The Pokémon LE includes better speakers than the Premium version.

Stern ships Pokémon LE with bolts pre-installed to prevent rattling and loss during shipping.

The standard cash box lock on Spike 3 platforms has been changed from a smooth round bar to a laser-cut metal flap, affecting aesthetic appeal.

Pokemon LE is the most in-demand game Stern has probably ever produced

Pokemon LE units instantly sold for $25,000+ on secondary market

The Pokemon LE unit shipped with hanger brackets slipped underneath the playfield pivot slides

Flipping Out Pinball replaced the damaged Pokemon LE within 24 hours

Multimorphic P3 has a new licensed module confirmed at TPF conference

Wyze Trailers is the only US distributor for Multimorphic P3

Pin Graphics is selling Pokemon art blades featuring AI-generated artwork

Sonic pinball machine is coming this summer

Cardona has created 2.0 code kits for multiple classic games including Whirlwind

Community members should contact manufacturers/distributors before posting complaints publicly

This is Don's first experience unboxing a full Spike 3 cabinet

Don has pre-ordered Yukon Yeti and is happy with the purchase decision

Yukon Yeti is likely to sell out quickly, possibly within the weekend of TPF, based on boutique brand loyalty and limited run of 500

Pokémon pinball feels as loaded with content and features as Bond and Deadpool

Pro model lacks the locking flap beneath the ramp that catches and holds the Pokéball

Premium tier with a shaker motor is the optimal home configuration for Pokémon

LE-exclusive features (Pokéball shaker, Pikachu head-turn, Psyduck shootout, Squirtle toilet bowl) have greater impact in person than in photos/videos

Pre-release leaks and media coverage suggested Pokémon was cheaped out with minimal content

Pokémon is one of the four horsemen of 2026 pinball releases

LE secondary market prices reached $25,000

Don achieved 200+ million points on his first game of Pokémon

Harry Potter Arcade Edition will cost approximately $10,000, comparable to Stern Premium pricing

Arcade Edition of Harry Potter can be upgraded with aftermarket parts (~$500-700) to approach LE or CE visual quality

Harry Potter LE variant will depreciate most significantly, eventually selling around the same price as a new Arcade Edition

The new unannounced Jersey Jack game will launch in the next few weeks, likely by end of April or first week of May

Event exceeded expectations with multi-state travel attendance

The midnight release party format does not include taking games home

All 500 Walking Dead LEs are expected to sell out despite initial critical reception

Spike 2 expression lights do not work in Spike 3 cabinets due to coding incompatibility

Winchester will not return to MSRP even as hype stabilizes

Beetlejuice production run is approximately 1,080 units (possibly 1,060-1,040)

Stern's individual expression lights and cabinet expression lights will cost approximately $799 and $250 respectively when released as aftermarket parts

Beeteljuice code has significantly improved over a 6-month development period

Most Winchester purchasers have not played the game or have only played it 1-3 times

Stern will reveal new Walking Dead artwork and Spike 3 cabinet specifications on the fourth

Don spent 12 hours rendering video in the final 24 hours before the special aired

Frame-by-frame re-centering of mouth movements in the Conan bit was necessary and time-consuming due to talent being filmed too close to camera

Individual Twippies skits and interviews will be repurposed as standalone YouTube videos and Shorts

Spooky Pinball has shipped 52 Beetlejuice machines plus approximately 30 show games

Circus Voltaire should be remade because modern pinball needs more contemporary nostalgia content alongside retro IP

Portal is the best and most expensive Multimorphic P3 module ever made

Pokémon LE units are completely sold out globally with secondary market prices reaching $25,000+

US received approximately 500 or fewer Pokémon LE units; Europe received ~200 or fewer; Australia received fewer than 50

A single Nintendo Facebook group post about Pokémon pinball generated 200,000 views, potentially exceeding annual viewership across all pinball community media combined

Costco ordered multiple thousands of Pokémon home edition units for 2025 season at approximately $5,000 MSRP

Dune's code has evolved significantly and now plays much better than earlier versions

Dune's designer David confirmed the game should be set at 7 degrees pitch for optimal play

At flat (0 degree) pitch, Dune plays acceptably but is approximately 20% worse than optimally pitched

Avatar CE is superior to Dune from a competitive gameplay perspective

Evil Dead, Beetlejuice, Winchester's Mystery House, and Pokemon LE form a tier of modern machines worth more on secondary market than MSRP

Harry Potter is still being produced and available at MSRP, disqualifying it from 'Four Horsemen' status

Don works at Spooky Pinball LLC

Lewiston, Maine is one of the worst towns Don has visited

Don is relocating from Maine to Georgia to work at or near Pinball Palace after completing current 90-day contract

Pokémon LE production was limited to approximately 750 units with estimated 300-500 in US market, 200 in EU, 30-50 in Australia

Prior Stern LEs (John Wick, Venom, X-Men) were over-produced and available at discount pricing, establishing new baseline for scarcity perception

Godzilla is a candidate for Spike 3 conversion based on ongoing production and design architecture feasibility

Pokémon pinball uses full-screen anime footage from series rather than dot-matrix display recreations

Betson distributor requested full $13,000 wire transfer with no deposit structure or allocation guarantee

Pokémon LE sold out within hours with checkout failures similar to PS5 restocks, indicating demand exceeded supply by significant margin

