# Jersey Jack Pinball Teases Concern...I Mean...AVATAR! **Source:** Cary Hardy **Type:** video **Published:** 2024-09-10 **Duration:** 13m 53s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJ8WBZGUs3M --- ## Analysis Cary Hardy provides a detailed technical analysis of Jersey Jack Pinball's Avatar teaser trailer, praising the visual design and production quality while raising concerns about potential playfield chipping around the scoop area—an issue JJP reportedly faced with Guns N' Roses. Hardy argues the playfield art extends too close to the wood edge, preventing proper clear coat adhesion, and recommends buyers protect their machines with mylar or Cliffy protectors. ### Key Claims - [HIGH] Avatar will feature nighttime/daytime effects with UV lighting throughout the playfield, plastics, rubbers, and artwork — _Cary Hardy analyzing official JJP teaser footage; visible in promotional material_ - [HIGH] McFarlane Toys partnership provides off-the-shelf Avatar toys for the playfield rather than custom JJP-made pieces — _Hardy identifies McFarlane involvement from teaser; contrasts with Toy Story's approach_ - [HIGH] Avatar allows movie assets to appear on screen alongside game overlays and score displays, unlike John Wick's licensing restriction — _Hardy compares Avatar's screen display to John Wick's constraints; visible in teaser footage_ - [MEDIUM] Playfield art extends to the edge of the wood around the scoop, creating risk of chipping from poor clear coat adhesion — _Hardy identifies visible chipping in teaser footage and analyzes manufacturing best practices; notes this mirrors Guns N' Roses issues_ - [MEDIUM] Double flipper underplay area may include timed event mechanics to prevent extended ball control — _Hardy speculates based on flipper proximity visible in teaser; unconfirmed by JJP_ ### Notable Quotes > "This is probably going to be a beautiful game to be in front of and to just play it, and you're going to be like, this is just a really beautiful game kind of thing." > — **Cary Hardy**, ~2:15 > _Hardy's overall positive assessment of Avatar's visual design quality despite technical concerns_ > "This is the kind of quality that I strive to be able to do something like this. I don't think I ever will. But this is just like when you look at it, this is just the trailer and teaser for itself." > — **Cary Hardy**, ~2:45 > _Praise for JJP's promotional video production standards_ > "You do not put art all the way to the edge of the wood. Not with the way the playfields are manufactured these days. You cannot get a good seal of clear coat to protect it." > — **Cary Hardy**, ~8:00 > _Core technical criticism of Avatar's playfield design manufacturing standards_ > "It's like if I knew that every time I went to a restaurant, that there was a chance that as I'm walking through the front door or walking out after having my meal, that there was going to be a random person to just kick me in the nuts. Chances are, I would want to know how I could keep that from happening." > — **Cary Hardy**, ~9:30 > _Metaphor for repeated manufacturing issues JJP should have learned from_ > "If you feel fine spending the 12 to 15k for a game that they don't want to put a two cent part on to protect their game you do you" > — **Cary Hardy**, ~15:45 > _Criticism of JJP's failure to include protective parts despite premium pricing_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Avatar; subject of playfield manufacturing criticism | | Avatar | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game based on Avatar film franchise; recently teased with 30-second promotional video | | Cary Hardy | person | Pinball content creator and YouTube channel host providing technical analysis of Avatar teaser | | McFarlane Toys | company | Partnership with JJP providing off-the-shelf toys for Avatar playfield | | Mirko | company | Playfield manufacturer for JJP; potentially responsible for art-to-edge placement issues | | Guns N' Roses | game | Previous JJP release that reportedly had similar playfield chipping issues around scoops | | John Wick | game | Stern game referenced for licensing restrictions preventing movie assets to appear with overlays | | Stern Pinball | company | Competitor referenced for superior playfield manufacturing practices regarding clear coat adhesion areas | | Cliffy Protectors | product | Aftermarket playfield protection product; Hardy recommends for Avatar to prevent chipping | | The Uncanny X-Men | game | Recent Stern release mentioned as close-to-market competitor with Avatar | | Toy Story | game | JJP release referenced for using cake topper-style toys rather than quality McFarlane pieces | | Deadpool | game | Stern game that reportedly had scoop chipping issues, now addressed with Cliffy protectors | | Rush | game | Stern game with documented chipping around scoops; referenced as historical precedent | | DPX | game | Game that allegedly switched playfield manufacturers away from Mirko to Boothenburg due to chipping issues | | Boothenburg | company | Alternative playfield manufacturer chosen by DPX over Mirko | ### Topics - **Primary:** Avatar playfield manufacturing quality and chipping risk, Jersey Jack Pinball production standards and playfield design, Avatar visual design, theming, and UV lighting effects - **Secondary:** Licensing constraints and on-screen asset display, Aftermarket protector products and playfield protection, JJP teaser and promotional video production quality, Manufacturing standards comparison: JJP vs Stern - **Mentioned:** Premium pinball game pricing ($12k-$15k) justification ### Sentiment **Mixed** (0.55) — Hardy expresses strong positive sentiment toward Avatar's visual design, production quality, and theming execution, but significantly negative sentiment regarding manufacturing quality control and JJP's repeated playfield chipping issues. The criticism is framed as constructive but firm—Hardy respects JJP's capabilities while being frustrated by preventable manufacturing defects at premium price points. