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SDTM: 2022 Pinball Review: The Best & The Worst

Straight Down the Middle·video·57m 21s·analyzed·Jan 1, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.033

TL;DR

SDTM reviews 2022's best and worst pinball games, praising Rush's code while defending Toy Story 4 against community toxicity.

Summary

Zach Sharpe and Greg from Straight Down the Middle provide an informal 2022 pinball year-in-review, discussing major releases including Rush (Stern), James Bond 007, Toy Story 4 (Jersey Jack), Cactus Canyon remake, and others. They highlight Rush's exceptional code by raydaypinball as the standout achievement despite its unconventional theme, defend controversial games like Toy Story 4 against community backlash, and discuss manufacturing realities around IP licensing constraints affecting James Bond's slow code rollout.

Key Claims

  • Rush has the best code of 2022, particularly praised for raydaypinball's work on intricate gameplay mechanics and storytelling

    high confidence · Zach Sharpe and Greg, direct assessment of 2022 releases

  • James Bond 007's code is held up by IP licensing approval requirements from the IP holder, not developer incompetence

    medium confidence · Greg and Zach speculating on James Bond code delays; acknowledged as hypothetical but plausible

  • Toy Story 4 has been unfairly criticized by the pinball community despite being a well-designed, feature-rich game

    high confidence · Zach and Greg direct opinion based on extensive play; they note community toxicity around the game

  • Stern has not released Rush accessories (Expression Lighting System, topper, shooter rod) despite the game being out for a year

    high confidence · Greg states he is receiving customer emails requesting these accessories

  • Jersey Jack Pinball mistimed Toy Story 4's release pricing and production after pandemic hype, doubling CEMs and raising prices during market shift

    medium confidence · Zach Sharpe's analysis of JJP's strategic decisions during pandemic/post-pandemic transition

  • Pat Lawlor and Joe Balcer intentionally designed Toy Story 4 for accessibility over complexity, as expressed to the hosts during an interview

    high confidence · Zach recalls direct conversation with designers during video production meeting

  • raydaypinball created a 'Baby's First' tutorial for Rush code that became unexpectedly helpful to beginners despite being tongue-in-cheek

    high confidence · Zach and Greg direct observation; they recommend the YouTube tutorial

  • James Bond's cabinet art with posters looks poor quality, but this is an IP licensing requirement, not developer choice

    medium confidence · Greg's aesthetic criticism; both hosts note licensing constraints dictated design choices

Notable Quotes

  • “Rush would take home the best code of 2022...I don't think that's a stretch.”

    Greg@ 9:05 — Core assessment of Rush's code quality; establishes raydaypinball's work as standout of year

  • “It's one of those things. I don't know if we're leaping into this. Leave it wherever you want. It is that comeback game. It's the comeback kid award.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 9:19 — Defines Rush's trajectory from initial skepticism to critical recognition after extended play

  • “You play the hell out of this game...If I would have never brought that game home, I would have never respected it.”

    Greg@ 12:12 — Admission that extended ownership/play changed perception; applies to broader theme skepticism vs. code quality debate

  • “Stern, come on. Where you at? You've cut into all your cabinets...I'm getting emails. People want these expression lights.”

    Greg@ 15:07 — Criticism of Stern accessory delays for Rush; indicates customer demand and business operations gap

  • “James Bond the IP holder, I think, is what's getting in the way of this code...Pending approval.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 17:51 — Identifies IP licensing as likely bottleneck for code updates; acknowledges manufacturing/business constraints

  • “You're not allowed to like this game. This game came...with a narrative and some toxicity...If you liked it, it's because you were shilling it.”

    Greg@ 22:11 — Characterizes community reception of Toy Story 4 as ideologically driven rather than quality-based

Entities

Zach SharpepersonGreg BonepersonraydaypinballpersonGeorge GomezpersonPat LawlorpersonJoe BalcerpersonJohn Borgperson

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Rush slow initial sales followed by strong secondary surge suggests delayed word-of-mouth effect or code update-driven demand recovery; contrasts with LED Zeppelin/Mandalorian accessory-driven sales spike pattern

    medium · Zach: 'it didn't sell any but now there goes those sales again...they were sitting...Topper comes out...sales go up'

  • ?

    community_signal: raydaypinball created grassroots 'Baby's First' tutorial for Rush code; unexpectedly effective at onboarding despite tongue-in-cheek intent; demonstrates community-driven support for complex games

    high · Greg: 'He did a Baby's First tutorial...One of the best tutorials I've ever seen...come to find out, it helps so many people'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Toy Story 4 experienced significant community backlash and 'toxicity' despite hosts' positive assessment after extended play; suggests ideological/tribal rejection rather than quality-based criticism

    high · Greg: 'You're not allowed to like this game...If you liked it, it's because you were shilling it...come to find out people are like, oh no, it is a great game'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Pat Lawlor and Joe Balcer deliberately designed Toy Story 4 for accessibility/casual play over competitive depth, creating tension with enthusiast community expectations

    high · Zach: 'they expressed that to us...we want this to be accessible for everybody...it's still going to be hard to get through two times'

  • ?

    licensing_signal: James Bond 007's code development constrained by IP holder approval requirements; code stuck at 0.8 version due to pending IP holder sign-off on features/aesthetics

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.172

0:00
All right, let's kick this shit. you hit it off with bumper now you're straight down the middle again you had a fling with a fling shot you're rolling out the island again what's going on everybody it's zach and greg from straight down the middle and the echo chamber hello honestly we just wanted to say hi hang out do another video for you guys we didn't want to have to do all this big uh big setup did we no so we don't care about the audio. Guess what? Type below if it's got an echo. We don't care. We could have done the lapels. You ready? Yeah. I've got something in my mouth already.
1:03
Gray hair in your mouth? Yeah. Look, that's what came out. I'll do it. Look at it. Oh, that's a pube.
1:12
Did you see it curl up? That's weird. My grandma is visiting this weekend. Oh, shit. We just want to come hang out. So, yeah, for all the fancy audio video stuff, You'll see it next year, 2023 probably. Yeah. Who's going to hang out today? Thanks. Yeah, we're celebrating our holidays together, aren't we, buddy? Yeah, finally. We haven't hung out in a while. It's been a while. And we wanted to kind of recap 2022 for you guys and to let you guys know what we thought about some of the games that came out this year. Yeah. What we liked, what we didn't like, what we thought.
1:45
What we thought. There was a lot of. Anything certified boner this year? Well, kind of. Okay, kind of. Kind of, yeah. Semi-classic.

  • George Gomez will not allow substandard code on games bearing his name, indicating quality control on James Bond despite current delays

    medium confidence · Zach and Greg reassurance based on Gomez's track record and professional reputation

  • Expression Lighting System accessory on James Bond/Led Zeppelin significantly improves gameplay experience

    high confidence · Zach references direct observation: 'On Led Zeppelin, it changes the game'

  • “I had some family over...they didn't get why people were so mad about Louis Toy Story 4...they were still blown away.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 23:37 — Anecdotal evidence that casual/non-enthusiast players enjoy Toy Story 4 despite community backlash

  • “If you liked it, you're shilling it. But you were lying...I just don't want to lose money.”

