# DPP #93 "The one where we talk about Jaws"

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-01-03  
**Duration:** 31m 35s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/donspinballpodcast/episodes/DPP-93-The-one-where-we-talk-about-Jaws-e2duerq

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## Analysis

Don discusses the newly teased Jaws pinball machine by Stern, analyzing leaked playfield imagery, cabinet aesthetics, pricing strategy, and production constraints. He compares it favorably to Godzilla mechanically and thematically, expresses concern about Premium availability being constrained to June (6 months out), and deliberates whether to preorder given market saturation and FOMO engineering. He also briefly hints at another major announcement coming the next day.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Jaws LE is priced at $12,999, matching Elvira Blood Red Kiss, Foo Fighters LE, and original Venom LE pricing — _Don states: 'the $12,999 LE level, this is the price that Elvira's Blood Red Kiss was at. This is the price that the Foo Fighters LE was at. This is the price that the Venom LE was at'_
- [HIGH] Foo Fighters Premium and LE are nearly identical with minimal cosmetic differences, providing poor value for $3,000 premium — _Don: 'The premium and the LE are nearly identical. The artwork is identical. There's a slight green tint to the cabinet art...but nothing drastic, nothing amazing...really weren't there to make me go $3,000 more'_
- [HIGH] Venom LE and Foo Fighters LE have both dropped below $10k on secondary market — _Don: 'Foo Fighters LE is going for sub-10k. Venom LE is going for sub-10k.'_
- [HIGH] Jaws Premium production run is very tight; some distributors report only 20 units allocation — _Don: 'the run of premiums is very tight...I've heard this from multiple other people that have been talking to their distributors. Um, some have gotten like 20 games, like that's it.'_
- [HIGH] Next Stern Premium allocation for Jaws won't be available until June (6 months away) — _Don's distributor (Jeff): 'the next run, which he did tell me that I would be able to get one in the next run, isn't until June. That's six months from now.'_
- [MEDIUM] Jaws features film assets (music/dialogue/video) pulled from the movie — _Don: 'people that seem like they would know or at least know people that know people that know people that know are saying that yeah, they actually pulled it off and they did get some assets here'_
- [HIGH] Jaws LE includes custom armor with shark bite cutout, speaker lights with shark cutouts, and themed shooter rod — _Don describes LE features: 'powder-coated armor...shark bite bitten out of it...speaker lights...shark cutouts...shooter rod'_
- [HIGH] Keith Elwin designed Jaws and is at the top of his design game with stellar track record — _Don: 'It's Elwynn this is his most recent game though he's got the most experience now making layouts that he ever has, and he's got nothing but stellar games that he's made already.'_
- [HIGH] Don's distributor indicated Pro allocation is not a constraint; Stern is actively pushing Pros to location operators — _Don: 'The pros don't seem to be a problem. Um, Stern even seems to be really interested on getting pros out on location.'_
- [MEDIUM] Jaws mechanically features an Orca upper playfield, shark popup mechanism, chum bucket with Newton ball, captive ball mechanism, and spinning reel shot — _Don's analysis of leaked imagery: detailed descriptions of playfield layout including 'Orca...four shots...chum bucket mech with the Newton ball...captive ball...spinner...fishing reel'_

### Notable Quotes

> "The market this year is so much different than it was last year...man, this is dropping faster than the Mandalorian, dude."
> — **Don**, ~3:30
> _Highlights market sentiment shift for premium pinball pricing—LE depreciation is now rapid and aggressive compared to 2023_

> "This is a completely different artwork, which really just rocks...That is what I want to see for a 12,999 LE"
> — **Don**, ~5:40
> _Establishes Jaws LE as setting new standard for value at $12,999 tier—contrasts with disappointing Foo Fighters/Venom differentiation_

> "This game may have the potential to rival Godzilla for top spot...the theme smashes Godzilla for sure."
> — **Don**, ~12:30
> _Positions Jaws as potentially competing with Godzilla for best modern Stern game despite mechanical uncertainty_

> "This is artificial engineered scarcity, and I don't know that that's the best approach."
> — **Don**, ~16:50
> _Directly critiques Stern's Premium supply constraint strategy as potentially counterproductive to long-term goodwill_

> "Six months from now we might have Metallica and Pokemon released...am I going to want to go crawling back to a January release of Jaws Premium at that time?"
> — **Don**, ~18:00
> _Articulates concrete concern that delayed availability will reduce purchase interest as competing games launch—illustrates FOMO decay risk_

> "So if I take this wait approach this year in 2024, my money is going to stay in the pocket, and I can kind of really look at the market."
> — **Don**, ~20:15
> _Establishes Don's decision to not preorder Jaws Premium due to supply constraints and competing release calendar_

> "Keith Elwin...he's got nothing but stellar games that he's made already. So this is a guy like top of his game, right?"
> — **Don**, ~27:40
> _Reinforces designer pedigree as key confidence signal for game quality despite lack of code visibility_

