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Saturday Morning Super Chat Spectacular!

Kaneda Pinball Podcasts YouTube Lives·video·1h 15m·held·Jul 13, 2025
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.039

TL;DR

Kaneda analyzes Harry Potter success vs King Kong failure; discusses theme risk and Stern's stalling on Spike 3.

Summary

Kaneda discusses pinball market dynamics, praising Harry Potter (Jersey Jack) for strong theme integration and content depth despite chaotic code, criticizing King Kong (Stern) for cutting corners on licensing and art despite Keith Elwin gameplay design, and expressing concerns about Barrels of Fun's Dune sales momentum given theme selection risks. He also critiques J-Pop's design legacy and discusses upcoming releases including Cuphead, Beetlejuice/Gremlins, and speculation about Stern's Spike 3 platform featuring Star Wars Episodes 4-6.

Key Claims

  • Harry Potter (Jersey Jack) has received overwhelmingly positive reception due to beautiful shooting and theme integration, despite chaotic code that tries to do too much at once.

    high confidence · Kaneda, analyzing community feedback on Harry Potter gameplay and reception

  • King Kong poor market reception is due to Stern cutting corners on licensing, not securing Kong movie licenses or Empire State Building imagery, and reusing art assets across all three models rather than Keith Elwin game design quality.

    high confidence · Kaneda's analysis of King Kong market resistance and community pushback

  • Barrels of Fun lost the Big Trouble in Little China license, a theme Kaneda has been advocating for years.

    medium confidence · Kaneda citing Knapp Arcade rumor about Barrels of Fun licensing loss

  • Dune (Barrels of Fun) is underperforming in sales relative to manufacturing fixed costs, with locations like Electric Bat Arcade and Kale returning units due to mechanical issues.

    medium confidence · Kaneda discussing Dune distribution challenges and mechanical quality reports from locations

  • Stern is stalling on Spike 3 platform release, likely planning Star Wars Episodes 4, 5, and 6 as the next major release, potentially with a Costco deal variant.

    medium confidence · Kaneda: 'I think Stern's stalling...More and more people are telling me it's Star Wars episode four, five, and six...there's also going to be another Star Wars homep with a Costco deal'

  • Spooky Pinball next game after Beetlejuice (Christopher Franchi artwork) will be either Gremlins and sell out in one minute due to Franchi's reputation.

    medium confidence · Kaneda speculating on Spooky's December release and Franchi's demand

  • Bill Brandis has purchased two Harry Potter machines, one for each of his homes, and is playing Potter for 48+ hours straight.

    high confidence · Kaneda discussing photo of Bill Brandis with Harry Potter ruleset visible, indicating extreme play session

Notable Quotes

  • “It's like bringing a customer eight dishes at once. Even though they might all be fun, eating eight things all at once isn't enjoyable.”

    Kaneda@ 9:46 — Core critique of Jersey Jack's design philosophy—too many simultaneous modes and features overwhelming players, compared to Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares analogy

  • “When you see Harry Potter next to King Kong, it makes that King Kong look like a $6,000 game. King Kong is dull. It is boring. It just looks cheap.”

    Kaneda@ 18:17 — Direct market comparison explaining King Kong's failure—not about gameplay but perceived value relative to competing products

  • “I just wish I was in the boardroom when they were deciding where to invest their money and time and effort and I just would have been a vote against this theme.”

    Kaneda@ 23:08 — Indicates deep concern about Barrels of Fun's Dune theme selection risk; suggests fundamental market mismatch with demographic

  • “J-pop was a hack. He is an art director. He has wacky ideas, but he needed the team at Williams to create what made people love about him.”

    Kaneda@ 38:31 — Contentious historical assessment of J-Pop's role in design legacy; attributes Bally/Williams success to engineering team rather than designer

  • “Stern went cheap on it. Keith Elwin did his job, but Stern went cheap on the game.”

    Kaneda@ 15:03 — Separates game design quality from manufacturing/licensing execution—criticizes Stern's cost-cutting as community resistance driver

  • “I don't know how many they've sold. They're just trickling out. They're not going out in large. It's a race against their own monthly fixed cost.”

Entities

KanedapersonKeith ElwinpersonBill BrandispersonSteve RitchiepersonJersey Jack PinballcompanyStern PinballcompanyChicago Gaming Companycompany

Signals

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Kaneda critiques Harry Potter's code for attempting too many simultaneous modes/features, using Kitchen Nightmares analogy (Gordon Ramsay reducing menu from 85 to 20 items); argues excessive feature density reduces enjoyment despite content quality

    high · Core design philosophy critique spanning 15+ minutes of analysis; applied as template for Jersey Jack design process assessment

  • ?

    product_concern: King Kong criticized for licensing deficiencies: no Kong movie IP, no Empire State Building imagery, no iconic Kong cultural assets; identical art package across Pro/Premium/LE tiers perceived as cost-cutting

    high · Kaneda: 'Stern went cheap on it...not licensing any of the Kong movies, not licensing the Empire State Building, not even licensing the iconic imagery'

  • $

    market_signal: Harry Potter Collector's Edition positioned as superior value vs. King Kong Premium ($13-15K range): better art, unique topper, theme prestige makes Kong appear as $6K game by comparison

    high · Direct price-point analysis of two competing $13-15K machines showing aesthetic/thematic value differential driving purchase decisions

  • ?

    product_strategy: Industry consensus emerging that theme selection has become highest-risk decision; Dune (Barrels of Fun) cited as example of strong execution (assets, build quality) undermined by demographic mismatch

    high · Kaneda: 'There is not any room anymore for for error when it comes to getting the theme wrong' and extended Dune analysis comparing to eggplant dish metaphor

  • ?

    business_signal: Barrels of Fun facing monthly fixed cost squeeze: if production volume insufficient, operating expenses unsustainable; Dune sales trickling rather than selling out creates revenue timing problems

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:04
There we go. All right. Well, I think I figured it out. I figured it out.
0:38
Do we see it? Are we super chatting? We got it. Are we Are we Are we
0:49
Oh, you can never f You found it, Brian. All right. Who's going to be the first to super chat? Who's going to test this thing out? Let's see it. Let's get some leaders up here, baby. Super chat. Carrie Hardy got nothing on. Oh, look at that. 30 bucks. Enzo. Boom. Look at Enzo. Badass. But I think that's like Is that like your euros? I love it. Oh, Eric. Thank you. We're We're staying on YouTube. We're staying on YouTube, baby. Call my mama. Mama. Mama. Your son's your son. Pete Rosen with the 50 bucks. This is crazy, Pete. I love this. Oh my god, we're making it rain, dude. Someone call Jenis. Call Retro Ralph. We're going to get to 13,000 $15,000. Retro Ralph won't talk to me anymore. He's out. He's out. Let's make it. I tell you, we're do the fundraiser. We're going to get Canada all the way to Australia in business class. We're staying on YouTube. I'm so happy right now. We're raising money. We're doing it. Other Oh, man. Look at this. Manuel, everybody. Now, now guys, here's the thing, guys. Guys, guys, calm down. I don't want you to only do it now to keep me on YouTube. Like, let's make this a consistent thing. That was it, right? Mr. Pete Rosen was always my He's always number one. Manuel, I think you're like like he's got you beat by $9.99. Oh, man. This is funny. This is fun. This is great. Everybody, welcome back. We figured it out. We're staying on YouTube. We got the good sound. We got the good image. Oh man. Yeah. No, like this is good. This is good. I appreciate you guys. And now I can look at like top chats. I can list like Oh man, this is great. Fun fan funding. What's this? Oh, we got stickers. You guys are awesome. Top fans. What's up, buddy?

