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We are Pinball WAP episode # 6 Stern GODZILLA 70th anniversary!!!

We Are Pinball (WAP)·podcast_episode·48m 8s·analyzed·Jul 9, 2024
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.039

TL;DR

Stern's Godzilla 70th Anniversary premium undercuts LE market, forcing discussion of unsustainable three-tier pricing.

Summary

Two hosts discuss Stern's surprise announcement of a Godzilla 70th Anniversary edition in black-and-white, priced at $9,699 MSRP as a premium variant. They analyze market implications for existing LE owners, debate pricing strategy and value proposition across Pro/Premium/LE tiers, and celebrate the game's design quality while discussing broader concerns about Stern's three-tier pricing model and distributor inventory problems.

Key Claims

  • Host sold Godzilla premium for $8,500 six months ago; same games now selling for $7,000 on secondary market

    high confidence · Direct personal transaction and market observation by host

  • Godzilla LE originally cost $10,500 MSRP; subsequent LEs jumped to $13,000

    high confidence · Host's direct pricing history from distributorship experience

  • John Wick LE selling for $10,700 with only 57 plays (brand new condition)

    high confidence · Pinside secondary market observation during episode

  • Stern extended payment terms from 13 days to 90 days for distributors

    high confidence · Host stated as recent policy change

  • Distributor warehouses are filled with unsold LE versions of multiple games

    medium confidence · Host's personal knowledge of distributor inventory problems; stated as 'I know so many distros'

  • Ghostbusters LE still selling for $17,000 on secondary market

    high confidence · Pinside search during episode

  • Distributors were forced to buy Venom Pros to secure LE allocation on subsequent titles

    medium confidence · Host speculation about Stern allocation leverage strategy

  • Godzilla 70th Anniversary will be in production and available in 'a couple weeks'

    medium confidence · Host stated 'I heard it's in production' and reference to typical Stern production speed

  • Keith Elwin is the designer of Godzilla

    high confidence · Host states 'the guy that designed this game Keith Elwin' and 'designed by Keith Heldman [sic], my favorite designer'

  • George Gomez released a two-minute promotional video for Godzilla 70th Anniversary

    high confidence · Direct reference to video premiere and reaction by hosts

Notable Quotes

  • “I think this one we just had this two minute clip but when we see it in person I think maybe a guy like me that doesn't like black and white pinball machines maybe we will fill in because I have seen the Elvira it looks beautiful in real life”

    Host (discussing in-person impact of black-and-white aesthetic) @ ~5:00 — Acknowledges aesthetic prejudices can be overcome by physical experience; validates design choice viability

  • “six months ago this would have been 10-5 probably but with the way the market's going this is absolutely the right price point for it”

    Host (market analysis) @ ~8:00 — Confirms Stern was listening to market feedback about pricing; $9,699 is strategic pricing correction

  • “I just want to say rest in peace for all the LE owners that thinks that they can sell their games for $16,000, $17,000 it's over from today it's done it's over, it's over man”

    Co-host Donnie @ ~15:00 — Stark assessment of secondary market impact; LE value destruction by premium black-and-white variant

  • “With this move, with this mirror cabinet now, your game is just not worth that much money. How do you think Stern is thinking right now? because Stern has upset some of those very rich guys.”

    Host @ ~25:00 — Acknowledges Stern's deliberate decision to anger early adopters; raises stakes of pricing politics

  • “The premiums should go down to $7,500. That's how I feel. The market says that an LE is worth $10,700 right now.”

    Host (pricing philosophy) @ ~30:00 — Proposes alternative three-tier structure based on secondary market realities

  • “stern is much more clever than you and i they have people that sits down and looks at the secondary market and they're and they're checking which games goes for the highest price and they will remake those games”

    Co-host Donnie @ ~55:00 — Attributes sophisticated market intelligence to Stern's remake strategy; implies future Ghostbusters Spike 3 possibility

  • “my favorite designer the guy that designed this game Keith Elwin, I love his games I'm so happy that they used George Gomez to make this video he's a much better salesman than Elwin”

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyGodzilla 70th AnniversarygameKeith ElwinpersonGeorge GomezpersonJack DangerpersonDonniepersonJengispersonJeff / Mad Pinballperson / company

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Distributor warehouses filled with unsold LE inventory; forced purchasing leverage tactics on decline as distributors resist Stern allocation coercion

    high · Donnie: 'I know so many distros. I don't want to give you the titles of the games, but their warehouses are filled with games also limited version games'; host notes 'after venom distros were like we can't really buy all these John Wicks'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Growing community frustration with three-tier pricing model perceived as unsustainable and lacking differentiation justifying premium costs

    high · Host challenges Stern's LE pricing: 'I think the early should cost just under $10,000. The premiums should go down to $7,500'; notes games vary in quality but all charged at $13,000 flat

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Keith Elwin design standard ('Elwyn touch') being positioned as aspirational for all Stern games; host suggests other designers should incorporate Elwin principles

    medium · Host: 'I think Elwynn should have his touch on all the games. I hope all the designers, I think they're just, you know, sharing ideas and designs and trying different designers' games'

