# Episode 1014: "The Agony and Ecstasy of Metallica R LE"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-10-21  
**Duration:** 23m 38s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-1014-and-114421931

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## Analysis

Kaneda analyzes Stern's strategic shift to 500-unit production for Metallica Remastered LE, arguing this restores FOMO and collector value after prior oversupply damaged resale prices on 1,000-unit releases like John Wick, Venom, and Avatar LEs. He critiques Jersey Jack's two-tier model as broken, predicts Metallica LE will command $16,000–$18,000 on secondary market, and speculates on implications for future remakes (Tron, LOTR, King Kong) and original owner protections.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] 95% of Stern Avatar LE machines have tanked in value after one year from $13,000 MSRP — _Kaneda, discussing secondary market depreciation of recent 1,000-unit releases_
- [HIGH] X-Men LE at 811 units still has not sold out, indicating over-production — _Kaneda, citing Stern's prior reduction from 1,000 to 811 units as unsuccessful demand control_
- [HIGH] Metallica Remastered LE limited to 500 units globally, instant sell-out — _Kaneda, confirming rapid clearance immediately post-announcement_
- [HIGH] Only 21 Metallica LE units allocated to Australia; 100+ people on waiting list — _Kaneda, illustrating supply constraints and extreme regional scarcity_
- [HIGH] John Borg spent more hours on Metallica Remastered than original, added 1,000 new call-outs — _Kaneda citing Borg's own statement about development scope_
- [MEDIUM] Stern said they would never remake Limited Editions, but have since moved goalposts to exclude only Spike 2 LE remakes — _Kaneda speculation on policy shift enabling Metallica remake and future candidates like Tron, LOTR, Ghostbusters_
- [MEDIUM] Metallica Remastered LE will trade for $16,000–$18,000 on secondary market — _Kaneda's personal prediction based on demand signals and collector behavior_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack's two-tier model (Pro at $12k, CE at $15k with 5,000 units) is unsustainable and illogical — _Kaneda critique of JJP pricing and production strategy_
- [MEDIUM] Pirates CE is the only truly collectible Jersey Jack machine (200 units produced) — _Kaneda opinion on JJP's collectibility record_
- [LOW] Stern makes minimal margin on Pro tier; Limited Edition premiums subsidize lower Pro pricing — _Kaneda referencing unattributed third-party information_

### Notable Quotes

> "yeah, you could get it in Wonderland because it doesn't exist. It's a fictional thing right now. Try to get that game at MSRP."
> — **Kaneda**, ~0:30s
> _Opens episode with sarcastic summary of impossible MSRP availability post-sellout_

> "500 only for the entire world. What happens? They instantly sell out."
> — **Kaneda**, ~12:00
> _Key confirmation of Metallica LE production cap and immediate market clearance_

> "John Borg himself said, I've put more hours into this game than I did into the original game. It's got a thousand new call outs."
> — **Kaneda**, ~14:30
> _Validates scope and designer investment in Metallica Remastered, differentiating from typical vault cosmetic-only remakes_

> "I think this game is a $16,000 to $18,000 purchase right now because I think a lot of people are never going to let it go."
> — **Kaneda**, ~20:00
> _Explicit secondary market valuation prediction reflecting scarcity-driven demand_

> "FOMO is good for pinball. For the rest of you out there who don't care about any of this vanity, any of this back and forth around resale price and value, the good news is they're going to make Metallica Premium Edition for as long as people want it."
> — **Kaneda**, ~28:30
> _Frames limited-edition scarcity as ecosystem feature benefiting casual players via extended Premium availability_

> "If you own some of these older Stern machines and you've had them for like over a decade and you now know that those games are targets for remakes like this, I think if I were you, I would know for a fact that Tron is coming."
> — **Kaneda**, ~42:00
> _Speculation on Tron LE remake signaling emerging remake strategy and potential investor windfall for early LE owners_

> "I think if Stern Limited Edition and you bought it when the game was released, and they're going to be able to get this data... you get first dibs at the new game. I think that would be the best way to do it."
> — **Kaneda**, ~48:30
> _Proposes fairness mechanism to protect original LE owner interests during remake cycles_