George Gomez contributed Bond-inspired design elements to Pokémon after Jack Danger's initial layout concept

Stern plans to avoid releasing new LEs for previously released games (like Godzilla) due to collector backlash, instead offering Spike 3 Premiums with accessory kits

Pokemon pinball uses cartoon/anime assets rather than video game or card game graphics due to Stern's cost optimization on licensing

Stern's corporate design process with frequent licensor meetings and Microsoft Teams overhead limits mechanical innovation compared to boutique companies like Spooky

Pokemon Stern media day is scheduled for Feb 11, 2026; official announcement/trailer expected by week's end

Dune is a good game with solid shots and layout, though the theme doesn't personally appeal to Don

Don will scale production of Jaws chum bucket mods and distribute them free to interested Patreon members

Don will have Fall of the Empire restoration with custom C3PO topper completed by March

Don has pinball industry rumors with 'mediocre authority' to post on Patreon

Don will attend Pinball at the Beach next week after completing his 14-day isolated content series in Maine

Turner Pinball would be ideal manufacturer for Monster League Hockey based on schedule and quality

2026 could see new game releases similar to 2023's six new games at TPF

Lord of the Rings pinball deserves a remaster with larger screen and additional modes

Don participated in building a Beetlejuice sample machine at Stern, including playfield population and wiring

Don will have Beetlejuice finished within 1-2 weeks if work schedules permit

Beetlejuice is now in active customer production at Spooky Pinball with four playfield assembly stations, targeting three playfields per builder per day

Ten Beetlejuice machines will be available to play at Pinball at the Beach in early February

Spooky Pinball hand-assembles wiring harnesses rather than using pre-fabricated units like Stern

Don is working at Spooky Pinball in a non-permanent 'spiritual advisor' capacity, hoping to transition to permanent employment

Pokemon pinball game will be fully revealed within 14 days of this podcast recording

C-3PO topper costs approximately $1,400-$1,500 MSRP

Stern toppers provide integrated game choreography and light show interactivity that cannot be replicated with aftermarket solutions without extensive custom code development

The C-3PO topper's plastic construction (sides, back) should be replaced with metal or hinged access for better serviceability

Rotating mechanical elements (spinning mechanisms) and magnet-between-flippers are recurring design trends across multiple recent pinball titles from different manufacturers

Don relocated to Benton, Wisconsin and is now approximately 1 hour from The Kickback arcade in Madison

Canadian Costco hot dogs cost $1.50 CAD (approximately $0.80 USD equivalent)

Bash Pinball Podcast is launching a multi-episode interview series covering arcade operators at various stages of development

Don has a strong desire to purchase or acquire a Stranger Things Premium pinball machine

Don borrowed Spooky Pinball's event transport trailer to move games and personal belongings to Benton

Don has Winchester and Beetlejuice games arriving and does not need new games for 2026

Connected pinball represents a technological shift comparable to Xbox Live's impact on console gaming

Don owns Fall of the Empire Premium version and is waiting for expression lighting accessories with no timeline or pricing available

Don advocates that Barrels of Fun buyers should receive early access or protected ordering windows for subsequent releases

European carnival ride operators compete individually while US carnival industry uses consolidated single-operator model

2025 was a 'banger year' for pinball with 12 significant releases that all shipped during the calendar year

Medieval Madness Merlin's Edition sold through 1,000 units quickly and additional batches are planned

Fall of the Empire has only seven to eight core playfield shots in its layout

King Kong's biplane ramp is mechanically smooth and fast but difficult to hit consistently

Winchester Mystery House was announced/released as a surprise without advance community preparation

Portal is available exclusively in Multimorphic cabinet format, not as a standalone cabinet

Dungeons & Dragons features character progression, leveling, and item-unlocking mechanics

Harry Potter pinball includes content from all seven Harry Potter films

Jaws LE has a mirrored backglass; Jaws 50th Anniversary features sparkle playfield coating

Walking Dead pinball has not yet shipped to customers despite appearing at IAPA

Game of Thrones Pro is significantly more enjoyable than Premium version due to smaller upper playfield

Don scored approximately 220 million on Iron Maiden and placed first

Don had jitters during his first tournament game (Swords of Fury) and came in third place

Don's giveaway for Beetlejuice midnight launch received 80-100+ emails in response to phrase-that-pays entry

Beetlejuice game appearance on camera is significantly darker/brighter than actual in-person experience

Beetlejuice instant replay bonus recap is the first feature of its kind in pinball history

Christopher Franchi's artwork predates AI technology, making AI tracing accusations baseless

Beetlejuice layout is similar to Evil Dead due to production efficiency needs (1,000 units/year target)

Harry Potter and Beetlejuice are equally excellent in theme integration but serve different player preferences

Spooky's ramp inception (stacked ramps) feature is novel in modern pinball

A competitor manufacturer passed on the Beetlejuice license before Spooky acquired it

Beetlejuice is mechanically superior in layout discipline to recent Spooky releases (TCM, Looney Tunes)

Spooky's 2026 lineup will be 'as big or bigger than' Beetlejuice in market impact with no duds expected

Boutique manufacturers (Beetlejuice 1,000 + Winchester 500 + Harry Potter CEs) collectively displaced ~5,000 units that would have gone to Stern products

Walking Dead 500-unit LE is not selling out immediately like previous Stern LEs, indicating market saturation

Beeteljuice has superior playfield flow and shot fairness compared to recent Stern releases like X-Men