  • $

    market_signal: Secondary market secondary market value destruction for premium/LE variants; Godzilla LE and John Wick LE showing rapid depreciation to $10,700 range despite recent release

    high · John Wick LE with 57 plays (essentially new) at $10,700; Godzilla LE at $10,500 MSRP now threatened by 70th Anniversary premium at $9,699; host sold Godzilla premium at $8,500, now $7,000

  • ?

    personnel_signal: George Gomez elevated as primary promotional voice for Stern; hosts explicitly credit him with superior marketing effectiveness vs. Keith Elwin

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.144

0:00
yeah oh man what episode number six jeng is i didn't think this was even gonna happen today but we got some news that dropped on us oh yes some black and white news oh yes it has been dropped upon us in our laps i mean this wasn't planned but it just all of a sudden Stern 70th edition Godzilla George Gomez video so cool I just made a reaction video on my YouTube channel and you were there live and you were like the premiere of yeah baby thank you for always having my back man thank you for all the support Donnie so you just said let's do a show let's just do episode 6 this is not planned nothing in script no nothing this is directly from the heart and we're just gonna we're just gonna talk stern on this one it's gonna be a stern episode right donnie a stern episode i love it oh yeah baby so before we start i just want to ask you a week or something ago you sold the um the godzilla premium version you had for 8 500 are you happy with that sale right now consider the fact that they're going for 7 000 right now yes i think that was the correct At the end of the show, I'm going to ask you if you want to buy the black and white edition. Don't answer right now. Don't answer it. But I'm looking forward to hear your thoughts. People were begging me for that Godzilla. And I was like, I don't know. Now I couldn't give it away.
1:41
Isn't that quick? So Stern released this 70th edition. Black and white. With mirror on the artwork. With protectors on the flippers. better armor than the pro version that's that's and it has got great buildings great godzilla and msrp 9699 what do you think about the art that's it's it's i mean the art's still the art man it's still zombie yeti's drawings dude but just like the black and white punctuated with the red man and i love i love that it did the the katakana japanese script for godzilla and like that's all you see so it's not like godzilla stern pinball it's just like gojira gojira gojira in red it looks i mean that that part down at the flippers i was like this is pure awesomeness i love everything japan i love everything asian so this is just usually usually you're a big fan of black and white pinball machines obviously and i'm the opposite obviously but this is this is i mean when you unbox your elvira black and white you were like jengis this is this is this is next level get in person man yeah you can say it so i think i think this one we just had this two minute clip but when we see it in person I think maybe a guy like me that doesn't like black and white pinball machines maybe we will fill in because I have seen the Elvira it looks beautiful in real life absolutely man so the game this game we all know between the lines that Stern wanted to continue their like Jurassic Park 30th edition for $13,000 but you know the mob just went apeshit and what do you think about this because we we did discuss this a few weeks back when we said should it be priced like a another premium game and you said no it will cost a bit more but no they have been listening nice i like it is nice it is nice six months ago this would have been 10-5 probably but with the way the market's going this is absolutely the right price point for it if you're one of like the five people that don't have a godzilla yet like what better time than now than this i want to ask you from this game to the limited edition what more do you get with the limited so just like superficial things that you could add yourself invisiglass shaker motor art blades um art blades yeah you can get the black and white art blades for this one also So what do they cost?

Host @ ~65:00 — Validates George Gomez's promotional effectiveness; implies Keith Elwin marketing limitations

  • “There's something magical about Keith Elwin. He's a pro gamer. He's one of us. And his designs are just different.”

    Host @ ~75:00 — Elevates Elwin as industry standard; suggests his design philosophy ('Elwyn touch') should influence all designers

  • “I heard it's in production. You can get this game, like, in a couple weeks. Already? I mean, I love this about Stern so much. They show a game, and it's on production.”

    Host and co-host @ ~85:00 — Celebrates Stern's rapid production turnaround and market responsiveness

  • “No shot is a wasted shot. You hit something. You do something all the time. And the coolest part, if it don't know what you're doing on the screen, it will say secret shot number four. You just did that.”

    Host (game design praise) @ ~80:00 — Highlights Godzilla's rule depth and narrative feedback design; exemplifies what makes the game special

    • John Wick
    game
    Jawsgame
    Godzilla Premiumgame
    Godzilla LEgame
    Ghostbustersgame
    Venomgame
    Rushgame
    Foo Fightersgame
    Jurassic Park 30th Anniversarygame
    Elviragame
    San Diego Comic-Con 2024event
    Texas Pinball Festivalevent
    Metallicagame
    Lord of the Ringsgame
    Munstersgame
    Stranger Thingsgame
    Tron Legacygame

    medium · Host: 'I'm so happy that they used George Gomez to make this video he's a much better salesman than Elwin'; Gomez released surprise two-minute video announcement

  • $

    market_signal: Hosts articulate fundamental problem with flat $13,000 LE pricing across all titles despite significant quality/feature variance; suggests price anchoring destroying premium tier value

    high · Host: 'How can you keep that one price for every one of them? That's because they just keep one maximum bill of material'; notes Jaws/Elwin can command premium pricing but John Wick cannot at same MSRP

