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Straight Down The Middle: a pinball show Episode 10: This Month In Pinside (Texas Pinball Festival)

Straight Down the Middle·video·42m 1s·analyzed·Apr 3, 2017
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.038

TL;DR

Texas Pinball Festival coverage: Alice Cooper controversy, Houdini hype, Dutch Pinball concerns.

Summary

Zach Sharpe and Greg Bone of Straight Down the Middle discuss highlights and controversies from the Texas Pinball Festival, covering new game announcements including Spooky Pinball's Alice Cooper-themed Nightmare Castle, Houdini Master of Mystery, Elvira 3, and others. Key tensions emerge around theme selection (Alice Cooper's niche appeal), pricing concerns (Bride of Pinbot 3 at $12,500), and manufacturer reliability issues (Dutch Pinball quality control and delays).

Key Claims

  • Spooky Pinball's Alice Cooper Nightmare Castle will not feature classic Alice Cooper hits like 'School's Out' or 'No More Mr. Nice Guy'—only offbeat songs that fit the theme

    high confidence · Zach Sharpe and Greg Bone discussing official announcements about the game's music selection

  • Bride of Pinbot 3 is priced at $12,500, which is considered excessive and indefensible for an iterative release

    high confidence · Greg Bone states the price explicitly; both hosts criticize it as inflated

  • Dutch Pinball's Big Lebowski machines come out of the box with functional problems and are not working reliably

    medium confidence · Greg Bone: 'They come out of the box not working a lot of times.' Based on secondhand reports and Pinside discussion

  • The Jetsons by Spooky Pinball/Pinball Company is positioned as a family-friendly, accessible game with simple mechanics unsuitable for advanced competitive players

    high confidence · Both hosts discuss design philosophy and reception at Texas Pinball Festival

  • Houdini Master of Mystery features only one ramp, which some players view as a significant limitation

    high confidence · Greg Bone notes 'I think it only has one ramp' and expresses this as a design criticism shared by others

  • Elvira 3 was announced with no gameplay footage, artwork, or manufacturing details revealed—only the title and Cassandra Peterson's appearance

    high confidence · Both hosts criticize the vague announcement: 'all we have is they were making another game' and 'We know nothing other than they're going to make it'

  • Spooky Pinball only showed a backglass image for Alice Cooper Nightmare Castle at Texas Pinball Festival with no playable machine or full art package revealed

    high confidence · Greg Bone: 'Spooky Pinball just showed a back glass' and criticizes lack of full art package reveal

  • Sam Stern is rumored to be the manufacturer behind Elvira 3, though this is unconfirmed

Notable Quotes

  • “I just want good themes, Greg, damn it. But this is what you have to look at. That's classic rock or something? That's like punk-assity.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 5:28 — Expresses core frustration with Spooky Pinball's Alice Cooper selection as too niche and dismisses classic rock credibility

  • “Don't bullshit me and try to say that it's Nightmare Castle. It's Alice Cooper, Nightmare Castle, but. No, it's bullshit.”

    Greg Bone@ 10:56 — Directly challenges the framing of the game's theme; argues the Alice Cooper licensing is the real driver despite Nightmare Castle branding

  • “They show a back glass. This is their third. I'm sorry I'm on the Spooky Pinball here because I think I just want this company to do so well. I heard really good things about the people that run this. I want so bad for this to work, but, man, if this is your third big title, give us some art.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 17:24 — Expresses genuine support for Spooky Pinball while criticizing their promotional strategy and lack of tangible product reveals at major trade show

  • “Houdini Master of Mystery is going to be awesome. I think it looks great. Great gameplay videos. It actually looks good. But I think it only has one ramp. I don't care. I do. I can get past the one ramp. It looks like it shot well. I can't. Give me more ramps.”

    Greg Bone and Zach Sharpe (alternating) @ ~17:00 — Illustrates design criticism divide: playfield simplicity versus mechanical limitation perspective

  • “$12,500 for a Bride of Pinbot. I mean, I agree you can buy nine of them for that.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 22:58 — Directly critiques pricing strategy as exploitative; compares Bride of Pinbot 2.0 cost ($1,200–$1,300) to new 3.0 at 10x markup

Entities

Zach SharpepersonGreg BonepersonSpooky PinballcompanyPinball CompanycompanyDutch PinballcompanyAlice Cooper Nightmare Castlegame

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Dutch Pinball's viability questioned; Zach Sharpe expresses serious concern company may not survive beyond one year based on pricing and product strategy

    medium · Zach Sharpe: 'I'm afraid that this place is not going to have open doors the next year.' Qualified as pessimistic speculation rather than confirmed information.

  • ?

    business_signal: Dutch Pinball's Bride of Pinbot 3 at $12,500 perceived as unsustainable pricing strategy to fund Big Lebowski delays; suggests financial distress

    high · Zach Sharpe: 'This is basically a GoFundMe.' Pricing compared unfavorably to Bride of Pinbot 2.0 (~$1,200–$1,300)

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Alice Cooper theme highly divisive in community; theme selection perceived by hosts as targeting niche audience rather than universal appeal

    high · Extensive debate between hosts; Greg dismisses Alice Cooper relevance while Zach defends broader appeal. Pinside discussion cited as source of controversy.

  • ?

    event_signal: Texas Pinball Festival served as major announcement venue for Alice Cooper, Houdini Master of Mystery, Elvira 3, and pitching game remake

    high · Multiple game announcements tied to Texas Pinball Festival; hosts note Texas is now one of three major shows alongside Chicago and Replay

  • ?

    leak_detection: Elvira 3 announced with minimal details (title only); no manufacturer confirmed, no artwork or gameplay revealed; Cassandra Peterson confirmed presence

    high · Hosts criticize vagueness: 'all we have is they were making another game' with no tangible product information

