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The Pinball Show Ep 125: Ranking The Big 5: FOO, TNA2, TGF, GTF, PF + TPS! 2.0

The Pinball Show·podcast_episode·1h 47m·analyzed·Apr 11, 2023
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

TPS returns with Patreon model, analyzes manufacturing crisis, ranks Big Five new games.

Summary

The Pinball Show returns from a month-plus hiatus with episode 125, announcing a new three-tiered Patreon membership model (Club Member $10, Nordman Club $25, Screaming Goat Club $100) featuring exclusive content, Discord access, monthly Zoom hangouts, and insider information. The episode includes Craig Bobby's segment on the manufacturing bottleneck crisis across the industry, highlighting that Stern's production efficiency is becoming the decisive competitive advantage, while Dutch Pinball's early achievers face year-nine wait times. The hosts then rank the "Big Five" recently-announced/released games: Foo Fighters (Stern), Final Resistance, Godfather (JJP), Pulp Fiction (Chicago Gaming), and Galactic Tank Force (American Pinball), with detailed analysis of design, rules, art, and gameplay.

Key Claims

  • Dutch Pinball early achievers are entering year nine of waiting for machines ordered during crowdfunding launch

    high confidence · Craig Bobby segment: 'How about getting into year nine, folks? Yes, year nine, as early achievers are still being notified that their games are shipping this year, despite literally almost a decade of waiting for their machines.'

  • Foo Fighters Pro machines have hit operators' locations across North America in the past month

    high confidence · Craig Bobby: 'their very well-received and reviewed Foo Fighters Pro machines have hit operators' locations around North America this past month'

  • Stern Pinball has the manufacturing advantage and will dominate the industry for decades due to production efficiency

    high confidence · Craig Bobby: 'And as long as Stern has that secret locked up, they will continue to win and dominate this pinball hobby for decades to come.'

  • Spooky Pinball is pumping out Scooby-Doo machines weekly with decent reviews

    high confidence · Craig Bobby: 'Spooky Pinball seems to have found the winning manufacturing formula as they are pumping out their new Scooby-Doo machines every single week'

  • American Pinball, Chicago Gaming, Haggis Pinball, Multimorphic, and Pinball Brothers buyers should expect wait times of one year or longer

    medium confidence · Craig Bobby: 'buyer beware, you better be patient as your wait times for anything other than a Stern, JJP, or Spooky title could easily creep into the one year mark or longer'

  • The Pinball Show's last episode was downloaded 6,500 times

    high confidence · Zach: 'You're screenshotting the downloads. We need all 6,500 people to sign up'

  • Foo Fighters was designed by Jack Danger with code by Tanyo Kleiss and Raymond Davidson

    high confidence · Hosts discussing Foo Fighters credits

  • Most/all pinball manufacturers announced games prior to TPF online in organized/controlled way, then showcased at the in-person event

Notable Quotes

  • “As for a while there, you couldn't go to your favorite social media outlet without seeing news of a newly released or soon-to-be-revealed game.”

    Craig Bobby @ ~mid-episode — Captures the intensity of spring 2024 announcement season with multiple manufacturers competing for attention

  • “But now that the pinball dust finally seems to be settling down in the wake of all these announcements, I think the real and burning question and obvious elephant in the room now is, how long will it take to get your shiny new pinball machine once you've made your choice?”

    Craig Bobby @ ~mid-episode — Identifies the core issue facing the industry: manufacturing capacity and delivery timelines, not game design

  • “And as long as Stern has that secret locked up, they will continue to win and dominate this pinball hobby for decades to come.”

    Craig Bobby @ ~end of segment — Bold prediction about Stern's competitive moat based on manufacturing efficiency

  • “Dutch Pinball early achievers are still being notified that their games are shipping this year, despite literally almost a decade of waiting for their machines. So a pat on the back for everyone for hanging in there, but my God, what an awful, awful journey.”

    Craig Bobby @ ~mid-segment — Highlights the catastrophic execution failure at Dutch Pinball and customer patience limits

  • “The real war is being fought and won on the production line.”

    Craig Bobby @ ~conclusion — Reframes the competitive battlefield away from design/IP to manufacturing capability

  • “It's $100 a month. You don't get any of those liquids, but you're going to get all of the Nordman Club stuff, all of the official membership club stuff, plus an exclusive members-only pinball show polo shirt.”

    Zach @ ~Patreon announcement — Humorous pitch for highest tier Screaming Goat Club membership

  • “I really enjoyed the shot geometry. There are a number of unique items there where I feel Jack as a new designer's influence clearly shows through.”

Entities

The Pinball ShoworganizationZach MinneypersonDennis CreaselpersonCraig BobbypersonFoo FightersgameFinal ResistancegameGodfathergamePulp Fictiongame

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Dutch Pinball crowdfunding model has catastrophically failed with early achievers waiting 9+ years for Big Lebowski deliveries, raising questions about viability of smaller manufacturer pre-order models

    high · Craig Bobby detailed year-nine wait times and called it 'an awful, awful journey' that customers 'never should have had to take'

  • ?

    community_signal: The Pinball Show launching three-tiered Patreon membership with Discord community integration, monthly Zoom hangouts, and exclusive content to monetize podcast and fund continued production

    high · Detailed rollout of Club Member ($10), Nordman Club ($25), and Screaming Goat Club ($100) tiers with specific perks

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Stern, JJP, and Spooky positioned as the only manufacturers with reliable production/delivery; all others facing capacity constraints

    high · Craig Bobby explicitly identifies these three as having manufacturing advantages; others described as 'struggling to get things right on the production side'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Jack Danger's influence visible in Foo Fighters through distinctive shot geometry and layout design; notable for new designer bringing fresh approach to Stern design

    medium · Dennis: 'There are a number of unique items there where I feel Jack as a new designer's influence clearly shows through that versus what we've seen from other designers'

  • ?

    event_signal: Texas Pinball Festival served as showcase event for coordinated multi-manufacturer announcement strategy; all major manufacturers announced online prior to in-person TPF showcase

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.323

0:00
Warning, the following episode contains adult language and screaming goats. Listener discretion is advised.
0:12
The Pinball Network is online. Launching The Pinball Show. We are back in the biggest way possible. Episode 125's got it all. TPF Vacations. The Pinball Show new features. Foo Fighters, Final Resistances, Godfathers, Pulp Fictions, GTFs, Vaughn 60th, Scoobies, Mermaids, Queens, Ninjas, Toppers, Stern Pinball Production Updates, Strong Takes, Exclusive Infos, and much more. Well, I mean, shit. Is that not enough? It's good to be back with y'all.
0:51
Pinball is a game of skill. You've got to pick up every stitch. For some, it's a passion and a lifestyle. It's time for the Pinball Show.
1:05
It's pinball with personality. This is episode 125. This is the Pinball Show. where your hosts Zach Minney and Dennis Creasel and Dennis, I gotta tell you, I kind of miss these people.
1:34
Why? Because they're so loving. You've seen a lot of them at TPF. I did. I should say, welcome back to them. Welcome back, my friends, to the show. That never ends, except apparently for a month. Month and a half. You know, time works Time works strangely when you're inside the interstellar time bubble planet. Well, it's like if you go down there and then you got the cute, wonderful running on water machine and you come back up, your kids will be retired. Yes. And you will cry watching Matthew McConaughey cry in that capsule and that bitch lying to him.

high confidence · Craig Bobby: 'it seems that all the manufacturers decided to reveal their newly designed games prior to the show this year in an organized and controlled way online'

Dennis (discussing Foo Fighters) @ ~Big Five segment — Confirms Jack Danger's distinctive design signature visible in Foo Fighters layout

  • “I personally enjoyed the premium more than the pro. Ooh, strong take.”

    Dennis / Zach @ ~Big Five segment — Indicates meaningful gameplay/feature differences between Pro and Premium tiers on Foo Fighters

    • Galactic Tank Force
    game
    Scooby-Doogame
    Jack Dangerperson
    Zombie Yetiperson
    Stern Pinballcompany
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    Dutch Pinballcompany
    American Pinballcompany
    Chicago Gaming Companycompany
    Pinball Brotherscompany
    Texas Pinball Festivalevent

    high · Craig Bobby: 'all the manufacturers decided to reveal their newly designed games prior to the show this year in an organized and controlled way online, to then showcase these new machines to the massive crowds at TPF'

  • $

    market_signal: Manufacturing capacity emerging as primary competitive battleground; Stern's production efficiency now the key differentiator rather than game design or IP licensing

    high · Craig Bobby: 'the real war is being fought and won on the production line' and prediction that Stern will dominate for decades based on manufacturing advantage

  • $

    market_signal: Multiple manufacturers (American Pinball, Chicago Gaming, Pinball Brothers, Multimorphic, Haggis Pinball) face production bottlenecks causing extended wait times (1+ years expected), creating buyer hesitation despite game quality

    high · Craig Bobby: 'buyer beware, you better be patient as your wait times for anything other than a Stern, JJP, or Spooky title could easily creep into the one year mark or longer'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Foo Fighters Premium tier perceived as superior to Pro tier with meaningful gameplay/feature differences justifying premium pricing

    medium · Dennis: 'I personally enjoyed the premium more than the pro. Ooh, strong take' — indicates non-obvious preference for higher tier

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Industry narrative shifting from celebrating game announcements to questioning whether purchases will actually be fulfilled in reasonable timeframes

    high · Craig Bobby's segment frames manufacturing as 'the real and burning question and obvious elephant in the room'

