Episode 1215: "Kaneda's Coffee Overdose Friday Rant Show!"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·20m 29s·analyzed·May 1, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.029

TL;DR

Kaneda's coffee rant: Stern slow on Pokemon code, manufacturers can't ship games fast, American Pinball needs a banger.

Summary

Kaneda delivers a coffee-fueled Friday rant covering Stern's delayed Pokemon code and supply chain issues, criticizing multiple manufacturers for slow production and poor theme selection. He challenges Barrels of Fun's manufacturing capacity, lambasts Alice's Adventures in Wonderland production delays, demands American Pinball compete with quality IP, and expresses frustration with the entire industry's inability to execute at scale. He also praises Stern's Goonies strategy and criticizes content creators for running dealer ads.

Key Claims

Stern Pinball is delaying the Pokemon code release, not because it's not ready but due to supply chain delays on the machines themselves
medium confidence · Kaneda speculates on why code hasn't dropped; acknowledges this is speculation about Stern's reasoning
Operators are reporting Pokemon machines making $2,000 per week in locations
medium confidence · Kaneda cites operator demand and revenue comparisons as evidence of demand
Barrels of Fun's Dune came in 300-500 units under their 1,000-unit production goal
medium confidence · Kaneda states this as observed market fact about sales underperformance
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland games are still shipping without toppers as of May 1, 2026
high confidence · Kaneda directly observes and criticizes the topper delays on Alice units
Melvin Williams (designer) has left Dutch Pinball
high confidence · Kaneda states 'Good on Melvin for ejecting out of Dutch Pinball'
Stern is projecting that Goonies will not exceed 999 units produced
low confidence · Kaneda pleads with Stern not to make more than 999 Goonies; unclear if this is announced limit or his speculation
American Pinball's Houdini LE (100 units) is only just beginning to ship or trickling out
medium confidence · Kaneda reports uncertainty on shipping status, heard 30-day window from Brian Allen
Stern makes approximately $10 million in total revenue per major game release, not counting profit
low confidence · Kaneda states this as estimation while discussing Stern's financial strength
American Pinball has manufacturing capacity to produce more games per year than Spooky, Multimorphic, Dutch, or Barrels
medium confidence · Kaneda asserts this based on company infrastructure and past capability

Notable Quotes

“Where is it at, Stern? Where is it at? If it's going to be like this, like three months and not a single code update, like what has this team been working on?”
Kaneda @ early in episode — Frustration with Stern's Pokemon code delay and perceived lack of development progress
“Imagine being an operator and you're seeing a dude that's making like $2,000 a week on Pokemon and you've got nothing.”
Kaneda @ early segment — Illustrates operator frustration over supply shortages while demand is proven and profitable
“It is May 1st and what? Alice's Adventures in Wonderlands are still going out without freaking toppers. What an utter debacle.”
Kaneda @ mid-episode — Direct criticism of Dutch Pinball's production and quality control failures on Alice
“When you reveal a product to the world, if you can't make 500 pinball machines in a year, what are we doing here?”
Kaneda @ mid-episode — Core critique of manufacturer production capacity expectations and industry standards
“Do you not know how to make a great game? Just copy greatness.”
Kaneda @ mid-episode — Criticism of boutique manufacturers for poor theme selection and lack of design execution
“They're making basically $10 million a freaking game, not profit, but that's what they're bringing in. Not to mention all the show games, baby. Another hundred grand in the pocket right there.”
Kaneda @ mid-episode — Estimates of Stern's financial returns on major releases like Goonies
“Do not do this. Keep it at 999. I don't care if you raise the prices a little bit fine, but keep it at 999.”
Kaneda @ mid-episode — Expresses strong support for limited edition scarcity strategy on Goonies
“This might be in a decade's time the worst pinball company when it comes to theme selection.”
Kaneda — Harsh assessment of American Pinball's track record of poor theme choices

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyKanedaperson Brendon Smallperson PokemongameSpooky PinballcompanyBeetlejuicegame Barrels of Funcompany

Signals

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product_concern: Stern Pokemon machine shipments significantly delayed; operators reporting shortages while demand and revenue are proven strong
high · Kaneda reports operators calling dealers asking where machines are, and cites examples of locations making $2,000/week on Pokemon
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code_update: Stern Pokemon code update has not shipped after three months; Kaneda questions the development effort and content depth
high · Kaneda states 'three months and not a single code update' and speculates code could be done in a weekend based on game content
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product_concern: Stern has not produced toppers for Pokemon or Dungeons & Dragons games; toppers mentioned as missing across multiple titles
high · Kaneda states 'They haven't even made the topper for the Dungeons and Dragons people yet' and asks for Pokemon topper
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manufacturing_signal: Multiple boutique manufacturers (Barrels, Dutch, Multimorphic/Turner) struggling to scale production; Kaneda criticizes inability to produce 500 units/year
high · Kaneda challenges manufacturers on production speed and cites Dutch Pinball and Turner as examples of companies with wealth but poor output
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market_signal: Barrels of Fun's Dune underperformed sales expectations by 300-500 units against 1,000-unit goal; Winchester sold out in two days, showing theme-dependent demand
high · Kaneda directly states sales figures and notes demand volatility based on IP choice

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.061

0:00

All I know is I don't know nothing. All I know is I don't know nothing at all. People talk but they don't say nothing. All I know is I don't know nothing at all.

