# Episode 1203: "Pokemon LEs Have Left The Building!"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2026-03-27  
**Duration:** 21m 55s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-1203-les-154095699

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## Analysis

Kaneda discusses Pokémon (Premium/LE) shipments beginning (all 750 units leaving Stern's facility), praises Stern's manufacturing efficiency, critiques packaging decisions vs. cheaper Star Wars boxes, and highlights production timeline issues at Turner Pinball (Yukon taking 24-28 months for 500 units). Major concerns raised about transparency in pre-order expectations, Cirqus Voltaire remaster potential, and the quality/viability of newer indie games like Three Musketeers.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] All 750 Pokémon (Premium/LE) units have left Stern's facility — _Kaneda, opening segment - verified observation of lined-up games at distributors_
- [MEDIUM] Stern can manufacture all LE units in one week, then 700-800 Premiums and 800 Pros the next week — _Kaneda's comparison of Stern's production capacity vs. other manufacturers_
- [HIGH] Turner Pinball production schedule is 24-28 months to complete all 500 units — _Kaneda citing direct communication with Chris Turner on live chat_
- [HIGH] Stern caught and fixed a major railing/post/orbit issue before Pokémon (Premium/LE) production began — _Kaneda reporting based on early production information_
- [MEDIUM] Pokémon (Premium/LE) shooter rod is weak and may require spring adjustment — _Kaneda reporting customer feedback about custom LE handles affecting ball eject power_
- [HIGH] Stern cannot legally ship Pokemon to New Zealand due to contractual restrictions with The Pokemon Company — _Kaneda citing Operation Pinball/Vanessa explanation of canceled order incident_
- [MEDIUM] American Pinball has six manufacturing lines and could potentially contract-manufacture for other boutique makers — _Kaneda speculation about manufacturing capacity solutions_
- [MEDIUM] Cirqus Voltaire remaster planned to sell 750 units with two editions — _Kaneda discussing Brian (American Pinball) plans based on incomplete information_

### Notable Quotes

> "Stern Pinball manufacturing power is insane. One month Stern Pinball manufacturing power is insane."
> — **Kaneda**, ~4:30
> _Emphasizes Stern's competitive manufacturing advantage over boutique makers_

> "If you are even at 250, you are not seeing your game until maybe the end of 2027."
> — **Kaneda**, ~12:15
> _Critical claim about Turner Pinball's extended wait times for mid-series orders_

> "Not really. Because if you know your production schedule is that slow, what you need to do is only take orders for that year that you could make."
> — **Kaneda**, ~13:45
> _Critique of Turner Pinball's order collection strategy vs. transparency_

> "I used to buy three Stern OLEs and it was like 18 grand. Now I buy three LEs and it's the same price."
> — **Kaneda**, ~22:30
> _Market pricing comparison showing inflation in limited edition pricing_

> "The whole thing looks AI created and you're just not going to sell."
> — **Kaneda**, ~24:45
> _Dismissal of Hexa Pinball's Three Musketeers quality/marketability_

> "If you don't have that in there, that's a huge, huge miss in terms of what people love about Pokémon."
> — **Kaneda**, ~32:15
> _Kaneda's expectation that Pokemon evolution mechanics must be in the game code_

> "I am excited about Pokemon and where Stern takes the code. That is going to be, I think, one of the most looked at and observed things in pinball this year."
> — **Kaneda**, ~30:45
> _Pokemon code quality positioned as major focal point for industry in 2026_