> "I've heard some other rumblings about something pretty cool in the pinball world that I'm not allowed to talk about yet, but I can tomorrow morning."
> — **Don**, ~30:50
> _Signals embargo lifting tomorrow with major industry announcement—creates anticipation for next episode_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Jaws | game | Stern Pinball machine designed by Keith Elwin, based on Steven Spielberg's 1975 film, featuring Orca upper playfield, shark popup mechanism, and premium LE edition at $12,999 MSRP. Released January 2024 with phased reveal strategy (Shark Week). |
| Stern Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Jaws, facing criticism for constraining Premium availability to 6-month windows and practicing FOMO-driven scarcity strategy. Focusing Pro distribution to location operators. |
| Keith Elwin | person | Legendary Stern Pinball designer of Jaws; credited as top-tier designer with stellar track record; speaker notes his experience and design maturity at time of Jaws creation. |
| Don | person | Host of Don's Pinball Podcast; collector/enthusiast with basement full of games; considering Jaws Premium preorder but hesitant due to 6-month supply constraints; launched Pinside mod shop. |
| Jeff | person | Don's distributor contact; indicated tight Premium allocation (some distributors reporting ~20 units), next Premium batch not until June, but Pro allocation plentiful. |
| Godzilla | game | Recent Stern cornerstone release; positioned as mechanically superior to Jaws with building collapse mechanic and wire form direction changes; thematically inferior per Don's analysis. |
| Foo Fighters | game | Stern LE at $12,999; criticized for minimal Premium/LE differentiation; poor value proposition with nearly identical artwork and limited cosmetic differences; trading sub-$10k secondary market. |
| Venom | game | Stern LE at $12,999; criticized for insufficient LE differentiation despite better armor design than Foo Fighters; trading sub-$10k secondary market; problematic pricing strategy example. |
| Elvira Blood Red Kiss | game | Stern LE at $12,999; held value better than Foo Fighters/Venom; featured completely different artwork and back glass; included accessories (dagger shooter rod, standard rod); sets quality standard for $12,999 tier. |
| Bond 60th Anniversary | game | Stern cornerstone released December/January (prior year); stumbled on launch, suffered availability delays, by time premiums available Don lost interest despite code improvements; cautionary example for Jaws timeline. |
| Pulp Fiction | game | Spooky Pinball game announced in 2023, still in production waiting list in January 2024; Don awaiting delivery ~12 months out; example of extended production delays tempering collector interest. |
| Labyrinth | game | Barrels of Fun game featuring two LCD screens, interactive topper with lit eyes and voice interaction; Don has on order expecting delivery end of February; planned as alternative entertainment while waiting for Jaws. |
| Iron Maiden | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game; Don owns modified/customized version considering resale at Don Co's Customs pricing to fund other acquisitions. |
| Metallica | game | Anticipated Stern release likely within 6 months (mid-2024); referenced as potential competing release that would draw interest/budget away from delayed Jaws Premium availability. |
| Pokemon | game | Anticipated Stern release likely within 6 months (mid-2024); referenced as potential hot new release competing with 6-month-old Jaws Premium for collector interest. |
| Black Knight Sword of Rage | game | Anticipated Stern rerun/remaster potentially releasing within 6 months; referenced as competing release in mid-2024 landscape. |
| Stranger Things Premium | game | Additional Stranger Things production run anticipated within 6 months; referenced as competing release within Jaws Premium timeline. |
| Looney Tunes | game | Anticipated release (manufacturer unclear) hitting stride mid-2024; referenced as competing release within Jaws Premium timeline. |
| Texas Chainsaw Massacre | game | Anticipated release (manufacturer unclear) hitting stride mid-2024; referenced as competing release within Jaws Premium timeline. |
| Barry's Food Truck | game | American Pinball game anticipated for mid-2024 release; referenced as competing release in Jaws Premium timeline. (Note: Don misspoke as 'Barry's Barbecue Challenge' may be reference.) |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Jaws teaser reveal and phased marketing (Shark Week), LE pricing strategy and value proposition across recent Stern releases, Premium production constraints and 6-month supply delays, Secondary market depreciation of recent Stern LEs (Foo Fighters, Venom), Playfield layout analysis and mechanical features (leaked imagery), Jaws vs. Godzilla comparison (mechanical vs. thematic), Stern's FOMO-driven scarcity strategy and long-term collector retention
- **Secondary:** 2024 release calendar saturation and competition for collector budget, Don's personal collection strategy and game acquisition philosophy
- **Mentioned:** Don's Pinside mod shop and customization offerings

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.55) — Don expresses strong enthusiasm for Jaws's mechanical design, theme quality, and Keith Elwin's pedigree, but frustration and resignation regarding Stern's Premium supply constraints, artificial scarcity strategy, and 6-month delays. He ultimately decides NOT to preorder despite game quality optimism. Positive toward game itself; negative toward manufacturer business practices and market conditions.

