosophy)**, ~26:00
> _Describes Elwin's legendary shot design approach as a quality benchmark_

> "How in the heck do you translate that into a high-energy pinball machine? I don't know."
> — **Don (on Godfather theme fit)**, ~47:00
> _Expresses skepticism about Godfather as pinball theme due to slow-paced narrative nature_

> "I think Godfather would be a great way to deflect from an actual theme that I think would have more broad appeal."
> — **Don**, ~51:00
> _Speculates that Godfather might be a codename for another, more suitable pinball theme (parallel to Jaws as codename for Jurassic Park)_

> "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. I'll never stop talking about this theme because I just want the gods of pinball to bless somebody to make this, somebody besides Home Pin."
> — **Don**, ~54:00
> _Passionate wish list item; indicates homePin may already hold this license_

> "I got him my meager deposit, cross my fingers, and then wouldn't you know it, I have a shipping company contacting me saying they've got a pinball machine they want to set up a schedule."
> — **Don (on Mad Pinball transaction)**, ~38:00
> _Illustrates hesitation then successful proof-of-legitimacy for online dealer transaction_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Bond 60th (Bond 60th Anniversary Limited Edition) | game | Stern Pinball's new LE release at $19,999, 500 units, features scoring reels, asymmetric spinner, Keith Elwin design, sold out same-day announcement |
| Keith Elwin | person | Legendary Stern designer; designed Bond 60th, Godzilla, Jurassic Park remake, Avengers; known for excellent shot layouts and satisfying miss-feel |
| Stern Pinball | company | Market leader producing 8+ games simultaneously with flexible production runs of 400-500 units per 1-2 week cycles |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Number two pinball manufacturer per Don; rumored to be preparing next game announcement (Godfather); has unsold Toy Story 4 inventory |
| Eric Menear | person | Jersey Jack designer; designed Guns N' Roses; rumored designer of Godfather pinball |
| Mad Pinball (madpinball.com) | company | Maryland/Ohio-based dealer; verified on Stern dealer list; Jeff is primary contact; Don successfully purchased Godzilla Premium at MSRP |
| Jeff | person | Mad Pinball dealer; provided MSRP Godzilla Premium sale to Don with professional service and logistics coordination |
| Godfather (rumored) | game | Rumored Jersey Jack game by Eric Menear based on Scorsese film; Don skeptical of theme-narrative fit for pinball; speculates it may be codename for different theme |
| Godzilla Premium | game | Stern game in high demand; features disintegrating building toy and MechaGodzilla magnet mechanic; subject of Don's Godzilla Premium purchase from Mad Pinball |
| Elvira (Elvira: House of Horrors) | game | Stern game released ~2017; undergoing price increase; scheduled for February 2023 production run; has 600+ person waitlist with existing price-increase complications |
| Iron Maiden | game | Stern game by Keith Elwin; Egyptian theme; scheduled May 2023 production; likely final run given release date predating Elvira |
| Jurassic Park | game | Stern game by Keith Elwin; Premiums scheduled June 2023, Pros October 2023; used Jaws as internal codename during development |
| Star Wars | game | Stern game; Pro and Premium scheduled August 2023 production; Don notes availability |
| Avengers | game | Stern game featuring Sling Ring spinner mechanic; production runs scheduled July 2023 |
| Deadpool | game | Stern game; Pro and Premium scheduled December 2023 production |
| James Bond (generic) | game | Stern's Bond game line includes Pro/Premium versions; scheduled January, April, May, June production runs |
| Toy Story 4 | game | Jersey Jack game; inventory described as unsold/backlog, prompting speculation about next JJP announcement timing |
| Guns N' Roses | game | Jersey Jack game by Eric Menear; described as unconventional, musically driven; comparison point for Menear's design quality |
| Sopranos (pinball) | game | Pinball game Don references as example of translating drama TV series to game narrative |
| Chicago Gaming | company | Boutique manufacturer competing with Stern and Jersey Jack; Don considers them potential number three after JJP |
| HomePin | company | Boutique manufacturer; Don speculates they may hold Christmas Vacation license |
| Don | person | Host of Don's Pinball Podcast; enthusiast collector; introduces 'Trusted Dealer Spotlight' segment; Facebook page: Don's Pinball Podcast; email: don's pinball podcast at gmail.com |
| Stern Production Forecast (H1 2023) | event | Leaked dealer calendar showing game production schedule January-December 2023; two months (March, September) conspicuously empty |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Bond 60th Anniversary LE announcement, pricing, playfield design, and market reception, Stern Pinball production capacity, scheduling, and multi-game simultaneous manufacturing, Godfather pinball rumor, theme-to-narrative fit skepticism, and potential codename theory