> "Now is a great time to release a new game... You don't want to release it when Stern or JJP's got a new game."
> — **Kaneda**, ~26:00
> _Commentary on launch timing strategy and market windows_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; primary speaker and analyst throughout episode |
| Chris Turner | person | Founder/operator of Turner Pinball; discussed extensively regarding Yukon Yeti production delays and scheduling transparency |
| George Gomez | person | Pinball designer; co-designer of Pokemon LE with Jack Danger; mentioned in context of Stern's design rationale |
| Jack Danger | person | Pinball designer; co-designer of Pokemon LE (layout/toys); mentioned regarding Pokemon Company collaboration |
| Brian | person | Owner/operator of American Pinball; mentioned regarding Circus Voltaire remaster and manufacturing capability |
| Rick | person | Designer/operator associated with Pedretti Gaming; criticized for handling Funhaus and slated for Totem/Theater of Magic remasters |
| Vanessa | person | Representative of Operation Pinball; provided clarification on Pokemon LE cancellation incident |
| [name withheld pending review] | person | Code programmer for Pokemon LE (implied from KB context) |
| Pokemon | game | Stern Pinball's 30th anniversary celebration game; 750 LE units shipping; three-tier pricing ($6,999 Pro, $9,699 Premium, $12,999 LE) |
| Yukon | game | Turner Pinball's game; 500 unit limited run with 24-28 month production timeline; criticized for lack of transparent delivery schedule |
| Cirqus Voltaire | game | American Pinball remaster of classic Williams game; planned for 750 units; two editions; screen placement TBD; pricing ~$12,000 |
| Three Musketeers | game | Hexa Pinball game; criticized by Kaneda as low-quality and unlikely to sell |
| [name withheld pending review] | game | Pinball game from Swedish manufacturer (name unconfirmed); announced for Q1 release but no product shown as of spring |
| Funhouse | game | Pedretti Gaming game; cited as commercial and quality failure; 750 unit sales target |
| Totem | game | Upcoming remaster by Pedretti Gaming; concern raised about manufacturer quality |
| Theatre of Magic | game | Upcoming remaster by Pedretti Gaming; concern raised about manufacturer quality |
| Stern Pinball | company | Primary manufacturer; praised for manufacturing efficiency and Pokemon LE rollout; criticized for plain LE packaging |
| Turner Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer; Yukon Yeti producer; criticized for lack of transparent production timeline communication |
| American Pinball | company | Manufacturer handling Circus Voltaire remaster and other titles; noted for six manufacturing lines |
| Pedretti Gaming | company | Manufacturer of Funhaus (flop) and upcoming Totem/Theater of Magic remasters; reputation for quality concerns |
| Hexa Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Three Musketeers; criticized for AI-generated art and low sales prospects |
| Operation Pinball | company | Distributor; Vanessa involved in clarifying Pokemon LE order cancellation incident |
| Pokemon Company | company | IP holder; described as difficult to work with but excited about game quality; controls geographic shipping restrictions |
| The Pokemon Company | company | Entity enforcing territorial distribution restrictions preventing New Zealand shipments |

### Signals

- **[product_launch]** All 750 Pokemon LE units have left Stern's manufacturing facility; Premium and Pro tiers also shipping (confidence: high) — Kaneda observes lined-up games at distributors and confirms shipment window; expects weekend unboxings
- **[manufacturing_signal]** Stern's weekly output (750 LE, 700-800 Premium, 800 Pro) exceeds annual capacity of boutique manufacturers (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's calculation that Stern can make other companies' annual output in one month
- **[supply_chain_signal]** Turner Pinball's 24-28 month production schedule for 500 Yukon Yeti units creates massive fulfillment delays (confidence: high) — Chris Turner confirmation to Kaneda; orders placed today won't ship until late 2027; customers unaware of delays
- **[product_concern]** Pokemon LE units have weak shooter rod requiring potential spring adjustment; caused by custom LE handle design (confidence: medium) — Multiple customer reports of ball eject power issues; Stern aware and potentially monitoring early feedback
- **[product_concern]** Major railing/post/orbit issue identified and corrected before Pokemon LE production; Stern prioritized Pro/Premium shipment first (confidence: high) — Kaneda credits Stern for catching issue early; LEs shipped without defect due to staggered rollout strategy
- **[licensing_signal]** Stern/Pokemon Company contractual restriction prevents direct shipment of Pokemon pinball machines to New Zealand (confidence: high) — Operation Pinball explanation of canceled order; territorial distribution requirements enforced
- **[market_signal]** LE pricing has increased such that three Stern OLEs historically cost ~$18K; three LEs now cost same amount (confidence: medium) — Kaneda's historical pricing comparison showing stagnant total cost for reduced unit count
- **[product_strategy]** Turner Pinball marketed Yukon Yeti with 'arriving summer' messaging without disclosing 24-28 month full production timeline (confidence: high) — Kaneda's review of Facebook promotional materials showing lack of delivery date clarity; customers blindsided
- **[sentiment_shift]** Kaneda's assessment that indie/boutique games (Three Musketeers, Resident Evil) lack marketability and quality vs. established IP remasters (confidence: medium) — Dismissal of Three Musketeers as 'AI created'; disapproval of Funhaus quality; skepticism of Pedretti Gaming's track record
- **[code_update]** Pokemon LE owners expect evolution mechanics and Pokédex integration with Insider Connected; code depth key to success (confidence: medium) — Kaneda emphasizes evolution as 'huge miss' if absent; identifies Pokemon code quality as 'most looked at thing in pinball this year'
- **[business_signal]** Boutique manufacturers (Turner, Hexa, Pedretti) lack contract manufacturing partnerships despite available capacity at American Pinball (confidence: medium) — Kaneda suggests Turner could use American Pinball's six lines; notes no boutique makers have pursued this strategy
- **[product_launch]** Window of opportunity for new game releases exists between major Stern/JJP announcements; Resident Evil manufacturer may be missing window (confidence: medium) — Kaneda notes Resident Evil promised Q1 but not delivered; encourages announcements during calm periods vs. competing launches

