# Episode 661: "Something Smells Fishy With Fathom"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2022-03-22  
**Duration:** 10m 13s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-661-with-64123527

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## Analysis

Kaneda criticizes Haggis Pinball (Damien/American Pinball) for sending out full-payment invoices with an 8-week delivery promise just 48 hours after publicly stating no ETAs could be given, citing lack of manufacturing proof and repeated missed deadlines. He also questions Weird Al Pinball's single-unit production pace and expresses frustration with boutique company practices, arguing they request money before demonstrating production capability.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Damien stated in a video 48 hours prior that no ETAs could be given on Fathom production, then sent invoices with an 8-week timeline — _Kaneda, directly observed from the video release and subsequent invoice timing_
- [HIGH] Haggis Pinball has missed every single deadline previously announced for Fathom — _Kaneda, from production history discussion_
- [HIGH] The same Fathom prototype has been displayed for approximately 8 months without evidence of production-level manufacturing — _Kaneda, observed prototype continuity_
- [HIGH] Damien originally announced Fathom in May with a two-month delivery promise, which was not met — _Kaneda, referencing historical announcement_
- [MEDIUM] Weird Al Pinball has only completed one game unit despite claims of assembly line operations — _Kaneda, citing Jerry Stellenburg's photo evidence of single completed unit_
- [MEDIUM] No other major manufacturers (Stern, JJP) have significant announcements, forcing focus onto boutique companies — _Kaneda, industry observation_
- [HIGH] Demanding full payment invoices before proving manufacturing capability is historically a risky practice in boutique pinball — _Kaneda, pattern analysis from past boutique company failures_
- [HIGH] Kaneda was previously burned by Spooky with Ultraman and holds negative views on boutique company pre-orders — _Kaneda, personal experience disclosure_

### Notable Quotes

> "I'm just here to do this show and tell you right now that I think something is fishy at Haggis Pinball."
> — **Kaneda**, 0:00
> _Opening thesis statement that frames the entire critique_

> "He has already missed every single deadline and now he is sending people a pay in full nonrefundable invoice of a game you have not seen being built in any numbers whatsoever."
> — **Kaneda**, 2:15
> _Core complaint: pattern of deadline failures combined with payment demand without proof_

> "The most confidence inspiring thing he can do is show us what's going on in the factory. You haven't seen any of it and you're going to pay an invoice?"
> — **Kaneda**, 3:45
> _Central demand for transparency before payment_

> "He probably needs all that money to get the staff in the door. He needs all that money to order the parts and as we know and as we've learned from the years and years and years of watching boutique companies do this, it's a lot harder than he realizes."
> — **Kaneda**, 4:30
> _Acknowledges business necessity while criticizing communication strategy_

> "People in this hobby are stupid. If you ask me, they're like, oh, everything must be going well because I got an invoice. No, that's the easy part is to ask for people's money."
> — **Kaneda**, 6:15
> _Critical take on buyer psychology and decision-making in boutique pinball_

> "When Stern takes your money and Stern reveals a game, the game is on the line."
> — **Kaneda**, 3:00
> _Contrast between major manufacturer practice and boutique approach_

> "I don't like these boutique company rides. I wouldn't get on them. I got burned by Spooky with Ultraman Man, it's just forever wait."
> — **Kaneda**, 5:30
> _Personal disclosure of negative boutique experience and reluctance to participate_

