# Episode 1005: "Face It...FOMO is FUN!"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-10-07  
**Duration:** 15m 27s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-1005-it-113539920

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## Analysis

Kaneda enthusiastically promotes the newly launched Alice's Adventures in Wonderland pinball machine by American Pinball (via Dutch Pinball Exclusives), framing the game's limited availability and day-one sellout potential as a return to genuine FOMO excitement that has been missing from modern pinball. He compares it favorably to recent big-budget releases, emphasizes its mechanical fun and approachability over complexity, and announces that Back to the Arcade Future will be officially revealed at Pinball Expo.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Alice's Adventures in Wonderland will sell out day one — _Kaneda, predicting market behavior based on FOMO dynamics and limited production run_
- [MEDIUM] The game has only ~300 units available in the US market — _Kaneda, comparing scarcity to unlimited production models like Avatar_
- [HIGH] This is Dutch Pinball's second game in 12 years — _Kaneda, discussing Dutch Pinball's production history_
- [HIGH] Back to the Arcade Future will be officially announced at Pinball Expo — _Kaneda, stating this as insider news being revealed on his show_
- [MEDIUM] Jean-Paul DeWin (animator for Jersey Jack) was too busy to work on Alice but provided the animation company he uses — _Kaneda, providing production details about animation sourcing_
- [HIGH] The game's art package was commissioned by John Papodiuk from Zombie Eddie, though the game was finished by Melvin and Barry at Dutch Pinball — _Kaneda, clarifying creative attribution_
- [HIGH] Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is priced at $12,500 — _Kaneda, stating retail price_
- [MEDIUM] Recent big-budget games (James Bond, Jaws, Venom, John Wick, The Godfather, Elton John, Looney Tunes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Princess Bride) generated zero FOMO and did not sell out day one — _Kaneda, contrasting modern release patterns with Alice's expected reception_

### Notable Quotes

> "The pinball machine that made this hobby so much fun for so many years was the FOMO and we've lost it for so many years."
> — **Kaneda**, early
> _Core thesis—FOMO as a lost element of pinball community culture_

> "The good news about Alice, it's not going to be missing any assets because there are no assets. There's no movie."
> — **Kaneda**, mid
> _Self-deprecating reference to Willy Wonka's missing movie clips; argues Alice avoids that pitfall_

> "It not about polish it not about overproducing everything it about actually having a game that has the fun in it. That the most important thing it what in the game."
> — **Kaneda**, mid
> _Design philosophy critique of modern games vs. substance-focused approach_

> "The game is not a game that you can just wake up and realize. You can make it challenging, but it should be really simple to understand how to get through the game."
> — **Kaneda**, late-mid
> _Core design principle: depth without complexity, approachability for casual players_

> "This is not even about gameplay gentlemen. It's about FOMO. The fear of missing out."
> — **Kaneda**, late
> _Explicit statement of the episode's theme and Kaneda's philosophy on what drives pinball collecting_

