# You HAVE to be Kidding Me, American Pinball... **Source:** Cary Hardy **Type:** video **Published:** 2024-02-01 **Duration:** 6m 37s **Beat:** Pinball **URL:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQw45EY_wPs --- ## Analysis Carrie Hardy criticizes American Pinball's inaugural Twitch stream as poorly planned and wasteful of audience time. The 2-hour broadcast announced only three substantive points: two new hires, a new backward-compatible board system (funded by Amtron), and plans for regular future streams. Hardy argues the information could have been communicated via email and faults the stream's lack of interactivity, poor lighting for showcasing the Hot Wheels playfield, and failure to demonstrate the new board system on their newest game (GTF). ### Key Claims - [HIGH] American Pinball's stream lasted approximately 1 hour 45 minutes with only one significant announcement at the 1 hour 15 minute mark — _Carrie Hardy directly witnessed and timed the stream; provided specific timestamps throughout criticism_ - [HIGH] The only substantive announcements were: two new hires, a new board system developed at significant cost, and plans for regular future streams — _Hardy explicitly enumerated 'cliff notes' summarizing all content from the stream_ - [HIGH] American Pinball/Amtron have spent 'hundreds of thousands of dollars' developing the new board system — _Hardy states American Pinball made this claim directly during the stream_ - [HIGH] The new board system is backwards compatible but does not work with GTF (American Pinball's newest game) — _Hardy explicitly states 'it doesn't work on their newest game' and 'now with their new board system... it definitely won't work with this system, yet at least'_ - [HIGH] The stream had minimal audience interaction and failed to engage viewers as a primary weakness — _Hardy repeatedly criticizes lack of interactivity: 'The only interaction was at the very beginning... That's not how your stream was'_ ### Notable Quotes > "unlike American pinball, I actually care about your time" > — **Carrie Hardy**, 0:30 > _Sets the critical tone; establishes Hardy's core complaint about wasted audience time_ > "this was your first stream on twitch... the equivalent of me going to a two-hour meeting at work and when it's all said and done come to find out this could have all been done via an email" > — **Carrie Hardy**, 1:45 > _Core thesis: the stream's format and length were inappropriate for its content_ > "The lighting is about as bad on this Playfield as the decision to host this fucking stream" > — **Carrie Hardy**, 2:30 > _Technical criticism of stream production quality; inability to showcase Hot Wheels playfield properly_ > "One hour and 15 minutes in, we finally get something. We finally get a special announcement... the big news guys is that they have a new board system" > — **Carrie Hardy**, 8:30 > _Identifies the single substantive announcement and its delayed timing_ > "And no one could tell. Fuck! Damn straight no one could tell. How could anybody tell?" > — **Carrie Hardy**, 9:15 > _Expresses frustration that the new board system was demonstrated on a 4-year-old game with no visible difference, making the announcement feel hollow_ > "now with their new board system that they've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on, it definitely won't work with this system, yet at least. So the stream just ended okay An hour and 45 minutes. There was no more announcements after the hour and 15 minute mark" > — **Carrie Hardy**, 11:45 > _Points out a critical flaw: the new system doesn't support their newest game; confirms no additional announcements after the board system reveal_ ### Entities | Name | Type | Context | |------|------|---------| | Carrie Hardy | person | Pinball content creator; host of the video; critical analyst of American Pinball's stream planning and execution | | American Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; subject of criticism for inaugural Twitch stream; developing new board system | | Steve Bowen | person | American Pinball representative featured prominently in the stream playing Hot Wheels; target of Hardy's specific criticism | | Amtron | company | Investor/parent entity providing funding for American Pinball's new board system development; described as committed to long-term support | | Hot Wheels | game | Four-year-old American Pinball game used to demonstrate the new board system throughout the stream; pinball's oldest released game at the time | | GTF | game | American Pinball's newest game; the new board system is not yet compatible with it, creating a significant limitation | ### Topics - **Primary:** Stream production quality and planning, American Pinball's new board system technology, Audience engagement and interactivity in streaming - **Secondary:** American Pinball's business strategy and financial backing, Content creator criticism of manufacturer communications ### Sentiment **Negative** (-0.85) — Hardy is highly critical of American Pinball's stream execution, calling it a waste of audience time with minimal substantive content. While she acknowledges some value for existing owners and future buyers (board repair coverage), her overall tone is scathing and frustrated. She begins with sarcasm ('unlike American pinball, I actually care about your time') and maintains heavy criticism throughout, using profanity to emphasize her frustration. ### Signals - **[business_signal]** Amtron and American Pinball relationship indicates long-term financial commitment to platform development; company claims hundreds of thousands invested in new board system (confidence: high) — Hardy states: 'Ametron and American Pinball are in it for the long haul. Allegedly. Especially with the amount of money that they just got to finish investing in this new board system.' - **[sentiment_shift]** Negative reception to American Pinball's inaugural Twitch stream from influential content creator Carrie Hardy; perception of poor planning and bait-and-switch marketing (confidence: high) — Hardy's entire video is a critical breakdown of the stream's failure to deliver value; she calls the stream 'the equivalent of me going to a two-hour meeting at work and when it's all said and done come to find out this could have all been done via an email' and criticizes the 1 hour 15 minute delay before any meaningful announcement. - **[market_signal]** American Pinball's stream strategy appears poorly executed with