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Friday patreon exclusive

Don's Pinball Podcast (patreon feed)·podcast_episode·14m 17s·analyzed·Jun 3, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.026

TL;DR

Don speculates on Foo Fighters accessories and reviews third-party pinball mods and pricing strategy.

Summary

Don discusses his Foo Fighters Premium pinball machine and upcoming accessories, including speculation about light-up shooter rods and topper design based on clues from his delivered machine. He also reviews third-party mods and accessories from creators like Hans (The Games People) and Andrew (Pinball Adventures), analyzes pricing strategy for Space Hunt versus competitors like Iron Maiden Pro, and reflects on the pinball market dynamics across regions.

Key Claims

  • Foo Fighters shooter rod will feature translucent light-up design similar to Stranger Things and Rush

    medium confidence · Don observed that his Foo Fighters Premium shipped with a shooter plate with holes, suggesting light-up rod design in production

  • Godzilla topper has sold out first allotment and distributor reports no returns or store credit requests

    high confidence · Don spoke with distributor Jeff and Matt Pinball who confirmed sellout and strong demand

  • Foo Fighters topper will be based on fictional toy playset shown in cabinet art

    low confidence · Don's prediction based on graphic design analysis of Foo Fighters cabinet side art

  • Space Hunt pricing ($9,500 base) creates value mismatch in US market versus Iron Maiden Pro ($6,700)

    high confidence · Don directly compared current pricing of available machines

  • Iron Maiden Pro costs approximately 12,000 euros in Europe versus US $6,700

    medium confidence · Don estimates European pricing with added VAT, import duties, and distributor markup

Notable Quotes

  • “So I think we're gonna see like, like Andy's room, man, like the toys are all set up and just chilling up there waiting to be played with.”

    Don@ 2:56 — Don's prediction of Foo Fighters topper design concept based on cabinet art analysis

  • “I'm not looking to flip the dang thing. I'll probably end up keeping it and put it on there, and then I'll have a whole line of official Stern toppers.”

    Don @ ~7:30 — Shows collector mindset toward official Stern toppers and secondary market confidence

  • “For $6,900 or spend extra $3,000 for Space Hunt with the green tampon, I'm sorry. Space Hunt looks fun. I would like to play it. But there's a huge value mismatch for us in the United States.”

    Don@ 12:07 — Direct market criticism of Space Hunt pricing relative to competitor offerings in US market

  • “If I was starting a pinball company, I think I would try to not really necessarily be a loss leader, but just something to get out there. Something with a limited run, about 100 or 120 machines.”

    Don@ 13:06 — Strategic business analysis of unlicensed pinball manufacturing and market entry strategy

  • “I know people are listening. I'm getting over 200 listens now per show and I've only been at this for six months.”

    Don@ 10:14 — Content creator growth metric and community engagement signal

Entities

DonpersonJack DangerpersonHanspersonAndrewpersonJeff and MattpersonFoo FightersgameGodzillagameRush

Signals

  • ?

    product_launch: Foo Fighters light-up shooter rod appears to be in production based on machine shipping with shooter plate featuring holes for LED integration

    medium · Don received shooter plate with holes on his Foo Fighters Premium; references Stranger Things and Rush as prior examples of light-up rods

  • ?

    collector_signal: Godzilla topper sold out first allotment with zero returns/store credit requests; strong secondary market retention expectations

    high · Distributor confirmation from Jeff and Matt Pinball; Don notes no sight-unseen buyer regrets reported

  • ?

    design_innovation: Foo Fighters topper predicted to feature toy playset design with action figures and accessories based on cabinet art analysis

    low · Don's interpretation of Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic and fictionalized toy playset shown in cabinet graphics

  • $

    market_signal: Space Hunt ($9,500 US) creates significant value disadvantage versus Iron Maiden Pro ($6,700), but competitively positioned in European market due to VAT/import costs

    high · Direct price comparison; Don estimates European Iron Maiden Pro at ~12,000 euros with import duties and distributor markup

  • ?

    product_strategy: Unlicensed manufacturers (Space Hunt, Pony Factory) positioned as low-cost alternatives; Don suggests 80-120 unit runs to test market and fund future licensed games

    medium · Don's strategic business analysis of American Pinball and unlicensed competition model

Topics

Foo Fighters topper design and light-up shooter rod speculationprimaryThird-party pinball mods and accessories (toppers, playfield mods, LED upgrades)primaryPinball pricing strategy and value proposition (US vs Europe market differences)primaryOfficial Stern pinball toppers and collector acquisitionsecondaryUnlicensed vs licensed pinball machine market positioning and strategysecondaryThird-party inventor/creator business models and market feedbacksecondaryPodcast growth and Patreon community engagementmentionedPlayfield design philosophy (ramps/wire forms vs simple layouts)secondary