> "This is what it's gonna look like after John Youssi Alice...genuine excitement. Not these newbies who buy every single game. When you get excited about everything, nobody believes you about anything."
> — **Kaneda**, late
> _Meta-commentary on credibility and selective hype; differentiates Alice from his past Wonka situation_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Host of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast; major pinball media personality and influencer; known for hyping games and driving FOMO; claims to have done over 1,000 episodes |
| Alice's Adventures in Wonderland | game | Pinball machine by American Pinball/Dutch Pinball Exclusives, launched day-one of this episode; priced at $12,500; limited US availability (~300 units); features Zombie Eddie artwork; mechanical innovations including flipper disc controls and Jabberwocky moving figure |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer; releasing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as second game in 12 years; known for Big Lebowski and Back to the Future; partnership with DPX and Melvin for Alice |
| American Pinball | company | Manufacturer credited with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; smaller manufacturer focused on special interest themes |
| John Papodiuk | person | Legendary pinball designer; commissioned Zombie Eddie artwork for Alice; involved in game inspiration but not the primary designer of final version |
| Zombie Eddie | person | Artist who created the art package for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; known for detailed cabinet artwork |
| Melvin Williams | person | Code developer working on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; part of DPX/Dutch Pinball team finishing the game |
| Barry | person | Partner at Dutch Pinball involved in completing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; referenced as part of finishing team |
| Jean-Paul DeWin | person | Animator for Jersey Jack games; too busy with current work to animate Alice but provided his animation company to Dutch Pinball for the project |
| Jack Danger | person | Referenced as source of Willy Wonka overhyping; told Kaneda all movie clips would be in that game but they were absent |
| John Youssi | person | Guest joining Kaneda on stream at 12:15 PM on launch day to discuss Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its character design |
| Bill Brand | person | Collector/distributor reportedly buying multiple copies of Alice (joked as '499'); has significant game storage/collection |
| John Ehrlich | person | Pinball community figure and collector; referenced as potentially wanting Alice despite claiming otherwise; known for large stored collection |
| Crazy Levy | person | Pinball community figure; referenced alongside John Ehrlich as someone who may critique Kaneda for not having played Alice |
| Back to the Arcade Future | game | Upcoming Dutch Pinball game announced for next year; will be officially revealed at Pinball Expo; Kaneda presenting this as an exclusive insider announcement |
| Pinball Expo | event | Major industry expo where Back to the Arcade Future will be officially announced; Kaneda noting Don (presumably event organizer) deserves credit for this reveal |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Competitor manufacturer; noted for large animation budgets, complex rule sets (27 mini-modes referenced), and unfinished wizard modes; Avatar Elite priced at $12,000 with unlimited production |
| Willy Wonka | game | Previous game Kaneda overhyped; lacked promised movie assets; reference point for his credibility concerns on Alice |
| Avatar Elite | game | Jersey Jack game priced at $12,000; unlimited production (5,000+ potential units); used as price comparison to Alice |
| Cointaker | company | Distributor mentioned as safe source for purchasing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |
| Great American Pinball | company | Distributor mentioned as safe source for purchasing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |
| Pinball Traders | company | Distributor mentioned as safe source for purchasing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland |

### Topics

- **Primary:** FOMO as core driver of pinball hobby engagement and collecting behavior, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland launch day availability and sellout potential, Game design philosophy: mechanical fun and approachability vs. complexity
- **Secondary:** Limited edition production runs and secondary market pricing dynamics, Modern pinball game complexity and rule set depth as trend, Dutch Pinball's production capacity and game pipeline
- **Mentioned:** Kaneda's credibility and past overhyping (Willy Wonka reference), Pinball podcast/media influence on market dynamics and community sentiment

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.92) — Kaneda is enthusiastically promoting Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, repeatedly emphasizing its superiority to recent competitors and celebrating the return of FOMO-driven excitement. He frames limitations as desirable. Mild self-aware humor about Willy Wonka overhyping and some playful ribbing of competitors, but overall tone is celebratory and confident in the game's market success.

