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DPP #65 "JJP #9 soon? Stern updates. This vs That"

Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)·podcast_episode·34m 8s·analyzed·Aug 30, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034

TL;DR

Don's episode covers JJP/Stern production intel, his streaming launch, and Scooby-Doo vs GTF deep-dive comparison.

Summary

Don's Pinball Podcast #65 covers Jersey Jack production updates (Godfather CEs still rolling, JJP #9 rumored to be Elton John with expected Chicago Expo reveal), Stern November-December release speculation, Don's new streaming initiative, his Spooky Scooby-Doo Collector's Edition unboxing and initial issues, and a detailed "This vs That" comparison of Scooby-Doo CE vs American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force, favoring Scooby on theme and availability but acknowledging GTF's complex layout.

Key Claims

  • Jersey Jack Godfather Collector's Edition has likely sold out its 1,000-unit run and is roughly halfway through production; remaining units will trickle out by end of year.

    medium confidence · Don, analyzing factory photos and secondary market inventory, speculating based on Pinside crowd and distributor conversations

  • JJP's next game (JJP #9) is rumored to be Elton John, designed by Steve Richie, with expected reveal at Chicago Expo in October and build start in November-December.

    medium confidence · Don, calling it speculation but noting it aligns with production timeline patterns; not officially confirmed by JJP

  • Stern has had planned November-December production runs bumped into 2024 with no announced replacement, but rumors suggest something coming November-December (possibly Kapow Boutique title or vault).

    medium confidence · Don, citing distributor leaks and podcast tidbits; speculative but reinforcing pattern he's observed

  • Spooky Pinball is now producing approximately 28 games per week.

    high confidence · Don, citing Spooky's stated production rate during factory visit (episode 64 interview)

  • Scooby-Doo CE units are currently available at approximately $1,000 off MSRP ($8,500-$9,500 range) due to ongoing production and new stock.

    high confidence · Don, reporting current market observations and Pinside listings

  • American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force is experiencing production or distribution constraints; only visible in a few US locations (Minneapolis, Chicago, Pittsburgh mentioned) despite months on market.

    medium confidence · Don, personal location survey and lack of factory production updates or widespread availability

  • Approximately 35-40 Godfather machines were visible in factory photos awaiting playfields at time of JJP production update.

    high confidence · Don, analyzing factory photo released by JJP

  • Scooby-Doo CE launcher issue (fork misalignment) was user-fixable with pliers; don't require warranty service.

Notable Quotes

  • “I would not be surprised if at Chicago Expo towards the middle of the end of October they've got a release. Will they have one to play? I don't know, but that wouldn't surprise me. A reveal in October for a build in November, December, that would kind of make some sense.”

    Don @ early production segment — Speculates on dual JJP/Stern October reveal strategy ahead of holiday production run

  • “Can this be a pinball expo in Chicago in October to rival the March TPF madness that we saw early in the year with six games dumped? You know, can we see Jersey Jack and Stern come head-to-head with competing releases, one with a feather boa and one with Robert Zemeckis?”

    Don @ mid-episode — Frames potential October Expo as major announcement moment with both manufacturers competing for attention

  • “Half of the games that I've had new in box now both stern's jjps now spooky have had an issue of some sort. And I diagnosed that thing, tore the machine apart a couple of times, finally found the problem.”

    Don @ Scooby-Doo review segment — Normalizes new-in-box defects across all manufacturers and encourages troubleshooting

  • “Is this space ice cream or is it just ice cream from space cows or is it normal cows on a space planet and if they are on a space planet and they're dairy cows and making anti-gravity ice cream okay but then why does the planet have subterranean fudge?”

    Don @ GTF theme critique — Humorously illustrates confusion around GTF's unexplained theme and world-building

  • “I'm not seeing a Galactic Tank Force, and I don't know why that is. So I have to speculate that either demand is so low that nobody wants it, which doesn't seem reasonable. I think it's something with production.”

    Don @ availability comparison — Flags GTF distribution/production concern despite months on market; asks for transparency

  • “This game is available. If you put your money down, you're going to get one. If you put down a deposit, you're guaranteed to get one, but run out right now and get a cheap deposit, man, and get on this game.”

    Don @ Scooby-Doo availability push — Strong recommendation to lock in current discount on Scooby-Doo CE before price stabilizes

Entities

Jersey Jack PinballcompanyStern PinballcompanySpooky PinballcompanyAmerican PinballcompanyGodfathergameElton JohngameScooby-Doogame

Signals

  • ?

    product_launch: Jersey Jack Godfather CE production photo shows 35-40 units awaiting playfield assembly; estimated halfway through 1,000-unit CE run with expected completion by end of year

    high · Don analyzed non-dated factory photo; cross-referenced with secondary market and distributor intel; estimated production timeline

  • ?

    machine_intel: JJP #9 rumored to be Elton John theme, designed by Steve Richie; expected Chicago Expo reveal October with November-December production start

    medium · Don's speculation based on production timeline pattern (Godfather CE sellout → next game); Richie's track record; no official JJP confirmation

  • ?

