Episode 995: "Two Pinball Worlds About to Collide!"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·23m 28s·analyzed·Sep 2, 2024

Analysis

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TL;DR

Stern vs JJP showdown: X-Men dominates through speed and execution; JJP needs production limits and pricing rethink.

Summary

Kaneda discusses an imminent competitive showdown between Stern Pinball's X-Men reveal (this week) and Jersey Jack Pinball's Avatar Limited Edition, analyzing production capacity, pricing strategy, and market positioning. He criticizes Chicago Gaming Company's Pulp Fiction Elite delayed release strategy, praises Stern's manufacturing efficiency, and advises both JJP and the industry on production volumes, pricing tiers, and content marketing. The episode emphasizes a shift toward buyer's market dynamics and the critical importance of mechanical innovation to justify premium pricing.

Key Claims

Stern has built all 811 X-Men games and will have them finished before the reveal this week, making them available day one.
medium confidence · Kaneda states this as insider intelligence about Stern's manufacturing pipeline.
George Gomez told Kaneda that Stern is reducing X-Men production to fewer than 1,000 units based on listening to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast feedback.
medium confidence · Kaneda relays this as a direct communication from George Gomez at Stern.
A fake promotional letter from Jersey Jack Pinball about Avatar (featuring bioluminescent lighting and flying banshees) was circulated; Ken Cromwell confirmed it was not real.
high confidence · Kaneda reports this as an incident he heard about from Jersey Jack Pinball staff, including Ken Cromwell's denial.
Jersey Jack Pinball's entry-level game (Platinum) is $12,000, double Stern's X-Men entry-level pricing.
high confidence · Kaneda compares official pricing tiers between manufacturers.
There is more demand for X-Men than for Avatar Limited Edition, making 1,000 Avatar CEs unsustainable.
low confidence · Kaneda's opinion based on perceived market demand signals; not independently verified.
Pulp Fiction Elite will be 'dead on arrival' due to the two-year delay between standard and Elite release.
low confidence · Kaneda's market analysis and prediction; he cites secondary market price reductions as evidence.
Stern received a Godzilla with significant playfield warping (ribbed/wavy appearance) that should have been caught by QC.
medium confidence · Kaneda references a customer complaint about Stern manufacturing quality control.
Stern is planning to reveal Metallica remastered at Pinball Expo (mid-October), which explains X-Men's aggressive pre-October shipping schedule.
medium confidence · Kaneda connects Stern's reveal timing to Pinball Expo logistics.

Notable Quotes

“Stern is going to want to get as many of these X-Men built and on their way to customers before we get to like mid October. The ability for Stern to manufacture and to ship games to people is so impressive.”
Kaneda @ N/A — Highlights Stern's manufacturing superiority and supply chain agility as a competitive advantage.
“Why would you ever reveal a game when you know you can't get the nicest version of the game to customers in two freakin years? Stern Pinball Inc. is about to reveal a game and get the nicest version to customers in like two days.”
Kaneda @ N/A — Direct criticism of Chicago Gaming Company's Pulp Fiction Elite strategy and operational inefficiency.
“There's no way you can make 1000 James Camerons Avatar (Limited Edition) CEs. And I think they're going to have to accept that... There's no way you should be making a thousand CEs for a game that doesn't have the demand that's there. Like this is not Harry Potter. It's not Back to the Future. It's not The Matrix.”
Kaneda @ N/A — Market demand assessment comparing Avatar to proven blockbuster licenses; production volume critique.
“It is a buyer's market. It is not a seller's market. You don't have to call or be in a box.”
Kaneda @ N/A — Characterizes current pinball market dynamics as favorable to consumers, reducing manufacturer pricing power.
“Their games are just unique. I do think they're special. I would make only 500 CEs and I would make 1500 James Camerons Avatar (Limited Edition) Platinum. The game is a game that market faster.”
Kaneda @ N/A — Specific production volume recommendation to JJP; balances quality scarcity with market accessibility.
“This game cannot be devoid of magical mechanisms. You pair that with Jack Danger who knows how to make a game play extraordinarily well and then you add Zombie Yeti artwork who is perfect for this theme and you know they gonna get a great coding team on the game.”
Kaneda @ N/A — Assessment of X-Men's design pedigree (designer, artist, coder) as critical to justifying premium pricing.

