The Pinball Show Ep 182 BONUS: Dirty Dots & Other Pindustry News

Pinball Show Patreon Feed·podcast_episode·18m 11s·analyzed·Sep 23, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031

TL;DR

Post-Star Wars industry gossip: Stern pipeline rumors, Dutch Pinball concerns, remake strategy debates.

Summary

A Pinball Show bonus episode discussing recent industry news and rumors following Star Wars pinball's release. Key topics include Stern's rumored 2026 pipeline (Fallout by Keith Elwin, possible Transformers Gen 1 remaster), Barrels of Fun's Dune accessories, Spooky Pinball's production success, Dutch Pinball's financial dependencies, and Pedretti Gaming's rumored Big Bang Bar remake. Hosts debate game design philosophy, licensing strategy, and manufacturer viability in an oversaturated market.

Key Claims

Jack Danger stepped back from Pokemon Pinball, and others are finishing it; Pokemon might get bumped in the schedule.
medium confidence · Host discussing Stern rumors; stated 'he stepped back, so people are finishing Pokemon' but acknowledged uncertainty ('I don't know if this is true or not').
Fallout by Keith Elwin is rumored as a possible Stern cornerstone title for 2026, based on the Fallout TV show with Walter Goggins.
medium confidence · Host presenting rumor about Stern's pipeline: 'the rumored Fallout game by Keith Elwin' and 'The TV show that's probably I assume that'll be what they base it off of.'
Stern is rumored to be developing a Transformers Gen 1 (animated cartoon) pinball machine, possibly designed by Elliot Heisman.
low confidence · Host: 'the other rumor is that Stern has the animated the nostalgic animated 80s or 90s cartoon Transformers' and 'the Gomez game is terrible' referencing prior Transformers design; 'the rumor would be Elliot Heisman.'
Spooky Pinball sold more butter cabinets for Evil Dead than any other title, with 80-90% of customers buying the Evil Dead topper (estimated 750+ toppers from 888 units sold).
high confidence · Host citing Spooky's factory tour: 'They sold more butter cabinets on Evil Dead than they did any other title' and 'There's 888 units in total games sold. I think there were well over 750 toppers.'
Dutch Pinball is financially dependent on Melvin Williams, a wealthy investor and best friend of company leadership, with Raza being key to company survival.
medium confidence · Host referencing stream intel: 'he was indicating how he's like best friends literally use that term with melvin williams' and 'basically acted as if this melvin williams is keeping the company afloat' and 'Raza is keeping this company afloat.'
Dutch Pinball will not deliver Back to the Future by end of year; Alice in Wonderland and Raza are company survival priorities.
medium confidence · Host based on stream reports: 'Back to the Future is still not going to see that forever, and Dutch is lucky that they doing Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland next because he made it sound like the whole company contingency of still being in business is rooted around Alice and this Raza.'

Notable Quotes

“Now that we've got their money, we break it to them.”
Host (Dennis implied) @ 0:32 — Humorous commentary on post-Star Wars release content drought; meta-commentary on subscriber engagement.
“You literally were shooting Optimus Prime in the crotch. Like, that was a shot... It's it's those dots where they dotified the movie. So they're sloppy as hell.”
Host @ 1:45 — Critique of prior Transformers pinball design and 'dirty dots' aesthetic philosophy—indicates dissatisfaction with photorealistic approaches.
“There are too many pinball companies right now. There's not a big enough market for all of them. We need some more to go away.”
Host (Zach implied) @ 7:20 — Stark assessment of market consolidation and viability concerns; suggests industry oversaturation.
“If I'm Pedretti, and if I do have the rights to Theater of Magic or Tales of the Arabian Nights... I would make sure I establish a customer-consumer base sooner than later... You need consumer trust.”
Host @ 8:10 — Strategic argument against ultra-rare remakes; emphasizes brand trust over FOMO-driven collectibility.
“Raza sucks. That layout – guys, I love J-pop stuff, but the layout's the layout. It sucks. There's nothing to shoot for.”
Host (Zach implied) @ 6:45 — Harsh critique of Dutch Pinball's Raza design; negative assessment of playfield structure despite manufacturer reliance on it.
“Because outside of Alien, this is a big nobody cares company. Because Funhaus sold a lot of units, but I don't think the reception once people received it was... Not like Alien.”
Host @ 9:00 — Critique of Pedretti Gaming's brand reputation and sales trajectory; indicates market skepticism beyond flagship Alien title.
“If you unintentionally released the Arnold videos during the launch of that game and hurried up and said, no, that's not it, I swear.”
Host @ 10:30 — Humorous suggestion that licensing 'mistake' could have driven Predators sales; commentary on restrictive celebrity licensing in pinball.

