Journalist Tool

Kineticist

  • HDashboard
  • IItems
  • ↓Ingest
  • SSources
  • KBeats
  • BBriefs
  • RIntel
  • QSearch
  • NName Review
  • +Health

v0.1.0

← Back to items

Jersey Jack Pinball Update - 2023

Pintastic New England·video·57m 55s·analyzed·Mar 14, 2024
View original
Export .md

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034

TL;DR

JJP panel reveals Ritchie's Cinderella game, Seiden's debut title, and commitment to diverse theme appeal.

Summary

Jersey Jack Pinball held a 2023 panel featuring Steve Ritchie, Mark Seiden, and company leadership discussing new game development, design philosophy, and company culture. Ritchie discussed his new untitled game (confirmed as Cinderella-themed without Disney license), Seiden introduced his first JJP title, and company leadership emphasized appealing to diverse audiences beyond traditional male players. The panel covered design iteration, production capacity, licensing strategy, and market philosophy.

Key Claims

  • Steve Ritchie's new game at JJP is his best game in many years

    high confidence · Company leadership statement during panel; framed as personal opinion but delivered as company position

  • Mark Seiden hasn't had a game released in 3.5 years (last work was James Bond playfields for Stern that were not used, plus Avatar LE and AC/DC Pro Vault Edition)

    high confidence · Direct quote from Seiden: 'I haven't had a game out on the street like in three and a half years. I made the James Bond play fields for Stern before I left...I made Avatar and Stern AC/DC. So I haven't had one on the street'

  • Ritchie's new game includes a glass slipper mechanical feature

    high confidence · Direct audience Q&A response: 'There's a glass slipper' when asked about mechs

  • JJP can theoretically release a new game every 9-10 months ideally

    high confidence · Company leadership: 'ideally, I'm on record to say, you know, every nine or ten months, I'd love to see another game'

  • JJP currently runs two production lines for two different games simultaneously

    high confidence · Direct statement: 'we have two lines, and right now we're running two different games'

  • The Godfather game is bringing new people into the hobby as their first pinball machine

    high confidence · Company leadership: 'people are finding out there's a The Godfather game, and they're buying a The Godfather game as their first pinball machine'

  • Ritchie's new game will contain speech elements but not 'play better'

    high confidence · Q&A exchange: speaker asks about speech, Ritchie confirms some speech but 'It's not going to be play better. It's enough we can't talk about'

  • JJP prioritizes feed design ('feed fiend') - getting ball back to flippers frequently

    high confidence · Ritchie design philosophy discussion: 'I want feeds I want the ball to come back to the flippers whenever I can'

Notable Quotes

  • “Working at Jersey Jack Pinball has been a great experience. Like, I hate to say it, way more fun than I had at the previous company was I forgot the name. I think it's like Stern?”

    Steve Ritchie@ 2:51 — High-profile designer's public statement contrasting JJP positively to Stern; notable for tone and context given Ritchie's legendary status

  • “There's a glass slipper.”

    Unidentified (responding to question about mechs)@ 13:23 — First official confirmation of specific mechanical feature on Ritchie's game; Cinderella theme confirmation

  • “The game is frickin' magnificent. I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that. It's like I'm patting myself on the back, but I'm not. There's 15 other people involved in making this thing happen.”

    Steve Ritchie@ 6:38 — Reveals team size involved in game development; frames excitement within collaborative context

  • “I made you a promise before he came to the company that he was going to get a chance to do whatever he wanted to do on the game. And nobody was going to tell him to take anything off the game.”

    Company leadership (likely Jack Danger or owner)@ 9:24 — Indicates JJP's design philosophy giving designers autonomy; potentially explains game scope/depth

  • “If three people tell you something is no good, it's no good. That's a saying that he lives by with design.”

    Company leadership@ 9:53 — Frames Ritchie's design methodology; explains iterative approach and design criticism acceptance

  • “I want people that know the difference between a cornfield and a playfield.”

Entities

Steve RitchiepersonMark SeidenpersonJersey Jack PinballcompanyDrew YoungpersonPat LawlorpersonEric MinerpersonStern Pinballcompany

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: JJP operating two simultaneous production lines running different games; production capacity supports theoretical 9-10 month release cycle

    high · Statement: 'we have two lines, and right now we're running two different games' and 'ideally...every nine or ten months, I'd love to see another game'

  • ?

    community_signal: JJP leadership actively involved in customer onboarding; delivering machines, setting them up, surprising owners with themed gifts (cannolis for Godfather owners)

    high · Leadership anecdote: 'I've gone to a couple of people's homes in the last couple of weeks where the games are getting set up. And I surprised people with cannolis'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: JJP design emphasizes frequent ball feeds back to flippers ('feed fiend' approach) rather than challenging playfield flow; accessibility consideration

    high · Ritchie: 'I want feeds I want the ball to come back to the flippers whenever I can' and discussion of designing for average players not just elite

  • ?

    design_philosophy: JJP grants designers creative autonomy with no mandated content removal; Ritchie's game allowed full creative expression without editorial constraints

    high · Company leadership: 'I made you a promise...he was going to get a chance to do whatever he wanted to do on the game. And nobody was going to tell him to take anything off'

  • $

    market_signal: The Godfather game is bringing new players into hobby as first machines; anecdotal evidence of 3 AM play sessions and strong adoption among first-time buyers

