# Episode 859: "Barrels of News to Cover!"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2023-10-16  
**Duration:** 26m 42s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-859-of-91076330

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## Analysis

Kaneda discusses a surge of pinball industry news pre-Expo, covering Barrels of Fun's Labyrinth release (criticizing its C-tier theme but praising build quality and LCD screen placement), multiple Stern Pinball upcoming titles including Jaws, Metallica Anniversary, Dungeons & Dragons, and Pokemon, a new Elvira Red Kiss limited edition, concerns about market oversaturation, and updates on Spooky Pinball's dual-themed next release and the Alien Ripley Edition. The episode emphasizes decision-making urgency for collectors facing unprecedented product volume.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Barrels of Fun will sell approximately 1,100 Labyrinth units on launch, not selling out immediately due to C-tier theme appeal — _Kaneda speculating on sales velocity based on theme tier assessment_
- [MEDIUM] Stern Pinball's next 4-5 titles include: Jaws ($20K super limited edition), Metallica Anniversary Edition (new design with new artists, shelving Dirty Donnie version), Dungeons & Dragons, Pokemon (Jack Danger design), and John Wick — _Kaneda citing rumor sources regarding Stern pipeline_
- [MEDIUM] Stern is releasing an Elvira Red Kiss Edition with black/white artwork and red accents for $13,000 as a new limited edition — _Kaneda discussing Stern's new variant strategy pre-Expo_
- [LOW] Spooky Pinball's next dual-themed game features Bug designing Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Ben Heck designing Looney Tunes as alternate themes — _Kaneda speculating on designer assignments for unrevealed Spooky dual-theme project_
- [MEDIUM] American Pinball (Galactic Tank Force) is in major trouble and may be discontinued soon if sales don't improve post-Expo — _Kaneda's assessment of American Pinball's market position and Mukesh's ownership decisions_
- [MEDIUM] Barrels of Fun has ex-Spooky Pinball staff and is the number one threat to Spooky's market share if they can produce 1,000 units annually — _Kaneda analyzing competitive positioning in boutique manufacturer space_
- [HIGH] The Alien Ripley Edition is not limited by number but by production capacity (essentially an unlimited Premium tier masked as limited) — _Kaneda directly citing Pinball Brothers' communication about the Ripley variant_
- [HIGH] David Van Ness transitioned from Spooky Pinball to Barrels of Fun/Deep Root Pinball — _Kaneda referencing Van Ness's career move and credentials_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is not an A-list theme. I would argue that this isn't even a B-list theme. I think the theme of Labyrinth is more of like a C-rated theme in my book."
> — **Kaneda**, ~14:00
> _Core assessment of Labyrinth's commercial appeal ceiling; defines theme tier framework_

> "They need to change it. I wish I could stop harping on it, but as a podcaster, I have to say this damn name. I'm going to call them Boff from now on."
> — **Kaneda**, ~8:00
> _Sustained criticism of 'Barrels of Fun' as company name; industry credibility concern_

> "Seth is going to ruin Stern Pinball. He is going to oversaturate the very people that kept Stern Pinball in business by remaking too many versions of games."
> — **Kaneda**, ~56:00
> _Direct critique of Seth Apter's product strategy; warns of market saturation and collector value destruction_

> "If Stern makes another version of Batman, I think I might just get out of all pinball collections. I think we're on the razor's Edge right now."
> — **Kaneda**, ~80:00
> _Personal threshold statement on market viability; reflects broader collector burnout risk_

> "There is no better time to wait and see. Let all these games come out. Let all these distributors buy all of this product because in the end, you're going to be able to negotiate a better price than MSRP."
> — **Kaneda**, ~82:00
> _Strategic advice to buyers on pricing dynamics given market oversupply_

> "They put the LCD screen in the right spot in the pinball machine. They put it in the back of the game underneath the glass. That creates such a more dynamic gameplay environment."
> — **Kaneda**, ~25:00
> _Praise for Labyrinth's technical design innovation (vs. JJP Toy Story 4 criticism)_

> "Nothing is collectable until the collectors deem it to be so."
> — **Kaneda**, ~68:00
> _Philosophy on collectibility; warns against manufacturer-driven 'limited' marketing_