    machine_intel: Stern rumored to have November-December release (possibly Kapow Boutique title or vault); distributor leaks show planned runs bumped to 2024 with no replacement announced

    medium · Don citing distributor tidbits, podcast rumors, and production schedule shifts; speculative but pattern-reinforced

  • ?

    product_launch: Spooky Pinball production rate confirmed at approximately 28 games per week during factory visit documented in episode 64

    high · Don's direct interview with Spooky during factory tour; cited as stated production rate

  • $

    market_signal: Scooby-Doo CE currently available at $1,000-$1,500 discount off MSRP ($9,500-9,600 retail) due to ongoing production; pre-order deposits being resold on Pinside at -$1,000

    high · Don observing current Pinside listings and distributor pricing; attributed to new stock availability rather than game quality concerns

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.102

0:00
Welcome to Don's Pinball Podcast, episode number 65. We have a lot to get into today. I'm talking about Jersey Jack production updates. I'm talking about Stern production updates. I'm talking about Don's Pinball Podcast now streaming. Get on board. All that is Spooky Tour and more. Let's go.
0:30
Man, that's got Denise. He does know how to burn them. Man, thank you for that intro music. That is fantastic. What's up, everybody? We are back here in the early midweek with Don's Pinball Podcast number 65. Everybody else was dropping their episode yesterday. I was busy streaming, and I'm going to get into that. But first, the news. So Jersey Jack Pinball just released a photo. There are still Godfather CEs, those collector editions with the fancy toppers and the gold ornaments on the line currently. So those are still being produced in the factory. It's a non-dated photo, but I don't really have a reason to believe that it wasn't for now. So that's what's going on at the factory. I think I saw about 35 to 40 machines all sitting there waiting for play fields, it looked like. So those are still going out. Now, we've been doing some speculation around here, around the DPP parts, right? About, you know, how are the sales for Godfather? I know, just by looking, scanning the Pinside crowd, talking with distributors, they're still new in box, LE's available. And they are available for negotiable prices, it seems. So, if you really want one and you haven't picked one up so far, I mean, it's a solid-built game. The theme speaks to you. Go ahead, have at it. Knock yourself out. If you're a location, I think it makes a lot of sense to get this game, particularly with the prices that you can go in on them now. Everybody else, we're all just kind of sitting, holding our breath and twiddling our fingers. Those collector's edition buyers, though, I believe they have sold out of their 1,000 run, and so those will be trickling out. I haven't seen yet. A lot of them hit the secondary market. I don't know if people are kind of backing out. I've seen them here and there, but nothing, like, overwhelming. And I've got to think they're probably around, I don't know, I wouldn't be surprised if it was about the halfway mark of that build of 1,000 machines. So at the clip that they're going, I would imagine, you know, by the end of the year, we're going to have an empty line and we're probably going to see another game from Jersey Jack. So Elton John is the rumor. So I'm just going with Elton John as my code name for JJP. What is this number 10 for them for their next game until I hear what it is. Now, Elton John is Rocket Man. So, I mean, the dude can blow, right? He's got some good music. So it has the potential to be, you know, a good team and fun to play, and certainly it'll be well built. And if anything needs fancy embellishments, I mean, this is the game. If we saw those gold shin busters on Godfather, what would we see on Elton John? Like a big feathery boa or something for the topper or coming off the side of the cabinet? When you fold it up, it looks like grand piano. I don't know, something amazing. So there's got to be something to follow up what we saw with Godfather. I'd like to see them push their design elements like they've been doing But we'll see This is Steve Ritchie, man The brother of the dude that did Road Kings, right? Mr. Led Zeppelin That's not a good example Mr. Black Knight, right? Shao Kahn's voice I mean, come on This guy's got Mortal Kombat heritage So I'm hoping that we see some fire from the dude, right? So we'll see what happens I'm expecting I wouldn't I'll just say this I would not be surprised if at Chicago Expo towards the middle of the end of October they've got a release. Will they have one to play? I don't know, but that wouldn't surprise me. A reveal in October for a build in November, December, that would kind of make some sense. And that goes right into kind of what we're seeing Stern do now. Now, over the last few months, when production updates have come out, when they've leaked out from distros, from podcasts, or from wherever, we've seen a lot of planned runs of games for the November, December timeframe get bumped into 2024, and nothing has been replacing them. Nothing announced anyway. So we're getting, you know, there's always been this little rumble of a rumor that there'll be something coming from Stern in November. Whether that is a vault, whether it is another cornerstone build game, unlikely, or a Kapow Boutique title, you know, done by this other producer that lands these, you know, fancy licenses, you know, back to the future kind of stuff. That's what's been rumored. And all I'm seeing are things that little tidbits find you, Little tidbits that sneak out, but that reinforce that belief that something will be coming from Big Daddy Stern in the November-December time frame. And what kind of announcement window would work