> "without the collectors, people, pinball wouldn't even be here. It wouldn't even have stuck around."
> — **Kaneda**, ~56:00
> _Defends collector culture and LE economics as essential to pinball industry survival_

> "FOMO only really works for the long term if a game is great."
> — **Kaneda**, ~58:30
> _Differentiates between sustainable FOMO (Metallica) vs. speculative hype (Alice in Wonderland)_

> "I might list one at a really high price just to see if anybody bites... All you need is one guy that really wants it with a lot of disposable income."
> — **Kaneda**, ~34:00
> _Reveals personal experimental listing intent and whale-targeting strategy for secondary market discovery_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; influential collector and community voice on LE strategy, secondary market analysis, and manufacturer criticism |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer adopting strategic production constraints (500 units for Metallica LE) to restore scarcity, moving away from 1,000-unit model after value depreciation on Avatar, Venom, John Wick LEs |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer with criticized two-tier model (Pro/$12k, CE/$15k with 5,000 units); only Pirates CE considered truly collectible |
| John Borg | person | Designer/developer of original Metallica and Metallica Remastered LE; stated he invested more hours into remaster than original, added 1,000 new call-outs |
| Metallica Remastered Limited Edition | product | New 500-unit LE release from Stern; instant sell-out; predicted to trade at $16k–$18k secondary market; represents shift in Stern's scarcity strategy post-oversupply |
| Metallica Limited Edition (Original) | product | Earlier LE release; current owners affected by potential 12-year-old machine revaluation in secondary market if remake strategy proceeds |
| Avatar Limited Edition | product | Stern 1,000-unit release; 95% depreciated ~$3k–$4k within one year; cited as cautionary example of oversupply damage |
| John Wick Limited Edition | product | Stern 1,000-unit release; secondary market depreciation example; $3k–$4k loss cited |
| Venom Limited Edition | product | Stern 1,000-unit release; cited as worst depreciation case with $5k+ loss from MSRP |
| X-Men Limited Edition | product | Stern release at 811 units; failed to sell out; Kaneda cites as evidence that unit reduction alone insufficient without additional differentiation (exclusive topper, cosmetics) |
| Alice in Wonderland Limited Edition | product | Recent Stern release; Kaneda predicts will hold ~$10k–$11k secondary value due to gameplay simplicity vs. Metallica LE trajectory |
| Pirates Collector's Edition | product | Jersey Jack 200-unit CE; only truly collectible JJP machine, holding strong secondary value; referenced as counterexample to failed JJP CE strategy |
| Tron Limited Edition | product | Potential Stern remake candidate; Kaneda predicts is 'coming' given Metallica precedent; original LE holders potentially facing value questions |
| The Lord of the Rings Limited Edition | product | Potential Stern remake candidate discussed; Kaneda skeptical it will be remade in near term vs. Tron |
| Ghostbusters Limited Edition | product | Potential Stern remake candidate; Kaneda cites as DMD-era LE possibly eligible for new-platform remake |
| King Kong Limited Edition | product | Upcoming Stern release on Spike 3 designed by Keith Elwin; Kaneda speculates on optimal production (500 units) and pricing ($16.5k with exclusive topper) |
| Dungeons & Dragons Limited Edition | product | Potential upcoming Stern release by Brian Eddy; Kaneda predicts production will drop to 500–600 units vs. typical 800 if released |
| Godzilla Limited Edition | product | Potential remake anniversary release; Kaneda cites as example of avoided 'burn' scenario if JJP or Stern had re-released LE immediately after standard edition |
| Guns N' Roses | product | Stern game in Kaneda's collection; paired thematically with Metallica Remastered LE as music-themed one-two punch |
| Iceman44 | person | Pinside forum user cited as spreading speculation that Metallica LE will depreciate in six months; Kaneda dismisses prediction |
| Keith Elwin | person | Designer of King Kong on Spike 3; Kaneda references in context of production and pricing strategy speculation |
| Brian Eddy | person | Potential designer of upcoming Dungeons & Dragons release; Kaneda speculates on production numbers |
| Spike 2 | product | Stern's pinball hardware platform used by Metallica and recent games; Kaneda notes policy to not remake Spike 2 LEs despite general LE remake precedent |
| Spike 3 | product | Stern's newer hardware platform; Kaneda speculates Metallica Remastered could have driven even higher demand on Spike 3; King Kong designed on this platform |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Limited Edition production strategy and scarcity economics, Secondary market depreciation and collector value retention, Stern Pinball's three-tier (Pro/Premium/LE) pricing model vs. alternatives, Remake strategy for classic Limited Edition machines (Tron, LOTR, Ghostbusters), Metallica Remastered LE as watershed moment for Stern strategy
- **Secondary:** Jersey Jack Pinball's two-tier model viability and collectibility, FOMO and artificial scarcity as sustainable ecosystem drivers, Original owner protection mechanisms in remake cycles