Entities

Jack Dangerperson Keith ElwinpersonElliot HeismanpersonGeorge Gomezperson Melvin WilliamspersonStern PinballcompanySpooky PinballcompanyDutch Pinballcompany

Signals

?
machine_intel: Stern rumored to release Fallout (Keith Elwin designer) as 2026 cornerstone, possibly bumping Pokemon due to Jack Danger stepping back from design duties.
medium · Host states 'the rumor going around the backlot' regarding Pokemon bump and 'the rumored Fallout game by Keith Elwin' as alternative 2026 launch.
?
machine_intel: Stern rumored to develop Transformers Gen 1 (animated 1980s cartoon) pinball, possibly designed by Elliot Heisman, differentiated from Michael Bay films.
low · Host: 'the other rumor is that Stern has the animated the nostalgic animated 80s or 90s cartoon Transformers' and 'the rumor would be Elliot Heisman.'
?
personnel_signal: Jack Danger stepped back from Pokemon Pinball design; others now finishing the title, creating potential scheduling ripple for Stern's 2026 lineup.
medium · Host: 'he stepped back, so people are finishing Pokemon, and we're going to see it the first. Now the running rumor... Pokemon might get a bump.'
?
product_launch: Barrels of Fun releasing Dune pinball accessories: Chris Knife shooter knob and molded in-lane/sling plastics (Arrakis-themed) for $269 bundle; topper coming later.
high · Host confirms: 'They got the accessory, the shooter rod... Chris knife... molded sling and in-lane plastics... $269 for the bundle... topper is still coming, but it's going to be later on.'
?
product_launch: CGC shipping Merlin editions of Medieval Madness remake; Cactus Canyon upgrade kits shipping (2-8 weeks estimated for remaining orders).

Topics

Stern 2026 Pipeline & SchedulingprimaryIndustry Consolidation & ViabilityprimaryDutch Pinball Financial SustainabilityprimaryRemake Strategy & Collectibility vs. Brand TrustprimaryCelebrity/IP Licensing ConstraintssecondarySpooky Pinball Production SuccesssecondaryDesign Philosophy: 'Dirty Dots' Aesthetic CritiquesecondaryPedretti Gaming Brand Reputationsecondary

Sentiment

negative(-0.62)— Hosts express skepticism about industry health, manufacturer viability, and design quality. Concerns about oversaturation, poor licensing decisions, and Dutch Pinball's precarious position dominate. Humor used to defuse pessimism. Spooky and Barrels of Fun receive cautiously positive mentions. Stern rumors generate mixed interest. Overall tone is jaded about market consolidation and strategic missteps.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.054