    Greg (paraphrasing earlier criticism)@ 22:24 — Reflects community narrative that early enthusiasm for games like Stranger Things masks financial concerns

  • “There are hundreds of people that they have to keep employed. It takes time to build games...You don't want to wait.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 18:29 — Contextualizes manufacturing decisions; argues for empathy toward manufacturer constraints

  • “I think people will come around [on Toy Story 4]. If they want to sell more of these games...you need a little bit more code. You need a little bit more depth.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 26:44 — Prediction and constructive criticism; acknowledges design philosophy (accessibility) may need supplementation

    • Stern Pinball
    company
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Multimorphiccompany
    Chicago Gaming Companycompany
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    Flip N Out Pinballcompany
    Rushgame
    James Bond 007game
    Toy Story 4game
    Cactus Canyongame
    Alien (LV-426)game
    Weird Al's Museum of Natural Odditiesgame
    Straight Down the Middle: a pinball showcontent_channel
    Barnyardgame
    Pinball Mike Vinacourtperson
    Lonnie Routtperson
    Scooby-Doogame

    medium · Zach: 'James Bond the IP holder, I think, is what's getting in the way of this code...Pending approval'

  • $

    market_signal: Jersey Jack Pinball misjudged Toy Story 4 pricing and production capacity (doubled CEMs, raised prices) during pandemic market shift; timing resulted in oversupply and community resistance

    medium · Zach: 'they upped the price and they upped the allotment of the seating...The problem is timing-wise on the pandemic...they still didn't come out'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Rush accessories (Expression Lighting System, toppers, shooter rods) significantly delayed despite game release a year prior; indicates supply chain or priority constraints

    high · Greg: 'this game came out a year ago, and that accessory still isn't available...Stern, come on. Where you at?'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Expression Lighting System accessory dramatically improves game experience on Rush/Led Zeppelin/James Bond; suggests baseline releases shipped without optimal feature set

    high · Zach: 'On Led Zeppelin, it changes the game. On the Rush James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition), it changes the game'

  • ?

    product_concern: James Bond 007's cabinet art with posters criticized as poor quality; attributed to IP licensing requirements rather than design choice, but represents aesthetic compromise

    high · Greg: 'I can say the art on the cabinet with the posters looks like crap...that's an IP thing'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Rush transitioned from initial community skepticism about theme to widespread acclaim after code updates and extended exposure; exemplifies 'comeback kid' pattern

    high · Zach: 'It's a complete game...now there goes those sales again...This is what that Rush reminds me of' (re: Shrek critical rehabilitation)

