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DPP #84 "Bob Rose interview! Lebowski Topper!"

Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)·podcast_episode·28m 4s·analyzed·Nov 28, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.035

TL;DR

Lebowski topper drops, Jaws rumors intensify, Pulp Fiction production updates, Token Taverns interview.

Summary

Don's Pinball Podcast Episode 84 covers multiple news stories including the surprise release of an interactive acrylic Big Lebowski topper by Electric Pinball (TEP), rumors and speculation about an upcoming Jaws pinball game by Keith Elwin, production updates on Pulp Fiction, and an interview with Bob Rose about his Token Taverns documentary.

Key Claims

  • Electric Pinball released a 22" x 13.5" interactive acrylic Big Lebowski topper with Googie-inspired architecture design, 100 units made, $1,099 Black Friday price, February-May production timeline.

    high confidence · Don directly describes product specs, pricing, and availability as of podcast recording.

  • Jaws is the next major Stern Pinball release, designed by Keith Elwin, expected to be a four-flipper game with rumored shark mouth flipper feature.

    high confidence · Don cites multiple sources, increasing frequency of rumors, consistent sourcing from Europe and content creators, pattern matching with pre-release hype cycles.

  • Pulp Fiction production machines expected to leave factory by end of Q4 (December), with location machines shipping first before home owner chrome door variants.

    high confidence · Don cites Vietnam Arcade as information source for production timeline.

  • Jaws reveal expected within next few weeks, possibly before end of year, with deposits likely opening in December.

    medium confidence · Don speculates based on increasing rumor frequency and typical Stern release patterns, acknowledges uncertainty ('may even be tomorrow').

  • Leor (Art of Pinball) has a Big Lebowski topper in development, rumored price range $1,395-$3,000 based on previous Alien topper pricing.

    medium confidence · Don confirms 'strong rumors from the man himself' but acknowledges no official announcement or timeline beyond 'soon'.

  • Interactive Pinball has created a 3D-printed piano mod for Twilight Zone with movable keys, priced at $169.99, with only 5 units remaining.

    high confidence · Don cites Naps Arcade source, provides specific pricing and availability data.

  • Bob Rose's Token Taverns documentary covers three Tampa-area barcades over three years and expanded to document COVID impact on small businesses.

    high confidence · Direct interview excerpt with documentary creator Bob Rose.

  • Keith Elwin dislikes scoops and only included one in Godzilla 'out of necessity'.

Notable Quotes

  • “We're all waiting to see what leor is going to bring... Lior, come and knock our socks off, man. I want to see what you're cooking with there.”

    Don @ ~18:30 — Expresses community anticipation for competing Leor topper while discussing FOMO dynamics of multiple topper releases.

  • “I wish I could buy these things in bulk. I'd have them all over the place... I want to see Jersey Jack move into the home accessory business and give us some more Lions.”

    Don @ ~26:45

  • “What I don't know for certain and this is always fun to speculate about are we going to see a special limited edition from this game... If they can find an angle to get these games sold through to distributors, they're going to go ahead and do it.”

    Don @ ~45:20 — Acknowledges Stern's commercial strategy and tendency toward multi-tier releases, positions market uncertainty.

  • “I'm like really close friends with these people... It's like cool because I can go to Parkade now... I know that there's going to be somebody there that I'm going to hang out with.”

    Bob Rose @ ~64:00 — Documentary creator discusses community-building impact and ongoing relationships formed through Token Taverns project.

  • “I do know that whatever I do next will be in this space. It will be in this community. We're just looking to hang out and stay here because I just had so much fun doing Token Taverns, and I want to continue to be able to write off pinball machines on my taxes.”

    Bob Rose @ ~73:00 — Reveals commitment to pinball/arcade adjacent content creation and personal financial interest in community.

  • “I think it's probably coming in the next few weeks... The frequency that we're hearing about it is really increasing. and I think that happens as we get closer to a release.”

    Don @ ~42:00 — Articulates community signal pattern recognition for imminent product announcements based on rumor acceleration.

