# Episode 899: "Mystery Game Details & JAWS Gameplay!"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-01-08  
**Duration:** 29m 23s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-899-game-96104112

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## Analysis

Kaneda analyzes the recently revealed Jaws pinball gameplay stream, offering detailed critique of its theme assets (film clips, Richard Dreyfus voice work, John Williams music), praising the visual design but criticizing the mechanical gameplay for lacking dramatic 'wow moments' compared to Godzilla. He then reveals exclusive intel about an upcoming John Papadiuk-designed pinball game limited to 500 units, releasing April/May 2024, to be manufactured by an unnamed company (not Stern, JJP, or Spooky) and positioned as a high-end collector's item.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Jaws has extensive movie assets including clips, Roy Scheider callouts, and full-screen LCD imagery throughout the game — _Kaneda observed from official Stern gameplay stream; verified against promotional materials_
- [MEDIUM] The shark appearing and being hit is not a dramatic 'wow moment' in gameplay; mechanical toys lack impact compared to Godzilla or Jurassic Park — _Kaneda's analysis after watching the stream three times; opinion based on visual observation_
- [MEDIUM] Richard Dreyfuss delivered monotone callouts in the studio recording, lacking animated delivery expected for this price point — _Kaneda commentary on Stern's video clip of recording session; observation of professional choice_
- [HIGH] A John Papadiuk-designed pinball game is being produced by a company that is not Stern, JJP, Spooky, Bally, or Williams, limited to 500 units, releasing April/May 2024 — _Kaneda claims exclusive intel based on seeing the game in person and being under NDA; describes it as '100% happening, not a rumor'_
- [MEDIUM] The mystery J-pop game will be one of the most beautiful games visually in 2024 — _Kaneda's opinion based on firsthand viewing; consistent with his earlier allusions_
- [LOW] Jersey Jack is reportedly forcing distributors to buy five Platinum Editions for every Collector's Edition of Elton John ordered — _Kaneda mentions this as 'a rumor, maybe this is true' from unidentified source; unverified_
- [MEDIUM] The upper playfield in Jaws appears unnecessary and doesn't have a dedicated mode bringing it to life — _Kaneda's gameplay observation from the stream; opinion-based interpretation_
- [MEDIUM] Some LE order cancellations for Jaws occurred after the gameplay stream due to perceived value concerns — _Pinside forum user 'KPG' and 'Chicoman' reported backing out of orders; anecdotal evidence_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is not a rumor. I can't reiterate that enough. This is 100% happening. I have seen this game with my own eyes."
> — **Kaneda**, end of episode
> _Establishes high confidence for the J-pop mystery game intel, emphasizing firsthand knowledge and NDA constraints_

> "The moment that you'll never forget is when the shark appears and so that's what people love about jaws and then in the mechanical form and in the toys of this game that does not create a wow moment"
> — **Kaneda**, mid-episode
> _Core criticism of Jaws gameplay design disconnect from theme source material_

> "Keith Elwin is one of the greatest designers in the history of pinball maybe the greatest designer But he doesn't really have the charisma to be a salesperson of his own games"
> — **Kaneda**, early episode
> _Commentary on designer strengths and marketing limitations_

> "My fear is the gameplay is pretty pedestrian. And because there's no magical wow moments happening in the gameplay of the game itself, where does this game now fall?"
> — **Kaneda**, mid-episode
> _Articulates central concern about Jaws gameplay depth relative to theme and price_

> "I've got one on order from a work of art standpoint. It's just going to be one of those games. You're going to drool over when you stand over this game."
> — **Kaneda**, end of episode
> _Personal investment in the J-pop mystery game; indicates high conviction in aesthetic value_

> "Godzilla is so fun and energetic and campy and Jaws is not that But what's interesting about both of them is they're both kind of monster movies. And they're both about that energy and excitement when the monster appears."
