# Spooky Pinball's Next Game...

**Source:** Cary Hardy  
**Type:** video  
**Published:** 2024-11-20  
**Duration:** 11m 16s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkjlEoyMIBs

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## Analysis

Cary Hardy discusses Spooky Pinball's unrevealed next game, which he believes will be their landmark title comparable to Stern's Godzilla. The game is releasing sooner than the typical December timeline due to accelerated license approval. Hardy teases extensive theme integration, multi-level playfield with four flippers (one hidden), new mechanical elements unseen since the 1990s, and Christopher Franchi artwork, while explicitly denying rumors of a spinning cabin.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Spooky's next game will be their 'Godzilla'—a landmark release that competitors will benchmark against — _Hardy's stated opinion based on theme integration and design execution; compared to Stern's Godzilla's immediate market impact_
- [HIGH] The game features a multi-leveled playfield with four flippers, one of which is hidden from above-view perspective — _Hardy directly confirms these mechanical specs while denying spinning cabin rumors_
- [MEDIUM] License holder approval accelerated, moving release timeline from mid-late December to 'sooner than expected' — _Hardy attributes early release to faster-than-anticipated licensor approval process_
- [MEDIUM] The game includes mechanical elements not seen in pinball since the 1990s — _Hardy teases this feature but declines to elaborate, saying he will reveal details 'soon'_
- [HIGH] Christopher Franchi is confirmed as the artist for the game — _Hardy states directly: 'it's no secret now that christopher franchi will be doing this'_
- [HIGH] The game features a moving topper that is thematically integrated without displaying the game name — _Hardy describes topper as moving and integrated into theme, recognizable to fans without text labeling_
- [MEDIUM] Video and audio assets from the theme are extensively integrated; most video assets present, missing ones compensated by audio — _Hardy's assessment: 'you getting a lot' of both asset types with audio filling gaps_
- [HIGH] There is no spinning cabin on the playfield despite community speculation — _Hardy explicitly denies this specific rumor with certainty_

### Notable Quotes

> "Spooky's next game will be their Godzilla... the game that everyone from then on will be comparing their next game after that to."
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~3:20
> _Core thesis positioning the unrevealed game as a landmark release with lasting industry impact_

> "I think this will be their best yet... I think two words on this. And what I believe this game will be regarded for is theme integration."
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~4:00
> _Identifies theme integration as the defining characteristic expected to drive the game's acclaim_

> "I even said it then that guys get ready because Spooky's next game will be their Godzilla... Everybody wanted it. It was COVID and stuff like that. But even still today, they're still making that game due to the demand."
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~2:45
> _References Stern Godzilla as the market impact comparison point, emphasizing sustained demand as benchmark_

> "there is no spinning cabin in this game on this game there is no no"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~9:15
> _Explicitly denies a specific community rumor circulating about playfield mechanics_

> "the release is sooner than you think. so by all means stand by and if you want to go ahead and call your distro get your name at least on a list"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~17:30
> _Advises immediate distributor contact for allocation, signaling imminent release within weeks not months_

> "It's like, here's what it looks like as the theme, the assets and everything. And here's how it is underneath the glass. And that's just going to keep on going."
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~5:30
> _Describes trailer strategy comparing theme assets to glass implementation, highlighting design transparency_

> "i see hints of new things that i have never seen before in pinball and they're even throwing in something that i have not seen since the 90s in pinball"
> — **Cary Hardy**, ~7:00
> _Teases novel mechanical innovation alongside retro element revival, building anticipation_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Cary Hardy | person | YouTube content creator discussing Spooky Pinball's unrevealed game; claims insider knowledge and teases details |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer with upcoming unrevealed game; known for horror/themed titles |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Confirmed artist for Spooky's next game; known for detailed character artwork and theme integration at Spooky |
| Zach Minney | person | Creator of promotional trailer for Spooky's unrevealed game; praised for oscillating asset-to-implementation presentation |
| Stern Pinball | company | Competitor manufacturer; their Godzilla used as impact/demand benchmark for Spooky's upcoming title |
| Godzilla (Stern) | game | Stern's landmark release used as comparison for expected market impact and sustained demand of Spooky's unrevealed game |
| Jaws 50th Anniversary | game | Mentioned as gaining traction in market demand, though Godzilla cited as having stronger immediate impact |
| Twilight Zone | game | Classic pinball reference; Hardy notes Spooky's game has components reminiscent of this title's design |
| Medieval Madness | game | Classic pinball reference; Hardy identifies gameplay elements in Spooky's game that recall this design |
| Cactus Canyon | game | Classic pinball reference; Hardy notes Spooky's game contains mechanical elements reminiscent of this title |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Spooky Pinball's unrevealed next game announcement/teaser, Theme integration as core design philosophy, Accelerated release timeline due to license approval, Multi-level playfield with four flippers (hidden flipper), Christopher Franchi's artwork and character representation
- **Secondary:** Community speculation and rumor debunking (spinning cabin denial), Comparison to Stern Godzilla's market impact and demand, Topper design and thematic integration

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Hardy expresses high enthusiasm and anticipation for the game, with confidence in its execution and market reception. No negative comments about design choices. Tone is excited and validating toward Spooky's work.