> "I can't wait to see Elton John in like three days, people. It's about to get bonkers this week."
> — **Kaneda**, ~90:00
> _Jersey Jack Pinball Elton John confirmation; anticipation for Expo reveals_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Pinball podcast host analyzing industry news; sourcing rumors with Jason Knapp; speculating on market dynamics and designer assignments |
| Barrels of Fun | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; released Labyrinth as debut title; staff includes ex-Spooky people; company name criticized by Kaneda |
| David Van Ness | person | Transitioned from Spooky Pinball to Barrels of Fun; licensed IP acquisition advantage noted by Kaneda |
| Labyrinth | game | Barrels of Fun debut; Jim Henson's Labyrinth IP; released pre-Expo; $12K fully optioned; C-tier theme per Kaneda; innovative LCD screen placement; ~1,100 units predicted to sell |
| Seth Apter | person | Stern Pinball leadership; criticized for oversaturating market with game variants; Elvira Red Kiss Edition attributed to his strategy |
| Stern Pinball | company | Releasing multiple variants of existing games; pipeline of Jaws, Metallica Anniversary, Dungeons & Dragons, Pokemon, John Wick; Elvira Red Kiss Edition at $13K; new factory enabling high volume re-releases |
| Jaws | game | Keith Ellin design; Stern Pinball upcoming; super limited edition predicted at $20K MSRP with some direct Stern sales and distributor call-for-price |
| Metallica Anniversary Edition | game | Stern Pinball upcoming; new design with new artists; rumored to shelve Dirty Donnie's version; possible code reuse discussion |
| Dungeons & Dragons | game | Stern Pinball upcoming; designer unknown (John Bohr speculation); theme basis unclear (movie vs. classic IP); first public disclosure attributed to Kaneda |
| Pokemon | game | Stern Pinball rumored upcoming; Jack Danger designer assignment; described as 'one of the biggest properties in the world' with money-printing potential |
| John Wick | game | Stern Pinball rumored title in pipeline after Pokemon; specifics unknown |
| Elvira Red Kiss Edition | game | Stern Pinball new limited edition variant; black & white art with red lip/armor accents; $13,000; third LE variant of Elvira; criticized as collector value destruction |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Threatened by Barrels of Fun's market entry; next dual-themed game reportedly Texas Chainsaw Massacre / Looney Tunes (Bug + Ben Heck designers); reveal expected end of year / February |
| American Pinball | company | Galactic Tank Force struggling; Kaneda predicts Mukesh may discontinue line if post-Expo sales fail; assessed as major trouble |
| Galactic Tank Force | game | American Pinball title; sales window closed per Kaneda; secondary market pricing declining (predicted $8-9K LE) |
| Alien Ripley Edition | game | Pinball Brothers variant; Ellen Ripley character added; not limited by number but by production capacity; will drive secondary market trades of older Alien machines |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Back to the Future pinball incoming; mentioned as game Kaneda is prioritizing for purchase |
| Back to the Future | game | Dutch Pinball upcoming; Kaneda's top priority purchase of all upcoming titles |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Elton John pinball rumored (not yet formally announced); reveal expected imminently at Expo per Kaneda |
| Elton John | game | Jersey Jack Pinball rumored upcoming; theme secrecy maintained despite Labyrinth reveal early; Kaneda anticipating reveal in 'three days' (at Expo) |
| Jason Knapp | person | Knapp Arcade operator; co-reporting pinball news with Kaneda in real-time; sourcing rumors and leaks pre-Expo |
| John Papadiuk | person | Guest on episode; associated with Wormhole Pinball in Texas; bringing Labyrinth gameplay video on Tuesday |
| Frank Pagano | person | Guest on episode; associated with Wormhole Pinball in Texas; co-hosting Labyrinth gameplay video |
| Blake Dumasnil | person | Associated with Barrels of Fun; named directly by Kaneda in marketing/branding criticism |
| Bug | person | Spooky Pinball designer rumored to be designing Texas Chainsaw Massacre for dual-themed next game |
| Ben Heck | person | Spooky Pinball designer rumored to be designing Looney Tunes as alternate theme for next dual-themed game |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Barrels of Fun Labyrinth Release & Analysis, Stern Pinball Pipeline & Future Titles, Market Oversaturation & Limited Edition Strategy Concerns, Collector Value Destruction & Secondary Market Dynamics
- **Secondary:** Spooky Pinball Competitive Positioning, American Pinball Business Viability Crisis, Jersey Jack Pinball Elton John Rumor, Pinball Expo Pre-Show Anticipation