> — **Kaneda**, mid-episode
> _Comparative analysis of theme suitability for pinball gameplay_

> "At these prices, we have to think about resale value. You know, I saw a rumor, maybe this is true, that Jersey Jack is making distributors who ordered Elton John collector's Edition."
> — **Kaneda**, late episode
> _Addresses market sustainability and distributor bundling practices_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jaws | game | Stern Pinball's major 2024 release based on Spielberg's 1975 film; recently showcased gameplay stream; discussed as having extensive movie assets but underwhelming mechanical gameplay |
| George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball executive; appeared in promotional video introducing Jaws; credited with pride in Stern's development studio |
| Keith Elwin | person | Jaws designer; legendary pinball designer; featured playing Jaws in gameplay stream; described as one of greatest designers but lacking sales charisma |
| Richard Dreyfuss | person | Actor; provided custom voice callouts for Jaws; recorded in studio with monotone delivery criticized by Kaneda |
| John Papadiuk Jr. | person | Legendary designer known as 'J-pop'; mystery upcoming 500-unit limited game attributed to him; Kaneda confirms game in production by unnamed manufacturer |
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; primary analyst; claims exclusive firsthand viewing of J-pop mystery game and NDA-protected intel |
| Godzilla | game | Recent Stern Elwin design; used as performance benchmark for Jaws; praised for dramatic moments and mechanical wow factor |
| Jurassic Park | game | Stern Elwin design; referenced as having multiple wow moments both mechanical and software |
| Iron Maiden | game | Recent release; mentioned as comparison point for owning premium contemporary machines |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer; released Jaws; subject of criticism for cost-cutting measures on accessories (3D glasses) and callout direction |
| Elton John | game | Jersey Jack Pinball title; mentioned in context of distributor bundling rumors (5 Platinum per Collector's Edition) |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; criticized for overfilling LCD screens with information; mentioned re: distributor bundling practices |
| Rick and Morty | game | Adult Swim licensed pinball; cited as limited edition example with only 750 units produced |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Manufacturer; noted as producing limited runs (888 units per model) |
| Houdini | game | J-pop design; described by Kaneda as 'absolutely beautiful'; speculated as possible match for mystery game based on aesthetic standards |
| Pinside | organization | Pinball community forum; Kaneda reads multiple user comments analyzing Jaws stream reactions |
| Roy Scheider | person | Actor from Jaws film; his callouts appear throughout the game despite not being featured in playfield artwork |
| IFPA | organization | Mentioned implicitly through competitive context; community tournament organization |
| Brendan | person | Associate of Kaneda; discussed inflation and spending reduction trends affecting hobby sustainability |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Jaws gameplay analysis and design criticism, Mechanical playfield design vs. theme immersion, Mystery J-pop pinball game announcement, Community sentiment and Pinside feedback on Jaws, Comparison of Jaws to Godzilla and other recent Stern releases
- **Secondary:** Pinball market saturation and pricing sustainability, Limited edition strategy and collector targeting, Voice acting and audio design in pinball

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.35) — Kaneda expresses appreciation for Jaws' movie assets and visual design but significant disappointment in mechanical gameplay and wow-factor. Critical of Stern's cost-cutting decisions (3D glasses quality, voice direction). Enthusiasm about J-pop mystery game provides positive counterweight. Overall tone is analytical and moderate, reflecting divided community opinion.

