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Pokémon will NOT be at Pinball at the Beach!?

Cary Hardy·video·19m 47s·analyzed·Feb 1, 2026
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031

TL;DR

Pokémon delayed from Pinball at the Beach to Texas Pinball Festival due to licensing issues.

Summary

Cary Hardy covers upcoming Pinball at the Beach event details, including game lineup and special guests, but reveals that Pokémon will not debut there due to licensing delays—it will instead premiere at Texas Pinball Festival next month. He also discusses Jersey Jack's new interactive 3D layout tool, Barrels of Fun's Winchester Mystery House placement, Spooky's Beetlejuice production timeline, and American Pinball's new customization options and ownership structure.

Key Claims

  • Pokémon from Stern will not appear at Pinball at the Beach due to licensing approvals delays, but will debut at Texas Pinball Festival.

    high confidence · Cary Hardy states this based on information from George Gomez interview and recent updates; explicitly noted as 'rumored' since not officially official yet

  • Stern is holding a media event on February 10-11 (distributors on 10th, media on 11th) to show Pokémon with NDA restrictions.

    high confidence · Cary Hardy directly references this scheduled event and his decision to decline attending due to timing conflicts

  • Spooky is finishing the last 20 Evil Dead machines and will move entirely to Beetlejuice production after Pinball at the Beach.

    high confidence · Cary Hardy states he was 'told' this information directly

  • 10 Beetlejuice machines will be at Pinball at the Beach as a stress test; Spooky's entire game catalog will be playable there.

    high confidence · Part of official show lineup; Cary Hardy confirms from multiple sources

  • Barrels of Fun's Winchester Mystery House pinball machine has been placed at the Winchester Mystery House location for tourists to play.

    medium confidence · Cary Hardy says this was 'shared to me recently' but he cannot find the original story

  • Jersey Jack has released an interactive 3D layout tool for Harry Potter playable on phone and desktop with augmented reality capabilities.

    high confidence · Cary Hardy demonstrates the tool working during the video

  • American Pinball will offer customization options (powder coating, artwork changes) when purchasing directly through their website, but not through distributors.

    medium confidence · Based on recent interview with Ron and Brian; Cary Hardy expresses concern about logistical feasibility

  • Stern's 2025 releases were 'flat line' quality—'good to okay machines' with no standout 'wow' factor titles.

    medium confidence · Cary Hardy's personal opinion stated in video; matches his 2025 review mentioned

Notable Quotes

  • “At first, it was said it was going to be there. Per the interview that I had with George Gomez, he was pretty confident that that's where it was going to be. But due to licensing approvals and stuff like that, things that are out of their control, then sadly Pokemon, I'm going to have to keep saying rumored because it's not officially official yet.”

    Cary Hardy @ ~4:30 — Core news: explains why Pokémon is absent from the beach event and confirms licensing is the blocker

  • “I'm I'm positive and knowing that there's definitely issues that are keeping them from releasing this when they would like. So things that are their hands are basically tied kind of thing.”

    Cary Hardy @ ~5:20 — Suggests Stern wants to release Pokémon sooner but external licensing constraints prevent it

  • “I'm hoping in 2026 they can bring out the big dick energy again to show people why they are number one. Not just because they can put out the most, but be potentially to be able to do the most in their games.”

    Cary Hardy @ ~9:00 — Criticism of Stern's 2025 output; hope for stronger 2026 lineup

  • “Imagine that game gets revealed and you have this right here, day one, for you to go, okay, I'm curious of what this does. What does this layout look like? Where does this shot lead to? And then you have the ability to use your phone to using augmented reality to put it in your game room to be actually physically walk around like you have the game right in front of you day one. That doesn't interest you at all. I'm sorry, but me personally, I think that's damn wicked.”

    Cary Hardy @ ~10:30 — Positive reaction to Jersey Jack's interactive 3D layout tool innovation

  • “I see that as a logistical nightmare. This is not the first time that manufacturers have attempted this and this is from me just having discussions with multiple different manufacturers in regards to this before even American Pinball stated that this is what they were going to do.”

