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Episode 812: "Kaneda's Candid Take on Stern"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·23m 8s·analyzed·Jun 19, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031

TL;DR

Kaneda gives Stern Pinball an A grade for excellence but warns their greed and overproduction threaten the industry's future.

Summary

Kaneda delivers a comprehensive critique of Stern Pinball, praising their dominant market position built on exceptional talent (George Gomez, designers, manufacturing), premium licensing, and innovative community features like Insider Connected. However, he sharply criticizes their aggressive pricing strategy ($10k–$15k for premiums), the gaslighting of collectors through false scarcity claims, lazy DLC topper content, and warns that overproduction and greed could destabilize the market and price out new players.

Key Claims

  • Stern has the greatest talent in pinball including designers, coders, artists (Zombie Yeti), and manufacturing teams.

    high confidence · Kaneda opening statement about Stern's competitive advantages

  • Stern has gaslighted the collecting community by charging $10k–$15k for premium machines that are not truly limited and can be produced in unlimited quantities.

    high confidence · Kaneda's core criticism of Stern's pricing and scarcity strategy

  • Stern's new factory will be capable of producing 1,000 games per week (50,000 annually over 50 weeks).

    medium confidence · Kaneda's speculation about Stern's expanded manufacturing capacity

  • The pinball industry is oversaturated; only 4–5 companies will survive in the long term.

    medium confidence · Kaneda's market analysis and prediction

  • Stern prices for Jurassic Park and other recent titles did not significantly increase production budget (estimated at ~$5k per machine cost vs $13k retail).

    medium confidence · Kaneda's calculation of Stern's cost vs. margin

  • Secondary market pinball prices are inflated; all Limited Editions are now $15k–$19k, and collectors are 'ripping each other off.'

    high confidence · Kaneda's observation of current marketplace pricing behavior

  • Stern's topper DLC content (hiding final wizard modes behind $1k–$2k purchases) is lazy and unethical, designed to exploit wealthy but unskilled collectors.

    high confidence · Kaneda's critique of Stern's topper monetization strategy

  • Stern's James Bond 60th pricing announcement ($19,995) was removed and replaced with 'call for price,' which Kaneda views as unprofessional greed.

    high confidence · Kaneda's specific criticism of Stern's pricing communication

  • George Gomez is 'the smartest man in pinball' and no other manufacturer has an equivalent executive.

Notable Quotes

  • “They have above and beyond and by far the greatest talent in the industry. They have the greatest designers. They've got many of them, not just one designer.”

    Kaneda @ ~2:00 — Establishes Stern's primary competitive advantage

  • “Stern Pinball's greatest achievement of all time. They got all of us to be suckers and spend $10,000 now on premium machines that they can make an unlimited amount of.”

    Kaneda @ ~5:30 — Core thesis: Stern has successfully executed a pricing/scarcity gaslighting campaign

  • “The only pinball company whose head is actually George Gomez. Who is the George Gomez at Jersey Jack Pinball? Who is the George Gomez over at American Spooky Pinball? You don't really have an answer.”

    Kaneda @ ~3:00 — Argues Stern's executive leadership is unmatched across the industry

  • “This industry is oversaturated. If you put it all on a piece of paper, you're like, there's no way there is enough demand for all of these companies to be in existence.”

    Kaneda @ ~10:00 — Market analysis predicting industry consolidation

  • “The only thing that can kill the golden goose with Stern Pinball is their own greed. They are their own worst enemy.”

    Kaneda @ ~15:00 — Identifies Stern's primary risk factor

  • “Cutting the line because you have money is pathetic. And I think they need to stop that. If you're using these things to see the final wizard mode in your games, you, sir, need to get better at pinball.”

    Kaneda @ ~12:30 — Moral critique of Stern's topper DLC strategy

  • “I would rather go get a Honda Civic Type R than have three Stern LEs.”

    Kaneda @ ~9:00 — Illustrates Kaneda's skepticism about premium machine value proposition

  • “I mean Stern Trojan horsed all of us. They gaslit all of us and I have to give them an A grade because I would have done the same thing if I were them.”