for a company releasing a game in November-December? I kind of think October also. Could this be a pinball expo in Chicago in October to rival the March TPF madness that we saw early in the year with six games dumped? You know, can we see Jersey Jack and Stern come head-to-head with competing releases, one with a feather boa and one with Robert Zemeckis? I mean, come on. This is like a battle of the century. This is just good news for us if this happens because, you know, we're going to have the burden of choice between, you know, Big D Stern and the JJP Fancy Blads. So we'll see what comes out and shakes out from that. Otherwise, there still is some fairly strong confirmation coming from distros that a run of Godzilla Premium still exists in the December timeframe. But everything else has been kicked out to 2024. So I'm excited. I'm excited for Expo. I'm going to be there every single day of Expo, doing events, doing giveaways, shaking hands, kissing babies, shaking babies, kissing hands, however it works. This is my first time doing this from the content creation space. Thanks to all of you listeners. Big group hug. What a week it's been, too, for the podcast. My goodness. People are reaching out from everywhere. Nothing but good things. I've got so many good ideas, and we're implementing them, and it's working, which is just – I'm celebrating pinball. I'm having fun in the space, and I'm inviting everybody along with me. So come on and join. And you are. Oh, my God. People are. I'll get to that. I'll get to that a little bit. What else has been going on? I have been kind of speculating and planning. I had a dream that my next step, I'd love to get into pinball streaming. And that was a big hurdle I was looking at because I don't know the first thing about, you know, multiple camera setups and software layouts and all that and wireless fidelity. But I said, heck it. I went ahead and followed Mr. Jack Danger's path. I'm standing squarely on his shoulders. Well, I think I'm on Jack Danger's shoulders. Plus, I have a couple of stools and some boxes. I'm balancing precarious on the top of them. But that man has made a web page that goes from simple to complex step by step. Here's the gear that you would need to start pinball streaming. Here's how you can do it very simply. And if you have a budget, here's what you could do. Here's where I started. Here's where I am. And so I just followed that. And for around under $500, I managed to cobble together several cameras, lighting equipment, boom stands. I mean, it looks nuts over here. There's a mess of wires everywhere. It looks like the back of an entertainment center from 1994. But I have been able somehow to successfully stream pinball on YouTube. So the Don's Pinball Podcast is the YouTube site. I've done it three days in a row. I started with Iron Maiden just for fun, and it was a little rough. I went into Scooby-Doo now that I've had that, and I've got more to talk about that here in a bit. And then last night I fired up the Ultra VP, 1,400 games on this cabinet, and I was taking requests from people commenting, like, for weird games to play, fun games to play, things to try out. We did everything from Bluey to Road Kings. I think Roller Games was in there for a bit. I'm still slightly traumatized from that theme music, but it was a good time. And that was the first time I've seen really like virtual pinball streaming format in a traditional pinball stream format. So that was fun for me. Everybody seemed to have a good time. And I went over an hour and then people were still saying, wait, wait, let's try this game. Let's try this game. So I'm going to do that again. I'm getting better now. Each time I stream about getting the cameras all synced and everything working, the lighting needs to be and the focus. So I'm very excited about streaming future with pinball. That was fun. It was fun for me I know some people are really into pinball for the tournament space Some people are really into it for the location and operating as a business Other people are really into the streaming And I had people reach out and say you know what start streaming You know I fire up the streams when I'm at home. I just have them playing in the background. I love them. I like to comment. I like to just sit there and watch pinball, you know, sue me. So it's just more content for people that are into that. Otherwise, people that want game reviews, people that want podcasts while they're jogging, walking the dog, jogging the dog, driving the dog to work, whatever you're doing with you and your dog, I could be part of that too. So that has been exciting. That has been fun. I'm going to keep exploring that. What else went on this week? Last weekend, I went down and picked up my Scooby-Doo Butter Cabinet Collector's Edition number 753. Thank you, everybody, for hosting, for arranging for me to go down and pick that up, and also for showing me around the dang factory. Now, I spoke to this a little bit during the last podcast where I dropped that interview. If you haven't checked it out, episode 64 is the spooky pinball interview, sit-down interview. It went fantastically. Dudes are total hosts. And I can't wait to get back down there and just hang out some more. I mean, everybody was having a good time. Imagine if your job was just full-time building pinball machines, you know, in this little town that, you know, if you didn't know it was Wisconsin, you would think you were somewhere in Indiana. Just, you know, rolling hills, fun people, sassy diner waitresses. I mean, everything you could want. And then you go into work every day. You don't have to fight traffic, and you just assemble pinball machines. What is better than that? And this guy's quality is improving. So let me get into a little bit of a Scooby-Doo review. I got the thing unboxed. I did an unboxing video. That's up on YouTube.

