Is Spooky Pinball #2 now?

Kaneda Pinball Podcasts YouTube Lives·video·24m 5s·analyzed·Nov 21, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.033

TL;DR

Kaneda declares Spooky #2 in pinball, criticizes industry pricing and depreciation amid Evil Dead reveal hype.

Summary

Kaneda argues that Spooky Pinball has solidified itself as the #2 manufacturer in pinball (after Stern), citing upcoming Evil Dead game with superior toy count and design compared to premium games. He criticizes the broader industry for pricing inflation, depreciation losses on limited editions, and gaslighting consumers about game content, while expressing skepticism about the sustainability of new-in-box purchases at current price points.

Key Claims

Spooky Pinball is now the #2 manufacturer in pinball by quality and game design, not by volume
medium confidence · Kaneda's opinion based on game design trajectory and upcoming Evil Dead release with loaded toy count
Evil Dead will have more toys and mechs than Avatar, Godfather, and Elton John combined
medium confidence · Kaneda's prediction based on Spooky's design evolution and unreleased game details
Evil Dead will be priced under $10,000 with under 900 units produced
medium confidence · Kaneda's projection based on Spooky's historical pricing patterns
Rick and Morty is a poor game design (reskin of Total Nuclear Annihilation 2.0) and should be remade
high confidence · Kaneda's direct statement and criticism of Spooky's early output
Jersey Jack Avatar will sell worse than Elton John and failed to deliver promised content claims
medium confidence · Kaneda's opinion on theme appeal and game reception trajectory
New-in-box pinball purchases are economically unsustainable; buyers have lost $4,000+ per game except Jaws and Metallica
medium confidence · Kaneda's analysis of secondary market depreciation data for recent Stern releases
Metallica LE machines are now selling for $17,000-$18,000, representing potential $4,000-$5,000 scalping profit
medium confidence · Kaneda's secondary market observation
Stern needs to reduce production to 2 games/year with 500 LE units maximum to restore secondary market value
low confidence · Kaneda's prescriptive opinion on industry correction needed

Notable Quotes

“I just think this company is now number two in pinball I don't mean by volume right I I don't mean by volume I just mean they've made like 10 games now or more”
Kaneda @ early in stream — Core thesis statement declaring Spooky's competitive positioning
“the game's gonna have more toys in it than Avatar, Godfather, and probably Elton John combined at some point”
Kaneda @ mid-stream — Major claim about Evil Dead's mechanical complexity vs premium Jersey Jack games
“I just think it's like it's now Stern Pinball easily is number one and I think these guys are number two”
Kaneda @ mid-stream — Explicit ranking statement downgrading CGC below Spooky
“I'm just tired of being ripped off and I think at this point now it's like you kind of want to support the underdogs a little bit”
Kaneda @ mid-stream — Articulates sentiment shift toward alternative manufacturers due to pricing/quality concerns
“the gaslighting Josh is really the part that annoys me that Spooky Pinball is going to come out with a game that has way more mechs in it and toys in it than a $15,000 Jersey Jack Avatar”
Kaneda @ mid-stream — Criticizes Jersey Jack marketing claims vs observable game content
“I don't see new in box sustaining itself over the next five years”
Kaneda @ late-stream — Existential concern about new-in-box pinball market viability
“You lost almost $8,000 just think about that for a minute a Foo Fighters LE and a James Bond LE has lost you $8,000”
Kaneda @ late-stream — Quantifies secondary market depreciation crisis for recent Stern limited editions
“only fools rush into these new in box purchases”
Kaneda @ late-stream — Strong condemnation of new-in-box purchasing strategy

Entities

Spooky PinballcompanyKanedapersonStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack Pinballcompany Evil Deadgame Rick and Mortygame Avatargame Metallicagame

Signals

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business_signal: Secondary market collapse reducing collector/investor appeal; limited edition pricing strategy backfiring as oversupply destroys scarcity narrative
high · Kaneda arguing Stern needs to reduce output to 2 games/year with 500 LE units; current strategy creating negative value for recent buyers
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community_signal: Broad criticism of industry 'gaslighting' regarding game content claims; Jersey Jack Avatar cited as example of marketing overstatement vs actual toy density
medium · Kaneda's statement: 'I'm just tired of like of of being gaslighting like Jersey Jack when they launched Avatar they said this is like the most they've ever put into a game'
?
competitive_signal: Spooky Pinball explicitly positioned as #2 manufacturer by design quality, with game design evolution trajectory accelerating faster than competitors
medium · Kaneda's ranking statement and argument about 10+ games with improved theming integration and toy density
?
design_philosophy: Jersey Jack Avatar overpromised on game content relative to $15,000 price point; design fails to deliver advertised 'highest bomb ever' claim
medium · Kaneda's comparison of toy counts between Avatar and upcoming Evil Dead; comparison to Elton John's false marketing claims
$
market_signal: Metallica secondary market showing exceptional strength ($17K-$18K resale) versus catastrophic depreciation on other recent Stern LEs (John Wick, Venom, Foo Fighters, James Bond)
high · Kaneda's market observations about Metallica holding value and scalping profit potential contrasted with loss examples