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.72) — Kaneda is enthusiastically supportive of Stern's 500-unit Metallica LE strategy and FOMO restoration, defends collector culture as essential to industry, and is optimistic about secondary market prospects. However, he expresses frustration with original Metallica LE owners facing remake competition, critiques Jersey Jack's pricing model as 'inane and stupid,' and warns newer collectors against overpaying for Tron/LOTR. Overall tone is bullish on Metallica, Stern's direction, and collector-driven market dynamics, but not uncritical of prior mistakes and competitor shortcomings.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Jersey Jack Pinball's two-tier model (Pro $12k, CE $15k with 5,000+ units) fundamentally broken; Kaneda argues unsustainable pricing and production strategy, only Pirates CE considered collectible (confidence: high) — Kaneda: '12 and 15 just doesn't work... 5,000 versions of a $12,000 machine is absolutely inane and stupid' and 'There's not 1,000 people that want to spend $15,000 on a Limited Edition.'
- **[community_signal]** Metallica Remastered LE instant sell-out with global supply constraints (21 Australia, 100+ wait lists, dealer backlogs 3x production) signals unprecedented demand concentration and collector prioritization (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'Only 21 games went to Australia. And I know the list was like 100 people long. And I know in America, all the dealers have like a wait list. That's like three times the amount of games that have been manufactured.'
- **[design_philosophy]** Metallica Remastered LE positioned as substantial content upgrade (1,000 new call-outs, John Borg invested more hours than original) vs. cosmetic-only vault approach (Jurassic Park, Elvira HoH); philosophy shift toward depth-first differentiation (confidence: high) — Kaneda citing Borg: 'I've put more hours into this game than I did into the original game... It's got a thousand new call outs. All the band members worked on this game.'
- **[leak_detection]** Metallica Remastered LE details (500 units, instant sell-out, enhanced code) confirmed post-Pinball Expo; supply constraints and dealer backlogs suggest production planning aligned with scarcity strategy (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'And they were available, people, on the eve of the game launching. If you went around to different distros and looked at who was taking orders, people had orders open.'
- **[market_signal]** Metallica LE commanded $16k–$18k secondary market premium within days of MSRP sell-out; geographic scarcity (21 units Australia, 100+ wait list) and dealer backlogs indicate extreme demand/supply imbalance (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I think this game is a $16,000 to $18,000 purchase right now' and 'all the dealers have like a wait list. That's like three times the amount of games that have been manufactured.'
- **[community_signal]** Kaneda announcing personal experimental listing of Metallica LE at above-MSRP pricing to test secondary market ceiling; positions himself as data gatherer on whale demand dynamics (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I might do a little experiment. I might list one at a really high price just to see if anybody bites... All you need is one guy that really wants it with a lot of disposable income.'
- **[product_concern]** X-Men LE at 811 units failed to sell out despite quality game; Kaneda argues cosmetic/feature differentiation alone insufficient without exclusive toppers or higher price point tier separation (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'X-Men 811 wasn't enough... if Stern Pinball really wants to differentiate the X-Men Limited Edition, what they've done just isn't enough. It also needed like an exclusive topper.'
- **[product_strategy]** Stern considering exclusive toppers and premium cosmetics as standard LE differentiators (e.g., higher pricing at $15k–$16.5k for King Kong); potential policy shift toward topper bundling (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I think these games, if you know the demand is so high, right... they might start to explore an exclusive topper that goes on the Limited Edition like Jersey Jack Pinball does' and 'charge $15,000' to 'thin out demand.'
- **[rumor_hype]** Stern internally signaling shift from 'never remake Limited Editions' to targeted DMD-era LE remakes on new platforms; Tron, LOTR, Ghostbusters, Kiss, Walking Dead cited as potential candidates (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'Stern said they're never going to make more Limited Edition of games that had Limited Edition... they've moved the goalposts... I think anything that was a Limited Edition in the DMD era is gonna be fair game.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Community sentiment on Limited Edition games shifting from skepticism/hate (post-2023 oversupply) to renewed FOMO and acceptance; Metallica LE success signals collector culture rehabilitation (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I think there's a combination of excitement and hate... there's a good portion of you out there that absolutely despise the notion of a limited edition game' but Metallica's 500-unit scarcity is reversing this trend.
- **[business_signal]** Stern deliberately constraining Metallica LE to 500 units to restore FOMO and scarcity narrative after 1,000-unit Avatar/Venom/John Wick LE demand failures and secondary market depreciation (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'they've got Metallica remastered Limited Edition. What does Stern do? 500 only for the entire world. What happens? They instantly sell out.' Prior 1,000-unit releases tanked 95% in value within one year.

