Episode 769: "Bond Needs More Bond"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·21m 54s·analyzed·Feb 13, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034

TL;DR

Kaneda critiques James Bond's layout and code depth; predicts Foo Fighters next; discusses JJP hiring and Stern mods.

Summary

Kaneda discusses his recent extended play session with James Bond pinball at Jack Bar, criticizing its layout and early code implementation for failing to capture the iconic James Bond fantasy. He speculates that Foo Fighters is Stern's next game announcement, discusses the Jersey Jack Pinball $80k coder job posting, reviews a new larger-screen mod for Stern machines, and expresses frustration with Stern's delay in releasing gameplay footage for recent releases.

Key Claims

James Bond pinball fails to make players feel like they are playing as James Bond due to lack of Sean Connery presence and insufficient magical moments in the code
high confidence · Kaneda, direct observation from ~2 hours of play at Jack Bar
The right ramp on James Bond is a poorly designed crucial shot that is difficult to hit consistently from the lower left flipper due to misleading visual alignment
high confidence · Kaneda, detailed mechanical criticism from personal gameplay experience
Foo Fighters is the next announced Stern pinball game, with Jack Danger as the designer
medium confidence · Kaneda, stated as personal confirmation with caveat that he has not seen it, based on marketing timing and insider information
Jersey Jack Pinball is hiring software engineers/coders at $80,000 per year starting salary
high confidence · Kaneda, referencing a Pinside forum job posting discussion
A new $650 screen upgrade mod for Stern machines is available that enlarges the playfield display
high confidence · Kaneda, direct observation at Jack Bar playing Godzilla with the mod installed
Jersey Jack Pinball has a pattern of not delivering final code polish; Guns N' Roses and Pirates of the Caribbean lack final code versions
high confidence · Kaneda, citing community complaints from JJP machine owners
Stern is deliberately withholding gameplay footage for recent expensive releases (Bond, Scooby-Doo) to avoid softening customer interest
medium confidence · Kaneda, speculation based on timing and pricing strategy
Stern will likely reduce Foo Fighters Limited Edition production to 500 units if maintaining $13,000 pricing, or make 1,000 units at a lower price point
medium confidence · Kaneda, prediction based on perceived market saturation and pricing strategy analysis

Notable Quotes

“When I play James Bond pinball, I don't feel like I am James Bond. I don't feel like the Sean Connery James Bond, the womanizer, the guy with the gadgets, the guy with the fancy clothes, the guy with the jokes. I don't feel like I'm James Bond.”
Kaneda @ ~5:00 — Core criticism of James Bond's thematic integration and player fantasy delivery
“And I think because that right ramp shot, the villain shot, is so crucial to starting the villain modes in the game, I think it's an interesting, I would say questionable, design choice to make one of the most crucial shots in the game not very easy to hit.”
Kaneda @ ~8:30 — Specific mechanical design criticism with game flow implications
“I am confirming it is next. Now let me tell you right now, this is me putting my reputation, which I don't have anymore, right? Most people will say I have no credibility and I have no reputation left in pinball.”
Kaneda @ ~24:00 — Self-deprecating acknowledgment of lost credibility before making Foo Fighters prediction
“And I expect Jack Danger to come out with something really special. And I think Jack Danger is a great guy. You know what's fun about this? This is Jack Danger's first cornerstone game.”
Kaneda @ ~31:00 — Recognition of Jack Danger as first-time lead designer on flagship title
“And this is a big but, and I mean this, this game is being made for fans of Foo Fighters. And there are enough Foo Fighters fans out there to probably buy 3,000 to 4,000 of these machines.”
Kaneda @ ~32:00 — Market sizing prediction for music-themed game appeal
“I think a good sign that Jersey Jack Pinball is hiring more coders because if there is one big complaint I hear from current Jersey Jack Pinball owners they just don't finish the code.”
Kaneda @ ~42:00 — Community pain point validation and positive signal on JJP addressing code quality issues
“Stern is stalling on showing people gameplay. Think about it. They just launched the most expensive pinball in the history of pinball, and they refused to give us a real gameplay video before they took your money.”