    • 2:17
    All right, all right, all right. All right, all right. We're back. The hiatus. So people, you know, I had some, I had emails to other email accounts that I control that are not the pinball network at gmail.com. Wow. They bled into those? Yes. Where people are like, just, did I miss something? Did Zach retire? Has he gone away? Like they knew it was your fault. Has he thrown another fit? Is Zach pouting? I mean. Pick up his mic and go home. It's like, and, you know, Zach, I get it because, you know, you do kind of like alienate people to sort of kind of willy-nilly. So maybe they thought. I have to. But no one was like they didn't think they didn't hear anything going on like in the show. So it's like, well, no, it was just this weird coincidence of schedule alignment. Really is what all it was. It wasn't planned. Like we've had planned ones before, which we've announced. Yeah, it kept on falling on weird times. And I'm a mysterious man. You know, the way I remember it is we had, you had the Louisville show. Yes. And you were driving back the day we would normally record. And you were like, I have to get on the road before when we would be recording. I'm like, okay, well, let's just not do that. And then, of course, the next week wouldn't have been a week I would record. I saw someone on Facebook, or excuse me, on Pinside saying, we got to get, there's all these games dropping. Zach needs to do an episode this week. And, you know, he needs to get Dennis to do it. Dennis needs to just give up his day off. Oh, I did see that. All right. Look, brah. Let me explain something. It ain't a day off. I do another podcast on the opposite weeks. I do a podcast every week, so it's not a day off. Din Din, don't play that. Not a day off. I don't even count the YouTube stuff I was busy doing. It was so funny. It was a good side note. Nicole is so cute. She was like, knew I was itching to get back, but scheduling just wasn't allowing for it. I think it was last week or the week before. She was like, why don't you just ask Dennis to record on this? I'm like, oh, sweetie, that's so cute of you. Like, I know better. I know when to present something to Dennis and when not to. We're good. We'll get back to it. But then, yeah, it was TPF, and then you and I were both traveling on the way back. And then we talked about recording there, but then it just. Yeah, you never really presented a time. I was probably hungover. And it wouldn't have been when we normally would have because you had to go to your cruise. Yeah, I was on a boat Sunday. Yeah, so he wasn't – Zach wasn't there the full teepee. I mean, neither were Tony and I. We get on – we started this last year. We get on the road back because it's such a long drive in the late morning because actually I had a message from Will O'Edding about taking back the runner-up thing from the Twippies. I was already in Oklahoma, so I had to message him and say, I'm sorry, we're gone. Otherwise, I'd have been happy to pick it up. He's like, I'll just mail it to Zach. So, yeah, just all that happening, I mean, that alone is a month right there. People wanted to hear. We are kind of the voice of the industry. People wanted to hear. We're the hobbyists. We got the strong takes. I get it, but there are a lot of other podcasts, and they all milk this. These udders, I mean, GTF has got – I'll tell you where they got the milk for the ice cream. It's from all the coverage of all of these releases over the last six weeks. The blue ice cream at this point, yeah. But they wanted to, you know what? We'll be the closer. The main attraction, the title fight. It sounds like code for saying stuff that's already been covered elsewhere. You're going to hear things, ladies and gentlemen, that are going to make you laugh. You're going to hear things this episode 125 that are going to make you cry. You're going to hear things that are going to make you want to buy, buy, buy. Buy, buy, buy! Is GTF one of them? We'll have to wait and see. Then, yeah, went on a vacation, went to New Orleans, hung out in that city for a day or two, then jumped on a boat, a Disney Cruise Line boat, and went to the Caribbean and Mexico and all that, came back, and here we are. I'm trying to catch up still. And then this morning, I was hunting Easter eggs. I was hiding them. I hope you didn't lose any because egg prices are up there now. We did. Hold up. Do you still hunt eggs that are hard-boiled and dyed? I just assumed everyone did. I haven't done eggs since I was a kid, but we always – That's still 1982 of you. Yeah, but back then, those were cheaper than the plastic eggs. Sure, and then you drop them in the basket and hear a slight crackle. And then you would have egg salad sandwiches that were weird colored for a week. And then your whole house smells like ass. Oh, no. My folks told me real early on they made sure that they made a map and noted where all the eggs were so that there was never an egg left behind. I have never heard of anyone making a map. Well, I think they listed it. I don't think they literally drew a map, like an architectural blueprint, and listed out where all the eggs were. But they apparently started to denote exactly how many eggs were deployed and where they were so that they knew if we had failed to find any of them. Nowadays, it's all the... Nicole puts so much money in these damn things that they could start a retirement fund. She'll put dollars, and then the gold dollar coins and then the $2 bills. She's big on this whole $2 bill thing. Easter was, other than going and finding the 1980s hard-boiled eggs and some candy in an Easter basket, that was it. Easter was not a high-dollar holiday for us. Typically, we will not tip at the end of the year for the holidays. We won't even tip our lawn guy because he finds so many extra eggs with $2 bills in them that he's comfort there. But any guess as to how many eggs Sweet Flippin' Out Nicole hides for these children? Any guess? About 10, 20 eggs, I guess. Well, I need to – do all of your kids look for the eggs? We force our 17-year-old, and he's just like, as long as you don't take pictures of me. So, yeah, all four. So I got math. All right. And you'd want equitable egg distribution. So I'm going to guess – Beep, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop. Yeah, beep, boop, boop, boop, boop, boop. So I'm going to guess, let's see, four children, ten eggs each. No, it seems a little low for Nicole. So I'm going to bump that up to 15. So I'm going to say 60 eggs. That would be a lot of eggs. That would be good.
    8:41
    200 fucking eggs that I had to hide. 200 all with their own. She even has, like, categorization of, like, if you get a prize egg, it's this. You know, it's got this insignia on the outside. You can't do prize egg? There's a market system you get to trade it in for this prize. What the? Is she a carny? It's a carnival. Because it's so much fun. Because the star eggs, I'm like, ooh, I've got to really hide these. Your lawn is Toy Story 4.
    9:06
    I'm trash. God, an egg meat. So, yeah, that's what Festivity's here. And she's probably angry right now because the whole family's over eating a nice Easter ham and baked beans. and all the lovely macaroni and cheeses. Do you guys do that for the Easters or anything? No. I told you. It was hard-boiled eggs and a basket of candy. Nothing else was done. It's the house of learned atheists. Thank you. We didn't do Easter stuff.
    9:39
    It was, oh, now you have to pick up all the fake grass that fell out of your stupid basket and put it back in the bag so we can recycle it for next year. How fitting is the pinball show coming back on Easter? We are risen.
    9:50
    Oh, that's why we get the listens, my friend. No, no. We've got another way for people to participate. It's been three days. We've got another way for people to participate in the pinball show moving forward. Big episode 125. Dennis, can you explain to people what's about to roll out of the studio over here? Well, open up your wallets and get out your credit cards because it's time to cash in. Patreon them bitches. it's the time we've let everybody else do their cute little patreon rollouts right it's we have risen our rates so we've gone with a three-tiered approach okay pro premium le rr is it s e c e l wait no that's not the right number well it's so confusing you know what i have already s e plus this is our version of insider connected all they've got to do is go to patreon.com slash the pinball show and what are their choices have three choices the three-tiered model as you were suggesting everybody can sign up and just become an official club member it helps us out help support the show and instead of just merely support and us tipping our hat to you we are going to provide you with something that other people aren't going to get thousands upon thousands but what was our last downloaded episode 6500 people dennis there was a lot that's a lot the listeners. You're screenshotting the downloads. We need all 6,500 people to sign up to help support this show. I don't know about that. And if they do, the shows are going to get a hell of a lot better because Dennis and I are going to quit our day jobs. Yeah. Oh, shit.
    11:32
    So what you're going to get with, it's $10, I think it's the lowest denomination, you become an official club member of the Pinball Show. Thank you. And we're going to give you an exclusive portion of each TPS episode but only available to you club members. Say what? Wow. And the one this week, ooh, it's a juicer. Also, with that official club membership on patreon.com slash the pinball show, Dennis, they're going to receive private club access to our new pinball show discord channel. And for a lot of you listeners out there, you're probably thinking, I don't do that. I don't barely even do the Facebooks. Look, it's easy. You're going to sign up to become an official club member at patreon.com slash the pinball show it's going to link you right over to a chatting channel it's super simple and then you get to chat with dennis and i about all kinds of stuff about easter about pinball machines about like when new stuff pops up dennis and i'll be in there telling you what our thoughts are we're going to be chatting about all kinds of stuff and the only people that get to do that are official club members that's pretty cool yeah the discord is easy i remember when we first did the tpn discord zach was like and then when he got it installed it's like oh it is easy it's easy and it's fun and it's like you can get the app on your phone super simple i honestly i chat on discord with the tpn people on their tpn discord i chat on there more than i do most of my other friends in life so it's cool now it's because you haven't got any friends i gotta pay for them and this is how i'm gonna do it now we did say we had a three-tiered membership model to help support the pinball show your favorite pinball podcast the second tier level it's called the nordman club now instead of ten dollars a month it's 25 a month but you're going to get even more first off you're going to become the official club member so all of the perks that come with that official club membership that we just described you're going to get all that plus you're also going to get a pinball show decal those metallic cool badass decals and i like this one You are going to pick a topic. That's right. Members of the Nordman Club are going to pick a topic for Dennis and I to discuss on the pinball show. That's going to be a lot of fun. You can discuss all the stuff that you email us and we never have time to talk about. Now is your time. All you have to do is sign up for the Nordman Club. And if that wasn't enough, we're still adding more. Each and every month for those Nordman Club participants, we're going to have a monthly Zoom hangout. Hell yeah. Dennis and I are going to be live on video with you, the Nordman Club members. And we're just going to bullshit. We're going to hang out every single month. We're going to talk about what's going on in everybody's lives, what's going on in pinball. What do we think? What do we hear is going on? It's going to be a lot of fun, too. You can do that off your phone if you want to. Hell, you might be eating dinner at the bar during that every month. Just chime us in. We'll be there with you. We'll be hanging out. You can even see Den Den's watch collection. And I'll take you mobile. I'll show you the pinball barn. The Flippin' Out Theater. So that's the Nordman Club. And for all of those wonderful, the biggest supporters, the most loving people, Dennis, are going to be part of a very exclusive membership club for the pinball show that we're calling the Screaming Goat Club.
    14:52
    That's my muted goat. He had a silencer. He ate it. He thought it was an egg. for the for the biggest supporters of the pinball show we're gonna basically gonna give you the keys to the studio here this one's this one's hefty this one's stiff and i know that we're gonna get subscribers and patrons to this because some of you guys are really close friends of ours some of you guys will be close friends of ours if you give a hundred dollars a month it sounds crazy right uh yeah so many people dennis have a hundred thousand dollars worth pinball machines a million dollars worth of pinball shoes. What the hell is $100 a month? That's different. This is their favorite show. It's got like a fizzy glass on it, though. Blood, sweat, and tears, my friend. A little bit of semen, but it's all here. $100 a month. You don't get any of those liquids, but you're going to get all of the Nordman Club stuff, all of the official membership club stuff, plus an exclusive members-only pinball show polo shirt. Oh, that's fancy. None of that cheap T-shirt shit. An actual, probably an embroidered or very nice stitched polo shirt. that only members are going to get. We're never going to sell those things. Members only. You're also, for the Screaming Goat Club, very VIP here, you're going to get a personal shout-out on every Pinball Show episode, every single one of them. We're not just going to say, hey, thanks, Tom. We're going to show some love in that. You may even get a nickname if you don't watch it. Also, with the Screaming Goat Club, the hits keep coming. You're going to get a private, personalized chat channel with Dennis and Zach. And this one, I think, is going to be the biggest seller here because what this is, this isn't a Discord community thing. This is Dennis, myself, and you. That's it. Whether it's through Facebook Messenger, there's a lot of forms of communication there, but a chat just with us. And you're going to get the stuff that people would die to have, such as insider information and rumors, behind-the-scenes knowledge. Dennis and I know, we see all, we hear all, we're part of a lot. We've talked about this, Dennis. There's so much stuff that goes on behind the scenes that we really can't give to the public in a big swath. But in a private, personalized chat, we can share this information, some of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Industry dirt, even gasp-worthy tidbits. The full juice squeeze is part of the Screaming Goat Club.