    Cary Hardy @ ~20:00 — Skepticism about American Pinball's customization checkbox strategy; references broader industry challenges

  • “It's when you start taking people's money and you haven't delivered a product, that's where you start getting into muddy water and it's not going to be good more than likely.”

Entities

Pinball at the BeacheventPokémon PinballgameStern PinballcompanySpooky PinballcompanyJersey Jack PinballcompanyBarrels of Funcompany

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: American Pinball's planned customization checkbox strategy raises logistical concerns; Cary notes this has been attempted before by other manufacturers without success, and creates secondary market resale complications.

    medium · Cary Hardy: 'I see that as a logistical nightmare. This is not the first time that manufacturers have attempted this' and concerns about resale when custom options don't match buyer preferences

  • ?

    community_signal: Pinball at the Beach featuring autograph sessions with designer/developer guests (George Gomez, David Vaness) and multiple entertainment/social activities (karaoke, 'Big Smoke' event, history seminar).

    high · Cary Hardy lists multiple special guests available for signatures and describes itinerary including karaoke, Roger Sharp appearance, history of Pinball at the Beach seminar

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Dirty Pool Pinball completed comprehensive audio overhaul for Labyrinth; building on track record of high-quality audio work on Dune and Winchester.

    medium · Cary Hardy: 'Jeff from Dirty Pool Pinball has done a complete overhaul audio package to Labyrinth' and references his quality work on prior games

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Pokémon licensing approval delays represent bottleneck in Stern's release timeline; licensing cited as controlling factor in debut venue shift.

    high · Cary Hardy: 'due to licensing approvals and stuff like that, things that are out of their control' is preventing planned release schedule; Stern media event has NDA restrictions

  • $

    market_signal: Barrels of Fun placing Winchester Mystery House pinball at the actual Winchester Mystery House location as tourist-facing marketing and exposure strategy.

Topics

Pokémon licensing delays and debut scheduleprimaryPinball at the Beach 2026 event details and game lineupprimarySpooky Pinball production transitions and quality assuranceprimaryJersey Jack's interactive 3D layout visualization tool innovationsecondaryAmerican Pinball ownership change and new customization strategysecondaryStern's 2025 output quality and 2026 expectationssecondaryBarrels of Fun location placement strategymentionedLabyrinth audio package overhaul by Dirty Pool Pinballmentioned

Sentiment

mixed(0.62)— Cary is positive about most manufacturers and events, particularly Spooky, Jersey Jack, and American Pinball's new direction. However, he expresses significant disappointment with Stern's 2025 output quality and skepticism about American Pinball's logistical feasibility on customization options. Overall hopeful but with constructive criticism.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

