# Episode 702: "The False Promises In Pinball"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2022-07-28  
**Duration:** 22m 44s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-702-in-69695982

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## Analysis

Host Chris Kaneda discusses false promises across the pinball industry, prompted by listener Drew's email covering delivery dates, transparency, build quality, code updates, and limited editions. Kaneda argues that non-refundable deposits enable manufacturers to break promises with impunity, using Rick and Morty (Spooky) and Toy Story 4 (Jersey Jack) as case studies. He also shares a rumor that Jersey Jack may not have the Matrix license and speculates on upcoming designer assignments.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Spooky will never update Rick and Morty code because the original team (including coder Scott Denise) is gone and there's no financial incentive — _Chris Kaneda, reasoning based on industry economics and team turnover_
- [HIGH] Non-refundable deposits are the primary enabler of false promises in pinball manufacturing — _Chris Kaneda, repeated throughout episode as core thesis_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack did not fulfill the number of Toy Story 4 units promised due to playfield quality issues early in production — _Chris Kaneda, based on observation of completed machines and lack of quality complaints, implying fewer were made_
- [MEDIUM] Haggis was not truthful about July 2021 production start date; they likely didn't have parts or staff ready — _Chris Kaneda, opinion stated as conviction based on pattern analysis_
- [MEDIUM] Jersey Jack Pinball most likely does not have the license for The Matrix — _Chris Kaneda, citing 'pretty reliable source at another company' (industry rumor)_
- [HIGH] Pinball Brothers has been ambiguous about Queen delivery dates, using non-refundable payment terms — _Chris Kaneda, reporting on dealer language observed last week_
- [HIGH] Rick and Morty is one of the best theme-integrated pinball machines from a software level ever — _Chris Kaneda, personal assessment despite criticizing playfield design_
- [MEDIUM] Mirko fixed playfield quality issues between Guns N' Roses and Toy Story 4 — _Chris Kaneda, based on absence of complaints and personal play observation at Jack Bar_

### Notable Quotes

> "The reason why these companies can make so many false promises is just like a relationship in life with anyone you've ever dated. Someone needs to enable someone to get away with it. And as pinball buyers and as a pinball community, we have enabled these companies to get away with all of these false promises all of these years."
> — **Chris Kaneda**, ~mid-episode
> _Core thesis of the episode; frames false promises as a community enablement problem_

> "They set that delivery date. They miss it by a year. So it was a false promise that production would start in July of 2021. Now, how do you hold Haggis accountable? See, this is where the enabling begins. And this is why I've been on such a crusade against non-refundable deposits."
> — **Chris Kaneda**, ~mid-episode
> _Links specific manufacturer failure to non-refundable deposit enablement_

> "When we give our money over early, all of a sudden we don't matter anymore because they don't owe us anything anymore."
> — **Chris Kaneda**, ~mid-episode
> _Explains the psychological shift in manufacturer accountability after deposit collection_

> "I don't think anyone who has a Rick and Morty is disappointed with it from a theme integration standpoint. I am disappointed in the way the game shoots and the fact that this game was not designed to be Rick and Morty. It was TNA 2.0."
> — **Chris Kaneda**, ~late-episode
> _Balances criticism with acknowledgment of Spooky's execution on theme integration layer_

> "Why can't Jersey Jack just get everything right at the same time? [Toy Story 4 has bulletproof playfields but nobody wants the game]"
> — **Chris Kaneda**, ~mid-episode
> _Critiques Jersey Jack's pattern of solving one problem (playfield) while missing another (game appeal/value)_

> "I don't see people kickstarting watch companies or car companies or video game companies... But pinball over the last decade, since Zidware, every time someone announces a new pinball venture, everybody forgets what happened in the past."
> — **Chris Kaneda**, ~late-episode
> _Highlights industry-wide amnesia and willingness to invest in unproven manufacturers_

> "I am hearing a rumor that Jersey Jack Pinball most likely does not have the license for the Matrix."
> — **Chris Kaneda**, ~late-episode
> _Major industry rumor with implication for upcoming game slate_