Entities

Kanedaperson Jack DangerpersonEric MinierpersonChristopher Franchiperson JohnpersonDave GrohlpersonSean Conneryperson

Signals

?
business_signal: Jersey Jack Pinball pattern of incomplete code delivery on recent major releases (Guns N' Roses, Pirates of the Caribbean) undermines product value proposition
high · Kaneda citing repeated community complaints from JJP machine owners; company hiring coders suggests internal acknowledgment of problem; failed promise to deliver 2 games/year (actual 18-month schedule)
?
community_signal: Kaneda's podcast positioning as independent critic without manufacturer sponsorships or discounts; emphasis on consumer advocacy and maintaining credibility through editorial separation
high · Kaneda defending 568 Patreon club members by contrasting with industry-sponsored content creators, stating 'nobody gives me special privileges,' emphasis on sleeping well knowing funding comes from audience
?
competitive_signal: James Bond layout challenging and skill-dependent to the point of limiting casual player access to game depth; right ramp design creates technical barrier rather than reward arc
high · Kaneda noting difficult ramp alignment from lower flipper, need for 50+ plays to develop consistency, comparison to Transformers LE alternate shot paths being more reliable
?
design_philosophy: Music-themed pinball games positioned for dedicated fan bases rather than broad appeal; Kaneda argues gameplay excellence insufficient to overcome weak theme appeal (Guns N' Roses example)
high · Extended discussion of music pin design strategy, Kaneda stating he wouldn't buy most band machines unless he loved the band, exceptions like Metallica and Iron Maiden requiring exceptional gameplay
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Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.066