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.126

0:00
You hit it off with a bumper knife, straight down the middle of the gate, middle of the gate. You had a fling with a fling shot, you're rolling out the alley dog, yeah.
0:12
I tried to cradle you with my... Howdy, it's me, Zach. And Greg. Hey friends. It's early in the morning and we're rocking and rolling. What are we talking about today, Greg? This is our This Month in Pinside. Yes, and we're going to talk about Texas. we didn't go oh i was supposed to go and zach had to go on spring break with the yeah here's the story that's a quick story um so i'm gonna get a shot after the story all right no she don't want to my wife doesn't have to worry about it no so i'm supposed to go to texas i'm really pumped up like the uber nerd that i am and pinball and i'm like oh nicole i'm going to texas uh you're ready to go to Texas with me? She's like, yeah, sure. They're shopping. Yeah, they're shopping. So we're going to Texas. And then I didn't get my tickets because I procrastinate. And I thought, I'm going to Texas. I'm going to film down there. This is going to be great for the show. This is going to be awesome. Always good unveilings at Texas. It's going to be great. It's my first Texas. It's going to be good. And then she tells me, like, maybe two weeks, three weeks before. Yeah. She says, you know the kids, their spring break is during the time you're wanting to go to that pinball thing. And I said, awesome, so we're going to Texas for spring break.
1:35
Yeah. And she just gave me a look, and I thought, okay, well, no, we're not going to Texas now, so maybe I'll go to Expo in Chicago. So neither one of us went to Texas. No. And it was a shame because it sounded like a decent showing for a lot of pins that we're going to talk about today. Yeah. But we still wanted to bring it to you guys just because it's on Pennside, and it's just Smuth and Pennside, and there's a ton of talk about Texas. That's what we're talking about on Pennside right now. Yeah, exactly. It's all over the place. So we've got a list of things to talk about. You guys have probably watched videos of other people. This is just our take on the different machines that have come out and the exciting things and the not-so-exciting things and the just downright shitty things that have happened in Texas. Yeah, very true. Start us off. What are we talking about, Gregory? Pinball companies, the Jetsons. Yeah. People got to get a hold of it there. And it's updated. Yeah. Looks different. It does look different. They didn't add a whole lot to it, but, I mean, visually, it's a hell of a lot better. It's got 3D-sculpted buildings and Astro and just different things. Yeah, I think it added a lot to it. It was simple.

medium confidence · Greg Bone: 'A lot of people are saying Sam Stern may make it' but acknowledges uncertainty

  • Dutch Pinball may be facing severe financial difficulties and could potentially close within a year

    medium confidence · Zach Sharpe: 'I'm afraid that this place is not going to have open doors the next year' based on pricing and product strategy concerns

  • A friend lost his down payment on a Big Lebowski Pinball machine due to delays and production issues

    high confidence · Greg Bone references personal knowledge: 'We had a guy a friend who was supposed to get one he's lost his down payment'

    • “I'm afraid that this place is not going to have open doors the next year. I hope that's not the case because I'm always... You're an optimist, you.”

    Zach Sharpe@ 24:39 — Expresses serious concern about Dutch Pinball's long-term viability based on business decisions and product quality

  • “They come out of the box not working a lot of times. Oh, gosh. Yeah.”

    Greg Bone@ 23:20 — Alleges systematic quality control failure with Dutch Pinball machines; frames as industry knowledge

  • “Guess who didn't? Most of the large manufacturers. That's very true. They unveiled some stuff, but there was nothing there.”

    Zach Sharpe and Greg Bone@ 17:09 — Criticizes major manufacturers for showing artwork/announcements without playable machines at Texas Pinball Festival; praises smaller manufacturers (specifically Houdini creator) for bringing functional demo

  • “We don't know who's making it. Yeah, you tell us the name of that car. We don't know who's making it. The Electra 5. And you show me nothing about that car. Sometimes I do do that. Yeah, but it's stupid.”

    Zach Sharpe and Greg Bone (analogy exchange)@ 19:03 — Uses car analogy to criticize vagueness of Elvira 3 announcement; expresses frustration with promotional strategy

  • “But I think this is going to be different from Rob Zombie's Spookshow International. This is their third. I think this is the best art that's been released from them so far. Do you not agree?”

    Greg Bone@ 7:45 — Defends Spooky Pinball's artistic quality despite thematic disagreement; shows design/theme distinction in evaluation

    • The Jetsons
    game
    Houdini Master of Mysterygame
    Bride of Pinbot 3game
    The Big Lebowski Pinballgame
    Elvira 3game
    Cassandra Petersonperson
    Dennis Nordmanperson
    Jeremy Packerperson
    Texas Pinball Festivalevent
    Rob Zombie's Spookshow Internationalgame
    America's Most Hauntedgame
    Sam Sternperson
    John Borgperson
    Gizmo The Gamescompany
    Chicago Pinball Expoevent
    Straight Down the Middleorganization
    Pinsideorganization
    Nicoleperson
  • $

    market_signal: Spooky Pinball's promotional strategy criticized for showing only backglass artwork without full art package or playable machine for Alice Cooper Nightmare Castle at trade show

    high · Zach Sharpe criticism: 'if this is your third big title, give us some art.' Hosts note larger manufacturers similarly unveiling without playable units

  • ?

    announcement: Pitching/batting arcade game remake announced with classic and zombie variants by Gizmo The Games; artwork by Jeremy Packer praised

    high · Dennis Nordman and team announced game at Texas; hosts describe as $4,000 bar/arcade game with strong design but limited home market appeal

  • ?

    product_strategy: Big Lebowski Pinball experiencing prolonged delays; review unit still not received; customer down payments lost due to production failures

    high · Greg Bone: 'We had a guy a friend who was supposed to get one he's lost his down payment and everything on there.'

  • ?

    product_strategy: The Jetsons deliberately designed as accessible, family-friendly pinball machine with simplified mechanics and one-ramp layout targeting casual players

    high · Both hosts describe design philosophy: 'It's a pin for the family. It's a pin for everybody.' and acknowledge simplified competitive depth

  • ?

    product_concern: Dutch Pinball machines reported arriving non-functional from factory; systematic quality control failures affecting Big Lebowski units

    medium · Greg Bone: 'They come out of the box not working a lot of times.' Based on secondhand reports and community discussion on Pinside

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Sam Stern rumored to be manufacturing Elvira 3, though unconfirmed by official sources

    medium · Greg Bone: 'A lot of people are saying Sam Stern may make it.' No official confirmation provided.