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.174

0:00
I Listen tastic you be quiet over there, right? So I wanted to introduce a couple of people that came with me from Jersey Jack pinball This is mark Seiden I guess a couple of you gay people know Mark, huh? Native son, local boy makes good.
0:34
Local boy becomes pinball designer. That's the American dream, I guess, right? Right there. He's very talented, and we're very thrilled to have him be part of the company, and he fits in perfectly. And I would tell you all about his game, but I can't. I will. I'll tell you all later.
0:57
Steve, on the other hand, he's got a real big mouth. If you get a few drinks in him, he's going to spill the guts from World War II. He'll tell you who shot JFK and who's going to win the World Series. He'll let you know everything. Right, Steve? Yeah. And the other person with me is the amazing king of flow, the king of pinball, the innovator of so many things pinball, the greatest selling pinball designer ever, Steve Ritchie, my friend.
1:27
Well, thank you, thank you. I wouldn't rather do anything else in the world. I wouldn't rather do anything else in the world except make pinball. So I'm going to ask Steve to talk a little bit, and then I'll ask Mark to talk a little bit. We'll take some questions. We have some dessert coming, too. And we have a couple of surprises later. Maybe a Q&A trivia contest kind of thing. And we'll have some fun. What the heck. Everybody, that's what we're here for, right? We make these games to put smiles on your face. We try to make some money now and then, too. That might help. Keep the lights on. Keep everybody paid. But really, this is a passion. This is something that we love to do.

Company leadership@ 27:11 — Illustrates JJP's prioritization of pinball expertise in hiring; humorous but reveals company culture

  • “The Wizard of Oz...you put that in a bar, every girl in the bar will be playing that, and every guy will be right there with them.”

    Company leadership@ 23:06 — Reflects on past strategic decision to target female players; demonstrates long-term market philosophy

  • “I think what really sells the games is the gameplay, right? If the game is a good game and you have a bad theme, you still have a bad game.”

    Unidentified designer (likely Eric Miner based on context)@ 39:03 — Core design philosophy: gameplay trumps licensing/theme in sales success

    • Cinderella
    game
    The Godfathergame
    The Wizard of Ozgame
    Toy Storygame
    Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factorygame
    Dialed Ingame
    The Hobbitgame
    Black Knightgame
    Pintastic New Englandevent

    high · Leadership: 'people are finding out there's a The Godfather game, and they're buying a The Godfather game as their first pinball machine' and story of 3 AM text from new owner

  • $

    market_signal: JJP strategic shift toward diverse/female audience appeal; The Wizard of Oz was deliberate counter to testosterone-focused game market; Toy Story and others continue this approach

    high · Leadership: 'I wanted to go to something that would appeal to women and girls...you put that in a bar, every girl in the bar will be playing that'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Steve Ritchie has 20+ years industry experience; frames long career as continuing passion project rather than transactional employment

    high · Ritchie: 'I'm very blessed I'm doing this a long time I don't even want to say a number anymore...I have more than 20 years experience'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Steve Ritchie transitioned from Stern to Jersey Jack Pinball; publicly praised JJP experience as 'way more fun' than Stern

    high · Ritchie: 'Working at Jersey Jack Pinball has been a great experience. Like, I hate to say it, way more fun than I had at the previous company...Stern'

  • ?

    announcement: Steve Ritchie's new game at JJP is Cinderella-themed (non-Disney licensed) and features glass slipper mechanical element

    high · Q&A confirmation: 'There's a glass slipper' and Ritchie earlier confirmed 'Cinderella' after My Little Pony joke

  • ?

    product_concern: Mark Seiden had significant playfield iteration in first whitewood; scrapped corner section that didn't shoot as expected; multiple design revisions required

    high · Seiden: 'There's a whole corner of my play field that I just scrapped from the first Whitewood. It just did not shoot the way I expected it'

