Episode 898: "JAWS Apologists & Stern's New Anniversary Strategy"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·18m 32s·analyzed·Jan 7, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Kaneda addresses Jaws criticism, reports Stern's new unlimited anniversary edition strategy, teases unreleased machine.

Summary

Kaneda defends his previous Jaws analysis against community criticism, clarifies that he praised the game while noting it has less mechanical depth than Godzilla despite higher pricing. He reports George Gomez's official clarification that Stern will shift to unlimited premium-tier anniversary editions rather than numbered limited editions, reversing their 2023 strategy. He also hints at an unconfirmed machine announcement and speculates about a Metallica LCD remake for Midwest Gaming Classic in April.

Key Claims

Jaws LE sold out in one day, with ~1000 units produced at $13,000 starting point
high confidence · Kaneda, discussing secondary market expectations for Jaws LE
Jaws has less mechanical depth than Godzilla despite being 30% more expensive
high confidence · Kaneda's direct comparison: Godzilla at $10,500 vs Jaws LE at $13,000+ in terms of mechanical features
George Gomez clarified Stern will make unlimited premium-tier anniversary editions, not numbered LEs
high confidence · Kaneda reading George Gomez Facebook statements verbatim; official manufacturer clarification
Previous anniversary editions (Elvira 40th, James Bond 60th, Jurassic Park 30th) were limited to 199-500 units
high confidence · Kaneda citing specific production numbers for past anniversary releases
Stern is planning a Metallica machine rerun with an LCD screen to be unveiled at Midwest Gaming Classic in April
medium confidence · Kaneda: 'Now the rumor is this Metallica machine is going to be the same layout but with an LCD screen... I'm hearing Stern is going to bring this new Metallica game... at the Midwest Gaming Classic which is early April'
Godzilla was received positively for mechanical innovation at initial reveal, not just after streaming
high confidence · Kaneda refuting criticism that community only loved Godzilla after the stream: 'When we first saw Godzilla, we were blown away by all the stuff in that game'
Stern produces three cornerstone games per year, spaced roughly every four months
medium confidence · Kaneda speculating on Stern's release cadence: 'If Stern has three cornerstone games a year, that's a new cornerstone every four months'
Jaws premium is $3,500 less expensive than the LE variant
high confidence · Kaneda: 'You can go get a premium for like $3,500 less than an LE'

Notable Quotes

“I'm not complaining about Jaws. I said from the very get go that Jaws LE was gonna sell out in one day.”
Kaneda @ Early in episode — Establishes Kaneda's position that he was bullish on Jaws commercial success, deflecting accusations of negativity
“I'm looking down at Godzilla right now for ten thousand five hundred dollars and you telling me two years later that Jaws Pinball that is thirty percent more expensive has more mechanical magic in it... it just does not according to me”
Kaneda @ Mid-episode — Core mechanical criticism of Jaws relative to Godzilla; justifies his position on design depth
“The magic words are LE. Well, actually, those are the magic letters, George, not words.”
Kaneda @ George Gomez quote section — Humorous aside while citing Gomez's official clarification; shows personality in parsing industry messaging
“Special remakes and anniversary editions will be based on premium games. Premium games are not limited. As long as you demand them, we will make them.”
George Gomez (cited by Kaneda) @ Mid-to-late episode — Official policy reversal from Stern; major industry signal about future product strategy
“I agree with this new approach I think this is the right way to go. I didn't like what they did with Jurassic Park 30th and screwing over the original LE owners.”
Kaneda @ Late episode — Kaneda endorsing Stern's new policy; acknowledges previous perceived unfairness to LE collectors
“If Metallica is a rerun, will it be considered a cornerstone game?”
Kaneda @ Metallica speculation section — Speculative question about whether reruns/vaults count as cornerstone releases in Stern's production cadence

Entities

Kanedaperson George Gomezperson Keith Elwinperson Seth Davisperson Richard DreyfusspersonSteven SpielbergpersonStern PinballcompanyJaws 50th Anniversary

Signals

?
product_strategy: Stern officially reversing 2023 strategy: no more numbered LE variants. Future anniversary/remake editions will be unlimited premium-tier games with no LE features, no powder coat, standard black finish, made until demand stops.
high · George Gomez official Facebook statements read verbatim by Kaneda; multiple clarifications provided; positions as 'final line in the sand' messaging
?
product_launch: Jaws 50th Anniversary LE (~1000 units at $13,000+) sold out in one day to distributors; expected secondary market availability in coming months; premium variant $3,500 cheaper.
high · Kaneda: 'most of them like 95% of the games sold out in one day. They sold through to distributors.'
?
machine_intel: Rumor of Metallica rerun with LCD screen (replacing DMD) planned for Midwest Gaming Classic in early April reveal; possible artwork changes uncertain due to Stern/Dirty Donnie relationship status.
medium · Kaneda: 'Now the rumor is this Metallica machine is going to be the same layout but with an LCD screen... I'm hearing Stern is going to bring this new Metallica game... at the Midwest Gaming Classic which is early April'
?
design_philosophy: Kaneda critiques Jaws mechanical design: chum bucket is unchewable captive ball, shark pop-up as bash toy appears cost-cutting, absence of harpoon firing mechanism despite thematic relevance.
high · Direct quotes: 'They couldn't design a chum bucket that you actually hit with the ball?', 'Why do I have to accept this cheap shark popping up as a bash toy?', 'this whole movie is about shooting the shark with a harpoon. And you're telling me Stern Pinball couldn't figure out a way to make a harpoon mech?'
~

