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Raw Shills!

Don's Pinball Podcast (patreon feed)·podcast_episode·33m 1s·analyzed·Feb 4, 2025
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.033

TL;DR

Don responds to shill accusations, defends Evil Dead enthusiasm, and speculates on Spooky's next game.

Summary

Don Garrison defends himself against accusations of being a 'Spooky shill' after posting enthusiastic content about his newly acquired Evil Dead machine. He defines shilling, contextualizes the accusation within broader online fan communities (using roller coaster manufacturers as analogy), and discusses secondary market pricing for Venom LE. He speculates about Spooky's next game, noting Beetlejuice rumors but expressing uncertainty about timing and future announcements.

Key Claims

  • Evil Dead weighs twice as much as other games like Scooby-Doo due to loaded mechanisms, lower playfields, staged balls, coils, and servos

    high confidence · Don Garrison describing the Evil Dead machine he purchased

  • Evil Dead's $10,000 price point represents a 'hell of a deal' compared to offerings from Stern, American Pinball, and Jersey Jack when factoring in mechanical content

    high confidence · Don Garrison comparing Evil Dead value proposition to competitor pricing

  • Venom LE can be purchased secondhand for ~$7,000 in the St. Louis area, representing strong value for buyers who haven't owned it

    high confidence · Don Garrison citing specific secondary market listing

  • Nearly 800 people are waiting for Evil Dead deliveries

    medium confidence · Don Garrison referencing pre-order demand

  • Spooky Pinball's next game unlikely to be announced until at least January, with production starting February-April 2025

    medium confidence · Don Garrison speculation based on historical Spooky release patterns

  • Harry Potter pinball reveal expected in March

    medium confidence · Don Garrison prediction based on timing considerations

  • Beetlejuice has been rumored as Spooky's next game according to Paris Pinball Enthusiast (Guilherme)

    medium confidence · Don Garrison citing Guilherme's social media posts

  • Don received Evil Dead pre-release access from Spooky and has received similar access from another unnamed company for an unreleased game

    high confidence · Don Garrison directly stating his access and relationship with manufacturers

  • The Alice in Wonderland Kickstarter machine ($sub-1000) has artwork quality issues, particularly with the Mad Hatter character design

    high confidence · Don Garrison detailed critique of character art

Notable Quotes

  • “I'm not shilling Evil Dead. Like, I bought the game because I enjoy it. And I'm not alone. There's, you know, nearly 800 other people that are also waiting for their Evil Deads and can't wait.”

    Don Garrison @ early segment — Core defense against shill accusation; establishes Don's position as enthusiast purchaser, not corporate representative

  • “If I could wake up every day and go into work and my job was to do my part, my level best to make the greatest pinball machine that I could for the community, for my friends, for myself, hell yeah I would do that.”

    Don Garrison @ mid segment — Don's honest statement about willingness to work in industry; reframes 'shill' label as legitimate job

  • “$7,000, the price of a new unboxed Stern AC/DC? To get a limited edition? I think that's a hell of a buy, right?”

    Don Garrison @ market analysis segment — Market valuation comparison; demonstrates informed secondary market perspective

  • “I see them as Spooky Pinball because Spooky Pinball tends to lead with some innovation. They tend to try some new things, things that haven't been tested and proven for 30 years and that may have some hiccups out the gate and need some fixes on the back end to get going. But they bring innovation and creativity.”

    Don Garrison @ roller coaster analogy segment — Articulates Spooky's design philosophy and implicit acceptance of launch issues

  • “Beetlejuice is only in 15 minutes of screen time in the whole film, but it feels like the whole thing is his movie, man. Tim Burton, just a classic right in the freaking pocket.”

    Don Garrison @ Beetlejuice discussion — Reveals Don's personal interest in Beetlejuice IP; demonstrates genuine enthusiasm rather than manufactured hype

  • “I love that film. So iconic. Michael Keaton, just perfect. The Zagnut, the brothel, it's so great.”

    Don Garrison @ Beetlejuice discussion — Shows detailed knowledge and passion for source material

  • “I don't know what Spooky Pinball's next game is. I'm really hoping that Beetlejuice is out at some point, whether that's one year from now, whether that's four years from now.”