    17:11
    That's enough. But we're going to throw in another little thing for the Screaming Goat Club members. I want to see how many of these Patreons we can get because I truly think we can get a good handful of these. We're going to be including what we call Be Our Guest, not just because I was on a Disney cruise ship. But mostly because of that. But most of that, and I love that. I love Disney. But it's called Be Our Guest, where you're going to be able to join a TPS episode, an actual episode, with your potato fucking microphone. And for all the club members in the Screaming Goat Club, you join TPS for part of a club member highlight segment. Now, this thing is not mandatory, and it's probably not going to be the easiest, but it might be the most fun thing you've done. so if you dare join us on a pinball show episode as our guest the screaming goat club so we want to thank all of you listeners for coming along with us giving us all the awards and accolades getting the numbers to the point that they are now we're asking you for continued support through one of these tier systems we hope that you sign up to one of them whether it's the official club membership the nordman club membership or the screaming goat club membership i'm just excited for the support and frankly like a lot of people dennis this is me being being uh what the kids call for reels do the kids call that for reels maybe just real i don't know anymore the kids they call it keeping it reels and uh this is me keeping it real a lot of people are like oh this helps your business and stuff like having a podcast and it does there's no there's no denying that but i i'd like to get you some help too dennis like because you know what it doesn't help It doesn't help my business? I mean, maybe watches with Dennis. We can get a couple more people over there. So, yeah, this is maybe for you listeners out there that love the show. You do that a lot through purchasing stuff for my business, but this will help out Dennis immensely as well. So don't be a tight ass. Open up the wallet and go join us on Discord. All these memberships, you get to join a Discord, and you get to hear the portion that is excluded from the regular TPS episode. Go do it now. Let's see in the first day, the first week, how many people we can get signing up for Patreon. And if you want to hear that address again to go to, what is it, Dennis? It's patreon.com slash the pinball show. Bam. And we got email too. I think it's the pinball show at gmail.com. Damn. We're moving on up. Social media, I think we got a Facebook page. Go follow, like, and subscribe there. TikTok.
    19:30
    Yeah, I don't know anything about TikTok. I think we got the TikTok parked. It sounds like, yeah, you've got it. Thank you, people. Now, the real question here is when people sign up for TPS membership and they jump on Discord and start seeing me and you fighting and going back and forth, is there anyone else that's going to join us over there on the TPS Discord? Maybe a certain master of disguise, Mr. Craig Bobby.
    19:56
    Welcome back, Craig Bobby. Let's hear what you got, buddy. Yes, it's been a while, but hello and welcome back to the Pinball Show's Top Stories.
    20:17
    I'm Craig Bobby. Whoa, Nelly! It's good to be back on the Pinball Show with Zach and Dennis. And in case you've been sleeping on your high-speed or Addams Family pinball machine for the past two months, it's literally been raining new pinball machine announcements since early March. As for a while there, you couldn't go to your favorite social media outlet without seeing news of a newly released or soon-to-be-revealed game. And while it seemed to be passe to try and announce new games at the Texas Pinball Festival these days, it seems that all the manufacturers decided to reveal their newly designed games prior to the show this year in an organized and controlled way online, to then showcase these new machines to the massive crowds at TPF who are able to look and try the games out for themselves. As many in the pinball hobby have noted, never have we seen or heard from so many pinball manufacturers in such a condensed period of time. Fearing to not make an announcement would be to get left behind in the wave of cash flowing from home owners and operators' pockets, Most, if not all, of the current pinball manufacturers chose to take advantage of the massive in-person environment TPF provides, as they all chose to have something to offer patrons itching to try and buy something new. Who will be the beneficiaries of this all-or-nothing release strategy? Is this pinball manufacturer groupthink? Or will the rising tide of pinball's popularity take all to the promised land of profitability? But now that the pinball dust finally seems to be settling down in the wake of all these announcements, I think the real and burning question and obvious elephant in the room now is, how long will it take to get your shiny new pinball machine once you've made your choice and allocated your hard-earned pinball dollars towards a specific machine? Well, we all know Stern has a winning formula, as their very well-received and reviewed Foo Fighters Pro machines have hit operators' locations around North America this past month, with many LE buyers now receiving notice that their machines are ready to go on the line in the coming weeks, followed by more pros and premiums over the next four to eight weeks. Jersey Jack sure knows a thing or two about production, as they had dozens of limited-edition machines ready to go when they launched their Eric Menier Design Godfather title, who I must say was able to weave pinball gold out of a relatively uninspired pinball theme from this iconic movie franchise. Spooky Pinball seems to have found the winning manufacturing formula as they are pumping out their new Scooby-Doo machines every single week, which are also being met with decent reviews so far. But now we move into more murky waters, everyone. Keep in mind, all of these next companies I'm about to mention don't appear to be going anywhere soon, meaning I don't think any of them are on the verge of bankruptcy that we know of. However, that doesn't exactly mean they are on the verge of shipping you your machines anytime soon either. We start with Dutch Pinball, who gets the If You Can't Go Bankrupt, Keep On Building Them award, as they have seen just a groundswell of industry support and popularity for their Big Lebowski title year after year, and continue to live up to their promise of shipping a certain number of early achiever games, that is, people that have prepaid for their machines literally years ago when Dutch Pinball first launched with the crowdfund model of pinball production. Now, where has that left some of those early achievers who opted into this buy-now-ship-me-soon promise? How about getting into year nine, folks? Say what? Yes, year nine, as early achievers are still being notified that their games are shipping this year, despite literally almost a decade of waiting for their machines. So a pat on the back for everyone for hanging in there, but my God, what an awful, awful journey, and one that these early achievers never should have had to take and never thought they'd be making. So where does that put companies like American Pinball, Chicago Gaming, Haggis Pinball, Multimorphic? and the Pinball Brothers with their recent title releases? Danger, Will Robinson. Well, I'm not saying that you'll be waiting for a decade for your American Pinball Galactic Tank Force, or spectacular-looking single-level retro-inspired pulp fiction machine by Chicago Gaming Company, or your Fathom-revisited machine by Haggis Pinball, or your Queen or Alien by Pinball Brothers, or your P3 machine by Multimorphic. But what I am saying is, buyer beware, you better be patient as your wait times for anything other than a Stern, JJP, or Spooky title could easily creep into the one year mark or longer as all of these companies are still struggling to get things right on the production side of their businesses. Which brings us full circle and back once again to the king of all things pinball in Stern Pinball. Now, I know, I know, we in pinball don't seem to like the safety and steadiness of a company like Stern, who actually gives you what you ordered in a reasonable amount of time. In George Gomez, we trust everyone, because even though they are also getting a constant stream of A-grade themes, and let's face it, their designers, coders, and artists are some of the best in the industry, they are also getting the good stuff in themes and people, because they have found that secret sauce in manufacturing and are able to actually build what they announced to get those amazing machines out to their customers in a reasonable period of time. Okay, sorry Elvira customers, but nobody's perfect. So say what you will about any given theme, the art, the code, or even those expensive toppers, where the real war is being won in this year of new machine announcements is not in the boardroom or with new licenses or crazy ideas for new made-up themes And it really doesn't matter even if Jack Danger, who last time I looked worked for Stern, wants to promote a competitor's title just for fun. Because the real war is being fought and won on the production line. And as long as Stern has that secret locked up, they will continue to win and dominate this pinball hobby for decades to come. For the Pinball Show, I'm Craig Bobby. Catch you on the flip side.
    26:44
    Well, thank you, Craig Bobby, for that general overview. He did really well I missed Craig He good He pretty good Where in the hell was Craig at for Texas Pinball Festival You know customs
    26:59
    He's probably an illegal substance in the U.S. I actually found Craig Bobby when I got up close to this item. He was disguised as, it said, and he was none other than that fucking motorized pinball machine that looked like a tank.
    27:15
    That was him. Okay. Nobody knew that. He was so smooth with his crawling on hands and feet that it looked like a track. That's true. I did see him roaming around the hall at one point then. McQuaid had like a little remote control. That was nothing more than just to tell Craig Bobby where to crawl to next. We have a lot to discuss. A lot of people want to hear our takes on the biggest games that were released here recently. I'm going to call them the big five. That is Foo Fighters. Then I think it was Final Resistance came. than Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Galactic Tank Force. They want to hear our thoughts on them. Some of them all... Wait a minute. I've played all of them. Have you played all of them? Yep. Okay. Yeah. And a lot of people have heard the Eclectic Gamers podcast. So you and Tony did an exceptional job going over your analyses of these individual games. I get to add my comments as well. And we get to discuss, agree, disagree on the big five. So the way you guys did it, you went through these based on your preference of what you liked, what took the show for you. Yeah, we went in reverse, from favorite to least favorite, and then we'd just give our thoughts, because, of course, we weren't in alignment on all of them. Sure. We were pretty close.
    28:29
    We had general agreement on which games were quote-unquote good and which games were needs improvement. Well, the first one that we will discuss did end up being your game of the show. This took it home for you, and that was Stern Pinball's Foo Fighters, correct? Yes, that's correct. It's hard to argue that. The Foo Fighters was announced by Stern Pinball with their regular pro premium LE designed by Jack Danger. Code by Tanyo Kleiss and is it Tanya or Tanyo? I still don't know. Raymond Davidson as well. Art by Zombie Yeti. Mechanics? Who did the mechanics? Elliot? I don't know who did the mechanics. Elliot. I don't think it was Harrison Dream. I know my engineers over at Stern. apparently not because you're struggling i just don't know which one did this i know them i just don't know their work i know them and then there was audio i think by jerry thompson foo fighters we played that i continue to play that i didn't want to give up the pro that we have in our show room to joel engelberth flipping out with friends to play and stream just because i've been playing hell out of it but the le's are coming here soon so i thought man i'll let him take a slice of it your initial thoughts were Foo Fighters. You were raving it, right? Yeah, I really enjoyed the shot geometry. There are a number of unique items there where I feel Jack as a new designer's influence clearly shows through that versus what we've seen from other designers. Rules seemed quite approachable. So overall, yeah. And I personally enjoyed the premium more than the pro. Ooh, strong take. I could use more time on the pro. I played the premium multiple times, I can't remember if I only got one or two goes on the Pro. Okay. What about the looks of the game? What aspects? Like art? I mean, it's on the Yeti, so it is what it is. It looks good. I don't know Foo Fighters. I couldn't hear the game at the show, so I couldn't really hear that part. But, you know, the screen stuff looked fun. I liked the take that they went with the story approach, and how that was being told visually was fine. Very cool. Yeah. I mean, yeah, it's nice. I mean, I won't be buying this game.
    30:46
    But, well, you know, I have a rule that any game that Raymond Davidson does, if it doesn't have airport modes, I'm not buying it. So, unfortunately, this was ruled out. But I look forward to playing it. Well, he knows the rule. He knows. But I look forward to playing it on location. Here's one of my strong takes, Dennis. When it comes to the Foo Fighters, everybody loves Zombie Eddie's artwork. That man can't do any wrong. Sometimes people say, too much red, too much green. I get that. Greg. But everybody loves Zombie Yeti artwork.
    31:18