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## Transcript

 Welcome everybody to Canadas Pinball Podcast. Pinball Expo is over and now the dust is settling. We see the play field. We see all the games that are out there. And I've had so many people hit me up in the last like 72 hours saying, hey, Chris, do you know where I can get a Metallica remastered LE for MSRP? And I said, yeah, you could get it in Wonderland because it doesn't exist. It's a fictional thing right now to try to get that game at MSRP. And I tried to tell everybody a few weeks ago, I tried to tell everybody a year ago that when they remake this game, it's going to be crazy. Imagine if this game was on Spike 3. Look at all the frenzy to get it, and it's still on Spike 2. And I think it begs the question and the topic of this show today is, is there a new agony and ecstasy of owning a limited edition game? And I'm very curious about how this community views limited edition games. I think there's a combination of excitement and hate. I think there's a combination of eagerness and despair. I think there's a good portion of you out there that absolutely despise the notion of a limited edition game. You think there should be one model of pinball like there was in the 90s and everybody gets the same game. A game can still be limited and not have different tiers. Games like Labyrinth, games like Rick and Morty, where they just make a certain amount and that's it. Everybody has the same game. Nobody feels like they've got an inferior version of the game. Now that works for a boutique company that can only make a finite amount of games by nature. A boutique company is always making limited edition games. But Stern Pinball famously introduced the three-tier model. It's been very successful for them. And the LEs, especially over the years, have always done tremendously well in holding their value, in selling out pretty instantly and in being the creme de la creme version of a Stern machine. And some other companies followed suit. Jersey Jack has tried it with its collector's editions. You know, I think Jersey Jack right now with just a two-tier model, it doesn't work. It really doesn't. I think Jersey Jack needs to wake up. You either have three tiers or if you're gonna do two tiers, you need to have just a pro and a limited edition game. I'll talk a little bit about why JJP's model is terrible right now because 12 and 15 just doesn't work. And 5,000 versions of a $12,000 machine is absolutely inane and stupid. But we'll talk about that in a little bit. But what I'm noticing right now, and I have a question for each and every one of you, what do you want out of these LEs? What do you want? Do you want 1,000 of them so that the moment you unbox them, they lose $3,000 in value? We've seen every single Stern LE that was $13,000 at 1,000 units, 95% of them have tanked in value after just one year. Is that what you want? I think the haters love watching that. I do. I think there's a little bit of a caste system warfare in pinball where you love watching these rich guys or these newbies who are speculators. You love watching them run in and buy everything instantly and then wake up to the sobering fact that your John Wick L.E., your Venom L.E., your Foo Fighter L.E., your James Bond L.E. is no longer worth anywhere near $13,000. You're taking a $3,000 to $4,000 hit on the game. Heck, with Venom, you're taking like a $5,000 hit. And now Stern Pinball has made a move. They said, hey, we've heard you. We've heard you. 1,000 LEs is not very limited. It's way too many. It might only work on AAA super in-demand games. So we're going to pull it back. They pulled it back with X-Men 811. And that game is still not sold out. OK, so that didn't work. That really didn't work. As great as X-Men is, 811 still feels like too many. Now, I would argue the reason why X-Men has not sold out is not just because of the code. It's not because of the auto plunger. It's also because everything looks the same. Like all three models look amazing. None of them look bad. And if Stern Pitbull really wants to differentiate in X-Men Ali, what they've done just isn't enough. It also needed like an exclusive topper. And I think Stern's learning, like they're going to change this whole thing up because they need to get back to a place where buying a Stern LE is a moment and it's a special game. And when you get one, here's the kicker game. When you get a Stern LE, you want to make it so damn nice that people don't want to get rid of it that they don want to let it go And I know what some of you are saying You like well Kaneda if you love the theme and you buy an LE you never going to want to sell it so you don care if you lose money And that's fine. Absolutely right. Like if you're a John Wick aficionado and you just had to have the LE and you never plan on selling it, then you're never going to lose any money. But that's not how pinball works. Let's be