# Episode 1016: "The Best Friday Pinball Podcast In The World Today"

**Source:** Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)  
**Type:** podcast_episode  
**Published:** 2024-10-25  
**Duration:** 23m 19s  
**Beat:** Pinball

**URL:** https://www.patreon.com/posts/episode-1016-in-114698957

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## Analysis

Kaneda discusses Metallica LE pricing frenzies ($18k–$20k), Back to the Future manufacturing challenges and potential partnerships (favoring Stern over JJP or Dutch Pinball), Spooky Pinball quality concerns with upcoming Evil Dead, Avatar underperformance compared to Metallica, and rumors of a Stern Fallout license. He critiques Jersey Jack's design philosophy and advocates for synced movie audio in licensed games, while teasing an exclusive Stern machine rumor for paid club members.

### Key Claims

- [MEDIUM] Metallica LE is selling for $17,000–$20,000 on secondary market — _Kaneda discussing distributor feedback and secondary market pricing patterns_
- [MEDIUM] Dutch Pinball manufactures only 10 games per week, roughly 450–500 Big Lebowski units annually — _Kaneda estimating production capacity based on 45-week work year with August/holidays off_
- [MEDIUM] Back to the Future demand would require 10+ years for Dutch Pinball to fulfill 5,000–8,000 orders — _Kaneda's mathematical projection of demand vs. production capacity_
- [MEDIUM] Stern Pinball is the best choice to co-manufacture or take over Back to the Future due to production volume and design talent — _Kaneda's opinion based on manufacturing capacity and designer roster comparison_
- [MEDIUM] Spooky Pinball has ongoing quality issues with Looney Tunes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre that emerge after 1+ year of ownership — _Kaneda reporting owner feedback and describing pattern of mechanical failures over time_
- [MEDIUM] Avatar is selling worse than Elton John and poorly compared to Metallica LE — _Kaneda checking with distributor contacts about sales velocity and inventory_
- [LOW] Original Metallica has sold more units than Toy Story, Godfather, Elton John combined, and likely more than last four JJP machines — _Kaneda making comparative sales claims without citing sources_
- [LOW] Stern Pinball has optioned the Fallout video game/Amazon TV show property for a pinball machine — _Kaneda stating 'I heard' without attribution; explicitly labeled as rumor for club members_
- [MEDIUM] Harry Potter will launch within 6 months and will be a cornerstone Stern title — _Kaneda predicting based on typical Stern release cadence and product positioning_
- [HIGH] Jersey Jack's coding decisions (e.g., muting movie clips in Avatar, avoiding synced voices) are design mistakes — _Kaneda citing conversations with JJP personnel and contrasting with Jaws' approach_

### Notable Quotes

> "people are offering like 17, $18,000 for this game. I actually think this game might sell for around $20,000 this year"
> — **Kaneda**, ~10:00
> _Secondary market pricing signal for Metallica LE; indicates extreme FOMO and collector demand_

> "Dutch Pinball is a company that's a boutique. They make 10 games a week. And if you think about it, they're probably only making games like 45 weeks out of the year."
> — **Kaneda**, ~15:00
> _Production capacity constraint analysis relevant to BTTF manufacturing partnership discussion_

> "I think Stern Pinball is the right choice to make this game. Not only could they make the volume that the demand would require, but I also just think they've got the best talent in pinball right now."
> — **Kaneda**, ~20:30
> _Opinion on licensing strategy and manufacturer positioning; influences industry speculation_

> "Quality. It is the number one thing that I think is going to make people have a fear of commitment on their games moving forward."
> — **Kaneda**, ~25:00
> _Spooky Pinball quality concerns; signals potential risk to brand loyalty and collector confidence_

> "Jersey Jack is a company that needs to start listening to feedback. And I think the reason Avatar is not selling, it's just not an exciting game."
> — **Kaneda**, ~35:00
> _Critical assessment of JJP design philosophy and Avatar underperformance_

