# Jersey Jack Seminar: "Pinball Redemption Patent" to Replace Scorbit?, CE Production Schedule & More

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2023-03-27  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/jersey-jack-seminar-pinball-redemption-patent-to-replace-scorbit-ce-production-schedule-more

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## Analysis

At Texas Pinball Festival, Jersey Jack Pinball presented The Godfather pinball machine and revealed strategic information about production timelines, code updates, and their plans to develop an in-house player-tracking system to replace Scorebit. JJP released Version 1.04 code with 100+ new voice callouts and movie clips, is manufacturing Collector's Edition units starting early summer, and hinted at leveraging a patented card-dispensing system for a proprietary leaderboard/tracking platform.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Jersey Jack Pinball released The Godfather code Version 1.04 containing over 100 new voice callouts, new movie clips, choreography improvements, rule balancing, and audio balancing. — _Eric Meunier (game designer) statement at Texas Pinball Festival seminar_
- [HIGH] JJP launched The Godfather nine months after Toy Story 4, marking the first time the company released two games within one calendar year (12 months). — _Direct statement at TPF seminar; article presents as fact_
- [HIGH] Jersey Jack secured the Godfather license after working on it for four and a half years. — _Stated at TPF seminar_
- [HIGH] JJP has been manufacturing Godfather LE machines for several weeks with games available in box at launch; production of Collector's Edition will begin early summer. — _TPF seminar presentation_
- [HIGH] Jersey Jack Pinball owns a patent (US Patent 20190038962) for a card-dispensing system in pinball machines for prize redemption, which may be adapted for an in-house player-tracking system. — _Jack Guarnieri directed attendees to 'search pinball redemption patent'; patent document reviewed in article_
- [HIGH] JJP is removing Scorebit from pinball machines and developing their own proprietary tracking system based on existing patents. — _Eric Meunier stated 'we are going on our own path and more to come on that'; Jack Guarnieri's hint about redemption patent_
- [LOW] There is a rumor that Stern's Insider Connected required physical scanners in games instead of QR codes because Jersey Jack owns a patent on QR-based login systems. — _Article author notes 'there a rumor' and explicitly states 'I have no idea whether that is actually true'_

### Notable Quotes

> "As far as Scorbit, we are going on our own path and more to come on that."
> — **Eric Meunier (Godfather game designer, Jersey Jack Pinball)**, TPF seminar, during S&A session
> _Officially confirms JJP's departure from Scorebit and hints at proprietary replacement system without revealing details_

> "Search pinball redemption patent."
> — **Jack Guarnieri (Jersey Jack Pinball founder)**, TPF seminar, during Q&A
> _Cryptic hint pointing to JJP's card-dispensing patent as foundation for in-house player-tracking system; suggests strategic IP leverage_

> "This is just a patent that they've had for a while that they're using to create their own in-house player-tracking system, but time will tell."
> — **Article author (Knapp Arcade)**, Article analysis
> _Speculative interpretation of JJP's intentions; acknowledges uncertainty pending future announcements_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP) | company | Boutique pinball manufacturer; removed Scorebit integration; developing proprietary player-tracking system; holds patent on card-dispensing redemption system |
| The Godfather | game | Latest JJP pinball machine; released nine months after Toy Story 4; LE machines in production since TPF; Code v1.04 released with 100+ new voice callouts, choreography/rule/audio improvements |
| Eric Meunier | person | Game designer for The Godfather at Jersey Jack Pinball; confirmed Scorebit removal and new in-house path at TPF seminar |
| Jack Guarnieri | person | Founder of Jersey Jack Pinball; provided cryptic hint about patent-based player-tracking system at TPF Q&A |
| Texas Pinball Festival (TPF) | event | Community event where JJP held seminar announcing new Godfather pinball machine and strategic information |
| Scorebit | product | Third-party player-tracking and leaderboard system; being removed from JJP machines in favor of proprietary alternative |
| Insider Connected | product | Stern Pinball's player-tracking and digital ecosystem; rumored to use physical scanners instead of QR codes due to JJP patent; potential competitive product to JJP's new system |
| Toy Story 4 | game | Previous JJP pinball machine released 9 months before The Godfather; marks first time JJP released two games in 12 calendar months |
| US Patent 20190038962 | product | Card-dispensing system patent held by Jersey Jack Pinball for prize redemption in pinball machines; potentially foundation for new in-house player-tracking system |
| Knapp Arcade | organization | Source publication; article author specializes in patent research and analysis |

### Topics

- **Primary:** The Godfather pinball machine announcement and production schedule, Scorebit removal from JJP machines and proprietary player-tracking system development, Code update v1.04 for The Godfather with new voice callouts and improvements, Jersey Jack Pinball's patent strategy and IP leverage in player-tracking market
- **Secondary:** JJP production timeline and manufacturing capacity, Competitive dynamics between JJP, Stern, and third-party tracking platforms

