# #001 We Bought a Pinball Machine and It Accidentally Took Over Our Lives

**Source:** Punk Rock Pinball Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2025-07-06  
**Duration:** 31m 17s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://share.transistor.fm/s/754b318c

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## Analysis

Stephanie and Mike of Punk Rock Pinball Podcast discuss their rapid acquisition of 14 pinball machines in one year, starting with Jaws, and defend Stern Pinball against community criticism about the Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition release. They argue that Stern's 're-releases' are planned business strategy, not lazy cash grabs, and contextualize Stern's output (4 new titles in 12 months) against smaller competitors. The episode explores their collection, plays a 'You Choose' game, and discusses dream themes like Goonies, advocating for boutique manufacturers like Spooky Pinball for thematic depth.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Stern owns approximately 85-90% of the pinball market — _Mike states this as context for Stern's market dominance, though no external source is cited_
- [HIGH] Stern released 4 new titles in a 12-month period (Jaws, Wick, X-Men, Dungeons & Dragons, plus Metallica remaster) — _Mike provides specific game titles and timeframes; Metallica is noted as a remaster, not a new title_
- [MEDIUM] Spooky Pinball releases one new game per year — _Mike states this in comparative context; not independently verified_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack Pinball releases usually one game per year — _Mike uses 'usually' qualifier; comparative statement_
- [HIGH] The Jaws Pro Vault Edition has been played 1,130+ times with zero playfield issues and only 3-4 stuck balls — _Mike provides specific play count and reliability report; claims mods caused the stuck balls_
- [MEDIUM] Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition was planned from the beginning of the licensing deal as a fourth variant — _Mike speculates this was planned strategy, not a cash grab; no official confirmation provided_
- [HIGH] Cactus Canyon code update has been delayed from last month to mid-July, then to an unspecified future date — _Mike reports Chicago Gaming Company delays; notes pessimism about release timeline_
- [LOW] Evil Dead is 'the best movie pin ever made' in terms of modes and physical mechs — _Stephanie's subjective opinion; Mike qualifies Jaws as better for theme integration and code_

### Notable Quotes

> "if you're buying pinball machines as an investment you're doing it wrong like if your motivation isn't i want to play this hundreds of times or i just want to look at this thing because it looks awesome on my house those are the reasons you should buy a pinball machine"
> — **Mike**
> _Core philosophy about hobby vs. investment mentality; rebuts collector FOMO culture_

> "Stern their competitors are making some better machines you have Jersey Jack Pinball just did Harry Potter and the machine looks great... Spooky Pinball, it's doing the Evil Dead, which is sold out. It looks fantastic... But those companies are in a different position, I think, than Stern"
> — **Mike**
> _Contextualizes boutique vs. mass-manufacturer business models and production constraints_

> "it's like a larger scale operation with like hundreds of employees. And what they have to make per month in revenue to stay alive is probably quadruple any of these others."
> — **Mike**
> _Economic argument for why Stern must maintain higher production volume than boutique competitors_

> "these are made by hand. I mean, there's machinery. But when they're being assembled... actual humans putting these things together. in America. in Chicagoland, Illinois. So that's not cheap, that kind of labor."
> — **Stephanie**
> _Defense of Stern's labor costs and domestic manufacturing as cost driver_

> "just in terms of like putting stuff actual mechs and things in the play field like Evil Dead is the best movie pin ever made"
> — **Stephanie**
> _Opinion on thematic execution; positions Spooky's design philosophy against competitors_

> "if you defend Stern because they're not above criticism but it's just funny if you defend Stern you're like a Stern you're in the Stern army and you're a Stern corporate endorsement or biased promotion and you're a Stern fan boy"
> — **Mike**
> _Describes community dynamics and labeling of Stern defenders; reflects hobby polarization_

> "think about having a machine where you can play 4,300 times and not have to lift the play field ever. And it's only even had a few stuck balls."
> — **Mike**
> _Reliability endorsement of Jaws as manufactured product quality statement_