The Beetlejuice launch event replicated Disney's exclusive themed experience model and elevated brand perception accordingly

Stern needs to make strategic competitive moves to counter boutique manufacturer momentum

Beetlejuice midnight launch party attracted 50 attendees including 20 invited guests with plus-ones and Spooky factory staff

Beetlejuice machines sold out in 13 minutes via phone orders after launch with 8-10 staff handling continuous calls

Spooky Pinball website crashed immediately during Beetlejuice launch

Spooky Pinball has released 14 games total as of November 2025

Spooky Pinball launches one major game per year

Pinball at the Beach in February 2026 will be the first venue with production Beetlejuice machines available

Spooky Pinball has another unreleased game roughly one year away that represents another creative peak beyond Evil Dead and Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice will have lines at every show it appears at going forward

Beetlejuice will be slightly more popular than Evil Dead, approximately 60/40 split in favor of Beetlejuice when asked 100 people

American Pinball's next licensed game will be Cuphead, potentially rethemed from an existing design

Don (newly hired Spooky Pinball employee) organized midnight launch event that intentionally amplified FOMO through community engagement and media coordination

Beetlejuice is an objectively good game based on universal attendee approval and gameplay enjoyment

The sandworm magnet on Beeteljuice works better than Alice Cooper's equivalent mechanic

80 additional Beetlejuice games were available for phone sales on release day morning

Not a single person at the midnight event backed out of their Beetlejuice deposit

People traveled from California, Charlotte NC, southern Georgia, and multiple states to attend the event

The event went on until approximately 3:30 AM at Don's house and 1 AM at the factory

Distributors should allow low-commitment deposit holds to reduce consumer anxiety about commitment

Walking Dead Remastered cabinet art looks visually similar to Deadpool and Godzilla due to shared red/purple color saturation

Stern removed foil accents from LE cabinet art after Dungeons & Dragons, citing art direction preferences

Walking Dead Remastered uses recreated dot matrix animations rather than show footage on LCD screen

Beetlejuice may have only ~100 units available on Spooky's website at launch and will sell out within hours

Barrels of Fun conducted location testing of four Winchester Mystery House units at Pinball Expo for iterative improvements

Winchester Mystery House sold out at $11,600 price point with Evergloss cabinet finish

Beetlejuice is positioned as potential Game of the Year and best year-end finish for pinball in 4-5 years

Metallica Remastered LEs sold out immediately due to complete asset integration and cohesive design package

Walking Dead Remastered at $13,000 LE should have included foil accents, topper, shooter rod, and powder-coated coin door as standard

Boutique manufacturers (Spooky, Barrels) are now credible competitive threats to Stern Pinball's market dominance

The midnight launch party's 20 spots were filled in less than 60 seconds with 70 total entries by 90 seconds

Winchester Mystery House deposits are being flipped on Pinside at $2,000-3,500 premiums

Barrels of Fun does not allow deposit transfers; games must be taken delivery of before resale

The unrevealed Spooky game is themed around a Tim Burton property and will be revealed November 14

Star Wars pinball has fundamental design limitations with most shots performing only one function

The cost to flip Winchester Mystery House deposits is now the market's way to charge a 'fee' for playing the game before committing to full purchase

Spooky Pinball has adopted a design philosophy of 'transforming playfields' with multi-functional shots

This midnight launch event has never been done before in pinball industry history

Winchester Mystery House will maintain secondary market value at 85-90% or higher if code quality and hype levels are sustained

Beetlejuice will appeal more to players who rejected Evil Dead due to its brutal theme

Beetlejuice is a good game comparable in quality to Evil Dead

The code word for the midnight party is 'undead' and is thematically related to Beetlejuice

Fewer than 100 Beetlejuice games available for new box purchases via deposits on website

October 30th code-word RSVP will launch at noon Central Time across all social platforms simultaneously

Spooky's Winchester sold out in two days and exceeded Barrels of Fun's previous sellout record

Every distributor allocation list was completely sold out with no dropouts from pre-existing interest lists

Approximately 100 Beetlejuice units will be available for direct public sales at launch

Beetlejuice announcement should occur 'sometime soon'

A midnight release event for Beetlejuice will occur in Benton with password-protected RSVP signup

Stern will not release a Ghostbusters Remastered within the next two months

Don was not forced to collaborate with Spooky Pinball; the only requirement was that he start hunting

Don owns 18 pinball machines and traded his UltraVP 5.0 virtual cabinet for an Ultraman cabinet

The Zagnut candy bar was featured in the Beetlejuice film

This would be the first-ever midnight release event for a pinball machine in industry history

Ghostbusters license rumored for Jersey Jack (50% speculation, 50% wishful thinking)

Jersey Jack Pinball sold 3,000 Collector's Edition orders for Harry Potter

King Kong secondary market pricing has dropped below $10,000

Winchester Mystery House is game of the show at Chicago Pinball Expo 2025

Winchester Mystery House sustained 1-2 hour queues despite having four machines at Barrels booth plus additional machines at Flip It Out location

Multimorphic cabinet aging is a problem that diminishes the value proposition of modular new game installations in old cabinets

Stern's Insider Connected platform is facing competitive pressure from emerging alternatives like Plunger, Scorbit, and Chris Turner's platform

Predator had approximately 200 units total production with only 40 units remaining for purchase mid-Saturday at Expo