    I'm going to give a nod this time, not only to the artwork, because that was beautiful. Jeremy's artwork, I've said it like a broken record listener. It's so good that it kind of just goes flat just because everybody expects it to be great. I think equally as impressive as that hand-illustrated artwork was the audio in this package. A lot of people did play a TPF so they couldn't hear it, but I assure you, listener, the audio package, whether it's the sound effects, the callouts, and, of course, the music, together as a package, is just as impressive as the entire artwork package. These both are A-plus hits when it comes to features of this new product and game. When it comes to the rules, yeah, approachable yet findable. I agree. They're good. They're, what, .891? So they're well into it. They probably have some wizard modes to dine on. But yes, it's a code set, Dennis, that is not just your regular run-of-the-mill band. Pick a song, and we're going to rock out, hit the lit shots until you complete your jukebox.
    32:28
    This is a story-based game. You're traveling through cities trying to destroy and defeat aliens from the Foo Fighters. It's Scooby-Doo. It's Saturday morning cartoon. It gives you something to chomp on a bit, right?
    32:45
    Sure. It's not just a band pin. Yeah, we'll get to that. It's not just a band pin. I think it was very smart for them, whoever's decision that was, to go, hey, let's not just highlight in photorealism Dave Grohl and Foo Fighters because that won't sell. A lot of people turned their nose up to an SDTM video that I did before when I made a sound. whenever Foo Fighters was rumored, I said, yeah, Foo Fighters? I still like the band. Okay, whatever. But this game is fucking phenomenal. And it's because of the theme. I love them fighting aliens. I love how groovy that is. I love the gameplay of this. The rules are great, too. There's not really a downside to this damn game. I think the highlight for me, regardless of my history, is the fucking layout. This layout, you said it like a calm schoolboy. This layout is Elwin-esque. This layout is unbelievable. The top kicker, Dennis, gives me a bone. It kicks it up the ramp. This thing's got flow for days, of course. You guys have heard that from the 12 other podcasts that have talked about this. But the combo, nature of this game, the feeling, the kinetic satisfaction, the feeling of these shots cannot be understated. You take any other manufacturer. I don't care who it is. And regardless of the geometry, you can't match the materials of a Stern pinball machine. That's what creates a lot of that feel. I guarantee you. Yeah, it really wasn't all that close versus anything else that was there. It's not. Regardless, it is a fucking master class of layout. Isn't that crazy? I'm shilling the hell out of this thing. I can only report the facts. Numbers don't lie. Speaking of numbers, the fucking sales. Is this baby Godzilla? Bella? Holy shit. That's going to be another. You're going to have to wait on this one. Get in line quick because you're going to hurry up and wait. I shouldn't do this as a dealer, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say, yes, this was easily my number one pick for what took home the TPF show. What took home the season? What took home the year probably? Foo Fighters. That's predictive. Foo Fighters is everything. Foo Fighters? How am I praising a band that I couldn't care less about? the same way I did Godzilla. Damn, it's a good game. When it comes to the pro or premium, Dennis, if you wouldn't have told me that there was a premium in LE and I just played the pro, I would think it's one of the greatest games ever. I wouldn't even need what comes in the premium LE. I wouldn't even need it because the pro is magical. The pro is genius. The pro, you get all the goods in the pro. It's that layout. It's the sound. It's the rules. It's the artwork. You get it all in the pro. What the hell am I missing? Area 51. Okay. Are you going to upper play field? That is actually cool. I like it. And the overdrive post.
    35:38
    That's the sound as your ball comes back into play. The dead post. Yeah, I think it's called overdrive on the play field, though. I don't remember. I think so. You get the 3D overlord. I'm going to call him the underlord. I think he's a topsy, though.
    35:57
    An overlord. you get the 3d overlord with the magnet that is kind of cool i think i like that more than the upper playfield actually upper playfield's cool i do like the diverter that comes up for the jackpot shot fucking chef's kiss that's smart i like the loops up there i like the spinner up there the dead post everybody wants that dead post hell they want it so bad that in your pro game it'll tease you because it's the same playfield as the premium la so it even has a hole in it with a little spring a spring uh metal uh flap on there i was worried if it would work or not and i i have to be honest a tpf the game i was playing it wasn't very consistent i my worry was after playing it a few times is that it was on the one i was uh this was a premium model that it was working too well that it made it a little too easy to constantly get back in oh Yeah, I was worried that it wasn't, but then, so I played the hell out of one game. It just wasn't enough, because I mean geometry, it has to come down with a certain velocity to physically even be able to get up there. So it's not by nature going to work every time, right? Correct. I just, it wasn't as accurate. I played on a different one. It was much more accurate. I had to remember to kind of give it some love, too. Kind of, you know, give it a little, like if you're pushing a kid on a swing, give it a little push. Don't be a deadbeat, Dad. You know, a little push. So I gave it a little bump up, and it creeped up there. That was good. What I would have liked to have seen, here's my downsides on this. What I would have liked to have seen, Dennis, is give me the Simpsons pinball party phantom flip. Remind me that there's a flipper down there, and that's what I'm supposed to do. I would even go so far, listener, to say monster bash it. give me an actual Adams family phantom flip on the first time it goes down there just to show me, Oh, you got to hold your flipper up for it to bounce up and over. Do you think it'd be too much to ask?
    37:54
    No, no, I do think it'll probably confuse a lot of casuals, but you know, it's kind of like, uh, I don't know. I, it's tough for me cause I feel like I may, maybe I've played pinball too long in the sense that like I thought it wasn't that hard to figure out. But, but then again, you know, it's like, Oh yeah, this is a post and it's here for a reason and there's the art showing the finger flicking the ball and anyway it was you know it is the other aspects of the layout on the premium that i enjoy and i wasn't a huge fan of the upper playfield per se as an upper you know upper it was a better it was one of the better upper playfields um but i just kind of liked how the geometry worked on the game overall that that portion of it is not my that overdrive uh dead post is not my favorite uh thing that the game brings to the table but i thought it was kind of clever and you do get a lot of points when you successfully do it okay especially if you do it repeatedly i thought the in-lane targets the shats targets were going to be weird especially how the ball contours into them which is very different than a typical in-lane from a sling backside uh that it didn't confuse me at all it felt very much the same it was i didn't successfully hit those i did try but yeah i'm talking about just the way the ball feeds with right right now i didn't notice any weird uh how the regular in lane feeds worked. So that was good. Is there any downsides to this game?
    39:16
    I've heard some people complain that it's going to be a long shooter because of how successful the layout is. Elwynn has been criticized for the same thing at times. Okay. My games on it were kind of lengthy. Yeah. For being new to it in particular. So I think that's probably a fair criticism. Another criticism I saw, this is not mine, but I do understand it, so I'm going to point it out, is I did see someone somewhere share a photo of a lineup of Stern zombie Yeti games at 25 feet away. And they said, you can't tell which games these are because the art approach is the same on all of them. Was that Christopher Franchi? No, I don't know who. I don't know the source. Someone, this was secondhand, got shared to me. and i was like uh when you walk up it's very easy to know which games are which but okay yeah in a bar when you look at this lineup you do you have this one style and okay yeah that's true it seems like uh stern's like hey people like this uh so i can't fault them for saying hey do what you did but foo it instead of instead of pull it you foo it that's right um but yeah from a distance they all do kind of look samey i'll i'll go one further on that and say that Zombie Yeti did not, whether it was his choice or not, did not differentiate the premium and the LE as much as I would have liked. Now, see, I didn't see any LEs at the show, so I forgot about that. But that was something early on. It's the same package. It seemed like all that happened was one of the layers had a color change. Yeah, it went from orange. It was like the Avengers thing where it went to green rather than oranges and reds. So I guess if I were a potential LE, had I been, because I'm sure they're sold out, But had I been a potential LE buyer, that probably would have put me off a little bit. Because we kind of got in the habit of the LEs getting a unique package. He did that on Avengers, too. Remember the back glass and the side art? It's like, all right. It's just instead of the LE being yellow, it was the blue and the premium for Avengers. And I'm like, come on, Jeremy. We need more. But he's probably busy doing all of their games. Well, and I don't know if that is his decision or not. I have no clue. But, yeah, that was kind of – But it wasn't poster. I don't want to overstate it because it wasn't a bunch of posters. Yes, that's true. That's very true. Sorry, Bond, and what's left of your sales. I delivered a Bond 60th this last week. Well, Bond 60th is its own special beast. And we'll talk about it, but I delivered it, and the customers, they were getting three games and trading in five games. So we were talking about the beauty of some of the art packages as I was wheeling them in and out. And I wheeled in Bond 60th, and I was like, And when it comes to beauty, sorry, guys, this thing is just not a looker. Congratulations on your $20,000 pinball machine.
    42:01
    So mean. The poor wife was like, oh, for real? I was like, shit, she didn't know. She didn't know. No, she never got to see it. You can see Daniel Gregg. Foo Fighters is fooking amazing. Let's keep the puns going because that nicely done Stern team, Jack Danger, Tanio, nicely done Ray Day, Jeremy Packer JT, everybody that makes Zach a very happy man the next game that came out I think was Final Resistance the first appearances designer from Scott Denise over at Multimorphic on the P3 you loved this game so much so that you put it in second I did There are a few things about it that made it really easy to not put it above Foo Fighters. But overall, yes. Now, I know this is a Dennis thing, so I'm going to complain first, though. I really struggle with the name because every time I see this, and I've struggled with it for the last month, because I want to keep saying Final Destination because of those movies. It should have had a different name so that I don't get confused. Is that Devin Sala? Is that who's in that movie? I don't remember. I don't remember the movie very well. I just remember. I'm like, what's it say? Final, final destiny. Oh, wait, no, it's final what? Oh, final resistance. I'm just like, I don't know. It's a me thing, but I keep tripping over it. It was Devin Saltwater. Okay, good job, Zach. You're brilliant. Everyone loves you. Go ahead.
    43:40
    So final resistance, or as you would call it, And you actually called it fairly accurately TNA 2.0. Thank you. A lot of TNA vibes to this game. All of the TNA vibes to this game. Not in terms of layout. Okay. So this is a fan layout. Yes. Like, this is a full-on fan layout. It's got... Make way for Fanny. Yeah. But it's got the soundtrack, techno-style EDM music, just like TNA does. It's got the cyberpunk approach, just like TNA does. It's got a scoop that's going to make you eat your lunch if you're not paying attention, just like TNA does. It's got the, I think for Multimorphic, fairly simple but fun ball lock robot ship thing. Simple but funnable. That also fires the balls back really, really quickly. I was able to get that going. And then the big change up, which has, I know this could be a controversy to discuss because I know some P3 fans who don't like that this was done. But the idea of this sort of static approach of keeping the screen like a traditional play field, some animation effects done. It's not totally static, but you see positions with inserts, and those don't move and go away. I think Scott called them persistent inserts or something. Yeah, so that persistence concept, making it like a more traditional style approach to how you look at it when you see the layout, it really worked for me. It really worked for me. Of course, I was a TNA owner, so I like the cyberpunk theming. I like the music. I like the ball speed and aggression. A lot of people found this game very hard. I actually, going up and playing it, my first game was of decent length, and that's because the fan layouts are forgiving. So I did have a few instances where the ball was coming back so quickly, and I wasn't prepared for it. But because all of the shots are in the back, because that's where the module is, I actually had a lot more time versus TNA to react. So, yeah, no, I enjoyed it. Again, I couldn't really, even though it was a louder game, I still had a lot of trouble hearing. I could hear the music. I couldn't really hear any, like, the call-outs and stuff. Rules seemed straightforward and easy to understand. The call-outs, I'm trying to explain. Let me try to describe what the call-outs sounded. They sound like fucking TNA. It's the same vocalization. Okay. Same thing. Okay. Same lady. So, yeah. So, overall, I thought really competent game put together. I could see where I had asked Scott. The tagline, really competent game. Well, yeah. No, it's competent. Like, everything. Like, you think about it. I didn't mean it, like, in a mean way. No, I know. It's just like, yeah. Like, all the aspects. There's not an aspect about it that I think was. I mean, what would I, like, kind of nitpick it? And, again, this isn't Scott's issue. But, like, they have that clear plastic, at least on the game I played, on the lower where the flippers are. Like I couldn't because of the color, the color scheme and the lighting that he chose to do for the persistent play field. I actually at the very first time the ball went down the left in lane, I panicked and didn't