Topics

Jaws LE market performance and secondary market pricingprimaryMechanical design depth comparison (Jaws vs Godzilla)primaryStern's anniversary edition and limited edition strategy reversalprimaryGeorge Gomez's official clarification on future product tiersprimaryMetallica rerun with LCD screen speculationsecondaryCommunity criticism and FOMO dynamics around limited editionssecondaryStern's cornerstone game release cadencesecondaryPodcast Patreon business model and exclusive content strategymentioned

Sentiment

mixed(0.55)— Kaneda is positive about Stern's new strategy shift and the Jaws game's overall quality/theme appeal, but critical of specific mechanical design choices and defensive about prior commentary. He's supportive of premium pricing if justified but skeptical of FOMO-driven LE collecting. Tone is combative toward Pinside critics while maintaining enthusiasm for pinball as a whole.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.056

In western town of dead and world, the eastern boys and western girls. Western girls. Sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up. Welcome everybody to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. It's a Sunday special show from your host here at Kaneda. We're going to talk on this episode a little bit about Jaws Pinball. I want to clarify some stuff because there's some funny babies on pin side. I know they all have to listen to this show and it's funny because they have to spend $5 to let me live rent Free in their heads. We're going to talk about these guys and what they've been saying. And we're also going to talk about the fact that George Gomez has finally clarified what it means for the future of Stern Pinball and rerunning anniversary editions. And are they going to make more limited edition games? He has gone on the record now and established something brand new because there was a lot of confusion around what was happening with these games, with these remakes, and we saw Stern Pinball do some really shady stuff in 2023, and they clearly heard the complaints not just by this podcast but by the community, and their new approach to all of this is different than what they did in 2023. But let me talk about Jaws for a minute. I see a lot of people saying stuff like I'm complaining about Jaws. I'm not complaining about Jaws. I said from the very get go that Jaws LE was gonna sell out in one day. Now look, most of them like 95% of the games sold out in one day. They sold through to distributors. Are some distributors gonna hold games back? Absolutely. Are you gonna see such distributors list this game for sale in a couple months? Oh, I got one extra traded in and now it's gonna be 15, 16 thousand dollars. Absolutely, we're gonna see that. But with a thousand games out there, The starting point being $13,000. I also don't think you're going to see this game go up in value very high. I think you're going to see this game hold strong at around $13,000. And that's good news. It means the game is good. And even good games, right? James Bond is a really good game. Foo Fighters is a great game. It's about to win game of the year. Even really good games. We've seen their prices go from $13,000 all the way down to $9,500 in less than a year. Subtitles by the Amara.org community I'm on their list for every single LE that comes out. When the game is revealed, they hit me up and they say, hey Chris, do you want one? And guess what I tell them? Yes or no. And it's just that simple. There's not some conspiracy here. I'm not calling around to distributors to corner the market on secondhand Jaws LE machines. I'm not trying to pump and dump Jaws. You can't find a sound clip of me saying that this game is not going to do really well for For Stern Pinball, it's not going to be a lot of fun to play, but here's the thing I want to clarify because I'm seeing some people say like people didn't love Godzilla when they first saw it and it was the stream. It was the stream that made people fall in love with Godzilla and that is total BS ladies and gentlemen. When we first saw Godzilla, we were blown away by all the stuff in that game. It was like Stern finally engineered a mechanism. They finally put good scopes into the game. They finally did this, this and this. The game looked loaded. It had loaded artwork from Zombietti. Everything about the game people love other than Godzilla maybe looking a little bit like a watermelon with his skin tone. But other than that, you know, when we saw the stream, the stream just turned something we were excited about into something that we absolutely fell in love with. Like we didn't think Stern was going to be able to code a game the way they coded Godzilla. And yes, I think the same team is working on Jaws. And yes, I think they're going to make Jaws an amazingly coded game. How was the day? Did we have a good game? Let me finish? Here's my issue. Were we blown away by what we saw mechanically with Jaws? And that's the thing. If you think that Jaws has as much cool mechanical stuff in it as Godzilla, I don't know what to tell you. I don know why you making apologies for Stern I don know why you making these excuses We can all still love pinball and still call it as we see it I looking down at Godzilla right now for ten thousand five hundred dollars and you telling me two years later that jaws pinball that is thirty percent more money has more mechanical magic in it has more exciting things happening mechanically in it it just does not according to me and maybe not according to you and I get it like jaws is new I'm not here to rain on your parade. If you bought in L.E., congratulations. I think it's going to be fun. I think you're going to have a good time. And I think a lot of you out there have more of an