# Episode 900: "Mystery Game Theme REVEALED!"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-01-09  
**Duration:** 9m 52s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-900-game-96165892

---

## Analysis

Kaneda confirms that the mystery J-Pop (John Papaduke) pinball game is Alice in Wonderland, featuring Zombie Yeti artwork, to be manufactured by an unnamed reputable company with production expected April–May in very limited quantities targeting collectors. The host also expresses concern about George Gomez's deletion of official Stern statements regarding LE/Anniversary Edition pricing and specifications, interpreting this as a potential signal that Stern may renege on collector protections.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] Alice in Wonderland (John Papaduke design) will be manufactured by a reputable company currently making highly sought-after games — _Kaneda, direct announcement ~2 min mark_
- [HIGH] Production timeline is April or May with very limited quantities, only a handful per week — _Kaneda, explicit timing statement ~9 min mark_
- [MEDIUM] George Gomez deleted his official comments about Stern LE and Anniversary Edition policies (powder-coat armor, numbering, pricing) — _Kaneda, ~12 min mark; unverified claim about Gomez's social media actions_
- [HIGH] The Alice in Wonderland art will use Zombie Yeti's original artwork from the Papaduke-era project — _Kaneda, ~4–5 min mark_
- [MEDIUM] John Papaduke found Zombie Yeti (Jeremy Packer) by Googling 'zombie artist' while working on Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland — _Kaneda, anecdotal story ~6 min mark_
- [LOW] Kaneda speculates Stern is preparing a 50th anniversary Jaws game for next year, which would retroactively devalue current LE purchases — _Kaneda, speculation ~13 min mark_
- [MEDIUM] Alice in Wonderland will work properly and not require expensive conversion kits like Magic Girl — _Kaneda, ~2–3 min mark; comparative claim_

### Notable Quotes

> "The most beautiful pinball art package maybe the world has ever seen is going to come out and be real and made by a real pinball company in a real pinball cabinet with real working mechs and with real code no other than Alice in Wonderland."
> — **Kaneda**, ~2:00
> _Direct confirmation of the mystery game reveal_

> "It is not going to be another broken Magic Girl and then you have to go buy one for $25,000 and spend another $30,000 on a Magic Girl kit just to try to make it sort of work."
> — **Kaneda**, ~2:45
> _Implicit criticism of Jersey Jack's Magic Girl quality issues; sets expectations for Alice to be functional_

> "The reason why John Papaduke found Zombie Yeti, do you know the story? He was making like retro-atomic zombie adventure land. And John Papaduke just googled zombie artist, right? And the fact that Jeremy Packer's like nickname is Zombie Yeti, that's how John found him."
> — **Kaneda**, ~6:00
> _Anecdote about how Papaduke sourced artist; humanizes the backstory_

> "Why do you think George Gomez went back and deleted all of his official statements around this topic? Now I don't feel good at all. Now I don't feel like Stern is going to stand behind what George Gomez just told us."
> — **Kaneda**, ~12:30
> _Expresses distrust of Stern based on Gomez's deletion of comments; signals potential LE policy reversal_

> "Stern knows they most likely have a 50th anniversary of Jaws somewhere waiting for next year. and everyone who's about to go buy an LE is going to get screwed a year from now."
> — **Kaneda**, ~13:15
> _Speculative claim about hidden Stern product roadmap intended to invalidate LE purchases_

> "It's just about having something unique and special and that's what collectors want and every different category out there it's all relative. I just want to say i'm super excited aldous and wonderland is coming."
> — **Kaneda**, ~15:00
> _Articulates collector psychology: exclusivity over flex; personal enthusiasm for Alice game_

