# DPP E1 "New Bond is Coming"

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2023-01-03  
**Duration:** 13m 29s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/donspinballpodcast/episodes/DPP-E1-New-Bond-is-Coming-e1t0lqv

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## Analysis

Don Garrison launches Don's Pinball Podcast (Episode 1) on January 2, 2020, introducing himself as a recent pinball enthusiast (1-1.5 years in the hobby). He shares his origin story (childhood memories, Facebook Marketplace purchase of Dark Knight machine in July 2021), provides hot takes on Stern's new James Bond Pro and Premium versions (praising the Pro as better value despite $3k price difference), and speculates about an unannounced fourth Bond variant and a mystery game reveal expected January 3, 2020 in Las Vegas.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Don purchased a Stern Dark Knight machine from a game supplier in Eau Claire, Wisconsin in July 2021 after discovering it on Facebook Marketplace — _Direct personal narrative about his entry into the hobby_
- [HIGH] Don attended Texas Pinball Festival, Chicago Expo, and Midwest Gaming Convention in his first 1-1.5 years in the hobby — _Direct statement of events attended_
- [HIGH] James Bond Premium version costs $3,000 more than the Pro version — _Direct statement: 'we are talking about a three thousand dollar price difference between these two things'_
- [HIGH] Don played Bond Pro at Chicago Expo and Bond Pro again at a Wisconsin location, scoring 247 million and getting a replay — _Direct account of gameplay experiences_
- [HIGH] Bond code and licensing are not fully complete, with only one song currently in the game — _Direct observation: 'the game's code the rules and everything aren't fully fleshed out...the licensing isn't even fully approved so there's only really one song in the game'_
- [MEDIUM] A fourth Bond variant exists designed by the same designer as Jurassic Park, Iron Maiden, and Godzilla — _Speculation based on leaked images and industry knowledge; not yet officially revealed_
- [MEDIUM] The fourth Bond variant is a single-level playfield with score reels and LCD screen on playfield — _Inference from leaked images; Don questions whether single-level designation is accurate_
- [MEDIUM] Don believes Bond Pro will age well and may drop to MSRP or lower in 2 years once code/licensing is complete — _Prediction based on observation of game quality_
- [MEDIUM] Diddy (a modder) is already designing a rocket tower platform upgrade for Bond — _Second-hand report: 'I know Diddy, my homie that made the Nagel oil building for Godzilla, he's already designing a rocket tower platform'_
- [HIGH] A new game is being revealed January 3, 2020 in Las Vegas — _Direct statement in opening: 'we're supposed to get the 60 edition of Bond...Tomorrow in Las Vegas on January 3rd 2020'_

### Notable Quotes

> "Do you feel it? Do you feel that energy? This is the first ever episode of Don's Pinball Podcast."
> — **Don**, Opening
> _Iconic opening of the show establishing tone and energy_

> "It hits different when you have a machine at home, you know. They're fun to go to the arcades and play around with. But, like, when it's in your house, like, it just seems the audio is so much clearer."
> — **Don**, ~3:00
> _Key insight about home vs arcade pinball experience that drives collector motivation_

> "I'm seeing everything with new eyes. So, you know, I think my hot take will be at least different than, you know, somebody who's been competitively playing these things for decades."
> — **Don**, ~5:30
> _Positions Don's perspective as valuable due to fresh outsider viewpoint_

> "I think the pro really they put a lot into this and the only point of difference i'm seeing is there's some aesthetics with the you know rocket launcher tower building of course and you've got the physical ball locking and i'm i'm a dude that like if there's a wire form have a trail give it right this one i don't know that it adds a whole lot and we are talking about a three thousand dollar price difference between these two things."
> — **Don**, ~7:00
> _Core hot take on Bond pricing/value proposition; questions Premium differentiation_

> "Pro is the way to go...I think the game's going to age well. I think once I get the code licensing where it needs to be, this game in two years pops up MSRP or lower, I might go on it."
> — **Don**, ~8:30
> _Price prediction and game quality assessment_