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** JJP's failure to include $0.02 protective parts (Cliffy protectors) despite $12k-$15k premium pricing creates buyer resentment and suggests cost-cutting at high price points (confidence: medium) — Hardy criticizes JJP for not including protective parts pre-installed and frames this as inconsistent with premium pricing justification - **[competitive_signal]** Avatar releases close to Stern's The Uncanny X-Men, setting up direct market comparison between JJP and Stern (confidence: medium) — Hardy mentions reluctance to draw X-Men/Avatar comparison but acknowledges games release 'so close together' and requests viewer feedback on both - **[design_philosophy]** Playfield art extends to wood edge, violating manufacturing best practices for clear coat grip and adhesion, creating systematic chipping risk (confidence: high) — Hardy explains that art-to-edge placement prevents clear coat from forming proper mechanical bond with wood substrate; contrasts with Stern's practice of maintaining artwork margins - **[manufacturing_signal]** Playfield manufacturing by Mirko may be responsible for chipping issues; DPX reportedly switched to Boothenburg over similar concerns (confidence: medium) — Hardy speculates responsibility lies with Mirko based on art placement decisions; notes DPX's move to alternative manufacturer as potential precedent - **[product_strategy]** Avatar licensing allows on-screen movie assets with game overlays and score displays, unlike John Wick's restrictive licensing that prevented overlays during movie asset display (confidence: high) — Hardy compares Avatar's screen display to John Wick's constraints; identifies this as a licensing-dependent feature variation - **[product_concern]** Double flipper underplay mechanics may feature timed event restrictions to prevent extended ball control given flipper proximity (confidence: low) — Hardy speculates based on flipper visual spacing in teaser; explicitly states this is unconfirmed speculation pending full reveal - **[product_concern]** Avatar teaser reveals visible playfield chipping around scoop area, consistent with prior JJP manufacturing issues on Guns N' Roses (confidence: high) — Hardy identifies chipping visible in official teaser footage and cross-references with historical GNR playfield problems; analyzes clear coat adhesion failure mechanics - **[technology_signal]** McFarlane Toys partnership provides quality off-the-shelf collectible pieces rather than custom JJP manufacturing, contrasting with Toy Story's cake topper approach (confidence: high) — Hardy identifies McFarlane involvement in Avatar and explicitly contrasts quality level with prior Toy Story production choices --- ## Transcript This is a quick tutorial on how not to get invited to JJP. Step 1. Ask a rhetorical question. What the hell is wrong with you? Step 2. Double down on the rhetoricalness. I mean, have you learned nothing from your previous games? Step 3. Compare them to another manufacturer. I mean, Stern figured this shit out, like, years ago. And step four, the big closer. Bring in the Hitler meme. Nah, I'm not doing that again. But that is a surefire way to close the deal. And ask me how I know that. What's up guys and welcome back to the channel where I talk and do everything pinball. And if that sounds interesting to you, then join the other 10,000 subscribers down below by hitting the button. So I know this video started out the way it did, and now you think I'm just going to crap all over this game, and that's not the fact. I will mention what I'm talking about a little bit later in the video, but let's just get down to the 30 second teaser that Jersey Jack Pinball has provided for us. So what I'm going to do is that I'm going to do you a favor and I'm going to edit out all of the movie assets because all we care about at this point in time is what the game looks like and how it shoots. Sadly, we're not going to get a really good idea of how it shoots because of the way it's filmed. This is more of a teaser than a full reveal. The full reveal isn't set until Thursday. So this is more of another hype factor to try to get people excited about the game. And they've done majority of it pretty decent. And some of the... I crack up laughing because I know someone's like, oh, so much attention to detail on this. But maybe not as much as you think you're paying attention to the details. So as predicted, we're going to be getting basically a nighttime and daytime effect in this