0:00

Feel it coming in the air. Yeah. And the screams from everywhere. Yeah. I'm addicted to the thrill. I'm ready. It's a dangerous love affair. Sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up. Happy Monday after the Super Bowl. Everybody is filled with food and beer, and now we have to go back to work. Is anyone going to take this JJP job for $80,000 a year to code some pinball machines? We're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about this new mod for Stern Machines that blows up the screen a little bit. I like it. I saw it at Jack Bar. I saw it on Godzilla. I think for $650, you get to see your Stern Machines in a whole new larger-than-life screen. We're going to talk about that. We're going to talk about whether or not we think Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters is next. Did you see his TV commercial at the Super Bowl? He's been omnipresent in the world, Dave Grohl, lately. He is a little bit of a corporate sellout, but don't tell that to the Foo Fighter fans. And we also know that they have a new album dropping in March. We're going to talk about that. But let me start out by saying this. I played James Bond for almost two hours at Jack Bar. John, thank you so much for the hospitality. Thank you so much for the offer of a free drink, which I did not take, because I'm still feeling a little under the weather. It's been a rough few weeks for me and the family. I'll let you guys know more about what's going on at a later date. But thank you guys for all the well wishes. All of those are still healthy and gainfully employed, but I'll let you guys in on what's going on at a later date. But I played James Bond, right? And I want to just say this. This is the thing about James Bond pinball that's just not clicking with me yet. And let me break it down very simply. When I play James Bond pinball, I don't feel like I am James Bond. I don't feel like the Sean Connery James Bond, the womanizer, the guy with the gadgets, It's the guy with the fancy clothes, the guy with the jokes. I don't feel like I'm James Bond. And maybe this is still because it's early on in the code. But when you turn this game on, you get the theme song. But where's Sean Connery? Why isn't he talking? Why isn't he inviting us to anything? There's just not a lot of him coming at you in the game at all. And I remember when Batman and Robin was early with Batman 66, right? And you didn't get much. But that game came to life. And when you play Batman 66, you really feel like you're playing as Batman and Robin and you're going after the villains and you're jailing them and you're going after the minor villains and you're working your way through the Batman 66 world. And when I play James Bond right now, I just don't feel that. So from a code standpoint, I know it's still early on. I know they're still going to put a lot into this game. But as of right now, and this had the latest code in the game, as of now, I'm just not getting what I think people love about Sean Connery's James Bond. I'm not feeling it in this game right now. I don't feel like the moments, right? Like right now, this game does not have like these magical James Bond moments. And again, it's early on in the code. My bigger issue with this machine itself is just the layout. And I've played it a lot. And I played Godzilla. and I played Toy Story and I played the other games at Jack Bar and I played Deadpool. And I want to say I'm just not a fan of the James Bond layout. And I know when I say this and I say that people who are making excuses for the layout saying it's challenging but fun. And I just have to disagree a little bit. And I think the big issue I have with this game are the ramps in the game. I just don't find them that satisfying. I do find them tough to hit. I think they're challenging to find the ramp shots on this game. And I think because that right ramp shot, the villain shot, is so crucial to starting the villain modes in the game, I think it's an interesting, I would say questionable, design choice to make one of the most crucial shots in the game not very easy to hit. And look, I don't think pinball should be overly easy. I mean, I think there's people out there that consider Toy Story 4 overly easy of a pinball machine, right? You could sit on it for like 20 minutes and get through most of the game. But there's a balance and I just don't think James Bond has the right balance for me as of now. Now look, I'm playing it on location. John sets up his games very well. I probably need another 50 plays to learn the shots more, right? Because that right ramp, it comes off of that lower left flipper and it's a little deceiving. Like if you shoot it where the line is, right? There's that row of villains with their inserts. if you shoot it off the tip of the flipper where it looks like it lines up, you're going to go to the right of that ramp. You're not going to hit that ramp dead on like you need to. I actually have a lot more luck with that ramp when it comes off of like the orbit and it's more of like a combo into that ramp. Now, all this being said, I just think when I look at the left side of the game and I think about what you shoot in James Bond pinball, and I know it's not a premium, I know it's not an LE, but aren't the shots pretty much the same? I just don't find that whole missile area to be rewarding at all shooting the drop targets All right, that's really easy And then it's really easy just the lob the ball up into that missile area with the targets behind it, but it's not satisfying