### Signals

- **[machine_intel]** John Papadiuk-designed pinball game with 500-unit production run, April/May 2024 release, not manufactured by Stern/JJP/Spooky/Bally/Williams (confidence: high) — Kaneda claims firsthand viewing, NDA-protected, describes as '100% happening, not a rumor'
- **[product_concern]** Jaws lacks dramatic mechanical wow moments; shark interaction underwhelming; upper playfield appears unnecessary to gameplay loop (confidence: medium) — Three viewings of gameplay stream; comparison to Godzilla and Jurassic Park; multiple Pinside users echo same concern
- **[product_concern]** Richard Dreyfuss callouts delivered in monotone; Stern reportedly lacks skill directing professional voice actors to deliver animated performances (confidence: medium) — Observation of Stern's recording studio video; comparison to Stranger Things experience; criticism of pattern across multiple titles
- **[sentiment_shift]** Post-stream gameplay reveal appears to have dampened FOMO for Jaws LE; multiple Pinside users report canceling orders (confidence: medium) — Chicoman: 'FOMO is officially dead'; KPG backed out of LE order; Poblito350 opted not to buy new pins based on stream
- **[product_concern]** Concern that Stern will ship cheap paper 3D glasses with LE despite $12,999+ price point; Keith Elwin mentioned 'not as nice as these' hard plastic glasses (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's direct observation of gameplay stream; concern about brand standard for cost-cutting behavior
- **[market_signal]** Community discussion of Jaws LE resale value viability; expectations for price depreciation from secondary market flippers (confidence: medium) — Chicoman predicts LE sales removal from distributors; KPG willing to wait for LE price drops; general focus on resale considerations
- **[design_philosophy]** Jaws gameplay design doesn't create dramatic moments aligned with film's tension/shark-appearance drama; pedestrian playfield layout vs. theme expectations (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's core criticism; Creelay1 feedback on disjointed clip jumping; multiple users noting lack of 'wow moments'
- **[industry_signal]** Jersey Jack reportedly requiring distributors to buy 5 Platinum Editions for every Collector's Edition of Elton John; potential sustainability concern for market (confidence: low) — Kaneda cites 'I saw a rumor, maybe this is true'; unverified hearsay about distributor practices
- **[market_signal]** 2024 projected to experience significant oversaturation with multiple manufacturers competing for finite buyer base at elevated price points; inflation pressures affecting hobby sustainability (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's analysis of market dynamics; concern about Stern unloading 1000 LEs and 4000 Premiums on distributors; personal spending reduction commentary
- **[collector_signal]** Mystery J-pop game positioned specifically at collector market seeking scarcity/exclusivity; 500-unit run vs. typical unlimited Premiums and high-volume LEs from major manufacturers (confidence: high) — Kaneda's explicit framing: 'all of these games are being made for the collectors'; contrast with Stern/JJP volume strategies
- **[content_signal]** Community feedback that livestreaming pre-recorded gameplay video added no value; standard YouTube release would have been preferable (confidence: low) — Paul8788 Pinside comment criticizing 'weird decision to livestream prerecorded video'
- **[design_innovation]** Jaws features first pinball game ever with 3D glasses-compatible video mode based on Shark arcade game; Kaneda defends as innovative appeal to younger/playful audience (confidence: high) — Kaneda's direct observation from gameplay stream; description of 3D glasses feature; acknowledgment of divided community opinion

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## Transcript

 Hey everybody, it's George Gomez at Stern Pinball. What you see right here is the beginning of Stern Pinball Shark Week. This is the Jaws game you've always wanted. It's got absolutely everything you can imagine. It's got film clips from all of the Jaws films. It's got an award-winning soundtrack with John Williams music. It's got custom speech from Richard Dreyfuss. Shoot again! And of course, it's got what is going to be the most famous shark in pinball. You all know that I'm very proud of the development studio here at Stern Pinball. This comes from the monster makers. You're going to want to play this. The game features Stern's best in class technology, both physical and digital. Like all of our games, And now who better than the designer himself, Keith Elwin. This shark, swallow you whole. Experience Jaws like never before. And this kinetically satisfying fast-paced thrilling pinball adventure from Stern Pinball. You're going to need a bigger game. Little things I should have said and done I never took the time You were always on my mind You are always on my mind. I will say this Keith Elwin is one of the greatest