# FREE SHOW: "Episode 1247: Why Bon Jovi Will Easily Sell Out"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2026-07-30  
**Duration:** 25m 45s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/kanedapinball/posts/free-show-1247-165253651

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## Analysis

Kaneda argues that Bon Jovi pinball, despite controversial artwork, will easily sell out all 700 units due to the band's massive cultural footprint, superior gameplay mechanics compared to Guns N' Roses, limited production scarcity, and collector demand for unique machines. He contrasts it favorably against Star Wars and Dune, defends the game against Pinside criticism, and predicts sell-through by Expo despite initial community backlash.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Bon Jovi has 2.3 billion Spotify listens on 'Living on a Prayer' alone, demonstrating massive cultural reach — _Kaneda opens episode citing specific Spotify listen counts for multiple Bon Jovi songs_
- [MEDIUM] Barrels of Fun has exactly 700 Bon Jovi games available for sale — _Kaneda states '700 games of this artist for sale' and later 'if no more games get sold by tomorrow, there will only ever be in the pinball world 700 Bon Jovis'_
- [MEDIUM] Winchester Mystery House sold 525 units, driving demand for alternatives to mass-produced Stern games — _Kaneda references '525 Winchester games because they were tired of another stern, cheap, mailed it in game called Star Wars'_
- [MEDIUM] Guns N' Roses pinball had approximately 6,000 units produced, resulting in value collapse — _Kaneda states 'they made like 6,000 GNRs' when explaining why Guns N' Roses secondary market value declined_
- [HIGH] Kaneda was the first person to leak that Barrels' next game would be Bon Jovi — _Kaneda explicitly states 'Me leaking that it was Bon Jovi like a week and a half ago. And yes, I was the first person to do it.'_
- [MEDIUM] Bon Jovi pinball costs $12,000 and is $400 more expensive than previous Barrels games — _Kaneda mentions 'games are $400 more than previous Barrels games' and references '$12,000 product'_
- [HIGH] Barrels closed the reserve program on the previous Friday, leaving only two more days of availability — _Kaneda states 'David closed the reserve program last Friday, which means there's only two more days'_
- [MEDIUM] Bon Jovi will sell out by Expo (within 6 months) — _Kaneda predicts 'I think they going to be spoken for by Expo' and 'six months from now easily all these games are spoken for'_
- [MEDIUM] Guns N' Roses pinball has inferior gameplay compared to Bon Jovi, Foo Fighters, Metallica, ACDC, and Elton John — _Kaneda states 'Guns N' Roses... it does [have terrible gameplay]' and lists superior music pin layouts_
- [MEDIUM] Barrels of Fun's primary limitation is marketing and design taste, not manufacturing or gameplay capability — _Kaneda tells David Van Ness directly: 'Barrows is a weird company... they just can't get out of their own way' and 'David, you just need to hire some people with some more taste'_

### Notable Quotes

> "In a pinball buying demographic who is craving something a little unique, something a little different, something a little off centered, who bought 525 Winchester games because they were tired of another stern, cheap, mailed it in game called Star Wars of the Empire."
> — **Kaneda**, early in episode
> _Establishes core thesis that collectors value scarcity and uniqueness over major IP when Stern games lack perceived quality_

> "You go to any major sporting event, any major dive bar or bar in America. And if you want to get people dancing in a good rock and roll mood from the 80s, Bon Jovi is coming on, baby."
> — **Kaneda**, mid-episode
> _Argues Bon Jovi's cultural ubiquity transcends pinball hobbyist skepticism_

> "There is a big difference here than Dune. The big difference is like, I don't know, this movie is not as iconic or the Dune movie is not iconic like Bon Jovi music. Do you think 30, 40 years from now, we're going to be watching this Timothy Chalamet Dune trilogy? It's not happening."
> — **Kaneda**, mid-episode
> _Contrasts IP longevity and cultural staying power of music acts versus film franchises_

