claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034
UK pinball hosts discuss machine QC issues, Stern's Europe push, market decline, and forum drama.
Scott has had issues with every new-in-box machine he's purchased, including House of Horrors, Cactus Canyon remake, Alien, Metallica remake, and others
high confidence · Scott Rundell, discussing his bad luck with new pinball machines
Stern is expanding operations in Europe with staff based in the region, with John Buscaglia moving to Amsterdam to lead efforts
high confidence · Neil McRae, citing a call from Stern and announcements by Gary and Jack at Dutch Pinball Open
Walking Dead LE is selling out across distributors in the US and UK despite predictions it wouldn't sell well
high confidence · Neil McRae, reporting distributor feedback on Walking Dead sales
The secondary market for pinball machines is severely depressed in UK and Europe, with games being sold at rock-bottom prices
high confidence · Neil and Scott discussing market conditions in UK, Europe, and US
Star Wars game has been bulletproof with no issues during a month-long placement in a club
high confidence · Neil McRae, discussing his Star Wars machine's performance in a venue
Spike 3 sound quality is significantly better than Spike 2 due to processor improvements
high confidence · Neil McRae, comparing Spike 2 and Spike 3 audio hardware and performance
Jaws has recently risen to #1 on the Pinside rankings and is experiencing a resurgence
high confidence · Neil McRae, discussing Jaws' ranking jump and tournament performance
Walking Dead is currently shipping with incomplete code and artwork pending approval, similar to Dune's launch
medium confidence · Neil McRae, comparing Walking Dead to Dune's early shipping state
Stern had significant quality control issues with Aerosmith cabinets, including corner wood separation due to inadequate gluing
high confidence · Neil McRae, discussing Aerosmith cabinet joinery failures and comparing to Ghostbusters insert lifting issues
“I do nothing for the community. Oh, you definitely don't. No? No. Who does the buss-a-gut on glass?”
Neil McRae and Scott Rundell @ N/A — Humorous response to critical forum comment about community contributions; illustrates forum toxicity
“every new in box I ever get, and I mean every new in box, whether it's like a Stern...I had issues with House of Horrors, I had issues with Cactus Canyon remake, I had issues with Alien”
Scott Rundell @ N/A — Documents Scott's pattern of manufacturing defects with new purchases
“It's been bulletproof. And yeah, I think everyone really enjoyed it. It was in a couple of tournaments and Raddy's done an amazing job.”
Neil McRae @ N/A — Positive feedback on Star Wars machine's reliability in venue setting
“the game's taking a lot of shit for its playfield and what's on it or what isn't on it. That's all there is to it. But at the end of the day, it's a really great game to play.”
Neil McRae @ N/A — Defends Star Wars despite criticism about playfield design and assets
“Spike 3, it's like boom. And it's like, holy shit. That's what happens when you stick a Raspberry Pi in there”
Neil McRae @ N/A — Highlights sound quality leap from Spike 2 to Spike 3 hardware improvements
“They won't be happy unless games are going back to like £500 which is within their cost of budget so they can go back to the way their life was”
Scott Rundell @ N/A — Commentary on unrealistic price expectations from some community members
“I think Jaws is up there as one of the best games of all time.”
Neil McRae @ N/A — Strong endorsement of Jaws following code updates and tournament success
“With many distributors in the US sold out of LEs, the UK apparently sold out of LEs”
Neil McRae @ N/A — Walking Dead LE sales exceeding expectations across regions
product_concern: Scott Rundell reports consistent quality control issues with every new-in-box machine purchased, affecting multiple manufacturers and recent titles including House of Horrors, Cactus Canyon remake, Alien, Metallica remake, King Kong, and others. Suggests systemic manufacturing quality problems.
high · Scott: 'every new in box I ever get, and I mean every new in box, whether it's like a Stern, like I had issues with House of Horrors, I had issues with Cactus Canyon remake, I had issues with Alien'
business_signal: Stern Pinball establishing regional European presence with John Buscaglia relocating to Amsterdam to lead operations. Move indicates strategic recognition of underserved European market and intent to increase distribution and support in region.
high · Neil: 'I got a call from the guys at Stern a while ago. And they're like, Hey, Neil, we want you to have a chat with John...He's moving to Amsterdam, right? So...Both Gary and Jack announced this at the Dutch Pinball Open.'
market_signal: UK and European secondary pinball market experiencing severe depression with games selling at rock-bottom prices. Multiple recent releases dumped on market simultaneously at below-cost prices by wealthy collectors liquidating. US market healthier but also soft. Recovery timeline uncertain.
