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September 7 Saturday Morning Spectacular

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·1h 4m·analyzed·Sep 7, 2024
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.041

TL;DR

Kaneda celebrates SMS launch, previews Avatar/X-Men releases, and analyzes Q4 pinball competition amid pricing concerns.

Summary

Kaneda hosts the inaugural Saturday Morning Spectacular livestream, celebrating 725 Patreon subscribers and discussing two major September releases: Stern's X-Men (Uncanny X-Men) by Jack Danger and Jersey Jack's Avatar (The Battle for Pandora). He announces an all-expenses-paid trip to JJP's Chicago facility on Friday morning to preview Avatar, expresses concerns about pricing (Avatar reportedly $12-15K vs. Wizard of Oz at $6.5K), and analyzes the competitive landscape including Dutch Pinball X's upcoming Alice in Wonderland and the broader market saturation challenge for smaller manufacturers.

Key Claims

  • Stern X-Men LE production is 811 units, informed by George Gomez responding to Kaneda's previous advocacy against 1,000-unit runs

    high confidence · Kaneda states: 'I have the text message, Chris, we listened to you. That is why there's 811 X-Men LEs.' Claims Gomez texted him this confirmation.

  • Avatar (JJP) has a 'bomb' (upper playfield or ramp structure) comparable in height to Wizard of Oz, despite Avatar being $12-15K vs. WoZ at $6.5K

    medium confidence · Kaneda: 'I heard that the bomb on this game is as high as the bomb was on Wizard of Oz. Now here's the crazy part, right? Here's what's weird about that is Wizard of Oz was $6,500.'

  • Stern has not streamed X-Men gameplay despite the reveal, breaking previous pattern of streams within a week of major releases

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'Stern Pinball has still yet to stream X-Men? So they revealed the game, they released the game to much fanfare and excitement by everybody, but we still haven't seen a stream of the game. In previous Stern launches, there was usually a stream of a game within a week.'

  • X-Men LE and Avatar released within 7 days of each other, unusual timing for the two largest companies in pinball

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'it's crazy that the two biggest companies in pinball, right? You've got 365 days in the year and the two biggest companies in pinball are releasing their games within seven days of each other.'

  • Kaneda is taking paternity leave in October coinciding with a scheduled minor surgery recovery, conflicting with PinballEXPO dates (Oct 16-19)

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'I'm also taking the second half of my paternity leave in October to coincide with my recovery. And so Expo is like what, like the 16th or 17th, 18th, 19th? So I won't be there.'

  • Jack Danger and Keith Elwin are the only two designers Stern 'needs' right now; other designers (Borg, Berry) have uncertain marketability

    medium confidence · Kaneda: 'I also think that the only two designers Stern needs right now are Keith Elwin and Jack Danger. And I think John Borg has his work cut out for him.'

  • Godzilla code is substantially superior to X-Men code and Stern games lack the personality/theme integration of Godzilla

Notable Quotes

  • “Nobody brings the energy like Kaneda. Nobody talks to you candidly about pinball like Kaneda. And nobody has the community filled with a motley crew kind of like Kaneda.”

    Kaneda@ 0:33 — Self-promotional framing for the new SMS show; establishes tone and positioning

  • “I think everybody needs to keep an open mind on Avatar. I get it. We're going to talk all about this on this show, whether or not we think the theme is going to catch on, if people are going to be excited.”

    Kaneda@ 2:38 — Sets expectation that Avatar's theme (James Cameron's Avatar franchise) may not universally appeal; suggests community skepticism

  • “If you do a teaser campaign and then you have a full reveal, but ultimately, ultimately like things have changed, things have changed. And I think for the better, the one thing that hasn't changed. And the one thing that everyone would like to see change are the prices.”

    Kaneda@ 5:48 — Identifies pricing as the industry's unresolved issue despite improvements in marketing/design practices

  • “most people haven't doubled their salaries. Most people haven't doubled their income. Most people haven't doubled the square footage of your game room as a place to put these games. And I think that's going to be challenging for a lot of people is really justifying how expensive these games are.”

    Kaneda@ 6:53 — Core economic criticism of modern pinball market; articulates collector/operator pain point

  • “Why would anybody buy a premium right now? What's the point of buying a premium right now? I don't get it because you know they're going to make premiums forever you know the code isn't done and you know there's also a good chance looking historically at pinball that by the time now with LEs being first your premium is ready you might be able to just spend another $1,000 and get the LE”

    Kaneda @ ~20 min — Criticizes premium tier strategy; questions economic rationale for early-bird buyers when LE is prioritized and code unfinished

Entities

KanedapersonJersey Jack PinballcompanyStern PinballcompanyJack DangerpersonZombie Yetiperson

Signals

  • ?

    announcement: Jersey Jack Pinball hosting media/influencer tour at Chicago facility Friday morning to preview Avatar: The Battle for Pandora (premiere Thursday). Kaneda confirmed as all-expenses-paid attendee along with Jason Knapp, others TBD.

    high · Kaneda: 'Kaneda has been officially invited to Chicago to check out the game at Jersey Jack Pinball. And I plan to go. I told Ken I just got to check on the flights.'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: X-Men LE market supply appears adequate (not sell-out) despite early hype; secondary market shows availability in Florida locations. Questions raised in chat about whether LE designation is meaningful anymore.

    medium · Kaneda found two X-Men LE units listed on Pinside marketplace in Florida; noted 'it has not sold out' and expressed curiosity about premium vs. LE purchasing logic

  • ?

    product_concern: X-Men code appears incomplete at release; Stern prioritizing LE production before code finalization, departing from previous standard. Kaneda questions purchasing logic of premium games when code is unfinished.

    medium · Kaneda: 'you know they're going to make premiums forever you know the code isn't done...to order a premium now, and not know if the code is even nearly completed just seems weird to me'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Jersey Jack's mechanical innovation output has stalled since Pirates of the Caribbean (~6 years ago). Pat Lawler's design philosophy (location-focused, simplified) allegedly superceded Jack Guarneri's original vision (escalating mechanical complexity). Avatar positioned as potential return to form.

    medium · Kaneda: 'Jersey Jack hasn't really wowed us...since Pirates of the Caribbean...That obviously did not happen [post-Wizard of Oz promise].'