> "The artwork is atrocious in a lot of ways, I think it is, but here's what I'm noticing, and again, this is just me observing things. Every day that goes by, people are warming up to this art package."
> — **Kaneda**, mid-episode
> _Acknowledges design weakness while predicting community sentiment normalization over time_

> "Me leaking that it was Bon Jovi and igniting all of that like anger and doubt and misery was the best thing that could have happened to David. If on day one of reveal, it was a mystery and he pulled the curtain off Bon Jovi, it would have sucked for him because I softened the blow."
> — **Kaneda**, late-episode
> _Kaneda claims pre-announcement leaking provided emotional processing time for the community, reducing reveal shock_

> "There will be like 8 of them Fallout. There almost going to be half as many Bon Jovis as Goonies. So when I say that to you now you start to realize this is why this guy got a pinball podcast that has the most subscribers ever."
> — **Kaneda**, late-episode
> _Uses scarcity math to explain Bon Jovi's value proposition versus mass-produced competitors_

> "I think there's enough going for it. If 700 is the goal... But yeah like do I think Fallout going to run circles around Bon Jovi I do. But if Fallout is amazing and run circles around Bon Jovi there going to be Fallout everywhere."
> — **Kaneda**, near end
> _Argues scarcity outweighs gameplay superiority in collector demand dynamics_

> "You can really dance to most like the music in Pinball Machines Anyway anyway you like what is this I just going to end this show because I going off on a weird tangent about dancing and coolness and sex appeal."
> — **Kaneda**, final segment
> _Meta-commentary acknowledging rambling tangent; shows spontaneous, unscripted podcast style_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Podcast host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; known for contrarian takes and leaking game announcements; claims largest Patreon subscriber base in pinball media |
| Bon Jovi | game | Pinball machine by Barrels of Fun based on Bon Jovi rock band; limited to 700 units; features gameplay designed by Dirty Pool; $12,000 price point; artwork widely criticized; announced by Kaneda leak one week before official reveal |
| Barrels of Fun | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; released Winchester Mystery House (525 units sold), Dune, and Bon Jovi; known for limited production runs and FOMO marketing strategy |
| [name withheld pending review] | person | CEO/founder of Barrels of Fun; criticizes own aesthetic decisions; Kaneda advises him to hire graphic designers with better taste; closed reserve program on specific Friday |
| Guns N' Roses | game | Stern pinball machine with ~6,000 units produced; noted for superior artwork but poor gameplay compared to Bon Jovi; secondary market value collapsed; production overruns by operator Mike |
| Star Wars | game | Stern pinball game (Fall of the Empire) described by Kaneda as 'cheap, mailed it in' with limited mechanisms; used as negative comparison point for why Winchester customers sought alternatives |
| Winchester Mystery House | game | Barrels of Fun pinball machine; sold 525 units; reserve customers waiting for delivery; availability delays mentioned as creating frustration among pre-order holders |
| Dirty Pool | person | Designer credited for sound design and ruleset on Bon Jovi pinball; Kaneda praises his work on concert-themed flow progression (parking lot to crowd) |
| Dune | game | Barrels of Fun pinball game based on Denis Villeneuve films; Kaneda argues Bon Jovi will outsell due to music's cultural longevity versus film franchise appeal |
| Foo Fighters | game | Stern music pinball with strong layout and gameplay; cited by Kaneda as one of the best music pin layouts alongside Elton John |
| Elton John | game | Stern music pinball game; Kaneda considers it the best or near-best music pin layout for gameplay flow |
| Retro Ralph | person | Pinball content creator; Kaneda claims Retro Ralph refused to credit Kaneda's Bon Jovi leak; hosts competing pinball media presence |
| [name withheld pending review] | person | Apparent artist/designer responsible for Bon Jovi translight artwork; Kaneda criticizes artwork quality and expresses concern about his future in pinball |
| Winchester Mystery House | organization | Real location in California that inspired Barrels of Fun's pinball game of the same name |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; Kaneda describes as struggling ('in big trouble'); produces mass-market games with perceived quality shortcuts; mentioned as contrast to Barrels' limited strategy |
| ACDC | game | Steve Ritchie-designed music pinball; Kaneda lists as having great layout and flow |
| Metallica | game | Music pinball with strong gameplay layout according to Kaneda's assessment |
| Kiss | game | Fan-layout music pinball; Kaneda rates it as 'pretty good' in comparison to Bon Jovi |
| Aerosmith | game | Music pinball that Kaneda rates as 'good' |
| Brenda | person | Kaneda's partner/spouse; used as example of casual listener who sang Bon Jovi lyrics spontaneously, demonstrating cultural ubiquity of the music |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Legendary pinball designer; credited for ACDC pinball design; referenced in context of superior layout designers |
| Pinside | organization | Pinball enthusiast forum where Kaneda claims 'angry curmudgeons' and skeptics congregate; primary locus of Bon Jovi criticism and negativity |
| [name withheld pending review] | game | Unspecified upcoming pinball game that Kaneda predicts will outplay Bon Jovi mechanically but be less scarce; implies multiple units planned versus Bon Jovi's 700-unit limit |

