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Suggestions in Launching a Successful Pinball Campaign - Pinball Expo 2024 - Panel

Pinball News (Pinball Expo 2024)·video·41m 35s·analyzed·Oct 18, 2024
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.035

TL;DR

Panelists propose pre/launch/post-launch improvements manufacturers should adopt to better serve end-user expectations.

Summary

Three panelists (Oscar, Robert, and Nick) presented suggestions for manufacturers launching successful pinball campaigns at Pinball Expo 2024. They advocated for improvements across pre-launch (user surveys, theme announcements, quality planning), launch (professional videos, clear feature specs, making-of content, rules videos, brochures, social media strategy), and post-launch phases (ready-to-ship machines, code quality, technical support, spare parts availability, interconnectivity systems, merchandise). The panelists emphasized that these measures improve public perception with minimal cost relative to machine manufacturing.

Key Claims

  • Stern has recently begun implementing some of the suggested practices, including sending user surveys via Insider Connected to gather theme preferences.

    high confidence · Oscar explicitly notes this was discussed months ago and Stern has started doing it, citing Stern as an example of improvement in the presentation.

  • European pricing for limited edition Stern machines reaches approximately 16,000-16,500 euros (equivalent to $17,500+ USD), significantly higher than U.S. pricing of $13,000.

    high confidence · Nick provides specific European pricing data: 'if you're talking about a limited edition with Stern, for example, here's 13 grand over there with all in. We're at probably 16, 16 and a half thousand euros. You transfer that into dollars. We're probably at about 17 and a half thousand dollars.'

  • Jersey Jack Pinball has used graphical rules charts (like those for Avatar) more effectively than some competitors, making rule discovery easier for casual players.

    medium confidence · Robert references Jersey Jack's Avatar rules chart approach as a best-practice example for making gameplay information accessible.

  • Only one manufacturer (implied to be Stern) currently implements interconnectivity features like Insider Connected for tracking game play locations and leaderboards across locations.

    high confidence · Nick states: 'So far, we're only seeing one manufacturer that's doing it and only with the new games' and emphasizes other companies should follow.

  • Manufacturers often release 'limited edition' games multiple times under different variations, undermining the value and collectibility of initial limited releases.

    high confidence · Nick criticizes the practice: 'we're bringing out another limited edition of the same game another limited edition remake remake and even though it's the same game made a little different that kind of gets people angry.'

  • There is a notable difference in code philosophy between Stern (releasing code progressively with updates) and Jersey Jack (code more finished at release), with implications for gameplay readiness.

    medium confidence · Nick describes two approaches: 'the Stern approach, which we've kind of dubbed it meaning basically that you start low with the codes and progress as you go or for example the Jersey Jack approach which is basically to already have the code more or less finished by the time the game is released.'

Notable Quotes

  • “We want a premium launch in line with a premium product. So pinball machines are great, but sometimes the launches are not in line in quality or the way they do it with the machine itself.”

    Oscar@ 2:27 — Establishes the core thesis that launch quality should match product quality; directly critiques current manufacturer practices.

  • “When we can consider that the Pima Machine has been released. On my opinion when the promo video is released we can mark in the calendar that the Pima Machine has been released.”

    Robert@ 11:11 — Positions the promo video as the de facto announcement moment, emphasizing its critical importance to market perception.

  • “Why should we be waiting for a week or a month or two months to see the making of video? This kind of footage is being recorded while the machine is being developed, right? So why not release it when the momentum is strongest?”

    Robert@ 14:14 — Critiques timing of behind-the-scenes content; argues for synchronized release strategy to maintain hype.

  • “If you're talking about a limited edition with Stern, for example, here's 13 grand over there with all in. We're at probably 16, 16 and a half thousand euros. You transfer that into dollars. We're probably at about 17 and a half thousand dollars for the same machine.”

    Nick@ 25:40 — Documents significant pricing disparity between U.S. and European markets; raises accessibility concern for international collectors.

  • “Keep limited games limited and don't just bring out more and more and more additions that basically decrease the value for everyone. That's a big investment. A lot of people work hard for their money.”

    Nick@ 27:06 — Advocates for respecting collector investment; criticizes manufacturer practice of undermining limited edition scarcity.

Entities

OscarpersonRobertpersonNickpersonRobpersonStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack PinballcompanyInsider Connectedproduct

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: European release timing creates compressed enjoyment window—machines arrive 2-3 months after U.S. release, then next title announced within weeks, limiting time for owner engagement and theme exploration.

    high · Nick: 'Jaws was released in January. By the time the machines were out and we had them in Europe, which was basically end of March, almost beginning of April, I would say about a week after we got first games in in Europe, we basically already saw the next release.'