Topics

Stern X-Men (Uncanny X-Men) design and receptionprimaryJersey Jack Avatar: The Battle for Pandora reveal and media tourprimaryModern pinball pricing crisis and market saturationprimaryKaneda's Saturday Morning Spectacular launch and personal recoveryprimaryCompetitive dynamics between Stern, JJP, and smaller manufacturersprimaryPinball designer talent and Stern's reliance on Jack Danger / Keith ElwinsecondaryPremium vs. LE purchasing strategy and code update timingsecondaryDutch Pinball X's Alice in Wonderland and smaller manufacturer challengessecondary

Sentiment

mixed(0.55)— Generally positive about X-Men design/Stern's effort and cautiously optimistic about Avatar, but deeply concerned about industry-wide pricing, market saturation for smaller manufacturers, and strategic conflicts (7-day release window). Kaneda expresses personal gratitude and joy about SMS launch, but underlying frustration with competitive dynamics and broader affordability crisis. Dismissive of John Wick and Stern's recent mediocrity, but hopeful about Avatar as potential course-correction for JJP.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.193

0:00
What can I say except you're welcome for the tides, the sun, the sky. Hey, it's okay, it's okay, you're welcome. I'm just an ordinary daily guy. I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said. Welcome everybody to the inaugural Canada's Saturday Morning Spectacular. Coming at you on Patreon, coming at you on YouTube Live. It's good to be back. I know a lot of people would love to have this Saturday morning spot,
0:33
but nobody brings the energy like Kaneda. Nobody talks to you candidly about pinball like Kaneda. And nobody has the community filled with a motley crew kind of like Kaneda. And everybody, how's everybody doing? We're recording this for a podcast that go up later sometime today, tomorrow. We've got Miguel Jones Hilton in the house. We've got Kelly Daniel. We now have 725 subscribers to Canadian Spinball Podcast. So I thank each and every one of you. People said if I went off of Facebook,
1:04
nobody would stick around. They're doing the opposite. They're hanging out. We're having a good time. We've got 33 people here right now, which is great. It's great. It's just going to keep growing as word spreads out there. Word of mouth is the greatest marketing tool. If you want to engage and have fun on a Saturday morning, There's no more fun place to be. And we've got a lot to talk about, people. I don't know about you, but did anybody expect like three weeks ago that come like early mid-September, we would now have the games we have to deconstruct?
1:41
We've got X-Men, the uncanny X-Men by Jack Danger. I think Stern put the bomb for the last three games into this one. That game looks incredible, right? It absolutely does. We've got this Jersey Jack avatar, the battle for Pandora. We're about to see that next week. Kaneda has been officially invited to Chicago to check out the game at Jersey Jack Pinball. And I plan to go.

medium confidence · Kaneda: 'I don't think the code is going to be nearly as good as the Godzilla code. I don't think you're going to get like the explosion of awesome assets the way you got in Godzilla.'

  • John Wick is 'one of the most uninspired games' Stern has made, with 'boring, unimaginative' mechs and no creativity

    medium confidence · Kaneda: 'John Wick is one of the most uninspired games I've ever seen. There's nothing interesting happening in it. The mechs are boring, unimaginative. There's no creativity in that game.'

  • Pat Lawler's design philosophy prioritized location placement over collector appeal, causing Jersey Jack to simplify games after Dialed In flopped

    low confidence · Kaneda speculates: 'Pat Lawler, He put everything he had into Dialed In and that flopped. And then he just made simpler games because he wanted Jersey Jack games on location because Pat Lawler's dream was not Jack Guarneri's dream.'

  • Jersey Jack's last major mechanical wow-factor game was Pirates of the Caribbean, roughly 6+ years ago

    medium confidence · Kaneda: 'Jersey Jack hasn't really wowed us with what's been under the glass really since, I mean, let's be honest, like what's physically mechanically been under that glass. They have not wowed us since Pirates of the Caribbean. And I want to say like Pirates of the Caribbean now is going on six years ago, maybe more.'

    • “I don't think I'll be going to Expo, people. I just, you'll hear more about this, but I mean, I'll just tell you now, like I have to have a minor surgery. Just been putting it off for a while.”

    Kaneda@ 29:03 — Personal health disclosure affecting coverage plans; will miss PinballEXPO due to October recovery

  • “I think what's hard about signing an NDA, and I'm not sure I'll ever do it again...there's just a level of just like decency that you need to have.”

    Kaneda@ 31:33 — Reflects on JJP media tour ethics; acknowledges tension between honesty and courtesy when invited to exclusive previews

  • “John Wick is one of the most uninspired games I've ever seen. There's nothing interesting happening in it. The mechs are boring, unimaginative. There's no creativity in that game. It's such a mediocre game at a time when Stern needed something amazing.”

    Kaneda@ 35:19 — Harsh assessment of Stern's John Wick; used as foil to praise X-Men as demonstrating Stern's capability

  • “Remember Jack said that Woz is going to be my worst game, that every game after Wizard of Oz is going to be more impressive than the last. That obviously did not happen.”

    Kaneda@ 36:27 — References Jack Guarneri's (JJP founder) design vision/promise and its apparent unfulfillment; sets expectations for Avatar as potential course-correction

  • “I can't wait to do this every Saturday morning. And I just want to say thank you. And I really feel blessed in this beautiful new home and the joy I feel in life with my two children and my wife and my pinball fans.”

    Kaneda@ 18:37 — Personal gratitude and life reflection; hints at prior personal/professional crisis (mentioned earlier 'under attack')

    • Dutch Pinball X
    company
    George Gomezperson
    Kelly Danielperson
    Miguel Jones Hiltonperson
    Keith Elwinperson
    John Borgperson
    Ken Cromwellperson
    Donperson
    Jason Knappperson
    Melvinperson
    Barryperson
    Kerryperson
    Pat Lawlerperson
    Jack Guarneriperson
    Joe Abadiperson
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    X-Men (Uncanny X-Men)game
    Avatar: The Battle for Pandoragame
    Alice in Wonderland / Alice's Adventures in Wonderlandgame
    $

    market_signal: Avatar priced $12-15K despite identical mechanical 'bomb' height to Wizard of Oz ($6.5K from ~6 years ago). Represents ~100% price increase over same feature set, outpacing wage growth. Kaneda identifies as core industry crisis.

    high · Kaneda: 'Wizard of Oz was $6,500. So if Avatar has the same bomb as Wizard of Oz and it's $12,000 to $15,000, you kind of, in a nutshell, kind of get a summary of what pinball has gone through'

  • ?

    competitive_signal: X-Men and Avatar released 7 days apart (mid-Sept 2024), cannibalistic timing for industry's two largest manufacturers. Kaneda speculates both would have higher sales if spaced differently.

    high · Kaneda: 'the two biggest companies in pinball are releasing their games within seven days of each other...on some level, you know, if they had spaced it out, they both would have had much more sales'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Stern reportedly set X-Men LE at 811 units (not round 1,000) based on internal X-Men universe reference and response to Kaneda's prior advocacy against large LE runs. Signal of marketing sophistication and listening to content creator feedback.

    high · Kaneda claims George Gomez text: 'we listened to you. That is why there's 811 X-Men LEs...They found an interesting number within the X-Men universe.'

  • ?

    content_signal: Stern has not streamed X-Men gameplay despite reveal, breaking historical pattern of streams within 1 week of major releases. Kaneda speculates strategic timing to avoid competing with Avatar coverage.

    high · Kaneda: 'Stern Pinball has still yet to stream X-Men? In previous Stern launches, there was usually a stream of a game within a week.'

  • ?

    community_signal: Unresolved tension between Kaneda and JJP (specifically Don) regarding watermark removal from exclusive content. Kaneda indicates friction but frames visit as cordial/professional.

    medium · Kaneda: 'if I meet Don at JJP, it's cool. You know, I just, I'll ask him one question, man. Hey, why do you remove my, my watermark for my exclusive pieces of content.'