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyGeorge GomezpersonZombie YetipersonKeith ElwinpersonJohn BorgpersonJack DangerpersonBrian EddypersonJeremy Packerperson

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Kaneda characterizes Stern as having a 'monopoly on pinball' with no real competition; competitors lack equivalent executive talent or strategic clarity

    high · Kaneda: 'this company has a monopoly on pinball' and 'Who is the George Gomez at Jersey Jack Pinball?'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Stern has systematically raised premium machine prices from $6k to $10k–$15k while claiming limited scarcity that does not reflect production reality

    high · Kaneda: 'They got all of us to be suckers and spend $10,000 now on premium machines that they can make an unlimited amount of'

  • ?

    manufacturing_signal: Stern's new factory is expected to produce 1,000 machines per week (50,000 annually), raising concerns about market saturation

    medium · Kaneda: 'If they move into this new factory and they can make 1,000 games a week, let's say the factory is on 50 weeks out of the year. That's 50,000 pinball machines'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Secondary market prices have inflated dramatically ($15k–$19k for Limited Editions); collectors are overcharging each other, signaling potential bubble behavior

    high · Kaneda: 'Every single LE is like 15, 16, 17, 18, $19,000. I don't know what happened, but I think this community needs to get together and stop ripping each other off'

  • ?

    product_concern: Stern's topper DLC model locks final wizard modes behind $1k–$2k purchases instead of achievement-based progression, creating ethical tension in the community

    high · Kaneda: 'they're like, they'll let you play the final wizard mode if you spend a thousand or $2,000 on a topper. That's not creative.'

Topics

Stern Pinball's market dominance and competitive advantagesprimaryPricing strategy and consumer gaslighting in the premium pinball marketprimaryManufacturing capacity expansion and market saturation riskprimaryStern's design talent roster and executive leadership (George Gomez)primaryTopper DLC monetization and ethical concernsprimarySecondary market inflation and collector behaviorsecondaryStern Insider Connected platform and community engagementsecondaryIndustry consolidation predictions and long-term viability of small manufacturerssecondary

Sentiment

mixed(0.62)— Kaneda is highly positive about Stern's talent, execution, and market position (praising them as 'A-grade'), but deeply critical of their pricing strategy, ethical issues with scarcity marketing, and greed. He acknowledges Stern's genius while condemning their customer manipulation. The tone is admiring but cautionary.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.069

