# Episode 265 – Rush Job

**Source:** Slam Tilt Podcast  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2026-02-25  
**Duration:** 68m 6s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.slamtiltpodcast.com/2026/02/24/episode-265-rush-job/

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## Analysis

Ron Hallett and Bruce Nightingale discuss Stern's newly released Pokémon pinball machine ($7k–$13k across tiers, 750 LE units sold out immediately) and debate its accessibility-focused fan layout design versus Jack Danger's typical cross-playfield complexity. They also cover American Pinball's surprising hiring of Melvin Williams (former DPX/Dutch Pinball) as creative director to oversee Bally Williams remakes, questioning the decision's logic given Williams' Netherlands-based remote work arrangement and the perceived curse associated with Papa Duke licensing.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Pokémon is the biggest license ever to appear on a pinball machine, larger than Harry Potter — _Ron: 'This is the number one franchise in the universe, and here it is.' Comparison explicitly stated as bigger than Harry Potter._
- [HIGH] All 750 Pokémon Limited Edition units sold out immediately — _Bruce: 'So they're going to have 750 LEs, which are already sold out. Yep, already gone.'_
- [HIGH] Stern and Dutch Pinball have no partnership or deal regarding Back to the Future — _Ron citing Cointaker distributor statement: 'according to Cointaker, their main distributor said no. No, Stern and Dutch have no partnership or deal.'_
- [HIGH] Melvin Williams was announced as American Pinball's new creative director approximately 9 days after announcing his departure from Dutch Pinball during the Super Bowl (Feb 8) — _Ron: 'He announced it on the eighth that he was leaving DPS' (during Super Bowl); American Pinball announcement came Feb 17. Bruce: 'Guarantee he had this fucking gig way before.'_
- [HIGH] The Pokémon game features a fan layout, described as 'Junkyard-like' and more similar to Gomez design than Jack Danger's typical style — _Ron: 'It's a fan, which is surprising with the designer because, you know, Jack Danger is the designer. At least 85% of the game is Jack.' Bruce: 'It looks more like Gomez. Way.' Ron: 'It looks like 15.'_
- [MEDIUM] Stern's last three major releases (Star Wars, King Kong, Dungeons & Dragons) did not sell well — _Ron: 'the last three games have not sold a lot. What were the last three? You got Star Wars. Yep. Star Wars! Yeah. You got King Kong, which you don't hear much about. And what's the other one in the middle? Dungeons & Dragons.'_
- [MEDIUM] Pokémon LE pricing could have been $1,000 higher; Stern left money on the table by not producing 1,200+ units — _Ron: 'I think they left money on the table. They probably could have sold 1,200 at least.' Later: 'You should have won $1,000. You left money on the table, boys.'_
- [MEDIUM] Project Pinball's raffle velocity indicates Pokémon LEs are selling faster than recent Stern releases like Walking Dead and Star Wars — _Ron: 'Walking Dead...took a while to sell out and Star Wars took a while to sell out meanwhile things like Beetlejuice they had like six...all sold out instantly. Pokémon did at least three...and they all sold out that same day.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is the biggest theme that has ever been on a pinball machine. Yes. You thought Harry Potter was? No, this is World War. Bigger than Harry Potter. This is the number one franchise in the universe, and here it is."
> — **Ron Hallett and Bruce Nightingale**, ~10:15
> _Establishes Pokémon's market positioning as the largest IP ever licensed to pinball, superseding Harry Potter._

> "It's a fan layout, which is surprising with the designer because, you know, Jack Danger is the designer. At least 85% of the game is Jack. Doesn't look like 85% of Jack... It looks more like Gomez."
> — **Ron Hallett**, ~8:45
> _Indicates design philosophy shift away from Jack Danger's signature cross-playfield complexity toward more accessible fan layouts, suggesting possible design compromise or constraint._

> "Guarantee he had this fucking gig way before... You don't say it. Because he already had his new gig. That's why."
> — **Bruce Nightingale**, ~37:20
> _Suggests Melvin Williams secured American Pinball position before publicly announcing Dutch Pinball departure, raising questions about transparency and timing of career announcements._

> "I would think this would be like George Gomez not being in Chicago. Like just being in Spain or something... It's just weird to me. What the fuck?"
> — **Bruce Nightingale**, ~35:45
> _Raises skepticism about remote creative director model from Netherlands, suggesting unprecedented arrangement raises logistical and management concerns._

> "Everyone that touches this fucking Papa Duke licensing, it goes out of business... You better get the fucking voodoo dolls out you better get fucking everything else."
> — **Bruce Nightingale**, ~42:30
> _Expresses community perception of Papa Duke/Zidware licensing as cursed, reflecting broader industry sentiment about problematic IP history._

> "the last three games have not sold a lot... Star Wars... King Kong, which you don't hear much about. And... Dungeons & Dragons."
> — **Ron Hallett**, ~20:15
> _Documents recent Stern production concerns, suggesting flagship releases underperforming sales expectations prior to Pokémon._

> "When Project Pinball has their raffles... Walking Dead...took a while to sell out and Star Wars took a while to sell out meanwhile things like Beetlejuice they had like six...all sold out instantly. Pokémon did at least three...and they all sold out that same day."
> — **Ron Hallett**, ~18:45
> _Provides informal market indicator of Pokémon demand velocity relative to recent Stern releases, suggesting stronger secondary market enthusiasm._

> "They could have won $1,000. You left money on the table, boys. No cash grab for you. No cash grab."
> — **Bruce Nightingale**, ~24:30
> _Indicates Stern did not maximize LE production/pricing opportunity despite record demand, suggesting intentional scarcity strategy or conservative forecasting._

> "I don't think he's qualified at all. He lives in the Netherlands. He's not coming over here. So he's going to have a six-hour... That's a long telecommute."
> — **Bruce Nightingale**, ~36:00
> _Expresses doubt about Melvin Williams' qualifications and logistics of remote creative director role at American Pinball._

> "World Cup Soccer 2026. The doggie returns. Yes. Striker returns... Actually, it's not... It's Eagle. They have three. It's Mexico, Canada, and U.S."
> — **Ron Hallett**, ~44:30
> _Proposes World Cup Soccer 2026 as potential American Pinball Bally Williams remake, featuring updated mascots for tournament host nations._