  • ?

    community_signal: Tension between manufacturers' desire for scarcity/FOMO and collector expectations for value preservation; limited edition saturation creates buyer anger and secondary market devaluation.

    high · Nick: 'especially if they buy if they think they're buying a limited edition and two years later they see the same game not being limited readily available for anyone so that that's a hard one.'

  • ?

    community_signal: Coordinated game release announcements at major expos (e.g., Elton John at Pinball Expo) create significant community moments and social bonding; panelists advocate for more strategic launch timing with major events.

    medium · Robert describes shared Elton John announcement experience: 'we were I was hanging out with my friends there in the first floor and then we received a notification... we all take the mobile phone.'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: International community perception that manufacturers underinvest in pre-launch communication and user surveys; Stern's recent Insider Connected survey initiative viewed as positive step addressing long-standing gap.

    high · Oscar notes seminar was prepared months ago and Stern only recently began implementing similar surveys, suggesting community frustration preceded manufacturer response.

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.125

0:00
Microphone's working. Do you hear me? Yeah? One, two, one, two. Yeah, fine. Okay. Hello, everyone. We're very happy and very proud to be presenting this seminar in, I think, by far the best pinball show on Earth. Yeah, we have called this presentation Suggestions in Launching a Successful Pinball Campaign. And it's very important that you read on the bottom that it says what end users expect. So this is not going to be like a manual on how to launch a pinball machine. we are not company so probably they know much better but we believe that as end users there's a couple of things ideas criteria suggestions that we would like that those companies all of them do yeah and we've been preparing this for a couple of months and yeah maybe we were too early because a few things happen in meanwhile but okay let's let's move on uh one second is this moving Okay, so let me put my glasses because I think I can see this. Okay, so why this seminar? Okay, the point here is that when a new machine comes to the market, obviously and normally, the criteria that we see is what's the theme, what's the code, what's the art, the gameplay, the layout, the lights, the sound, et cetera. And the point is that we would like as end users that companies, they do it, they don't do it, they do it partially, they go beyond this criteria. And we want, as I said, to put some suggestions on how they could do these things a little bit better or better than they do right now before, during, and after that launch, independent of the machine itself. Yeah, we believe that these measures or suggestions, they compared to what a machine costs, of course, manufacturing it and designing it. They are way, way lower. I mean, they are not low cost, but they are they are low effort or low cost compared to the machine itself. but they have a high influence on the public perception on the machine but also on the company you know because sometimes it's not only the machine a new machine comes and maybe it's the first machine of a new company that's been created so it's if that launch is not perfect not the machine but the presentation of it the launching the explaining and all that you'll see right now could affect the the perception of the public on that machine and the company okay Okay. So we say that what we want is to have a premium launch in line with... Oh, sick. This is company. Oh, they're not saying that. Yeah, it's okay. So we want a premium launch in line with a premium product. So pinball machines are great, but sometimes the launches are not in line in quality or the way they do it with the machine itself. Disclaimer is easy. It's because we thought about this really months ago, and we started collecting ideas from different corners. and during this time the company, some of them, I would say especially Stern, I would say, they started to do things that you will see in this presentation, but it's good because it's something that, okay, we thought it was important and they are doing. We'll see later, technical video, stuff like that, okay? But just a little disclaimer that maybe you go like, oh, but they are doing this already, but maybe not all of them are doing it. Maybe just Stern or a few companies. Okay, stopping here. Let me click because it doesn't work. Okay, let's present ourselves first. Okay, so I start. I'm Oscar from Barcelona, Spain, and I will be speaking about the pre-launch activities or suggestions. And I'm a pinball collector. I've been in this expo five times already, and this is my fourth speech. I guess this has to do because I'm kind of friends with Rob, and I'm so happy to share this passion for pinball with him. And that's basically it. I'll let you present you guys personally. Robert. Yeah, I'm Robert. I'm a Spanish enthusiast, and I've been working with Oscar for a year and a half now in our pinball brand, and we are Pincaster. We got a YouTube channel, an Instagram channel, in which we are trying to spread the hobby to all the Spanish speakers. This is my third year here, third expo, but this is my first seminar, so I'll try to do my best. hi my name is nick can you hear me yeah i'm a german american i live in germany started collecting pinballs about a good almost two years ago and as you can tell from the picture my job takes me a lot of places uh mainly within europe but also throughout throughout the world and since then i've seen a little over 100 places pinball locations all over the world so So, yeah, I've been playing ever since, and I got connected with these two gentlemen through Rob, actually. Nice. Very nice. So we're sharing this? Yeah. Great. So the next slide is a little bit like trying to ask you. We don't have a lot of people, but still the question stays, which is just raise your hands. How many of you believe companies could do, let's say, even better? I don't want to say better, but even better when launching a new PMO machine? How many of you?

