Episode 748: "My Scooby Doo Thoughts"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·11m 32s·analyzed·Dec 7, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.027

TL;DR

Kaneda hails Scooby-Doo as Spooky's masterpiece and signals industry paradigm shift from FOMO to sustainable production.

Summary

Kaneda delivers an enthusiastically positive first-impression review of Spooky Pinball's Scooby-Doo machine following its surprise Wednesday reveal. He praises it as Spooky's best effort to date, highlighting the wide-body design, physical playfield features, creative artwork, and strong value proposition at $9,769 for the Collector's Edition. Notably, he emphasizes that the 1,969-unit production run removes FOMO dynamics and represents a healthier market shift away from day-one sellouts and artificial scarcity.

Key Claims

Scooby-Doo is Spooky Pinball's greatest effort to date and will be their most well-received machine
high confidence · Kaneda, opening impressions based on video reveal
Production of 1,969 units eliminates FOMO and removes need for day-one purchases
high confidence · Kaneda, analyzing production numbers and market implications
Scooby-Doo CE at $9,769 (or ~$10,700 with butter cabinet) offers better value than Stern's James Bond LE ($13,000) and Jersey Jack's Toy Story ($12,000–$15,000)
high confidence · Kaneda, direct price and feature comparison
Spooky's machine uses more physical/analog playfield elements compared to competitors like Toy Story, which relies on LCD screens
high confidence · Kaneda, design philosophy critique
Stern's James Bond 60th will be a 'greedy cash grab' priced at $20,000–$30,000 that will 'land like a ton of bricks'
medium confidence · Kaneda, prediction about upcoming Stern release
The market is shifting away from FOMO-driven purchasing; buyers who participated in 2022 FOMO lost money
medium confidence · Kaneda, broader industry commentary and market analysis
Code and software may not be as far along as the playfield design, which is a potential concern
medium confidence · Kaneda, cautionary speculation about development status
American Pinball made a strategic mistake delaying their Space Force game and allowing Scooby-Doo to capture the 'right game at the right time' momentum
medium confidence · Kaneda, critique of competitor strategy and David Fix's decision-making

Notable Quotes

“This is easily Spooky Pinball's greatest effort to date. I think it will be the greatest received machine they ever put out into the market.”
Kaneda @ early — Core thesis of the episode; extremely bullish opening position
“There's absolutely no FOMO. Like you don't need to buy this game on Friday. You know that.”
Kaneda @ mid — Key insight about production volume disrupting traditional purchase urgency dynamics
“Are you looking at this Stern pinball with your lazy James Bond LE offering for $13,000? Are you looking at this Jersey Jack pinball with your lazy Toy Story offering for $12,000 or $15,000?”
Kaneda @ mid — Direct competitive criticism of major manufacturers; signals dissatisfaction with perceived laziness in design
“I am not here to tell you that this spooky machine is going to shoot better than a Pat Lawler JJP machine. There's no way it's going to shoot better than a Pat Lawler game, but it's still a really, really great effort from Spooky Pinball.”
Kaneda @ mid-late — Balances praise with realistic acknowledgment of JJP's superior playfield design; tempers expectations
“They easily could have plopped down a huge LCD screen under the glass and played Scooby-Doo episodes and took the lazy way out. But they physically made stuff.”
Kaneda @ mid — Explicit criticism of Jersey Jack's approach to Toy Story; contrasts design philosophies
“I think this game is going to create a little bit of a seismic shift in the pinball world.”
Kaneda @ late — Claims the Scooby-Doo release represents a turning point in industry practice away from FOMO
“Anyone who ran through that FOMO door in 2022 lost a lot of money. We need to get back to pinball being fun, games being packed, games being loaded.”
Kaneda @ late — Reflects on past market bubble; advocates for sustainable, value-driven sales model

Entities

Spooky PinballcompanyKanedaperson Scooby-DoogameStern PinballcompanyJersey Jack Pinballcompany American Pinballcompany David FixpersonPat Lawlerperson

Signals

?
product_launch: Spooky Pinball surprise-reveals Scooby-Doo on Wednesday (earlier than scheduled); video shows wide-body playfield with extensive physical features
high · Spooky Pinball came out of nowhere with mystery reveal of Scooby-Doo on Wednesday when game was thought to be shown the next day
?
product_strategy: 1,969-unit production run eliminates FOMO urgency; $9,769 CE pricing positions as value play vs. $12k–$15k JJP and $13k Stern offerings
high · They're going to make 1,969 of these machines... There's absolutely no FOMO. Scooby-Doo CE... I think it's $9,769 for the CE
~
sentiment_shift: Kaneda advocates for shift away from FOMO-driven purchasing toward sustainable, value-focused production models; signals dissatisfaction with 2022 bubble behavior
high · I think this game is going to create a seismic shift in the pinball world... Anyone who ran through that FOMO door in 2022 lost a lot of money
?
design_philosophy: Kaneda praises Spooky's emphasis on physical playfield elements (toys, magnetic hands, ball locks, wire forms) vs. competitors' reliance on LCD screens
high · They easily could have plopped down a huge LCD screen under the glass and played Scooby-Doo episodes and took the lazy way out. But they physically made stuff.
?
product_concern: Kaneda expresses concern that code and software animations may not be as far along as physical playfield; worries about shallow gameplay if shipped soon
medium · We haven't seen the code... The code is going to be an issue if they start shipping this game real soon and there's not much in it