emotional connection to Jaws. I think it is a theme that you're going to hold on to longer than Godzilla because a lot of you out there were not Godzilla aficionados, but a lot of people are obsessed with Jaws and Jaws movie and Steven Spielberg films, and it is an iconic film. There's not really one iconic Godzilla movie and now that they've got this game in pinball format, it's gonna do just fine. But don't for a minute, people, think that Jaws Pinball on a mechanical and design and a layout standpoint is blowing people away the same way Godzilla did. It's just not. And when people see the stream tonight at 9 o'clock at night, here's what's gonna happen. I've said this before. More and more people are gonna fall in love with the game. Of course we're gonna like this game more when you see it all tied together. Of course people are gonna get excited. Of course people are gonna wanna get LEs and it's gonna be too late after the stream happens tonight. But remember everybody, all of this is happening in just a few days. Like we just saw the game like four days ago. The LEs went up for sale on Thursday. We're seeing the game streamed on a Sunday. Guess what? These games are not gonna be on the line for like a month. And by the time Stern makes every single LE and there's a thousand of them out in the world, do you really think it's going to be hard to find one? Hard to buy one? Impossible to get your hands on one? You know, you can go get a premium for like $3,500 less than an LE. Are you going to have less fun with your premium than people on an LE of the machine? And that's just where we're at now in pinball, everybody. I don't know what to tell you. There's a lot of people that are very defensive. There's a lot of people that are trying to justify their purchases. I look at it like this. I think LEs really don't mean much anymore. The more I talk to people, I don't really get it, like the clamoring for them. I don't really think the FOMO is real. There's still FOMO for sure. Like people are afraid of not getting one. But if you just wait a little bit, it's not going to be hard to get one. I think this pinball machine is going to go down as a really great pin. I think it's going to have a lot of assets. I think the Richard Dreyfuss callouts are going to be amazing. I think the rule set's going to be great. You know, but I wouldn't be spending $13,000 or $10,000 I'm not going to put any dollars on it unless I was really a fan of Jaws. I mean, that's just where I'm at. At these prices, I really want to wait for the themes that are something that I'm into. Stuff like The Matrix, stuff like Back to the Future. And that's what's great about pinball is different strokes for different folks. And so, yeah, and so everybody should be excited about the stream tonight. Everybody should be excited that this game is out. But don't for a minute, don't for a minute think I'm going to start cheerleading what's in this game mechanically. I'm allowed to nitpick that you make a chum bucket that you're bashing, but you don't even bash the chum bucket. You're bashing a captive ball below it. I mean, what's up with that? They couldn't design a chum bucket that you actually hit with the ball? Okay, fine. It would probably turn black and get abused on location. And then the mechanical shark itself. I get that Keith Elwin said it wasn't fun, but cool. You couldn't do something different than this. It just looks bad. I don't know. Why do I have to accept this? Why do I have to look at this cheap shark popping up As a Batch toy, as being the only thing Stern Pinball could do to figure out a way to get the shark into the game. Where is the harpoon firing in the game? How come you're not firing any harpoon? Like you got a crossbow in The Walking Dead and this whole movie is about shooting the shark with a harpoon. And you're telling me Stern Pinball couldn't figure out a way to make a harpoon mech? Again, when I say this stuff, it's just met with a lot of the apologists who are like, I can't believe people pay money to listen to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. The reason why there confusion here is when you hear something like Stern Pinball is never gonna remake LEs but we will remake anniversary editions of the game This is really the issue with the confusion but let me read you first the quote from George Gomez. He said, looks like lots of confusion on the topic of future LEs. To clarify, the magic words are LE. Well, actually, those are the magic letters, George, not words. We may celebrate anniversaries with premium level art packages or create other premium level additions like vaults or remasters. We won't make additional versions of LEs. All right, so he said that, but this is where it gets confusing. Because if you think about just that statement, then what is Elvira Anniversary Edition? The reason why it's confusing is that every single anniversary Edition they've made to date has been a limited edition game. Elvira 40th was limited to 199 units. James Bond 60th was limited to 500 units. Jurassic Park 30th anniversary was limited to 500 units. So you can imagine when you hear this statement and he says, We're going to make anniversary editions in premium trim with different artwork, how that could be very confusing. And then you throw a game in there like Elvira Bloodkiss edition and you're not sure what exactly is that then. If you call it a Bloodkiss edition and we're making 500 Bloodkiss editions but we're not saying the words limited edition, are they going to do more of that? So the confusion still happened but then George Gomez went on to clarify even further and I think this is the final line in the sand. This is the final messaging around this. Let me read this for you now right from George