  • Game releases at Pinball Expo create significant community moments, with the Elton John release last year serving as a shared experience for attendees.

    high confidence · Robert describes experiencing the Elton John release announcement at Expo with friends, emphasizing the appeal of coordinated launch timing with major events.

  • European players experience only 2-4 weeks to enjoy new machines before the next release arrives, creating a compressed enjoyment window compared to U.S. players.

    high confidence · Nick provides specific example: 'Jaws was released in January. By the time the machines were out and we had them in Europe, which was basically end of March, almost beginning of April, I would say about a week after we got first games in in Europe, we basically already saw the next release.'

  • “I love brochures I love reading them I love collecting them but sometimes I feel that they're missing some important information.”

    Robert@ 18:58 — Identifies missed opportunity for physical marketing materials to enhance theme comprehension and appeal.

  • “Why aren't other companies doing this for us? I mean, if you go out on the floor, everybody has their phone, everybody's scanning. Some people love it because they can see how good they are. I love it because I see where I've been.”

    Nick@ 29:16 — Advocates for broader adoption of interconnectivity features; demonstrates consumer appetite for tracking and sharing play data.

  • “We're spending a lot of money, and we expect good technical support. And this means technical videos and technical support. There should be a lot more of that.”

    Nick@ 30:43 — Emphasizes correlation between premium pricing and expectation for comprehensive post-sale support.

  • “I mean we have games from the 60s up and running and they can still fix those and the games we invest in now we want running in decades to come.”

    Nick@ 31:46 — Frames spare parts availability as essential to long-term value preservation for collectors.

  • “It's basically our age now. You can either fight it or just go with the flow. And we think Stern is definitely on the right path with that.”

    Nick@ 30:23 — Acknowledges digital integration as inevitable; positions Stern's Insider Connected as industry model.

    • Pinball Expoevent
    Pincastercompany
    Twilight Zonegame
    Jurassic Parkgame
    Avatargame
    Jawsgame
    Elton Johngame
    Metallicagame
    Pastimes Arcadevenue
    Stern Factoryvenue
    X-Mengame
    Star Warsgame
    ?

    community_signal: Panelists advocate for comprehensive post-launch support infrastructure: technical videos, responsive customer service, spare parts availability across old and new games, and merchandise; currently insufficient across most manufacturers.

    medium · Nick criticizes lack of technical support: 'Right now, it's a lot do it yourself, go on internet forums... Sometimes they don even respond at all And if they do it takes months.'

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Jersey Jack Pinball positioned as alternative code philosophy (finished code at release vs. Stern's progressive update model); panelists express preference for finished code and question why they should pay premium for 'work in progress.'

    medium · Nick contrasts approaches and asks: 'if we pay so much money why can't we have a more or less ready code once the game is released?'

  • $

    market_signal: Manufacturer practice of releasing multiple 'limited edition' variations of same machine undermines scarcity value and collector confidence; Nick criticizes this as devaluing initial limited release investments.

    high · 'Keep limited games limited and don't just bring out more and more and more additions that basically decrease the value for everyone.'

  • $

    market_signal: European pricing for limited edition machines ($17,500+ USD equivalent) creates severe accessibility barrier and secondary market pressure; pricing gap attributed to distributor markups rather than manufacturer control.

    high · Nick provides specific pricing data: 16,000-16,500 euros in Europe vs. $13,000 USD in U.S., expressing concern about impact on collector investment and secondary market value.

  • ?

    product_concern: Gap between manufacturing quality of machines and quality of launch presentation; some companies underinvest in professional promotional materials, videos, and marketing coordination despite high product cost.

    medium · Oscar: 'we sometimes when you rush things The quality of the videos are not the perfect one. Maybe you are not using the right channels.'

  • ?

    technology_signal: Interconnectivity features (Insider Connected tracking play locations, leaderboards, social sharing) represent emerging standard; only Stern currently implements at scale; other manufacturers notably absent from this ecosystem.

    high · Nick: 'So far, we're only seeing one manufacturer that's doing it and only with the new games. We love it... why aren't other companies doing this for us?'