    • 1:58
    We're allowed to talk about that. I think we can talk about that. It hasn't been canceled yet, damn it. All right, so the games that came out this year, Greg, include Rush, James Bond, 007. We haven't seen a lot of James Bond yet. Still waiting on code. Weird Al. Weird Al?
    2:15
    What's the whole title? Let's see if you know it. Weird Al's... Museum of Natural Oddities. Natural Hilarity. Hilarious. It was close. By Multimorphic P3. Texas Canyon Remake. Yes. About damn time. Forget that. About time to already remake it. Right. Toy Story 4. Yeah. Very controversial pin there. We had Super Hoop, which we haven't played yet. Haven't really seen it. Doesn't look great. There's a Spinal Tap again. Whatever.
    2:45
    And Flipper Foxtrot Rhythm Explosion. That's a Multimorphic P3 add-on. whatever and an alien lv alien kind of came out but the lvs really start rolling out this year yes and you've got one yes you've got a lot of games this year what do you have now you have like 10 games no i just got rid of that godzilla oh yes right my collection i mean it's sort of changed but it hasn't changed a lot it seems pretty awesome still leave the weapon three always. That's never going to leave. Still got my Deadpool.
    3:20
    Still got Rush. That's going to be leaving at some point. That's kind of like a tech thing. Lost World, never leave, obviously. Dress in Park. Toy Story, you've been looking to trade that. Probably will trade it. What's sitting next to that? I'm not believing. That was it.
    3:39
    Oh, Halloween. How can I forget Halloween? What do you think about Halloween? I still love Halloween. So it's not going anywhere? No. No? It's got a place. Mine's not either. Yeah. That's so stupid. I know people thought, whatever, when I said that, that it was just like maybe that whole little honeymoon thing. A little honeymoon, yeah. You're just shilling. No. Hey, we at Flippin' Out Pinball are now official dealers of Spooky Pinball, so now they can claim that we're just shilling for them. I'm going to get me a Scooby. You can say I'm shilling on that. Woo-wee-woo? Yeah. Scooby-doo. That's going to be on our next video. We're going to talk about what's coming out. maybe in 2023 check out that video as well but for now let's go over 2022 i think okay every single video we do from now on greg or any type of product that we're creating we have to say thank you to the anonymous person who gifted us for christmas our dream camera i was blown away the 6k red filmmaking yes that's not this camera guys that's not this one that's that's you're going to see some of the use of that yes in 2023 oh definitely something we've been working on for a long time. In a sense, we've been working on it for a long time. We're in pre-production. Yeah, off and on and throwing things around, but that camera sort of made it a reality. Why can't we tell them we're making a movie? Sure. I think. Well, that's still a negotiation.
    5:01
    We're going to make some cool stuff, so thank you to that person. They want to be anonymous, so we'll call them Ted, I guess. Thank you, Ted. Tom, Bob, whatever the hell you want to call them. Thank you. Thank you. Tears are out, but we're kind of sensitive. Because I was listening to your pinball show where you told the story about how that is. Yeah. It all came in. And I was like, I was thinking back and that's why like I was so blown away too because it was one of those hypothetical things. And we'll just say, eh, we'll see what happens. And then when you shot me that picture and you sent that, I was just like, I was like, somebody actually bought us this camera.
    5:32
    I've never had anybody do something so nice in my life. That's insane. That's unbelievable. It's beyond insane. So we're going to keep saying thank you. And if you want to be mentioned like this all the time, send us something really cool too. And we'll, uh, we'll mention you too. All right. Let's talk about the games of 2022. We could talk about this in reference to some of our categories, art or layout or stuff. But the games that stick out to me the most are the Stern stuff. Rush, James Bond, JJP, the Toy Story, CGC. Yes. Right? With the Cactus Canyon remake.
    6:05
    And then for me, it's like another tier below that. That's where you get your alien, multimorphic stuff. And then there's like the, I don't know where in hell you're even at yet with Super Hoop. This is Spinal Tap. Yes. We probably won't talk about that. What stood out to you visually this year? We had some lookers, some not-so-lookers, like Rush. It got kind of ripped on the artwork for 2020. So, you know, the weird thing about Rush is you don't walk up to Rush and you don't sit there and go, Oh, my God, this is just gorgeous. The LE is kind of pretty. It is pretty. They're all pretty games. They all are so, they just fit. But that's not why people are buying. But no, that's not why people are buying. That's what I'm saying. Like, they're still a pretty game. They're not ugly. They're not like, you know, Walking Dead ugly. Like, you're not just like turned off by it. Walking Dead ugly. It's Walking Dead's ugly. So, but, you know, it's just not the prettiest of the bunch. I agree. I think it's pretty, the middle of the play field's ugly. I'm not supposed to say that. But it is. For me, it is. It is. You think it's endearing. I don't. There's something that just throws back that 70s nostalgia to it. What about the theme of Rush? Oh, man, I love Rush. Okay, listen. Here's like, okay, I love Rush. I like Rush. I love Rush. I'm not a Rush fan. I'm not going to go buy multiple albums, but I've turned on some Rush. You like that music? Yeah, I think a lot of people do. And it's an odd thing, man. I was talking to somebody about it.
    7:33
    I find it so weird because I think that if any of us were going to go, okay, here's a band. We're going to give you Rush. It's like, shit, does that really make a good pit ball machine? I don't get it. It fits. The music fits. When you're playing the game, it feels perfect.
    7:52
    But, dude, Rush is still just not rock and roll. Rush has a different feel to it. Well, it's like a psychedelic kind of thing, too. It's Canadian, so they're always weird. Sorry, Canadians. They're always overly nice. Yeah, it just feels good. You know, it's not something like Iron Maiden that's a little quirky. It's not some ACDC. It's just in your face. I honestly, it's for how many things are out there. I'm going to be maybe prickly because I just had back surgery. I'm in pain. I've quit smoking. I'm going to keep it real. I don't get it for certain pinball. There's so many themes out there to go with. Rush is not one that I think you would hit for the next hundred, but to each to their own. It sold well. Hey, listen, I don't get it either of everything that you'd have to pick from, but it worked. It worked. Now, what really worked on Rush thus far, John Borg's layout, people are calling this a better shooting turtles. Turtles. Yeah. It's a little more forgiving than turtles. Smooth. It is. Smoother. Still fast. But it's just not brutal. It's a Borg. But it is hard. It's a Borg game. It is. People like the code. Oh, Ray Day. This is the code darling of the year. I would say that most people are going to say that if you looked at all of the categories, Rush would take home the best code of 2022. Yes. I don't think that's a stretch. No. It's kind of one of those things. I don't know if we're leaping into this. Leave it wherever you want. It is that comeback game. It's the comeback kid award. Yeah. This game is one of those games that was just, okay, it was whatever. It's Rush. It came out. It had decent sales, similar to every other new Stern. It wasn't dog. It wasn't torn apart. No, but it's so good then it didn't sell any but now
    9:42
    There goes those sales again. Yes, it's a complete game. It's a really complete game. The code is there You said there's so many little bitty intricacies that you'll never see through the whole game There's so many strategies or in radar Jackson are the best at that kind of thing, but in the code is just so very lovely That's what he did like he just varied it like I always go back to like working man is one of my favorite things in there with the countdown to get up you know to be able to get off work or whatever for the end on the clock there's little stories yes instead of it just being a GNR it's playing music yes no there's stories to red bruschetta is about that you got the car the red car you're driving this the gears and that's what the gear the weird thing is it's almost it's almost like it's a dirty story it shouldn't be a dirty pin but it is a journey like you You know what I'm saying? You're going through things. The modes aren't just, you know what I'm saying? Iron Maiden with Flight of Icarus and stuff, you sort of have some stories with it. It's kind of like that. It is, but it takes it almost a step further. It does, yeah. It's a little more fleshed out. I agree with all of it. And it just... I still think the code's confusing as shit. I don't get... I don't know. I just... There's uses of colors that confuse me. And I love that Ray Day is a friend of ours. Ray Day is one of the main coders for this. Brilliant man. one of the greatest pinball players of all time. He is passionate about this, which comes through on this. He did a baby's first tutorial where he's showing just the basic how to start modes, how to start multiballs. One of the best tutorials I've ever seen. You have to check that out on YouTube. He was almost tongue-in-cheek making fun of – he thought everybody – like it takes a noob to not understand the basics of this code. Come to find out, it helps so many people. Yes. Where so many people are like, no, this is super helpful, actually. The weird thing about the game is, and we discussed this before, and he changed a few things on the LCD for progress. Yeah, like progress type things. But it is something, and I can't put my finger, I still cannot put my finger on it. Because I was confused too, coming into it. And there's still some things that confuse me about it. So I can't put my finger on, like, why is it? Because there's nothing that stands out and you go, yeah, this is exactly what it is. You play the hell out of this game. Oh, I love it. You play the hell out of it. For a while, you're playing this more than Godzilla. Oh, yeah. Easily. If I had a choice at one point in time, it was definitely playing Rush. I've got 10 Sterns in my lineup back there. Rush isn't in there.