> "in terms of like putting it into putting crap into the play field to represent the theme i don't think Evil Dead can be topped"
> — **Stephanie**
> _Direct comparison of thematic execution: Evil Dead physical > Jaws or other machines_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Stephanie | person | Co-host of Punk Rock Pinball Podcast; has played Jaws Pro Vault Edition extensively; modified machines with custom mods; prefers Spooky Pinball for thematic depth |
| Mike | person | Co-host of Punk Rock Pinball Podcast; plays in band The Smoking Popes; owns 8 pinball machines in basement; provides economic/business context for pinball manufacturing |
| The Smoking Popes | organization | Punk band that Mike plays in; rehearsed at Metro/Smart Bar in Chicago where pinball machines were available |
| Stern Pinball | company | Dominant pinball manufacturer (~85-90% market share); released Jaws and Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition; operates factory in Chicagoland with hundreds of employees; subject of community criticism and defense |
| Jaws (pinball game) | game | Stern Pinball machine released in 2024; triggered Stephanie and Mike's obsession; available in Pro Vault, Premium, and Limited Edition variants; Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition announced for 2025 |
| Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition | game | New Stern variant with premium artwork, red armor cosmetics, sparkle in playfield; announced for July 2025; subject of community backlash; Mike and Stephanie planning to purchase |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; produces ~1 game per year; owned by multi-billionaire; recently released Harry Potter; known for high-quality light shows and cosmetics |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; produces ~1 game per year; known for Evil Dead (sold out); praised for physical mechs, thematic integration, and deep mode design |
| Evil Dead (pinball game) | game | Spooky Pinball machine; sold out; features shotgun and hand mechs; praised by Stephanie as 'the best movie pin ever made' for thematic execution |
| Chicago Gaming Company | company | Manufacturer of Cactus Canyon; has delayed code update multiple times (was due last month, then mid-July) |
| Cactus Canyon | game | Chicago Gaming Company machine in Stephanie and Mike's collection; receiving code update (delayed); chosen by Stephanie as second machine to keep in 'You Choose' game |
| Firepower | game | 1980 Harry Williams machine in collection; difficult, high-skill game; Mike chooses it for 'You Choose' game due to addictive difficulty |
| James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition) | game | Jersey Jack Pinball machine in collection; features light show; divisive in community; Stephanie defends but says won't purchase Goonies version if made |
| Harry Potter (pinball game) | game | Jersey Jack Pinball machine; recently released; praised visually by Stephanie; not purchasing due to 'certain reasons' (unspecified) |
| Troy | person | Employee at Tilt Amusement; facilitating Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition delivery to Stephanie and Mike |
| Jack Danger | person | Pinball designer; designed Foo Fighters; Mike and Stephanie admire his work; fantasy scenario: design Goonies for Spooky Pinball |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Rumored to have Goonies IP rights; known for slow production timeline (2+ years per game) |
| Foo Fighters (pinball game) | game | Designed by Jack Danger; in Stephanie and Mike's collection; praised despite both not being fans of the band |
| John Wick (pinball game) | game | Stern Pinball machine in collection; Mike considers keeping as second choice; difficult, skill-based gameplay |
| Uncanny X-Men | game | Stern Pinball machine; coming into collection; replacing James Bond |
| Pirates of the Caribbean | game | Pinball machine in collection; mentioned in 'You Choose' game list |
| Tilt Amusement | company | Distributor/supplier; Troy handles orders for Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition delivery |
| Goonies | game | Dream pinball theme; movie favorite of Stephanie; rumored to be in development by Dutch Pinball; Stephanie would prefer Spooky Pinball to manufacture |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition release and community backlash, Stern Pinball business model and production strategy defense, Collector vs. casual player mentality; FOMO and secondary market pricing
- **Secondary:** Boutique manufacturers (Spooky, Jersey Jack, Chicago Gaming) vs. Stern's mass production, Thematic execution and physical mech design in pinball machines, Machine reliability and playfield durability (Jaws case study), Dream pinball themes and designer preferences
- **Mentioned:** Punk rock and pinball culture crossover