    • 4:55
    So the sample is pretty good. So a lot of you are raising the hand, and I would say that this is an important matter. This is why we do the seminar. Okay, so let me start with my part. I'm on the pre-launch. Of course, pre-launch, as this is said, you have not seen probably the machine, the final product that comes to the market. But there is a lot you can do up front, actually months before the machine comes to the market, to prepare that lunch in a way. Yeah, let's see some examples that we thought about. So, for example, and this is something on the disclaimer side, because we know that recently Stern sent a questionnaire via mail or I don't think through the Insider Connected, asking the users for what they think about themes, what they like, what they would like to be developed and stuff like that. This was the idea. We thought about this like maybe one year ago. But in meanwhile, of course, this came, which is fine. Yeah. So I think that first thing the companies need to do way up front the launching of the machines is to ask the users. We are many pinball players in the world, and I believe now we have – and it's not only asking, but how do you ask? For example, I made a mock-up here. Imagine you are at home playing your Jaws pinball machine, and on the screen through these insider-connected facilities and so on, you get a poll or a question like, would you like to answer a poll between games? Yeah, fine. And then you can go into a certain menu and just with the flipper buttons and the start button, clicking some multiple choice questions and asking about things, what you like. Exactly the kind of survey that they did recently. But probably it would be even nicer to do it on the PMO machine itself, which I'm sure they could do. But the bottom line here is that ask the people because it's important that sometimes some of the things that come out, I go like, who really likes this? or maybe it's a couple of people, but it's not mainstream. So there's so much. We one day made a list of potential themes, and there's so much still to do. And I know they're not easy, they're expensive, and so on, but I think that this comes partially because they don't ask the people what they would really like. First point. Second point, which is I can understand companies why they don't do that, but they would also have advantages. Let me explain.
    7:11
    They don't... Let me put my glasses on. So the thing is that unlike in gaming, for example, gaming industry or cinema or many other product industries, things are explained or confirmed like months before, even years before. I'm not saying they have to tell two years up front what are the things they're going to launch. but I would say like for example one year explaining what themes they are going to come into the market and probably even in which order it which it would help the users a lot to plan themselves because we are totally extremely theme related to the PMO machines actually it's very hard for a PMO machine to be successful in a blockbuster if it doesn't have a very strong theme behind yeah and the perks of doing this from the company side because I can understand that they go like yeah but this is something that's secret or maybe whatever I don't know Or maybe they just don't want because they want a fast release, catch the attention. I don't know. But this would give them time to prepare that launch with things that I will tell you right now. Things like, for example, imagine that six months before or one year before, you get to know what I'm just saying. Stern is going to do for the next one or two years. These companies could do one thing that sometimes or many times don't do, which is explain the theme properly. because not everyone knows everything about a certain theme. You expect X-Men to be, for example, very well-known worldwide, but me, I know X-Men, but I don't know details on the characters or when was it launched, if there was a comic or a movie behind. There's a lot of details that help you sell and explain the theme way before you get the physical machine in your hands. I'm just saying one example. It can be a movie, it can be a band, it can be so many themes that could be explained way before. if you tell the themes way before, but if you tell them like, confirm them like one week before, then you don't have physical time to explain them well. The next thing is not only the theme behind and how important it is worldwide, how many followers, whatever, is the next point, which is the extent of that theme. So once you've said, imagine, for example, you launch a Star Wars pinball or whatever, but Star Wars can be a trilogy, a movie, nine movies, which characters, which assets, which characters, whatever. There's so much. and this is something that in our opinion linked to the first two points that the companies could and should do you know explain us exactly what what's the extent of the of the theme behind i think as end users we would appreciate that it's what i'm saying not that they want to do it but we are just manifesting and the last point is again if you have time to think you can plan also the lunch properly in terms of quality for example we sometimes when you rush things The quality of the videos are not the perfect one. Maybe you are not using the right channels. In time, you can plan it well. You can find people in-house and out-house, like, for example, YouTubers, Instagrammers, I don't know, communication companies, whatever, to really prepare the proper PR material for that launch. So we believe that pre-launch, before seeing, following this, there could be more, of course, yeah? But these are the five things that we thought that at pre would be nice to be considered And now we move to the next part which is the launch itself Robert all yours The comic movie? Yeah, yeah. This is your place. So thank you, Oscar, for this big approach to the next phase, which is the launch. So the day has finally arrived.
    10:40
    The day has finally arrived. The penal announcement to the public. There are tons of ways of doing it. but the way you wait depends on the things that that came before the launch I mean the the leak images the the video leaks and as enthusiasts here we have some some points that we thought that would be interesting to to get through them so let's go
    11:05