0:16

Happy Friday everybody. Welcome to Canada's Pinball Podcast. Blowing everybody away like the New York Knickerbockers baby. It's Friday. Hey, Brenda is traveling and I am here all by myself. There's something that happens to a man when he's in his house all by himself. The pinball machine is ready to go. We're going to play some Pokemon. The new code has not dropped. Where is it? Stern Pinball, what are you waiting for? The truth is this. I think the reason why they're holding the code back is not because it's not ready. There's not many Pokemons out there. There has been a big delay on people getting their games, not just the LEs, the pros and the premiums. People are calling up their dealers. Where's my machine? All these operators out in the world, they want to get their Pokemons because they want to make their freaking money. Imagine being an operator and you're seeing a dude that's making like $2,000 a week on Pokemon and you've got nothing. You've got nothing at all. Now, look, we're all so used to this, buying these games and waiting for the code. Where is it at, Stern? Where is it at? If it's going to be like this, like three months and not a single code update, like what has this team been working on? I'm like, I feel like they could have done this code in a freaking weekend. That's how little is in this game. I thought you had assets. I thought you had insider connected.

1:55

Nothing. Nothing is really in this game right now. You can legitimately see everything in Pokemon in like 10 minutes. And then what? You're going to go catch, what, 57 Pokemon and nobody cares. Your ding dong's not going to get hard. No one cares. All right, we're going to go around the horn. We're going to drop it hot on this Friday. Tomorrow is the Beetlejuice drawing. I've got 126 people. Good luck, everybody. And I also heard from Spooky, if you are overseas, they will allow you to pay the freight to get the game anywhere. We had people in Australia, in Thailand, in Europe. You are all eligible. Don't ever say Canada didn't give you a shot. Now, 121 of you are going to lose. So just manage your expectations. Thank you for everybody who entered. Thank you for telling me the stories of how much this game means to you. This just goes to show the demand for Beetlejuice is really, really strong. 126 people just on the Canada Club want one who didn't get one. I don't know what you guys are waiting for. You can go get one for just a few thousand over sticker now, but I get it. You want a shot to pay MSRP. So this is your shot. All right, Stern Pinball, get us the damn Pokemon code and get us the damn topper. What are we waiting for? They haven't even made the topper for the Dungeons and Dragons people yet. Isn't that funny? We are going to see the topper for Pokemon maybe before D&D. What is going on with Stern Pinball? I don't get it. I don't get why all divisions can't operate under the same efficiencies. Speaking of efficiencies, where are more of these Winchester games? Barrels of freaking fun, baby. How much fun are they having over there trying to make a profit? Let's just ask a question real quick because I'm juiced up on coffee. Do you really think that barrels of fun has great cash flow? I understand Winchester sold out in two days, but Dune came in under expectations by 300 units, more like 500 units. They wanted to make a thousand and they only sold like 500 and then they had to turn the FOMO on. We're going to take orders until the end of the year and that's it. OK, cool. You had a manufactured demand. The demand was not there, but it's not about the themes anymore. I don't even care if they're going to make SpongeBob or He-Man or freaking G.I. Joe. What I want to see out of barrels is more games being made I want to knock on the door on a Wednesday and see how many people are working there on Wednesday David Van Ness, that's the Canada challenge, baby. Open up the door next Wednesday. It's going to be what, like May 6th. I challenge you on May 6th, open up the door and let's count how many people are there getting a paycheck, making your pinball machines. I'm tired of the staged photos. I'm tired of the wait, baby. Like you need games going out every single week. And guess what? We know it's hard. Cash flow is hard. But when I look at these pinball companies, barrels doesn't have the deep pockets. That American Pinball now has, that JJP has, that Stern has, even that Dutch has now. They've got some really rich guys over at Dutch Pinball. Let's talk about Dutch though. It is May 1st and what? Alice's Adventures in Wonderlands are still going out without freaking toppers. What an utter debacle. This company's Alice production has been a nightmare. Good on Melvin for ejecting out of Dutch Pinball. Barry, it's a topper. What's the issue? I know the sculpt is intricate, but man, I don't understand. It's May of 2026. I think this game was revealed to the world in October. Get ready for it. Of 2024, people remember all of 2025 went by and this game was supposed to be done. And here we are. They're still not done with the bills. And so how is this company who can barely make these Alice games going to unveil back to the future? It's going to be crazy. They're going to really have to charge like $30,000 per game and only make $300 a year. I think that's the only way out because