> "Nobody jumps the gun. Well, You can jump the gun. The world of pinball scoops is fun."
> — **Kaneda**, ~18:00
> _Meta-commentary on the competitive scoop culture within pinball media_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; breaks the Alice in Wonderland confirmation and raises concerns about Stern LE policy |
| John Papaduke | person | Legendary pinball designer; original designer of Alice in Wonderland; associated with Zidware; Kaneda notes he 'did a lot of dumb things' but found Zombie Yeti |
| Jeremy Packer | person | Pinball artist known as 'Zombie Yeti'; created art for Alice in Wonderland during Papaduke era; discovered by Papaduke via Google search |
| George Gomez | person | Stern Pinball designer/representative; deleted official statements about LE/Anniversary Edition policies (powder-coat, numbering, pricing); Kaneda interprets deletion as red flag |
| Alice in Wonderland | game | Pinball machine based on Lewis Carroll's novel; original John Papaduke design with Zombie Yeti artwork; confirmed to be manufactured by unnamed reputable company; production April–May; ultra-limited collector run |
| Magic Girl | game | Jersey Jack Pinball game; Kaneda cites it as cautionary example of broken machines requiring expensive conversion kits and secondary market markups |
| Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland | game | John Papaduke-designed game; context for how Papaduke found Zombie Yeti artist |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer; subject of Kaneda's criticism regarding LE/Anniversary Edition policy reversal signals and suspected hidden Jaws 50th anniversary game |
| Zidware | company | John Papaduke's pinball company; Kaneda notes Alice was never produced in the 'crazy long deep Zidware cabinet' design |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer of Magic Girl; invoked by Kaneda as example of quality/support failures |
| Jengiz | person | Podcast/media personality; attempted to scoop Kaneda on the Alice in Wonderland confirmation |
| Jason Knapp | person | Media/journalism role; Kaneda directs him to publish the Alice in Wonderland confirmation |
| Mark Wahlberg | person | Referenced only for watch collection comparison; illustrates relativity of luxury collectible markets |
| Bill Brandis | person | Mentioned as having paid Zombie Yeti for Alice artwork when creating Pentasia |
| Pentasia | game | Project by Bill Brandis featuring Zombie Yeti Alice artwork; historical reference |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Alice in Wonderland pinball game announcement and production details, John Papaduke legacy and Zombie Yeti artist collaboration, Stern LE/Anniversary Edition policy reversal concerns
- **Secondary:** Collector psychology, exclusivity, and FOMO dynamics, Magic Girl quality and repair cost issues, Pinball media scoop culture and competitive announcements
- **Mentioned:** Jaws 50th anniversary speculation

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.55) — Kaneda is highly enthusiastic about Alice in Wonderland's confirmation and aesthetic value, but deeply distrustful of Stern's commitment to LE collectors based on Gomez's deleted comments. Sentiment bifurcates: celebratory regarding Alice, suspicious and frustrated regarding Stern corporate behavior.

### Signals

- **[announcement]** Kaneda officially confirms John Papaduke's Alice in Wonderland as an upcoming pinball game to be manufactured by an unnamed reputable company (confidence: high) — Direct statement: 'I am here to confirm for you... Alice in Wonderland... is going to be manufactured.'
- **[product_launch]** Alice in Wonderland production expected April–May with extremely limited quantities (handful per week) (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'we should see this game sometime in April or May... only going to be making a handful a week'
- **[collector_signal]** Alice in Wonderland positioned as ultra-rare, exclusive collector's item; Kaneda speculates on secondary market scarcity and value (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'It is going to be super limited... game you probably going to wait for... going to be rare... exclusive'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Kaneda expresses sharp loss of confidence in Stern's commitment to LE/Anniversary Edition collector protections following George Gomez's deletion of policy statements (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'Now I don't feel good at all... Stern is about to pull some fast ones... don't want to be on the record'
- **[market_signal]** Kaneda references Magic Girl secondary market pricing ($25K+ unit cost plus $30K conversion kits) as cautionary contrast to Alice in Wonderland's promised reliability (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'not going to be another broken Magic Girl and then you have to go buy one for $25,000 and spend another $30,000 on a Magic Girl kit'
- **[rumor_hype]** Kaneda speculates that Stern is hiding a 50th anniversary Jaws game for next year to retroactively devalue current LE purchases (confidence: low) — Kaneda: 'Stern knows they most likely have a 50th anniversary of Jaws somewhere waiting for next year... everyone... is going to get screwed'
- **[industry_signal]** George Gomez deleted official Stern statements about LE/Anniversary Edition specifications and pricing; interpreted as signal of policy reversal or dishonesty (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'Did you see that George Gomez deleted all of his comments... Why do you think... he went back and deleted all of his official statements?'
- **[content_signal]** Kaneda frames Alice in Wonderland reveal as exclusive scoop; references competitive pressure from other pinball media (Jengiz attempt to jump the gun) (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'My boy Jengiz tried to jump the gun on Kaneda. Nobody jumps the gun... I'm happy to give you guys this information somewhat exclusively'
- **[design_innovation]** Alice in Wonderland featuring 'most beautiful pinball art package maybe the world has ever seen' with Zombie Yeti artwork; emphasis on visual design as primary value (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'most beautiful pinball art package maybe the world has ever seen... gorgeous... work of art... seen pictures of this game it is real'
- **[community_signal]** Kaneda articulates collector desire for exclusivity and uniqueness rather than flexing or status; contrasts pinball collecting with broader luxury markets (watches, cars) (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'collectors... like to have stuff that makes us part of a smaller group... not about flexing... just about having something unique and special'