> "When you play Jaws, during every scene from the Jaws films, you hear exactly what is happening in those moments in the films, and that's how you do it, Jack."
> — **Kaneda**, ~42:00
> _Design philosophy critique; direct advice to Jersey Jack on licensing implementation_

> "I heard Stern Pinball has the license to make Fallout. You know, the video game that's now an Amazon TV show."
> — **Kaneda**, ~50:00
> _Exclusive rumor for club members; unverified claim about Stern licensing strategy_

> "If you're paying $13,000, you want to open it up, and it should be great on day one. I will always feel that way."
> — **Kaneda**, ~58:00
> _Consumer expectation statement; reflects broader sentiment about premium pricing and QA standards_

> "Metallica has created so much hype that everything else is like in its shadow right now."
> — **Kaneda**, ~61:00
> _Market sentiment; Metallica LE dominance affecting broader game sales momentum_

> "Marty Robbins is never, I mean this, he is never going to be welcomed back into this hobby unless he gets people their money back."
> — **Kaneda**, ~04:30
> _Community sentiment on Marty Robbins (presumed reference to Haggis controversy); industry drama_

### Entities

| Name | Type | Context |
|------|------|---------|
| Kaneda | person | Host of Canadian Pinball Podcast (rebranded as Kaneda's Pinball Podcast); community voice, opinion leader; offers rumors and exclusive intel to paid club members |
| Stern Pinball | company | Major manufacturer; discussed as best choice for Back to the Future co-manufacturing; has design talent (Keith Elwin, Jack Danger); rumored to have Fallout license |
| Jersey Jack Pinball | company | Manufacturer criticized for design philosophy, Avatar underperformance, and muting of movie audio in licensed games; declined to use synced voices despite having rights |
| Dutch Pinball | company | Boutique manufacturer producing 10 games/week (~450–500 annually); has Back to the Future license; production capacity insufficient for demand; Barry (presumed owner) referenced as decision-maker |
| Spooky Pinball | company | Manufacturer with reported quality issues in Looney Tunes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre; upcoming Evil Dead title with large spinning house toy; ambition vs. reliability tension |
| Keith Elwin | person | Pinball designer; cited as having current top design talent at Stern; rumored to be working on D&D and/or King Kong titles; seen as capable of making Back to the Future 'the right way' |
| Jack Danger | person | Pinball designer; cited alongside Keith Elwin as evidence of Stern's design talent; referenced as capable of creating Back to the Future if given opportunity |
| Metallica LE | product | Recently released Stern title; experiencing extreme secondary market demand ($17k–$20k); overshadowing all other recent releases; original 2009 Metallica cited as best-selling Stern game ever |