Entities

Don GarrisonpersonSpooky PinballcompanyStern PinballcompanyEvil Dead (Spooky)gameVenom Limited Edition (Stern)gameBeetlejuice (Spooky rumored)gameHarry PottergameAlice in Wonderland (Kickstarter)gameJohn Lemon TreepersonGuilherme (Paris Pinball Enthusiast)

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Don engaged in pre-release playtesting/access with both Spooky Pinball (confirmed Evil Dead) and unnamed second manufacturer; positions him as industry insider

    high · Don: 'I was brought into Evil Dead pre-release, which I love that. And so far that's happened again with other games, one of which I can't talk quite about yet'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Shill accusations are common across online fan communities (Disney, roller coasters, Pokemon, RC planes) and reflect underlying insecurity and gatekeeping rather than legitimate concern

    high · Don's detailed discussion of shill accusations in multiple online communities; treats it as normal pattern

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Alice in Wonderland Kickstarter game ($<1000) has problematic character art, particularly Mad Hatter with exaggerated/potentially offensive facial features

    high · Don detailed critique: 'His nose looks like it's cyanotic... incredibly hooked, which almost looks like a caricature, a little bit racial, actually'

  • ?

    event_signal: Harry Potter pinball reveal expected March; perceived as high-demand, 'take my money now' property generating pre-commitment interest

    medium · Don: 'I think for sure we'll see a reveal of Harry Potter here soon in March' and references it as 'Back to the Future' caliber hype

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Back to the Future remains long-rumored but officially unannounced; generates sustained community speculation and pre-commitment interest

    medium · Don references Back to the Future as 'are you kidding me? Take my money now' level franchise alongside Harry Potter

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.099

0:00
Please come now, I think I'm falling, I'm falling on the floor, I think I'm safe. Seems I found the road to nowhere, and I'm trying to escape. Oh, such true words from Mr. Scott Staff and the boys at Creed. Six feet from the edge, and we are falling. We're falling over the edge into a pit of shills, man. Let me tell you. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's Don from the Pinball Podcast that you know and love and join the Patreon because you are a clever fellow or gentle lady. I won't judge. And I want to pop on here as I pack up to head to pinball at the beach. My friends are already arriving down there. I can't wait to get to Florida.
0:46
Let's talk about the accusations that fly around that, you know, neckbeards on the Internet like to accuse people having a good time of being shills. Also, I've got a little bit more information and some speculation for everybody. It's a Patreon episode. Let's get into it. Thank you, Creed, man. You guys are legends. Legends in your own right. All right, man, so how did all this happen? Of course, the best things happen when I'm at work and things are kicking off on social media. So if you don't know, recently, as in four days ago, I received my Evil Dead number 10 from Spooky Pinball, and I'm super hype on it because I'm having fun, and I'm a pinball enthusiast. I don't think I'm going out on the ledge by making that accusation of myself that I enjoy me some pinball and have for, well, essentially my entire life. But more recently in the last three years when I've actually owned machines and have been learning and just devouring all the pinball culture as we all are doing here. So in my irrational exuberance, I've been posting content to my pages and such of the new game just like every single game that I bring in. unbox, do a live stream, do a YouTube, do some gameplay videos. I got gameplay of Evil Dead that I posted on the YouTube channel if you haven't checked it out. People are giving good responses. Hopefully the video quality is adequate for everybody.
2:05
But yeah, I'm having fun with the game. So I posted some pictures. I put the Silver Lions from Godfather's Accessory Package on the game as a christening thing that I do with every game. It still makes me laugh and giggle. And what am I doing if not entertaining myself? And then, I don't know, some dude in chat, John Lemon Tree or something, is just like, do you work for Spooky Pinball? Obviously, you are a shill, sir. Why don't you just wear, this was great, why don't you just wear a for sale sign around your neck so we can tell that you are Mr. Shill? All right, so I've defined the word shill before, and this would be essentially like you know, a marketing term, a disingenuous way of positioning a product for sale that you know yourself is maybe a little lackluster, but you're trying to, you know, get it out there. So if you work as a salesperson, you're a shill, okay? So this word gets thrown around in every single online fan community that exists from Disney Mommy bloggers to roller coasters to Pokemon cards to RC planes to whatever. You know, pinball is not exclusive to this. and somebody that has so much fun with their content or whatever and has a bit of an ego and doesn't mind public speaking or whatever, will create some content. And, of course, the easiest thing it is for somebody to do is just drop negative comments and move on, better than dealing with your own personal demons and such. Trust me, I've been there. I totally get it. And it's fun to argue online. It's why some of us live and breathe and go on there. Otherwise, too shill would be to say, okay, this is a product that I know is lackluster, not up to specs, but I'm going to hype it anyway, and ostensibly because I'm getting some kind of kickback. And it can be financial. This may be your job and your occupation. You may be a paid influencer, which TikTok is resplendent with those. You may just be a white knight that's trying to get, I don't know, invited to the pinball company or something, and so you're hyping things up artificially, hoping that Sweet Daddy will invite you on to something. You see this in politics, you see it everywhere. And it makes about as much sense every time you see it pop up. But this was just hilarious. Should I go to the hardware store and buy you a for sale sign so we know that you are the shill? And it's like, I'm not shilling Evil Dead. Like, I bought the game because I enjoy it. And I'm not alone. There's, you know, nearly 800 other people that are also waiting for their Evil Deads and can't wait. And it's a cool game. It's loaded with mechanisms. I mean, I don't have to show the thing. Look at it. Tell you what. Lift the play field. The damn thing weighs twice as much as any other game, including Scooby-Doo, man. The thing is freaking heavy because it's loaded with mechanisms and lower play fields and staged balls and coils and servos. And it's loaded, man. It's loaded. Not going on the limb saying that. And the theme may not be for you. And that's fine. Go play it just because you like pinball. You don't have to buy the thing. Most people aren't going to buy this thing. there's only going to be 88 of them they cost $10,000 that's ridiculous for something to put in your home but what am I if not a ridiculous person with a passion for the absurd that being said game is super fun it's $10,000 and I did say that you're stealing it at that price based on what's in there and that's relative to the rest of the market when we look at offerings from Stern, American Pinball Jersey Jacket, the prices that they charge for what you're getting here seems like a hell of a deal and I'm pointing that out. I don't think that that's necessarily shilly behavior.