J-Pop is fundamentally a hack and art director whose success at Bally/Williams was dependent on the engineering team, not his own design execution.

medium confidence · Kaneda's opinion: 'J-pop was a hack. He is an art director...When he went to go make his magic happen, he couldn't execute anything.'

  • American Pinball biggest mistake was letting Joe Schober and Josh Kugler redo Houdini's art direction over J-Pop and Matt Andrews' original work, making it uglier and less marketable.

    medium confidence · Kaneda's analysis of American Pinball's Houdini art direction failure

  • EU tariffs are now 30%, which is relevant to Predator's poor sales performance (though Kaneda suggests Predator was doomed regardless).

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'The EU tariff is now 30% sinking Predator.'

    • Kaneda@ 24:18 — Highlights manufacturing economics constraint for boutique pinball makers—fixed costs pressure theme selection and production decisions

  • “Christopher Franchi or Gremlins will come out in December and sell out in one minute. He knows it. I know it. We all know it.”

    Kaneda@ 32:48 — Demonstrates FOMO-driven demand for established artist brand; indicates Spooky's market positioning strategy

  • “Evil Dead thread doesn't pop up much on Pinside because everyone's loving it. That's really what Pinside is—where you go to hear complaints.”

    Kaneda@ 33:13 — Meta-observation about forum dynamics: positive sentiment = inactive threads, negative sentiment = forum activity

  • “I 100% think Raza comes out first. I don't think we're going to see Back to the Future until October of 2026.”

    Kaneda@ 35:23 — Prediction about Dutch Pinball production timeline and prioritization; indicates delays in BTTF's schedule

  • “There's no room anymore for error when it comes to getting the theme wrong. No one should be getting themes wrong.”

    Kaneda@ 25:06 — Industry-wide assessment: theme selection has become a critical risk factor in current market environment

    • Barrels of Fun
    company
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    Christopher Franchiperson
    John Popadiukperson
    [name withheld pending review]person
    Melvinperson
    Chris Turnerperson
    John Borgperson
    Python Angheloperson
    Pinsideorganization
    Knapp Arcadeperson
    Dutch Pinballcompany
    American Pinballcompany
    Matt Andrewsperson
    Mark Seidenperson
    Joe Schoberperson
    Lukeperson
    Spooky Lukeperson

    high · Kaneda: 'They're in a race against their own monthly fixed cost...it's expensive to keep the lights on, paying all those employees. It's not cheap.'

  • ?

    product_concern: Dune reports of mechanical failures from location operators (Electric Bat Arcade, Kale) returning units; suggests quality control or design issues affecting venue reliability

    medium · Kaneda: 'I know the Electric Bat Arcade had some issues with their Dune and they sent it back...Kale had to send it back'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Kaneda receiving multiple insider reports that Spike 3 will feature Star Wars Episodes 4-6 (original trilogy) as marquee title; also rumors of separate Star Wars Costco variant deal

    medium · Kaneda: 'More and more people are telling me it's Star Wars episode four, five, and six...there's also going to be another Star Wars homep with a Costco deal associated with it'

  • ?

    content_signal: Christopher Franchi's artwork brand drives immediate sell-out behavior; Kaneda predicts Spooky's December Franchi-artwork game (Beetlejuice or Gremlins) will sell out in one minute regardless of theme

    high · Kaneda: 'Christopher Franches Beetlejuice or Gremlins will come out in December and sell out in one minute. He knows it. I know it. We all know it.'

  • ?

    community_signal: Pinside forum activity inversely correlated with game satisfaction: inactive threads = happy players, active threads = complaints; Evil Dead threads inactive = strong community approval

    high · Kaneda: 'Evil Dead thread doesn't pop up much on Pinside because everyone's loving it...That's really what Pinside is—where you go to hear complaints'

  • ?

    leak_detection: Knaps Arcade reported rumor that Barrels of Fun had secured Big Trouble in Little China license but subsequently lost it; Kaneda confirms via NDA that he's aware of unannounced Barrels of Fun titles but cannot discuss

    medium · Kaneda: 'I was just reading Knaps Arcade and he wrote a story about a rumor that these guys had my dream theme as a license, but they lost it...I signed an NDA to hear about a few titles'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Historical assessment: J-Pop excels as art director but lacks execution capability; American Pinball's decision to redesign Houdini over J-Pop/Matt Andrews artwork cited as catastrophic error reducing market appeal

    medium · Kaneda: 'Joe Bouscher could have just made Houdini work on top of the art direction that J-pop and Matt Andrews created and they would have sold five times as many Houdinis'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Kaneda expects Mark Seiden (Jersey Jack) will absorb Harry Potter feedback and adjust design philosophy for next release; also anticipates Steve Ritchie's next Jersey Jack game will incorporate learnings

    medium · Kaneda: 'I definitely think Mark Seiden has probably heard the feedback...I look forward to seeing the future of Jersey Jack...Steve Ritchie's next game'