Gomez on Facebook. Special remakes and anniversary editions will be based on premium games. Premium games are not limited. As long as you demand them, we will make them. Just like any premium we've made to date. No numbers. Made until demand stops. None of the LE features will be included. No special glass. Think premium game with different artwork. And then he went on in the comment section of this Facebook thread and said the following. He said there will be no powder coat just standard black on these anniversary editions. Okay, so there we have it. The final word is that Stern moving forward is going to change its own strategy. Their previous anniversary editions were one-upping the limited edition games. And I think it's good that George clarified this because what he's saying right now, if they make a Godzilla 70th, it's going to be priced like a premium, That's all I have for you today. Thank you for watching. I hope you enjoyed this video. I'll see you in the next one. Bye-bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. I'm going to make sure you've got the creme de la creme version of Jaws. I mean, you're spending a premium for that exclusivity, for those special features, for the mirrored back glass, for the foil decals and the white armor. You want to make sure you know you're paying way more than you should for a pinball machine, but you're willing to because you know you love the theme and you don't want to see it become the second fiddle game down the road. And what George is saying right now is you don't need to worry. I'm not going to make a Jaws 50th anniversary nicer than your machine. We might make one one day and it's not going to be numbered and it's going to be unlimited. You know, I guess the greatest example of this is ACDC Lucy Edition. To me, Lucy Edition is like that. It was never numbered. It was a different version of ACDC with nicer artwork, but it was never numbered. You know, you don't know how many are out there and they made them as long as there was demand. Another example of it would be the 378 Squidward jerryday I have to say this I agree with this new approach I think this is the right way to go I didn like what they did with Jurassic Park 30th and screwing over the original LE owners It clear that Stern heard our feedback they heard our complaints and now they are making a new decision that is the right decision So I do want to congratulate Seth Davis and George Gomez on this decision because it is the right decision now Now at least you can buy an LE Stat arbeitet按속적 tenas a enotegrado en chestpaís morcor palavra seit The rumor is this Metallica machine is going to be the same layout but with an LCD screen. So I don't think Metallica is going to be a DMD remake version. I think we're going to see an LCD screen and I'm hearing Stern is going to bring this new Metallica game. They're going to unveil this game at the Midwest Gaming Classic which is early April. Now let's think about timing right now. That kind of makes sense. And I don't think that's going to be a cornerstone. If Stern has three cornerstone games a year, that's a new Cornerstone every four months. So it's now January, February,March,April. So that means their next game will be out sometime in April, May. So will this be the next Cornerstone from Stern, a rerun of Metallica? Are reruns Cornerstone games? I don't think so. I think there's always three new Cornerstone games. I think Stern treats these reruns and vaults as separate things. They're in this huge factory. They can obviously run a brand new game and a rerun game. So if Metallica is a rerun, will it be considered a cornerstone game? Now look, if they upgrade Metallica to an LCD screen and maybe they do something crazy like change the artwork, I mean that would be nuts. But you know, they're not really in good standing with Dirty Donnie right now. I don't know, maybe they throw Zombietti at Metallica. Okay, let's get into the first on the fourth gray, drag one 2 stock ship. Haven't,an other something like that would be crazy. purity uptest the seawat happens this term thisier, where my curi zehn challenged of Well, maybe that's it for this episode Pan Kick Pinball. Come on, now. The great entertainment is latex in theomar, and coal is happing. I have to talk about this in a little bit of a roundabout way, but I'm going to confirm for you something that is going to trigger a lot of people. It's going to trigger a response from the community and all those babies on pin side that are wondering why do people spend $5 a month listening to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. This is why, because you're going to get stuff that nobody else gets and you're getting more content here than anywhere else. I mean, think about it. You just got like four or five shows this week. I just put up the hour interview with Cengiz. That's a lot of fun. I've been doing countless Facebook Lives throughout the week and it's all a lot of fun. And as I said, in this new year, I'm going down a much more positive road. I'm not mentioning content creators. We're just going to talk about the manufacturers and the games and I'm going to call it like it is, people. You can't tell me that Jaws has more in it mechanically than Godzilla and it's 30% more money. I don't know what else to tell you people and tomorrow's show is gonna be fun because not only are you gonna get Not only are you gonna get confirmation on something happening. It's not a rumor. It's confirmation. We're also gonna go over Jaws gameplay and be able to discuss what we saw in the gameplay tonight. Can't wait. Sunday night Brenda. Sunday night Brenda. We're not cuddling. I'm gonna be watching Jaws gameplay Play on YouTube. Everybody have a great Sunday. We'll talk to you soon. Later.