Topics

Spooky Pinball's competitive positioning and quality trajectoryprimaryEvil Dead game announcement and specsprimaryPinball pricing inflation and new-in-box market sustainabilityprimarySecondary market depreciation and resale valuesprimaryJersey Jack game design and theme selection criticismsecondaryStern Pinball service delays and topper availabilitysecondaryGame theme licensing and mass appealsecondaryOperator/collector economics and hobby sustainabilitysecondary

Sentiment

negative(-0.65)— Kaneda expresses frustration with Stern's pricing/delays/marketing claims and broader industry pricing crisis, while optimistic about Spooky as alternative. Heavy criticism of new-in-box depreciation and 'gaslighting' on game content. Some positivity toward Spooky's direction but tempered by concerns about scarcity/wait times.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

it's going to work now we're working we're back you know it's just it's never a dull moment it's never a dull moment in the world of Canadas pinball podcast Facebook live was always the easiest but Everyone likes this more um it just is what it is here we go join us it's it's uh it's always it's always a work in progress when it comes to Canes pinball podcast all right so we're back here we're gonna drop this into the stream um it is what it is you know sometimes you get it right sometimes you get it wrong God it's like I I have so many windows open I'm surprised this computer even boom now I'm like going back in here gotta cancel this thing out gotta can I just change the link let's see if I can just change the link edit post yeah let's just change the link I think that's the right link all right nobody's found it three people I found it ah H maybe I should go turn my soup off and just talk spooky first I you know these unpro to thingss They Don't Really Work it's more fun when I just do them scheduled but you know this one's open to everybody but I don't know let's see let's all right it's all working we're we're now we're now functioning um all all right so the the week is about to get really interesting you know you've got Jersey Jack and American pinball went to iyaa with no new games you know and no new games at iapa and you know so it's like okay so you didn't you didn't really do anything to get any more money like no one's seeing what any company that went to ippa is doing that is not going to gener a single sale spooky is going to reveal Evil Dead 1 and two tomorrow uh it's GNA be one game not two games but Evil Dead one and two and they're going to have the full reveal on Friday uh if they're smart the order banks open up on Friday and I just want to say this I I just do I think that this company is now number two in pinball I don't mean by volume right I I don't mean by volume I just mean they've made like 10 games now or more they're integrating the themes in the right way and the game's gonna have more toys in it than Avatar Godfather and probably Elton John combined at some point this company is sort of just giving people what they want in pinball except for the themes like they still don't have the themes that have the Mass Appeal they're going to get there I I think they've got some stuff coming that has more Mass Appeal I still think you know what you know what's crazy to me is that Rick and Morty remains like a just a turd of a game I'm sorry but like the design on that game is just horrendous and I wish they could remake Rick and Morty knowing now what they know now right knowing how they can build a game now knowing the mechs they can put into a game the fact that Rick and Morty which really was just a reskin TNA 2.0 I just think they should make an allnew Rick and Morty game I mean it's killer that they they legitimately can't make more Rick and Morty Goonies would have been a better sale of course Goonies would be a better sale than Evil Dead one and two Evil Dead one and two gang is a c theme it is not a b theme it's a c theme like at best but it's campy it's weird like I I don't think this is the um the big big one over at spooky but I do love the fact that the games they make based on the themes they make are now gonna be loaded have great artwork with franie they're gonna have clips from these movies synced up with the voices Bruce Campbell going to do the call outs I just think it's like it's now Stern Pinball easily is number one and I think these guys are number two and that's my point now crappy servos make their games unreliable and I I do agree Kelly that they've got to get the quality better and servos aren't the best way to sort of make games reliable to make the mechs work uh that's not really GNA work cgc is number two I I don't think so I'll tell you why Kelly how can you put cgc at number two when they reveal a game and it takes them over two years to get the game to customers to me that that's not number two uh Jersey Jack I I you look quality aside I mean I I just I think if you want quality yeah go buy a Stern Pro all day long the resale on spooky games hasn't been the best because they made too many Scooby-Doo they made um you know look Texas chainsaw and Looney Tunes again like the only the their best resale game is Rick and Morty because it's their best theme I mean once they start getting the themes right and they nail more mainstream themes look the worst is ultra man like that game is just like I'm glad I lost my deposit on that game but again a lot of this is Spooky's past and I think in the future in the future I think we're going to see a lot better teams a lot better mechs a lot better quality a lot better artwork a lot better code everything that makes a game fun I think these guys are going to deliver and I think uh they're they're a fun company to support I mean it's like there's no other way around it I mean you just kind of want to feel good don't you want to wake up and feel good about the pinball company you support they're not ripping you off they're really not ripping you off when you see that thousand Stern topper Metallica they're ripping you off when sternal are 13,000 