| Back to the Future | product | Licensed game held by Dutch Pinball; subject of manufacturing partnership rumors; expected 1+ year away; multiple manufacturers reportedly interested (Stern, JJP); high demand anticipated |
| Avatar | product | Jersey Jack title; underperforming vs. Metallica LE and other recent releases; criticized for sterile, boring gameplay; blamed on Keith Johnson's coding and design template; UV lighting and Penn Stadium fixes insufficient |
| X-Men LE | product | Stern title; 811 units produced; struggling to sell out; losing momentum; auto plunger feature topic of discussion; overshadowed by Metallica LE hype |
| Harry Potter | product | Upcoming Jersey Jack title; launching within 6 months; potential toys return expected; concern about muted movie clips and lack of synced voices from films |
| Evil Dead | product | Upcoming Spooky Pinball title; expected December 2024; features large spinning house/cabin toy; part of Spooky's ambitious but quality-risky product strategy |
| Dungeons and Dragons | product | Rumored Stern title; possibly coming December; Keith Elwin rumored to have seen a mech that 'blows people away'; may or may not be Spike 3 launch title |
| King Kong | product | Rumored Stern title; Kaneda suggests this should be Spike 3 launch title rather than D&D due to theme strength; Keith Elwin rumored to be designer |
| Fallout | product | Rumored Stern title based on video game and Amazon TV show; Kaneda's exclusive club rumor; questioned as licensing choice vs. Wednesday or Great British Bake Off |
| Spike 3 | product | New Stern pinball hardware platform; launch timing and flagship title subject of speculation; Metallica LE owners potentially disappointed it's not Spike 3 compatible |
| Keith Johnson | person | Jersey Jack code designer; criticized by Kaneda for Avatar's sterile gameplay and choice to mute movie audio despite having licensing rights |
| Marty Robbins | person | Industry figure; referenced in context of Haggis controversy; Kaneda states he is 'never' welcome back without returning customer money; associated with Neil McCrae |
| Neil McCrae | person | Industry figure; associated with Marty Robbins; criticized by Kaneda for arguing/fighting with others who see issues clearly; suggested to focus on other life areas |
| Jeff Teolis | person | Referenced as being among those who 'saw the forest for the trees' regarding Haggis/Marty Robbins controversy; alignment with 'left heads' |
| George | person | Stern Pinball executive (surname unknown from context); Kaneda suggests should have implemented loyalty program for original Metallica owners |
| Seth | person | Stern Pinball executive (surname unknown from context); Kaneda suggests should have implemented loyalty program for original Metallica owners |
| Eric Minier | person | Jersey Jack executive; Kaneda addresses directly regarding Avatar audio decisions and expectation-setting in launch videos |