  • $

    market_signal: Dutch Pinball X's Alice in Wonderland faces severe competitive headwinds: releases same quarter as Avatar (visual benchmark) and X-Men (art benchmark), must compete for same collector dollars, only needs 500 sales. Kaneda expresses concern about room and money in market.

    medium · Kaneda: 'I worry that people just don't have enough money to support all these companies...I worry about following these two games.'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Kaneda identifies Jack Danger and Keith Elwin as only two 'essential' Stern designers; positions John Borg and others as having 'work cut out for them' with lower market demand for their future titles.

    medium · Kaneda: 'I also think that the only two designers Stern needs right now are Keith Elwin and Jack Danger. And I think John Borg has his work cut out for him.'

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Godzilla positioned as gold standard for code depth, theme integration, and personality; X-Men expected to fall short of Godzilla's 'explosion of awesome assets.' Signals code-completion quality as game differentiator post-release.

    medium · Kaneda: 'I don't think the code is going to be nearly as good as the Godzilla code...the only two designers Stern needs right now are Keith Elwin and Jack Danger'

    • 2:11
    I told Ken I just got to check on the flights. But I want to say thank you very much. It is an all-expense-paid trip to, what is it, like Ilk Grove, Illinois or whatever. I got to figure out where I'm going. 10 a.m. Friday morning, I hope to be walking through the door of Jersey Jack Pinball. So that is a lot of fun. All right. And I'm just going to say this. I think everybody needs to keep an open mind on Avatar. I get it. We're going to talk all about
    2:43
    this on this show, whether or not we think the theme is going to catch on, if people are going to be excited. We're going to talk about X-Men, L.E.'s. Did it sell out? We're going to talk about Pulp Fiction. I don't know about you guys, but I think most of us, I think most of us are absolutely tired of waiting for Pulp Fiction LE to actually be made. And then we're going to go around the horn because I think everybody knows right now that this is, okay, this is a really
    3:15
    interesting time in pinball. And I think unlike any other period in pinball, we're finally starting to see these companies, I think, get closer in terms of what they're putting into these games as the prices indicate they should have, right? Okay. And I'm just going to say right now, like, look, I hope everybody goes to JJP. I have no bad blood. You know, if I meet Don at JJP,
    3:45
    it's cool. You know, I just, I'll ask him one question, man. Hey, why do you remove my, my watermark for my exclusive pieces of content. It's cool. You know, he'll get to see the authentic Versace glasses and he's got the $5 ones. But you know, look, the real deal is in the house. It's going to be fun. I'm looking forward to it. Look, we're all just grown men making content about pinball. Just one of us makes thousands a month and one of us makes a few hundred and tries to make mods as a way to generate. It's not going to work, buddy. It's not going to work.
    4:21
    But anyway, no bad blood, no bad blood. Here's the deal. Let's talk about Colin. You're going to be there. I'll see you there, brother. Let's talk about going there. I want to talk about this for a minute because I do feel when you want to give like an opinion about something, is it a smart move to go check out the game and will that sort of tie your hands behind your back with your ability to give your honest feedback on the game? I think everybody remembers when I saw
    4:56
    Willy Wonka early, right? I still can't live that down. But here's the thing. I think we all need to appreciate on some level that there are all of these pinball companies out there and they're trying new things. I mean, I would like to take some credit that everything I've been barking about, they're now listening to me, that you should release some teaser assets early. Was
    5:26
    anybody else calling for that? No. You shouldn't make a thousand LEs, Stern. George Gomez said to me. I have the text message, Chris, we listened to you. That is why there's 811 X-Men LEs. I was like, don't make a thousand. They found an interesting number within the X-Men universe. It makes sense. I'm glad they did that. I don't think, you know, it matters too much. You know, if you do a teaser campaign and then you have a full reveal, but ultimately, ultimately like things have changed, things have changed. And I think for the better, the one thing that hasn't
    6:00
    changed. And the one thing that everyone would like to see change are the prices. And, you know, so that's still to me, the dark cloud over everything. Like we're going to see Avatar, right? It's going to be visually stunning. Jersey Jack makes visually stunning games. I heard that the bomb on this game is as high as the bomb was on Wizard of Oz. Now here's the crazy part, right? Here's what's weird about that is Wizard of Oz was $6,500. So if Avatar has the
    6:31
    same bomb as Wizard of Oz and it's $12,000 to $15,000, you kind of, in a nutshell, kind of get a summary of what pinball has gone through over the last decade. Like a lot of people, a lot of people are now waking up to the fact that the games are double in price, right? And as I've been saying for a while, like most people haven't doubled their salaries. Most people haven't doubled their income. Most people haven't doubled the square footage of your game room as a place to put these games.
    7:05
    And I think that's going to be challenging for a lot of people is really justifying how expensive these games are. All right, so I think everybody, everybody like, look, it's going to get really interesting. If you are watching this right now and you are on Patreon, trust me, mosey on over to YouTube. The chat there is easier for me to follow. Charles Thomas in the house. We've got Bill. We've got Zach Guy, Zachy. We got Andres. All these guys, come on over here. All right, so here is the thing.
    7:37
    It's like the bomb is going to be higher. and you can tell from the avatar photos already that it actually is a really kind of cool game. I mean, I say what you will about the theme. It isn't the theme I would have selected, but when we think about World Under Glass and we think about creating a unique pinball experience unlike anything we've ever seen, this is going to be one of those games.
    8:09
    One of those games that in a lineup of games, there's going to be no mistaking Avatar for what it's trying to be. So I'm excited to see it. I'm curious if it's going to have movie clips. I'm curious, these two lower play fields, six flippers, is it going to be too much going on or is it going to be a rewarding game to shoot? We know that Jack Danger's X-Men is going to be a great shooter. Jack is not going to release a game that doesn't have flow, that doesn't have combos, that doesn't have interesting shot geometry.
    8:44
    We're going to talk about X-Men. I also want to start out today's show by talking about both of these games landing on top of each other and what that means for most people. Think about it like this. doesn't anybody find it a little bit interesting and a little bit skeptical that Stern Pinball has still yet to stream X-Men? So they revealed the game, they released the game to much fanfare and excitement by everybody,
    9:16
    but we still haven't seen a stream of the game. In previous Stern launches, there was usually a stream of a game within a week. and when you ask them when is the stream it's still tbd and so you know they're making the le's first which is really smart another thing canada's been talking about for like a decade they are taking money from distributors i'm not sure if the game is sold out i don't think
    9:48
    anything ever really sells out, even at 8-11. I just think there's going to be distros who hold a few back. There's going to be games available. There's going to be people that see Avatar on Thursday and might want that instead of X-Men and vice versa, right? There might be people who are waiting to see Avatar before they commit to hunting down an X-Men LE. I think it's an exciting time. I think it's also crazy that the two biggest companies in pinball,
    10:21
    right? You've got 365 days in the year and the two biggest companies in pinball are releasing their games within seven days of each other. I mean, that's nuts. You know, I, on some level, you know, if they had spaced it out, they both would have had much more sales, I feel like, but it just is what it is. I'm just reading some of your comments here. It's exciting to see the price, but it turns me away. Just picked up an X-Men premium from flipping out.