You want answers? I think I'm entitled to them. You want answers! I want the truth! You can't handle the truth! The Sinner, Sinner, Sinner, Sinner, Sinner, Sinner, Sinner! Ah, here we go ladies and gentlemen, Kaneda's candid take on the pinball industry. Five days, five shows, I'm gonna talk about every single one of the top five companies in pinball. We're gonna talk about what they're doing right, what they should continue, what they should start doing, and what they should stop doing and I'm also going to give each company a letter grade and I can trust you this ain't gonna be no distributor giving everything a B to B minus we're gonna actually give accurate number grades to these companies and we're gonna look at these companies as honestly as I think I've ever looked at them and we're gonna start with Stern Pinball we got to start with number one and I was thinking about this how do you critique Stern Pinball how do you critique a company that is How to become a PinballPro? All the latest Nutquak ideas evidential You don't have to wait two years to get another option. In just three to four months, they're going to bring out something else you might like. And they arguably have the greatest talent in all of pinball. So let me start out by saying this. The reason why I think Stern Pinball dominates the pinball world and why this company is so successful is one simple thing. They have above and beyond and by far the greatest talent in the industry. They have the greatest designers. They've got many of them, not just one designer. They've got the greatest coding team. They've got the greatest artwork in the history of pinball and the greatest artist in the history of pinball in Zombie Yeti. And they also have, by far, the greatest manufacturing team imaginable. The men and women who are on the line over at Stern Pinball are the most talented people In the history of pinball of putting games together. It's not to take anything away from the Bally Williams era, but this company is just cranking out machines. And this is where they win. The front lines of pinball is all about manufacturing. Gary Stern would always say this. I do not run a pinball company. I run a manufacturing company and everyone else is crawling to the finish line as Stern Pinball sprints around that pinball lap time and time again. Alright, so Sternpinball has so much going for it. They also have the smartest man in all of pinball and that is Mr. George Gomez. He runs Stern Pinball. And I've always said this, if you ask this of every other company, what answer do you come up with? Who is the George Gomez over at Jersey Jack Pinball? Who is the George Gomez over at American Pinball? Who is the George Gomez over at Spooky Pinball? You don't really have an answer. But when you ask who's the George Gomez, At Sturn Pinball, the good news is it's George Gomez and nobody is smarter than this man. Nobody understands the business of pinball more than George Gomez. And as long as George Gomez is at the helm of Stern Pinball, this company will continue to clobber everybody else. Nobody will even come close and look at the players that George Gomez put on the field. Zombie Yeti, Keith Elwin, Brian Eddy, John Borg, Jack freaking Danger, right? This design team over at Stern Pinball can do almost no wrong and they just keep getting better and better and better with each game. They also got a guy called George Gomez designing games as well. Now look, I don't love every one of Stern's designs. I have my favorites. I have games I don't like. Let's start out with what Stern is doing right besides putting the best talent on the field. What Stern does better than everybody else is they These were some of the winning pinball which actually you can only play your way in a pinball with your fingers right you don't have an acts fan anytime Avengers, ACDC, Batman 66, and Spiderman. Just look at those themes together. Those are some unbelievable themes. And so what Sternpinball does so well is they just give you such a great variety of pinball machines and they have something for everybody. And that is why Stern Pinball is so damn successful is they just have something for everybody. And the other thing they do right is if they don't get the assets, they don't give you this half-ass version of the theme. Look at what they did with Jurassic Park. They didn't have the movie assets, but they made a great pinball machine. They made a great Jurassic Park adventure They didn give you just a little bit of what you wanted They gave you a whole entire experience that was just different Now look would I like to have the movie clips in the game Absolutely Do I think Stern Pinball is saving money by not even trying to get that stuff? Absolutely. Do I believe George Gomez that they could not get the real Jeep into the game? No, I don't. Why would Jeep not want their product in the game? Come on, they just don't want to spend the money. And so what Sternpinball has also done so well, and this is Stern Pinball's greatest achievement of all time. They got all of us to be suckers and spend $10,000 now on premium machines that they can make an unlimited amount of. And this is Stern Pinball's greatest feat ever in the history of pinball. They basically gaslighted the entire pinball collecting world. I'm going to reload that clip now that I was atиля. всегда 아에하� whopping Haupt박底풋 친구�半인생 돈 CATad kamu. Take care of Middle cardianno and the any things of anybody who cares at filthy day at a premium machine years worth ten thousand dollars and the moment they did at the continued-to turn on the gas lights by charging at thirteen thousand dollars alguien ala machine and they Lego be they ever made not just an raising the prices on these games they also bay doute I'll not I am I have limited edition games economically not even making them not limited And now people are spending $13,000 on a Stern Elite in which they will make $1,000 of and nobody's complaining. I think they sold Foo Fighters out in record time. And what's gonna happen when they have a title like Back to the Future or Jaws or a AAA game? The games are gonna sell out in less than 30 seconds. And do we think Stern is done raising the prices on games? I mean they might take this thing all the way up to $15,000 