Episode 814: "Kaneda's Candid Take on Spooky Pinball"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·26m 32s·analyzed·Jun 21, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031

TL;DR

Kaneda grades Spooky Pinball B minus, cites design/quality gaps vs. price, warns on collector value collapse, and rumor-reveals The Princess Bride license.

Summary

Kaneda delivers a candid critique of Spooky Pinball, grading them B minus overall. He praises their transparency and commercial growth (from 150 to ~1,969 Scooby-Doo units) but criticizes incomplete code at launch, mediocre design talent relative to pricing ($8k–$13k), and a flawed Collector's Edition strategy that depresses secondary market value. He concludes by revealing a rumor (sourced from a licensing trade show) that Spooky Pinball has licensed The Princess Bride for an upcoming pinball game.

Key Claims

Spooky Pinball's Scooby-Doo Collector's Edition fully accessorized costs $13,000, matching or exceeding Stern Premium pricing
high confidence · Kaneda directly stated pricing comparison
Rick and Morty was Spooky Pinball's breakthrough game that changed the company's trajectory forever; it sold out instantly and holds the most secondary market value
high confidence · Kaneda cited production numbers (750 units, sold out) and market performance
Spooky Pinball ships games code incomplete and relies on community feedback to finish design post-launch
high confidence · Kaneda stated 'they do not ship their games with code complete' and compared unfavorably to Stern
Spooky Pinball's unlimited Collector's Edition model (no production cap) cannibalizes secondary market value and harms early adopters
high confidence · Kaneda advocated for capped Collector's Edition runs (e.g., 500 units) to preserve collector scarcity
Total Nuclear Annihilation sold over 500 units; Rick and Morty sold 750 (and was production-limited, described as 'a mistake')
high confidence · Kaneda cited sales figures; Rick and Morty limit called an error by Kaneda
Spooky Pinball was founded by Charlie (Emery) in Benton, Wisconsin (population ~800) and has been operating for 10 years as of 2023
high confidence · Kaneda provided founding/location details and timeline
Spooky Pinball has licensed The Princess Bride for a future pinball game
medium confidence · Kaneda sourced this from a friend at a licensing trade show who spoke to a studio representative; the representative said 'yeah, yeah, I think it's that one' when Spooky was named—high ambiguity
Scooby-Doo production volume is ~1,969 units total
medium confidence · Kaneda stated 'they basically are going to make 1969 Scooby-Doos' and later referenced '1469' other editions, suggesting ~1,969 total

Notable Quotes

“Being nice does not mean you are talented. And just because you have a smile and an easygoing disposition and you have a beautiful haircut does not mean you have great pinball designing skills.”
Kaneda @ ~10:30 — Core critique of Spooky leadership; Kaneda separates personality from design capability
“Rick and Morty was the game that changed Spooky's trajectory forever.”
Kaneda @ ~15:00 — Identifies Rick and Morty as the inflection point in Spooky's commercial success and brand perception
“I don't want a company that's making 1969 games... I don't think they should need feedback from the pinball community how to make a good game by now.”
Kaneda @ ~35:00 — Criticizes Spooky's practice of shipping incomplete code and relying on community feedback for a mature manufacturer
“When I do that and look at a Scooby Doo Collector's Edition with buttery smooth-feeling shots in gameplay next to Foo Fighters Elite, next to Godfather Elite, next to Pulp Fiction, next to everything else available in the pinball world, it's really clear that Spooky Pinball is targeting a buyer that just wants something different.”
Kaneda @ ~42:00 — Frames Spooky's market positioning as differentiation rather than design excellence; compares gameplay directly
“If you're gonna call it a Collector's Edition make it something collectors want and you need to bake in some scarcity and FOMO or else you're not doing anyone any favors and you're just using semantics to spin people on it.”
Kaneda @ ~30:00 — Core argument about Spooky's marketing strategy; directly critiques unlimited 'Collector's Edition' strategy
“Jersey Jack is making games for someone who wants something different. The only problem with Jersey Jack is people want different things than they're making. Like right now they're making games for nobody.”
Kaneda @ ~42:30 — Contrasts Jersey Jack's trajectory; Kaneda argues JJP's thematic choices are out of step with market demand
“The Princess Bride... I think this is a really fun movie. I think it's really campy. I feel like it fits in line with the kinds of games they would make.”