they're ripping you off I'm just tired of being ripped off and I think at this point now it's like you kind of want to support The Underdogs a little bit and I think everyone's just tired of being ripped off I think everyone's tired of like shortcuts and laziness and mailing it in and waiting a year for a Topper to be available I mean you still don't even have a a topper for for Venom like you don't have a topper for Venom where where is it I I don't I don't know where it is you know and so like I just think we're at a point now where people just are either gonna tap out of the pinball hobby Al together and just wait on the sidelines I think people are fed up I I think people are very fed up with the pricing the delays the uh inconsistency with Communications and I think people are tired of losing so much money I I just think they want something a little bit different and here's the thing you're GNA get this game is going to be less than $10,000 and there's going to be less than 900 of them and more than 881 more than 800 82 more than 883 more than 884 I'm just gonna do this until I get to the number um so yeah I mean look it's not going to be everywhere and if it's really loaded game and it's fun it's GNA work well for them you know the gas lighting Josh is really the part that annoys me that spooky pinball is going to come out with a game that has way more mechs in it and toys in it than a $15,000 Jersey Jack Avatar than a $133,000 John Wick I I'm just tired of like of of being gas lit like Jersey Jack when they launched avatars they said this is like the most they've ever put into a game that this is their highest bomb ever like where where what happened like what happened then Wizard of Oz would be $40,000 if this is everything you've ever put into game yeah more than 666 I I just I'm over it I'm over the the spin the lies about loading up games the manipulation the gaslighting it's like I can see with my own two eyes if something is a mechanism or a toy I can see if you loaded it I can see if you you know made uh a lot of different interesting shots I can see if the I can see if the voices of the actors are synced up with the clips these muted Clips so yeah I think it's gonna be a good week a good week for spooky I think it's gonna be a good week for spooky I think they're going to sell all 800 and something of these games and I think half of them are going to go to Evil Dead fans and the other half are just going to go to people that are tired of the other options now the thing is this remember one thing though remember that spooky is still spooky that they can't make 800 and something games in six months it's going to take them a while to make these games uh so you're going to be looking at a weit and if history has shown us anything because they make as many collector's additions as people want it's not going to be hard to get one so and his history has shown us that if you wait it out you'll usually be able to cut the line uh and also maybe save a few bucks and that's just what history has shown us because sometimes dros bring these games to shows and you can get one there while people are still waiting so I I think there's they um you know there there's there's still the wait and see in play with this game that being said I think if you love The theme and you know you're going to own one and you're not going to resell it go buy one I mean that's really where we're at is like the only the only thing you know the only reason to buy a game now is if you love The theme and you love the game the the whole days of like yeah I'll just I'll show some support and and buy a game and and play it and then sell it those days are over because if you do that you're going to lose a few thousand it's at the point now where you only really want to buy something you never want to sell again and then you don't care about the resale value so that's it Paul you don't need to help the company out anymore like there there's none of this like these companies need help what these companies need to do is they need to pick themes that are day one sellouts and themes that hold their value you know until these companies realize that to what Josh just said there new and box is dying people new and box is like a sucker's purchase unless you love the theme and you're never going to sell it like think about all the newbies who rolled into pinball and bought John Wick Le Venom Le think about all those guys they went all in think about the newbies who bought a Metallica Ellie an old one not the new one sorry I still got my cough who bought an old Metallica Le and there's these dudes exist there are dudes who came in during covid and paid $220,000 for an old Metallica Le think about those guys for a minute a lot of them paid 18 for it imagine if you dropped 18,000 on an old Metallica Le and your game is now worth 10 and the new game is so much better and you can't even get one I I mean it's just like talk about a punch to the gut I mean if you sold your Metallica premium for 12 at the height tie you you uh you are laughing all the way to the bank I I saw that now Metallica L's are are listed for like 18,000 and they're going to get them all day long if you have a new Metallica you're getting 17 to $18,000 all day long if you have one I would scalp it in a heartbeat I would make the $4 to 5,000 in a heartbeat I mean someone's paying for another game it's it's like getting another game for 50% off look unless you love metallic and you need to have it you could scalp the new one go get the old one for five you basically take 5,000 off the price of the old one I I'd like I I you know I just saw Batman SLE went up for sale um I don't think spooky prices are going up I think this game's going to be right below 10 grand you'll be able to option it out with butter for over 10 but I I think spooky prices are going to stay the same I think when you see this Evil Dead game and you see what's in it and then you look over and you see the toys in avatar for 15,000 it's not going to cut it it's not going to cut it h Harry Potter better be packed