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Alice Cooper Nightmare Castle will not feature classic Alice Cooper hits ('School's Out', 'No More Mr. Nice Guy'); only thematic songs will be included

    high · Hosts state definitively that licensing constraints eliminated iconic songs due to thematic mismatch

    • 2:36
    What feedback have you heard from it? A lot of people, it's simple. It's not for everybody. You hit the character so many times to complete that. Yeah, it's getting some bad. Some multi-balls. Yeah, it's getting the one ramp. One ramp. Again. But that's spooky. It's spooky. And the thing is, too, is I think that what Pinball Company was going for was the pinball for everybody. That's right. It's not one of those things where if you're this fantastic player or you're looking for something that's super challenging, it's just not the game for you. But fantastic players find a way to play any pin. I think so. I mean, I literally, you know me, I enjoy anything I play. I've heard a lot of people actually say it's fun to shoot. Yeah, I think it looks fun. And there was some really good stuff. I just think there's some people critiquing it because for whatever reason they were expecting something. I mean, it's not Spooky's next game. That's right, which we'll get to. Yeah, which we'll get to. But I love the theme. The layout looks pretty cool to me. Yeah, I do too. It looks fun. I mean, I don't think that they'll have a problem selling it. Yeah, they were trying to get $300 or $500 they're going to sell. Yeah, I think $500. Yeah, they'll be fine. I think so too. And it's a pin for the family. It's a pin for everybody. I think that kids will be able to understand it and play it. It's colorful. It's very pretty. I think it's a great family pin. I don't think the pinball company is doing anything wrong. I'm trying to think. Is there anything really to add to the Jetsons? I don't know when they're shipping it or when they're building. No, I have not yet. They're probably in the process right now. I would think that Spooky is going to try to get that run done before their third game. I would assume. So they're probably going to start pushing them out. Nick over at the pinball company probably, I haven't talked to him, but he probably has a lot sold, if not all of them sold. Yeah. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know. But, I mean, he's got a really nice showroom, too. So, I mean, you throw that out on the floor, and what he doesn't have sold is probably going to, whoever walks in there is going to say, hey. So, the Jetsons, thumbs up as of right now. We'll play it, and we'll see how it goes. What else do we got? Speaking of spooky. Yes, we are on to spooky's new game, Spooky 3. We got Alice Cooper. Well, no, say the whole damn title. Well, let's see if you know it. Nightmare Castle. Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle now this right here this is where it gets deep because I think that this pin is already kind of controversial just because of the theme and me and you had quite a bit of argument about it go ahead and tell me what you don't like let's listen to yours I love everything about it I've got my order in and I'm going to, man, Alice Cooper, I've got the tattoo on my chest. No. That's a smart ass. It's freaking Alice Cooper.
    5:21
    Like, who cares about Alice Cooper? A lot of people love Alice Cooper. A lot of people. See, this is where we differ because, I mean, I grew up on classic rock. I just want good themes, Greg, damn it. But this is what you have to look at. That's classic rock? That's like punk-assity. No, it's classic rock. You throw it in there. School's out. That's classic rock. That's classic. But guess what? It's not going to be in the damn game. No, okay. Okay, so now I've got to give a somewhat of a downside.
    5:48
    So here's my argument against it. It is a fantastic theme, whether it's got Alice Cooper or not. You've got Nightmare Castle. So that's the theme that you're calling. I think it fits. I think that it fits Spooky very well. True. Very, very well. And I think that it can be a standalone game, like dialed in. it's got Alice Cooper to it but I don't think if you don't like Alice Cooper, you don't care about his music you don't care about the rock genre or anything else like you I think that it still has the potential to be a fantastic pin with a fantastic theme just because of the whole haunted castle type thing and I know there's a lot of pushback about the songs and I don't know and I don't think anybody else truly knows of what the music and stuff is going to be because I think they came out and said school's out, some of that stuff isn't going to happen Yeah, none of that stuff is going to be in there. No more Mr. None of his hits. Yeah, no more Mr. Nice Guy, some of that stuff. They're going to try to, I'm assuming they're going to try to pick songs possibly that fit the theme. I just want to buy a spooky game, but I can't buy one if they keep coming out with these themes.
    6:59
    Yeah, but like I said, I think this is going to be different from Rob Zombie. I actually, I don't mind Rob Zombie music. I like Rob Zombie music. Yeah, I like Rob Zombie. I don't like Alice Cooper music. But I think this with the original art, I think the art package is great. They've only showed us the back glass. The back glass is awesome. I think it looks really good. That's what I'm saying. I think that it can be a stand-alone game. Minus Alice Cooper. Side note on spooky stuff. Like the Translight, if it's Translight, I think it's Translight. It might be a back glass. I don't know what they're going to do. But it is awesome. It is really neat. It looks really good. That makes me kind of actually want to look at the end. But here's my problem, Greg. They wash it out. They put these colors behind it like on Rob Zombie in America's Most Haunted. Yeah, they've got to be careful about that. Like, if anything, just put a damn fluorescent tube to brighten up that artwork. I think this will be different. I think this is the best art that's been released from them by far.
    7:51
    Do you not agree? Boy, you're really saying a whole lot there. We had America's Most Haunted with that beautiful trans life. We know how that happened.
    8:00
    Here's my problem with it. Yes, because that's what I want to know. I want to know why you can't get past Alice Cooper. I can't. God, I can't. America's Most Honored comes out. Oh, it's a cool theme. And then they mess up the back glass. And then it's a nice start. It's a pretty good game, though. Yeah, it's a fun game. But let's see what else they got in store. So then they come out with Rob Zombie. Another cool theme, but very specific to a specific little crowd. And they make it very adult, which I love. That's fine.
    8:31