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## Transcript

Welcome everybody! Happy Friday! Welcome to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. I'm your host Kaneda. We're gonna talk about what's happening in the pinball world. I am looking at photos of Pokemon L.E. It looks so good! It looks so colorful and beautiful. That Pikachu is huge. The ball is big. Everything about this game still to this day, and I mean this, puts a smile on my face. It's a beautiful day. Thank the Lord we are all here and alive on planet Earth. Every day above ground is a good day. And this hobby has brought so many great people together. As the world is on fire out there and everybody's paying attention to all the negativity, we get to geek out over pinball and that is amazing. And I want to thank our new club members this month. We've got some great new people joining the Kaneda Club. We've got Blueden. We've got Jason at Reno Pinball Underground. Jason, thank you so much for the very, very generous contribution to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. We got Adam Bortolussi. We got Craig Young back in the house. JB Vincent, which I think is the man who owns American Pinball. Jeff Gordon, Tony Morimoto, Russ Flaman. We've got Pin Jedi. These are all in just the month of March. We've got Birdman, Pinball Conspiracy, Rob Sorin. Thank you guys for joining the Kaneda Club. And look, if you want a shout out, just email me. I'll give anybody a shout out. But here we go. It is Pokemon LE week. I think all 750 have left the building. I've seen these games lined up. I'm not sure if Stern is sending like stickers to put on the numbered games. I've seen some distros have like the Pokemon sticker and then the corresponding character on the box. I don't think people are gonna save these boxes. I want to talk a minute about these Spike 3 white boxes for a minute. I want to talk about something right now. Why is it that the cheapest games that Stern makes, the damn Costco Star Wars games, get these beautiful boxes that have artwork on the box and we spend $13,000 on a 750 limited edition Pokemon machine and we just get a standard box. You know, and I talked to George about this once and he said, like, Chris, if we do this on the LEs, people are gonna save the boxes and he's not wrong. And it is a weird thing to hold on to, but people would, they would find it special that they had like the LE box to the game. I think Stern could do a little bit more. The white is nice though, I won't lie, I like the white, it looks really good. So, Pokemon LE is making their way out into the world, 750, and here's the thing, I just want to see more people unbox this game and play it. I want to see more unboxings. There's only like one or two so far, but I think we're gonna see a lot of these things unboxed this weekend. And it's gonna be a really, really fun weekend for a lot of you because it's not just the LEs. The premiums are out the door. It is absolutely incredible. It's like when you think about Stern Pinball, they can make all the LEs in one week. And then the next week they can make like seven to eight hundred premiums and eight hundred pros. It's like this company could make every single other pinball company's annual allotment in like one month. One month Stern Pinball's manufacturing power is insane. And it's fun, right? Because what I love about this is that you get to play the game during the window of hype. And the wait is not that long. And I think that's important, right? It's like you don't want to see a movie trailer and then you can't see the movie for two years. And we are going to talk about this with Turner Pinball because on our chat the other night we had a live. Chris Turner came in and we learned about the actual production schedule of Yukon Yeti, which most people don't know about. And we're going to talk about it. And it's an issue. It's an absolute issue. The amount of time between if you place an order today and when you're going to get your game. So thank the pinball gods that we do have Stern pinball cranking out machines this quickly. It is really really exciting. And I just want to encourage each and every one of you, please don't tack on tacky mods to Pokemon. I've seen people adding stuff. There's a new Pokedex thing for 50 bucks here, $50 there. It just blocks the beauty of the game. This game, again, another game where I don't think it needs mods. If there's any mod, maybe the Pokéball could light up like it does on the show. I wouldn't start tacking stuff onto this game. I wouldn't tack stuff onto Beetlejuice. I wouldn't tack stuff onto Pokemon. It's got enough. It's got enough in it. Just enjoy it and get the game going. Now I'm hearing a few things that the shooter rod is a little weak, that you might need to change the spring. Something about when Stern makes these custom LE shooter rod handles, I think it changes the ball eject power in the game as well, might need an adjustment. But look, Stern caught the major issue with this game, which was that railing by the post and the orbit. All those have been fixed on all games moving forward. We should all be thankful that they didn't run all the LEs first with that issue. That would have been really, really annoying. I think it is smart to do what they're doing, get the pros out first, get them on location, get people playing, and then get the LE guys their game immediately after catching any issues you might catch early on on those operated games. Smart move. All right, so, Pokemon LE, can't wait to get it. Let's talk about Turner. On the other front, it's like if you placed an order today, let's just say hypothetically you placed