  • Venom is not a top 10 game of all time or even of the last year, but remains fun and replayable at $7,000 secondhand

    high confidence · Don Garrison's game assessment and market analysis

    • Don Garrison @ speculation segment — Transparent admission of uncertainty; undercuts claim of inside industry knowledge

  • “As of now, I'm a pinball commentator. I'm friends with some folks, and I like having fun together in Benton and Galena, Wisconsin.”

    Don Garrison @ late segment — Self-identification; clarifies his role as content creator, not industry employee

  • “Mad Hatter just looks a little weird. That's a character you want there to look good. And Johnny Depp was really pushing it to a bit, but I think this pushes it a little bit too far.”

    Don Garrison @ Alice in Wonderland critique — Demonstrates critical aesthetic judgment; not uniformly positive about all projects

  • “If I didn't already have owned Venom and had played through the entire thing, I'd be driving down to St. Louis right now to go pick this thing up. Because, yeah, $7,000 for Venom Limited Edition.”

    Don Garrison @ Venom market analysis — Specific purchase consideration; shows rational consumer behavior driven by value assessment

    • person
    Dennis Krieselperson
    Back to the Futuregame
    The Shadowgame
    Stranger Thingsgame
    Medieval Madnessgame
    The Addams Familygame
    Looney Tunes (Stern)game
    Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M)company
    Intamin AGcompany
    American Pinballcompany
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Creed (band)organization
    Cameron Silver Lionsproduct
  • $

    market_signal: Market softening observed over last year; multiple games (Foo Fighters, Bond, Venom, Mandalorian, Star Wars) showing secondary market pressure and price competition

    high · Don: 'we saw the market softening over the last year... games going for some fairly good prices if they need to move on the market'

  • $

    market_signal: Venom LE secondary market pricing collapsed to ~$7,000 from original MSRP (~$13,000), representing 46% depreciation

    high · Don cites specific St. Louis listing at $7,000 and notes 'paying $13,000 for Venom right now is not a good idea'

  • ?

    community_signal: Don maintaining strict boundary between content creator/commentator role and industry employee despite expressing willingness to work in pinball manufacturing

    high · Don: 'As of now, I'm a pinball commentator... I would throw everything away and run off to the circus and delve into the secrets... but as of now, I'm a pinball commentator'

  • ?

    announcement: Evil Dead pre-orders approaching sold out with ~800 units on pre-order at $10,000 price point

    high · Don states 'nearly 800 other people that are also waiting for their Evil Deads and can't wait' and game 'heading towards a sale out'

  • ?

    product_concern: Venom LE lacks standout mechanical features; not comparable to highly mechanized machines like Stranger Things, Medieval Madness, or Shadow

    high · Don: 'It's not the most mech-loaded game ever. It's not Stranger Things, it's not Medieval Madness... It's definitely not The Shadow. It's definitely not Evil Dead.'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Spooky Pinball unlikely to announce new game before January due to Evil Dead sales momentum; production start earliest February-April 2025

    medium · Don's analysis: 'I just don't think that there would be any point in announcing a game that probably wouldn't be in production until November at the very earliest. And more realistically January'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Beetlejuice pinball confirmed as active rumor from credible European source (Paris Pinball Enthusiast/Guilherme)

    medium · Guilherme posted assertively that 'Beetlejuice is next from Spooky Pinball is coming quick like soon now'; Don treats as plausible but unconfirmed

