# Bonus episode! Strong new game rumor!

**Source:** Don's Pinball Podcast (patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-11-12  
**Duration:** 15m 20s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/bonus-episode-115856774

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## Analysis

Don reveals an exclusive rumor about Pinball Brothers developing a Predator (1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film) pinball game, described as coming from a reliable international source with people being 'cagey' about details. He also discusses Dutch Pinball's factory expansion strategy in relation to Stern's Back to the Future production, suggesting Stern is manufacturing BTTF at Dutch's facility to allow them breathing room for other titles like Raza. Don expresses cautious optimism about Predator while remaining critical of Pinball Brothers' recent output (Queen, ABBA).

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Pinball Brothers has secured the Predator (1987 film) license and is developing a pinball game around it — _Don states he heard this 'through the international grapevine' from sources 'being cagey' about it, describing the rumor as 'incredibly solid.' Not official announcement; characterized as exclusive early information._
- [MEDIUM] Stern is manufacturing Back to the Future at Dutch Pinball's new factory to free up Dutch's production capacity — _Don speculates based on Dutch opening a second factory across the street and concludes this arrangement makes sense to avoid consuming Dutch's entire production line with BTTF._
- [MEDIUM] Stern produced only 500 Back to the Future LEs initially — _Don mentions '500 LEs, which is fine, there's a lot of baked-in value' and notes they could have sold more, suggesting production constraints._
- [HIGH] Pinball Brothers' recent games (Queen, ABBA) have weak flipper feel and are commercially underperforming — _Direct gameplay critique from Don: 'Flippers feel weak,' 'Queen came out and it shoots okay, but it's not fun,' 'ABBA just release and it like my god guys you go you going in the wrong direction.'_
- [LOW] Predator is likely to release in a matter of weeks (within ~3 weeks of recording) — _Don speculates: 'I don't think it's going to be too long because I can't imagine ABBA's keeping them too busy,' and later 'coming soon, like, especially if it's coming next month, like in a matter of weeks, like in a matter of maybe three weeks.'_

### Notable Quotes

> "People that know are being cagey about it and not like the, well, you know, we'll see what happens or would that be fun to do in the day? No, like, okay, we can't talk about this."
> — **Don**, early in episode
> _Demonstrates source confidence level—insiders are actively withholding information, suggesting a real deal rather than speculation._

> "I'm gonna bring it down. We'll let it play. Alright, so I guess Pinball Brothers is making Predator, which makes sense, since the ones that Alien and like Alien and Predator both got new life from the AVP franchise."
> — **Don**, mid-episode
> _Contextualizes Predator within Pinball Brothers' existing Alien game and franchise synergy strategy._

> "Pinball Brothers, of course, grew out of the Andretti Highway days... I played Full Throttle, one of his games, and it's like, you know, Mom, I want No Fear, and it's like, no son, we've got No Fear at home, and then you have Full Throttle."
> — **Don**, mid-episode
> _Criticism of Heighway Pinball's design legacy and commentary on Pinball Brothers' inherited production quality baseline._

> "Do Pinball brothers deserve to be their own company or should they just be maybe a production house? They should be producers I think."
> — **Don**, mid-episode
> _Suggests Don questions Pinball Brothers' viability as an independent manufacturer; recommends they focus on production/manufacturing rather than design._

> "If this plays at least as good as Alien, imagine being at Expo, right? And your buddy's on Alien next to you and you're on Predator and you're just having fun there and then going to get some nachos. That's fun, right?"
> — **Don**, end of episode
> _Envisions Predator-Alien side-by-side play at Expo as competitive advantage for Pinball Brothers; frames it as redemption play._

> "This is a lot better than ABBA. This is a lot better than Queen. Definite step forward for Pinball Brothers and they got a hill in front of them to climb in my eyes to recover from this."
> — **Don**, end of episode
> _Positions Predator as critical redemptive title for Pinball Brothers' credibility after Queen and ABBA perceived as underperformers._

