# Am I buying "X-Men"?

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast (patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-08-27  
**Duration:** 15m 0s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/am-i-buying-x-110861507

---

## Analysis

Don discusses whether he will purchase the rumored X-Men pinball game by Jersey Jack Pinball (allegedly designed by the Foo Fighters designer). He acknowledges the game's potential appeal through strong designer pedigree and solid theme, but expresses skepticism about purchasing without seeing complete mechanical specifications and worries about missing out on other Q4 2024 releases. He hints at inside information from observing activity at the Stern factory during a WPC tour.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] X-Men is rumored to be Jersey Jack Pinball's follow-up to Foo Fighters, designed by the same designer — _Don citing rumors at the start of the podcast; presented as unconfirmed speculation_
- [HIGH] The Foo Fighters designer has created great-playing games with innovative layouts, including incorporating ideas from classic pinball machines — _Don speaking from personal experience, mentioning playing Foo Fighters at Jay's The Silver Ballroom tournament_
- [MEDIUM] Foo Fighters is now affordable on the secondary market due to strong sales — _Don's observation of market pricing and availability_
- [MEDIUM] John Wick has limited availability on the secondary market with not many for sale, suggesting strong demand/scarcity — _Don's direct observation of current market listings_
- [HIGH] John Wick's premium and LE models lack significant mechanical toys beyond the car mechanism and basic features — _Don owns an LE model and provides specific mechanical inventory (Blood Oath token, drop target, diverter)_
- [HIGH] Don observed the X-Men designer running around the prototyping area at the Stern Factory during a WPC tour and noticed parts being worked on — _Don's firsthand account of factory tour observations; described as inside information_
- [MEDIUM] There are significant game releases planned for Q4 2024 beyond X-Men that could compete for collector purchases — _Don's speculation about market timing and upcoming releases_
- [LOW] Don expects secondary market X-Men pricing to stabilize around $8,500 after initial release period — _Don's pricing projection based on recent release patterns_

### Notable Quotes

> "Dude does some cool layouts. He stole that Robocop jump and put it in his JP Home Edition. Love it, right? Take the great ideas from Pinball Machines of the past and put it back in future games."
> — **Don**, ~3:45
> _Establishes Don's respect for the rumored designer's innovation approach_

> "It's not like the huge nostalgic hitter that Jaws is or like if it was Gremlins, right? Or frickin' Pokemon... But I think it's got legs, man."
> — **Don**, ~5:30
> _Contextualizes X-Men's theme appeal relative to other recent releases; moderate optimism_

> "It's going to take more than just an awesome layout. I want to see some interesting mechanisms that are in it."
> — **Don**, ~8:00
> _States his primary purchasing criteria beyond designer pedigree_

> "When I was at Stern Pinball Inc. Factory for the WPC tour... I saw him like running around the area where they're prototyping parts for games... dude ran in there and like quickly, you know, hit a lot of stuff, you know, out of sight because it's probably he's probably working on this game."
> — **Don**, ~12:30
> _Don's claimed inside observation suggesting X-Men development activity at Stern Factory; implies conflicting info about Jersey Jack vs. Stern involvement_

> "It's really gonna have to knock my socks completely off, like 10 out of 10 level, 11 out of 10 almost, because we haven't even seen everything that people are coming out with for Q4 2024, man."
> — **Don**, ~14:45
> _Summarizes his high bar for X-Men purchase; indicates competitive market pressure_

> "I think if Elton John had a better theme, like, I'd probably have one right now, right?"
> — **Don**, ~15:30
> _References another upcoming game (Dutch Pinball's Elton John) suggesting crowded Q4 2024 pipeline_