    • 3:02
    You're gonna go to the river ramble with mama. Yeah.
    3:09
    Oh, let's do this top live chat. All right. Ah, I feel good now. I feel good. You know, Canad's back in the money. You know, we're going to talk about where you hear Cassian. You hear him. Where's Billy Brandice when you need him? Did you see that picture of Bill Brandice, by the way? Let me pull it up for you guys. Like, we've got to look at this picture. And someone should just go hit him up and be like, "Yo, canada's like sharing a photo of you." But like, this this photo is making me laugh like really hard. Hold on a second. U it re I actually can't stop laughing at it cuz I'm like cuz like All right. So, like the Oh my god. Uh, where is it? Like, all right. Like, let's let's look at this photo for a minute. So, so Billy, oh my god, Frankie. Frank D'Angelo with $100. I think this is the most anybody's ever super chated me. A hundred bucks. Brenda, call up the sushi place. We're getting some oonie tonight, baby. You see how my energy levels when we're busking. All right, Frank. Frank D'Angelo, one of my best friends. Frank, thank you so much, brother. Um, all right. So, like, why I love this photo, what makes this photo so damn funny is like Bill's like, "I haven't gone to bed. I've been Thank you. I've been playing I've been playing Potter all night long. I can't sleep." You know why he's playing all night long? Cuz look at what's behind Bill. Look to the right of his buttocks. You look at look at the Harry Potter rule sheet sitting on the glass of the Pirates of the Care. Of course, he can't go to sleep. He has no idea what he's doing. He has no idea what he's doing. This He has no idea what he's doing. This Taby's using I should turn your performance.
    5:15
    I mean, no idea what he's doing here. And talk about pins in front of windows. Can we talk about that? Glass doors. Are those windows? Um, but no, it's like I'm glad Bill's having a good time. The um the the the over the overarching consensus. Yeah, I'm on mode 95. I can't go to bed. mode 95 can't go to bed Billy B. Um the overall consensus and and this is just like I'm reading everybody's feedback. The the overarching consensus on Harry Potter is very positive. It it the reception has been positive. People are really enjoying the game play. I I really do think like as a overall the reason why it's fun. Thank you for guys. Thank you for all these by the way. The the generosity really is is is means a lot. Um Bill bought two Harry Potters, one for each of his homes. But the reason why people are having such a good time is like finally a beautiful Jersey Jack game that's amazing to shoot. I mean it it's just that simple. I still think the code is a is a slot machine casino mess. I do. Everything's on at the same time. I still don't like the code of Harry Potter, but like the code issues are not enough of an issue if you follow what I'm saying. Like because like there's a lot in there and it's all on at once and but but it has so much. So you don't you don't play Harry Potter and feel like you're playing a game that's not complete. You don't play it and feel like you're playing a game that's got a lot of work to be done. No, like you're actually it's the opposite. Like you're you're there's so much in it that you're kind of excited because you're like, "Oh my god, there's so much to explore. There's so much to do." And yes, that is probably the case. It's just baby, what is going on down there? Like I I like time, baby. I You know, I do my show at 10:00 a.m. It's like kid like kids. Daddy's trying to pay for college up here.
    7:32
    I I Are you hearing it? I'm literally trying to have a in in the I'm literally trying to have a in in the middle of a train of thought and it sounds like World War II down there.
    7:49
    There's a there's a lot in there. And I think, you know, that's why like I I here's the thing is like when when you buy a Harry Potter, you feel like you're getting your money's worth because it's Harry Potter. It's like all the assets like everything's there and like there is a sense of they're gonna balance it out better and it's easier to balance it out and work with what they've got than to like, you know, not have that, you know, than to not have like the assets. It's just that simple. All right, what we got here? Dexter Pinball is coming. You think so? I don't think so. They want to be live streamers. Mids Waka Waka, right? Yeah. Uh, sorry, I was just in live chat here. I was in I was in um super chat mode for something. I'm figuring this whole thing out. I do need a tutorial from Carrie Hardy on how to do these super chats. Um, you know, look, so I I think Potter, that's why people are like, "Yeah, man." Like, it's like they went and got a theme nobody thought they could get. They they've got everything in it. Now they need to just like, you know what I'm saying? Like this feels like you know when you you ever watch uh Hell's Kitchen and no I actually I mean Kitchen Nightmare. You ever see Kitchen Nightmare when Gordon Ramsay goes over to a restaurant and he looks at their menu and like he's like why are there 85 things on this menu? Like what are you doing? You're an Italian restaurant. Just serve them the 20 classics and you'll be much better. Your kitchen will be less stressed and everyone who dines here will have a better experience. That's Jersey Jack right now. They need their Gordon Ramsay to go over there and be like, "You're serving 96 dishes. You're got too much going on. You got eight things going on at the screen at once." That's like bringing a a a cons a customer eight dishes at once. Even though they might all be fun, eating eight things all at once isn't enjoyable. So what what and I I still don't understand why they don't understand this after all these years. Stop bringing so much out at once in a game. It's just not fun. It's not like I want to focus on quiddage. I want to feel like I'm in a game of Quidditch. You don't ever. I want to feel like, you know, I'm in this moment with the bus or Harry running at the train station going through the wall to get to Hogwarts flying car. Like, you don't like stuff's just happening. And Bill's playing for 48 hours straight. You can't stop Bill Brandis from playing 48 hours straight. Um, so look, but in the end, you know, you you want to get what you pay for, and Harry Potter is giving you more than most pins will ever give you. And I think that's why the response has been so positive. I think that's why people have ordered this game. And I think it's going to raise the bar for Jersey Jack. I think what really gets exciting to me is like Steve Richie's next game. It's going to get exciting. I I I definitely think um Mark Seiden has probably heard the feedback, needs to do a little bit more magic in his game next game. I um I look forward to seeing, you know, the future of Jersey Jack. I think Jersey Jack's going to be uh you know, their portfolio of games will be really divided. They'll have their early games that were loaded mechanically, a lot more mechanical issues, overbaked games, overly complex games. I think I I still don't think they've like nailed it yet. I I I think this game when it comes to theme integration and like like this game to me nails it the best then I think Elton John does and then I think I don't even think Harry Potter like like again just so much going on. I think that I I you know I just I I I really wish I could sit in on the creative meetings at Jersey Jack when Keith and and and Joe Catz start mapping out what their what their thoughts are. And I just don't know like who's pushing back on any of their ideas. I don't think anybody is. So I think that's an issue.
    12:42
    So, Retro Aussie said that Wizard of Oz is still the best pinball ever made. Um, the problem with Wizard of Oz is is the way it uh here's my issue with Wizard of Oz, it's stunning. It's loaded. It's theme integrated perfectly. I the biggest mistake in Wizard of Oz is even though it's a widebody, there's no flow at all in the game. Like none. And so all the shots are up the center and it's like a brickfest when you go left and right on the game. It's also a game, correct me if I'm wrong, there's only two flippers, right? I mean on the lower playfield. I I believe there's only two on the lower playfield. And there's the upper upper playfield flippers. The other issue with W that I just I I almost feel like this is the main reason I would never own a Wizard of Oz. There's a third flipper down there on the lower. Okay. Um I just hate the left outlane drain. There's no way to make it more narrow. That pin brutally brutally drains on the left out lane where the state fair and and it's like it's like they designed it to drain to get to that save save your ball modes. Just brutal. Yeah. I mean I could put a rubber band over the left out lane and then that would fix it. Um but W you know look was 6500 bucks. the wooden apron. So beautiful. You know, when Jack said this is going to be our worst game, he lied because it's still one of their best. All right, so should we talk about King Kong?
    14:43
    Uh Enzo and 904 Pinball Z. King Kong needs more love. And uh let's talk about why I think Kong is the wrong game at the wrong time for the wrong company. The problem with King Kong is Stern went cheap on it. Keith Elwin did his job,
    15:10