    • 2:13
    We're actually honored to do it. I'm very blessed I'm doing this a long time I don't even want to say a number anymore you know my dad was an accountant and after he was an accountant like 30 years 40 years he started saying more than 20 years experience so let's just say I have more than 20 years experience doing everything and I'm happy to do it and it's very exciting so take it away Steve take your unscripted the script. Away. I want to say this first.
    2:51
    Working at Jersey Jack has been a great experience. Like, I hate to say it, way more fun than I had at the previous company was I forgot the name. I think it's like STEM? I think that's it. STEM. And, uh, yeah.
    3:11
    I don't know what that's about. Anyway. So, anyway, life is good at Jersey Jack. He's throwing money at me.
    3:33
    I'm not saying that. I mean, there's a lot of people at Stern that I love. They're my friends. I can't help it. I've known them for years and years. You guys know them, too.
    3:43
    But not Gary. No. Damn it, Steve. What? Damn it. Yeah, I can come at that. Anyway, it's really nice. And now I want to speak to a couple of other people.
    4:02
    One of them is a guy sitting on my right. He has been a tremendous help on my game. I know he walks in. He knows something about pinball. He's done, you know, a home game and all that. He's a project, which means basically a lot of suffering, a whole lot of suffering. That's it. You build your own game. And anyway, he helped me tremendously. He has a lot of knowledge about designing things.
    4:30
    Pinball's coming along just fine for Mark. He's making a good game. But he's like a 3D, and so he drew some parts that I needed drawing. I'm not. I'm 2D. 2D's fast. I can get my game done quicker or at least get a start on it so people can see what I'm doing. But 3D is like anyone can use the 3D program to produce the part, right? So Mark did that and a lot of other things, just suggestions. And we've become good friends. That's my view, but it might not be his.
    5:05
    I'm going to say yes, it is. Okay. Nice. Anyway. Anyway, we have become good friends also with his wife, Erin, and there's somebody else I want to speak to.
    5:27
    Yes, definitely. Erin. And he's kind of a new employee, but I was going in a panic because we have a shop where we build our prototype games. And the guy that built them got canned.
    5:47
    And it was kind of his fault, but I was starting to go into, I don't know, just a bad place without having a guy to build games in the lab. So this guy comes along. I told you to say anything.
    6:03
    You guys didn't believe me, right? You didn't believe me. Anyway, this guy, it turns out, has great pinball experience and a lot of knowledge. And it's been a pleasure to work with him and build with him.
    6:17
    And we're talking about Drew Young. He has to stand up right now. Get up. Stand up. All right. Go ahead. and his lovely wife Vicki.
    6:31
    Anyway, new friendships, good time. The game is frickin' magnificent. I'm sorry, I shouldn't say that. It's like I'm patting myself on the back, but I'm not. There's 15 other people involved in making this thing happen. But we're very excited, and it's Cinderella.
    6:56
    Without a Disney license. I'm not going to mess with that. I thought it was My Little Pony. You've been working on that game for 10 years. My Little Pony, yeah. My Little Pony. You can't use Barbie as a rumor anymore.
    7:14
    So, what is it? Working at Jersey Jack, it's been a 180-degree turn for me, and it's been a lot of fun and very exciting. and finally, I haven't had a game out on the street like in three and a half years. I made the James Bond play fields for Stern before I left. They didn't use either one of them. Kind of crazy. I made an LE and a pro model. So I haven't had one on the street and I'm very excited to get this guy out in production and watch people enjoy it, hopefully. Anyway, that's all I have to say and thank you for listening. I'm sure you'll have more to say.
    8:02
    I'm sure you'll have more to say. I'm Mark Seiden, the newest designer at Jersey Jack. I don't have nearly as much to say as Steve.
    8:12
    But this is my dream job. I love every minute of it. I love that I got to work with Steve, Pat, Eric. all help me get going and teach me what they know. It's, yeah, I can't say enough good things about the people I work with at Jersey Jack. It's just a great company.
    8:34
    He's already given me all the money, so that's fine. Yeah, I don't have a game out yet, but I'm really looking forward to showing you what we've been working on. Yeah. You know, it's a hard thing when you have these games in process. And these take a long time. Years, literally. When we start thinking of an idea, then we go get a license and all the things. I'm going to stand up so everybody can see me. All the things that it takes to get a game and get the assets so that they have all the tools they need to make a really great game. With Steve's game, I'm going to tease you a little bit.
    9:24
    I made Steve a promise before he came to the company that he was going to get a chance to do whatever he wanted to do on the game. And nobody was going to tell him to take anything off the game.
    9:37
    And doing that changes everything. because nobody's going to come to him and say, take that off the game. But doing that also, what it did, it put a lot of pressure on him because Steve will tell you, and I'll use my best Brooklyn, if three people tell you something is no good, it's no good. That's a saying that he lives by with design, right? Yes.
    10:02
    And there wasn't anybody that came to him and said that on his game. There were some times where some people wondered, when is he going to finish XYZ? When is he going to do that? Maybe that doesn't need to be there that way, or maybe that doesn't need to be there. Maybe it could be there a different way.
    10:22
    And not everybody's Steve Ritchie. I'm just going to say that. I know it's kind of silly to say that.
    10:31
    Not everybody's Steve Ritchie, but he got a chance to do it. And for me, personally, you know I'm going to just put it out there I think this is like his best game in many many many years yeah well he made a lot of great games you know I'm not talking about him like he's not here he's dead or something so I know he's going to say something but you know he the first time I saw Black Knight I was at an arcade in Coney Island you know we opened up a box and we set it up in this guy's, Wally's arcade, and it was talking, and it was saying all kinds of stuff. What was it saying, Steve? What was Black Knight saying to me, like in 1980? What was it saying to me? Play better. I am the Black Knight. I don't remember it all. Give me a little bit.
    11:26
    I will slay you. I remember that. The pitch dropped electronically. It didn't say all that much. Yeah. But it was... I still do that when the ball drains like Mark's playing on my game. All the time. Someone I really don't like, though, when they're doing it and they lose their ball, I go, ah!