> "I have to choose keep my money in my pocket. Which is probably the smart thing to do. Go ahead and go on X-Men knowing that I'll probably miss out on the rest of the year's releases."
> — **Don**, ~17:15
> _Core dilemma: X-Men FOMO vs. missing other releases; reflects collector buying pressure_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Don | person | Host of Don's Pinball Podcast; experienced collector and enthusiast; attended WPC factory tour at Stern; considering X-Men purchase |
| Jack Danger | person | Mentioned as designer present at Stern Factory tour; appears to be working in prototyping area; likely related to X-Men project |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Rumored manufacturer of upcoming X-Men game; previously released Foo Fighters and Jurassic Park Home Edition |
| Stern Pinball | company | Factory toured by Don; appears to be manufacturing location or collaborator; manufactured John Wick and other recent releases |
| X-Men | game | Rumored upcoming pinball game with Marvel Comics theme; allegedly designed by Foo Fighters designer; anticipated teaser announcement this week; Don evaluating purchase |
| Foo Fighters | game | Jersey Jack Pinball release; well-reviewed game with innovative upper playfield ramp; designer's previous work; now affordable on secondary market |
| John Wick | game | Recent release; limited secondary market availability; Don owns LE model; criticized for lacking mechanical depth despite solid sales |
| Jaws | game | Recent Stern release; cited as example of major nostalgic theme appeal; contrasted with X-Men's more modest thematic impact |
| Deadpool | game | Stern release; referenced as successful game; mentioned in context of comic book themes |
| Jay's The Silver Ballroom | venue | Arcade location where Don recently played Foo Fighters tournament |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Manufacturer with Elton John theme in Q4 2024 pipeline; potential competing release |
| Jurassic Park Home Edition | game | Jersey Jack Pinball release; designer's earlier work featuring innovative jump layout from Robocop |
| Robocop | game | Classic pinball reference; designer borrowed jump mechanism for modern games |
| James Bond | game | Don mentions analyzing this game's release; used as comparison for digestible new game content |
| The Big Lebowski | game | Don owns this machine; considering selling it to fund potential X-Men purchase; has interested buyer |
| Elton John | game | Dutch Pinball game with theme Don considers weak; part of Q4 2024 release competition |
| WPC tour | event | Tour of Stern Factory/Pinball Expo factory area; where Don observed prototype development activity |

### Signals

- **[machine_intel]** Don's observation of activity at Stern Factory prototyping area, claiming to have seen the X-Men designer running around parts bin area during WPC tour (confidence: medium) — First-hand account of factory tour; claims designer was working on game parts; provides specific details about prototyping area setup with laser cutters and metal fabrication
- **[rumor_hype]** Rumor that X-Men is designed by the same person who designed Foo Fighters and Jurassic Park Home Edition (confidence: medium) — Don presents this as hearsay: 'Now this is heavily, let's go by the rumors. There's a rumor to be Jersey Jack Pinball's follow-up to Foo Fighters. Okay, the dude that made the Jurassic Park Home Edition and then designed Foo Fighters.'
- **[announcement]** Community expectation that X-Men teaser will be announced within days of this podcast (confidence: medium) — Don states: 'everybody and their mom and their French mama has been saying that we're going to see a teaser sometime this week'
- **[market_signal]** John Wick has limited secondary market availability with few units for sale, indicating strong scarcity/demand (confidence: medium) — Don observes: 'If you look at John Wick now, there's not a ton of them for sale, which I like. They're all out there.'
- **[product_concern]** John Wick criticized for lacking significant mechanical toys and interesting playfield features (confidence: high) — Don owns LE model and catalogs: 'The mechanisms in that game are lacking... You got the Blood Oath token that opens and closes, you have a drop target, a single drop target, you have a diverter that is a little interesting... I gotta see more than that.'
- **[collector_signal]** Collector expressing FOMO anxiety about X-Men purchase decision given competitive Q4 2024 pipeline (confidence: high) — Don wrestles with choice: 'I have to choose keep my money in my pocket... Go ahead and go on X-Men knowing that I'll probably miss out on the rest of the year's releases and and it's just it's too big of a gamble right now'
- **[design_philosophy]** Designer philosophy of borrowing and recontextualizing classic pinball layouts (e.g., Robocop jump in modern games) (confidence: medium) — Don praises: 'He stole that Robocop jump and put it in his JP Home Edition. Love it, right? Take the great ideas from Pinball Machines of the past and put it back in future games. Use them in new and interesting ways.'
- **[manufacturing_signal]** Evidence of active prototyping and parts fabrication for upcoming games at Stern Factory during WPC tour period (confidence: medium) — Don describes factory tour: 'They have this whole cordoned off area... an eight foot high chain link fence... machining area... laser cutting machines, metal breakers, things for taking raw sheet metal and turning it into ramps and mechanisms'
- **[market_signal]** Don projects X-Men secondary market pricing stabilizing around $8,500 after initial sales phase (confidence: low) — Don speculates: 'You're going to be able to get one for like $8,500 probably... down the road, if you want one of these'
- **[rumor_hype]** X-Men theme considered solid adult male nerd appeal but not a blockbuster IP compared to Jaws or Gremlins (confidence: high) — Don compares: 'It's not like the huge nostalgic hitter that Jaws is or like if it was Gremlins, right? Or frickin' Pokemon... But I think it's got legs, man.'
- **[product_strategy]** Discussion of whether Stern might discount or distribute new releases (e.g., through Costco) if sales underperform (confidence: low) — Don questions: 'What's Stern Pinball going to do? Are they going to start discounting games and putting cost at Costco? [inaudible] For a new release from Stern'
- **[content_signal]** Don mentions upcoming secret project to ship Friday with demand/supply constraints; teasing details for Patreon-exclusive content (confidence: high) — Don states: 'I've got another secret project I'm working on which I'm ready to ship on Friday... I would have trouble filling that demand without building up some supply'