Plunger app by Hexapinball is free to download on Android with $50/year hosting fees for developers

Stern's market dominance is fundamentally shifting and the company is no longer an unchallenged giant

Don recently purchased a house and is not in financial position to acquire new games currently

Winchester Mystery House's Pepper Ghost effect implementation surpassed expectations and represents major mechanical achievement

Don was recently hired by Spooky Pinball and relocated from Bellingham, Washington

No midnight launch has ever been done for a pinball machine before the proposed Beetlejuice event

Star Wars Fall of the Empire has a ball trap bug where balls can wedge on plastic

Evil Dead code updates significantly improved the game post-release

Spooky typically starts production in January for early-year releases

Predator is being toured by Aaron from Fast Pinball across multiple US locations

Ryan McUade is likely joining Barrels of Fun as game designer

Big Labowski has excellent layout and mechanics despite requiring fine-tuning

Stern acquired Sonic the Hedgehog license, taking it away from Ryan McUade's homebrew

Fall of the Empire is a fun pinball game to play with learnable, backhandable shots including both orbits and the right ramp

The game has a fundamental thematic disconnect where the fun mechanics don't feel connected to Star Wars content, making it feel like playing pinball while Star Wars plays in another room

Fall of the Empire may have originally been designed as an Indiana Jones game before licensing issues forced a pivot to Star Wars

The game achieved hundreds of millions of points in multiple plays within 24 hours, indicating accessible difficulty curve

Don has relocated to Benton, Wisconsin and taken a job with a local pinball production facility in a design/development capacity

The new project Don is working on is not a resurrected failed project from the past and differs from attempts to revive Papaduke-era designs

Expression light kits for previous Stern games may not be fully coded into Fall of the Empire Premium firmware yet

Walking Dead is rumored to be revealed at Pinball Expo

The 2017 Steve Ritchie Star Wars Death Star shot is extremely tight and nearly impossible compared to Fall of the Empire's more accessible version

Fall of the Empire will sell well and be 'absolutely everywhere' despite design shortcomings

The Death Star mouth mechanism was repeatedly opening and closing on first power-on without player input

Premium Edition includes Jabba, TIE Fighter, and Pez Heads that Pro Edition does not

The AT-AT mechanism uses a small stepper motor with plastic linkage

The up-down ramp mechanism uses a small stepper motor and takes up considerable space in the cabinet

Stern is now placing protective film on black T-molding on Premium machines

The backglass frame on the Premium machine was extremely tight and difficult to remove

The game can be fully set up and made playable in approximately 10 minutes with experience

Modern pinball machines at $10-13K price points may not deliver sufficient value-for-entertainment compared to other luxury purchases

Fall of the Empire is fun to play but not deep in terms of rule complexity

Stern pinball machines have received widespread community criticism for losing their way as a manufacturer

Don Garrison purchased Charlie Emery's house in Benton, Wisconsin

Don loaded $60,000-$70,000 of pinball machines with toppers at a facility (likely Spooky Pinball) using a forklift without damaging any machines.

Circus Voltaire action figures are being produced by Leor in two versions: 16-inch limited hand-painted and 12-inch standard, with pricing around $300.

Pinball at the Beach ticket website crashed due to approximately 200 simultaneous purchase attempts, not insufficient baseline server capacity.

Pinball at the Beach only requires entry tickets for the pinball tent; non-enthusiasts can participate in beach and hotel activities without purchasing admission.

David Fix was Chief/Vice President at American Pinball responsible for Burio's Barbecue Challenge and Galactic Tank Force.

ET: The Extraterrestrial (1982) could work as a viable pinball theme with mass appeal and existing merchandise ecosystem.

T-shirt merchandise through retail platforms generates minimal profit ($1.50 per shirt at $30 retail) making small-batch production uneconomical.

Don's first forklift job was at a home improvement center called Yard Birds in Northern California in 1998 at $8/hour when he was 18 years old.

Pinball Expo is scheduled for October 18 and Don is preparing to bring homebrew toppers, David Fix t-shirts, and organize a topper contest.

Alice (JJP) has a new code update that improves upper playfield accessibility through magnet grab-and-sling mechanics, but magnets overheat with extended upper playfield use.

I don't do drugs and have never consumed substances like marijuana, cocaine, or methamphetamine

I tried one cannabis gummy a couple of years ago and had an unpleasant disorienting experience

Fentanyl is being added to street drugs like methamphetamine as a dilution agent to increase quantity and sales yield

Some pinball tournament players use alcohol or other substances to reduce anxiety during competition

Orbital Albert Agar's show 'Pinball Nerds Podcast' releases content faster than most competitors

Don purchased a house in Benton, Wisconsin adjacent to Spooky Pinball's factory

Don is collaborating on at least three unreleased Spooky Pinball games currently in playable prototype stage

The primary production bottleneck for Spooky games is coding depth and IP approvals, not playfield design or manufacturing

Don deliberately avoided all leaks of Star Wars Pinball to experience the official reveal first in Stern's conference room

Medieval Madness' castle mechanism is superior to Star Wars' AT-AT mechanic because it includes multiple shot paths, ball locks, and interactive diverter functionality

Spooky Pinball's design philosophy eliminates dead playfield space by placing meaningful mechanics (Newton balls, VUKs, wireforms) in every gap

Disney likely owns Big Trouble in Little China IP, which may restrict commercial pinball production to Stern or JJP only