an order for Yukon Yeti today and he sold 250, sold through, they haven't sold all the customers yet, all those 250. But here's the issue. When he announced this game, all dealers and distros were communicating, place your order today. And they said in their communications, and I was there, I saw it all on Facebook, I saw all of the promotional materials, if you will, for Yukon Yeti. Everybody would just put, it's arriving this summer. Okay, so production starts this summer. Okay. But what they didn't tell you was this: the production schedule for Turner Pinball to make all 500 games, Chris has told us that that will take them, I think it's something like 24 to 28 months or 26 months. It is over two years to get to number 500. So if you are even at 250, you are not seeing your game until maybe the end of 2027. And I don't think people knew that. And that's an issue. That is a real, real issue. Chris is a nice guy and he says like I've been upfront about this, but not really. Not really. Because if you know your production schedule is that slow, what you need to do, I would do if I were him, is I would only take the orders for that year that I could make. Okay, so if we can only make 250 games in one year, I don't want to take deposits, which are non-refundable. I want you to go on a list for free. And so when the first 250 get made, I guarantee you, you will be able to buy one of those games for less than $10,000 and you won't have to wait a year. The code's not done. It's not going to be done for like a year like every single game out there in the world, especially the boutique code. And so why? It just doesn't make any sense. And it does beg the question, if you can't make at least 500 games a year, you need to figure out a solution. And look, they are figuring out a bigger manufacturing facility, but even then he said the new facility is going to be somewhere in the vicinity of 16 months to 22 months to build 500 games. So none of it is fast. And again, all I'm saying to each and every one of you is you got to be willing to go on that ride. And I was talking to people on my chat who were going to order the game or did order the game and had no idea that the wait was that long. And so what I think Chris needs to do is this. It's simply this: if your game is between one and 50, you can expect your game in 2026. If you're game 50 to 100, you can expect your game Q1 2027. I think he needs something like that. And that's it. That's it. Like, again, he's being transparent. He's not hoodwinking anyone. Everyone's going to get a game. I would have confidence. I don't think they're going out of business. I think everyone will get a game, but that's a really long wait. And I do think that Chris Turner needs to figure out something. If I were him, man, it's like I would explore contract manufacturing a little bit, maybe. Like American Pinball has got six lines. Like they can make a lot of games. Look, Rick is taking his games to Brian over at American Pinball and they're going to run them. So I don't know. Maybe if Chris Turner went to American Pinball and said, hey, can you run 500 Yukon Yetis, I bet they would say yes. Why wouldn't they? It's just sending the parts there. I've always said it. The fact that no pinball companies, especially the small boutiques, have ever done this is beyond me. So, what else is going on in the pinball world? Did you see this drama with this dude who ordered this game? Did you see this drama of this dude who had his Pokemon LE order canceled? Now, before I found out all the facts, I was sort of on the side of the consumer on this one, but I reached out to Operation Pinball, to Vanessa, and I just asked them, like, what happened here? So apparently, here's what happened. This guy orders a Pokemon LE from New Zealand. They do not and cannot ship a game from America to New Zealand. It is a contractual thing with Stern. They need to sell their games in the United States. Okay, so then this guy says, okay, well my mom will buy the game in the state of Washington and puts her on the order for the game and then this guy posts an ad on Pinside where he wants to trade his Pokemon LE spot for a Yukon Yeti. And now, it's time for the next big move in pinball. Let's talk about it. What do we think the next really big move in pinball is going to be? We've got Pokemon, and now what? We're not going to get the next Stern Transformers until June, July. I think that's when we're going to get Sonic the Hedgehog. Those might be the next big moves. We're also going to get Circus Voltaire. I think that's going to come out before we see the next big moves from Stern and Jersey Jack. So do we think Circus Voltaire? Let's talk about this game. So this game is going to have two editions. I don't know the price. I think it's going to probably be around like $12,000. Everything is like $10,000 to $12,000. We're going to have, I think, probably two art packages, maybe the original and then maybe the Brian Allen version of the game. I'm not sure if the screen is going to be below the glass like the original. I need to ask Brian. Brian, you're listening right now. Just text me today if the screen on Circus Voltaire is going to be below the glass or if it's going to be moved above. I would love to know how it's going to be. I'm guessing if they're doing like a remastered code and adding more code that it might be above the glass. But that would really ruin the fun of that screen below the glass, which is such an iconic place to put it in Circus Voltaire. I will report what Brian says on tomorrow's Saturday Morning Spectacular. I think Brian has intentions of selling 750 of these. Now, this is going to be