> "I think it's going to be Avatar sometime in the fall winter of next year. I mean, I really do. I mean, that's the other title we've been hearing about."
> — **Chris Kaneda**, ~late-episode
> _Speculation on Mark Sadan's next game if Matrix license is not acquired_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Chris Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; industry analyst and critic; merchandise entrepreneur launching KanedaPinballMerch.com |
| Drew (Drew the FU) | person | Pinside user and Kaneda Club member who submitted the email that prompted this episode on false promises in pinball |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; subject of criticism regarding Rick and Morty code update promises and build quality |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; discussed regarding Toy Story 4 playfield quality, potential Matrix license loss, and designer assignments |
| Pinball Brothers | company | Boutique manufacturer; criticized for Queen game ambiguous delivery promises and non-refundable deposit practices |
| Haggis | company | Manufacturer that promised July 2021 production start; failed to meet deadline by approximately one year |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Manufacturer praised for maintaining Big Lebowski license and delivering version 1.0 code update after 7-8 years |
| Rick and Morty | game | Spooky pinball machine; promised code updates tied to future TV seasons that never materialized; praised for theme integration but criticized for playfield design and mediocre shooting |
| Toy Story 4 | game | Jersey Jack pinball machine; initially feared for playfield durability (Mirko quality concerns) but delivered bulletproof playfields; struggles with theme appeal and perceived value |
| The Matrix | game | Rumored Jersey Jack game (Mark Sadan designer); Kaneda reports JJP may not have secured the license, with Warner Bros. potentially talking to other manufacturers |
| Avatar | game | Speculated Mark Sadan designer for Jersey Jack if Matrix license unavailable; Kaneda reports JJP has relationship through Abbas family |
| Queen | game | Pinball Brothers title with problematic pre-order language and non-refundable deposit policy |
| Alien | game | Boutique manufacturer game with significant delivery delays; mentioned as example of false promises |
| Legends of Valhalla | game | Limited edition that increased production from 300 to 500 units mid-run; cited as example of limited edition promise revision |
| The Munsters | game | Stern game that increased limited edition run from 500 to 600 units; cited as example of limited edition promise revision |
| Guns N' Roses | game | Jersey Jack game with playfield quality issues that failed on day one; predecessor to Toy Story 4 |
| Scott Denise | person | Coder for Spooky's Rick and Morty; no longer with company, contributing to lack of code updates |
| Chuck (Charles) | person | Leadership at Spooky Pinball; makes financial decisions regarding code update investment |
| Mark Sadan | person | Pinball designer at Jersey Jack; rumored to be designing Matrix or Avatar |
| Eric Minear | person | Pinball designer; speculated to be designing The Godfather for Jersey Jack, expected spring 2023 |
| Steve Ritchie | person | Pinball designer; Kaneda reports having 'more confirmation' on his upcoming game theme, withheld pending Club membership goal |
| Damien (Haggis ownership) | person | Haggis company leadership; built goodwill on transparency promises then stopped communicating; now only responds to private emails |
| Mirko | person | Playfield manufacturer; implemented QA sticker on playfields; reportedly fixed quality issues between Guns N' Roses and Toy Story 4 |
| John Papaduke (Zidware reference) | person | Historical industry figure; Kaneda references his failed venture as catalyst for subsequent boom of new pinball ventures and community amnesia |

### Topics

- **Primary:** False promises and accountability in pinball manufacturing, Non-refundable deposits as enabler of poor manufacturer behavior, Code updates and licensing constraints (Rick and Morty case study), Community enabling vs. accountability
- **Secondary:** Playfield quality and build quality assurance (Mirko, Jersey Jack, Spooky), Limited edition production and transparency, Jersey Jack future game slate and license rumors, Boutique manufacturer efficiency and transparency

### Sentiment

**Negative** (-0.72) — Kaneda is critical and frustrated with systematic false promises across the industry, but maintains measured tone and acknowledges exceptions (Rick and Morty theme integration). The frustration is directed at industry practices and community enablement rather than personal attacks. Ends on slightly more positive note regarding community support and upcoming content.