    12:06
    I don't think Rush is going to make it in there. Does that mean? No, because if the theme doesn't mean anything to you. Theme doesn't do anything. Code doesn't do anything. If I would have never brought that game home, I would have never respected it. I would have been exactly where you are. I would have said, I don't understand this game. I don't know what's going on. Hey, I like the way it shoots, but I don't understand it But then getting at home and being able to I see I love the layout. I love the toys the time machines awesome Oh, I think it's cool. It still feels good. It feels better to me than the Lord of the Rings ring
    12:38
    Except for certain modes that the rings used for but I'm saying overall I like the time machine a little better than the ring. We're gonna be reviewing this game formally here soon I have a feeling yes, it's gonna get high ratings from you for me. Oh Oh, yeah. It's a great game. Yes. I just think it's for more of the tourney competitive, intricate players. No. I don't see it as immersive. It is. No, it is immersive. But if you don't like the music at all. I like the music. The music's fine. It'll grab you. It's fine. To me, you know exactly what this is, is put in terms. You know, like when a, you know, sometimes you get a big blockbuster movie that comes out and it just sucks. Everybody goes, it sucks. You get something that's like, you know, not very mature. You remember when Shrek came out? Shrek was not talked about a lot. I know, but that was great. But it was a great film and now look what happened, but it took word of mouth and it took it This is what that rush reminds me of rush reminds me of you know, how many people love? So I'm not struck the movie. I know this film that I'm about to say people love it They still herald it as one of the one of the great sci-fi and stuff of our newer times Okay, and I never got it just doesn't super 8. Oh I didn't like super 8 them a lot of people love super. I'm like, I thought it was too forced Yeah, it's not Stranger Things. No, it's not. It's what Spielberg wanted, Stranger Things. He wanted it to be Stranger Things. Yeah, Abrams. Yeah, so I get that it's good. And I like Abrams. I don't care. You know what I want to know? It's not a hit. For all the people with Rush Pros and Premium, certain pinball, where in the fuck are the Expression Lighting System? This game came out a year ago, and that accessory still isn't available. It only available standard on the LE and they told us it was gonna come out They don have any Rush accessories out yet No topper no shooter off no armor nothing Do you think because it took off with such you know it was a slow burn and a slow build getting to where it was Questioning whether you can get it. Yeah, maybe they pulled some stuff back and said, hey, you know, we're going to put something else a little bit ahead of this because we're not going to really dive in and we're not going to continue doing this if we don't think sales are going to be where they are. But I do think they are now. They've got to now because it was like that thing where Mandalorian with the topper. Like Mandalorians were sitting. Even though it was a great game, they were sitting. Topper comes out, Mandalorian sales go up. I thought they were going to have to do that with Rush, but now Rushes are selling regardless. But I'm getting emails, people want these expression lights. And I don't blame them. On Led Zeppelin, it changes the game. On the Rush LE, it changes the game. I don't know. CERN, come on. Where you at? You've got to cut into all your cabinets. All right, I'm done talking about Rush. but rest bores me. How about James Bond? That's the most recent release. It was released in October-ish. A hell of a launch for Stern Pinball. They really, they hit every damn rock down that gravel road on the launch of this game. They still don't have a fully launched. Here in a bit, we're going to see the 60th anniversary L1 edition, single level, totally different, but this is our homie Gomi doing the pro premium at LE.
    15:37
    It doesn't have any code. It's at 0.8 now, I think. Yes. So it's a little better, but... But it's not like we haven't been here before.
    15:46
    We've been here before. Feels like Batman 66 all over again. It does. But a better shooting Batman. Yes. In my opinion. It shoots really good. Yeah, it does shoot better than Batman. Not bad at Batman. Toys are... But here's my thing. Is everybody's jumping on to the whole thing of like, you know what? Well, at least we knew Lyman was on Batman. So we were going to be taking care of it. Okay. That's a very good point. But also in reality, what Stern has truly disappointed us in the last three years?
    16:15
    Yeah, yeah. I can't. You see what I'm saying? Yeah. It might be some fun. And it might not be, you know, the code might not be there right now. But they're slowly rolling some things out. People love Led Zeppelin code. Yeah. And they're mad at that game for not having anything in it. Exactly. So that's what I'm saying. So the thing is, is no matter who's on it. Still monsters, I think. It's a George Gomez game. I don't think George is going to allow shit code to be on that game. Well, George Gomez' game has been bad. Exactly. Because his name is on that game. George is not going to allow it to go. You know what I'm saying? So I feel. And it's still the likes of the people that we love. Mike Vinacourt and Lonnie Routt. They did Stranger Things. And I loved that code. I loved it when it came out. There was a lot of code. Yes. There's a lot of code on that game. Yes. So I just think. I think obviously it's one of those things we never want to go back to. Because I think Stern there. You know, that was old Stern. Stern, for the most part, had been cranking out games recently. So this is almost like three years ago Stern, four years ago Stern. And I don't think it's them because there was not crazy great themes, IPs used in pinball for 2022, I don't think. I would give the nod to James Bond for being the best IP. Yes. That's the best theme. It is. Yeah, because it's better than Rush. It is. A lot of people, like personally for me, Toy Story 4 is better, but I can see James Bond is a better theme overall than Toy Story 4. Yes. Cactus King is an original theme. Alien you can argue but that's kind of last year's game or the year before. Weird Al, a lot of people would argue that but it's a generational thing. It's my generation and it went right over my head. But James Bond the IP holder I think is what's getting in the way of this code. It still has a thing Greg pending approval. Pending approval. So maybe the code can't come out because they haven't approved any of this stuff yet. Well, and that's the thing.
    18:09
    We a lot of times know that there's a lot of things that we can't discuss. There's a lot of things that we always know that go on within manufacturing or other things. We just cannot tell people. This is not one of them. But hypothetically, let's just say that it is that. And then people will always argue, well, then why not push the game back? Why not hold the game? Well, you know what? There are hundreds of people that they have to keep employed. It takes time to build games. So if you've got other things that are coming, you've got to move that manufacturing line. And you want to start getting these games out there. You don't want to wait. And so if it is being held up or something. They've already skipped a cornerstone. Yes, exactly. And it's the 60th anniversary. And you have agreements with these contract IEP holders to get it out at a certain time. Yes, I get all of that. It's like world politics versus local politics. Like there are so many intricacies of dealings and back and forth and everything that we just don't see and don't know about that I I mean in this business a little bit. I give them a little more grace than what a lot of people do Yeah, they don't want this. No, I don't want it to be like that. That's why I always remind people Oh, you think that this is how they want it? You know, I think this is if anything they get the best IP, but maybe the worst IP to work with Yes, the whole bullshit of negative publicity still good publicity is bullshit. They don't want this negative publicity No, they don't want it all so it's out like they're not going you know Gomez This is like one of his dreams that he loves. Yes, I can say the Art on the cabinet with the posters looks like crap. I don't like that, but that's an IP thing Yes, they said that they chose they wanted that I don't think that looks good When it comes to shots, that's great codes not there yet Toys, I like the bond on the wand the the phallic thing in the back is fine I like the submarine or the other layer with the scuba guy, that's fine. Out of the hatch, the jump, what is that called? The booster thing out of the car, out of the Aston Martin. Oh, like ejection seat. Ejection seat. That's cool.