game. And you're going to have the UV lighting effects going on throughout the entire game. on the play field, on the plastics, on the rubbers, on the artwork on the side, and the hot rails are going to be in this, which is also going to amplify the visual effects. I really feel like this might be a game more visually stunning than probably any other game. I'm not going to sugarcoat this. This is probably going to be a beautiful game to be in front of and to just play it, and you're going to be like, this is just a really beautiful game kind of thing. I can't help but see that, at least in what we're seeing right now. I also have to give it up to Jersey Jack on their reveal teasers and trailers and stuff like this. This is like top-notch quality. It's almost sad that we don't have more of this kind of quality. This is the kind of quality that I strive to be able to do something like this. I don't think I ever will. But this is just like when you look at it, this is just the trailer and teaser for itself. just the way it's filmed the way they show off the game it does its job of teasing and kind of a little mystery in there to get you to kind of wonder it gets us those that are curious to pause and slow down to really get an idea of what going on when they show it so little throughout this trailer So for those that don know McFarlane Toys is also partnered with Jersey Jack Pinball in this whole ordeal So I want to say that the toys and stuff like that that you're seeing on this play field are not custom made by Jersey Jack or anything like this. I'm pretty sure these are off the shelf McFarlane Avatar toys. And it looks good because they're McFarlane. They're not like cake toppers and stuff like you saw on Toy Story 4. So there is that plus right there. So McFarlane's involved. He does amazing work with all of his stuff from like all the way back dealing with like Spawn and everything like that. So I don't have a problem with them being McFarlane toys as of right now. they look pretty decent and it looks like they're even making some of the other portions of these mechs interactive with the game including like the mech above the scoop which we're about to get to so whenever you hit the particular rubber the arm kind of goes out you know a little small like oh cool you know a little bit of interactiveness to that that's kind of nice something else that they show on here is pretty much what it looks like you're going to be seeing while you're playing We have player score in the bottom left-hand corner, showing that you were in the $123 million range, along with movie assets. This is something different from what we were getting on John Wick. And this all depends on the license holder, guys. But a lot of times, it seems, license holders, if they're going to show you assets from a movie, then they basically want that to be the only thing on screen. I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure that was one of the things with John Wick. Anytime John Youssi any movie assets, there's nothing else over it. I could be wrong, but I want to say that was one of the license holders little things that they could not do. So with this one, it looks like we got all kinds of other overlays going on the screen and you're seeing movie assets while you're playing the game. So there's a plus for that. When it comes to the underplay field with the double flippers out there, it looks like you've got maybe one, two, three, four different shots to make. And I'm kind of curious because those flippers are very close together. I'm kind of curious how long you're going to be able to be in there. It seems like if you're a good nudger that it's going to be almost like you're down there too long. So it may be a timed event. I think that's what it will more than likely be because it seems like that ball is going to be difficult to drain, in my opinion. But I don't know. We'll see. So let's talk about the elephant in the room on this one. And this, I want to preface this going forward that, look, this could possibly be the art. I say possibly because from what I can see by the way the camera is and the way it pans over, this is chipping on the playfield for this particular game. This could be a prototype playfield. So they may have fixed this down the road or this is something that you should have a little bit of concern about. and you can fix this with some mylar but clippy i feel like you are about to start banking on making these playfield protectors for Avatar on this So I guess I got to give you know Jersey Jack a little bit of credit for looking out for the small businesses out there like Cliffy and supporting them So, he's going to be making all kinds of, I am getting text. This is the trouble about new game releases, guys, that this phone constantly blows up. Here, let me put it down because it's just going to constantly vibrate. That's what she said. I want to say, I guess that's a good thing for Jersey Jack, that they're supporting small businesses by allowing their playfield maker, which is Mirko, to... And this is the thing. This is going to be going back to GNR. It's going to be a finger-pointing thing between Jersey Jack Pinball and Mirko on who did what. A part of me wants to say Mirko. The other part of me wants to