#138 What a fool believes - The Classic Pinball Podcast

The Classic Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·1h 11m·analyzed·Mar 31, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 (batch) · $0.015

TL;DR

Classic Pinball Podcast #138: Game rankings, repair horror stories, upcoming machines.

Summary

George and Dave of The Classic Pinball Podcast discuss community feedback, debate a top-10 games list from 1980–1984, cover upcoming head-to-head machines (Battle Station, Monster League Hockey), and share field service war stories about classic machines (T2, Gorgar, Superman, Space Invaders, Genie, Tron). Key topics include repair quality issues in the secondary market, Stern warranty complications, and the upcoming Pokémon pinball machine that aired Olympics commercials.

Key Claims

Stern is releasing games way too early and fixing them later in code updates.
high confidence · George and Dave discussing Stern's practice, referencing Steve Kirk's frustration with Nine Ball's early release.
Battle Station (Myth Pinball head-to-head) is taking pre-orders in April with delivery by end of 2026.
high confidence · George mentions specific timeline for Myth Pinball's head-to-head model.
Stern's warranty policy changed: Stern now covers only parts, not labor, on defective units.
high confidence · Dave recounts Star Wars Fall of the Empire warranty call where labor was customer's responsibility, not Stern's.
Pokémon aired a national commercial during the Olympics promoting the brand broadly, not specifically hawking the Stern pinball machine.
medium confidence · George saw Pokémon Olympics commercials repeatedly and notes it was brand awareness, not product promotion.
Mike Dodona at Automated (Stern distributor in Milford, Connecticut) stands by his products even when Stern might not.
high confidence · Dave recounts Star Wars warranty case where Mike Dodona agreed to swap the defective game.
Secondary market sellers (e.g., 'Pinball Dudes') have high eBay ratings despite selling defective machines to customers.
medium confidence · Dave expresses confusion about how sellers maintain 100% reviews while customers call him for repairs.
Superman games are notoriously finicky, require specialized Atari board expertise, and are expensive to repair properly.
high confidence · Dave discusses multiple Superman repair calls and lack of technicians experienced with Atari boards.
Nine Ball has persistent switch issues on the left side that are difficult to keep adjusted.
high confidence · Mark (Mithos) email about Nine Ball ownership and ongoing gremlins.

Notable Quotes

“Stern is still releasing games way too early and they, oh, we'll do it in code later. So, not much has changed.”
George @ ~15:00 — Highlights ongoing industry tension between Stern's business practices and product maturity; mirrors historical pattern with Nine Ball.
“I have a hard time saying no. I know you do. I'm too much of a nice guy is the problem.”
Dave @ ~50:00 — Self-aware acknowledgment of why Dave accepts unprofitable warranty and repair jobs despite poor margins.
“They gave me a whole bunch of sockets to replace and it ain't gonna do anything and that's not it.”
Dave @ ~45:00 — Illustrates disconnect between Stern's technical diagnosis and field reality during warranty service.
“I don't understand how they're doing it when people are getting disappointed and they're calling me to clean up the mess on aisle five.”
Dave @ ~35:00 — Exposes gap between secondary market seller ratings and actual product quality/customer satisfaction.
“This thing had like a fire. This coil was so burnt up, it stuck on for probably an hour. Nothing left of it and a big burn mark on the wood.”
Dave @ ~75:00 — Illustrates severity of damage from amateur 'pliers and blowtorch' repairs on classic machines.
“It's why it's the most revered brand in the world, I guess. And the most moneymaker.”
George @ ~55:00 — Reflects on Pokémon's cultural penetration and relevance to Stern's Olympic ad campaign and upcoming machine.
“You ran, didn't you? Oh, I did ran, but I talked to him.”
George to Dave @ ~48:00 — Jocular acknowledgment that Dave initially fled the Star Wars warranty situation before circling back to help.
“He goes, you bark. I don't remember that. Yeah, I'm gonna find that.”
George @ ~52:00 — References Steve Ritchie's characterization of George's personality/work style (bite/assertiveness).

Entities

Georgeperson Daveperson JohnpersonMithos (Mark)personSteve Kirkperson Steve Ritchieperson Tim Sexton