### Signals

- **[industry_signal]** Pinball community systematically enables false promises through non-refundable deposits and lack of manufacturer accountability mechanisms (confidence: high) — Kaneda's core thesis throughout episode; repeated examples of delivery date misses, transparency failures, and lack of community pushback
- **[product_concern]** Rick and Morty (Spooky) promised code updates tied to future TV seasons that never materialized due to team turnover and lack of financial incentive (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'The team that made Rick and Morty is gone... They can't make any more money on this game. So why would they work on it?'
- **[product_concern]** Guns N' Roses playfields failed on day one; Mirko improved QA between that game and Toy Story 4, which now has bulletproof playfields (confidence: high) — Kaneda observation: 'Guns N' Roses playfields were falling apart on day one... and now the playfields are bulletproof. They put the most bulletproof playfield in the game that nobody really wants.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Drew (listener) expresses reduced confidence in purchasing future Spooky titles due to Rick and Morty code disappointment and build quality concerns (confidence: high) — Drew's email: 'not sure I'd venture into another Spooky again' and 'Between the Spooky build quality of Rick and Morty and this code scenario'
- **[rumor_hype]** Rumor that Jersey Jack Pinball does not have The Matrix license; Warner Bros. allegedly negotiating with another manufacturer (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I am hearing a rumor... Jersey Jack Pinball most likely does not have the license for the Matrix... this is coming from a pretty reliable source at another company'
- **[rumor_hype]** If Matrix license unavailable, Mark Sadan's game speculated to be Avatar; Eric Minear suspected to be designing The Godfather for spring 2023 (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I think it's going to be Avatar sometime in the fall winter of next year... I also know that the Abbas family is friends with the people making the film'
- **[product_strategy]** Kaneda clarifies that limited edition means a production cap (e.g., 5,000 units), not rarity; manufacturers sometimes adjust caps (Legends of Valhalla 300→500, Munsters 500→600) (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'Something is limited if you limit the production... There will never be more than 5,000 LEs made. I think the word everyone's always looking for is rare.'
- **[design_philosophy]** Rick and Morty excels at software theme integration (call-outs, music, clips) but was hastily skinned over TNA 2.0 base, resulting in suboptimal playfield design and shooting (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'It was TNA 2.0, and that was supposed to be the new reactor lock up the middle... It's still one of the games that's got the best call-outs maybe in the history of pinball.'
- **[operational_signal]** Haggis/Damien built goodwill through daily production updates then stopped communicating entirely; now only responds to private emails, frustrating community accountability (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'He won't talk to anybody ever. He'll only answer emails privately and they're not sharing the progress of the company.'
- **[market_signal]** Toy Story 4's solved playfield durability problem failed to translate to market success; game perceived as lacking value despite improved build quality (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'the Achilles heel of Toy Story 4 would be the fact that nobody wants Toy Story 4? They didn't pack it with toys and the value's not there.'
- **[content_signal]** Chris Kaneda launching official merchandise line at KanedaPinballMerch.com after seven years of podcast; monthly 'capsule collection' drops planned with Easter eggs (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I am going to launch tomorrow... my official merchandise line... go to kanedapinballmerch.com'
- **[community_signal]** Kaneda Club membership at 528 members (approaching 540 member threshold for game designer rumor reveal); Kaneda emphasizes delivery on promised content as differentiator (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'We have 528 members... this is why Kaneda Club is doing great... I deliver what I said I'm going to do'