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.035

0:00

Scooby-Dooby-Doo, here are you. Shoo! Ah, spooky pinball coming out of nowhere with a mystery reveal of Scooby-Doo on a Wednesday when we thought this game was going to be shown tomorrow. So I'm super excited to do this podcast because you know I love it when a new pinball machine comes out and I want to give you my initial reaction to this Scooby-Doo video that they just put out today. And there's a lot of surprises in this video. Spooky Pinball from Benton, Wisconsin has made a wide body machine to fit everything they wanted to fit into the game. Are you listening, Jersey Jack Pinball? I'm looking at this game from like the bird's eye view and I'm looking at the entire play field, the artwork, all the different wire forms, the ball locks, the magnetic hands, the upper play field, the bookcase that like opens up as a flipper. It looks like there's a knight. There's Scooby-Doo in a mine car. There's Scooby-Doo in a barrel. There are drop targets. There are ball locks that are physical that you can see on an apron in a really original form. There is super colorful artwork. There is a fan layout that looks like it has smooth shots. There's the mystery van machine, whatever the damn thing is called. And I just want to say right now, from a very early impression of this game, well done, Spooky Pinball. This is a really fun and colorful looking machine. It is easily, and I mean this, look, and the bar was low. This is easily Spooky Pinball's greatest effort to date. I think it will be the greatest received machine they ever put out into the market. And it feels like this is the kind of game they've always wanted to make. And I bet the young kids are like, see dad, nobody wanted Ultraman. Get ready for 500 Ultramans to go up for sale tomorrow. Now look, I think this is an amazing effort for Spooky Pinball. I think people are going to respond to this game with a lot of positivity. And I think if people try to look at this game and nitpick it, they're going to be approached with pitchforks. But I also want to just remind people, and let me just ask you a question. Is this video enough? Is this all you need to buy the game now? Now look, the most important number we got today was this. They're going to make 1,969 of these machines This thing is not rare It not even close to being rare That is almost like all of the machines Spooky has ever made at once Well that not true So look it makes sense 1969 is the year the game came out. But all of a sudden now, there's absolutely no FOMO. Like you don't need to buy this game on Friday. You know that. But here's the thing too, is like they don't need to sell this thing out in one day. You're not going to miss out on it. What I like about this game, what I like about the price and the amount of stuff that's in this game, I mean, they clearly want everyone to buy the CE because the CE is absolutely loaded. It has laser etched rails. Are you looking at this Stern pinball with your lazy James Bond LE offering for $13,000? Are you looking at this Jersey Jack pinball with your lazy Toy Story offering for $12,000 or $15,000. I mean, they're putting a lot into this machine. And the CE looks absolutely bonkers incredible in this game. I mean it. When you stand back from this game, it looks absolutely incredible. The other thing I was thinking, yes, it does look a little bit like the Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle, but this Scooby-Doo CE, let me, hold on, I'm looking for the price. I think it's $9,769 for the CE of the game. And if you add a butter cabinet, it's not going to be that cheap, right? You're looking at like $10,700 plus tax, but it's a wide body game. It comes with this really fun topper. It's got the beautiful like Ghostbusters green armor on this machine. This thing pops tremendously well. It's absolutely a stunning work of art. It is easily Spooky's most fun game to date. The only things that were like I'm a little bit hesitant on is I need to play it because it still looks like a spooky machine and it still looks like it might shoot like a spooky machine. But I actually think this game doesn't look like the shots are too tight. I see targets instead of posts. I see toys with magnetic hands. I see a lot of different shots in the game. I see a lot of inserts that make me believe there's a lot to do. the game. Now, we haven't seen the code. We haven't seen much of the software. We haven't seen much of the animations. My question is this. How far along is this game, right? The code is going to be an issue if they start shipping this game real soon and there's not much in it. So, I hope that the code is pretty far along. I really do. But look, there's nothing else I'm going to say right now on this podcast other than well done, Spooky. I think you're going to make a lot of people very happy. I also think this is going to change the way people approach pinball sales. And here's what I mean by that If they going to make 1 of these they don need to sell out in day one And that okay I think they going to have a steady drumbeat of sales over the next two years And this is the game they're going to be making for like the next year or two, and that's fine. I think we need to move away where you have to buy this game on Friday, or you're never going to get it, or you're going to have to pay over sticker. That's not going to be the case. So I think they just removed the FOMO by upping the number to $1,969. You're not going to have to buy this game with a non-refundable deposit. The distributors are going to be happy. This is a game that is going to make all of the distributors out there very happy. I can see Zach Manning doing backflips. I can see Joe Newhart doing backflips because this is what a distributor wants. They want a fun game that is speaking to people that fans of the franchise will want to own. And of course, distributors would love to have a day one sellout, but those days are over. I also think this game is important because it's putting a lot into the machine and you're actually getting some really good value for the money. I also like that they're creatively doing things that we're not seeing in other games. Are you listening, Jersey Jack? Right. We need to see more creativity. And I think there's a lot of interesting ideas in this game that we haven't seen before. I even like the simple things like the post between the two flippers to stop balls from going straight down the middle. John Norris would be very happy seeing that because I think stuff like that just enhances the gameplay experience.