It's now less than one week away. Backed by popular demand, the VIP experience of pinball shows. Beautiful beach, fun games, great people, and a wonderful [music] experience. The beach is calling. Will you answer? That's right. Pinball at the beach is less than one week away, like I stated in the video earlier, and I and the wife cannot wait. I've got a few exclusive things to talk about when it comes to Pinball at the Beach. And I guess we're just going to nail that right now, as well as a number of other things that we're going to be discussing across a couple of different manufacturers. So, a couple of things that I'm guessing could be considered an exclusive, and that is basically showing you a couple of the shirts that will be available for purchasing at the show, and that is these right here. You have a hoodie as well as a t-shirt. Now, Christopher Franchie has done all the logos and everything and artwork for Pinball at the Beach. And even Greg Freres has chipped in and done the King Kong. And like I said, that's merely just two of a number of items that are going to be for sale. Now, let's go over some of the games that are going to be there. Let me get this list out real quick. So, you're going to be getting 10 Beetlejuice games. This is the chance for most of you out there that may never get to be able to play a Beetlejuice because most of them are going to be going into people's homes. I am one of those. So, you have 10 Beetlejuice games, nine Harry Potters. I don't know which versions, but doesn't really matter, guys. They're all going to play the same. It's just that the CES are much prettier than the other versions like I have. Star Wars Fall of the Empire. There's going to be six of those. You're going to see four of the Walking Dead remastered and there's going to be two Winchester Mystery Houses and as of just recently a Merlin's Arcade from Turner Pinball. Now, of course, you're going to have, you know, Marshall's complete collection like you saw I don't even know his complete collection, but you're going to have I don't know how many games there were last year, but he brought out all of his games that were there and they all were beautiful. They weren't ragged out or anything like that. So, it's definitely a very higher standard show. Now, if you go to Pinball at the Beach, you can see all of the people that are going to be there in regards to those that work at manufacturers or content creators like myself. I'm even on the list right there. So, the special guests, if you will. So, you're getting a number of people there from all these different places. There's going to be an autograph session. So, if you want, you know, let's just say for instance, George Gomez or David Van Es or something like that to sign something from a particular game that they contributed on, then that's the time to bring it and have them sign it. They will sign anything you bring them, guys. That is during a sign session, which I want to say is on Saturday, autograph session. It's 3:00 on Saturday. And you have a number of other things that to look through the itinerary here. You know, the big smoke, I'll be at that as well. You're going to get a chance to watch the man who saved the game with the man who saved the game, Roger Sharp. He is going to be there for it. And I want to say we have a number of other things. Let's see here. Of course, the karaoke. If I drink enough, I may do something there again like I did last year. No promises on that. Now, if you look on the website, you're going to see a number of things, including something of history of pinball at the beach. It looks to be a slideshow right now. I don't believe, but I think there's going to be some sort of seminar going over this. So, if you want to know the history and how it became to be, then by all means, there you go. But of all the games that are going to be there, there is a particular game that will not be there, and that is going to be the rumored Pokemon from Stern Pinball. At first, it was said it was going to be there. Per the interview that I had with George Gomez, he was pretty confident that that's where it was going to be. But due to licensing approvals and stuff like that, things that are out of their control, then sadly Pokemon, I'm going to have to keep saying rumored because it's not officially official yet. But rumored Pokemon will not be at Pinball at the Beach. The next show that you're going to be able to see that will be at Texas Pinball Festival, which is essentially next month, you know, a month and a half away, basically. So, what is going on here? And the way I look at it is if if it was completely up to Stern to release this game when they wanted, we would have already gotten it, you know, at the beginning of January, pretty much like we did with Dungeons and Dragons. But I'm I'm positive and knowing that there's definitely issues that are keeping them from releasing this when they would like to. So things that are their hands are basically tied kind of thing. So they are doing a media event next week with oh not next week the week after next after pinball at the beach. They're having the distributors up there at the at Stern Pinball to show the game with an NDA on the 10th and on the 11th is when the media such as myself would be able to go in to see and record and play the game and everything. But I I I'm I'm going to decline this time around for a number of reasons, but one reason in particular is that we got Pinball at the beach coming up next weekend and I would get home Sunday and then leave again Monday to wake up and go to Stern. Not going to happen. Sorry. That's just kind of bad timing on that. I'll be fine. I'll wait a little bit longer and I'll get a chance to play it eventually. Now, the funny thing is with Pokemon is that this will be Stern's largest license right up there with Star Wars type of thing. Everyone is well aware of what Pokemon is. Now, how many Pokemon fans are overlapping to pinball fans? That is where the true experiment is going to take place. I'm very interested to see the overlap. I know plenty of you out there that have talked to me about Pokemon and how you're excited for this game and you're a big fan and some of you are even older than me kind of thing. Hopefully the game lives up to the expectations for what we would like to see from Stern. And I say that mainly because look guys, as well as my 2025 review, it's