designers in the history of pinball maybe the greatest designer But he doesn't really have the charisma to be a salesperson of his own games I think everybody was hoping we'd get more of the design team, but hey, we're gonna get that this Friday That's always a deeper dive and a lot more fun. You know, you grab a whiskey. You've got the software engineers You've got the design you got the mechanical people You've got everybody in the house having a good time playing Jaws Pinball. We're going to get that a week after you have to pay in full for your limited edition version of Jaws. So we're going to talk about my feelings on the game now that we've seen a lot more about this game. My first thought was Jack Guarnari wasn't telling the truth when he said the only thing you could get in Jaws was the shark. You couldn't get any assets from the movie. This thing is filled to the chum bucket with assets. I mean, it's got almost every asset you could want from the movie itself. So we're going to talk about that. I'm going to read some feedback from Pinside because whenever a new game comes out, it's interesting to see like the polarization it creates within the pinball community. I want to read some people's feedback. I'm going to give you my opinions, of course, and then I'm going to give you that mystery game I've been talking about. I mean, this is something when I tell you what it's going to be, it's going to trigger a response from people. And I can't wait to do that. We will do that at the end of this show. So let's talk about this Jaws gameplay stream. I've watched it three times now. I watched it last night. I was on like YouTube with a lot of you and Stern was there. Some of the design team was there and it was kind of weird, right? Cuz it was prerecorded and it just starts and it was basically Keith Elwin just playing one game of Jaws, playing one game of Jaws. He's an incredible player. He makes a game look really easy. So it's hard to tell if the game's gonna be difficult or not when you watch Keith Elwin play because he's one of the best players in the world. So what are my overall thoughts on Jaws Pinball? It's kind of hard, right? I will say this, the first time I started watching the stream, I was just enamored by the amount of assets they have in this game. Because that was the big question mark. Are we gonna see Brody's face? Are we gonna hear from Brody? Are we gonna see clips from the movie? and it's all in there. I mean, you don't just see Brody, you hear his callouts. Roy Scheider's like callouts are all throughout this game. It almost doesn't even matter that he's not on the artwork on the playfield. He is throughout this entire game. And it's interesting that you play as Quint because if you follow the Jaws movies, it doesn't end well for Quint. And it's interesting too because Richard Richard Dreyfuss did all the callouts and we saw that video clip from Stern Pinball of them in the recording studio. and Richard Dreyfuss is just laying down some monotone callouts. He's like jackpot, triple jackpot. It's almost like he's asking a question of Elwyn in the studio. He's like, do you really want me to say super triple jackpot? Like come on Richard, you're an actor. When is Stern gonna direct these people to do more animated callouts? We saw the same thing with Stranger Things. They were horrible. And I don't know why they keep doing this. Like it's not that Richard Dreyfuss is too old to be more animated I'm not gonna get another chance. So next time, I hope they get someone to like guide these people. It's almost like Stern doesn't even know how to make the call out sound exciting. So I was just enamored by the assets and I love the way the game starts. You know, Chief Brody, the music gets into that Jaws kind of music. I'm a fan of this franchise and you hit the start button on this game, you are teleported The movie that you love. And what I loved too when I was watching the assets, I love the fact that Stern is giving us full screen LCD images of the movie throughout the game. It's not overly complicated. There's never too much stuff on the screen. I think Jersey Jack Pinball needs to take a page here. Don't fill a screen with way too much stuff. If you bought all the assets and you have this iconic movie with characters and the video and the audio Bar Estadio Tesщо exercise na mi topu Bosni Ko Phlamidze 한국 문학과 ita is loving it is nice just olacak English theh cra Interf Bild os Colombov Dan loved it says is the dell the de DMO None of the clips are synced up with the voices Everything is pulled right from the movie and they let the movie do the talking They don overdo it Like you don have 15 things flying across the screen while you trying to watch the movie scene And I also like the way the game stages the ball in the inlanes. When those posts pop up, there's a reason why. It gives you some time to watch some of those clips, absorb what you're doing, get into the mode and then you get going, right? And there's a lot of get going in this game with