# Episode 837: "Epiphany" **Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed) **Type:** podcast_episode **Published:** 2023-08-24 **Duration:** 22m 45s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-837-88183188 --- ## Analysis Kaneda reflects on eight years of independent pinball podcasting, responding to fan feedback criticizing his negative tone and repeated "wait and see" messaging. He discusses his philosophy of critical commentary as a counterbalance to industry cheerleading, explains his frustration with limited location play opportunities in NYC, and makes bold predictions for upcoming games from Keith Elwin (Jaws), Barry Laws (The Matrix), and Mark Ritchie, while acknowledging he should moderate his negativity while maintaining his editorial independence. ### Key Claims - [MEDIUM] Only about five days per year have legitimate pinball news, and the industry creates massive amounts of content around those few announcements — _Kaneda, discussing content creation challenges and industry news cycles_ - [MEDIUM] Seven or eight out of every ten new pinball machines released are not as good as previous machines from decades past — _Kaneda, making broad quality assessment of recent releases relative to historical games_ - [HIGH] There are zero Godfather pinball machines on location in New York City despite 16 million people in the area — _Kaneda, citing personal experience trying to play new games in NYC_ - [LOW] Keith Elwin's next game will be Jaws designed with Joe Kamnikow and will be game-changing — _Kaneda, making speculative prediction/hype about unreleased game_ - [LOW] Barry Laws' next game will be The Matrix — _Kaneda, speculating about Dutch Pinball's next title_ - [MEDIUM] A designer (referenced as 'Mr. Satan') who made the Metroid homebrew is 'sitting idly' at Jersey Jack Pinball waiting for their game — _Kaneda, commenting on JJP personnel and game development pipeline_ - [HIGH] Kaneda has won the Twippies award six years in a row for best podcast — _Kaneda, discussing past award wins and predicting future success_ - [HIGH] Kaneda's Patreon has approximately 600 members and Facebook page has 3,000 followers — _Kaneda, stating current community size metrics_ - [MEDIUM] Modern Pinball bar in NYC was 'just burning money every month' and couldn't sustain business — _Kaneda, commenting on NYC pinball venue economics_ - [MEDIUM] Spooky Pinball needs to improve game design and toy quality to justify current pricing — _Kaneda, offering critical analysis of Spooky's competitive position_ ### Notable Quotes > "I do a podcast about pinball because they banned me from Pinside like eight years ago." > — **Kaneda**, early > _Explains the origin story and motivation for starting independent podcast_ > "It's so obvious what a good game is. It's so obvious what you need to put into a good game." > — **Kaneda**, mid > _Reflects Kaneda's confidence in his ability to assess game quality despite not being a designer_ > "We are never going to get better pinball machines that wow us if we do applauses and cheerlead and do jumping jacks with every new game that comes out." > — **Kaneda**, mid > _Core justification for his critical approach vs. other podcasters' promotional stance_ > "I'm not happy because I'm not able to play most of these new games. And I'm being honest about that." > — **Kaneda**, mid-late > _Reveals underlying frustration driving negative tone—lack of location access in NYC_ > "I have really good friendships with some people very high up in organizations like Stern. You just don't know it. I don't talk about it." > — **Kaneda**, late-mid > _Claims private industry relationships while maintaining public independence_ > "I think Keith Elwin's game is going to be Jaws. I think it's going to blow us away. I think this game is going to be the game we all need." > — **Kaneda**, late > _High-profile prediction about unreleased Keith Elwin game; builds hype narrative_ > "You're never going to be able to mirror me. Everyone's got to find their own style." > — **Kaneda**, late > _Reflects on his unique position and influence in the podcasting space_ > "We're all grown adults talking about a super expensive toy." > — **Kaneda**, late > _Meta-commentary on the hobby itself and perspective on community drama_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (837 episodes, 8+ years); independent podcaster banned from Pinside; marketing professional; influential community voice known for critical analysis | | Pinball Mania | person | Anonymous community member (username 'Pinball Mania 2023') who sent critical feedback to Kaneda about mocking players losing money on games; appears to have large collection and significant financial resources | | Felipe | person | Patreon supporter who sent positive