    10:52
    Okay. It makes me more sense for Stern to stream to pull attention from Avatar. So here's the thing. Why would anybody, I'm just curious, like out of curiosity's sake, why would anybody buy a premium right now? What's the point of buying a premium right now? I don't get it because you know they're going to make premiums forever you know the code isn't done and you know there's also a good chance
    11:23
    looking historically at pinball that by the time now with LEs being first your premium is ready you might be able to just spend another $1,000 and get the LE so I'm just curious what makes someone buy a premium or an early person who buys an Elton John Platinum. It just doesn't make any sense to me, especially with both companies saying, we'll make these games as many as people want forever, basically.
    11:54
    I get the one reason, which might be good enough, is that I just want to play the game now. I just want to enjoy the game now. It looks really fun. I guess the question is, to order a premium now, and not know if the code is even nearly completed just seems weird to me because why would you want to lock up your money there on a game which might need six months to be completed or a year? That's my only question.
    12:25
    That's really my only question. So, you know, Kelly just said, LE secured. Do people really feel like it's hard to get an LE? Did anyone, let me ask a question of you guys out there right now. Did anybody not get an LE? Did anybody who wanted an X-Men, uncanny X-Men LE, did anybody get shut out and is looking for a spot? I'm just curious out of the 42 people here, which is 5% of potential owners, did anybody not get one?
    12:58
    Let's see what people say. I've never wanted or bought an LE. The premium is the middle of the road. Okay. I mean, look, we'll talk a little bit in a second about whether or not like LEs even stand for something. I'm not sure I know what LEs stand for anymore. Got one by a simple text. I bet X-Men LEs sell out faster than any others since Godzilla. The LEs are still for sale on Pinside. That's what Nick said.
    13:29
    Okay, so like let's see. I'm going to go on Pinside right now, and we're going to look at the marketplace and see if anyone has an X-Men LE listed for sale. Now, I'm curious to see who's got one. So X-Men LE, let's do this. You know what the thing about getting old people is you lose your eyesight first. Here we go, Uncanny X-Men. Yeah, we've got them for sale in Florida.
    14:00
    St. Augustine, Florida and in Jupiter, Florida. So there's two available. So it has not sold out. But that's just two. But yeah, it just goes to show you like there's a lot of money here. A lot of money here. And you know, it's going to take a lot of game. Let's talk about X-Men first, all right? Because we've seen it. And you know, I had some fun conversations with Jack Danger this week. I had a really interesting conversation with Zombie Yeti this week.
    14:33
    He's a great guy, a really great guy. He's been working around the clock. And Jeremy Packer, he's one of those rare talents that he is probably the hardest on himself. And he gets anxious every time a new game comes out. I think all artists suffer from a little insecurity. I do too. What artist are you, Kaneda? Come back to me on that. But it's just you just don't know. Like are people going to like my idea? Are they going to like my art?
    15:04
    Are they going to respond positively? And I think that the answer is X-Men looks incredible. I think it is one of Zombie Yeti's most incredible art packages. It just works really nicely. It does feel like you are looking down at a comic book, right? and it feels like the uncanny X-Men comic book just jumping off of that page. And I think it looks so good. And he was saying something like,
    15:35
    I didn't have as much time as I normally do. And I'm like, bro, you didn't need to put any more into this game. You did not need to put any more into this game. So I think artistically phenomenal. The layout with an uncanny lower play field and the lower left flipper positions unlike any other Stern. I think it looks absolutely amazing I think it looks incredible I think the creativity and the passion that went into the game is absolutely needed right now Youngblood in pinball Jack Danger in pinball is needed more than ever And I think Jack got given got given
    16:16
    Jack was given more money to make this game special. And it's like, come on, gang. It's like, I feel like a few hundred bucks and this is what we get, right? A few hundred bucks and this is what we get. I will say the one thing, and I said it on my show, is I don't feel like there's a clear winner in terms of which is the best art package. The Ellie does not look exponentially better than the Pro or Premium. But I will say the Ellie with the sentinel armor and all the cool stuff, it's cool. It's a really cool pin. And it might be one of Stern's nicest, most creative
    16:52
    looking games in a long time. I keep hearing it. I agree with it. I think this is maybe their next Godzilla. The one area I don't think it's going to be as good as Godzilla. I don't think the code is going to be nearly as good as the Godzilla code. I don't think you're going to get like the explosion of awesome assets the way you got in Godzilla. So I don't know if this game, when you play it is going to have that personality and sort of like just explosion of theme integration the
    17:27
    way Godzilla did. I mean, Godzilla, Iron Maiden, right? One and two right now on pin sides, top 100. So time will tell. But I also think that the only two designers Stern needs right now are Keith Elwin and Jack Danger. And I think John Borg has his work cut out for him. I think Brian And Eddie has his work cut out for him. And I'm not sure people are dying to get the next from either of those two people. Can I just for a moment stop and say how happy I am that 66 people are watching right now?
    18:03
    I know that doesn't sound like a lot. But to be off of Facebook and to bring this show back after not being live on Saturday mornings, it really does mean the world to me. and I know more people are going to realize that the show is back. I think it works great here on YouTube. I can read the comments better. It sounds better because I've got the better microphone. And I just want to thank each and every one of you. Just as I said that, five people left immediately. It's amazing. It's amazing. It's amazing.
    18:34
    But no, I'm really happy you guys are here. And I can't wait to do this every Saturday morning. And I just want to say thank you. And I really feel blessed in this beautiful new home and the joy I feel in life with my two children and my wife and my pinball fans. I can't go into specifics, but I want to tell you that it came close to all getting turned off. And my personal life and my livelihood and – it was under attack.
    19:09
    And I won't say anything more than that. I didn't do anything really to warrant what happened to me and it rocked me and my family to the core to see all that transpire and everything I worked really hard for was in jeopardy and I had to really look in the mirror and I had to look at my family and I had to think about everything that I've done and created and where I get fulfillment in life
    19:40
    and I had to process all of it and say to myself, how can I make it work? How can I make all of this work? How can I make it fun? How can I make it enjoyable for my fans? How can I still have a creative outlet that doesn't put everything else in jeopardy? And I found the solution and you're here and this is it. This is what it's going to be. We're going to have the world's most entertaining pinball podcast that's available for everybody for the low, low price of $5 a month.
    20:11
    You know you're getting way more content than you can even imagine. And now you're going to get this. This is also going to be an audio show that everyone can get to listen to. So if you can't watch it, you're still going to get at least an hour or more of Kaneda every Saturday as an audio file, which will be fun. And then you can go watch this. And I will never mention certain people again in pinball, and I don't care. I really don't care. That's not going to make this show any less entertaining. And so, you know, here we are. Everybody, look, it's about to be a bonkers time in pinball.
    20:51
    We know Spooky Pinball has some juggernaut theme that's waiting to come out, right? We know that. We know that Stern and Jersey Jack are about to release two games that are going to battle it out for our dollars. And they're going to be, I think, two of the best examples of what each company is capable of in a long time. Okay? What's this about t-shirts? Can you – oh, it's a – okay, my lens is blurry. You're not wrong that the lens is probably blurry because my work computer is so dirty.