But here's the other thing. They don't even have to take it up to $15,000 and mirror Jersey Jack Pinball because Stern Pinball also has wisely not included a topper on their game. So if you want a Stern Ali and a topper, you're going to be spending $14,000 to $15,000 and that's not even including all of the accessories they will sell you. Let's just ask ourselves this right now. Do you actually think the Stern bomb on a game has doubled? But they have now doubled the price of the game. And we know that the Stern bomb like six years ago used to be like $3,500 a machine. So let's just say it's even like $5,000 a bomb on a game right now. And now they're charging $13,000. And this is the thing, right? As I analyze Stern Pinball, they have been so smart in what they've been doing. They have been so smart in realizing December principally in the fall of tech in some sites called pinball by placing cmc package to take that look heb the ανα The money then Godzilla Ellie was is there 30% more in the game it actually looks like there's 30% less in the game and we're spending 30% more now look Stern is going to continue to do this they don't have to stop anything what we need to do as consumers is we probably at some point need to stop buying all these things sight unseen and stop throwing money at these games and mark pine. I would rather go get a Honda Civic Type R than have three Stern LEs. Yes, I used a cargument. Alright, so look, Stern has been genius in their marketing plans and getting money out of us. But here's the thing that I'm worried about, and again, I said this is going to be Kaneda's candid take on these companies. My biggest fear of Stern Pinball is simply this. I think they're going to flood the market with too much product. I think they're going to flood the market with too many premiums, and I think they're going to make too much of everything. Yin It's a good thing cuz think about it. If they move into this new factory and they can make 1000 games a week, let's say the factory is on 50 weeks out of the year. That's 50,000 pinball machines they're going to put into the marketplace every single year and how many people are still clamoring for premiums of Jurassic park of this game of that game of Star Wars. It's going to get to the point now where everyone who buys a stern machine because they're going to That gonna make so many of them You not just gonna lose anymore You gonna be losing two to because of the amount of inventory that gonna be in the marketplace And I don think people are ready for that You not ready to lose on three pinball purchases There no way and what gonna happen is we gonna get back to where it used to be A lot of people are just going to wait A lot of people are going to buy games secondhand and you not going to rush and buy everything new in box because what going to happen with these premiums now that they're $10,000 a pop you're going to easily be able to get one for like $8,000 after six months or a year. So do you really want to spend $2,000 on a cardboard box? And this is just Stern. I mean, think about this industry for a minute. If just Stern puts 50,000 games into the pinball marketplace a year, that's not even taking into account the 12 other companies trying to sell you pinball machines. Absolutely, this industry is oversaturated. If you put it all on a piece of paper, you're like, there's no way there is enough demand for all of these companies to be in existence. And look, I think only four to five companies are I think Stern will absolutely survive, but they also have the most at stake. They have the most employees. They have the most overhead. And I think Stern needs to be very careful. And here's my advice. I think Stern does need to stop raising the prices. I think they need to stop being greedy. I think they need to stop it. I think when people see stuff like Godzilla toppers, I get they're going to sell them, but I think they're going to turn off more and more people. And as more and more people start to get turned off to pinball, I think more and more people are going to be priced out of this hobby versus new people coming into the hobby thinking the price is no object. And that's my thing. I think Stern has got it really good right now. I think they could stay at these prices. This is it. I think this should be the ceiling. I don't think we should be spending any more for these games. And I don't care what the theme is. Even if Stay objet馬centeredfalls nacht, I think Stern needs to stop raising the prices. I also think Stern needs to start putting more mechanical stuff into the games. As much as I love Foo Fighters, I played it again yesterday, I still look down on it and still want to see a little bit more mechanical stuff engineered in these games. The It's a music pin. It's not really a theme or like a mechanical thing is missing So I think when we see jaws from Keith Elwin, we're gonna see an incredible mechanism with that shark I think when we get back to the future We're gonna see some incredible mechs in the game and I think if we get Indiana Jones We might also see more incredible stuff and I think venom is gonna be another one that has a The Radical Venom Head that like the tongue comes out and everything, you know I expect Stern to keep bringing the creativity But I really would like to see more for this much money and that's my indictment Across the board of all of these companies is for this much money You got to bring it or my money is staying in my wallet the other area that we don't talk about a lot on this podcast But it really is the other area where Stern is dominating everybody else and that's with Stern The Stern Insider Connected is a really, really great thing that they rolled out into the pinball world. Nobody else has come even close to creating a community around gameplay, right, and achievements. And I love what Stern has done with InsiderConnected. And I think it's brought a lot of people together in pinball. And I think they should continue to improve upon it. But I think it's such an awesome move. What I would like to see Stern start to do is start to make more modes that are I'm still surprised nobody has even thought about how to do that. Like you could make really fun versus modes in pinball and I would love