### Signals

- **[rumor_hype]** Kaneda leaked Bon Jovi announcement ~1.5 weeks before official reveal; argues the leaked rumors softened community backlash by allowing emotional processing time before formal launch (confidence: high) — Kaneda explicitly states: 'Me leaking that it was Bon Jovi like a week and a half ago. And yes, I was the first person to do it' and credits the leak with reducing reveal shock
- **[sentiment_shift]** Community sentiment toward Bon Jovi's artwork is gradually warming despite initial criticism; Kaneda observes daily improvement in acceptance (confidence: medium) — 'Every day that goes by, people are warming up to this art package.' Kaneda predicts alternate translight will accelerate this shift
- **[market_signal]** Limited production (700 units) of Bon Jovi versus 6,000 Guns N' Roses units drives collector appeal and value retention; scarcity positioned as primary sales driver (confidence: high) — Kaneda repeatedly argues: 'There will only ever be in the pinball world 700 Bon Jovis versus 6,000 Guns N' Roses machines' and 'collectors just want to have something not everybody has'
- **[product_strategy]** Barrels of Fun's reserve program lacks transparency; Kaneda advocates for public disclosure of reserve tier numbers to establish scarcity math (confidence: high) — Kaneda criticizes: 'he's got to be more transparent. It's got to tell us how many people are on the reserve program' and provides hypothetical calculation example
- **[gameplay_signal]** Ranking of modern music pinballs by layout quality: Elton John and Foo Fighters as top tier, Bon Jovi as strong, ACDC/Kiss/Aerosmith as good, Guns N' Roses as poor (confidence: medium) — Kaneda states: 'Elton John is probably the best. Uh, Elton and Foo Fighters are probably the best two layouts for music pins' and criticizes Guns N' Roses gameplay despite superior artwork
- **[collector_signal]** Some collectors pursuing completionist strategies to own all Barrels of Fun games to support boutique manufacturer and build portfolio (confidence: medium) — Kaneda predicts: 'at least three to four hundred of them are just people that want to collect barrels games... people might want to just own everything from a company to show their support'
- **[industry_signal]** Stern Pinball facing business challenges; Kaneda asserts Stern is 'in big trouble' and dependent on mass production for profitability, unable to sustain quality with limited runs (confidence: low) — Kaneda states: 'Stern would need to sell thousands of them to make a profit. Stern in big trouble people' (speculative rather than fact-based)
- **[product_concern]** Bon Jovi translight artwork widely criticized as 'atrocious' and resembling 'Christmas card' aesthetic; specifically the young/old Bon Jovi juxtaposition on primary translight (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'The artwork is atrocious... Johnny Crap like made that Translight and they approved it' and advocates for alternate translight as fix
- **[design_philosophy]** Barrels of Fun removed rear display screen from Bon Jovi (present in previous games like Dune); Kaneda argues screens inappropriate for music pins versus cinematic themes (confidence: medium) — Kaneda assesses: 'I think it works well when you've got more like movies and cinematic environments... I don't think you need the screen there for a music pin'
- **[market_signal]** Bon Jovi pinball features iconic official music videos integrated into gameplay; Kaneda notes no prior pinball music game has achieved this level of video licensing (confidence: medium) — 'The fact that they've got the iconic Bon Jovi music videos alone is why they're going to sell all of these. There's none of the iconic music videos from Guns N' Roses'
- **[community_signal]** Tension between Kaneda and Retro Ralph over Bon Jovi leak credit; Retro Ralph allegedly refused to acknowledge Kaneda's exclusive first-leak status, crediting 'Naps' instead (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'Nobody on Pinside is saying Canada was right. Nobody apologized. Nobody really giving me the credit... Retro Ralph, you can say Kaneda'
- **[product_launch]** Barrels of Fun closed Bon Jovi reserve program on Friday with approximately 2 days remaining until deadline/cutoff; final inventory limited to ~700 units (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'David closed the reserve program last Friday, which means there's only two more days' and 'if no more games get sold by tomorrow, there will only ever be in the pinball world 700 Bon Jovis'