- **Secondary:** Online dealer verification, scam avoidance, and introduction of 'Trusted Dealer Spotlight' segment, Jersey Jack Pinball business status, Toy Story 4 inventory, and next game announcement timing, Pinball theme selection: drama/narrative-driven IP adaptability and alternative theme ideas (Home Alone, Christmas Vacation, Goodfellas, etc.), Keith Elwin design philosophy and shot layout quality as industry benchmark
- **Mentioned:** Elvira pricing increase and backlog fulfillment complications

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Don is enthusiastic about Bond 60th design quality and Keith Elwin's shot design; proud of discovering Mad Pinball as legitimate dealer; excited/speculative about Godfather rumor despite skepticism about theme fit; critical of $20K price point but appreciative of craftsmanship. Tone is conversational, encouraging, and community-focused (dealer spotlight, scam awareness). No major negativity toward manufacturers or products.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Jersey Jack Toy Story 4 inventory remains unsold; Don speculates JJP may announce next game soon to capitalize on pent-up buyer interest and 'money building up in folks pockets' (confidence: medium) — Don: 'I think everybody that wanted to buy a Toy Story 4 has them right so they've got to be coming up on their next game soon'
- **[event_signal]** Introduction of 'Trusted Dealer Spotlight' segment as recurring podcast feature to highlight legitimate pinball machine sellers and protect community from scams (confidence: high) — Don announces new segment; features Mad Pinball as inaugural highlight; commits to featuring dealers 'every couple episodes or something'
- **[design_philosophy]** Don skeptical that Godfather's slow-paced, narrative-driven drama structure translates well to high-energy pinball gameplay; questions how pinball narrative and mechanics would be derived (confidence: high) — Don: 'How in the heck do you translate that into a high-energy pinball machine? I don't know.' Contrasts with Sopranos (episodic, character-rich) as better fit
- **[design_philosophy]** Keith Elwin characterized as designer benchmark for shot layout quality; design philosophy emphasizes satisfying miss-feel ('you don't feel cheated') and repeatable, fun-to-hit shots (confidence: medium) — Don's detailed praise of Elwin's work across Bond, Godzilla, Jurassic Park, Avengers
- **[licensing_signal]** Speculation on Godfather as potential codename for different IP; Don hypothesizes based on Jurassic Park's use of 'Jaws' as internal development codename to obscure actual theme (confidence: medium) — Don: 'I think Godfather would be a great way to deflect from an actual theme that I think would have more broad appeal'
- **[market_signal]** Bond 60th LE sold out same-day at $19,999 MSRP; secondary market distributors quoting $19,500 shipped, indicating rapid secondary market activity (confidence: high) — Don states direct website sell-out; notes distributor quotes from 'friend'; positions as good deal vs. MSRP
- **[personnel_signal]** Eric Menear positioned as talented Jersey Jack designer following successful Guns N' Roses; high expectations set for his follow-up game (confidence: high) — Don praises Guns N' Roses as 'fantastic,' calls Menear 'cool guy,' notes follow-up 'has got to be fantastic'
- **[market_signal]** Bond 60th priced at $20,000 landmark; Don expresses 'concern with this price' and uses $5 milkshake analogy to justify skepticism; notes two Premium machines obtainable for less (confidence: high) — Direct pricing quote and Don's comparative value analysis with Pulp Fiction reference
- **[announcement]** Bond 60th Anniversary Limited Edition officially released by Stern at $19,999 MSRP with 500-unit production limit; features scoring reels, asymmetric spinner, and homepin-style construction (confidence: high) — Don confirms official Stern website release, provides detailed playfield analysis from video, confirms same-day sell-out
- **[product_strategy]** Stern production forecast shows March and September 2023 production slots conspicuously empty; Don speculates next two games may be announced late February for March/September releases (confidence: medium) — Don observes gaps in leaked dealer forecast calendar and proposes timing theory for new announcements
- **[product_concern]** Bond 60th playfield features innovative asymmetric single-post spinner (Oddjob's hat); Don notes this is first asymmetric spinner seen in modern pinball, expresses aesthetic concern but acknowledges engineering quality (confidence: high) — Don's detailed playfield breakdown noting asymmetry contrast to Avengers' Sling Ring and Guns N' Roses spinners; acknowledges good engineering despite OCD preference for symmetry