### Topics

- **Primary:** Metallica LE secondary market pricing and FOMO dynamics, Back to the Future manufacturing partnerships and production capacity constraints, Spooky Pinball quality issues and mechanical reliability concerns, Avatar underperformance and Jersey Jack design philosophy criticism, Licensed game audio/movie integration best practices (Avatar vs. Jaws comparison), Stern Fallout license rumor and contemporary IP licensing strategy
- **Secondary:** Spike 3 platform launch timing and flagship title selection (D&D vs. King Kong), Community sentiment on premium game quality expectations and day-one playability

### Sentiment

**Mixed** (0.35) — Kaneda expresses strong enthusiasm for Metallica LE and Stern's capabilities, but is critical of Jersey Jack's design decisions, Spooky's quality control, and industry figures (Marty Robbins, Neil McCrae). Tone shifts from upbeat/promotional at start to frustrated/critical mid-episode, then resolves positively with club promotion. Strong advocacy position throughout.

### Signals

- **[market_signal]** Metallica LE secondary market prices reported at $17k–$20k, far exceeding MSRP; extreme collector demand and FOMO dynamics (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'people are offering like 17, $18,000 for this game. I actually think this game might sell for around $20,000 this year'
- **[product_concern]** Spooky Pinball games exhibit quality degradation after 1+ year of ownership; mechanical failures in Looney Tunes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre; pattern of reliability issues emerging over time (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'I'm just seeing more quality issues with Looney Tunes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre...after like a year of owning it and putting a few thousand plays'
- **[machine_intel]** Evil Dead confirmed as next Spooky Pinball title; features large spinning house/cabin toy; expected December 2024 (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'we should see the next spooky game sometime in December. I'm hearing it is Evil Dead. I'm hearing there's going to be a big house that spins like a cabin in the woods'
- **[manufacturing_signal]** Dutch Pinball production capacity estimated at 10 games/week, ~450–500 annually; insufficient for Back to the Future demand (5k–8k projected orders would require 10+ years); manufacturing partnership speculation (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'Dutch Pinball is a company that's a boutique. They make 10 games a week...roughly 450 to 500 at most Big Lebowski games they can make a year'
- **[design_philosophy]** Jersey Jack's decision to mute movie clips and avoid synced voices in Avatar despite having rights; contrasted unfavorably with Jaws approach; identified as coding/design choice rather than licensing constraint (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'I actually think they do have all the rights to use all the voices and the sound effects from those scenes. They decided not to do it because it's a lot more work'
- **[sentiment_shift]** Metallica LE hype is overshadowing all other recent releases; X-Men LE struggling to sell out (811 units); community moving away from other titles; Avatar underperforming significantly (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'Metallica has created so much hype that everything else is like in its shadow right now...they could have easily sold 1,500 Metallica LEs. And they're still struggling to sell out of 811 X-Mens'
- **[rumor_hype]** Stern Pinball rumored to have optioned Fallout video game/Amazon TV show property for pinball machine; Kaneda explicitly frames as rumor for club members only; questions strategic value vs. Wednesday or Great British Bake Off (confidence: low) — Kaneda: 'I heard Stern Pinball has the license to make Fallout...That's what I heard is Stern has optioned that property'
- **[product_strategy]** Speculation on Spike 3 launch title selection; Kaneda suggests King Kong (major IP) better choice than D&D for flagship Spike 3 release; both rumored for 2025 (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'Will D&D be the first Spike 3 game? if so that feels weird to me that you would launch the new platform on a theme that's not a juggernaut'
- **[community_signal]** Marty Robbins (Haggis) deemed permanently unwelcome unless customer funds returned; Neil McCrae criticized for arguing and fighting; Jeff Teolis cited as having foresight on issues; interpersonal tensions in community (confidence: high) — Kaneda: 'Marty Robbins is never...he is never going to be welcomed back into this hobby unless he gets people their money back...We know where Neil McCrae stands'
- **[product_concern]** Community showing declining patience for post-launch code updates and mechanical fixes; expectation that $13k+ games should be polished on day one; rushing games damages long-term brand enthusiasm (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'If you're paying $13,000, you want to open it up, and it should be great on day one...Rushing a game out and having mechanical issues and the code's not there, All that does over time is erode people's enthusiasm'
- **[licensing_signal]** Jersey Jack licensing strategy under scrutiny; Avatar underperforming despite premium positioning; Harry Potter upcoming with potential toy additions; questions about IP selection and market fit (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'Jersey Jack is a company that needs to start listening to feedback...Jersey Jack...we all know this...Jack is inking these deals for properties that we don't really want'
- **[business_signal]** Metallica LE ($13k+ MSRP) outperforming Avatar and other titles significantly; original 1997 Metallica cited as best-selling Stern game ever; modern re-release creating unprecedented secondary demand (confidence: medium) — Kaneda: 'the original Metallica has sold more games than Toy Story, than Godfather, and Elton John combined...Stern marches out a 12 year old game and just pluses it up a little bit'

