# Episode 792: "Are These The Games We Were Waiting For?"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2023-04-14  
**Duration:** 24m 43s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-792-are-81515989

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## Analysis

Kaneda discusses the current state of 2023 pinball releases, arguing that while quantity is up, quality and truly compelling themes are lacking. He defends his podcast's ability to sustain content regardless of new game release cycles, critiques specific recent releases (Godfather, Galactic Tank Force) for weak themes or execution, and shares personal struggles while reflecting on pinball's broader cultural significance to the community.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Stern, Jersey Jack, and Spooky are the only three pinball companies consistently making and shipping new games — _Kaneda, mid-episode analysis of market availability_
- [MEDIUM] Godfather Collector's Edition and Foo Fighters are trading below MSRP on secondary market, signaling collectibility diminishment — _Kaneda discussing secondary market pricing trends_
- [HIGH] Foo Fighters and Pulp Fiction are the real winners of early 2023; Godfather is a head scratcher thematically despite good shooting mechanics — _Kaneda's direct assessment of current releases_
- [LOW] Robert Mueller at Deep Root Pinball spent $2 million on assets for games like Foo Fighters and Raza — _Kaneda, rumor/speculation mid-episode_
- [HIGH] Dutch Pinball's next game is NOT Batman 89 (correcting his own earlier rumor based on Christopher Franchi's report) — _Kaneda citing Christopher Franchi's podcast with Orby_
- [MEDIUM] Godfather has more mechanical parts than Pirates of the Caribbean but fewer interactive toys and less impressive mechanical features — _Kaneda's detailed mechanical comparison of Jersey Jack games_
- [MEDIUM] Pre-order culture is shifting; collectors now wait to see games in production before committing unless it's an AAA IP title — _Kaneda discussing market behavior and Fathom secondary market pricing_
- [LOW] Galactic Tank Force shows no evidence of focus groups or market research in its design — _Kaneda's opinion/speculation on the game's design process_

### Notable Quotes

> "Are these the games that we've been waiting for? And I think if we ask that question and we stare in that pinball mirror the answer is no."
> — **Kaneda**, ~mid-episode
> _Core thesis of the episode; encapsulates the broader quality vs. quantity debate_

> "The big issue for Jersey Jack and for American Pinball and for all of these companies that are not Stern Pinball, the big issue is this. Do you have a game that people will like enough where you could keep the line going for six months?"
> — **Kaneda**, ~mid-episode
> _Identifies the fundamental business challenge for non-Stern manufacturers_

> "You don't get to do that. It's just so weird, like seeing American Pinball put all of their employees into the game."
> — **Kaneda**, ~mid-episode
> _Criticism of Jersey Jack and American Pinball using employee likenesses in licensed IP games_

> "What people don't love the gameplay of Ghostbusters, but guess what? They love Ghostbusters. People don't love the gameplay of Batman 66, but they love Batman."
> — **Kaneda**, ~mid-episode
> _Core insight on theme vs. gameplay trade-offs in pinball design success_

> "If you do wait and see, unless the title is something like Back to the Future or freaking The Matrix or Top Gun or Ghostbusters, unless the title is a AAA title, you will be able to still get one."
> — **Kaneda**, ~mid-episode
> _Market advice; signals erosion of FOMO for non-elite IP_

> "These machines are building a community of people. They're building memories for homeowners. You know, they're building clubs, they're building league nights. All these things are new and part of the modern pinball experience."
> — **Kaneda**, ~end of episode
> _Philosophical reflection on pinball's role beyond arcade commodity_