    11:58
    Will you have any speech in your upcoming game? I'm sorry? Will you be doing any speech in your upcoming game? Yeah, there'll be some. There'll be some. I'm a character. Okay.
    12:10
    Will it be like, play better? No. It's not going to be play better. Oh, okay. You think it's something new? It's enough we can't talk about. Oh, okay. X-Nay on the A, play better. Did the pizza arrive? Yes. Oh, okay. So they're setting it up? You're going to bum rush the table when everything's done? No. Just try not to knock the lady down, okay? Let her get out of the way. If anybody wants seconds, there's plenty of pizza. Gabe.
    12:41
    Okay. Gabe, how are we doing there, buddy? They're getting thirsty. I think they're getting thirsty.
    12:49
    Well, at least you didn't lose the recipe for the ice. Yeah. Pinball takes a long time. Pinball is hard, right? Some people say that. I haven't said that. I'm too stupid.
    13:04
    Pinball is great. So, yeah, so I don't know. How about we do a couple of questions, if anybody has any questions for anybody?
    13:15
    I'll be silent. Are there any of you mechs that you can talk about? Is there anything you can talk about?
    13:23
    There's a glass slipper. This is the first audience that knows everything. Everybody, there's NDAs outside. When you get the pizza.
    13:35
    Our attorney told us that by you eating the pizza, you've agreed to keep quiet. And you can't divulge anything in here. And if anybody asks you, you just say, on advice of counsel, I respectfully decline to answer the question on the grounds that my answer may tend to incriminate me.
    13:57
    Don't ask me why I know that. How many times do you have to say that before you actually memorize that?
    14:08
    Crazy. No questions, really? Yes? A table? A table. Okay I don know Are you a pinball person Let me ask you a question Okay go ahead I sorry The kid's a pinball person. Go ahead. He's got his thumb up. Also, I'll tell you this. Would you say there's one thing that, if that isn't right, that's going to be created into a bad game? So, what would that be? If Steve Ritchie doesn't design it, maybe.
    14:53
    Or Mark Seiden does the designing? Or Eric does the designing? Wait, he's telling Steve what you just said right now. He's translating into gibberish.
    15:06
    Steve speaks fluent gibberish. Are you waiting for an answer? He's waiting for a Coca-Cola. Right, I can't think of one. I mean, yeah, I mean, there's a million aspects, right, to every pinball machine. There's a million ways to screw it up, right? You got to do things with taste. Be very self-critical. That's the magic. Can you really tell yourself that, oh, no, this works. Oh, it kind of works. No, it doesn't work. Somebody else comes along and goes, that thing sucks. Okay, that's it. It's got to go. I don't know.
    15:48
    If you make the right decisions, it's never a problem. I got one. Yes. Somebody made the point, I've been talking to a lot of pinball people, and they all made the point that everything is kind of aimed at 40-year-old guys.
    16:03
    Do you guys plan on any IP? I think Toy Story was aimed at the younger crowd. Are there any plans that you're going to jack to get some IPs that are... You know, I'm glad you asked that question. I was really, really happy to see so many young kids in the tournament today. I mean, I think that was really spectacular. And here, participating. Shut up.
    16:28
    Participating. Participating and having fun and getting all the trophies. Game eight at all? Game eight at all. Okay. Well, there's got to be more there.
    16:38
    So, you know, we're open, obviously, when you have Toy Story, which is a family-themed game, and then you have The Godfather, which is a family-themed game, just a different family. Right? I mean, you're open to do any kind of theme at all, right? So, yes. The answer would be yes. It's not particularly aimed at any exact, because we're bringing more people into pinball. And what I thought would happen with Godfather, since it's one of my favorite movies,
    17:13
    what happened with Godfather and what's happening, and our biggest distributor in the country, Mike Dodona, is sitting right here. And he'll tell you.
    17:23
    And his lovely daughter Michaela is next to him, too. What's happening with Godfather is that people are finding out there's a Godfather game, and they're buying a Godfather game as their first pinball machine. And then you know what happens after that, right?
    17:42
    Yeah. Everything goes sideways after that. The guy's putting an extension on his house and he's taking another job.
    17:54
    But it's really been great. And I've gone to a couple of people's homes in the last couple of weeks where games are getting set up. And I surprised people with cannolis. And I went to help them set up games and stuff like that. And it was a lot of fun to see them play their first pinball machine. And I got a text from some guy at 3 in the morning the other day. he was still playing the game I wasn't waiting for his text, I was sleeping but I didn't see that until I woke up and he was still playing, he sent little pictures and everything like that by the way, did anybody see on Facebook a little while ago somebody couldn't fit their topper for the Godfather game and the ceiling, did you see what the guy did he put the guys the bad guys on the sides of his game like on a shelf so they're here and there and they're shooting at you. I'm like, I got to tell you, it reminded me of the time I sold somebody a fishtails and we delivered it years ago at Pinball Sales and the guy, it couldn't fit on the ceiling and I had to come back with wire and he put it on the shelf so that when he got it, the fish would bang on the shelf and everything. I'm like, that's when I knew that pinball people were a little different than everybody else. I said, man, I have an inkling that, you know, like, I want my toy. But I want everything about my toy. I don't want to give anything up. Yeah, I know that was a long-winded answer, but yes, yes. We're trying to get everybody, and I have to be mindful of the world market too because what might play well in America might not play well in Australia or Europe and everything. Like if I wanted to do a baseball game, it would probably go well in America. It probably wouldn't sell well in Australia or the U.K. like that. So if I did...
    19:42
    Huh? FIFA game, I'd love to do that. We get messy and we're all set. Why not? Why not? Question? Yes?
    20:09
    Well, we have two lines, and right now we're running two different games. So you figure that out, okay?
    20:19
    You know, what happens, it was related to parts, and it always comes down to parts, right? You know, you hear people still talk about supply chain issues and everything. We have an amazing procurement department. Our buyers are, they're amazing. They're amazing. the communication they have with the designers and engineers in the company, the sourcing they have, and what they do to get parts to us. I can't really say we have a problem with parts. We pay very well, so our vendors are really partners with us. So, you know, if you're asking if you'll have more than two games a year kind of question, for me, ideally, I'm on record to say, you know, every nine or ten months, I'd love to see another game. So, you know, will you see Steve's game this year? Stay tuned. Maybe not at this show.