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Ron Hallett | person | Co-host of Slam Tilt Podcast, discussing Pokémon release and American Pinball hiring; leaving for cruise (Indus/India) during episode recording. |
| Bruce Nightingale | person | Co-host of Slam Tilt Podcast, skeptical of Pokémon design choices and American Pinball's Melvin Williams hiring; known for blunt critical commentary. |
| Jack Danger | person | Designer credited with 85% of Pokémon pinball layout; known for complex cross-playfield shot sequences; criticism that Pokémon layout appears more Gomez-influenced than typical Danger design. |
| George Gomez | person | Co-designer of Pokémon (remaining 15% per hosts); layout style attributed to accessible fan design contradicting Jack Danger's signature complexity. |
| Melvin Williams | person | Former Dutch Pinball/DPX designer, hired as American Pinball Creative Director (~Feb 17, 2026) to oversee Bally Williams remakes; based in Netherlands; announced DPX departure during Super Bowl (Feb 8). |
| Gary Stern | person | CEO of Stern Pinball, implied decision-maker on Pokémon production quantities and pricing strategy; perceived to have left money on table with 750 LE limit. |
| Pokémon | game | Stern Pinball's latest release featuring Pikachu and Meowth mechanics; $7k Pro / $9.7k Premium / $13k LE; 750 LEs sold out immediately; described as fan layout design with high accessible appeal targeting broad IP fanbase. |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Pokémon; recent releases (Star Wars, King Kong, D&D) underperformed; last three games did not sell well per hosts; Pokémon positioned as major production initiative to sustain factory operations. |
| American Pinball | company | Hired Melvin Williams as Creative Director; partnered with Planetary Pinball for Bally Williams remake licenses; planned releases include two Williams remakes plus one licensed title. |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Former employer of Melvin Williams; DPX (Dutch Pinball Exclusive) sub-brand dissolved; no partnership with Stern regarding Back to the Future per Cointaker distributor statement. |
| Back to the Future | game | Rumored Stern/Dutch Pinball collaboration rejected by hosts; Cointaker distributor confirmed no partnership between manufacturers; Back to the Future transitioning to American Pinball per previous episode discussion. |
| Harry Potter | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game cited as previous largest IP license; hosts position Pokémon as larger/more significant IP than Harry Potter. |
| Jaws | game | Referenced as Stern best-seller with 50th Anniversary edition; sparkly playfield and hologram sticker drove secondary market demand; comparison point for LE production/pricing success. |
| Star Wars | game | Recent Stern release (pre-Pokémon); hosts note slow LE sellout and weak secondary market compared to Pokémon; cited as underperforming title. |
| King Kong | game | Recent Stern release; hosts note low visibility/discussion indicating weak market reception; listed as underperforming title alongside D&D and Star Wars. |
| Dungeons & Dragons | game | Recent Stern release; cited as underperforming in sales; hosts unable to recall specific details, indicating low community engagement. |
| Planetary Pinball | company | Holds Bally Williams IP licenses; partnered with American Pinball for remake production; referenced as source of Papa Duke/Raza licensing concerns. |
| Raza | game | Former Deep Root Pinball project; Papa Duke-adjacent licensing; American Pinball announced no plans to produce Raza despite acquiring Melvin Williams (former designer). |
| Project Pinball | company | Operates raffle system for Stern LEs; hosts use LE raffle sellout velocity as informal market indicator of demand relative to other Stern releases. |
| Beetlejuice | game | Cited as high-demand LE title; Project Pinball raffles sold out rapidly (6 units same day) compared to Walking Dead and Star Wars slow sellout patterns. |
| Cointaker | company | Stern's main distributor; provided statement denying Stern/Dutch Pinball partnership on Back to the Future, contradicting community rumors. |
| X-Men | game | Previous Jack Danger design; hosts mention failed cross-playfield shot mechanics on X-Men as likely reason for Pokémon's simplified fan layout approach. |
| Rochester Pinball Collective | company | Venue acquiring Pokémon Premium edition despite typical LE/Pro-only acquisition pattern; owner Mark prioritized access to test game before committing to LE purchase. |
| Tim Kittsrow | person | Original voice actor for World Cup Soccer (1994); hosts reference him as available for World Cup Soccer 2026 voice work, suggesting potential Williams remake announcement. |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pokémon Pinball release, pricing, and design philosophy, Accessibility-focused fan layouts vs. complex cross-playfield design trends, American Pinball's hiring of Melvin Williams and creative direction restructuring
- **Secondary:** Stern's recent underperforming releases (Star Wars, King Kong, D&D) and production capacity concerns, Papa Duke/Raza licensing curse narrative and Bally Williams remake strategy, Limited Edition production quantities, secondary market FOMO, and pricing strategy optimization, Stern/Dutch Pinball partnership rumors and Back to the Future licensing transitions
- **Mentioned:** World Cup Soccer 2026 as potential American Pinball Williams remake candidate

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.45) — Enthusiasm for Pokémon's IP magnitude and commercial potential tempered by design criticism (fan layout vs. expected Jack Danger complexity), skepticism about American Pinball's Melvin Williams hiring (remote arrangement, perceived lack of qualifications, Papa Duke curse), and concern over Stern's recent underperformance. Hosts express optimism about Pokémon sustaining factory operations but pessimism about American Pinball's decision-making and logistics.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Stern's last three flagship releases (Star Wars, King Kong, D&D) underperformed sales expectations; Pokémon positioned as critical revenue driver to sustain factory operations, signaling production capacity/financial stress. (confidence: high) — Ron: 'This will keep the factory running for a while. Because the last three games have not sold a lot.'
- **[competitive_signal]** Pokémon positioned as mega-hit title with unprecedented IP magnitude (larger than Harry Potter) and 30-year cultural relevance; $750 LE limit creates artificial scarcity/FOMO despite demand for 1,200+ units. (confidence: high) — Ron: 'This is the biggest theme that has ever been on a pinball machine...This is the number one franchise in the universe.'
- **[product_concern]** Papa Duke/Zidware licensing perceived as cursed within community; every manufacturer acquiring Papa Duke licenses experiences business failure; American Pinball's Melvin Williams (Papa Duke designer) brings curse narrative to new employer. (confidence: medium) — Bruce: 'Everyone that touches this fucking Papa Duke licensing, it goes out of business...You better get the fucking voodoo dolls out.'
- **[design_philosophy]** Pokémon's fan layout contradicts Jack Danger's signature cross-playfield complexity; hosts attribute shift to X-Men playfield mechanic failures; layout appears more Gomez-influenced (85%/15% attribution questioned as 15%/85% reality). (confidence: high) — Ron: 'It's a fan, which is surprising...Jack Danger is the designer. At least 85% of the game is Jack. Doesn't look like 85%.' Bruce: 'It looks more like Gomez. Way.'
- **[leak_detection]** Melvin Williams' American Pinball hiring announced ~Feb 17, 2026; timing and transparency raise questions about advance knowledge and pre-announcement negotiations contradicting public DPX dissolution narrative. (confidence: medium) — Timeline: DPX departure Feb 8 (Super Bowl), American Pinball announcement Feb 17, less than 2 weeks apart.
- **[licensing_signal]** Pokémon licensing requires strict artistic fidelity; all artwork must use existing IP assets; no original character designs permitted; tight IP control reflects Pokemon Company's brand protection strategy. (confidence: medium) — Ron: 'The art is pretty much, this is probably the tightest thing about the license. Like, they had to use all existing art for this.'
- **[market_signal]** Project Pinball raffle data indicates Pokémon LE demand substantially exceeds recent Stern releases (Walking Dead, Star Wars slow 6-month+ sellouts vs. Pokémon 3-unit same-day sellout), signaling IP-driven secondary market enthusiasm. (confidence: high) — Ron: 'Walking Dead...took a while to sell out and Star Wars took a while to sell out meanwhile things like Beetlejuice they had like six...all sold out instantly. Pokémon did at least three...and they all sold out that same day.'
- **[market_signal]** Pokémon LE pricing ($13k) identical to Star Wars despite substantially larger IP; 750-unit production cap despite record demand velocity; hosts criticize as leaving $1M+ on table, suggesting intentional scarcity/FOMO strategy over cash maximization. (confidence: high) — Ron: 'They probably could have sold 1,200 at least.' Bruce: 'You should have won $1,000. You left money on the table, boys.'
- **[personnel_signal]** Melvin Williams hired by American Pinball as Creative Director (~Feb 17, 2026) approximately 9 days after announcing Dutch Pinball departure (Feb 8), suggesting pre-negotiated arrangement contradicting transparency narrative. (confidence: high) — Bruce: 'Guarantee he had this fucking gig way before...You don't say it. Because he already had his new gig.'
- **[product_strategy]** Pokémon's accessibility-focused design interpreted as constraint response to prior releases' underperformance; fans perceive simplified ruleset vs. deep complexity tradition. (confidence: medium) — Hosts note Pokémon 'looks like Junkyard' and 'looks like a basic fan,' contrasting expected Jack Danger cross-playfield shots.
- **[product_concern]** American Pinball's hiring of Netherlands-based Melvin Williams as Creative Director raises logistics/management concerns; Bruce questions remote arrangement feasibility and design continuity across time zones. (confidence: high) — Bruce: 'It's just weird to me...I would think this would be like George Gomez not being in Chicago...It's just weird to me. What the fuck?'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Community enthusiasm for Pokémon IP severely limited by lack of franchise familiarity among pinball enthusiasts (hosts admit zero knowledge); accessibility design intended to bridge non-pinhead collectors with IP fanbase. (confidence: high) — Ron: 'I know nothing about Pokemon.' Bruce: 'I don't know anything. Like, the last couple themes between Dungeons & Dragons, this, I have no connection.'