    • 5:42
    Also, listen, do you work for Spooky Pinball? I would. I would if they offered. Hell yeah. Are you kidding me? If I could wake up every day and go into work and my job was to do my part, my level best to make the greatest pinball machine that I could for the community, for my friends, for myself, hell yeah I would do that. If I could support myself doing that, I totally would if I could still support the family and meet our financial goals and everything and just do pinball full time not just for spooky for anybody man if Stern would hire me to go into their cavernous factory and just like go to work hell yeah I would do that in a minute yeah and I would come out and I would I'd shill every game that we were working on and I would be doing my best to make it as good as I could I don't see that as an insult but you know there that is now Now, you see these same arguments in other hobbies. And I'm just active in the roller coaster hobby. I mentioned it before. And just as an analogy and a bit of perspective here, there's two Swiss roller coaster manufacturers, Intamin AG of Switzerland and Bolliger and Mobiart, also of Switzerland. These are design firms that are two of the biggest roller coaster manufacturers that exist, B&M and Intamin, right? And they seem to be like the stern and the spooky when it comes to roller coaster design and products, okay? B&M is the industry standard. Everything is heavily engineered. They make rides such as Kumba and Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has Alpengeist, right? You see their dive coasters like Valraven at Cedar Point or Gatekeeper if you've been to Cedar Point. Their coasters, if you've ever ridden a Batman the Ride, the inverted coaster that exists at Six Flags parks around the world, that's a B&M. They have the characteristic box spine design. They have this roar as the coaster is going around because of that hollow body support structure that they use. And they are known for having some of the most comfortable, reliable, repeatable, consistent quality coasters that exist. And they tend not to take very many risks. They've got their formula. They know what works. They put it out. They bring ingenuity here and there, but by and large, they're not leading in terms of innovation. They're leading in terms of reliability, of throughput, of capacity. All their coasters have four abreast rows, so they can handle like 30 people per train. They just churn people through They hardly ever go down because they hardly ever take those big risks Intamin on the other hand makers of such coasters as Accelerator at Knott Berry Farm the original Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point, Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa, they tend to have an open box frame type design with like four rails all welded together into a box. If you see them, you'll know what I mean. Maverick at Cedar Point was one of their coasters. Now, they will take some more risks. Intimidator 305 at Bush Gardens, King's Dominion in Virginia. Doswell is the town. They will take some risks. They will do some innovation. They will do taller lift hills. They will make coasters that are 300 feet tall, which B&M was very slow to finally adopt. They will do elevator cable lifts instead of chains to save on some weight. They will do pressurized nitrogen accumulating hydraulic launched coasters to achieve rapid speeds and shorter distances that will inevitably be problematic as they are leading the market when it comes to things coming out. I see them as spooky because spooky tends to lead with some innovation. They tend to try some new things, things that haven't been tested and proven for 30 years and that may have some hiccups out the gate and need some fixes on the back end to get going. but they bring innovation and creativity. And so, inevitably, when a new coaster is released, a segment of the community, a small but vocal, will say, you know, this new B&M, it's so cookie-cutter, we've seen this before, it's just a different color, it's basically the same as this right over here, and other people will be defending it, and then you'll get the fight. Well, you're just a B&M fanboy, you're a shill for B&M, you know, or you're a freaking intimate, loving, humper, jerk, dork, or whatever. And it's just so funny to see a community that gets divided among something that... We all love roller coasters, right? What the hell is the problem with a park getting a new coaster or a new ride for us to go enjoy? If it's Intamin, we expect that there may be some hiccups going along. They've had coasters before that have opened and then needed to have an inversion removed because it just wasn't delivering on the right experience that the park wanted or the engineering wasn't quite where it needed to be as far as when it was actually made in real life versus the computer simulations. We saw Maverick's inversion get removed and delayed the opening of the ride at Cedar Point. It caused a whole year delay because they had to remove an inversion on this coaster when it was just first testing.
    10:40
    And it's like, well, that's the price of pushing innovation sometimes is these are the things that happen. It doesn't mean that any one company is necessarily better than another. They just take different approaches. It's good to have niches in the market.
    10:52
    But it was just funny last night to just watch this unfold. And it's like, I'm getting attacked for being a shill because I bought a game that I liked. And for the most part, by a wide margin, everybody is perfectly reasonable in seeing this. So this is just one guy. And it didn't get to me. It was funny, so I was sharing it on the Discord. It's just funny to see these patterns that pop up and things. I've heard people that are into podcasting and also own distributor companies who make their living selling games be accused of being a shill. And it's like, yeah, you guys know what I'm talking about. I don't know, call him out by name, but cool guy, met him, super chill dude.