think there was a I couldn't actually see the plastic. I yeah. And when I'm watching it on stream, I think there's nothing there. I can't I can't trap. It's not an Italian bottom, but it was. And I was like, oh, wait a moment. I just my eyes are just not. I think P3 has done that in other games, too. I think it has to do with the color, and it was sort of dim. And then, of course, it's a clear plastic, so it just tricked me. I think they could honestly go further with that static type of persistent play field. I think they could take that artwork into that Italian bottom even more so to differentiate it and to really set it out to go off what you're saying, to really make it look like plastics, even if they aren't there. But, I mean, anyway, so there's that. Doesn't use the upper flippers. that can be used in other games. Right, right, right. Those are optional installs, so you don't have to have them, and it is a fan layout. That's part of the reason why it was my number two game, is the layout in and of itself doesn't scream uniqueness to me. That's why I use the word competent, because if you're going in and saying you're going to do a fan layout, there's a way to do it, and I think this executes on it, but it doesn't feel all that original either because of that. And, of course, we're pulling a lot of things that we know worked from TNA, so that's where i could see you know some people may be finding it a little overly derivative but um but overall i i think it i think a lot of people that might have struggled with the approachability on tna and i know some players including like competitive players who hated tna thought it was too unfair i think this will feel more fair to them i don't know if the approachability behind based on the rules of that inventory system i don't know how critical it is to use that but that's a good point it was it seemed like it wasn't an overwhelming amount of inventory but again i i didn't i i heard other podcasts where people like played and bowen was there and he was able to explain to them and remind them to use the stuff i saw i clearly saw the inventory like i had a hack i never activated it though okay so because i forgot about it when i was playing and and i never have really liked this uh yeah i in a way i should because it's closer to where your hands rest, but I don't really like the three-button cluster on the sides of the P3.
    48:59
    I think you're the only one. Well, I never remember which... I have to look to the side at the start because I'm always like, alright, the flipper one is the instinctive one, but they do it by color, and when I'm playing, I don't remember where the colors are on the sides. It's like looking down at your feet and seeing where they put the gas pedal, the brake pedal, the clutch. Yeah, I get it. Right, but when I'm driving, and I don't have to pause and go, I don't remember where my clutch, which one is my inventory, my clutch. Anyway. But that's not a Scott issue. That's the platform. Okay.
    49:34
    But yeah, I enjoyed the game. You love this damn game. Is it enough to make you purchase the platform? No. Damn. Final Resistance.
    49:44
    You said you played it. I did play it. I had the luxury of playing it with Scott Denise walking me through it. Oh.
    49:52
    Yeah, you know, it's just hashtag pinball media. Did you play against him? Did you win? I did not. I let him walk me through it like a young, eager Joel Engelberth. And I quite liked Final Resistance. I really, really liked FR. I really liked TNA 2.0. Scott, it's TNA 2.0. I remember we got a little shit on the last episode when I said, okay, let's cut the bullshit. It's TNA 2.0, and if you guys like money, you would call it that, so it would make or maybe even double sales from what you received. Well, that would have been hard because Spooky went out and made the re-release and called it TNA 2.0, even though Scott, I believe, himself said it's really more TNA 1.5. Exactly.
    50:38
    This was TNA 2.0. I mean, every single thing about this was TNA 2.0. So if I slip and call it that, that's just because objectively that's kind of what it is. Final resistance. shot very, very well. I love the layout as well. I really appreciated that the layout had mechs built into it so that ball paths would change. I appreciated that the mechs in it held balls for a locking ball system. I appreciated the gate, the shield that would go up and down. I love the little right orbit that kind of kicks it back at certain situations. Love that. this is not only the flowiest p3 game released this is the flowiest scott denisi game ever designed this thing shot like a sequential combo machine it did feel like a machine it felt like the p3 like what the p3 was designed to do this is what it felt like it was supposed to do it felt machiny it felt techie it felt it felt like a fucking tna 2.0 like that's what it felt like to me when it comes to the rules believe it or not whenever the scott was preaching this inventory system i was like oh dude i don't want to fuck with this this worked so well dennis that even i could pick it up and figure it out but between you know the the different powers you know you got the shotgun you got them they were easily i could flip through them easily granted i hate the button placement how it's got to be a different button and stuff like that but it makes sense that it was that probably more so than just a standard two button so i understand it makes sense to use the other button even if i don't like the other button i think if that makes sense listener uh i didn't like flipping through but it it worked and i did like the power ups and they weren't overwhelming they were pretty simple to understand the rules were a little bit confusing at times for me and the sound was great i think it's this is so tna 2.0 dennis that when Scott releases the official album because he likes money. He's just going to call it TNA 2.0. What I didn't like about this game, it doesn't look as good as TNA.
    52:49
    The art did zero for me. Did you feel like you were playing that storyline of the, it looked like punk rockers, but I guess that's what Gen Z's look like. No, I mean. The one with the mohawk and one with the, you know. No, I, like the art didn't really catch my eye on it. No. I loved the persistent inserts and the constant artwork on the play field, more like a standardized play field. I liked it so much that I've been preaching about it for two goddamn years now, maybe three, about that's what Jerry should do on the P3 system. Stop trying to be Disney and make animations. It's never going to work. Remember, listener, that was me saying all that. Nobody thought anything, and then Scott Denise says, and holy shit, genius. so yeah I've liked that for years now and I'm glad it was implemented I don't even think it was implemented far enough yet it needs even more so than that also with the code I commend them for creating a rule set that didn feel like I chopping through modes or anything I think over time as you progressing through because you are battling this system, this machine that's infiltrating whatever planet or whatever it is, you're playing through modes in not a non-linear but like a non-sequential kind of manner or non-predictive manner. I do like that. I do like that whenever you do start that the multi-ball where the balls fire at you like a shotgun that is a true P3 moment. That is a pinball moment like I've never experienced on a P3 game ever. That was fucking phenomenal. I loved that. And the audio and the lighting sequence and everything. The only downside with code that I've seen it was a bit cumbersome the whole, it was a bit of pain in the ass that whole shield thing. How it's the rubbers and you're hitting that thing it's not that satisfying to me and it felt as if like i had to combo and then hit things which is i like that but i felt like my main objective hitting that shield and getting it down was just it's too much it's too much so i really like the game i liked what you were talking about on eclectic gamers podcast where you said i don't think this would require a p3 system this could be a standalone pinball machine be quite good and probably much cheaper. I couldn't agree more. I think that if anything, it being on the P3 is a setback because when it all comes down to it, I can see why you put that game as number two of this big five that was released. I can see it. I would disagree with you until I turned blue and that's only because of the feel of the game. I do not, and I don't care which game comes out. I don't care what they do. I do not like the feel of the P3 system. that was the biggest that's holding it back my poor scott denise's game is being held back by the p3 they could have went clever like p3 so teenage p3.0 or something like that i don't i don't like the feel of the game so for me that dropped it down two three maybe four spots this is probably out of the big five my last ranking because of the operating system i don't like the feel of it well and i've heard others who who've had a similar reaction i was okay with the feel but yeah and then the looks of it it's just it's not a pretty game per se i still i go back to this you get so pissed off dennis but there's got to be amount of time that all the lights on that screen that sometimes the screen kind of looks washed out like when are we going to get a new display where i got the deepest of blacks and the contrast saturation so that you're wanting like hdr so that If we're going to do this static representation of artwork on a play field like a standard pinball machine, it almost might get closer to fooling us because it still looks like a display with inserts that don't move. You know? Yeah, no, I get it. So I think that would be something to focus on if I'm developing a P3 game or I'm part of Multimorphic. I'm wanting to know how we can up our game when it comes to tech, and that is the visibility and the clarity of that screen because I want the artwork deep like a screen print or like a digitally printed piece of wood. I was telling Scott when I was playing, he was explaining rules. I was like, honestly, this thing shoots so good and it feels so good, this back third, that I have fun shooting it. I don't even care what I'm doing.
    57:20
    That's how I differentiate a lot of games sometimes is how it feels, how it looks, how it shoots, and feeling the ramp paths, feeling the orbits, the spinner up the middle, and with the indicator, you have to hit it so many times, it's got a spinner count. Fucking come on! Love that thing. So maybe I'll warm up to the idea of the P3 just because of this game, but I like this game more than I like to Weird Al. I'll tell you that much. But selfishly, I'd lie if I didn't tell you that if this was just in a wooden cabinet, in a wooden play field, with regular parts, I think I'd really be a buyer. What about Godfather? Are you a buyer of Godfather? No, but I enjoyed it. Jersey Jack pinball. It's too much for me. It's too much for you. I'm cheap. I'm a cheapo. How are the meals in this Italian restaurant? you played the Godfather you enjoyed it yeah I played it a couple times oh a couple times you played the LEC I played the LE both times very nice little Michael Corleone action was it too multi-ball heavy that's what some people are worried about with Keith Johnson game I don't like the lighting because it should never use the color blue or purple in this genre I hadn't heard about a ban on LEDs that were blue or anything No, lighting was good. I did get a multiball on all my games. So, yes, that's not a sign that I was looking forward to seeing.
    58:55
    Though I think there might be less numeric multiballs in it than, say, GNR. Okay. They don't seem, which I get, but they're not very far from the flipper. What's the expression? They're not far from the start button. Start button, yeah. The layout, flippers felt good in both versions. I didn't play the same game each time. So Flippers felt really good at the show. Best that I can recall ever experiencing. And the game does play pretty quick for a JJP. I have to qualify that. Like if you're coming off of playing Final Resistance and Foo Fighters and you're playing Godfather, Godfather's going to feel a little slow, but not floaty. It wasn't floaty.
    59:35
    That return to the right in lane, that habit trail, that one's quick, too. That one was surprisingly fast. It'll get past you. Yeah. Yeah, you need to be a little cautious on that.
    59:47
    But because there are these 29-ball paths, and a lot of that's relying on things like diverters, there is a lot of things that slow that ball up in order to surprise you or feed you in a different way. So it kind of depends on what you're going for in the experience. But I thought the game idea, the kind of risk board game approach they're taking with the territory and stuff, that makes sense. I think a lot of new players are going to go and hit the bash toy, which is what you would anticipate. So there's a lot of punching out the minions, which I will say, to me, there was a little bit of a... It was fine from a gameplay perspective, but a little bit of a disconnect from the movies and then all this stuff you're doing. Because I was like, here's some stuff related to the movies. And then the other things like the bash toy and stuff are, here are these game modes, which are you fighting these mobsters that have nothing to do. Even some of the creators from the company. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which, you know, because I recognize who they are. I thought, okay, that's neat. Like, I like how they worked them in to do that. But it's like they're stuffing in content that isn't really movie content to build it out. And I get why they have to do it. Weaving is hard to do. Yeah. The weave is tough. Let's just say you can see the stitches. Yes. I think that's a good way to describe it, yeah. I think it's a lot like if you were like, I got $12,000 and I want to buy a pinball machine. You were looking at this or Toy Story 4. I would definitely be looking at this. Oh, definitely. Definitely. A lot more on the play field that you see here. That is a strong take. To experience. I also like on the Godfather, which is a little bit unexpected for me because it does shoot so well, is that you have a lot more chaos than you would think with the 29 ball pass, all being very smooth shooting as well, as you were discussing, Dennis. But some chaos, I'm going to call mid-play field, there's some chaos with some additional sling-like projectile mechanisms. So you've got the pop bumper, right? Everybody's like, oh, it's right in the Godzilla spot. So that's some mid-playfield chaos. And you also have an additional sling almost across the playfield to the left side. So you get a lot of that pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, and the balls are very chaotic flying around a lot. I think it's a smooth shooter. As I've said before, I get a chance to play it a little bit before the public, and that's what I walked away with. I walked away with, I love the Godfather films. Not really a theme that I think for pinball is like a must-have for me. The sound, everybody's poo-pooing initially the sound. I told you all. I don't know if it was on Flippin' Out with Friends or where I said it, but I was like, look, somebody filmed like a potato cam the wrong portion. They did the little hokey Italiana, you know, Sicily multi-ball, which is supposed to be tongue-in-cheek. Just bear with me. The sound is a lot better than what people describe on Toy Story or Wonk or anything. And it was. People aren't really crapping on that. People don't like the announcer voice, the heavy New York stereotypical. Shoot the Wamps is tame compared to the fake New York going on here.