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** Pro allocation for Jaws plentiful and prioritized to location operators; Premium constrained; LE run tight. Suggests Stern optimizing for location revenue over home collector sales. (confidence: high) — Don: 'The pros don't seem to be a problem. Um, Stern even seems to be really interested on getting pros out on location...the run of premiums is very tight.'
- **[event_signal]** Jaws reveal executed via phased 'Shark Week' marketing strategy with daily teasers, photos, video leaks, and full reveal planned Friday. Significant community engagement/FOMO cycle. (confidence: high) — Don: 'Stern is doing Shark Week this week...we're going to have things coming each week or each day this week...the teaser came out today...photos began steadily leaking out'
- **[competitive_signal]** Jaws mechanically positioned to rival Godzilla for top Stern game status based on layout complexity, though thematic quality (film assets, call-outs) may ultimately determine winner. (confidence: medium) — Don: 'this game may have the potential to rival Godzilla for top spot...the theme is so much better...the call-outs are so much better. What call-outs did we get with Godzilla?'
- **[design_philosophy]** Jaws LE design emphasis on visual differentiation (custom shark-bite armor, speaker lights with cutouts, themed shooter rod) matches Elvira Blood Red Kiss approach, positioning it as strong value at $12,999 tier unlike Foo Fighters/Venom. (confidence: high) — Don: 'the Jaws LE looks much more packed than the Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary LE...it's got shimmery goodness...This is what I want to see for a $12,999 LE'
- **[leak_detection]** Multiple rounds of Jaws playfield/LE imagery leaking throughout first day (teaser → grainy photos → high-res photos → video → screen grabs). Leaked video already circulating on Facebook/YouTube despite embargo. (confidence: high) — Don: 'photos began steadily leaking out...grainy photo would show up, followed by like a much better resolution one, and then screen grabs started showing up...That LE video was at the end of the week, the one that's already been leaked around online'
- **[market_signal]** Secondary market depreciation of recent Stern LEs ($12,999 tier) below MSRP signals market saturation and value erosion. Venom and Foo Fighters both trading sub-$10k despite comparable pricing to successful Elvira Blood Red Kiss. (confidence: high) — Don: 'this is dropping faster than the Mandalorian, dude. I've seen Foo Fighters LE is going for sub-10k. Venom LE is going for sub-10k.'
- **[product_strategy]** Jaws Premium availability delayed 6 months (January teaser → June delivery), overlapping with other major releases (Metallica, Pokemon, Stranger Things, Looney Tunes, Black Knight, Texas Chainsaw) that will compete for collector interest and budget. (confidence: high) — Don's distributor: next Premium run 'isn't until June. That's six months from now.' Don forecasts: 'Six months from now we might have Metallica and Pokemon released.'
- **[rumor_hype]** Don hints at embargoed announcement releasing next morning (January 3rd) regarding 'something pretty cool in the pinball world'—likely major game reveal or manufacturer news. (confidence: medium) — Don: 'I've heard some other rumblings about something pretty cool in the pinball world that I'm not allowed to talk about yet, but I can tomorrow morning...I definitely have some comments and some takes on it.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Don's enthusiasm for Jaws waning due to production constraints; similar pattern with Bond 60th (released December/January prior year, lost interest by availability date, code catches up later but interest diminished). (confidence: high) — Don: 'And now I just don't really have much interest in it...By the time it was available, I don't really care...I'll go play on location.'
- **[business_signal]** Stern appears to be constraining Premium production to 6-month windows (only 20 units per distributor, next batch June) to artificially engineer FOMO and support secondary market pricing, per Don's speculation. (confidence: medium) — Don: 'I don't know if they're trying to generate more of that FOMO, like this game's hard to get...artificial engineered scarcity...maybe that would keep interest up.'
- **[technology_signal]** Jaws incorporates film assets (movie music, dialogue, video sequences) indicating Stern's continued evolution toward full licensed IP integration beyond prior games. (confidence: medium) — Don: 'people that seem like they would know...are saying that yeah, they actually pulled it off and they did get some assets here'