    21:25
    But thank you for pointing it out. Let's get that. That's probably better. My work, that is much better. I can see already. Thank you for, thank you for suggesting that. My work computer, if you could see my screen, it is terrible. It is like I just handprint everywhere. So everybody like, thank you. So look, let's talk about everybody else right now because we know Stern and Jersey Jack are about to have this battle.
    21:56
    We know it's going to be interesting. But here is the thing. Here is the thing. This is going to be a really competitive Q4 going into next year for everybody. Can you move GNR to the right some? like GNR away from the window. I love this Guns N' Roses.
    22:27
    I absolutely love this machine. I've learned how to play it. The more I learn how to play it, it's not blocking the window. The more I learn how to play it, the more this game has opened up. And it is a very simple game. I mean, there's really not like a ton happening in the game other than like, you know, the visceral concert vibe. It sort of spits back out you at you like the but it is so rewarding, you know, locking balls on the guitar neck and getting those power chord jackpots and collecting all the band members when a song is on and getting to encore and then trying to get through the encore song.
    23:14
    and then playing the mini wizard mode album modes. It's like, and I'm not even near like 30% deep into the game. And then all the patches and what they do, I absolutely love it. I love it. And I haven't even scratched the surface on the patches yet. I'm basically, I use the patches right now that keep the band members active throughout the game. And that just makes getting the band frenzy easier. So that's what's happening right now. and I love the comment here, GNR sucks.
    23:47
    You know, it is that game where the moment you say you like it, someone's got to tell you it sucks. Okay, so here's the deal, Chris. Chris asks, are you considering a second pin? And the answer is yes. And I was looking in my garage and there is room behind the Toyota. If I move the shelving there, there's room for a pinball machine in the garage, which would actually be a really fun spot to make like a rotating game comes in and out of there
    24:20
    because it's easy like street level access no stairs I can get any game in there play it you know a thousand times and then put a new game in its place and I might use that spot for exactly that. The other thing is this, and I need to talk to my accountant, but I think I can tax right off buying a game. I know I can. I mean, I've done it before because I have to pay taxes on my Patreon earnings, but buying a pinball machine is a business expense associated with this show.
    24:55
    So that is fun. Are you getting Elements or Thunderbirds? That is not funny. I wouldn't wish those games on my worst enemies. I basically don't even understand how Home Pin is still in business or Pinball Adventures. I don't get it. It is what it is. I mean, think about it. In a world in which Stern is releasing these games and Jersey Jack, it's really difficult for these other companies. Let's talk about a company that I think is most likely a little bit anxious now
    25:30
    and that's Dutch Pinball X. I'm curious what your thoughts are, but this isn't good news for them that Jersey Jack, Avatar, and X-Men come out with one game has a stunning art package by Zombie Yeti, who is the artist who notoriously will not work on nor finish the most amazing line work art package he's ever done in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland or Alice
    26:05
    in Wonderland he did the artwork for the J-pop version of the game which we know DPX is using some of that for their version so it doesn't help you that he just dropped a new game right on top of your Alice. And also, we all know that Alice really needs to go for that magical, mystical, world-under-glass wow-us, right? And then Avatar's gonna hit.
    26:36
    And Avatar's gonna be probably, once we see it, the new benchmark for what a wow, world-under-glass looks like. So I think it's going to be difficult. Now, what's not difficult is they only have to sell 500. I mean, that's it, right? Jersey Jack needs to sell a few thousand. Same with Stern. They only have to sell 500. I have seen Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
    27:08
    I have seen the entire game. I haven't played it. There are parts of it I absolutely really like. there are some decisions maybe on the artwork in certain places I would not have necessarily done. Artwork is very subjective. I've been talking to Melvin about the game and it's one of those interesting things because if I were to give him advice and I'll do it here, I would say the same thing over the phone. I do think showing it earlier now would be better. And the reason why
    27:42
    is if production has not started, if you show it now, there may be some changes or feedback, right? Not changes, but feedback that you might get that you might want to incorporate before you start making just 500 games so that you can make those 500 potential buyers happy. And it reminds me of, remember when Jersey Jack showed off The Hobbit and he got feedback on the play field
    28:12
    and he changed it for the better. And I think very much, you know, Alice is a game where, you know, you're making this limited edition boutique game for collectors. Why not just show it? And see, the thing is this, the challenge is this, is like, it's hard for a small company to make changes though. Like Jersey Jack, obviously it costs them money to make changes to the Hobbit playfield,
    28:44
    but they're a much bigger company with much more resources. And I don't know, you know, Melvin might have ordered all the playfields. He might have ordered all the this, the that. There might not be that ability. So it is what it is. The thing is this, they're going to have to show it soon. We know the game is planning to be at Expo, which is exciting. I don't think I'll be going to Expo, people. I just, you'll hear more about this, but I mean, I'll just tell you now, like I have to have a minor surgery. I just have to have something minor done.
    29:16
    I've been putting it off for a while. Just been in some like, you know, I won't go into details. It's nothing serious. Canada's not going to die. But I'm just going to have to have a recovery period where I might not be able to do podcasting for a couple weeks or so. and so that is going to happen sometime in October right when Expo happens. So again, I'm not dying. I'm not going anywhere, but I just might need to take a few weeks off. I'm also taking the second half of my paternity leave in October to coincide with my recovery.
    29:56
    And so Expo is like what, like the 16th or 17th, 18th, 19th? So I won't be there. That being said, I think it's going to be a fun expo. I will get a chance to play Avatar hopefully next week at Jersey Jack. And I also will play X-Men. I'll just drive up to Automated and play it there. So I will play everything. Now, I will miss not seeing Alice. And so that will be the one game where I think if they do get it there, it is really going to be interesting how the game plays, what the reception is.
    30:31
    And I think that is going to be something that – like is it going to be a make or break moment for the game? I mean that – it's like I don't know. And I know Melvin doesn't know. I know Barry doesn't know. Nobody knows. Nobody's tried to do this. Nobody's tried to make a game quite like Alice. And Joe Abadi, it's like his dream theme. He won't stop talking about it. I don't know.
    31:01
    And I worry about following these two games. The main reason I worry about following Jersey Jack and Stern, I just worry that people don't have room. I worry that people just don't have enough money to support all these companies. So Kerry's seen it too. And Kerry and I are like in this small little rowboat with Melvin, right? Kerry, it's interesting. Kerry, thank you for being here, brother.
    31:33
    I think what's hard about signing an NDA, and I'm not sure I'll ever do it again. I won't have to sign an NDA to go to Jersey Jack on Friday unless they want to show us what's after Avatar, which they won't. But the reason why, it just, it does prohibit you from just going all out on how you feel. And as much as Melvin's a cool dude, I mean he's like, and he said the same thing that Kerry and me, he's like, look, I wanna hear your honest opinions
    32:04