---

## Transcript

 I am in between a heart, no one in it really smart, Joker ain't the only fool, who'd do anything for you. I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said. Aw, good morning everybody, welcome to Canada's Pinball Podcast. It gives me great pleasure to confirm for you what the mystery J-pop game is gonna be. I knew this would happen once you open up the mysterious box and you start kicking the can or the rumor can down the road people start to sort of say things and look this wasn't going to be a quantum leap in which it was really difficult to figure out what the game was going to be there's only like four or five games that John Papadiuk was working on and designing post Bally Williams So I am here to confirm for you, the most beautiful pinball art package maybe the world has ever seen is going to come out and be real and made by a real pinball company in a real pinball cabinet with real working mechs and with real code no other than Alice in Wonderland. The beautiful, gorgeous, foam core pinball machine that John Papadiuk never made is going to be manufactured. It is going to be made by a reputable company that is currently making games that are highly sought after. It is going to work. That is the key element here. It is not going to be another broken Magic Girl and then you have to go buy one for $25,000 and spend another $30,000 on a Magic Girl kit just to try to make it sort of work. No, it's not going to be like that. And even though it's not going to be in that crazy long deep Zidware cabinet, I'm willing to sacrifice that for a game that actually works, a game that plays right, a game that can sit in your lineup and look normal in your lineup, a game in which normal pinball, non-reflective glass fits into the cabinet. John Papadiuk did a lot of dumb things. He did a lot of bad things in his pinball tenure But one thing he did do right was he found Zombie Yeti And Zombie Yeti Alice in Wonderland art package will be all over this game Now look I also know that Zombietti is not affiliated with this remake I think Bill Brandis ended up paying Zombietti for his work on Alice in Wonderland when he created Pentasia years ago. But this art package has been in the ownership of other people other than Zombietti. And look, since this time, I bet Zombietti wants nothing to do with his Zidware days. But at least John Papadiuk found Zombie Yeti and brought him into the world of pinball. And you know what's funny is this, people. The reason why John Papadiuk found Zombie Yeti, do you know the story? He was making like retro-atomic zombie adventure land. And John Papadiuk just googled zombie artist, right? And the fact that Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti)'s like nickname is Zombie Yeti, that's how John found him. It wasn't even like Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti) was doing zombie artwork. It was just his nickname. And that's what I love about life. It's like the strangest, most serendipitous things can sometimes set the wheels in motion that lead to the present day. And if John didn't do that, we wouldn't have any of these Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti) pinball machines. So that's the one silver lining good thing he did. Yes, has the man scammed everybody? Yes. Is the man associated with this game? No, he is not. And for all of you out there who own a Ghostbusters, you know you're willing to own a machine designed by someone who is deplorable. And I would not say John Papadiuk is anywhere near as bad as John Trudeau. You know, it's like John Borg is the only good John in pinball these days. But Alice in Wonderland is coming back. It is going to be super limited. It is going to be fully featured, fully working, work of art game that is meant for the pinball collector. And so there you have it. It is 100% confirmed what the theme is, and we should see this game sometime in April or May. Again, it's going to be a very small run, a very small build, and it's going to be targeting the collectors. I don't know why this would upset anybody. It's not going to be one of these pay and fall and you'll get your game in like 10 years. When you see it, the games are going to be in production, and it's going to be a slow build. Trust me, people. I expect when they make this game, they're only going to be making a handful a week. So if you get one and you in on one it going to be a game you probably going to wait for But hey how many of you out there gave a deposit on Pulp Fiction And where the heck is that game It been almost a year since people paid for their Pulp Fictions This game is going to be rare. It's going to be exclusive. And