  • $

    market_signal: Godzilla 70th Anniversary priced at $9,699 premium tier (vs. typical $11,000-$13,000 premium range) signals Stern's deliberate market correction in response to distributor inventory crisis and secondary market collapse

    high · Host states 'six months ago this would have been 10-5 probably but with the way the market's going this is absolutely the right price point for it'; attributed to distributor leverage loss after Venom/John Wick demand failures

  • ?

    announcement: Godzilla 70th Anniversary premium in black-and-white variant announced with rapid production timeline (couple weeks to delivery)

    high · George Gomez released promotional video; host: 'I heard it's in production. You can get this game, like, in a couple weeks'; Jeff at Mad Pinball taking pre-orders

  • ?

    product_strategy: Stern likely planning Spike 3 remakes of classic high-value LEs (Ghostbusters at $17k secondary) based on Godzilla 70th Anniversary success model

    medium · Donnie: 'stern is much more clever than you and i they have people that sits down and looks at the secondary market and they're and they're checking which games goes for the highest price and they will remake those games'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Dramatic positive re-evaluation of Godzilla game by host; initial indifference ('so what? Godzilla') transformed to obsession after Texas Pinball Festival hands-on experience

    high · Host: 'I had heard about this game, and I'm like, so what? Godzilla. I don't care about that. I was at Texas Pinball Festival, and I walked by one...And then I was like, holy garbage. What the hell is happening?'

  • ?

    technology_signal: Spike 3 remake discussion indicates Stern considering full digital/video integration for classic remakes (Ghostbusters with movie clips) as strategy to justify higher pricing

    low · Host speculative: 'what if they reach back and did a ghostbuster spike three with a big screen showing clips from the movie donnie it would be much much easier for them'