nothing to shy away from that I felt like Stern in 2025 was pretty much a flat line of just good to okay machines. They didn't bring out something that was like, wow, this is the king of pinball manufacturing right here. These guys are showing the other people how it's done. I did not get that. I'm hoping in 2026 they can bring out the big dick energy again to show people why they are number one. Not just because they can put out the most, but be potentially to be able to do the most in their games. I'm rooting for you, Stern. I really am. Hopefully, we'll see it. Maybe not in Pokemon, but maybe in Transformers or Fallout and potentially what we're seeing with AC/DC or something like that, but it's a it's a remaster, so you can't really improve upon that one too much. But definitely, I'm really hoping that you guys bring out something this year that is like, wow, kind of thing that puts you back in the spotlight of like, yes, this is why they're number one type of thing. Now, Jersey Jack Pinball just recently released something that you can utilize on your phone as well as maybe even your desktop. Let me try it on the desktop real quick. Okay, so it technically does work on desktop. Let me go to that real quick to show you what I'm talking about here. So, look, they got it to where you can use your mouse and completely move around and then you can zoom in all the way in and move the camera around to see all kinds of things. click and drag to see the inner workings of like the layout and everything. Now, when a lot of people saw this, they were thinking like, "Oh, who is this made for?" Like what what is the purpose of this? And you're not really going to get the the like the true benefits of this right now because everybody has seen Harry Potter. Everyone not every I say everyone, but majority of you have seen Harry Potter and played it. so you have an idea of the layout and what it looks like, but this is merely to get you guys comfortable with the software and seeing how it works. And then on their next release, rumored to be Sonic the Hedgehog, imagine that game gets revealed and you have this right here, day one, for you to go, okay, I'm curious of what this does. What does this layout look like? Where does this shot lead to? And then you have the ability to use your phone to using augmented reality to put it in your game room to be actually physically walk around like you have the game right in front of you day one. That doesn't interest you at all. I'm sorry, but me personally, I think that's damn wicked. Especially for people like me content creators wise where we create videos and we're able to really get in and zoom in. And so instead of having to draw like fancy lines, I can literally come up here and say, "Yeah, you have this particular area. The ball comes through here, hits this spinner, goes around." I mean, you're going to be able to do so much more in regards to better show off a game on release day type of thing and discuss the layout and what we're seeing and the capabilities of the game. I like the hell out of that. Anyways, if you're interested in seeing this on your computer or even your phone, I will put a link in the video description. Moving on to Barrels of Fun. And I'm trying to find the story, but for the life of me, I cannot find it. But it was shared to me recently that Barrels of Fun has finally got the game Winchester Mystery House out to the Winchester Mystery House, and it's there on location, I want to say. So, all the visitors and everything to Winchester Mystery House are now going to be able to play Barrels of Fun's latest game, and it's to the theme of what the tourists are there to see. So, I think this is pretty much something that's going to continuously pay forward and make the presence of Barrels of Fun and Pinball much more of an open thing of like, wow, they still make these and this is what they're able to do with it. So, I really like the idea of this game going into a location that's going to be heavily touristbased. It's going to really open the eyes and potentially bring some more people into the hobby. And something else new in regards to Labyrinth. Jeff from Dirty Pool Pinball has done a complete overhaul audio package to Labyrinth. I haven't heard anything myself from it. All I know is he did a great job on Dune. He did a great job on Winchester. So, if he said he's done Labyrinth all over again, then I'm going to just go by historical data here and say that it's pretty damn good. Just saying. So, I'm hoping that the machines that are going to be at Pinball at the beach have the 2.0 code. So, I'm definitely interested to hear what kind of improvements that he's made to this game. So, we're starting to see Beetlejuice games head out the door in regards to people that are really close by to spooky pinball. So, I want to say my buddy Jerger, he just got finished picking up his Beetlejuice and he's got it sitting right next to his Evil Dead. I'm sure he's enjoying the game. I know he enjoyed it at the midnight release. So, these games are definitely going to start coming out after Pinball at the Beach. I've been told that they're finishing up the last 20 Evil Deads in regards to completely moving on to Beetlejuice. The last 20 Evil Deads are going to be going from now until Pinball at the Beach is done. And at that point, it's nothing but Beetlejuicees from then on. So, they're going to be bringing these 10 games to Pinball at the Beach for everyone to play and beat on. And that's where they're going to get a lot of data and potential maybe if there's any issues that come up with all the continuous plays. We'll see. I'm definitely curious to see how well they hold up as well. And I know this is definitely a stress test for them. 10 of their Beetlejuice is there to keep an eye on. And I think that's going to be really good for them if we have 10 Beetlejuice games without issues. I know they had what, three or four Evil Deads last year at Pinball at the Beach. And I want to say there was zero issues. I could be wrong on that. I just don't recall their games being down. But along with the 10 Beetlejuice games at Pinball at the Beach, you're also going to get a chance to play every single spooky game. The entire catalog of spooky pinball is going to be available at Pinball at the Beach for playing wise. So, if you really want to get down and dirty with dominoes, here's your chance. And the