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## Transcript

 It's been fun, but now I've got to go. Life is way too short to take it slow. But before I go and hit the road, I gotta know. To then, when can we do this again? Sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up. Ah, good morning everybody. I hope everyone is doing really swell today. I think everyone just should take a deep breath today. Breathe in heavily. It's all going to be all right. The pinball world is going to be all right. You're going to be all right. As long as you're above ground, it's a good day on planet Earth. I am very happy to finally say these words. Canada's Pinball Podcast, finally, after seven years, I am going to launch tomorrow, but You got it yesterday, my official merchandise line. Now, it's not a lot. This is my first collection drop, my capsule collection, if you will. I'm going to add new items to this list every month, but I want to keep it fresh, right? I don't want to put out everything at once. But I hope you guys, if you love this show, can show your support and go pick up a hat or a T-shirt or a mug. There's some Easter eggs on these items. I think you're going to have a lot of fun when you see the stuff that's available on day one on the Kaneda store. So here's the URL for all of you out there. It is just super simple. KanedaPinballMerch.com. All right, let's get right into it. So I got a really great email yesterday from a fan of the show. And I want to read this email and I want to discuss what's in this email because I think it's very thought-provoking. And I think it's very relevant to what's going on in pinball overall over the last few years, in which there's this dance between pinball companies, pinball distributors, and pinball buyers, pinball players, pinball collectors. And a lot of it has to do with this sort of moment in which a company tells us something. And as consumers, I know we always like to say, oh, this time we're going to learn our lesson. This time we're not going to let them get away with it. But the only way to really not let people get away with not living up to what they promised is if we remember what they said. And so I want to thank our club member, DRU. On Pinside, he goes by Drew the FU. I wonder if that FU is targeted at me or the pinball community. But Drew, thank you for the note. I want to read this and then we're going to discuss it. He said, what's up, Chris? Thought I'd toss over a topic you can run on an episode with. The false promises in pinball. Okay, we're going to label this show the false promises in pinball and or the trend and culture of it. False promises of delivery dates. False promises of transparency. False promises of manufacturing. False promises of theme integration. False promises of limited edition. False promises of build quality. False promises of customer support. The list really goes on and on. Some of this stuff could be chalked up to avoiding the FOMO, stop jumping at the next shiny toy, but what's got me more agitated while I sit at home is the more code to come false promise in pinball. I'm specifically talking about Rick and Morty and Spooky's bait, line, and hook of proclaiming code would be added to coincide with future seasons being released. I know it comes down to a licensing issue and a transfer of license owner, but how can this topic be ignored when this was one of Spooky's own quotes? Now it's crickets. I've started up the conversation in the Rick and Morty owner's thread, reviving a recently dead thread, and as expected, the Spooky apologist and fanboys come out like roaches in the dark. Who gives, and then a curse word, about additional dimensions that have zero to do with the show? We want more show content, more adventure. I'm 99% sure nothing ever comes, but why can't Spooky own up to it? Just say so. What kind of contract did they have? Was there no stipulations included? I mean, look at what Dutch Pinball has done, and they're still able to keep the Big Lebowski license and work on code with a confirmed version 1.0 major code update coming with even more theme integration and assets. And it's been, what, seven to eight years. I know I'm beating a dead horse. I know Spooky has no motivation to revisit their most popular game to date, and probably ever. The ship has sailed, but the false promise trend continues throughout the industry. Even now, with beloved little Spooky, between the Spooky build quality of Rick and Morty and this code scenario, not sure I'd venture into another Spooky again. And a huge thank you for mentioning on a recent show about the pricing of pins, and why are all of a company's pins priced exactly the same? Why can't some be more than others and some less? Why is it not based on bomb, theme, popularity, run size? Do some make up for others? Are all car models from a manufacturer priced the same? Are all pairs of Nikes priced the same? It doesn't make sense. Keep sweeping the leg. Drew the F you. All right. Well, Drew, first and foremost, thank you so much for writing in and being so thoughtful in this email. And that is why I am dedicating this show to you. And here's how I want to deconstruct this. We going to talk about the Rick and Morty code in Spooky and why I think they never going to touch it again But I want to talk about the overarching macro thing you are bringing up the false promises in pinball And I want to start by saying this The reason why these companies can make so many false promises it just like a relationship in life with anyone you've ever dated. Someone needs to enable someone to get away with it. And as pinball buyers and as a pinball