- **[rumor_hype]** Jersey Jack Godfather pinball rumored as next game by Eric Menear; Don expresses doubt about theme-to-narrative fit for fast-paced pinball gameplay (confidence: medium) — Don: 'What's the rumor? The Godfather' without attribution; speculates Godfather may be codename for different theme (parallel to Jaws codename for Jurassic Park)

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## Transcript

 What's going on everybody? Happy January. It's the second episode of Don's Pinball Podcast coming to you. I packed a show today. We've got Bond 60th revealed. We've got Stern Production updates. I have a highlight on one of my favorite dealers. And I got some tips on this Jersey Jack rumor, Godfather. All that and more coming up in just a few seconds. What a crazy day today started out as out in Las Vegas, of course. Stern released the jersey, not the jersey, Jack. Stern released their Bond 60th anniversary limited edition 500 Keith Elwin trophy to the Pinball Kingdom edition episode pinball game that we've been waiting for. Now, there were some released images, leaked images early on when this thing, when the Bonds first came out. and there was this mock-up of this black machine. It looked just like the other ones. It also had some movie poster artwork. We couldn't really see much of the play field there, but it was rumored to have actual scoring wheels, scoring reels like those grandpa's gamps, right, to the electromagnetic or whatever EM guys as a classic throwback. And then the back glass had all the Bond people on it. Well, it turned out to be legit. That's exactly what it was. It does have that topper that's a bit minimalistic, but it's got kind of the old Bond movie intro looking down the rifle barrel at Bond. It looks like, I hope, our lighting effects. I haven't seen anything interactive with it yet. But, man, did they drop that? And then that was shortly accompanied by the price. Now, I had thrown it out there, I was saying $19,750. And, boy, if I was on the prices right, I think I would have won the Showcase Showdown because Stern was selling these for $19,999 on the website. $20,000 for this pinball machine. But they also did release it. I've got a great image of the play field that I can kind of run through here. So first off, gosh, that price. All right, looking at this thing, my initial impressions after, you know, watching the two reveal videos, this looks like it was the home pin design. All right? So for those of you who don't know, my new friends that are just getting into pinball here, generally there's three versions of a game that are released. There's a basic one that's built called the Pro. Every company calls them something different. It's the entry level. There's less moving parts to break. It's for the commercial operators. Put it in the arcade and have the minimum number of headaches with it. Then there's a machine that's just get better. Instead of flat plastics, it has three-dimensional sculpts. It usually has some extra features. That's like a premium. And then they take that version and then add some artwork or some autographs or something else to it, special graphics on the side, better armor, powder coats. and they call that the collector's edition or the limited edition or whatever it is. Usually you start with a base model, add three grand, and then there's the middle model, and then another three grand, there's one on top of that. What they've been doing, though, is also trying to target more of the home market. I'm not sure how big this market is that wants a pinball machine in the home but doesn't want a full commercial-sized one and wants to go for something kind of in between. So they came up with the home versions, And what this is is instead of paying $6,000 for a base model entry, you can get this one for around $4,000. Instead of being made with plywood, it's made with MDF, like a particle board. It's a little simpler. It's cheaper to manufacture, so it can come in at that lower price point. And that's kind of what this looks like. Now, I don't discount this game. This game looks fantastic. And I can assure you a couple of things about it. One, it's going to be built solid, quality built, very little problems. because of the designer and the history, it's going to feel fun shooting this. It's not like you're going to be shooting balls around and just, you know, narrowly missing shots, rattling up the ramps, not the dark ramps, the corridors, I guess. You're going to have four fists, four optical spinners. They're all diamonds. You're going to have a lot of drop targets. I mean, it's going to be a quality build. When you order it, it's going to be made on time. It's going to arrive to you