---

## Transcript

 Not be alarmed if you hear any loud noises coming from my property over the next few days. I'm just blowing stuff up. Look what I found at the library. How to blow stuff up? You're making a bomb? Several. I'm engaged in an arms race with an exterminator in McMainerberry. Oh, what's going on, Patreon Patreons? What's up, dude? We're gonna connect again here and do a little bit of exclusivity for you guys. Exclusive from my brain. And dusted with a little bit of some secondhand inside information that I've heard, what's going on with this new X-Men game? Should we do some predictions? Given that everybody and their mom and their French mama has been saying that we're going to see a teaser sometime this week. Now I've talked about how it seems like it's always in one of the next two days, we're going to see this thing in two days comes and then of course it's still out there in the future. But regardless, when it shows up, are people going to buy it? Let's get into that. Okay. Now this is heavily, let's go by the rumors. There's a rumor to be Jack Danger's follow-up to Foo Fighters. Okay, the dude that made the Jurassic Park Home Edition and then designed Foo Fighters. By all accounts, hell of a game. Hell of a seller of a game to the point that the price is now affordable so anybody can pretty much jump in there if you've got some amount of pinball money and get yourself some Foo Fighter going on. So, the dude's got a pedigree that's like almost a vertical trajectory at this point going from, you know, the great playing JP Home Edition and Foo Fighters. So, if it is him on this next game, I think that alone will generate interest, right? Now, let's talk about layout. Dude does some cool layouts. He stole that Robocop jump and put it in his JP Home Edition. Love it, right? Take the great ideas from Pinball Machines of the past and put it back in future games. Use them in new and interesting ways. I think that's okay to do. Foo Fighters is a dang flow monster, man. That upper playfield ramp is pretty steep. But, come on, yeah, I played it again at Jay's Silver Ballroom recently at the tournament. Hell of a game, dude. It's a good game. It's a good game. So, on that pedigree, I think his next game is gonna generate some interest. Now, the theme. If it's X-Men, comic book, I mean, this is kind of like, you know, adult, male, nerd, perfect right in that wheelhouse. So I think it's an okay theme for pinball and to generate some excitement. You know, it's not like the huge nostalgic hitter that Jaws is or like if it was Gremlins, right? Or frickin' Pokemon. And so this isn't a freight truck with a, you know, theme knocking us in the face. We're gonna get that that Peterbilt logo right in the middle of our foreheads when this thing hits us on the highway. But I think it's got legs, man. Deadpool, fantastic. Infinity Quest, cool, right? Head FineenDX or intervenewekizoat earlier this night at TalkPod 0폼 Tomin거나 and David vídeo not m Promiseulative seed I not sure if you designed to be that way But it like you kind of want more in the games So it didn't sell well spooked a lot of people and then Jaws came out and people a little hesitant But Jaws is doing pretty good. Wick came out and people are like this could be another venom I'm not ready to go into this. These things are gonna be available and are they available man? If you look at John Wick le's now, there's not a ton of them for sale, which I like Knapp Arcades Thronk Roongki Too русika, raw Azure Black app temp trailer starring Finish, Knopee Deenbie as Gen 1, Knope Sky. Dont persistotion Khan Backup Transfer Tam significant Chans Right next to all the 747s that Emirates overbought, right? They're all out there. So how does that bear for X-Men? I think X-Men could be designed great with good use of its comic book assets and a theme that, you know, can move units typically, but I think it might sit as well. So what is it going to take for me to go in on this game? It's going to take more than just an awesome layout. I want to see some interesting mechanisms that are in it. There's going to be cool ball pass, but we need something. When I look at John Wick, the mechanisms in that game are lacking, right? You know, I'm talking about my LE here and the premium as well. The pro really doesn't have anything except a car that punches back at you, which, while fun, is not, you know, incredible. So, you know, you got the Blood Oath token that opens and closes, you have a drop target, a single drop target, you have a diverter that is a little interesting, And then the case is like the biggest toy in the game aside from like the drifting car at the top, which I hope to see implemented more. I gotta see more than that. If this is, you know, the fan layout with the two ramps and like the extra little ramp diverter on the premium or an extra Vuck or something, I don't know. I think I'm gonna cross my arms and just sit back and say, I'll play this on location. This is really gonna have to be something swinging for the fences. Now, having said that, when I was at the Stern Factory for the WIC tour, the notorious WIC tour, you know, danger was there, man. And I met this guy a couple of times before. He knows me. That's cool. That's cool. And I saw him like running around the area where they're prototyping parts for games. Like they have this whole cordoned off area. If you did the tour at Expo, this was an area