    but Stern went cheap on the game. The response to King Kong is not an indictment of Elwin's game as a as a pinball gameplay experience. The indictment on King Kong and the resistance to celebrate the game. A few things. It is the community pushing back against Stern being so cheap and not getting the King Kong license properly, not licensing any of the Kong movies, not licensing the Empire State Building, not even licensing the iconic imagery of Kong that is that has appeared through culture over the years. Then the next cheap move to slap on the same art package onto all three models. So cheap. Why is it rushed? Why did they rush the art package on King Kong that? So, what you're seeing now is a push back against a company that cut corners and the community saying, "Even though this might be a great game, we're tired of you cutting corners and we're not buying into your expensive game when you're going to cut corners like this. I don't care that it's an Elwin pin. I don't care that it shoots great. You cut corners. you now. And there's also mechanical issues with the game. And I'm sorry, but we remember what you gave us in Godzilla for $10,500. I'm not going to go run at a $13,000 unlicensed King Kong game or assetless King Kong game. It is licensed, but it's assetless. So, I think that is why you are seeing the community pretty universally like I don't care. Like I'll play one on location, I'll play one at a show, but you know,
    16:55
    it it doesn't matter how good the game is. I think people are over it. Kong's flailing right arm sent this. Um, look, I think the um I I just think it's uh it's it's a poor man's Godzilla. It's a poor man's Jaws even. I would much rather have Jaws 50th than any version of King Kong. I just would.
    17:29
    All right. So, Kanti Dinda said, "The biggest problem with King Kong is Harry Potter." Uh, you're you're right. You're absolutely right. You you're going to release an assetless King Kong for $13,000 with no topper. right? With the same art package and I can go for 15. I can get this Harry Potter CE with this really unique art package. There's, you know, I I mean, even though the topper sucks, at least they give you a topper. I I I I'm just not seeing the value. And when you see Harry Potter next to King Kong, Frank is here. Frank and Frank Frank and I remember Frank when we looked at Harry Potter CE next to a King Kong premium which is basically the same as a King Kong LE. It makes that King Kong look like a $6,000 game. Like it it the Kong is dull. It is boring. It isn't like glo it just it it looks cheap. Everything about it looks dated. Stern's inability to increase its platform to bring out Spike 3. Say what you will about Jersey Jack gameplay. This is a look at this cabinet. It's beautiful. Stern Sterns are are you know a Stern Li cost more than this. You can go get a Guns C now for like 10. Like maybe nine even, right? I think they're going for like nine now. Maybe eight. I don't even know. I don't care. I'm never getting rid of this. I think I think there's going to be a, you know, as more newbies come into the hobby and want to collect JJPs, these things are going to, you know, they're not going to keep moving forever.
    19:09
    Um, let's see. What do we got here? Anniversary Kong. No, they're not going to make an anniversary of King Kong. Uh, so the EU tariff is now 30% sinking Predator. Predator was never going to sell with with or without tariffs. Doesn't matter.
    19:28
    I don't know where Spike 3 is. I I think Stern's stalling. I think they're stalling. I I think they're stalling. I think they're going to I I'm assume it's going to be Star Wars. Uh and more and more people are telling me it's Star Wars episode four, five, and six. More and more people are telling me that in conjunction with it, there's also going to be another Star Wars homep with a Costco deal associated with it. Um, and if that's the case, like I'm buying. If John Borg makes Star Wars four, five, and six, and it's got actual fun stuff to shoot at, and uses magnets with force grabbing and Millennium Falcon and hyperdrives, and I I mean, I'm buying it. I'm buying it. I um I I love Star Wars. It's It's a bigger theme than Harry Potter. John Borg already made Star Wars 45 and 456. Well, he's going to make it again.
    20:33
    He made the Data East one. I wasn't even aware of that. I I I'm pretty good on my pinball history. He He made the Data East 456 Star Wars because I thought Steve Richie made it. Did John Borg make the original one back in the day?
    20:55
    Space Balls 2. Okay, he did make the original. All right, let's talk a little bit about Barrels of Fun because I was just reading Knaps Arcade and and he was wrote a story about a rumor that the these guys had my dream theme as a license, but they lost it. uh that that Barrels of Fun had big trouble in Little China. I I mean, I don't know these rumors and you know, you know me, I signed an NDA to hear about a few titles. I can't talk about the titles they told me. Um obviously I love the big trouble theme. I've been a I've been advocating for Big Trouble in Little China game forever. Um so they're not going to make it. So I, you know, like losing a theme happens. I mean, it it's happened to other companies. I just I think um I think Dune is um I you know I keep saying it on my shows. I I think it's a it's a race for them. The their the problem they're going to have is is distribution and exposure. So the more people get exposed to this game physically, the more likely they are to get more orders. The problem is is it it's it's hard for them to get in front of a a large volume of people with this game. Uh I know I know the Electric Bat Arcade had some issues with their Dune and they sent it back. Like they had that many mechanical issues with the game. Uh Kale had to send it back. Um I'm I'm not hearing nearly as many, you know, I mean locations are are are putting a lot of plays on. Uh, I I just I just worry still like I just worry that that theme will always be a a big Achilles heel and
    22:58
    and and and it's another one of these examples where I just wish I was in the boardroom when they were deciding where to invest their money and time and effort and I just would have been a vote against this theme. I don't think it's a great theme for the pinball buying demographic. I think they've done a great job with it, but as I say, it's like it's like making a really delicious eggplant dish. It it you Some people like it, but most prefer other things. Some people are going to like Dune, but most of the pinball buying demo at these prices is not um you know is not attracted to this. There's more nostalgia and attraction to Evil Dead 1 and 2 than even this for the for the demo that's buying these games. So I I think David Vaness and the team over there, you know, they they took a big risk. They they went and made a really beautiful pin and they went and got all the assets. Um, but the market will do what the market does. And the fact that this game didn't sell out, still not sold out. I don't know how many they've sold. Uh, you know, they're just trickling out. They they they're not going out in large. It's it's it's a race. they're in a race against their own uh monthly fixed cost versus, you know, because remember like if you're not getting a consistent good number of games out a week, it's expensive to to have these manufacturing pinball companies uh keeping the lights on, paying all those employees. It's it's not cheap. So, I wish them the best. I just think um you know I think they they just need to make better decisions and and I mean that and I' I've said that to David. I'll say it to you guys. I I I don't say it maliciously. I say it because there is not any room anymore for for error when it comes to getting the theme wrong. Uh I don't think anyone should be getting themes wrong. Now it's not just theme selection, right? We've seen we're seeing this with Predator. I know. I saw Brenda behind me, too. We saw this with Predator. Um, I should get Brenda to come say hi. She looks so nice in her in her summer dress.
    25:32
    Babe, I don't Um, Brenda, I'm I'm a little confused why no one's like everyone's still downstairs banging on the bongos. Like, is it was this part of the plan?
    25:44
    Really? Okay. Can you come say hi to everybody? They would love to they would love to they would love to congratulate you on Katie Taylor's victorious third match with Amanda victorious third match with Amanda Serrano. Katie Taylor won that fight. I don't think she won the last one, but this one. Come say hi. Come. Yeah. Come blow a kiss to They're giving money. They're like you look at this, Brenda. I mean, I don't want to say it, but I tell my I tell Bren all the time only fans and this house is paid for. Don't you don't have to take your clothes off. You could just say something sexy and Irish and people will pay. Um I know. I know. Trying to get trying Um I know. I know. Trying to get trying to get it, you know, work for the cause.
    26:31
    Um yeah, but like you make Predator and you got Predator with no Arnold and it's dead on arrival. Like so you got a theme that was perfect.
    26:43