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Hosts are enthusiastic about pinball machines, defensive of Stern's business model, and positive about their collection and community. Criticism is directed at community negativity rather than manufacturers. Tone is casual, humorous, and non-hostile despite defensive framing.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Stern operates on different business model than boutique manufacturers; requires higher production volume to sustain hundreds of employees and maintain factory operations (confidence: high) — Mike: 'larger scale operation with like hundreds of employees... what they have to make per month in revenue to stay alive is probably quadruple any of these others'
- **[community_signal]** Punk Rock Pinball Podcast launching community-focused initiatives: Facebook group, home tournaments (~30 players), acoustic music performances in front of machines (confidence: high) — Hosts invite bands to perform at house, organizing August tournament, created Facebook group, planning future events
- **[sentiment_shift]** Strong community backlash against Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition perceived as 'cash grab' and re-release instead of new content; hosts counter-argue planned strategy (confidence: high) — Stephanie reads Facebook comment criticizing 'lazy cycle of re-releasing games' and 'cash grab releases'; Mike and Stephanie defend this as planned licensing strategy
- **[design_philosophy]** Spooky Pinball distinguished by superior physical mech integration and thematic depth compared to other manufacturers; Evil Dead cited as exemplar (confidence: high) — Stephanie and Mike both praise Evil Dead's 'shotgun and hand' mechs and physical theme representation; Stephanie: 'just in terms of putting stuff actual mechs... Evil Dead is the best movie pin ever made'
- **[market_signal]** Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition represents planned four-variant product strategy (Pro Vault, Premium, Limited Edition, 50th Anniversary) designed from original licensing deal (confidence: medium) — Mike speculates: 'I have to believe that when they worked with the people who own the JAWS property, they had all four of these machines designed and finished and planned for production'
- **[community_signal]** Implicit suggestion that Jack Danger (Foo Fighters designer) could work with Spooky Pinball on Goonies in hypothetical scenario (confidence: low) — Stephanie's fantasy scenario: 'Jack Danger designs the layout and he has the budget that Spooky Pinball spent on Evil Dead'
- **[product_strategy]** Cactus Canyon code update delayed multiple times; was scheduled last month, then mid-July, now indefinite (confidence: high) — Mike: 'there's a whole new code update coming for that, which has been delayed again... Supposed to come out last month... then mid July. So probably be out next year'
- **[product_strategy]** Jaws 50th Anniversary Edition positioned as Premium Edition variant with cosmetic upgrades (red powder coat armor, sparkle playfield, new artwork) at same price point (confidence: high) — Stephanie: 'The Premium Edition version with the cool new artwork, with the sparkle in the play field and the cool red armor on it... basically another Premium Edition it costs the same as the Premium Edition'
- **[product_concern]** Jaws Pro Vault Edition demonstrates exceptional reliability; 4,300+ plays with zero playfield issues and minimal stuck balls; mods caused stuck balls, not factory defect (confidence: high) — Mike: 'we've had zero problems with it, like none... not lifted the play field since the day we set that game up... only had a few stuck balls... really because of the mods'
- **[rumor_hype]** Goonies pinball rumored to be in development by Dutch Pinball; would take 2+ years for release (confidence: medium) — Stephanie: 'if somebody has the rights to Goonies, I think the rumor is that it's Dutch Pinball... you probably won't see that machine for like two years'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Initial community negativity about Jaws 50th has shifted to cautious acceptance; Stephanie notes first-day comments were 'snarky and shitty' but sentiment has improved to 'it's cool, maybe not for me' (confidence: medium) — Stephanie: 'I have to say most people I think now are saying like, it's cool. Maybe not for me' vs. first day negativity