interesting because Funhaus didn't sell, but Circus Voltaire, I would argue, much better game than Funhaus. A better shooter. It's more beautiful. And there's a lot of newbies in this hobby. There are a lot of newbies in this hobby and trust me, you can't go find like a mint condition Circus Voltaire for cheap. So if they do this game justice and it looks gorgeous and it's stunning and it's got code that makes the game have better replay value, I think people are gonna warm up to this game. I really do. It's Circus Voltaire. And I think people have more faith in the quality over at American Pinball than they do over at Pedretti Gaming, who's going to be making Totem and Theater of Magic. If I'm Brian, I'm like, Rick, really Rick? Come on, Rick, read the room, man. Those guys made Funhaus and it flopped. And one of the big reasons it flopped is the quality wasn't there. And so let's do it and do it right. Because I would love to have Totem being made by either CGC or American and not Pedretti. And I think those games are going to sell. I do. I think the John Popadiuk Bally Williams classics will always be able to sell at least 500, maybe a little bit more if they're done right. So we shall see. And also the price matters. The price does matter. Like these games are not cheap. And I think a lot of people are probably looking at their pinball checking account and being like, oh man, what happened here? I used to buy three Stern OLEs and it was like 18 grand. Now I buy three LEs and it's the same price. Think about that for a minute. We used to get three Stern OLEs many, many years ago, and that would be about 18 grand total. Now I'm waiting for that. I think that could be the next big move in pinball. It's funny to say the next big move could be the Pokemon topper. So Circus Voltaire, that might be the next big release. Who else has got something coming out? The Three Musketeers by Hexa Pinball. I don't think anyone's buying that. I'm just going to be honest, like the whole thing looks AI created and you're just not going to sell. I do think you got to kind of have your head examined if you're going to buy some of these new games. They're just not good. Like they're just not better than what else is out there for the same money. And now there are like thousands of great used games for sale that are amazing. Like Jaws is always going to be amazing. Godzilla is always going to be amazing. And if you're new to pinball, who's going to buy Three Musketeers? And how can you go from like a Jaws or a Batman 66 or a Harry Potter or a Beetlejuice or an Evil Dead? How can you go from those games and be like, you know what? But I'm gonna put Three Musketeers in my lineup. I just don't know who does that. Like I can see content creators doing that maybe just to get content. I can see operators buying one to have a different game and people might wanna jump on it out of curiosity, but to buy it is just a head scratcher to me. And speaking of like head scratching, where's this Resident Evil game? These guys were hitting me up. They're like, it's coming out. It's gonna be out Q1. Well, Q1 is over. Where is it? We're now into spring. I haven't seen anything. I don't know guys. And I know they're members of the Kaneda Club. Like they're listening to this. I would love to see this game. It's coming from the pinball company in Sweden. I think it's called like the pinball company, something very basic like that. But where is it? I mean, now's a good time. Now is a great time to release a new game. If you've got something to release, now is the time to release it. You've got a little bit of a window. You don't want to release it when Stern or JJP's got a new game. It's time to like announce these games or get off the pod, right? We know it's coming. So where is it? So everybody, look, I think we're at this little bit of a calm before the next storm hits in pinball. It's going to be fun. Pokemon, man, it's all going to be about Pokemon and where Stern takes the code. That is going to be, I think, one of the most looked at and observed things in pinball this year: will Stern make this game the incredible game every owner wants it to be? I do think they need to add in stuff into the Pokédex. The Pokédex needs to be awesome with Insider Connected. And I do think they need to add evolving the characters. That is so much what Pokémon is about: is like you battle your character and they evolve. If you don't have that in there, that's a huge, huge miss in terms of what people love about Pokémon. So we shall see. I know they have a lot of plans. I know the Pokémon Company isn't easy to work with. But I also know the Pokémon Company, from what I've heard from Jack and George, is they are really, really excited about making this game incredible. And the plans that they have for this game are going to blow us all away. And we haven't seen anything yet. That is awesome. I am excited. Happy Friday, everybody. Thank you for the support. I really do love that each and every one of you give me a creative outlet every single week. It's a fun week to have fun with and celebrate this geek hobby of ours. It makes us so much cooler than all the finance bros. I can't tell you how many times I'm at a bar and the finance bros, they have nothing to talk about. Nothing. It's incredible. It's either like their sports betting or they're talking about the markets. I want to talk about Circus Voltaire baby, and whether or not the screen is under the glass. That's what the cool kids talk about. Kaneda out.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v4)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-08-04 | Item ID: bf596fed-077f-4c7a-9ee5-c0336cffe8cb*