that was a chain link fence with a tarp over it that you couldn't see into, like an eight foot high chain link fence. We got to go in there and it's a machining area, right? There's, uh, laser cutting machines, metal breakers, things for taking raw sheet metal and turning it into ramps and mechanisms and spinners and things like that. And so dude ran in there and like quickly, you know, hit a lot of stuff, you know, out of sight because it's probably he's probably working on this game. Then you look at the parts bin, John Youssi all these like parts that were punched out, you know, for different mechanisms and things like we're seeing, you know, in this big vat of sheet metal, like all the things they've been working on. FAQHK The shook it with culpa we were bossing you out was on that Armageddon You were was undid or where was my And there some hebben points that are annoying for this channel that means no So, I've built up a little bit of funds in the pinball coffers, so, like, you know, I'm in, I could considerably be in maybe buying mode, particularly if somebody goes ahead and buys my Lebowski, got a friend sniffing around it, I think it's going to happen. But that would give me flesh with cash right at the time that Stern's releasing another game, which is always a dangerous thing to do. Dub rotated This is DK Mark Aldrin www.Glee.net bday可愛 6 Free Daily Online whichever Online Click www.F스트�Pinball Guardians.net 데일 bae Lifeオday 0 I don't know. It's really gonna have to knock my socks completely off, like 10 out of 10 level, 11 out of 10 almost, because we haven't even seen everything that people are coming out with for Q4 2024, man. Jersey Jack's got something in the pipeline that very much could blow us away. I think if Elton John had a better theme, like, I'd probably have one right now, right? My king let DPS, where's Dutchpinball, you know, so if we had already seen what everybody has on offer and then X-Men comes out Okay, then you can make a better educated decision But at this point I have to choose keep my money in my pocket Which is probably the smart thing to do Go ahead and go on X-Men knowing that I'll probably miss out on the rest of the year's releases and and it's just it's too big of A gamble right now, so I don't know. So what is it gonna take? This is a very interesting topic. It seems that I have to like smash my face back. No. Maybe they've switched things up. Maybe they're pinch hitting. Maybe they've got another theme that they're going to release after X-Men, but they're bringing it in now. It could happen. I don't know, but we'll see. But it's going to take a whole lot for me and I think I'm speaking for other people as well currently here in the market. What is this going to do to distributors? We're going to have to wait and see. What's Stern Pinball going to do? Are they going to start discounting games and putting more Coscos? Candida Wimalah For a new release from Stern because dude it so fun that new pinball release day I remember one of the first podcasts I did I would sit down analyzing just the pictures from Foo Fighters and like the different pathways and things I remember doing that with James Bond, Cornerstone, when that released. So I'm excited about being able to see a game and like digest it and look at all the shots and the cool things. Oh, look, I didn't notice there was a captive ball right there. I wonder what that does. And then playing this game on location, I think is fine. And then down the road, if you want one of these, you're going to be able to get one. You're going to be able to get one for like $8,500 probably. You know, so there's no cheap used games without new in box sales first. But, you know, we'll see where we're at. We'll see where we're at. Anyway, I don't know. I said a little bit of rambling, but I think that's what it's going to take for me to move on this. Let me know your thoughts. Communicate below. Voice Indicators Written Solar Graphics Ben Dampden Domestic Dramaturg Thank you for watching. Tit continuos,ektap How's my life going? Tuesday, February 8, Bis Like implementing Tick制, Thank you so much for being a Patreon member. More to come as I hear it which can be anytime. I've got another secret project I'm working on which I'm ready to ship on Friday and I can't wait to leak little details of that here on the patreon. The reason why I haven't yet is because I think it would be something that's number one in demand and number two I would have trouble filling that demand without building up some supply. So I'm going to do that first. But when the time is right, I will mention it and then if you guys want to get on a list, go ahead and get on a list. If you want to email me and get on the email blast list, I'll let you guys know first. dawnspinballpodcast at gmail.com. You know how to find me. You know how to reach me. I'm going to go back to watching some King of the Hill and then we're going to go and I think we'll record episode 142 for the normies. I'm pretty sure the government keeps track of books like that. At least I hope they do. You mean Rusty Shackleford could get in a lot of trouble. I have a library card in his name. Shisha! Are you still pretending to be that guy? It's a victimless crime like eating grapes at the supermarket. This would be a great theme for pinball, man.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-06-06 | Item ID: b9573566-ba54-4ab6-849b-71d4bc337a68*