Sentiment

positive(0.75)— Don is enthusiastic about Foo Fighters and official Stern toppers, appreciative of third-party creators (Hans, Andrew), and pleased with podcast growth. Criticism is constructive and directed at market positioning (Space Hunt pricing, American Pinball execution, Pony Factory price-to-value) rather than personal. Tone is conversational and supportive of small creators.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.043

0:00
I can't get over the space on music man I wanted to record an episode for my patreon subscribers because I treasure and value you guys and your opinions and your five dollars every month so bless you for that I want to do just a quick episode I think I'll release some of this later but this stuff's exclusive just for y'all so what's up everybody I got some some Foo Fighters views yeah I've been playing the game
0:30
I've got the game, I've got the house, I've got the Foo Premium, it's fantastic. And then you know all the topper talk has got me thinking. So today I was looking over at Foo Fighters, I was playing with it, I got some mod kits, some lights I'm going to be using to finally make my Elvira topper. And one of them was a UV light strip and so I ran that up and down the powder coated armor that I just got back from Pinball Refinery and man it is glowing great. And so I was looking at the parts that I got back and one of the things that I sent Pinball John Popadiuk, John Penny, Great Barge and
1:22
We're gonna see some sort of light-up shooter rods, like Stranger Things had, and like we just saw with the Rush shooter rod. So, I think I could say that it's basically confirmed that the Foo Fighters shooter rod will be some sort of translucent light-up rod, given that this thing shipped with, you know, one of the plates with the holes in it. Now, when you buy the shooter rod, you get the new shooter plate anyway, so you would ditch your old one, so it really doesn't matter. Maybe that's just what they had laying around, or maybe all the Stern ones are coming like that from now on, but I can imagine that we're gonna see some sort of light up shooter rod, an alien head, a spaceship or something cool, right?
1:57
You know, something translucent. I mean, it's JD that's working on this game, right? And so then all this topper talk has led me also to look on top of my Foo Fighters machine and try to speculate, you know, what sort of... I'm gonna stop space hunt... What sort of topper can we look at? And I think just looking at the graphic design on the cabinet, I think what we're going to see, and this is my prediction, is the Foo Fighters topper is going to be the The interactive playset toy from this fictionalized Saturday morning cartoon show depicted in the side cabinets and everything. So, you know, there's the foobot, he's like a transformer, he's probably the van that transforms into the foobot, and then each one of the foofighters will be their own action figure so you can all play with them, you know, in this fictitious playset.
game
Space Huntgame
Iron Maiden Progame
Pony Factorygame
Stranger Thingsgame
Elviragame
R2-D2game
Stern Pinballcompany
Pinball Refinerycompany
The Games Peoplecompany
Pinball Adventurescompany
American Pinballcompany
Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
Don's Pinball Podcastorganization
?

content_signal: Don's Pinball Podcast reaching 200+ listens per episode after 6 months; growing Patreon community with merchandise offerings

high · Direct statement: '200 listens now per show' and 'only been at this for six months'; merchandise sales ongoing

  • ?

    technology_signal: 3D printing and LED customization lowering barriers to playfield mod creation; Don distributing free mods, Hans commercializing at $15-80 price points

    high · Don's 3D printer drumstick mods ($15 wholesale, $50 retail); Hans LED album cover display ($80); Andrew's magnetic locking device

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Don expresses strong preference for ramps and wire forms in playfield design; cites upgrade to Premium Rush specifically for extra wire form

    high · Direct statement: 'I had to go for a premium Rush just to get an extra wire form'; criticism of Pony Factory for lack of ramps

  • ?

    community_signal: Don actively supporting small inventors (Hans, Andrew) with product reviews, feedback on pricing, and endorsement; considering bulk purchases

    high · Reviews of Hans and Andrew's products; Don planning to purchase pinball paws for all machines; sent payment for reviewed mod

  • ?

    product_concern: Pony Factory pricing misalignment with product complexity/features; Don willing to pay at $40-60 but not $80+ for mod

    high · Don: 'I'd like it at 60. I definitely like it at 40' for Hans's $80 album display mod

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Don's initial uncertainty about Godzilla topper ('weird, goofy') reversed after learning of strong market demand and sellout

    high · Don: 'I'm feeling better about the Godzilla topper though'; attributed to distributor confirmation of zero returns

  • ?

    machine_intel: Multiple official Stern toppers in production/distribution: Godzilla (sold out), Rush (delivered), Foo Fighters (upcoming), R2-D2 (existing)

    high · Don owns/ordered multiple toppers; Godzilla confirmed sold out; Foo Fighters topper referenced as forthcoming by design