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## Transcript

 all right let's get settled in this is episode number now let's go with 93 for don's pinball podcast welcome to 2024 everybody it's season two of don's pinball podcast let's keep this going and we'll talk about today this episode head off in the first of the year first week of january we're not even three days deep yet and already we got a big shark in the room to talk about the Jaws teaser came out today. I'm sure you saw it. This was dominating the social airwaves all throughout the day. First, we got that teaser in the morning, and then we started hearing little rumors about this and that and the other, confirmations of things, the spinning reel, makeup in the right area of the machine. The floor flipper thing was becoming more solidified. And then as the day went on, photos began steadily leaking out. First, there was hushed tones about what people were seeing, and then all of a sudden like a grainy photo would show up, followed by like a much better resolution one, and then screen grabs started showing up and boom, boom, boom. Now we've seen the entirety of the play field. We've seen the LE cabinet. We've seen the armor. So we can talk about all that stuff. Stern is doing Shark Week this week, which is, you know, marketing-wise, a great approach to do that. You know, we're going to have things coming each week or each day this week. So we started with the teaser today. I think we're going to get, you know, some photos or something or a full reveal tomorrow and them talking about the game and teasing it. Then we'll get more of the videos. And I think that Ellie video was at the end of the week, the one that's already been leaked around online. I'm not going to share a link or anything to it because I still want to be invited to Pinball Expo, but it's out there. I've seen it. We've seen it. We've been talking about it. It's out there. It's all over the place. Just go Facebook. Heck, it showed up on YouTube for a while. I don't even know if that YouTube link is still up, but, like, anybody can just go and see it. So I'll talk about what we saw, and the rest we'll kind of speculate. Really what we've seen is the layout, the mechanisms, a lot of the shots, some quick little footage from the video, and then we've seen some of the artwork come out for that LE. That's all I've seen so far. Maybe you've seen more than I have. But let's start with how the cabinet looks and what Stern is doing with this LE trim level. We also did get confirmation of the price, too. That's unchanged, so thank you for that. So the $12,999 LE level, this is the price that Elvira's Blood Red Kiss was at. This is the price that the Foo Fighters LE was at. This is the price that the Venom LE was at before its precipitous drop down below $10K, taking Foo Fighters with it. What's up with these prices, man? The market this year is so much different than it was last year. When you could secure an LE, if you could get one, and then, you know, guaranteed to hold most of or if not all of its value, maybe even more in some cases. But man, this is dropping faster than the Mandalorian, dude. I've seen Foo Fighters LE is going for sub-10k. Venom LE is going for sub-10k. Blood Red Kiss appears to be holding pretty steady. I haven't seen it, but it's early yet with that. And that's a nuanced difference that we can talk about, especially when it comes to Jaws. Now, maybe no secret about the Foo Fighters reveal. The premium and the LE are nearly identical. The artwork is identical. There's a slight green tint to the cabinet art and a little bit of foil highlights here and there, but nothing drastic, nothing amazing. The armor was fairly plain. And then aside from the shaker motor and the HD glass and then the mirrored back glass, there's really not much else you're probably paying $3,000 extra for. So the effort really wasn't there. That carried through to Venom. I did like what they did with the armor on Venom, but honestly there wasn't enough there there to make me go $3,000 more to get that limited Venom, which is anything but. Those things are going to be new in boxes for 10 years. When it comes to the Elvira Blood Red Kiss, however, that was a departure. This is a completely different artwork, which really just rocks. The back glass looks great. The armor's cool. It's got all the benefits that came with the 40th Anniversary Edition as well, that $20,000 to $25,000 game when it released. Man, has that dropped in price. I saw one for $14,999 with a topper. Man, go get that right now. but the cabinet art on the Elvira Bloodbeard Kiss was also at that high level that we saw with the 40th anniversary. That is what I want to see for a 12,999 LE, and I think that's what we're getting here back to with Jaws. The artwork looks like movie poster inspired. I mean, it's essentially just open water, people swimming, and a shark down there in a bite, and when I think of Jaws, that's what I would expect to see, so I think it's elegant in its simplicity. I love that polar white armor that's on there, that color that they chose for that. It looks like the underbelly of a shark. And then the shark bite in the armor, I dig that. I like the long angle that comes down, too. So I'm liking this package, you know, as opposed to what I'm anticipating the premium to look like. So I like that they did that. They've done a couple other things, too. They're adding speaker lights, so thank you, Stern, for doing that. That's another point of difference. Granted, that's only a $79 to $99 upgrade, but it's cool. It's cool. And there's shark cutouts that are in front of the speaker lights. Those are cool, too. You know, yes, you can buy some of those 3D printers from somebody. But, again, it's something different that they're adding that's not on a premium. So there's more and more points of difference. So now when you look at that $3,000 upgrade, you're getting the powder-coated armor. That is custom. It's got the shark bite bitten out of it. The cabinet graphics, I'm sure, in person are going to look great. And that video, that grainy video that's been leaking around, you can see kind of the shimmering effect that's in there. So there's some of that foil print. It doesn't look like it rises to the level of the Elvira's But it's definitely better than What we saw with Foo Fighters The back glass looks cool Again simple That's what I want to see It's Jaws I think I'll go on that art in a Translight If I can find it in the grey market And add it to a premium if I ever do get one But that's cool So I'm glad they've done those things Also there's a shooter rod with it as well That's something they did with Elvira Something they have not done with Venom or Foo They haven't even released accessories for them Elvira's already got a topper out it's got a shooter rod that comes with it it was great, it was great one thing I noticed with my Blood Red Kiss not only did it come with that dagger shooter rod but it came with a standard one as well so you can switch