Spooky Pinball Reveals Ultraman: Kaiju Rumble

Cary Hardy·video·8m 15s·analyzed·Jul 6, 2021

Analysis

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TL;DR

Spooky's Ultraman: Kaiju Rumble shares Halloween's layout but offers niche appeal and campy fun.

Summary

Cary Hardy reviews Spooky Pinball's announced Ultraman: Kaiju Rumble pinball machine, revealing it shares the same playfield design as Halloween but with Ultraman theming. Hardy predicts strong sales for the 500-unit limited run, emphasizing the campy 1966 source material and kaiju monster-fighting theme as ideal for pinball. He notes Ultraman's niche status as an advantage, offering collectors an 'original' title despite being mechanically identical to Halloween.

Key Claims

Ultraman: Kaiju Rumble uses the identical playfield design as Halloween, just re-skinned with different theming
high confidence · Hardy explicitly states 'It's the same design as Halloween. It's the same design. Everything's the same. It's just be re-skinned to the theme of Ultraman.'
Spooky will produce 500 units of Ultraman: Kaiju Rumble with no tier limitations (collectors can order any of the three tiers)
high confidence · Hardy: 'they only gonna have 500 of these' and 'depending on if you get collector's edition, bloodsucker, or standard, they're going to make whatever people order. So there is no limitations to what models can be ordered, just the total amount once again.'
Spooky is planning to manufacture 1,750 total games (Halloween + Ultraman) over the next 18 months
high confidence · Hardy: 'So that brings it up to a grand total of 1,750 spooky games that will be made over the course of the next 18 months.'
Ultraman is based only on the 1966 series, not the later versions and actors
high confidence · Hardy: 'this game is only going to be based on the 1966 series, like the beginning of it. because they went through many different versions and renditions and different actors'
Ultraman is gaining traction on Netflix and has been around since 1966 but is not yet big in America
medium confidence · Hardy: 'this series has been around since 1966. And evidently it's still going today. It's just not over here. It's not big here in America. But evidently it's gaining traction on Netflix right now.'

Notable Quotes

“It's the same design as Halloween. It's the same design. Everything's the same. It's just be re-skinned to the theme of Ultraman.”
Cary Hardy@ 3:23 — Core product information: Ultraman is mechanically identical to Halloween, only differing in art/theme
“I think this is almost an original title and I say that because it's still pretty darn niche of a theme so niche that people have to go, what is that?”
Cary Hardy@ 2:45 — Market positioning analysis: Ultraman's niche status as a selling point for collectors seeking 'original' games
“I'd hate to say that because it's like i think i know there's a lot of you out there and evidently so over just the last week I come to find that evidently Halloween is a strong theme There a lot of people and fans out there of that film franchise But I like man I go for I love the campiness and the theme behind the Ultraman Kaiju Rumble I would choose this one over Halloween personally.”
Cary Hardy@ 5:57 — Personal preference and market sentiment: Despite Halloween's strong appeal, Hardy prefers Ultraman for its campy charm
“I'm pretty sure they gonna sell all 500 of them I think it would sell even better if they would show gameplay”
Cary Hardy @ ~03:50 — Confidence in sales and product feedback suggestion
“It is very campy. It is so cheesy and the special effects are so bad But it perfect for pinball”
Cary Hardy@ 1:48 — Assessment of source material and its suitability for pinball adaptation

Entities

Spooky PinballcompanyCary HardypersonUltraman: Kaiju RumblegameHalloweengame UltramanproductNetflixcompany

Signals

$
market_signal: Spooky's aggressive 18-month production plan (1,750 units across two titles) signals confidence in demand and manufacturing capacity
high · Hardy: 'That brings it up to a grand total of 1,750 spooky games that will be made over the course of the next 18 months. Which is pretty impressive if they pull it off in comparison to what they've been able to do in the past.'
?
announcement: Spooky Pinball officially announces Ultraman: Kaiju Rumble as second major title release alongside Halloween
high · Hardy references official Spooky reveal of Ultraman with video and artwork; describes it as already announced product with established production plans
?
product_strategy: Ultraman positioned as 'original' / niche title for collectors despite mechanical similarity to Halloween, leveraging unique IP perception as value prop
high · Hardy: 'I think this is almost an original title... it's so niche that people have to go, what is that?' Contrasts with Halloween's established recognition.
~
sentiment_shift: Community preference between Halloween and Ultraman split; some collectors favor campy charm of Ultraman over established horror theme of Halloween
medium · Hardy observes both strong Halloween fandom AND growing appreciation for Ultraman's campiness; personally prefers latter. Suggests market segmentation rather than clear winner.
?
business_signal: Spooky employing platform reuse strategy: identical Halloween playfield re-skinned as Ultraman to maximize production efficiency while targeting different collector demographics

Topics

New Game Announcement (Ultraman: Kaiju Rumble)primarySpooky Pinball Production Capacity and PlansprimaryPlayfield Design Reuse / Platform StrategyprimaryLimited Edition Release Strategy (500 units)secondaryIP Licensing and Theme Niche AppealsecondaryMarket Comparison (Halloween vs Ultraman)secondaryCollector Appeal and Originality Perceptionmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.78)— Hardy expresses clear enthusiasm for Ultraman: Kaiju Rumble's campy charm and market potential, personally preferring it over Halloween. Predictions of sell-out success. Minor criticism that gameplay footage would help sales, but this is constructive rather than negative.