### Signals

- **[design_philosophy]** Spooky emphasizing theme integration as core design principle, with extensive asset implementation beneath glass (confidence: high) — Hardy identifies 'theme integration' as defining characteristic; trailer strategy showcases asset-to-implementation oscillation; all major theme assets present via video or audio
- **[licensing_signal]** License holder approved game assets faster than anticipated, enabling accelerated production and release timeline (confidence: medium) — Hardy states: 'the license holder, I guess, made everything approved a lot faster than it was anticipated, and the game is ready to go'
- **[market_signal]** Spooky's next game anticipated to match or exceed Stern Godzilla's landmark impact and sustained demand trajectory (confidence: medium) — Hardy's framework: 'Spooky's next game will be their Godzilla' positioning as industry-defining release that future games will be compared against
- **[community_signal]** Christopher Franchi confirmed as artist for Spooky's next game (confidence: high) — Hardy states: 'it's no secret now that christopher franchi will be doing this' and praises his character work and thematic integration
- **[announcement]** Spooky Pinball unrevealed game releasing sooner than expected due to accelerated license approval (confidence: high) — Hardy advises immediate distributor contact for allocation, indicating release within weeks; cites license holder approval acceleration as reason for early timeline vs. typical December release
- **[product_strategy]** Multi-level playfield with four flippers including one hidden flipper from above-view perspective (confidence: high) — Hardy explicitly confirms: 'it's a multi-leveled game so and it's four flippers one of those flippers is hidden like hidden to the point to where on the above view of the play field looking down you're not going to see it'
- **[rumor_hype]** Spinning cabin mechanic on playfield explicitly denied by insider (confidence: high) — Hardy states with certainty: 'there is no spinning cabin in this game on this game there is no no' in direct response to community speculation
- **[technology_signal]** Game includes mechanical elements not seen since 1990s pinball, representing design innovation retro revival (confidence: medium) — Hardy teases: 'I see hints of new things that i have never seen before in pinball and they're even throwing in something that i have not seen since the 90s in pinball'