without any hassles, and it's going to work great out of the box for the most part. That I can assure you. Let's just go over what's in the game here. So starting off with the layout, two outlanes, two inlanes, very traditional. There's those pop slings on either side, two flippers, no extra flippers. Starting off on the left, there's this, what was described as like the figure eight shot, like the shot that nobody else has done before. It looks super cool. Like off the right flipper, it looks like. It hugs the left side of the machine, flips around, does like a little circle the other way, comes through a spinner, and then back down. It looks like it feeds the left flipper, right flipper. It was described as a figure eight. It looks kind of like almost like an AIDS ribbon kind of thing. It looks awesome. And in the video, watching the ball flip through there, I mean, that's cool. And it looks like you could hit it from either end. Off the right flipper, it looks like you can go right up through the spinner, whip around the top, come down that alley, and it'll feed back to the left flipper. So, I mean, that looks fun. Moving on, there's also a saucer right in the middle of that upper figure eight area. Looks like you could hit that probably with either flipper. There's four drop targets, B-O-N-D on the left. Looks like you could even skim those and either get up into that spinner figure eight top pat deal or stop on the saucer there. There's a stand-up target. Looks like it's a B. I'm going to zoom in here a little bit. when you launch the ball it looks like it's really similar to the other bonds it goes up hits against a gate which looks like it's controlled where it can go through there or bounce off uh it'll come down those uh upper target lanes and then it's got two pop bump grovers which i noticed they must have individual node boards because these things pop individually not both at once like the bond premium and limited edition so i mean that's nice for the price that they would go ahead and include that. They must have had space for it. That's what it was. You can shoot straight up to the left of that spinning top hat, whip around through there, and that looks like the game's orbit. Kind of up the middle and then it comes around the right side, feeds down to what appears to be the tip of the right flipper, so does that make it repeatable? Wow, gosh, that would be nice. Looks like you can hit it from either end once that gate opens. I don't know if you can sneak around the MI6 drop targets, blocking the pop bumpers, but you may be able to sneak in there maybe from the left flipper. Coming around, there's a captive ball up at the top here, and it feeds up to something that looks like the same 007 logo through the rifled barrel. That's just to the right of the MI6 stand-up. Are those stand-ups? Those are probably drop targets. I think those are drop targets. Then there's a bank of three in-line drop targets. Now, those are fun for people. They not as fun for me because I not that good at them Usually these are three drop targets that are in sequence So you would hit the one then you have access to the second one then the third one then something can happen after that Like Total Nuclear Annihilation has this. Metallica has this. My problem is that I'm such a non-advanced pinball player that by the time I do drop that third one, my ball drains, and then they reset, and I'm like back to where I started. These, however, look after you hit them to drop down and feed the right sling or the right flipper. So it's not just something where you would hit it and then it would roll, have a high chance of just killing itself down the middle. So for that, I am appreciative. It looks like next to that, there's the right entrance to the orbit, which will flip around there. And then what else is this here? There's another gate. Now, at first I thought perhaps this was another optical spinner, but no, I counted all four optical spinners in there. So there's a little housing. I think it's a one-way gate. So if you look at the pictures, You can see what I'm talking about on the right, lower right side of the play field. Looks like you can access that. There's a stand-up target and M. So what, that's a B and an M? Are there other ones? I must be missing some of the stand-up targets. But it looks like it will fall down against that gate and then feed back into the shooter. So that's fun. All right, this game looks awesome to play. But, I mean, obviously the concern with this is that price, $20,000. you could get two premium new in box machines for less than that. So I'm going to go with the quote from Pulp Fiction, right? Remember they were at Jackrabbit Slims and Mia orders the $5 shake and it comes and she's like, Vincent, you want to try it? And he tries it and it's delicious. But he's like, it's pretty good. I