> "Why is the pattern here with all of these boutique companies? The moment they want to take your money, they give you something that's confidence inspiring."
> — **Kaneda**, 3:50
> _Identifies systemic pattern across boutique industry as problematic_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Pinball podcast host and industry critic running Kaneda's Pinball Podcast |
| Damien | person | Owner/operator of Haggis Pinball (American Pinball), maker of Fathom remake |
| Haggis Pinball | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer criticized for Fathom production delays and invoicing practices |
| American Pinball | company | Same company as Haggis Pinball, operates under both names |
| Fathom | game | Remake of classic pinball title by Haggis/American Pinball, in extended production with missed deadlines |
| Kelts | game | Previous game made by Haggis Pinball, used as comparison point for manufacturing difficulty |
| Jerry Stellenburg | person | Associated with Weird Al Pinball production, showed first completed unit in box |
| Weird Al Pinball | game | P3/Multimorphic game in production, criticized for slow single-unit completion rate |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer cited as contrast example for reliable on-the-line game delivery |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Major manufacturer (abbreviated JJP), no recent announcements noted |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer that made Ultraman, cited as source of Kaneda's negative pre-order experience |
| Multimorphic | company | Boutique manufacturer associated with P3 platform, criticized for lack of communication/progress |
| Travis | person | TripleDrain podcast host, mentioned as making overly long episodes |
| Randy Penepe | person | Industry figure referenced regarding entertainment value and business confidence |
| Marty | person | Associated with Haggis Pinball, lumped together with Damien in call for production proof |
| Twippies | event | Annual pinball industry awards; Kaneda mentions competing them in Texas soon |
| Texas Pinball Festival | event | Implied location of Twippies awards ceremony, referenced as Kaneda's upcoming travel |
| Ultraman Man | game | Spooky Pinball game associated with production delays, caused Kaneda's negative experience |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Haggis Pinball / American Pinball Fathom production credibility and timeline, Boutique pinball company practices: invoice timing, transparency, and communication, Manufacturing proof and factory transparency as trust metric, Repeated deadline failures in boutique pinball industry
- **Secondary:** Weird Al Pinball production pace and assembly line efficiency, Contrast between major manufacturers (Stern, JJP) and boutique company practices, Buyer psychology and FOMO-driven decision making in boutique pre-orders
- **Mentioned:** Podcast content strategy: short, focused episodes vs. long-form meandering

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.85) — Strong skepticism and frustration directed at Haggis Pinball and boutique industry practices, tempered slightly by stated hope that Fathom ships successfully and acknowledgment that business necessity may justify payment requests. Kaneda expresses personal negative experience and calls buyer decision-making 'stupid.' Overall tone is accusatory with underlying concern for the community.

### Signals

- **[product_concern]** Haggis Pinball sending full-payment invoices with 8-week ETA despite no visible factory operations, consistent prototype display, and previous deadline misses (confidence: high) — Kaneda documents the 48-hour contradiction between 'no ETA' video and invoice distribution; references 8-month prototype stasis and prior May announcement with unfulfilled 2-month promise
- **[supply_chain_signal]** No evidence of parts procurement in house; Kaneda repeatedly notes lack of manufacturing line visibility as red flag (confidence: high) — "We've seen zero proof that they have the parts in house to make the Fathoms. We've seen zero proof they can make more than one prototype of Fathom."
- **[industry_signal]** Systemic pattern of boutique pinball companies requesting full payment before demonstrating production capability; seen historically as risky practice (confidence: high) — Kaneda identifies pattern: 'The moment they want to take your money, they give you something that's confidence inspiring' and connects this to industry-wide repeated failures
- **[sentiment_shift]** Host expressing eroded trust in boutique pre-orders due to repeated cycle failures and lack of transparency (confidence: high) — Personal disclosure: 'I got burned by Spooky with Ultraman Man' and broader statement 'I don't like these boutique company rides. I wouldn't get on them.'
- **[product_launch]** Fathom originally promised May announcement with 2-month delivery; now requesting payment with 8-week delivery promise (third iteration of timeline) (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'When Damien announced Fathom in May and took your money, He said he would have games on the line in two months. And here we are, history repeating itself all over again.'
- **[manufacturing_signal]** Weird Al Pinball appears to have completed only one unit despite being in production phase; raises questions about assembly line efficiency (confidence: medium) — Jerry Stellenburg showed photo of single completed Weird Al in box; Kaneda questions: 'If you have an assembly line going, shouldn't multiple games be done in a day?'
- **[content_signal]** Kaneda positioning short-form focused critique as alternative to long-form podcast meandering; specifically calling out lack of industry accountability coverage (confidence: medium) — Kaneda criticizes TripleDrain for 2+ hour episodes and states: 'What we need is more people in the pinball content world actually holding more of these companies accountable'
- **[market_signal]** Fathom remakes unlikely to appreciate significantly; buyers expecting 2x return are misinformed about collector market dynamics (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'If people think these Fathoms are gonna be worth like twice as much money when they come out, no they're not. They probably hold steady they might go up a little bit'
- **[business_signal]** Boutique companies may rely on pre-order invoices to fund parts procurement and labor, creating tension between business necessity and buyer transparency (confidence: high) — Kaneda acknowledges: 'He probably needs all that money to get the staff in the door. He needs all that money to order the parts' but argues this should be communicated differently
- **[regulatory_signal]** Invoices described as non-refundable, placing full financial risk on buyers with no manufacturing proof (confidence: high) — Kaneda states: 'sending people a pay in full nonrefundable invoice of a game you have not seen being built'