    11:36
    But that's the job. That's the job if you're running a pinball distributor and your livelihood is by selling games, shilling, that's the job that's expected. Why would you not be? So, yeah, there will be some shilly comments from distributors sometimes. John Wick, I think this could be the new Godzilla, was a bit of hyperbole, I would say. But you kind of come to expect it. I don't think that was out of left field there or anything.
    12:05
    This word gets thrown around. I guess it's going to exist. As long as it's going to be pinball, as long as it's going to be pinball content being created, there will be people labeling others as shills, whether that's due to insecurity or just not a complete understanding of market forces at work and such. But honestly, for me personally, it doesn't bother me. I kind of expect it. From day one, when I started recording episode one of this podcast and talking about the new Bond Cornerstone, which is just released, and I figured, you know, if I put this out there, there's going to be some flames coming back, and that's just to be expected. And the better that I'm doing, the more frequently I'll likely see that because if you're not doing well, trolls largely won't care. So I see it as a bit of a justification or confirmation that what I'm doing is worthwhile. Heck, I'm having a heck of a time with it anyway. The friends I've made through pinball are gold. You know who you are. We hang out at shows. It's awesome. I don't want to stop doing that. And so, yeah, show comments. Don't bother me. It's just funny and ridiculous, and I like to stop a bit and check that out. Now, part of it is because of the maturity I've gained through age and growing up through the Internet. and I've seen these before. And, you know, yeah, when you're younger, you get into these hotly contested online Internet debates over, like, you know, stick it up for your favorite coaster manufacturer. And now it's like, yeah, that totally doesn't bother me. If you don't like a ride, that's totally fine. It's always been allowed. If you don't like a pinball machine, that's always been allowed, man. Let us know why. You know, let me know your perspective so I can see it through your eyes and expand my own perspective. I think that's totally fine, right? How do we find out about other games that, you know, we didn't know were as awesome as they are? I wouldn't have an appreciation for Johnny Mnemonic at all if it weren't for people putting their opinions out there. I wouldn't have just gravitated towards Shadow and went and played it as much as I have when I do see it on location if it wasn't for people offering their opinions on why that game's cool. I get it, dude. I get it. And I love to see innovation in games like that that end up being reused, like the magnet-throwing ball mechanic on TCM and Looney Tunes, man. Because I'm a spooky shi- I gotta talk about them again. I think it's awesome. I think that's awesome. Speaking of which, let's change gears just a little bit. I saw the market is really something right now. Now, we saw the market softening over the last year. Of course, that's nothing new. Games going for some fairly good prices if they need to move on the market. Games that are really great. I'm looking at Foo Fighters. I'm looking at Bond for just really great prices right now because there's a lot of competition for sellers' attention. Venom has been leading that pack. And we've seen it with Mandalorian and other games as well. There's a Venom limited edition posted in the St. Louis area for $7,000 right now. Now, I don't think it's going on a limb to say that paying $13,000 for Venom right now is not a good idea for the LE. I think it's also valid to say that the Venom LE is a pretty game. I love the cabinet art. It's one of the first ones that really had that foiling on it. I like what they did with the laser-cut armor, making it look like that Venom goo. I like the dark powder coat color. I think the illusion color palette works better than the one that they picked. But notwithstanding, I think it still looks pretty sharp. I like the mirrored art blades that are in there. And if you get an LE, you get Invisiglass, you get Shaker Motor and all that business, better speakers, whatever, you know, you know. $7,000, the price of a new Unboxed Pro to get a limited edition? I think that's a hell of a buy, right? I don't think that Venom is a top 10 game when you're looking at games of all time, or even just games of the last year. But everything has its price, and for $7,000, I'm very excited about a Venom LE. Are you kidding me? That's amazing. If you have not owned a Venom and you've got some room, you want to try something new, and you've got a little bit of money kicking around, that wouldn't be a bad idea. I think if I heard that somebody picked up a Venom LE for $7,000 and they never owned the machine and haven't played through and unlocked everybody, I would say, yeah, dude, that totally makes sense. when it comes to playing that game for six months and then selling it off for something else, I think expecting to get around $7,000 for it, that's reasonable. That's pretty reasonable. So yeah I think you get a game with a lot of gameplay value a lot of replayability something to put 500 games on in six months and then something that you could pretty much recoup that investment even with how the market is without