    • 4:32
    $200? There's like $129. It could be $89 to $199 depending on whatever. Are these Artblades going to have that foil reflectiveness in it? Wow, that would be amazing. Is it going to be a new artwork or is it going to be the same, just in black and white? It's going to be the same artwork in black and white because that artwork is already approved from the licensor. You don't have to then go and meet with them again. It's already done. And the topper is going to be the same just in gray? In gray, yeah. In gray. Everything is going to be gray. Okay, okay. So, here in Europe, the early version used three years old, thousands of games, 16,000 euros. Jesus. That's the price over here. It's one of the few Stern games that holds the value until today. So what was they listed for in the U.S.? Was it like $16,000, $17,000 for an LE? Oh, you know, I haven't even been looking at that. That's the – as far as – gosh, such a great game, but the LE really doesn't offer anything. It's got the same armor. This type of armor that's on this premium is what's on the LE. It's just powder coated silver. That's it. But the LE, every time I talked about people with this, The Illy had that mirror foiled armor that just looks beautiful on the Illy. But now? Watching the video, George Gomez was like, we got this new back glass. So is it an actual glass that's coming on this premium? Or is it just a Translight? I don't know yet. I don't know. I think it's a Translight. It's $9,700. But this one has got the foil cabinet just like the limited version. I just want to say rest in peace for all the LE owners that thinks that they can sell their games for $16,000, $17,000 it's over from today it's done it's over, it's over man take this Godzilla throw the art blades in it powder coat the armor and you've got something that looks phenomenal so one question this game with this price does it feel right or wrong how does it feel this feels like a warm hot tub man so in this case we can't really play this awesome song right this shit feels perfect right except for the early owners yeah do we have other if you just look at games last four years do we have other Stern limited edition games that are that expensive today. We had Godzilla until yesterday. But do we have something else? Jurassic Park tanked in value after the 30s. Elvira tanked. So what more? What's left? Munster's premium is still going for quite a bit of money.
    7:39
    $60,000? What does the LE cost? It's up there. I'm going to look it up right now. But they don't stay up very long. And I've been looking. Not a lot of them were made. For whatever reason, it's going for a lot. It didn't sell that much back then. I think it's a game from 2019, as I remember.
    7:58
    Is there any LEs for sale out there? Yes. Let's see. 10,500, 13,000, 14,000, 10,000 firm. Okay, so it has come down in price. LE? LE, yeah. Okay, so can you – is there other – I'm thinking what other – Guardians of the Galaxy. I wonder what that's going for. Oh, get out of here. It's that... I mean...
    8:28
    I was just about to say it's a DMD game, but no, it is newer. It was Spike 2. There weren't a ton of them. $14,000 or best offer. Ah, get out of here, man. Who's going to pay that? I got it. Stranger Things. Oh, yeah. That was the one. Stranger Things was so expensive before they remade the premiums before they re-ran them let me see, according to Pinside yeah there's none available no, no, okay alright, so if you was I got it, Tron Legacy LE $18,900 that's the joke of the day man oh did you get some mails because of our episode 5 where we talked about Lord of the Rings no I didn't I have a couple of guys wrote to me Retro you usually you're this positive guy that just loves pinball machines how can I talk like this about Lord of the Rings you were on Dawn you were like hating it bashing it and we were not hating it we were just saying for like $14,000, $15,000 for a normal version Lord of the Rings it's just not worth it that's the only thing we said about it right?
    9:54
    but let's just go in and talk about this 70th edition do you think they should do this or they should do a limited version of this game could that be better just like Jurassic Park Limited. So if this was limited, what would they do? Would they do 1,000 of them? Would they do 500? I kind of imagine they would want to do 1,000. I think Jurassic was like 500, right? Wasn't it? Yeah. So they could powder coat the armor. They could put in some more stuff and sell these for $13,000. If they did that, would that move do anything for the LE market, the LE owners?
    10:41
    Probably the same thing. I don't know that it would be any worse. I mean, if they just took this premium version and just made it black and white, then I don't think it will do that much for the LE. as soon as they put in this metallic foil in it yeah and the same armor in it i mean giving these le stuff and now they're making new code but they're also putting the code on the other versions but you know oh they are really hitting the le owners i mean tomorrow people are going to be so crazy because if you want this game most people are not like me i like the pro version of this game but most people want that building it is what it is yeah yeah most people want this magnetic belly dude come on yeah that that's cool that's i mean the bridge is cool but every time you look at your prices i have to put in thousand bucks for shipping on top of that and plus 25 percent vet and in australia is even more and this show is international it's the whole world So it a lot of money So we need to see can we see the value in a premium compared to pro I mean 99 of the people will prefer the pro or limited version of this game But a premium or limited, I like the pro. But this game, it looks amazing, but it just gives so much from the LE version. So do you think, do you think we'll see a black and white pro next?
    12:27
    I mean, no, because I think they have sold like 80-20% between the pro and premium. I think most people want the premium. And if you look at the secondary market, there are so many premium versions of this game for sale everywhere. I was an operator in Europe, and it comes to like James Bond 007, Deadpool.
    12:53