community, we have enabled these companies to get away with all of these false promises all of these years. I mean, I've been covering this hobby now for seven years and it never ceases to amaze me how time and time again, we hear a company say something and instead of keeping them accountable, we allow them to get away with false promises or we allow them to mislead us on what we can expect from them. You know, if you're a company and you say, look, we're gonna update this code to get it to version 1.0, The problem is, is they never tell you when that's going to happen. So they will say like, well, we're not lying, but we're not done. But as a pinball community, we are so patient. We are almost too patient and we let them get away with it time and time again. Now, let me go down your list of false promises and let's tackle each of these real quickly. False promises of delivery dates. Now, I get in a lot of trouble because I've been saying, like, I think a company like Haggis was lying to us when they said production would begin July of last year. I still, to this day, believe that they knew when they said that date, they didn't have the parts yet. They didn't have the parts ordered. They didn't have the staff to make the games. So how is that not somewhat of a lie, right? Or are you just completely delusional and you're sharing your delusions with the pinball community? But you know what, Drew? This is the problem in pinball. So they set that delivery date. They miss it by a year. So it was a false promise that production would start in July of 2021. Now, how do you hold Haggis accountable? See, this is where the enabling begins. And this is why I've been on such a crusade against non-refundable deposits. because the moment we give a non-refundable deposit, we've enabled these companies to do whatever they want, to take as long as they want, to go down a list of false promises. Because remember, it's not just ship dates, it's quality, it's theme integration. There are so many people out there that have their money locked in before they even know how well the theme is integrated. Let's talk about that for a minute. When people out there gave a non-refundable deposit for Toy Story, They didn't know how well the theme was integrated. They didn't see a lot of gameplay. They just saw the play field and a 90-second video. But everyone in this hobby is smart enough now, right? We all know that theme integration, yeah, there's a lot of physical integration on the play field. But most of the integration in a pinball machine that actually brings the theme to life also happens on the software side. Like what are the call-outs? Like what's the music like? Like are there clips from the movie in the game? Are the clips synced up or are they muted? Like all of these things matter and yet they don't share that with us until after you've given your non-refundable deposit. It is the ultimate enabler of bad behavior. You know, it's just like, it's like anything in life. Like imagine if you're 18 years old and you're given a trust fund of like $10 million. Are you going to work hard? Are you going to be responsible with the money? Are you going to be transparent with the person who gave you that money on how you're spending it? And the same is true with pinball. When we give our money over early, all of a sudden we don't matter anymore because they don't owe us anything anymore. Another false promise you brought up, Drew, was the false promise of limited additions. Now, when we talk about limited additions, this word comes up all the time and everyone always forgets. Something is limited if you limit the production. The definition of limited production is not below a thousand or below 500. No, if you say we are limiting the number of Guns N' Roses LEs to 5,000 units, then it is limited. It is a limited edition pin. There will never be more than 5,000 LEs made. I think the word everyone's always looking for is rare. Like, okay, so a game is not rare if they make 5,000 of them, but it is limited. There were only two times where I think there were false promises of limited edition, and that was Legends of Valhalla, where they said we're only making 300. Then David Fix saw the demand and bumped the number up to 500 units. And Stern did the same thing with like the Munsters. They said 500. Then the next day it was like, all right, we added another 100. But for the most part, I think these companies have been pretty fair and honest with us about how many they're going to make. The one thing they never tell us is how many did they actually make? And I think that's like an interesting thing, right? How many did you actually make? Did you actually make that many collector's editions? Did you make all of the LEs? One of the games that I'm still like unsure how many were actually produced is the Beatles, right? I think Stern said they were making 1964 Beatles pinball machines. I don't think they made all of them, which makes all the ones people have now a lot more exclusive and rare, but Stern will never come out and say it. And the reason why is simply this, because they can make them again in the future. And Stern is a company that can actually do that. So false promises of build quality. I mean this one like no one ever promises a badly built game And most manufacturers don come out and say like you can expect this I tell you why they don expect that And here is one of the most interesting aspects of this hobby people Read the warranty on your pinball machine. Most of these pinball companies absolutely warranty nothing. They are not promising you quality. In fact, it's the opposite. Their warranties