> "The strength that one woman brings into my world, and I love Brenda more than anything."
> — **Kaneda**, ~end of episode
> _Personal disclosure; contextualizes host's emotional state and motivation_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; claims 790+ episodes and multiple Twippy awards; Patreon podcast host with ~600 subscribers |
| Christopher Franchi | person | Content creator who recently announced he's quitting pinball podcasting; Kaneda's comments suggest interpersonal tension and competition over Twippy awards |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer currently producing Foo Fighters and other titles; noted as one of only three consistently shipping games |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Godfather, Scooby-Doo, Foo Fighters; criticized for putting employees in licensed IP art; noted for stripped-down recent designs |
| Spooky Pinball | company | One of three major manufacturers with consistent shipping; noted as viable alternative in current market |
| American Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Houdini, Oktoberfest, and other titles; Kaneda suggests re-releasing and re-skinning older games in new cabinet design |
| Deep Root Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Galactic Tank Force; Kaneda speculates heavily about design philosophy, asset costs, and production timeline |
| Haggis Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer of Fathom (Mermaid and standard editions); Kaneda warns against pre-ordering next title due to delays and financial concerns |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Big Lebowski; rumored next game may be sci-fi IP; Kaneda hopes for Matrix license |
| Godfather | game | Jersey Jack title; discussed as available/shipping; criticized for weak theme despite good shooting mechanics; Kaneda calls art/employee likenesses 'cringeworthy' |
| Foo Fighters | game | Jersey Jack title; Kaneda's prediction for early 2023 winner; praised for gameplay; LE shipping soon |
| Pulp Fiction | game | Stern title; expected to ship by end of 2023; praised for single-level execution; cited as genuine winner |
| Galactic Tank Force | game | Deep Root title; rumored May production; characterized as 'weird' with ice cream/tank/FMV mashup; Kaneda skeptical on theme and gameplay appeal |
| Scooby-Doo | game | Jersey Jack title; noted as available/shipping consistent units |
| Houdini | game | American Pinball title; Kaneda suggests re-releasing in new cabinet with updated Matt Andrews artwork |
| Oktoberfest | game | American Pinball title; Kaneda notes heavily loaded mechanical game but criticizes artwork; suggests re-skin opportunity |
| Fathom | game | Haggis Pinball title; Mermaid Edition ~$9k-10k; secondary market pricing dropping; Kaneda cites as example of wait-and-see strategy vindication |
| Pirates of the Caribbean | game | Jersey Jack title; used in mechanical comparison with Godfather; Kaneda argues it has superior toys/interactive features |
| Wizard of Oz | game | Jersey Jack title; referenced in comparison of toy density and mechanical impressiveness vs. Godfather |
| Batman SLE | game | Stern title; Kaneda personally owns with one final payment remaining; used as example of personal pinball investment |
| Robert Mueller | person | Rumored executive/designer at Deep Root Pinball; Kaneda claims spent $2M on assets for Foo Fighters and Raza (unverified) |
| Eric Minehart | person | Jersey Jack designer; Kaneda uses hypothetical about him appearing in Top Gun Pinball to critique employee likenesses in licensed IP |
| Jack Guarneri | person | Jersey Jack designer/executive; Kaneda references him regarding Matrix license availability and game design direction |
| Barry | person | Dutch Pinball designer; Kaneda expresses preference for him designing Matrix over Jersey Jack alternatives |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Legendary Stern designer; Kaneda mentions upcoming Elton John pinball from him as possible 2023 release |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Theme vs. Gameplay Trade-offs, 2023 Pinball Release Quality Assessment, Secondary Market Collectibility and FOMO Erosion, Manufacturing Capacity and Consistency Among Competitors
- **Secondary:** Pre-order Strategy Shifts and Wait-and-See Behavior, Jersey Jack Design Evolution and Mechanical Density Concerns, Boutique Manufacturer Financial Sustainability (Haggis, Deep Root)
- **Mentioned:** Kaneda vs. Franchi Podcast Competition and Industry Politics

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.35) — Kaneda is critical of current release quality and theme choices (negative on Galactic Tank Force, Godfather theme, Houdini art) but positive on Foo Fighters and Pulp Fiction execution. Personal section at end is deeply emotional and vulnerable, shifting tone significantly. Overall skeptical of 2023 as 'the games we were waiting for' despite high volume.