hurry up modes and countdowns and timers. I like that. It adds a sense of urgency and energy to a theme that I think we all were a little bit worried about would be a little bit stale and boring. Okay, so the assets are there. Okay, so that's really, really good. Now, I want to say something I didn't like as I was watching the game. It seems like the assets are jumping all over the place like there's so much going on. I was just watching about a two minute mode that Keith Elwin was playing and it's jumping around from Quint tying a knot to a dog running on the beach to them chasing the shark on the orca to being in the classroom where Quint is explaining to the city officials something like it was just jumping all over the place all over the movies and that was a little bit worrisome to me because I don't like when it starts to do that and I get there's a lot of objectives and there's a lot of plan to do. I also think you need to be aheeble to intimacy say in the moment at your end with the seams. If you keep jumping all over the place, I think he gets really confusing. I just bramental What are your connections at the things talking to do. I need one of the problems with games that give you a lot of things to do at once. I need one of the problems with games at give you a lot of things to do at once. I Anastasia kehayehayeee vee! œÚvehe bien Miguel Stiller!! smooth �Ælos� Æpup estoy mal gunado Ò Kate� And so it's probably not nearly as distracting when you're playing the game as it is when you're watching a stream of somebody play the game. Alright, so there was that. Then we get to the 3D video mode. I know some people are like divided on this thing, but I gotta just encourage each and every one of us. Don't let the child inside you die. You're still all man children. If you're buying these things, you need to still look at the world through the eyes of a child. If I brought Killian over to Jaws Pinball and put those 3D glasses on him and allowed him to play that video mode, he would be super excited. I think this is super cool that this is the first pinball machine ever where you can put on 3D glasses and play a video mode. The fact that they made the video mode based on the shark arcade game from the movie is super freaking awesome. And anyone who's moaning about this, come on, guys. Like, you don't even have to do the 3D mode. I saw people being like, what are operators gonna do with 3D glasses? Well, then you just disable the 3D feature. Who cares? Like, seriously, seriously, some of these people just want to pee in the cornflakes of people that want to get excited about pinball. So I thought that was super awesome. But did you notice what Keith Elwin said? He puts on these really cool, hard plastic 3D glasses and he says, Your game's gonna come with 3D glasses not as nice as these. Those glasses he had on have to be no more than like $10 or so. And you're telling me Stern, for this much money, you're not gonna send people really nice 3D Glasses? Come on! I mean everyone who buys an LE should have their 3D Glasses, say Jaws LE Limited Edition Glasses. Like how cool would they be? Like white 3D Glasses with the blue and red lenses. and just add a little something special that becomes a memento to go with the game. And now I'm worried Stern's gonna mail out those cheap paper 3D glasses when you just dropped over $10,000 on a pinball machine. Come on Stern, you always find a way to do the cheap way out. Alright, so we got that. Okay, so now the next part of this game is this. How does the game shoot? What was the gameplay like? And I'll say this, the game looks like it's got a lot of flow. The game looks really fast. You know, we don't really see the shark very often. And here's my overall take on the gameplay because I watched this video three times and I mean it when I say this. I did find the gameplay in Jaws to be underwhelming. It just didn't feel like there was anything that was like, wow, like a magic moment in the gameplay itself. It felt like the upper playfield wasn't even necessary. It just felt like that upper playfield, it doesn't really have a point. There's not like a mode where the upper playfield comes to life. And it just feels like you're using that upper playfield to divert the ball into a different direction. But other than that, you don't really need it. So you strip away the upper playfield, which seems unnecessary. And then what do you got in the game? You've got the boat up the middle that you bash. The shark pops up and you hit him only once. Like it's really not like a wow moment. It's not a dramatic moment. The movie the whole thing right the whole drama of jaws the moment that you'll never forget is when the shark appears and so that's what people love about jaws and then in the mechanical form and in the toys of this game that does not create a wow moment and to me that might be one of the biggest misses and disconnects this entire game suffers from because you kinda wanted it to be the moment right you want the moment when The