Warning, the following episode contains adult language and screaming goats. Listener discretion is advised. Thanks again for the ongoing support as a Pinball Show Club member. Enjoy this exclusive TPS content, and make sure to visit the Pinball Show Club Discord to chat about the bonus material. Okay, Dennis, this is our exclusive content. We've covered so much Star Wars, we didn't have time to cover all the other stuff, and, quite frankly, not a lot of other news now that Star Wars is out. Oh, no. Now that we've got their money, we break it to them. Sorry, guys. Sorry. No, there's still a lot, but it's nothing big. I mean, we can talk about Stern. There are rumors that the rumor was like Pokemon. That was going to be the Jack Danger thing. Yeah. And he stepped back, so people are finishing Pokemon, and we're going to see it the first. Now the running rumor. I don't know if this is true or not. I'm totally, I have no clue. But the rumor going around the backlot is that this could be a bump. Pokemon might get a bump. They're not ready yet for Pokemon. So moving forward or moving up in the schedule, maybe either the rumored Fallout game by Keith Elwin. That right there, I'm like, what? Fallout? I'm a big Fallout fan. Everybody loves the Fallout. Moving on video game. or the show. It's the TV show that's probably I assume that'll be what they base it off of. Walter Goggins, yeah. Do you think Keith really does a Fallout game? I don't. I mean, I think he'll work with any theme that you ask him to. Yeah. But that's the rumor. The other rumor is that Stern has the animated the nostalgic animated 80s or 90s cartoon Transformers. Again. Well, there's a big difference between Michael Bay Transformers versus the cartoon Saturday morning. Optimus was voiced by the same guy in both. Okay, well, you make a good point. That's true. Totally. I mean, okay. All right. The Gomez game is terrible, though. Like, y'all, those of you, listen, y'all, bless their hearts. You guys who are newer to pinball, who have never played it, like, you have no idea what bricked shots are. Like, we maybe talk about some shots brick a lot, like on this new Star Wars, the Star Wars. But the Transformers, you literally were, like, shooting Optimus Prime in the crotch. Like, that was a shot. Like the balls up on the plastics the whole time. And that's the design. It's like Booty Ray is the feature of that game. It's it was meant to be a brick fest. And it's it's and it says it's those dots where they dotified the movie. So they're sloppy as hell. Yeah. Kiss is real dirty. Yeah. Iron Man's the same way. Real dirty dots because they're dirty. Yeah. I hate the dirty dots. Let's be lazy, let's just dotify the movie And then it just looks like a mess So that's the It could be in Transformers The rumor would be Elliot Heisman So the John Wick I didn't think so but That's the rumor Maybe now that Jack stepped back they had no choice Maybe we see Yeah they got rid of Steve Ritchie so Maybe we see The Transformers or Fallout take the place of the first cornerstone of 2026. Well, Transformers, honestly, Gen 1 in particular, could. Yeah, that's what the rumor is. There's a lot of nostalgia to be had there. Gen 1. Had a hell of a movie. There was a hell of a movie they had there with Transformers. The animated movie. That was a good movie. The one from the 80s, or do you mean the newer one? No, the one from the 80s. That was a good movie. Yeah. That was like the first movie a lot of us went to and cried. Yeah. Because they traumatized us. Yeah, but where trauma leads to sales. Okay. I'll never let go, Jack. I'm just saying. Where's the Titanic pimple? I want it. I want it bad with Leo and Kate Winslet. I fucking want it I wonder if Tony would be with me on that one He a big Titanic to history fan The pro version doesn even have the door that they on It doesn't even have the... It's a booty right. I just pictured the band playing, like the band members from ACDC with the booty right sticks. JJP does it. And then I get to watch the feature where Eric Meunier explains how his friend Slash went ahead and did the, my heart will go on on his electric guitar. And how they, guys, no. He knew Celine personally and called her. At the 11th. I'm just, oh, my God, guys. No. Don't flex your famous friend in ways where it doesn't work. Just don't do it. Happy night, guys. I love that movie. I fucking love that movie. I don't even care. Paint me like one of your French girls. God, I love it. That's the new video mode. Use the flipper buttons like an Etch-a-Sketch animator. Dirty dots. Dirty dots. All right. Let's talk about Barrels of Fun. Did you see the Dune accessories? Oh, my gosh. Look at Dune, Michael. You like Dune. The movie and all that in the literary pieces. but they got the accessory, the shooter rod. I don't know what they call it, the Chris knife or whatever it is, the handle. Yeah, Chris knife. Yeah. And then there was like molded sling and in-lane plastics that are like Arrakis. Pretty damn cool, if I don't say so myself. I've got a set ordered for my Dune. Of course, I have to. We got them on the