Mud Flaps Pinball's Big Trouble in Little China homebrew features voice actor from original film and professional pinball artists

Predator pinball has never been publicly playable outside of Pinball Expo

Predator production ends in December due to licensing contract expiration

Star Wars Pinball has a mechanical flaw where Death Star ramp shots consistently brick

Barrels of Fun has significantly improved Dune's code post-release based on player feedback

Don has a Legend of Zelda homebrew in development that will be demoed at Pinball Expo

2017 Star Wars pinball's multiplier manipulation mechanic left negative community impression despite strong sales

Don has purchased a house in Benton, Wisconsin that was formerly owned by a Spooky Pinball co-founder

Evil Dead production is approximately 500 units and will complete by end of 2024

The next Spooky Pinball game will not be revealed or released at Pinball Expo

Next Spooky game is designed with 'integration' theme emphasizing complete immersion and franchise art

The next Spooky game will be essentially sold out before official reveal through dealer interest lists

Licensing approval processes create unpredictable delays and scope changes in pinball game development

Barrels of Fun's Dune underperformed in sales compared to Labyrinth (~1000 units vs ~500-600 units)

Don sold Harry Potter and Avatar Classic Edition to finance house deposit

Pinball game development typically takes 18-24 to 36+ months from license signing to release

Don expects the next Spooky game launch window to approach around Expo timeframe but occur before Expo

Don from Don's Pinball Podcast has been contributing design ideas to Spooky Pinball

Don has been working on a significant project he is about to reveal to Patreon supporters

Star Wars pinball Death Star rejection issue requires translucent plastic aftermarket modification

Star Wars pinball has a shooter launch rattle issue present on multiple units

Spooky Pinball will announce new game approximately 6 weeks from late September (~early November 2024)

The upcoming Spooky game's launch trailer is in production and will be 'fire'

Don sold Harry Potter, Avatar, King Kong, Wipeout, and one other game to fund house down payment

Kickback Bar is newly opened with 40 pinball machines in Madison/Middleton, Wisconsin

The best way to record remote podcast interviews is for each person to record locally and merge audio files

Don's new house in Benton, Wisconsin is wired specifically for pinball machines

Don is working a fly-in job in Maine on the Canadian border, one month on/rest off schedule

Spooky Pinball has a production facility in Benton, Wisconsin where Don can collaborate on projects

Don is planning a dedicated studio space with better equipment and will stream from new location within couple of months

Star Wars The Pin layout is generic and lacks thematic integration compared to classic games like Jaws, Godzilla, and King Kong

Designer Borg had only 20 minutes to design Star Wars due to prior work on Metallica Remastered and Walking Dead Remastered

Star Wars will probably not outsell the 2017 version and will not achieve Jaws 50th anniversary sales numbers

Walking Dead Remastered will launch post-Expo to let Star Wars stand on its own without getting upstaged

Spooky Pinball has an unreleased special game feature that alone would cause all games to sell out

Harry Potter wire forms cannot be gold-plated because gold plating interferes with electrical conductivity needed for switch registration

More demand exists on interested lists for upcoming Spooky game than actual games available for production

Predator must be shown at Expo or the project is 'dead'

Star Wars layout is above Venom but around John Wick level, primarily because of two opto-spinners

Kong LE machines are selling for around $10,000 on the secondary market

Venom needed a spinner and one could be added via Pinball Life aftermarket parts

Venom LE is currently selling around $7,000 on Pinside with Don expressing regret for not purchasing

Star Wars LE will look amazing for about 3 months until fully fleshed next game is released, then luster will fade

Portal module from Multimorphic debuted at Texas Pinball Festival in March 2025 but has not yet shipped to customers

Stern artificially restricts expression lights to Premium/LE tiers to create differentiation and push premium sales

Dutch Pinball's Alice in Wonderland is priced at $22,000 AUD (~$15-18k USD) despite mediocre gameplay

Magic Girl is a cursed project that should remain unremade due to design flaws despite impressive art by Zombie Yeti

Pedretti is personally developing Big Bang Bar remake, but project lacks clear market justification

Star Wars gameplay rated 7.2/10; lopsided score distribution with strong art/theme/sound/code but weak mechanical gameplay

John Borg designed Star Wars while simultaneously working on Metallica Remastered, Walking Dead, and cancelled Indiana Jones prototype

Stern not shipping Star Wars to Europe this cycle (unlike typical 50% European distribution)

Star Wars designed as mainstream/casual/location game rather than hardcore collector game

Data East Star Wars (1992) had superior Death Star design with rotating planet mechanic vs. Stern's fixed toilet bowl version

Stern's Insider Connected platform has cybersquatted 'Retro Jingo' username preventing legitimate user registration

Evil Dead sold out despite negative initial design reception, suggesting casual market appeal trumps collector critique

The Spike 3 screen is 35% larger than Spike 2 and features noticeably sharper high-definition resolution with truer black levels

The magnetic ball save feature between the flippers did not work reliably despite being demonstrated effectively in the trailer

Stern used approximately 1,000 video clips pulled from Star Wars films for the game's audio/visual assets

The LE features no foil embellishments on decals, only standard decals, unlike recent Stern LEs (Rush, Jaws, John Wick)

Disney licensing restrictions prevent use of original 1977-83 Star Wars film prints; only George Lucas-modified versions are available