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## Transcript

Well, I guess I'm not that good anymore, but baby, that's just me. Yeah, I will love you, baby. Always love you. Living on a prayer. 2.3 billion listens. You give love a bad name. 1.6 billion listens. It's my life. 1.3 billion listens. Always. 807 million listens. Bed of Roses, 550 million listens, Runaway, 450 million listens, Want It Dead or Alive, 595 million listens, I'll Be There for You, 304 million listens, Bad Medicine, 272 million listens, Never Say Goodbye. Never say goodbye. 167 million listens. Barrels of Fun has 700 games of this artist for sale in a pinball marketplace where thousands of games are made of other IPs in unlimited fashion. In a pinball buying demographic who is craving something a little unique, something a little different, something a little off centered, who bought 525 Winchester games because they were tired of another stern, cheap, mailed it in game called Star Wars Fall of the Empire. They're tired of mass produced games that are cutting corners, are yanking everything out, no mechanisms in them. The gameplay is not unique or interesting. They're tired. And so I'm here to tell you on today's episode of Canada's Pinball Podcast, I'm going to do what I do is I'm going to call it like I see it. And I think sometimes it's hard for people in this hobby because the megaphones and the angry curmudgeons on Pinside. Did I say curmudgeon right? I'm not going to edit this show because I got to get to work. The people that are there, the people that are bitter, the people that are angry, the people that think that Rush is actually cooler than Bon Jovi. And it got me thinking because I've been saying stuff like Bon Jovi. It's terrible. Nobody's going to want to buy Bon Jovi. And then I remembered when I was a little kid in like 19, early 90s, like 1991, even like 80, like seven on how much I loved Bon Jovi music. Have you ever gone into a strip club and heard Rush or heard Foo Fighters? But you hear Bon Jovi with beautiful women dancing on a pole. I'm not saying that's the new barometer in pinball for what's going to do well. Now, turn on the World Cup. They're playing Bon Jovi. You go to any major sporting event, any major dive bar or bar in America. And if you want to get people dancing in a good rock and roll mood from the 80s, Bon Jovi is coming on, baby. And people are having a great time. And I know what you're saying. You're like, Canada, don't do this. You're pumping and dumping. I'm not pumping and dumping anything. I'm just here to tell you right now that Bon Jovi as a pinball machine is going to win people over and they're going to sell every single one. Will it happen in two days? Probably not. Will it happen in a month? Probably. There is a big difference here than Dune. The big difference is like, I don't know, this movie is not as iconic or the Dune movie is not iconic like Bon Jovi music. It's not. It's not going to hold up. Do you think 30, 40 years from now, we're going to be watching this Timothy Chalamet Dune trilogy? It's not happening. This music has held the test of time. You know, I once heard an interview, I think it was like from one of these like modern rockers and you know, and he was like, I'm not going to edit out. You're going to hear some of my mistakes. He was like, you know, Guns N' Roses annoys me, Axl's whiny voice. But there something incredible about 40 years later we still listening to Sweet Child O Mine that it like stood the test of time It like survived every major trend in music that happened And the same is true of Bon Jovi And in fact, I would say Bon Jovi and Guns N' Roses are kind of somewhat equal in their popularity from that time period, from album sales even. And so it's crazy to me as this man sells out eight or nine nights in a row at Madison Square Garden that a bunch of cargo short wearing babies on Pinside think it's the worst theme in pinball. As we've been absorbing themes in the same week called Dungeon Crawler Carl, that there is more enthusiasm for a guy in boxer shorts with a hammerhead shark that has robotic legs is going to do better than It's My Life, than She's a Little Runaway, than Better Roses living on a prayer, wanted dead or alive. You guys are insane. And this is what happens. And when this thing starts to move and it starts to get momentum, you're going to see what's going to happen. And this is me. I'm not Win Schilling. I'm just saying this is what's going to happen. This