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## Transcript

 Welcome to the first episode of the Punk Rock Pinball Podcast. I'm Stephanie. And I'm Mike. And let's get started. So, Mike, a little bit of why we're starting the podcast. So, we got our first pinball machine about a year ago. It was Jaws Pro. and then that quickly escalated into how many machines do we have now? Working? Just total. 14. So in the last, I guess it's been about just over a year, and we've got now 14 machines. We started playing in some local tournaments and just became obsessed with pinball. and you might be listening to this on the live from the rock room youtube and you'd say why pinball but for me growing up like pinball and like punk music kind of went hand in hand a lot of the venues used to have pinball machines i play in a band called the smoking popes we used to rehearse upstairs at the metro and downstairs at the smart bar there was a star trek the next generation and we'd always play that for an hour or two before or after practice so like pinball and like punk music or rock music i feel like just kind of go hand in hand so we're rather than make a new channel to do this stuff we're just going to do it all together i mean And a lot of the people who go to live shows and have enjoyed music live over the years probably do the same thing and did the same thing. You know, like you see pinball machines and bars and clubs all the time. And you got to put a quarter or four in to play every time you see one, right? Yeah. All right. And so are we going to do any kind of crossover between the music and the pinball, you think? Yeah, I think. So I've got how many machines down here? I've got eight machines down here in the basement right now. We're not doing this on video. We might do this on video eventually, but it's a pain in the ass to do a video, so we're doing this audio right now. But I will have some folks come and set up and do some acoustic songs in front of these pinball machines. So if you play in a band, like a punk rock or a punk adjacent band, and you want to come to my house and play pinball and sing some songs in front of my pinball machines, like send me a message. Yeah, we're conveniently located between Chicago and St. Louis. Yeah, Bloomington, Illinois or Illinois. Yeah, we're about halfway down the state where it is no longer Illinois, but that's what we say. Okay, also we've got a Facebook group. So if you want to participate in the conversation that way, it would be super cool to join it. It's Punk Rock Pinball on Facebook. Yeah, just search Facebook groups, Punk Rock Pinball. It's the only one called Punk Rock Pinball. So join that group. We also have parties and tournaments at my house sometimes. You may be able to come. You'd have to send me a message if you want to come. But last time we had about 30 people. We're going to do one in August. Probably have 30 or so people again. So come play tournaments at my house. if you're not a crazy person. So you'll have to like message me on Facebook and I'll determine whether or not you're crazy. We also fill up real fast, so it could be full. You might want to come to one and it's going to be full, but you could maybe get in the next one. All right, hot topic, Mike. Hot pinball topic out there. Jaws 50th just got released. It is the game that this entire obsession at our house began with the Jaws machine because it is my favorite movie. I've seen it hundreds of times, always wanted a pinball machine. And when those two worlds intersected last year in 2024, we knew we had to get our pinball machine. So we got the Jaws Pro. And how many times have we played that thing? I've played Jaws Pro about 1,130 times and you've played it more. I love it. I'm not super good at it all the time, but I love it. It is so awesome. And this year, 2025, is the 50th anniversary of the greatest movie ever made, Jaws. And Stern celebrated, along with a bunch of other companies who have released things to celebrate the Jaws 50th. and I think the new machine is pretty cool. The premium version with the cool new artwork, with the sparkle in the play field and the cool red armor on it. And I have to say the artwork on this one is my favorite. It is like classic Jaws. If I didn't know the Jaws pinball machine existed, this is what I think it should look like. So I'm pretty excited about it. But there's a lot of haters out there. Yeah, there are a lot of haters and complainers, and people do this every time Stern remakes a game, it seems. There seems to be this – I'm sure some of you are pinball people, some of you are probably not. Stern is like the biggest pinball manufacturer by a mile or many miles. I think they own about 85% to 90% of the market. some of you might not even know that they still make pinball machines they do and stern makes the most but the hardcore pinball people oftentimes talk about stern that they will kind of bash them almost as though stern is like walmart or amazon without the understanding that like yes they are the largest pinball manufacturer but they're still in