feedback to Kaneda; commutes on France-Switzerland border and listens to podcast during drives | | Keith Elwin | person | Pinball designer; subject of Kaneda's speculation about upcoming game (predicted to be Jaws with Joe Kamnikow) | | Joe Kamnikow | person | Pinball designer; Kaneda speculates he will co-design Keith Elwin's next game (Jaws prediction) | | Steve Ritchie | person | Pinball designer at Jersey Jack Pinball; Kaneda expresses hope he will deliver successful game | | Mark Ritchie | person | Pinball designer; recently completed Pulp Fiction; working on next game at CGC and Play Mechanics | | Barry Laws | person | Designer at Dutch Pinball; Kaneda speculates his next game could be The Matrix | | Dennis Norman | person | Designer of Galactic Tank Force; Kaneda dismisses game and questions the point of its three-year development | | Mr. Satan | person | Designer of Metroid homebrew; reportedly waiting for game release at Jersey Jack Pinball; Kaneda suggests he should move to Spooky | | AJ | person | Executive/founder at Spooky Pinball; Kaneda congratulates him on new baby | | Jason Knapp | person | Content creator; Kaneda cites as example of someone making consistently good pinball content | | Zach Sharpe | person | Content creator/distributor (Flippin' Out Pinball); Kaneda cites as making good content | | Greg Bone | person | Content creator; Kaneda cites as making good pinball content | | Bill Brandis | person | Wealthy pinball community member; mentioned as someone Kaneda wouldn't want to walk near due to net worth disparity | | Kim Mitchell | person | Wealthy pinball community member; mentioned as someone Kaneda wouldn't want to walk near due to net worth disparity | | Neil McCray | person | Wealthy pinball community member; mentioned as someone Kaneda wouldn't want to walk near | | Robert Mooney | person | Kaneda's friend; identified as wealthy in pinball community | | Adam | person | Kaneda's friend in NYC; mentioned as wealthy in pinball community | | Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; subject of Kaneda's critical commentary and claimed private relationships with leadership | | Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; Kaneda discusses Godfather's poor location performance and designer pipeline issues | | Spooky Pinball | company | Wisconsin-based boutique manufacturer; Kaneda critiques design/toy quality vs. artwork quality; suggests need to hire more designers | | Dutch Pinball | company | Barry Laws' company; subject of speculation about upcoming The Matrix game | | CGC and Play Mechanics | company | Company where Mark Ritchie completed Pulp Fiction and is working on next game | ### Topics - **Primary:** Podcast philosophy and editorial independence, Community feedback and criticism, Critical vs. promotional commentary in pinball media, Upcoming game speculation (Jaws, The Matrix, Mark Ritchie), Pinball location availability and NYC market challenges - **Secondary:** Game pricing and secondary market economics, Boutique manufacturer competitiveness and design quality, Content creator influence and industry relationships ### Sentiment **Mixed** (0.55) — Episode shows introspective tone with Kaneda reflecting on legitimate criticism while defending his approach. Underlying frustration about NYC location scarcity and game quality concerns, but tempered by appreciation for community support and optimistic predictions for upcoming games. Ends on positive, aspirational note about 2024 releases. ### Signals - **[content_signal]** Kaneda discusses his podcast strategy, editorial independence, and response to community criticism after 837 episodes; reflects on content creation challenges in niche market (confidence: high) — Entire episode structure; meta-discussion of why he does the show, response to fan letter from 'Pinball Mania' - **[sentiment_shift]** Kaneda acknowledges overcorrecting toward negativity and willingness to moderate tone while maintaining critical independence; shows receptiveness to constructive feedback (confidence: high) — Extended discussion of Pinball Mania letter; statements like 'I can make this show more positive' and 'ease off the throttle a little bit' - **[rumor_hype]** Kaneda makes explicit prediction that Keith Elwin's next game is Jaws (co-designed with Joe Kamnikow) and will be major hit; frames it as hype-building speculation rather than confirmed intel (confidence: low) — 'I think Keith Elwin's game is going to be with Joe Kamnikow. I think it's going to be Jaws.' Presented as prediction/hope, not fact - **[rumor_hype]** Kaneda speculates Barry Laws/Dutch Pinball's next game could be The Matrix; questions whether Barry 'has the Matrix' (confidence: low) — 'Does he have the Matrix? We're going to talk a little bit about Barry on this episode.' Later: 'I think Barry's going to make a game that's as good as Jaws. I do. I think it's going to be The Matrix.' - **[venue_signal]** Kaneda reports zero location play opportunities for major new releases in NYC (Godfather, Galactic Tank Force, Scooby, Toy Story 4); cites operator preference for Stern machines as barrier to boutique game placement (confidence: high) — 'In New York City, where the Godfather takes place, there are zero Godfather games on location.' 