is what always happens in this hobby. So here's the thing. Like I was saying, Bon Jovi has had a much better launch than Dune. There's much more in this game. And unlike Dune, this game is actually on the line now. So I don't know like what the Winchester folks who are waiting are going to feel. A lot of them are unhappy. They want their Winchesters now. But the reality is this. This is like a game where you're going to get it a lot sooner. And you know how pinball people are. They want stuff now. They want immediate gratification. And this is going to deliver that. But it's also like, look, if you want a music pin and you want a different one, there, you know, Bon Jovi music with the good gameplay here, like the gameplay and the flow and the mechs look great. You know, name me like another music pin where, you know, the flow is great. And we've got a few, right? The flow is great. Actually, we've got a lot, right? And I shouldn't have said that because I feel like everyone always brings up Guns N' Roses because it's got the worst gameplay. And they are right. It does. But Foo Fighters is great. Metallica is great. It's a fan layout. ACDC is great. It's a Steve Ritchie game. I would even say Aerosmith is good. Kiss is pretty good. It's a fan layout. Elton John is amazing. Elton John is probably the best. Uh, Elton and Foo Fighters are probably the best two layouts for music pins, but this game, you know, it's got great layout and it's got a lot of interesting, we haven't seen before in pinball stuff in it. Now, the artwork is atrocious in a lot of ways, I think it is, but here's what I'm noticing, and again, this is just me observing things. Every day that goes by, people are warming up to this art package. The alternate trans light is going to do wonders for David. He should yank out this hideous Christmas card looking young and old Bon Jovi together. It's atrocious. And just put in whatever the alternate trans light is. The same way the alternate Dune Translight is amazing. He doesn't need an alternate Translight on Winchester. You know, part of me feels like that David just like makes up these alternate Translight things once he sees people's feedback. I'm still shocked that Johnny Crap like made that Translight and they approved it. But whatever, whatever. The thing is this. In the end, you know, when you're playing a game and I mean this and I, I have played a lot of pinball. I know it seems like I don't when you listen to my show. But in the end, when you're playing a game and you're in the moment of intensity of playing pinball, you don't really even notice the artwork. I remember playing Rush and I remember how hideous the Rush artwork is. I think the Rush artwork is way worse than Bon Jovi. I remember playing it, though, and you just get lost in the shots. You get lost in the music. You get lost in the experience. So this is what's going to happen. Don't hate me. Don't cancel your subscription. I'm just telling you right now that a lot of people love pinball. A lot of people love Bon Jovi, as those numbers indicate. A lot of people love great flow. A lot of people love fun mechanisms. A lot of people love great music and sound system. And not to mention like the work that Dirty Pool has put into this game. I mean, we're not really talking about it that much, but man, it's pretty cool. The way he using sound effects and the experience of going to a concert and you start in the parking lot and you getting the crowd going It like a really really fun inventive That's not even inventive. It's like I'm not even going to edit this. It's just fun. It's just a fun approach to a pinball machine. And, you know, we'll see. People are going to play it down in Atlanta in just a few days. But my like spidey pinball senses are telling me that this game and I mean this when I said this and I said this to David David Van Es yesterday and he got back to me. And remember, David and I still talk like I can tell the man he doesn't have great taste because he knows it. I didn't finish the metaphor with my parents. My dad had terrible taste when he met my mom. His suits were horrible. The way he combed his hair was horrible. I know you're like, Canada, you can't make fun of haircuts. He was like he looked like he wasn't the part. And he wanted to, you know, my mom got a hold of my dad and all of a sudden he was wearing better suits. He was grooming himself better and he climbed in his career. You know, if he had stayed looking like Frumpy