    So that's a pretty good game. I haven't got to really play it or mess with it. Do you know Hot Shoots or anything? I've played it. Yeah, I mean, I've played it a handful of times. Feel okay about it? It feels like a spooky game. Okay, okay. That's not bad. It feels like a spooky game. I need to get more games on it. Yeah. And we're going to review that here soon. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so that was the second game. Then the third game comes out, and you're like, oh, man, spooky. They're really pumping this up, man. They're wetting their chops. We're going to really blast out. And then all of a sudden, let's pick a theme that really no small, just a small sector of people. No, I think that's where I think you're wrong. Rob Zombie. How many hits did Alice Cooper have? A ton.
    9:13
    Really? Yeah, I mean, you had Poison. There was a lot of songs. I mean, Alice Cooper to me is. Makes me want to take a bath. Oh, no. Alice Cooper is no different than Ozzy or anybody else. Aerosmith even. Honestly, like, it's a different crowd. It's a different crowd. corny and I like Aerosmith music. I like Aerosmith too. Maybe I'm just too soft. But when you pick your third theme, it's like here's our breakthrough machine and it's Alice Cooper. And then, not only that, it's like we have a small section of people that really like Alice Cooper and hopefully they'll buy our pinball machines. But then, it's like, well, what we take about Alice Cooper that people actually like is music. No, no, we're going to scrap that. We're going to scrap that. We're going to do some offbeat weird music. But it's not even weird. I mean, his music is kind of weird. Yeah, it is. But if it fits the theme. Feed My Frankenstein? Yeah, it's still cool, man. God, I still remember being in a bowling alley with my parents playing pinball and hearing that song. Oh, my God. I think the crowd that likes Alice Cooper is bigger than what you think, by far. It's a big crowd. They're only probably selling, what, 300, 500 of these machines? They'll be fine. I'm not complaining about that. I being selfish and I saying damn it Start off with 500 I want a good theme Don give me Alice Cooper I like it So you honestly don feel that you can get past Alice Cooper and look at it as Nightmare Castle Get his ass out of it and just give me a Nightmare Castle But it's cool looking. So, I mean, if he was just a figure in Nightmare Castle and he wasn't called Alice Cooper, but the back glass was the same and everything else. It's just this cool guy, some makeup, scraggly hair and stuff going on. You really, like, just the name alone kills you that much. No. No, because he is the central. Don't bullshit me and try to say that it's Nightmare Castle. Yeah, it's Alice Cooper, Nightmare Castle, but. No, it's bullshit. It's bullshit. You know what it is? I'll tell you what it is. It's Alice Cooper, but damn, man, that's not a strong theme. Let's throw Magic Castle in there or Haunted Castle. No, man. It's a spooky theme and the magic is more palatable. I think if the game looks good and you do the rest of the game like you did that back glass or translate, whatever they're going with, But I honestly think that it's going to look good in anybody's collection. I think that's fantastic. It'll look fine. The Rob Zombie, I agree. It's a very specific. See, I think that's probably more wide range than Alice Cooper. Oh, I don't. He does the film. He does art. You're in a different age. What is Alice Cooper? You're in a different genre of age. He doesn't. He's an old musician. Yeah. And what does he do? Talk radio and stuff? I don't know what else he does. I've heard he's a great guy, though, man.
    11:48
    That's why I ain't real. I've heard he's like the greatest guy in the world. I heard he's just like the nicest, coolest guy you'll ever meet. Look, I'm down to hang out and party with the dude. Yeah. But I'm just not digging his music. It's a freaking pinball. Man, I think that you take anybody who was a teenager, a young adult, or anybody in the 70s, even in the 70s, 80s, that generation. Boys. Yeah, that generation of people. I think, man, and that's a lot of pinball buyers. I think we just missed out on Alice Cooper and R.H. Okay, I want good themes. Is this a good theme? I think it's cool. theme. Is Goonies a good theme? Goonies is a great theme. Jurassic Park? I'm behind this theme, Spooky. Don't listen to this dick. I am behind you. Oh, God. This is not a good theme. No. It's not in there. I don't care. It's still Alice Cooper and it's fucking awesome. I know. I went and listened to the music. We're ranting on this, but this was the big thing. Yeah. This was a big reveal. It was big for some people, big letdown for others. Yeah, huge lie down. I was like, Alice Cooper. And then I heard Meatloaf was going to be. I love Meatloaf. Let's really blow this thing. I wouldn't want a Meatloaf pinball. So Alice Cooper, they announced that. So I get on iTunes. I'm like, all right, Zach, man, maybe he's singing some good music. It is. And I listen. I'm like, I like School's Out. That's cool. And then feed my friend. Okay, I can get behind that. And then they come out and they're like, oh, it doesn't fit the theme. School's Out doesn't fit the theme, so it's out. And I'm like, what? Like the only chance I had of even enjoying Alice Cooper being in this game you're taking. No, I think they're doing right. Because I don't know if School's Out is going to be with Nightmare Castle. We'll see what they do on their fourth pin. I'm excited. Okay, so what's next? I'll probably own it, though. You own everything. No, I don't own everything. I own one thing, and then I sell it, and I own another thing. You rich bastard. No, that's not true either. I know. All right, what's next? Get past the spooky shit. I am probably the most excited about this. Are we going to disagree on this? What are you bringing up? Houdini. Houdini! Houdini was playable. Yeah, it was. In a couple short months. Yeah. I'm excited about Houdini, to tell you the truth. Tell me why you're excited about it. I think the integration of that... J-Pop, you like that? No. But I think the integration... He's so far removed now. That LCD, and it's one of the most beautiful games I've seen. Wow. Do you not agree? Careful. How do you feel? I feel like it's an awesome art package. It is. People were bitching about the back glass, or the cabinet, but I think the cabinet really is. Yeah, I think it's amazing. I'm a big, I think magic is a theme, is killer. Houdini is associated with being the best magician. Yes. Alice Cooper is not the best musician. Some people would completely disagree with that and say Alice Cooper is fantastic and one of the greatest musicians of all time. What? I'm telling you, you're just lost. You're so lost. Led Zeppelin. Rush literally Alice Cooper is with Led Zeppelin and a lot of The Beatles I don't care about The Beatles you're going to kill me on that I'm not a Beatles fan I don't care about good music I can't get into The Beatles I listen to those are good music I listen to a freaking Alice Cooper meatloaf I listen to everything I love meatloaf too but I wouldn't do a meatloaf back to Houdini I hate the spooky back to Houdini is going to be awesome I think it looks great gameplay videos it actually looks It shot pretty good. But I think it only has one ramp. I don't care. I do. I can get past the one ramp. It looks like it shot well. I can't. Give me more ramps. I can't wait to get my hands on it and see how it does. It's one of those things. And a lot of people brought up... What do you like about