> "There's a ton of demand. There's anticipation going into this, but what do we know about it? There was that leaked image of it where the art is basically kind of the same thing we seeing The other one just movie posters."
> — **Don**, ~11:00
> _Acknowledges leaked images of mystery fourth Bond variant_

> "I mean, is there a band that has you know as much great music as the beatles i mean they're like got to be top five right"
> — **Don**, ~10:30
> _Casual opinion establishing his general taste and engagement style_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Don | person | Host of Don's Pinball Podcast; recent pinball enthusiast (~1.5 years); collector; homeowner with arcade |
| Don's Pinball Podcast | organization | Newly launched pinball podcast, Episode 1 aired January 2, 2020 |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of James Bond pinball machine (Pro, Premium, LE variants); also made Beatles, Deadpool, Godzilla |
| James Bond (Stern) | game | New Stern release with Pro, Premium, LE, and rumored fourth single-level variant; code/licensing incomplete |
| Deadpool (Stern) | game | Stern release designed by same designer as Bond Pro/Premium; Don enjoyed playing it |
| Godzilla (Stern) | game | Stern release; designer also worked on Jurassic Park, Iron Maiden, and fourth Bond variant; Diddy made Nagel oil building mod |
| Dark Knight (Stern) | game | Don's first machine, purchased July 2021 from Eau Claire, Wisconsin game supplier |
| Lyman Sheets | person | Pinball designer; Don mentions not knowing who he is; designed Toy Story 4 |
| Beatles (Stern) | game | Stern release; Don played it, found song switching frustrating, describes as single playfield |
| Guns N' Roses (Stern) | game | Stern release; Don compared favorably to Beatles for song lock-in mechanics |
| Jurassic Park (Stern) | game | Designer of Jurassic Park also designed fourth Bond variant, Iron Maiden, and Godzilla |
| Iron Maiden (Stern) | game | Stern release; same designer as Jurassic Park, Godzilla, and fourth Bond variant |
| Texas Pinball Festival | event | Pinball event Don attended in first 1.5 years of hobby |
| Chicago Expo | event | Pinball event where Don played Bond Pro and Premium versions |
| Midwest Gaming Convention | event | Gaming event Don attended |
| Diddy | person | Pinball modder; created Nagel oil building for Godzilla; designing rocket tower platform mod for Bond |
| Las Vegas | location | Location of January 3, 2020 game reveal event |
| Eau Claire, Wisconsin | location | Location where Don purchased Dark Knight from game supplier/arcade |

### Topics

- **Primary:** James Bond (Stern) - Pro vs Premium pricing and value, Unannounced/leaked fourth Bond variant (single-level design), Don's entry into pinball hobby and collector motivation, Podcast launch and Don's perspective as fresh industry observer
- **Secondary:** Code/licensing incomplete on new releases, Pinball modding and aftermarket upgrades, Comparison of song mechanics across games (Beatles, Guns N' Roses)
- **Mentioned:** Pinball community events and festivals

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.75) — Don is enthusiastic about pinball, Bond game quality, and the community. Critical observations about Bond Premium pricing and Beatles song mechanics are constructive rather than negative. Overall tone is optimistic about game aging well and future mod potential.