George from New Jersey, he might not have been senior vice president of Bristol Myers Squibb mergers and acquisitions. When you saw my dad at the end, the bros walking through the 45th floor of Park Avenue, Bristol location in Laura Piano suits and Hermes ties. Like that's my mom. My mom made my dad that man, not my dad. Trust me, if it was up to my dad, he would be in some pink polyester suit. All right. So, David, you just need to hire some people with some more taste and get them in your company. And I mean it. Just go hire like a graphic designer, you know, woman from Brooklyn who's got an eye for what's cool and what's hip and she'll help you. You know, they can make everything cooler, even Bon Jovi. All right. So here's the thing. I know that if you love pinball and you love music and you love this, yeah, look, this game is going to win people over because, again, it's only 700. And I know we don't know if that's exactly going to be the number, but the clock is ticking. David closed the reserve program last Friday, which means there's only two more days. What I'm surprised about is we're not hearing anything yet. I think there's some murmurs behind the scene, like there's 60 left, stuff like that. But that's just sell through. That's not sold out. Now, we know that dealers and distors are going to grab this thing because if you're going to just stock some inventory, You're probably going to stock some inventory with something like this. It's easier to move music pins over time because as more people come into the hobby, especially like iconic acts, if you don't overorder like Mike did with Guns N' Roses and order like too many LEs, he had like something almost like 100 LEs at some point. But the Guns N' Roses value plummeted for what reasons, people? Think about it. Again, if you look at Guns N' Roses and Bon Jovi's as somewhat equal mega acts from the 80s and 90s, if you look at why Guns N' Roses value plummeted, the art is way better than Bon Jovi. OK, it just is. But the gameplay was terrible. You can't change that. Right. And the satisfaction of shooting Guns N' Roses. And once you got over the light show, everybody realized there wasn't much more in that game. And so that's why, coupled with the fact that they made like 6,000 of them, remember, they made like 6,000 GNRs. That's why the value tanked. We are now, if no more games or like all the games don't get sold by tomorrow, there will only ever be in the pinball world 700 Bon Jovis versus 6,000 Guns N' Roses machines. And you're telling me these aren't going to move? I mean, that's like there's like 80 percent more G&Rs in the world and pinball buyers and homeowners. You want something different. You want something unique. You want something not everybody has. Now, this is going to be that. And Barrows is a weird company, right, because it's in some strange way. It's like they just can't get out of their own way. They should be so much more successful than they are. They really should. But I but I told David this and I think he's open to admitting it, but he hasn't fully admitted it yet. Me leaking that it was Bon Jovi like a week and a half ago. And yes, I was the first person to do it. Yes, Retro Ralph, you can say Kaneda. We can still be friends. Just jump in, man. Don't give credit to Naps. He changed it. It's funny how all of a sudden nobody on Pinside is saying Canada was right. Nobody apologized Nobody really giving me the credit It doesn matter You know it doesn matter We got the most subscribers on Patreon There a reason why because we nailed it again We nailed it But anyway me saying that it was Bon Jovi and igniting all of that like anger and doubt and misery was the best thing that could have happened to David If on day one of reveal, it was a mystery and he pulled the curtain off Bon Jovi, it would have sucked for him because I softened the blow. You know what I'm saying? When you give people what you what the news is going to be before, it gives them time to process it. It gives them time to accept it. It gives them time also to get over their anger and then start to warm up to it. And that's what's interesting, right? If the art was amazing and it was Bon Jovi, it would have been a day one sellout. The same way if Optimus transformed, See, what David did is, you know, he revealed it and then we had to get over another thing. We weren't expecting that, right? If it was Bon Jovi with awesome artwork, we would have instantly been like, okay, it is what, you