Entities

KanedapersonDerek MusketpersonJack Dangerperson Mark Seidenperson George Gomezperson Zombie Yetiperson

Signals

?
announcement: Stern Pinball X-Men reveal scheduled for this week with 811 units pre-built and available day one. Jersey Jack Pinball's Avatar Limited Edition reveal timing uncertain but potentially this week as competitive response.
high · Kaneda confirms X-Men reveal is 'this week' and reports 811 pre-built units. Avatar reveal date unconfirmed; Kaneda advises JJP to reveal 'today' to preempt X-Men.
?
product_strategy: Kaneda advises Jersey Jack Pinball to limit Avatar CEs to 500 units and Platinum to 1,500, reducing from planned 1,000 CEs based on perceived demand disparity vs X-Men and other premium titles.
medium · Kaneda repeatedly states Avatar demand is lower than X-Men/Harry Potter/Back to the Future, justifying lower production volumes.
$
market_signal: Jersey Jack Pinball's entry-level Platinum tier ($12K) is double Stern's X-Men Pro pricing, creating competitive disadvantage and pricing compression between Platinum and Collector's Edition tiers.
high · Kaneda compares $12K JJP Platinum to Stern X-Men entry level; notes consumers would likely upgrade to CE rather than buy Platinum.
?
manufacturing_signal: Stern's manufacturing and logistics capability enables 811 X-Men units to be completed pre-reveal and available day one, contrasting with Chicago Gaming Company's two-year Pulp Fiction Elite delay.
high · Kaneda praises Stern's ability to build and ship X-Men rapidly; criticizes Chicago Gaming for inability to source plastic toppers within two years.
?
regulatory_signal: A fake promotional letter claiming to be from Jersey Jack Pinball about Avatar (featuring bioluminescent lighting, flying banshees, tomorrow reveal date) circulated in the community; Ken Cromwell confirmed it was fabricated and causing operational issues for JJP.

Topics

Stern vs Jersey Jack Pinball competitive dynamicsprimaryX-Men pinball reveal and production capacityprimaryAvatar Limited Edition announcement and production strategyprimaryManufacturing and supply chain efficiencyprimaryPricing strategy and market positioning (entry-level vs premium tiers)primaryChicago Gaming Company's Pulp Fiction Elite delayed release strategysecondaryContent marketing and reveal timing strategysecondaryMechanical innovation and justifying premium pricingsecondaryQuality control and manufacturing defectsmentionedPinball market dynamics (buyer's vs seller's market)secondary

Sentiment

mixed(0.45)— Kaneda is highly positive about Stern's strategy and execution (manufacturing, reveal timing, design team) and moderately positive about Avatar's potential despite production concerns. Strong negative sentiment toward Chicago Gaming Company's strategy and Pulp Fiction Elite delays. Enthusiasm about market competition is tempered by criticism of pricing, delays, and product strategy decisions. Generally critical of current state of competitor execution while celebrating Stern and JJP's recent capabilities.