    20:10
    See, this is where I get off on tangents, and this is what goes from making a quick video to what we end up making. I know, it was supposed to be done. But I like to put bad arguments. Because I've heard people, I get argumentative. like put the bed arguments i put the bed in arguments you like going to bed early anyway i do yeah so see maybe that's why i like a little sooner but you know you got people who goes well then why why fuck with that that why fuck with that ip then well a lot of times you don't know until you get so deep in you've already spent money on the license and then you start working with the licensor you start to put stuff together sometimes you don't know until midway through the first date you're like yeah you're like oh my god it's high maintenance yeah this fucker's crazy swiped right but damn exactly but you're already so deep you kind of got to keep rolling with it for a minute you haven't been out in a while yes i mean it's been a while sometimes you just have to because you you have so much of you have so much invested speaking of ip and putting stuff in games yes he's like hear me here here i can tell you a thing or two but yeah you know what I'm saying like Ellie looks good though oh my god probably the prettiest Ellie trim that stern Jews in a while they were doing some weird stuff where we kept getting silver on Mandalorian and Godzilla and then we like this over a minute and then we get like Avengers bright yellow and then it's like but then you get this teal for the Ellie that works it that looks good that entire art package and everything on that Ellie is yes until the posters. The side of the poster. And then the Sega graphics on the... I figured you love the art on the play field. I don't like it. It looked like freaking Sega. I like Sega. I know. Where's Oren Day at when we knew him?
    21:55
    So that's James Bond. What about Toy Story 4? Ooh. Possibly the most controversial game of the year. I don't think it's possible.
    22:04
    It's the most controversial game of the year. Of the year. But you and I really like this game. we got shit for liking this game you're not allowed to like this game came and I get some of the arguments this game came though with a narrative and some toxicity that reminded me of a game like A Stranger Things when it came out if you liked it it's because you were shilling it that's the only reason and if you didn't like it then you're smart and you're right and then come to find out people are like oh no it is a great game Star Wars was sort of the same way to a certain extent same time or the same thing it was too barren there wasn't enough going on there wasn't all this and then it turns out to be one of the better games ever made uh it takes people time and i get the argument the argument is great it's too much money for what's in it yeah i can see that argument it's expensive uh it's toy story 4 i didn't want toy story 4 i want toy story 1 or 2 or the whole thing would not want your story i see that argument but then say it's the easiest game ever the art sucks there's nothing in oh bullshit this game is freaking loaded I've only got fireworks one time yeah so it's not too easy it's a beautiful game it's still a toy story there's so much it's still bullshit but it people still holding on to the I can't buy this game or I'm a loser kind of thing so I had some family over and some family they really enjoyed it for the holidays and I actually expressed that sentiment because some of my family I'm trying to get into pinball a little bit but they're not there at all really and they were still blown away it's Toy Story they didn't get why people were so mad about Toy Story 4 and they like Toy Story they're very familiar with the IP obviously but they were still kind of blown away well it's still Toy Story I'd still want this it doesn't bother me and I think it's just us well not us but pinball people I think a little more than what you take for the lay public to me anybody complain about Toy Story 4 theming and then they're rah-rah behind Rush, I'm like, maybe I'm on crazy pills. Like, where am I at? This is nuts. Oh, so Rush is just such a great pinball theme, but Toy Story 4 is not? What's wrong with you people? I mean, again, like you said, I get a lot of... Ultraman? Really? Yeah, that one blows me away. Really? That one, yes. Let's get behind that. That one kind of blows me away. That was the worst theme ever. It's just not a bad game. It doesn't deserve what it's getting. I understand like you said I understand the arguments I understand why that you can the arguments that you're making are valid but does not mean it's a bad game it doesn't mean it's not fun that doesn't sales are kind of tanked on it yeah well I'm being on stranger things do the same thing listen when I got my stranger things I sold that I bought that oh my god I remember and I sold that game because it started losing so much money I sold it within four weeks because it was losing I remember that's the reason you yeah cuz they were like see you hyped it up and you don't you really hate it but you were lying to everybody and you're like no i just am terrified and you hate the game so you're going ahead and selling it after you hyped it was like no i just don't want to lose money didn't want to lose money yeah and i honestly like i held on to my toy story i would should have probably done the same thing with it but i liked it and i still wasn't done playing it yeah and i didn't think that it was gonna go south south like it did but i think that there is the possibility i say i don't see it oh it's It's not going to be like, come back, come back. I think people are going to realize that they were wrong, but they're too proud to say anything. I still think J.J.P. fumbled on timing. They were going through this pandemic, seeing everything go for so much money. They saw a Disney property and was like, we are going to be able to raise our prices and do it. The problem is... When they had such a hit with G&R, they're coming off such a massive hit. So they upped the price and they upped the allotment of the seating. So they doubled the CEM out. The price went up substantially. The problem is that was a hit there. The problem is timing-wise on the pandemic, pandemic was kind of fading down. They probably started playing in this stuff when it was in the heyday, but then they still didn't come out. It still didn't come out. And then by the time it came out, you hit people with the theme that they've been, they've already been brainwashed as Toy Story. JGP's got Toy Story. We got Toy Story coming. So we got Toy Story, which means toys, right? Pat Lawler don't put a lot of physical mechs and stuff in his game. He didn't with Wonka. But I love Wonka. He shit on Wonka. Yes. But not at first. People didn't like Wonka. Yes. Now it's one of the greats. Yes. But then you get all of that at the same time and just piss people off. Yeah. Just made people mad. I think people will come around. I do too. But if they want to sell more of these games, Greg, you know what's going to have to happen. I think you need a little bit more code. You need a little bit more depth. Because I understand what Pat and Joe were going for. because they expressed that to us when we met with them for the video. It was like, we want this to be accessible for everybody. And it is. And it's still going to be hard to get through two times. Yes. I'm not done. No. No, I haven't come close. But I just need, there needs to be a little bit more filler in between there. We always come back to Deadpool, or at least I do, with everything hits, like mech suit multi-ball. All this different stuff hits at the perfect time. Same with Willy Wonka. Willy Wonka, yes, exactly. You get your golden tickets, and it's another experience every golden ticket you get. Yes. It needs that. It needs something like that to keep you going.
    27:32
    And then I think it would reinvigorate that game. And I also just think, listen, I think there's the negative hype. It's got to be one of those things with time. Like once something else comes out and it becomes controversial. Bond is hitting a little bit of that just because of the code. Bond will be fine because Stern can do no wrong.
    27:51