the grand scheme of things they're a small business and i would assume they're operating on pretty tight margins but the pinball buying community they like to get their feathers ruffled if they make a different version of a game because like oh i i bought the limited edition and now it's going to go down in value because you made this other one uh and like stephanie found like a pretty good comment on Facebook about this, which I'll let her pull up and read. But this comment is very typical. There's a lot of people in this hobby that are really grumpy. I guess that applies to most hobbies. I collect sports cards. People get weird about cards. They get real weird about pinball machines. They're toys, though. I mean, they're games. Yeah, it's a game. It's not an investment. no if you're if you're buying pinball machines as an investment you're doing it wrong like if your motivation isn't i want to play this hundreds of times or i just want to look at this thing because it looks awesome on my house those are the reasons you should buy a pinball machine but not like i'm buying this limited edition so it'll go up in value like no but get into the stock market and things like that. There's high yield savings account, CDs, investment accounts. If you want to invest do it there This is for fun So when this 50th anniversary edition got announced and they released the pictures of it I have to say it seemed like most of the comments were real snarky and shitty And as I look through them, I have to say most people I think now are saying like, it's cool. Maybe not for me. I have I already have an Ellie and I like it. It's not making me feel like I'm missing out on stuff. but that first day man it just felt like the new the feed was filled with like just crappy comments from bitter people and maybe it's because we're midwestern i don't know but i just feel like remember when your mom used to tell you like if you don't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all i guess the internet should just in totality should be reminded of that but i want to read this one and names are being held to protect whoever but here's a comment that someone wrote on a Stern post, disappointed. Stern, you've gotten into a lazy cycle of re-releasing games instead of developing new ones. How many recycled games have you guys released in the last two years alone? Three? Four? Those are precious release spots that could be used for new games. Stop with the lazy quick cash grab releases already. Your competitors are taking note of your lack of innovation and laziness. Do better. The anniversary gimmick has gotten old already. You beat that dead horse into the ground. I mean, I guess you're entitled to your opinion. Yeah, there's a lot. There's a lot there because, for one, how many new games, not anniversary editions, how many new games does Stern do per year? Like three? Well, last year they did Jaws. They did Wick. They did X-Men, Uncanny X-Men. That was D&D last year? That was January of this year. So if you want to count 12 months, sure. So in a 12-month period. Plus the Metallica remaster. That was a remaster. See, remaking an old one. Boo. Even though everybody loves the Metallica remaster. So in a calendar year, in a 12-month period, Stern did four new titles. Brand new. not anniversaries not remakes brand new so this fella mentions your competitors are taking note well how many new games does spooky pinball do in a year they do one how many does jersey jack do in a year usually one pinball brothers like every few years they do one uh chicago gaming not even one per year, Dutch Pinball not even one per year. So which competitors are we talking about that are doing more than four new titles per year? Well, I think it's probably just a lack of understanding also how the business works. I have to assume that when Stern or any of the pinball companies are working on a licensing deal like they did with Jaws, and the Jaws pinball machine, for those of you who aren't super nerds like us, when they originally launched it, they launched it with three different versions of the game. There was the limited edition, which is exactly that, limited edition, all of the bells and whistles, then a premium edition, which is just kind of a step below that, that there wasn't a limit on the production of, and then a pro version, which is kind of a more stripped down version, less bells and whistles, less mechs, toys, whatever you want to call it on there. And now, a year and a half later, they're releasing the JAWS 50th. I have to believe that when they worked with the people who own the JAWS property, they had all four of these machines designed and finished and planned for production. They were just holding this last fourth one for the big year. The July 2025 release of the 50th edition. So I don't think they're being – I don't think it's a cash grab. I think this was planned from the very beginning when they got the deal. Probably, most likely so. And if it is a cash grab, I mean, okay, Stern has like this big factory. They have a whole bunch of employees. they