high · Neil: 'There's a bunch of people just selling games because they want to move them quick...there was a, I don't know, about 15 games put up for sale at rock bottom prices...someone who had money, wasn't worried about taking a hit on it...it can take a while to recover from. So, yeah, it's definitely not a good place to sell right now.'
product_launch: Walking Dead shipping with incomplete code and artwork pending approval, similar to Dune's problematic launch. However, sales are exceptionally strong across US and UK distributors despite this, with LEs sold out.
groq_whisper · $0.277
Neil was reinstated as master of the stall ball event at UK Pinfest
high confidence · Neil McRae, announcing his Pinfest position reinstatement
high · Neil: 'Walking Dead, so at the moment the game's pretty much the game from the original. There's not a lot of difference in it...some of the artwork isn't 100%. Again, they've probably gone a bit early on selling it versus code...Walking Dead for that amount of money, they are selling like hotcakes'
code_update: Jaws recently jumped to #1 Pinside ranking following code finalization by Keith and team. Theme integration quality improves as players progress through modes. Strong tournament performance evidence (UK Open). Community sentiment shifting positively.
high · Neil: 'Jaws has just gone to the number one spot...Well, they finalized all the code and people are, there's been a few big games of it...credit to Keith and the team, they slowly made the whole theme integration...I think Jaws is up there as one of the best games of all time.'
technology_signal: Spike 3 platform shows dramatic audio quality improvements over Spike 2, attributed to processor architecture. Neil notes code update quality also improved with newer hardware. Spike 2 running on outdated Linux versions with CPU/IO bottlenecks.
high · Neil: 'Spike 3, it's like boom. And it's like, holy shit...I did a code update on Spike 3 and...It's the processor, isn't it? It's bloody ancient...Spike 3 sound is. It's just so much better.'
community_signal: Pinside forum experiencing significant toxicity with unrealistic expectations, agenda-driven criticism of contributors, and dismissive treatment of community members. Both hosts expressing fatigue with platform culture and considering disengaging entirely.
high · Neil: 'Trust me when I say there are people on that forum that have an agenda and no matter what you do, they will make sure that you are called up on something...I'm thinking of a New Year's resolution just to cut off the forum entirely to be honest with you because I've had enough of it.'
product_concern: New Walking Dead cabinet design uses bolted/braced corners and new weight distribution approach. Host concerned about long-term durability with scissor lifts and venue transport, wants to see extended testing. No failures reported yet, but design represents significant change from previous approach.
medium · Neil: 'I want to see them...get it...they won't be like oh god he's banging on about the quality of the backbox again...I want to see how that holds up because you're putting all that weight distribution suddenly on the rear of those rear bracket'
historical_signal: Stern has history of cabinet quality issues. Aerosmith had significant wood separation problems at joinery due to inadequate gluing. Ghostbusters had insert lifting issues. Pattern of quality control challenges with recent pin design changes continues.
high · Neil: 'Aerosmith came out, it was the second Spike 2 game. Stern had a ton of issues with the cabinets...the cabinet would split...they'd basically done what I would call a fish and chip shop on the vinegar, i.e. they don't put enough on...And this was just after a whole load of noise with Ghostbusters and with the lifting inserts.'
venue_signal: Star Wars machine placed in UK club venue for one month performed flawlessly with no reliability issues despite heavy play. Positive player reception in tournament setting. Mylar additional application in venue environment effective.
high · Neil: 'It's been bulletproof. And yeah, I think everyone really enjoyed it. It was in a couple of tournaments and Raddy's done an amazing job...not a single issue, mate...extra Mylar down because it was in the club.'
design_philosophy: Star Wars facing community criticism for playfield design and limited assets, but Neil defends it as excellent game to play with strong code and theme integration. Tension between casual/collector expectations for visual assets and competitive/venue player focus on gameplay quality.
high · Neil: 'the game's taking a lot of shit for its playfield and what's on it or what isn't on it...But at the end of the day, it's a really great game to play. We're out in the club. I've not had one bit of negative feedback.'
sentiment_shift: Metallica Remastered dropped from #1 ranking to #13 despite Neil considering it his personal favorite Stern. Neil questioning why decline occurred given quality of the machine, suggesting ranking system may not reflect actual game quality or popularity accurately.
medium · Neil: 'Metallica is now 13th. It has dropped down the listing, even though I think personally it's my favorite Stern...it's my favorite Stern.'