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## Transcript

 So before we get started, interesting fact, we're just a few hundred feet away from the New Mexico border, which is in the mountain time zone. So if you go up the road just a bit, it's an hour earlier. Whoa. So we can, like, travel through time? Well, no, that's not how it works. It's just a different time zone. Whoa. Did you hear that, Beavis? He said we can travel to future time zones. Cool. Let's go. Coming to you from beautiful upstate New York, this is the Slam Tilt Podcast, the show about all things pinball. I'm your host, Ron Hallett, here with the other host, Bruce Nightingale. I'm pre-cruising, baby. Yeah, you're going to be going on a Antonio Cruz. And this is episode 265, Rush Job. I already have the title. Rush Job? because it's going to be a rush job to get this thing out because I am leaving for Indus, hopefully, tomorrow morning, and Bruce informed me, yeah, I'm going on a Antonio Cruz for two weeks. Yep. Pre-cruising. I'm pre-cruising. So we kind of got to get this done because I want to talk about the latest release. Pre-Pokeman. What? What's with pre? You're just trying to get on my nerves with the pre. I love saying pre. Pre-suck-my-genital situation. Okay, so as Steph asked, is a double danger a pre-tilt? Our own Steph, the pinball princess? Yes. A double danger is just a double danger. It's a warning. It's a pre-tilt. It's pre-tilting. It's not a tilt before the tilt, though. But it is pre. It's pre the tilt. But a tilt, no, it's a warning before the tilt. Yes, but so it's pre. No, it's not a pre-tilt. It's pre-tilt. It's a warning. Oh, my God. Sorry. You say tomato, I say tomato. Well, the latest game from Stern has been released. And it is... If you got $30,000 for an LE, you can have pre-Pokeman Blues. Actually, before I do Pokemon, before I do that, I just want to... When we talked about the whole DPX thing, last episode going bye-bye, and about doing original games, and I thought that was just the way they were construing what he said, original. I didn't think he actually meant original themes. No, he probably did. According to their distributors, no, that's not what he meant. No, and it will be licensed themes. So I was right. I wonder what licensed teams they're going to get. Back to the Future, supposedly. But then the other rumor was, oh, Dutch Pinball is working with Stern to release Back to the Future. I'm like, no fucking way. No way. That makes no sense. What would be in it for Stern at all? I mean, I remember this became a rumor because I think it was not last year, but the year before, when they were there for the Alice in Wonderland that they sold out of, that not everyone's gotten yet, half the people. After Expo, I think Barry from Dutch, he visited Stern's factory, so everyone was like, this proves it. No, it doesn't. This proves they're going to be working together. No. Basically, I'm on Nap Arcade. Hi, Nap. Hi, Nap. Basically, according to Cointaker, their main distributor said no. No, Stern and Dutch have no partnership or deal. So there you go. But they lost the extremeness. They lost the extremeness. Well, another company gained it, but we'll get to that. Oh, yeah. So, yes, Pokemon. I guess that's how I'm supposed to say it. It's an O, Pokemon. Pokemon. Pokemon. Pokemon was revealed. $30,000 LEs. Yeah, man. Jesus. have you seen it yes oh you have yes okay what do you think it's junkyard uh yes it looks a lot like junkyard at the top and or fire yeah whenever i see that i think of a fire wait a minute they're both owlers aren't they yes they are so very owler design so But, yeah, basically it looks like Junkyard. Yep. It's a fan. It's a fan, which is surprising with the designer because, you know, Jack Danger is the designer. At least 85% of the game is Jack. Doesn't look like 85% of Jack. Yeah, remainder is Gomez. It looks like 15. Yeah, it doesn't because. It looks more like Gomez. Way. I mean, where are those cross-play field shots we're used to from Jack that are cool when they work and not cool when they don't work. Yeah, they didn't work on X-Men. And I guarantee they told him, cut the shit. And they went, well, this ain't fun anymore. Yeah, I guess. I don't know. See, I know nothing about Pokemon. You got to catch them all. Got to catch them all. But I showed this game to someone else in my department. He's like 30. And I brought this up. And he's like, oh, they went with OG Pokemon. That's so-and-so and so-and-so. He must have named like 15 different characters. I'm like, are you kidding? Wow, okay. So, gotta catch them all. So, yeah, it looks like a basic fan from what I've seen of the gameplay. Very straightforward. They're trying to make this as accessible as possible. Yeah, they want everyone who plays it, they can get their thing. Which is a good idea, especially with this. This is the biggest theme that has ever been on a pinball machine. Yes. You thought Harry Potter was? No, this is World War. Bigger than Harry Potter. This is the number one franchise in the universe, and here it is. Here it is. And pinball players are going to probably go, yeah, it's a pinball machine, and yeah, that's great. They're all going to love it. It's going to be all in tournaments. You watch. Yeah, I can see that. Yeah, because they're going to want to plug it and get it out there. Also, I'm going to figure when they do the next The Pin for Costco, it's going to be this. Yeah, I would think so, too. Whether they actually do another play field or just use the same play field they've been using and put the Pokemon art on it, what are they going to do? Yeah. But I think that's what they're going to use. Yeah, it's got the cat in the middle of what's it? Meowth? Yeah, Meowth with the Rocket League. And it ends with T-H, Meowth, I've been told. So it's got basic Pokeball. So Ron's got the LE. He's trying to sell his for $30,000. Oh, yeah, yeah. So they're going to have 750 LEs, which are already sold out. Yep, already gone. And people are trying to now sell them for, like, absurd prices. Yes. Because they saw how much Logan Paul sold his Pokemon card for. Yeah, Jesus Christ. This is, like, insane. Yeah. Let's see. The pricing was the same. Same, which was very surprising. Again, for all. So, what is it? $7,000 for Pro, $9,700 for Premium, and $13,000 for the Limited Edition. Yikes. Yeah. there's 13,000 and everyone's trying to double their money. Yeah. At least. I mean, the art is pretty much, this is probably the tightest thing about the license. Like, they had to use all existing art for this. Oh, of course, yeah. Like, everything has to look exactly perfect in the Pokemon world. Yep. Oh, one thing I need to know. When did it become a toilet bowl? It's not a toilet bowl. Exactly. I always call it a whirlpool. It's a whirlpool ramp. It's always been a Whirlpool ramp. It was a Whirlpool ramp when it was on Whitewater, when it was on Creature from the Black Lagoon, Mustang. I'm watching all these pinfluencers, all the pinball media, and everyone's calling it a toilet bowl. No, you fuck nuts. When did that happen? When did the terminology change? There's only two games with a toilet bowl in it. There's probably more than that, but there's at least three. There's three. You got South Park, you got Junkyard, you aforementioned Junkyard, and you got... Austin Powers, maybe. They have literal toilet bowls in them. So how can you call this a toilet bowl? Oh, wait a sec. Hey, I'm going to play Creatures in the Back Lagoon, go to the drive-in, and shit in the fucking toilet bowl. What? You're going to shit in the toilet bowl. What? That's the turrets coming out. It's coming out a little bit more out of your ass. Yes. Poker. Oh, honey, I'm right back. Get away from me, you brute. Poker. I even put a note here, toilet bowl question mark. I've never heard that term. No, never at all. Who's influencing that great terminology? I don't know. Everyone was calling it that. Who? I want to know who. All the people that were there, Bruce. We were invited, but we didn't go. No, I guarantee Tom Graff did not call it a toilet bowl. Did you, Tom? Did you call it a toilet bowl? I guarantee he did not. I swear to God I know he did not. Now, one method I use. If it's white and it's got a lid on it, it's called a toilet bowl. I'll go with that. There ain't no fucking toilet bowl in Pokemon. Okay, okay. One method I use to see how well a game is selling. When Project Pinball has their. Yeah, the LEs. Yeah, when they have their raffles. like they had Walking Dead and that didn't sell it took a while to sell out and Star Wars took a while to sell out meanwhile things like Beetlejuice they had like six of them I think and they all sold out instantly so I was wondering I wonder how Pokemon is doing well they did at least three that I saw and they all sold out that same day so that's, it's doing good good answer Yeah, good answer. Good answer, yeah. Survey says, will it be good or not? I mean, I think this game will be good. The thing is, I don't know anything. Like, the last couple themes between Dungeons & Dragons, this, I have no connection. Yeah, none at all. I don't. It's going to be way cooler for that other guy in my department I was talking about. Oh, yeah. He'd be like, oh, yeah, this is going to be, this is great. They made it so, like, you hit the cat a bunch of times and he lifts up and then you can start a multiball. Yep. what will be good with it if they really tie it in well with uh insider connected yeah that will be the