Transcript

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If Spooky didn't already have the pinball crowd intrigued by their latest title, they dropped some more information that not only were they going to be releasing Halloween, they're going to also be releasing Ultraman. Now myself as well, I'm pretty sure many of you out there, Once you saw that they were releasing Ultraman, you had to start doing some googling and figure out what this is. It is not known yet the method they will employ to strike. Paris maintains the Carl Weathers may be cloudy during the attack. Unquote. I doubt that'll stop all this. And the crazy thing is, guys, this show, or this series, or whatever you want to call it, this property, has been around since 1966. And evidently it's still going today. It's just not over here. It's not big here in America. But evidently it's gaining traction on Netflix right now. Must we do nothing? I agree we should attack now. Why sit around until they come to this area? And the thing is, this game is only going to be based on the 1966 series, like the beginning of it. because they went through many different versions and renditions and different actors and stuff like that. And I attempted to watch an episode of this. I say attempted because I was like, I need to get a little more savvy on what this theme really is all about. So I put it up and I was watching it. And I ended up falling asleep. But for what I do recall seeing, it is very campy. It is so cheesy and the special effects are so bad But it perfect for pinball I mean i say that because and what they doing here it is i think more intriguing and interesting than the halloween theme this actually this game i think will sell very well i think it will uh just because it's so campy i mean it's one of those things where you you watch the video for it and it's showing off what it is and what it looks like the art is very intriguing i love the art what it looks like they it's very good i think that's definitely a you look at it and you're like what is this and the thing is i think i feel like this is almost an original title and i say that because it's still pretty darn niche of a theme so niche that people have to go, what is that? I've never heard of that. Whereas Halloween, people have heard of that. Last Action Hero, people have heard of that kind of thing. So when you say Ultraman, Kaiju Rumble is one of those things where it's like, okay, this seems like it's an original theme for pinball. So I think they're going to be feeding a lot of people out there when it comes to those wanting an original title, as well as just having what looks like it's going to be a fun game. The thing is I say fun game because it's the same design as Halloween. It's the same design. Everything's the same. It's just be re-skinned to the theme of Ultraman. But the basic premise of this particular theme is that Ultraman battles these kaiju, which are giant monsters. If you've ever seen Pacific Rim, then you should know what a kaiju is. and so I think this is this is gonna be perfect for pinball it's one of those things where it's gonna be so great I think it's gonna sell it's only get they only gonna have 500 of these but I pretty sure they gonna sell all 500 of them I think it would sell even better if they would show gameplay I think a lot of people would like to see how the game shoots and stuff like that but going by the mere story of just like, hey, you're going to be battling all these kaiju and stuff like that, that's already intriguing as it is. There's no sense in going over the play field with the shots and layout and everything because it's the same as Halloween. So if you've seen my Halloween video, then you will have all that information in there. This will also have your three different tier models, and depending on if you get collector's edition, bloodsucker, or standard, they're going to make whatever people order. So there is no limitations to what models can be ordered, just the total amount once again. So Spooky is going to limit this to 500. So that brings it up to a grand total of 1,750 spooky games that will be made over the course of the next 18 months. Which is pretty impressive if they pull it off in comparison to what they've been able to do in the past. but if you had both of these machines side by side and you had everybody take a poll on you know which one would they rather have i'd hate to say that because it's like i think i know there's a lot of you out there and evidently so over just the last week I come to find that evidently Halloween is a strong theme There a lot of people and fans out there of that film franchise But I like man I go for I love the campiness and the theme behind the Ultraman Kaiju Rumble I would choose this one over Halloween personally. Because, like I said, just watching the show for what little bit I did watch, I had to cover my eyes of just like, this is so bad. That kind of thing. Using the beta capsule, Hayata becomes Ultraman. So that's why I think it's perfect for pinball. You've got to think about that. It's like you've got one that's kind of a serious, scary theme, and you got this one that's the the the comedic theme to it so uh yeah i think it's going to do really well as well i'm pretty sure spooky's going to sell out of these and that is my thoughts and feelings on ultraman kaiju rumble if you had to choose between getting halloween and ultraman kaiju rumble which would you prefer let me know down in the comments below give me the thumbs up it helps out the channel guys and subscribe button ding my dong that way you can be notified of whenever I upload something for your viewing pleasure. And until next time, guys, peace out. Agatha, where have you been? Ultraman is going home, and we don't know if he'll be back again. Don't worry. He'll return. I know he'll be returning. But I just hope that he's all right. Outro Music