much difficulty And so yeah I think if I didn already have owned Venom and had played through the entire thing, I'd be driving down to St. Louis right now to go pick this thing up. Because, yeah, $7,000 for Venom LE. Now, if you've got yourself a Venom LE in your original purchaser and you're not playing it that much anymore and looking to turn it, that's a rough position to be in. And I sympathize with you, brother. and I've been there, dude. Trust. But yeah, for somebody picking that up, that's a heck of a deal. So I saw that and I want to share and just share my perspective around it. I don't think anybody would be foolish for picking up a Venom LE for $7,000. Pretty game. And the gameplay is fun and is compelling. Now, it's not the most mech-loaded game ever. It's not Stranger Things, it's not Medieval Madness, though it's from the same person. It's definitely not Shadow. It's definitely not Evil Dead. but what it is is a fun-playing pinball machine, and I did enjoy having it. I like the call-outs. I like the music. It was fun bashing Carnage. I like the spider cheeks, the doppelganger that comes out with its little dangly bit targets. That was satisfying every time you finished it. And so it's just like a popcorn-munching superhero Marvel-themed game that doesn't take itself incredibly serious. It's fun. Plus, it's fun to pick Gwen and play as her. That was cool. I'm glad that she's in there. She was, I think, the easiest one to complete modes with, And so I gravitated towards her. And it was fun unlocking characters. We saw the level building aspect. We saw the fast lock system, which I think should make a comeback at some point. I like shooting the ball into the Vuck, and then before the ball would make it down the wire form, the quick lock would already put something back at your flipper. So for just like kind of a frenzied pinball experience that played pretty quickly, I kind of dug it. Nice fan layout. Man, come on. What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than throwing some balls through Venom? Not the pro, but for the price of a pro, you get yourself an LE? Dude, like if I'd never owned an LE before and you could pick one up for $7, not a bad idea. That's what I'm saying. The back glass is pretty. And at some point, at some point there'll be a topper released. And are we going to get Ghost Rider as a character in that game? That would make me want to have it again if there was a new character that was in there. There will be no greater injustice than a Venom topper that costs $2,500. Can you imagine? It's like half the cost of the game. this this venom topper when it does come out it has to be a thousand dollars or it's or less just at this point at this point don't make any money on this thing just get it out uh you have it in 950 just so you can say it's under a thousand dollars you got to you can't mandalorian this thing you can't foo fighters this thing this venom topper even if it's got the biggest building materials of any topper ever it cannot be an 1800 topper it just can't not for venom can you imagine half the cost of the LE almost goodness gracious me let's talk about Spooky Pinball the rumors are circulating again now as big of a shill as I am for Spooky Pinball and a fanboy admittedly I paid my own grown up money for Evil Dead they don't give me free games this Beetlejuice rumor has been going around for a while it popped up again overnight from the Paris Pinball enthusiast this guy, Guilherme He's a cool guy. I met him at Expo. I think I met him again last year, too. He's got some cool sweaters he wears, man, just very sophisticated, very European. You know, I'm looking at my, you know, torn T-shirt with mustard stains and my cargo shorts, and it's like, man, come on, I've got to step my game up. But he does like to find out information and just get it right out there to the community, so I love that. Now, his posts are largely in French because he's in Paris. I love me some France. I love me some Paris, man. Kind of discovered myself there over a couple of summers doing some trips. Just a cool place to be around and very international feeling. I mean, nothing more, you know, perspective changing as an American to be in Paris and just be where, like, everything is, like, super French, you know. If you've never done it, like, go do it. You walk around and you're like, I'm literally, like, in the most French place that could possibly exist. It's just a neat experience to do, you know, but fun. So I read through their stuff, you know, with my broken French. I try to interpret and understand. so he had made a post that Beetlejuice is next from Spooky Pinball is coming quick like soon now I don't know if I put a lot of stock into that but I mean as soon as I heard about Beetlejuice as a pinball machine as a concept I've been waiting for somebody to do it and every pinball release there's a small part of me that's like well maybe you know Indiana Jones was just a code word for Beetlejuice you know or maybe John Wick is just a code name for Beetlejuice right maybe Evil Dead is just a code name for Beetle. I've been waiting for it. Like no one's business. I love that film.
    21:20