oh look i can get this you know catch them all you know and that will be the good part the other interesting thing is there's a lot in the pro like they didn't yes they didn't skimp no they removed like the magnet yeah but usually what they do is they'll have like a sculpt and then on the pro it'll just be a piece of piece of flat plastic yep they didn't do it here they have the what is it called? Pikachu thing? Pikachu! Yeah, he moves and he... Pikachu! Is that what he sounds like? Pikachu! Okay, it's probably what he sounds like. Does he just say his name? Is he like Timmy? Pikachu! Very good! Pikachu! Pikachu! And what do his meow say? Meow, meow, meow, meow! No, he actually talks. Oh, he talks. He talks, yes. Okay, you know way more You're about to say I do. Well, when I was younger, I watched it, and that was what? Younger? It debuted 30 years ago, Bruce. Exactly. So I was 14. No. No. 14. No. 1996, you were 14 years old. No, I was 25. Yeah, there you go. Try again, Bruce. There we go. God, it feels like 50. Wow. I feel like 50 is a new 30. Yeah, that's got to be it. Yeah, okay. But, yeah, Pikachu, he's a moving sculpt on the LE and the pre-match. Yes. But on the Pro, he's still a sculpt. He just doesn't move. Same thing with the – what's that thing on the left? It's like a ball. What is that thing supposed to be? That's the Pokemon. That's how they catch the Pokemon, and that's how they keep them. That's how the trainer holds the – Okay. Yes. Well, it turns and moves in the LE and the Premium. On the Pro, it's still there, the full sculpt. It just doesn't move. It doesn't move, yeah. Yeah, there's not a lot of differences. I like our theme better we talked about in the beginning. Oh, God. Yeah, we talked about something, and he wants me to put it in at the end, and I just can't. It's just too offensive, even for us. We can have the John Trudeau version of this. Oh, no, no. That's all you need to know. That's why I'm not putting it on there. Let's see. This has already debuted. Now, originally, Texas Pinball Festival said, like, you'll go debut a Pokemon, and then they had to pull it. They pulled that. Because it's not the debut. It made its debut at? The New York City Jacob Javits Center. Jacob Javits Center, yes. I was actually down there that weekend for a funeral. I would have loved to have known about it because I would have went there. It only was like an hour from where I was. Oh. They probably wouldn't have let you in. Bruce Nightingale? I'm sorry, you were on the blacklist. No, on press. Press. Press. Press. Press. Press. Pull. So is pre-press a pull or pre-pull a press? Stop. Stop with the pre. I see nothing but good things ahead. Oh, no. This will keep the factory running for a while. This is a big get. But like you said, if they really get this with the Insider Connected, they could do all kinds of shit with this game. And you know what? What? I just have breaking news right now. Uh-oh. The Rochester Pinball Collective will be having a Pokemon. Oh, a Pokemon for, okay, what kind? Premium. Premium. Premium Pokemon will be at the Rochester Pinball Collective. That's weird. We're going to play. Usually you guys are LE or pro only. No, no. Mark wanted to see it first, and then by the time he saw it, he went, Oh, yeah, there ain't going to be hell and high water I get in one of the LEs. Ah, oh, well. Think about it. It's one of the few LEs that sold out like that in a long time. Yep. Yep, only $750. So, Veeam does sell LEs. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Star Wars? Nope. Yeah. Dungeon Dragon? Nope. Not when you... Like, you know, even people are seeing 007s out there. You still... New in box, LEs. Their best seller was the Jaws, what was it, 50th anniversary edition, where they hardly, was it sparkly play field and a hologram sticker. Yes, and red. Yeah, and there you go. Boom. That's all you needed. Gotta catch them all. So, see, this sounds wrong. Like, people catch these things and make them fight each other? Yeah, see, so it's animal fighting in digital land. How wrong is this in the world? Yeah, so the people who capture these Pokemon are bad, right? No, no, they're great because they actually treat them with love and caring. And make them fight each other. Yes. This is so weird. They don't die, though. They don't die. Oh, they don't die, so it's okay. They just get injured and they have to be, you know. Meow. Help me. Help me. What makes me, I'm falling. So what does Meowth sound like? Does he have like a low voice? No, I don't even remember how he actually speaks, but he does talk in full sentences and everything. That's right, baby. I'm Meowth, bitches. That's right. I'm the American cat, baby. That's what he sounds like. Team Rocket. Team Rocket. Team Rocket. Yep. Well, you know, brother, I'm the real cat dude. We are the tag team champions of the Pokemon League. We're the mega powers, brother. Wow. So he's bad? Yes, he's bad. See, that makes sense. You want to hit him. Yes, there you go. I'm like Rolling Stones where you're hitting Mick Jagger for some reason. Why do I hate Mick Jagger? Why am I hitting the guy that's the head? Because his lips are so big, man, you just try to miss them. At least on Big Buck Hunter you want to kill the buck so it makes sense to hit him See that bad too We shouldn be killing anything in this world We should be love and caring and fuck that I want to kill everything. Everything. Shoot here and here. Shoot here and here. I saw some more Predator footage. It does look interesting. It does look interesting. But, man, it really hurts when they just can't show Arnold's face. Nope. And it's just the guy, get to the chopper! That was a drop. Oh, okay. Old painless is weight. Yeah. God. Another fail. So, Pokemon. Pokemon. You're in. You're in, right? I'd love to play this. No, no. Buying it. No. You're going to get rid of your Elton John for this, right? Oh, God, no. No. Because of Pokemon. We'll be talking about Elton John and other JJPs later. Our ball bag. Yes, you don't know what's coming. I don't know what's coming in my ball bag. Yes, folks, two weeks he's going to be away. Yes, you're going to miss this for three weeks. You're missing three. I do like the art package. I think it looks good. I like the rails. Yeah, the LE rails where it's got the characters all along the side. That's pretty cool. Yeah, I think it's a good art package, a good combination. Unfortunately, I think they went too short on the LE. They cut themselves short on that one. Yeah, it'll retain value, that's for sure. You should have won $1,000. You left money on the table, boys. No cash grab for you. No cash grab. No, because they could have won $1,000. Do all the characters, do they make different noises and stuff? What? Do the characters make different noises? Yes, yes. And are they all like high-pitched cute things? Yeah, they are. Stuff like that? Okay. No, not like that. No, no. You got to watch a video. You, Ron. See, this is where... Oh, no, wait a minute. That's something else. Well, Gary. That's right, Gary. The Pokemon need to prove they're 100% devoted to the team. They need to prove it by... Gary, Gary, that's animalism. That's animalism, Gary. Stop. No. That's Spotswood, actually. He's the one talking. Spots. The name is Spotswood. Where's my Team America game? That'd be awesome. We could just have Thunderbirds. Thunderbirds and just make it Team America? Yeah, Team America. So you spell Team America is cool instead of International Rescue. I don't know if it's the same amount of character. Team America, fuck yes. Is that the same amount of letters? Maybe it is. Maybe. Oh, God. But, yeah, good job, Ster. Yeah, I will say the team is spot on. They made it easy. Hopefully it's a little deeper in the backside for players if they want to get something. But making it easy to get multiball and that kind of stuff will probably sell more games. Deeper in the backside, yeah. Keep her in the backside, yeah. But I think it's going to sell a lot. It'll keep the factory running for a while. Because the last three games have not sold a lot. What were the last three? You got Star Wars. Yep. Star Wars! Yeah. You got King Kong, which you don't hear much about. And what's the other one in the middle? Dungeons & Dragons. Oh, yeah. Yeah. How you doing? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Before that was John Wick. I think there was other games before John Wick. Let's go back to the video. No, I don't want to go back to the way back machine. At least John Wick was a recent theme. Yes, I agree. But it was not done well. And this is recent, obviously. This is right now. Pokemon. Pokemon. Pokemon. Amon. Yamon. Yamon. We got Pokemon. Yeah. Yeah. Ah! Got to catch them all! Well, you got The Walking Dead, which is a... No, Dungeon and Drive... Metallica remastered. Oh, X-Men. Yeah. Uncanny X-Men, which they do well. I know we were forgetting something in there. John Wick. Then Jaws. Jaws sold really well. Then you got Venom. And then 007. Yeah, so... Yeah, you didn't have a lot of... Where's Keith when we need him? Where's Keith? Come on. He did King Kong. I know. Next. Come on. Next. Next. All your play fills are already done. We know it. Come on. Let's go. Let's go. Ding. Come on. Get up there. Survey says. All right. Yeah, I think this was the probably, as I said, I think they left money on the table. They probably could have sold 1,200 at least. So they didn't cash grab. They have failed the cash grab. Dun, dun, dun, dun. All right. Do you think they could have sold 1,200 Ellies? 