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Pinball Brothers | company | Scandinavian pinball manufacturer (growing from Heighway assets) rumored to be developing Predator pinball; has released Alien, Queen, and ABBA; characterized by Don as struggling with game design and market positioning. |
| Predator | game | Rumored 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film-themed pinball game in development by Pinball Brothers; described as an exclusive industry rumor not yet publicly announced. |
| Don | person | Host of Don's Pinball Podcast; content creator with industry connections reporting exclusive pinball rumors via Patreon; known for critical commentary on game design and manufacturer business strategy. |
| Ninja | person | Someone who gets 'amped up' about Predator theme; described as having Predator as his 'absolute dream theme.' Exact role/identity unclear from context. |
| Alien | game | Widebody pinball game originally by Heighway Pinball, recovered and completed by Pinball Brothers; described as Pinball Brothers' most successful game; referenced as potential linked-game partner with Predator. |
| Queen | game | Queen band-themed pinball by Pinball Brothers; criticized by Don for weak flippers, uninspired layout, awkward acrylic backglass design, and poor integration of theme. |
| ABBA | game | ABBA band-themed pinball by Pinball Brothers; released in 2024 and criticized by Don as continuing downward trend with weak flippers and unsatisfying gameplay compared to Stern titles. |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Pinball manufacturer with factory in Denmark producing The Big Lebowski; recently opened second factory across street; rumored to be housing Stern's Back to the Future production; owns Raza title. |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major pinball manufacturer; reportedly manufacturing Back to the Future at Dutch Pinball's facility; produced 500 LEs of BTTF. |
| Back to the Future | game | Licensed pinball game in production/development; being manufactured at Dutch Pinball's second factory per Don's speculation; produced in LE runs (500+ units mentioned). |
| Raza | game | Dutch Pinball exclusive title; Don speculates it will be produced at Dutch's second factory after Back to the Future manufacturing concludes. |
| The Big Lebowski | game | Dutch Pinball pinball game being produced at their primary factory; referenced as example of improved production output. |
| Heighway Pinball | company | Historic pinball manufacturer; created Alien game and other titles; assets acquired/inherited by Pinball Brothers; described as predecessor to current Pinball Brothers operation. |
| Arnold Schwarzenegger | person | Star of 1987 Predator film; central to rumored Predator pinball theme. |
| Kyle Weathers | person | Actor in Predator film (1987); also did voice callouts for The Mandalorian; referenced as part of Predator cast. |
| Dolph Lundgren | person | Actor in Predator film (1987); wore Predator suit according to Don's commentary. |
| Lior | person | Person Don asks about in relation to Pinball Brothers and Dutch Pinball; context unclear but implied involvement with one or both companies. |
| Knapp Arcade | organization | News outlet or coverage platform for pinball news; Don references as place where Predator rumor will likely surface publicly. |
| Expo | event | Pinball exposition/convention; referenced as venue where Predator and Alien could be played side-by-side. |
| AVP franchise | product | Alien vs. Predator cross-franchise; revitalized both Alien and Predator in 1990s through video games, movies, TV shows, merchandise; provided licensing synergy for Pinball Brothers. |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Pinball Brothers' Predator game rumor, Pinball Brothers' recent game underperformance (Queen, ABBA), Dutch Pinball factory expansion and Stern Back to the Future manufacturing
- **Secondary:** Pinball game design philosophy and flipper strength, Heighway Pinball legacy and Pinball Brothers' inherited production quality, Content creator strategy for exclusive vs. public information disclosure, Potential Alien-Predator linked game integration
- **Mentioned:** Pinball Expo as venue for new title launches

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.45) — Don is cautiously optimistic about Predator as a redemptive opportunity for Pinball Brothers, but remains skeptical of their overall trajectory and business model. He's critical of Queen and ABBA but excited about the Predator rumor. Positive about Dutch/Stern manufacturing arrangement as strategically sound.