### Signals

- **[community_signal]** Pinball modders actively designing aftermarket upgrades for new releases (rocket tower platform for Bond) (confidence: medium) — Don: 'I know Diddy, my homie that made the Nagel oil building for Godzilla, he's already designing a rocket tower platform' for Bond
- **[design_philosophy]** Don questions definition and implementation of 'single-level playfield' on fourth Bond variant; unclear if true single-level or has ramp elevation changes (confidence: medium) — Don asks: 'does the fact that it has a ramp into a wire form disqualify it from being a single level game' and compares to Game of Thrones upper field
- **[leak_detection]** Fourth Bond variant details leaked via image; described as single-level playfield with score reels and LCD screen on playfield (confidence: medium) — Don states: 'There was that leaked image of it where the art is basically kind of the same thing we seeing The other one just movie posters'
- **[licensing_signal]** Bond game licensing incomplete at time of release; only one song currently in game; code not fully developed (confidence: high) — Don: 'the licensing isn't even fully approved so there's only really one song in the game...once I get the code licensing where it needs to be'
- **[community_signal]** Fourth Bond variant designed by Godzilla/Iron Maiden/Jurassic Park designer; different design philosophy (single-level) from Pro/Premium versions (confidence: medium) — Don: 'a fourth version completely different from these versions and designed by the same guy that did jurassic park and iron maiden and Godzilla'
- **[market_signal]** Bond Premium version costs $3,000 more than Pro with limited mechanical differentiation; Don questions value proposition (confidence: high) — Don: 'we are talking about a three thousand dollar price difference between these two things' with only rocket tower and ball lock differences
- **[announcement]** New James Bond pinball machine announced in three versions (Pro, Premium, LE) by Stern, with fourth single-level variant implied (confidence: high) — Don discusses playing Bond Pro and Premium at Chicago Expo; references January 3, 2020 reveal event in Las Vegas
- **[product_concern]** Beatles Stern machine has frustrating song mechanics where songs cut short or switch due to target hits; limits song enjoyment (confidence: medium) — Don: 'when i play beatles it seems to go between yeah here's your song and then ball drains...i'd like to lock in and just you know spin that song'