'There no Scooby in New York City. So all of these new games are coming out and I barely get any time on them' - **[market_signal]** Kaneda notes secondhand pinball market has 'gone through the roof' and community still operates with COVID-era pricing assumptions; contrasts with fashion resale value preservation (confidence: medium) — 'When you want to buy a pinball machine secondhand the secondhand market has gone through the roof. Everybody still thinks we're living in a COVID-era marketplace for pinball, and it's getting crazy.' - **[product_concern]** Kaneda asserts seven or eight out of every ten new machines are not as good as historical games; questions value proposition at current $7,000-$15,000+ prices when quality doesn't justify cost (confidence: medium) — 'Seven or eight out of every new machine we get is not as good as previous machines we've had. And as the prices keep climbing up and up and up, I think there needs to be a little bit of a voice of reason.' - **[community_signal]** Kaneda reflects on his influence (10% of Facebook followers adopt his opinions) and industry positioning as critical outsider; claims private relationships with Stern leadership while maintaining public independence (confidence: medium) — 'With all of the influence I have...it's hard to get people's opinions out of your head.' 'I have really good friendships with some people very high up in organizations like Stern. You just don't know it.' - **[personnel_signal]** Kaneda suggests designer 'Mr. Satan' (Metroid homebrew creator) is underutilized at Jersey Jack Pinball and should be recruited to Spooky for faster game releases (confidence: low) — 'Think about how sad it is that that other designer is just sitting idly over at Jersey Jack Pinball...Mr. Satan, you know, the guy who made the Metroid homebrew game. What's he doing over there? Like he's just sitting there with his hands in his pockets for years' - **[business_signal]** Kaneda predicts Haggis is in trouble ('big trouble'), won't complete Fathoms or Centaur Run; questions boutique manufacturer survival at current pricing without quality differentiation (confidence: low) — 'I don't think Haggis is going to get all these fathoms made. I don't think they're going to finish the centaur run. And I think they're in big trouble.' - **[competitive_signal]** Kaneda frames competition as quality-driven: if Keith Elwin/Jaws and Barry Laws games succeed at high level, companies without equivalent quality should 'just stop making pinball machines' (confidence: medium) — 'If you don't have a game as good as Jaws, as good as Godzilla, just stop making pinball machines. I think Barry's going to make a game that's as good as Jaws...It's going to be harder for companies like Spooky to get your money unless they crush it.' --- ## Transcript Welcome everybody to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. I'm your host Kaneda. I call this episode Epiphany because I think every once in a while you got to kind of take a break, take a pause, think about everything you're doing, think about everything you're saying and just evaluate like why am I doing a pinball podcast? Why am I talking about this hobby we all love and why do I take the approach I take in pinball podcasting and look I've been doing this now for over eight years. I have a very good finger on the pulse of this hobby of the community of these companies of these distributors of these fans everything about pinball. I've seen it all. I've been to all the shows. I've played almost all of the games. We're going to talk about that in a little bit. And I do a podcast about pinball because they banned me from Pinside like eight years ago. Now, when you do 830 something podcast about pinball, of course, you're going to get repetitive. Of course, there's only so much news. I always say this. There's like five days out of the year where there is legitimate pinball news. And then you think about the amount of content and people are making around those five days. And that's why it's a lot of fun to speculate what's around the corner. I'm super excited to see what's next from Keith Elwin. I'm super excited to see if Steve Ritchie can really deliver a home run over at Jersey Jack Pinball. I'm so excited to see what's next from Mark Ritchie