high confidence · Don, describing his own experience diagnosing and fixing launcher fork angle within 5 degrees

  • Approximately 50% of new-in-box pinballs (Stern, JJP, Spooky) arrive with some factory defect requiring diagnosis or warranty replacement.

    medium confidence · Don, generalizing from personal experience with Foo Fighters Premium (opto failure), Godfather, and Scooby-Doo

  • Galactic Tank Force's tank mechanism and bent targets at location play are causing air ball issues, but home units without heavy play show fewer problems.

    medium confidence · Don, comparing Helicon Brewery location play experience vs. home owner reports; game-dependent condition

  • “That man has made a web page that goes from simple to complex step by step. Here's the gear that you would need to start pinball streaming. Here's how you can do it very simply. And if you have a budget, here's what you could do.”

    Don @ streaming segment — Credits Jack Danger for enabling his streaming pivot with accessible tutorial resource

  • “For around under $500, I managed to cobble together several cameras, lighting equipment, boom stands. I mean, it looks nuts over here. There's a mess of wires everywhere. It looks like the back of an entertainment center from 1994.”

    Don @ streaming setup — Demonstrates low barrier to entry for pinball streaming despite technical complexity perception

  • “The band is called Mr. Bungle. This song is Carousel. It's a jam. So thanks, Mr. TTD, for pointing this out to you. I didn't want one more day to go by without me correcting this grave wrong.”

    Don @ correction segment — Shows community engagement and willingness to correct factual errors on pinball history/pop culture

  • “Once they're made, they move on to their next game, you know, and this game still has continuing code. You know, I don't know that it's going to double in price or anything, but I think it'll hold fairly steady.”

    Don @ Scooby-Doo value projection — Sets realistic secondary market expectations for Spooky games vs. scarcity-driven appreciation

    • Galactic Tank Force
    game
    Foo Fightersgame
    Donperson
    Steve Richieperson
    Jack Dangerperson
    Gonzoperson
    Chicago Pinball Expoevent
    Multimorphiccompany
    Pinsideorganization
    Mad Pinballcompany
    Electric Bat Arcadevenue
    Helicon Breweryvenue
    Blue Moon Bar and Grillvenue
  • ?

    product_concern: Approximately 50% of new-in-box pinballs across manufacturers arrive with factory defects (optos, launcher forks, etc.); user diagnosis/repair often required

    medium · Don generalizing from personal experience: Foo Fighters opto failure, Scooby-Doo launcher fork misalignment; recommends used market to avoid defect resolution burden

  • ?

    gameplay_signal: Scooby-Doo CE launcher fork misalignment (right fork forward ~5 degrees) caused ball energy loss; user-fixable with pliers; no recurrence after adjustment

    high · Don diagnosed and fixed own unit; provided specific adjustment details; 30-40 plays post-fix with no further issues

  • ?

    design_innovation: Galactic Tank Force features custom in-house LED lighting strips (pin stadium ripoff approach) with integrated lighting orchestration; durability longevity unknown as game still in early location run

    medium · Don praising lighting package and inserts but noting game too new to assess longevity; speculative on long-term LED reliability

  • ?

    product_concern: Galactic Tank Force tank mechanism and standup targets showing location-dependent damage: bent targets, air ball issues at high-play venues (Helicon Brewery) vs. minimal issues on home units

    medium · Don comparing location play experience (bent targets, frequent air balls) vs. home owner reports (minimal issues); attributes to play volume difference

  • ?

    supply_chain_signal: American Pinball not releasing production updates or factory photos; GTF availability sparse despite months on market; no clarity on production volume or distribution strategy

    high · Don conducting location survey (few GTF units found in US); lack of factory photo releases compared to JJP/Spooky; distributor intel suggests limited throughput

  • ?

    content_signal: Don launched pinball streaming on YouTube (Don's Pinball Podcast channel) with multi-camera, live-play format; three consecutive streams (Iron Maiden, Scooby-Doo, VP cabinet); positive engagement and viewer requests for continuation

    high · Don documenting setup cost (~$500), equipment stack, three completed streams, viewer participation; identifies new content niche alongside podcasting

  • ?

    community_signal: Don's Pinball Podcast experiencing rapid listener growth post-streaming launch; positive feedback from audience; multiple content initiatives (streaming, YouTube unboxing, comparisons) gaining traction

    high · Don noting outreach from multiple channels, implementing listener ideas, celebrating engagement growth; implies momentum shift from podcast-only to multi-platform content