    Those games are Iron Maiden even. you're okay with the pro it's not worth that much extra even though the premiums are better i don't think it's worth that much but godzilla is one game that you're really getting a lot for that extra money if you go for the premium i just we have seven locations okay okay so if we put in james bond pro yeah and in another location that earns the same amount of money in a week or a James Bond premium paying 30%, 40% more. Do you think the premium version will earn that much more every week? No, especially for a game like Bond where there's – like nobody would even know it was even different unless you know – Okay, so let's say – Then let's say another game, Deadpool Pro or premium. Do you think the premium will generate that much more money every week? No, no. absolutely not absolutely not i mean it just no way in the old days few years back when the limited version of these games cost like 7500 and the premium versions cost like 6000 and the pro versions cost like just under 5000 back then we bought only the limited editions for 7500 put them out on location they could make money and then when we want to sell it they kept their value so it was just zero investment back then it was but 7500 that was if I wanted you know ACDC it was just 7500 that was it Donnie and if you knew some guys out there you back then you could actually between 5 to 10 years ago you could call different distros and get different cool deals it it was such a fun time when you wanted to buy a game back then it was so cool but today it's just it's too much for the early 13 000 and uh most of the games they didn't hold their value so we have just seen john wick le what's it so for was it 11 12 999 was its price yeah but selling for 11 right now selling and there is this one guy that has played how many games have you seen his ad like oh it's like 12 or something i think it was 26 games or something like that and 11 000 so if if a guy lives in whatever la and he buys this game for 13 000 how much you have to pay some tax on top of that right oh whoa hang on i'm looking at pin side Somebody just put one up for $10,700 or best offer. How many games played? 57. Oh, my God. That's what I'm talking about. I'm so sorry, Godzilla LE owners. With this move, with this mirror cabinet now, your game is just not worth that much money. How do you think Stern is thinking right now? because Stern has upset some of those very rich guys. I mean, honestly, what are they going to do? Just get out of pinball altogether? Probably not. But, yeah, it's not good to curry this kind of disfavor. $10,700 for a brand-new John Wick LE. The premium is a sucker bet. If you get a John Wick premium, it's worthless. $1,000 more, you get the LE. It looks so cool. It comes with $1,200 worth of lights in it. And how many played? How many games was it? 57. Oh, that's a brand new game. I have a John Wick LE. It has 500 plays on it already. Oh.
    16:54
    I can't wrap out of that. How long time have you had that game now? I got it a couple of weeks ago. What happens in people's mind if they buy a game? I put 55 games on John Wick this morning trying to get that contract.
    17:13
    It's crazy, man. To be honest, I'm so happy about this move that Stern did. They didn't come out with this game for $13,000. They put in some early stuff in it, and they hold the prize for the premium. But still, I think the early should cost just under $10,000. The premiums should go down to $7,500. That's how I feel. The market says that an LE is worth $10,700 right now. I'm so sorry. Right around there. And when Godzilla LE came out, we bought the LE for $10,500. That was the price. Yeah. And that was the price jump. And we were like, why does this LE cost $10,500 compared to the older ones? And we were told this one has got this little camera at the apron, which is called Insider Connected. It's going to be so cool. You need to pay $1,000 more for that. It's going to be awesome. And then the next game, it just jumped up to, what, 13,000. We were like, why?
    18:20
    But it was because of COVID, okay. But now 2024, summer, still 13,000. We're like, why, Donnie, why? We got to see demand pricing, I think. A game like John Wick, probably if it was $11.99, that would make more sense. But like Jaws or an Elwynn can probably still get that $12.99 for LE. But across the board, charging the same $13,000 for every LE, the games are going to vary in quality. How can you keep that one price for every one of them? That's because they just keep one maximum bill of material. They don't care about the theme and so on and so on. They just think this one costs this much to make. It's the same if they make a Jaws or whatever, John Wick. It's the same. It's probably the same as far as paying the coders, doing the artists. Like that's all probably the same. Putting the toys. Yeah. So that's why, man. But, I mean, now on last show we talked about they're giving 90 days for distros to pay the games instead of 13 and now this move it feels like i mean because we could feel this for about a year ago but stern couldn't feel this market hit because every new game they come out with all the distros just bought their games bought their games bought but now after venom distros were like we can't really buy all these John Wicks and they did and now distros are saying to Stern dudes we're just filled up now we can't get more gifts do something for us and before there was leverage because if you didn't buy those Venom Pros you weren't going to get as many Jaws LEs allotted to you so they were like alright fine I want to take the hit on the Venom because I know those LEs are going to sell for Jaws but we don't have any more jaws is on the horizon the market's different now you know and and i don't know if i should say this but i'm gonna say that anyway distros when they got oh how can i put in a nice way okay so i'm a distro and you want to buy um you want to buy you don't want to you you call me up every time every three months and you say jengis i want to buy this turn game so venom comes out and you contact me and you say Genghis, I usually order all the LEs, but this time I'm not sure. It's not a thing for me. And I will say, okay, then you are not on my LE list anymore, darling. You can't hit me up on the next game. Bye-bye. And you're like, wait, wait, wait. I will just take the hit. I will just buy. That scenario is done today. Ridiculous. I know so many distros. I don't want to give you the titles of the games, but their warehouses are filled with games also limited version games it is what it is so do you think do you think to be honest that stern will take their prices down so they're either going to do that or they're going to keep putting more value into the games and keep the price where it is now i don't think they're going to include a free topper um but we saw them do things like with jaws le they included the shooter rod so that was like an extra 170 dollars or something they didn't have to spend you know With the John Wick LE, we're seeing the lights included. Those would be like $700. So if we start seeing them include more accoutrement, they're doing better armor on the premium now. It's little things, but it makes it hurt not as bad. I think we're more likely to see that kind of stuff than like a price drop, what I'd like to see. Okay. Or maybe rebates to distributors so they can advertise lower prices, have sales, $500 off this weekend only, new in-box inventory or something. I think we'll see that kind of stuff. Yeah, so they can come out, clear up the old titles, so they don't just burn in with those games, just like they did with Turtles? Yeah. And one other title. Rush. Was it Rush? Yeah, okay, okay. That's odd, because they're building new Rushes now. But at the time, though, Stern wasn't giving a rebate back to distributors. They were just saying, you can advertise it as less than MSRP, but it's still your lot. oh yes i mean distros took the hit that i'm that that's for sure so you're you're thinking they will still keep the early prices at 13 000 but they will uh put up the bill of material a bit higher up 100 or 200 bucks yeah give us something you know um yeah or you know run two different toppers and have it come with the well they probably won't do that either to be honest if they did if they if they're doing stuff like that i want instead of a shooter rod or a topper i want more toys on the play field. Yes. If you fill up the... I mean, look at an old title like... Give me a certain title that's jam-packed. Yeah, Godzilla is packed.