Entities

Electric Pinball (TEP)companyLeor / Art of PinballpersonKeith Elwin (Elwynn)personDutch PinballcompanyStern PinballcompanyChicago Gaming Company (CGC)companyBob RosepersonMad Pinball (madpinball.com)companyInteractive PinballcompanyRaw Thrillscompany

Signals

  • $

    market_signal: Premium pinball accessories (chrome lion leg protectors, toppers, mods) demonstrate cross-functional appeal beyond single game; users applying Godfather accessories to multiple machines suggests broader decorative/protective market.

    medium · Don describes applying Godfather chrome lions to Venom, VP, and even Harbor Freight tool case; suggests refrigerator/home usage; proposes Jersey Jack expand into 'home accessory business.'

  • ?

    business_signal: Stern Pinball factory scheduling holiday downtime in December with two-week closure for inventory/retooling, impacting game production before 2025 ramp-up.

    medium · Don speculates 'factory can go down... they're going to have some time off for the holidays, I'm sure, before things spool back up in January,' notes this timing influences Jaws reveal strategy.

  • ?

    community_signal: Bob Rose's Token Taverns documentary actively building community around arcade barcades and pinball venues, filmmaker maintaining ongoing relationships with featured locations and planning future content in pinball/arcade space.

    high · Bob Rose interview confirms monthly visits to Parkade, collaboration with Vector/Mike, plans for Token Taverns TV series pitch, commitment to stay in pinball community for tax benefits.

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Multiple toppers for Big Lebowski competing in market simultaneously: Electric Pinball interactive acrylic ($1,099), Leor hand-sculpted (rumored $1,400-$3,000), laser-cut topper already available. Don suggests stacking multiple toppers on same machine.

    high · Don directly compares three topper options, proposes wall-mounting interactive topper + backbox-mounted Leor topper as first instance of 'multiple toppers at the same time' on one game.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.084

0:00
Let's bring it on back with the old intro music for Don's Pinball Podcast. Episode number 84 is the number that we're at here in the end of November. And man, the news and things keep dropping. Some effects are happening in the pinball world. We got a big Lebowski topper that just got dropped out of nowhere on us yesterday. We are on the verge of jaws. We're sitting at the edge of the ocean. The waves, they're lapping our feet. And just outside of reach, just beneath the waves, Is a new bomb release from Elwynn coming? Let's get into it, y'alls.
0:38
Let's start with bowling. Let's go roll, bro. I mean, dude. I mean, whatever. I mean, Lebowski Topper. Like, we've known that Lior is working with Dutch Pinball, and he's got some accessories coming out. That toilet mod with the cracked tiles that I'm, like, currently obsessed with has released. But there are strong rumblings, strong rumors from the man himself, admittedly, that there was a topper coming from Lior, Art of Pinball, sculpted, painted, hand-painted for Big Lebowski. And, you know, reportedly it's supposed to be coming here soon. And then all of a sudden dropped on us, like a Black Friday out of the heavens, descended this Googie-inspired-looking acrylic topper from the electric playground. You know, our boys Robin and Alec over there. The guys that brought us that interactive Godzilla topper with the little zip-zip UFO that can pop up in the background. the makers of the Twilight Zone acrylic topper with the ball that comes across the wire form in the topper. They've got their third release now, third topper release. Big Lebowski is the one they picked, man. So I had heard some rumbling, some rumors that they'd been working on something, strongly rumored to be this, you know. And, you know, they're friends of the show, so I'm happy to have whatever info drops I get. But I saw this thing just about when everybody else did. I got a little teasy peek, you know, the day before. But man, just 7 a.m. yesterday, boom, it went out. I gave a little preview image to my Patreon people a day before or so. But this thing is out now. So when it was revealed to me, which was just in the last 48 hours, I saw, okay, it looks like a giant bowling alley sign. Go check this out. TEP Pinball is their website. It's out on App Arcade. If you haven't seen it already, a lot of people have. So here's the details for this. It looks like a bowling sign. It's made out of stacked acrylics. It lights up, and it's got that Googie-inspired architecture, right? This is like the kind of space-age thing you saw in the later part of the 60s. Think old-style Las Vegas signs or like old space motels or something that you would see, like kind of Route 66-inspired kind of. I dig it. And it's the aesthetic that was in the bowling alley from the film, The Big Lebowski. So it all fits. There's giant oversized bowling pins there. The bowl letters light up. It's got those cool little abstract-looking star shine displays. The other thing is, just like their Godzilla topper, this is interactive with the game as well. There's light-up bowling balls for, you know, as you bowl the frames and you unlock the perks in the game, they light up. And there's a light for each character up in the topper. So it's not just a box of lights, which if you just look at the image head-on, it can seem similar to some other acrylic toppers that we've seen that is just, you know, a light box that you plug into the wall and sits on top of your machine. this thing's actually interactive and does have some light shows in it. I didn't see a whole lot in the review trailer yet, so I can't wait to get my actual hands-on one, plug it in, and watch the light shows that they have programmed into this thing. But that's what I thought at first. Okay, it's a giant bowling sign, and then we got the price later. $10.99 was the Black Friday deal. They're taking $100 deposits right now. They are still available currently.