### Signals

- **[machine_intel]** Exclusive rumor of Pinball Brothers developing Predator (1987 film) pinball game with reportedly reliable international sources being deliberately cagey about details. (confidence: medium) — Don: 'I heard through the grapevine international grapevine that they had the Predator license. And it was like not just speculating like oh somebody has it but like no no.' Sources described as 'being cagey' and saying 'we can't talk about this.'
- **[licensing_signal]** Predator film IP licensing by Pinball Brothers; contextualizes within AVP franchise revival and synergy with existing Alien pinball. (confidence: medium) — Don: 'Alien and Predator both got new life from the AVP franchise... They did the Alien game, so naturally, their eyes really, what else can we do, what else can we make?'
- **[product_concern]** Pinball Brothers' recent games (Queen, ABBA) criticized for weak flipper feel and unsatisfying gameplay compared to competitor titles (Stern, Elton John). (confidence: high) — Don: 'Flippers feel weak... coming off of like a Stern and you go over and play that or coming off of Elton John and playing ABBA, like I just feel like such a step backwards.' ABBA 'plays similarly' to Queen.
- **[manufacturing_signal]** Dutch Pinball opened second factory across street from original; likely to house Stern's Back to the Future production, freeing up primary facility for Dutch titles. (confidence: medium) — Don: 'Dutch Pinball has that factory... they opened another factory across the street... Stern is going to have Back to the Future built... The only way this makes sense to me is if Dutch Pinball has another theme that they wanna put out.'
- **[business_signal]** Stern manufacturing at Dutch Pinball facility presented as win-win arrangement: Stern gets flexibility in BTTF production runs; Dutch gets breathing room between large-scale productions. (confidence: medium) — Don: 'This gives them... we can do runs of these, we can pivot and sell Back to the Future whenever we want... So I think it's a win for Stern, probably a win for Dutch Pinball, because now they... can breathe.'
- **[product_strategy]** Stern produced limited LE run (500 units) of Back to the Future; Don suggests more could have been sold, implying stronger demand. (confidence: medium) — Don: 'Stern did... only came up with 500 LEs, which is fine, that there's a lot of baked-in value in those LEs, but they could have sold more.'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Predator positioned as critical redemptive title for Pinball Brothers after perceived failures with Queen and ABBA; described as 'definite step forward' but acknowledges 'hill in front of them to climb.' (confidence: high) — Don: 'Definite step forward for Pinball Brothers and they got a hill in front of them to climb in my eyes to recover from this. Thanks everybody.'
- **[gameplay_signal]** Weak flipper solenoid strength on Pinball Brothers games (Queen, ABBA) creates unsatisfying play feel; Don notes layout is scaled to weak flippers so stronger flippers wouldn't improve shot consistency. (confidence: high) — Don: 'coming off of Elton John and playing ABBA... like such a step backwards... It not as satisfying of a game... If the Flippers were stronger, you know, you could hit the shots better. Like you can hit all the shots like the layout is scaled to the strength of the Flippers right.'
- **[content_signal]** Don deliberately releasing Predator rumor to Patreon supporters before public disclosure; frames as reward for paying community members and justification for gatekeeping unverified information. (confidence: high) — Don: 'I want to get it out to you guys and who else but the people that support me the most right. Like I don't want to put this out on my videos, but through here.'
- **[design_innovation]** Don speculates potential for Predator-Alien cross-game integration with shared modes, suggesting 'paywall' mechanic requiring ownership of both titles. (confidence: low) — Don: 'I wonder if we'll have any integration with Alien... if these two games could link together and like some Predator content could show up into Alien, some Alien content could show up into Predator... that would move some units, for sure.'
- **[industry_signal]** Don expresses unclear knowledge of current Pinball Brothers leadership and involvement; questions whether Lior is still involved given recent Dutch Pinball developments. (confidence: low) — Don: 'Is Lior still involved in Pinball Brothers? I don't know what's going on, man, to be honest.'
- **[rumor_hype]** Predator rumor generates Don's personal excitement as 'dream theme' for someone (Ninja); positioned as major improvement over recent theme choices by Pinball Brothers. (confidence: medium) — Don: 'This is his absolute, like of dream themes... This is his dream theme... This is a lot better than ABBA. This is a lot better than Queen.'