    • 10:08
    I think, yeah, I think it's on YouTube. Yeah, that was my first time trying YouTube. YouTube seemed to eat the stream, and then it vomited it out hours later. So it's up there if you want to see the unboxing. That was my first time unboxing an actual spooky pinball machine. So it was a little bit different than the straightforward sterns. It took me a while to find out that the box is strapped to the pallet from the outside and also from the inside. A little bit weird, but it works for them. But I got the game going. No issues initially out of the box. And then during one of the live streams, I started getting that problem with the launcher not quite sending balls fast enough to clear. It turns out what was happening, the forks were just ever so slightly off center from each other. The right fork was slightly forward. and so when it would auto launch or you know launch with the button the ball would have a little bit of a rattle to it just enough to lose energy and not quite make it up the end so you know quick call on a text and a view online i whipped out my pliers i bent that thing clockwise about five degrees brought both forks up where they need to be and i haven't had a problem sense and it's it's launching great now you hit the button and this thing fires up the ramp i have not had a failure yet um so that was a pretty easy fix now new in box pinball and i've said this before uh but these things aren't always perfect from the factory right out of the box there is some things you have to do with them i i think half of the games that i've had new in box now both stern's jjps now spooky um have had an issue of some sort um even stern they're foo fighters premium i got it out of the box i had an opto that was not functional even though the light was on it was not working, homie. And I diagnosed that thing, tore the machine apart a couple of times, finally found the problem. I got a warranty replacement in just a few days through my distributor, Mad Pinball. Thanks for that. And then it was working. So if you want to avoid issues, look to the used market where somebody's already unboxed it, solved the issues, maybe threw some art blades in there for you and it's working. But if you want to have just that untouched, you know unscathed sandy beach of a game and open it for the first time just know there could be a couple of issues starting don't be apprehensive just go into it figure it out ask for help we've all been there um and you'll get it so that was my issue i had with scooby-doo i've played it about 30 or 40 times now both myself my wife my daughter is loving the damn thing and um it's playing great we haven't had any other issues with it knock on all of the wood all the buttery direct printed surfaces with Scooby-Doo. So I'm happy about that. I'm going to talk about more about the pluses and minuses of Scooby-Doo as a game in just a little bit. But I just wanted to reach out there and just give my friends at Spooky just thank you for your hospitality and having me down there. Anybody else, man, just email them, set up a time. Maybe come on down there. I think they could set up the same thing for you. Now, for a correction from an earlier episode. So I had a listener reach out. I happened to drop that, the band Mr. Bungle, right? 90s band the guy from Faith No More before Faith was no more or was anymore. Anyway, they had this song, and they used samples from what turns out to be Cyclone. Okay, and I had misattributed it to Comet. I had misattributed it to Hurricane. But here it is. The band is called Mr. Bungle. This song is Carousel.
    13:24
    It's a jam. So thanks, Mr. TTD, for pointing this out to you. I didn't want one more day to go by, Now, one more podcast to go by without me correcting this grave wrong there. So there you go. Carousel Mr. Bungle came from Cyclone, not Comet, and not its successor, Hurricane. And here it is. And it's a jam, dude. Check it out.
    13:47
    A bit avant-garde, a bit ska, a bit rocksteady, a bit mixed. Check it out. All right, enough of that. All right, so let's get into a new segment of This or That. It's a new segment for me. So here we go. I don't have any intro music for it. But what I wanted to do was kind of look at the landscape. And now that I have Scooby-Doo, I want to do a compare and contrast with a different game. I saw Gonzo do this on his pinball stream, his YouTube channel. Go check the dude out, Gonzo's Flipperama. Flippin' amazing. Guy in the UK. Does great videos. He did a this or that for the European market of Scooby-Doo CE and Foo Fighters Premium. And it's a fantastic, almost like an hour-long video, dude. I really enjoyed it. And especially getting his perspective from the European market where games are marked up. You know, you think Godfather City is expensive here. Try importing it. Add a couple thousand pounds or euros, you know, pounds sterling, whatever you have. And, you know, the cost is, like, way high. So I want to do a similar thing. But for us here in the U.S., with a game that I was entertaining purchasing at one point, it's one of the newer games. It was from the March drop last year. Of course I am talking about G.
    14:53
    TF, Galactic Tank Force from American Pinball. the fudge-pumping, sprinkle-catching Sonya Blade adventure game, which is on location in about seven places in the United States right now. Go and play it. I've heard it's even out-earning Foo Fighters in some locations. Some may say that's because people actually own Foo Fighters at home, so they're not playing it as much on location, and they're not playing Galactic Tank Force at home because they don't have it. But that is just pure speculation, gentlemen and dear, dear listeners. So what I did to compare and contrast these games, The reason I put them together is because as far as like build and mechanisms of ramps and things and the scope of the machine, I think they're pretty comparable, right? You know, they both have a multitude of ramps. They have ball diverters. They have magnets galore, you know, and a lot of different shots and everything. One's got an upper playfield. One doesn't. But, you know, compare it to like Venom, which could be a multi-morphic game. Like these two games seem to share a similar scale. You know, one was released and announced in January. The other one followed in March. So they kind of went into production around the same time. So I want to do like a this versus that, GTF, Scooby-Doo CE, which one should you buy? Should you be considered one or both of these? So I decided to be objective and scientific about this, dear listener. So I went down and I came up with different categories, and I'm pitting them head to head. So we're going to start with theme just overall. You know, this doesn't concern like the build of the machine. This is just a theme itself. And so, you know, looking at Scooby-Doo, I mean, can you get a more recognized property, especially