    23:22
    But we can... A packed game, J.J.P. Pirates, is a packed game. Yes. If that comes out and costs $13,000 today, people will think I'm getting so much for my money, they will just buy it. Because it's just jam-packed. More Ghostbusters, please. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Ghostbusters yeah I mean that It's a Spike 1 game That would be the easiest game To remake for them Or even just put in that level of Mechanisms and sculpted things you know Give me a playground to go play in you know Yeah oh my god That LE version Of Ghostbusters I think it's Over 15k still today It sweet And that came I think that game cost like 9 000 when it came out as an le i gotta run that again what if there so okay metallica spike three is the rumor what if they reach back and did a ghostbuster spike three with a big screen showing clips from the movie donnie it would be much much easier for them because it's just a spike one system because taking this old dmd it's it's it's a huge because not only the display if you look under the play field with the new games with the note board system they are just using this internet rj45 cables yeah but on the old games you have so much wiring and they have to update all of that to the new Noteboard system, because Stern is not going to do one-to-one the old wiring, because that would just destroy their new bill of material. Their bill of material on the old games is much higher than this. So they have to, you know,
    25:06
    rework that. But it would be an easier game to remake. I mean, why not, man? I don't know the use. Can you see if there is an LE for sale on Pinside? Absolutely. Of those monsters. let's see if they cost 50 because stern is much more clever than you and i they have people that sits down and looks at the secondary market and they're and they're checking which games goes for the highest price and they will remake those games i mean why not there's three available they're all 17 000 there you go i mean if they have to remake the um license but you know a new Ghostbusters movies coming soon? Go to the licensed holder and be like, hey, remember we had that deal before? Let's renew it here. Let's help each other make some money. Boom, there you go. Yeah, there we go. And they will sell. To re-up it, it's got to be easier than negotiating the first time. Should they do this move that they did with Godzilla? Or should they do the Jurassic Park move? with the 30s. I don't think we need a black and white Ghostbusters. Come on.
    26:22
    What do you mean bring out a premium, though? Yeah, should they do premium for 9.6 or should they do a limited version? The reason I'm asking is the Ghostbusters premium it looks so boring compared to the limited edition. Have you seen the LE in real deal? Yeah, yeah. With that subway ramp? Dude, I love it. Just all that green legs green armor it looks so fantastic man i love that game i think the sense was that uh stern is going to redo an le they're not going to go like from a spike two and run those again but if they go back they might come out with like some brand new limited version of it and i think we'd give them a lot of leeway there i love that they have done this with um with godzilla the Only thing that I'm missing is powder coating those armored.
    27:17
    Red or something. The same red that they use on the font of that Japanese Gojira. Yeah, Gojira. Yeah. The red or a gloss black would look good too. Oh, yes. That's a better idea. If I bought one of these, which if I did, I would tear that armor off, take it to my powder coat, or throw it on and have the ultimate version right there. So you just answered. you're not going to buy it right now. But you have at least five years to buy this game, right? Yeah, this thing should stay in production forever. It's so awesome. It's still producing Star Wars. That's the best thing. So if this was an LE, they'd make $500,000, and then that's it. This one, they could make $2,000,000 over the next five years if they want. Sales are good. Hey, we got pent-up demand for these Godzilla. Let's do another run. Yeah, man. And I think holding the prize down like this was the smartest move they have done in 2024. Big brain. Right? Yeah, big brain. I mean, I was out cycling with my son, and all of a sudden my phone pinged. George Gomez, 75th edition. I was like, what? Do we need to go home? I'm going to watch this on a big screen. It was just a two-minute clip, but I love the clip. It's so good. He is full of enthusiasm and energy. and I'm going to say something really bad right now but my favorite designer the guy that designed this game Keith Elwin, I love his games I'm so happy that they used George Gomez to make this video he's a much better salesman than Elwin, don't you think? oh man, he would make me buy vegetables all kinds of stuff I don't need yeah, absolutely I love that I just want to buy that. I just want to buy that game. So beautiful trailer. It's only a two-minute long trailer, but it's out. It came out for a couple of hours ago. You're a cool uncle with the awesome stuff that you just want to buy. Yeah, man. I love George Gomez. And this game is, again, designed by Keith Heldman, my favorite designer. I love his games. And this game is just his. Awesome. So if you should rate Keith Elwin games, would you also say that Godzilla was his best? Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. That's so hard to top. Jaws is right there, though. Jaws is so fun. But Godzilla just has a little bit more. The rest of them, I don't know, it's a toss-up. I mean, when Elwin came out with this game, he must have been thinking, the next game I need to come out with should be better than this. That's how he must be thinking. But us consumers, we're not thinking like that. We're thinking this is the new standard at Stern. So the next Stern game that comes up, no matter if it's Keith Allen or who it was, should be better than this. And then we got what? What did you get?
    30:20
    What, did Rush come out after that? Yeah, it was Rush that came out after. And that was not a success. It has got... I mean, I love that game's shots on layout, but it wasn't... It's not Godzilla.
    30:34