after Pulp Fiction. It's coming. His game is done. His next game is done over at CGC and Play Mechanics. I'm super excited to see what Barry has cooking up over at Dutch Pinball. Does he have the Matrix? We're going to talk a little bit about Barry on this episode. And that's what makes pinball so exciting is every few months, a company gets to show us what they deem to be is a great pinball machine. I don't know how to make pinball machines. I don't know how to run a manufacturing company. I don't know how to draw a playfield art package or a cabinet art package. I'm good at what I do in marketing, you know, but I would be a terrible pinball company. But I do believe I can make good decisions if I was at a pinball company because that's what's really weird about this hobby to me. Is after all of these years and all of these decades, it's so obvious what a good game is. It's so obvious what you need to put into a good game. I would say like seven or eight out of every new machine we get is not as good as previous machines we've had. And as the prices keep climbing up and up and up, I think there needs to be a little bit of a voice of reason. You don't listen to my show and hear a bunch of advertisements for vendors or distributors or for games. You don't. You can turn on other podcasts and they'll do that. You can listen to other pinball personalities and they're always super excited and Win Schilling everything happening in the hobby. And look, that's their prerogative and that's fine. I think the world needs those sort of everything is awesome cheerleaders. But we also just need a counterpoint. And that's why I love doing Canadian Pinball Podcast. But let me get back to why I call this show Epiphany. I got a nice letter from Pinball Mania 2023. I'm not sure who this is, but it's Pinball Mania. And he says, Dear Kaneda, and the subject of his email to me was mocking others losing money on games. Wow. Okay. I'm not sure I mock people. Well, we'll talk about this. But he wrote to me, said, Dear Kaneda, just some general feedback on how you are regularly mocking others losing money on games. For one, it's not cool to do and in poor taste. two many of us new inbox buyers don't care if we lose 1 000 or even 3 000 on these games okay i'm just gonna stop right there who out there amongst you does not care if you lose 3 000 on a pinball machine who wants to lose 3 000 on a pinball machine you don't have to lose 3 000 on a pinball machine if the prices didn't go up 40 he writes no money is made or lost unless you sell a game that is true one game price for a fast sale doesn't mean every game of that title is now worth that amount. That is also true. He then goes on to write, our collections don't represent our 401ks and other retirement funds. You have clearly mentioned things about buying Gucci clothing. That is a worse investment than new pinball machines with terrible resale value, but no one is bringing that up. Well, look, you're right. Buying Gucci, buying high-end fashion is a terrible investment. Nobody buys clothes as an investment. And most people are not buying clothes worth thousands of dollars. Now, the thing is this, if you're going to go buy like Gucci and Louis Vuitton, Louis Vuitton makes more in one year than pinball has made in its entire history. LVMH is the most valuable company in Europe. Think about that. They're worth more than Mercedes-Benz. You buy something because you just want to enjoy it. And I get the same is true about pinball, but clothes and pinball are not the same thing because when you buy clothes, you tend to keep them. You tend to wear them till you wear them out and then you move on. And most people are not buying high-end fashion. For the people who do buy high-end fashion, they absolutely know that they are buying something, that they are never going to see that money again. And they know that going into the transaction. But in pinball, it's different. Pinball is different because we move pinballs in and out of our homes more often. We are more likely to want to trade in the pinball marketplace. And I'll tell you this, what's great about fashion, if you like fashion, I think most of you out there don't. I've seen the way you guys dress at the shows and it's okay. It's okay. I'm I love the fact that I have such an eclectic group of friends. I have friends that dress in super high-end fashion, who have $100,000 watches on, and then I have friends who just wear cargo shorts and t and they both happy And that all everybody ever should be If you waking up trust me if you waking up and you in a good mood you are winning in life. That is all that matters. Nothing else matters. It doesn't matter what I say, what other people say. If you in your personal decisions are waking up in