medium confidence · Don attributes this as a rumor heard ('I had heard Elwin say') without direct confirmation.

Jersey Jack Pinball (JJP)
company
Naps Arcadecompany
Big Lebowskigame
Jawsgame
Pulp Fictiongame
Godzillagame
Twilight Zonegame
Token Tavernsproduct
Parkadevenue
Rebootvenue
?

design_philosophy: Keith Elwin dislikes scoop mechanics, only included scoop in Godzilla 'out of necessity,' may influence Jaws design with alternative ball routing.

low · Don states 'I had heard Elwin say' without direct confirmation, speculates on ramp exits vs scoops for Jaws.

  • ?

    collector_signal: Electric Pinball employing aggressive FOMO tactics: limited 100-unit run, 10 units remaining at announcement, laser-numbered plates with numbered editions, early-buyer exclusive acrylic ornaments.

    high · Don documents FOMO mechanics explicitly: '10 of them left,' numbered editions 'out of 100,' exclusive ornaments 'first 25 people,' encourages pre-ordering despite competing Leor topper pending.

  • $

    market_signal: Year-end market saturation concerns: don questions whether buyers will commit to $20k purchases before holidays and taxes, speculates on whether Stern will release Pro/Premium/LE now or delay SLE variant.

    medium · Don asks 'Are people going to be able to find right before the end of the year... another $20,000?' and speculates on three-tier pricing strategy timing.

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Bob Rose established credibility in pinball/arcade documentary space and planning pivot to television series based on Token Taverns film success, seeking to springboard indie film into TV deals.

    high · Bob Rose states 'I'm kind of using that approach to springboard a series' referencing Catfish film-to-TV precedent, confirms multiple TV contacts for pitch, plans heavy promotion through summer.

  • ?

    announcement: Electric Pinball officially released interactive Big Lebowski topper with 100-unit production run, 22"x13.5"x5" dimensions, Googie-inspired acrylic design, interactive with game features.

    high · Don describes product as 'dropped on us like a Black Friday out of the heavens,' includes pricing ($1,099), production timeline (Feb-May), availability (10 units remaining), and technical specs.

  • ?

    product_strategy: Pulp Fiction production delayed significantly; machines expected factory by end Q4 2024 but home shipments may not arrive until Q1-Q2 2025.

    high · Don cites Vietnam Arcade source for Q4 factory timeline, notes location machines ship first before chrome door home variants, acknowledges 'if Cactus Canyon is any indication not quick.'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Jaws pinball confirmed as next major Stern release by Keith Elwin with four-flipper configuration and shark mouth flipper rumored.

    high · Don cites 'multiple sources,' notes 'frequency that we're hearing about it is really increasing,' references European posts and video content from Ching about Jaws, describes as 'likely going to happen' based on consistency of rumors.

  • ?

    technology_signal: Interactive Pinball developing 3D-printed mechanical mods with movable parts (piano keys on Twilight Zone) rather than simple LED flashers, expanding mod complexity and interactivity.

    medium · Don describes piano mod as having 'movable parts,' notes this is unusual for home mods ('most of the time, if there is any interaction, it's a light flasher'), priced sub-$200 at $169.99.