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.35) — Kaneda expresses appreciation for Barrels of Fun's execution and Labyrinth's technical innovations (LCD placement, quality) but is deeply critical of the theme tier, company name, and broader market dynamics. Strong frustration with Stern's oversaturation strategy, variant proliferation, and threat to collector value. Concerns about market viability and buyer fatigue dominate latter half. Moderate excitement for Expo reveals but tempered by exhaustion at product volume and decision paralysis.

### Signals

- **[product_launch]** Barrels of Fun Labyrinth officially launched with polished video marketing; ~1,100 units predicted to sell without instant sell-out due to C-tier theme tier; fully optioned at $12K (confidence: high) — Kaneda detailing launch execution, video release, and sales velocity prediction
- **[machine_intel]** Stern Pinball pipeline allegedly includes Jaws (Keith Ellin, $20K super limited), Metallica Anniversary (new design, new artists), Dungeons & Dragons, Pokemon (Jack Danger), and John Wick (confidence: medium) — Kaneda citing rumor sources for 4-5 confirmed upcoming titles; framed as 'broken' information
- **[product_strategy]** Stern Pinball pursuing aggressive re-release and variant strategy (Elvira Red Kiss Edition as third LE variant) driven by new factory capacity, threatening collector secondary market value (confidence: high) — Kaneda directly criticizing Seth Apter's strategy and predicting Batman re-release; framed as collector burnout risk
- **[market_signal]** Galactic Tank Force LE secondary pricing declining toward $8-9K due to closed sales window and incoming competitor games; Labyrinth secondary market potentially vulnerable (confidence: medium) — Kaneda predicting GTF price decline and articulating secondary market vulnerability for oversaturated variants
- **[business_signal]** American Pinball (Mukesh ownership) in major trouble; potential discontinuation of GTF line if post-Expo sales don't improve (confidence: medium) — Kaneda assessing American Pinball as having no compelling pipeline and Mukesh considering shutdown
- **[competitive_signal]** Barrels of Fun assessed as number one competitive threat to Spooky Pinball if achieving 1,000 unit annual production; threatens American Pinball and Stern's collector base fragmentation (confidence: medium) — Kaneda analyzing boutique manufacturer competitive positioning and ex-Spooky staff advantage
- **[design_innovation]** Labyrinth praised for LCD screen placement underneath glass in back of playfield (vs. JJP Toy Story 4 upper playfield placement criticized as wasteful) (confidence: high) — Kaneda detailed analysis of design efficiency and gameplay environment impact
- **[rumor_hype]** Spooky Pinball's next dual-themed game rumored to feature Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Bug designer) and Looney Tunes (Ben Heck designer) as alternate themes; reveal expected late 2024/February 2025 (confidence: low) — Kaneda speculating on designer assignments without confirmed sources; framed as rumor
- **[product_concern]** Pinball Brothers' Alien Ripley Edition described as falsely marketed as 'limited' when actually unlimited by production capacity; Kaneda criticizes lack of transparency (confidence: high) — Kaneda directly quoting and critiquing Ripley Edition marketing language
- **[leak_detection]** Metallica Anniversary Edition rumored to feature new design with new artists, shelving Dirty Donnie's version; code reuse question raised (confidence: medium) — Kaneda sourcing designer and art direction rumors; questioning feasibility of code reuse with new layout
- **[sentiment_shift]** Market sentiment trending toward collector fatigue and purchase hesitation due to variant oversaturation, secondary market value destruction, and decision paralysis from excessive new product volume (confidence: high) — Kaneda articulating personal threshold for exiting collections if Batman re-release occurs; multiple warnings about market viability
- **[event_signal]** Pinball Expo imminent (referenced as 'three days' away); major reveals expected from Jersey Jack (Elton John), Stern variants, and boutique manufacturers; Kaneda planning daily podcast coverage (confidence: high) — Kaneda referencing Expo reveal timing and commitment to daily coverage