1,200 Ellies? Sure. Oh, yeah. Easily. Yeah. Especially if you get non-pinheads. They just want the... Yep. Or you get the Super Ellie now. Now we're going to get the SLE with all the characters. The Super Ellie. Every generation of characters. You can't even see the play field. There's so many characters on it. There's Super Friends. We're going to have the Super Friends version of the... Super Friends. Does it include Seaman? I mean, Seaman? Oh, my. Aquaman The seaman Oh really Aquaman Yeah What exactly are you going to do Come in the water No I'll just stay out of the water I think that was family guy I always think of the boys Where they have the deep six Where the guy deep I've never seen that He's so lame he's having sex with an octopus he has a relationship with an octopus what kind of programs are you watching oh netflix sir all right the other big news other than the pokemon that happened uh directly ties to what we talked about last episode about uh melvin melvin brower williams i'll just call him melvin williams it's easier melvin williams melvin williams left the dpx guy no no so there's no more extreme no more dpx there's no more dual penetration extreme no more dual penetration extreme he's gone what are we gonna do well american pinball american pinball announced that it has hired melvin as its new creative director i have so many questions wow so so Wait a sec, so they're going to take on the curse of? John Papadiuk. John Papadiuk? But they're not. Supposedly, they're not doing, Raza is not, they're not doing that. Basically, Melvin is going to be working as basically creative director. That's basically their Gomez. Okay. And I guess their next two titles are going to be the Bally Williams remakes. Okay. With new twists on them, and that's what he's going to be working on. Okay. Maybe they figured since he worked on a John Papadiuk game and made some tweaks to it, that maybe that qualified him to do. He got what it takes. So does this mean now that American Pinball is now American Pinball Exclusive or APX? I have a new name for it all. Oh, God. I have it. Okay. Anal Penetration Extreme. Great. Now I'm going to have to go to all these pinball shows and everyone's going to be coming up to me. Hey, anal penetration extreme. Anal penetration extreme. You're here at an indes first. Awesome. I love it when we pick out a new name. I don't get it. I don't know why this guy is so hot. I don't think he's qualified at all. He lives in the Netherlands. He's not coming over here. So he's going to have a six-hour. That's a long telecommute. Yeah. He's got a six-hour time difference. Yeah, I know. And he's the creative director. And I could see this for things like programmers. Like Stern has lots of programmers that do not live in Chicago. And testers. Like Jerry Thompson, their main sound guy. He's in Seattle, I think. But I would think this would be like George Gomez not being in Chicago. Like just being in Spain or something. And he is running it remotely. We're running American pinball in Viva Las Vegas. Viva Netherlands. Netherlands. Viva. It's just weird to me. What the fuck? And remember, the thing that worries me, when Melvin made his statement about the dissolving of DPX and all that, if you remember, he was basically like, it's not my fault. No, of course, never anyone's fault. It's not my fault. Basically, and that, even if he's 100% true, Even if it was all on Dutch, you still don't say it. Yeah. Because he already had his new gig. That's why. You don't say it. Do you think he already had it? Oh, yeah, definitely. You think when he announced he was leaving during the Super Bowl, he already had a deal with America? I don't think so. You don't say that. You don't say those things like, oh, it wasn't my fault. You don't say that unless you already got the gig in your back pocket. I'd be curious of the timeline. Maybe we'll hear an interview or this will become clearer. Yeah. I bet you pinball news will probably interview you. You know what your interview is going to be? What? Two. Yeah. What? I don't get it. Two extreme. APX, baby. A new way of going. So now it's just. Yeah. Two extreme. It's too extreme. supposedly there's two remakes and then there's going to be like a licensed one so he's going to be their their gomez yeah i mean i don't see how you can do it from another country it'd be hard if you weren't even in the same okay let's have another zoom meeting hey i can't see how this is can you move your phone what do you mean move my phone devil's advocate i mean who else would have been more qualified that's available who's in chicago Yeah, name someone more qualified that he could have hired that would actually have gone there. Who? Boom. Dennis Nordman. Dennis Nordman. What is he? He's a designer. Has he ever actually run, like, the full design? So has this other guy. What has he done? He sold 300 pinball machines. Maybe. What else has he done? I thought you were going to say, like, Joe Balcer. Because he was there before. Joe Balcer would be great, too. He's done more than any of these guys. Although I think he's happy at Raw Thrills or Play McCann. Yeah, he probably is. You get a guaranteed paycheck. Yeah. But guess what? It's better than you got a guy who sold 300 maybe games. Unless he's bringing over – he must have a lot of dirt on people. I don't believe he's been – like he was a hobbyist or someone who loves pinball and got into it here. He hasn't been in the industry for years. No. That's the part that I don't know. Unless he's bringing over licenses that he has, which I can see that. Which is what? It's all the Deep Roots shit. Yeah, which is all the curse shit. Yeah, Raza, he has Magic Girl. Yay. But they said they're not doing that. They said they're not doing that. Listen, brother, I got the pin bar right here. I got the pin bar, brother. I'm never going to jail. My trial's never happening, dude. well what the fuck i don't understand this there's more people out there you can try to get there's more talent on some of these people who are making homebrews than this guy who just well technically he redesigns parts of that game oh wow he of the awesome with a lot i guarantee a lot of other people helped with it too and it wasn't just him i'm just curious because he had his his team that's still with him i believe are the people programming for that so are they now going to be programming for american is that listen brother you know i just i don't understand it just was weird i was just like really so fucked up i'm like and it was like two or three days after it really was i was like oh what i got it right here it was february what what day was the super bowl uh super bowl was what the fifth maybe Hold on. I've got to look back. Hold on. Yeah, look in the old Wayback Machine. Fourth. No. The fourth was a Wednesday, Bruce. Hold on. I'm sorry. Super Bowl Wednesday. Eighth. The eighth. The eighth. Okay. Yeah. So eighth, and he was announced as going to American on the 17th. Okay. And when did he announce it? He announced it on the eighth that he was leaving? Yeah, it was during the Super Bowl. He announced he was leaving DPS. Oh, Jesus Christ. That's what I remember. It was during the Super Bowl. so about yeah a week later yeah a little over nine days guarantee he had this fucking gig way before bruce is saying you already have way you're uh way i don't think so he saw the shit show at dpx and he said nope okay ain't gonna do this all right ain't gonna do this ain't gonna do this nope not gonna do this nope but see me being a good cop you know i'll give him a chance but bruce is just gonna shit on him probably no matter what me yeah never anti-cash scraps anti-cash scrap everyone has gotten these licenses has been cursed that is true anyone with the John Popadiuk licenses just has this curse on them curse and you just brought it it's like you better you better get the exorcist out you better get the fucking voodoo dolls out you better get fucking everything else. Damien, this is for you. Hopefully there's no decapitations that happen. Yeah, holy shit. Everyone that touches this fucking John Papadiuk licensing, it goes out of business. I would have stayed far away from this. And Americans started with John Papadiuk, then tossed it. And they got rid of it. Now they're bringing it back in. Technically, they're not because they're not going to do Ross. Yeah, okay. You watch. When they can't get a good theme up and they can't get anything going. Well, they already have the deal with Planetary Pinball. We got that back pocket. We got that back pocket thing. Let's go pull this out. Look, a new John Papadiuk, which is the old John Papadiuk of the same John Papadiuk. They got the deal. They got the deal with Planetary Pinball. It would be funny if the first Bally Williams remake they're going to do is going to be Circus Voltaire. A new twist on Circus Voltaire. No, it's going to be World Cup Soccer 2026. The doggie returns. Yes. Striker returns. Yes, striker returns. That's actually not a bad idea. It's actually a great idea because with the World Cup coming out in six months. Tim Kittsrow is still around. He'll take the job. Oh, yeah. One of our listeners hired him. So he'll definitely do it. Goal! Yeah, exactly. And he sounds the same. Exactly. So that would be the smartest move. I like that. I like that. Yep. World Cup Soccer 2026. 