a good mood, you are winning on planet earth. And to wake up in a good mood though, you probably have to be on top of your finances. you probably have to be surrounded by some friends and family that you love and you probably have to be doing something with your life that you're proud of and that will put you in a good mood. And every single moment we have on this planet and I learned this the hard way this past year by losing two things that meant so much to me and two people that meant so much to me every single moment we have is impermanent. It's not going to last. And that's why I am so happy I can do this podcast and for just a sliver of your existence you get to listen to Kaneda talk about pinball and I think it's fun and I think it's entertaining but for those of you out there who do like fashion here's the good news you can go on all these like secondhand sites like Grailed and RealReal and get high-end fashion for pennies to the dollar that's what I do now I don't walk into brick and mortar anymore and pay retail prices now in pinball that's not true this is the thing about pinball when you want to buy a pinball machine secondhand the secondhand market has gone through the roof Everybody still thinks we're living in a COVID-era marketplace for pinball, and it's getting crazy. But let me go on and read the rest of what Pinball Mania said. He writes, I just heard that over 3,000 new Dodge Demons are being made. Will the value of existing ones tank? Will they be less desirable? Should people mock others for buying the original? No. So please just stop being so negative all the time. Don't mock buyers with larger collections. Not everyone is in this hobby to break even or make a profit. it. Overall message, please do better and be more positive as when you are more positive, I think you are the best pinball podcaster out there. Being critical of the companies is fine and welcomed. Just don't do that to the buyers of these games. Finally, stop telling everyone to wait and see. You can't wait and see forever, but that seems to be your message over and over again for years. People are going to buy games they want. It's their money. Let them do what they want with it. Wow. Wow. I love getting this kind of feedback from my fans and from the community. Stop telling people to wait and see. Well, look, I'm not going to stop telling people to wait and see. But yes, have I been saying it maybe too much? Absolutely. Have I been beating a dead horse with that message? Yes. And the reason why and I want to explain why I am encouraging everybody to wait and see because I think telling people to wait and see is actually looking out for the community. I'm trying to save people money, and I don't think that's a bad thing. Now, look, I don't know who Pinball Mania is, but thank you for the note. It does sound like he probably has a large collection. It does sound like he probably is well off financially, and it does sound like he wants Kaneda to be more positive. Now, look, I think we can take this note from Pinball Mania, and I think I can reflect on what he's saying, and I think I can make this show more positive. I'm willing to do that. I'm willing to not be so negative and down and out. And look, I get it. I get when I get caught in a little bit of a cycle where I'm just ragging on haggis or I'm ragging on American pinball. And I love ragging on companies when they make boneheaded decisions. You know why I love doing it? Because nobody else is doing it. Nobody else is doing it. Everybody else will interview Dennis Nordman and wants to hear his story about why he made Galactic Tank Force. And I'm like, well, I don't really care. I don't really care. You made the game. You finished the game. You put it in a box. I got to play it. I've seen other people play it, and I don't think it's worth $8,000 or $11,500 or $17,500. I think after 30 years of all these great pinball machines from Bally Williams to today, if you're going to drop Galactic Tank Force out into the pinball world, the only people that are going to buy this original theme know pinball very well. No one's going to be fooled by it. And what was the point, right? What was the point of spending three years making a game that almost nobody wants? Why would you do that with Mukesh's money? Why would you do that with someone else's dollar? And that's the thing is like, I'm not going to stop being that Canadian. But what I can do is just ease off the throttle a little bit and I get it. And I'm probably overdoing it. And the reason why I overdo the wait and see stuff is simply when I listen to everybody else. Everybody else is Win Schilling for these companies and I don't understand why. We are never going to get better pinball machines that wow us if we do