honest, everybody. Most people, they want to buy a game. they want to enjoy it for a certain amount of time and even if they love the theme they might just get bored of the game and there might just be new games coming out that they'd rather have so like when King Kong comes out are you going to want to hold on to your John Wick LE you might not even want to hold on to your Godzilla LE you might have had it for like three four years and you're just ready for the next Keith Elwin game and for many of you out there you might only have room for like three to four pins. And if that's the case, you can't hold on to everything. You gotta let stuff go. You know, and there was a time, right? There was a time when LEs would hold value nicely and now they don't. Okay. So X-Men 811 wasn't enough. So they've got Metallica remastered LE. What does Stern do? 500 only for the entire world. What happens? They instantly sell out. I was trying to tell people, get on a list. You might as well. And they were available, people, on the eve of the game launching. If you went around to different distros and looked at who was taking orders, people had orders open. See, I think a lot of people said, hey, I'm going to wait and see. And I've been telling people for the longest time, wait and see does not apply to everything. Are you going to wait and see if Tron LE comes out remastered or a new Lord of the Rings? No, if you wait, you're never going to get one. You got to move fast. And so 500 Metallica's hit and the Ellie is really special. And they went the extra mile. This isn't just a vault, people. This isn't like what they did with Jurassic Park, where they just changed the artwork. This isn't like what they did with Elvira, where they just changed the artwork. This game is an all new game. They've added so much on top of the amazing masterpiece that Borg and Lyman created. John Borg himself said, I've put more hours into this game than I did into the original game. It's got a thousand new call outs. All the band members worked on this game. I mean, this is not your old Metallica. And so, yeah, it divided people. Original owners are pissed off. They want to pretend that the Dirty Donnie art package is nicer. It's not. I've stood over this new game. It's better in every way. It's more Metallica than the old one ever was. And so now everyone's waking up and they want one and they want one. And there's thousands of people that would love to have this game who either are new to pinball and haven't had the original or have the original and want the new one. And so now we get to the title of this show, the agony and the ecstasy of Metallica LE. A lot of you out there are feeling some agony. You wanted one. You didn't get one. You're not going to be able to get one for $13,000 ever. No, don't listen to Iceman. This game is not going to go down in value in six months. You all know that. Deep down, you know it. If you want one now, after everything that's transpired, after everyone realizes how awesome the game is, you're just going to have to pay more money than $13,000. I put up a poll on my Facebook page. How much do you think a Metallica Remastered LE is going to sell for on the secondhand market? $13,000, $14,000, $15,000, $16,000? If you were to ask me right now, I think this game is a $16,000 to $18,000 purchase right now because I think a lot of people are never going to let it go. And I think it is a ball-to-the-floor game for so many people out there. And on a global level, I mean, heck, you can't even get this game in Australia only 21 games went to Australia. And I know the list was like 100 people long. And I know in America, all the dealers have like a wait list. That's like three times the amount of games that have been manufactured. So it begs the question, should Stern have made a thousand of these? And would that have been the right move? And I'm just going to tell you, no, I like what they did. I like that. This is it. We're making 500. We're making Stern Elise a moment again. we're making them truly limited again now i think what stern could do to make it a little bit more interesting is this i think these games if you know the demand is so high right and they're leaving some money on the table because they are right when this game sells out this quickly you know you could have got more than 13 i think what stern might start to explore is a few things i think they might start to explore an exclusive topper that goes on the le like jersey jack does with the CEs. And if you do that, because we all know Stern's going to charge us $2,000 anyway for a topper, why not put an exclusive topper on a Metallica LE and just charge $15,000? And that way you start to thin out the demand, right? The more money you charge, the less demand there's going to be. That's just the way it works. And it also kind of eliminates scalping even more Because if a game's entry-level price is 15 grand, it's really hard to go anywhere