they're going to get so many orders and they have not shown that they can manufacture quickly. And this is just my whole thing with Pinball lately. It's like I don't know about you, but life is short. Time is short. And I'm very freaking impatient, baby, especially after these coffees. But when you reveal a product to the world, if you can't make 500 pinball machines in a year, what are we doing here? What are we doing here, Chris Turner? I'm talking to you, baby. Chris, you got to walk outside, baby. Walk outside your compound, man. And Kerry Hardy's got drone footage of this guy's house. That's how freaking big it is, baby. He can take a drone and he can fly it way up into the sky and not even capture all of Chris Turner's compound, baby. He's got that money, baby. Let me tell you something. My house is so small, I could take my cell phone and take a selfie and you would see the entire damn property. That's how little money Kaneda has. So this guy's got all this money. Chris Turner. Why? If you have all this money, are you taking two years to make 500 games? Call up somebody else who has manufacturing figured out and make them build your Yukon Yeti. Just give them the money. Stop trying to make it yourself. Fire that artist and get new music in the game. I know you're getting new music in the game, but man, you thought that original music was good, baby. You did. And I don't need to do an interview and hear the same old, well, Chris, you know, we're just listening to the feedback and we want to keep getting better. Come on, man. Enough of this. Do we really need all of this? Oh, we're listening to the feedback. We just want to get better. Do you not know how to make a great game? All you companies out there, is it hard? Is it hard to go buy the top 20 games in pinball? Seriously, just with all your millions of dollars, why don't you just go buy the top 20 games in pinball and then go make games that have the same kind of feel, the same kind of art, the same kind of code? It's right there. I don't understand what's so damn hard. Just copy greatness for those companies out there There no excuse to end up with games like Barrios Barbecue Challenge or Hot Wheels Just copy greatness It right there Those who can create steal and all good creativity is stolen from what comes before it And all these companies do you still need feedback Do you think Bug and Luke need much more feedback No they know what the F they doing They know what they doing when they going to the bank in Benton Wisconsin and there money falling out the exhaust pipes They know exactly what they're doing. They're making basically $10 million a freaking game, not profit, but that's what they're bringing in. Not to mention all the show games, baby. Another hundred grand in the pocket right there. Maybe more, maybe more. But I love what they're doing. Don't make more than 999 Goonies. If you guys make more than 999 Goonies, I'm going over to Benton, Wisconsin. I'm going to the local bar. I'm opening up a tab and I'm putting a million dollar order of Bush Light in and I'm going to send it to you guys. Do not do this. Keep it at 999. I don't care if you raise the prices a little bit fine, but keep it at 999. We know it's Goonies. We know it's got a pirate ship. We know it's going to fire balls that break through the freaking glass. It's going to be amazing. If you're not on a list for a Goonies, you're not getting one. That's just the way it is. It's sold out already. You know, freaking gremlins sold out already. That's just the way it's going to go. Sold out already. And if you're a boutique, I mean this. How hard is it to pick a theme that people want? UConn Yeti. Oh, man, should we draw them like this? I don't know, man. I don't know. You know, if you order game number $4.99, you're not getting it until 2028. I mean, seriously, think about that for a minute. I'm going to be in my freaking 50s by the time UConn Yeti comes out. It's ridiculous. It is absolutely ridiculous. No one else talks like this. No one does shows like this. Why is it? You know, you want to come at Canada because I'm making fun of grown men holding up trans lights and money. You know, I told them I'll stop. OK, I'll stop. I'll stop making fun of all you guys having so much fun out there on league nights. I get it. I get it's fun, but it's still not cool. You understand that? Are we allowed to say that that I get you had fun, but it's not cool. Doesn't look cool for a grown man to hold up a trans light. It never will. It never will. And flashing 40 bucks is never cool. It's 2026. That doesn't even get you a freaking big arch meal at McDonald's. Are we doing this kale? Are we doing this, Jamie? Are we doing this, Ralph? Are we doing this, Don? Are we doing this, baby? We're not putting ads for dealers in front of our show. Everybody out there, come on. I'm asking everybody out there making content. Just buck up. Buck up. Stop making ads for dealers. Stop making ads for distros. If you have friends that are dealers in distros like I do, yeah, buy from Automated, buy from Cointaker. That's it. I'm not going to put in an ad. I'm not going to tell you the hub, but why? Why? You really need that $1,000, $2,000 a month, baby. This show has never been sponsored. Zero ads. I go and I look at this pinball content and it's everybody vomiting ads