back and forth and then there was a third the Creepo the Clown one that Stern official released as well so there's three shooter options available so I like that they're doing that going around, finishing the horn with the Jaws of the Leaf on the outside I do like the shooter rod I like the orange barrel, yellow barrel the buoy looks like it'll fit good in the hand that's important to me when it comes to shooter rods I'm a bit of a stickler for that I don't like ones that feel like I'm grabbing somebody's weird face I want something like the tactile man and I dig that I think it's a much better value than Venom was definitely much better value than Foo Fighter was 4LE let's talk about the gameplay field so we haven't seen the pro to see how stripped down it is I've heard everything from it's totally stripped down to it's only missing three major mechanisms. That seems like a lot. I really like the world that they created here for this Jaws. I love the art blades on the LE2. If I ever do get a version, I want those art blades, so please make them available, or somebody do a decent copy of them, because that is dope. I like the horizon of the water on the side. That looks really great. I haven't done a shot-for-shot comparison breakdown of everything. I'm going to wait until the official trailer is released to do that, so I can get in there with some better resolution and really tell what's going on. Um, but from what I can see, there's a lot of cool shots kind of fanned out there in the back. Um, but like different than, than I see venom because there's more, it seems like there's more interactivity, right? It not just fire everything towards the back and see what happens Uh you know it looks like there some um you know so some interesting uh interpolation of some mechanisms back there Uh so starting on the right with that uh spinner it looks like there some interesting interpolation of some mechanisms back there So starting on the right with that spinner it looks like they took the same mechanism from the odd job shoe from Bond 60th or the Avengers spinning mech, and they added a plastic on top of it, so it looks like a fishing reel. Also, I like how that little U-turn around that reel is shaped. It looks like, and I don't know this for sure, but it looks like you could hit it from either flipper, and it'll give some cool spin around and then hopefully back to a flipper again. It's Elwin. He designed that figure eight shot in Bond 60. It's so great. So if this reel behaves like that, it's really going to be fun to have that there. I love, love, love the right, what would be the orbit shot, but it goes up into the ramp. There's a dock building up there, and it's either a building from a fishing pier or like part of the cityscape of Amity. The billboard is up there on the side of the building. I love that. Somebody make a 3D model of that so we can put that in there. You need that full town back there. But I love how he shoots up, goes behind the back of the play field, and then comes around, serves that wire form to the right flipper. That looks really fun. I'm still not as sure exactly what's going on with the right in lane and out lane there on the side. There's a small mini flipper there on the right. It looks like it shoots the ball all the way up and to the left, either to the drop targets or up above them. And I'm still not sure exactly mechanistically what's going on with the whole left upper corner of the area. It's dominated by that giant upper play field. It is the Orca. There's four shots that I counted up there. That's great. It looks like there's either a Vuck or just some kind of directed shot into a 180 ramp to get up to the upper play field there, if you've seen that. Grainy video. I can't tell for sure what's going on. I don't know if around that chum bucket mech with the Newton ball, if there's a diverter that's in there, if it's just a horseshoe shot. If one side goes to the 180 ramp wire form that feeds the left flipper and the other shot bends around, kind of like how Deadpool does when it's going up to the katana shot where it's kind of meandering around the play field and up into the ramp. But it seems, I don't know, the physics, just looking at it, it doesn't seem like you could shoot a ball strong enough to be able to make that 90-degree turn and then go up that 180 ramp. So maybe there's a locking mechanism and then a Vuk or something that shoots, you know, a coil, a plunger or something that could kick it up to the upper play field. We'll have to wait and see until we see more. Everything's a bit hazy as far as what goes on in the upper play field. Looks like there's another spinner up there themed to the ship's wheel. Looks like it may be repeatable from that upper flipper there. Looks like it's a rightward-facing flipper, so is all this controlled by the right flipper button? You know, both the mini one on the outlane area, the main right bottom one, and then the one up on the playfield. That's kind of cool. You know, three flippers on one button, another one on the other. Looks like there is another wireform ramp that you can access somewhere up there on the Orca. and then there was two areas where it looks like it drains off. Again, hard to say. I'm just not sure where they go. One looks like it just kind of drops off and feeds just right back into the play field. The other one looks like it goes into a wire form, and I don't know what happens to it after that. Again, we'll know at the end of this week. But there's a lot going on in that play field. You know, we did see the shark popping up underneath that speedboat in the middle. That speedboat's not the orca from the film. It's just a speedboat. So that's kind of cool. There's two boats in there. Looks like there's a captive ball mechanism. I'm not sure exactly how that functions or anything without seeing more about it. But from what I've been able to hear from other people, and I've seen what's been posted on Facebook, I've been looking around Pinside, this is kind of what I've been able to cobble together. I guess, you know, this isn't even enough to get our first impressions. But it looks mechanistically like there's a lot of interesting shots that are here at least. So this game's going to get compared to Godzilla. Is this better than Godzilla? Is it not? I was thinking about that today. What makes Godzilla so great? the fact that the building collapses and stores three balls that release as a multiball as the building is destroyed is phenomenal the fact that as the building is damaged and drops levels the wire forms actually change direction as far as which one's served by which ramp I think that's great how the play field and the gameplay can change that much now this is the premium in LE the pro of course as a static building doesn't have any of this stuff it's all virtual locks and what not there's that captive ball that goes to the bridge, the bridge collapses, there's a bridge multiball, there's tank multiball, there's all this stuff going on. So I would