    okay so first point the promo video has to be top notch okay so when we can consider that the Pima Machine has been released. On my opinion when the promo video is released we can mark in the calendar that the Pima Machine has been released okay so do you remember here as you can see here the Twilight Zone promo video guys so in that video you got apart from the from the Night is Magic that was awesome you remember the music you remember the voice the effects introducing the team the spirit all that got you into the universe of the pin okay And then when you're done with the video, that was like a seven or eight minute video, you want some more. And you were able to think that if you are enough or that was enough to get a pinball. And right now we are in the digital era. So we expect it to be huge. We expect to be impressive, but it's not always like this. So we think that you need to impact the audience, even if they are not with the theme. making the user know with just one video that if they are interested in it and what the real experience is going to be it's okay and you can be concerned and our main concern is that maybe the video is bad or it's not expected this will create a bad mood in the players and also the buyers so let's continue with the next one So next point, clear features on each model. We want details on features of each style. So as you know, as you can imagine, when we see a launch video, the version we are seeing is the best one, the most loaded one, etc., etc. So we want clear features of all versions. Imagine that I'm not interested in the most loaded one and I have to wait for a week or even I have to ask my distros or my vendors if that machine is including the topper or if that machine is going to include the side rails etc etc so why not sewing all of them at once or why not sewing all the features at once why not spending five or six minutes six minutes for for each of the all the models and not also the not only the the big one some of the other people is out of the buying queue because you are just waiting for some details, okay? Or even you have to ask, as I said, your distro if you can get the full info, generating hype is good, but we want all the info as soon as possible. So why not show in everything and be clear as soon as possible, not spending the whole week waiting for Friday for getting the details or for certain version. So now third point, the making of video or the time of launch, all companies, all people can wait. Okay. So I love the making of videos. I have to be, to be clear. Why don't enjoy them at the time of launch? Why should be waiting for a week or a month or two months to see the making of video? This kind of footage is being recorded while the machine is being developed, right? the machine is being built so i guess it's more more interesting to to watch this kind of footage while you you are you know feeling and continue with the momentum when when you're watching or you're living in your in your flesh uh the pinball the people machine release so it's impressive to see the evolution of the machine you love the way they follow the way they they built it and sometimes the video appear when other machines are are enjoying their moment for example they are releasing a new model and then in that week they released the making of video of the previous machine or even they are not making this video or and they are making tours for for some people showing them how how they work how they build the machines how to develop the code why not showing everybody how they work how they hard work because let's be honest it's really difficult to get a good bit more done or or well developed so why not showing everybody how hard you've been doing your job.
    15:29
    So sometimes this never happens. So from here, let's make enough videos for everyone. OK, let me change this. So now we're in the next point talking about the gameplay and mail rules video. How deep do we expect the machine to be? So there are tons of things to show when you're releasing a PMA machine you are getting into the theme and into the PIMO machine you have to think in the correct order to spread the the information the rules matrix are usually available when the PIMO has been released okay but sometimes you have to wait or you have to look for some videos and try to get how everything is done how to get some modes how to activate multiballs or you have to go to youtube or to set some some expo or some party that has been some launch party and watch other youtubers or someone playing the machine and saying ah you have to to shut the ramp to to enable this mode etc etc do you remember guys the Jurassic Park gameplay video that Akitha we did when you were done you knew everything about the machines he starts started playing and said okay you have to shoot here here and you got this mode then you have to shoot here here and you got this mode and when he was done you know exactly everything about the primo machine and you knew what you had to do in order to get all the modes unblocked so in this case there are tons of ways to know the the rules okay and this is getting me to to the next point so
    17:07
    so the next point is going to be rules chart rule chart as graphical lens to understand JGP as a way to go so there are there are tons of ways of knowing the rules so there are some people that loves to to play and discover everything by their own getting to a rules major that in the in the manufacturer's website or as as me i'm a lazy player and i prefer to go to my friend and ask him okay can you tell me the basics and how to to play the game so and for us is really easy to go to get a graphic mode, to get a graphic way, an easiest way to get everything done. And there are some rules chart, as Jersey Jacks has been doing with Avatar in a big picture, in which you find it really easy to go where you want to go. For example, you want to unlock a multiball, you see it in the big image, and you know what you have to shoot, where you got to go, and what you have to unlock to get it done. So people that are not into people, but I was sort of impressed that the machines got such kind of rules. Okay. And why not have them print for everyone or somehow get them easy to see and understand? Because, for example, sometimes I'm playing some machines and I don't know how to get a mode, a mode evolve. I have to take my phone to get to Google how to get this mode unlocked while my machine is. and I find really more easy to to get in a picture to get it here and check this and okay I have to do this and I think it's more more easy to for everyone so there's