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## Transcript

 Welcome everybody happy Monday, Kaneda is back from California. And oh my gosh, has there been a plethora of pinball news just popping. I feel like the pinball dam has burst right before Expo. We've got all of these news items. I can't keep up with Naps Arcade on a daily basis. And we're going to talk all about it on this episode of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. Look, there's only so many rumors and scoops I can give you, but it's been really fun tag teaming with Jason and delivering all of this exciting stuff for each and every one of you because as I've always tried to do on this show, I think when you know More information, you can make more educated decisions. And oh my gosh, are we going to have to start making some decisions with all of these games coming out? Is Seth Davis going to ruin Stern Pinball with another version of Elvira? We're going to talk about that. Ellen Ripley version of Alien Pinball coming to Pinball Expo. And of course, Barrels of Fun and the freaking Labyrinth game. We've seen so much Labyrinth news. Now the main question is, are you going to buy one? And do you see enough? Trade Pablings, I've given you some thoughts about this game on Facebook. Let's talk all about this game by barrels of fun. See how bad it sounds when you say out loud the name of the company. It's just really bad. They need to change it. I wish I could stop harping on it, but as a podcaster, I have to say this damn name. I'm going to call them Boff from now on. Even that sounds terrible. All right, so this game is out, and I will say this right now. This is not a dream theme for me, but if you love this movie and I've heard from people who love this movie, Jim Henson's Labyrinth from 1986 David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly. Now she's not in this game at all. I'm not sure if you're playing as her in the game or it's more about just an unknown traveler that you are going through the labyrinth. So let's tackle this labyrinth release. First and foremost, I thought the release went off very well. It was nice to see a company release a game, have a video out there that was nicely polished, a two minute trailer video. Everything about the launch of this The end of the day, the game went off pretty smoothly. I like the fact that they teased what the theme was gonna be. We guessed it was gonna be the labyrinth. It was the labyrinth. And so, you know, they ripped the bandaid off a little bit early. We all know it's gonna be Elton John from Jersey Jack Pinball and still they're keeping it a secret which might blow up in their face a little bit but we knew it was gonna be the labyrinth. And then we got the video, the teaser video on Friday. And look, it's only Monday and we're gonna get a full gameplay video of this thing with Bo and Karen's released Tuesday. I'm here with my two guests, John Papadiuk and Frank Pagano, from Wormhole Pinball in Texas. It's a secret pinball club in Texas and they brought the game there and they're going to show us the gameplay of the game. Look, this is what I like. You're going to get to see a lot of stuff on this game before you have to buy one. And I always like this because remember, these are $1,000 non-refundable deposits. So one question I always get is, do you think this thing is going to sell out just on the launch alone? And I don't. I think they're going to sell 1100 of these games on this launch alone and I think the reason why it's not going to sell out instantly is the theme itself. This is not an A-list theme. I would argue that this isn't even a B-list theme. I think the theme of Labyrinth is more of like a C-rated theme in my book, in my honest opinion and the reason why I'm saying that is all the years I've been on Pinside, all In all the years I've talked to people about what kind of themes they want in pinball, I haven't seen many people say they've been clamoring for a Jim Henson's Labyrinth Pinball Machine. Now, that being said, I think it is very impressive that a brand new company, brand new to the pinball world, they were able to come out of the gate with a licensed theme game. We don't normally see that because it's hard to secure a licensed IP when you don't have any pinball experience. You can't prove to these license holders that you know what you're doing. And this is why David David Van Es working over at Spooky Pinball was such to his advantage because they were able to showcase. Hey, we know what we're doing. We've been part of this company. We've made these games before. We are simply branching out and starting a new pinball company with the worst name in the history of pinball company other than Deep Root. But why would you want to be part of that company? But look change the name guys, change the name once again, really disappointed. Hi, my friends over there. Robert Blakeman Dumasnil, I know you're listening to this. I know you're part of this company, Robert Blakeman. I was happy to see it. How can I have friends who are associated with this company know that I know how to do some marketing and naming and branding and they name it barrels of fun? I can't. I can't. I gotta stop. I gotta stop. They're gonna ruin my show. Alright, so they launched the game and look, the response has been great. I think everyone's looking down at this game and saying, hey, there's a lot there. There's