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Mother's Day tribute and TPN industry news covering JJP reveals, CGC delays, Stern factory restart, and Pinball Promoters Database launch.
Jersey Jack Pinball has not ruled out a virtual event for their next game reveal, which would be a change from their historical practice of revealing at shows
high confidence · Ken Rudberg correspondent reporting from Jack Guarneri interview on Pinball News Pinball Magazine podcast
Jersey Jack's recent sales have been almost exclusively home buyers, not commercial
high confidence · Ken Rudberg correspondent, quoting Jack Guarneri directly
Medieval Madness Royal Edition delay was due to topper board issues that have been resolved
high confidence · Matt Morrison (new CGC correspondent) reporting from conversation with Ryan White, VP of Sales at Chicago Gaming Company
Chicago Gaming Company conversion kits (RGB, display, topper) expected to ship in 6-8 weeks
high confidence · Matt Morrison correspondent, quoting Ryan White
Stern Pinball factory restart expected around end of May 2020, pending governmental regulation
medium confidence · Craig Bobby (Stern correspondent) reporting 'Safe Money has partial production starting before the end of May'
Dennis Nordman is working on a game design for Stern after leaving Deep Root and designing for Elvira's House of Horrors
medium confidence · Matt Morrison reporting Dennis Nordman posting pictures of new ramps on Facebook, speculation about Chicago Gaming involvement
The Beatles pinball machine was nominated for a Licensing International Excellence Award alongside 600 nominees
high confidence · Craig Bobby correspondent reporting official award nomination
ReplayFX and Pinberg 2020 have been canceled due to COVID-19 mass gathering restrictions, with 2020 tickets automatically transferred to 2021
high confidence · Zach and Dennis discussing official cancellation announcement with force majeure contract provisions
“If you're interested in Pirates of the Caribbean, let your distributor know, and there might be another run.”
Ken Rudberg (correspondent, quoting Keith Johnson) @ ~17:30 — Indicates renewed interest in Pirates of the Caribbean re-release possibility contingent on distributor demand
“I have no plans to stop shipping and announcing games, even with the current climate.”
Jack Guarneri (Jersey Jack Pinball, via Ken Rudberg) @ ~18:00 — Affirms JJP commitment to game releases despite pandemic disruptions
“Go big or go home, baby. And I will not play in a local tournament or league or anything.”
Zach Minney @ ~43:45 — Reveals Zach's tournament ambitions; attempting Pinberg 2021 as first tournament experience
“I'm allergic to failure, Dennis.”
Zach Minney @ ~45:15 — Humorous self-characterization of competitive drive
“The Safe Money has partial production starting before the end of May, but no official word yet from anyone at Stern.”
Craig Bobby (Stern correspondent) @ ~58:00 — Key signal on Stern factory restart timing amid pandemic
“Those are the true limited editions or standards when you go and actually do your unit counts.”
Dennis Crease (paraphrasing Jack Guarneri interview statements) @ ~50:45 — Explains why JJP standard editions are actually rarest and lowest-selling tiers
“I think they knew that if we're dropping this to 7,500 for this Wonka, there may not be any going back.”
Zach Minney @ ~51:30 — Commentary on JJP's pricing strategy shift with Wonka Standard edition
business_signal: Stern Pinball factory restart expected around late May 2020 pending government pandemic regulations and social distancing reconfiguration
medium · Craig Bobby reports 'Safe Money has partial production starting before the end of May, but no official word yet from anyone at Stern'
business_signal: Jersey Jack Pinball shifting to virtual event consideration for game reveals, indicating adaptation to pandemic constraints and uncertainty about show schedules through fall 2020
high · Ken Rudberg reports Jack Guarneri has not ruled out virtual reveal for next game, contrasting with historical practice of all reveals at in-person shows
event_signal: ReplayFX/Pinberg 2020 canceled due to COVID-19 mass gathering restrictions; 2020 attendees automatically rolled to 2021 with waitlist option for those unable to attend either year
high · Zach and Dennis discuss official cancellation using force majeure contract provisions; 2021 rollover automatic unless refund requested
licensing_signal: The Beatles pinball machine receives industry recognition with nomination for Licensing International Excellence Award among 600 nominees globally
high · Craig Bobby: 'The Beatles' pinball machine was nominated for a Licensing International Excellence Award, featuring a star-studded list of 600 nominees'
market_signal: Pirates of the Caribbean strong secondary market interest and distributor demand, with potential for production re-run contingent on dealer orders
medium · Ken Rudberg reports Keith Johnson statement: 'if you're interested in Pirates of the Caribbean, let your distributor know, and there might be another run'
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market_signal: Jersey Jack experiencing home-buyer-only sales with commercial sales effectively halted due to pandemic and venue closures
high · Jack Guarneri statement via Ken Rudberg: 'Recent sales have been almost exclusively home buyers and not commercial'
community_signal: Dennis Nordman designing new game for Stern Pinball after leaving Deep Root; currently working on Elvira's House of Horrors with speculation about additional projects
medium · Matt Morrison reports Nordman posting pictures of new ramps on Facebook and leaving Deep Root; speculates possible Chicago Gaming involvement but unconfirmed
personnel_signal: Matt Morrison introduced as new Chicago Gaming Company correspondent for The Pinball Show TPN network, replacing previous coverage gap
high · Craig Bobby introduces Matt Morrison: 'So it's so hard to find good help. We got a new guy, Matt Morrison. Yeah, Matt, welcome aboard, Matt.'
market_signal: Jersey Jack Wonka Standard edition at $7,500 represents significant pricing shift downward for JJP; hosts debate whether even lower pricing could compete with Stern Pro tier ($5,899-$6,000)
medium · Zach and Dennis discussing whether JJP could undercut Stern Pros; Zach: 'There's a big gap between $7,500 on a JJP standard Wonka versus a $5,899, $6,000 Pro'
announcement: This Week in Pinball launches Pinball Promoters Database as comprehensive media aggregation tool indexing all pinball podcasts, streams, YouTube channels, news outlets with links, categories, and review functionality
high · Zach and Dennis discuss database as 'compilation of all the different pinball media sources' with sortable categories, links, and rating system
product_strategy: Chicago Gaming Company Medieval Madness Royal Edition remakes delayed by topper board manufacturing issues now resolved; conversion kit availability pushed to 6-8 weeks out
high · Matt Morrison reports Ryan White (CGC VP Sales) citing topper board delays as cause and new 6-8 week kit timeline