    So iconic. Michael Keaton, just perfect. The Zagnut, the brothel, it's so great. Beetlejuice is only in 15 minutes of screen time in the whole film, but it feels like the whole thing is his movie, man. Tim Burton, just a classic right in the freaking pocket. The music. Danny Elfman. Just all the right people at the right time, creating this really cool little movie. And I would love to see a pinball theme park to explore in the form of a Beetlejuice pinball machine. So I've heard that. Now, I don't have any confirmation on what their next game is. I was brought into Evil Dead pre-release, which I love that. And so far that's happened again with other games, one of which I can't talk quite about yet, not with Spooky, but with another company. If you pay attention, you know what I'm talking about. but they haven't let me know and I haven't asked or pressed them about what their future games are if they want to reveal that at some point I'm all ears because I get exuberant, I can't control myself but I don't know for sure what their next game is I don't know for sure what their next four games are all I know is the rumors that I see on the internet it's a fun place to be right, and while yes I would throw everything away and run off to the circus and delve into the secrets and do my level best to play my part and make the best pinball machines we could possibly make. As of now, I'm a pinball commentator. I'm friends with some folks, and I like hanging out in Benton, because who does it, man? And Galena, Wisconsin is a new town that I've discovered through these guys, which is just the most charming little town in Wisconsin. It's got a downtown main street that's just full of businesses that all look cool, and like little Italian restaurant, little bistro, little bakery, little five and dime shop, little quirky stuff. They've got old buildings there. There's ghost tours. It's a whole bit. I felt like I was in eastern Pennsylvania, one of those little small towns out there with a permanently smoldering coal fire or something. It was awesome, so I can't wait to go back and check that out.
    23:23
    Suffice to say, I'm having fun in pinball. I don't know what Spooky's next game is. I'm really hoping that Beetlejuice is out at some point, whether that's one year from now, whether that's four years from now. Speculatory wise, I don't think they would announce a new game just yet. Not because I think it would cannibalize Evil Dead sales because that game is heading towards a sale out with both fists in front of it. But I just don't think that there would be any point in announcing a game that probably wouldn't be in production until November at the very earliest. And more realistically January is what I would put it. And then, you know, production at a cadence I wouldn't expect to see until February, March, April of next year. You know, and that's only because that's how the last several years have been with them. So take that for what it's worth. But it was interesting to see that pop up and so assuredly that, like, it's about to be revealed. I think for sure we'll see a reveal of Harry Potter here soon in March. I was thinking about it last night, and I don't know. I'm about 50-50 on if I would go on it. Like, if Harry Potter were revealed when I get back from pinball at the beach here next week, and I didn't go ahead and get it, I think I have plenty to play right now. I think picking one up down the road would be what I would look at doing I think for sure it would be probably the most value persisting game Now it may be a Harry Potter Toy Story 4 situation It may not be that way. But if I ended up having a deposit locked into it and got it, I think I'd be okay with that. And I think if I didn't and just enjoyed what I have and what I have coming, I think I'd actually be okay with that too. Is that a weird take? This has been the game that's been rumored to be the game, right? Like this and Back to the Future are like the, are you kidding me? Take my money now. Give me this game. I'm going to pay full price. Talk about being a shill. Let me talk about that for a second. Jeez. People shilling the heck out of this Harry Potter game that doesn't exist. This Back to the Future game that doesn't exist. This Alice in Wonderland game, which will be coming from two different directions. You see that the Wonderland people, we'll just do a pinball roundup. The Wonderland people have touched up the art for their Alice's, what are they calling it? Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I can't keep these two games straight. Anyway, the sub-thousand-dollar Kickstarter game, they did punch up the art a little bit. Now, when I saw the art from the back last, now this is a sub-thousand-dollar machine. I'm not expecting Zombie Yeti. I'm not expecting Chris Franchi. I'm not expecting Brad Albright.
    25:54
    But what I wasn't expecting was a really weird take on the Mad Hatter. His nose looks like it's cyanotic. It looks like it's got a diabetic wound in it, and his nose is full of blood clots and about to rot and fall off his face. It's incredibly hooked, which almost looks like a caricature, a little bit racial, actually.
    26:17
    And it's a little off-putting. It's like in Austin Powers when Fred Savage's character is on there and Austin is just, you know, mole, moley, moley, moley. Like, whenever I see it, I can't help but point out, it's just a little weird, not what I expected, not in a good way. They did punch up the face on Alice a bit So she doesn't look so much like A 13 year old me drawing a zombie lady I guess And that's fine And the art is weird and strange and almost AI looking I do like the look of the card soldiers Even though as Dennis Creasel points out That the heart Shaped What do you call the Suits The four suits of the cards The one heart guy has a spade in red on his face When it should be like a heart because it's a heart card, but whatever.
    27:06
    It's a little weird, but I would give that a pass. I would give most of the art there a pass for the scope of what they're looking at. But the Mad Hatter just looks a little weird. That's a character you want in there.
    27:19