north of that. And also, everybody look, for this much money, for $13,000, a Stern Pinball machine should come with a topper. The LEs should come with a topper. If you ask me the LEs should also come with exclusive code and other things like that But they historically have not And so I think there a lot of people out there that got left out I think there a lot of people out there that would have happily paid more than $13,000 if the game came with a topper. But I'm glad this is happening because this is good. FOMO is good for pinball. For the rest of you out there who don't care about any of this vanity, any of this back and forth around resale price and value, the good news is they're going to make Metallica premium for as long as people want it. They're going to make that premium for years. And so do I think that's going to make the LE values go down? I do not because Metallica LE is just so much nicer than the premium, but the premium is still a nice game. And I hear everybody trying to rationalize it as it's nicer than the LE. There is nobody, and I mean this, there's nobody who has seen both in person that will walk away and say the premium is nicer. And guess what? The premium shouldn't be nicer. The LE should be the nicest package all around. Now I'm curious because I haven't seen a single Metallica LE sell on the secondhand market. I might do a little experiment. I might list one at a really high price just to see if anybody bites. So don't come crying to me. Don't ask me to sell you the one I got for MSRP. I'm not doing it. I'm not doing it. Of course I grabbed one. Why would I not have grabbed one? I plan on keeping this game. I really do. I think this game next to Guns N' Roses is an awesome one-two punch. I really do. But here's the thing. I'm also curious. I'm curious to see what the market does. And we'll see if somebody bites. We'll see if someone bites. The problem is when I list it for sale for a high price, it's gonna trigger so much hate, so much animosity. And hey, don't blame me. I'm just the messenger. I just wanna see what the market will bear. That is the reason why I'm doing this. I want to see what the market will bear. And I just have a little hunch. I have a little hunch because when you're selling a game like this, when you're selling a game like this, you only need one buyer. It doesn't matter if 5,000 people are pissed off at me. All you need is one guy that really wants it with a lot of disposable income. That's it. That's all you need. And if I can hook one big whale, will I sell it? I don't know. Let's do this experiment this week. Also, the other thing that's setting in right now for everybody is this move is amazing. And now everyone's like, oh my gosh, what if Stern does this to Tron? What if Stern does this to Lord of the Rings? This is a new dawn of how Stern could do this. Now, I think this model works. Just do 500. if you own some of these older Stern machines and you've had them for like over a decade and you now know that those games are targets for remakes like this, I think if I were you, I pretty much know for a fact that Tron is coming. I don't think Lord of the Rings is coming. I think Tron is coming. If you're sitting on a Tron LE and you want $22,000 for it, I would get that today. If you're thinking of buying a Tron LE for $22,000 now after watching this Metallica launch, I think you need your head examined, okay? It's a whole new world. Now, I know Stern said they're never going to make more LEs of games that had LEs. apparently they've moved the goalposts and it's just like we're not going to make more le's of spike two games that had le's i think anything that was an le in the dmd era is gonna be fair game for them to bring on to the new platforms so yes you're looking at games like maybe the walking dead maybe ghostbusters maybe kiss so i don't know look these are stern's games and look Stern's gonna have to play this dance with the collector community because if they do this and they burn all those old collectors is that gonna damage them or but here's what I think Stern should do and I mean this and I was hoping Dodge would do this when they remade the demon imagine this scenario if you're the original owner of a Stern LE and you bought it when the game was released and they've got to be able to get this data. If you bought your game and you still own a Metallica LE, a Lord of the Rings LE, you know, you still own a Ghostbusters LE. I mean, the original owner, you didn't sell it on to somebody else. If you still own the game and we're going to remake it, you get first dibs at the new game. I think that would be the best way to do it. I don't think anyone would argue with that move. I think it's 100% fair. Now look, here's the thing. I'm curious to see what Stern does with the new games. If Dungeons and Dragons is next from Brian Eddy, I don't think they're going to make 800, right? If you can't sell out of 800 X-Men, D&D is not a