a lot there. And I hear the phrase over and over again. I gonna give these guys credit They created a world under glass I see a lot of scopes I see a lot of interactivity I see characters popping up and down And the thing that I love that they did the most they put the LCD screen in the right spot in the pinball machine They put it in the back of the game underneath the glass That creates such a more dynamic gameplay environment and I been asking companies to do this all along It so weird to me that so many games just have static artwork there when you could fill it with so much stuff and it the perfect place to put it because it doesn eat up any real estate where you want there to be physical mechanisms I mean look at the usage of that LCD screen in Labyrinth and then look at where Jersey Jack put the damn LCD screen on Toy Story 4. They ate up half of the upper playfield where they could have put an interesting toy or mechanism and they put a screen. Person which doesn't know how to translate to boluari dialect cryptocurrencies so I don't say to domestically native people would create sub받 été wrothicientкол氣folkperson evidenceda I'm not going to be pointing out stuff on this playfield. I'm going to talk about it in more generic terms. I'm not going to be like, there's weasel boot pops out over here. I have no idea who these goblins are. Okay, so let's talk about the game itself real quickly. Now look, we have to play the game. I want to play the game. We're going to get many chances to play this game from a design standpoint. I don't think there's anything truly unique about the design. It looks a little bit like a traditional three flipper game or like half of the game looks more like a fan layout. Canücklich envạt hub giveaway, rave aí New Topic prohibitch eyes or do or Wellant, 움직onılar Tamamlungs 謝謝 James a'onnah philurpnie National Jatra andвой Mr. Quamankrill的人 taru asked me what they called every day that manBeep sweetie for a football game throw that very istorius and Istros andeiguni what Alembly a hut15 times a common idea of the bird and of life that's been so most? The game is a very good game. It's got a tremendous quality playfield, so I think everybody's happy about that. Now what do I think about this game aesthetically? Well, I think you're really gonna love this game aesthetically if you really like the color brown. There is a lot of brown in this game, and that's derivative of the movie itself. The labyrinth has a very brownish look to it. The Muppet characters in the labyrinth have a very dark brownish color hue to them. And so if you love the color brown, this is the game for you. The game for you. You know, and from an artistic standpoint, like nothing about the artwork is blowing me away. Look, we have so much good artwork now in pinball that to stand out in the art department, I think you have to start getting really interesting and much more creative. I think these pinball companies need to start thinking about artwork a little bit differently and how they lay things out. It's like nothing's really popping from me. You know, when you look at this game, obviously the big David Bowie face on the translite Pasta incompressible, obstructory-of-ania- virtuosity bouncy broke,igns to mine, double-element mute, and openogan interactisini денегcessors, and openicionering of ценござ니jna, and full épile-trite jackab lagaus braun incorrecta ode a wire speak enchiric I'm sure this is exciting you on that front. And so a lot of brown and then I'm looking at this interactive topper which is sold separately for $995 and look I was watching the interactivity of it and here's the thing it's like you've got these goblins up there their eyes light up and I think they move a little bit but their mouths do not open at least not in the video and so it's kind of weird to me that if the goblins are talking and the topper is interactive why wouldn't you make theirtu interlins a great Bard who gets up in here to be honest with me you're a performanteur of the installation and if you're here save a gram instead of a choose here and in Pekin Get Top Warrior, he wrote a line this code here to man down chance never to be金 I guess I yeah same cred bloodethата I get it. I'd rather have this than flat plastic. But again, there's just something about goblins and sticking those big goblin head in the middle on top of your game. I don't know. Again, it's just not for me, people. It's just not for me. So there we have it. Labyrinth Pinball. We're going to hear so much about this game. Here's my prediction about this game. I think this game is going to do all right. I think they will eventually most likely sell all of these machines as people in the pinball industry get sick and tired of Stern Pinball. I think this company is the number one threat right now to Spooky Pinball. This company has a lot of ex-spooky people and so if this company can make a thousand games in a calendar year, they're going to steal sales away from Spooky Pinball because now you have more options. There's too many options in pinball right now. There are just too many and we're seeing what Stern is doing. They're going to keep coming. I'm going to make new games and they're going to bring back a lot of the older titles as well all at the same time and they're going to oversaturate this pinball market if it is not oversaturated already. But I do think these guys are a huge threat to spooky