First Time And He Pops Out And You Want It Every Time He Pops Out To Be A Dramatic Wow Moment In Pinball And It's Just Not There I Think The Biggest Wow Thing Happening In This Game The Unique Lights Being Used To Simulate Blood In The Water I Think That's The Most Wow Thing Happening In The Game Bashing The Boat Up The Middle Is Not A Wow Shot Hitting The Chum Bucket Is Not A Wow Shot The Fin Going Back And Forth Is Not Really A Wow Shot It doesn't have any of like Elwin's like crazy loops going on in his other games. It doesn't have dramatic wire forms happening in this game like Avengers or like Godzilla or Jurassic Park. And that's my thing is like as exciting as it is to see all the assets in Jaws. My fear is the gameplay is pretty pedestrian. And because there's no magical wow moments happening in the gameplay of the game itself, where does this game now fall? And I think the other part is this, like following up Godzilla with Jaws, it's really difficult, right? Because we're so used to seeing how amazing Godzilla is. Godzilla is filled with wow moments both on a software front and on a mechanical front And I don think Jaws delivers the same I think it delivers the assets and creates wow there but I just don feel the wow happening on the actual physical playfield Obviously we need to play the game We need to play the game in a dark room We need to get a sense of what the atmosphere is like when you play jaws But from the video last night and what we seen to date it just not giving me goosebumps the way some other stern machines have when and we've seen them played for the first time. Let me read some of the commentary from Pinside and this is what other people felt about the stream. This is from Foo Fighter on Pinside. He said, watch the video for the third time. A lot going on the first times around and takes a couple views to digest. Really love the gameplay and the buildup to catch the bounties, save the beachgoers, quint challenges, harpoon multipliers, so much to do. Keith makes it look easy but I guarantee this is going to be a tough shooter as the pacing and hurry ups can force you to miss shots. Really like the quick 180 ramp to put the ball safely on your left flipper when you're trying to hit the fishing reel. That return is wicked fast. I'm definitely getting Walking Dead vibes with the modes and drop targets which is a great thing. The game is going to look amazing with the lights off and not a streaming light rig hovering over it. The assets and music are really well done, pulls you right into the world. Born in 72 and this movie has scared the crap out of me since I first saw it when I was 6 or 7 and has been in my repeated viewings hundreds of times over the years. So iconic, can't wait, premium on order. So look, I agree with a lot of what Foo Fighter is saying here. Let's go to another comment. This is from Chicoman. He says, If that stream did anything, it removes all sales of LEs by flippers and distros who were going to sell it sideways into the secondary market for $15,000 plus. I think it's a nice looking game, but you already have people pulling their orders for Jaws LE. FOMO is officially dead. It's an average LWIN pin at best. Well, we'll see what happens there. But after seeing this stream, I did feel like this isn't going to be like this impossible to get pin or bolted to the floor pin. If you own a Godzilla, if you own an Iron Maiden, if you own a Jurassic Park, I think you're going to be good. I think you're going to dabble at Jaws. And unless Jaws is a dream theme for you, I don't feel like you're going to be like, oh, I got to get rid of this and replace it with the new Elwynn because it seems like it's the best Elwynn. GCS2000 said, For me it's missing that wow moments. Godzilla has tons of them, so does Jurassic Park and many other games. This unfortunately is missing that for me. I am not saying it's a bad game at all. I will happily play the heck out of it on location and hope I grow to love it. And Poblito350 followed up and said, This is how I feel about it too. We're not buyers for new pins. They're just not worth it to us. That is until Godzilla came along. That's the first pin that really wowed us and still does. From what little we saw, Jaws looks great, but nothing that rocked my boat. Just okay, I guess. When Jaws sprang up from the playfield, it wasn't exciting at all. The music was flat and just uneventful. Starting Godzilla multiball has the red GI, blue oyster colt blasting, the clip of Godzilla tearing down the pagoda. It's exhilarating. That's a moment in the game that's awesome. Maybe in future code updates it may be jazzed up a bit, but who knows? I love the red lighting effect under the playfield and how you can trap the ball with the upper flipper. I can't wait to play it on location, but I can't see us saving up to actually buy this. And again, what I love about opinions around pinball, it's so divided. Like PinChamp wrote from Calgary, Alberta, I love my Godzilla but have to play it for 30 plus minutes