# All New American Pinball Machines Now Ship With Titan Bands

**Source:** Knapp Arcade  
**Type:** article  
**Published:** 2022-08-08  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.knapparcade.org/all-new-american-pinball-machines-now-ship-with-titan-bands

---

## Analysis

American Pinball has announced that all new machines will ship with Titan silicone flipper bands pre-installed, a move praised by the community as a quality-of-life improvement that saves buyers the cost and labor of aftermarket upgrades.

### Key Claims

- [HIGH] All new American Pinball machines ship with Titan silicone bands installed — _Barry Engler, manager at American Pinball, stated this policy according to the author_
- [HIGH] Titan bands are a standard upgrade that buyers typically purchase separately — _Author notes they 'always end up changing all of the rubbers' and still needs to order Titans for new machines_

### Notable Quotes

> "This is a huge plus in my book. I always end up changing all of the rubbers in all of the machines in my home collection to Titans."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**
> _Establishes the value proposition of this feature to home collectors and enthusiasts_

> "This move will save future AP buyers the expense and perhaps even more importantly the trouble of pulling all sorts of parts off of their machines to swap better rubbers in those hard to reach spots on their pin."
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**
> _Highlights both cost savings and labor reduction as key benefits_

> "Kudos to American Pinball for making the switch!"
> — **Knapp Arcade (author)**
> _Explicit endorsement of the decision as customer-friendly_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| American Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer now including Titan bands as standard equipment on all new machines |
| Barry Engler | person | Pinball industry veteran and manager at American Pinball who announced the Titan bands policy |
| Titan Bands | product | Premium silicone flipper bands now included as standard on American Pinball machines; previously purchased separately by enthusiasts |
| Mandalorian | game | American Pinball game owned by the author that still requires Titan band upgrade |
| Deadpool | game | American Pinball game owned by the author that still requires Titan band upgrade |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Product Quality & Components, Customer Value Proposition, American Pinball Business Strategy
- **Secondary:** Home Collector Experience

### Sentiment

**Positive** (0.85) — Author is enthusiastic about the decision, praising it as a 'huge plus' and commending American Pinball for customer-friendly improvements

### Signals

- **[business_signal]** American Pinball management (Barry Engler) making customer-focused component decisions that improve out-of-box experience (confidence: high) — Policy initiative eliminates need for buyers to source and install aftermarket flipper bands, reducing friction in ownership experience
- **[market_signal]** Premium flipper bands (Titan) becoming standard industry expectation rather than aftermarket luxury for boutique manufacturers (confidence: medium) — Author's observation that Titan band upgrades are routine practice for collectors, now being pre-installed by manufacturer
- **[product_strategy]** American Pinball adding Titan silicone bands as standard equipment on new machines, addressing a common post-purchase upgrade need (confidence: high) — Barry Engler announcement that all new NIB machines will ship with Titan bands installed

---

## Transcript

According to Barry Engler, pinball industry veteran and relatively new manager at American Pinball, all New In Box machines sold by AP will come with silicone Titan bands installed. This is a huge plus in my book. I always end up changing all of the rubbers in all of the machines in my home collection to Titans. I still need to order Titans for my new Mandalorian and Deadpool.

This move will save future AP buyers the expense and perhaps even more importantly the trouble of pulling all sorts of parts off of their machines to swap better rubbers in those hard to reach spots on their pin. Kudos to American Pinball for making the switch!

_(Acquisition: raw_text, Enrichment: v1)_

---

*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: e56086b9-92ed-4b82-9771-475ebe015d9f*