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## Transcript

 Alright party people, let's get into it. What's up Patreon crew? Thanks for joining and being a continued member supporting all the good work that we do here at the Don's Pinball Podcast by we, I mean me, but also you. Because I think the way that we interact on Discord, join if you haven't already, we're having a great time over there. I put real time updates there all the time. Facebook is where I post new shows. If I have like new information that drops or shares, it goes on to Facebook. But if there's like new rumblings of things going on, they're happening over at the Discord. I'll drop another link I'm on the Patreon subscription description for this episode that we'll get into because I have a new game rumor that I heard that sounds incredibly, incredibly solid. Nobody's talking about it yet. So y'all are going to hear it from me first right now. Let's get into it. Let me drop a little teaser. Oh man, what is that you say? Now to be honest, if you just played me this clip, I don't think I'd place it right away, but I would place it specifically into the time period of the early part of the 1980s, early to right in the middle. And I think you'd be right. This is a movie themed game that I'm fairly certain is coming. People that know are being cagey about it and not like the, well, you know, we'll see what happens or would that be fun to do in the day? No, like, okay, we can't talk about this. I'm gonna get that right now. Please, please, please don't spread that around. So I think it's coming. The company that this 80's movie's licensed theme is coming from, it's not Gremlins, it's not Back to the Future, it's gonna be coming from the Pinball Brothers, believe it or not. And this is like somewhere in Denmark. Njinga is like getting amped up right now just because I'm playing this. You can probably sense it. That's how tight it is. This is his absolute, like of dream themes. This is his dream theme. I'm talking about Predator. 1980s. Arnold Schwarzenegger.Dolph Lundgren. I think he was actually in the Predator suit. And the other guy that did the callouts for Mandalorian, too. Karl Jackson? Carl Weathers? Yeah. He's in it, too. Man, what an 80s movie. How cool would this theme be? I'm gonna let it, I'm gonna bring it down. We'll let it play. Alright, so I guess Pinball Brothers is making Predator, which makes Absolutely, since the ones that alien and like alien and predator both got new life from the AVP franchise. Alien vs. Predator, there was video games, tell TV shows. I don't know. It was TV show movies, right? Alien vs. Predator. I was going to say T-shirts. Yeah, lunchboxes. A lot of marketing opportunity was behind this. It like revitalized Alien and Predator in the nineties. This was huge. And so they did the Alien game, so naturally, their eyes really, what else can we do, what else can we make? Now, Pinball Brothers, of course, grew out of the Andrew Highway days. I wasn't really around to follow that specifically, and I don't think that's a terrible thing either. Um, I played Full Throttle, one of his games, and it's like, it plays like, you know, Mom, I want no fear, and it's like, no son, we've got no fear at home, and then you go home and you have Full Throttle, right? Now you know build quality certainly it was fine It a playable game It just didn feel like it had any soul in it It felt like just completely generic which it was You know so proved that the guy could make a game right And I would say parts of it are probably better than No Fear of course but on the whole I rather play No Fear That game just rocks man especially for the price So you know so Highway created Alien and I guess it released and then it like got cut and then the Pinball Brothers formed out of these two guys that were like out money like a lot of other people were in this pinball startup and then managed to cobble together some resources go into even more debt and bring it out and it been their most successful game for sure alien for sure and then i don know if queen was already queen had already been done as far as layout wise and then they brought that out as their follow and it just fell right on its on its face man um and then you know we saw abba just release and it like my god guys you go you going in the wrong direction Transcript by David David Van Es, Knapp Arcade.com on the way there and like that other 20% is what puts you over the top makes you like critically successful rightras filmed� pathogens 화장ate Consulting thingyyourWas so소� 3220ня옼 accordance What's going on with these decisions This is like barbecue ABBA is this where we're at in 2024 with Pinball? Can we get like killer themes? Apparently, if Predator is in the works who's designing it I have no idea. When's it coming out? I don't think it's going to be too long because I can't imagine ABBA's keeping them too busy. Do Pinball brothers deserve to be their own company or should they just be maybe a production house? They should be producers I think. I think they were able to go in and get games made. They were able to get I'm John Papadiuk, and I'll see you next time. Nu I mean, it's still from the 70s, but like a good 70s band that people really care about even today. Movies are being made about it, right? So Queen came out and it shoots okay, but it's not fun. The layout's just okay. I think it could have been integrated better. I think they did Queen dirty. I don't like the acrylic back glass thing that they translite area that they have with the weird holes you have to lift up to move it. And it's like you have to put your finger right into the guy's crotches that are on. It's just weird. It's weird. I think a couple decisions, a couple decision points, if they were made slightly different, the game could have been much better, at least than where it is now. Flippers are weak. It is what it is. It's queen. We've played it by now. ABBA plays similarly. The flippers feel weak. You can hit all the shots, right? It's not as if, like, if the flippers were stronger, you know, you could hit the shots better. Like you can hit all the shots like