2026. Stryker is back! Yes. Actually, it's not. What is it now? It's Eagle. They have three. It's Mexico, Canada, and U.S. So we got a Mountie. Yes. It's a Moose. A Moose. It's a Mountie. Eagle. An Eagle. And it was, I forget what the third one was. I forget what the Mexican was. Let's see. And those are your three different models. You can get the Eagle. You can get the Moose. Or America. uh zayu the jaguar clutch the bald eagle and maple the moose oh maple maple the moose maple syrup i love it this trio symbolizes unity diversity and the spirit of the tournament uh i like it okay i take back everything i said if that the game they're making if they make that and they make it their theme of 2026 world cup kudos so you're saying that there's a papadu thing you would agree with That's his only game that's good. Oh, I like Circus Voltaire. It's okay. It gets old. I played it in advances again. I was like, ugh. And then I played Theater. Theater is just a two-shot game. Shoot the interloop. Are we saying it's safe as long as they just stick with the Williams stuff? Yes. As long as it's not Star Wars Episode I. Don't do that. Don't do that. You probably can't do that anyway. Well, you probably could. No, you'd have to get... You'd have to deal with Disney again. Everyone else seems to deal with Disney, and they like the cash grab, so what the hell is wrong with that? Okay. I think we beat that horse to death there. The World Cup 2026. Good luck, Melvin. Make it happen. I want to see World Cup 2026. Anal penetration extreme. Extreme, extreme, extreme. Okay. I guarantee they're not going to make that name. Oh, that would be so awesome. It would be. But we're just going to call him that. Anal penetration. Extreme, extreme, extreme. Let's see. Machines will be. Okay. Pokemon. The production schedule. Let's see. Pro Machines will be out in early March. LEs, mid to late March. Premiums, late March. non-location premiums early April, and non-location pro machines April. Now, wait a minute. You're a location, so does that mean late March? Yeah, we're going to get it in late March. Ah. Ah, yeah. Geez. Second production run of Pokemon scheduled for June. Many dealers have a backlog of orders already. I guarantee they do. Wow. I would be like, fuck this. Let's sell as much as we fucking can. Yep. This is going to be their Harry Potter. Yeah, this is going to be their Harry Potter. It's like printing money. Yes, fucking print it all you can. All right. Good for you, Stern. Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun. And good luck, Melvin. Have fun at American Pinball. That's right, baby. You have to carry on the tradition of America. They have Funko Pop vinyl toys for you. You can put it right in the machine with it, guys, at the American Pinball. So we got all the stuff you need. It's funny, American Pinball originally was owned by a non-American company. Yes. Now it's owned by an American, but the main creative director will not be American. We have to keep it non-American. Diverse. We've got to get diversity. Diverse, you're right. Diversity. We've got to have some diversity right there. Let's see. What else do I got? Did I mention I got a new Black Rose Playfield? No. I got a new Black Rose Playfield. Did you get it from CPR? No. They don't sell them. Oh, you got it from the guys in Europe? I got it from the German guy, Mr. Brunner? Brunner? Brunner? What's his name? Nice. And how does it look? That looked good to me. So you're going to send it over to me so I get it cleared for you the proper way? It's cleared. It looks okay. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. You're going to come over and get Vance to touch it up and do his voodoo that he does so well? You don't have a black rose to put it in, so you might as well get it done right. I don't have a black rose. No, that's worth it. Oh, man. My black rose is totally worth it. The only issue is the damn play field. I know. And it is. It's worn. It's bad. Yeah, the inserts are bad. My inserts are really bad. Now, wait a second. The six-ship inserts are terrible. If you have a good clear coat on, no, those inserts will never move again. Uh-huh. See? Mm-hmm. All right. What else? Oh, I got this. Okay. Stop. Stop! Okay, I got that there because you need to do more of your plugging. Yes, we're plugging it, baby. Plugging for stop. Because guess what? Because guess what? 95% of our listenership could not play in this and is not even physically near. You should. You should come out to Rochester in May. It's beautiful. Just no matter where you are. Even if you're in Australia, you should come. Yes. You can go over and see the falls while you're over here. But in 20 days, you will lose the chance to possibly win your entry back. March 15th is the last day of the possibly getting your money back. You need to pull one person at the tournament, and you can get a chance to win your $135 bucks back. When is this again? What are the dates? Oh, God. You're fucking killing me, Smalls. I'm just trying to help out. No, you're not. You're being an a-hole. You should remember the dates and say. I don't remember the dates. May 15th, 16th, and 17th with a pre-tournament on the 14th. I knew I was going to get you on that one. At the beautiful Rochester Pinball Collective. Rochester Pinball Collective. That will have a Pokemon. Located at 349 West Commercial Street, East Rochester, New York. Yes, and hopefully more games. Sweet 2965. Yes, what's the bathroom code? I don't know. Three, four, nine, two. There you go. So you get 20 more days. I'll be getting into the States again at that time. So I will see all the things come down. And you got until midnight, March 15th. Wait a minute. I'll be getting into States again. What does that mean? The States, the United States. Oh, you'll be getting it. Oh, you'll be out of the country. Yes. When is this? So you're leaving again? What? No, for my Antonio Cruz. Oh, you mean this most recent Antonio Cruz you're going on? Yes. Uh-huh. That will be coming back on the 15th. Where are you going again? Antarctica? Something like that? No, Uranus. Uranus. I thought it was Neptune. No, I heard about Uranus. Ah. Ha! No, I'm going to the southern, sorry, eastern Caribbean. But pretty far down. My ship was stuck in New York City last week during the snowstorm. And it had people building snow. Do you want to build a snowman? They were building snowmans on the ship. Wait a minute. Last week. This just happened Monday. I know. The ship was supposed to leave Sunday, but it couldn't because of the rough seas. So it stayed in port a day. People were on the ship, and they were building snowmen on the ship during the snowstorm. But that wasn't last week. It's literally this week. Last week? No, it's literally this week. Sunday is last week. No, it's not. Sunday is the beginning of the week. Sunday's the beginning of the week. The week starts on Monday. No, the week is not. My paycheck starts from Monday to Sunday. So guess what? That is last week. It's Sunday. I'm talking about any standard calendar. Sunday. Sunday. Sunday. All right. Wow. That's pretty cool. I can echo. Yeah, you're echoing. Yes. Sunday. Sunday. Sunday. Yes. Sunday. Sunday. Sunday. Springfield Raceway. Car crunching action. Witness Truckasaurus. The only way you'll miss it is if you're in jail, and if you are, break out. Break out. You don't need to buy the whole seat because you'll barely be in it. No, you'll only pay, what was it, the pile driver versus the swing machine. The ticket, yeah, what is it, $10 paid for the whole ticket? The whole seat? Yeah, the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge. Very early Beavis and Bonnet. Yes, it is. the super early. Yeah, that's the first season. Very offensive material. Technically, it's not even a season. That's like the first two shorts there. Yeah. Where they go, Circulius, the Roman god of feces. Jesus Christ. Yes, we're old. Yes. Roman god of feces. How old is Beavis and Butthead now? 35? Well, I mean, the original ones were like 91, 92. Okay, so we're almost there. 35 years. Fuck me out Where's my game? Damn it It's never going to happen Damn it What the hell Ready for the ball bag? I am always ready for ball baggage Uh huh They're loose right now In my underwear Actually before Do I have any Evil Dead updates? Nothing is broken That's good. So far. What did I do? Did I do anything to it? I am thinking my issue with the Stargazer is power going to move the machine. I just haven't been there. I was actually sick last week. We're doing repairs, ladies and gentlemen. Well, we're just talking about it since you were asking about updates on your turd monster. Oh, I saw finally somebody put the gun on the fucking thing, the shotgun. Yeah. And somebody already whacked themselves. They showed a guy on Pinside. He's got a big bruise on. He's like, I went around the corner too fast. And he hit it. And he goes, this thing's fucking solid. Oh, yeah. It ain't going to go anywhere. He goes, I got a black and blue on the side of my thigh. So I tried removing the plastic post that's in the left out lane, the one that's next to the hand. When the hand goes back and forth. You can't do that. No, you have to take apart a ton of shit. No, no. It's super easy to take the post out. but you don't want to remove that post because what happens is any ball that like fires at the the hand and misses when it hits the metal behind it just dies and it just rolls straight down and if you don't have the post there outlaying every time wow so it sounds like they actually designed it properly unsavable so that's probably why the post is there so i just took the rubber off the