### Signals

- **[market_signal]** Godfather and Fathom Collector's/Limited editions trading below MSRP on secondary market; Kaneda argues this signals reduced collectibility and validates 'wait and see' strategy (confidence: high) — When some of these distributors say it's sold out, what they mean is their allotment is sold out... And when people start to see LEs trading for below what they are right now, you're going to see it soften a little bit on needing to own the collector's edition.
- **[product_strategy]** Kaneda argues that modern approach of 1,000 LEs + 1,000 CEs at premium MSRP severely diminishes perceived collectability vs. classic rare titles (confidence: high) — This modern approach to making a thousand LEs, a thousand CEs, charging all of this money for them at MSRP, I think it severely diminishes the collectability of a lot of these games.
- **[sentiment_shift]** Pre-order culture showing weakness; collectors increasingly wait for production proof before committing funds, especially for non-AAA IP and smaller manufacturers (confidence: high) — What people are not going to do if the theme is not amazing, they're just not going to pre-order a game anymore. Especially if these pre-ordered games are non-refundable deposits.
- **[business_signal]** Only three manufacturers (Stern, Jersey Jack, Spooky) are consistently shipping new games; others face delivery delays and financial sustainability questions (confidence: high) — Stern Pinball, and Jersey Jack Pinball and Spooky Pinball are really the only pinball companies that are consistently making brand new games that you can go own and buy.
- **[product_concern]** Kaneda argues Jersey Jack games (particularly Godfather) show regression in toy interactivity and mechanical impressiveness despite higher parts count vs. Pirates/Wizard of Oz (confidence: high) — A screw's a part, right? A little diverter's a part. Like you don't get to count those things. It's not the number of parts that matters. It's the quality of what you're creating with those parts.
- **[leak_detection]** Rumor about Dutch Pinball's next title being sci-fi game (possibly Matrix); sourced from industry affiliation but unconfirmed (confidence: low) — I'm hearing that it's a sci-fi game. I'm really hoping it's the Matrix... I was talking a while ago to someone affiliated with Dutch.
- **[design_philosophy]** Kaneda characterizes Galactic Tank Force as having no focus groups or market research; ice cream/tank/FMV mashup deemed 'completely weird and crazy' (confidence: medium) — There's absolutely no focus group they used. There's absolutely no market research... Mukesh made Food Truck, do you think American Pinball would actually bring Food Truck out into the world?
- **[industry_signal]** Christopher Franchi (content creator/artist) quitting pinball podcasting; cited Kaneda competition and Twippy award pressure as contributing factors (confidence: high) — He's leaving basically because of me. He's like, well, people don't want this. They want that. And he's like, that is terrible. That is negative. That is toxic.
- **[product_strategy]** Kaneda criticizes Jersey Jack and American Pinball for including employee likenesses in licensed IP games (Godfather, etc.); argues this cheapens the art and clashes with source material dignity (confidence: high) — I don't want to see Jersey Jack employees in a Godfather game. I don't want to see them as mobsters on the art package of the game.
- **[machine_intel]** Galactic Tank Force rumored for May 2023 production line start; Kaneda emphasizes need for demonstration units before pre-orders will gain traction (confidence: medium) — Does anyone really know when Galactic Tank Force is going on the line? I hope it's in May and I hope they get games out quickly.
- **[rumor_hype]** Speculation that American Pinball might release Food Truck (completed asset from Deep Root era); Kaneda dismisses as unlikely to generate demand (confidence: low) — I heard a rumor. This is not going to happen. But one of my fans said, hey, what if they make Berrio's food truck?
- **[design_innovation]** Kaneda proposes American Pinball could re-release Houdini and Oktoberfest in new cabinet design with updated artwork by Matt Andrews; positions as cost-effective line extension (confidence: low) — What if American Pinball puts Houdini in a normal cabinet? Why don't they actually fix some of the geometry issues on Houdini and release a new Houdini in a new cabinet?