say, based on not even enough information for first impressions, I could say this game may have the potential to rival Godzilla for top spot. I'm saying that because what I don't know and can't speculate on is the code. So what I know of this game so far, the theme smashes Godzilla for sure. You know, Godzilla is a classic cheesy monster movie. Jaws is a legendary film, man. I hold it in the same regards as films like Ghostbusters, right? For those of you that haven't seen the film or only saw it back in antiquity, take another look at it. You know, it gets the reputation of being this, you know, shark monster movie. And it's really not. You know, to me, this is a movie about the characters. The shark is just background. The shark is just the reason for everybody to be on screen. but it's the characters and their interaction, their dialogue and the situations and like, you know, the subtle humor that comes by and like the humanity and the terror and like everything, how it mixes together. Like that's what the movie's about. The shark is just set dressing, right? Bruce the shark, the animatronic that gave Spielberg nothing but problems, right? But it was just this, you know, this relatively new director who just made a big splash with this film, with these characters in that time period. That's what makes Jaws Jaws. that's why it's so much better than any of the other sequels that have ever come out, Sharknado and all that and The Meg and all of that business this is what makes the film so if we get film assets which people are saying that yeah, people that seem like they would know or at least know people that know people that know people that know are saying that yeah, they actually pulled it off and they did get some assets here, so if we have not just a lunchbox but we have the game, the art looks good the gameplay looks interesting If they've got the film assets and the call-outs, and that combined it with some good integrated code and some good integrated music and lights, that's what can make this game rise to that level of Godzilla. I think mechanistically, Godzilla is probably going to take the crown there if you were to look at the whole Excel spreadsheet or BART graph on every little bit. But the theme is so much better with Jaws, potentially, than Godzilla. The call-outs are so much better. What call-outs did we get with Godzilla? They had to invent these other kind of characters that had the cool quips and everything, but they weren't anything from really that theme. They were just kind of thrown in there, you know, shoot the wamps, right? And they're great, and I love them, but I think they have the potential to be even better in Jaws. So once we see the code, once we see the modes, like imagine it. What if there's a way to get the ball locked or something, and then all the lights go dark, and it's night, and it's the ocean, and that fin is going around the play field and you're hunting that shark and then the shark bites you and everything just goes red and silent and there's just one klaxon type sound or something to punch you in the gut when the lights are low except for the blood. Imagine it's the ocean, so you've got waves of blue and white going out in waves across the play field. The oceans can get turbulent, they can get calm. There's so much that they can do with the lights and the music to really add that atmosphere and that from grainy pictures, grainy video, grainy vidcaps, we don't really get a way to capture that. So I'm optimistic for Jaws. I'm going to have to remain optimistic because when I did touch base back with Jeff, and not his fault, I was hemming and hawing on being able to get this game. It's coming out right at the time of the year that taxes are due, so I didn't want to overcommit. But when I went to talk to him today about securing know securing a premium uh they gone Uh apparently the run of premiums is very tight Uh, I've heard this from multiple other people that have been talking to their distributors. Um, some have gotten like 20 games, like that's it. Uh, the pros don't seem to be a problem. Um, Stern even seems to be really interested on getting pros out on location. And I heard from Jeff that if I want to order a pro, like he's got me no problem. but really when I've seen and I've heard of people talking about the mechanisms that are in the premium that aren't in the pro, things like the shark coming out from under the play field, things like the orca upper play field, I mean you could argue with Foo Fighters, was the upper play field really necessary, was it not? I quite enjoyed it, but I don't know that it added a ton to the game that you wouldn't otherwise see on the pro. For sure this orca, if what I'm hearing about it is true and what kind of sense I made out of a grainy still image makes sense, this does seem something like really needs to be in the game. We'll know more later. Now, the chum bucket needs to be in there. The captive balls need to be in there. The reels need to be in there. The spinners need to be in there. So we'll see. I don't know all what's going to be removed from the Pro, but if it's drastically reduced, I'm not even interested in a Pro. What I would like to come in and add is a premium because I think that's the best bang for buck. I don't know that I've seen anything in the LE that I couldn't add to the premium such as the powder coated armor that LE armor can be made the speaker grill inserts the lights and everything I can add that I've got the ability if you want to go ahead and just get the LE so you have the nice addition you don't have to mess with it that's totally fine if you're me that takes joy in tinkering and creating these things yourself to save a couple bucks here and there that's kind of where I would want to come in so the problem is it sounds like they're going to make the pros. They're going to run through the premium or the LEs. Man, words are hard. And then when it comes to the premiums, it's a very short run of them. Not that many are being produced. And then the next run, which he did tell me that I would be able to get one in the next run, isn't until June. That's six months from now. That's like 10 years in pinball terms, man. Six months from now. What the heck? This is the part of pinball I don't enjoy is getting hyped up for a game on release, putting some money down on it, and then crickets for 6 to 12 to 18 to 24 months. Man, that is not fun at all because you're going to be seeing other games releasing, other accessories releasing, and your budget is tied up in a game that you preordered a year ago. Look at the Cactus Canyon people that are waiting. Look at all of us still waiting for Pulp Fiction. in 2025 when Pulp Fiction finally gets made and produced are you still going to be as interested as you were in 2023 when it was announced heck no man so like I'm in a position where you know you know do I want to put some good money down now and then just like wait six months for when it comes out six months from now let's do a little forecasting