it? The back glass is really cool. I don't like the funky wing head. Oh, I kind of like it. I don't. I want it to match up with my other... Yeah, I understand that. I don't need that. I understand that. The LCD is really cool. The art, I love Houdini on the main play field there. I love everything. With his hands. Everything about the art. And they integrate the tricks into mode. Now, this is one thing that people brought up a lot on the inside was, okay, it's nice, and it don't matter if it shoots great. It doesn't matter if it looks good. You want to compare that to any game that's out on the market. You can go buy those games. Houdini, who knows if it's actually going to ship? Who knows whether they might pull a Dutch pinball on that one? Who knows literally what will happen? Who knows if we're going to have to wait another year for it, even though it was flippable at Texas? Who knows how long we're going to have to wait to actually get our hands on this game or for them to start producing them. I'm rooting for them. I am too. I'm actually rooting for them big time on this game. Because this is a new company that knows how to theme a machine. Yes, yes. This is fantastic. Houdini. I agree. Universal. You can sell a lot. Agree. So we'll see. We'll see where it goes and hopefully it goes places. I like the chains. Yes. I like that tight shot. Did you see that one shot? It's left of the right orbit. Boy, oh boy, it reminds me of Shadow. It is a tight little shot up there. I think it's an interlude. I think it's got the most potential of anything at Expo that was shown. Okay, we'll talk about that later. Yeah, we will. So I love the looks of it. There's really nothing on that that I dislike at this moment. No, I agree. What about the catapult? Yes. On the left hand, it throws it up the play field into the, kind of like Aerosmith. I 100% agree with you. There is nothing on that game right now that I disapprove of. And code's probably not even close to being there, but it didn't have to be. Guess what? They brought a machine. Guess who didn't? Most of the large manufacturers. That's very true. They unveiled some stuff, but there was nothing there. It was like, not to rip on them or anything, but Spooky just showed a back glass. On to our next thing here. We want it. No, can we back up? So they show a back glass. This is their third. I'm sorry I'm on the Spooky train here because I think I just want this company to do so well. I heard really good things about the people that run this. I want so bad for this to work, but, man, if this is your third big title, give us some art. That's what kind of kills me. This is Texas, damn it. We've got three big shows a year. It's Texas, Chicago, and probably replay, right? Arguably, arguably. But not a lot of stuff's unveiled at replay, though, is it? There's not really much. It's mainly Chicago. Mainly with Chicago, but now Texas is doing good. I agree. Okay, we can move on. But, damn. Okay, so next release. Okay, what are we going to talk about? Elvira 3. Yeah, Cassandra was there with Nordman, and they announced Elvira 3 is going to happen. Yes, and I'm excited. I love that theme. I love everything about the Elvira stuff. It's an awesome theme. Yeah, scares the shit out of everyone. I like them all. Again, guess what, Greg? A universal theme that fits for a lot of people. Yeah, but I mean, if you would have, I don't know. I mean, she was really big back in the day, but I mean, you think that if you were to release something. She is pinball. She is. She has become pinball. If you didn't have those machines before, I think it would be like an Alice Cooper type thing. Oh, really? Elvira? They're going to make an Elvira pinball machine? If they make Alice Cooper 2 and 3, I don't think it's going to go that far. But again, there was nothing really. I mean, we got to see nothing of this pin.
    18:49
    Yeah, why not? I don't know. That's what I'm saying. I don't understand. Which makes me think it's going to be a long, long. I don't think they probably have anything. No, and that's what kind of blows me away. I don't think you'd unveil anything. It's like unveiling a car. We don't know who's making it. Yeah, you tell us the name of that car. We don't know who's making it. The Electra 5. And you show me nothing about that car. Sometimes I do do that. Yeah, but it's stupid. No offense. I just want to see something about it. I mean, it's nice that you're giving me a little heads up on the title. No, we didn't get a title. Well, it's just Elvira 3. You didn't really get a full title. No, all we got is they were making another game. It's so true. That's it. It's so true. You guys like Elvira, so pull your wallets out here. It's going to be really good. I can't mess it up. I don't know who's making it. A lot of people are saying Stern may make it.
    19:43
    I'm excited about it. We really can't talk about it because there's nothing. We know nothing other than they're going to make it. What's your bet on when this thing comes out? Two years. No, I ain't going that far. Damn, man. I ain't going that far. It'll be a year. They're not trying to pull a Jersey Jack here. No, I think if it's Stern that's making it. If it's Stern, they'll crank it out pretty quick, I think. I think if Stern's making it, you will see. See something by Chicago. No, I think you'll see something by Chicago. I think they'll start shipping second quarter 2018. Because that's what I liked about Aerosmith. Aerosmith, it seems like the Dirty Donny came out in his book. Oh, my God. Okay, here it is. And then all of a sudden, it felt like they're making them and they're shipping them. I felt pretty good about that. It was kind of hush-hush on the L-Viro 3. They announced that they were going to do something. I agree. Let's not waste more time on that. Let's just hope it's not like a whiz-bang. I don't want it to be a won't-ell-y. No, yeah, like a rethink. Don't do it wrong like that.
    20:37
    Okay, what do we got? Go on to the next one. I'll let you take this one. So, next one is following along the Norman track.
    20:45
    It is, I don't know the name of it. It's not zombie baseball. It's a pitching bat game that they're coming back out with. Like Slugfest. I think it's Gizmo Games doing it, and Nordman and all that. But it like Slugfest But there two models a classic model based on the old game and a zombie model And Zombie Yeti did the artwork and I think it really good It no Ghostbusters but it is really good But it's a neat game. What do you think about a Pigeon Bat? Are you going to spend $4,000 on it? No, no. I think some people, there's a market for it, obviously. It'd be great in a bar. A very good bar. Or an arcade or something. Yeah, I think so. Well, with all the barcades that are popping up and everything, I mean, that's... I don't know how many actual arcades even really exist anymore, but in our area, there's a ton of barcades that are popping up that are fantastic. So something in there would be, and I'd throw quarters in it like no other. Home buying it, I think it'd get a little old at home. So I don't think it's a home market thing, but I think it's good for a route for sure. Yeah, I think it's interesting that they're taking that risk. If I had just extra money, if I was just loaded and I had a good collection, I'd throw it in there just because it looks cool. It's really great. Yeah, good job, guys. It's a beautiful machine. It is beautiful. Good job. Go this one. This is getting really... You thought I was pissed about Alice Cooper. This one's where the bad stuff starts. This is where the bad stuff starts. Bride of Pinbot 3.957.