    62:53
    At some point, they probably do say forget about it. It's like they got Bruce Nightingale to do his Italian impression for the whole game. Yeah. So I understand that. I am with you with the whole Stitches thing. Trying to blend the original content with the film content is tricky. Now, there is some controversy before I go into all my thoughts. Some controversy about, you know, was it okay putting in some of the creators? This is Godfather. This is an iconic franchise. You're mixing in the creators from JGP into this as mobsters? I'm here to tell you I don't see any issue at all with that because you need those bosses you need the people you're going to fight where are you going to get them from? I don't care if it's a JJP employee or some AI rendered but I could care less who in the hell it is and I'm going to have to battle somebody and you're not going to be able to use like fucking put Sonny up there you're not going to be able to do that so I don't see the controversy there They needed content, and that's kind of like a little nod to the people who are way into pinball like us. Like, oh, I feel a little weird about busting such a great friend of mine, King Cromwell, punching him around. But it's cool to kind of see some of those guys up there, Franchi and stuff. So I have zero issue with that. I have no issue with that. I didn't know that was a controversy. Yeah, people are like, oh, they shouldn't put the workers in there. If you lose to Ken, does he say swing and a miss? Well, swing and a miss. Just a bit outside.
    64:33
    That would be actually pretty great. The artwork doesn't disappoint either. Phenomenal. No, art's good. It's much better in person than I initially reacted on video. The game might have been the prettiest in that entire convention center.
    64:50
    It's really beautiful, even with the lights. That's a trademark. JJP brought pinball lighting to the 21st century, so I'm fine with them leaning into hey look what our lights can do and five six hundred of them the rules I really like the structure of the rules I will even if he is a friend of mine I will poke Kiefer again as I do on every fucking release I don't need that many multi balls it's better than GNR don't get me wrong but it's still multi ball heavy in my opinion i'm not a big fan on any game really of going into another multi-ball with an existing multi-ball um but it just seems like it's always the thing that he does yeah is maybe you can stack i like the keifer rule that you can start a mode after you've started a multi-ball i like that i do like that i just i don't i don't know but the but the at least the rules were very approachable i think the stained glass window makes it very easy to figure out where you're where you are along with what you're doing. It's articulated better than Star Trek. Stern Star Trek did it. Oh, my God. And, Dennis, the moments in between the modes when you complete the two modes and the one in the middle is like a subsequent mode, like, oh, I love that. I freaking love that. Yeah, so overall, I do think that the rule strategy that they've employed here makes a lot of sense. I just kind of like, does every JJP game have to feel like here's your gimme multiball and... Yes, I don't like that. And here's my issue when it comes to the code. This is going to be offensive because I'm using a different coder's style and using it as an example of what I think perfection is, and I would love to see Kiefer and the team over at JJP replicate this styling when it comes to the rules if they, in fact, want to start stacking multiple multiballs on top of motes. It's quite simply the greatest game ever created, and it's done by Lyman Sheets. It's called The Walking Dead. Dennis and the Walking Dead, you can stack prison multiball on top of bloodbath. And if you do it correctly and bring in a mode right before those, it turns into one of the most sought-after, greatest-feeling objectives of that entire game, and the score explodes. That is like the euphoria that I get playing pinball greater than any is actually stacking two multiballs and a mode. and then you get the X shots. Sure, but I want to point out, Lyman wouldn't let you stack Well Walker in prison or prison and Well Walker. You're locked out of one or the other because he knew it was too easy to get both going when you had one of them going. Sure, sure, absolutely. And that's what I mean. So I probably shouldn't have implied that every multiball can never be stacked with another multiball, but Bloodbath was hard to earn. That's what I'm saying, generically. You don't get to go into Wellwalker and then pound the prison and get prison because it's stupid easy. Yes, that's generally speaking. And that's what I feel like I'm getting with JJP games is if I get a multi-ball, I can stupid easy my way into all of them. Yes, that's what I'm saying. Generally speaking, I would agree with you. At first pass, I would say no. I don't like all that stat. But my favorite game is that. And I think that if JJP could find that balance where bloodbath is not easy to just start by flailing. Prison is not easy to start by flailing. If you make multiballs a task in and of themselves, then when you stack them, then you really feel like you're climbing this mountaintop where it feels like a payoff. If I just keep flipping and I start a multiball and within that multiball, I subsequently will just flail my way into another multiball in another damn mode. That's when it feels grindy. And I just, like I said, I think the world of those guys, I would just like them to find a balance that feels more like a Walking Dead on getting to that. I think that makes sense. But as it is now, I'm still playing that game probably more so than anything in my collection right now just because when you do blow it up, oh, it feels so good. Like the game gives you feedback like Wonka does. it's like, holy shit, you're doing something.
    69:16
    I still think it's a winner of a game. It was my third favorite. I think it's a very strong package overall. I think the biggest thing that will probably stop people from getting it, just like with Toy Story, quite frankly, even though I think this is better than Toy Story, is it's a high price point to get in at. Well, what surprised me from the distribution side and sales side, I was surprised to have this thing when it rolled out. We had the pleasure of doing the featurette. Thank you for all of you who messaged me and enjoyed that featurette. Thank you so much. That shit nearly kills me every time we do one. But it was fun filming and going up there and hanging out with everybody. But whenever sales opened up on that game, I thought to myself, hey, you got Godfather. It's a theme that is mixed, I think, you know. And the CE plays just like the LE. The CE is super gaudy, which I love. But I don't know if general public will like that as much for the price. It surprised me, Dennis, that those CEs are still sought after. I'm still getting messages. Those things sold out immediately. Can't find a damn CE out there. The LEs actually were a struggle for sales more so than the CEs. How does that make sense? The topper. Ah, maybe. I always forget about that. The topper is phenomenal. It'll scare your dog and cats and make them shit and piss on the rug, but maybe that is it. Because they sold so fast. But the LEs, LEs were actually, LEs did not sell as well as I thought they would. At least for our business. Again, probably shouldn't share that, but eh, they were surprisingly lower than I thought. Speaking of, we do have them in stock over at Flippin' Out Pinball.
    71:00
    Ding! I would place this in the ranking. It'd be probably for me right in the middle of the pack. Let me give it the number three position in the big five that we are going over. what would be higher than the Godfather? For you, Pulp Fiction. The next thing that came out was Pulp Fiction by Play Mechanics and Chicago Gaming Company manufacturing it in six months. Or whatever they're going to do it. Yeah, yeah, Q3, I think is what they said. Pulp Fiction. You played this? One time. And I did not have a long ball set.
    71:34
    It's a weird one. This was my fourth favorite because I just couldn't get a good feel for it. I couldn't hear it. My ball, my game was bad. I just, I did bad at it. I liked what I saw of it. I watched two other people play it closely, because I played it in a three-person group, so they let me stand there, like, right up against the glass and watch it. So, so much about it I really like. I think it's probably a winner. I definitely say it's the sleeper hit of the show. I think it got a lot better accolades than people initially. I think we could have said that, though, from the trailer, People have reacted positively in a greater number to this game than I thought with everything I knew about it before it was revealed. That there was going to be a throwback style and all of that. I'm very, very surprised at how well it has been received.
    72:21
    But it was a 50-minute line. Man, I couldn't do it again. I just couldn't do it again. You're right, though. This game hit our industry like a storm. All of the things that I thought would hold some people back held seemingly no one back. No video screen. People got over it quick. They didn't care. You know, throwback style cabinet. People didn't care. Throwback style art. Throwback style art that I thought people would get hung up on. People are calling it one of the most beautiful games ever made. To be honest, when we went up to Play Mechanics, did a featurette with their group. Mark Ritchie is back. You've got David Thiel is back. We sat down with all of them, and we had a pre-production meeting. I don't think this is, this isn't in trouble worthy. Josh Sharp, don't sue me. We talked about, okay, here's the things we want to highlight in this featurette. Here's the long list of things that this product has going for it. Here are the five things that the pinball player first viewing and seeing this may bring up. Hey, this is different. I don't know if I like this. Some of them being things like no video screen. Well, you know, it's a little more complicated than it first presents, but no ramps, basically. I mean, yeah, there's some funky stuff. You've got some Subway stuff going on in the back. Sure, but those are the things that people will see initially. Yeah, they're going to see a single level. Nobody said anything because they see the layers. They see the different things that they are presenting. They see this being perfect pinball theme integration. And we can overlook a lot of things when integration is that well done. See the big Lebowski.
    74:00
    Yeah, this game is nostalgic in every right way. And if you like Pulp Fiction, I hate that people couldn't hear it, Dennis, because that is its own character in this game is the sound. I can't even say the callouts because the callouts is every audio stem from the film. Virtually they had access to anything they wanted to put into it. But you also have the musical genius and the sound genius that is David Diehl mixing all that together. Oh, the sound is where it's at on this game. I don't know if you've seen the structure of the code and the rules and such, but very, very basic. Very basic, still deep, but it's not there to confuse you. You're getting through different tasks. It's like an attack from Mars. You're getting through five tasks. One of those tasks is five modes. You've got multi-ball jackpots here that you've got to get to get to the divine intervention. But there are so many damn moments in this game. Oh, whenever the pawn shop multi-ball gimp whole thing starts, and the lights are all sequenced. Oh, man. The freaking briefcase boogie, Dennis? The briefcase? Was that not shocking when it turned around shining? Everyone loves the briefcase. Everyone loves it. So cool. And I don't know if anybody did it during the show, but if you get to the mode called the shot, I think you have to complete all of the modes before it. It's like the mini wizard mode, the shot where you're trying to hit in sequence enough shots to resuscitate Uma Thurman's character with that Narcan or whatever. And the lighting and the sound is like a heartbeat, like horde boom, boom. And it flashes red, boom, boom. And every shot it's getting closer to faster and faster. And then you hear a mumbled son of a preacher man sound in the background, uh, very distorted, almost like in and out of consciousness. It's fucking perfection. It's Pulp Fiction. And it looks the part all the way down to the details of that coin door. So I think the marriage between this design team, Mark Ritchie, Play Mechanics, and the manufacturing and topper development prowess of, not Churchill Cabinets, but Chicago Gaming Company, yeah, this is number two on my list. And I think if we're talking about the aesthetics and everything, This is number one in theme integration, lighting, looks, new product, new style. It's everything but you can't beat Foo Fighters gameplay, but it's got everything else. I really like Pulp Fiction. Sorry.
    76:42