    It's just not Godzilla. And there is something magical about Keith Elwin. He's a pro gamer. He's one of us. And his designs are just different. You can see... As soon as I unboxed one of the first... Foo Fighters games out there, as soon as I put in that ball in and took ball number one, I was like, okay, this game is designed by Jack Danger, but this game has got some sort of Elwin touch over that game, and some months later, we heard that he held a bit, I mean, I don't, I'm not saying something negative about Jack Danger, but you could just feel it has got this Elwynn touch. And I think Elwynn should have his touch on all the games. I hope all the designers, I think they're just, you know, sharing ideas and designs and trying different designers' games. But that Elwynn touch, and on this game, it's Elwynn touch everywhere. And on top of that, the code on this game. Come on, dog. What do you think about the code? There's something going on everywhere you are. Like every game plays different. You know, you might find out like, hey, I'm only three tanks away from a multi-ball. I'm going to play for tanks in this game. Otherwise, it's like I'm on my second Kaiju. This is going to be a Kaiju-heavy game. You know, the jets are popping up. All of a sudden, the bridge is collapsing. You're like, the building is a diverter for three different ball paths. It's nuts, man. Man, I love it. No shot is a wasted shot. You hit something. You do something all the time. And the coolest part, if it don't know what you're doing on the screen, it will say secret shot number four. You just did that. The wamps. I know. It's telling you what to do in a way that's fun.
    32:28
    It's an awesome game. Godzilla. And now if you have been thinking about buying a Godzilla for some time, you can get a brand new game with brand new warranty. Nobody has played it. Nobody has touched it. No dimples, no broken plastic, no magnet wear, no nothing, man. It's the most updated version, brand new, and it holds the price as the normal premium versions. Oh, who are you waving at? Is it me? Is it Monica? She's bringing me a Diet Coke. Thank you, Poopy. How about a pizza? What's going on, man? I just had a bunch of spaghetti, man. Oh, my God. I've been up all night, and now I can't sleep because I'm so hype on this.
    33:18
    So was it you that broke the news about this game should be released at some show? I may have said something. So San Diego Comic Convention is coming up, like, this weekend, this next week? And the rumor was that they were bringing this there, and now it kind of seems like it's going to happen. I have also heard that this game, it might be already on the line this week.
    33:39
    I mean, that's the Stern way, right? I would just say, you know, if you want to call up Mad Pinball, Jeff at MadPinball.com, go get yourself one. He's taking spots, taking names. I heard it's in production. You can get this game, like, in a couple weeks. Already? I mean, I love this about Stern so much. They show a game, and it's on production. It's on the line. It's so cool. And when we order them, when we, you know, ship them by air, like we have them two days later after this release video. It's so cool. That's why I get this. And they do make this European or export versions because usually all the countries, they want them to buy C. So they ship them first. But when we get it by air, it's like, bam, I'm the first that unboxed these games. There might not be any code in the game, but you're going to get it as soon as it's made. It's for real. I'm teasing. I mean this game when I unboxed it I think the code was .71 or something 72 and I'm like after 20 years of experience I feel at ball one if this is a good game or a bad game you will do that too after 20 years everybody would do that I'm not special in any way but Godzilla with that early code first ball I fell in love yeah we can talk about our first Godzilla experiences. I had heard about this game, and I'm like, so what? Godzilla. I don't care about that. I was at Texas Pinball Festival, and I walked by one. And I'm like, I guess I should try it. And then I was like, holy garbage. What the hell is happening? The ball stuck the neck of Godzilla. The building just collapsed. I mean, that's the best time I've ever had. Godzilla's crazy. I'm shooting the wamps.
    35:27
    Oh, shoot the wamps. Yeah. And then I was like, that's it. I'm buying one, only to find out there was a year-long waiting list everywhere I was. Oh, do you remember those games? Backlog game, those days. I mean, oh, my God. But now, do you have one? You know, in a year, Mad Pinball, I got one. And that's that's what that's how you became that close with Mad Pinball, right? Yeah. At the time, people were paying a thousand dollars over MSRP at least to get one of these to skip the line. And Jeff was like I got one MSRP if you want And I like yes Oh my God And then it came It was so exciting Yeah absolutely man I still love that game. But again, Don, I'm so sorry. I enjoyed the pro version. It's just me. It's so much faster. The pro version actually has some things I like in it that aren't on the premium. I like how the ramps around the building, I like how they work. it does play a little faster yes they're both good games, it's just the premium is an even better game, it's got even more in it the thing that I miss the most is that shock you get when the bridge collapses click click click that's a real cool thing the Mechazilla, it's cool with the magnets it's cool that it turns so you will have the you know, the stand-up targets. Yeah, that's a cool effect. But I have seen people having problems with that Megazilla. I don't know if you have, but headache. Did yours work fine? Perfect. Oh, that's so cool, man. I've seen people whose belly magnet just fell out. Yes, I've seen that, man. I've seen that.
    37:21
    But it's cool. It turns. You just have to back up. But that was funny. His belly fell out. he lost his belly and people should align their building i mean the first le i had here it went down two millimeters and it was like then i everything was just the ball when it went in at the ramp exit it hit the ramp and stopped there and you had to adjust and adjust i was like just so we bought some pros also and we have the pros out of on location knock on wood they just work the pro with no headache i mean as far as value in a pro i think godzilla is probably the best pro value as far as gameplay that comes in the pro there's yes yeah it's best bang for Boxster and Pro is Godzilla. But I must say, Jurassic Park Pro is also huge bang for... You don't get that T-Rex that moves his head. Who cares? I don't. But everything else is just in there. And that Rapture Pit on the Pro, it's still very cool. Again, Keith Elwin, I love this guy's games. You know what? Because this guy is a competition player.
    38:38