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## Transcript

 Welcome to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast and I'm just here to do this show and tell you right now that I think something is fishy at Haggis Pinball. What do I mean by that? I'm going to tell you right now. Now you're telling me that Damien comes out this weekend just a couple days ago, does a video, doesn't show us any parts, any manufacturing. In fact, he says how difficult it is to make a pinball. and his not gonna give any ETAs on when fathom production or shipping will begin. He said that to all of us on Saturday and Sunday this weekend and now just two days later he is sending out invoices for people to pay their invoices in full to get their fathoms get ready for it in eight weeks. He's now promising games will be on the line in eight weeks. Now here's why this is fishy. If he knew games were gonna be on the line in 8 weeks, why didn't he say so in the video he just did like 2 days ago? And why did he in the video 2 days ago say he was not gonna give any ETAs on the game because they didn't know what it was yet and now he's asking for people's money with an ETA of 8 weeks? Do John Youssi why this is fishy? Do John Youssi why this is weird? Do John Youssi why this hobby is so strange to me? Why would you send money until you've seen that they can manufacture these fathoms? He goes on a video and says how much harder it is to engineer a fathom than a kelts. He hasn't shown us a line of people making any of these fathoms. That's still the same fathom prototype he's had there for like eight months. And he showed you some code. Did John Youssi anybody in the factory? Did John Youssi a line going? I'm here to tell you right now, I hope they get this done. I hope they ship these machines, but this makes me very nervous and this seems very fishy. Why is he sending out invoices if games are not 30 days away? This is not how you're supposed to do it. He has already missed every single deadline and now he is sending people a pay in full nonrefundable invoice of a game you have not seen being built in any numbers whatsoever And how does he know in eight weeks that games are definitely going to be on the line And here's the thing. I hope I am wrong. For those of you out there that think I wake up and I want to see these companies struggle, no I don't. But we've seen Damien do this before. And I mean it when I say it. I'm going to be honest with you guys, the part I will never understand about him is he's once again giving an ETA when he does not know. Do you guys know, like when Stern takes your money and Stern reveals a game, the game is on the line. And we know that the riskiest thing you can do is pay in full for something until you've seen proof they can make this game. We've seen zero proof that they have the parts in house to make the fathoms. We've seen zero proof they can make more than one prototype of Fathom. Making Kelts is not making Fathom. And I don't understand, this is the part I just don't get, explain to me, somebody in comments or just call me up or say something on my Facebook page, explain to me how 48 hours later after he just said he was not going to give an ETA because he didn't know yet, he gives an ETA when he takes more of your money. Do John Youssi the pattern here with all of these boutique companies? The moment they want to take your money, they give you something that's confidence inspiring. But the most confidence inspiring thing he can do is show us what's going on in the factory. You haven't seen any of it and you're going to pay an invoice? I just think this is fishy behavior. I think it's strange. And I hope you guys get your games. I hope they get these games out in two months. and I want to be wrong, but this is not the kind of behavior we should support. I would not be sending in a fully paid invoice until I see the parts. Damien, show us what you got. Do a video tour walking around the factory. Introduce us to the gentlemen or women who will be making these games. He hasn't shown us any of this and he's sending out invoices. Now here's the problem. He probably needs all that money to get the staff in the door. He needs all that money to order the parts and as we know and as we've learned from the years and years and years of watching boutique companies do this, it's a lot harder than he realizes to get all the parts in house