    Oh, retro Aussie. We're glad you're here. We're glad you're here. I um I saw Superman yesterday. I haven't talked about it yet. And I walked out of the theater. I want to go see it again. I kind of maybe was not in the right mindset to see it. The um the 3D was terrible on the screen I saw it on. Like there was something weird going on with the 3D where because there's so much white and the way they shot the movie so bright that I just kept seeing this like almost like foggess over this over like the screen that was just so distracting. But here is my overall take. I think Superman was like trying to be Guardians of the Galaxy. the idea like there was too many characters, paper thin character development, paper thin storyline. I It just felt like a stupid movie. Like it was like just like a dumbed down version of Superman. And it just didn't have like heart and soul. And I I don't know. I I just miss like Man of Steel. I missed the Christopher Ree Superman. I just the way the way he told the story even just from the very gets like like what why are we just getting dropped in in some overly rushed overly complex like no like I want to see that baby wrapped up in krypton you know and parents struggling to get him out before the planet is destroyed you know I want to see I just felt like it the whole thing was just I don't know like like it's like it's like it's it what made me sad is like the whole movie just felt like all right so he's just making this movie assuming that everybody watching it has seen the other Superman movies and doesn't want to retread the same territory which I felt bad because I'm like I just felt like this is what sucks is like kids now like if this if you're a kid and this is your Superman movie I feel bad.
    28:48
    Yeah, the whole thing felt rushed. I just felt the whole thing was just rushed.
    29:07
    I mean, for for those guys that loved it, like what like what did you love about it? I mean, again, I w I I walked out with maybe an hour left to go in it. So, like it was it the last hour where it all comes together?
    29:27
    I don't know. I'll go see it again. I I I I don't know. I just really was expecting it to to to hit with more impact than it did. and and and it just al it also just felt like it it felt like the costumes were so cheap. It it felt like I saw like like these people were just cosplay characters at Comic-Con. Like that's how cheap the costumes all looked. Like everything from the leather jackets to the masks they had on. I was like this I've seen better superhero costumes at Comic-Con than I am in this like movie.
    30:10
    I don't I don't think the uh the the whole woke go woke go broke is accurate on this movie at all. I think the issue was is that the director did interviews and and made it about that. But you know like it is funny that Superman you know they made this movie like a year ago. Superman gets arrested for being an illegal immigrant and gets, you know, sent to jail without due process. It's like, wow. Could it couldn't have picked a worse time to then go around, you know, parading him as as that. Oh, there hasn't been a good Jurassic Park movie since like Jurassic Park.
    30:59
    I don't know what you hear's crying now. I don't know. I I thought I thought I'd have the house up here. I I normally do this in the garage. I thought I thought the area would I don't I sorry gang. I I appreciate you putting up with it. I just thought the whole thing like with like these interdimensional portals and like you know Lex Luthther like watching a fight with Superman up in his tower like it was a like an ESPN booth. Like the whole thing was just stupid. Like what is this? This is so dumb. Like it's so dumb. I I I don't know. I I I think you know it's like it's like when the last few Transformer movies came out and they were horrible and then I go in Rotten Tomatoes the audience score is like 95 and I'm like okay I guess I guess what people accept as good movies now is just beyond me.
    31:55
    Jurassic Park 3 was that Jurassic World the first one? Look, some of you guys some of you guys like every pinball machine, so I'm not surprised. You know, you just want to have fun.
    32:23
    Superman dies. No. Um, all right. So, let's get back to pinball. So, we've got King Kong sort of not really making much waves. Kong Kong people love it. Harry Potter. People love it. Predator is dead on arrival. Let's just really quickly go through the hobby. Cuphead supposedly coming out this month with full code. No one's going to buy it. Christopher Franches Beetlejuice or Gremlins will come out in December and sell out on in in one one minute. He knows it. I know it. We all know it. I already I already ordered it. I don't even know what the theme is. I already ordered it. Bug and Luke already got me hooked up. It's nice when you know the mayor. You know, when you know the mayor, you don't need to know the cops. So, I like Luke, I want one. All right. Evil Dead is Evil Dead. Evil Dead thread doesn't pop up much on Pinside because everyone's loving it. I mean, that's really what Pinsside is. It's like where you go to hear complaints and then, you know, when people are loving their games, the pinside thread is inactive.
    33:36
    Where where is where is the Merlin version of Medieval Madness? Does anyone like did any of you guys order that game? Didn't they sell like 1,000 or 1,200 of them? Something crazy like that.
    33:54
    Evil Dead. Yeah. If the game plays well, get it. I don't care about the theme. See, that's just like weird to me. I mean, I I guess what's weird to me is like so audio audio enslaved to say you don't care about the theme like for for me that's like that would be how I would play a game on location. I'll play everything on location regardless of theme. But to buy a pin, to own it, you don't care about the theme. when you when you buy something.
    34:36
    You were told end of April and Medieval Madness. Um I I you look I think um Chicago Gaming Company is is is terrible. I I don't like what they do. I don't like how they they don't communicate.
    35:00
    Let's talk about Dutch Pinball right now. I'll make you a bet. I'll make you a bet that Raza will be out next instead of Back to the Future. I I 100% think Raza comes out first. I don't think we're going to see Back to the Future until October of 2026.
    35:31
    There won't be as many Rozes made as Alice's. That is 100% confirmed.
    35:40
    Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is um is beautiful. It is what it is. And I think people are It is what it is. And I think people are enjoying the simplicity of the pin. I mean it. I I've been very honest about
    35:55
    Oh my god, Brenda. Like, seriously, Brenda. Seriously, this has been the longest exit. Isn't it like almost 11 already? You're late. It's 10:52. Oh my god. Put a Put a dodo in that baby's mouth.
    36:13
    The garage. Who calls it a garage? It's a garage. Now she's going to be mad at me all day. You ever do you ever like piss off your wife at like 11:00 a.m. and like and then all day like you just get like the cold shoulder all day. All day because I didn't do my show in the garage.
    36:46
    Um all right. So, the the thing is this. For some weird reason, there there's been a um obsession with J-pop. I I I I got bit by the J-pop lore. It's easy. It's easy to get bit by it when you see the Zombie Eddie artwork and the Matt Andrews artwork and all the, you know, the loadedness of the Magic Girl game. Like, it really is like, wow. Wow. And then you like then you realize, man, this this is garbage. Um, but what's weird to me is that certain individuals, Melvin is one of them, Chris Turner is another, Robert Mueller was another. The only one who's coming out of this in a successful fashion will be Melvin because Melvin did the smart thing. Chris Turner tried to follow in his pathway. Why? Why do you think Chris Turner offered 500 Merlin's arcades? Because he saw Melvin sell 500 Alicees. But you know, Melvin Melvin had the art. He had the, you know, he had a better overall looking game.
    38:07
    The thing about all these J-pop games from just a pure pinball standpoint, they're all terrible. Everybody knows it. Like everybody knows it. J-pop was a hack. He is an art director. He has wacky ideas, but he needed the team at Bali Williams to create what made people love about him. Do you think John Papa invented the theater of magic trunk or the shooting stars or the disappearing magnet genie? Do you think he actually he himself did any of that work? No. Nothing. When he went to go make his magic happen, he couldn't execute anything. Okay? So, he is a little bit of a hack. And I've said this before, I think the Bali Williams engineers made a lot of those Ballet Williams designers into rock stars that they, you know, they they they got a lot more credit than they really deserved because of how good the Bali Williams team was, you know. And look, and John, but he's a great art director. The one thing John does so well is he makes a game beautiful. He understands how to stand over a game and make it look stunning. The biggest boneheaded mistake ever was, and I I I always say this, was American Pinball when they had a J-pop Matt Andrews art directed Houdini. They let Joe Baler and Josh Cougler d like like redo Houdini and make it 10 times uglier. Like like literally Joe Bosser could have just made Houdini work on top of the art direction that J-pop and Matt Andrews created and they would have sold five times as many Houdinis and it would have been stunning and it would have been way more fun to own it. Instead, they made this dark ugly steampunk version of Houdini that sucks compared to what J-pop art directed. So, and I and look, I believe this about people. Everyone's good at something. J-pop's really good at art direction and they shelved his art direction and they owned they own the rights to all that art. Stupid. Um, but for