claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.035
Kong, Dune, Portal, and Merlin's Arcade revealed; analysis of design, pricing, and market timing.
King Kong is a Keith Elwin-designed Stern game that plays faster than recent Elwin titles like Godzilla, with quicker multiball sequences and fewer artificial delays.
high confidence · Nick played the game 5 times at his club and provided detailed gameplay impressions.
King Kong uses servo-driven mechs for the Kong articulation, continuing a design choice that has faced community backlash in other games.
high confidence · Kevin noted this technical detail from production footage and acknowledged servo controversy in pinball.
Dune by Barrels of Fun features unapproved assets with watermarks saying 'pending approval from licensor' in gameplay footage.
high confidence · Kevin observed this in gameplay videos and expressed concern about shipping games with incomplete licensing approvals.
Dune pricing at $11,600 is significantly higher than comparable Stern Premium games at $9,600, making it a difficult market position.
high confidence · Hosts discussed pricing strategy and perceived value proposition; Nick called it 'too much' for a non-Stern/non-JJP title.
Portal (Multimorphic) includes new characters like Reggie (identity core) and voice work from Ellen McLain (GLaDOS voice actor).
high confidence · Content creator played the game extensively for reveal stream and detailed IP integration.
Simultaneous game reveals at major shows canibalize sales because collectors have limited budgets and must choose between competing titles.
medium confidence · Both hosts speculated this is a strategic error, though acknowledging they lack manufacturer financial data.
Zombie Yeti (Stern art director) is causing 'zombie Yeti fatigue' in the community due to consistent art style across multiple games.
medium confidence · Nick noted forum negativity about King Kong art and his own prior criticism of oversaturation; however, he acknowledged positive playfield art and Art Deco elements.
Godzilla is problematic as a tournament machine because it plays extremely long even with difficulty nerfs, making it unsuitable for competitive play.
“It's an L1 game. You know it's going to be good. You know, how good is it going to be, I think, is the question. It's never a question, is it going to be good? It's an L1 game. It's just how good is the game going to be.”
Nick @ King Kong discussion — Encapsulates the confidence in Keith Elwin's track record while expressing uncertainty about execution quality.
“The problem with all these games come out at the same time, you can't help but really go head-to-head and fight it out, unless you think you've got a better game than Kong, right?”
Nick @ Dune discussion — Core criticism of market strategy and simultaneous releases cannibalizing sales.
“How can you buy a, you know, $11,000 pinball machine with assets in it that haven't even been approved yet?”
Kevin @ Dune discussion — Highlights concern about Dune shipping with incomplete licensor approvals.
“I really like the lightning. I think there's like a lightning strike maybe sound effect, and the lights kind of flicker and flash, and that was cool... I do wish more games had the expression lighting in it.”
Nick (quoting Matt's observation) @ King Kong gameplay — Positive design detail demonstrating good atmospheric presentation choices.
“People don't want these slow things. You've got to have something quicker. Like, after you see it, even if it's the first time, it's not that impressive.”
Nick/Kevin @ Dune worm animation critique — Common complaint about Dune's slow-motion dramatic sequences mirroring issues with Godzilla's pacing.
“Can we all agree not to put Godzilla in tournaments? Like, let's just not. Nobody wants to do that.”
Nick @ Godzilla critique — Strong statement about design-for-tournament-playability as a metric for good pinball design.
“I would definitely play this game before jumping into anything because there's so much unfinished still, so much unapproved you don't know what the heck is going to actually be in there at the end.”
Kevin — Wait-and-see recommendation due to incomplete licensing and code state.
event_signal: Content creator conducted reveal stream for Portal pinball with extensive hands-on play time.
high · Kevin: 'I had the luxury of going and getting a whole lot of time on as I did the reveal stream for our friends down at Multimorphic.'
competitive_signal: Godzilla unsuitable for tournament play; even with difficulty nerfs, games last ~1 hour with top players, violating tournament structure.
medium · Nick: 'Can we all agree not to put Godzilla in tournaments?...even at Pembroke, with like, the best players there, people were playing for like an hour.'
design_philosophy: Zombie Yeti art style causing fatigue in community; forum negativity about King Kong's purple tones and color saturation, though in-person appearance reportedly better.
high · Nick: 'forum wasn't as happy...they are definitely turning on zombie Yeti art' and noted community complaints about 'why is it so purple.'
design_philosophy: King Kong callback to Data East King Kong prototype design concept (central area above flippers) finally reaching production after decades.
high · Kevin: 'There was a Data East King Kong game...never actually put them into production...same artist finally getting to take this design concept.'
licensing_signal: Dune features gameplay footage with 'pending approval from licensor' watermarks, indicating unapproved assets in incomplete game.
high · Kevin: 'the assets are not approved by the licensors' and noted watermark 'pending approval from licensor' visible in gameplay footage.
groq_whisper · $0.365
medium confidence · Nick mentioned games lasting ~1 hour at Pembroke with top players and questioned whether a game should be in tournaments if it can't be balanced properly.
“Don't they want people to pick up their phones and use the Insider Connect? There's that, too. You know, again, I think they're trying to be funny. They put the shoes back on as a specific Carl call-out, but it doesn't – I think you've got to nail the theme and hit the theme.”
Nick @ King Kong audio critique — Criticism of thematic inconsistency in callouts and tone (anachronistic 'put down your phone' in 1930s setting).
market_signal: Simultaneous major game reveals (Kong, Dune, Portal, Merlin's Arcade) at shows cannibalize sales; hosts argue staggered releases would be strategically superior.
medium · Nick and Kevin repeatedly noted most collectors have budget for one game; Kevin: 'you could be talking about just yours for most of it' if released separately.
community_signal: King Kong theme audio includes anachronistic callouts ('put down your phone') inconsistent with 1930s Art Deco setting, undermining thematic immersion.
high · Nick: 'doesn't make, it doesn't work, I think...I get it as a joke, but how is that atmospheric towards a game in the 1930s? It's stupid.'
market_signal: Dune at $11,600 significantly undercuts perceived value vs. Stern Premium ($9,600) and risks market positioning against higher-brand competition.
high · Nick: '$11,600 is just too much...a $9,600 Stern Premium, you want $2,000 more than that? Like, that's rough.'
product_strategy: Dune rushed release to capture sales before King Kong and other competing titles; website reveal issues suggest incomplete preparation.
medium · Nick: 'reveal felt rushed...Their website was all messed up...raring to go...They were trying to get ahead of king kong.'
product_concern: Dune playfield appears cramped in gameplay footage; gameplay video shows players struggling to make consistent shots, reminiscent of Houdini difficulty.
medium · Kevin: 'I was getting kind of Houdini vibes from the gameplay footage...looks very crammed, this play field.'
product_concern: King Kong plays faster than recent Keith Elwin games (Godzilla, etc.) with reduced artificial delays in multiball sequences and mode advancement.
high · Nick: 'the game moves along quicker...it doesn't have these up posts which are holding it...sped up, which is really good.'
technology_signal: King Kong uses servo-driven Kong mech; community has history of backlash against servo use in pinball; uncertain durability.
high · Kevin: 'servo-driven, which I know there's been massive revolts against using servos...Curious to see if they hold up or if it gets the backlash.'