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## Transcript

 It's Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday. Everybody's looking forward to the weekend, weekend. Sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up. Oh, welcome everybody to the world's most popular Patreon podcast. We now have almost 600 subscribers and everyone else who was hating on Kaneda for joining Patreon is now doing it themselves and I'm happy, I'm happy to see this stuff. I always thought it was really weird that people would spend so much time and energy making pinball content for free, and then they got no thanks in return. And look, this show has not only been the most popular on Patreon, it's been the most popular out in the real world. Every time they do the popularity contest known as the Twippies, yours truly has held up the trophy. And that is to much chagrin of another content creator who has called it quits for good, Mr. Christopher Franchi has done his last pinball podcast. Now, look, I want to wish him well. I think he's a great artist in pinball. And that's it. There's no hate. There's just love. I respect his work. And I just don't think we need to get to these like fatalistic approaches about anything with pinball. The whole reason I do this show, and you know this, the whole reason I do this show is to entertain each and every one of you on a weekly basis about pinball. And he said something that is making me laugh. He said, what's going to happen to Canada's show over the next six months when no new games come out? And I just want to say, look, the same thing that happened to Canada in 2022 when absolutely no games came out. I still put out the most entertaining weekly pinball podcast the world has ever seen. And that's why people are here. And that's why you're here. And let's get right to it. So what do I think is going to happen right now? So here's the mindset I think everyone is in right now. I think if you're listening to this right now, you love pinball. And I think if you love pinball, you want a new pinball machine. And I think now that we've seen like 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15,000 new games came out in the month of March, I think everyone is getting that new pinball itch. And I think everybody wants a new game to arrive in their home in the next couple of months. Now, here's the thing. The big question is now which one of these companies can get you that new game you really want. And I've been speaking to more and more people that are saying to me right now, Chris, I'm going to go get a Godfather. And the reason they're going to go get a Godfather is a Godfather is available. And so, look, you have to give Jersey Jack credit. They're making the games. There are Scooby-Doo machines available. There are Foo Fighter machines that are going out the door left and right. So these three companies, if you think about it, Spooky Pinball, Stern Pinball, and Jersey Jack Pinball are really the only pinball companies that are consistently making brand new games that you can go own and buy. And that's the way it should be. And that's why these three companies are going to get the majority of the sales because they actually have something you can buy. Does anyone really know when Galactic Tank Force is going on the line? I hope it's in May and I hope they get games out quickly. There's a rumor out there that Canada is rooting against this game. I'm not rooting against this game. I'm being very candid about this game is a total weird game. And if you want something different and you want something weird, by all means, go buy a Galactic Tank Force. Boy, did they make the game for someone who wants something that's completely weird and crazy. And there's absolutely no focus group they used. There's absolutely no market research. There's absolutely nothing they did to say, hey, if you want to make money in pinball, someone else's money, Mukesh's money. If you want to make money off of Mukesh's money, the thing we should make is a tank machine about ice cream and like something else happening with 80s full motion video and something else about sundaes and sprinkles. I get it. I get it. And like ultimately it doesn't matter what Kaneda says. It doesn't matter what anybody says. Ultimately enough people are going to get time on this game and have to make up their mind if they want to buy one or not. And I think they need to get the games on the line. If they start shipping these games sometime in the next few weeks, people will order it. This is the thing about pinball. There is a large enough community of men who have disposable income, who are bored, and they want to buy something new. Now, the thing is this. Do you have the skill set and the manufacturing ability to give people the product? Because what I think people are not going to do, and this is why we're still seeing Galactic Tank Force LEs all over Pinside for sale. What people are not going to do if the theme is not amazing, they're just not going to pre-order a game anymore. Especially if these pre-ordered games are non-refundable deposits. Why would you pre-order a Galactic Tank Force right now? There's no need to. The only time I think people would even think about giving money to a distributor for the game is if we see games on the line. But we have not seen that yet. And the same is true with Haggis Pinball, right? That's the other thing. We're supposed to get Haggis Pinball announcing their next game. Why? Have they built all the Mermaid editions of Fathom? No. They also have to build the non-Mermaid editions of Fathom. Now, you've got to be crazy if Haggis Pinball announces Centaur. You have to be crazy to send them money on their next game until they finished all of the Fathom builds. Because I would be nervous, and we've seen this before, that these little boutique companies have a tendency to rob Peter to pay Paul, right? They got to get that money in on the next game to finish the builds of the first game. And there's no way, and you know this, and this is just commonsensical. There's no way Haggis Pinball is making a profit with all of the delays they've had with that