    Everybody else is going to prove themselves. Stern doesn't have to. But I think that once, you know, a year from now, six months from now, you're going to start to see Toy Stories. That's where you're going to be. Yeah, but it's crazy because people would pay $15,000 for a CE. They would pay $12,000 for an LE with nothing changed except for the code. Oh, yeah. If they did a Wonka 2.0, that game would be on fire sales-wise. But they're not going to do it. I doubt they're going to do it. I like the code. I don't think Joe Cat's going to do it. I'd like a little bit more. I just want a little bit more. Why wouldn't they want to though? Because I think what's going to happen, they're just going to move to their next title, which is a rumored godfather. I think that what going to happen I don see Joe Katz going back in or them saying hey Joe we want you to spend more time on this unless they built a ton and they had a warehouse full But I don think they I think they building them as they sold to dealers Yes. Now dealers start backing out and losing money, you know, because we have to do non-refundables as dealers. Yeah. I've already canceled a couple of CEs. Yeah. You might revisit it. I think it's just going to be a slow. I think it'll pick back up a little bit. it's not going to come out, like you said, you're not wrong. It's going to be nowhere near Stranger Things. Because also Stranger Things was a continuing show, too. And the show progressively got better, in a sense. You had that going for it. But it was still a good game all the way around. Star Wars, same thing.
    29:21
    I don't think it's going to come back to that extent. But I do think that sales will pick up once the negative hype dies down. Once the shame falls off of owning that game, that's the simplest It's usually whenever their next one comes out. So Godfather comes out, and for whatever reason, if people like that or don't like that, those that don't like that, Toy Story is such a 180 that they're going to go back. Just like when Toy Story came out, people were buying GNR left and right. They're like, okay, I know I don't want that. I'll get my GNR. And I think that's what's going to happen with that game. Because arguably one of the most beautiful games ever made. It's so beautiful. And the other thing is, if you want a good chuckle, next time you're at a pinball function or something like that, toy store gets brought up and somebody says it's too easy simply ask them if they've got to the wizard mode or beat the wizard mode i've done that a couple times and i always love their light well no but like i'm like wow okay it's easy can you get rid of that uh criticism then get rid of that one say it's too expensive say you don't like the theme don't say it's too easy because it's not too easy if they were to just change that second half of that wizard because you got to get through it twice yeah but the second half feels pretty similar to the first half just give me more there that's all it's almost a little bit of a monster that's it a little bit of a monster's effect that's it that's all you need but to say it doesn't have enough code and then you have the same person by Cactus Canyon guess what people Toy Story has more code than Cactus Canyon does it does I don't know what to do with Toy Story I don't know what to do but I do know what to do with Cactus Canyon oh Chrome it Brass it Black Nicolet Candy Chrome it Powder coat it the possibilities are endless at pinballplating.com
    31:01
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    31:52
    Where's the code? They did finish the code. Yes. It was the code in 1999, Greg. They didn't finish. But it's... Stop production. But even with the finish code, it's a normal Bally. It's a Bally Williams game. It's a Bally set of rules. That's right. But people are like, the people that argue that there's not enough code in there, it gets boring. But still, medieval magic is a tag for mark. Guys, it's the same depth. It is. It's the same depth. But the thing you get with Cactus, though, is Cactus is so quirky fun.
    32:23
    It's gorgeous. If I gave achievements, I would give it the pure fun achievement. And there's no more pure fun in pinball than cactus training. No. Pure fun. But that's what makes up for the depth. Yeah. And that's when people argue that fun doesn't matter, that you do pay for the fun. You sure as hell do. That's the entire reason that you ride a roller coaster. Yes. Because it's fun. That's everything you do. That's why you pay for a lot of experiences, because it's fun. That's why you pay high dollar for a lot of things, because it's fun. Oh, God, not that rant again. Oh, sorry. God, we did have that rant in 2022. But to me, if you were to take something, it is literally the best bang for your buck that you could buy one. Yeah, you were saying that. I don't argue. It's jam-packed full with sculpts, toys, mechs. It is fun. It's beautiful. It's at a very reasonable price. They didn't do a classic model. No. They only did an SE and initially an LE. SE is $8,000. Yeah. At this point in time, listener, at this point in time, $8,000 is $1,700 cheaper than a Stern Premium. Yeah. You're at like a Stern Pro. And you're pretty much loaded up with that game.
    33:33
    Full RGB, XL color display. Yeah. Speaker lights. I mean, you've got the whole damn shebang. And then they, I think, in my opinion, they underpriced their LE at what was like $92.50 plus shipping or $95. it's easily a 10, 5, $12,000 game. If we're talking about toy story for Ellie, yeah, it's the same Ellie. Oh, the wood apron and the guns and everything. Like there's so much that's put into that game. It's, it's fucking ridiculous. I did. Oh, am I going to get in trouble for saying this? Probably the details in some of that code complete. Oh, I'm not supposed to say this, but I don't think they watch. Um, this is too cool. This is too cool to keep. I'm sorry. I got to tell these people. the little bitty lighting details, because it's all RGB, even on the SE. It's all RGB, Greg, and I don't even think you know this. But the little bitty details of what happens on that screen, and basically it bleeds off the screen animation onto the play field. For example, whenever the mayor comes up and he's giving you a mystery award, and he throws the money, right? He throws the money. The light show is coded, viewer, in a way where you then see the green on the back panel kind of fall down the ramps and stuff. And it's timed where the animation of the dollar bill comes and it goes right into just that subtlety. And I asked somebody, I'm pretty close to the CGC, I said, like, what the hell? Like, who's brilliant enough to did that? And you know what they said?
    35:04
    The lime and cheese. Oh! Oh. So those are the little details you get with this game. And they didn't want people, like, they don't want it out there probably because he was kind of a big help in finishing the code out, just completing the code, not this enhanced code we haven't seen yet with Josh Sharp and him, but just little details like that. He was a helper on that, and people don't want to be like, or CGC doesn't want to think, oh, it's all just Lyman. Because they have coders that have done a lot of that too. But just that example I gave them, they were like, yeah, that's Lyman's genius. But that is something that makes such a difference. You take things like when we talk about Houdini with the roving light that comes across the playfield. I think some of these pinball manufacturers. There's a moment. It doesn't take a lot. It doesn't take a ton of toys in Toy Story. It doesn't take a lot of stuff. There's a moment. It doesn't take a lot. It doesn't take a ton of toys in Toy Story. It doesn't take a lot of stuff. Like if you can create moments like that emotional moment, that's all that
    36:14
    Matters we like other stuff, too. Yes. Oh, yeah Well, we argue for something that we're not and we're not advocates against we have it all always the next but I'm just saying we're Not gonna throw something under the bus. No, it doesn't have if it's not full with toys though No, if as long as it does it right but does little details like that So best bang for your buck is you're saying like there's so many details on the le that for me greg This is this is every big up. It's everything we argue for The build quality to that is there a better built game on the market than a cgc game and that le is heavy as shit It's so beautiful. I had a pull out about Jersey issue is Chicago gaming company They've messed up a lot on communication and timing. I know everybody's got part issues, Greg, but damn, when you give an estimate, you really fuck that up. So much so that then you don't communicate afterwards? No. That leaves a bad taste in people's mouth. I don't care how cheap you price your products. I don't care how great you build your products. At the end of the day, it kind of does matter because it's worth the wait, but it still sucks that they don't communicate that stuff. I can't stop. They took forever for the LEs and they're just now starting to trickle out. It's over a year. It's going to be like a year and a half before all of them start trickling out. It's so nice though. We're looking at it right now. I know. I can't stop looking at it. It's so nice. I do understand that. But again, not knowing the internal workings, nobody wants that. So it's like, I don't know. And for most pinball people, they're not going to get through the whole code. I think for $8,000, it's hard to beat that product. For somebody especially getting into pinball. Yes. For somebody getting into pinball and they want a family pinball. It's a really good first game. Shoots great. Goes great. Looks great. Sounds great. Built great. There's very little issues with those games. If the theme doesn't turn you off just because it's Wild West or whatever, it would be right up there with getting Deadpool or getting Star Trek as one of your first games. If you just had a one-pin collection, it's like, hey, what do I get for my first game? What's going to stay? Have you played Weird Al? A lot. I've played a handful of times. It shows. It's the Multimorphic P3 platform. I think that this title alone, Jerry, finally got an IP that people care about instead of original IP. This has helped this platform substantially. Yes. I think it has really brought a lot more ownership into the idea of the platform of the P3. I think it elevated and put P3 on the map. Not that P3 wasn't. People always knew of them. But Cosmic Cart, people were just... Almost a novelty. This took it from being a novelty to a pinball machine. To me. I still won't own it. I still like the feel of it.