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## Transcript

 Welcome everybody to Canadian Pinball Podcast. Happy Friday. I'm staring at people on Facebook right now. Hopefully they're all club members because they're going to get a chance to hear this incredible episode of Canadian Pinball Podcast. On this podcast, we're going to talk about Metallica LE. We're going to talk about how I'm going to give one person out there a chance to get one at MSRP. And I'm going to tell you the money I've been offered for that spot. And it's going to blow people away. We're going to talk about Spooky Pinball. The quality of these games. Is it going to get better as we head to their next title? We're going to talk about X-Men LE and X-Men in general. Is this game starting to lose some of its momentum? Are people getting a little bit tired of the auto plunger? We're going to talk about Back to the Future. Who's making this game, right? Dutch Pinball at 10 games a week. They can't possibly be making this game. The demand would be through the roof. I'm going to tell you who I want to make the game with them. I think it's the smart move to make. And stuff's been happening. We'll just say that. I also have a new Stern machine rumor. I have a theme nobody's been talking about. And I'm going to let my Kaneda Club members hear it first. All right. What else is going on in pinball? And let's just cover off on the end of the year. What we think is going to happen, right? A lot is around the corner. We've got Spike 3 coming. Are Metallica LE owners going to be a little bit disappointed that that game is not on the new platform? We're going to talk about what else? Harry Potter? Is Jersey Jack finally going to put toys back into the game? I want to talk about Avatar, people, because I've been calling around different distros, and they say it's selling worse than Elton John. And who's buying the LEs for $12? I mean, if you buy an LE for 12, you really do need to have your head examined. And that's an unintelligent move if there ever was one. What is not unintelligent is if we think Marty Robbins knew all too well when he was Win Schilling those centaurs. And I know Jeff Teolis, we're all left heads because we saw the forest for the trees and insult us all you want. But now everybody knows where you stand. We know where Neil McCrae stands. He's like Marty's like best pen pal for some reason. If Neil put as much effort into taking care of other things in life and stop arguing and fighting everybody who is actually seeing things for how they are, I think he'd be in a better place. And I don't care how much money these guys have. You know, it doesn't matter. It's all about the principle. It's about values. It doesn't matter how rich you are. It doesn't make your words any more correct. All right. And we're not even going to talk about haggis because they're done and no one's going to see a penny. And we all know that Marty Robbins is never, I mean this, he is never going to be welcomed back into this hobby. It doesn't matter what he says or what he does, unless he gets people their money back. That's the only way he's ever going to be welcomed back into pinball. All right. So we're going to cover off on all of that right now. If you're on Facebook, sign up for the Canada Club. It's only $5 a month, right? Other shows are at $10. $100 people are giving other shows for polo shirts. I know, Zach, has anyone got the polo shirt yet? I don't know. We have some $100 subscribers, but not most. Most of my subscribers are at $5 a month. So I'm gonna let Facebook go and we're gonna get this show going right now. Bye, guys. All right, so let's talk about all this stuff. Let's start with Metallica Ellie giveaway. There are like 47 people on that list and everyone who's on that list, you followed the rules. You got me what I asked for. I asked for your name. I asked if you liked Metallica. Everybody seems to like Metallica. And I asked for your phone number. And so all of you provided that. And that is how you're on the list. If you did not do that, you are not on the list. I'm sorry. We had to do it this way. And it took me a long time to respond to everybody and write your names out. And I got to print it with your phone numbers. And so we are going to draw a winner at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time tomorrow during the Saturday Morning Spectacular. And I want to see more. More of these distributors and these companies do stuff like this when they have a hot product. And I think it's a really fair thing to do. The other thing I've been telling George and Seth over at Stern, they should have done something where original Metallica LE owners who still own the game after 12 years. It means that you had to have bought the game when it came out. You love Metallica and you've held on to the game for 12 years. Those gentlemen should have been given first dibs at the new game. Nobody would have said that was unfair. Nobody would have complained and it would have just been the right thing to do and here's the thing I want to start turning this channel and I heard a lot of your feedback I want to start being a voice for doing what's right? I think I'm normally there But yeah every once in a while it would be nice to scalp a game for some money It funny to me because distributors are basically