    • 3:48
    But as I was looking through, I got to the dimensions of the thing, And that's hard to capture in the video. It's hard to capture really in the photos. But this thing is 22 inches wide and 13 and a half inches tall. So this is a tall boy. Right now I've got the laser cut topper for Big Lebowski, the gutter balls with the marijuana leaves and the adult industry inspired, you know, two bowling balls with a bowling pin right in the middle. And it spans like the top of the back box. It measures 24 inches, but it's only about eight inches or so tall. so this thing is taller than that um and just about as wide about two inches shorter so it's going to have kind of a commanding presence up there uh once i saw that and then the fact that this thing is five inches deep you know thick um you know so it is a lot of the stacked acrylics they're using to make that kind of 3d effect that they do uh so that kind of tipped me over the edge into like i think i kind of want this thing you know we're all waiting to see what leor is going to bring um i haven't seen any leaks or any info about that i don't know if they're doing a full sculpted bowling alley is kind of what I would think would sit up there. But, you know, looking at Lior's toilet, you know, it's a smaller mod. It goes on top of the scoop protector area up on the plastic there with the flasher integrated to the toilet bowl, which I think is great. The detail is fantastic. And it's, you know, north of $250. You know, I think it's like $280. So a fully sculpted hand-painted topper from Lior. I mean, what do we have to go on? The most recent one was $1,395 for Alien, and that is without the beacons. Now, if you had to add the beacons, I think it was another $199. The limited version comes with the beacons that go with the topper, so all in, you're like $1,500 for that. A fully sculpted bowling alley, which is kind of where I would go if I was him, I would expect that to come out for like $2,500, honestly. So the spread is anywhere from $1,395 to $3,000 for this rumored Lior topper. When are we going to get it? I asked the man the other day, and all he got back was a soon. So that could be like today, like this afternoon, you know, or I don't think we'd have to wait until after the end of the year. I think it's probably coming pretty soon. Maybe we'll see some more drops from them. But, you know, so this is the spot we find ourselves in, right, the old FOMO brigade. So this Lebowski topper that we have now, the electric pinball boys have made, the stacked acrylic, the 22 inches wide, 13 1⁄2 inches tall, 5 inches deep, interacts with the game, commanding presence on top of that back box. They're only making 100 of them. As of this morning, I just went and rechecked, there are 10 of them left. So this thing, it's going to sell out if it's not sold out already. They're taking $100 deposits. What I do like is they, I like this as a company from them. They said that they're going to start being made in February. So if you've ordered one, they'll be making them in February, which is just a few months away. They plan to have them all complete by May. I think that's something reasonable that they can accomplish. So before we get into summer, even if you're the last on the build, you should be able to get one. $10.99 was the price for this thing. They also did something cool. I like this. There a laser numbered plate that goes prominently on the front there I hope you can see it from you know where you standing playing the game I sure they would have thought of that I have to see when I actually get one here But I like that it says the dude abides and then gives you your number addition out of 100 I think that's fun. The first 25 people that ordered these they also got an acrylic ornament of the topper which I think is cool. I wish they'd make those available just as like maybe an extra purchase if you weren't one of the first 25. But as of right now if you want the interactive form of this topper I think they're $11.79 now and they're taking $100 deposits. There's 10 left. And then they might be gone by now. And then that's the run of these. So that will be gone. And then if you're left with the Laserific topper or Lior's if you're into toppers and such and not into the whole top of the back box brevity thing.
    7:41
    So, yeah. So I think it's cool. They're also doing a wall-mounted version of this. It's not interactive, but I'm assuming it has the light shows. It's supposed to go on your wall at retail. It's around $8.65 or something like that. But, yeah, I don't know that you wouldn't be able to take the wall version and put it on top of your game. It just wouldn't have the interactive bits. I don't know if somebody could retro-engineer that. I don't know. But I am happy to reveal that prior to me even going in and getting on the reserve list for one of these things, they've agreed to send me an early production copy so that I can get my hands on it, take photos of it, put it up on the machine, and kind of describe it, do some videos, and talk about it. And then it's a pre-production version, so then the deal was I'm borrowing it, and I'm going to send it back to them. So we should be seeing them here soon, at least for me. I'll be covering it as much as I can.
    8:29