I have not seen the game I have not seen the game I told them you know they wanna if they want to send me something I won't share it um let me see if they sent anything sorry gang I really still have this cough um it's not fun I'm going to talk for a little bit and then I gotta go I I think Harry Potter is g to be um I I just you know it's it's weird for me to say this but like when was the last time Jersey Jack nailed it nailed it I mean you you almost might not even have any time they nailed it I right I mean when was the last time Jersey Jack just nailed it okay like let's just stay on that is it clipping I'm like moving around here but when's the last time they nailed it Elton John Elton I um yeah but I would argue Elton not the theme people want like they you know what I'm saying like Elton yeah they nailed it for Elton John fans but they didn't like nail a theme El you know what I'm saying like Elton John didn't sell well at all and and Avatar is about to sell worse than Elton John I just I just you know nail to me nailing it is you pick a theme people like are okay with that you know what I'm saying you pick a theme people are okay with then you you nail like like to me Godzilla is like nailing it like Godzilla wasn't like everyone's dream theme but it's like we all like Godzilla you know it's like King Kong it's like I like King Kong you know like you could call anything King Kong bubblegum I like it King Kong ice pops I like it King Kong movie I like it King Kong you know I I like King Kong I like a big gorilla that's a monster that climbs the Empire State Building I like Godzilla I don't think Elon John is in the same universally cool for dudes territory as say you know El Elton John's not as cool as Godzilla and King Kong dialed in did not nail it geez God dialed in dialed in is a disaster idea it's a disaster idea it never should have been made and imagine if all of that effort went into making Toy Story one think about it for a minute Toy Story 1 was already out for like 15 years as a movie imagine if Lawler put all that effort into making Toy Story one dialed in is is another sterile numb game where you feel nothing like you want to feel more than you do but you don't feel anything um Beetle Juice and Goonies are both coming but you know not yet I I just hope these themes that people really want I hope they arrive before new in box is completely dead I really I mean it gang we we are launching long range missiles into Russia everything is so expensive every time I go to the gas now I just get like three gallons of gas and it's like $20 like it's it's stupid it's so stupid now like I don't know like I I gotta be honest well fingers crossed I might have sold my New York City Apartment that I'm going to knock this mortgage down but man the cost of everything and my daycare is 6,000 a month I'm not in the market for new box pinball I will have like money every month now once I sell this apartment and I'm just going to invest it in the the future for my children and on vacations I'm not I'm not really into like you I can't even flip pins anymore it's no fun they ruin scalping you know I just don't um I don't see new and box sustaining itself over the next five years I I think you think about gang think about it you really think this hobby can flourish over the next few years with where pricing is at do you do you really think pinball is gonna like be okay at these prices I I either they lower prices or they lower the volume of games like they need to like Stern the to make only two games a year and and only have 500 Lees they need to find a way to sort of get some uh scarcity back some value back you need to start giving some secondhand value to the consumer and until they do that again only fools rush into these new and box purchases I I I'm really really feel bad for all my friends who went all in on these L's over the last three to four years I mean you've lost $4,000 on every game except for Jaws and Metallica I mean think about that like if you bought Foo Fighters and James Bond just those two games alone if you bought Foo Fighters Le and James Bond Le you you lost almost $8,000 just think about that for a minute a foo fighter Le and a James Bond Le has lost you $8,000 that's that's a hard pill to swallow you know these these are depreciations now on the level of an automobile worse than an automobile even $88,000 like you could buy almost a submar Rolex for the loss you wouldn't lose that if you bought a submarin Rolex oh man everybody look my throat is killing me this has been fun I got I got to bounce I gotta go have dinner have my soup um everybody thank you for being a member of the Canada Club if you are not I hope you join um I'm G to put into the chat where you can join if if you haven't joined if you don't if you've been living under a rock but it would be great if you could sign up you can also now give the gift of canus pinball podcast to people so if you have friends in pinball that uh would just love to uh you know that you would love to introduce to Canada's pinball podcast you can now give the gift of Canada let me see I'm gonna find you the link for that here we go where's where's the link here we go look at that I mean it really is not a bad gift I think as we get to the holiday this is really what you want to do everybody have a good night I I would buy a Lord of the Rings new in box for 15 grand I would it's like Stern's best game ever everybody knows it it really is imagine if they just tweaked a little bit and put something in the path of the Dead everybody be good thank you Adam for the support and uh I I still got this viral cough I I went through five days of antibiotics but it's still lingering I think I have like walking pneumonia or something anyway thank you I hope to feel better soon I hope to feel better by our Saturday show um and because I got to save my voice for all these podcasts this week because of this new spooky game so I can't wait to give my first impressions when I see it uh hopefully uh sometime time this week everybody have a good night Canada out