    21:16
    Not at this show. Thank you, Gabe. All right, Gabe. Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute. You want some money? No. I gave it to the office. That's okay. Thank you. Thank you. Yes, everybody help yourself. He's all right. Yes, you had a question. Yes. As a younger woman, how can you, as a blue ball manufacturing, do more to win it? Because Right, right.
    21:59
    Right. So when I started the company in 2011 on January 1st, I announced that the first game we were going to do was Wizard of Oz.
    22:12
    And a lot of people laughed at me, criticized me. The reason was because my daughter loved The Wizard of Oz. My daughter, Jen, growing up, wants to watch that movie a thousand times a day. And she mimicked everything that Dorothy did. She had a basket. She had a little dog. She did everything that Dorothy did. And I said, you know, these testosterone-based games that were out with, let me just say in a tasteful way, female anatomy that appealed to teenage boys, which was the thing at the time, I wanted to go to something that would appeal to women and girls. And that's what I did with Wizard of Oz. And I remember saying at a show, somebody was criticizing me, an operator, and I'm a game operator too, and the operator says, I don't know if that'll work. I said, I'll tell you what, you put that in a bar, every girl in the bar will be playing that, and every guy will be right there with them. And that's exactly what happened. It's still today, you know, no disrespect to these guys. For me personally, still my favorite game is Wizard of Oz. Because we didn't put the plumbing, we didn't put the kitchen sink in that game. We put the whole plumbing department in that game. So it was everything. Who has a Wizard of Oz game?
    23:31
    Okay. So, you know, I'm mindful of that. Toy Story is for everybody. Willy Wonka is for everybody. Dialed In was for everybody. Hobbit was really for everybody. you know, we've tried to, we've tried to, you know, it's difficult. Companies, you hear different companies make things, and they try to be everything to everybody, and it's real hard to be everything to everybody, you know. We're trying not to lose our way, and what we design, our games, are very distinctly different than any other game in the world. I mean, if you see one of our games, you'll know it's, it's, it's the same as all the others, but completely different than all the others, you know, so, but we're mindful of that, you know, you know, if we could do a Bobby game, really, and put it out there in some kind of way, I don't know, never say never, but thank you for that, and thank you for being part of pinball, too, because I remember being at shows years ago, yeah, exactly, the sisters, the sisters, the sisters,
    24:39
    You know, I remember being at pinball shows. I remember being at pinball shows, and there were just us freaks and geeks and people that didn't shower.
    24:49
    They'd be crop dusting. They'd be crop dusting, you know. And, you know, there were no women there. There were no children there. Certainly there were no children there. There were no women there. And if there was a woman there, there were like 25 guys trying to find out, you know, what was going on.
    25:09
    Next question. We're in trouble. Yes, yes, sir. He's a game designer. This guy works for American Pinball. Anybody know him?
    25:25
    Ryan, yes, Ryan. This question is for Mark. I'm really happy to get to sit in on another of your fantastic pinball panels. And I want to know what feels different this time around, now that you've been at this company for a year or more?
    25:44
    Like, you're no longer the new kid. You're establishing everybody. You know what you're doing, and you have the confidence that I can see as you're sitting there that was not there last time you were there. Tell me how different it feels.
    25:57
    It does feel more confident because I have a, like, pretty much design game at this point. So it's just me. Oh, there we go. Hello.
    26:07
    So, yeah, it's just me waiting my turn to be able to tell you all about it. It's like, what can I say?
    26:15
    Yeah, it's definitely a different feeling. Yeah, yeah, definitely. So, yeah, thank you. And you too.
    26:23
    May the best designer win. It's me. Yeah. Don't worry. May the best designer win. It's okay. I'll be the first one to pre-order the game.
    26:37
    That's pretty cool. You know, by the way, we're hiring. We're always hiring. We're always hiring good people.
    26:50
    We're hiring. We're looking for people all the time to do all kinds of things, from putting games in boxes to designing them. So I'm always out there searching around, and I'm looking for pinball people especially, not people that work at, like, Drummond Aircraft building a jet fighter or something like that. Maybe Steve wants that guy.
    27:11
    I want people that know the difference between a cornfield and a playfield. So that's what I say. Right? Okay. Do we have any other questions? Yeah, that guy in the back over there. Yeah, I got one. Can you translate that to Steve in gibberish, please? Hang on. I need a translation. Okay. So how do you decide when a shot is two? When a shot is too easy or too hard, how do you decide? You look at the room you got.
    28:03
    Talk into your microphone. Testing one, two, damn it. Better. This level needs to go up, though, testing one, two. I've been turned down, definitely turned down on purpose, damn it. You're lucky Fred Young isn't here. Just kidding. I don't know. You have so much room. let's say you want to put in three shots and you have five inches wide there's a lot of things you can do you don't really need the five inches to incorporate three shots if you play your cards right it's hard to explain but it's easy to understand it probably means extending shots making one longer than another so that the ball can get in and bad shots a million times I have gone And I just said that it take it out and do another shot a different shot And that happened several times in the game I working on now just because we had better opportunities that came up for feeds I a feed a fiend A feed fiend that it I want feeds I want the ball to come back to the flippers whenever I can you know and it like you would think that easy but to make the game fast enough it not easy Or it can be you know I don't know. You can shoot it careful and maybe avoid some problems. I'm not sure I answered your question, but...
    29:33
    Remember, the question had to be translated from two different people to me. So basically you shoot the game and everybody tells you it sucks and you have to fix it.
    29:47