emphasis on quantity (2-hour duration) over substance or engagement; failed to leverage interactive streaming format (confidence: high) — Hardy repeatedly emphasizes the mismatch between stream length and content value: 'Two hours Two hours to make a couple of announcements that could have been done on social media' and 'The only interaction was at the very beginning when it came to answering about the audio issues.' - **[personnel_signal]** American Pinball has hired two new employees; signaling company growth or restructuring (confidence: high) — Hardy explicitly lists as 'cliff note number two: they have hired two new people.' This was announced during the stream. - **[technology_signal]** New board system, despite significant investment, is not backward compatible with American Pinball's newest game (GTF), limiting its immediate utility (confidence: high) — Hardy reports: 'Does this new board system work on GTF? No, it doesn't work on their newest game... now with their new board system that they've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on, it definitely won't work with this system, yet at least.' --- ## Transcript All right, we're recording. Good. Oh, my. Oh, man. That, that, that. OK, look, this video is going to be short and to the point because unlike American pinball, I actually care about your time. I swear to God, AP, you hooked, lined, and synced your audience this evening. I haven't even turned the power on to my games. I'm not even going to waste electricity talking about you. We didn't come to this stream to watch Steven Bowden make Hot Wheels his bitch for two hours. matter of fact we didn't come to this stream to watch hot wheels the fuck this stream was the equivalent of me going to a two-hour meeting at work and when it's all said and done come to find out this could have all been done via an email look this was your first stream on twitch your first video on there Okay, overall quality, not too bad. I mean, unless you would like your potential buyers to enjoy how colorful Hot Wheels Playfield is, because they're not going to see it with this setup. The lighting is about as bad on this Playfield as the decision to host this fucking stream Two hours Two hours to make a couple of announcements that could have been done on social media I mean, do you know the most common reason why people watch streams, American Pinball? It's so they can interact with the people doing the streaming. Type in questions. It's an interaction kind of thing. You know, it kind of goes both ways on this That's not how your stream was instead We get subjected to this the only interaction was at the very beginning when it came to answering about the audio issues that they had One hour in no special announcements other than the fact that they have hired two new employees Thankfully for me. It was merely background noise. I was working on earth shaker back here getting him put back together So it wasn't that big deal for me, but I know there's plenty of you out there that were probably watching with nothing else going on, just waiting for something worthy of your time to occur. One hour and 15 minutes in, we finally get something. We finally get a special announcement along with them saying thank you guys for watching. So they acknowledge our existence an hour and 15 minutes in. How thoughtful of you and they decided to answer why they are playing a four-year-old game The big news guys is that they have a new board system that they have obviously and legitimately Said they have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars making R and all that stuff and junk And that was the big deal. They were playing Hot Wheels, a four-year-old game, on a new board system. And no one could tell. Fuck! Damn straight no one could tell. How could anybody tell? So an hour and 15 minutes in is when the audience realizes they got completely baited into watching this stream. Now, I'm sure there are those of you out there that actually wanted this information and are happy. If you're current owners and stuff like that, this is probably good news to you, okay? and for you future potential buyers if watching this stream didn't burn you from buying their product already this probably gives you a little confidence in buying from them so now we all have the knowledge of knowing that board repair replacement is all going to be covered in the future however long that future is is yet to be determined and the knowledge that they gave us could have been sent in an email. Now, does this new board system work on GTF? No, it doesn't work on their newest game. So not only does GTF struggle as it is to work on stream, now with their new board system that they've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on, it definitely won't work with this system, yet at least. So the stream just ended okay An hour and 45 minutes There was no more announcements after the hour and 15 minute mark No more special announcements Fuck! So look, do not waste your time watching this stream. I'm going to give you the cliff notes, guys. I'm going to give you the information in a matter of seconds and compared to two hours that were almost wasted entirely. So I'm jumping on the grenade for you guys here, or I already did, technically. I've already jumped on the grenade. I'm just going to tell you how it feels. So, cliff note number one. Ametron and American Pinball are in it for the long haul. Allegedly. Especially with the amount of money that they just got to finish investing in this new board system. This is basically to increase the longevity of the company. Cliff note number two, they have hired two new people. Cliff note number three, they have a new board system that is backwards compatible and will give the company longevity, allegedly. I don't know if I think I've combined one of those damn notes with this one. It doesn't freaking matter. Look, note number four is that they are going to start streaming on the regular via that Twitch channel. So if you are interested in watching Bowden make other games his bitch for a couple of hours, especially when they're games that you're probably not interested in in the fucking first place, go right ahead. So that's it. That's all you needed to know. But did you really need to know? I hope it broke. _(Acquisition: youtube_groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_ --- *Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 8f41088b-dd62-40e1-bc2b-5084dc7b1298*