have a handful of like the best pinball designers in the world I guess this is turning into like a Stern pitch so we're Stern shills already but this is the reality is like Stern is a functioning company that has a factory and they need to make machines or they go out of business and that Jaws 50th is probably already planned and if it is just a cash grab so what they probably need the cash like they probably need the cash from however they're probably going to sell 500 to a thousand of these and if you had a pinball company and had the jaws license you would be an idiot if you didn't make a 50th anniversary edition of the game and then there's some that will complain they didn't put enough in it well if you put enough in it then the le people are going to be even more mad so it's basically another premium it costs the same as the premium edition they still make the premium so if you think the red powder coat armor is ugly you can still buy a premium or if you think it's ugly and you have a premium congratulations you can keep your premium or if you're like us and you think hey this looks pretty cool you can sell your jaws pro like we're gonna do and buy the 50th and it's all you know we have these choices and it's a pinball machine that these guys made so i don't know why you get some people get so in a huff and i know there's they're talking like all your competitors are taking note it's like stern their competitors are making some better machines you have jersey jack just did Harry Potter and the machine looks great. We won't be buyers on that for certain reasons, but it looks great. Spooky, it's got the Evil Dead, which is sold out. It looks fantastic. It has a ton in it. It's so fun to play. It's a wide body. It's super fun to play. But those companies are in a different position, I think, than Stern, who is like, it's like a larger scale operation with like hundreds of employees. And what they have to make per month in revenue to stay alive is probably quadruple any of these others. And Jersey Jack is owned by this multi-billionaire anyway, so they can do whatever the hell they want, you know? Yeah. Well, I'm excited to see this Jaws 50th in real life. Yeah, me too. I think we might be getting it next week from Troy at Tilt Amusement. I texted him over the weekend. He said it's supposed to be on the line this coming week. Today's July 5th. I don't know when this will be out, but this time next week we might have a Jaws 50th. Just in time for the August. In the house For the August Punk Rock Pinball Tournament at the house it gonna be fun yeah but yeah i just i just been i watch we watch a lot of different pinball podcasts and we read we're in all the different pinball groups on facebook and if you defend stern because they're not above criticism but it's just funny if you defend stern you're like a stern you're in the stern army and you're a stern shill and you're a stern fan boy because they're the biggest and the perception and the hobby is since they're the biggest they're this you know they're like amazon or walmart some giant company who's just like money money money i suspect they need the money like they need their margins can't be very big these things are made in the United States with people in their factories that are making probably a living wage, I would assume. And so like, what's their margin per machine? They need to have things that sell and like a Jaws 50th will sell. So I say make the thing. Yeah. I mean, when you think about all of the things that go into it, the licensing is not inexpensive. I don't know exactly what those numbers are, but I know it can't be cheap. And then we all know about the designer who each have the game designers that, you know, have have their followings and have made all of these amazing games. And all of the people, the personalities that are behind Stern. And then you think, like you said, the the people this is a these are made by hand. I mean, there's machinery. But when they're being assembled, I haven't been to the plant, but it sure looks like it's hand assembled. That's that's a lot of labor hours. Yeah, there's this play field going down the assembly line, and there's different people with drills and screwdrivers screwing in the shit, putting it together, actual humans putting these things together. In America. In America, in Chicagoland, Illinois. So that's not cheap, that kind of labor. And if that line goes dead, like if they don't have a machine to make at the time, then those people don't have a job. So I say Stern, keep cranking them out. And we won't buy them all, but we'll buy some of them. We'll buy some of them. And, I mean, we do have machines. We have a lot of Sterns, but we also have some other ones too. So we're not total Stern shills. Not just Stern. Not just Stern. But I really do, like, I agree with you. They put out a great game. And the Jaws machine that we got a little over a year ago, we've had zero problems with it, like none. Yeah, I think the game has around 4,300 plays. And it's one of the few that we have not lifted the play