    Yay. The big-ass mirror back glass. Oh. Playfield artwork, eh. Eh. It's eh. It's Lethal Weapon 3-ish. I agree. Yeah, that's fair. It is. But the back glass I like. The side art that looks like stencils, but it's just a two-color. Oh, my gosh. A little dancing topper. Oh, my gosh. You know, every time that one of those characters talks, they turn and talk and they flash. Even the plastics, where the artwork on the plastics, the dialogue that is spoken within that game, you'll get, if Sam Jackson's character, Jules, is talking, you'll get a flasher back there corresponding with the audio of his call-out. oh man how a company would ever be risky enough to make that film into a pinball machine or into a product in general is beyond me but thank god they did I wouldn't have had the balls to do it wouldn't have done it speaking of having the balls to do something that maybe they shouldn't have our last game of the big five is galactic tank force also termed by the pinball show, GTF! Exclamation point. That's part of it. You know what? You said it. You said it in there. Okay, okay. I think even in some of the stuff he sent to dealers, it's a GTF exclamation. I'm like, you son of a bitch. Damn! Do you want us to distribute this thing? Do you want us to do the entire marketing piece for you for free? And they could use it.
    78:16
    Now this is going to be a super, super interesting and juicy discussion here, Dennis, because there are some really, really low lows for me and some really high highs for me. I bet you're not going to be able to guess which one is which. I probably can't. But you're only going to be able to hear our discussion if you are an official club member of the Pinball Show. You can do so right now by going to patreon.com slash thepinballshow, signing up, and you will be eligible for this next portion, our analysis and discussion of American Pinball's GTF, Galactic Tank Force. And if you're a tight ass, you're not going to hear it. We're going to move on. All right, very quickly, the other five. We have James Bond, 60th Anniversary. Did you play that? No, I wasn't at the show. Why wasn't it at the show? I heard those reports that dealers aren't allowed to bring it to the show. I don't think that's true. I heard a story on another podcast. Oh, I saw that. I don't know what any of that was. I took the Louisville show. Nobody said anything. It's silly. It shoots like a dream. Check your emails. Wait until you all play this. You guys will still be like, $20,000 off. I don't spend $20,000 on a pinball machine. It's so good, though. Wait until you all see that topper. Somebody says that topper is shit. Oh, my gosh. I'll fight him. You can get that topper on the Gomez. The topper is so good. That is a yum. Keith, nice job. Nicely, nicely done. I think maybe Bond 60th and Foo Fighters are the best shooting games of the last couple of years here. They're so good. Scooby-Doo, Where are you? Not in Dennis' collection. There were lots of them at TPF. Not in Dennis' collection. Yeah, it just didn't work for me. You know why it didn't work? Because I don't know why. Jump, jump, jump. I'm bugging Luke. Our first impressions video straight in the middle, I said after I played the first game, I took the left post, pulled it down one, and took the right post out immediately. Could they not have had at that with eight bank of those at TPF? Have one of them that says enthusiast post positions. It's a game changer. That game is tougher. It's not so unperishable. I heard they were all at stock, and whoa, could you tell. I mean, there were people I heard that might have loved the game, especially if they were wanting an easier player. Yes. The layout is very different than Halloween, and while I actually like some of the aspects of Halloween better than Scooby like the call and stuff and I get it They got the real call people with Scooby but I couldn hear Scooby Whereas the Loomis impersonator on Halloween is quite frankly awesome.
    80:48
    But saying all that aside, I mean... It was the chops. I mean, I could hear those. It was in the wood choppy, like, here, just do these three shots, and you get this... It's very approachable. So it's going to resonate with a certain type of person. I am not that type of person, but a lot of people that might have liked that style even were losing their patience and getting out of line because it was baby's first pinball experience any any child would be able to endure on that game for a lengthy period of time with the settings the setup that they had at that show i will ask it leaves a bad impression if if unless you're wanting the impression to be you're going to feel like a winner playing this game because you can't lose for trying No, because even players to the level of myself, which are not high, like a tougher shooter. This is too approachable, I would argue, out of the box. And I would ask this from you, Dennis. Give it another shot if you ever have the chance of playing one with at least the posts removed or moved down one, preferably one removed, at least to balance out the difficulty there. And listener to you as well, this game is a winner, but presented as it is, I can see the argument because there are no shots that are overly difficult and that has a middle pop-up that's going to save you as a drop target. And outlanes are up. I am not going to argue any of that. All I ask is give it another chance once the posts are set up, in my opinion, properly for an enthusiast or a common frequent pinball player. That's all. Fathom Revisited? That one kicked in the nuts a little bit. Yeah. No, it did a lot. That one. It was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it. Actually, I had someone offer me their pre-order spot after I podcasted and said I really liked it. Probably at a premium. Yeah. We didn't get to pricing because I wasn't looking to buy a new game right now. But, you know, it was – and whatever they're doing to make that play field not dimple, it feels good. It's really cool. That was a special game, an underappreciated special game that whenever earlier in the podcast I said Godfather might have been the prettiest bell of the ball there, the mermaids snickered. I heard them. Yeah, but I mean – They're sirens. It's a little unfair because that art already was established. Established? It looks great. I like the little screens in the lock bar. They're easy enough to read. The font's a little weird that they're using in it, though. I heard you say on EGP that you prefer the playfield monitor, and I about drove my car into a tree. Visually. So in terms of not having to move my eyes, the idea of having a display where I can keep my eyes dead on the playfield, that's what I – And also I thought I pointed out like the big problem with putting a play field in the screen is you get a seam there. Yes. You literally do it, and that's a big issue for balancing it out, and I think I criticized that. That was the fix I thought on 60th, on Bond 60th. Right. The whole value of not having the screen in the back box is so you don't have to trap up and look up somewhere. You still kind of have to do it with the lock bar position. Yeah, I get that. It's a superior position to having to look at the back box, but I'm still having to move my head more than I might. Like if you put something floating, like dialed in, had the little screen on the side. And the super wide orientation in which they picked their monitors. I know that costs more. I see the details. That is a detail-filled game that will, I think, continue to trend up and up and up and up on the secondary market. What about Queen?
    84:35
    Queen was a very meh game for me. Okay. I had a really long game on it for what it was. That game was kicking my ass. I mean, it wasn't like – I probably had about the same length of time as I did on – I'd say a little longer even than Galactic Tank Force. Not as long as Scooby, of course, but nothing was going to be that long.
    84:55
    Right side shots didn't feel very good to me. Left side felt all right. Slings, at least on the copy there, felt very plasticky and weird. I heard you say that. I didn't notice that. I don't know how to say it. They sounded weird. It sounded weird.
    85:08
    Definitely better overall, though, than Alien, in my view. Yeah. Yeah, but it doesn't have the integration to Alien. Oh, no. No. And again, I couldn't hear it. I don't know the rules and code yet for Queen. I am delighted to hear that it's the same coding team or Ferret or Joe Schober is doing Queen as he did Alien. Yeah, I got the Wembley multiball. I got it twice in the same game. Oh, wow. Okay. I played the code at Expo, so it was just so hard to know because I didn't play Queen at TPF. It was okay. I would never be in the market for it. I'm going to see. I've got one coming to the showroom in the next couple of weeks, so I'll break it in a little bit because I love that theme. I had fun just from a basic standpoint shooting it at Expo, but there wasn't any standout mechs or anything like that, so we will see. Yeah, there's nothing about the layout that I thought was really cool. I don't know it's just it is it's alright I think it's alright and the rules might you can take alright with rules and make it good but I where it's at and I don't really like the upper play field either being up there I didn't and that's a decent chunk of space I think Queen fans will be happy oh yeah and there's a lot of them I think if you're a Queen fan I would say definitely try the game because it might because of the integration it might work better for you than it does for me we're going to have to wait a little bit to see how Queen rolls out in the long haul. Even more so, we're going to have to wait even longer, I would guess, for Turner Pinball? New manufacturer Turner Pinball's Ninja Eclipse. Okay. Did you play it? No. Neither did I. As a prototype, I deliberately refused to play it. Someone asked me if I would, and I said I would not. That's very, very prototype-y. Yes, I went up, because the inserts were arted over, but you could see where they were marked to be put in. I'm not sure. without playing it, this is unfair of me, but I'll say it anyway. I'm not sure the point of bringing a game that early on in development to a show like that. I think all you do is leave a bad impression of how it plays because it's not going to play great. Ninja Eclipse was prototyped to the level of that pop-up alien in GTF. That's how prototyped it looked. Are they using a run-of-the-mill 3D printer over at AP? Why in the hell? The center tank didn't even look Sorry, that was for Patreon only people. Sorry.
    87:35
    You know why I didn't play it? No. I didn't play it because every time I went up to it, there's only one person in line, but they had 45-minute ball times. I'm like, well, forget it. I've got like a seven-year-old in front of me, and he is just looking like Keith Allen. I'm like, okay, all right. I'll come back again, and every time I come back, somebody's just longest ball time ever. So I don't know if that's indicative of the layout, but it looked like long ball times, but I have zero clue. I just don't get it. Why come out with it? You buy all this deep root asset stuff. It makes zero sense, Dennis. Why are you making a new layout and not using one from one of the legends like Nordman or Osler or something? It doesn't make any sense. And a lot of people in Pimble, I know what the media do, and I get it. I know what hobbies do. I get it. They're trying to be nice up front because they're like, you know what? Maybe this is different. I get all of that. But I'm here to speak the truth, and the truth is I don't fucking get it. Why would you bring that thing? It looked like dog turd there. I seen the layout of it. There was nothing fancy. It looked like the arc from the stern Indiana Jones in the back left. And the 180 ramp, we've done that plenty of times. And with that low profile of a 180, it's never going to fucking feel good. The right ramp in itself was a bore fest. I don't get any of it. And the theme, don't get me started on that dumbass theme. But the only thing that I did kind of get and was intrigued about was somebody with enough money, number one, to try to pull this shit pile of Raza and everything else that was Deep Root out of the toilet to make their own company. And number two, the animations. Those animations, it reminded me of the beauty that was some of the Deep Root stuff. So if Turner and Turner Logic, and if they were responsible for some of the animation stuff, that was intriguing.
    89:26
    That's what I'm most interested about. But honestly, guys, I don't know who your market is, but if you're going for the pinball enthusiast market, start at the drawing board with that layout because there's nothing there that's going to tickle the balls of anybody in pinball. I'm sorry.
    89:42
    Wow. I'm being too honest. The only other news this week is Stern Pinball did announce and release the Rush accessories finally. And they thought to themselves, you know what? the topper king, the accessories king is in the middle of the ocean. Now's the time, gang. We can release this now because he's not going to know. And that's precisely what Stern Pinball did. With no acknowledgement, they just put it on the market and us dealers scrambled to figure out how in the hell we were supposed to sell this thing. Do we have any pictures? No, no pictures. What's the price? What's our allotment? How many are we going to get? We're going to find out in two weeks. So that makes zero business sense. Okay, so we scurried. And you know what? Who was one of the first, if not the first, dealers to make sure that that game was orderable on their website?
    90:32
    Oh, Caribbean Zach. Ah, yes. Still found a way. And shout out to Nap Arcade for putting a link on his website when we were the first to get it out there. What do you think about the topper of Rush? That's a winner right there with the gears. Yeah, it's cool. What do you mean it's cool? That's downright awesome. It's cool. $16.99? Not as cool Sold a lot of toppers while out of the country Thank you for all the support Shooter knob, it lights up It flashes I know you still get excited about LEDs Like they're not cheap bulbs You know what though When it comes to shit like the expression lights It's so hard for Stern to get this shit out It does excite me It does And the illuminated shooter knobs are so much better than anything else Ask the Godzilla egg the side armor the starman side armor and the expression lighting system you want to see an industry that is in love with a lighting accessory move over uv lighting system for stranger things the expression lighting system is here wow i sold more expression lighting systems than i did toppers well because it's a lot more affordable and arguably gives more experience to the player. That's true. There are some exclusives in that topper, though. Yeah, I know, but when you're playing, you don't look at the topper. That's true. I get that it has mystery award stuff, and I get that. The DLC strategy. For everybody who doesn't want to know, yes, the accessories are going to start shipping out in late April. That's what they're saying. Don't hold your breath. But that's what they're saying. What would the pinball show be without the pinball show Stern production timeline updates?