what's going to happen let's just stick with Stern six months from now we might have Metallica and Pokemon released you And then am I going to want to go crawling back to a January release of Jaws Premium at that time when, like, Pokemon is the hot new thing, when Metallica Spike 3 with the Expression Light Kit and, like, the upgraded music package and the whole thing looks like a road case and it's got, like, an articulable snake or some such? Like, am I going to want to go back and get the six-month-old game at that point? I can't say that I will. So I'm in a bit of a weird position, you know. I'm a guy that kind of likes to free up some space and get the hot new game and talk about it and play it and everything. But there was another game that released around this time a year ago that also kind of suffered the same fate. And now I just don't really have much interest in it. And that's the Bond Cornerstone, right? That was released around December, January, stumbled on launch. And then by the time it was available, I don't really care because other stuff came out that was much more interesting and compelling to me. And now that the code is finally caught up with where it should be, I've already kind of played it a ton and I'm just not that interested. I still think it's a fun game to play, but so is Deadpool. And I can play that on location anywhere. I've gotten my fill of it. I wouldn't be excited to unbox it. I'd be like, oh, it's one of these. So is that what's going to happen in June when these premiums come out? I don't know the reasoning behind this with Stern. I don't know if they're trying to generate more of that FOMO, like this game's hard to get. I got to get on a year-long waiting list just to get one. I really want to get one. And then when they go up for sale in the secondary market, they're going to command higher prices so there'll still be a frenzy for them. But it's like this artificial engineered scarcity, and I don't know that that's the best approach. Now, I don't have a business degree or anything, but maybe there is an angle to doing that. Maybe that would keep interest up. But come on, man. This is L1's next cornerstone after Godzilla. There's going to be interest for this for years. Let's, like, satiate some people here and build some goodwill. Now, it's nothing set in stone here. They may announce Friday that they're making 1,000 more premiums, and they've bumped the Venom and Bond runs to six months from now. Hopefully that happens, and then I would be interested, because I know for the first six months of the year, that's probably when my Jaws interest is going to be the highest. And so it's going to temper a bit. I think it's still going to be a great game, but there's going to be other great games out there six months from now. Six months? That's the middle of the summer, man. Come on. We're going to have two other games from Stern probably. Maybe that Black Knight Sword of Rage rerun. More Stranger Things premiums. Looney Tunes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre will be like hitting their stride and getting out there. We're going to see Barry's Food Truck from American Pinball. Sorry, let me take a moment. Let me think. Talk about chimichangas. Oh, Lord. Yeah, I don't know, man. I don't know. Sure. All right. And Centaurs will be trickling out of Australia. Who else is left? Jersey Jack will have another game out. Maybe that will be Harry Potter. You know, imagine if Harry Potter is dropped in May, and you're sitting there with your money tied up for a Stern game that's six months old already, and, like, Jersey Jack has the killer app. So if I take this weight approach this year in 2024, my money is going to stay in the pocket, and I can kind of really look at the market. I've got a basement full of games. I'm not hurting for anything new right now. Um, you know, I can always turn and burn if I need to. I've got a great looking Iron Maiden and I'd like to get that out for Don Co's Customs Pricing. Um, you know, price low for the market, you know, for the price that you could get an unmodded game, you can go ahead and take mine with the full powder coat and everything, man, just to, just to move it on and make somebody smile here. That's what we do here. That's what the Dream Makers at Don's Pinball Podcast. That's what we're looking to do, you know? So, um, I could even offer up my Godzilla if one's available. So I don't know. I don't really have a choice in the matter because they're gone, right? The few premiums that were available have already gone somehow. So, you know, I'm not going to fight with people over it. You know, I'm not going to, you know, jingle all the way this BS, right? You know, push old ladies over at the Walmart trying to grab the last, you know, audio upgrade package for my LCD television. Forget it, man. If you want it that much, go ahead and have it. If you've got a fervor for this game, don't let me stand in your way. I don't mind getting excited about something and like cool I got to score one but if I have to step over somebody to get one or nudge somebody out of the way or call five different places looking for one I'd just rather sit back and watch because the premiums, they're not limited if Stern wants money, they're going to make more there'll be a point six months from now that if I want one, I can get one so we'll let it go I'll go back to sitting there twiddling my thumbs waiting for Pulp Fiction 12 months from now I got a labyrinth on order I very confident that by the end of February right around the time that I expect to get this premium Jaws anyway I have a labyrinth to play with there's two LCD screens in it there's a topper that's interactive it talks to you, the eyes light up it looks like Muppets sitting up there looking at me I'm going to be enraptured with that and maybe I'll just go play Jaws on location for the first few months and then halfway through the year see if there's enough in it there that I really need to own it If I do at that point, maybe I go at it. Maybe I don't. I'm not losing sleep either way. I'm going to have me a Labyrinth. I'll be pining for that Pulp Fiction, and I'll have two new Spookies to play. I think that's plenty. But I guess my first impression is that I am excited about getting to play this game. I think it looks pretty cool. If you've been skipping the last five releases of games, sitting on that money, then, yeah, go ahead and get this one. I think the LE has the most value that we've seen from a cornerstone for sure. you know Elvira seemed to be more of a one off I would say that this Jaws LE looks much more packed than the Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary LE that was just released and that was the same price that was the same price it got you a brown powder coat and a back glass and some cabinet art with the dinosaur that wasn't even in Jurassic Park this one's got shimmery goodness it looks like the VHS copy of the movie it's what I would have expected it's Elwynn this is his most recent game