    • 2:38
    So I think we'll see a topper with some sort of background that looks like, you know, the box that you opened up that doubles as like the playset, and then all the little characters in there with the foobot and the overlord character. I think if they wanted to make it creepy, you could put a couple of human hands in there like playing with them, like is also depicted in the art, but I think that would be weird. So I think we're gonna see like, like Andy's room, man, like the toys are all set up and just chilling up there waiting to be played with. That would be, I mean, just fantastic. I mean, instead of putting a big van up there or like the big bomb or whatever, like that would be super cool.
    3:10
    And Jack Danger seems like the kind of man-child that is super into action figures and toys and such. So, I mean, that's my prediction there for the Foo Fighters. Thanks for watching prototype that I can show off and if anybody generates some interest I go into production and sell these dang things because who doesn want a badass topper that not not not which is what I seen the Elvira toppers listed at the official Stern ones
    3:45
    I got, uh, no, I didn't get confirmation yet about the Godzilla topper shipping. I did receive my Rush topper, so that I'm happy about that. That thing is fantastic. I'm feeling better about the Godzilla topper though, to be honest, I did buy it. And then I reached out to my distributor, Jeff and Matt Pinball, and I'm like, guy, have you had anybody just email you and ask for like maybe store credit back? Maybe somebody that bought this thing sight unseen, right? Like me. And he's like, Nope, not only have we sold out of our first allotment, we have All of these games are sold through, and I think at some point, although it's not officially a limited product, they're going to quit making them, and there may be some retention value in this kind of weird, goofy, cotton candy, water-spitting, recycled, zip-tie, Godzilla toy tail topper.
    4:39
    So, I feel better about it. I'm not looking to flip the dang thing. I'll probably end up keeping it and put it on there, and then I'll have a whole line of official Stern toppers. I already happen to just like fall backwards into the R2-D2 topper. What else do I have from Stern? I've got Stern, I got their Godzilla topper ordered, I got Rush, I got the Rush topper ordered. I'm building one for Elvira that I think is better than the official Stern Elvira topper, and then I'm going to buy the official Food topper for sure. I've seen some of the other ones that people are working on, and I think, you know, just going ahead and getting, you know,
    5:09
    The official one, given it's come from Jack Danger, and it's gonna be full of toys, dude. You just know it is. Um, I think I'm gonna go with that, so, uh, that's my Topper Talk roundup, uh, for now. Uh, what else do we got? Uh, Pinball Adventures, what's up, Andrew? Thanks for joining the Patreon, thanks for being a solid dude. And it looks like you're showing off Pony Factory right now in the Pacific Northwest at the, uh, pinball show. So I'm, I'm gonna go on YouTube later, see if anybody uploads some footage, cause I wanna watch some more gameplay and some reactions. Thanks for watching!
    6:04
    The pinball machine is a fun little device, man. This is a little magnetic plastic device with a neodymium magnet on it.
    6:35
    You put it in your shooter lane right outside of the launch tunnel for your balls. And that will allow you to raise the playfield vertically without your balls just cascading out and damaging all your plastic. So when you need to lift your playfield but you don't want to remove the balls, you can put this guy in there. It'll hold it in place because there's like a little metal strike plate that the balls hit against. And that's what it magnetically attaches to. And it looks like it'll hold them in place. So it's clever. It's a clever device. So I hope you sell a ton of them. I'm going to plug them. I think that's neat. And Andrew you got some cool other products too Like you know things for slowly rolling the machine up into a vertical position itself an inflatable pillow to help you so you don have to hurt your back lifting this thing SOOOO p
    7:33
    What else did I want to talk about? I didn't make any show notes. I just wanted to jump on the mic here. Oh, I got a new Rush for mod. It's for my boy Hans. He lives out in Anaheim, California. He's started a company called The Games People and he does Playfield mods. So when I first started this podcast, if you guys remember, if you're around from the early days or you've been listening to the back catalog, I've got a 3D printer and I liked the drumstick mod that I think, I don't know if it was Diddy or someone else came up with Goodbye I'm
    8:30
    I was able to create my own more simplified mod to put these things in. They go in with the existing screws and hardware that are there. I thought it was pretty clever how I came up with it and they look great. And so I was just printing these things up and anybody that emailed me, I would just send them out to them for free. Hey, who's giving out free mods? Don's Pinball Podcast. That's who's doing it. So Hans anyway was interested and he said, yo, why don't I bulk purchase a bunch of them from you and I'll sell them. So he's selling the kit with the drumsticks for 50 bucks online. I sold them to him, you know, for like $15 a piece. I sent him 10 sets, so I don't know if he's sold through yet, but that was one of my first mods I created.
    9:02