to really progress. And to have a satisfying game it's like 45 minutes. I'm so glad this feels nothing like Godzilla. I play Jurassic Park more and can have great progression in 15 to 20 minutes max. Someone said on Jaws it feels like there are things happening all over at once and they would prefer a sequence. I am opposite of that and the game progression feels a lot more in control of the player which I love. Here's another one from Creelay1 from Elizabethtown, Kentucky. As a massive Jaws fan, I am disappointed. Wish it was more linear. Clips all over the place from different films and scenes. Music cues do not align with clips modes and the rescue thing was not even a theme from the films. Just feels disjointed and out of place. They really went for a game with lots of different things to do at once, but that style really doesn't match the theme source material. Non-Jaws movie folks will enjoy it because they don't care but I would rather progress through the films not bounce back and forth all over the place. KPG from California with 14 upvotes and no downvotes writes the following. After watching the stream I've decided to back out of my LE order. Looks like a fun game but something about it is not sitting well with me at this price point. It just seems to be missing the extra features a pin at this price point, including the premium price point that should be there. The lack of mechs and magnets, etc. that could have made this thing really awesome seemed to be left out to save on the cost to build it. I don't even care that the shark doesn't eat the ball, but the upper playfield looks like a waste of space. The shark popping up for a second to get hit is just okay. A spinning Fishing Reel. I'm not trying to crap on it, I swear. It does look fun, but man, if this doesn't feel like a pro model at LE prices, kind of a bummer. I hope you all enjoy this one, but if anything, I'll get a premium after playing or just wait for the LEs to come down in price. A real quick comment from Paul8788. I get having a pre-recorded gameplay video to get it out there so people can see. Weird decision to livestream the prerecorded video though. Would have preferred if they just released it as a standard YouTube video. Made the time to watch it live but there really was no point. Alright, so as you can see, as you can see, a bit of a divided camp on Jaws Pinball which is to be expected. With every new game released, here's what happens. Anybody who's ordered this game to date is going to see the good in Jaws. Anyone who doesn't want to buy it is going to see the bad in Jaws. I think most of us are pretty moderate. We're not that extreme. I do think most people would agree. The game is loaded with assets. It doesn't have anything mechanically wow in the game. It doesn't feel like a $13,000 game when you look at what's in the physical parts of Jaws Pinball. Keith Elwin has made some of the best machines in Pinball. It doesn't feel like this is going to end up being Keith Elwin's greatest game. I think we all agree that Keith Elwin is a great designer. He's not a good salesman. I think this game is going to come out I think it going to do just fine but I don think it going to light the pinball world on fire the way some people were thinking it would And I think some of that has to do with the theme itself You know Jaws is a slow movie It not an exciting thing like Godzilla tearing Down Buildings and firing like gamma ray beams from his mouth Godzilla is so fun and energetic and campy and Jaws is not that But what's interesting about both of them is they're both kind of monster movies. And they're both about that energy and excitement when the monster appears. And I think Godzilla does a much better job of creating dramatic moments from what we've seen so far. Señ Not gods like Keith Elwin. Alright everybody, the time has come for me to give to you some exclusive information the world has never heard around a pinball machine that is coming out. Now look, this is not a rumor. I can't reiterate that enough. This is not a rumor. This is 100% happening. I have seen this game with my own eyes. I might even have a picture or two of this game on my phone. I'm under what they would call an NDA. It was more of like a word of mouth NDA. I didn't sign a piece of paper, but I'm not gonna break my word on this. Now what I can tell you is this. I've been alluding to this game as being what I think will be one of the most beautiful games to look at in 2024. And I still think that's gonna be the case. So it's gonna be gorgeous. The other thing about this game that's gonna be interesting is they're only gonna make, I think they're only making 500 of these games and that is it. All of these games are being made for the collectors that are out there. So, if you're tired of a thousand LEs and unlimited premiums and all these people on planet earth are having the experience. Like thousands of people have the same game you do. The only thing you got that's different is the armor and the Translite. This