Transcript

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Two worlds collide, rival nations It's a primitive fact, fitting is a frustration Bravely we hope against all foes There is so much at stake Seems our freedoms up against the rules The Uncanny X-Men, the second game from Jack Danger vs the inaugural game from Mark Seiden in Jersey Jack Pinball's Avatar. Now look we're seeing a lot of information trickling out. We know the release date of X-Men. We do not know the reveal date of Avatar first. I want to give a very special welcome to Mr. Derek Musket who has joined Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. Derek is the guy that moved my guns and roses. If you need any pinball moving on the East Coast, Fast Eddie is retired. Derek Musket is your guy. The only thing is this. He's a one pin at a time guy. He gets it into a tiny Honda Fit. I don't know how he does it, but he does it and not a scratch on my GNR. And I The Week in Pinball, Derek on just my tip alone that's two years of Canadian Spinball podcast I want to thank each and every one of you because the month ended this was one of the only months ever where we didn't lose any subscribers we are at 712 and I just want to tell each and every one of you I am going to figure out how to do my Saturday morning spectacular right here on patreon no more Facebook we're gonna The end of the video. I'm going to do it here and it's going to be awesome. So look out for that. And for those of you who say that not being on Facebook is hurting the Canada brand, it's the complete opposite. I mean, we're still moving and grooving. You know what everybody else is doing is their own prerogative, but this is still the most fun place to hear about pinball and the Patreon chat that we have going on is absolutely incredible.네요 Sweet caterỏ outsider lookin The We've never seen before and they've listened George Gomez told me he's like Chris we listen to you That's why they're making less than a thousand le's. It's a move in the right direction So here's the thing people now that Jersey Jack has revealed the theme They're trickling out like teaser images of avatar We just saw Jason Knapp yesterday shared an image of the physical ball lock underneath the playfield Novosti 그 자막 worry that the artwork looks awesome on psych. That were getting fresh new artwork from new artist on a pinball machines. Zombieti x- veloc regulating Polish Rachel And this is the major move Stern is gonna make this week and this is why I think Stern is just gonna dominate and they're gonna do something they haven't done before I heard they are building all 811 Uncanny X-Men LE games and they're gonna be finished with each and every one of them by the time this game is revealed this week This is gonna be the first time ever Stern makes the LE games first and they're gonna be available on day one Leon helped me to create this nostalgic cartoon with hair dye colored hair color hair color hair color hair Also, they made a lot of money out of it in the first place with a cause! Closed Entry Californiaiste omission by David David Van Es, Keith Elwin and questionsysical I'm told where? The open commencement We're ready for Part 2¡ Arduino بين Pattyggi20 Video of this week kickboxing on Discord anniversary gallery map of the game typically samp Kontakt Mil millise padding millor G encompasses meteColloubtedlya keywordsgaliderman Teaching Princip MATUC in the now versus well we gonna make games in the next month or two because I think that what gonna happen remember Elton John when it was revealed it was not on the line and so we haven seen Jersey Jack with like a hundred games ready to go in a box on reveal day really since Guns N Roses over three years ago I think Jersey Jack got to figure it out I also think knowing that Stern is reducing the number of On the left side of the screen if you're a jersey jack you will know that there is more demand for Jack Danger's X-Men than a Mark Scythe in Avatar. There's no way you can make 1000 avatar CEs. And I think they're going to. And I think they should do in Audible. I think they should only make 500 avatar CEs. Again, I think they need to dance with Stern. And Stern is making moves that are right. And if you're JerseyJack and you're coming in at 15 grand a pop, there's no way you should be making a thousand CEs for a game that doesn't have the demand that's there. Like this is not Harry Potter. It's not Back to the Future. It's not The Matrix. It's Avatar. And I think they need to read the room a little bit. All right. We also got this really weird fake letter from JerseyJackPinball sort of hyping the game. It said like all the bioluminescent lighting that's going to be in the game and the banshees that are going to fly around the game. And then it had a reveal date of tomorrow. And it turns out that entire letter was fake. So I heard from people at Jersey Jack. It is not real. It just goes to show you how easy it is to create fake news in pinball. And everyone just like bites at it. Right. I got hit up instantly by Ken Cromwell, who said, look, that's not The game is not real. It's creating an issue for us. And I have to imagine the issue it's creating is the release date of the game. And so that is the big question. If you're Jersey Jack, are you going to let Stern Pinball have this week to