one which I think is one of the most interesting parts the brochures longer detail explain theme plus quality name is cool so for me as I said before with the making of videos I love brochures I love reading them I love collecting them but sometimes I feel that they're missing some important information okay so for example do you remember those VHS tapes that we used to watch in the 90s in which you you read some like 10 or 20 lines in which you you were able to know what's the movie about what's the main you know the main purpose of of of that movie and you knew at that moment if that that movie was going to be interesting for you for example you you went to bullet master you read that 10 lines you said okay this is not for me oh absolutely this is for me because for example if i take a brush of a movie and i'm not into a theme and i haven't watched the the movie why not showing them in 10 lines or have your i don't know you have to go to the castle you have to go to to get the princess out of the castle you or you are with your friends and you have to kill the bad guys for example and then you see the you see the play field you see shots and you say okay i have to look for this theme you got to google oh this theme is interesting i have to look for for what's all about and you get into the movie you watch a movie oh they're interesting then you get into a theme into a theme and then the the theme got you back to to the people and you know some kind of relationship that is it's awesome and it's really beautiful from from my point of view so next one so social media shorts interviews podcasts let's get along we need each other okay as i said before we in the digital era okay so we need love between social media manufacturers but sometimes this is some kind of double knife right I guess as Oscar said this is being done little by little So why don use these tools for our benefit invitators to releases, as the manufacturers have been doing lately, visiting the headquarters, showing them some, you know, behind the scenes, something that no one is possible to see. and then all the creators are going to to share their their experiences in their own way because some some of them love to record very detailed some of them just take some picture for for instagram and and that's awesome because as i said before in the first point there are tons of people different people that sometimes some of them got youtube some of them got instagram some of them love to see videos some of them just prefer watching some detailed images so why not use the social network let's say also to get different footage for for each and try to get people who hooked i mean for example the ones that are watching instagram why not receiving uh exclusive video for instagram and then why not recording exclusive video for for youtube not sharing the same video on instagram same video in youtube let's get it you know for example in youtube you are you're doing a widescreen okay for example in Instagram you're you're not using you're in 4.3 and when I'm getting done for a feed for for that kind of of social media so let's get to to the next one as I'm getting to to the end of my of my part and this is launches during pinball expo is just the right time so how cool is to enjoy a people release in your place do you remember guys last year when we were here and Elton John was released we were I was hanging out with my friends there in the first floor and then we received a notification in our mobile saying okay Elton John is out the the promo video is out we all take the mobile phone we shared a lot of good times watching the watching the video oh look at this oh look at the tiny dancer oh look at the lights oh like we are living right now with with metallic art master okay i think testing that is magic the first game plays over the wall you can share with your friends your the first opinions why not there are tons of tons of expos tons of events among the country so the manufacturers can you know can choose which is the one that that fits their their needs why the game give them the chance to enjoy it. There are some people from all over the country that can go to the north, can go to the south, and why not let them enjoy a bit more lunch in their friends, in their flesh, sorry.
    23:38
    This is something that I've lived last year. I'm going to live it this year and I would love to repeat this again and again and again with all my friends. So, for now, this is the end of my part, so I'm going to give all the control to show our captain here to to nick so let's go with your partner all right talking about post launch so now the game has been released it's out and what do we expect what do we see um we expect the machines to be ready to be shipped right away. We've seen in the past with some manufacturers that there was a big release, we were able to play the games here at Pinball Expo, other locations, and the machines were not ready to be shipped. We want them ready, we want them, we need them, so they need to get on it and have the machines ready. Another thing to be considered for us as end users, especially not living in the U.S. One example is Jaws this year. Jaws was released in January. By the time the machines were out and we had them in Europe, which was basically end of March, almost beginning of April, I would say about a week after we got first games in in Europe, we basically already saw the next release. That's a tough one for us because we don't really have time to enjoy the new title. We're just being hammered with titles as they come out. And we would hope for a little more time to enjoy what just has been released, especially being outside of the U.S.
    25:26