    39:04
    See, I don't mind the feel. I don't know if I've ever owned one. I get so much shit for that, but there's no way I'm wrong. I know how pinball machines feel. And if you want to complain about the softness of a JJP, if you want to complain about the spooky flippers I'm not mad at either one but I'm not mad at either one of those games the only thing that would get me to buy a P3 is it would have to be what Weird Al was to some of these people it would have to be a very strong theme that really grabbed me and I'd go okay now I might do it so if they continue down that road they're going to get more of those platforms in people's houses they're just going to have to continue to get really great You're going to have to up one hour and go a little bit more mainstream. You're right, because I could probably look past the flipper feel if it was a dynamite theme that I just freaking loved. If it came out and it was Back to the Future and you had... Oh, my God, don't do that. I'd be so mad. No, I did. No, I know. But I'm just saying, like, theme-wise, like, if you had something or, you know... I'd be so angry. If you had something like Goonies and you had... Oh, don't. Stop it. I can give you something. God, don't do that. No, no. No, I don't like the games yet. It doesn't feel good yet. I'm sorry. It just doesn't feel good yet. It's technologically advanced.
    40:25
    I still don't think they're making the best use of LCD. No. I'm still going to be honest with people. They're just not. I want to see the LCD. I want to see it significantly improve. I want to see what I've been saying for years, what I talked to Jerry about five years ago, which he turned his nose up at. I want to see it look like a play field. and then interact your inserts. The insert lifts up and a bug crawls out of it. There's your idea. You need to take everything that's fun about a virtual pin and the non-limitations that you have within a virtual pin. Like ZenFX and all that bullshit. You need to take it and basically make it a virtual pin combined. You're grabbing both worlds, and you're able to do things that no other pinball machine can, but it feels like a pinball machine. So true. But instead, what does it do? He tries to keep up with the animation of video games? No, that's the problem. No. Because you look at the coding, you look at everything. Lexi lights the pixelated in the swamp. No. To render such great graphics, the computing power and everything you would need there is probably so astronomical. The animators you would need. Yes. The time you would need. The time, the money to do it does not make those games feasible. Because Weird Al animation looks, it looks okay at times. Yeah. it's still like a cell phone game a shitty cell phone game stop trying to compete with animation whereas if you took a play field you rendered one really good visual of that it looks like a good play field you can now focus on those to make those creatures look it's a small you just don't have so much mode maybe you have a when a ball tracks it stays black because it's on fire so that wood of that play field stays on fire anything you can do anything with a top-down approach. That's how it should be. Where it's still super cool, but you're also giving people something that they don't get to see anywhere else. The only cut sequences I want to see fill up that screen is if you have a fucking movie, and you've licensed it out, and I see the Goonies cut sequence on that big-ass screen. I care then. Otherwise, stop trying with your animation, or you're not going to get off the ground. Sort of like with Jurassic Park, like when the ball gets grabbed, and the post comes up. It post comes up for a minute. I'm fine. Play your movie. And then it goes back to the play field. Perfect. And then, oh. Yeah, stop trying to build fucking bologna sandwiches and think it's good art. I'm sorry, people. I'm sorry. About something that's not happening. I've tried and I've tried and I've tried. I think it helps give some traction to that platform but I still don care I still think if you negative about that company you still get good you get flame from the from the strong supporters I think they headed in the right direction better direction when it takes them 14 to 16 months to get up the weird out though I don't know what to tell you okay sure they got what 10 people building game so sure okay wait for your game this is final tab this is something I don't care about super hoops I care less but I don't care less flipper foxtrot rhythm explosion cool concept I don't think utilized great on that platform could have been I think it needs the foot controls or something not button controls and for the gods sakes if we're talking about the multi more for p3 I'm going to stay on this it comes standard where your third flipper and fourth flipper is on a different button. It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. It's an option you can change in the settings. I don't give a shit if it's an option you change. It should come out of the box where one flipper controls multiple things. Who wants to play the piano? No.
    44:06
    And you can never stage a flipper on that game. Even if you do the settings on the same button, they're not set up where the EOS is. You can never... Fail.
    44:16
    Alien LV. What do you like about it? One of the most gorgeous games I've ever seen. Who would have thought the blue would have worked? Blue works perfect. It's beautiful. The back glass, I'm an advocate from here on out. And I said this in a video. I don't have it yet.
    44:32
    I could care less of every pinball manufacturer if they did away with their fucking speaker. Really? Like the entire panel. The LCD, like stern and spooky. Because I was hesitant when I first grabbed that. I was like, this is just one big sheet of plexiglass. I don't know about this. but then when you stand there and look at it, you're like, wow, that makes the game so much more immersive, so much room for such rich artwork. I love the speaker panels on Halloween, but can you imagine if all of that was one fiber? Because that artwork is so gorgeous. It is so beautiful. The play field works. Everything works on it. Those light-up fucking rails down the side are gorgeous and work. The cabinet artwork is gorgeous. It works. I like the filaments, the clear filaments. Under plastics and stuff instead of metal. It helps. That's genius. It helps add so much to that game. Yes. The mood of it. It shoots okay. Pretty good. It's a wide body. Like, I'm not mad at it. It's quirky. It's a wide body. It is. The mechs are fun. The xenomorph is awesome. The xenomorph is really cool. And that chamber. The chamber is really cool. I like that a lot. It's just good, man. There's a lot of cool stuff in it. There is. The build quality. I had to do some tinkering. A lot of people had to do some tinkering. But it wasn't anything that was bad. That code's great. Pinball Brothers has so far been phenomenal with their customer service. They have been, yeah. About responding to people very quickly, getting people parts out that need anything. Like I said, mine was just minor tinkering. Yeah. Oh, my God, dude. There is a moment in a track mode that does almost like the Dobie Atmos. Yeah, yeah. And you're just like, every time you hear it kick on, it sounds so good. The head's a lot better than the highway one. It's not like a skinny. It's still a weird vertical stick. But it fits in your collection way better. It looks better than the high wall. It fits in the collection way better. It's a beautiful game. It is. Like I said, I'm happy with the build quality and everything so far.
    46:28
    They're selling well. Every time we get them in, they sell. Yeah. But I think that went a long way with Pinball Brothers, because it doesn't take long for something like that to get around. Hey, I had an issue. Pinball Brothers was right. They took care of it. That's what everybody's fear with that entire game was, was customer service. How much customer service am I going to get? now that they see that they're getting a customer service, they feel they can buy it. Yeah, we'll see what happens with Queen.
    46:51
    Those will start rolling out next year. Queen's got a little bit against it. See, that's where theme helps me because I like playing it, and we'll see. We'll see. Other things to mention in 2022, just products-wise, I mean, we have to mention the most ridiculous accessory of all time, the Mandalorian topper, the $2,000. 3D holographic topper. It's still awesome. You saw it for the first time here, and you were like, yeah, it's really cool. Somebody said, I saw somebody go, it's not as impressive in person. I'm like, no, it's more. Yeah, it is. You can't film. It's hard to film. There's some things that I would change on there. I was telling you about, like I'd like a little bit more 3D sculpted plastics instead of flat plastics, but the hologram image thing is spectacular. It's cool. Everything about it is spectacular. And you're playing a game and seeing all the lighting, so it's cool. It's insane. So I'd give my nod to the most ridiculously awesome accessory that nobody needs, but everybody wants. Yeah. I would go with that. I want to give a shout out for 2020. For 2021, 2022. 2022 for me was like the year of everybody agreeing and coming together. Like Stern's Insider Connected is legit fucking cool. Yeah. And it works great. Yeah. And there's so many different things that can be done in the future with it. Like I think everybody's embracing got behind. Yes. And I feel bad for the other manufacturers utilizing other things because those work great as well.