themselves, reveal X-Men, take orders on X-Men and ship X-Men game? Are you going to allow Stern Pinball to get thousands of orders for a game? The game when you know you want that money to go to you. I think Jersey Jack should reveal the game today. I think they should get out with that video in front of X-Men. I think if they have something truly special and truly cool and truly unique, put it out there. Let it be in everybody's heads because then when they see X-Men, they're going to compare it to what they've seen from Jersey Jack. And we know there's no way in a million years that a stern machine will outshine a Jersey Jack machine. And so I think that's what they should do. They should get out in front of it. We know what it is. We know it's coming. Now's the time to strike. I don't think I've seen these two companies battle it out like this before. And I'm excited about it because as we watch Jersey Jack and Stern battle it out, it is really This Week in Pinball Podcast, Terminate I opening how everybody else seems to be like a distant third in terms of our enthusiasm and our Excitement like spooky pinball should be hitting right now With Beetlejuice when you see everything happening in the world around Beetlejuice and they're not gonna deliver Beetlejuice now What I think they're going to do is I think they might be releasing St dieselonen, poris野, samutik Как isto airplane Schornod rebada Potamo insignificant Ptolema Inkar audi flu The world and so spookies nowhere to be found right now now look we know that Greg bone and Zach many were over at Spooky pinball and that seems to telegraph to me that they're gonna film one of their spectacular 20-minute videos where they do a deep dive into a game They did it with Pulp Fiction and it was amazing now look two years have gone by and I just want to say I think Pulp Fiction Ellie is gonna be like dead on arrival when it comes to enthusiasm and excitement. I'm already starting to see regular Pulp Fiction games sell for a lot less money. I don't think anybody cares anymore. And it just goes to show you like there's a window of excitement. It's like the Pulp Fiction movie now has been in the theaters for two years. And I'm just saying that metaphorically talking about the pinball machine. But who's gonna care now when the Ellie What a stupid thing. I mean, just think about it for a minute. Why would you ever reveal a game when you know you can't get the nicest version of the game to customers in two freakin years? Sturm Pinball is about to reveal a game and get the nicest version to customers in like two days. Alright what an embarrassment it is being CGC In fact I think everybody at this point right now is just over CGC in general Their strategy is pathetic I just want to use that word It a pathetic strategy to reveal a product and why would it take you two years to order plastic toppers I mean you could send that topper to China and get back a thousand of them in a weekend. There's absolutely no excuse for this and I'm over it and I wanted to say right now if you're in on a Pulp Fiction LE I'm happy for you but I think there's no demand for this game and I'm already starting to see people trying to sell their Pulp Fiction LE spots for like a thousand over. Trust me don't pay a penny over for Pulp Fiction LE because with all these new games coming out and these distros are going to be sitting on these Pulp Fiction LEs as people move their The All right, so I'm excited so Jersey Jack you gotta hit early you gotta get out there early spooky pinball We're not gonna get something until December and then the company that we will not mention anymore Who's waiting right for all these games to come out? I don't know, you know, I'll just say it like this There's no bad time to release a great theme Back to the future could be released at any time Filip, hif employed Tarek Al-Khattar, and X-Men. Now here is the thing with X-Men. We know it's going to be beautiful. We know there's going to be mechs in the game. I'm hearing that there are more mechs that they are very proud of. I'm also hearing that this game is going to do some stuff that no Stern machine has done before. Interesting timing because I also know that they are going to have Metallica remastered at Pinball Expo. So that means, and it makes sense now, Stern is going to want to get As many of these X-Men's built and on their way to customers before we get to like mid October. The ability for Sternpinball to manufacture and to ship games to people is so impressive. What's not impressive is when they send a customer a Godzilla. Have you seen this guy's Godzilla playfield? It is like ribbed beyond belief. I mean you look at it from an angle and it's like as wavy as an ocean. And then you got people like CrazyLevy trying to defend that being like it's just that's normal just enjoy it. No gang come on. If you get sent something like that it should have been caught by their quality control people and the guy should just get a new game. I don't think most playfields go out like that but some of them do and if you get one I would not accept it and Stern should make that customer whole and the distributor should not stop until that game is replaced. The Week in Pinball, vertical upkickOSSTALK I know if you make enough noise, Stern Pinball will do the right thing and replace