website, too, flippingoutpitball.com. Buy, buy, buy. Buy, buy, buy. I mean, if you have a Dune, you're going to buy them. It's one of those things. I think it's $269 for the bundle. So you get the Chris Knife shooter knob and the plastic mold. They did say a topper is still coming, but it's going to be later on. Spooky Pinball. They did a factory tour. Bug did a factory tour. A very in-depth one, too. Answered all kinds of questions. So go check that out. That was really neat. I liked all of that. I think they said something about butter cabinets, where they sold more butter cabinets on Evil Dead than they did any other title, which does not surprise me at all. They sold a lot. Did you ever hear the total amount of toppers they sold for Evil Dead? No. It was astonishing how many toppers they sold. It was interesting. There's 888 units in total games sold. I think there were well over 750 toppers. Oh, wow. Yeah, it was like 80% to 90%. And that's how our sales were, too. Everybody bought that topper. All right. Oh, I was about to say something else. Shut up a sec. CGC, Merlin editions of Medieval Madness now shipping. We got our first little bundle. How much? Nice. That's not tragic. That's Merlin's magic. That's Merlin's magic. And the Cactus Canyon upgrade kits are shipping now. everybody's asking that didn't get one shipped from us yet we did get quite a few but still not the full order yet everybody's like when am I going to get mine they haven't really said but our current estimate would be two to eight weeks I think they're going to get them all made within two months or so could be sooner I don't know Dutch Pinball they're banking on Raza now what I mean by that is I was listening to uh canada's i'm trying to think chris's um is either a stream i think it's the stream where i he was indicating how he's like best friends literally use that term with melvin williams or yeah i think it's melvin williams the person who is dumping a lot of money into dutch pinball he's basically acted as if this melvin williams is keeping the company afloat and talked about the Alice in Wonderland stuff, and they're still shipping those, but people are not going to get them all by the end of the year, so people are going to have the choice of opting out and all that. But he's also saying, and since he's best friends with one of the owners, I would think this is probably maybe true, but he was saying that Back to the Future is still not going to see that forever, and Dutch is lucky that they doing Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland next because he made it sound like the whole company contingency of still being in business is rooted around Alice and this Raza, which scared the hell out of me because I'm like, wait a minute. You've got this guy, his best friend is helping dumping money into this company, And he's saying basically Raza is keeping this company afloat. That's nuts to even think that if that's the case. If that's the case, how in the hell are they going to do back to the future? It's mind-boggling to me. But I found it very alarming. So have they announced Raza? No, but, I mean, if you're best friends. Do you think Raza does well enough to – it's Dutch, and the way Alice is gone, I just – Raza sucks. That layout – guys, I love J-pop stuff, but the layout's the layout. It sucks. There's nothing to shoot for. I don't know what you're shooting for. Kind of like Alice in Wonderland. I don't know what you're shooting for. Shoot for her trailer. That's right. At least it would be an interactive mech. Like, there's just nothing. I think Alice, probably the layout, interests me more than Raza. Remember, like, when Deep Root was doing Raza, one of the features was that, like, that spinning stand-up target, like the duck thing? Yeah. On the plunge? No. I'm thinking that was it. Yeah. Like, there was a pop-up or cluster. There was that little jump ramp, too, that other than Jeff Keighley. I don't even remember a jump ramp. I think I only remember I think FTLS said he liked it. The 180 jump ramp kind of thing. The 180 jump ramp. But everyone else I heard didn't like it, so it seemed, broadly speaking, it wasn't a very popular shot. Man, so it scares me hearing that. But does it really scare you? Yes, because I want Back to the Future. Sure, but if they don't do it, that frees it up for someone else to do it. You don't really want them to do it, do you? No, but... I'm going to put it like this. There are too many pinball companies right now. There's not a big enough market for all of them. We need some more to go away, not just American pinball. Pedretti Pinball, or Pedretti Gaming, the rumor is Big Bang Bar remake, announcing possibly at Expo. You know, 2019, 2020, I bet that it has sold gangbusters. gangbusters. I just don't know if the modern collector cares about Big Bang Bar, because you know it's not going to be worth $25,000 if they do it. That's the whole thing. Again, that's a game that it's rare. It's not great. If I'm Pedretti, and if I do have the rights to Theater of Magic or Tales of the Arabian Nights, and I have the rights