    But there's a whole corner of my play field that I just scrapped from the first Whitewood. It just did not shoot the way I expected it to.
    29:56
    So, yeah, it's just iteration. You think it's going to work, and you build it, and it doesn't. So you fix it.
    30:07
    Yes? Can you do that work in a model now, or do you actually have to sit there and do it? You can build it up in virtual, like VPX or something first. I did a lot of like CAD work first. I designed 3D first.
    30:26
    So what I did is just have like every shot return, a sketch of every shot return, where is that likely to go if it was going like full speed. Every ricochet off of every target, calculate that and like, okay, you can move it a little bit. Where did I hit it on the flipper and like see where does that go so we can see the range, things like that. But yeah, a lot of people like to work with virtual pinball first and like lay it out. I know Ryan's like that, but I am more of a like, all right, I'm going to draw it in 3D first and then I want to actually feel it. Like there are things that I've designed in 3D that I was like, this is never going to work and it worked perfectly the first time. bar. Yes?
    31:19
    Yeah, we need somebody to test play everything. Sure. Okay, well, go to 1850 Greenleaf Avenue, Elk Grove Village, Illinois, 6007.
    31:30
    Tell them that Jersey Jack sent you. No, I'll text it to you. I'll write it down on this piece of tablet stone so that you can take it.
    31:47
    Get that man a chair. By the way, Gabe just told me that there's drinks out there. If anybody is, like, thirsty or dying of thirst and you want to get something to drink, you can go. Okay. Yes, sir.
    32:02
    I tried. Do you think this machine crisis will come down, and what do you think is the future for our new machine? I have no clue. I have no clue. I'm not doing this long enough, really. Things, you know, I have friends in the stock market. I have friends in real estate. I have friends that are in Bitcoin. I have friends that are in gold. I have friends that are in all kinds of crazy things. And they ask me questions like that as if I actually know. And all I can say is, you know, things go in cycles. When things are going good, they don't go good long enough. And when things are going bad, they go bad too long. But everything goes in a cycle. I can tell you this. Long term, I remember thousands of pinball machines I sold.
    32:43
    You know, if I go back to 2000, I was buying Adams families from Europe for 400 bucks, recounting them, putting a lot of time in them, put another 500, 600 bucks in them and sell them for 1,800 dollars. And I thought, like, what we were. You know, and that game today is worth, you know, a bundle. Even a crappy one you don't see. And a wise man, a very wise man once told me that he never got stuck with a pinball machine. And I'm going to believe that. Because, look, you buy something, you use it, you expect to lose money on it. I think COVID spoiled a lot of people. You know, you bought something, you could play it six months or a year and sell it and make a grand, you know. But a lot of new people came into the hobby. And a lot of new people want to buy games. We're still getting people that come into the hobby and they want to spend all kinds of money and get an instant collection. They want the oldies. They want the new ones. So I think if you have some pinball machines, I think they're the worst place you could put your money. So I wouldn't worry about it too much. It's going to go up a little bit. It's going to go down a little bit. If you see something, by the way, and not just my games, but if you see something that you want, that you really like, whether it's pinball related or not, just do it. You know, eat the piece of cake or do it. Life is too short. Really. Life is too short.
    34:12
    Joey. Will we ever see a wide body again? Like yours? I don't know if anybody can see what's here. This is 125 cannolis.
    34:50
    Joey! You get the first cannoli. Pick what you want. There's pistachio. Are your fingers clean? Okay. All right, we're going to have those in a little while. But wide-body, I don't know. I have to consider it. You know, I was told that you've got to go to the wide-body wood tree and that the unicorn had to fly up to the top of the mountain. So I don't know.
    35:19
    If you know, you know. Gabe, what the hell do you want? Oh, okay. He's going to stab me, I think. Yes, that gentleman over there.
    35:58
    Good luck. You've been designing a while. While we're talking. What do you think? I could probably take another question while he's figuring that out. I'll just wait another minute.
    36:14
    Okay. You've designed in many different eras. How the hell do you do what you do, Steve? What do you think about modern deep rule sets versus more classic rules? I don't think they're modern. I think deep rule sets have been around for a long, long time. Don't tell us. Tell them. We know. We know, Steve. Tell them. Please, somebody give me an example of a modern rule set. Your description of what that is.
    36:42
    Godfather. What game? Godfather. Godfather? Me. I better answer the question the right way. I don't know how deep it is because I can't get there. I don't mind. Also, I don't want to be influenced by other people's games, so I don't look. I don't play much. I just do what I have to do.
    37:06
    But rule sets that are deep are great. I am not that kind of a player. I'm every man's, I don't know. You're a loser. Well, there's only a few great players. The rest of the players are average, you know, and I try to make them happy too. If I need an extra ball here, I will tell the programmers I need an extra ball here because I'm not going to be able to go any further in the game, and I want to. And this would be good for average players, not just good players. Thank you.
    37:39
    Yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo. The guy knows his stuff, you know, really. It's real hard to stump Steve. He knows his stuff. He's doing this a really long time. next question if we have one yes sir alright congratulations I'm a vice of council I respectfully decline we're working on it I figured you are. I just didn't know where, like, the progress was. Yeah, we're working on it. We're working on everything. That's the problem. You work on everything, but you've got to give some things priority and some things secondary and all that stuff.
    38:33
    Yes, sir. Eric, how are you? I'm doing good. Good. New England Patriots. Yeah. Okay. Not my football team.
    38:41
    Okay, don't throw anything. What makes a good theme and what separates it from just a good theme to a really great theme that won't get a lot of sales?
    38:54
    Is that for me? Yeah. Am I a sales guy? I thought my games sold themselves, really. Well, I think what really sells games is the gameplay, right? If the game is a good game and you have a bad theme, you still have a bad game. You have a bad game with a good theme, a good license. You know, that's what I think.
    39:19