to get all the labor set up He never done this before He made just a handful of Keltz machines These machines are harder to make Any date he puts out there seems like it never going to be achieved because they learning as they go And this is my concern is why is he telling people eight weeks Eight weeks So two months from now and these are not just the series ticket holders these are the actual beginning of just mermaid only orders So in two months we are going to see this I hope I'm wrong, but man, how does this not smell fishy? Am I being a jerk? Should I be supporting this? No, I'm just going off of historically when we see companies do this and ask for invoice money before you've seen the line going, that is a really risky proposition. Why can't he show us more of what's going on behind the scenes, everybody? Look, Kaneda's Pinball Podcast is not going to do 2 hours and 15 minute shows. I was giving my friend Travis over at TripleDrain some grief for this. It's like we don't need all these long shows. We don't need so much just back and forth. What we need is more people in the pinball content world actually holding more of these companies accountable and actually saying, hey, like this is not good practice. And on the same day he gave out invoices for Fathoms, Jerry Stellenburg showed us a picture of a Weird Al in a box about to ship to somebody. So I owe Jerry Stellenburg $100. Now, Jerry Stellenburg has game one in a box. But here's the other thing too. Congratulations, Jerry. But where's game two? Where's game three? Again, if you have an assembly line going, shouldn't multiple games be done in a day? And wouldn't it make more of a statement if there were a bunch of Weird Als all built and ready to go? Right? I mean look if you're on these rides and I mean it the only reason I have to dedicate airwaves to haggis and to p3 Multimorphic or multi more big p3 sorry I got it wrong again is that nothing is happening from anybody else nothing is happening from Stern Nothing is happening from JJP. So we are laser focused on these boutique companies that I'll tell you this right now I don't like these boutique company rides. I wouldn't get on them. I got burned by spooky with Ultraman Man, it's just forever wait and then you don't know if your game's gonna even be worth like 80% what you already paid for it. If people think these fathoms are gonna be worth like twice as much money when they come out, no they're not. They probably hold steady they might go up a little bit but these are not machines People were not clamoring to get fathoms before the remake was announced but man oh man and KamAKI Khaitakari Antonin and productive partner Nik Chakyphai Aaronson Shopify BluP ornament FamilyMedio, . leaks from Google.com, author of magazine and blog article. Okay, so, you know, I assume, Randy Penepe is knowing that this we get the entertainment Video making Out of business, 95%. So why is everybody always so ultra confident every time a boutique company sends out an invoice? People in this hobby are pretty stupid. If you ask me, they're like, oh, everything must be going well because I got an invoice. No, that's the easy part is to ask for people's money. And as everybody forgotten that when Damien announced Fathom in May and took your money, He said he would have games on the line in two months. And here we are, history repeating itself all over again. And all I want to know from Damien and Marty and everyone over there, just show us proof that this time it's actually going to happen. Why aren't they showing us more proof before the invoices go out? I did not see on that video this weekend, a man who was ultra confident in giving an ETA on these How is that not fishy? That's all I wanna talk about on this episode. See I can do in 10 minutes, or 8 minutes, or 9 minutes, what other shows will go on for 2 hours about nothing even relevant in the pinball world. Is Kaneda firingshots on the eve of the Twippy when he's gonna kiss babies and shake hands down in Texas? Oh yeah he is, 5 for 5 baby. This is how we do it and this is why you're a member of the Kaneda Club because you don't need to sit through watching paint dry to get someone to actually look at this hobby the right way. Everybody peace out. Kaneda Tuesday. Let's do it. Subtitles by the Amara.org community

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: 9097fe67-5ec8-45c8-bad3-b1e8ec62c956*