field since the day we set that game up. Like the day we set it up, we lifted the play field and made sure everything was connected and tight. And since that day, that play field has not been raised. And if you own pinball machines, think about having a machine where you can play 4,300 times and not have to lift the play field ever. And it's only even had a few stuck balls. Like the glasses only had to come off for cleaning and like stuck balls maybe three or four times. And the stuck balls were really because of the mods I put on them. Yes, Stephanie put some mods in and some balls got stuck where the mods were. So had the mods not been there, there would have been no stuck balls. It's a great machine. So, yeah, it's been great. It's been great. But we own a Chicago Gaming. We have a Cactus Canyon. We own a Jersey Jack. We have Avatar, which a lot of people love to hate that one. I enjoy it. We'll talk about that in a different episode. It'll be a different episode. We have an old Williams Firepower, 1980 Williams. And then we have some older, some of the older Stearns, not real old ones, but like Ripley's X-Men Pirates. Yeah. And we may add another probably older Bally Williams, like a Gorgar or maybe a Black Knight, something like that. Yeah. Yeah. All right. So let's play a game. Okay. Let's play a game called You Choose. Okay. All right? Yeah. You Choose. I am going to ask you the You Choose. Okay. Okay. Okay. So, you choose out of the games that we have right now, you can only keep two. What do you choose? Okay. So, the games we have are, we have James Bond, but that's going away. Uncanny X-Men is coming in. So, we'll say Uncanny X-Men. Venom. Monsters. The 2012 X-Men. Pirates of the Caribbean, Stern, Ripley's Believe It or Not, The Beatles, Firepower, Avatar, Cactus Canyon, Foo Fighters, Jaws, Led Zeppelin, and John Wick. That's what we have. I can keep two. You choose. I'm keeping Jaws. Keeping Jaws. and then for me it's really tough the second one's either going to be between firepower john wick or cactus canyon i i'm surprised i i really had no idea what you were going to pick but i'm kind of surprised by those three for me like john wick is it's nothing like firepower but it is like firepower in that The game kicks my ass, so I mostly do Terrible, and then I want to hit Start again. And Firepower is the same. But I might keep Jaws and Cactus Canyon. Okay. That's the two I'm keeping. You're sticking to it? Yeah, because Cactus Canyon is just lighthearted and fun, and it's easier. It's approachable. You don't really have to think when you're playing it. And it's getting a bunch of like a extension of the code coming soon. Yeah, it's got there's there's a whole new code update coming for that, which has been delayed again by Chicago Gaming. Supposed to come out last month. It'll come out. I think it's first come out a month in May and then it's June and now they're saying mid July. So probably be out next year. But when it's here, we'll enjoy it. Keeping Jaws. We'll have the Jaws 50th when we get that next week in Cactus Canyon. which two are you keeping oh we're both doing yeah okay you said firepower i said cactus canyon sorry i'm saying fire jaws of course i can't live without jaws i have to play it every day so if i ever not say jaws in response to that question you should maybe see if i'm feeling okay But I'm going to say Firepower because that one is, I will say, I'll come over to it and turn it on and think to myself, I'm just going to play like two games. And next thing I know, it's like an hour later because I have to keep hitting start. It just is so frustrating and so fun. I love the shots. After we clean the play field on this one, it is kind of extra fun for me right now, too. and I only gotten the multi like twice I think and I get so excited that I kind of like start playing like a monkey and lose the balls right away So I kind of want to be able to play the multi I think I've had the multiball three times. And they usually just all drain right away. And there's no ball saver when the multiball starts. So you're just flailing away, and the game just drains fast anyway. So I've never had a good multiball. I've only gotten it three times and it usually ends rather quickly. It does. Okay, so I guess I'll ask you this one. We talk about this all the time because we're nerds, but like what would be a dream pinball theme that doesn't – maybe it could exist already. Maybe there's a 1980s or 90s one. but what's a dream pinball theme that you would like to see made okay i mean i've been hoping for this one for a while goonies allegedly one of the smaller manufacturers or a couple of them have have the rights to make this theme but that is like after jaws one of my favorite movies i would say Jaws Goonies Shining. I don't know if I want a Shining pinball, but it might be cool. Shining could be cool. But that would never happen. So if somebody has the rights to Goonies, I think the rumor is that it's Dutch pinball. Then I'm interested. Which the only downside there is if it is Dutch pinball that does