some reason for some reason Melvin all these they they bought all of John's decadel long meandering like that's what they bought. Now, the reason why Melbourne was smart, few things. He made Alice a working game in a year and he made it a commercially viable product and it is now out in the market. Say what you will about the game play or the code, it doesn't matter. The game exists. He saved Dutch Pinball with that game. Okay. He also now is putting Raza into the Dutch Pinball platform. Raza, think about it. All the money Robert Mueller spent and Steve Bowen, all all this all the money that went into Raza. He has it all. Doesn't have to code the games fully coded. He's not going to use the pin bar. It's not going to have that stupid pin bar on the apron, you know, the lockdown bar screen. Remember that stupid thing? It's not going to have that. But Raza is coming out and it's going to be it's gonna he's going to sell them all. He's not going to make 500. He never wanted to make 500 Alice's. Okay. Melbourne's awesome, dude. By the way, like I've met a lot of people in this hobby and I and I can say this. I think I've met one of my best friends in pinball in Melvin and he's just a cool dude. He gets it. He gets it. He He's a guy who gets stuff done, you know. Now, the guy who doesn't get stuff done as good as Melvin is Barry. Barry takes longer to get stuff done. Like, it's taking a while to get these games out. Um, so like Raza will most likely follow Alice. If Alice doesn't end up making all 500, it's it's no skin off his back. Um, and so like I think we're going to see Alice, Raza, and then Back to the Future in that order. I think we're going to see some pinball companies fold over the next two years. and and and these are companies are I think they're just going to fold because it's just not going to make much sense. Like I I think the Pinball brothers are in trouble. Obviously American Pinball, if they're not if they haven't folded already, I think Cuphead is the last game they're ever going to make. I think home pin gone. I think um Turner Pinball's in big trouble. I do. I I Chris I mean you know you know me man personally like nothing but respect for you man but it's just this I I don't again the reason why like I if these companies had to survive based on their pinball decisions they wouldn't survive. I don't know what people's ancillary incomes are or if they have other annuities that are fronting these operate. You know I don't know like I tell people this all the time. I'm like Chris Turner's greatgranddad could have been an oil tycoon. I don't know, right? I don't know. I don't know anything about anybody like financially what can float them. Amtron could float American Pinball forever if they wanted to. I just don't think Mukesh cares anymore. I think he's out of it. Um, you know, Brett Abbis and the Abbis family can float JJP forever. There's no jeopardy of closing the doors here. So, but as I've said to, as I say all the time, it's not about money for a lot of these companies. Like, you need to be chasing legacy. You need to be chasing great games. Chris Turner Vanderbilt. I don't know. I mean, I thought Chris Turner's company was like a snack delivery company. Like, he delivered the snacks to Deeproot and that's how he connected with Robert Mueller.
    44:28
    I'm sure Robert was his best customer because he was using stolen money to fund all of Deeproot Pinball's operations.
    44:39
    Did you follow up about Marty Robbins appearing on the podcast last week? Well, um, we talked about it. I don't know what what what what what followup should I be doing? I don't know what followup means. Um, I think Marty Robbins can do what he wants. I I I don't think he's going to be embraced or accepted by most of the pinball community. Um, and I think he's lost all credibility. And I I also just think Jeff Tiololis has also lost a lot of credibility because Jeff has always allowed his platform to be a place where some of these people can come on and and and again hook people and then take no accountability when these companies go belly up like none. Steve Bowen did it with Deeproot. Marty Robbins did it with Haggus. And I get it, but now like there's it's almost like there's no consequences. And and again with Marty, I always felt like he was always like like it was slimy of him to do shows in the middle of like so many people wondering what's going on with Haggus and he would like refuse to talk about the company. It's like Marty, you're like the number two guy over there and you're going to go on and just pretend like your house is not on fire and you should just be and and it's not just it's that I'll tell you this and then again I don't know the guy personally but the thing I never liked is how smug and how much he was always laughing hysterically all every week while his own customers were suffering. And and I and I think he's smug and I think he just doesn't, you know, he only cares about Marty really. Like I I mean that like and I get some of you might know him and you might know a different Marty. I'm allowed to have my opinions about Marty. It is what it is. Sent you something you can use on your live shows. Thank you, Mr. Franchie. I'm glad you're hanging out here, brother. Um,
    46:55
    well, you know, look, I don't even think like that podcast is is final round. Is that even still a thing? Like TPN's not even around anymore. So like I again like I think the people that have stayed in it and have committed and have put in the hard work, they still have the audiences. And I'm, you know, I'm happy to see Franchie where he's landed. He knows he and you know Frenchie knows I I've always felt this way. He he created the best produced pinball podcast ever. Um ever. I I I I know exactly what went into making that show and it it it is uh it is an incredible amount of work for very little return. Um, but I think in the end I I I think um Marty should really be asking for an apology and I think he should be working with some of those customers to get their money back somehow. Unfortunately, Damian set up an LLC and he'll just walk away. He'll walk away without any consequences. I mean, do I still think Damian was the number one culprit yet? I think for some of you out there, you have to remember when I was going hard at Haggus Pinball, you know, there's another example where like Canad's the bad guy. He's not He's not I Nobody else was going hard at them like I was. He was lying to his customers, lying, lying, lying. And it was another example. And this is why Canad Pinball Podcast will always have a following. I think I'll always have a lot of respect from the community, even if people won't publicly say it on like Facebook pages, because nobody else was looking out for the community. Nobody. Go show me where the shows were where there was outrage when they were faking their production video with Marty's shoes in the corner. Like, it was so clear. They were like manipulating and lying about how how far along they were with production, how things were going. They were robbing Peter to pay Paul. And the biggest gang, again, you have to remember there's like a lot of revisionist history in this hobby. Look at everybody who helped shill centaur when they knew the Fathom House was on fire. Carrie Arty, Carrie, I love you, but man, come on, man. Like, you know, you remember what Carrie did? Zach was the exclusive dealer. Again, these these were like very they these people knew all too well what the like they've seen this Rob Peter to pay Paul before. They've seen it multiple times and still there was a lot of support for that centaur launch and you got to go back and watch it. There's a lot of money on the line and when and again I'm just I I I hate to go back to this stuff because I think everybody's moved on like I've moved on with Zach and Car like no one's there's no bad blood but but but Damian turned people into like his um you know they they people I don't think they willingly knew knowingly but they should have known a little bit better is my point right he was a crook and some people got in bed I don't again I I don't think people maliciously got in bed with Damian. But when I was when I was like like raising the alarm bells or ringing the alarm bells, that's when I started to get like threats like legal threats and people threatening me like because people were writing checks to Damian and they and they were coming at me like like I was the one that was trying to hurt their investment and all of it's gone now. It's all of it is is is water water under the bridge. All right. I haven't had any any issues or drama or bad bad vibes with anybody. Not, you know, other than Don like he's and and then Retro Ralph. There's only two guys right now in the entire content space right now that refuse to talk to me. Well, maybe Marty Robbins, too, but it's right now it's just Dawn and it's Retro Ralph for some reason. Ralph has taken his ball and gone home. I don't get it. I don't get it. Like, we had a fun chain going with Jamie and Kale. I don't get it. But again, I I love it. I love it when people like just want to like, you know, pretend like Canada don't exist. It's cool. But yeah, I've had nothing but good correspondence with Zach, with Greg, with Orbiter. Albert is back as a club member. He cancelled and he said he would rejoin and he did. And Albert, I want to thank you for coming back to the show.
    51:53