that customers game remember gang Remember the bomb on their games is like four grand three thousand four thousand dollars They can easily afford to absorb and replace a customer game So this is gonna be the week where two worlds collide. We're gonna have Stern versus Jersey Jack I think Stern is gonna win because of I also think the theme is something that more people are excited about. I also wouldn't sleep on avatar. I do see the potential in avatar. I do see how it could work. I really do. I'm not angry about any of these things because again, we're now customers and we now have all of the power. It is a buyer's market. It is not a seller's market. You don't have to call or In a box I do think even at 13,000, I do think they're going to sell out of those games. I do. Because again, I just think there's so much more going for this game than working against it. And I also think this game is going to have mechanical magic. I don't think there was any mechanical magic in Jaws. I don't care what anybody says. When I look at the mechs in Jaws, it's a total joke. I mean, think about the shark fin in that game. It is so Draw крутrieb номiada latazystünkidigdobendubs感謝 Sky Visージеди위i, Hille Istanbul SeeUble Chapelinstant include Σ MarcusYellyjdoevii, Chong�� OMGIDIJV,학교 gazab thinking reactorjiyeyyei, GVaS, alloseomeetman execute as theเป kgasus, itheostykyjslinzo Koko, stenoiuusеровnksaneodxinjk, thomajsitijgujoanneiibar, and So this game cannot be devoid of magical mechanisms You pair that with Jack Danger who knows how to make a game play extraordinarily well And then you add ZombiettiArtwork who perfect for this theme and you know they going to get a great coding team on the game I absolutely think there gonna be almost nothing not to like about this game other than the price And I been saying it They know they need to make magic to justify the price And the same exact thing is true about Avatar If Avatar is just lights and ramps and artwork and not enough mechanical magic people are not going to like it You're not gonna go in on it. They're just not. And I think the big problem with JJP now with their two tiers of games, the big problem with them is this now. The entry level game is $12,000. Like their entry level is double the price of Stern's entry level for X-Men. That's crazy. And then the problem is this. If you have $12,000 to burn on a pinball, I'm not a pinball machine. You have $15,000. And it's like, who wants to own an Elton John platinum for 12, you might as well just get the CE. And I think what Jersey Jack needs to do now is they really need to rethink the strategy. And you know, my advice to them is this. Stop trying to win on volume. Your games are just unique. I do think they're special. I would make only 500 CEs and I would make 1500 LE Platinum. Veget clocks, The game is a game to market faster. You don't have to keep making games and create demand for the games because there will always be demand. If you only make 2,000 of each, you will sell out of every single game you make. And I know it's hard when you have Harry Potter, let's make 10,000 of them. But hey, just keep it at that and everyone will be happy. All right, what else is going on in pinball? I'm hearing that the Back to the Future game which is coming out like next year around this time. I'm hearing that the cabinet artwork, I've spoken The They told me it is just the real big logo of back to the future and I'm like well that kind of makes sense That's how the big Lebowski is it's just the logo now should they have done more should there have been more artistic? Creativity with it. We shall see it's a year away There's gonna be so much that happens in pinball between now and then and speaking of like what's gonna happen between now and then Alice's Adventures in Wonderland Wunderland, I put out a little teaser animation of the game itself. Look, I've been telling Melvin, you gotta get more out. Like, a five second clip is not enough to get people super excited, especially with what Stern just showed, especially with what we're seeing from Avatar. You need to show more. Like, you need to show more and you need to get people more excited, because there's no way around it. All these games are competing with each other. They're all around the same Screenogowegs pixelD adaptations Technologyballs This Week in Pinball Podcast, Termsdisciplinaryartwork panel in backbox that is backlit during playelectronic Game of Thrones unint I haven't seen many people raise the roof. I went to Dunkin Donuts yesterday. Two large coffees, $8.90. Now look, I said I'm never going to raise Kaneda's entry level from 5 to 10, but you know, some of you out there, I know you're doing pretty well, living high on the hog. You know you want to raise the roof for the amount of content I'm giving you guys every single week. Everybody have a great day off with your families. We'll talk to you soon and get ready for the The Madness that's about to ensue this week. Take it away Rocky IV soundtrack. Speaking of, how do we not have a Rocky IV game? I mean it is the 40th anniversary of Rocky IV next year. Somebody make this game. Peace out. The ChainX, KayI, TeChomoVilachPig, I'm J. Until later time guys. geme formidable so so деwellingام incarcerated.,Лcere birthdayd, fade franch Buzzorneysal Como bersa,東西 Blaatique