Entities

Spooky PinballcompanyKanedaperson Charlie EmerypersonStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack Pinballcompany Scott Danesiperson Rick and Mortygame

Signals

~
sentiment_shift: Kaneda argues Spooky Pinball has 'worn thin the goodwill with these non-refundable deposits' and that 'people are tired of losing material on early Spooky machines' due to secondary market devaluation of Collector's Editions.
high · Direct statement about goodwill erosion and repeated references to secondary market cannibalization of early adopter value
?
product_concern: Spooky ships games in beta/incomplete code state and relies on community feedback to refine post-launch, which Kaneda views as unacceptable for a 10-year-old, high-volume manufacturer at premium pricing.
high · Kaneda: 'they do not ship their games with code complete' and 'almost like they are listening to the community for feedback on how to make the game better'
?
design_innovation: Kaneda notes lack of unique creative engineering in Spooky designs; games like Scooby-Doo and Ultraman lack mechanical sophistication relative to competitors (Stern, Jersey Jack, Chicago Gaming remakes).
high · Kaneda: 'I still not seeing like the engineering in the games. I not seeing like really really unique creative engineering.'
$
market_signal: Spooky Pinball Collector's Edition pricing ($13k fully accessorized) now matches or exceeds Stern Premium tier, creating direct quality comparison pressure that Spooky loses.
high · Kaneda: 'A Spooky Pinball Scooby-Doo Collector's Edition is the same price as a Stern Pinball Premium and which game is going to be better?'
?
licensing_signal: Spooky Pinball rumored to have licensed The Princess Bride for an upcoming pinball machine; sourced from a licensing trade show via third-party conversation.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.080

0:00

You're out of order the whole freakin system is out of order. He wants a truth you want the truth you can't handle the truth Forget it bars. It's China Town

0:16

Welcome everybody to Canadian pinball podcast day three of Canada's candid take on the pinball industry and today's gonna be a good one because at At the end of this episode, I am going to tell you what I'm hearing the rumored title might be of Spooky Pinball's future game. I'm not 100% sure. It's a rumor. I don't know if it's their next game, but I'm hearing that they have the license for this property. So wait to the end to hear that. All right. So how do we grade Spooky Pinball? We gave Stern Pinball an A. And even as I say that, I feel maybe we were a little bit too kind to Stern giving them an A. muutFreePopFrontspot Dankandtee4640 Clyne Frieders, Quertes' Unvexed Chat, The Jersey Jack You have the higher ground you've got all the money you've got all the time to just make one game great And that is ultimately the saddest part about JJP They spend forever to make one game amazing and when they come up short it really is Embarrassing because Stern is making three to four games when Jersey Jack can't even make one game amazing. They need to figure stuff out All right, so let's talk about spooky pinball now Now look, this is a hard one because I know a lot of you out there are like, if this is going to be Kaneda's candid take on the pinball companies and you gave Jersey Jack a C, then what the heck are you going to give Spooky Pinball? But I want to look at each of these companies individually. I want to look at each of these companies how they're doing in their swim lane because these are not apples to apples companies. Like we can't compare Stern to Spooky on an apple to apple This is where it does get interesting when you talk about how much these games now cost. A Spooky Pinball Scooby-Doo Collector's Edition is the same price as a Stern Pinball Premium and which game is going to be better? We all know the answer to that right? Because again Stern has so many more resources and talent than Spooky Pinball. Let's just talk about Spooky Pinball right now. This tiny little company in Benton, Wisconsin. I don't even think there's like 800 people in the entire town of Benton, Wisconsin. Charlie Emery started this company years ago. I've been around for the entire journey of Spooky Pinball. They went from struggling for an entire year to sell 150 America's Most Haunted to a point now where they basically are going to make 1969 Scooby-Doos. I mean that's amazing. That is 10 times the production capacity www.pimballwealthatex 줘.com