    Um, let's see. The the thing is gang is there they're there when you look at some of the like the the it's a really you know when people ask me like what do you talk about on a pinball podcast and can you when you think about it we like pinball right we love pinball all right that's the foundation but now what makes pinball podcasting and this show interesting is simply this we also are part of a hobby where there's there's liars there's crooks There's thieves, right? There's there's artistic geniuses. There's creative like there's creativity. There's mechanical magic. There's baron like mailed in corner cutting happen. Like it's this hobby is a is a microcosm of like all of these really interesting human like behaviors that are fascinating to us. Like crimes have been committed. Crimes there there are literally like crimes like that that that are worthy of a TV show. Robert Mueller stole $61 million to fund a pinball venture and couldn't get a single game out. Robert Mueller went up on stage. There's another cword I'm going to use. He went up on stage at TPF with his funky bunch and insulted Stern Pinball and said he was going to make more games in one year than Stern has like, you know, has ever made or some something crazy like that than all the other pinball manufacturers combined. He was going to make more games in one year than all of them. And you know what the crowd did? Nothing. So, not only do we have crooks, we have another thing in this hobby. Cowards. Cowards.
    53:52
    I had to be the first one at TPF when Mirro got up there and wanted to sell us a Todden 2.0 kit while his playfields on Guns and Roses were falling apart. There were other content creators in the room. There were other people in the room. There there were some of the pinside loud mouse cowards. They said nothing. Go watch the video. who stood up and said, "How dare you come here?" and and and refused to answer questions about your playfields falling apart.
    54:27
    Cowards. Now, if there's something I'm not I'm not a coward. I will say stuff. I should have been a lawyer. I should not have been in PR. I should have been a lawyer. So, like, you know, it everyone a lot of tough talk on Pinside. You know, you know, a lot of those tough guys on Pinite when you see them at shows, you they you'll realize why they they don't say anything in in a seminar room and you realize real quick like who's the keyboard commando? They would they could never do this. Like they could most of them could never do what I do or Carrie does or Zach does or Franch like they could never they could never like or like Bug or Luke. They could never grab a mic, let you see them and be transparent about who they are and then say the stuff they want to say. Now, I in doing this for 12 years, I I know the lion gang. Like, you know, I'm not trying to go to war against pinball companies, but when there was clearly like criminal behavior happening and lying, lying, it was it was crazy how nobody was saying anything. Walt would look, Walt's funny, man. He's entertaining. He is. I mean, he always feels like, you know, I know he's he looks like he's doing it. I don't know if that's like his apartment or just and he he I I don't curse it. It's it's it's easy to like be even more entertaining just flying off the handle. Uh I I've said two things I don't do. I don't curse and I don't use the Lord's name in vain because because people's kids listen to the show.
    56:02
    Like I I don't think Ralph is a a Johnny come lately. I I I think I think he's like
    56:12
    I think he respects his relationships with the manufacturers and he and he values that and it's fine like that absolutely that comes with a price. It comes with a price. Like when you when you if you're trying to create content, but he look he he's he's also benefiting from that relationship. You you know, he's benefiting. They paid him in a pinball machine. That's a lot of money. Like, but you know, he did a service for them as well. I I I think I don't think he should not have been paid and I think he's been transparent about it, which is good. I I I absolutely applaud when when content creators who are paid by a manufactur like you just got to be transparent. There were content creators I won't name names who were getting kickbacks from distros for games sold. So they're like reviewing games like seemingly objectively knowing that if if they sent leads to dros they were getting money that that Yeah. the the is that not an unethical move? You could argue that ultimately I think the over overwhelming feeling is there is no real journalism in pinball. There's not nobody can be like a like a true pinball like you know investigative journalist. It doesn't make any sense. Like it's not that kind of space. Um, I think Jason Knap's page is is the best pinball website and I think he um he's on top of it every week. It's great. It's awesome. Um,
    58:01
    I let you guys like um and I think that our boxing company tried killing the spooky crew yesterday. Golf outing with open bar. Wow. Open bar, man. You know, Bug, I You know what's crazy? I know sometimes people get upset when I talk about life and not just pinball, but I want I want to explain the difference I've known in um when I was like in my 20s in my career and you I've been working in marketing and PR and we always had events and you know whenever you go to like an event it was like open bar like you're you know you're not going to invite media and they pay for drinks. We would run like run to open bar moments and just get wasted like like we're in our 20 like at you know at client events like yeah we were like lowlevel employees like but we'd also like you know we'd be respectful but we'd also when it was like last call we'd all everyone would go to the bar and load up on the Bud Lights and put them all on the table and and just like have like 28 Bud Lights sitting on a table because the open bar was about to close at like 10 o'clock at And you know, the whole thing was like enjoy it. Now it's like nobody young. Like they they don't even like they don't even want to go to the happy hour. They don't even want to go to the happy hour. You invite people to happy hour now, they look at you like, "What? Why do you want me to go to that? You creepy old man." It's funny to me. When I was young in my career, it was like if your boss or someone senior in your organization like thought highly of you enough to invite you out socially to build a stronger relationship with you, you said yes. Even if you had like other plans, you oh no, I got to I got to go out with like nowadays it's the opposite. And I can't tell you how many times I'm trying to build relationships with new team members, new employees, you know, and I'm take them to my Japanese Jazz Bar and they say no. And and I'll tell you what I've what I've stopped doing. I've stopped inviting them again. Like if I if if if I'm going to extend the olive branch, like I I've been in this company, you know, I'm trying hard. If if if relationships work both ways, but they don't want to go. They don't want to go. Some do. Some do. And believe me, and the ones that do, the relationships make the work better. It's how it should be.
    60:51
    Look, ultimately I just want you to go do a good job. You don't have to come drink with me. And I look, I don't even think everyone should drink. I mean, it's it's not the best thing, man. I mean, I I'll tell you what I struggle with, gang. Living in the suburbs. Uh I feel like there's more alcohol consumption happening in suburban life than even in city life because you have more you have more environments to drink. You know what I'm saying? like like I didn't have a backyard, a barbecue and a you know a chill lawn chair to sit back in and just pound you know drinks all day long. Now I do and I can walk to like beautiful restaurants and like everyone's just you know and you're in these towns where people are successful and everyone's everyone's like enjoying life and a lot of that and I I was saying this to Brenda last night. I was like I was like we got to just like we got to ratchet it back and for a couple reasons. Like a just physically it's not good. Like I don't like feeling bad the next day. I like having drinks when it's a like it's an occasion worth having, you know, a moment that matters. That's different. You know, like it's a Friday happy hour or a Saturday date night. We also have like really young kids and and you know, it's not lost on me that I I didn't have kids in my 20s. I had kids in my 40s. So while I might be amongst similarly aged people, their kids might be in college or getting out of college and I have a oneyear-old and a four-year-old. So it's like I I I want to be present with them and you need to. It's like it's not even a question of like if I want to be present, you have to be. Last night was a rough night with the kids. Like Cassine was up. He's had some fluid in his ears, so they had to do a little procedure where they had to put some tubes in both of his ears just to drain the fluid. But, you know, it's a baby, so he's feeling that sensation and it's keeping him up. And the healing process has him, you know, has him like waking up throughout the night. So, it's it's hard. Oh, I'm reading some of your like All right. Like,
    63:12
    I'm giving away the main box panels as a raffle. You know, the whole notion of like men are soft now.
    63:22