### Signals

- **[product_launch]** Alice's Adventures in Wonderland officially launches with Kaneda dedicating entire episode to promotion; streaming with guest John Youssi at 12:15 PM (confidence: high) — Opening statement 'We Are Pinball on new pin FOMO launch day'; live stream announcement with John Youssi at 12:15
- **[rumor_hype]** Kaneda predicts day-one sellout, claiming only ~300 units available in US market, contrasting with unlimited production models (confidence: medium) — Repeated assertions: 'this game's going to sell out day one'; 'there might only be $300 in the US' (likely meant 300 units); comparison to Avatar Elite's 5,000 potential units
- **[collector_signal]** Episode frames Alice's limited availability (~300 US units) as primary appeal driver, celebrating return of genuine scarcity-based FOMO to market (confidence: high) — 'the fact that it was a little bit of a challenge...you haven't seen anything on it yet and you know you all can't have one'; 'a game where there might only be $300 in the US' vs Avatar's unlimited potential
- **[machine_intel]** Back to the Arcade Future confirmed as Dutch Pinball's next game, coming next year, with official announcement scheduled for Pinball Expo (confidence: high) — Kaneda states: 'they're going to announce officially...Back to the Arcade Future is coming out at Pinball Expo' and 'So you heard it here first'
- **[design_philosophy]** Kaneda argues Alice and Dutch Pinball represent return to mechanical fun and approachability over complex rule sets, LCD features, and internet connectivity that dominate modern games (confidence: high) — 'What happened to actually having mechanical fun stuff in a game?'; 'not about LCD screen, not like internet connected stuff'; 'The game is not a game that you can just wake up and realize. You can make it challenging, but it should be really simple to understand'
- **[product_strategy]** Alice priced at $12,500 (vs Jersey Jack Avatar Elite at $12,000); Kaneda argues the $500 premium justified by greater mechanical content and scarcity (~300 US units vs 5,000+ potential) (confidence: high) — 'The game is $12,500, right? It's a little bit more than a Jersey Jack Elite'; 'If you put $12,000 on a game that's that unlimited really, or $500 more for this game where there might only be $300 in the US, it has more toys in it'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Kaneda criticizes recent major releases (Jaws, James Bond, John Wick, The Godfather, Elton John, Looney Tunes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Princess Bride) as lacking FOMO appeal and generating zero excitement for day-one sellouts (confidence: medium) — 'There was no FOMO around James Bond...Jaws...Venom...John Wick...The Godfather...Elton John...Looney Tunes...Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Princess Bride. Zero FOMO. None of those games sold out day one.'
- **[personnel_signal]** Jean-Paul DeWin (Jersey Jack animator) was too busy with current projects to animate Alice but connected Dutch Pinball with the animation company he uses (confidence: medium) — 'Jean-Paul de Win who's done all the animations for the Jersey Jack games, he was too busy to do this game cuz he's working on so much, but he gave these guys the company he would use to do the animations'
- **[market_signal]** Kaneda emphasizes Alice's market position relative to unlimited-production competitors; implies secondary market pricing will reflect scarcity premium (confidence: medium) — Entire argument structured around $12,500 vs $12,000 with 300 units vs 5,000+ units; 'It has more toys in it, it has more mechanical like magic in it'
- **[licensing_signal]** Alice based on public domain Lewis Carroll novel, avoiding licensing/content issues of movie-based games (Wonka); Kaneda notes this removes risk of missing assets from source material (confidence: high) — 'it's not going to be missing any assets because there are no assets. There's no movie...It's going to have everything you always wanted in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'
- **[community_signal]** Kaneda acknowledges his Willy Wonka overhyping damaged credibility; attempts to rebuild trust with Alice by emphasizing game has mechanical substance he hasn't verified through play (confidence: high) — 'This is not going to be Wonka all over again. At least I hope not.'; 'I've never played the game'; 'this is not even about gameplay...It's about FOMO'