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## Transcript

 What's up, everybody? Do you feel it? Do you feel that energy? This is the first ever episode of Don's Pinball Podcast. My name's Don. I've started a podcast today. I'm going to get into that, why that's relevant in today's pinball market and listening ether. Right. So today I'll go over who am I? What the heck am I doing recording my voice for the masses? I've got hot takes on Stern's Bond Pro and premium I played them both Who wants the hot takes Follow up we've got is there a new game That's being released and revealed Tomorrow in Las Vegas on January 3rd 2020 Thrizzle I think so we're supposed to get the 60 edition of Bond Is it going to be a Beatles Is it going to be Blasto Fantastic We'll find out Coming up Yo, everybody. Thanks for coming in and tolerating me through your radio speakers, on your drive home, whatever you're doing. Maybe you're in the iPhone. Maybe you're in the shower. Don't drop it or it will get wet. All right. So first off, my name is Don. I'm super into pinball. I've always kind of liked it. I've never been like super into the hobby except for just recently, like in the last year. So my point of contention, point of difference is I'm new at all of this. Who's Lyman Sheets? who's this guy that designed toy story 4 i don't know i'm just learning these people i know their names now um so we'll kind of get into some of that so you know started off playing pinball memories with my dad you know we're out uh during the day uh he's at the bar getting some drinks and i'm throwing some quarters in some machine just panic flipping like every kid does and i remember a time he came over and he's like look yo i believe he said yo watch the balls it's rolling down the flipper wait till it gets down to the end then hit that button then Ed Boon it'll likely start something and oh hey kid check this out this is fireball it's crazy because it's got a big spinning disc in the middle of the play field who knows what it's going to do and i was like whoa this isn't just you know flippy flippy flippy it's like you know you can actually control this thing so you know me and him like we played pinball off and on growing up we were always like hey wouldn't it be cool if we could get a machine like in our house like legit like find a game supplier whatever it is and maybe just slide them 100 bucks rent the machine for a month play the heck out of it like that was a fantastic dream to like a 10 11 year old so you know that never happened but i was perusing one day july 2021 where all good ideas come from facebook marketplace and i see this listing by a game supplier and arcade in eau claire wisconsin right so i was talking to the wife i'm like hey um this guy sells pinball machines like real commercial flippy flippy bat bright lights music quarter crunching pinball machines she's like that's kind of cool you know i mean we've both liked pinball i've got stories of me and her when we first started dating playing things so we're rolling up there and i'm like let's just go check out this town we haven't really ever been there we'll go check it out and we'll pop into the skies got an arcade so nothing else we can play for a little bit talk find out price and things anyway didn't go with any preconceived notions of anything and we ended up inking a deal to come back in a few more days and pick up a Stern Dark Knight which turned out to be home use only And within a week I had this thing in my dining room of the house And it just blew my mind. Like, I've got a commercial machine in my dining room. Like, it hits different when you have a machine at home, you know. They're fun to go to the arcades and play around with. But, like, when it's in your house, like, it just seems the audio is so much clearer. There's the rumble you're feeling, you know, hitting stuff. If you can take the glass off and cheat, use your fingers and push stuff. Fantastic. Since then, you know, like most hobbies, tattoos, whatever, when you get into something like this, they tend to multiply. And, you know, I've kind of upgraded to a full arcade now. So Ed Boon, that's my background and how I got into this. So far in my year, year and a half of doing this, I've bought machines, sold machines. I know how to work on machines. That started day one. I'm digging this hobby. We've been to pinball or the Texas pinball festival. We went to Chicago expo and Midwest gaming convention. And it's just been like mind blowing. Like I've been in these hobbies before these kind of fandoms where, you know, you're into, you know, kind of one specific little niche and then you want to go around and do all those niches, right? No stitches do the niches. So like I came from the rollercoaster hobby, we travel around the world and States going, writing every rollercoaster we can catalog and arguing online. I know who's the best, which one's rougher, which one used to be good. Oh, you suck because you missed out on this one that doesn't exist anymore, that kind of thing. And then there's so many parallels between the pinball fandom hobby and the roller coaster hobby, the same personalities even, the same people that kind of run their own forum, like it's their own little fiefdom, their own little kingdom, and like lord over everybody else. Like I see the same things over here, people having death arguments about who's the best designer. John Youssi it in the roller coaster world. John Youssi it in the pinball world, I'm sure it's in the Pokemon card world, you know, wherever you find these things, but it's like I just backflipped into like this other huge kind of hobby where it's like it's collecting, it's interactive, it's fixing, it's repairing, it's flipping, it's everything. So I'm here to give you my hot takes as somebody with a fresh perspective on this industry. I haven't been deep into it for 20 years, like a lot of people have. I'm seeing everything with new eyes. So, you know, I think my hot take will be at least different than, you know, somebody who's been competitively playing these things for decades. So brings it to our time with the, but with to bond, I'm going to talk about bond stern pinball release three different versions of the James Bond pinball machine. I have now played two of them. I went to Chicago expo. I was able to play the pro. I was able to play the premium. And this is like the first major release that like I was in on the ground floor, like from rumors to release to playing a toy store being another one um but what do i think you know initially i was like okay this game's fun i agree with everybody else the game's code the rules and everything aren't fully fleshed out and developed heck the licensing isn't even fully approved so there's only really one song in the game but even just looking just judging it strictly on the bones i had a lot of fun you know um i think i have as much fun on bond as i do on deadpool which apparently they're both designed by the same dude So kind of makes sense So I think the bones of the game are fine Differences between pro and premium Now since I been