    I don't know. I mean, I don't think all men are soft now. I think um you know in the end the um the the the I know this is off pinball but the the movement to remove like masculinity from culture failed like it they they tried like it it it it was pushed down from the top down by social elites to remove masculinity to remove masculine men from culture and from like being able to be a bro, if you will. The it it failed horribly. If you look at the woke movement, um only I I I like looking at data. Only 8% of Americans were in favor of like the woke movement that really was like 2020 it all began. 8% 8%. So like 92% of people just didn't agree that culture should be pushing this way. and it and it's failed and now we're going, you know, we're overcorrecting and we're going back to a more authoritarian sort of vibe, which again I don't think is the answer either. But man, I was just thinking like like people just weren't so offended like they are now. And I don't even think people are offended. That's the thing is like it's like it's people telling you to be offended. The number one thing, and and I know I go off on this sometimes, the number one thing protect your kids against. Protect them. If you have young kids, Gen Z kids, if they have friends, they're not victims. They're not. This notion that like everybody's a victim and should feel bad and should feel guilty and should feel empowered to fight the system because you've been victimized by the system. Let me tell you, no, you're not a victim. Nobody cares. And you're going to ruin your own happiness in life. And it's just the way it is. And you're not going to topple systems. You're not. Okay? It's just the way it is. So, like, learn how to win at the game of life. You got to be strong. You got to have some grit. You got to take rejection. Not everybody should get an award. You're You know what I'm saying? You're going to maybe you're going to get fired a few times. I've been fired three times. I might be fired more. It's like life hits you. Like curveballs happen. Like you're not special. Nobody cares. Like figure out a way to make value. If AI comes out in the world, don't complain about it. Find a way to have a job where like you can use AI to your advantage. I'll tell you a quick story. I have a nice co-orker. She was working in our tech practice. Very low-level job, mid-level job. She then realized like, well, with AI, I could help college students, potential college students, create their resumes using AI. She quits her job where I'm at, starts a company that helps tailor people's resumes to the schools they're applying for using AI, creates a subscription-based company where they charge like 5 to 10,000 10 bucks a subscription. Like, yeah, tiny little amount like Canad gets a 100,000 subscribers. 100,000. I've got 660 on Canadas Pinball Podcast. So, like I know I I should just have AI make my podcast be like, "AI make me a podcast where it's Canada, Don, and Retro Ralph sitting around a table agreeing with each other." I guess maybe it could do that. We could charge for that, right?
    67:11
    Have you picked a favorite Connecticut pizza place yet? I love Rico's, man. The Rico's hot oil. I mean, it's local to me, but it's I love it.
    67:26
    Um, yeah. No, it's the sun's starting to come out. I'm going to go join the family right now in in five minutes. I just want to say this, gang, like I I I really do appreciate you guys coming here every Saturday. I know we do things a little bit differently. I know I don't play as much pinball as other people. I I I think we talk about the hobby though in a in a much more balanced sense because it's you know what I'm saying like this thing is just 10% of our lives. I I'm more fascinated and I'm I'm I'm more excited when I see there were two guys fighting on my Patreon last night. Two two dudes, right? Two bros like Frank, my one of my one of my best friends, Frank D'Angelo fighting with Bond. And if you've ever been on the Canada Patreon chat, you know Bond is like one of the most prolific members of my community. He he's got a grind to pick with JJP over some bad experiences he had with the company. And they were like they were going at it like I I didn't even see everything and it got to the point where it was like go f yourself. Like I'm like and like Frank the most even killed dude I know is like cursing out Bond. And then you know what happened next? They decided to have a phone call with each other and they had an amazing phone call and Frank's like, "Bon's a really awesome guy." You know, he's like, "He's real." Like, "Of course he's real." You know what my show does and my platform does? It just I I always say this it allows people to vent and you get to vent about pinball and because there's so many other areas of your life that you're not able to vent around, right? You can't go vent to your boss or your wife or your kids or your community the way you can on Canadians pinball podcast. So what happens is is all that pent up aggression gets channeled through the pinball conversation and all of a sudden we're talking about pinball as if we're talking about the Gaza Strip, right? Like like we are like like like Jersey Jack is like Netany and Yahoo, right? I mean, it's like literally like people like come at it with like that amount of intensity and it's like inane that that happens, but it happens. And I'm I'm happy that these guys just had a good conversation because I I I 100% believe this. I think almost everybody in this hobby is a good guy. And I mean that. John, Ralph, like Zack, Franchie, Albert, like I've been to so many pinball shows. There aren't really a-holes. There aren't. You know, Neil McCrae, McCrae, Bill Brandis, like I know all these guys like Doug Mo Jr. Iceman. I know. Look, everyone, Greg Colton. I I get that there's different strokes, different beliefs, but in the end, all these dudes over a beer or I don't know, some vegan tacos if they don't, you know? So, like I they're all going to find common ground and and I think it's great. I think it's great. And I I I think it's even but it's entertaining watching these grown men lose it over pinball. Fall in love over something that's a pinball machine. Be disappointed about a product that's a pinball machine. So it's fun. It's fun. And and look, I know it's a summer time, so I do implore each and every one of you get out there. Take care of your bodies, too. I got a really nice message. His name escapes me right now. Let me um let me pull up. And he just said like, you know, Chris, I want to thank you for always encouraging us to take care of our of our bodies and not just pinball. And I I've started working out. I've started doing taekwond do. Um and it really, you know, is is changing my life for the better. And I think that's great. And I think people um it's Gary Gary. Gary, thank you for sending that note. And I I mean that like I mean I was at the gym for 40 minutes before doing this show. I've been riding my bike more. I I just think take care of yourselves. I mean that. Take care of yourselves. Don't drink as much as as you get older. Like don't like don't what what you put into your body. It does matter. Don't buy every pinball machine that comes out. Yeah. I know you're not. I know you're not. I know you're not. Wait for Franchie and Spooky's next game. I want number I want the last one. 888. Are we going back to 888?
    72:24
    Bond is a sellout. Um everyway everyway everybody, thank you for all the super chats. I really do appreciate it. I want to give a big shout out to all of my my people here. Um I'm trying to think. I think I can see who's Let's see. I want to thank Enzo for your 30 bucks. Boom. Eric for your $2. Pete Rosen for your 50 bucks. I'm going to do this at the end of everyone. I'm going to give you guys big shoutouts. Pete Rosen for your $50. Manuel 49 bucks. Sad boy kept giving money. $ five dollar $ five dollar $2, guys. Thank you so much. I really do appreciate it. I really do. I mean, it it's like we're gonna keep it here on YouTube. We figured out how to do we figured out how to do the um the super chats, the monetization. It's always fun. You know me. I I I've been shamelessly busking for pinball dollars since day one. Should have got into finance. I should have been a solicitor. I should have been a lobbyist instead of I'm a pinball podcaster. But I love this and I mean this from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for continuing to give me an outlet and an audience uh for me to do this. I I spend 95% of my day asking people permission to do what I want to do creatively. the 5% of my day where you allow me to create whatever I want whenever I want and say whatever I want. It it actually heals me in a way and makes me content that makes the other 95% bearable. And I mean that. And I think everybody needs a creative outlet. I think everybody needs a hobby. I think everybody needs random friends around the world like we are that are that are connected over a common theme. All right. Don and Ralph, come on. It's time to bury the hatchet. If you guys know them, be like, "Come on. We should just all do a round table. We've all made all the jokes about each other. I wear pearls. He has an above ground pool." You know, and I got some pearls on right now. Who cares? We're all weirdos. You know, Ralph loves every game. You could put home pins Blues Brothers in front of them. Be like, "It's the best game ever." It's the best game ever. Canadia doesn't play. It's the best game ever. Come on. We're all just taking the piss out of each other. But life's too short. We're all going to die. All right, everybody. Be good. Be good. I'm ending the stream.