don't think it's worth $5, but it's pretty good. And I think that's kind of where we are here. Because I'm a bit pedantic, I did run that $5 shake through the inflation calculator, and that $5 shake at Jagrabbit Slims in 1994 in Pulp Fiction would be $10.04 today. $10 shake. So, yeah, it kind of fits. So this came out. Is there a market for it? I guess there's 500 of them. Will they sell them all? I guess they sold out today on the website. No words on how many were sold direct from Stern. I have heard back from a few distributors that have popped up online. I've been quoted 19.5, or a friend of mine was. I think that may have even included shipping. So if you missed out today, that would be a deal, I think. If I was looking for one of these and I missed out on the deal this morning and I got a 19.5 shipped, I think I'd be feeling pretty good. So for whoever this is for, I think you'll get a well-built game that's going to come on time. And so, I mean, we're thankful for that. Are they going to do this in the future? I guess it depends on how this does. It does look fun. But if you were to tell me, like, hey, we've released our three bonds plus a home version, like a home pin version from Stern, and it looked like this, I would say, yeah, that looks appropriate. I mean, it even has the little LCD, the same size as the home edition ones, but they put it right in the middle of the play field. And, of course, you've got the spinning hat, which is actually asymmetric. It's the first time I've seen a spinner like that. Generally, the spinners that I've seen in pinball games, I'm thinking Tales of the Arabian Nights with a spinning lamp. I'm thinking Guns N' Roses, the record spinner below Slash top hat. Where else? Oh, the Sling Ring from Avengers that Stern just came out with. Those all had two of those rubber posts that you could hit, so they're symmetric and balanced. This is one post and then Oddjob's top hat. And so when it spins, it's asymmetric, but it looks like they engineered it well enough that it's balanced. So I'm impressed by that. I think aesthetically, my OCD would prefer if there was two posts, but maybe it plays better with the one. And, you know, the way it's engineered looks fantastic. So, you know, I think it's a win. I think if it was $5,000, I think I'd be interested. That's my hot take. All right. Let's get to some Stern Production updates. I happen to dig around and let me get to the picture here I did get a forecast calendar now Stern tends to send these out to dealers so there's a lot of sources out there to probably get this and it gives you an idea of what games are going to be made when a lot of the other boutique companies they release a game they build that game they sell that game then they move on to their next game Stern is a powerhouse I think actively in production they've got like 8 games of which there's multiple types of them And they'll just switch up their production line and just start running these things for one to two weeks, make 400, 500 of them, and then switch to something else. Now, this is always subject to change. So the forecasted builds in December of 2023, by the time we get to December 2023, are probably going to be different. But the first half of the year, probably pretty solid. So unsurprisingly, this month, January, it looks like they've got James Bond pros and premiums on the line. That makes sense. This is their newest game. people have ordered them distributors have ordered them and they should be shipping out so if you have one on order you should be getting that fairly soon coming up probably one of the most requested machines the godzilla premium the one with the disintegrating building and the mechagodzilla magnet on his little belly like a magnetic boot up man they're gonna be running those it looks like in february also elvira premium have you guys heard of this game i don't know if this game's been popular seller at all really i mean i'm just kidding everybody has been wanting this game It has been not in production for so long. What did it release, like 2017 or something? Anyway, I've played it. It's great. Elvira House of Horrors, a large, scary house that you can shoot downfield. It's got cool pop-ups. It's got these gargoyle stand-up targets, and when you hit them, they jump up in the air and squeak, and it's so satisfying, so fantastic. Nice open layout game. It's not incredibly difficult. I can actually make a lot of shots on here and do fairly well. Fun to play. I would love to have one. The problem is there's about 600 people in front of me that have had deposits in for probably over a year. Elvira has undergone a price increase in the meantime. So it looks like if you had reserved that game, you haven't received it yet, and you're going to be getting some out of the build that's scheduled for February, you're going to be paying