3:39

Te loin Vielen thanks if u enjoyed the video and consider hitting that like button if you All really nice people. If you've ever met the Spooky Gang, they are all super friendly and super nice. Now, being nice does not mean you are talented. And just because you have a smile and an easygoing disposition and you have a beautiful haircut does not mean you have great pinball designing skills. I don't think anyone really cares who designs their game or what they look like as long as the game design is amazing. And it feels like since this company's inception, The game they've been getting a little bit better and better, but the starting point has never been quite good, right? So as they've improved, they've certainly gotten better with each title, but I think most people look at spooky designs and they still feel like a company. They're not designing their games with the same level of talent as a Stern Pinball, as a Jersey Jack Pinball. Chicago GamingCompany doesn't really count because those are remakes from older designers that are amazing. But for the most part, when you look at a spooky pinball's design and you shoot a spooky pinball game, the early indictment of their designs were they were brickfest, right? The first few games, the shots were really tight, there were posts everywhere where normally there would be targets, and they were really difficult games to play because they weren't that enjoyable from a gameplay standpoint. That has always been one of the complaints of spooky pinball. They open stuff up with games like Halloween and Ultraman. Scooby-Doo is very opened up. It's probably their most friendly shooter to date. I think for casual pinball players, they'll jump on a Scooby-Doo and have a really good time. Scooby-Doo is a beautiful machine. Spooky Pinball learned a long time ago, if we make these games beautiful and the artwork is stunning, that's going to go a long way in getting people excited about this game. And ultimately, where this company turned a corner and where this company really found most of its success was with one individual's games and that is Scott Denisi. Total nuclear annihilation, right? They sold over 500 of those and then Scott Denisi's Rick and Morty 750 which was a mistake to limit the amount they were going to make. But really, Rick and Morty was the game that changed Spooky's trajectory forever. The moment Rick and Morty came out and it sold out instantly and everybody gave non deposits on Rick and Morty and then people started to see that game sell for more on the secondhand market And it was freaking Rick and Morty right Everyone was like oh my gosh like Spooky Pinball this tiny little company in Benton Wisconsin secured one of the largest properties in the world How did they do that And I think it gave everybody faith about the future trajectory of this company and that they could actually play ball with the big boys Like you best believe that Stern Pinball and Jersey Jacket первых, RO Produce semua Is it time to spend it, it's not for everybody, but man, in a lineup, in a lineup of Stern and Jersey Jack games, you're going to have some fun on Rick and Morty. And it's still to this day is spooky pinball is probably their best game. It is their game that holds the most value. It will be the game that people seek out in their collections, and it's just an awesome game. And there were rumors that spooky pinball was going to go back and remake Rick and Morty and just change the design layout of the game. And man, like Stern would. I mean, how many times has Stern said, hey, we're not going to do an LE of this game or not going to do a premium of like The WalkingingDen and then they go and do it. But Spooky Pinball has been a company where they don't go against their word. They don't burn bridges. They don't burn their customers. They stay true to their word. And so, like, I want to do this candid take on Spooky, and I hope you understand why I'm going to do it the way I do it. On a design standpoint, I still think Spooky Pinball needs help in the design department. When I see games like Scooby-Doo, it's alright, right? Nothing revolutionary, nothing breakthrough. It's alright. It's pretty much like a fan layout. It's a very appealing game to casual players. For experienced pinball players, I think you're going to get on a Scooby-Doo and I think it's going to be too easy for you. I think the ball times will last forever. Ultraman and Halloween, not a fan of that design. There's so much stop and go in that game and then the ramp is so easy to hit and I don't like the way the ball is always disappearing in those games and then being fed into the inline. I think Spooky Pinball is at a crossroads and I've always said this about Spooky Pinball. Now that they've found commercial success, they need to go out and hire talent. The B students need to hire A students and I don't mean that in a negative way. I think they have a lot of B talent over at Spooky Pinball. I think they've got B talent in the design department. I think they've got B talent in the coding department. I don't think it's a talent and I think now that they've got the money they need to figure out a way to hire a talent. They need to get better at everything. Better at the code, better at the design, better at the quality. We're going to talk about quality in a minute. Better with the animations, everything because now that these games, if you fully accessorize a spooky pinball game, it is $13,000. $13,000. I know they're giving you