applauses and cheerlead and do jumping jacks with every new game that comes out. Now, here's the thing. This is why I think I've been more negative than I want to be. It's simply this. I'm not happy because I'm not able to play most of these new games. And I'm being honest about that. Like, I have not been able to play Godfather at all. In New York City, where the Godfather takes place, there are zero Godfather games on location. Now, whose fault is that? Are you telling me Jersey Jack Pinball can't find an operator in freaking New York City where there's 16 million people? There are hundreds and hundreds of potential buyers in this area. You can't put one game into a location. You can't find one place to just drop it. It could be in Barcade. It could be at Jack Bar. And here's the thing. I know the operators don't really want it because they don't want a game that's not going to earn as well as a Stern machine or is going to have more complications. So I can't play Godfather. So I'm still just talking about a game now for five, six months where I don't even have any time on the machine. I have no time on Galactic Tank Force There none of those in New York City There no Scooby in New York City So all of these new games are coming out and I barely get any time on them And so, yeah, I would love to play these games more often. But what I'm not going to do is buy them to play them. I'm not going to buy them to play them. None of these games look like games I ever want to own or would spend this much money on. But I still just want to enjoy them. And so it's been hard. I mean, New York City, you know, New York City when it comes to pinball is terrible. It's absolutely terrible. We don't get the new pins. We don't. We're going to get Venom over at Jack Bar pretty soon. But other than that, it's a dry zone for pinball. I'll tell you this. I stay up late some nights being like, I should just open up a pinball place in New York City, right? If New York City prices weren't so expensive, I would open up a pinball bar tomorrow. But no, I mean, I've seen them come and go. A pinball place will not keep you in business in New York City. I mean, modern pinball was just like burning money every month. But that's been my thing lately is I just want to jump on these new machines and I don't want to jump on an airplane to have to play them. Now, look, here's the thing. I've got 600 or something club members. I've got 3,000 people, 3,000 people that are fans of Kaneda's Facebook page. Now, I know more people are listening to this show right now and some of you are listening right now and you didn't pay for it. Some of you are logging in illegally. And to you cheapskates out there, I say, hey, I think you should be ashamed of yourselves. It's $5 a month and you're enjoying this show and you're not paying for it. I think you're lame and I think you should join this show, okay? But here's the truth. Canada has some influence in the pinball space. Do I have a ton of influence? I think I have enough influence to change the narrative on a game for a few hundred people. Absolutely. I also think my show is popular because when I make my point of view on a game, it's like a lot of you agree, right? I'm not like coming out of left field being like, oh, Godzilla sucks. Like, you know what I'm saying? like that would be the greatest clickbait headline ever. Keith Elwin is overrated. Like you don't see headlines like that. If I wanted to really clickbait you and be negative, you would hear me say stuff like that. But I don't. I think I call it like it is like even my own Guns N' Roses. I will tell you right now, do I think the Guns N' Roses gameplay is pretty bad? Yeah, it's not the best gameplay. Does it feel like chopping wood with all the multi balls? Absolutely. Is it still my favorite band? Yes. Will I ever sell my 500 Guns N' Roses CE? No. I will keep that machine my entire life because it means more to me than the money. It's about the band I grew up with, singing, pretending I was Axl Rose in the mirror for like 10 years of my life, people. It's not easy doing this show every week and saying something that you know is a little bit contentious. It's going to rub certain people the wrong way. Friends come and go when it comes to my friends in the pinball hobby. And that's just the natural way of, I saw something in the elevator that said, the ideal amount of friends you need in life to be happy is three to five. Okay, three to five. And I've definitely got that. And I know you probably have that too. So I don't need to be friends with everybody. I don't make anybody listen to my content. I don't force anyone to join my Facebook page, but people just decided that they enjoy the content. And I'm really happy that you do. But I definitely