Expression lighting is not routed into the Pro cabinet and requires major modifications to install

Fall of the Empire features at least three mechanical elements reused from John Borg's prior game Rush

The game is designed to be accessible enough that casual players can reach wizard mode with basic play

Foil embellishments on LE decals cost approximately 6x more than standard decals according to Jersey Jack information

The LE's blue powder-coated armor is less intricate in laser-cutting compared to recent games like Kong

The game has approximately eight shots with a fan layout design

Spike 3 screen appears twice as large as Spike 2 despite only 35% size increase due to resolution and color expansion

European licensing restriction is Disney's business decision, not technical/creative limitation

A backwards-compatible topper will be released that works with both Fall of the Empire and Richie Star Wars

The game will perform phenomenally at location/arcade venues due to Spike 3 hardware novelty regardless of home collector reception

John Borg designed the Stern Avatar with a destructible mech in the middle of the playfield

Dennis Nordman designed Pirates of the Caribbean for Stern

Deep Root's Alice game failed due to core design philosophy, not component quality

This is the highest win percentage ever calculated for a character in this format

Darkseid's 25 charisma is comparable to a gargantuan red or gold dragon

The AI-generated image shows an astronaut in a dancing pose after the explosion

Evil Dead is the first Spooky game manufactured 100% in the new factory

Stern Star Wars media day is September 10 with likely Monday September 8 trailer release

Big Bang Bar remaster will produce 250 units

Big Bang Bar is likely being made by Spooky Pinball, not Chicago Gaming

Star Trek: The Next Generation influenced ramp mechanics in later Stern games like Elton John

Community sentiment on Star Wars is mixed with theme fatigue concerns

Spooky Pinball's reputation is improving due to code updates and design quality

Don has played the unreleased Spooky mystery game and has deposit money ready for it

Cuphead would be worth purchasing at $9,000 price point

Don is considering taking a new job and is very excited about it

Star Trek TNG had a ribbon cable issue preventing coil firing beyond flippers

Star Trek TNG and Twilight Zone are the two most temperamental Williams machines to work on

Jaws is Stern's greatest game when considering all design elements

Pinball Brothers designs games in Sweden but manufactures them through Euro Pinball Corp in Italy

Multicade has only 150 units remaining available

The Portal costs $6,000 for topper and full game system

Star Wars Home Edition is available at Costco for $8,000

Don played Cuphead pinball prototype twice, once bringing Carrie Hardy without authorization

Don is actively reaching out to manufacturers to acquire and complete the Cuphead project

Predator's 150-unit limitation and price drop signals weak pre-order performance

Screen prices have come down drastically, making larger OLED screens feasible for Spike 3

At least one pinball game is now in production due to community feedback that wasn't initially planned by the manufacturer

All Expression Light packages are interchangeable regardless of game branding

Walking Dead Remastered has been a persistent rumor that has been discussed extensively

Harry Potter pinball game is a 'killer, killer theme' and part of the 2025 lineup that represents the strongest theme era in approximately a decade.

Evil Dead has exceptional playability with 8 modes and complex multi-ball mechanics that justify its $15,000+ secondary market valuation.

Dungeons & Dragons final wizard mode updates from Stern may be delayed due to priority given to John Wick and X-Men code work.

The current 2025 pinball theme landscape (Predator, Harry Potter, King Kong, Dune, Evil Dead, Avatar, Jaws 50th, Metallica Remastered, Alice, X-Men, ABBA, Portal, Dungeons & Dragons, plus rumored Star Wars and upcoming Spooky title) is superior to any year in the past decade.

Secondary market strategy: purchasing new pinball games at launch and reselling 6-8 months later at lower prices as production ramps can generate profit or fund other investments.

Another Star Wars pinball title is rumored to release in 2025+, separate from the recently-released Star Wars game.

Expression Lighting System on Jaws 50th Premium at $10,500 price point would justify FOMO and outsell current edition

The AI art issue in Harry Potter was implementation/execution failure rather than conceptual misalignment

Harry Potter is the best Jersey Jack game Don has played

The AI art artifacts on Harry Potter playfield cited online are not visible upon close in-person inspection

Harry Potter represents a significant gameplay quality improvement over Avatar

Stern Pinball code teams are unable to keep up with production volume

Godfather's design was a developmental step toward Harry Potter's refined mechanics

JJP's factory experience has become significantly less welcoming to media partners

Harry Potter will have a very high production volume ('thousands and thousands')

Jaws code was completed approximately 9 months before release

European pricing of €9,970 correlates fairly to US $11,000 pricing when accounting for VAT and import tax differences

Arnold Schwarzenegger custom voice-over licensing would have cost tens of millions of dollars

Jungle hunt feature contains two hidden pop bumpers accessible via magnet subway system from back orbit

Predator game could theoretically fit in narrowbody format without significant layout changes

Predator represents better value proposition than Stern Premium in European market due to local manufacturing and avoided import tariffs

Don is breaking his New Year's resolution against buying new-in-box pinball machines to purchase Harry Potter due to FOMO

Harry Potter is Jersey Jack Pinball's best layout compared to Avatar, The Godfather, and Elton John

Harry Potter will be available in completely unlimited quantities across all three varieties

Ken Cromwell left Jersey Jack Pinball to work at Flipping Out Pinball

Retro Ralph received early factory access to play Harry Potter before public launch