    I think soon, by like another week and a half, we should have one. So if you want to see a little bit more about this and kind of get into the nuts and bolts on it, how do you put it on, how heavy is it, 14 pounds, what is that like in person, we'll find out. I should have that soon, so I'm very thankful for Rob, friend of the show, for doing that for me and for all of you so I can put it out there. What that's not going to help with, though, is your decision on whether or not you need to buy this thing because, like I said earlier, there's only 10 of them left and they're probably going to be gone soon. But maybe you want to get one and check it out and maybe put it on your wall. Maybe you want the wall decorative version. That's an unlimited version. So I think the review will still be apt kind of for that. So we'll get to that. With Lior, we're going to be seeing more soon, and I'm strongly anticipating seeing what's going on. So where do we lose on this? What if the Lior topper is amazing, like you have to have it, and then you've already committed to one of these? Well, I suppose you could take the interactive top. I already thought about this last night. You could take that interactive topper, mount it to the wall close enough to the game that it's still like the cords can reach. And then you can have like Lior's bowling alley on top of there. And then this one over on the wall like lighting up an interactive. So I think there's a way forward for this. Has there ever been a game that had like multiple toppers at the same time? I think this may be the first one. We'll see. Lior, come and knock our socks off, man. I want to see what you're cooking with there. In other mod news, this just popped up, Nap Arcade, thanks for sharing. Who's making this one? Interactive Pinball. There's a mod for Twilight Zone, of all things. Somebody's got themselves a 3D-printed piano with movable keys that sits on top of the piano scoop there on the right side of the play field. And the little videos just show this thing off. This thing is cute as heck, man. You know, the little piano jingle goes off when you hit that scoop, but then the keys light up and they move on their own, and I think that's kind of fun. How much is this thing? $169.99. sense, so it's not 300, so that's nice, and it's cool, and it's interactive, and it moves, which I really appreciate that. You know, yeah, I mean, I'm in awe of the mod makers, as you guys know. I'm a fan of basically every mod I ever see. But most of the time, if there is any interaction, it's a light flasher or something, because that's kind of what you can kind of home engineer. So this thing having some movable parts in it, I don't know if there's like a rotating cam or how they did this, but that's kind of fun, and for sub $200, if I had a Twilight Zone, I think I'd get me one of these. I wonder if they would make you a special edition in black and white, though. I think that would be the kicker. I still have this idea of somehow owning a black and white Twilight Zone at some point. I don't know how feasible that is, but I sure would like to do it after seeing them. So if you want one of these, Interactive Pinball has them. I checked, and last night there were five of these left of their build. I wasn't sure how many they were building. I don't know if this is like a first run or something. But if you want one, there may still be a chance to get in on that and throw it in your Twilight Zone. It's kind of cool. It's a little player piano. You know, that's fun. What else have we gleaned from NAP Arcade recently? Well, supposedly there's some word coming from the Raw Thrills play mechanics folks regarding Pulp Fiction. And, you know, CGC is going to be making them. They're going to leave the factory in good condition. When they're going to leave the factory in good condition is the question, right? Are we going to still be waiting two years down the road for Pulp Fictions, myself included? I mean, in that time, the money I've set aside for it is going to be spent on something else. And then when it comes time to actually get it, I may have to scramble. Two years from now, are we still going to want this game with other things that may be out? We don't know. But, listeners, I am hearing from Vietnam Arcade that the production machines will be leaving the factory by the end of Q4, which, I mean, looking at the calendar on the wall, is four weeks from now. So something should be leaving the factory here next month in December. how fast they're going to come out if Cactus Canyon is any indication not quick so it sounds like they're going to do what's typical get these built for location operators first get those black door additions out there with the coin acceptor or bill acceptor ready door those will be going out and then once we start seeing chrome doors come out then we'll know that the homeowners are up next which I count myself included in there now are they going to make the LEs the bad mother flipper additions first. I kind of presume they should, given that that's the higher limited quantity. But maybe there's more parts involved in that. You know, the little chrome appliques, the pewter wallet that's on the apron, the topper. Maybe that's going to take a little bit longer to make. In the meantime, they need to make the standard editions. Maybe I'll end up getting it sometime in Q1, Q2 next year. Who knows? We'll see. We'll find out. But I like that they're giving us production updates at least. So something is coming out of the factory in the next couple weeks. So keep your eyes peeled to Nap Arcade, because that's kind of where it's probably going to drop first. And then we'll all talk about it here, because that's what we do. The symbiotic relationship. Oh, gosh. I've been doing some fun things to Venom. So I got my Godfather LE accessory kit in the other day, because I had to have it. And the first thing I did was take out those sweet-looking chrome leg applique magnetic lion protectors, and I went around my game room just putting them on random games to see how it looked. It kind of looks pretty cool on the VP, not going to lie. It didn't really fit with Godzilla at all. But, man, I got them on Venom and that shiny chrome with the kind of black that I got on there. I mean, I'm digging it. I put a photo up on the Patreon page for that.