    If you talk about pricing, people here in the U.S. complain. I invite you to come over to Europe. We'd be happy to have the prices we get here on new games. It's gotten a little out of hand as of right now. I mean, if you're talking about a limited edition with Stern, for example, here's 13 grand over there with all in. We're at probably 16, 16 and a half thousand euros. You transfer that into dollars. We're probably at about 17 and a half thousand dollars for the same machine. So that's definitely something to be considered. I know the distributors have their part in it, but yeah, that's fortunately this list is a little negative. it'll get better as we go uh fomo fear of missing out that can be good definitely for the companies and that brings us to the next point which is limited editions are they really limited we're seeing a lot of limited editions not just in numbers so they have numbers between they go up to over a thousand um versus we're bringing out another limited edition of the same game another limited edition remake remake and even though it's the same game made a little different that kind of gets people angry especially if they buy if they think they're buying a limited edition and two years later they see the same game not being limited readily available for anyone so that that's a hard one so our suggestion is keep limited games limited and don't just bring out more and more and more additions that basically decrease the value for everyone. That's a big investment. A lot of people work hard for their money. So if they invest in one of these games, they want it to at least hold its value or somewhere stay in the ballpark. But if they just keep bringing out more and more games, all it does is decrease the value.
    27:30
    Another thing that we want to talk about is code updates. right now we're seeing kind of two approaches with the code updates kind of like the Stern approach, which we've kind of dubbed it meaning basically that you start low with the codes and progress as you go or for example the Jersey Jack approach which is basically to already have the code more or less finished by the time the game is released yeah we asked ourselves why also here you could include people the community ahead of time in order to get a better code out from the release why not you know why if we pay so much money why can't we have a more or less ready code once the game is released i get that there are bug fixes and all that as we go but um yeah so anyway this is one approach um we also thought about additional rules and assets we saw um we see it sometimes like cern for example has it with their toppers if they put a topper on it you connect it and has the insider connected you get more uh modes and so on um but we're also thinking like especially for people that like to play the game more deeply if there's maybe an option to perhaps even for uh for paying to get more options out of the game as you go along. So that's one thought we put into it. Interconnectivity. So far, we're only seeing one manufacturer that's doing it and only with the new games. We love it. I mean, if you go out on the floor, everybody has their phone, especially in the right corner is scanning.
    29:20
    Some people love it because they can see how good they are. Other people love it to share with their friends. I love it because I see where I've been. I go all over the world. So cool. Hey, I was in Girard, Ohio playing Pastimes Arcade, played at Stern Factory. I mean, I think that's really cool to see it on my phone. So why aren't other companies doing this for us?
    29:40
    And what is that? That's the time? Yeah, we're out of time. Sorry. No, but seriously, other companies should be doing this. and the other question we have i've been to one arcade where they did their own scoring boards i mean with the old games from the 60s you had to go up and type in your scores but is there a possibility i'm talking about games from the 90s maybe even mid to late 80s if we could do something like insider connected also for older games i mean this could also be an aftermarket company who does something but we would love to see that uh in our games it's just it brings the community together As Robert said, it's basically our age now. You can either fight it or just go with the flow. And we think CERN is definitely on the right path with that.
    30:40
    Yeah, technical support, that's a big one. Again, we're spending a lot of money and we expect good technical support. And this means technical videos and technical support.
    30:53
    There should be a lot more of that. Right now, it's a lot do it yourself, go on internet forums. Some people post videos. We would love to see more of that coming from the companies and also response time to inquiries Sometimes they don even respond at all And if they do it takes months I mean I don know how many emails I written in the past for certain problems and it took forever for them to respond, if even. And again, we're spending a lot of money, so that should be happening.
    31:27
    The same with availability of spare parts. Okay, it might be a different situation over here, but in europe it's definitely not so easy to get spare parts um also older games that should be covered and it should be taken care of for the future like sometimes you have the feeling they bring out a new game it's all about the new game but i mean we have games from the 60s up and running and they can still fix those and the games we invest in now we want running in decades from know hey i might want to pass my game on to my kids you know i want it to be working so that's something i feel they could definitely improve from our opinion accessories are important if you go down on the floor you see i would say at least half is stickers flipper accessories lighted signs all of that we want that more we want that that is cool and hey if you look at the last one all the merchandise i mean look at people with all everybody here is wearing pinball t-shirt except me um that's what we want hey free advertisement that's cool i mean i would say it's a niche not a lot of i get a if you know if i and let's say out in the normal world if i talk about pinball they're like oh that still exists and hey that's free advertisement so just bring it um even with old broken parts plastic parts you can make key chains i have flipper on my bag flipper fingers all that so definitely more of that um it definitely the artwork it complements um like the toppers they complement the existing game artwork all the stuff that goes with it i mean most people they have game room um put have all the i don't know have some light swords hanging next to my star wars game um definitely something we want more of and they should just keep it coming and last but not least um all i can say post launch is not the end of a game it's the beginning of a game. So keep the fire going. That's what we're saying. We thought it was amazing that years after they brought out Deadpool they tried to re-up the theme and say thank you to the community for still playing the game, give out little goodies and stuff like that. It's definitely not just about the machine. We're talking about a whole theme and the theme will promote pinball and