scalpers for the most part I mean think about it A distributor gets $2,000 on every LE. How many of those LEs actually require like maintenance and upkeep? And is it a lot of hard work, right? You sell 10 LEs and that's $20,000 you make in one day. And I get it. They get stuck with the inventory. they don't want. But man, Canada does like a thousand pinball podcasts. I try to make a buck and everybody comes at me with the pitchforks. Okay. So I'm going to do the right thing. I'm excited to see who wins. It's going to be great. All right. So that's Metallica, Ellie. And I'll tell you right now, I'll tell you right now, people are offering like 17, $18,000 for this game. I actually think this game might sell for around $20,000 this year. will the hype last forever on the game probably not right it's still metallica right i think sometimes people are looking at this game like it's the second coming of pinball it's still metallica it's a fan layout a lot has happened in pinball since metallica uh two words Keith Elwin right another two words jack danger i think a lot of pinball design and creativity has gone up since Metallica came out. Now, Metallica was a trailblazing game. It showed everybody how artwork could be on a game. Before Metallica, there was none of this like illustrated beautiful art. It also had a lot of toys, a lot of fun, great music, great code by Lyman. It did so much right, and this game is taking it up a notch. I actually have some exclusive info on the topper. I spoke to someone who saw the topper. The topper is going to be the big Metallica name spelled out like the way it is behind the guy in the electric chair. So the Metallica letters, I think there's some like crystals by the letters that also light up. And then each individual Metallica letter lights up on the topper. Now, the weird part, and maybe this was just a proto. My friend told me that the letters light up in the color of a rainbow. And it's like, I don't know. Now, Metallica's colors are not rainbow. And maybe that was just to showcase that it's full RGB LEDs up there. And they can do a lot of different coloring effects. So I think that's probably why they were lit up like a rainbow. But that's going to be the Metallica topper. And it's going to be released any day now. All right. So that's Metallica. $18,000 to $20,000 I hear people are offering for this game. And they're probably going to get it. I haven't seen a stern frenzy like this. in so long. All right, so what else is going on in pinball? Let's go to Back to the Future. A lot of rumors are swirling around the pinball space since Expo about Dutch Pinball possibly looking to partner up with someone to help with Back to the Future. And this makes total sense. I think everybody realizes that Dutch Pinball is a company that's a boutique. They make 10 games a week. And if you think about it, they're probably only making games like 45 weeks out of the year. And I think that's like a generous amount of weeks considering it's the Netherlands and they take like all of August off and then they have all these bank holidays. And so that's roughly 450 to 500 at most big Lebowski games they can make a year. Now, if they make back to the future, what's going to happen when they get like 8,000 orders for the game or 5,000 orders. It would take them 10 years to make that. It doesn't make any sense. Look, Stern regrets passing on the license. They do. If they could go back in time, they would have got it the moment it was available. And look, we all know this. There are most likely just two companies. There is, of course, interest in this license from Jersey Jack Pinball. And there's interest from Stern Pinball. It makes total sense, right? They're the two companies, the only two companies out there that could actually get it done. Now, between those two, and I mean this when I say this, like six years ago, I would have wanted Jersey Jack to make this game. Remember, six years ago, Jersey Jack was putting a lot into their games. Their games were loaded. They were like the company that didn't leave stuff out and they went the extra mile. Since then, they've done the opposite. they've started to strip their games down. I don't think they're making the best, most fun pinball machines on planet earth right now. And also when it comes to manufacturing, how many they make a week seems a lot less than Stern. I mean, I think Jersey Jack, maybe in a good week, what do you think it is like a hundred, 150 games at most. So I think they would also need like three years. Cause think about it like this. It took them like three years to make all the guns and roses machines and Back to the Future would have even more demand. Okay, so that leaves Stern Pinball. And look, I think Stern Pinball is the right choice to make this game. Not only could they make the volume that the demand would require, but I also just think they've got the best talent in pinball right now. And can you imagine if someone like Jack Danger or Keith Elwin had back to the future and made it the right way, I just think it would be incredible. And Stern's got the resources to do it right. They've got the relationships with the studios to do it right. So as of today I can 100 confirm for all of you there is no deal done with anybody This is going to be something that they all going to have to