    13:49
    I'm just having a good time down here. I also took them and I put them on my Harbor Freight rolling tool case and they even classed that up So I think the chrome lions for the LE version I think they got legs man You can put them on other stuff I going to go try them on my refrigerator next I just going to class up the joint I wish I could buy these things in bulk. I'd have them all over the place. Think of them as little coffee table protectors for your toddler, you know, walking around so he doesn't bump into the table. He'll bump into a chrome lion instead. You know, these things can be kind of applied just throughout the home. And I want to see Jersey Jack move into the home accessory business and give us some more Lions. Because who doesn't want more Chrome Lions? All right, so what else do we got? We got games coming out soon. We're going to talk about Jaws next. I want to pause for a moment, though. If you do want to get in on a Jaws list, go ahead and email Jeff over at mattpinball.com. He's got lists he's taken. He's going to probably, I don't know if he's already got his order in. He's going to hush-hush about all that. But we are on the eve of a drop. And if you want one, you know, go get on the list now because I think it might be coming soon. So Jaws, this has been strongly rumored to be, you know, the next game coming out from Stern Pinball or, you know, one of the next, you know. There was a rumored four run coming. We heard Venom was coming and then we were going to get Foo Fighters and then Jaws and then Indiana Jones or something. You know, Foo came first. Venom came next. And now from multiple sources, I keep seeing Jaws stuff everywhere and it's ticking up now. So, you know, I'm seeing from, you know, other people are posting in Europe that Jaws is coming. Ching has just put up a video talking all about Jaws. We got some rumors on the play field that keep popping up. We have heard that this is a four-flipper game with three flippers on one side and then, you know, one on the other. What this could mean is that there's a traditional upper flipper somewhere in the mid-play field, and then, you know, maybe a micro one somewhere or just another one up on an upper play field, or maybe there's a shot that gets activated or something. We'll see how that's integrated. It's supposed to be by Elwin. He did cool stuff with Godzilla for sure. I like all the different ball paths. I like how that upper flipper's integrated. I like how you can use the upper flipper to hit that destruction bonus shot that's in the upper right. And then as it comes around, you can hit the one right below that behind Mega Godzilla and get the, what do they call it, the tail whip, right? So that's fun. So I want to see how he's integrated all that. I've heard some crazy rumors, though, that there's, like, one of the flippers looks like a shark mouth that opens up. I'm wondering if, you know, four flippers on the left, you know, on one side of the play field. I hope that doesn't mean like on one side of the Italian bottom there's like a double flipper, kind of like how Starship Troopers was. But then, you know, it's L1. We'll see how it's integrated. But I didn't like, you know, having to switch between a different button for a different flipper on the right side. So I kind of I don't think it would be my favorite thing. But, you know, I don't have the visionary vision of, you know, this goat of pinball designing. So we'll see. So I've heard that. I heard something about the ramps will have interesting exits. Is the ball going to dribble out of a shark mouth? I mean, that'd be cool. Do the ramps go into Vux or something and then launch balls somewhere else? I had heard Elwin say that he's not a fan of scoops. He kind of put one in on Godzilla just out of necessity. So I don't know if it would be a ramp into a scoop or something. But I think we're going to see. I don't know. I don't have any official confirmation of that.
    17:09
    And as far as artwork on the cabinet, who knows? You know, are they just going to take that iconic shark poster, right? The one that shows beneath the waves with the woman swimming at the surface and the Jaws is right there underneath with the Jaws logo sitting up there in the sky. I think that has to be there. It's vertically integrated or vertically oriented. I think it would fit great on the back box. I think if I was buying a version, whichever one has that is the one I want. Whichever back glass has the giant shark mouth on it is the one I want. whichever one has the blue and kind of teal marine sky with a subterranean underwater shark on it. I mean, that's what I want. So I kind of think that that's what I would see. But we'll have to see the breakdown. When is this coming? I keep getting the sense that it's soon. And here's why. The rumors have been fairly consistent. So that's why I'm strongly saying this is likely going to happen. But the frequency that we're hearing about it is really increasing. and I think that happens as we get closer to a release. Now it's