for the demographics of pinball people that were young in the 60s when this series started all the way to me I was seeing reruns of this show when I was young everybody was seeing Scooby-Doo when they were young even today there is still Scooby-Doo content being created everybody knows this theme and identifies with it you may not love Scooby-Doo but it's kind of cool especially the original series which is what this machine is based on counter that with Galactic Tag Force, which, you know, really, it wasn't up until, like, just the last few months that we've all been able to kind of see, okay what is the actual theme that going on with this game And there still unanswered questions So by far the winner on theme is Scooby I mean come on Now I understand from a business perspective doing an original theme though it can be more work, you know, as far as coming up with it on the manufacturer's end, on the licensing end, it's quite cheaper, right? There's basically no licensing fee because you're creating your own IP. So I get what they were doing, but, you know, it's not an identifiable thing, thing and they weren't out the gate like they should have been with a 20 minute or even a 15 minute expose on like here are the characters here's what this game's about here is the theme here's what's taking place here's you who who you are as a player here's who you're battling and so forth and then you can go over you know shots and modes and layouts and all that and introduce the characters and that really didn't happen right we had heard that this was going to be you know 1950s space battle kitsy campy i get that but like why the ice cream like that just like they announced that part of it and just like let it sit there and marinate they didn't explain what was going on um is this space ice cream or is it just ice cream from space cows or is it normal cows on a space planet and if they are on a space planet and they're dairy cows and making anti-gravity ice cream okay but then why does the planet have subterranean fudge is it an ice cream planet with ice cream cows i still don't know that part the in-games universe as far as i'm concerned doesn't make any sense to me so i'm not sure what i'm supposed to glom on to am i part of the Galactic Tank Force? Am I battling the Galactic Tank Force? If I am the Galactic Tank Force, why am I battling a tank? Isn't that one of my tanks? Is it an enemy tank? Why is there a robot driving it? Who's the robot? Who's this universe? What is going on? That's why I had to give the checkmark to Spooky Pinball here with Scooby-Doo because that was a theme. Now, as a thought experiment, let's stay on theme for a second. Imagine if you took a modest licensing budget and you got a license for Galactic Tank Force, same layout and everything uh but you you just dressed it with the last starfighter right 1980s uh kind of kind of campy a bit you know came out just following star wars we kind of remember it no big name actors were in it with like impossible to get licenses but like they would go kodan armada was in there right gref was in there uh the space car was in there zandozans were in there like there was a lot of different ip that could have hung on there i don't think it would have been an expensive license to get. You kind of had the last Starfighter logos on the side of the cabinet, and then integrate that into this build of the game. Change out the 3D-printed, fudge-pumping spaceship rockets with the rocket ship from the movie. I think that would have really pulled me into the theme, because Game and Land, when we get there, isn't terrible. So that's kind of like what I would have wondered. If we're not doing this, why are we not doing this? Since they didn't do that, I would like to know why they didn't do that, why they went with this. There's a lot of speculation around the people that have asked about that, which I do not want to get into here, so I don't get angry emails from a CEO. But I'm going to give the theme to Spooky and give them the point. All right, let's talk about the cost. Now, the deluxe edition of Galactic Tank Force and the collector's edition of Spooky-Doo are about approximately equal, right? They're both sub $10,000. I've seen them both available for $500 less from shows. And Kingpin had one Galactic Tank Force for about $500 off, too. It was $8,500 or so, or $9,200, $8,900, somewhere there.
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    Scooby-Doo is retailing for, you know, $9,500, $9,600, something around there. You can actually get a Scooby-Doo right now, though, for about $1,000 off. If you go to Pinside, there's people that put down their $2,000 deposits already and are offering them up for only like $1,000. So if you like a deal and you're thinking of getting one, I mean, that's a good price. But as far as cost, MSRP, neck and neck equal. I give a point to each side there.
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    Now, the limited edition of Galactic Tank Force has those tank treads. It has the box that folds down. The cabinet art looks like the tank. I like the cabinet art of the Deluxe so much better because it's got the space theme of the characters and the logos and everything. The tank is just a tank. A tank doesn't make any sense. So I'm not really comparing, you know, with that. I don't know. Is that worth a couple thousand dollars more for just art and a cabinet that folds down that you'll probably never have folded down except when someone comes over and you're like, oh, hey, look what this could do. And they're like, okay, cool. And then that's it. So cost, let's just call it a wash. Although right now, Spooky-Doo is available at a discount if you want to go and get one right now. So I think that doesn't speak to you because it's a poor game. I think it's just because they're still being made right now. They're still new, coming on the market. They're available. They're not sold out. So for right now, this is probably the lowest price you're going to see them for at least a year or so. I mean, once they're made, they move on to their next game, you know, and this game still has continuing code. You know, I don't know that it's going to double in price or anything, but I think it'll hold fairly steady. I think we'll see better performance on Halloween. That's speculation. We're going to do a this versus that. Okay, let's go down to availability. And that's really where Scooby-Doo is shining right now. As I said, they're available. They haven't sold out. You can still purchase them if you want to put down a full MSRP deposit. but dear listener since you've been waiting or if you're just coming around to it it is your lucky day you can pick up a uh pre-order spot for a thousand dollars off right now bargain basement for as packed as this game is um this game is available now galactic tank force is available i mean i've seen them you know at least used um from distributors