though he's got the most experience now making layouts that he ever has, and he's got nothing but stellar games that he's made already. So this is a guy like top of his game, right? A guy that also takes into account the code with his layout. Yeah, so there's no way this game is not a complete blowout, man. But it doesn't matter because I can get one. So if I can't get one, should I even care? I'll go play on location. Locations, go get your pros. Good locations, go get your LEs. I'll come by and put my greasy mitts on them, throw my $10 through there, grab a drink, and then go get some lunch. And I think that would be completely appropriate. So we're, what is it? It's the second. We're two days into this year, and this is what we got so far. I've heard some other rumblings about something pretty cool in the pinball world that I'm not allowed to talk about yet, but I can tomorrow morning. So that's all I'm going to say about that. I definitely have some comments and some takes on it. And I can't wait to talk about it more when the embargo lifts. So that will be happening. That's all I'm really going to put out about that. So keep an eye, you know, sleep in a little bit tomorrow. Go get your Egg McMuffin and then scroll through Facebook. Hit up Nap Arcade. You'll see what I'm talking about. And it's something that looks very exciting. But I do have some takes, and I can't wait to cut loose on that. What else happened today? I'm working on my mods I just launched a mod store on Pinside Don's Swap Shop, go check it out I've got the Elvira Crypt facades that I've made I found the files online, I've printed them up I picked the colors I think work the best with them as well as some other customization options it's interactive with the game, it replaces the front plastic on the crypt for the Elvira Blood Red Kiss Edition and also, first to announce here I have an edition for the premium LEs and 40th anniversary edition and limited edition and couch edition and basically every other edition of Elvira's House of Horrors. If you want a crypt facade and you don't want to pay $200 and you can live without the LED eyes, I've got them for $60 on Pinside right now. Go check them out. They're in production. I've got five of each left ready to sell. They went up yesterday, and already I've sold out half of my stock. So I'm back into production creating some more, and it's not a limited run. I'm going to have them, but if you want to get one, get your order in. $60 gets it to you. It's on pin side, under pin don. I have them up right now for the Elbrider Blood Bread Kiss. Go check them out. Go to my YouTube page. I've posted a short of what it looks like and how it interacts. I took some red kind of thick mylar material. It's actually DOT certified for red brake lights. It's thick, and it covers up that deadhead crypt sign and the two bottom skulls. So when the crypt light flasher goes off, red is coming out of the eyeballs of the two skulls on the bottom and the nameplate, and you've got these goofy, spooky skulls there sitting on top. I'm starting to work with other editions of it, too. If you're kind of familiar with what it looks like, the skulls are white with just clear eyes. So if you do want to put some LEDs in there aftermarket, you can do that. Also, I made an edition with red plastic filament eyes. So it's just static, but they're red. And I'm thinking of making a black one too. And I'll offer that as a free option. You can pick whichever one you want. But $60, $10 shipping. They're on Pinside right now. Go get them. We are shipping. I shipped three of them today. Also, I'm happy to report that I sent out my first production prototype of my, what I'm calling my gargoyle horror themed pinball topper. This was the one that I created for Elvira. This is the one that won the best homebrew topper award at Chicago's Pinball Expo this year, which was amazing. It's been reintegrated. It's 3.0 right now. And those candlesticks now have their own colored LEDs within them that are interactive with the game's general illumination. So when the game goes dark, they go dark. When the game lights up, they light up. When the GI strobes, they strobe. It's a fantastic touch. They're underlit with LEDs, and they look much better than the one that I had on the show floor with all the zip ties and everything on it. now everything's integrated and i've hidden the wiring a very simple install it just goes into either a regular outlet or the service outlet of your machine for the leds that light from underneath and they're rgb you can change the colors whatever you want it comes in remote control or the uh the the lights themselves they they plug into one of the general illumination bulbs on the playfield pick anyone you want i picked the one in the back of the the playfield there so it's out of the way. You won't even see it. Swap the bulb and it's wired, ready to go. Looks fantastic. So I shot a featurette the other day. I'm going to go and edit that down. That'll be up on YouTube. And then these will enter production sometime in the next few weeks. They're going to be very limited availability because I'm hand-making all these things. I've got to fabricate the metal bits myself. So they're handmade. There's a bill of materials that are in this that are not consequential and I haven't yet kind of focused on price or anything yet but if you want to get in early you can always email me at donspinballpodcastgmail.com the first one that goes out will be probably the lowest price they're ever going to be just kind of to test the market and see where they're at so if you want to take a gamble on it you want to check it out go ahead and do so look for the featurette video to be coming hopefully later this week when I have some time to edit otherwise I'm making the Elvira mods people are really digging them I sent out a couple of review copies and people are already chomping to get at some. So if you want to get in on one, um, I'm going to be making them as fast as I can. But if you want to get one shipped right now, I do have five of each style available. I'll be putting up the, uh, the purple one here probably the next 20 minutes. So go check that out on a pin side. Um, you know, be cool to yourself and others. Let me know what you think of jaws. Jump on the discord. We're all having a great time over there. Um, and, there's more coming from 2024, man. We ain't slowing down now. Uh, Hit my outro music, would you, Maestro? Don's Pinball Podcast, gmail.com. Check out the Patreon slash Don's Pinball Podcast. Join the $5, $10, or $20 producer level and get in some insights, man. We've been talking Jods in there all day behind the double paywall. It's a cool place to be. Look for me at TPF this year. And more coming, man. We're just going to keep dropping. We've got more news and things. There'll probably be another show tomorrow, man. Just keep listening. Follow the Facebook page. I love all of you.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: b9e4122a-1ec3-4fc5-8955-c6cd4bd0f688*