figure out I think it an interesting time to see where this lands but I think someone stepping in to help make this game and make it right is the right thing to do. I think the one thing to watch out for, I think the one thing that could derail all of this is what's in Barry's head right now, right? Does he want to be pinball famous or does he want to make a famous move that people will remember forever. I really think it comes down to that because I think sometimes you kind of have to put your ego aside and just face reality. And there's just something about the pinball space where everyone wants to be like famous, like a famous designer, but the truth is this. The truth is that some people have it and some people don't, and we know who they are. And I think Dutch is better off at making boutique games like Alice and maybe going to get other cult classic movies like The Big Lebowski. Dutch is not the company that can do like Star Wars. You know, they just can't handle that kind of demand. So we'll see what happens. We will obviously be following this as things unfold. It's also so far away. We're like at least a year away from any Back to the Future pinball machine. And a lot's going to happen in pinball between now and then. Speaking about between now and then. Spooky pinball. Quality. It is the number one thing that I think is going to make people have a fear of commitment on their games moving forward. I'm just seeing more quality issues with Looney Tunes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And again, it's over time. The game might work well when you open it up out of the box, but over time, right after like a year of owning it and putting a few thousand plays, I think people want to see how these games hold up. I think quality has always followed Spooky around a little bit like a dark cloud. They've obviously gotten better, but as they get more ambitious with more mechs and more toys, that's why a lot of these companies are yanking stuff out. Because the more you put in, the more that can go wrong. The more servos you put in, the more servos that can fail. That's the truth about pinball. And I think a lot of companies out there have found ways to simplify the games, not add more complex engineering to them. So I give Spooky credit for being ambitious. But I just hope the quality and the ambition can go together. Because if they don't and we start to see people getting fed up with issues, remember, it only takes one issue with a pinball machine to not want to play it, to not want to own it. And we all know that if your game is down or something's wrong, it's a headache. You don't even want to look at it. You don't even want to see it in your game room when it's inoperable. So more to come on that. We should see the next spooky game sometime in December. I'm hearing it is Evil Dead. I'm hearing there's going to be a big house that spins like a cabin in the woods. I think it's going to be a sick, huge toy they put into the game. Yes, I use the word sick. All right, so that's spooky pinball. Let's talk about Avatar. Avatar sales are not good. All right. I keep checking in with distro friends. It's not selling that well. And I don't think coming out of Expo, you didn't hear like a lot of people being like, I jumped on Avatar and I ordered one. I mean, heck, Stern marches out a 12 year old game and just pluses it up a little bit. And they're going to sell more Metallica's than they'll ever sell of Avatar. And they already sold more Metallica's than they ever did of Avatar. Actually, the original Metallica has sold more games than Toy Story, than Godfather, and Elton John combined. I bet you also Avatar. I bet that one Metallica game has sold more units than the last four Jersey Jack machines. I just want to say this. Jersey Jack is a company that needs to start listening to feedback. Like they need to listen to this show. And I think the reason Avatar is not selling, I'm just going to say, it's just not an exciting game. When you play it, you just don't feel the excitement of those movies. I think Keith P. Johnson has coded a game to fit a rule set and a template that he wanted to make. But I don't think he coded this game in a way that makes you feel anything like amazing. And when you play a pinball machine, you need more of those moments. You need to get your blood going. You need to get your energy going. And when you play Avatar, it's just a little sterile. Like it's a little boring. And I think they can wake this game up with better code. I don't really care about the UV lighting. It is what it is, right? They might add more lights. I think Penn Stadium is going to come in and fix the issues with their additional kit. But it's not about the lighting. It's about does this game excite you? And for some of us out there, maybe it never will because the movies maybe never did. And that's the issue. is on paper, Jack is inking these deals for properties that we don't really want. So then Harry Potter becomes the moment. I'm a little worried that they are not going to have the assets from the movie. If we see movie clips, I think they're going to be muted. I'm just worried about that. Every time they do a launch video, they get up there and say, everything you want is going to be in this game. Well, Eric Minier and Jersey Jack and everybody over there, we