big factory and like just barely getting games out. I haven't seen a lot of new unboxings. And here's the thing, you know, if you listen to Kaneda and you wait and see, how much was Fathom Pinball? I think it was like $9,000 to $10,000 for a Mermaid Edition. Okay. So if you go on the pin side right now you can go get one new in box for I think And you could have the game in like a couple days And you had no risk You didn't have to lock your money up with haggis for like freaking a year and a half. And that's the thing. I think everyone is learning this lesson right now. If you do wait and see, unless the title is something like Back to the Future or freaking The Matrix or Top Gun or Ghostbusters. unless the title is a AAA title, you will be able to still get one. You can still get a Godfather Collector's Edition. When some of these distributors who do have podcasts, when they say it's sold out, what they mean is their allotment is sold out. But do you really think that 1,000 people are going to send in $15,000 plus on this game when it hits the line? Of course, they'll be available for sale. Of course, you'll be able to find one because it's the same exact game as the LE. That's the other thing too. It's like it's the same exact game as the LE. And when people start to see LEs trading for below what they are right now, you're going to see it soften a little bit on needing to own the collector's edition. You know, look, there's very few games that are truly collectible. You guys know this. You know what they are. You know their names. I'm not going to list them right now. But this modern approach to making a thousand LEs, a thousand CEs, charging all of this money for them at MSRP, I think it severely diminishes the collectability of a lot of these games. And at the end of the day, the things that will always be the most collectible will be themes that people absolutely love and gameplay that people absolutely love. love. That is the way you become a pinball machine people want. People don't love the gameplay of Ghostbusters, but guess what? They love Ghostbusters. People don't love the gameplay of Batman 66, but they love Batman. A lot of people don't love Iron Maiden music, but they love the gameplay of Iron Maiden. And that's the thing, right? How many of you grown men are like Godzilla fanatics. You're not, but you love the Godzilla gameplay. You love the call-outs. You love the assets. You love the way that whole game comes at you with so much personality. And that's the thing. That's all we really want. That's all we want. We want a game that just connects with us, has personality, and is a ton of fun. We don't love the gameplay of Rick and Morty, but damn, what a good theme it is. And so as I look at the games in 2023, I'm looking at a lot of games or like the themes aren't really there. So what's really going to make these 2023 games stand out, it's going to be the gameplay. And look, what are people talking about with Foo Fighters? They're talking about the gameplay. What are they talking about with Godfather? They're talking about the gameplay. And this is why I think Galactic Tang 4 is, and I mean it when I say it, I'm trying, I'm trying real hard to kind of change my point of view on this game. But I don't think this game is going to win on theme. And I don't think it's going to win on gameplay. And that weird campiness and sense of humor, I think it's going to wear thin. And that's that. And then the question is, well, what's next? Now, I heard a rumor. This is not going to happen. But one of my fans said, hey, what if they make Berrio's food truck? Because food truck was completed at Deep Root Pinball. And they spent so much money. I heard Robert Mueller spent $2 million on the assets for games like Foo Fighters and Raza. So if all that is done and Berrio made Food Truck, do you think American Pinball would actually bring Food Truck out into the world? I don't know. I don't know. Like, I don't think people are going to line up to buy that game. I don't think they're going to line up to buy Galactic Tank Force. I think a sequel to Whitewater is also dicey. If Ryan McQuaid has a video game or arcade license game that he's working on, I would probably get that game out next. The big issue for Jersey Jack and for American Pinball and for all of these companies that are not Stern Pinball, the big issue is this. Do you have a game that people will like enough where you could keep the line going for six months? That's really the biggest challenge for all of these companies and probably more than six months, right? Because a lot of these companies only get out one game a year. So you need a game that's popular enough to keep your line moving for 12 months. And if that game's not popular enough, you need other popular games in your portfolio where you could also run some of your other titles. Now, here's an interesting thing. I was thinking about this. What if American Pinball puts Houdini in a normal cabinet? What if American Pinball does what Stern did? Why don't they actually fix some of the geometry issues on Houdini and release a new Houdini in a new cabinet? And how about this? Go one step further. How about they put the amazing Matt Andrews artwork, which they own, and re-skin it with that beautiful artwork that John Papadiuk, he creative directed that artwork. It looks so much better than the freaking artwork that's on the existing Houdini machine. What if they did that? What if they rerun Oktoberfest in the new cabinet, right? That game is loaded with mechs. It's a lot of fun, but it's just got the worst art package ever. So what if they redid that, put it in a new cabinet, and give these two games a second life? When you look at Oktoberfest and Houdini, both of those games are some of the most loaded games when it comes to mechanisms and mechanical magic. They just either had shots that were way too tight that you could probably open up, or they just had artwork that was just so hideous, nobody wanted to own it. And let's face it, nobody wants that frumpy backbox. It looks so bad in a lineup And now that they have a normal cabinet I think that would make total business