to see Stern connect their games like that and have unique modes. Enough of these unique modes with toppers. I want them to stop that. Stop this DLC if you buy the topper. I hate that move. I think it's lazy and we see what they're doing, right? They're like, they'll let you play the final wizard mode if you spend a thousand or $2,000 on a topper. That's not creative. And they're just doing that because they know the rich collectors, most of them suck at pinball. So they want to get you in bed with the supermodel without having to do the work or have any game at the bar. But no, these things should be reached based on your achievement. You should have to earn the right to see the final wizard mode in a pinball machine. And I think cutting the line because you have money is pathetic. And I think they need to stop that. And you heard it here. If you're using these things to see the final wizard mode in your games, you, sir, need to get better at pinball. It's like sleeping with a prostitute. Nobody brags about sleeping with a prostitute because you paid for it. And that's what the DLC content is on these Stern toppers. What else is Stern doing right I mean they just knocking it out of the park in the artwork department Zombietti is crazy good and I think he now going to become an official member of the Stern team I think before now he was somewhat of still a hired gun for them I think Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti) is going to start to get more equity in this company and in the games he makes and I think he deserves it So I'm really happy if that's happening over there at Stern Pinball, but I can't wait to see his work on venom. I think Jaws Pinball is going to be Randy Martinez who did the Mandalorian. And then who knows, right? Who knows? Are we going to see Back to the Future as a Kapow title? And it's scary when you think about how many games Stern has sold recently and they're arguably like B themes. These aren't A themes like Rush is not an A theme, Foo Fighters is not an A theme, James Bond, I don't know, not really, kind of like the old James Bond, who knows, maybe, possibly. The other thing Stern needs to stop doing is not pricing their games. This call for price BS, I hope they never do it again. Stern, just put a price on something So we can either say great price, it's worth it or we can point at you and laugh and say do you think we are idiots? Like it was so pathetic that they put a price on James Bond 60th on their website of $19,995 and then they quickly removed the price and then said call for price. Like that's so pathetic. Just stand behind your pricing Stern. Don't get greedy. The only thing that can kill the golden goose with Stern Pinball is their own greed. They are their own worst enemy and they need to stop being greedy because I mean it. That is this company's Achilles heel. If they get too greedy consistently, people are going to walk away. And the thing they have to worry about, go on the pinball marketplace. There are thousands of games for sale. Like I don't need to buy a new in box Stern game ever again. I don't ever have to give Stern Finbal more money because there are so many games out there available to buy that I don't need to chase the greed problem in the secondhand market. If you go on the marketplace is now, everybody's a greedy bastard. I mean, every single game is now like over $10,000. Every single le is like 15, 16, 17, 18, $19,000. I don't know what happened, but I think this community needs to get together and stop ripping each other off. Like it's so weird. We all got I'm going to ask 10,000 more than I paid. What happened to all of us? And I don't know if there's any going back, but that's the other thing that's happening The only pinball company whose George Gomez is actually George Gomez. So if I were to give Stern a rating on a Grade Scale, I would give Stern Pinball an A Rating. They are an A. They are like a 94% out of 100. They are pretty much doing everything right. I didn't even mention their games are probably the best quality. With the amount of games they send out, they barely have any issues. Their Spike2 system is great. The node boards are easy to pop in and out if you have issues. Everything they've done they thought about the marathon They didn't try to win the sprint and then they gaslighted us I mean they freakin gaslighted us the fact that a premium is ten thousand dollars should enrage this community Instead we've got all of these content creators like celebrating this fact I mean Stern Trojan horse all of us they gaslit all of us and I have to give them an A grade because I would have done the same thing if I If I were them because they looked at each and every one of us and said hey we've got a bunch of suckers that'll spend $10,000 on something that used to cost $6,000 and we're not even gonna put much more into the machines I mean that was genius well done Stern you get an A from Kaneda you're gonna continue to clobber everybody and you have no competition I mean this company has a monopoly on pinball and if I I would go work for Stern Pinball Company. I mean, these guys are where it's at and there are not many weaknesses with Stern Pinball. And the only thing they need to be careful of is themselves. So Stern, keep the prices where they're at. Keep giving us amazing themes and let your incredible designers do their thing. And we're going to be very, very happy in pinball. Everybody have a great day. I'll be back tomorrow with my take on jersey jack pinball. You're not going to want to miss that one. I can tell you right now they're not going to get an A. Later. Life is so love the one you got cause you might get run over or you might get shot. Never startle static I just get it off my chest. Never had to battle with no bullet proof vest. Take a small example take a different from me. Take all of your money give it up to charity. Love is what I got is within my reach and the sun clock starts to strike from long beach. It all starts to shine. I'm not a fan of the old school. I'm a fan of the old school. I'm a fan of the old school. I'm a fan of the old school. I'm a fan of the old school. I'm a fan of the old school.ина установ부 후 소개 의한데와 자막과 satisfying하였고 판매처� Directory� Fragen한 서신께 구독과 waterproof이