have it, you probably won't see that machine for like two years because they take forever to make a game. So if you could choose which manufacturer to make Goonies, who would you choose? Jersey Jack. You'd choose Jersey Jack? Uh-huh. I like our avatar. I like the light show on it. Even the videos that I've seen on the Harry Potter, it looks pretty cool if you're like a potter head i yeah i think that would i think it would be really cool i think if i could pick who to make goonies i would pick spooky oh yeah shit i think i would take spooky because spooky puts the difference between a spooky and a jersey jack to me is like the jersey jacks look the nicest they look the nicest they're shiny the light shows are awesome but the way the the modes that spooky did with evil dead and what they put into the game with the shotgun and the hand they love the movie in the cabin i don't think there's anybody that's done like in terms of putting it into putting crap into the play field to represent the theme i don't think evil dead can be topped yeah i think you're probably i i might change my well i am i'll i'll change my answer to that i think you're right i think that any of the spooky games that are connected to like a movie or a property they really seem to love them yeah and really want to do right by them and i guess you get to do that if you're more boutique kind of smaller guy with different mark different overhead and that sort of thing but yeah i think i think you're right about that yeah just in terms of like putting stuff actual mechs and things in the play field like evil dad is the best movie pin ever made. I haven't played it enough to really say I'm sure Jaws shoots better. I'm sure Jaws plays better. But in terms of just the modes they design and then the things in the machine physically like Evil Dead smokes Jaws on that regard. Just like what's in there. I still think Jaws for like theme integration with the code i think jaws is the best like the clips they chose to use for that movie like jaws is probably the best movie pin ever but like evil dead's right there and i wish that we'd ordered one i know well one day you know what still order one they'll be out there you don't always have to have the brand new shiny toy no even though you on it but like one day one day mike what i'm hoping is because i hear the rumors that the next spooky the next couple spooky themes might be uh what was it like beetlejuice or gremlins so what i'm hoping is like a lot of you people go you have an evil dad and then you're going to sell your evil dead to get a beetlejuice and at that point i'll buy your evil dad used yeah you only have so many so many spots in your house for a pinball machine so steph's dream theme number one goonies goonies jaws is already done and so if you you first said you want jersey jack to make it but then you switch to spooky so would you say like spooky first jersey jack second stern third on who you'd want to have make that yeah i think it'd be a tough call for me between it depends on I mean, it would be more interesting, I think, to think about who to design it. I know who I'd want to design it. You know who I would want to design it. You'd like to have Jack Danger design it. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. I am a fan of his games. I love the Foo Fighters, hate the band, love the game. Same. Well, I don't hate the band, but I don't love the band. Well, it's a strong word. I'm not a fan. Yeah. But I'm a fan of that pinball machine. The machine's great. The art's great. the gameplay is great the story is great so i think ideal scenario for goonies would be jack danger designs the layout and he has the budget that spooky spent on evil dead for what can go in there yeah so he can come up with all this shit crazy shit he wants to to put in there and he and they're gonna say yes you can do that so maybe maybe jack danger goes to spooky on a one-off contract yeah it's my fantasy world i don't think goonies has has or spooky has goonies i don't think they do i think it's going to be dutch well we'll see i like their games too yeah the big lebowski's good okay well we're going to keep these to like 30 minutes yeah so this is the point of the podcast where i'm going to say don't forget to join the facebook group let us know what you think about the jaws 50th and let us know what your dream theme is too yeah what's your dream theme who do you want to have make it and who do you want to see sing songs in front of pinball machines if there's an artist don't name any big artists i can't get big artists in here but like think about mid-level punk and indie bands, if there's one of them you want to see sing songs in front of pinball machines, put that in the comments. If you are an artist like that, that wants to sing songs in front of pinball machines, send me a message. Friend me on Facebook, send a message on Instagram, wherever. Thanks for listening. We'll catch you next time. Keep on flipping. Toodaloo.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 498dca8b-e776-494f-b593-ac7aeb4d3d31*