pinball in return will promote a theme. So why not, you know, and that's what we're just saying. A lot of the things we thought about, they just did. For example, if I think of Metallica, the remastered edition just a few days ago, when they announced it, the announcement was by the band members. How cool is that? That's what we want to see. We saw Keanu Reeves at Comic-Con in San Diego. That's amazing. That's exactly what we want. Why are there not more people that are part of the theme at Pinball Expo, people to talk to, people to touch? Just say, hey, just earlier I walked by Steve Ritchie. I tapped him on the shoulder and said, hey, can I take a picture? That's exactly what we want. That's what the community wants. So if you launch a game or if there's a new movie, Deadpool, for example, part three, going along also with Wolverine and X-Men, why not at a movie launch have some pinball machines you know that's basically um what we're hoping for or another thing uh this is uh big lebowski has a white russian in the under the glass well there's also a white russian above the glass let me tell you it tastes damn good and watching the movie um that's exactly what we want we want this combination it's not just about shooting the ball up and down the play field it's it's the whole theme it's the music it's the experience it's the artwork it's the whole feeling it creates so they should work with it a little more and just give us a little more and um yeah and you can also not just draw pinball enthusiasts you will also draw people that love the movie oh cool big lebowski i love that movie um that's my theme that's that's what i like oh they make a pinball machine oh that's really cool look at that shot oh the white russian a little details um so again that's how you can get the people and um yeah also tournaments if uh think about that um and all these events not just for enthusiasts and pros invite everybody be open to everyone that's kind of what we're saying and um traveling for pinball i've seen a lot of people from europe australia here at this event already and and i can tell you americans you're invited to come over to europe there's many many cool locations and um you're always welcome it's a great community and um yeah that's another way to promote and uh yeah basically promote the theme and the game thank you oscar well this Hi. So this is just a couple of suggestions that we thought about. I'm sure there could be many more. Yeah. And what we think is that this is good for the end user, but it obviously has to be good also for the companies is what we believe. Now, we are not many people in the room, but does anybody think or want to say something about something that we have missed? Any idea on maybe one suggestion more on how could we or they launch better PMO machine? Does anyone have an idea? Something we have may forgotten that is critical? You don't have to. I'm just putting the question in the room in case for final. And then take it if you have questions or remarks or anything. But, you know, when I asked the question, do you think that, and many people raised the hand, I'm sure you had in your head some examples on why they could improve. Maybe we've mentioned them. And as I said, many have been implemented, but not the proper way and not by everybody. So I don't know. Does anyone have any question, remark, or idea? Or we kind of… It's easy to figure a band could have on their social media, they just released a pinball machine themed to us. But what about comic book themes? Like, have you seen anything where either Marvel or DC, the only ones that have licensed so far, does something on their side, any kind of publicity from their side to say, hey, there's a pinball machine that we just licensed out?
    38:32
    Definitely. It's interesting you say that. I think you'd be surprised if you watch movies, any movies, how often there's a pinball machine somewhere in the background. It's amazing. I see it all the time. And so in that case, I mean, they could talk to them and it'd be very easy to implement it, even if it's in the comic. I mean, I think it's it's. And I think on top of that, that's a challenge too because we have examples where there's these two worlds, the pinball world and the license world, whatever they call it. And sometimes they were not coordinated, and the other world was promoting or explaining or showing the pinball before the company did. So it's doing that, very good idea. But when you do it, again, the idea is what and how you do it. So do it coordinated. Talk to them. What are you going to do on your side? What am I going to do on my side? and we come together to a perfect launch on that sense, right? But very good point. Correct me if I'm wrong, but they did it with Godzilla. Their first promo video was watching Toho Productions' YouTube channel, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, it was with Toho, yeah. So it could be done. It could be achieved. Yeah, yeah, it's been done, yeah, but maybe more, yeah. Yeah, for sure. Great. Thank you. I was just going to mention that the next presentation is by a company called Scorebit that has written all of the software so that you can take all those old 70s or 80s, 90s games and have basically Stern Insider.
    40:12
    Yes, totally. I mean, maybe the right example on that bullet point we had was probably less Scorebit itself because it's existing, is the fact, for example, that I own, for example, four Jersey Jacks. And they used to have score of it. And I was fine with it because then you didn't have the scanning thing because it was the opposite. It was a QR code on the machine and you had your phone and you could scan it from your phone, which I would say it makes more sense because you have a phone. And you had the challenges and the achievements and the whole thing. From one day to the other, it was uninstalled on an update and no alternative to that. Not yesterday, like two years ago. What's going on? From a super company like Jersey Jack, is it because they are developing something else? I start to think they don't. They're not doing it. So we lost something. They took something from us, which is understandable to me.
    41:03
    That's the example we really wanted to point out regarding Scorbit or something similar. If you don't have further questions or remarks, I think the next one is just a big thank you to all of you for attending this seminar. Hope you liked it. And yeah. Thank you, guys. Thank you.