in this I been looking at you know different versions of each game And when I go and buy a new one which one do I want Which one the best And typically so far at least I the type of dude that wants pretty bells and whistles. You know, if it slows gameplay down a little bit while a building is resetting or something, I'm down all day, all day. I'll do that all day. Love me some ramps everything looking at these two versions though man i think the pro really they put a lot into this and the only point of difference i'm seeing is there's some aesthetics with the you know rocket launcher tower building of course and you've got the physical ball locking and i'm i'm a dude that like if there's a wire form have a trail give it right this one i don't know that it adds a whole lot and we are talking about a three thousand dollar price difference between these two things. So for the little rotating Bondi wand guy with the magnet and the dropping and the spiral ramp, I'm kind of seeing that as like the only thing that's different. I mean, the art's different, right? But I mean, I think for this one after playing it and then I played it again today at a district one up here in Wisconsin, uh, threw another six bucks in it. Uh, got a fairly high score for me, 247 million got a replay. I mean, it's a good game. I wouldn't mind at some point owning this. I think pro is the way to go. You know, don't hang me, but I'm hearing some echoes of that similar thing. I think the game's going to age well. I think once I get the code licensing where it needs to be, this game in two years pops up MSRP or lower, I might go on it. And I've got a ton of ideas for mods too. And I know Diddy, my homie that made the Nagel oil building for Godzilla, he's already designing a rocket tower platform. So the flat plastic building in the back left you know that can easily be upgraded i'm just seeing all kinds of cool upgrades for this thing for sure like on the pro you know you don't have the full figured bond it's that plastic in the back with the jet pack i'm sure somebody can work on that oh one thing i did notice the little double ramp design on the right side of the play field it's covered with a clear plastic and i've seen deadpool do the same thing to prevent balls completely flying out and going crazy there's nothing on top of there though that's just flat clear plastic with screws like four screws. So I could easily see pulling that off and throwing like a model of, you know, some villain or henchman's mansion or something or some kind of scene and just like dropping it down right on there. It's in the back part of the play field. There's enough room between the glass. I think that'd be cool. Anybody that's out there that wants to sculpt or create some 3d printer files, you know, release that man. I would, if I had one of these, I would love to drop something on there. That's my hot take. Um, yeah, I had a good time playing it today. I think I'll move right along so next up we have tomorrow a game release day these don't come on very often maybe what six seven a year of like big game reveal and so in addition to the three versions the pro the premium the limited edition of the bond there's also a second no a fourth version completely different from these versions and designed by the same guy that did jurassic park and iron maiden and Godzilla. The dude's awesome. I've played all of his games and they shoot really well. So there's a ton of demand. There's anticipation going into this, but what do we know about it? There was that leaked image of it where the art is basically kind of the same thing we seeing The other one just movie posters It black it got score reels i don know there lcd screen on the play field the big thing for me not knowing all the ins and outs and intricacies to this process was that it a single level play field which um i'm trying to see exactly what that means like does that mean this thing is like those old electrical mechanical grandpa's games right where it's all just just flat some bumpers drop targets and like that's all it does there's no ramps there's no wire forms uh no vertical up kickers right um but i mean looking at bond like isn't this already a single level play field what's different it's got that ramp in the back which i wonder if it's the same one from deadpool the premium where it was alongside the shooter lane where it kicked the ball up to the katana um that changes the the elevation of the ball so does that disqualify this from being a single play field multiple play field games i'm thinking of things like uh um what's that let's that dragon show on hbo game of thrones you know that's got that upper field you can kick up to and play around on um halloween has like six or seven of them um you know does the fact that it has a ramp into a wire form disqualify it from being a single level game i look at beatles stern also made plays really well i like it it's fun to shoot around with i i don't think in any universe it's worth personally to me the cost that that thing released at um but when i see it in an arcade or when i see it uh at an expo i stop and play it for a little bit it's fun i do i like the beatles beatles are cool i don't i wish that it would uh tangent all right let's go talk about beatles for a second um i mean is there a band that has you know as much great music as the beatles i mean they're like got to be top five right so when i play guns and roses and you lock into a song like that song is playing the song hits in the lights are interactive and then you kind of have the full song playing and if you drain early there's a ball save it just keeps kicking your ball out so you can at least enjoy that song or at least 40 of it when i play beatles it seems to go between yeah here's your song and then ball drains and we're back to something else or you know here's your song but i hit another target it switches to something else like i'd like to lock in and just you know spin that song maybe that's an option you know in the menu maybe Maybe that could be done with code or maybe they're limited due to licensing and the hands are tied and they're doing the best they can. I don't know, but that looks like to me, single play field. So are we going to get Beatles with a spinny hat, 10 drop targets and like 72 spinners or whatever this game is supposed to have. We're going to find out tomorrow. I mean, I don't even know if I can get this podcast done and figure out how to upload it by then. So I guess I'll have to cover that in a future show. Oh, way learning my sound buttons traffic all right um well i think i covered some ground i think i've introduced who i am i think i'll try to entertain you best i can during your commute um coming up on 13 minutes here tomorrow we're gonna find out what's the deal with the bond okay so i'm super excited i can't wait to wake up and check that out so make sure that you all keep your thighs on the prize as they say and i'll come back with another episode soon We'll see you next time.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 4f43cd1f-e616-4a7a-9624-a482f42b29cd*