tend to imply that they know that they don't want to stand behind the products they're building. If they wanted to stand behind the products they're building, they would actually cover something that is in the game. But most of these warranties are garbage. You could just throw them away. Nothing is covered. Obviously, the most hysterical one is the Mirko Playfield quality assurance sticker he was putting on all the playfields. I will say this, and this is just super hysterical. Isn't it crazy that we are not hearing anything about Mirko Playfield issues with Toy Story 4? It's because I think he fixed it. I didn't see any issues on the Toy Story machine I played, and it's been played a lot at Jack Bar. And remember, Guns N' Roses playfields were falling apart on day one. And it's crazy because we all were so worried. Everyone's biggest fear and concern when they were thinking about Toy Story was like, the playfields are going to fall apart, and that's going to be the Achilles heel of this game. And I always say, Jersey Jack always has an Achilles heel issue with every single game. It's usually build quality. Who would have thought in a million years that the Achilles heel of Toy Story 4 would be the fact that nobody wants Toy Story 4? They didn't pack it with toys and the value's not there. And now the playfields are bulletproof. They put the most bulletproof playfield in the game that nobody really wants. I can't. It makes me want to pull out my hair. Why can't Jersey Jack just get everything right at the same time? Now look, Drew, you kind of answered your own question when you say like if we just avoid the FOMO and we actually wait for these products to come out, then you avoid all of these false promises. Another thing I want to bring up here is the false promises by some of the distributors and dealers when they sell something. I'm specifically going to talk about this Queen Pinball machine from the Pinball Brothers. I mean, I saw dealers last week saying, we will give you one of the September shipments of this game. They said, you will get your game. It will be built in September. I don't know, like, were they saying you'll have your game in September or it will be built then, right? It's always very ambiguous what they're saying, but you have to pay in full and it's non-refundable. So just think about that for a minute. The language that's being used around the launch of this game, it's almost impossible to know what they're promising you. But there's one thing they are guaranteeing you, that if you pay in full today, you can never get your money back. Again, this is why all roads lead back to non-refundable deposits are enabling the worst behavior in pinball. And they've made these boutique companies super inefficient. We're giving all these boutique pinball companies a passing grade before they've even taken the test, before they've handed the test in. And then we're celebrating them. We're slapping trophies on them. We're doing victory laps on podcasts and we're being interviewed about how great our company is. And yet nobody's opening up Queen Pinball. People are still waiting on Alien. People can't even figure out where the hell Weird Al is. Where the hell are Cactus Canyon Ali's? I mean, people gave money on Cactus Canyon Ali almost 11 months ago, right? 11 months ago. Talk about false promises. What did Ryan White say? And now nobody can get their money back. But yes, if you just turn the FOMO off and you stop chasing after all these new releases, you take all the power back. It's why I keep saying you just can't give non-refundable deposits. All right. Now, look, Drew, you talked about the spooky code on Rick and Morty. They're never going to do this again. They're never going to update that code. Here's why. Because the team that did it is gone. I mean, that's the easiest answer. The team that made Rick and Morty is gone. They are no longer there. The coder, Scott Danesi, is gone. They are no longer going to work on this game. And they can't make any more money on this game. So why would they work on it? The only way they can make money on it is if they charge you for updated code and adventures. Now, look, I think people would pay for that. And I know that Spooky said, hey, we're going to keep updating this game with new adventures from the new seasons. And it was exciting, right? It was exciting because the way the game was laid out, it actually was perfectly set up from a code standpoint to integrate future seasons of Rick and Morty into the game. But it makes absolutely no financial sense for Chuck to do it. And Drew, I will say this. I think if you have a Rick and Morty, and I think if you still have one, and you're okay with the way the game shoots, even though it doesn't shoot well, if you're okay with it, it is still one of the best theme-integrated pinball machines from a software level ever, ever in the history of pinball. So I don't think anyone who has a Rick and Morty is disappointed with it from a theme integration standpoint. I am disappointed in the way the game shoots and the fact that this game was not designed to be Rick and Morty. It was TNA 2.0, and that was supposed to be the new reactor lock up the middle. They quickly skimmed this thing into Rick and Morty, and it shows, but it is what it is. It's still one of the games that's got the best call-outs maybe in the history of pinball. It's got great theme integration on the screen, and I love the way you're playing through the different adventures in Rick and Morty. So the moral of all of this is, is are these companies lying to us on a consistent basis? I don know if lying is the