for dealers. Guys, have some freaking pride. Why are you making them more money when you get barely anything? On one LE, they make more than your pride is worth. And I just said it, baby. I'll pay you $1 more than they're paying you to remove the advertising or at least make more, right? Get more money. Get a bigger cut. Get a bigger cut because you're bringing such a big audience to them. By the way, we all have no audiences. You know this. Like I literally went on YouTube and I looked at the new big Archburger review and there are so many of us out there. And by that, I mean, nano, nano influencers that basically have three to five thousand views on a video, right? We're everywhere. We're everywhere. The good news about our hobby is at least we're adding some value and color commentary. To this hobby, it's a lot of fun. Happy Friday, everybody. Who did we miss? Where the heck is CGC? I know they're making more Merlins, but what after that are we going to get Mark Ritchie's halo? Here's an interesting thing we barely talk about. Mr. Timmy Sexton, who I threw the drink in his face eight years ago, you know, Tim, to Canada Vacasota fame. He over at Raw Thrills a Play Mechanics Now what is Tim Sexton doing over at Raw Thrills Do you think he coding some of their arcade games Maybe But we also know that Pinball is in the pipeline So is he working on with Mr Sharp and with Mr Ritchie a Halo Pinball machine It the worst kept secret I don think anyone going to buy it but they definitely due to announce something sometime soon But the wait for CGC is atrocious. It really is atrocious. All right. Who else are we missing here? Pedretti. So Pedretti is supposed to come out with Tales of the Arabian Nights. So do you want them making that game? Everyone's unanimous answer is no. Circus Voltaire is coming back from American Pinball. Brian Allen is going to do his thing. See, it comes down to this. Either you like the Brian Allen artwork or you don't. Personally, I'm not the biggest fan. I would just rather have the original game all brass plated. Have you ever seen like a Circus Voltaire or a Toten with all brass plating, the original artwork? Well, actually, Circus Voltaire looks better with chrome and Toten looks better with brass. But have you ever seen these games with brand new CPR play fields and RGB LED lights? How amazing they are. They were stunning back in the day. They don't need new art. They just need maybe a nicer screen and some nicer metal polish and you're good to go, baby. So we'll see. And after that, American Pinball, baby, this is a company that, again, I don't think they should be doing these remakes. I know they just want to get those hundred Houdinis out. Are they out yet? I heard they were going to make all 100 and then ship them. I don't think I've seen, maybe they're just starting to trickle out, but Brian told me they would all be shipped within like 30 days, so I hope they get those games to customers, but nobody cares about another Houdini with Franchi on the art. Nobody cares. What everybody cares about, and it's not even Circus Voltaire, what everybody wants to see this company do is make their new game that is based on a theme we know. That is what everybody wants. They want to see AP jump back in and compete with Spooky and Barrows. That is their competitive set. And what people forget is that American Pinball has six lines. This company, when it actually does manufacture, can manufacture better than Spooky, better than Turner, better than Dutch, better than Barrels. They can make more games a year than those companies make. They just have never made a game that anybody really wants. It has been a theme disaster. Houdini, Legends of Valhalla, Oktoberfest, Hot Wheels, freaking Barrio and Galactic Tank Force. This might be in a decade's time the worst pinball company when it comes to theme selection. This is why they need to erase the previous mistakes of David Fix and come out with a freaking banger. And we're not going to walk with you, American Pinball. I mean this. We're not going to walk with you to get there. It needs to be the first IP game that you select needs to be a banger. It can't be like a B theme. It can't be a halfway measure. It can't be an empty game. You either show us what you can do with all cylinders firing or don't even bother. Then it wasn't worth it, Brian. And it wasn't worth taking all of that LED money from those road signs and really rebooting this company if you're not going to make a game as good as, if not better, than Beetlejuice, than Evil Dead, than Dune, and then Winchester. The bar is there. You got to blow it away, baby. Who are we missing? Multimorphic. I'm not going to talk about Multimorphic. Hi, Morphic. The coffee is wearing off tomorrow. Tune in to the Saturday morning spectacular. We're going to find some new homes for Beetlejuice and the way it's going to work. If you win, you then work it out with Spooky, but they're saving those five games for you. Everybody, thank you so much for your contributions. We are over 700 subscribers again. Please invite a friend to Canada's Pinball Podcast. We are at 709. It still prides me to say that we have more subscribers than all other pinball shows combined. That is what you get when you don't put an ad for a dealer in front of your show. Love you, Ralph. Later.