First location copies of Harry Potter appeared at Finney's Arcade in Ohio within 24 hours of launch

Five banana shooter rods listed on Pinside sold out in two days at $60 each

Harry Potter Wizard Edition features glitter on playfield, gold powder coated armor, and gold wire forms

Upgrading chrome wire forms to gold plating would cost $1,500-$1,800 in aftermarket customization

Jersey Jack Pinball headquarters has a playable Harry Potter machine in the lobby accessible to public

Don will purchase a used Arcade edition Harry Potter for approximately $7,500 in six weeks rather than commit to Collector's Edition at $15,000

Dune flows better and requires fewer high-accuracy shots than Labyrinth

Pinball Brothers' Alien was a good game; Queen was not; ABBA was fun but not good

Predator pricing is critical unknown factor determining Don's purchasing interest ($4.5k vs $15k scenario)

King Kong's drop target sweeps are the favorite mechanical element

The left upper flipper area plays like a mini-playfield with four drop targets, a mini flipper, and a diverter

Pinball Brothers is currently under spotlight for marketing stumbles with teasing

Don doesn't know how to achieve an extra ball on King Kong as of this recording

Kong's curly-Q right orbit shot geometry creates intentional ball routing behavior distinct from other ramp designs like Fire

Don will play Dune again at a new location soon

Kong's layout is more interesting than Jaws' (Premium version), though Jaws ranks higher overall due to theme integration

Jaws has more compelling modes than Kong with subtle details like Keith appearing in the sheriff station window

Pinball Brothers' Predator teasing strategy will cause community fatigue and reduce interest in the eventual release

Marco supplies reproduction Medieval Madness playfields for approximately $1,000

Harry Potter is the most expensive license ever secured for pinball

An insider who has seen Predator gameplay is extremely excited about it and would be honest about quality issues

Evil Dead's primary design flaw is the ball release mechanism for cabin multiball modes

Don will not sell Avatar to finance Harry Potter because he enjoys Avatar too much and hasn't owned it long enough

Pinball Brothers hasn't had a good game since Alien; ABBA and Queen received lukewarm/poor reception.

ABBA is actually a good playing game despite its divisive reception in the community.

Pinball games require a visionary leader (Sherpa) to guide talented teams from concept to excellent execution.

Cathay Pacific provides superior leg room and service compared to domestic US airlines

A 2.5-hour Spirit Airlines flight is more uncomfortable than a 15-hour international flight on a quality carrier

International theme parks cost significantly less than Disney World in Florida

Hong Kong does not require US citizens to have a visa

Singapore's VPN requirement is primarily a mainland China concern, not Hong Kong

Singapore Changi Airport features a rainforest, massive fountain, and multi-level entertainment mall

Air India flight from Delhi to Chicago was rerouted to Vienna due to Pakistan airspace closure

Harry Potter and Cuphead pinball announcements are pending and will be reported first on Don's Pinball Podcast

Kong LE contains anti-reflective glass, shaker motor, upgraded speakers, speaker lights, and foil art but these can be sourced/replicated separately for roughly $1,500, leaving a $1,500 gap in the $3,000 LE premium.

Kong Pro model includes all major shots and the same code as Premium and LE variants, unlike games with substantial feature gaps between tiers.

Harry Potter's $5 million licensing cost and complexity explains repeated delays and undefined release timeline.

Tariff uncertainty and economic instability are causing significant collector budget cuts and purchase delays, not just demand fluctuation.

Pinball Brothers' ABBA sold approximately 16 copies total.

Kong LE backglass is among the best backglasses Stern has produced, comparable to John Wick LE.

Dune's worm mechanism has a design flaw where the rear corner is not flush with the playfield, causing ball traps that require glass removal to fix.

Predator (Pinball Brothers) missed its April 29 announced release date and remains unavailable as of early May.

Community sentiment compares Jersey Jack's Harry Potter to Godfather, suggesting it may underwhelm with slow/grindy gameplay like Godfather.

International markets (Singapore, urban India, Hong Kong) have significant capital for premium entertainment but minimal pinball presence, representing untapped expansion opportunity.

Portal is probably Multimorphic's best game but has completely dropped off in community conversation after Dune and Kong launched the same week

King Kong LE units are softening in the secondary market and not selling out

Harry Potter is ready to come out and is influencing buyer hesitation on Kong LE

Dungeons & Dragons pinball had an inadequate original Mimic plastic

Over-torquing the bolts can crack the Mimic chest plastic

The ball trap plastic mitigates ball traps nearly 100%

The mod has been successfully installed on multiple machines

The Mimic Chest mod installation is 2 out of 5 in complexity

The ball trap plastic mitigates airball incidents almost 100%

The original Mimic plastic on D&D pinball was insufficient

Over-torquing the plastic bolts can crack the Mimic chest

Don rates King Kong 9.8/10 overall, with strong mechanical execution but adequate (not exceptional) code depth on release

Keith Elwin's design process starts with a flagship shot and builds gameplay around it

The helix/cinnamon roll shot was designed to be the core mechanical feature of King Kong

Initial social media criticism about King Kong art focused on color palette and modern comic book style

Dune is the best Dune pinball machine ever made

Barrels of Fun secured the Dune license from Legendary Pictures before having any pinball games to demonstrate

Dune's reveal was accelerated due to a distributor website going live early

Kong has five different toys between Pro and Premium tiers

Dune's playfield layout is a spiritual successor to Labyrinth with more open shot entrances