post it's unsavable in every way it's unsavable so they say every day that's why darling you should leave your rubbers on But, yeah, I haven't had any issues yet. That's good. I've been playing it, so. Wow. They used all the hardware in that fucking machine. That's all I got to say. Great. It's great. It is. What other repairs, Bruce? I haven't done much. As I said, I was sick all week. I just got over coughing, hacking, and lung shit. So, yep. So that wasn't fun. So I feel better now. So I'm going to go in. We have a repair night tomorrow night. And then I'm working Thursday and Friday. And then I hit the road, Jack. Don't come back no more. No more. No more. No more. Hit the road, Jack. And I will be leaving tomorrow morning for California and getting out of this shithole. to get some decent Carl Weathers. It never rains in Southern California. Hopefully not. That would be nice. It never drains in Southern California, as we know. I know it doesn't. Never. Never. All right. You going with your buddy again? Yeah, Chris will be with me. Nice. So I am in the ball bag. This is from Steve. Nice, Steve. Segment idea. Steve, the former multi-time Vermont state champion, I believe. Someone can correct me if I have the wrong state there. He asks, have you done a tier list before? Even today, you were sort of ranking spike twos, but I'm thinking about taking a group of games and assigning them to tiers, which is kind of a popular online trend nowadays. Yes, I've seen. He has a picture here. Example, Lawler games. Mine is attached. Will probably help you get the idea if you didn't already. so yeah we'll have to try this in the future i don't know if you've seen these bruce but it's it's like a tier list it'll have like abcd and in his case his tier it has s abcd so i guess s is super stupendous like the best so for lawler games shitty well no i don't think so for for his S, top-tier Lawler. He's got Whirlwind and the Addams Family. A, he's got Twilight Zone Funhouse. Dialed in! Yes! Red and Ted's Roadshow and Earthshaker. B, he's got Ripley's Believe It or Not, Toy Story 4, No Good Gophers, Safecracker, Family Guy, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and Banzai Run. Who grew those? And then C, he's got Monopoly, CSI, and NASCAR. God, no. He's fucking this guy. You on crack, boy. And D, he's got Roller Coaster Tycoon. The problem with Roller Coaster Tycoon is the rules. It's not the shots. I'm looking at these. You know, I could go a long way. I'd put Monopoly higher. I like Monopoly. Yeah, I love Monopoly. And maybe Funhouse lower because I'm sick. Not Funhouse. Twilight's a little lower. I like Funhouse. It could get Monotonous. It could get Monotonous. But for its time, it was incredible. Hit the center shot. Hit the fucking thing. Dialed in, of course. is ranked high like it should be. Is there an F? Fred and Ted's Roadshow I love. My guilty pleasure. I like that game. I had one for three days. Ripley's, believe it or not. I think Ripley's is a good play field shot. Good play field. It's a low scoring game. It's just... Low scoring. That's the problem with that game. That's the problem. Shoot it, man. Yeah, man. Yeah, man. Yeah, okay. Yeah, you play Pokemon, don't you? Yeah. Yeah, man. Yeah, we'll have to do more tears when we get guests here. Okay, we'll do tears. Tears. Tears for fears. Tears for fears. Shout. Let it all out. Let it all out. All right, this is from Shannon. These are the tears we can do. Yeah. Come on. Oh, actually, Shannon sent this today. His timing is excellent. Excellent. Single level madness, he says. Hello, guys. Hello. Episode 264 was fantastic. Fantastic. Thank you. On Pinside, I noticed they had one of those. They have these. Every few months, someone will put, like, what do you think of pinball podcast or pinball media? And almost the whole thing will be like, they suck. They show everything. Fuck them. They suck dick. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And we're probably right at the bottom of the list. But then usually there's a couple people like, slam tilt rules. What the fuck? And there was one guy that actually said he loved Bruce. So there you go. I love that guy. Next guest, get him on now. But episode 264 is fantastic, and everyone was in great spirits, including Bruce. The Cruises are really paying off. Since you are, yeah, I read this. This is going to be a tough one. Since you are big fans of classic single-level sterns, yes. Of course we are. What modern single levels have been your favorites? What would be a modern single level? Almost every game made since the mid-'80s now has ramps. Yeah, but I consider if it doesn't have an upper play field. No. Yeah. No. Yeah. Then Tamil Man is a single level. No, because it doesn't have an upper play field. The claw is an upper play field. It has a ramp that actually acts like a claw and diverts it to other places. That's a ramp. I don't even have to play field. Got you there. I could just pick any game with a ramp then. I mean, Jurassic Park is single level, Corey and you. Yeah. Okay. Forget Bruce. He's an idiot. We talk about actual single-level games. There's really not that many. There's none. You got TNA, which I did like because I had a TNA. Bond 60th. I mean, that was good. I mean it wasn of goodness or whatever the hell it cost They all snoozers They are What other single Beatles Beatles I like Beatles Beatles is okay But again that basically Sea Witch Sea Witch, that's where we go by I don't know how I would answer this Yeah That would be the only three I can think of And to see if deep codes and long players Oh, Isaac, I got one Heist And to see if deep codes and long players Do you feel there is a place for more of them in the future? Sure. No. Sure. No. You don't think so? It's got to have ramps. Got to have ramps or it's a fail. It's a fail. Okay. Wait a second. When was the last game that Stern made that didn't have ramps? Well, new Stern, never. Exactly. There you go. Other than the aforementioned Beatles and James Bond's 60th anniversary. Yeah, exactly. And they didn't sell well. I think even their home models had ramps. Yes. Does heavy metal have a ramp? I think it does. Yes, it does. So as I'm saying, the ones that they made did not sell well. So there you go. I'd like to see it, but Bruce has nixed it. Nope. He says it doesn't sell. Now, if they bring back, like, you know, the Blues Brothers, that's an awesome fucking game with no ramps. Oh, that's right. No. Yeah, but it has a ramp. Oh, that's right. It does. It does. That's right. It doesn't really go. I mean, it just goes up and then just drops. Yeah, drops. Like Plinko. I mean, technically, like Firepower 2 has a ramp. You just hit it and it goes along a habit trail and it comes right back down. God, yeah. This is a hard one. Let's think about this. Hold on now. Hold on. 8-Ball, Champ, no ramp. Holy shit, you're right. Oh, my God, you're right. Yes, I applaud you. Yes, eight-ball champ. There's one. Yep, that's a good one. You basically got to go in the mid-'80s to some of the other, like, when they were trying shit. I'm trying to think. Like, does, like, Grand Slam have one? It does not. Yeah. So that's another one. Oh, street level. Hoops. Yeah, hoops. Hoops. Hoops. 1990, how could I forget that? What a moron. I know, hoops. I was like, yeah, I was, like, thinking, like, okay, what doesn't happen? Street level, bro. Yep, street level hoops. Actually, I like the way most of the street level shot. Actually, I love the way they shoot. They didn't have the best code. Vegas shoots pretty good, even though it's bad rules. It shoots good. Yeah, you can shoot that left orbit 30 times in a row. It's great. And Silver Slugger plays good. Silver Slugger. What was the other one? Deadly Weapon. Yep, Deadly Weapon. I like Zach's Deadly Weapon. They had it going on with the single levels. They just had terrible rule sets. Yeah, they did. Except for Hoops, of course. Hoops. Hoops. So there we name some. Any like Bally, like those mid-80s Ballys that were single level? Well, I think 8-Ball Champ was their last one. Then they went to Plastic Land. They went to Plastic Land and they have so much plastic. Motor Dome and Black Belt and all these others. Blackwater 100 where there's so much plastic. The most plastic ever on a game. What other? Did Gottlieb do any other single levels? Did Williams do any? I mean, Williams, when they're really hurting. Like Starlight and like Snail Time. Yeah, exactly. Those are the last ones. Time Fantasy. Space Shuttle has a ramp, and so does Fire and all those others. Yeah. So I think we picked the right one, Hoops. Yeah. Oh, yeah, Hoops. Hoops is definitely the number one. So, yeah, I feel there's a place. Bruce says no. It hasn't. If there was a place for it, they would be making a ton of them. What if they, okay, if they re-released Hoops as something else, would it sell today? Oh, no. Just release it as Hoops, bro. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. No? Okay, okay, if you re-released it as Hoops, how many people do you think are actually going to pay $6,000 for that game? Not enough. There you go. So there, you just answered your own question. I would, though. But you just answered your own question, didn't you? Damn logic. Fuck yeah. Bruce knows all. Bruce is the logical one, yes. See? All right. Last email is from Scott, our Scott. Our Scott. Yes. Our Scott. Mr. Scott. He sent a link. Uh-oh. No, it's on Pinside. But, Bruce, do you know what Pinball Browser is? Yes. So explain it to our listeners. What is Pinball Browser? You can actually set up the game and play it and edit. You can actually change stuff in it and that kind of stuff. Okay. With his vague explanation, Pinball Browser is what you can use for Stern games. I think Pre-Spike. Yes. I don't think they – I think White Stars is the last one. No, Pre-Spike 3 because I know people have used it with like Jurassic Park. No, Jurassic Park. They had the movie one. Then they changed something. They changed something and made it harder. Yeah, they made it a lot harder. Yes. But basically, you read in the code and you can just change it. You can change the video assets, the audio. You can make, like there's a Jurassic Park version that has the movie clips. Which is supposedly really good. Yeah. And people do like Spider-Man. They change it to Metallica. Like, you know, that kind of stuff. Or they change the music. Yeah, exactly. Iron Maiden is now Disco Maiden and all that. Disco. Yeah. Well, they now have something similar for Jersey Jack games. Oh, boy. And this one's actually open source. Nice. Pinball browser, I believe you had to pay for. Okay. This one, it's called JJP Asset Decryptor. Okay. And we're not recommending people use this. Yeah, we don't recommend anything like that. But if you were to, say, want to change some of the music in your Elton John and things like that, I mean, you'd have to change a ton of shit because there's the music, there's all the videos associated with it. You'd have to make your own. It would be a lot of work. I say we make an ELO machine out of your Elton John. But now there's a way to. You just donated it. Your time and effort. Good. I love this. But now you can decrypt because the issue with the Jersey Jack stuff, I believe, was decrypting it. And now you can decrypt it. so i think people are gonna start getting on this they're gonna put the good music in instead of that that six that eight bit shit right well i'm thinking stuff like pirates has no assets guess what fucking has assets now we've got assets out the ass yeah assets out the ass lots of assets toy story don't like that music change it get toy story five with bald uh woody That's right. That's coming out, right? It shows him his fucking balls. I'm like, what the fuck? Wait a minute, he lost his pair? He's a toy. Yes, in the back. He's got a bald spot. Oh, no. I was like, holy fuck. Way to date this fucking toy. Poor guy's got a name called Woody. He should have a, you know. There was a lot of cool ideas that people were like, yeah, that would be pretty cool. Yeah, that would be pretty cool. with wicked stuff guns and roses take the chinese democracy shit out yep you could change the video if you want minimal effort you could change out the videos in in um guns and roses because they use all the studio tracks then just get the mtv videos and put them in there there you go boom i like the wizard wizard of oz make it wicked new wicked wicked yep uh we can make uh we can do uh the better lord of the rings on with hobbit just give us a hobbit shit and make it all lord make it lord of the rings yes okay uh what else can we do uh dialed in just anything better like you know totally anything better no i see you dialed in everyone complains the combos aren't worth anything well there you go just make shit worth more boom done no no no that that doesn't help the game that much oh shut up it doesn't dialed in is awesome what else we got what other games did they make gems and roses what else oh uh willie wonka can get rid of that fucking bad uh tv shit you know in the background it doesn't do shit i hate that freaking back animation wow i do i hate it so much god calm down it's it's okay bruce ah what other jjps would we missed well avatar oh no there's no help for that uh there's no help for that at all oh godfather we can make it uh i don't know what you do because that wasn't a good theme to begin with you can make it um uh make it good fellas oh johnny dangerously oh okay that'd be fucking awesome wouldn't it you know bruce my grandma shot me once yes once wouldn't that be awesome make that as a johnny dangerous pinball machine my sister kicked me in the balls once once once it'd be fucking awesome yeah you know crime doesn't pay then the limo pulls up well it paid a little paid a little i just remember maureen stapleton was in that and she is from albany or schenectady somewhere around somewhere around my neck of the woods yep mary lou henner and uh yes and michael keaton michael keaton yes johnny dangerously and joe piscopo but that'd be great make godfather as johnny dangerously or you could just make it goodfellas with all the f-bombs and shit yeah that'd be cool too yeah yeah yeah i'm liking it i'm liking it that's the that's the All the JJPs? We didn't miss any? We did Hobbit. We did, yeah. We got to be missing something. I think we are. Oh, Harry Potter. But that already has everything in it. I don't know what you would do there. Yeah, God. That sets up the ass. I don't think you're going to be doing anything with that. Yeah, Guns N' Roses you could, yeah. Guns N' Roses would be cool, but not as the bad music. None of this replaces the code, so you would have to use all your new, footage and call it the same names so it calls the same stuff and it's going to have to be around the same length or you're going to have issues that kind of stuff i mean the real solution would be to somehow decompile the code but i don't think this this doesn't do that this just gives you access to all the assets so yeah so but not that we're encouraging any of that but there's a lot of things that could be done there yes that would invalidate your warranty and fry your game possibly Endless. Mm-hmm. All right. I think that's all I got. Don't forget stomp. You already said stomp. I know, but don't forget it. Stomp, stomp, stomp. Oh, yeah. Don't forget stomp. Can you dig it? Yes, I can dig it, Bruce. Don't forget Allentown's coming up in May. And guess who has a booth at Allentown this year? Wait a minute. You have a booth? I have a booth. For what? Sell them stuff. I'm going to sell some stuff. Oh, my God. When's the last time you had a booth? 2018 it was a long maybe maybe 2017 2017 2018 wow almost a decade yep that's a long time bruce he's back you can come by and say how much you love the podcast and yes get autographs of me and ron get autographs free autographs not like these patreon guys that want money oh god All right. We're out of material, but we wanted to get this out there before Bruce leaves forever. Because it's going to be a while before he's back. Before my wife pushes me overboard. So if I go missing, you know why. Uh-huh. Pushing you overboard for the insurance money? Yes. That was big bucks. Big bucks. No whammies. Stop. But, yes, this has been episode 265 of the Slam Tilt Podcast. Let's see, I've got plugs. I also have another podcast, Silver Ball Chronicles. Check us out. We talk about pinball history. Me and the other host, David Dennis. So our last episode was... Check out all our episodes. They're great. They cover a large swath of pinball history. You like that word? Swath of pinball history. Even bingos. One of our most popular episodes. Actually, just kidding. Everyone hates that one, but I liked it. god damn it hello to everyone in the clusterfuck i know all the usual suspects i'm a little mad at Steven Bowden right now oh he's plugging all these other tournaments and he is not plugging so steve fun with bonus we talk about you every fucking time plug me you you're assuming he still listens so come on you better listen i'll know now what you'll know now if he doesn't say something about stop well no you haven't listened no that's like the simpsons episode with uh was it comic book guy he's talking to homer if i see you've made a story about aliens taking away our personal liberties i'll know you stole my idea like i don't care about your idea no steal his idea all right we'll have a safe trip ron and you have a safe Antonio Cruz do not fall overboard do not vomit Do not get seasick. I don't get seasick. That's one thing I do not. I did not get seasick. But I get four free drinks every day on the Antonio Cruz. So I'm very happy for 14 days of cruising. Cruising. On a Sunday morning afternoon. Cruising. Actually, what is it? It's grooving, right? I'm changing the word. Cruising sounds like a good word. Cruising. On a two-week vacation. And I will be attempting to do good in the target match play. And if I bomb out at that, I really don't know how much I'm going to play in the other ones. I might just check out the pools. Because this is at a spa resort place this year. And don't forget, Ron needs a hug. Everybody needs a hug, Ron. Tom, I'm expecting you to hug him. Everybody needs somebody to hug. Everybody... Got me into the Blues Brothers. need somebody to love. Someone to hug. Someone to hug. I need you. You. You. I need you. You. You. You. I like when they sing it and the crowd just immediately in a complete instant. Oh, yeah. I don't see them anymore. Where are they? Who did that song originally? Little trivia. Useless trivia for the end of the show. You'll never get it. Couldn't tell you. Wilson Pickett. There you go. Thank you. Thank you. I need you. I need you. I need you. Episode 265 is over. So until next time, say goodbye, Bruce. Goodbye, Tim Frolich. All right. Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. Oh my. Thank you.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 8b63612b-7d62-4e93-af83-1f4334ef58b6*