more popular franchise than X-Men. I think they're going to take that down to like 500 or 600. And then the big question is going to be this. Keith Elwin on Spike 3 King Kong how many do you make Now look I think they should make 500 I think it should have all the bells and whistles and I okay if they price it even higher I know you like Kaneda stop No think about it Keith Elwins, King Kong, exclusive topper, all this exclusive stuff and the game is like 16.5. I don't know, ladies and gentlemen. I don't know. That's what I would do versus making a thousand at $13,000 a pop. They don't come with a topper. And again, it just doesn't feel that limited. It doesn't feel that special. Like look at Godzilla LE. When John Youssi one, it's not a wow moment. But when John Youssi a Metallica LE, it is. When John Youssi a Batman SLE or LE, it is. When John Youssi a Ghostbusters LE, it is. So we shall see. I'm curious what you guys think. I'm curious if you think I'm crazy. but I really do love the fact that Stern has listened, even though I don't love the fact that they're remaking LEs of previous LEs because those owners are getting burned. But you have to remember, if you have a Metallica LE and you paid $6,500 for it, did you really get burned? Your game is now worth like almost double that. And so you should cash out and get the new one. And you've had 12 years of pinball enjoyment. You've had 12 years of enjoyment on the game. They didn't burn you. But look, if they made more LEs of Jaws, yeah. Like if they made a 50th anniversary of Jaws and released it a year after the new one, yeah, then you're burning all those LE guys. Like Godzilla was going to be the burn. They were going to do Godzilla LE as the black and white 70th, and that would have burned everybody. So I think they're finding that middle ground. Some might call it a loophole, but I think it's interesting. Now, Jersey Jack's CEs make no sense to me. There's not 1,000 people that want to spend $15,000 on Avatar. And the problem with their business model is like those damn LEs, they make $5,000 of them and they're $12,000. You almost have to have your head examined to buy a Jersey Jack LE. if you have 12 you have 15 and I just don't think Jersey Jack machines are collectible they really only have one machine one machine that's worth collecting and that's Pirates CE how many were there 200 think about it 200 that's the only reason why that game is collectible and held so much value and then the Ellie of Pirates is the second game that's worth collecting because they only made 800 in total of that game. I don't even think in total. I think it's something like maybe 700 and then there's a few like standard edition Pirates, but that's it. And I get that some people out there hate this. Like you hate that there's collectors that want expensive, limited versions of pinball. But without the collectors, people, pinball wouldn't even be here. It wouldn't even have stuck around. The LEs are what have driven the extremely great sales of pinball all these years because the LEs are what drive sales in the premium and it all trickles down. It's what's kept these dealers and distros making a lot of money. And I also heard that like Stern doesn't make much money on a pro, right? They're probably selling the pro for too cheap and they make some money back on the LE. and so you know the cost of making these games has become a lot more expensive and so that's where we're at so let's see what canada's experiment with metallica le let's see how that experiment goes how much do you think people would pay for this game email me at canada pinball at gmail.com or drop your response into the comments of this show but people fomo is back. And ultimately, FOMO only really works for the long term if a game is great. If you look at the difference between 500 Metallicas and 500 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, it's night and day. There's not the frenzy to get an Alice spot now. I still think they're going to sell out of every game, but I don't think Alice is going to go up in value in six months, right, when they've made a few hundred and it's easier to get and people realize you know there's not the deepest game you know and people might get tired of the gameplay and the simplicity of it you're gonna see them trade hands and I don't think they're gonna trade hands for over what they were new I think that game will hold around like ten to eleven thousand dollars I don't think it'll go below that but Metallica LE I think is the opposite I think as time goes on they will become harder to get, not easier. So don't listen to the pin side babies. They don't know what they're talking about. This game is going to keep going on the up and up. Everybody love you guys. Happy Monday. More shows coming this week. I need a little grace, a little grace for my party.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 87014e49-28f3-4746-a744-af7c847692d5*