know, Kaneda said it was and everyone's been speculating. And it looks awesome, though. It looks awesome. He didn't do that. Like, he rolled in and now we had to get over another hump, right? Like, Bon Jovi is the real deal and it's kind of ugly. Like, oh, man, just don't make that mistake again. You know, when Dune got revealed, it was a, you know, a little bit of a Debbie Downer that it was Dune, but at least it wasn't ugly. At least it looked really cool. It looked like Dune. It had the sandworm. It had like the look and feel of Dune. This a lot more required in our emotional mind to get over with this sort of look and feel. I know they went for more of like a 90s pinball sort of nostalgic look and feel. Still very concerned about Johnny Kraft's future in pinball. Dude, you got to step up, bro. You got to step up. Like when you look at that young Bon Jovi on the Translite, that's not good enough, man. That's not good enough for a $12,000 product. I know there's people harping on the fact that these games are $400 more than previous Barrels games and they're removing the screen from the back of the game. Now, the thing is this, like I would rather have what's in this game than just the screen there. I'm not sure the screen would have worked as well. It's a little confusing. You've got the music videos up there. I don't think the screen really is appropriate even for a music pin. I don't. I think it works well when you've got more like movies and cinematic environments that you're recreating. I don't think you need the screen there for a music pin. The fact that they've got the iconic Bon Jovi music videos alone is why they're going to sell all of these. There's none of the iconic music videos from Guns N' Roses. There's not a iconic music video from any musical artist ever in the history of pinball music pins. When you start to realize this stuff, that yes, we are in an oversaturated pinball space right now, but barrels of fun by its limited nature is not going to oversaturate the world with Bon Jovi pinball ever. And these forces are going to help him and help the company move these games. Everyone is tired of having what everybody else always has. The world and everybody out there is just craving to be a little bit different, a little bit unique. And this game will fill that. And I think it's going to be really interesting when a lot of people wake up and realize, you know, the day you feel like you might not be able to get one, you're going to want one. And that's the way FOMO works. I don't really love the reserve program thing. I think for David to make it work, he's got to be more transparent. It's got to tell us how many people are on the reserve program. You know, you need to know that because if we knew, let's just say hypothetically, we knew there were 273 people who signed up for barrels reserve. OK, so then you could at least do the math and know that there can be no more than that. If 700 games sell, there could be no more than 273 more made. So 973 total games will be the limit. And we know that everybody on the reserve club is going to order it. I think he needs to get better at that. I don't like any of the reserve club thing. I think it's just going to like screw over the people that went in early. And it's just, you know, it's him hedging his bets. It is what it is. Marketing wise, David needs help. He does. Taste wise, he needs some help. But Bon Jovi doesn't need help. Bon Jovi doesn't need help becoming popular. Bon Jovi will cross over to enough pinheads. I'm going to tell you a little story right now, and this is just the Kaneda family. You know, I was like, Brenda, Bon Jovi pinball came out. She's like, right? You know, let me see it. You know, she didn't see the translate. I spared her of that misery. But then we started playing the music. We put on the Bon Jovi music and there's Brenda like just singing word for word all these Bon Jovi songs. And I'm like, this is it, people like this is it. You know, who out there like the same story I heard about Carrie? Like, you know, this music, you can sing it word for word. You know, even if you don't want to like it, it's been ingrained in culture. David is right. This music does have a connection to so many people and there's so much anger. You know, I'm just tired of people holding on to the anger so much, too. Now, if you don't want this game, that's cool. If you want to buy this game, that's cool. I think this game is a mixed bag, but I think there's enough