Episode 169 - Street Level 2042

TL;DR

Pinball industry updates: Elwin concedes, Stern cuts games, JJP teases reveal, Home Pin shows Spinal Tap.

Summary

Key Claims

• Keith Elwin conceded in the final game of the final round at a world championship IFPA tournament against Escher Lefkoff on Dialed In!! when behind by approximately 800,000 points

  high confidence · Host discussing email from Sean L. referencing 'a big world championship IFPA tournament thing' with 'a ton of discussion' on Pinside and other podcasts

• Stern Pinball has informed distributors that Guardians of the Galaxy and Led Zeppelin are receiving final production runs before discontinuation

  high confidence · Host states 'Stern Pinball has apparently informed their distribution network that Guardians of the Galaxy and Led Zeppelin are both getting a final run'

• Guns N' Roses for Jersey Jack Pinball has likely passed the 4,000 unit threshold on Limited Edition models

  medium confidence · Host: 'I've heard reports that they believe that Guns N' Roses has probably passed the 4,000 unit threshold on the LEs'

• Rumors suggest Toy Story from Jersey Jack Pinball will not have a Standard Edition, only two models

  medium confidence · Host: 'There are rumors that there will not be an SC version of Toy Story. It will only be two models'

• Home Pin originally estimated This is Spinal Tap shipping in May, but this date has changed

  medium confidence · Host: 'Home Pin had originally been speculating that these games were going to already be shipping. I want to think that they had originally guessed...May, but now it's got a new estimated release date'

• Jon Norris released a street-level pinball layout called Champs Elise with full bill of materials, rule set, and CAD drawings

  high confidence · Host: 'Jon Norris, who is the designer best known for his time with Premiere, has released a street level layout called Champs Elise...He's got the full bill of materials already put together on it. He's got a rule set laid out'

• Led Zeppelin machines are struggling to sell and have seen price cuts in the market

  high confidence · Host: 'given in our own area the price cuts I've seen on Led Zeppelin games and the desperate attempt to move them, I am not in any way surprised'

Notable Quotes

• “You will likely see more and more of this happen as the sport grows.”

  Sean L. (email contributor) @ ~12:00 — Predicts conceding will become normalized in competitive pinball as the sport matures, drawing parallel to curling practices

• “I've conceded in pinball. I've conceded in tournaments around here.”

  Tony (co-host) @ ~13:30 — Normalizes conceding in tournament pinball, countering the controversy around Elwin's concession

• “if you're at a point where it's like, it's going to take 15 minutes, 15, 20 minutes to finish out this game, but there's zero way I can actually win it. All I can do is stretch it out. It's a waste of everybody's time.”

  [name withheld pending review] @ ~14:30 — Pragmatic rationale for tournament concessions based on time management and sportsmanship

• “I was shocked to find out they were still building them.”

  [name withheld pending review] @ ~21:00 — Surprised Guardians of the Galaxy was still in production given its age (released ~2017)

• “Given how far behind Stern is on production, I think it makes sense to focus on fewer machines.”

  Tony @ ~22:15 — Identifies Stern's production backlog as strategic reason for discontinuing underperforming titles

• “why does this have a screen in the back like Jersey Jack, but then below that, it's got a standard single-color DMD? Like, why does it have both?”

  [name withheld pending review] @ ~38:00 — Questions design decision for Home Pin's Spinal Tap to feature both LCD and DMD displays

• “Jon Norris has done it in the street level philosophy. Low bill of materials, off the shelf assembly parts to make it.”

  [name withheld pending review] @ ~43:30 — Describes Norris's design philosophy emphasizing accessibility and affordability for street-level pinball creation

Entities

Signals

• ?

  competitive_signal: Keith Elwin's concession in championship final sparked significant industry debate about whether conceding is acceptable in high-level competitive pinball, with most observers viewing it as normal tournament strategy

  high · Host notes 'a ton of like pin side discussion. Other podcasts have been talking about this because for a lot of people, it was the first time they ever can think of that they saw in a high level tournament. Someone who had a chance to win actually just give up.'

• ?

  product_strategy: Stern Pinball is discontinuing underperforming game lines (Guardians of the Galaxy and Led Zeppelin) with final production runs, indicating strategic focus on high-volume titles due to manufacturing capacity constraints

  high · Host: 'Given how far behind Stern is on production, I think it makes sense to focus on fewer machines. And when you're technically got a library of like 20 plus...it's just that's a lot of custom parts that you need.'

• $

  market_signal: Led Zeppelin machines showing weakness with observable price cuts and inventory management challenges in distribution channels, indicating poor market demand relative to production volume

  high · Host: 'given in our own area the price cuts I've seen on Led Zeppelin games and the desperate attempt to move them, I am not in any way surprised' they're discontinuing

• ?

  product_concern: Home Pin's Spinal Tap Pinball features both LCD backbox display and single-color DMD, creating redundant display systems that raise questions about design rationale and feature necessity

  medium · Host: 'why does this have a screen in the back like Jersey Jack, but then below that, it's got a standard single-color DMD? Like, why does it have both? Why does it have an LCD and a DMD?'