a higher price. But, you know, I mean, this obviously commands a higher price. I think, you know, if you had one and you offered it for a little bit more, I think you'd probably be able to sell it. You know, this is for the premium. I don't see anything listed for any other trim level of Elvira. So moving on, April looks like more James Bond pros and premiums going into May. Well, Iron Maiden. Oh, hey, shout out to my buddy Brian Farrell. Iron Maiden is going to be back in production. This is going to be probably one of the last runs they would do I would imagine because this thing came out before Elvira did It plays fantastic It got great music The shots are satisfying It designed by Keith Elwin the guy that just did Bond 60th He did Godzilla. He did the Jurassic Park remake. The Avengers. Something about his magic is the shots that he lines up, they're really fun to hit and satisfying. When you miss one, you don't feel cheated. You're just like, I just need to get better. And then when you're dialed in, you're hitting those shots. So Iron Maiden plays well. The music's great. It's just high energy. It's good for pinball. It's got this Egyptian theme. There's mummies. Ah, I love this game. I actually wouldn't mind having one. Looks like they're running them in May. If you need one, contact your distributor now. Moving on to June, what is that? James Bond Pros, Godzilla Pros, Jurassic Park Premiums. This looks like kind of a holdover month. They'll probably add some more to that. What else is up for the rest of the year? Going into July, another run of Avengers. Looks like Godzilla Pros and Premiums in November. October, what's that? Jurassic Park Pros. Star Wars Pro and Premium. If there's anybody that still wants that, they're available. They're running them in August. December, last thing on the calendar. Deadpool Pro and Premium. Will that happen? I would wait until June and have the production schedule updated and check again. But as always, if you want one, holler at your distro, yo. So, curiously, the month of March, completely empty. The month of September, completely empty. And that may be because something else is going in that slot, and they haven't released what it is yet. The next two Sterns should be coming, and that would make sense to me that March and around September seems like good times to go into production and release those. So, now that Bond is out, will we hear about the next Stern maybe late February? Could be, yeah. We'll have to wait and see. We also have, oh, I've got a brand new segment. I mean, everything on here is brand new. So what I decided to do, since I've been buying pinball machines, I've bought from about four or five different people, and I'd like to kind of give them a shout-out as legit dealers and sellers. A lot of times when you buy a pinball machine, you find somebody online, they say they have what you're looking for, and then what do you do? You know, somebody has to ship and somebody has to wire money or whatever, PayPal. And are you just sending your money out into the void where it's just going to be pocketed and then someone's going to move on? Yes, scammers are everywhere out there. I've come across them. Facebook's an easy place to find them. It really doesn't take much work to take a dealer's website, duplicate it as your own, send out spam links, gather images from around the Internet, claim them as your own. and full prospective buyers. So I thought, well, people that I've successfully purchased from, I'm going to call them out so that if you run across them, you know that at least, hey, this guy seems to be fairly legit. So let's go for the new segment I like to call Trusted Dealer Spotlight. Trusted Dealer Spotlight this week. Mad Pinball, available at madpinball.com. I ran across Jeff. He's one of the dealers for Mad Pinball. I think they're based out of Maryland and then also maybe Ohio. Funny thing. So I wanted a Godzilla premium. I mean, everybody wants Godzilla premium. So I went around to several distant distributors, and I got on their lists, and their lists are probably 70 or so people long. Threw my name in there, and I'm like, okay, maybe in a year, I'll be able to get one of these things finally. So I'm in the forums. Well, I think I'm on Facebook, and this guy pops in. Hey, I hear you guys talking about Godzilla premium. If anybody wants one for MSRP, let me know. And I'm like, this has got to be a scam, right? I mean, you know, highly sought after, hard to find, high price if you pay a scalper. And here's a guy that just shows up in the thread like, going for MSRP, who wants it? So, I mean, I buy it, of course, because I want this dang thing. But I have like seven degrees of trepidation with it. So working with Scott, I put poor Jeff through the ringer, you know, trying to get him to do everything. but send me a screenshot of