    about what you see in the game And but truthfully you would be a real jerk if someone invites you into their house and gives you an exclusive look at their creation and and you know you're gonna come out of it and slam it or bash things about it like you just just not gonna happen like that just you just there there's a level of just like decency and i'm not saying there's something to bash either in the game. I'm just saying there's just a level of decency that you need to have.
    32:42
    Now, that being said, does everyone know who's going to JJP? I mean, I know it's me. It's Jason Knapp. I think someone said Don will be there. I think I'm curious to see who goes there. but I don't know like pinball nerd was not invited Kerry Hardy was not invited
    33:12
    look what's smart about Jersey Jack inviting this group now is when they invited everybody to see John Wick we all know what they were doing like John Wick sales were abysmal and they were trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat and get us to sort of say, get the media to get on board because sales were terrible. But sales are always going to be terrible with John Wick.
    33:45
    And when you look at the media response to the John Wick tour, it was just funny to me because it was all like, the back glass is beautiful. The shiny, that's all you heard was about the shininess of the decals um and it was kind of like a little bit annoying that that's all that was the outcome of that whole trip you know then they went to logan's arcade or something or i don't know where they went to play and had dinner and they had a
    34:17
    they're all on a bus and you know look like you know they all had a good time but it really wasn't going to help move units, right? And I think that's it. So like, it's just this, right? It's like, I think this trip, with the game being revealed on Thursday, right? All right, now we're going to get people over here to talk to the team and communicate back to their fan bases
    34:49
    how the game plays, how the game looks and feels, what the sensation of playing Avatar is. And I think when you look at the media tour over at Stern when they did John Wick, it's like you never felt like people were really blown away by the game, right? Because the game is junk. Like, I'm just going to say it. John Wick is one of the most uninspired games I've ever seen. There's nothing interesting happening in it.
    35:19
    The mechs are boring, unimaginative. There's no creativity in that game. It's such a mediocre game at a time when Stern needed something amazing. And look, X-Men, Uncanny X-Men really showcases how bad John Wick is. Because how can the same company make both products? And that is why Avatar, to me, is a really interesting game. because like Jersey Jack hasn't really wowed us with what's been under the glass really since,
    35:57
    I mean, let's be honest, like what's physically mechanically been under that glass. They have not wowed us since Pirates of the Caribbean. And I want to say like Pirates of the Caribbean now is going on six years ago, maybe more. And so what everyone is hoping to see come Thursday is the return of what Jersey Jack Pinball's vision always was supposed to be.
    36:27
    Remember Jack said that Woz is going to be my worst game, that every game after Wizard of Oz is going to be more impressive than the last. That obviously did not happen. Interesting, Pat Lawler was the reason why so much stuff was getting yanked out of games. I think Pat Lawler, He put everything he had into Dialed In and that flopped. And then he just made simpler games because he wanted Jersey Jack games on location because Pat Lawler's dream was not Jack Guarneri's dream.
    37:03
    Pat Lawler's dream was to have 20,000 machines out in the world again. And everywhere he went, he'd see one of his creations. so he wanted to make games more operator friendly and he yanked stuff out there would have been a triple spinning disc in Pirates if it wasn't for Pat Lawler he yanked out the subway system from Guns N' Roses he did these things they know this he's no longer there so this is going to be probably the first true non-Pat Lawler game
    37:39
    since Elton John is but I think Steve Ritchie played it a little bit safe, but game shoot's great. Elton John's a great shooter, but it definitely lacks the magical theme people wanted, and it lacks, you know, mechanical wow. I mean, Elton John does not have mechanical wow. It has wow with the light show, with the flow, and with the vibe of the game. It's a fun game to play, but there's really not a lot of mechanical wow in it. I mean, the shots are pretty awesome, though.
    38:10
    Like the ball trajectory in that game is incredible. Ah, man, how's everybody doing? I'm reading some of your comments. Do we know who's going to Jersey Jack? I think it's going to be a good time. Look, I think also when everybody gets together, when everybody gets together, you know, everyone usually gets along fine. There's not going to be any tension or bad blood at all. I think we're all sort of losers it's true
    38:42
    like we're all losers like but in a good way we're like you know we're like and I mean that in a self-deprecating way we're losers we're geeks we're nerds we're losers like we spend free time like playing pinball and listening to pinball podcasts and making pinball content like to 99% of the world we are losers and so let's lose together in harmony over at Jersey Jack Pinball so like it's going to be really interesting so I think
    39:13
    Alice is going to have an uphill battle and if I were Melvin he needs to show more now and he needs to and it's on him like he's got the keys to his castle and if he wants to throw more stuff out in the world he can but 5 second clips are not going to cut it they're just not going to cut it I was talking to Zombie Eddie and he said something interesting he was talking to me about his line work on Alice
    39:45
    and he said the way I drew that with the detailed line work it should never be colored in he's like it's the kind of game it's the kind of art style where you don't need to colorize it because of how I did it And so it's going to be interesting to see like what he thinks because I really do believe this. I mean there's going to be like a moment where – I mean people are going to ask Jeremy Packer like, are you a fan of what they did with what you started?
    40:21
    And if he's not, what's that going to do to the potential buyer? What's that going to do? I mean, ultimately, we all judge pins by the sum of the parts, not just one thing here or there. So it's going to be interesting. Why I didn't get an invite. Look, I know there's always like this.
    40:53
    I mean, am I surprised that Jersey Jack invited me? I don't know. I mean, I think if you're trying to invite pinball media to an event to get their communities excited, to ignore the existence of Kaneda, I'm not surprised Stern didn't because Tim Sexton received a vodka soda from me that he did not order, what, six or seven years ago. Seven years ago? That still, I get it.
    41:24
    So I'm not expecting that invite, but I have a great relationship with George Gomez, a great relationship with Jack Danger, a really sort of mutual respect amongst a lot of the Stern employees over there. I know they listen to the show. It's great. They're members of the Canada Club. It's awesome. And so like – and look, Stern doesn't need me. I mean we know that. Like now look, all of us that have a few hundred followers or subscribers, like we have some influence, like, you know, but ultimately all we can do is put thoughts in your head or things to consider or think about when you're, you know, considering these games.
    42:05
    And then you're going to hopefully make up your own opinion. You're hopefully going to go play the game and see if what Kaneda said resonates with you and you understand why I would say that. Or if you think I'm just talking out of my B-U-T-T and I'm just like trying to damage a company's reputation by being a jerk. I think that my opinions for the most part have always been very fair, very objective, and pretty spot on. I do. Do I always get it right?
    42:36
    No. But it's not about right or wrong, right? These are all gray areas of subjective opinions about pinball. But for the most part, for the most part, you know, I think I called it like most people see it. And that's why for this amount of time we have 725 subscribers. We have more engagement than any other, you know, content creators since like Jack Danger and Kerry Hardy. Like there's a handful of us, you know, Zach Many. Jason Knapp
    43:07
    I feel like we're at a point now where the content creators that are making the best content all get along and I mean like the really good pinball content creators there is nothing but respect and connection now and it's good it sucked feuding with Zach Many in this passive aggressive way we kind of just buried the hatchet in an instant. And you, you'll see, it's been that way since, um, him and I have had good