    22:05
    Bride of Pinbot, let's find a way to get more money to save our sinking ship. And there are some Bride of Pinbot fans out there. A lot of them. Not me. But I don't think that the artwork is as good on this one. It just doesn't have that classic feel. You're already getting into this shit. Like, who freaking cares about a Bride of Pinball at this point? You 2.0'd it. Is that not enough? But that's what I'm saying. There's Bride of Pinball fans that you could argue with. There's a lot of fans out there. But I think that they're just going to go get a really good machine, collector's quality machine, instead of dropping the money that they would on this. Don't you agree? How much are they supposed to drop on this thing? Do you know how much it is? Shh, man, no. Do you know how much it is? It was something stupid. Do you want to hear this? $12,500.
    22:48
    I know. it's an insane price for that I mean they really didn't change anything did they update the artwork who cares what the hell they did $12,500 for a Bride of Pinbot I mean I agree you can buy nine of them for that I agree man I just everything with Dutch is it's a rough patch I agree man like I hate to see it because I was waiting for them big and I heard Lebowski is a great game well when it works yeah when it works Do you have problems with working? They come out of the box not working a lot of times. Oh, gosh. Yeah. I didn't track that then. I mean, it's hard. I mean, I think that it's – I don't know. I've heard a lot of bad things. They're lying to people. Well, that's what I heard, and that's what I'm saying about the stuff that they posted on Pinside about the different things going on with them and the negotiations. And if we're totally wrong and somebody from Dutch Pinball is watching, reach out to us. Let us know. Let us clarify. But we're not – right here, we're not really – It's kind of what's been said on Pennside, what people are arguing back and forth. It's complete bullshit.
    23:54
    $1,200 actually makes sense. $12,500 for a Brita pinbot. That's insane. Yeah, it's trying to drive that market. I don't know. I can't justify it. I could see them trying to pull this shit for the 2.0.
    24:12
    That's fine, but don't go with 3.0 because you're having troubles with Big Lebowski, and you need money to coop for that. That's what I feel like it is. It's basically a GoFundMe. How much was a Big Lebowski?
    24:26
    I don't know. It won $12,500. Was it $9,000? Probably $8,000, something like that. It was not $12,000. This doesn't feel good, guys. That pinball does not feel good right now. I'm afraid that this place is not going to have open doors in the next year. I hope that's not the case because I'm always How are you guys going to buy one of these? We talked about that Magic Girl and you know being a collector's and stuff like that. Yeah. This is the same argument and I don't see it. I don't think it's an argument with the Brada Pinbot. No. When you get into Lebowski I can understand that. I'd like to play that. Yeah. We're going to review it at one point. We had a guy a friend who was supposed to get one he's got his down payment and everything on there. Yeah we're ready to review it. Yeah so we were excited about that but then you know it keeps getting held up and all that happens. So maybe we'll get our hands on it. And hopefully, I mean, I'm honestly, and it's from the bottom of my heart. You're an optimist, you. I am. I'm hoping. I'm actually a very pessimistic person. But, man, I hope that stuff turns around for Dutch. And I hope everything works out. And I hope they're not lying to people. I hope all that is legit. And I hope stuff starts getting shipped. And I hope they stay afloat. Because I want to see new manufacturers. I want to see good pen and paper. And they know how to pick a theme. Oh, yeah, definitely, man. Well. Well, with Lebowski, I want one of them. Yeah, he's true. Stop coming out bright at the box. I agree. Okay, so. What a slap in the face. I think so. If you're going to sell something for $12,500, pick anything else. Yeah, when I read that. Stop picking the same damn thing. Yeah, when I read that and I saw that, I was more taken aback by that than Alice Cooper, than anything else. That's why I was kind of hurt about Texas, because we had some of these announcements. This is, again, this is personally, this is selfish. My selfish needs are good themes. and we didn't get a whole hell of a lot of anything when it comes to themes. I agree. That's why Houdini is shining like a star. I don't know. I'm still, yeah, I think so. I'm still rooting for the spooky one, Alice Cooper. But I can see where some people it throws them off. It's not that universal theme I think that everyone was looking for. Like a Jaws or something. It's a now day, it's a Johnny Mnemonic for 2017. Look back and be like, what the hell is this? This movie's so bad. That would be picking a theme that you're banking on doing well. Like something coming out. Or what else we got? God, I hate talking about bad stuff. Attack from Mars remake. More bad stuff. No, I'm joking.
    26:54
    That's a great game. I'm just messing with you. The powder coat's ugly on that LE. They switched that real quick. Did you see that? They did that? They came out with the green. And then now if you spend that much money, they're like, oh, you can pick your package. You can pick a black or a stainless. And this didn't fit well. Something was off about it. A lot of people didn't like it. They should have learned something from Slimer. People love it, though. They do. So there's three models. Yeah, they do. They're really eating it? Yeah, they are. I can't get into it personally. Some people like it. So we have Attack from Mars being remade, just like Medieval Madness. I forgot who's making it. It's not Stern's not putting them together. I think it's all the manufacturers. No, they're doing it in-house. Yeah. By, really? I thought so. I could be wrong. I don't know. We should know this shit. I'm not going to comment on it. We should have been prepared. But Attack from Mars is coming out. Three models. The classic model. The premium-ish model or LE model. And then the highest end collectors. There's not much difference in between them, is there? Honestly? I mean, they're all original. I mean, it's definitely the original. Classic is original. The next step up, I think you get some LED lighting in the UFOs. You get the extra wide color display, which is really cool. Yeah. And then the next step up, you get the Total Beauty trim package. Yeah, but it's all aesthetics. And you get, I don't know, man. No? Because it is aesthetics. But, like, for the highest one. You think it's worth it. All the UFOs have RGB LEDs. Oh, that's pretty nice. So there's some cool stuff about