him in his boxer shorts to prove that he was real and legitimate. But, you know, I checked out Mad Pinball, went to their website, talked to Jeff. I went to Stern's website, verified that they are, in fact, a dealer listed on the site. And I go ahead and I'm like, all right, yeah, I'll order it. Here's my, you know, deposit. It's a few hundred dollars. And if it was a scammer, I would expect him to say at least, you know, slide me two racks, man, like two grand real quick to hold it or I got seven other people I'm going to sell it to, right? So yeah, I get him my meager deposit, cross my fingers, and then wouldn't you know it, I have a shipping company contacting me saying they've got a pinball machine they want to set up a schedule for one to drop it off at my house. And that was before I even fully sent my payment to the guy. So wired him the money, he got the cash, a pat on the back, and I got a Godzilla premium that showed up in pristine condition in my driveway. I've set it up, and I've had no problems with it. I've been modding the living crap out of it. And so big shout-outs and big ups to Mad Pinball, madpinball.com. Holler at my boy, Jeff. He even offered to meet up with me at Expo before I even got the game. I mean, a scammer wouldn't do that, you know. So it seems like a real top-shelf guy. I paid the MSRP at the time. It was just before the new year, so I got it before the price increase. Couldn't be happier. Super nice guy. So, yeah, what I would like to do is maybe every couple episodes or something, I'll throw in someone I bought a machine from. So you at least know there's one more legit person to go through. Just, guys, be careful on the Internet, man, with dealers and scams. Have a high level of suspicion. Double-check their credentials. And word of mouth is gold in here. So if you have somebody that has bought from them that you trust and they will vouch for them, I think we're all good. But it's just so easy to lose your money and to avoid black hole. So shout out to Jeff. Solid dude. Man, it's going to get cold in here. Michael Myers, what are you doing in here? Get back out. Halloween's over. Sneaking up on me. Oh, I feel that chill. God, that guy creeps me out. Solid dude. I'm going to go play his game later. All right, moving on. Let's go over a couple other thoughts I had today as I was thinking when I was driving around. So Jersey Jack, right? I mean, are they the number two pinball company? I mean Stern is just so far Like has lapped everybody else And then what's number two Chicago Gaming and Jersey Jack right That's what we have so I'll give it to JJP So I think everybody that wanted to buy A Toy Story 4 Has them right so they've got to be Coming up on their next game soon Looking at the forecast calendar If they were to announce something Late January February And beat Stern to the punch On their release I think it would secure him some sales I think whatever money is building up in folks pockets that are in the pinball buying, you know, moment could be up for grabs. So this might be a good time for them to release, I would think. What do I know? So what's the rumor, right? It's a pinball machine designed by Eric Menear, right? Cool guy. designed Guns and Roses for Jersey Jack, which is just fantastic. It's fun to shoot. It's a little unconventional. The music, the lights of this game, just that sells it, man. What a beautiful game to just play in a nice, cool environment, concert in a box, right? So we're all very excited for his next game. I mean, his follow-up to that has got to be fantastic. And what's the rumor? The Godfather. Yeah, the Scorsese film, right? From, what was it, the late 70s, early 80s? So actually, because of this rumor, I went out and watched it. And, yeah, I mean, a classic film, very much a product of its time. I think if it was redone now, they'd have to do something with the pacing, something with the character development. But, I mean, I'm not a film critic. I'm probably just missing the whole point of the movie. But to recap, from what I can remember, son of the godfather, right, dad gets shot. He's there trying to kind of avenge and protect him. He gets into some business where he's now a target. He's going to leave the country, leaves his wife, finds a girl in the village who's probably underage, marries her, comes back. The whole thing, I mean, it is what it is. It's a story. It's a fantastic story, but it's very plotting and deliberate. And how in the heck do you translate that into a high-energy pinball machine? I don't know. I played a gangster pin. I played Sopranos. Now, Sopranos, you've got kind of a serial drama, right? It was 100 episodes or so, lots of characters, lots of plot points. You can just kind of pick and choose, like, this is from here and this is from here, and kind of put it together. And here's the boat that they