high confidence · Kaneda's assessment of Gomez's leadership role and competitive advantage

  • Stern Insider Connected is superior to competitor community platforms and should expand to include connected versus modes.

    high confidence · Kaneda's praise and suggestions for Insider Connected evolution

  • Kaneda @ ~18:00 — Acknowledges Stern's brilliant but ethically questionable marketing strategy

  • “I think Stern needs to stop raising the prices. I think they need to stop being greedy. This is it. I think this should be the ceiling.”

    Kaneda @ ~11:30 — Direct recommendation for Stern's future strategy

  • “Everybody's a greedy bastard. I mean, every single game is now like over $10,000. Every single LE is like 15, 16, 17, 18, $19,000. What happened to all of us?”

    Kaneda @ ~16:00 — Criticizes secondary market behavior and broader community culture shift

  • Tioperson
    Randy Martinezperson
    Gary Sternperson
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    American Pinballcompany
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    Kanedaperson
    Stern Insider Connectedproduct
    Spike 2product
    Foo Fightersgame
    Godzillagame
    Jawsgame
    Venomgame
    Back to the Futuregame
    Jurassic Parkgame
    James Bond 60thgame
  • $

    market_signal: Kaneda predicts the pinball industry is oversaturated and only 4–5 companies will survive long-term; Stern has the highest risk due to overhead

    medium · Kaneda: 'If you put it all on a piece of paper, you're like, there's no way there is enough demand for all of these companies to be in existence. I think only four to five companies are going to survive.'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Zombie Yeti may be transitioning to an official full-time Stern team member; Jeremy Packer may gain equity stake in company

    medium · Kaneda: 'I think he [Zombie Yeti] now going to become an official member of Stern Pinball Inc. team' and 'I think Jeremy Packer is going to start to get more equity in this company'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Kaneda criticizes recent Stern games (Foo Fighters) for lacking mechanical complexity and wants to see more ambitious mechanisms in future releases

    high · Kaneda: 'I still look down on it and still want to see a little bit more mechanical stuff engineered in these games' about Foo Fighters

  • ?

    community_signal: Kaneda criticizes content creators for celebrating Stern's price increases rather than challenging them, suggesting a conflict of interest or lack of critical independence

    high · Kaneda: 'The fact that a premium is ten thousand dollars should enrage this community. Instead we've got all of these content creators like celebrating this fact.'

  • ?

    regulatory_signal: Stern removed the $19,995 price for James Bond 60th and switched to 'call for price,' which Kaneda views as unprofessional and greedy obfuscation

    high · Kaneda: 'It was so pathetic that they put a price on James Bond 60th on their website of $19,995 and then they quickly removed the price and then said call for price.'

  • ?

    business_signal: Stern's executive leadership under George Gomez is identified as the primary factor distinguishing them from all competitors; no other manufacturer has equivalent strategic visionary

    high · Kaneda: 'The smartest man in all of pinball and that is Mr. George Gomez. As long as George Gomez is at the helm of Stern Pinball, this company will continue to clobber everybody else.'