uh but i'm not seeing them widely available i have no idea how many are coming off the line every week if at all i know they got stalled a bit when they had the problem with the, you know, the balls deflecting off of the standup targets for the tank. And so, you know, they had to go back in R&D. And I don't know if they ever really hit full production. I'm not seeing any production photos coming from the factory. I am seeing production, though, from Scooby-Doo's factory because I was there myself. I filmed it. I shot photos of it. I touched it. I had my fingers all over those machines. I had my fingers inside the machines before the play fields were put in. So I know that they are existing. and I believe Spooky when they're saying they're putting out 28 or so games a week now. I mean, they're churning through these things. So this is a game that's available. If you put your money down, you're going to get one. If you put down a deposit, you're guaranteed to get one, but run out right now and get a cheap deposit, man, and get on this game. If you decide that you want it and you like the theme and what it has going on for it, or if you have a location. So availability, I kind of gave a point to both because I think you can get a Galactic Tank Force right now, but I'm not seeing them overwhelmingly saturate the market.
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    We don't have any production numbers. You have to go to, like, secondary means. So surveying the landscape, do you have, I mean, you must have, no matter where you live in the United States, if you're listening locally here, you've got to have, like, five arcades within an hour or so drive of where you're at. How many of those arcades have a galactic tank force? Okay, I was at Electric Bat Arcade, and I did not see a galactic tank force. I know in the state of Wisconsin, I only know of maybe two locations that even have them. The two in Madison that have every single game as soon as it comes out, Blue Moon, Bar and Grill, and IO Arcade, neither of them have one as far as I know unless they've gotten one just recently. The only places I've been able to play them are in Minneapolis and Chicago and Helicon Brewery in Pittsburgh I've played it. But I'm not seeing, like, I can go anywhere and play a Godfather LE, no problem. I can go anywhere and play a Scooby-Doo. So Foo Fighters are just dripping off the walls out here, but you're not seeing a Galactic Tank Force, and I don't know why that is. So I have to speculate that either demand is so low that nobody wants it, which doesn't seem reasonable. I think it's something with production, and we're also not seeing a lot of production numbers or updates or anything from American Pinball. So while this game is available, I'm going to put an asterisk there. So I'll give them the point because you can get one if you want one, but I just don't see where the production is on it. All right, let's talk about layout, and this is where I think we're getting to more kind of comparable areas here. Now, the layout of Galactic Tank Force, of course, is problematic because of the tank that's down there. It can be a bit dangerous. It kind of seems to be game-dependent. The one that I play the most on location at Helicon Brewery has some bent targets, and it throws air balls like nobody's business. I've talked to people that have this game at home, and they're not having that same problem. So, you know, it could be that, you know, the location's got an earlier build where it got bent, and then now the fix is in, but it's not quite working as it should, or maybe it needs adjusted. Whereas at home you know you not playing it a thousand times a weekend It not getting as many plays so it holding up a little better Maybe the builds are better now than the builds were earlier But that notwithstanding it got a cool layout I like Galactic Tank Force layout I like launching the balls with the shooter rod. They go up around the corner. There's magnets back there. There's drop-ins to the pop bumper nest. There's roll-in targets. And then you have path diverters, one which is player controllable. You've got two big main wire forms, one of the branches with that diverter. and you've got magnets buried what seems like everywhere. Every time I play the game, it's like I'm finding a new magnet. You have the ball locking mechanism up there. So as far as layout, Galactic Tank Force has a lot going on. It's got great lights. I love the inserts and the lighting package that's orchestrated in there. I like the kind of ripoff of the pin stadiums that they developed. I guess the in-house LED lighting strips that they have. I think it works for that game. I don't know longevity-wise how it's going to hold up because this game hasn't been out on location for a couple of years yet. But we'll find that out. But as far as like walking up to the package, and still to this day when I walk up to a GTF, I'm like, you know what? I am kind of interested in this game until they put some games through it and get some air balls and get yelled at by Inouye. And I'm like, you know what? I'm out. Thank you for saving me from buying one of these. But I do like the Galactic Tank Force layout. I like the tank and its mechanisms and how it works. I wish it wasn't 3D printed. I wish it was sculpted, but whatever. As far as layout, it works. I like the cow target with the UFO. That's fun. It swings back and forth. I get it. And I like shooting the ramps and everything. And I like the little rollover lanes underneath the flippers. I don't know what they do. I don't know if it's coded yet. I've never been able to, when I am able to get a ball in there, I don't see anything really different that's happening. But, you know, that is what it is. So I think for layout, layout looks solid. I like whoever was in charge of designing this layout. It's fun. it makes sense. The tank's a little weird, but other than that, it's fine. I would have preferred drop targets on the tank so you can knock those down and shoot through the tank to kill it. That would have made sense. Less air balls, less problem, but nobody asked me. Going over to Scooby-Doo, the thing I loved about this game as soon as I saw it were all these ramps, right? Five ramps, one for every single character. They roll off of that giant upper play field. I like that. The upper play field takes over like a quarter of the whole play area of the game, but there's a lot to do up there this is a packed upper play field like like bonsai run level upper play field it seems like um you know sometimes i go up there when i'm playing and i just play with captain cutler and i get the multi-ball over and over just keep putting the targets and watch the little magnets go underneath his is his creepy hands as they're going and you know you get that bash toy up there you got the multiple other little areas on the right that you can shoot two of them go to wire forms one of