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## Transcript

 Let's talk about Spooky's next game. What's up guys and welcome back to the channel where I talk and do everything pinball. So if that sounds interesting to you then hit that subscribe button down below. There's all kinds of rumors out there and speculation about what Spooky's working on, when the game's coming out, what it's got underneath the glass, and all that. And it's one of those where I like to just kind of sit back and just silently listen and listen to these certain individuals talk, and I laugh about how wrong they are kind of thing. And I know that a lot of these people, whenever they say these things and speculate and pronounce them as this is facts. They're merely waiting for people that are in the know to correct them, which basically confirms what they're saying and stuff like that, which kind of gives them more information. I'm not falling for that crap. So let's get a little bit of hype going here, guys. I think we're at a time where this is perfectly fine. So I think a lot of us were expecting Spooky's next game to come out in maybe mid to late December. Because if you go by history with how they've done their games, it's typically in December. And then they take a break for the holidays, and they get to working on building the next game and starting it at the beginning of January type of thing. And I believe that's what was going to be happening with this upcoming game. But, things have changed. It seems that the license holder, I guess, made everything approved a lot faster than it was anticipated, and the game is ready to go. So the game will be releasing sooner than we expect. Now you're probably going, well, what does sooner mean, Kerry? How soon? Like a couple of days? A couple of weeks? I would say, safely to say, so soon that if you are a Spooky fan and you are anticipating their next release, then you may want to call your distributor now or very soon to get your name on a list. Now I know that being just a new game from Spooky is not enough to really get you guys excited and amped up about it You know you need more You like feed me baby birds I like oh I going to feed you something here I want to give you enough information to kind of help you kind of prepare for what you will be seeing in the near future And I want to start by giving my opinions from what I have seen with it. And my feelings towards it are, this is how I think about it. And this is what I have stood by, and those of you that have heard me speak about the mere speculation of what Spooky's been working on, even at Expo during my stream, you guys were asking about what's going on with Spooky's next game. and I even said it then that guys get ready because Spooky's next game will be their Godzilla. And then when I say that, it's not like, oh, it's a big monster-based game. No, it's merely to state that the game that will be revealed will be the game that everyone from then on will be comparing their next game after that to. The same thing goes with Stern's Godzilla. I believe that today we have yet to have a game that has made such an impact and has such a high demand as Godzilla. Now, you may want to argue that Jaws is gaining traction on that, but Godzilla was like immediate. Everybody wanted it. It was COVID and stuff like that. But even still today, they're still making that game due to the demand. So, I say that Spooky's next game is their Godzilla, because I think this will be their best yet. Now, why do I think that? I think two words on this. And what I believe this game will be regarded for is theme integration. They have done such a spectacular job on integrating the theme assets into the glass, the world underneath glass. And when John Youssi the trailer that Zach Minney has put together, he's done an excellent job of oscillating back and forth between the assets of the theme and how they've been implemented underneath the glass. And it's going to go back and forth, back and forth through the entire trailer for their upcoming title. It's like, here's what it looks like as the theme, the assets and everything. And here's how it is underneath the glass. And that's just going to keep on going. And you're going to be like, wow, they've implemented this into the game. They've implemented that into the game. You know, it's like, what about like video and audio assets? And from what I can tell so far you getting a lot it looks like you I don want to say you getting everything but from what i seeing it looks like you getting a lot and then for what video assets that you are not getting the chances are you're still going to get it via audio now let's talk about all those assets being underneath the glass on this game and you're going to find that they have put a lot into this game i think they have thrown everything i see hints of new things that i have never seen before in pinball and they're even throwing in something that i have not seen since the 90s in pinball and uh i would love to go into more details on that but how they've implemented this this uh this thing into the game is pretty damn cool it was it was it i'm excited about it and it's like i want to tell you more but i can't just yet but i will be able to tell you soon there was an individual that was stating like oh there's we all know there's going to be like a spinning cabin and on the play field i can tell you right now there is no spinning cabin in this game on this game there is no no so again one of those things where i just sit back and go yeah keep talking but there's no spinning cabin in this game guys so but you're getting a lot of everything else you're it's a multi-leveled game so and it's four flippers one of those flippers is hidden like hidden to the point to where on the above view of the play field looking down you're not going to see it and when it comes to the art i think it's no secret now that christopher franchi will be doing this and i think he has done a spectacular job of basically bringing this theme to a pinball machine and giving it his little fine chef's kiss touch on it i think he does the characters very well it represents them very well and um when it comes to what you're going to see on the topper of this game this is uh it's going to be one of those where i think for those of you that really appreciate the theme you're gonna really appreciate what they're doing with this game especially when it comes to the topper and if you're not a topper guy which that's perfectly fine don't worry about it but i'm just stating for those that really enjoy having a nice looking topper that is well integrated into the game it doesn have the name of the game on it or anything like that It just one of those when John Youssi it and you know the theme you going to know exactly what that is and how it implemented It does move. So, yeah, I'm definitely, I cannot wait to see the feedback from those of you out there that are, like, really into this theme. I think you're going to really appreciate what Spooky has done to bring this theme to fruition. I'm trying to think of other games that have components in it that could be basically like when I saw it, what game did I think of? So there are a couple of things in this game where I was like, oh, okay, well, that reminds me of Twilight Zone. Oh, okay, well, that reminds me of Medieval Madness. like oh that reminds me of cactus canyon i mean like there's a lot of little things that reminded me of other games that i think a lot of us really enjoy and to see them put it underneath the glass and that's the thing i don't know how it shoots yet i've only got very little to judge on but from what i can see so far i think the main two things that i can basically guarantee at this point is that they have nailed theme integration. So whenever the theme gets announced, and you're going to be like, well, I hope they put this in here. I hope that this is in here. I hope we're going to get this. Chances are, you've got it. And that's all I'm going to say at this point in time. But guys, like I said, the release is sooner than you think. so by all means stand by and if you want to go ahead and call your distro get your name at least on a list you shouldn't have to give a deposit for something like that but at least get your name on the list and you can always cancel there's no harm in requesting your name to be on a list for an upcoming game that's not going to hurt anything so that's going to wrap this up i'm looking forward to discussing this openly with you guys because i i think that you're going to see a lot in here that's going to draw intrigue and i think even to those that aren't fans of this theme you're going to see a lot of things that's like well that looks like it could be fun or that looks interesting oh i like how they have implemented this and especially like i said the trailer how it oscillates back and forth between the true asset to what you're getting in the game zach did a great job on that and i think that a lot of you are going to be impressed with what Spooky is bringing to us very soon.

_(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 758e18ec-a75f-4982-b8da-bd30c95d3322*