    There are games out there right now that don't have any license at all, that are older games, that are really great pinball machines.
    39:28
    Well, there you go. Thank you. Thank you very much. See me afterwards. But, you know, for me it's always gameplay. Theme is important. It makes it a little sweeter. you know like if you like something then you buy it I mean we have people we know that if they hear about a theme and they're pinball people they want it sight unseen because they love that movie or they love that band or whatever it is and then they might get the game and say everybody okay there is something to drink who's choking come on something to drink take a drink okay great But, you know, the problem is they play it and then they find out that it's not really a good game, even though it had a good theme and they wind up selling it. So I think, I still think it's important to play the game or have somebody you know play the game or watch a video of a good player playing the game so you could see what the game can do. And I'm a player like Steve. I love to play, but I can't get that far in there. You know, I've got to take the glass off and play it with my hand. and get it to do everything it's supposed to do,
    40:46
    and then maybe I could see the end of the wizard mode of Wizard of Oz or something like that. I'll find that one. Yes? This is your second question. Okay, well, we're going to keep an eye on you.
    41:10
    Yeah. We have a historian here that could explain that to you. It's been tried. What we have done, though, it's a good idea. You know, if I'm not so good, maybe set it on extra easy. There are a lot of presets, install presets in our game. So you can just go in the menu and install like extra easy or harder. You know, you don't have to go through every setting to go through 100 settings to try to figure out what makes that. So we shortcut it for you. You know, so, you know, if that could be on the outside of the cabinet kind of thing, who knows? Maybe one day.
    42:01
    Yeah, yeah. Right. well if our programmers watch this it would be one more thing on their list thank you anybody else yes how long does the design process take you to find the part of your game something that you know what it is as you sit down or does it take you to the draft or do you kind of realize what's going to make it I'm deaf in case you guys didn't know. I mean, I don't hear well. What? Go ahead. At what point in the design process do you know the heart of the game, like what the game should be about and stuff like that? Yeah.
    42:53
    Well, it's when Chris Franchi comes in the room and he goes, I like it. No, that ain't it. That ain't it. I could look at a game and continuously work on it.
    43:07
    One of the big tricks is to not take it too far. I don't know. What can I say? At the point where you know where it's good. We know this game is good. We definitely do There no question because so many people are involved in it and they like it It a good it a breakout in many ways So the first time for a few things, that sort of stuff.
    43:37
    I don't know if that was such a good description. I am tired plus, actually, you know, Jack can just talk. That's enough.
    43:48
    Next question. Anybody else? I just, you know, yes? Yes? Could somebody translate that for me? Original versus licensed. Well, we did an original.
    44:08
    It took 40... Yeah, it took 42 months to do. It's very hard doing an original game because you have a blank piece of paper so you could wander all over the place. With a license, you know, you kind of know the story or you create a story. Would we do one again? Possibly. I would not say no. But anything's possible.
    44:33
    Here's another interesting item. I thought he wasn't going to talk again, right? He didn't hear you. The next item is this. I made Black Knight Sword of Rage, and it's like young people didn't know what it was. They don't know. It didn't sell as well as many of my other games because they didn't know and because it wasn't a license.
    44:56
    A license that's good is definitely a great tool. I mean, we all know a guy who always said this, title, title, title. We're not going to say his name, but I think it began with S, Sam or something. No, that was his dad's name. But he's right. He is right about that. title, title, title. I think it is very important to make a game that people want to experience what they already experienced in a movie or through music or through any other kind of mechanical... I can't explain it, but yeah, you got the message. Title. That's me, though.
    45:44
    Okay. Yes, sir. I have no questions, Jack. I just want... A cannoli. It has been said that an army marches on its own. I know. I'm trying to feed this army here to get them much further. You've been feeding this army since its inception.
    46:03
    That long. Happy to do it. I want to thank you personally, because I always will, for doing that. Thank you. Appreciate it.
    46:15
    You know, yes, David? My question is what's in the brown box? We'll get to that in a minute. We're not ready for that yet, okay?
    46:24
    What the hell is with this thing? Hello, that's better. Thank you. I'm sorry. I'm screwing up your audio. I'm making you look bad. Thanks.
    46:32
    Give a big thanks to our audio person, our technical wizard. Technical wizard. Thank you, thank you. so one day the guy over there called me yeah you had your hand up what was it game can't talk are the games coming up and Steve and Mark going to push the jack system to its potential that I know it has with toys and lights and everything The answer is yes. Just how far I can go beyond yes is the, yeah.
    47:17
    I didn't understand it, Gabe. Shots are not toys. What did he say? Are you going to push the envelope on Jersey Jack games for lights and toys? We always will. Yeah. We always will. No doubt.
    47:30
    Steve's game has got a couple of lights on it. Just a couple. A couple. It's got a couple of lights.
    47:38
    You know, what I was going to say after your comment was, years ago Gabe called me up one day, and he said, hey, I'm thinking of starting a pinball show. You know, what do you think about that idea? And I pulled him off the ledge, and I told him it would be a great idea, it would be a great thing to do. And there's Pin, and there's Tastic, his partner, that started the show, and they're together.
    48:04
    And it's a great show. It's a lot of work. I wouldn't want to... I mean, here I started a pinball company, and I can tell you I don't want to start a pinball show.
    48:20
    So it's a whole different thing because everybody criticizes everything you do. Gabe, the pizza was cold, but... But thank you, filthy animal. Keep the change. Yes, one or two more questions, and then I want to move to the next part of the program. Two years ago, the patents for Pinball 2000 expired. God bless America.
    48:47
    That technology isn't dialed in. It's a toy in the middle of the play field. It's Pinball 2000. It's right there. And it's something we might use again on our games. It's a great thing to have.
    48:59