5:21

bashing that missile is not satisfying at all and then you got the area by the upper left flipper and There just like this scoop the ball goes into and it fires it out towards the pop bumpers and that not exciting at all. And I feel like they should have designed it where to get into that scoop, I feel like that scoop should have been hidden more behind the upper left flipper so you have to hold the flipper up to get the ball in there. But there's no moment, there's no meaning when the ball is being shot out of that scoop area. And I don't like stuff like that. Like I think that whole part of the game, I think the whole left side of the game to me is just very unrewarding other than I will say the one rewarding shot is really the left orbit is a fun shot to hit. And then the ramps, man, and this is the other thing, the whole area on the right side with these two ramps sort of like midway up the playfield at an awkward angle. And then you've got tight shots in between the two ramps and then you've got the shot that goes into the Vuk. All of it's there. I get it. You've got James Bond on the jet pack. The most rewarding shot and I don't think it's an orbit. It's the far left shot is my favorite shot in the game. It goes up the far left and then it goes up towards James Bond on the jet pack and I think that's the best shot in the game. I don't think anything that you shoot up the middle is very interesting at all. And look, for many of you out there, you have a lot of pinball machines, right? So James Bond and its design and its quirkiness and its weird layout might be really exciting to you because it breaks up the monotony of your fan layout games. And it's definitely a quirky layout. And so for those of you out there, you might love it, right? You might love the layout. And that's great. I'm not here to say because I'm not enjoying James Bond, you won't enjoy James Bond. And I noticed that, right? When I say I don't like the way this game shoots. You know what people come at me with? They're like, Guns N' Roses shoots like crap. Why is it that Kaneda is the torchbearer for how Guns N' Roses shoots? And everyone comes at me left and right. Every time I don't like another game's layout, they're like, but GNR is crap. And let me tell everybody right now, GNR as a layout, as a game, I would argue is not the best, but it's also not as bad as people say. Like there's a lot to shoot at in Guns N' Roses. It also has some unique shots. It's got stuff to hit. It's got a lot of up and down and left and right action. So look, I don't love GNR the way I love to shoot Godzilla, but I also don't hate it the way some people hate on it so profusely. And I think the thing that really hurts Guns N' Roses gameplay are weak flippers. So you need to add those like flipper fans, which I still think is pathetic for this much money. We're not getting good flipper feel in Jersey Jack games. So I think that changes people's gameplay perspective on GNR. And also the game is very multi-ball heavy. And I think that turns a lot of people off. If I didn't love Guns N' Roses as a band, would I buy Guns N' Roses pinball machine? No, I wouldn't. I wouldn't buy any band pinball machine unless I love the band. And I know how great Iron Maiden shoots. I just can't stand Iron Maiden music. I know Rush shoots great. I'm never buying a Rush because I don't like the music. And I think music pins are designed for people who love the musical acts. Now, every once in a blue moon, we'll get an amazing game like Metallica, an amazing game like Iron Maiden, an amazing game like ACDC, you know, and for a lot of people out there, they can put up with the music because the pinball is just so damn good. And I will say this, Guns N' Roses is not that game. If you don't like Guns N' Roses, you are not going to be won over by the gameplay of this machine. And I will say that. And I agree with that. And when people say GNR is not the best shooter, I don't disagree with you. I own a Guns N' Roses because I love GNR and I love the game. And I love the way the game transports me into a Guns N' Roses concert. It is still one of the greatest theme integrated pinball machines of all time. And I don't understand. And this is my one argument. I don't understand how you can have a few beers, a few whiskeys, turn on Guns N' Roses pinball to volume 10 and not have a fun time playing pinball. then something is wrong with you. Because I also love the fact that when you play Guns N' Roses, if you just hit the scoop up the middle a few times, you're going to experience something in a pinball machine that is a magical moment. And there is nothing else like GNR when it comes to music and lights and pinball all combining at one time. You could play 20 games of James Bond and never see anything interesting happen in the game. Never see a single magical moment happen in the pinball machine because you might not be skillful enough to hit that doozy of a right ramp, all right? So look, we're allowed to judge these things without bringing something else into the debate, right? It's like if I say I don't like the way James Bond shoots, I shouldn't be attacked because I own a Guns N' Roses machine, all right, everybody? We're all in this hobby. Let's remind ourselves. We're all in this hobby to have a good time and have fun. And so sometimes, you know, look, I can say I don't like something, but I'm not going to berate you for liking it or owning it. The only thing I will berate you for owning, and I mean it, is a $20,000 single level Keith Owen James Bond machine that once people unpack this thing, you're