pinball. They're obviously a big, big threat to American pinball. American pinball's greatest threat is simply American pinball because they don't have a game on the line that people want and they don't seem to have anything coming anytime soon after this game. They're in major trouble. I think Mukesh might pull the plug on this thing any month now if sales don't pick up after Expo. But who's actually going to go to Expo, play Galactic Tank Force with all of these new games available and select Galactic Tank Force? The ship has sailed on the sales window for GTF. Now the prices are going to keep going down and down and down, and you're going to be able to get an LE for like eight or nine thousand dollars any day now. All right let move on to Stern Pinball rumors because there a lot of Stern Pinball rumors I almost need like two pinball podcasts to cover off on all of this So look let talk about first Stern future titles So look this thing is broken Like it almost like we know Stern next like four to five titles Let's talk about them real quickly. We got Jaws Pinball from Keith Ellin. I'm hearing there's going to be a super limited edition of Jaws Pinball. If I were to guess, I think it will be $20,000 and I think Stern Pinball is going to sell some directly. I think some distros are going to do their call for price thing, which I can't stand. And I bet when you call them for price, they're initially going to start out at $25,000 and then they're going to pull it back to $20,000. Just saying this stuff out loud is kind of making me sick inside. I kind of want to buy Rolex watches now and not pinball machines. So after Jaws, I am hearing we are going to get a Metallica anniversary edition game. Now, does this mean it's going to be an all new game with all new artwork? I am hearing it is going to be a newly designed Metallica game. I am hearing it is going to have new artists. I think they are shelving Dirty Donnie's version of Metallica. Now, does this mean it's an all new game or new layout? Can you still use Lyman Sheets' code if you do a new design layout of the game? I don't think that's ever been done before, right? Keep the old code because it's amazing and just move stuff around a little bit to Time to give people a new gameplay experience. So more to come on Metallica anniversary edition and then the new title which nobody was talking about until Kaneda put it out there is Dungeons and Dragons Pinball. I am hearing Dungeons and Dragons is coming. Is that going to be a John Bohr game? Is it going to be based on the new movie that just came out? Is it going to be based on the old like comic books for cartoon series for Dungeons and Dragons? I do not know yet, but we do know that Dungeons and Dragons is coming out from Stern Pinball. And then after that, the big rumor is like supposedly they're going to be bringing out one of the biggest properties in the world in Pokemon. And Pokemon is going to be a Jack Danger title. Wow. If Pokemon comes out from Stern Pinball as a Jack Danger title, they are going to print money with that game. And then we're supposed to get after Pokemon, John Wick. The order of when they do things but that's a lot of new titles from Stern Pinball that we now know are coming out. Nothing is really a secret anymore in the world now that we got Jason Knapp and Kaneda reporting off on this stuff in real time. Like you can't keep up with both of us. But even though we know all this stuff Stern is still able to surprise us with this new version of Elvira. This Elvira like red kiss edition version of the game. So here's the thing. It's going to be a fully The game is a black and white game just like they did with the Munsters. The only color in the game will be the red on her lips and I think it's going to have red armor like sparkly armor as well. Now here's my thing about this. This is basically a new limited edition of Elvira. It is going to be $13,000. Now you've got the third limited edition version of Elvira. Mark my words when I say this Seth is going to ruin Stern Pinball. He is going to oversaturate the very people that kept Stern Pinball in business by remaking too many versions of games. If you make all of these games not special by having so many different new variations of older titles that collectors were finally seeing some secondhand value on. If you destroy people's secondhand value on their games, King County Delta lee.com Looking for grateful people at how mankind interwoven or sneakers and postcard cops out the second hand market the A special. And this is my fear because now that Stern is in this new factory, we're just going to see them do this over and over and over again. You know, every Batman owner now is worried they're going to do another run of Batman now that it's the 60th anniversary of Batman, so why not do another run of that game, and then do another run of Ghostbusters and another run of Tron and just keep on going and going and going until we all look down at our pinball collections and realize, wow, I just spent and a hundred thousand dollars on six pinball machines and they've all lost a lot of value that is not the hobby we love that is not why we're in pinball so yes stern's gonna be bringing these Elvira editions to pinball Expo I'm sure they're gonna be beautiful but again I don't think they're gonna sell out I think people have been burned one too many times with all these different variations