    48:17
    It's just they're all in on this. But when Stern dedicates a team, when Stern says, listen, it's all or nothing, that's a hard thing to do when you dedicate that. And it's just fun.
    48:31
    Taps into those addictive receptors of the dopamine in your brain because you get to the point where I can't play football. I can't scan. Right? I feel like I'm shortening. I don't even want to play my game. It's like, what if I blow this son of a bitch up? What if I achieve this and I wasn't scanned in? I'm going to be scanned in. It's so true. Yeah, and it grabbed me from the first time. Because this Louisville show was the first time I'd ever messed with it, really. And I fell in love with it. Because I love being able to track and watch all my stuff and get my achievements. George Gomez killed it with that. Hey, kudos, man. Because it could have tanked. Yeah, it could have been just a novelty. It could have, but it's not. It belongs in pinball now. And we know that Gary Stern stepped down. Yes. So we've got Seth Davis stepping up from, and he likes a lot of this kind of stuff. How far does it go? Does it go to the paid? I think it will. I don't know how far down that would go because it works in video games. Why wouldn't it work in pinball? We'll see. Now, overall, I think it was a weird year. Yeah. I think it could have been a lot better. Yeah. Stern had one less cornerstone. And it feels like it makes a huge difference. We didn't get anything from American Pinball. No. We barely got something from Chicago Gaming.
    49:45
    Check out the other video for 2023. Our predictions and kind of the, you know, behind the scenes stuff of what's coming. I think 2023 is going to be a damn good year. Yes. I think it's a damn good year. It's going to eclipse 2022. Still supply chain issues. Still pricing issues. There's still going to be all of that stuff. But 2022 is a weird year. A lot of cool stuff that came out of it. I didn't keep a lot of 2022 games, though. So you still want me to have a Rush. Even that Rush.
    50:13
    Overall, best game, best product of the year for you. Oh, man, Rush. I'd say most people would say that. Code still looks great. Fun as hell to play. Probably one of Borg's better shooting games that he's ever made. You know, you got to see Ray Day really shine and come into his own with that game. Yep. I just love everything about it. I like that it was an underdog and then fought its way to the top. Yeah. I got to say Rush. Yeah. I'm a Stern hype man. I'm a Stern shill. I have Stern friends. I love Rady. Love me some Borgi. Tim's actually, I don't really know. So take him or leave him. Sorry, Tim. I just don't know.
    50:50
    I can vouch for so much stuff that Stern does as a business flipping out pinball. I'll publicly say a certain pinball takes care of their dealers better than any other manufacturer. That's pretty bold of me to say publicly as a dealer. but it's just the truth.
    51:06
    And on the tech side, they're very good with me. I love everybody. Yeah, Eddie, Talia, Pablo. All of them are phenomenal with me, and I actually enjoy working with that crew and that team. So it's hard for us not to just hype the hell out of Stern stuff because they do well. 2022, I'm not. I'm giving it to Chicago Gaming Company. I think that the build quality, the components in Cactus Canyon Remake, the story and the lore behind this and how they finished it, having Lyman Sheets at helm with that story, the topper integration, that's one of the coolest toppers ever, and just the details of this game, all the details. It's one of the most well-rounded products, not only of 2022, but of this past decade, and I feel super strong about that. It's one of the greatest pinball products ever made. I honestly cannot put up an argument it does such a good job on every box Rush is going to click better check boxes for me on some things but it doesn't miss a beat on any box it is the roundabout the greatest pinball product I've seen in a long time it's so close I give it to Rush more because of the code the depth because that's a great shooting game Rush would give it to you as a pinball player. As a pure pinball player. Yes. So that's what I'm saying. I would never knock you for that choice because you're not wrong in anything. The details, the materials. Because I think that if you were to take a poll and said, hey, listen, you've got Cactus Canyon and you've got Rush. Like, here's what I'm going to present to you in both of these games. What would you take? I think it would be a very, very close. I've never come across a product that is just that well done it's just from a business standpoint it's just a well done product and I applaud them for that Jersey Jack, I'm interested to see Toy Story was great there's a couple swings and misses on that launch and that product in general but just from a product perspective CGC's taking it home I've gotten to know Doug Duba quite a bit over the last year I will tell you, Doug's attention to detail and what Doug cares about. There are some nights I talk to Doug on the phone late and he's still at the office. It's like 7 or 8 o'clock. He's a bad businessman in some ways because he cares more about the perception of how his products are going to be received. I told him before we launched this game, if you sell this for $92.50, this LE, you are leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table. But that's what I'm saying. He cares. And he said, I really want to do right by the community. He's a true engineer and he's a true enthusiast. He's not just somebody sitting at the helm making decisions. He's making decisions based on his heart. He truly cares. His heart. He cares too much sometimes. Sometimes it's not, like you said, the most business savvy. And I can tell you again, probably shouldn't say this, some of the delays that we've seen over the last year with this,
    54:17
    if they would have rolled out the product. You would have been fine. You wouldn't even have noticed. No. But he just dug. He can't get it past. Because I want to be like, who cares, dude? If you're not playing the other main. Again, that speaks to why that you gave it the accolades that you did. Yes. Honestly. But you got to keep in business, Greg. You got to keep going on product. See, that would be the difference. If we went into business making pinball machines, that's where we would butt heads. We're in the same business, buddy. You got the reserve here. Look for CGC to have a huge 2023. That's all I'm saying. Yes. All right. I think that's it. Yes. Let's shut this damn thing down. I thought this was supposed to be 15 minutes. Lord, man. All right. Thanks for supporting us straight down the middle. Like, follow, subscribe. Please do that. If you're looking for a brand new pinball or arcade machine accessories or even used stuff, we have a lot of used stuff, it's everything Flippin' Out. We're more dedicated than ever. Next year you'll see that to the company and to the media that we're creating. It's Greg and I. It's always going to be Greg. If you have any problems with your brand new Flippin' Out purchase, contact Greg at flipping out pinball.com speaking of freaking person of the year talking about quality and stuff killed it killed it thank you just for it people ask me they're always like so like i know gray's your best friend but like as an employee is he is he good at what i'm like he's i knew he was going to be great floored me like he surprises me every day but you know what like i figured that we would have at least had some issue we have not it's literally no different than being friends we We have worked better than even I thought we would. I knew we were great. But we also know, I know what you expect of me. I know how you work. You know how I work. And we don't get in each other's way. You know what? That's why we're the best damn media team. And pinball, we're the best damn distribution team. Well, and you know what I think helped is I already know your passion and commitment to customer service. I am that same way, like you said, about nitpicking and being weird like Doug is about that stuff. So like I understand you and I understand what you want in my heart, in my mind, followed that same path. So it wasn't, it wasn't a hard thing to do. I just sometimes have to get your approval for major things. But other than that, like I love my job. Like I love it. I love my job. Even when people are frustrating. I love it. Like there's. It's been a good year for us. Yeah. Just in general, like growth and stuff like that. And an even bigger 2023 and a lot of cool ideas. So we were lucky people. We're lucky to have. and Ted out there Ted, Tom, Bob you know who you are damn it thank you just wait until you see what we do at 6k we don't want to get too close to these we're getting old so too much on 6k but we'll see you guys next year watch the other videos check them out yeah
    57:17
    Atomic Poison.