    43:39
    correspondence, uh, you know, since then, Kerry Hardy, love him. Even though I'm, you know, I made fun of Kerry for unboxing, what is it? Centaur. I ragged on him for that, you know, made a whole show about it. Uh, and it's just funny because then he went and made the best content exposing all the corruption at Haggis pinball. So, um, let's talk quickly about Haggis for a second. Like, is that, is this it? Is this it? Like, I haven't seen, you know, who's, who hasn't come back is Jeff Teolis and Marty Robbins. Uh, is their podcast done for good? It's going to
    44:17
    be hard. I mean, it's going to be even hard being Jeff because, you know, I mean, he supported Marty and, and, and Marty knew this is Marty. This is why I think Marty's done. Marty knew the truth, even when he was doing podcasts with Jeff, laughing, almost mocking people who were questioning the solvency of Haggis and whether or not they were gonna make it and the recapitalization. And he mocked people who were skeptical.
    44:51
    And when you do that, and you gotta remember, Jeff also had Steve Bowden on in the Deep Root days and really did promote and support those ventures. And it's amazing how a lot of times these people, and they've caused more damage to pinball than anything Canada's ever done. Because remember, when they support these companies that have evaporated millions of dollars from the pinball potential buying community,
    45:23
    that turns people off to pinball. it also like I believe this it also is really a disservice when you're a content creator and you're not even trying to find out what's truly going on at a company and you're just blindly supporting them not only that like openly like laughing and mocking customers who have had their money tied up for months who have no response from the company. And so I think Haggis is like,
    45:57
    I don't know. I don't think we're ever going to hear from them again. I don't think Damien's going to have like a, another chapter like Dutch. Uh, and I think Marty Robbins is out of pinball forever. Nobody's going to let him back. It's going to be like whack-a-mole. Every time he pops up, people are just going to knock them back out. And that's that. And I feel bad for anyone who lost money on Fathom. I don't feel bad for anybody that lost money on Centaur. Because
    46:28
    Fathom was sticking your hand in the fire. And everybody who had stuck their hand in the fire told you the fire burned. And so if you didn't listen to all those people when you ordered your centaur you have nobody to blame i mean the only people i kind of get it were like the distros who were just trying to like get a few game and get a few orders in and in the end like zach looked like the smartest distro he didn't have the most money i mean like there there are other distros out there that lost a lot more money nitro what is it was it rs pinball in europe or something or
    47:03
    I mean, what did they think was going to happen? I mean, these guys knew what a S-H-I-T-S-H-O-W show it was over there. Did Jeff publicly announce that Orbiter Albert yet or that private? I don't even know what you're saying. Man, it's hard to follow some of this pinball content creator drama. I think there's more pinball podcasts popping up. I think it's a good thing.
    47:35
    I think there's a lot to talk about in pinball. Let's talk about spooky pinball's next Stern Pinball rumor. There's a Stern Pinball rumor that the next game from Stern might be Star Wars Skeleton Crew. I saw that on Naps Arcade. My gosh, what a great website Naps Arcade is. Jason is a great guy. I was talking to him yesterday. When I was hanging out with Julian Edelman, he was like, I'm a Jets fan. Like, screw him. I don't know. I think Disney Star Wars shows for the most part have sucked Some of them are good but most are not And if I stern I don want Skeleton Crew I want a Jack Danger like Keith Elwin version of Empire Strikes Back
    48:23
    That's what I want. Start there. Start with A New Hope. Make three separate Star Wars games, each based on the original trilogy, and make them amazing. That's what I want. I don't want Skeleton Crew. I don't want to spend $13,000 on a new Star Wars, Kathleen Kennedy, Disney IP thing that is never going to catch on culturally. I don't think that's the way to go.
    48:54
    It's a bad move. So, yeah. Someone just said the kineticist has been killing it lately. Collins website. I will say this, a little thing, Colin, and don't get used to this, okay? Don't get used to this. But I do find the Kineticist to be, right now, the best website. If I just want to get all the information on a game, like who's the coding team, who's the artist, who's the design team, where are the images, what year did it come out?
    49:36
    it's the best site for that. You know, I know there used to be like a pinball database, but that sucks. It's like terrible looking. The only thing about the Kinetis I don't get is when I land on the homepage, I don't know what's happening. I am like, it's like I'm being bombarded with little windows and shotgun of content. Colin, I think you just need like a landing page that doesn't feel like 18,000 banners are hitting me
    50:10
    and I'm not sure where to even go. So that's my advice from an aesthetic standpoint. Is there a new pinball podcast out there? This is, look, gang, it's, I've always said this and I haven't always practiced this and get a few whiskeys in me and maybe this goes out the window, but it's a lot more fun when the people you enjoy making pinball content get along.
    50:40
    And look, Colin and I made up. Zach, make up. I'm sure Don and I will be fine. I will shake hands with Don. We'll be cool. I guarantee you it will be a cool time. We'll have beers and we'll probably both offer sorry man it ever got to that and then it's over. That's how quick it ends. I think the same exact thing will happen. And I'm just going to say this right now. That's what real men do. Like real men who are raised right with values.
    51:14
    And I don't even care like who your parents are, what your religious beliefs are. Real men who want to show a good example for their children and for humanity make, forgive each other. Especially when the crimes are so innocuous like these crimes are against each other. I'll tell you what annoys me are the men who refuse to ever apologize or even try to work out anything with me. And I mean that. The guys over at Loser Kid who absolutely slandered me and called me a cancer and a terrorist, the most deplorable things ever.
    51:52
    And they still won't even mention me if I break in. They're just petty, catty. And like, even after all of that, I would bury the hatchet with those guys in a second and let's move on. Like, it doesn't make any sense. Like I used to be friends with them. I used to be completely friendly with both of them. I never did anything to them, you know? And I, and it's interesting cause like they were defending Colin and I get it, but look, Colin and I made up, but they can't forgive. It's like, and that to me is like, is, is like ridiculous.
    52:28
    Like it is ridiculous. If you think me, a father of two with a four-month-old baby and just a dude who works in marketing who has a house in Connecticut, if you think I'm a terrorist or a cancer, I mean I'm not. If you can't see past some of the shtick here and the – a lot of this is just entertainment for entertainment's sake. and Kinead is a little bit of an avatar that Chris gets into to have fun with people on the internet,
    52:58
    if you can't see past that or understand that, I don't know what to tell you. Oh, man. Like, it's good. It's good. It's all going to be good. Look, every day above ground where you wake up in a good mood is a good day. I'm in a really good mood today. we had a great event with Julian Edelman and Jameson. We were outside of pro football headquarters because I can't say the league name
    53:29
    because we don't have permission to. We were outside of NFL headquarters and we were rallying to get a game to Ireland, to Dublin, Ireland. And I can't tell you the pride I feel in being a creative, working on the country that I love because my wife working on the world's number one Irish whiskey. And you can't see this if you're listening. I'm holding up a picture of me outside of NFL headquarters. I said NFL.
    53:59
    Damn it. I'm not supposed to say NFL. Pro Football Headquarters with Julian Edelman. And it was so much fun. And we had a great time. Here's me with Julian. He's awesome. And the first thing he says is just call me Jules. and then but you know this is what matters and I'm holding up a picture of Killian right now in his Ralph Lauren polo bear he looks like a little investment banker waking up