    And Johnny Depp was really pushing it to a bit, but I think this pushes it a little bit too far. I wish they would have pulled that back just a little bit, keep some of the aesthetic, but whatever. So that's happening. As far as doing a Kickstarter, yeah. Now, Kickstarter, I believe, you can put your money in there. And is it GoFundMe that if the project isn't fully funded, you're refunded? But with Kickstarter, you're essentially like read your perspective because your money is gone. And it may be years before you finally receive something. And you may receive something that's not as advertised. And there's really no recourse for it because you're just going in as like an angel investor. So, yeah, if you put your money in that project, then you're along for the ride. Otherwise, for me, I'm not going to put my money in the project, and I'm going to go along for the ride anyway and see what the heck happens. But, yeah, of course, wish them the best. Hope they come out with a product. Would love to play it and seem like nice enough guys when I talk to them at Expo. We'll see what they have to bring. But, yeah, go check it out. There is some new art. I'm sure Nap Arcade will probably have an article up on it here shortly. Here shortly what I will also be doing, aside from playing some Evil Dead, I'll be finishing up some prints for Pinball on the Beach, so I can have some cool new mods to go show off while I'm down there. I need a pack. I need to do my taxes. And I've got some shirts going out. So it finally happened. I have got my heat press at home, and I pressed up my first few tests of some shirts. I made a few We Are Pinball shirts. I made a Don's Pinball Podcast shirt. I think these are much better quality than what I was getting from before. What I want to do is be able to offer T-shirts to folks with cool designs where you can pick which of the five or so designs that I have, pick your color, pick your size, and get your shirt shipped out like that day, like handmade and pressed in my print shop that I've just put together. Man, the first test prints came out, and I just figured I would do some and see how bad could they possibly be, what am I going to have to do to get some quality out. And my God, if they weren't great quality, like I'm wearing one yesterday walking around, like this is better than what I've been purchasing, and I can bring the cost down, which I really like, because I really want to do a t-shirt for $25 delivered, but in a way where there's actually a little bit of a margin that's in there. So, so far, when I've purchased t-shirts and I've sold them for $25 online, I'm essentially breaking right dead even. If I'm lucky, if you're in Canada, it was costing me money to send those out. It was essentially just a way that I could have t-shirts on hand to do mainly giveaways and things. So I will be able to do more of that in a more cost-effective way where I'm not just like shelling out several hundred dollars in loss every time I make a T-shirt. I want to have cool designs for people that is more than just, you know, a single color screen printed on a thin T-shirt. I want to have a variety and be able to offer people custom colors in their size from extra small to triple X and have them in stock on hand and can turn and burn on them so I don't have to order, wait three weeks for shirts to come in, then ship them out. I want people, if they want a shirt, I want to get your cash processed and get it out to you same day. And it looks like that's finally going to happen. Super excited about that. So look forward to that going in the future. I'd like to get a whole new line of some clever graphics and things going forward as well. So I think that'll happen. So thank you so much, Scott Stapp, for providing the soundtrack for this episode of this Patreon that we're doing. We'll bring him in here. He's falling off a ledge.
    30:48
    Thanks for being a member. of the Patreon. I hope you found this interesting. And yeah, go check out some of the threads, man. We're having some interesting conversations. There's a new We Are Pinball episode that's out there. I knew the subject of terrorists was going to be leveled because it does affect our friends over across the pond who already have to pay that huge value-added tax on top of everything.
    31:10
    But please don't take it as me social commentating on politics. I try to keep it out as much as reasonable. from the content I produce here. I welcome a plurality of views, as it were. But yeah, my friend's entitled to his opinion, too. It's his show as well. And I think it's important to consider the perspective of folks that aren't within the United States. And, you know, take that into your own personal mix. The truth is out there somewhere between the political propaganda and the documented reality that we live in. And so, you know, be a truth seeker and try to seek it out, you know. but my opinion is not the most well-researched one and I don't hold the end-all be-all for everything so if you can get through that there is some fun content about Avatar, Evil Dead, and Dungeons & Dragons returning and burning and catching on fire at Kickback Cafe so check that out if you can get through it fast forward if you need to protect yourself from the ravages of reality and lose yourself in pinball, man we're going to have fun if you're going to be at pinball at the beach I am too, let's hang out I'm going to be going to Busch Gardens on Friday morning so hit me up if you're going to be there as well we'll hit some coasters before the show starts alright be cool to yourself and each other Scott Stapp take us out
    32:38
    what if somebody was making a Creed pinball machine and this was just some viral marketing that I was showing. Can you imagine? Ha ha.
    32:55
    Ain't so far down.