    And I feel like when he designs he just does some magic on his games for the pro versions if you do look at the i we have got the um ai what's it called the avengers yeah pro version have you played the pro and avengers yeah it's a it's missing that but it's cool yeah oh man and it's a on the secondary market is the cheap game here in europe i don't know in the us but avengers if you buy the pro for cheap money what a great game again a keith elwynn design wow man i'd rather have that over led zeppelin yeah you know what we got a led zeppelin on location um i haven't played it that much but when i play led zeppelin i don't hate it just like the 99 of the others it's it's okay for me and I enjoy some of the songs It's okay that's it, it's okay but it's just getting so much hate and I remember when I played Rush before it got popular I played Rush and I was like wasn't it John Bork that designed that game? Yeah, John Bork I was like, dude shots on layout on Rush wow man and then I unboxed Venom one of the first ones in the world and I filmed it and I was like this game doesn't catch my interest. It was the pro version. You had to reattach the flipper switch too.
    40:13
    Yeah, man. I mean, I'm honest. When I unbox, I just show everything because some people are like, ah, these guys they're just selling games, blah, blah, blah. I'm like who cares? If it comes like this, I want to show it like this because some of the games when we receive them, we do contact the manufacturers and say can you imagine if a normal dad that just wanted this mustang game or whatever that doesn't have a screwdriver at home if he got this game come on you have to the quality control has to be better sometimes but it is it is it is getting better and better i mean especially with all these pro games they're just they're rock solid man i love them yeah all right yeah so you're not going to buy this game i'm not i don't have uh deposit out for no not right now i'm still i got plenty of games man behind me it's amazing everything is still new i don't need to get a game for like another two years and i'm still gonna have fresh stuff to play so have you have you got your wrestling stern wrestling it's on the way it's still being delivered i think there was a delay because of the holiday we just had our bastille day here in the United States of Freedom America. Yeah.
    41:29
    So it's parked in Arkansas somewhere. I'm waiting to get it. I can't wait to get that game though. How is the response on that? Aren't people like, why are you buying a wrestling? At this point, people are just like, he's just going to make bad decisions. It's just what he does. So whatever. I'm happy with it. Yeah. Give me your bad games. I'll play them. I think I have influenced you bad on that game. Donnie, the last time I didn't tell the numbers On Spotify we have 1,747 Listeners That's so awesome All the numbers are going up So it's just beautiful, we're happy Also people were Talking, how about the audience Let's check that out, also top 10 audience Still at number 1 listeners of our show It's United States of America the beautiful country the free country we love the u.s so the second place of all the listeners was canada but something happened this week canada got jumped down to number three because australia we have so many listeners in australia so they are number two canada number three united kingdom number four denmark the country i'm in in europe number five come on danes germany number six sweden number seven norway number eight austria and netherlands and then it goes down to blah blah blah but these numbers are only on spotify and the age group this was interesting three percent of our listeners are between 23 to 27 years old come on man that's some young blood four percent is 28 to 34 37 percent of the listeners are in my age group 35 to 44 years old come on beautiful but 48 of all those listeners are 45 to 59 years old so that's the that's the biggest demo here 45 to 60 years old people because 60 plus i think i thought it will be 60, 65 to 70, but 60-year-old people that listen to this show is only 4%. Isn't that crazy? And also men, 88%, women, 6%, and non-binary, 6%. All right. That's my non-binary folks. How are you? Yeah, yeah. They're also welcome. Everybody's welcome here, man. So those are the numbers. I'm so sorry we didn't share that. And Facebook numbers are going up, so that's also beautiful. So all in all, you guys are contacting us about T-shirts. Those numbers are going up. And Donnie just got a box that he's showing right now. He got stickers, and those stickers look amazing. And what are they called in the U.S.? The drink coasters? The drink coasters. Yeah, the little fabric, they're cardboard things that go under your drink so they don't mess your table. Yeah, man. Wow. If you buy a t-shirt, you get some of these too. WAP is amazing, man. WAP is amazing. Coming at you.
    44:59
    Oh, yes. Okay, everybody. This was the episode six. We didn't plan anything. We're just happy. Every new pinball day is a good day. Right, Don? Absolutely, brother.
    45:14
    Well, well, man. And I hope on episode seven we can talk about your wrestling limited edition. that you got for how much? I just got a phone call. This $6,000 WrestleMania is ready to pick up. Oh, yes. The reason my talk went on for about a minute behind the show here was because he was talking to his delivery guy. I had to take it. I had to take the call. It's ready. I'm going to go get it. Donnie, man, this show is just from the heart, man. It's just from the heart. It is what it is. We just... There's some bros in this house. Okay, Donnie, man. I hope on episode seven you have been playing that game like 500 times, and we're going to talk about it and enjoy it, right? Yes, absolutely. You want to give a full reveal why I bought it. It's going to make sense to you once you understand. Absolutely. We have so many mails. We're going to read them on the next upcoming. I'm so happy every time you send us emails. It's so beautiful. But, yeah, next show, right, Donnie? We are pinball69 at gmail.com. Oh, yes. Remember that number 69. We are pinball69, gmail.com. We will answer you. But, yeah, questions, new topics, what do you think we should talk about? Just comment in. And we don't have – I've been asked about Patreon. We don't have Patreon. We have t-shirts. We can make Patreon if you want, Tony. I don't know. But we have t-shirts now if you want to support. because oh man I mean okay on the next show I'm gonna read some of the guys they're writing that they will wear the t-shirts with pride I mean love it it's just so cool when they write like this I will wear the show with pride yeah we're gonna read them on the next show because I didn't prepare anything but That's fine. Email us now to get included in the next episode. Yeah, man. Let's do it like that. Okay, Donnie. I want to say goodbye to everybody from Denmark. It's late here. I hope the best for Stern. I hope they will sell a lot of these games.
    47:35
    And rip to all the LE owners. It is what it is. Order the 40 out for you, brother. All right, Donnie. Let's get some Ice Cube Westside, baby. Full volume.
    47:50
    Oh, yes. Yeah. To all my whoppers out in the universe. You know how we do it. Oh, yeah. What's that, baby?
    48:06
    Johnny, man, I love doing this, you know?