I mean this when I say it. In a world in which everybody now feels burned by Ellie's and there's a thousand of everything that's supposed to be collectible and now we all know none of it is. And speaking of which, Did you see that George Gomez deleted all of his comments regarding the future of Stern LEs and anniversary edition games? So what does that now say for the state of where Stern stands on that Ryan Policky? He deleted the fact that anniversary editions would not have powder-coated armor. He deleted the fact that they would not be numbered games. And he deleted the fact that these games would cost the same price as a premium machine. So why do you think George Gomez went back and deleted all of his official statements around this topic? Now I don't feel good at all. Now I don't feel like Stern is going to stand behind what George Gomez just told us. And Stern has a history of screwing us. And now I feel like the reason he deleted these comments is Stern knows they most likely have a 50th anniversary of Jaws somewhere waiting for next year. and everyone who's about to go buy an LE is going to get screwed a year from now. And your Godzilla LEs and your Metallica LEs, everything is in jeopardy. The fact that he deleted those comments makes me believe Stern is about to pull some fast ones and they don't want to be on the record for any such statement. They don't want to go on the record to make us feel good about the loyalty between them and the collectors. And that is why I'm looking at this Alice in Wonderland game and that is why I am in on one and I can't wait to get one because I just want to get something where they're not going to screw me over years later. I just want to get something that not everybody has. Is that a crime in the world of pinball? I never am going to own a lot of machines, but I am somebody who likes to own something that not everybody has. And pinball has become a weird place right now where all of the collectors, all of us, and you guys know who you are, We just like to have stuff that makes us part of a smaller group of people. It's not that we're doing it to flex and say, hey, look, I'm better than you. Nobody's really flexing in pinball, people. Let me just state that for a reason If you think you flexing with your or pinball machine you not This nation and this world is filled with so many millionaires I think there more than 20 million millionaires in America and go to a car forum and we look like little kids bragging about $15,000 pinball machines as they're showing off like $2 million cars. You go into the watch collecting world, we look like chumps. We all look like little kids who didn't make it. I mean, one single watch is like someone's entire pinball collection. I was just looking at Mark Wahlberg's watch collection. He wears one Patek watch that costs $9 million. You couldn't even have a $9 million pinball collection. If you bought every single pinball machine that was ever made, it would not even be worth $9 million as a collection. So just saying, it's not about flexing or being better than anybody. It's just about having something unique and special and that's what collectors want and every different category out there it's all relative so i just want to say i'm super excited aldous and wonderland is coming it is one of those games i've been waiting for i do have some sort of weird love affair with like j-pop and zombie yeti and the stuff they created during that period just from a pure aesthetic standpoint it's a work of art i've seen pictures of this game it is real it is real i can't wait to see it in its full colored glory. It's going to be amazing. It's going to be beautiful and no Zombie Eddie is not coloring it in. So we will see what the final product looks like. But look, it's a good day. We're getting more pinball machines. If you thought you had too many pinball machines coming out in 2024, well, now you got one more. And hey, I'm happy to give you guys this information somewhat exclusively. My boy Jengiz tried to jump the gun on Kaneda. Nobody jumps the gun. Well, You can jump the gun. The world of pinball scoops is fun. And Jason Knapp, let's get this news up there, baby. This is good news. It's confirmed. It is happening. Everybody, have a great Tuesday. We will talk to you soon. Playing with the queen of hearts And knowing it ain't really smart The joker ain't the only fool Who'll do anything for you Laying out another lifetime And thinking about a life of crime Cause that's what I have to do To keep me away from you Playing with the queen of hearts

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: dcfbdf6e-751d-4af1-a68e-6656eb8a03e6*