them's another loop up there it's the scooby-doo shot you have a flipper and a bookcase multiple paths so you can take and it's not hard to keep the ball up there you know i panic sometimes with like foo fighters with that one flipper to keep it up there or like with halloween i got one flipper and i'm trying to kill michael you know and i'm trying to keep it going but scooby-doo i can kind of relax number one it's easy to get up there number two it's easy to stay up there you know and if the ball comes out it's easy to pop it right back up there so it's fun yes i get that it's easy yes if it was in a tournament a tournament player could probably play this game for 24 hours straight on one ball. But for me, it's fun. I like that. And I like all the ramps. I like the apron locks that are there too. You know, every now and then you hit a ramp and it comes down, your ball comes to the apron. You know, at first it felt like the ball was going to roll off into my lap as I'm playing. You know, but then it locks on that apron. Those servos send it back when it's appropriate. You can lock two balls and then do a Scooby Snack multi-ball. It's fun. There's two, three banks of drop targets on the left with a Vuck behind there that sends it up into a ramp. Like, the whole thing's pretty cool. You know, so I like that layout. I think it's comparable. You know, it's got magnets. It's got everything. So I'll award a point each way. I think the layout of Galactic Tank Force, the lighting design, I think that's its strongest point that it has. You know, asterisk tank, right? Drain tank. The draininator. All right. And then music-wise, I gave a point to each game here. You cannot compete with the Scooby-Doo music. It's fantastic. You hit the Mystery Machine multiball, and the classic theme starts playing. And, like, I'm down. I'm right there, man. I'm sitting on my floor. I'm 11 years old and I'm watching TV. I love it. That was a great moment for me to be in. The first time I've ever experienced that was at home on stream. It was amazing. I love that. Point to Scooby. I do like the music of Galactic Tank Force. It went with Space Dubstep. I don't really think it fits the theme, but who cares? It's good. It thumps. I like the sound of the speakers. No complaints about the music from Galactic Tank Force. For me, it works. Right. So then the last little area here I wanted to rank these things was in reliability. And so that's kind of where we don't know so much. I know spooky games tend to be a little more problematic, and this may be because of everything that's in there, some of the innovation that they're doing, the fact that they use these little servos for little motors they can burn out. I've got a Halloween on location that I've had a couple issues with the servos. They wear out. I've got replacements on the way. I'm going to go replace them. That's okay. But I haven't had any problem with Halloween breaking down But other people have Particularly on location They've waited for new boards I've heard from my new friends At Electric Bat Arcade in Tempe, Arizona They were initially pretty harsh on their Scooby-Doo They got it and then a board went out And the game was just not playable It's not making them any money It sucks to look at But they got that board replaced And from what I heard last It's been holding up and doing just fine So reliability You know, just be prepared to work a little bit on your game. I had to work a little bit on my game. It was an easy fix. The gameplay is fantastic. I love the theme integration. Everything is in there. But, yeah, that's where I'm at on reliability so far with Scooby-Doo. I mean, I'm still early in ownership. And, you know, we are into the later build half now. So I think we'll see it hold up a little better. With Galactic Tank Force Reliability, I've heard kind of the same things. You know, some people have games that they were very problematic and had issues with. Other people have it at home, had no issues out of the box, and it's been going great. So I think this is kind of a wash. I'll give a point to each one there. What we don't know really is, you know, long-term with American Pinball's Galactic Tank Force because it is still so new. You know, we've already had those issues with the stand-up targets. Is that really fixed? Is it not? I know I was playing a machine on location where the balls, if they're going at high speed, they just jump off the wire form and cross over and go down the drain. That really sucks. I don't like that. That may be an easy tweak, though. Just get in there with some pliers and maybe some counter-rotation and kind of keep that ball in there. We'll see. So, you know, reliability, I guess for now, the games are both about the same age in their production cycle and their release, so we'll give them each a point. So when I add all these up, I'm getting one extra point because of the theme with Scooby-Doo over Galactic Tank Force and, like, just my own feel, my gestalt for these two games, right? I'm more on Team Scooby-Doo here. So I would own Scooby-Doo, I would play GTF on location, and I would marry Godfather. I don't know how this game works. I only had two games to choose from. But that's my this or that. Now, that being said, if you disagree with my opinion, that's completely okay. If you've got a Galactic Tank Force and you love the damn thing, that's fantastic. If it's playing good, invite me over. I want to come play it. I still like playing this game. I still want to explore this game. I at one point was trying to work a deal to trade my Halloween plus a little bit of cash for a show-used deluxe edition of Galactic Tank Force. It didn't end up going through, and now in hindsight I'm kind of better off for it. But I was still entertaining getting one at one point, so I'm not going to totally sandbag this game. If you like it, that's cool. Let me know why, and we'll see how this game develops over time and evolves. We'll see what happens with code and everything. Scooby-Doo code is just dumping like crazy. since I first played the game until I have my own edition now almost all the character modes are in there and the last one is coming so I'm happy with my Scooby Doo, I'm happy with what Spooky's doing I'm sorry for misattributing Mr. Bungle's music to a different game but I think I have corrected that anything else I need to get to?
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    oh yes, email me at donspinballpodcast.gmail.com let me know, bring me your hate and bring me your praise and let me know how I can last for days If you want shirts and stuff, man, I've still got some left. I'm going to need to restock. You people are crazy. You're draining me out. Be sure to order, man, or offer up a trade, man. You got something cool? Trade me out. Trade you some of my cool stuff. Thank you so much for listening. I'm hoping to have some more content later this week and some streams. What?