have some influence. And here's the thing that's funny to me. With all of the influence I have, with all the fans I have. Because think about it. Like, let's just say like 10% of my Facebook page or half of you are really gonna latch on to like an opinion I have about a game. And I get you're gonna make your own opinions, but you know, it's hard to get people's opinions out of your head. Like we read movie reviews for a reason. We read restaurant reviews for a reason. And that's why it's important for pinball companies to control the narrative whenever they release a game. I mean, that's basic marketing. And that is why it is funny to me that pinball companies, they don't even approach me. They put me in a corner like I'm some sort of black sheep. And it's fine. I like being there because I'm free, but it doesn't help them any. It only helps me. And I'm always open to building bridges between myself and pinball companies. I have really good friendships with some people very high up in organizations like Stern. You just don't know it. I don't talk about it. I don't reveal what those private conversations are because they're private. And I have intimate conversations with some of the top brass there. And right now they're scrambling, trying to figure out who that is. But it's a good thing. It's a healthy thing. And I've met a few of my best friends in life through pinball, and that's a good thing. But I am always open to your feedback. I'm always open to your criticisms. You know, I got another note, and I love getting notes like this. I got this note yesterday at 8.28 in the morning from Felipe. It says, Hi, Chris. Just wanted to raise my membership to express my gratitude for the work you do. I drive a lot to commute here in France-Switzerland border, and your podcast has a good place in my trip. So thanks again for the hard work and keep up the good spirits. Cheers, Felipe. You know, I love stuff like this. I love that I am part of your impermanent world for just a little bit of time. I don't care what anybody says about me. I don't. I fight my own battles. I make my own show. And I'm free to do what I want on these airwaves. And I'm going to keep doing it. I'm going to keep doing it. I don't do it for the twippies anymore. I used to. I used to need that accolade. But six years in a row. And I still think we're going to win a seventh year in a row because all I've got to do is put up six free shows or seven free shows. And then we eligible. And then those 3,000 people and the 600 of you, if I just get all of you to vote, we win. I mean, every year, that's what the numbers indicate. You know why it's hard to beat Kaneda? It's not just my show. It's not just my point of view. It's consistent and it's good. And you get it every single week. There are very few people that work really hard at pinball content creation that make good content. And I mean that, that make good content. You know who they are. Jason Knapp is one of them. Zach Menny is one of them. Greg Bone is one of them. Loser Kid Pinball Podcast is one of them Bro Do You Even Talk Pinball is one of them Silver Ball Chronicles is one of them You know who they are And I have nothing but respect for those people who make really good content and are consistent at it I enjoy Cengiz content in Denmark I do I like the way he talks about this hobby. And look, there's a lot of people that try to do this. There's a lot of people that want to mirror my style and drift off of the way I do my show. And they're never going to get there. You're never going to be able to mirror me. Everyone's got to find their own style. and I respect everybody who does it their way. And I know there's drama all the time in this hobby. Some of it is self-inflicted. Some of it just happens. So what? So what? Who cares? We're all grown adults talking about a super expensive toy. And so that's my thing. As I head into 2024, I just want to say that I am nothing but excited about pinball. And I think you should be too. And I know the prices are high. And who cares? Because no one's going to make us buy any of these games unless they wow us. And that's exciting. Here's what I think is going to happen. and I mean it. I'm going to get the hype train going on this. I think Keith Elwin's game is going to be with Joe Kamnikow. I think it's going to be Jaws. I think it's going to blow us away. I think this game is going to be the game we all need. We haven't felt this way since Godzilla. Jaws is a theme that has more popularity with the pinball buying demographic. I think Jaws is going to crush and I think Jaws is going to send a signal to everybody else. If you don't have a game as good as Jaws, as good as Godzilla, just stop making pinball machines. I think Barry's going to make a game