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## Transcript

 This is what it sounded like after Kaneda overhyped Willy Wonka all those years ago. I am not okay. I'm barely getting by. I'm losing track of days. Losing sleep at night. And this is what it's going to sound like today after you see Alice. I get knocked down, but I get up again. You're never gonna keep me down. And that's it. We're going to play the Canada intro song. That was enough. Here we are on new pin FOMO launch day. And you have to admit it. You have to admit it. What made this hobby so much fun was the fact that it was a little bit of a challenge. It was a challenge. It was a challenge. It was a challenge. It was a challenge. It was a challenge. It was a challenge. It was a challenge. The pinball machine that made this hobby so much fun for so many years was the FOMO and we've lost it for so many years. These newbies have no idea the excitement we're all feeling today. A new pinball machine coming out in the world where you haven't seen anything on it yet and you know you all can't have one. That was the most amazing thing we used to experience and yeah, back in the day it wasn't that expensive to get a Stern LE but only like $1,000. Closed Caption by ClosedCaptioner.com The hype train is leaving the station. I have been looking at photos of Alice now for 48 hours. And I've been asking myself, Kaneda, are you going to do it again? Are you going to get everybody excited again about a game like you did with Willy Wonka? And I'm here to tell you right now Wonka is still not my fault. Jack told me all the clips from the movie were going to be in the game. And guess what? None of them were in the game. But I'm telling you, I'm telling you right now, the good news about Alice, it's not going to be missing any assets because there are no assets. There's no movie. I mean, there's assets in the game, but there's nothing from the source material that they're going to botch, that they're going to leave out. It's going to have everything you always wanted in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland because you probably never really even wanted anything in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland because it might not even be a theme that speaks to you. I'm just gonna tell you right now, this game has a lot of fun stuff in it. What happened to actually having mechanical fun stuff in a game? Like a secret magnet underneath the playfield that you can't see. What happened to having like a fun way to save the ball from draining in the outlanes? It's got two buttons on each side. One controls the flipper and the other controls the spinning discs that keep the ball in play. Hey, that sounds pretty fun to me. Hey, it's got a big jabberwocky guy that moves his arm up and down and he moves it much more dramatically than the Colonel in Avatar that's just a little $2 figure. You know, look, I know that this company doesn't have a marketing budget, hence the reason why they gave me an NDA to sign, hence the reason why I've been hyping this game. Look I gonna tell you right now Jersey Jack Pinball I heard they spent on the launch video on the launch video And I gonna get people more excited for this game with just a free Audacity software program because it not about polish it not about overproducing everything it about actually having a game that has the fun in it That the most important thing it not what I say it what in the game And look there a lot of pinball out there and I really happy for all these pinball companies and variety is the spice of life and we have so many good The game is a game that created any FOMO. There was no FOMO around James Bond. There was no FOMO around Jaws. There was no FOMO around Venom or John Wick or The Godfather or Elton John or Looney Tunes, right? Or what else? Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Princess Bride. Zero FOMO. None of those games sold out day one. I'm here to tell you right now, this game's going to sell out day one. The end of the day. It's gonna sell out day one and all of you that have been hating on me for saying that, all of you, I mean Bill Brand has probably bought 499 of these. There's probably only one available for all the distributors out there in the world. No, these games are gonna go and they're gonna go fast. And when you see my show today, join me today at 1215. We're gonna go on YouTube and it's gonna be an open link so everybody can join. To upload this show hey覺ract, HTMLG and it what chart tonight is there any The game is available to one of you if you are lucky enough to snag a game. And yeah, I'm happy people. I'm happy that a pinball machine is going to come out that not everybody can have. Oh, it's so unfair. It's so unfair life. Some people have millions of dollars and some people can't even afford a Stern Pro. Life is not fair. Kaneda, you don't deserve to win another I'm going to have an award show and remove you from the category. Life ain't fair. How could they make an Alice and make her look like that? She looks like she's a prostitute on 42nd Street and I'm going to tell you right now people, she's going to sell out. And I know people are like, well people are going to be offended. They're going to be offended when they see this game and I keep asking people, well who's going to be offended? Are men going to be offended? I don't know. I don't think so. Are women going to be offended? Terms are as follows. The game is a pinball machine and trust me when you see Alice and you see the Queen of Hearts their special skills are all over this game. And I'm just going to say this, this is the art package that John Papadiuk commissioned Zombie Eddie to make. So you know this is the mind of J-pop but I'm just here to say this is not a J-pop game per se. Yes it was inspired by him but it is brought to the finish line by Melvin and Barry and The team over at Dutch and obviously Zombietti had a big part to play in this game and when you see it and when you look at the game I telling you what I love about this game it just like throwback to a Bally Williams game where there a lot of fun stuff in it there a lot of like how do I get the ball there how does it get up there what do I do when I get the ball up there what happens when it rolls over here what happens when I hit that target there a lot there a lot