pushed the guy off of, and here's the Bada Bing Club in the back, and, you know, maybe, you know, you're playing and trying to work your way up through the ranks and doing these missions or whatever it is. I mean, I could see that working. Godfather, I just, I don't, how do you draw a through line of a pinball narrative there? How do you have light shows? What's the topper, a severed horse head? I mean, full ups, man, if that's what you're doing. I can't wait to see this thing just to see what in the heck did they come up with. Now, Mr. Eric, obviously much more fantastic at designing pinball machines than I am for sure. So, you know, I'm going to give it to him if that's it. But I was trying to think if this is the new trend and this thing is just off the hinges, I mean, where else can we then dig for themes for pinball? And so trying to be a helpful guy, I came up with a list. So just off the top of my head, I thought similar to Godfather, drama, pinball, go. I came up with Steel Magnolias, Fry Green Tomatoes, 12 Years a Slave, The Pinball Adventure, Streetcar Named Desire. I love this one. No Country for Old Men. Can you imagine? Can you imagine playing The Shooter? Can be that cattle rod device? Squeeze the trigger, pop the ball up there, and then I would have nightmares after what would happen next. Good Will Hunting, also. Malcolm X. I think the world's ready for that. I'm not sure the world's quite ready for the color purple, the pinball machine. But, I mean, I'm day one in on that. That's been, like, if I'm being true to myself and we're talking dream theme, I mean, you got young Whoopi Goldberg, young Oprah, period drama. Bring it. I would play that thing all night. What about as good as it gets, the pinball machine? So, I don't know. I don't know. I wasn't in on this meeting where they came up with this idea. but for sure Godfather has to be a codename for something else right now when I heard when Jurassic Park was in development the codename that they gave that project was Jaws which makes sense because T-Rex has big jaws so I mean kind of fits but it's obscure enough that you can't draw a through line from Jaws to Jurassic Park and then if anybody did overhear you know some of the designers talking about Jaws the rumor that would come out is Stern's built in Jaws So I think Godfather would be a great way to deflect from an actual theme that I think would have more broad appeal. What about themes like, you know, if it's going to take place in a house, Home Alone? Huh? Would you play a Home Alone game? Macaulay Culkin? I think you could still get him. I'm not sure his licensing fees would be that big. He's big in social media, and he does YouTube. He has a podcast. I'm sure he'd come out and record some call-outs or help you collaborate. or even sign the dang thing. I would love an autographed Macaulay Culkin Home Alone, the pinball adventure. Now, maybe I won't let Jersey Jack do this one because they may make Home Alone 3. This has to be the original, the OG Pesci, the other guy that was the voice of Kevin on Wonder Years. Yeah, I would get that day one. National Limpoon's Christmas Vacation. I'll never stop talking about this theme because I just want the gods of pinball to bless somebody to make this, somebody besides Home Pin. This is another game that can take place in the entire house. I mean, can you see it? You know, you could go upstairs, the attic upper play field, the SH blah, blah, full multiball. The topper has to be the flaming Santa going over the moon. I mean, this thing just writes itself. Similar, Uncle Buck would work. I think if we want to stay in the gangster genre, Casino is high enough energy and has great characters and mood and environment. I think that would work. Goodfellas even. Ray Liotta, shout out. You could play as him, working up through the ranks. Each mission gets you another level towards Capo, towards Godfather, towards Dawn for the Mystery Ball. I think the whole thing could come together. I'm so excited to see what Jersey Jack releases. Then subsequently, are they going to keep the same pricing. I know toy stores are going unsold. What's going on with the pricing, guys? Are you going to take a step back? Are you just going to pause there? I don't know. Can't wait to see it. Can't wait to talk about it next time on my next episode. Everybody drive safe if you're almost to work, and if you're home, well, just get that frosty one poured. All right, I'm out. Oh, by the way, I've got a Facebook page, Don's Pinball Podcast. Go there, like, subscribe. I'll put some news. I'll put the images I have up there. also email me at don's pinball podcast at gmail.com it'll go right to me you get to put your words directly into my ear this time all right guys take care i'm out

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 48c16b09-ef49-4e52-950c-8e9781fab3f2*