last note I have here to talk about is American Pinball. As a lot of you have already watched the interview that I had with Ron and Brian. I want to say it was last week. And 99% of the comments and feedback that have been received in regards to the interview and just the change of basically ownership and everything on American Pinball has been positive, which honestly is a little surprising to me, but it's a good thing to see. Obviously, there there's things that definitely I would have loved to dive in more or further push on certain things during the interview, but I was trying to get it to that one hour window. I think that's a really safe time frame for interviews. If it's longer than that and then it's definitely going to be more than just a one sitting type of view thing, but I didn't want to take up too much of their time either. But a couple of things that I can recall off the top of my head. One of them being the options that they're wanting to be able to give to people and purchasing a game like off their website. like you're checking tickbox marks for things that you wanted added or changed on your game, whether it be a different kind of powder coating or artwork or whatever. I I even stated that I see that as a logistical nightmare. This is not the first time that manufacturers have attempted this and this is from me just having discussions with multiple different manufacturers in regards to this before even American Pinball stated that this is what they were going to do. I've had talks with other people at manufacturers and there is a reason why they don't do that and it's because it's a logistical nightmare. It it it's not something that's easily done. Now they have can develop a method to where it is easy then okay that'll be interesting to see but it's definitely going to be difficult I'd say. But I think that they're going to be only doing the options and check marks if you buy it directly through American Pinball versus buying through a distributor. I think distributors, they're just getting the plain Jane classic or whatever edition. But if you want to change things up or have special options, then you go through their website, which I think will be better cuz I think that's where it's going to be tricky is if you're going through a distributor and you want all these little options and check mark boxes. That's where I think logistically it can be a little bit of a nightmare kind of thing. But it's also kind of worrisome about I don't say worrisome but difficult when it comes to possibly reselling your potential game that you get from American Pinball with these new options because those options may not be what somebody else wants. They're like, "Hey, I want this game, but you got that particular powder coating on there, and that's not what I want on my game." That may not matter to a good amount of people, but some of them out there, I think reselling, but it's a risk on any game. If I wanted to powder coat my Harry Potter right now to bright pink, I'm not going to do it. But if I wanted to, it may be great for me. But when it comes to reselling it, I think it's going to hinder my ability to sell it. Just saying. But I think it's very obvious that majority of the pinball enthusiasts are rooting for American pinball as long as they deliver a product and it's worth a damn kind of thing. Don't do the whole thing of announcing a game and start sending in deposits kind of thing. As long as you don't take anybody's money, then I think you're going to be okay. It's when you start taking people's money and you haven't delivered a product, that's where you start getting into muddy water and it's not going to be good more than likely. But if you deliver a product that's rock solid in a timely manner, then the rest just basically unfolds itself kind of thing and it will do well and I hope it does. In regards to what games are working on, I don't know. If I did know, and this is something, you know, Ron and Brian, eventually when we we talk and everything, if you want to tell me and you tell me not to tell anybody, I won't. I already know what Padre is working on, and I've already confirmed that what Padre's working on is not the same games as that what American Pinball was working on. So, that's as much as I know there. But, I'm hoping that whatever they re re-imagine is worth a damn. And I think that's really what it comes down to. It's like, who wants a remake of an old game? I think a lot of people would like a remake of an old game if it's worth a damn new hardware, a game that's not going to fail or hopefully not fail. I think a I think a good amount of people will like it. And with it, I could be completely wrong. The market will speak for itself, guys. But I think it really comes down to what games they choose as well and how much those games are going to cost. Let's just say for instance, seriously, I'm just throwing a dart at the wall right here, but let's just say they did the shadow and but would you spend, I don't know, $8,000 or $9,000 on a new Shadow? Maybe, maybe not, kind of thing. But let's just That's I honestly think that's too new. I think they're going back further than that. I do think they're going to go back into the 80s realm, and I could be wrong, but I think it's going to be older than that. I don't think we're going to get DMD stuff. I think that about wraps it up. Like I said, Pinball at the Beach is less than a week away, and I cannot wait for it, guys. This is uh I'm hoping that a lot of you that didn't go to last year's show are going to it this year. And if you stuck around like you have to the end of this video, I'm going to do you one even more solid. I'm going to give you a promo code to save $25 off of your weekend pass to Pinball at the Beach. This code has only been used by patrons of mine. This is the code that they had and they've used. I have some codes left over, so I will be putting that code in the description down below. If you want to save 25 bucks, use this code. You're very welcome. So, I think that about wraps it up for now. Guys, let me know your comments and opinions and everything about everything I discussed in the comment section down below. And for those that are curious about my thoughts and opinions on Harry Potter so far, I'm loving it. And until next time, guys, peace out.
  • Dirty Pool Pinball's Jeff has completed a full audio package overhaul for Labyrinth 2.0.