that. I agree. I like it. And, you guys, the price point's not bad. No. Not for what you're getting. Yeah, it's lower than Medieval Madness. I think, what is it, $65 for the classic. And then it probably goes up in increments of 1,000 or so after that. So you're going to be able to score that probably as cheap or cheaper than an original. Oh, yeah. So that's nice. Because that's what I was really hoping with Medieval Madness was that you wouldn't. I commend them for the price point. Yeah, I do too. I think they're going to sell shitloads. Oh, I do too. It's a fun game. Simple, but it's fun. Yeah, I like it. I like it a lot. I'm trying to think what else. The topper. That's the new thing on the limited edition. It looks good. The topper. And I think it was designed with the actual artwork that did the game. so I think it looks pretty cool the guy who did the artwork now you might not know this am I wrong he's the guy who did the voice oh I don't work of the aliens I think too I could be completely wrong somebody shoot us something if we're wrong or we're right confirm I'm pretty impressed if you knew that yeah I think so look at you yay Greg the topper looks pretty cool yeah well integrated if you like Attack from Mars this is a no brainer yeah to me I agree so it's a nice little remake coming out we still got more stuff don't we to talk about One more, and I know nothing really about this. This is more your... Oh, we're going to go this before that, huh? I don't know anything about either one of the next things.
    29:47
    It's all you, brother. So we need to give a shout-out to Multimorphic P3 System. So this is a... Zach does. I do. I for real know nothing about it. I don't know why. I feel lost when he's explaining it. It is a new platform that they've been working on for five or so years, I think. And the idea behind it is so cool. So what it is, Greg, I'll educate you. It is a pinball machine. It is both physical and virtual in that it is a physical machine kind of like your Pinball 2000.
    30:19
    The entire play field is a screen. So they can do any type of animations they want on the screen. So it's like a virtual pinball machine mixed with a mechanical pinball machine. But it is all, it's balls, it's flippers, it's ramps. But the entire back portion you take out and put another component in for a different game.
    30:41
    Like ramps, locks, all that stuff. Different ramps, different locks, different stand-up targets, drop targets. I'm blown away, sir. Right? I am blown away. I'm selling you on it. Look at this. I'm blown away. I'm selling him on it. Not only that. I'm going to talk it up because I don't really like it. But not only that. You can. They just. A text has revealed that you can link them. two of them and compete against one another. That's pretty cool. How cool is that? And they've also had another model, another theme that does pinball training. It teaches you how to play pinball. Yeah. So it's trying to do what like Pinball 2000, and they're trying to, it's actually, yes, because it integrating video games in a sense with pinball So their cornerstone title was Lexi Lightspeed It like a heroine Lexi Lightspeed Welcome to the stage. Lexi Lightspeed. It's a stripper pin. It's your dollar. For Lexi. Multi-dollar multi-ball.
    31:45
    Prime rib. 1799 special. The buffet is open. So Lexi Lightspeed is their cornerstone. It's a cool name the arts pretty good on it. So let me ask you this, because I would assume... But they still haven't been shipping them, they're still in production. Well, that's what I was going to ask, because I think that if there's anybody else out there that's not familiar with it, because it was literally the first question on my mind right now, was how solid is it in shipping and being... Is it ready to go, though? No. They've been developing it for the five years. But is it closer, though. I mean, is it something that literally seems like a flippin' machine to me. We might be able to get our hands on them in a year. Yeah, within the year. I don't see what they're waiting on, really. Is that ready?
    32:35
    How's the resolution? How does everything look on that screen? It looks awesome having a screen on your play field. That's neat, man. But it's not pinball. But does it blind you? No, no, no. Stuff too? It looks fine. Here's the problem. Here's my critique. Is that they've got so many eggs in the basket here that so many coals in the fire, so many irons in the fire, whatever, that I want them just to focus on one and make it great. Right now, you know, I played at Expo, Chicago Expo, I played a couple of the games. They were more like redemption-based games. Like I played the ship game where the ships go. There's different ships, kind of like a submarine game that you shoot the missile, but you've got to hit it with the ball, which is fine, but after. So you're saying they've already tried to develop multiple inserts. Yeah, they have like four or five games. I will agree with you on that. It seems like it would have been better to... Some of them are kid-friendly. Go ahead and do one thing of inserts right now. You could have developed some software to make it feel different because of the play field and coding. And then maybe work on doing multiple inserts. It's got so much potential. It could be cool, but it's a little bit too virtual for me and I got tired of playing. It's almost like an app or a mini game, the games that I play. It's not a full code game. Well, it can't be because you're just taking out the back portion and you've got to rely on just that back portion to fill the game. Yeah. But it's got water for the return. But if they made one really good back portion, though, and they coded it right, it's got potential to be a really good thing? That's kind of a question. Yeah, I don't know. No, no? Every time I play it, I'm thinking, that's a cool concept. I'm excited about it. It's probably astronomical, though. Do you feel? No, I don't think so. No? No, I don't think so. I figured maybe the screen would be on. Let's talk about, we've talked about Alien before. Yeah. But it had a good showing in Texas.
    34:25
    Updated a lot of things. They're starting to ship out a little bit. Yeah. They're going to some of the distributors. Yeah. So we're rocking and rolling on Alien. Hopefully we'll get our hands on that and review it. Yep. Nothing but good feedback in Texas on Alien. Another friend that we got, we're going to review that. We haven't talked about that in a previous video, have we? I don't know if we have. But we're going to. We're lined up for that. Just waiting for it to ship and get in. We're going to review Alien. I'm super excited about that. Come on, Melissa Cointaker. Let's get this thing. Roll them out, girl. Let's get this thing shipped so we can flip it. I agree. For sure. So the Stern lecture. Yes. So Stern, Jersey Jack didn't present anything. They just kept showing the dialed in with updated code, which I've heard great things about. And that makes sense for them. I agree. The Stern thing is what kind of throws me. because George Gomez had a lecture about their product offerings,
    35:17