all of a sudden multiple people are coming out, they're making videos about it, they're talking about it, there's blog postings about it. So I think it's probably coming in the next few weeks. I had heard a rumor about three weeks ago that we would actually get a reveal before the end of the year. As far as production, I think the new factory is going to shut down for two weeks for inventory, for retooling, for whatever they're going to do. So I don't know that a lot of games are going to be made in December. I think they're working on Stranger Things Premium right now and then that'll probably be shipping next month. The factory can go down. They're going to have some time off for the holidays, I'm sure, before things spool back up in January. So I think to kind of satiate us and get the market moving before the end of the year, we're probably going to see a reveal and probably deposits being going in for this game next month. I think that's a strong possibility. It may even be like next week. It may even be tomorrow for all we know. Today's a Tuesday. Let's see how the week plays out. Let's see how we go into the weekend. If we don't hear anything, then next Monday would be the next time that we would expect them to come out and say, here's a reveal. Here it is. Go get on your list. Email Jeff now if you want to be in a holding pattern. No commitments. You know, you're not going to put a refundable deposit down right now. But if you want to be, like, ahead of a line, if you do decide to go on this, I mean, that's not a bad way to do it. I'm sure every other distributor already has, like, loads of lists soaked with people years long. what I will say that fortunately if this thing happens and it's Elwynn it's going to be such a powerhouse of a game that it's going to be made for like 5 years I think 4 years from now we'll be talking about the Jaws 80th anniversary release or something version and they'll come out with another 500 LEs or something what I don't know for certain and this is always fun to speculate about are we going to see a special limited edition from this game no one's stern like I've gone to know them over the last year and a half or so So if they can find an angle to get these games sold through to distributors, they're going to go ahead and do it. Is the market soft right now, though? Are people going to be able to find right before the end of the year, right before taxes are due, another $20,000 to go buy a Name Your Price game from a distributor? That I don't know. Would they do a pro premium and LE release now and then in three months come out with an SLE later? Possibly. so we're all going to find out what happens in the next few weeks I feel alright let's do something fun so I did a cool interview last night with Bob Rose he's the creator, director, initiator for the Token Taverns documentary it's out on the streaming services now he does have them in physical media I talked to him at Expo and he came on and we kind of had a good conversation about his process so what Token Taverns is a documentary that basically tells the story of three different barcades in the Tampa, Florida region kind of over the last three to four years. It was a three-year-long project that he did. He started out just kind of going to the arcades meeting these people checking out how their business model is and everything during this resurgence of arcades that we had especially with like the curated barcade format And then COVID hit. And so then it turned into kind of like a human interest story about how these businesses that had changed to survive to get through that. And it's loaded with some really cool people. John Kurtzow's in there from NBA Jam fame. Billy Mitchell makes an appearance and some other stars and things. So what I thought would be fun was to take an excerpt from that interview and I'll put it in here and we can listen to it for a little bit. And then the full interview I posted last night on Patreon. So if you got yourself five bucks, go in there and get that. Otherwise, Token Taverns can be seen on Tubi for free with ads or I watched it on Amazon Prime for five bucks. I thought that was reasonable. So yeah, listen to the excerpt. If you want to hear more, it's over there on the Patreon and I'll probably release it in its entirety at some point. I just need some more time to edit so it's professional. But for y'all that want some raw Don, go get it now. So let's get to that. now so people can get token taverns on their christmas list man heck yes heck yes uh yeah i was digging it um watching it obviously you were having a good relationship with the people that you were filming at you know because they really come through um are you still in that community now too like hanging out with everybody 100 so everybody all the arcade bars that we followed in this movie including like glitch down in fort lauderdale because we have a little bit with them as well. I'm like really close friends with these people. So, I mean, first off, me and Margie, my wife, we go to Parkade about once a week just to play games. That's like the closest bar we have, which is in the movie. We also go to Reboot anytime we can get to Dunedin. And, you know, Mike from Vector, who's in the movie, every time he's on my side of the bridge, we link up and play games. So, not to mention just the countless, countless people that we know now. It's like cool because I can go to Parkade now. My wife doesn't come with me. If she doesn't come with me, I know that there's going to be somebody there that I'm going to hang out with. And if not, I'm hanging out with the staff because I know all of them as well. That's the best part about this, man, is like I've just gotten so many friends that are like also into the same shit as me. You know, like I have a lot of friends and I'm like, dude, try this pinball. They like it for about 10 minutes.