sense because you don have to spend all the money on R You got a few games that you could re-release, just re-skin them. You might piss off the old owners, but here's the good news. There aren't a lot of old owners of American pinball games. All right, Kaneda, what are you going to talk about, Kaneda, for the next six months? All right, this is show number one on Proving Christopher Franchi wrong. Kaneda can actually talk on a weekly basis about pinball, even when there's no pinball news. This is what I've been doing for 790 episodes of Canadas Pinball Podcast. Why would we stop now? The real question is, am I going to upload seven free shows to be eligible for Twippy Victory number seven? I don't know. I think we open it up next year. I really do. All right. So look, Foo Fighters LE is on the line. People should be getting them probably next week. We're going to start to see unboxings of that game. I think this is going to be the game that wins the early half of 2023. You know, when I think about who's going to win best game of the year so far, if you were to look at just these games, I think Foo Fighter would take it. Now look, Brian Eddy's Venom might be coming out. There might be another Stern game coming out. We might get Steve Ritchie's Elton John sometime this year. So I think it's way too early to say this is going to be it. Pulp Fiction is going to be on the line by the end of the year. So it's going to be an interesting year. We are going to get more titles in 2023 than we did in 2022, I think in 2021 combined. But it's not about quantity. And that's the thing that I think everyone's feeling right now. Even though we got a surplus of new games, are we feeling like we got quality? Like these are the games we've been waiting for. That's a good question right now. Let me ask that of you right now. I'm going to name this podcast that. are these the games that we've been waiting for and i think if we ask that question and we stare in that pinball mirror the answer is no like these aren't the games we've been waiting for these aren't the themes people are super excited about these are like the b-level themes and some of them execute it very well i think foo fighters blew us all away i think nobody was expecting a single level pulp fiction game to do it it did and i think those are the two real winners i think Godfather as a theme is a head scratcher. It is Jersey Jack pinball's best shooting game to date, but it is kind of mechanically empty when you look down at the game. And like hearing Jersey Jack employees do call outs in a Godfather pinball machine based on this iconic movie by Martin Scorsese, it is really somewhat cringeworthy when you see that happening. I don't want to see Jersey Jack employees in a Godfather game. I don't want to see them as mobsters on the art package of the game. Think about it. If they made Top Gun Pinball and Eric Minier designed it, I don't want to see Eric Minier in a cockpit of an airplane on the cabinet of the machine. You don't get to do that. It's just so weird, like seeing American Pinball put all of their employees into the game. It's just weird. Now, look, you can do it on an original game like Galactic Tank Force. There's no source material that they're taking liberty with. But with a movie like Godfather, you can't do it. I mean, imagine if Guns N' Roses had a skeleton of Eric Meunier on it, on the back glass. It just doesn't make sense. Here's the thing. The year is only half over. I think we got a lot more pinball coming. There's a lot of weird stuff coming, like is Turner Pinball going to do something? New games from Pinball Adventures. There's going to be even more stuff from these boutique companies throwing their hat into the ring. There's also going to be another game from Dutch Pinball. Now, look, Christopher Franchi did in his podcast with Orby. He did say that Kaneda's rumor about Batman 89 was incorrect. Now, here's the thing. It was a rumor. And this is why I release rumors, because they bring out the truth. So if Christopher Franchi is saying it is not Batman 89, I tend to believe him. I will take his word that it is not Batman 89. The other thing I'm hearing that it's a sci-fi game. I'm really hoping it's the Matrix. And the reason why I'm hoping it's the Matrix is I was talking a while ago to someone affiliated with Dutch. And I think they said something to me like, Jack Guarnieri does not have the license for the Matrix. And if you were to ask me, looking at the direction Jersey Jack is going in right now, like stripping everything out of its games and the direction Dutch Pinball has done with Big Lebowski, I would much rather have Dutch Pinball and Barry design the Matrix right now than Jersey Jack Pinball. The next game from Jersey Jack Pinball is going to be the one where we know or not if they're going to go back to making loaded games. It's not about Eric spinning the fact that there's twice as many parts in Godfather as Pirates. Come on, come on, a screw's a part, right? A little diverter's a part. Like you don't get to count those things. It's not the number of parts that matters. It's, again, it's not the quantity. It's the quality of what you're creating with those parts. And I think anyone that stands over Pirates of the Caribbean and Wizard of Oz doesn't care that Godfather has more parts in it. What they care about is those other games have more toys. They have more things that interact with the ball. There's more movement happening in the game. The freaking Flying Monkey, which was the first game Jersey Jack ever made. The Flying Monkey that magnetizes the ball and brings it to the upper playfield is more impressive than anything that's in Godfather. The Pirate Ship in Pirates is way more impressive than anything that's in Godfather. And when I think about pinball companies and I think about their evolutions, every game they make should be an improvement on what they done before And that my big issue is the only thing that really got improved is the flipper feel which there never should have been an issue on Everything else feels like it now not there Oh but you got to play it, Kaneda. It's fun, Kaneda. It