    medium confidence · Recent information shared; Cary Hardy references Jeff's track record on Dune and Winchester

  • Cary Hardy @ ~21:30 — Veiled reference to past American Pinball issues with pre-orders and unfulfilled promises

  • “99% of the comments and feedback that have been received in regards to the interview and just the change of basically ownership and everything on American Pinball has been positive, which honestly is a little surprising to me.”

    Cary Hardy @ ~18:30 — Community sentiment shift toward American Pinball's new ownership is overwhelmingly positive

  • “The entire catalog of spooky pinball is going to be available at Pinball at the Beach for playing wise. So, if you really want to get down and dirty with dominoes, here's your chance.”

    Cary Hardy @ ~17:00 — Spooky offering comprehensive playable lineup; 'dominoes' is casual reference to Spooky's aesthetic

  • American Pinball
    company
    George Gomezperson
    Christopher Franchiperson
    Greg Ferrisperson
    Roger Sharpperson
    Dirty Pool Pinballcompany
    Texas Pinball Festivalevent
    Turner Pinballcompany
    David Vanessperson
    Cary Hardyperson
    Ronperson
    Brianperson
    Padreperson

    medium · Cary Hardy: 'Barrels of Fun has finally got the game Winchester Mystery House out to the Winchester Mystery House, and it's there on location' for tourists to play

  • ?

    community_signal: Cary Hardy declining Stern's February 10-11 media event invitation due to scheduling conflicts with Pinball at the Beach immediately before.

    high · Cary Hardy: 'I would get home Sunday and then leave again Monday to wake up and go to Stern. Not going to happen.'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Pokémon Pinball delayed from Pinball at the Beach debut to Texas Pinball Festival (approx. 1-1.5 months later) due to licensing approval issues beyond Stern's control.

    high · Cary Hardy states: 'due to licensing approvals and stuff like that, things that are out of their control, then sadly Pokemon...will not be at Pinball at the Beach' and confirms media event scheduled for February 10-11

  • ?

    product_concern: Spooky bringing 10 Beetlejuice machines to Pinball at the Beach as stress test; previous Evil Dead machines showed zero issues at same event.

    high · Cary Hardy: 'And I think that's going to be really good for them if we have 10 Beetlejuice games without issues. I know they had what, three or four Evil Deads last year at Pinball at the Beach. And I want to say there was zero issues.'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: American Pinball community sentiment dramatically positive after ownership change; 99% positive feedback from recent interview with new owners.

    high · Cary Hardy: '99% of the comments and feedback that have been received in regards to the interview and just the change of basically ownership and everything on American Pinball has been positive, which honestly is a little surprising to me'

  • ?

    technology_signal: Jersey Jack released interactive 3D layout visualization tool with augmented reality capabilities for Harry Potter; positioning it for future game reveals to give players day-one layout familiarity.

    high · Cary Hardy demonstrates tool functionality on desktop and mobile; emphasizes AR walkthrough capability and content creator utility for video production