    92:18
    Shorter. We'd still be the best damn podcast in the industry, but it would be shorter. That's right. For everyone that's got their Foo Fighters LE on order, they're coming, baby. They're online right now. They're going to be shipping this week and probably into the following week. Where's my premium? If I could fucking email one more time. Where's my premium? Have you seen any out? Yeah, actually, somebody did. Well, that's because they're from TPF. They're a show model. MGC. Oh, God. I'd say the following week. So two weeks, premiums will start rolling out of the factory. Late April, they've got on the slate James Bond Pro and Premium. Keep in mind, I don't know how big that run's going to be. That's going to be a sprinkler. I'm going to call that a sprinkler. I'm going to sprinkle in some James Bond Pro and Premiums late April. Then comes May when we have, this is a big update, y'all, because I haven't talked to you guys for a while and changes have been made. In May of 2023 here, Stern Pinball is going to be producing Jurassic Park Premium. That's becoming the new Godzilla Premium when it comes to wait time. Everybody wants their Jurassic Park Premium. It's like last year's Deadpool. Gotta have it. Last year's Elvira. It must be mine. In May, Jurassic Park Premium as well as Iron Maiden Pro and Premium. Also a hot little title right now. June comes along. We're going to get more Foo Fighter Pros as well as Avenger Pros and Premiums, Godzilla Pro, and the newly bumped up from November run of Godzilla Premiums. Cue the... that's his bumped up sound july's coming and we get foo fighters premium remember the pros in june july we get the premiums and a newly bumped up title that was originally in december that people can't get enough of it's called deadpool pro and premium they're moving it up i wonder what that means for december it's almost as if they're making a hole for something coming in august is jurassic park pro and that's it in august they'll find something else to fill in there September kind of open right now. Not that they're looking for the second cornerstone to be dropped in. October, James Bond Pro and Premium. Some more Bondies. And then November, Mandalorian Pro and Premium. Those are starting to get a little harder to find. So November is going to be good for those as well as December, Star Wars Pro and Premium. Yes, that game. They are still making that title. It's Star Wars. and if I were to guess, probably their top three seller in the entire company's existence just based off a theme alone. Never forget what theme does, people. Never forget. If you get close to somebody at Stern Pinball Production and they know the numbers, ask them about the sales of Star Wars.
    94:53
    Mandalorian Topper update, none. They were supposed to go on the line a couple weeks ago. I still haven't heard anything. I don't, any time now. I have no clue. Same with Iron Maiden Topper. no clue when theirs are coming out but they did promise us that they're coming back out new code for james bond baby i hear it's getting really good i haven't had time on it though i don't have one in the showroom right now i did take an le on trade but it's at beatty's house oh shit and that's the pinball show no it's not the pinball show wouldn't be what it is without the one the only the favorite pinball segment that is not stuck behind a paywall GTF Not GTF PMT Pimba Market Trends I started slow but then I got a little energy In the second half of that Trending up this week Dennis Creasel You magnificent bastard you as Foo Fighters How is it not All across TPF erections We're at half erections We're at full mass Foo Fighters Whether you like the pro or premium, it doesn't matter. It's a certified hit. So much so that it's going to put another child through college. Thank you, Jack Danger. Foo Fighters is fooking amazing. I will shill this thing till the day I die because I think this game may sell better. Oh, this is bold.
    96:20
    At the end of the day, I think this game may sell more units than Iron Maiden. Is that possible? I thought you were going to say Godzilla. No, no, no. Now I was going to have to say something. Iron Maiden? No, actually, I think that's fairly conceivable. I would argue Iron Maiden is a more controversial band. And a lot of people had trouble putting that into their home just because of the theme.
    96:44
    Foo Fighters is, you know, it's friendly, it's alien. Oh, it's groly. If somebody messaged me, they're like, you know, I'm hearing that Foo Fighters is actually even better than Godzilla. Shut up. I told him, stop. Don't text me it gets better than Godzilla. Okay. Foo Fighters is a better choice for a lot of people that have been looking to be contrarian and act like Godzilla is not the best game. And, yeah, some of them tried to latch on to Rush initially, but five versions of airbags to protect the scoop kind of made that seem a little sus. Whereas Foo Fighters, though, Foo Fighters could be the good contrarian pick. Put down the foo sauce. It's easy. We're not at Godzilla level yet. All stringing up this week, of course, is Pulp Fiction. Nobody knew this thing was coming like it did. Like a freight train. And you know what this does? This opens up Mark Ritchie's ass to design another game for Play Mechanics. I think that they're going to make another game. Maybe a wide body. Josh Sharp did say on a pinball podcast somewhere that you're not going to see one 2024 from him. But, yeah, speaking of wide, yeah, you said wide body. Mark Ritchie was on a Loser Kid Pinball podcast and said when they were conceiving the play field on Pulp Fiction initially, he was wanting it to have a TV screen and a wide body, like a loaded Indiana Jones wide body. And then Tarantino just pissed all over it and said, yeah, that's not right. So Tarantino is actually knowledgeable about pinball. Thank you, Quentin, because, Mark, I love you, bro, but no. No. Yeah. No, no, no. You are dying now. Oh, my God. Try to find a Pulp Fiction LE. I can almost guarantee you it's a hell of a lot harder than finding even a Foo Fighters LE at this point. It's the golden goose right now in the entire pinball industry. If you did the most wanted products right now, there's Stranger Things LE. There's a couple of games that everybody wants, and Pulp Fiction LE just nestled its briefcase right into the mix. Also turning up this week is Carl D'Angelo's competition pick, Steam. He was on a recent pinball podcast or two, and it surprised the hell out of me when he said when it comes to competition pinball, there's a couple titles that he thinks are really good competitive games, including Jurassic Park, No Brainer, and Toy Story 4. Your purpose fulfilled? Now, Carl beat the hell out of that game, beat it up really good, got to the wizard mode in Lickety Split, But he said, based on the rules, the structure, the layout, that is actually, and you can manipulate some of the outlines, but it's actually a really good competition pinball machine. Which was shocking to me, especially in the shortness of when it was released. That must mean it's a very well-balanced game in general, which I've been saying for a while now. Thanks, Carl. And your last trending up this week on pinball market trends, a little TV for you. If you guys are feeling frisky for something new to watch, I would recommend Apple TV Shrinking. With Jason Segel and Harrison Ford, the acting is impeccable. The storyline is good. It's not way too comedy sitcom-y. No, it's got some deepness there. The writing is spectacular. And from, I believe, the creator, executive producer, Ted Lasso, Shrinking is a hit. I couldn't get enough of it. I binged that son of a bitch really quick. As well as training up Mandalorian Season 3. I thought, you know what? They've squeezed this alien fruit as much as they could. This is the way. But I was wrong. Season 3 is just as good, if not better, than Season 2. I have spoken.
    100:32
    Turning down this week. Any guess, Dan Dan, as to what might be turning down? Wub wub. Wub wub indeed, my friends. It is, I can't even have the heart to put it into our now iconic phrasing. of it. I can only call it trending down. I can't even say it as an acronym. It's Galactic Tank Force. I could be trending up in so many ways. I could have sold three times the amount that I ordered. But alas, you'll have to hear our Patreon analysis on why this is trending down, but I don't think it takes a paywall to realize that you may have played this or seen this game as well, and there's many reasons why. It is simply trending down. Also trending down this week is that sad-ass zombie apocalypse show that I thought I was going to be a fan of called The Last of Us. Pedro, keep the mask on, buddy, because for some reason, this is just a shittier version of Walking Dead. Walking Dead, at least, had a great storyline. This, I was waiting the entire season for it to become good. We're talking about television series, and this was on HBO. It's The Last of Us from the hit video game series. I don't know what's going to come season 2 but season 1 was a stanker am I wrong? I haven't seen it I don't know just wait for season 2 of Rings of Power can't wait damn it I so can't wait for that one no deals of the week this week no WTF because the show's running long find me a Spider-Man vault people I want one and as always it's episode 125 and we are here just to report the facts because numbers don't lie neither do i on pinball market trends dennis that's the show that's it are you glad to be back yay i had fun i was looking forward to this day oh i'm glad you were entertained and now you get to look forward to all the things like now i can uh want to quit podcasting again after i edit yeah maybe just take another month hiatus oh where can people reach you the easiest ways to email me over with eclectic gamers podcast at gmail.com because I check those messages quite regularly. And they can Patreon you over there too. They can, but of course they can Patreon us here. They can now. Patreon.com slash The Pinball Show or slash Eclectic Gamers Podcast. You know what would be nice? They would really be the Creasel fan if they did both. I really think that strongly. And if you're a fan of myself, you can go to Patreon.com slash The Pinball Show. I want to see which category you guys are going to fall into. And remember, once you sign up to that, bam, boom, Razzle dazzle. You're jumping right into the discord. Like right now, sign up right now. And I'm going to hear it. Dennis is going to hear it. We're going to go to discord and be like, you really liked GTF that much. What did you love? And then we're going to say, did you see this? It's going to be a blast. It's going to be a lot of fun. Plus you can hear that big old long iconic rant that we had this episode about galactic tank force only for official club members from Patreon. So go sign up. You can also email us at the pinball show at gmail.com as well as generally, You can email us at thepinballnetwork at gmail.com. Check us out, The Pinball Show, on Facebook and TikTok, I think. And then jump in that Discord and say hello. Straight down the middle, I've got to plug that as well. Go watch the Scooby-Doo First Impressions video as well as the brand-new product from Escalier that's saving my life. It's called the Tilt-N-Truck Table. It's $3,000, but can you put a price on happiness? Can you put a price on your spine? I think not. But it's the coolest pinball toy that's not the actual pinball machine itself. So bye-bye-bye. Bye-bye-bye! Go watch that video as well. And the pinball show is sponsored by Flippin' Out Pinball. Product showcase this week is the Godfather LE. Carl D'Angelo approved. You heard the man, and you guys trust him. You don't trust me. You don't trust anybody else. I love Carl D'Angelo. We trust Carl D'Angelo. Did you see him play? Carl liked it. If that's what it takes, then so be it. The Godfather LE by Jersey Jack Pinball is now in stock at Flippin' Out Pinball. Go purchase it online or email me at Zach, Z-A-C-H, at Flipp, the letter N, outpinball.com. All kinds of other stuff in the inventory, including James Bond, Aliens. We've got, oh my gosh, I just went and picked up 11 used games, so I've got all kinds of stuff. Follow us on Facebook, Flippin' Out Pinball, on Facebook. That's where I'm going to update you on the used games we have, as well as the new games in stock. Also, if you've got an upcoming game, or even a rumored game, a dream theme, if you will, email me and we'll get you on that list. Shaker Motors we finally got Stern Shaker Motors back in stock shit fire had a hundred of those things on order forever finally got them. If you need a Shaker Motor email us even at Chicago Gaming Shaker Motor I got it baby. Always check out Flippin' Out with Friends with Joe Lingobirth. He streams the latest and greatest pinball machines right now he's streaming Foo Fighters from Stern Pinball and this Wednesday he's debuting the next new game which is I can't say because for some reason he wants to make it a surprise. But it's a badass game that we've been talking about this episode. And I don't think many people have streamed it if at all. So, damn, that's good. Go check out TPN, the Pinball Network, and all of the affiliate podcasts and streamers. We've got an awesome group over there adding to it all the time. So, shout out to all the TPN people. Pinball Party, the Triple Dreams of the World, the Free Plays, the Silver Ball Chronicles, the Final Rounds. I love you all. Most of you. I love most of you. And those of you who don't, you know it. And you stay away from me anyway.
    106:11
    This week on TVN's Cool Shit, I can guarantee you that. Dennis, I think that's it, buddy. For yourself, I'm Zach Minney. And I would just say, you know, if you're launching a product, it could be pinball, it could be something other than pinball, figure out how you're going to do your reveal. Figure out how you're going to do your announcements. Highlight the things that are good about your product. Maybe don't focus on the things that are not so good on your product. And if you don't know which are good and which are not, Fugger it out. And always practice safe pinball. And it's finally time that we've opened up the ability for you to support us and to officially join our club and to get some really cool shit by doing so by signing up with our Patreon at the pinball show. TPS.
    106:55
    Semicolon. RIP. GTF. Did you say semicolon? I did. TPS. Semicolon. Must be the season of the rich. I don't sell them by default because nobody wants them, but I am capable of selling them.
    107:17
    I'm a big boy. I can sell them a lot. That's right. I'm a dealer. Thank you. Bye. There's so much.