Signals

?
product_concern: Stern's warranty policy changed to cover parts only, not labor, creating confusion and unpaid work for field service technicians.
high · Dave's Star Wars Fall of the Empire warranty call where labor cost was unexpectedly shifted to customer; email clarification showed limited warranty covers parts but not labor.
$
market_signal: Secondary market sellers (Pinball Dudes) maintain high eBay ratings despite selling defective machines that require professional repair.
medium · Dave reports multiple customers calling with defective machines purchased from sellers with 100% reviews; questions how sellers maintain ratings when customers are disappointed.
?
product_concern: Professionally restored machines sometimes lack critical rebuild work (e.g., flipper mechs, plunger links) despite cosmetic finish, leaving playability issues.
high · T2 case: new cabinet decals, CPU, rubber, but flippers were poor; owner replaced bats and coil stops but not pawls and plungers.
?
operational_signal: Amateur technicians using 'pliers and blowtorch' approach cause extensive damage to classic machines, requiring major rework and extended service calls.
high · Multiple cases: Gorgar with holes drilled in cabinet, Space Invaders damaged by previous tech, Genie with burnt coil from prolonged short, Tron wires cut by owner.
?
product_launch: Stern Pokémon pinball machine has been announced; brand aired Olympics commercials for cross-generational awareness campaign.
high · George saw Pokémon Olympics commercials repeatedly; notes Stern came out with the game after the campaign; describes it as emotion, collectability, cross-generational marketing.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.215

0:00

Quiet, we're on the air. Hello everybody. This broadcast is coming to you through the courtesy of Brito. And it's six delicious flavors. Chocolate, vanilla, cranberry, strawberry, and raspberry. Ouch! It's still raspberry. Mmm. Take that!

0:27

Now keep quiet or I'll suck ya again. Hello and welcome to another episode of the Classic Pinball Podcast. My name is George, his name is Dave. Hello Dave. Hello George. Knocking the rust off, I can't believe how long it's been since I've recorded, but I want to thank you and John for a very successful podcast in February. A little cringy at times, and you know the part that I cringed at. John removing a digit with the saw. Don't elaborate. So I want to thank John personally. The numbers in February and so far through March have been incredible. Um, March specifically, the last couple of weeks, we're at least 50 fold up a day. And Dave and I had this conversation this past week. I attribute it to all you poor slobs that are waiting in line, uh, at the airport. That's what I think. But it could be that Dave and, uh, John, uh, really pulled the numbers. Yeah, it was a lot of fun. Very easy to talk with John. We could have probably went for hours if it wasn't for a dinner bell ringing for his wife and said, you guys got to stop. Well, let's go to an email I received through, I think, the podcast. You've heard from this gentleman before, Steppen, I think it's Gee, G-E-E or Gee. A good letter no matter what. He commented on your episode, a fantastic episode, both entertaining and educational. From this episode I learned why Steve Young's repro drop targets often break and I should never buy a secondhand table saw. All right. There, we're learning something. Very good. All right. So that was one accolade we received. Let me pull this up on... So we got one from... You might have gotten the same one from Mithos? Oh, Mithos. Yeah, did I forward that to you or did you get that direct? No, no, no. This is out on Pinside. Okay. This is the podcaster, you know, let's beat up on podcasters, influencers and call them blowhards. Did you see this? No, I try not to... Well, right. You don't want to. He called us out and I want to thank him because he got seven pluses. So that means all you that like us just won't reply. You'll just give him a thumbs up. So he said, I really only listen to the classic pinball podcast. It's old school and with some repair stories and no drama. Once in a while I'll turn into slam tilt, but I have to be in the mood. Okay, I think that's a good one. I got something from Methos too. His name is actually Mark. Okay, what did Mark have to say? He said, hello Dr. Dave, I agree with your top Sterns. I have all those except flight 2000 which is coming next week. Don't know why I never picked one up. Probably because they are pretty common. You have a nine ball on the list. I have one and it's a chore to keep it running. It's all about those little switches in the left there. They're going to be just right. We still have some gremlins that serve us from time to time. Yep, most nine balls do. But that game is something else, I'll tell you. You can tell that Steve Kirk tried to sketch or stretch the limits of what Stern could do or would put up with at that time. I read an interview with him and he was pretty pissed that they released it without it being complete, but they needed the cash flow to get it out the door. I love the game. Actually, that's the much changed with Stern. Stern is still releasing games way too early and they, oh, we'll do it in code later. So, not much has changed. I love the game. It's like nothing else in that era. I've had Cheetah, Catacomb, Ali, Big Game, but they're all gone. They were all okay, but just didn't grab me as much as the others did. I will definitely get the updated code for Flight 2000 that you recommended. All of these are games that are not intended. Okay, that leads me into this, talking about games. Grant, thanks again for sending us this top ten list from Mr. Mustache to Sexton. This is his top ten list for games 1980 to 1984. Did you happen to watch this? There was some familiar games in there. It looked like actually from my game room in my games. Oh, that's right. I forgot about that. He robs the pictures and puts it in the montage. He robbed the video. Yeah, he robbed my 8-ball deluxe, I think, maybe, no, not the LE. He robbed the one from like 84 or 85, whatever that one is, and then the old, the original school one from 81. I will say, whenever he shows my stuff versus the other crap that's on there, the other crap that's on there looks kind of beat up and rubbed down with a dirty diaper. And my stuff shines nicely, so hats off. So let's go through this list real quick. And what I want you to keep in mind is, are there any games here, you can stop me and say, this is a game I would replace. All in all, the game is a success, and it is a success. But what I'm wondering, you know, because there are three games that I wouldn't put in there, what's missing from Bally and Classic Stern that we might put in, you know, in place of the ones he picked? Okay? A lot to remember there, but you'll get it when we go on. Okay, sure. Go ahead. So here we go. Number 10, Black Knight. I think it's this. I wouldn't say that belongs in the top 10. Okay, okay. So we'll come back to replacement in a minute. The numbers really don't matter. Should I comment on each one of these or wait till the end? Yeah, well, you can comment along the way. So number nine, Frontier. Not really. Okay, okay. You got two now you got to replace. Okay, number eight, Centaur. Yeah, I'd say it belongs there. Okay, remember you got to put replacements. You got two you got to replace. eliant, Alien Poker Okay, I have a comment on this. Yeah It's got the you know across the playfield plunge. Why would you put skateboard in there instead? Skateball ... Is Alien Poker that much better than skateboard? Yeah, Alien Poker has cool artwork and I don't know. Skateball is a poor man's ... Okay, let's keep going, so you are ambivalent to that one. Skateball is favor ... it's a poor man's fathom, that's Skateball. Okay, you got two you gotta replace still. Number six, Sea Witch. I think that stays. No, no, I don't think so. Okay, now you got three you gotta replace. Okay, we're gonna keep going. Eight Ball Deluxe, that definitely- Definitely, that's in there, yep. Okay, so these are the two that I found that shouldn't be on the list. Time Fantasy and Space Shuttle. I like Space Shuttle. No, those should be, those are B games, no. Okay, so now you've got five games you've got to replace. There's a reason why this guy's a pornstache, man. So number two and number one is Fathom and Stargazer. I'm assuming that you keep those on there. Yes. Okay, I'm putting you on the spot. So come up with five games between 1980 and 1984.