going to realize what a colossal ripoff it was spending that much money on that game. And I don't care how much fun you're having because you showed Stern Pinball that we would pay this much for that. And that is my problem with anyone who buys that game. All right. So speaking of music and pinball let talk about the Foo Fighters So look they have a new album coming out in March They were just in a Super Bowl spot Dave Grohl is getting ready They ramping up the marketing for their new album that is happening in just a few weeks. I think Foo Fighters is gonna be next. I put up a post on Facebook saying, I am confirming it is next. Now let me tell you right now, this is me putting my reputation, which I don't have anymore, right? Most people will say I have no credibility and I have no reputation left in pinball. So I have not seen it yet, right? So it's very rare for me to give a confirmation like this. I just feel really good. And I just want to give some bait to the Canada haters. Because if I'm wrong and it's Venom, they're going to be like, see, we can't trust this man. This man doesn't deserve to have 568 club members. Thank you so much, everybody. We are killing it. And we're the only pinball podcast. Well, not the only one. We are one of the few pinball content creators out there not getting any discounts and not getting any kickbacks. I earn every single penny I do making this content, and I sleep good at night knowing that, that nobody gives me special privileges just because I'm slapping sponsorships on top of this show. You know who sponsors Canada's Pinball Podcast? You do. The people do, and that is why I am always looking out for the customer and the consumer, not the companies. I don't care if I don't interview anyone in the industry ever again, because we need a show like this where we can talk openly about pinball without having any special interest. And that's why you're here. And that's why you love the show. All right. So I think Foo Fighters is next. I think we're going to see it. I'm also hearing this. And again, this is what landed in my inbox, that Foo Fighters is next. And someone who's usually not very excited about music pins has seen the game and says it is over the top in an awesome way. And so I expect Jack Danger to come out with something really special. And I think Jack Danger is a great guy. You know what's fun about this? This is Jack Danger's first cornerstone game. And I love a new designer coming into pinball because they're going to share with us their design philosophy when it comes to pinball. And I think that's what's really exciting. You know, that's what makes all of pinball so exciting is that a designer is like a movie director. They all have different styles. They all have different ways they envision using that finite amount of space to create a world under glass. And I'm really rooting for Jack Danger. Now look, do I wish Jack Danger was making a theme that had more universal appeal? Absolutely. But, and this is a big but, and I mean this, this game is being made for fans of Foo Fighters. And there are enough Foo Fighter fans out there to probably buy 3,000 to 4,000 of these machines. The big question we all have right now, is Stern going to charge $13,000 for a Foo Fighters LE? Are they going to make 1,000 of them? My prediction is that Stern is going to lower that number. They're going to lower it to 500 LEs of Foo Fighter if they want to charge $13,000. The other thing they could do is they could make 1,000 of them, but maybe they lower the price a little bit. And maybe they say James Bond was more expensive because of the higher licensing costs. But we've never, and I mean this, never, ever in the history of Stern Pinball have they ever lowered the price. We've never seen that. Like they didn't charge us less money for Black Knight LE than Ghostbusters LE, even though Black Knight was a much cheaper IP to make. So I think we're stuck here. We're stuck with these high prices. And with these high prices, you know how I feel. They got to bring the high magic, the high moments in pinball that are going to make us giddy and hand over this much money. All right, so let's talk about $80,000 a year to work at Jersey Jack Pinball as a software engineer and a coder. Do you want to join the Jersey Jack team? Now, look, this debate on Pinside is funny because most people who collect pinball machines or buy them are making well over $80,000 a year. And if there's anything I've noticed about grown men, they love to brag about how much money they make and give advice about life and money and salary and whether or not you should leave a job for money or you should stay where you feel fulfilled. We're all weird when it comes to this stuff. I don't like getting into conversations about salary. My dad always told me, never tell anybody what you make. Never share your salary with others. I do not. Do I want to make more money? Sure. Who doesn't want to make more money? Do I want to give you career advice? No, I don't. I should take more of my own career advice instead of giving it to other people. It does seem that $80,000 a year is a little low for someone with three to five years of coding experience. It does say that that's where the salary starts, not ends. So if you have more credentials, maybe they'll give you more money. I do think someone who works in coding should make more money than someone who works maybe in communications or marketing. I mean that. And I'm someone who works in communications. coding is a real skill to get into a communications job. You kind of just have to study