is not going to be one of those games. And I think for the pinball collector community that's out there, when you want to have something different. You want to have something that not everybody has. There really isn't much out there that's very limited. Like right now the new spooky games are sort of limited. Only 888 of each model. There's only 750 Rick and Mortys in the world which is nuts. But when it comes to Stern games, like yeah, like nothing's really collectible anymore. It feels like everybody owns everything. It feels like everybody's got every single game and maybe that's fine for some of you. But the truth is there are pinball collectors who want something that not everybody has. And nobody's really targeting those people, so I think this game is aimed to target those people. So what is the game, Chris? You're like, shut up, what is the game? I can't tell you the theme of the game, but I can tell you who created the game. And that's going to be the thing that shocks each and every one of you when I tell you this. I'll tell you first and foremost the timing of when this game is supposed to come out. We are looking at April, May. April, May as when this game will be released. There will only be 500. And here's the shocking part. This game is going to be a game that was designed by no other than John Papadiuk Jr. You heard it here first. A J-pop game is actually going to be made and made in a way where it works right, made in a way where it's coded, made in a way where all the shots go to stuff, made in a way where the magnets turn on. You're gonna get a J-pop designed game made by a company that knows how to make games. And it's gonna be coming out with just 500 units sometime in April or May. The other hint I will tell you is this. That this is not a Bally Williams J-pop game. But I think this is the most beautiful game J-pop has ever designed. But here's the great part about this. He's not behind this now. Like he's not over there. I don't think he's over there with the company like working on this at all. I think they acquired it all from J-pop, but they're going to take it to a real level now. And right now you're sort of racking through all the different titles J-pop has worked on. Maybe it's J-pop's version of Houdini, which is absolutely beautiful. And I'm just going to tell you this right now. I've got one on order from a work of art standpoint. It's just going to be one of those games. You're going to drool over when you stand over this game. So that's where we're at. Just to throw another game into the mix, right? As if 2024 does not have enough companies and enough games and enough things to try to save up to buy, we're getting more. And that is my big concern about 2024. There's just so much. We all know there's too much and prices are so high. And I don't know what this game is going to be priced at, but it's not going to be cheap. And you know, so now I think everything we buy has to matter. Like it has to matter to us. And I just want to say to All those people out there that say we're not allowed to talk about resale value. Come on, of course we're allowed to talk about resale value. At these prices, we have to think about resale value. You know, I saw a rumor, maybe this is true, that Jersey Jack is making distributors who ordered Elton John collector's Edition. They're making them buy like five platinum editions for every collector's edition they get. I mean, Stern does the same thing. It's just not gonna be very sustainable, people. I mean, Jaws hype is the highest it's ever gonna be right now. What happens like three, four months from now when Stern's trying to unload their next LE to all these distros, a thousand of them. And think about it for every thousand LEs, they're trying to unload like 4,000 premiums on all of these distros. I just don't see this ending well. I really don't. I think there's a lot to be excited about in pinball. I think it's going to get crazy oversaturated in 2024. And at these prices, I don't know if all of you are getting 40% raises at work, but when I go around the world now, inflation is everywhere. Brendan and I have had a lot of conversations about this. We are stopping our spending on stuff we don't need. We're going to stop going out as much. It's just too expensive. And we're actually a lot happier when we have less, when we spend less money, when we buy less stuff we don't need, we wake up in a better mood. And it's crazy to me that pinball is often the I'm not sure it's sustainable at these prices. That being said, now you got a new mystery game to talk about. And when you take it to the pin side, make sure you give me credit. Kaneda said it. Kaneda said it. This is 100% confirmed. A J-pop game is coming out in working form sometime in April and May, and it is not being It is being made by Jpop or Deeproot or Zidware. It is being made by a company that knows how to make games and it's happening people. 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: 663624c9-e3a1-4fcd-b974-c76367c1f46b*