    Pinball 2000 was a good thing at the time. I was an operator, and I remember I was at the amusement show when it was revealed and all the muckety-mucks that designed it were there to explain to us operators how stupid we are because they made it so that we could actually leave an extra play field in our trucks so then we could go into the bar and pull out the dirty play field because we were too stupid to clean it and fix it and we could put a brand new play field in there and then bring it back to the shop and clean it and everything. and everybody was asking questions at that show and I waited a little while and I looked at the gameplay I didn't play the game yet because there was big, big crowds around the games and I said to a designer who I won't name these games are going to get boring real fast and everybody got quiet and they didn't know who the hell I was just the game operator from Brooklyn I said all the shots have to go to the middle of the play field to interact with the screen I said, after the third game, nobody wants to play this game. And, you know, it's a novelty. It's kind of cool. You know, a lot of people like the Star Wars better. I sold Star Wars through FAO Schwarz. So FAO Schwarz, when Williams went out of business in 1999 on October 25th, I had that game in the FAO Schwarz catalog, and they were selling the game for $5,795.
    50:25
    No, I'm sorry. They were selling it for $7,500. They were buying it from me for $57.95. And that was a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of money in 1999. And a lot of celebrities bought them, and they got into pinball, and it was a great thing. But, you know, good ideas, they're good, but you've got to keep them alive. It's like a plant. You've got to keep watering it and fertilize it and get it to sunshine. But I hope I answered your question. Thank you.
    50:55
    One more question. Okay, so I write a column in Replay Magazine. Replay Magazine is the premier magazine in the coin-off amusement world, and my column is called Jersey Jack. And the editor of the magazine, Eddie Adlam, gave me that name like, I don't know, 18 or 19, 20 years ago, something like that, when I started writing. And I didn't like the name Jersey Jack because I'm from Brooklyn. and he says, well, you're Jersey Jack and you're going to like it.
    51:31
    So I said, okay. So after a while I got used to it and then when it came time to name the company something, a lot of my customers from pinball sales at the time were saying, why don't you call it Jersey Jack? And I was like, I don't like that name.
    51:46
    I don't like that name. But I listen to the customers because the customer is always right. And we name the company Jersey Jack. But the point is I wrote a column last month. And it's just one little page. I just want to read it to you. And it's about somebody in the room. And it's Big Mike, one of pinball's biggest fans. And it says, many years ago I met Big Mike, the Donner Jr., who owned automated services in Milford, Connecticut, a pinball distributor who sells mainly to home customers. When I was managing Mondale's Springfield, New Jersey office in 1997, Automator was buying so much equipment there, they had one person dedicated just to Mike's account. When you pulled up to his building, there were two Coca-Cola tractor trailers at his building every single day. So he must have been doing something big. He started with a gumball machine, and through his hard work and grit and determination became a force in the industry. he looks like a tough guy he's a big marshmallow he supports many charitable causes and has done so for years to a fault he never says no to anyone in need never ever I know he's lent people money and he never paid them back and he never sent anybody from the Godfather to go find them he supports many charitable causes and has done so for years to a fault He never says no to anyone in need. He's also very humble and rarely steps into the spotlight. Sorry, Mike. While Mike is very much old school, he's also high-tech savvy. He has an amazing showroom. People visit. Sometimes they visit for weeks at a time before they buy a game. He's hands-on, but there's no pressure. He remains as calm and cool as a cucumber. Right, Michaela?
    53:36
    In short, his customers love him. So do I. His steadfast support of everything pinball has earned him a place as one of the game's largest distributors in the world. At Jersey Jack Pinball, we wanted to salute Big Mike for his love of the game, so we put him into all thousand of the collector edition games. as Big Mikey, where he's a perfect fit. Looking at the playfield character, you immediately recognize him. Over the years, our relationship has transcended business. Mikey has become one of my very best friends. I admire his love of his family first, and then of life, and his ideas, and his ideas for the industry. I continue to admire and learn from him all the time. And now I get to see him on one of my games. How cool is that? congratulations and thank you for everything Mikey salute Centon and guess what today is Mike's birthday
    54:55
    we gotta get somebody with a camera on the cake come on over here I'm afraid to touch it. Look at that cake, Mikey. You know, Gabe said to me, what's Mike's favorite cake? And I asked your wife. And your wife said, Mike never met a cake he didn't like.
    55:17
    So I don't know what it is. I love you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, Big Mikey Happy birthday to you I know you don't talk much, but... Here, here's the microphone. No, no, no. Thank you.
    55:51
    Thank you, everyone. I thank everyone. I thank a lot of new friends and people all for my love for me. and all the people in this room. You've all raised the best people together, and I love you all. We love you, Mike!
    56:08
    Say that. Let him take your picture. Oh, you... Nice. All right, you're going to cut the cake? Gabe, are you going to cut the cake? Mikey, make the first cut for good luck.
    56:28
    I'm curious to see what kind of cake it is because I think this is my dinner. Unless we're going to the Mexican place. There's one slice of pizza? Oh, look at that. It's so beautiful.
    56:44
    May I have the corner piece? You can have anything you want, Mike. There's a plate there. There's a fork. The game will help you out. And really, Mike touched on it. You know, the games bring us together, but it's about relationships and friendships. And that's really what we celebrate together. You know, we might not agree on football teams and baseball teams and politics. Maybe we do agree on politics. Maybe not. But you know what? There's nothing that brings us together better than pinball. and I love all you people and I hope you have a really great time the rest of the show. Come on up and get some cake in an orderly fashion, please. And cannolis and go sit back down. There's drinks outside and if you think of any other questions, maybe you're going to beat something out of Steve. I don't know. Feed him a couple of drinks at the bar.
    57:41
    Thanks. Love you guys. Thank you.