a topper for free people, but you gotta ask yourselves, why are they giving you that topper for free? Nothing is for free people, you are paying for it. Remember Spooky Games when they were $6,000. It was a lot easier to look at this company as a small mom and pop shop that was selling you this cheaper and cheerful game and you were willing to accept all of its quirkiness, all of its design flaws, all of its quality flaws, Fin Jeep Stadium BringYourReverse funded by Coachomme.org LemoneB gathering where CardboardProject.org So I love the title one. The AegBodyClue, reminding men and women of their time. Spooky Pinball Mt caliber.do would here vnly e, ayr, melt,r,r yciweek places, mpree,jứ Spooky Pinball has gone backwards in that company's trajectory because they have it. They've always climbed and made more and more games with each launch. So they've done that well. Their transparency has been great. But here's Spooky Pinball's biggest weakness right now. Their biggest weakness is their quality and the price they're at and also their major, major weakness of Spooky Pinball. And they need to figure this out and they need to think about the marketing decision 5. What a funny question they made awhile ago. See, Spooky Pinball looked at the Pinball World and they looked at SternLEs and they looked at how everybody was like chasing after the LEs with the FOMO and they said, hey, we wanna be different. We wanna make a game so that anybody who wants the best version of the game can have it. And while that worked awhile ago with like Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper, the problem now is their model. 実行桑簡單 reply zag align et intebare We going to talk about that A nonrefundable deposit You going to go in on your game Your deposit is locked in for a collector edition And then you see the very game you ordered selling on the secondhand market in just a couple months for less than you committed to paying for your game How many times are early adopters going to get burned? And I think what Spooky Pinball needs to do now that they've got the volume where it's at, they need to start passing on the value to the second-hand user. And here's what they're going to have to do. They're going to have to start setting a limit on the number of collector's edition games they will make. They can't do it like this anymore where we'll make as many as you want because all that's doing, And trust me consumers, all that's doing is putting all of the money in Spooky's pocket. And what it's doing to you as a collector, remember it's called a collector's edition. It's not called an operator's edition. It's not called a tournament player's edition. It's called a collector's edition. And by doing this, they are screwing over every single collector. And what they need to do moving forward is say, hey, we're only going to make 500 Scooby-Doos with butter cabinets and those are called the collector's editions. The other 1469 are going to be LEs or standard editions. Because if they don't do this, how long are people going to continue to buy Spooky Pinball Machines new in box and immediately torpedo the value of their game on day one? Are you happy with it? If you just wait, you could get the game used and save a ton of money. And so in a weird way, Spooky Pinball is oversaturating The demand for its own product and it's just not going to work. It's a marketing strategy they used years ago They need to adjust it again If you're gonna call it a collector's edition make it something collectors want and you need to bake in some scarcity and FOMO Or else you're not doing anyone any favors and you're just using semantics to spin people on it All right, so it's a hard company to score right because I love them on a transparency level I think they've gotten some good themes Scooby-doo was a good theme for pinball vs飯 to Video host battlefield Sho dictatorship YouTube In theless Absolutely have. They've always been climbing higher and higher and higher. I wouldn't be Kaneda's Pinball Podcast if I let all of that cloud my vision on what kind of games are Spooky Pinball making right now. And they've also been in this industry for 10 years. And 10 years in, are we seeing product that warrants the price at like $8,000 to $13,000? And I would say right now, I don't see it. I don't see it because if I wanted to see I would not buy a new one. I would just wait. It is a fun game but do I need to own it right now? The other thing was spooky if you bought like their last few games, they do not ship their games with code complete. Every time a game comes out, it is kind of like barely done and you are kind of like a beta tester and a guinea pig and it is almost like they are listening to the community for feedback on how to make the game better. I don't want a company that's making 1969 games. I don't want a company that's making that much pinball who's been around the hobby as long as they have. I don't think they should need feedback from the pinball community how to make a good game by now. I think they should know all too well how to make a great game. Look, you don't hear a Stern Pinball asking people, hey, what do you want to see in this game? They don't really care what you think about James Bond. I don't think they're going to learn this on their own. And the problem is, it's not like you can go away for two years and learn this on your needle, but not playing that thing. It's about how they get better at writing and number of years, so you can keep coming to