    Anyway, where was I going with this? I've got a 3D printer, I was talking about mods, Rush mods. Oh, Hans. So he also created this other mod where he got kind of acrylic album covers from eight different Rush albums, mounted them onto some foam, and then mounted that foam onto some black PVC backing material, and then it bolts into the back of the playfield. So when you look downfield, all the way at the back, there's normally acrylic with a concert scene. Well, now you can have like all of their albums displayed back there. And he sent in some little LED inserts, flashers that you can put in instead of the regular, you know, soft whites in the back of the playfield.
    9:37
    And they kind of articulate a little bit on the wires so you can light them up like some track lighting. So it's kind of cool. It's 80 bucks. He sent it to me for free to review. And then I told him, yo, look, if I like it, I'm gonna send you 80 bucks. I'm gonna keep it. Otherwise, I'll review it and I'll send it back to you. Now, I like it. I don't know if I like it 80 bucks worth. I think I'd like it. I'd probably like it at 60. I definitely like it at 40 and that's kind of where I'm at with it. But I'm going to go ahead and review it for you guys first and then I'll put that also on a future episode. So thank you so much for being Patreon subscribers. I really appreciate it.
    10:10
    I mean it's a way that objectively I can look and see like are people really digging this? Like I know people are listening. I'm getting over 200 listens now per show and I've only been at this for six months. So I'm just I'm so happy with how this has been going. Gabby I met some cool people you know Andrew Pinball Adventures I hope you killing it out there I hope you keep inventing I hope you don get discouraged by you know people talking shit about your game
    10:47
    I think that the main thing that I could say, criticism-wise against it is, you know, the playfield's fairly simple, and there's no ramps or wire forms, which is one of the reasons I really love pinball. I mean, Godzilla, Foo Fighters, Rush, I love the ramps. I had to go for a premium Rush just to get an extra wire form. So for me, I play pinball because I like to watch vehicles and balls and tracks and things you know it's why i like roller coasters why i like monorails why i like log flumes why i like dark rides you know on all that business uh bobsleds anything with a vehicle in the track i'm into it pinball's full of that um you know but i you know punny factory looks it looks fun to play okay it does look fun to play it looks like a game that i would own um when it comes down to the value that i put into it and the value that you charge for it there's a little bit of a mismatch there and i think that's what's holding me off but i understand the market as well in canada is different than the market in the
    11:37
    The market in Europe is different than the market in the United States. So people in the U.S. are balking at the price of Space Hunt because at $9,500 for the base model, two grand more if you want the good edition. I mean, that's ridiculous for us in the U.S. market when we're looking at, you know, $6,700 for an Iron Maiden Pro, new off the line. Right now, I can get that. You know, Brian, not Brian, Keith Elwin's Iron Maiden Pro version with all the great shots and the music and the layout and the theming and the license and everything delivered.
    12:07
    For $6,900 or spend extra $3,000 for Space Hunt with the green tampon, I'm sorry. Space Hunt looks fun. I would like to play it. But there's a huge value mismatch for us in the United States for Space Hunt. But in Europe, that same Iron Maiden Pro is going to cost like, you know, 1,200 or 12,000 euros probably, you know, with import and value added tax and, you know, import duties and all that other business, you know. Plus the markup that your distributor is going to have to pay, shipping, you know, whatever. You probably have to buy a license for the vehicle or for the machine to go on the road in a vehicle even, you know, and God help you if you have to cross state lines or some such. So I get it, you know, this is a game that's probably competing very competitively at coming in a couple thousand euros less than what a Stern would cost you. Definitely much less than a Jersey Jack would cost you. So for somebody that's like looking at, you know, it's probably the same price or maybe a little bit more than a Stern Home Edition in Europe. So I get that market for Space Hunt. I understand like what they're thinking and where they're going with it.
    13:06
    If I was starting a pinball company, if I came out with an unlicensed theme like this or like a punty factory, I think I would try to not really necessarily be a loss leader, but just something to get out there. Something with a limited run, about 100 or 120 machines, maybe even 80, just to get out there and test the waters and say, look, here's a game, here we have it, we're covering our costs with this thing and just get it out and get our name out there and then use that money to help kind of fund the license process to get a stellar game out. But if you can get a run of games that are unlicensed, I mean, the Profit Martins are better, because you don't have to pay those latency fees, so totes get it.
    13:41
    I think that's maybe the thinking behind American Pinball, although their execution is fucking awful. So anyway, those are my thoughts on it. Everybody keep doing what you're doing. Thank you so much for subscribing. I'm glad you're here. I got new rounds of t-shirts in, and for all my Patreon folks, if you want stickers and stuff, you just gotta email me. I'll send them right out to you, buddy. Andrew, dude, I'm digging your inventions, man. I'm gonna buy myself officially a set of the pinball paws because I feel that strongly about them. They're great. I'm gonna put one in every one of my machines. Alright guys, thank you so much. Be good to each other and each other and everybody else. Have a good week.