CPR playfield inventory is discounted, and collectors are buying multiple playfields as speculative purchases.

medium confidence · George and Dave mention grabbing CPR playfields on sale as potential resale or project investments.

Monster League Hockey head-to-head (Jake Danzig designer) is taking pre-orders with unspecified delivery timeline in 2026.

medium confidence · George mentions Jake Danzig's head-to-head hockey machine coming in 2026.

“If you think about it, my kid collected them back in the 90s. Right. But now they're exposing themselves to a whole nother new generation, younger kids, and people like me who casually know about it only because my son collected them.”

George @ ~56:00 — Explains Pokémon's cross-generational appeal and why Stern's Olympic ad strategy targets broad demographics.

“I'm just going to let sleeping dogs lie. It's working.”

Dave @ ~70:00 — Pragmatic decision to stop troubleshooting Space Invaders board compatibility issues once game is functional.

The Classic Pinball Podcastorganization

Stern Pinballcompany

CPR (Custom Pinball Renovation)company

Pinball Dudescompany

machine_intel: Two head-to-head pinball machines in production pipeline: Battle Station (Myth Pinball) accepting pre-orders April 2026, Monster League Hockey (Jake Danzig) pre-orders for 2026.

medium · George mentions both machines taking shape and expected delivery sometime in 2026; April pre-order window for Battle Station with end-of-year delivery.

industry_signal: Premium distributors like Automated (Mike Dodona) proactively replace defective units and stand behind products even when manufacturer warranty is limited.

high · Mike Dodona arranged full unit replacement for defective Star Wars game and coordinated with Stern on payment after initial confusion.

sentiment_shift: The Classic Pinball Podcast experienced significant audience growth in February and March, attributed to recent high-profile guest episode.

medium · George notes February and March numbers 'incredible,' with last couple weeks 50-fold up daily; attributes to February episode with John and Dave.

design_philosophy: Steve Kirk (Nine Ball designer) was frustrated that Stern released the game incomplete due to cash flow pressures, conflicting with his design vision.

medium · Dave references interview where Kirk was 'pissed' the game was released without completion; notes Stern needed cash flow to release early.

restoration_signal: Replacement driver boards and sound components available from aftermarket suppliers (Weebly, Andrew) as alternatives to manufacturer parts.

medium · Dave uses Weebly driver board as solution for Space Invaders, coordinating troubleshooting with Andrew who identified connector issues.

content_signal: High-profile guest episode (John, February) drove measurable podcast audience growth and engagement.

medium · George thanks John and notes February episode was 'very successful' with incredible listener numbers; credits guest appearance for growth.

market_signal: CPR playfield sale attracted bulk purchases from collectors and technicians who view inventory as speculative investment.

low · George mentions having 'stack of playfields as high as tall as me' and notes CPR sale; both he and Dave bought multiple units; sees potential resale value.