learning, you'll be there dealing with the problem indigenous community in the future In this platform, there is no such thing as standard of operation, There is no morose only forва because if there are concerts, the N always money is owned by the city itself, don't worry persons! Capitol bringing up to the victorious much cheaper Fox Sports PS5 Ladies and gentlemen, and when you look at it like that and you remove the jolly faces of the family over there at Spooky, you remove the great haircuts, you remove the transparency and you just put the products next to each other. When I do that and I see a Scooby Doo CE with butter next to Foo Fighters Ellie, next to Godfather Ellie, next to Pulp Fiction, next to everything else available in the pinball world, it's really I think Spooky Pinball is targeting a buyer that just wants something different from what's readily available. It seems like everybody and their mother owns every Stern. I mean nobody's really buying these Jersey Jack games. Jersey Jack is making games for someone who wants something different. The only problem with Jersey Jack is people want different things than they're making. Like right now they're making games for nobody. Like nobody's asking for these themes, nobody's asking for these games. They're in big trouble ladies and gentlemen. They are not going to sell 2000 Godfather pinball machines, no way. So how do I grade Spooky Pinball before I reveal to you the rumor of what I'm hearing their next title might be? I think Spooky is doing a lot of things right in the customer service category, in the transparency category. I think they have a lot of growing to do in the code department. I think they need to stop shipping games code incomplete I think they need to get their design game up You know even when I look at Scooby I still not seeing like the engineering in the games I not seeing like really really unique creative engineering I think they need to bring on more engineers and more coders and more designers They need to absorb what would be like another boutique pinball company, but I think they've got the money I think they've got the resources the big issue is they're not gonna get people to move to Benton, Wisconsin So will they trust someone to join the family but do the design somewhere else? We know it can be done. I mean Jersey Jack used to design everything in Chicago and build the games in New Jersey. It's not impossible to do. You know, so my overall grade on Spooky right now is I think they've worn thin the goodwill with these non-refundable deposits. I think people are tired of losing money who go in early on Spooky machines. I think they're going to need to get everything even better because they are priced in the big leagues. So my overall grade for spooky pinball as of today, as of 2023 is I'm going to give spooky pinball a B minus grade. I do think they deserve a B minus. They might even be a B, but I think a B minus. I think they're doing really, really well for being the most successful boutique company in all of pinball, but they really do need to Leif R refractory Program The Scobie dues they announced they were gonna do that on day one There wasn't that much demand and the reason why is that everyone can have the same exact game It just doesn't make any of them feel special and Stern Pinball has proven to us That the model that works is really the three tiered model. It's the same problem with Jersey Jack It's like they've got a collector's edition and then an le but they're the same game, right? What is the next title Kaneda? What is the rumor you're hearing? So here's how I heard this rumor. Take it with a grain of salt, but it's got some validity to it. No, I had a very good friend down at that licensing trade show. I don't even know where it was, but it's where all the big properties were at. We saw Gary Stern there, Jersey Jack was there. Everybody was down there. And my friend walked over to a studio who's got a property and was talking to them about pinball. And they said that this movie has been licensed by a pinball company. And the person was like, I'm not quite sure which pinball company it was. So here's that. My friends started calling out the different pinball companies. Was it Stern? Was it Jersey Jack? The guy's like, no. Was it American Pinball? No. He's like, was it Spooky Pinball? And the guy said, yeah, yeah, I think it's that one. Okay, so take it for what it's worth. Do you think a guy is saying, yeah, yeah, I think it's them? That's as good as it's going to get for me on whether or not this is valid. I'm going to end this show by revealing what it is for all of you. But before I do that, do I think this is a good theme for Spooky Pinball? The answer is I do. I think this is a really fun movie. I think it's really campy. I feel like it fits in line with the kinds of games they would make. And I think this movie also opens itself up to different toys and mechs and environments, and it has a lot of personality. And I think if they do this right, I know it might be a little bit of a divisive theme for people. Some people might think it's too corny and campy. I actually love this movie. I think it's timeless. I think it's a cult classic. I don't even think it's a cult classic. I don't know how you could watch this movie and not love this movie. So, ladies and gentlemen, you heard it here first on Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. I am hearing the rumored title that spooky pinball has the license to is the following.