say Jersey Jack, because you do not put art all the way to the edge of the wood. Not with the way the playfields are manufactured these days. The way the ink is printed on these days, you cannot get a good seal of clear coat to protect it. It can't seep into the pores of the wood. It doesn't get a good grip on it like it should. That's why Stern Pinball, if you look at all their scoops and where their posts are at and everything, there's a nice playfield area that you can see. for the clear coat to get a good attachment. There's like teeth, basically, tooth grip friction for the clear coat to get a good attachment to. These are things that restorers know. These are things that Stern Pinball knows and other manufacturers, even smaller ones, they know this. That's what gets me a little bit riled up about this because I look at this and I'm like, Jersey Jack, you should know this. You've experienced this through Guns N' Roses. You've done it. You've been through the pain. It's like if I knew that every time I went to a restaurant, that there was a chance that as I'm walking through the front door or walking out after having my meal, that there was going to be a random person to just kick me in the nuts. Chances are, I would want to know how I could keep that from happening. And two, I would probably stop going to that particular restaurant to avoid the chance of getting kicked in the nuts. So, if Mirko is the issue, which, like I said, you put the yard all the way against the end of the scoop, then maybe look elsewhere for whoever's doing your playfields. This is more than likely the reason why DPX did not go to Mirko and they went to Boothenburg. so maybe figure this out and i'm sure if the playfields are already built like mass produced and they're shipping them to you then you're going to start putting protectors on there or mylar or something so this shouldn't be a worrisome hopefully for you potential owners out there this should be fixed it's honestly kind of an easy fix you they can just put a clippy on there and you should be good. Hopefully this is the only potential chipping area on this game. But this is something that has been learned through Stern Like I said Rush not Rush Yeah Rush was one of those games that had chipping around the scoops and stuff like that Deadpool was one of those games that had that issue That why we've got Clippy Protectors on there, and I feel that if you want us to spend potentially $12,000 to $15,000 on your game, then you should throw on a two-cent part before we get the game. so hopefully they do that but what if just let's just say let's just not go in let's zoom in enhance on this what if it is the art these are my reasons why i believe it's not the art but if it is the art then sweet i wouldn't worry about it but i still see the art going all the way to the edge of the wood and that's not that's a recipe for failure when it comes to chipping so let's zoom in if you notice around the scoop there is a black art line that starts then it stops and then it starts again now the reason why it stops is because the black line is printed onto the play field like it is the art and over time that scoop the way the ball hits the scoop and rattles around on the edge of that wood sometimes you don't have enough enough grip with the clear coat to keep that intact and so it chips off and that clear coat is stuck to that art more than it is stuck to the wood of the playfield and so that comes off with it so and you have little small chips if you zoom in and like i said i know some of you were gonna be like oh it's a small detail yes it is a small detail it is something kind of small and maybe insignificant to some of you out there you couldn't care less you're supposed to play on these games i see the comments already going typing in right now for you jjp followers and stuff like that i get it all i'm saying is that protect your game when you get it mylar that section if they haven't already when you get it put some clippy protector on there whatever if you if you actually care about chipping and you want your game to look pretty do that when you get it there you go if you feel fine spending the 12 to 15k for a game that they don't want to put a two cent part on to protect their game you do you but to wrap it all up in a nice little bow the game does look freaking beautiful i mean i'm looking at it right now and i'm like i knew it was going to look pretty they have a talent in the abilities to make beautiful games we will find out hopefully here pretty soon i'm not sure what the reveal is going to entail how much footage we're going to get on how well it shoots but i guess we'll just have to wait and see so guys now that we've gotten a better look at avatar what do you think about it i don't want this to be a comparison between the most recent uncanny x-men and avatar i mean you obviously have to kind of do that a little bit because it is they're both releasing so close together but i want to know has your thoughts and opinions about avatar improved or have they majorly just gone down gotten worse after seeing this teaser let me know in the comments down below until next time guys peace out _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 4faf1df6-399f-4bec-acbd-64f134250c09*