happening in the game that just like surprising and fun and And it colorful and it bright and it inviting and you not going to be confused about how to play the game And not every game is going to be the same because of the way the code is randomized So you're not going to have the same journey every time. But unlike these modern games, let's all just be honest for a minute. These modern games, they've become so complex. Like when Jersey Jack gives you this huge rule set and they think that's like something to celebrate. No, that is not what pinball is about. It never used to be about that. When you look at some of these games today, you need to study them for like weeks or months before you really even know how to play them. And even then, most people aren't even scratching the surface of what's in the game. And that's not fun. The key to pinball is this. You got to have physical fun stuff in the game. And look, the game can be deep, but not complex. And that is something all these companies need to The game is not a game that you can just wake up and realize. You can make it challenging, but it should be really simple to understand how to get through the game. And most of these modern games don't do that and this game is gonna do it. And I think when people see it and they see the inserts and they see the shots, yes, it's not gonna take over the world and be the next best shooter like a Godzilla or an X-Men or a Foo Fighters. No, it's not gonna have the Jersey Jack level of animations and depth of field. I'm not gonna be 27 mini modes and a final wizard mode that they never finish, but it does have nice animations. Jean-Paul de Win who's done all the animations for the Jersey Jack games, he was too busy to do this game cuz he's working on so much, but he gave these guys the company he would use to do the animations and that's who they did use and I think they look really good. I'm just happy because finally after all of these years we're getting a working version of a Zidware like game. We're going to get a beautiful pinball machine that's going to stand out in any collection and we're going to get a game that's approachable for everybody. Now you might not want your young kids to get in front of the machine because of the risqueness of the outfits, but if your kids are daring and your wife is cool, The game is $12,500, right? It's a little bit more than a Jersey Jack Elite, but let me ask you a question. If you buy an Avatar Elite for $12,000 and they've already said they're making up to 5,000 of them, sure, they're not going to get that many orders, but think about that for a minute. If you put $12,000 on a game that's that unlimited really, or $500 more for this game where there might only be $300 in the US, it has more toys in it, it has more mechanical like magic in it, it just does. I mean come on. I mean it's gonna be a wake up call, I really do mean it. It's gonna be a wake up call because everyone's gotta remember this. This is really Dutch Pinball's second game after like 12 years. I know it's embarrassing. I know what you're thinking. I know the backstory better than any of you. But now they've turned a new page. They've got DPX making this killer game. They've got Back to the Future coming out next year. And by the way, they are going to announce officially, so Don can actually give me credit for once, they're going to announce officially, Don, that Back to the Future is coming out at Pinball Expo. So you heard it here first even though I been telling you all the Alice information for like two weeks He like oh does anyone know what the price is Did anyone come on come on like I don exist no more Like all of a sudden the emperor of pinball podcast Bilis Ojair Pratik Piper Aarén actuaries Beratan The next game. And think about it, Dutch, the company that made Lebowski that knows how to load a game up with really fun stuff and Barry partnered up with Melvin, I think you're going to see something that's really, really exciting and really reminds all of you why you love pinball, right? Why you love pinball, not an LCD screen, not like internet connected stuff. The reason you love pinball is something is a beautiful box of blinking lights calls to you and you walk over to it and it has stuff in it that makes you want to come back time and time again. And the only thing that could be the biggest problem for me right now is I've never played the game. And I can just see John Ehrlich and Crazy Levy being like, look at Kaneda, he doesn't even play pinball and he's hyping this game. And it's like news flash gentlemen. I have the world's number one pinball podcast for years and I didn't even own a game. And I told Brendan I could probably have the number one show and not even play a game. Because this is not even about gameplay gentlemen. It's about FOMO. The fear of missing out. And you know John Ehrlich's gonna want one. I was talking to him today. He's like I don't want one. I got chords, yeah sure you don't John, you've just got like 800 games in storage for your afterlife, you're like some sort of Egyptian pinball operator, they're gonna bury this dude in some sarcophagus underneath Jack Bar, he's gonna be buried with all the coin door keys so that when he reincarnates, he's gonna be able to finally enjoy that entire collection he's got stored away for his next life. Everybody look, this game is fun, this launch is gonna have All the titles have boxed, ironically. Sebyzani catled dot . Office is made from the oneник. This is what it's about, genuine excitement. Not these newbies who buy every single game. When you get excited about everything, nobody believes you about anything. But when you get excited like this, trust me, I'm not going to be wrong on this one. This is not going to be Wonka all over again. At least I hope not. Everybody, try to get an Alice today. Cointaker might have one, Great American Pinball and Pinball Traders. That's your only safe way to get a game. Bill Brandis has five of them, so maybe hit up Bill Brandis. And who knows, maybe Kenaid has got his hand on a few titles. Who knows? Oh, why do you get special privilege, Kenaida? Because I've done over a thousand pinball podcasts and none of y'all haters have. Later. Quickbase Published Featuring

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-15 | Item ID: e34d151f-c179-4d2c-9292-c47504ac8812*