7:15

Like you walk up to a machine like this and you say, wow, I wonder how I activate that. I wonder what that does. I wonder what happens when I bash this. I wonder how I lock the balls here. All of that is what pinball fun is supposed to be. You're supposed to walk up to a machine and see all of this stuff. And it's got to be physical. And it's got to be analog. And that's the other thing. That's why Toy Story is such a miss. And I'd rather have a game like this. Like they easily could have plopped down a huge LCD screen under the glass and played Scooby-Doo episodes and took the lazy way out. But they physically made stuff. Now look, I am not here to tell you that this spooky machine is going to shoot better than a Pat Lawler JJP machine. There's no way it's going to shoot better than a Pat Lawler game, but it's still a really, really great effort from Spooky Pinball. I think the community is going to be very happy. I don't think it's going to be a day one sellout, but I don't think that matters. That is no longer the barometer by which we should be judging games. We should be judging games by, did they do the theme justice? Are the fans of the theme going to be happy? Are they putting a lot of physical stuff into the game? Are they being creative? Are they being innovative? of does it look beautiful? Is this something that I would be proud to own? Is this a company that I would be proud to support with this effort? And I think it's a yes across the board on this game So hats off to you Spooky Pinball I think you did a really good job with Scooby And I know you might hate me and I not doing this to kiss up to you I don care if we interview each other I just want to say that this is a really really impressive effort from a company in Benton, Wisconsin. And I think when you start to look at games like James Bond, and you start to look at games like Toy Story, I think they are hitting it out of the park when it comes to the right game at the right time with the right value. I mean it. I really do mean it. And I think the pressure is now on American Pinball. I think they waited too long for this original IP Space Force game, and now they've got 1,969 consumers to compete with because I think a lot of people would rather own something that has nostalgia, that they have an emotional appeal to, and that they can connect with. David Fix, big mistake. You slept on it, and you let Spooky get game out before you. The other thing is this. A week from now, we're going to see Stern Pinball's James Bond 60th at some exorbitant price. And I think that game is going to land like a ton of bricks and it's not going to make people happy. It's going to be a greedy cash grab by Stern Pinball. And I really am happy that we saw Spooky Pinball drop this game today because I think it's going to change our point of view when we see that Keith Elwin cash grab game and they try to get like $20,000, $30,000 for it. I like the fact that if I'm a Scooby-Doo fan and I want to buy this wide-body game from Spooky with a lot in it, there's no drama. There's no hassle. It's not going to be hard to get one. They would love to make you one and just put your name down with a distributor or with them and you don't have to order it right away. The other good part is this. So many of us are going to be able to enjoy this machine and play it before we order it. And that's the way it should be. I think this game is going to create a little bit of a seismic shift in the pinball world. and I think it's all going to be for the better. And if you don't think so, I think you're in the wrong hobby. We need to start rooting for stuff like this. We don't want to go back to the FOMO, non-refundable. You're not going to get it. We're not going to make that money. Everybody run through the door at once. That's not going to happen. It's not working out for anybody, right? Anyone who ran through that FOMO door in 2022 lost a lot of money. We need to get back to pinball being fun, games being packed, games being loaded, games integrating the theme properly. And look, I haven't played this game. I haven't seen a lot on it, but that's my first impressions. I think there is nothing I'm really complaining about or upset about with this game. And again, it's spooky pinball. They were not gonna be able to put like an Elvira house in there, but they're getting much better. And there's a lot of fun stuff in this game. And I wanna say congratulations to the team over there because I think you're gonna get nothing but positive feedback on this game. And again, I think the negative Nancys, it's time to take your ball and go home because we don't need it. I think we need to start cheerleading when companies really give us great value for the money. Kaneda out.