Don had approximately 20 minutes of play time during the Barrels of Fun media visit

There are approximately 30 Labyrinth machines awaiting back glass installation, signaling end of that production run

Dune contains placeholder Mario jump sound effects in pre-release code

Don works healthcare positions while attending every major pinball conference

Don aspires to a pinball developer position paying upwards of $40,000 per year

American Pinball's unreleased game is better than Stern Pro-tier machines

Rick and Morty had 750 units produced, 138 fewer than Evil Dead's 888

Don is potentially under NDA regarding American Pinball unreleased game details

Don is behind on Patreon translite giveaways and merchandise fulfillment

Don plans to make the Barrels media day visit into a larger event with crew for future releases

Don has merchandise orders for WAP t-shirts and other designs

Evil Dead units at Texas Pinball Festival dropped from 59 remaining to near-zero over 2+ days due to on-site playtesting demand

Evil Dead production run is 808 units total

Medieval Madness Limited Edition preorders sold out in approximately 10 minutes

Chicago Gaming's Medieval Madness pricing increased from $9,000 to $12,000 vs prior Royal Edition

Star Wars Pro pinball is highly profitable on location operation despite Pro-tier positioning

Over 250 people are still waiting for Pulp Fiction Limited Edition after 2 years

American Pinball will not pursue reactive movie studio licensing deals

Disney Imagineering contracted with Universal Studios 15-20 years ago, improving Universal's ride quality

Jason Grindle from Classic Game Rooms will represent American Pinball at shows

Don's Dungeons & Dragons topper will cost less than $1,500 and use 3D printing and interactive lighting

Dungeons & Dragons code .85 is much farther ahead in gameplay depth and engagement than John Wick and Ultimate X-Men

Twisted has been asking for a pinball machine, possibly on a weekly basis at some point

Music licensing costs have inflated from ~$2M historically to $3.5-5M in contemporary deals

Niche-theme pinball machines fail to reach market due to small fanbase size relative to licensing costs

D&D pinball requires logged-in connected play for optimal engagement; offline one-off play is repetitive and limited

He played Venom Premium significantly more than Foo Fighters Premium despite owning Foo Fighters longer

We Are Pinball Patreon has reached approximately 30 supporters and parity with Don's Pinball Podcast contribution levels

Avatar Collector's Edition has a vertical up kicker in back used for skill shot and ball lock

D&D Tyrant's Eye has better code, shot design, and mechanical fairness than both John Wick and X-Men

X-Men Uncanny X-Men code was rushed at release

There have been 26 total Spike 2 Stern Pinball titles (excluding variants)

81 total Spike 2 SKUs exist across Pro/Premium/LE/Anniversary/Black & White editions

Barrels of Fun has 100+ remaining Labyrinth units to produce before ending production

Manufacturing a pinball machine takes 60-40 to 60 man hours depending on complexity

John Wick topper should have been priced at $799 standard / $1,500 premium instead of $1,500 for a single version

Multimorphic is rumored to launch a Portal-themed game at Texas Pinball Festival

500+ customers are still waiting for Pulp Fiction deliveries

Barrels of Fun's second game will likely release in June-July 2025 rather than Texas Pinball Festival March debut

The mystery BOF machine is expected to sell 250-300 units as successful outcome for niche venue market

The mystery machine will likely be revealed within 4-6 weeks

Retro Ralph sold his John Wick due to code stagnation

We Are Pinball Patreon reached $600/month in first month of operation

Don speculates Road Trip will be priced between $4,500-$7,000 based on boutique market comparables

The walrus statue in Road Trip's Golden Gate Bridge area is geographically/zoologically inaccurate because sea lions, not walruses, inhabit San Francisco Bay

Spooky Pinball's quality control has improved significantly since the Rick and Morty era

About 700 Evil Dead machines have sold to date with distributors continuing to place orders for tens at a time

Evil Dead will reach 888 unit sellout in 2025

Spooky Pinball is the only major pinball manufacturer doing consistent weekly community engagement streams with creators

Avatar CE playfields at Expo were not final production versions and showed reduced color richness compared to prototypes

Jaws 50th Anniversary should be the benchmark for post-launch code support and content for all Stern releases

X-Men had strong initial hype that quickly fell off due to delayed code updates

Avatar CE is expected to hold secondary market value better than Toy Story 4, Godfather, and Guns & Roses CEs

Distributors had only a few hours of demo access to Dungeons & Dragons before release

Empire Strikes Back is arguably the best film from the original Star Wars trilogy

Stern's recent Star Wars game features only a blue Hoth insert and horseshoe shot for Hoth representation

A major pinball company was working on Raiders of the Lost Ark recently but development stopped for undisclosed reasons

Breaking Bad is a better series than Better Call Saul

The Jock Lindsey aircraft registration letters in Raiders of the Lost Ark are C-3PO

Better Call Saul is probably a better series than Breaking Bad

The Indiana Jones Adventure at Disneyland will open at Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2-3 years

Empire Strikes Back would guarantee at least 2,000 unit sales from launch

Gremlins, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Breaking Bad are all commercially viable pinball themes capable of moving 2,000+ units

The boulder rolling mechanism in Raiders of the Lost Ark uses a spindle through its middle in the film

Don has personally played American Pinball's unreleased game and it is their best game to date.