shoots well, Kaneda. Kaneda, how are you going to do shows for the next six months, Kaneda? Everybody, look, we all want a new game. I want a new game. You want a new game. We all want a new game. I've got one more payment on my Batman SLE, and then it is mine. And then I have to figure out where to put it as I try to find a house. It's been a very stressful year for myself and Brenda. I'm gonna end this show on a little bit of a sad note. We had an issue trying to expand our family and it really did suck. And I haven't gone into details, but it's been very painful for us to go through this. And I've always put on a smile. I always did my shows. I did my Saturday morning spectaculars, all while we were going through this. I had some of the most devastating meetings with doctors and it was really heartbreaking to learn everything we were learning. It was heartbreaking to go through everything we went through. And my gosh, to see the power of a woman like Brenda and her ability to not just go through all of it, but then also be the most amazing mother to Killian and the most incredible wife to myself, it's absolutely been incredible. The strength that one woman brings into my world, and I love Brenda more than anything. And just a couple months later, I lost one of my best friends and coworkers that I loved dearly at the age of 35. So all of this happened in this year while all these pinball machines were coming out. A week after the Twippies, I lost my friend. And so that's sort of like what's defined this year for me is the struggle between the personal life and the pinball excitement. And what I've learned from all of this is that we really need each other more than ever and that this community is an amazing community filled with amazing people. And what I love about pinball and all of you and the products themselves is we give such meaning to it. We give such meaning to pinball, more meaning than it deserves. Like we give these games way more meaning than they ever deserved. They were never meant to do what they're doing right now for our lives. You got to remember that, right? These were meant to go into arcades and compete with stuff like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter and just get quarters for operators. That is what these things were designed to do for decades. And now they've taken on a whole new meaning because what these machines are building isn't just money for an operator, which it's still doing on some level. But the majority of pinball machines that are made today are building a community of people. They're building memories for homeowners. You know, they're building clubs, they're building league nights. All these things are new and part of the modern pinball experience. And it's absolutely a beautiful thing to see a product like a pinball machine take on a whole new meaning. And I've really needed this podcast over the last few months to get through everything I've been getting through because this outlet to me means so much. And you being a part of it means the world to me. You'll never know how much it means to me every month when I look at the club members, how many people subscribe to this show. It means the world. And, yes, that's me asking you not only to stick around, but I would love it if you could invite some of your other friends who love pinball to check out this show. because I think they're going to get the most entertaining take on pinball. They're going to get a take with no agenda, and they're just going to have a good time. And I think each and every one of you has a friend who could definitely join, and I'm not going to raise prices. $5 is the entry level. Some of you pay a lot more than that, and I thank you so much for that. And this show is not going anywhere. And I don't do this show to win the Twippies. I win the Twippies because I have fun making the show. And when I was listening to Franchi talk about why he's leaving, He's leaving basically because of me. He's like, well, people don't want this. They want that. And he's like, that is terrible. That is negative. That is toxic. And my thing is this. He doesn't even listen to the show. He hasn't been a club member since I've had a Canada Club. And so for two years, he's never heard me say what I always say, which is I think he's an incredible artist. I think he's extremely talented. And I think if you're talented at something, don't worry what other people say about you. You know how many people don't like me? I mean, the list is very long. But if I were to quit this podcast because other people didn't like me or like how I do my show, I wouldn't be able to make it through a week if I listened to the Canadian haters. You know, you got to just tune it out. And look, life doesn't have to be all or nothing either. Like, you don't have to quit doing your podcast because you didn't win a Twippy. I mean, it's just a popularity contest. It means nothing. You know what matters more to me? The subscribers here are what matter the most. So thank each and every one of you for being a part of the show. And I think we can get to 600. I do. And I think it's going to happen real soon. And again, Kim Mitchell keeps hitting me up. He wants to give you his $400. $598 and $599 each get $100. And number 600 gets $200. I'm telling you right now, you could easily, you could do this. You could set up eight fake Gmail accounts and get those freaking final eight slots and win $400. I mean, it's the easiest way to make $400 on planet Earth. Everybody, I love you guys. Have a great Friday with your families. I'll be on tomorrow for the Saturday Morning Spectacular, and we ain't never going to run out of stuff to talk about. Give me no news. That's when I thrive. When there's no news, guess who's going to make the news? Kaneda, out. Tomorrow is Saturday, and Sunday comes afterwards. I don't want this weekend to end. BRB Rebecca Black So chillin' in the front In the backseat Driving, cruising Passing lanes, switching lanes With a car by my side Passing by, it's a scoop In front of me, it's TikTok

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 7a84fa78-ec1e-4ad3-b29f-8caee9698df4*