to Big Bang Bar, I would make sure I establish a customer-consumer base sooner than later. I would do that with Theater of Magic and Tales of the Arabian Nights. Do you not think the strategy of doing the ultra-rare game might not get them that? I don't think you have Big Bang. Why do that now if you have Theater of Magic? You need consumer trust. Especially in the international sales times and tariff times. You need that trust. And what more trust than a beloved game already? Big Bang Bar is not. People don't know. That's a niche kind of thing. But I think their thinking is, this is a guess because I don't know what they're thinking. My guess of their thinking would be that they're saying, okay, well, Big Bang Bar is ultra collectible. So if we do it, a very plebeian analysis by the collector public would be, maybe this one will end up being worth more than I bought it for as well. It happened last time. And thus they get purchases, not to mention the whole, I've never even got the chance. I've never played big bang bar. I've never encountered it. So there's also the whole, Hey, people be excited. Cause it's this, it this storied game with this fascinating history that no one ever gets to play I going to scoop that up It be like if they have the rights to it they might as well do Pinball Circus Because even though that might be a one pony of a turd of a game it so rare that the game sells itself. I'm wondering if that's what they're thinking. I agree with you, Zach, that I would have done theater, but that might be the logic. It's going to be hard to sell a lot of units. That's what worries me. I wonder if it would be hard for them to sell a lot of any of the games, because there's a fear about them now. There's an aura. There is. Because outside of, well, it's Pedretti and not Pinball Brothers. It's an umbrella. It's all one and the same. Outside of Alien, this is a big nobody cares company. Because Funhaus sold a lot of units, but I don't think the reception once people received it was, I don't think it kept that trajectory in the same... Not like Alien. Yeah. I did play a remake in it at a show, and it was fine. But I'll never own Funhaus because it's creepy. But their vision of their 2.0 code and animation and call-outs and their art package, it just wasn't what people were really wanting. It went suey. Yeah. Pinball Brothers. Predators are now shipping, I think. So we'll see. We have some. Enjoy your 500 clips of a close-up of Arnold's pulpit. He couldn't show his face. Oh, man. You know what they would be smart to do? What? Twins. I think this is legal. What if they... I think this is legal. They could do twins, and they'll just have to zoom in on Arnold's shirt, and that way Danny DeVito's too short to be seen, and you don't see Arnold's face, and it works out, and then we have twins. Just a crotch shot of Arnie. and Danny DeVito. I would have done this. And Pinball Brothers, if you haven't thought of this, please do. If you get the Fast Board system, open access it so that modders or somebody can realize how to switch around those videos. Oh, don't tell the Blues Brothers the game. You can develop your own code. Not intentionally, but I'm saying you know how people did the Jurassic Park? Yeah, but they're not going to gain enough sales to go into this trouble. I think that could help them a lot. It would help, yes, I agree, but not enough to save anything. Just open source it up a little bit. Just make it accessible. Pinball browser, that shit. Honestly, you know what though, Dennis? It's not enough. I would probably buy Predator if I knew I could throw the code on there to have the Arnie videos. I mean, I get your logic. I just maybe we need to get better licensing. I'm just not thinking of that. If you unintentionally released the Arnold videos during the launch of that game and hurried up and said, no, that's not it, I swear. Watch it, but that's not it. If that was a tactic, then just opening up and making available people to fanfare. Just do an Arnold movie where it's not a weird, complicated licensing arrangement. Do Kindergarten Cop instead. It's not a tumor. Not too much. I love that. multiball. Kindergarten Cop, I would love. I would love that. Exactly. Again, no, but we've got to have Star Wars, so here you go. Man, that bad guy in that is such a dick. Commando. Creepy. Remember I said I'd let you go lost? What about Rambo? Do you think Rambo would work? Sure. I think Rambo would work. Are we doing First Blood? Are we doing Rambo 2? What are we doing? All of them. I don't care. Rambo. So the play field is going to convey Afghanistan, Vietnam, and rural Washington or wherever. What doesn't yell, scream fun and pinball and entertainment like Vietnam? Yeah, come on. And then they can release the composite bow handle shooter rod. Oh, my gosh. And then you can do the red thing. No, if they're going to do a Sylvester Stallone game, I want them to do Cliffhanger. I want them to get John Lithgow to do the call outs this horrible accent he chews the scenery up so well I think that's it is that good? yeah you can turn it off now see bye