    54:30
    and look at those cheeks look at that smile I'm his father and Cassian's father and Brenda's husband I just love it I feel so blessed to have this family and to have this beautiful home and to have people making beautiful pinball machines and to have all of you beautiful people hanging out here on a weekly basis, subscribing. I was so moved and touched that when the month ended this month, the least amount of people unsubscribed ever to Canada's Pinball Podcast,
    55:01
    because normally I wait for that 10 to 20 people unsubscribe at the end of the month, and I was watching the number, and it didn't go down. And in fact, it's gone up, And I think it's great. And I actually think, and I mean this, I think it's realistic that we might get to 800 subscribers if we keep doing this weekly and the word of mouth is great. And because it's, isn't it like interesting when you get the guys on Pinside that are still trying to paint me as something that makes no, like, it's like the Iceman's and the true haters are still stuck in this.
    55:35
    It's like I don't know where I touched them on the voodoo doll, right? But they're still trying to paint me as something. And yet even though I've done hundreds of shows and thousands of hours of content that they've never even listened to, they know me better than all of you. They know me better than the people that are my family and friends and Canada Club members. They know me the best. And, you know, okay, sure. Yeah, okay, sure.
    56:05
    um yeah julian edelman is just you could see he's just like like he's my height and when i'm next to him he's just everything about him is like two inches thicker well i don't know everything let's keep this a family-friendly show but like his arms are just like it just looks like someone tied rope around his arms like as his veins and i'm like he just looked like he could punch me threw a wall and I'm in really good shape but like I was like damn like he I would not want him like
    56:36
    barreling at me uh for a touchdown anyway how's everybody still doing yeah he is jacked uh so look let's talk about getting back to pinball let's talk about spooky pinball's next game now if it's motorhead I think that's a colossal mistake and I think it's a huge mistake that they don't have Beetlejuice. If they have the Beetlejuice license and they didn't drop it now,
    57:08
    I don't get it. It then leads us to wonder which one of the great themes we know they have is next. Do they have Goonies? Do they have Gremlins? Do they have Sonic the Hedgehog? all really great themes for pinball i think spooky pinball in their new factory it always feels like they're moving to a new factory so doesn't it always feel like we're like hey guys we're moving into the new factory like i thought you just moved into the new factory um but this one really feels
    57:43
    like it's going to be their most efficient and effective factory for for volume for quality control, for ease of manufacturing. I don't hear nearly as many issues on the last two games as previous Spooky games. There's just like a never-ending good vibe around Spooky, right? To the point where I know Spooky has its haters. I know Spooky has people that don't like their
    58:14
    games and their quality and their mechs. I know those people are out there, but it's kind of like When you don't like Spooky and you – but you don't like own one or it's not – like you're just attacking them because of your prejudice, you look silly. Because how can you blame a company that has lived the American dream, that has never ripped off anybody, that is the most transparent pinball company out there, and that is just so damn likable?
    58:46
    I mean they're like the opposite of Kaneda. They're just so damn likable. every time I want to hate Spooky for some reason or something they did I'm just blown away by their charm and personalities and their charisma and they're like Bug is a great ambassador for pinball Charlie wasn't as much but he's smart he kind of sidestepped and handed it over to the kids now look do I still think there was a lot of growing pains
    59:16
    and the inmates were running the asylum for a while absolutely but they're all getting better you know and i think spooky pinball here's what i think here's you know you know what i think they have you know what i think is also available i heard this blade runner i know for a fact that blade runner is a license that is available with assets so how does a blade runner pinball machine sound right about now sounds pretty good to me right
    59:48
    That world under glass, that sort of dystopian future. A lot of really good themes still waiting to be made. Look at us. We're at like 60. This is not bad. Like for the, to go from Facebook where we had around, you know, 80 people usually watching to 60 on Patreon only, YouTube live only. This is so successful for me and I'm so happy and I can't wait to do it every week. whether or not we do 90 minutes or an hour this week i feel like going the full 90 but i think
    60:25
    it's interesting um you know that that this fan base i want to give you guys a a pat on the back when you look at normally what the sort of uh conversion ratios are they're usually so much worse than this fan base. And maybe it's just, I don't know. I don't know. I just, I think, I think we all kind of realize that we just can't hang out like this anywhere else. Because it's just, there's such a good level of engagement. And, you know, I think you guys all
    60:57
    banter so well. I think it's great. I gave my wife full 90 second carry. Carry hardy, ladies and gentlemen. I wish Carrie was going to JJP. I know Carrie's made some really funny videos about Jersey Jack. Brenda is returning now. So here's what I'm going to do. My beautiful wife and children are about to return. It's going to get bonkers when they come through the door. I think this has been a good return. It's an hour.
    61:28
    It's been a good return for the Saturday Morning Spectacular. I think we covered off on a lot. what's going to be fun next Saturday. I might be flying back from Chicago during the time of this show. So we might have to move it later in the day. Or maybe I just do this Friday night, like live. Maybe we get Don and Kaneda to do a show together live. That would be fun. And hey, we can call Genghis up and be like, Genghis, what's wrong, Genghis? Where did he touch you? No, it's funny.
    61:58
    It's so funny to me. I feel like in the end, everyone's going to get along again, except for Jang is. He's just, he just, as much as he says, love, love, love, the thinnest skin imaginable. Imaginable. I mean, unbelievable. You talk about like a guy that loves Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. His skin is thinner than like a piece of dental floss. Like it's like, and that's the reason I just, I couldn't deal with it anymore. It's like the moment you say anything where you're just jabbing at him. Like I grew up with like a twin brother and an older brother
    62:28
    and like you, like maybe it's a Denmark thing, but you can't like jab at him at all or he just like loses it. He's like, what the hell? Like we're just having fun. Like if you can't take the piss out of your own friends and like jab and make fun of each other, then you're not gonna ever, you can't maintain a friendship. Guys need to be able to jab at each other. Like it's just that simple. Like, or like, I don't know. Like it is what it is. Oh man, everybody have a great Saturday.
    62:59
    the children are about to come through the door thank you for being here and what's great about this no more busking no more stars I'm not trying to make extra money here and I will say this Patreon wanted me to make this exclusive show for like $10 or more because it's like you can create which tier gets to see your live streams but you know me $5 one large Dunkin Donut coffee and we're here hanging out talking about pinball.
    63:32
    I'm going to edit the show now for my podcast listeners. If it pops or booms, it's because I don't have my headset on today because I left it in the city. I had a few too many Jamesons and I don't remember not packing it. So that's that. But love you guys. Thank you for being back. Brenda, it's okay to bring in the children. Happy Saturday. What was that, babe? Oh, and we're going to go get the car washed by the local high school female girls soccer team.
    64:04
    Brenda's like, I'll go do that on my own. I'm like, just having fun, just having fun. Nobody's creepy here. We're all happily married. Everybody be good. We'll talk to you soon.