    23:15
    Not that they don't like it. They just need another shiny thing and they want to go over there. I'm like, nah, I'm good for a good two hours on this guy. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're going to set some scores here, man. Well, good. Now that I'm basically like an honorary resident of Florida, I need to swing by those arcades now that I saw in the movie. Absolutely. And if you do, definitely hit me up. I will 100% meet you out there. It's also really cool. Any people that have watched this movie, when you go to Tampa, you have to go to Lowry Parkade. It's super close to the airport and reboot in Dunedin. I think it's one of the coolest things to watch the movie and then go back to these places or go to these places you have never seen before. And you have this kind of new perspective.
    23:56
    So, yeah, I mean, that's kind of the whole point, man, is shining a light on the industry, but we're also shining a light on some of these individual mom-and-pop small businesses as well. Yeah, yeah, I think that's awesome. So you got this project done.
    24:10
    You know, what are you there like? Do you already have something else that you're working on now, or do you have kind of like another idea of something you'd like to do? I mean, I have some ideas. I mean, right now I'm in full, like, promotion, pimp my movie mode, you know. So all I'm trying to do is make sure people in the community first know about the movie. And I'll probably be doing that, like, heavy going into summer. You know, indie films, it's not like Hollywood movies where, like, oh, you can tell in two days if it's successful. It's more like a slow burn, and it really takes me hammering away at the keyboard and DMs and sharing and all of that. I'll be doing that for a while, but I will tell you what I've got in the works. Sure. So the main thing is that I work in reality TV. I work in documentary television. I'm working on a show right now. And so I have multiple people that I can pitch token taverns, the TV series. So I'm kind of looking at that. I'm kind of using the approach that they did. I don't know who remembers the movie catfish that became catfish, the TV series on MTV. Most people remember the series, don't remember the movie. Well, the movie came first. So I kind of am using that approach to springboard a series. So I'm going to pitch that definitely. That will be the next thing I do. But, you know, that's just me repackaging some stuff and doing some pitches. I am looking into the pinball industry. We are looking to stay in this space. I do know that whatever I do next will be in this space. It will be in this community. We're just looking to hang out and stay here because I just had so much fun doing Token Taverns, and I want to continue to be able to write off pinball machines on my taxes. Love it. So I've got to keep doing this, man. Keep your skills. I've got a pitch for you if you've got a moment, if we're in the elevator here. Oh, of course. All right. Token Taverns Extreme Makeover Edition, right? So we roll up in there into failing barcades and give them a complete, like, dressing down, right? Beat them down. They're doing all the wrong things. Their popcorn is stale. Their token machines are broken. Their flippers are weak. And then we go in there, we shut it down, and in 48 hours, we rehab, refurbish everything, fresh paint, arcade carpet, rename, rebrand, relaunch, move that bus, and get a new tavern going, and then we're on to the next town. Going across the country, resurrecting arcades from the brink of death and bringing them back at least for an episode. I love it. And you know what? I feel like the title shouldn't be Token Towers. I feel like it should be Arcade Bar Rescue. How about that? That's original, right? Yeah, yeah, but I don't want to have to pay for any rights or anything, so we have to pretend it's a completely original idea. We're going to Arcade Bar. We're doing fine.
    26:55
    Well, you know, I do also have an idea for – I'm actually going to pitch – Barcade-tastrophe. That's what we'll call it. Yeah, there you go. I'm going to pitch another version of Token Taverns, which is a travel show, and that would include somebody like yourself and maybe another person who doesn't know as much about the arcade scene but knows more about the bar scene. Yes. And just going and discovering all these awesome places, home arcade spots, things like that. So I have that in the works as well. Totally different type of show, but I would call that Token Tavern. I'm emailing Electric Bat Arcade right now. Bob Rose, thanks so much for joining us for that excerpt of the interview. If you want to hear the full one, it's up on Patreon. And what else are we doing?
    27:38
    We're going to email Don and give him some feedback. Let me know. I appreciate constructive criticism.
    27:44
    Don'sBitballPodcast at gmail.com is a way to get to me. Come to the Facebook page, follow. There's going to be a lot of live streams coming back up. But if you want more Epcot content, I may have it for you later this week. Thanks for joining. As always, Episode 84 is in the bag. Tie a knot on it. Put a bow on it. It's done. Let's go get some sandwiches, you guys. Later.