    their different cornerstones, three cornerstones a year, a vault a year, a boutique a year. We sort of already knew this. We kind of already knew it. Yeah. He's presenting it again. I do give him a lot of credit, my buddy George Gomez. You're mean to George. I know. I'm so mean to him. My wife watched the video, and she's saying, he's kind of mean to that guy. And I was like, you know what? But I took up for him. So, George, you remember. George. When we see each other, I'm buying you a beer. Zach, you think George drinks? I don't know. He probably gets down. He's a California guy. Yeah, I love drinking. You ain't my friend if you don't drink. Oh, I don't drink much. No? That's why we're not friends. Oh, well, that's fine with me.
    35:57
    So George Gomez, I give him a lot of credit. He got out there and was answering people's questions. Yeah. And I always like at Texas and stuff, some people, like, all this shit talk on Pennside, and then it comes into the conference and people are like, so tell us a little bit about it. Yeah, they're really nice. I really love that Iron Man thing. Can you tell me about it? I love what you did with Ghostbusters. No problem. Really nice. Just sucking stage ass up there.
    36:24
    Sucking stage ass up there. You really didn't give us no information. You didn't tell us shit. What's wrong with them? It's like you didn't ask nothing. That's what we did. So he got up there, and it was a nice speech. But here's my problem with it, Greg. If you're going to say you've got three cornerstone titles, you've got a vault title, and you've got a boutique title, That's five titles, right? How many pinball shows do we got? We've got a shitload of pinball shows, but how many? What are the big ones? We've got three. We've got Texas. We've got Chicago. We've got pinball replay effects. Yeah. Right? So we've got three shows. We've got five machines. Damn it. What are you doing, Stern? At least tell us what the damn vault is going to be. But I will say this, though, maybe. It might be a good thing on Stern's part. They might be trying to play a different angle, as in you've got a lot of games that are being hype that come off of Texas and everything else. So if Stern just announces something or allows something to leak. They could have took the entire show. No, no, I'm saying after the show. I'm saying if it was really good. But I'm saying after the show. Hype on Houdini, hype on Spooky 3, all that stuff could have, it tones down a little bit, then Stern gets something. So now the entire thing of Pinside, everything is lit up about Stern's next game. Nobody's people get their orders in. I mean, I agree with that. But, I mean, if you leak one or two things before Chicago, and then you unveil some things in Chicago. They came out with Aerosmith.
    37:45
    But it was a leaked thing. Look, it was exactly that. Oh, boy, oh, boy. Is Aerosmith not blowing up at Texas? People are loving it. But I'm saying when the Dirty Donnie copy book table came out, that wasn't an accident. That was meant. Oh, yeah. That's what I'm saying. What else was being talked about at that point? Nothing.
    38:00
    No, bullshit, it was. Stern, they released at Expo, they showed Batman 66. Yes. Okay, so that was their cornerstone. Yes. Right? And then they leaked Aerosmith. Right? Yes, but that's what I'm saying. They leaked it at a different point. There was still some chatter about Batman. No. They released it and they let it leak at a different point. I don't expect them to release a cornerstone for Texas, but dammit, this is Texas. You bring something to the game and at least I've been with five games. I do agree Yes, announce what the vault is going to be. You're going to have to show them a little more weak maybe. Yeah, vault. Like this year we're going to try to pull out ACDC vault. Yeah. They brought nothing. Yeah, I mean I'm not trying to defend them in any way. Marketing wise it might be good once to let things leak out or announce something when other hype around other games have died down. Bullshit, this is Texas. They could have took this thing. They had Dutch Pinball blow it. They had Spooky.
    38:57
    Still great. That's fantastic. What else do they have? Houdini, a new company that they need to compete with. They're up there in Chicago. Elvira 3 announced but had nothing to show for it. They're out on Jetsons. Yeah, Jetsons.
    39:10
    Jersey Jack wasn't showing anything. Damn it, Stern, where are you at? That's it. We capitalize on those kind of moments. Because I honestly feel that Stern and J.J.P. are the two main manufacturers. That's right. So it's going to be kind of exciting to see if there's kind of a head-to-head thing between those two in Chicago. It happened last year. It'll happen this year. That's what I'm saying. The two big releases. And that's what makes Chicago so great. I like that, yeah. And people are like, oh, Texas is the, that's the festival. But I'm still Chicago. Well, I like it because it's Stern's home turf. And then JJP rolls in. And that's good competition because you're outside. Now we've got American Pinball. Yeah. We've got Spookies up in Wisconsin close enough. Yeah. It's going to be exciting. I like Chicago. I think they've got maybe some big things up there. People just don't like the administrative portion of Chicago. so there's not many games to play but as it reveals it's pretty cool oh that brings up a good point you better hurry up so we got an hour and a half so Stern released Aerosmith and I will say that the announcement that we have I have one ordered I've got an Aerosmith Pro ordered looking forward to that hopefully Greg I'll have it within the next week or two we're going to do a nice thorough review of that Yeah, we're going to play that. We've already put some good time on it. Then you can check out our gameplay video. Yeah, but we've put some more in between there. We've thrown some games down on one.
    40:34
    But this, when you own it, everybody knows how it is. You really get to feel the rules, and we'll be able to hopefully bring it to you, the depth of the rules and how complete we feel that game is at the moment. I like it. I feel pretty good. I like it. And then we've got a cool little thing that we're going to do with Aerosmith. We won't announce it now, but it's going to involve you guys. we need you guys' help on something with Aerosmith. So we're going to talk about that, too. What else we got for Texas, man? That's it. Is that it? I think that's it. So this month in Pennside is closing, and we just focused on Texas. Yeah, because it was big. There was a lot that happened. Sounds good. What's wrong with that? All right, so until next week, this is Straight Down the Middle with my man Greg. Word. And myself, Zach. Have a good one, guys. Straight Down the Middle. Yeah. Middle, yeah. You had a fling with a fling shot. You're rolling out the island again. I tried to cradle you with my flipper, it was all in vain It was all in vain Baby, baby, baby, why you do Oh my goodness. Everybody.
    41:37
    I like the howdy. Yeah, do it. Fuck it. It's us. It is us. The way things go. Alright. Straight shot in the camera.
    41:48
    We're recording. alright where's Gigi okay can you have Gigi let me eat that mouth la la la