that's as good as Jaws. I do. I think it's going to be The Matrix. I'm super excited. I think Mark Ritchie's next game is going to be bonkers great. I think it's going to be incredible. It's going to be harder for companies like Spooky to get your money unless they crush it. They need to get the game higher. They need to get their design to be as good as the artwork. That is Spooky's job to be done. If I were to march over there, and first of all, congratulations, AJ on the baby over at spooky pinball. That is all that really matters. Family and the family we love and the family that we bring into this world. Your baby is adorable. So congratulations. Now let me go back to saying something about spooky. They need to get their design as good as their artwork. If I were to fly over to Benton, Wisconsin and walk through the door, I say, guys, we're so close. We're so close. You got everything else figured out. Like, you know how to make games. You know how to do it. Now, you know how to screw all the parts together, right? Now, the only thing left for us to do is get the design and the toys to where they need to be to justify these prices. And the way we're going to get there is we're going to hire somebody. All right. You're making the money now. Go hire someone else. Think about how sad it is that that other designer is just sitting idly over at Jersey Jack Pinball. He could be at Spooky, Mr. Satan, you know, the guy who made the Metroid homebrew game. What's he doing over there? Like he's just sitting there with his hands in his pockets for years as we wait for his game. And it's not going to come out anytime soon. So like, it's just like, at least it's spooky. You'd see your new game out like every year. And look, what else? I don't think Haggis is going to get all these fathoms made. I don't think they're going to finish the centaur run. And I think they're in big trouble. The reason why these boutiques that are not executing right now are going to be in big trouble as at these prices, why would you even bother? Like, why would you bother buying a mediocre game? If Keith Elwin is going to knock it out of the park, that's why nobody's buying Godfather, it just doesn't wow us. It's why nobody bought Toy Story 4 or Galactic Tank Force. And it's okay. It's okay to watch these companies put something in front of us. And as a community, we say, I'm not buying this. And we can say it with a smile. And I feel good because every time you say no, every time you say no, your checking account stays $7,000 to $10,000 to $15,000 just instantly stays in your checking account. And that's great. I don't know all your finances. I kind of think it would be funny to walk around a pinball show and everyone had a little bubble over their head that was like their net worth. I wouldn't want to walk near Bill Brandis. I wouldn't want to walk near Kim Mitchell. I wouldn't want to walk near Hector. I would feel so broke. I wouldn't want to walk next to Neil McCray. You know, I wouldn't want to walk next to my friend Robert Mooney or my friend Adam in New York City. I mean, look, some of you guys, God bless. I'm so happy that you've created such great personal wealth. I am never one to be spiteful or envious of anybody's success. I think it's great. I think the only people we learn from are successful people. The plague of society is people who hate on people who are successful, who blame other people for their misfortune, who look for the government for solutions. No, you got to pick yourself up by your bootstraps and make it happen for yourself. And those are the people, as I said, those are the people that wake up and are in the best mood. Can you tell them in a good mood? I like this feedback. Keep criticizing Kaneda. If you criticize me, it will only make me better. It will only make me stronger. So thank you, Pinball Mania 2023. Thank you, Felipe. And thank all of you for joining Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, because it really means the world to me that every week you tune in, we're still right around 603 or four or five club members. And for you guys freeloading on this show, come on. It's time. You know it's time. You've got the money. Like I could go get a cup of coffee downstairs that would be about $7. And you can't kick Kaneda $5 for years of the most entertaining pinball podcast on planet Earth. And anyone that wants to try to mimic me, you're never going to make it. You're in the rearview mirror. And no one's going to care because they got Kaneda. And Kaneda going nowhere. Later, everybody. I can't get away from you Now, I keep on talking, keep on talking You're nothing, no, I can't stop missing you _(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 7ca985d9-1b05-4975-b534-25eed2436c36*