want synced up voices with the clips from the movie. How are you going to translate those movie moments the right way with muted clips? And again I did not see in the recent Avatar code a lot more of that put back into the game Again it a coding decision And when I talked to them over there I actually think they do have all the rights to use all the voices and the sound effects from those scenes. They decided not to do it because it's a lot more work and they want to have like their orchestration and their pinball call-outs be the focus of the audio and not the audio from the movies. It's a huge mistake. When you play Jaws, during every scene from the Jaws films, you hear exactly what is happening in those moments in the films, and that's how you do it, Jack. There's no other way to do it. All right, so Harry Potter is going to be everything, people, and it's going to be out in less than six months. So it's going to be coming soon. I don't know about you, but we sort of slide into the end of the year with all the holidays. And then before we know it, we're going to get another cornerstone game from Stern, which is most likely going to be Dungeons and Dragons. I think that is the game that Keith Elwin said he saw a mech that's going to blow people away. I think it's going to be D&D. Will D&D be the first Spike 3 game? if so that feels weird to me that you would launch the new platform on a theme that's not a juggernaut I think saving the bigger platform for King Kong and Keith Elwin is the right thing to do that's what I would tell them how to launch Spike 3 you know and then I think we're going to go D&D and then into King Kong I think we might see D&D because remember the last cornerstone from Stern was X-Men and that was August. And so are we going to see D&D in December? Because Metallica is not a cornerstone game. And so Stern is just going to keep going, people. That big factory, once it's on, it ain't going to stop. So I'm going to give you guys a rumor I heard. And I always love doing this. You know, I haven't heard anyone say this before, but I heard Stern Pinball has the license to make Fallout. You know, the video game that's now an Amazon TV show. That's what I heard is Stern has optioned that property. It's going to be based on the TV show. And so there you go. And the TV show is popular. It's always a risk though, right? It's always a risk because how many of you really are clamoring for a Fallout pinball machine? I don't know, right? It's kind of like in that John Wick territory where it's contemporary, it's popular, but is it popular enough? Does it have staying power? Has it impacted culture the way a show like Stranger Things has? I don't think so. To me, the smarter move would not be Fallout. It would be Wednesday, and I would make Wednesday the Addams Family show on Netflix. I think that's a much smarter thing to do a dark gothic Tim Burton show into a pinball machine. I think Wednesday Adams would be the smarter play if you were asking me. And then after that, the Great British Bake Off. I think if you make a Great British Bake Off pinball machine, everybody's in. Everybody. Neil McCrae would buy every single one. All right, so what else is going on in pinball? You know what I'm noticing? I'm noticing a lot more patience by the community. I think people are watching these X-Men LEs, and now we're starting to see some people put them up for sale. I think you really do get one chance to make a positive first impression. And even though people do have patience, I also think people don't want to wait six months anymore for a game to be great. I think if you're paying $13,000, you want to open it up, and it should be great on day one. I will always feel that way. Rushing a game out and having mechanical issues and the code's not there, All that does over time is erode people's enthusiasm for the game. And then, you know, if you make the premiums look good enough, people are just kind of over it, right? The hype is gone. And Metallica has created so much hype that everything else is like in its shadow right now. And they could have easily sold 1,500 Metallica LEs. And they're still struggling to sell out of 811 X-Mens. Everybody have a great Friday. Let's go Yankees. Canada's Pinball Podcast is where it's at. Tune in tomorrow for the Saturday Morning Spectacular, which will be here on the Canada Club. I might also air on Facebook the 11 o'clock moment so everyone can see who wins. It's just a lot of good vibes. And the more I put some stuff out there for everybody, the more we attract people to the Canada Club. And I think we can get to 800. We're almost at 750. And for everybody out there, just give the gift of Canada this Christmas. I mean, seriously, it's like you have a good pinball friend who you want to give a gift to. It's $60 for an entire year of Canada's pinball podcast. I think it's a good gift. It's better than these T-shirts that don't really fit. It's better than these $2,000 toppers, you know. So give the gift of Canada. Let's get to 800 by Christmas. I think that's a great goal. Everybody have a great weekend. Let's go Yankees. Kaneda out. Thank you.

_(Acquisition: groq_whisper, Enrichment: v3)_

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*Exported from Journalist Tool on 2026-04-13 | Item ID: f92d9fc3-9283-4b82-8d8b-451861779a2d*