like the layout is scaled to the strength of the flippers right But coming off of like a stern and you go over and play that or coming off of Elton John and playing Abbott like I just feel like such a step backwards It like not as satisfying of a game It not where we at in 2024 Somebody should tell them And I don know they have anybody there that can do that So I heard through the grapevine international grapevine that they had the predator license And it was like not just speculating like oh somebody has it but like no no So, I think it's coming. So, are you excited about it? I'm excited to see about it. I wonder if we'll have any integration with Alien. I think that'd be such a cool thing to do if these two games could link together and like some Predator content could show up into Alien, some Alien content could show up into Predator, like some extra modes, kind of like the paywall there for extra interactivity would be you have to have some extra modes. I think that would move some Ellen Ripley units, for sure. You know, is Lior still involved in Pinball Brothers? I don't know what's going on, man, to be honest. You know, with what's going on there at Dutch. Let's go visit Dutch again. I just dropped the regular podcast episode. And I didn't really dwell on this too much. So Dutch Pinball has that factory. They're churning Lebowskis out finally. I mean, not Stern level, but they're putting them out a lot better than they did over the last 10 years. And then they opened another factory across the street to house Dutch Pinball exclusive, Lemme go to Stern to have Back to the Future built? But that doesn't make sense. You know, they got this factory there, they opened up this other one across the street. The only way this makes sense to me is if Dutch Pinball has another theme that they wanna put out, You know, maybe they're running up against some deadlines they gotta get this game out. They know Back to the Future, if they released it, Back to the Future would take up their Quase evolve in Yes on the right it was so loud holidays you We'll see you next time. No. So, you know, Metallica did, but they only came up with 500 LEs, which is fine, that there's a lot of baked-in value in those LEs, but they could have sold more. And so this gives them, okay, we can do runs of these, we can pivot and sell back to the futures whenever we want. And, you know, we'll at least be able to cover our costs, plus some, and there you go. So I think it's a win for Stern, probably a win for Dutch Pinball, because now they, like, they can breathe, right? I'm not just gonna be consumed with Back to the Future and trying to keep up with demand that there's no way that factory could meet. And then that would allow them to go for something else, which is probably gonna be pretty cool because it is Dutch Pinball, but not so in demand that people are gonna be waiting years and years and putting on online hate. So that makes sense to me. What makes sense to you? Let me know in the Patreon comments below. Have fun on the Discord, man. Dropping stuff over there, but it would be fun to interact more on the Patreon page, too. www We see how the interaction goes I think Patreon has a little bit of a hiccup because you do have to like log in to view comments log in to see them It may be easier to use a Discord Maybe we can set up a just a completely private Patreon Discord and then we can you know comment to things in there And then as I hear stuff like this which I don want to put this out like totally in the public just yet I mean hasn hit an up arcade yet I sure it will but I don want to sit on this information either I want to get it out to you guys and who else but the people that support me the most right Like I don want to put this out Not my videos, but those machai,Abs mówi pareil, عند kasih literacy Gym 거예요ieth tweets, I guest netaje gig وال 전반 coeur입니다길 We'll see you next time. You know if I was to divulge Said rumored title you'd be like oh, that's amazing. Wow. Thanks, and then you'd be like well So so can you tell me a little bit about it like is there some cool mechanism at least you know and then I tell you That and you'd be like all right well Is there anything else in there? How's the music? How's your heart like you'd want to know everything and anything short of a full release of all the information You would still feel like I still want to know more you know so I think and I would feel this way too, right? I mean, of course, you know, if you said, hey, I've got Stern's next title leaked right here. Do you want to see it? Like, yeah, I'm going to want to see it. Curiosity is going to kill me there. But at the same time, if I can't really get a good information dump release, it's like grainy pictures or something, I'd almost rather just wait for the announcement, especially if it's coming soon, like, especially if it's coming next month, like in a matter of weeks, like in a matter of maybe three weeks, like I think I'd rather just wait and see everything and just just get into the hype rather than be piece feed piece meal fed. Check out the Tamys on for more. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. To recap, I did ship out all four translites to the Translate winners. From this month, I'd like to get back into doing them monthly. I got some new art for Translites, so I got a new order to put in. So, let's do a December one as well, man. Let's do a December one as well. Be cool, everybody. And like, what do you think about Predator? Let me know. Listen to this freaking 80s theme right here. It's about to kick in. It's gonna be cool, right? This is a lot better than ABBA. This is a lot better than Queen. If this plays at least as good as Alien, imagine being at Expo, right? And your buddy's on Alien next to you and you're on Predator and you're just having fun there and then going to get some nachos. That's fun, right? Definite step forward for Pinball Brothers and they got a hill in front of them to climb in my eyes to recover from this. Thanks everybody. Back with you soon. Thank you.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: ee3577c2-b3b2-4be7-a486-217c177315b3*