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Gonzo ranks Toy Story 4 vs Elton John in his top 50, praising EJ's design and versatility while criticizing TS4's missed thematic opportunities.
Jersey Jack machines had flipper quality issues until relatively recently, improving notably by the time of Elton John
high confidence · Gonzo discusses JJP flipper evolution across multiple titles, noting The Hobbit had subpar flippers, Godfather improved them, and Elton John finally achieved parity with other manufacturers
Steve Richie was involved with Elton John specifically to help solve Jersey Jack's flipper issues
medium confidence · Gonzo states 'the word is that Steve Richie went in there and helped them sort their flipper issues out' but acknowledges uncertainty about accuracy
Toy Story 4 was designed by Pat Lawlor
high confidence · Gonzo directly states 'it was a Pat Lawler game' when discussing frustrations with the design
Toy Story 4 had four pop bumpers at the top of the playfield that kept the ball for excessive time
medium confidence · Gonzo says 'I'm pretty sure it had four pop bumpers. If it didn't, it stayed up the top a long, long time' with stated uncertainty
Elton John faced significant community backlash and skepticism before release, with people expressing hostility toward the theme announcement
high confidence · Gonzo describes doing a video after the game's reveal and receiving 'outright internet abuse' with people saying 'How can you say this looks good?' and expressing anger
Jersey Jack consulted with Gonzo about Toy Story 4 licensing challenges
high confidence · Gonzo states 'I've spoken to Jersey Jack about the licensing on Toy Story and it was a challenge' and speculates Buzz Lightyear licensing was constrained
Tim Allen provided voice work for Buzz Lightyear on Toy Story 4, with Jim Hanks (Tom Hanks' brother) doing voice work for Woody
medium confidence · Gonzo expresses uncertainty ('I'm pretty sure Tim Allen done the voice' and 'I think his name's Jim because he does the voices') while crediting their involvement
Elton John game features ball locks inside a grand piano mechanism
“Jersey Jacks are well under represented on this board...they're almost like the Rolls-Royce of pinball machines...but until relatively recently, I just don't think they've shot as well as other games.”
Gonzo @ ~2:30 — Establishes JJP market positioning and design philosophy critiques
“I do not feel that Toy Story 4 captures the essence of Toy Story...it could have just been a fairground carnival game. That's what it seemed to be centered around.”
Gonzo @ ~6:00 — Core thesis of Toy Story 4 criticism—thematic disconnection despite technical competence
“There was outright internet abuse. I did a video saying this looks amazing...I got nastiness, a lot of abuse from how can you say this looks good?”
Gonzo @ ~17:30 — Documents community hostility toward Elton John announcement and reveals expectation-setting dynamics
“I don't know how true this is, but the word is that Steve Richie went in there and helped them sort their flipper issues out.”
Gonzo @ ~11:15 — Potential confirmation of Steve Richie's consulting role with JJP, though expressed with qualification
“It shoots absolutely brilliantly...The playfield is stunning. Absolutely incredible. It's an absolute feast.”
Gonzo @ ~12:00 — Strong endorsement of Elton John's overall design quality and visual presentation
“I understand as much as I should do about it...massive FOMO over Buzz Lightyear, everybody wanted a Buzz Lightyear...I was working in a toy store at the time.”
Gonzo @ ~6:45 — Personal context establishing credibility on Toy Story IP appeal and character importance
“The best pinball machine is the one you're playing...because of that, your favorite one will be favorite at different times.”
Gonzo @ ~25:30 — Philosophical approach to ranking games and acknowledging subjectivity of his top 50 list
“Once people had started playing Elton John, you realized people really enjoying it saying 'This is better than I thought this was.'”
product_concern: Jersey Jack Pinball machines historically had inferior flipper feel and shooting accuracy compared to competitors until recent titles like Elton John
high · Gonzo documents JJP flipper issues across The Hobbit, early Godfather, with improvement only by Elton John: 'by the time we got to Elton John, you had JJPs that were I feel as shooting as well as anything else. But, you know, I have to admit that that wasn't that wasn't the case. Toy Story 4...still hadn't quite got the flippers up to the standard.'
product_concern: Toy Story 4 features excessive pop bumper time at top of playfield (approximately 4 bumpers) that frustrates play flow without meaningful scoring payoff
medium · Gonzo criticizes: 'I just want the ball back. I want I want to play pinball...Never really felt I was gaining much with it being in the pop bumpers for any length of time up there. And it was an extraordinary length of time repeatedly'
sentiment_shift: Elton John experienced dramatic positive sentiment shift post-release after initial community hostility and skepticism about the theme choice
high · Gonzo describes initial 'outright internet abuse' when game was announced: 'I got, you know, nastiness, a lot of abuse from how can you say this looks good?' but notes that 'once people had started playing Elton John, you realized people really enjoying it saying, This is better than I thought this was.'
design_philosophy: Toy Story 4 criticized for failing to authentically capture Toy Story IP despite good technical mechanics; suggests licensing constraints limited character prominence (Buzz Lightyear)
high · Gonzo: 'I do not feel that Toy Story 4 captures the essence of Toy Story...it could have just been a fairground carnival game. That's what it seemed to be centered around...I just felt when I when I played it, if I didn't know it was Toy Story and you could have taken the figurines and the writing out, it could have just been a fairground carnival game.'
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high confidence · Gonzo describes directly: 'you lock the balls inside a grand piano for goodness sake. How cool is that?'
Gonzo @ ~18:00 — Demonstrates how expectation management affected Elton John reception post-launch
product_launch: Jersey Jack experienced licensing constraints on Toy Story 4 that Gonzo attributes to limiting Buzz Lightyear's prominence in the machine
medium · Gonzo states: 'I know that I've spoken to Jersey Jack about the licensing on Toy Story and it was a challenge...Buzz Lightyear would have been front and center of that game' but wasn't maximally featured
personnel_signal: Steve Richie reportedly consulted with Jersey Jack Pinball on Elton John to improve flipper engineering and shooting feel
medium · Gonzo qualifies: 'I don't know how true this is, but the word is that Steve Richie went in there and helped them sort their flipper issues out. So immediately with this game, you now have the the wonderful cabinet...and it shoots well.'
gameplay_signal: Elton John demonstrated strong appeal to both hardcore pinball players and casual/non-pinball audiences, suggesting versatile design balance
high · Gonzo notes: 'Everybody enjoyed playing Elton John and pin heads and non-pin heads. And I think that's that's not an easy thing to do...a pinball machine that could entertain people but for hours is still a good pinball machine.'
design_innovation: Toy Story 4 failed to implement obvious mechanical opportunity: a claw machine toy to capture/lift the pinball, despite this being an iconic Toy Story element and common arcade fixture
high · Gonzo states: 'the obvious mechanism and that was the claw...most of us watching this probably experienced pinball on location in an arcade...you've got the crane machines, the claw machines...It is the most obvious fit I can ever think of...I just think it been a...disappointment there'
collector_signal: Gonzo reports actively missing Elton John after selling it and expressing repeated desire to repurchase; contrasts with Toy Story 4 which he did not miss
high · For Elton John: 'Do I miss it? Yes, I do. I've thought a number of times about trying to get this back...Would I have it back? Yes.' For Toy Story 4: 'Did I miss it when it was gone? No. I had no desire to have it back again or even play it again.'
market_signal: Elton John appears to have maintained or appreciated in secondary market value while Toy Story 4 has depreciated or holds lower value perception
medium · Gonzo's expressed desire to repurchase Elton John and regret about selling contrasts sharply with complete indifference to Toy Story 4, suggesting different collector/secondary market dynamics