nothing really. There's not really a major required to get into my industry, which is kind of why I enjoy it and why I'm good at it. I'm very creative. I mean, I'm very good at my job and creativity does not come to everybody easily. But I not going to argue like coders have very specific skill sets and it is a much higher skill set than communication And I think it a good sign that Jersey Jack is hiring more coders because if there one big complaint I hear from current JJP owners they just don finish the code Like they haven't given final code for Guns N' Roses yet. There's no final code for Pirates of the Caribbean. And I think they need someone on staff right after Kiefer Codes a Game or Joe Katz. They need someone to still polish the code and get it to a final place. And Jersey Jack, it's about time. So I hope they fulfill this position soon. And I can't wait to see the next game from Jersey Jack Pinball. And I'm really nervous about the next game for Jersey Jack because everybody keeps coming to me and saying, hey, like, I don't want it to be Godfather. And look, I don't want it to be Godfather either. I hope. And this was my rumor or my speculation. I was hoping that maybe Godfather is codename for the movie franchise that is Godfather at the box office, which is Avatar. And maybe Eric's game is really Avatar 2. His game was supposed to come out in December, which is when the Avatar movies came out. But they pushed it back, right? Because Jersey Jack has always said for the last four years, Jack Guarneri has said, we're going to get out two games a year. They've never done it. They're on like an 18-month reveal schedule for games. and so will we see the next game in March I don't know I told you you were going to see it next week February 20th I'm probably going to be wrong but guess what if I'm wrong nobody's mad at me they're mad at Jersey Jack Pinball for making you wait but I do think godfather it's going to be really hard for this game to take off within the community all right so let's talk now about this stern mod that I've been talking about this larger screen you can upgrade your stern machine with for $650. I think this is a good mod, gang. Take a look at my Facebook page. I shared the post about it. When you see it on Godzilla, and I played Godzilla with it, it's awesome. I love it. It's awesome. The only issue with it is it makes the speakers more oval instead of circular. And so for people out there, I think all the mods we have where we add the circular LED rings around the speaker panel, it's not going to work. The other thing too is if you upgrade to this thing, are people going to move over their LE plaques? I don't think that's going to be the case. I think you'll save your original panel that came with the game, like keep it like that, and then just put this in here as an upgrade. And then maybe when you sell your game, you'll put the old one back on. Now, look, I have a Batman SLE, which has one of the nicest speaker panel areas in all of pinball history, right? It's got the ring around the speakers. It's got the bat symbol over the speakers. And it's also powder coated with the metallic flake. and it's got my Super Ellie badge on it. If I change that to this new mod, I'm gonna lose all of that. Now, what I think I might do is get this new mod and have it powder-coated to match the Batman and then keep it as that. I was gonna actually create a custom plaque for my Batman SLE. I was gonna go ask Christopher Franchi if he'll make me one. I want it to be named Canada's $25,000 Batman SLE 1 of 1 Sucker Edition. Something like that. I want to make fun of myself in a self-deprecating way that I spent $10,000 over what I paid for the game like four years ago just to get the game back. I think we all need to have more self-deprecating humor and pinball, people. I think a lot of people are taking this way too seriously. A lot of people are attacking people way too often. Gang, life is really short. I mean it. Enjoy our pins. Enjoy the banter we have back and forth with this podcast and with my Facebook Live. But other than that, never get in a serious fight with anybody over pinball. All right, what else is happening? So look, we're still waiting for Scooby-Doo. We're still waiting for Bond 60th. I really think we're going to see both of those games. Maybe by the end of this week, I think we might see both of those games out in the wild. And that's a good thing. I can't wait to see how both of them play. Because I'm worried. I'm really worried when we see gameplay for both of these. I think interest in both titles could soften after gameplay. Look, there's a reason Stern is stalling on showing people gameplay. Think about it. They just launched the most expensive pinball in the history of pinball, and they refused to give us a real gameplay video before they took your money. If that doesn't say to all of us what Stern thinks of us, then I don't know what does. And it also shows them how gullible some of these buyers are. I mean, you're really going to buy it without seeing anything other than that two minute sizzle reel video. I wish I had so much money where I can make decisions with so little information. Everybody, thank you for being a member of the Canada Club. We'll be back more this week with more shows. We're going to start to see these gameplay videos and March is going to be crazy. I need to get sleep. You can hear it in my voice. Like I slept on the couch last night. I'm suffering from a lack of sleep. And I hope this podcast does not put you to sleep. Everybody talk to you soon and have a great Monday.