going for it. If 700 is the goal Now if this was Stern Pinball Bon Jovi and it looked like this game over Game over because Stern would need to sell thousands of them to make a profit Stern in big trouble people But yeah like do I think Fallout going to run circles around Bon Jovi I do But if Fallout is amazing and run circles around Bon Jovi there going to be Fallout everywhere There will be like 8 of them You know that the thing There almost going to be half as many Bon Jovis as Goonies So when I say that to you now you start to realize this is why this guy got a pinball podcast that has the most subscribers ever This is why Retro Ralph won't give you credit for breaking the scoop on Bon Jovi because you say things and you articulate things in a way that most people just don't do. They just don't. I don't need to interview David. I don't need to interview Dirty Pool. I don't need to hear. I don't care. Like everyone's doing their content that way. I'm doing it this way. But in the end, I know this is a contrarian thing to say, especially to my audience. I mean, I can hear it right now. J.C.'s having a meltdown. Bond's going to go crazy, like showing us how empty this game is. We're going to get, you know, B saying that I should send Brenda, you know, like I said that I shouldn't send Brenda to work, that she should stay home as a working mom forever. Then he'll donate more than five dollars a month from his eight million dollar mansion. Ed Ed Robertson might even text me and be like, you know what, man, Bon Jovi is pretty damn good. You know, look, Ed must appreciate the success of someone like Jon Bon Jovi. I mean, it is kind of incredible to ever make something in the musical space that can still be appreciated 40 years later. And look, music is not for everybody. I was at Grand Central Station the other night and there must have been a Rush concert And I saw all these Rush fans and I was like yeah man like it was easy for me to look at them and be like they must be the worst dressed sort of frumpy It was like, I mean, it was like a lot of cargo shorts, and I was like, you could see the crossover to pinball, because the dress code of a Rush concert is very, very similar to the dress code of a freaking pinball show. And, you know, look, there's enough, there's 700, and I'm just going to say this, this might be controversial, Bon Jovi is cooler than Rush through the lens of most people. Bon Jovi has way more fans than Rush. Bon Jovi, like, is got more, like, sex appeal, and I don't know, what am I even doing this? You know what I'm saying though? What I mean is this. You go into a bar, men and women can sing Bon Jovi songs word for word and dance. Not even Guns N' Roses has that. I mean Guns N' Roses only has like two songs like that are anthemic and you dance to and those two songs are Sweet Child of Mine, really just Sweet Child of Mine. And maybe, maybe Paradise City or Welcome to the Jungle, but for the most part, Sweet Child of Mine is the one that like really crossed over and got everybody dancing. You can really dance to most like the music in Pinball Machines Anyway anyway you like what is this I just going to end this show because I going off on a weird tangent about dancing and coolness and sex appeal But here the thing Mark my words six months from now easily all these games are spoken for I think they going to be spoken for by Expo And I think people every day that goes by, they're going to warm up to it. They're going to see what the other options are. And in a world in which collectors and homebuyers just want to have something not everybody has, this is going to work. And even though it's not the prettiest, it's still unique. It's still a mega act. And it's, you know, it's going to end up in people's lineups. It just is. Just even if people are out there and they want to collect barrels games, like that's going to sell at least three to four hundred of them are just people that want to collect barrels games. Because you can collect games from companies that don't have that much product and you can build the portfolio. This is what happens with new boutiques. People might want to just own everything from a company to show their support. It's going to get interesting. Don't get mad at me. I'm just calling it like it is. Bon Jovi will sell out. The Future.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v5)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-03 | Item ID: 9f8952f5-9c45-4701-9727-43ed01b7cfe6*