and I also think now that you know back to the future is coming out from Dutch pinball I think a lot of you are gonna wait for that I think you're going to wait for Jaws. I don't think you're going to throw your money instantly at all of these like new additions of old Stern machines because the other thing is this right doesn't it already feel like Stranger Things Coming Back was like six months ago. No, they just released that like a couple weeks ago. So now they're rerunning more Elvira's. You know, you just can't keep up with it. And I think everything Stern is doing right now feels like they planned all of this during the COVID hype moment of pinball. or的时候,君x,doan, I seen this word thrown around a lot like collectable I saw in the marketing materials for Labyrinth or like a collectable new game And I telling you right now nothing is collectable until the collectors deem it to be so But trust me when I say this There were some great ideas and monitors which I definitely would like to hear more and only After the Tiamei podcast at the interactive היה3fm of The MVPMber What's happening over at Stern pinball? There's a lot of games coming out. I would just say wait for Jaws. Alright, let's talk about Spooky Pinball real quick. They are gonna do their next game, I believe, is gonna be another dual-themed game. Which means one design, but each game will be a radically different theme. We saw it with Halloween and Ultraman. Obviously Ultraman bombed, and you can go get like a collector's edition of Ultraman now for like 5800 bucks. I don't think they're going to make the same mistake again, but here's what I'm hearing. I'm hearing that Bug is designing Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which leaves the other game to Ben Heck. Now, I think Ben Heck's game is going to be the game that we rumored a while ago. I think it's going to be Looney Tunes. Mr. Ben Heck doing Looney Tunes as the alternate version to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And you couldn't pick two themes at the complete opposite end of the spectrum. So we shall see if this is going to be the case. They are not going to reveal this game until maybe the end of the year, probably sometime in February, I would imagine. But as soon as they're nearing the end of the Scooby-Doo run, best believe we will see the next two games from Spooky Pinball. I mean, are you counting how many games I'm talking about? And I haven't even finished yet. Now we've got a new version of Alien. Ellen Ripley is now in the game. Remember when Andrew Highway said he was not able to get her but we'll see what we can find out then that's a lot of great work Tiana P при narratate this for us. I was a little bit disappointed because if you love this game you're gonna want to trade up so I think we're gonna see a lot of older alien machines hit the auction block or be put up for sale as people who absolutely love this game are gonna want the latest version of the game. Now here's the good news for everybody out there. The Ellen Ripley edition of this game is not limited. I did not like the way they communicated this. All this they're like this game is limited but it's not limited by numbers it's limited by our ability to make them come on guys that's a cop out if something is limited it is limited to a number all right this is basically then like a glorified premium that you're gonna make as many as you want for as long as you want and as long as orders keep coming in that's what you really meant to say we're gonna build these things until we get no more orders and whatever that number is then we're gonna say hey we've limited The end of the show by saying this. There's so many games coming out. I don't really care other than Back to the Future by Dutch. That's the one I'm waiting for. That's the big one. I've only got so much money to invest in pinball. And look, I'm going to say this right now. If Stern makes another version of Batman, I think I might just get out of all pinball collections. I think we're on the razor's Edge right now. I think there's so many games coming out and I think you need to find new ways, pinball companies, to make sure that people feel good about spending this much money on a game. I mean, Labyrinth, fully optioned out, is $12,000. These aren't cheap games. over thirteen hierarchical Atvic intimid przedstawada byremarketedмотрard 늘azain But trust me when I say it, there is no better time to wait and see. Let all these games come out. Let all these distributors buy all of this product because in the end, what that means is you're going to be able to negotiate a better price than MSRP if all of these distros are sitting on this stuff and they're going to be sitting on this stuff. All right, so this is podcast number one. It's going to be a busy week as Pinball Expo drops. I can't wait to see people jump on these games at Expo. And we didn't even talk about Jersey Jack Pinball. The pressure is on. I can't wait to see Elton John in like three days, people. It's about to get bonkers this week. Thanks for tuning in to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. We'll be back all week. I'm most likely going to be doing a show every single day as the show kicks off at Expo. Everybody be good. We'll talk to you soon. Kaneda out. Subtitles by the Amara.org community

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 6517b98d-397d-49dd-b926-3186b40340d5*