word but they definitely are promising things that when they don come true they never held accountable I don think I ever seen a hobby where an industry can cajole people into becoming investors and kickstarters in the business before the product is even made I don see people kickstarting watch companies or car companies or video game companies. I mean, it happens in the video game world every once in a while. And every time it happens in the video game space, everybody loses their money. But I think most people have been wiser in the video game space and in the pinball space. But pinball over the last decade, since Zidware, right? Since John Papadiuk showed people a sexy translate, for some reason, every time someone announces a new pinball venture, everybody forgets what happened in the past. Every time a company says, hey, we're gonna go into manufacturing in September and it's August already, nobody asks like, okay, pinball brothers, if you're gonna produce Queen in September, can you show us the parts? Can you show us your labor? Can you show us how many aliens you're making a day? Can you be transparent? See, that was one of the things Drew said, the false promises of transparency. Again, Drew, what happened when a company like Haggis built their goodwill on the foundation of transparency? Damien said, we are going to update our buyers every day on the progress of our production. And he did it with Kelts. Like every day there was a new Facebook post and then he gets people to be confident in his company because of that transparency. And now what's happening? He won't talk to anybody ever. He'll only answer emails privately and they're not sharing the progress of the company. They're not being transparent on any level. Okay. So then when he stops being transparent, how is this community holding him accountable? You know what happens when shows like mine try to hold him accountable? everyone starts attacking me saying, how dare you ask him to be transparent? How dare you ask him to be more open about how many games a week they can make? And people always say this, he owes you nothing because you did not order a game. And that is total hogwash. I cover this hobby and I cover these manufacturers. I don't have to order a product to have an opinion about a company. I don't have to order a product to hold a company accountable for the things they said they were going to do. If you didn't want people to expect daily updates, Damien, then why did you say you would be a company that would give daily updates? I would have no Kaneda Club members if I said to you, you can expect at least one new podcast a week. And here you are with your third show this week. And this is why Kaneda Club is doing great. We have 528 members. and this is why I have support because I deliver what I said I'm going to do. And I also say to you, I'm going to give you scoops, rumors, news and speculation and I do it and I'm going to give you one right now. So I was talking to someone in the industry and here's what I'm hearing. I am hearing a rumor and again, I don't know for sure, but I'm hearing a rumor that Jersey Jack Pinball most likely does not have the license for the Matrix. And now it gets very interesting because I thought that JJP had the Matrix license and it was going to be Mark Sadan's game. But now I am hearing they do not have it, that Warner Brothers is talking to another company. And this is coming from a pretty reliable source at another company. So if Jersey Jack doesn't have the Matrix, then what do you think Mark Sadan's game is going to be? Here's what I think it's going to be now. I think it's going to be Eric Meunier's Godfather sometime in like spring of 2023. I think we're then going to get Mark Sadan's game, which is going to be Avatar sometime in the fall winter of next year, sometime in the fall winter of next year. I think it's going to be Avatar. I mean, I really do. I mean, that's the other title we've been hearing about. And I also know that the Abbas family is friends with the people making the film. So I think there's a relationship there. Now, look, I also got more confirmation on what Steve Ritchie's game is. And I'm going to share that with you the moment we hit. Are you ready for it? 540 club members is not a lot. We've only got like 12 people to go. If we get 540 club members, I will reveal to you Steve Ritchie's theme that I'm hearing he's making. Everybody, it's always fun doing this show. I want to thank you so much for the support. And I did, John did text me back yesterday. So I think we might be on the road to recovery. It's not a big deal. Well, you know, look, we're all just in this having fun. We're all just in this to talk about pinball. And like I said, we're all in this to cure some of the boredom of the daily grind, right? The weekly monotony of life. And you get to look down at your app and look, there's a new Canadian pinball podcast. And oh my gosh, now there's Canadian merchandise. This is going to be so great. I can't wait to the next show when we can walk around and everyone's rocking their Canadian gear. I really want us to do that because I want to show all the haters out there how awesome the Kaneda Army is and how much fun we all are having. So go to kanedapinballmerch.com and load up. And there are a few Easter eggs on some of those items. Make sure you look through all the photos. I think you guys are going to laugh. Everybody have a great day. We'll talk to you soon. When can I see you again? When can I see you again? When can I see you again? you

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: a2b11495-1641-4c01-abec-1020ec5331b1*