### Sentiment

**Neutral** (0.5) — Article presents factual information from seminar with balanced analysis. Author's tone is matter-of-fact and inquisitive rather than promotional or critical. Speculation about patent use is appropriately caveated with uncertainty language.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Jersey Jack Pinball removing Scorebit integration from machines and developing proprietary in-house player-tracking system. (confidence: high) — Eric Meunier: 'we are going on our own path'; Jack Guarnieri hint about redemption patent; recent Scorebit removal confirmed
- **[competitive_signal]** JJP accelerating game releases (two titles in 12 calendar months) and investing in proprietary technology to reduce dependence on third-party integrations. (confidence: medium) — Toy Story 4 + Godfather timeline; Scorebit removal and proprietary system development; patent leverage strategy
- **[licensing_signal]** Jersey Jack Pinball spent 4.5 years securing Godfather license, indicating complex or protracted IP negotiations. (confidence: high) — Stated at TPF seminar as fact
- **[announcement]** Jersey Jack Pinball officially announced The Godfather as latest title at Texas Pinball Festival; game available in LE configuration with Collector's Edition production starting early summer. (confidence: high) — TPF seminar presentation; LE machines in production for several weeks; games in box at launch
- **[product_strategy]** The Godfather Code v1.04 released with 100+ new voice callouts, movie clips, choreography, rule and audio balancing improvements. (confidence: high) — Eric Meunier statement at TPF; specific version number and feature set provided
- **[rumor_hype]** Unverified claim that Stern Insider Connected required physical scanners instead of QR codes due to JJP patent ownership. (confidence: low) — Article author explicitly notes 'I have no idea whether that is actually true' while reporting rumor
- **[technology_signal]** JJP leveraging existing card-dispensing patent to develop proprietary leaderboard/player-tracking platform, potentially competing with Stern's Insider Connected. (confidence: medium) — Patent 20190038962 document linked; Guarnieri directed to patent as hint; article author interprets as foundation for in-house system

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## Transcript

This weekend at the Texas Pinball Festival, Jersey Jack Pinball held a seminar to introduce its latest pinball machine, The Godfather. A lot of the information that was presented during the presentation has already been mentioned in the great Straight Down the Middle video on the game. 

I did grab a couple of new pieces of new information from the TPF event though. According to the game's designer, Eric Meunier, a brand new code update for The Godfather was released this past weekend. The new code, Version 1.04, contains over 100 new voice callouts from the Godfather movies, new movie clips as well as choreography improvement, rule balancing and audio balancing. 

JJP launched The Godfather nine months after its Toy Story 4 pinball machine was released. This is the first time that the company has brought out two games within one year, 12 calendar months. Interestingly, Jersey Jack has actually been working on securing the license to make a Godfather pinball machine for four and a half years.

Jersey Jack has been manufacturing Godfather LE machines for several weeks now. Games were available in box at launch. The Company is building several hundred LEs before starting production of the Collector's addition early this summer. 

Last, but certainly not least, the Company talked a little bit about the recent removal of Scorebit from Jersey Jack pinball machines. When asked about it during the S&A session, Eric Meunier said "As far as Scorbit, we are going on our own path and more to come on that." 

Later on during the Q&A the company's founder Jack Guarnieri told a person who asked the question on the subject to "search pinball redemption patent." Well, that just so happens to be my specialty LOL. So I searched it right up. Whew, it has a lot of words and diagrams, so let's start with the summary:

 

This is actually a patent that JJP has had for a number of years. It essentially talks about a card dispensing system in pinball machines, where players can win cards that can be redeemed for prizes. From that description, it reminds me a little of the Raw Thrills Injustice games that John Youssi in every Dave & Busters that dispenses collectable cards to players. This summary doesn't sound exactly like Scorebit, but maybe JJP is just using this patent as more of a blanket to cover an in-house Scorebit / Insider Connected-like system. 

There a rumor when Stern's Insider Connected came out that they had to put scanners in games for players to log in instead of just QR codes on machines' screens because Jersey Jack already owned a patent on that, but I have no idea whether that is actually true. So is JJP going to start putting card-dispensing pinball machines in big redemption arcades? My guess is no, this is just a patent that they've had for a while that they're using to create their own in-house player-tracking system, but time will tell.

Here is a link to the aforementioned patent document:

https://image-ppubs.uspto.gov/dirsearch-public/print/downloadPdf/20190038962 

Below is a link a replay of the JJP TPF presentation:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1774612081

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: a8066eac-eda0-4d83-a8c1-7838bf52a29f*