What's up guys and welcome back to the channel where I talk and do everything pinball. So if that sounds interesting to you then hit the subscribe button down below. And we've got quite a few items to talk about in this video. I mean we're going to go talking about American pinball, pinball brothers, stern, jersey jack pinball, a little bit of multi-morphic, and a few other little items within all of that. So buckle up, let's get into it. First up, a pin quest reminder. I am the guest host this month. I encourage all of you to reach out to your locations and have them look into getting a pin quest on their site. And it's really no money out of their pocket. I'll put links in the description down below. First month is free using your promo code HardyPQ. And finally, I'm releasing to the public my More Guns Than Wick t-shirt. It's available on my website, carryhardy.com. If you scroll down, you should be able to see it. Add it to your cart. It's yours for the taking, by all means. I hope you enjoy it. Definitely not my most proudest moment in all my video history, but there in turn lies the reason why there is a shirt. Starting off with some pinball news, Multimorphic has released a new game called Elemental, and it's free to download for any of you P3 owners out there. It works on every module, evidently. But for all you P3 owners out there, I think that's pretty cool that you have a new game to explore at no charge. And let's jump into Jersey Jack and discussing a little bit about Harry Potter here. It seems that everybody that's playing Harry Potter is thoroughly enjoying it. A buddy of mine recently traded in one of his games that won an award at Texas Pinball Festival to get a Harry Potter. And he's thoroughly enjoying Harry Potter. I think it's one of those games that is reaching up on the ranks as being Jersey Jack's best game yet. And I'm looking forward to hopefully getting one back here eventually. once I get rid of Kong back here. And to segue into talking about the eventual sweepstakes for the King Kong, yes, I'm well aware I need to get that going, but still things need to be worked out and tweaked up just to make sure everything's good to go on that. But the art is done. I think you're really going to like the t-shirt involved with that. And then let's talk a little bit about this. I mean, I mentioned it even on like a pin side post because people were speculating about, you know, there's been speculation there always is speculation but even though Harry Potter just came out it's always about what's next who's doing what what's coming next it always is it never fails in this hobby so the people are already speculating and wanting to discuss Steve Ritchie and what he's working on and when it's coming and what it's going to be my guess this is an educated guess is it's Sonic. And Nap Arcade released an article today basically reiterating things that I... I'm not saying he got it from me. But reiterating things that I mentioned on Pinside why I believe it to be Sonic. And for me, I'm honestly very excited if it is Sonic. Because I'm a big Sonic Sega fanboy. It's mainly the console that I played the most growing up. and I have a lot of nostalgia in the Sonic franchise, especially the Sega Genesis. And he mentions that, you know, is it going to be the movie or is it going to be the video games? And discussing art packages for how it may be like Harry Potter, like the top tier might be the video game or a version might be the video game type of artwork versus the movie. And here's how I feel about it. Again, speculation. if it is Sonic. I'm definitely glad it's Steve Ritchie because he's known for his speed and that is a great theme that I think he should be able to nail. And the theme of Sonic makes total damn sense because he's a blue ball going very fast and there's plenty of levels throughout the games that really represent and remind me of a pinball machine, especially Casino Night Zone and Sonic 2. Those of you know what I'm talking about. there also is a little bit of nostalgia in the movies just not so much i do enjoy the movies would i be like willing to spend multiple thousands of dollars for a sonic movie pinball machine not as much as if it was the video game and a lot of you know that Ryan McQuaid made a homebrew of sonic the hedgehog and it was solely based on the video games mainly of course you know sega genesis the style that i'm a major fan of so playing his game was pure nostalgia the music was there the call outs the sound effects everything was there the fighting robotnik and hitting him eight times to get it was all there i loved it i think was some proper little tweaks in the design and some better engineering on certain things in the game would have been a major hit then he gets hired on to American Pinball, and they were going to do Sonic, but evidently the license was snatched up by somebody else. That is rumored to be Jersey Jack Pinball, and it makes sense that all this time has gone by that Sonic would be about the time frame of being next. Now, in regards to movie versus video game again, it's like, yeah, if the game came out, it's got to be the movies. It has to you know jersey jack they all their themes and everything they're always about the movies of the themes that they do so it's going to be primarily about the movies and more than likely the collector's edition like we have with harry potter is going to be based on the like this the main property where it started from so more than likely if i was a betting man the collector's edition for sonic will be sega genesis style and that's going to be awesome and it's going to be very hard to turn down for me that is but i could definitely see what the potential is for a game like this with the spinners and making certain shots and hearing the sound of collecting rings and then getting emeralds there's a lot of things that they can do with this video game wise when it goes into the movies though i i feel like that may be a little bit limiting and i almost feel like i could make a whole video discussing theories and how i feel about sonic inside of a pinball machine but that's currently the rumor is that Steve Ritchie's next game with jersey jack which is a good year away they're gonna be busy building harry potter's they're printing money over there in jersey jack right now so there is no like oh when's it gonna happen when's their next release they they are they are no rush to get the blue blur out right now so patience everybody and we're going to see what happens but like again speculation that it's sonic it could be maverick who knows but i hope it's sonic and i definitely hope it's going to be the sega genesis version next up let's talk about stern pinball canada's pinball podcast is confirming in some way that the next game is star wars versions episodes four five and six now we already kind of assumed and had the rumors of it being a Star Wars but now it confirmed that it 4 5 and 6 Which basically kind of backs up my feelings about how I believed it would be 4 5 and 6 And I was going to be surprised if it wasn't. If it was any other Star Wars that they haven't done yet, I would be surprised. But this seems to be the way of what Stern's doing. things they're they're doing things that they've already done but improving upon them so there is that like they are reaching into their usual bag of goodies but they're improving upon it so i'll give you a little bit of credit for that now when can we expect to see the new star wars game i would say definitely very end of august early september if history repeats itself so i'm definitely curious to see what direction Borg goes with this. There's also rumors that it's basically a remaster of his Data East version from 92, which isn't a horrible thing, but I definitely would like to see some improvements, mainly those two targets up near the scoop on your Data East game. Those things were always going cockeyed, but otherwise the game was pretty enjoyable. I mean, but I think it definitely could use a sprucing up. It better not just be a copy and paste, which I don't think it's going to be. And this other rumor that I thought was pretty funny, but, you know, let's talk about it a little bit. I was listening to the JBS show. I'll put a link in the video description right there if you want to check out their podcast. It has Retro Ralph and Cale Hernandez on there, and they were discussing a multitude of topics and going over everything. And there was a discussion about a rumor that Keith Elwin would be leaving Stern or the possibility, again, rumors, that Keith Elwin may be going to Jersey Jack Pinball. supposedly his contract is coming up or something of that nature. And as much as I would, okay, let's just say this. I'm going to get something to drink. And for the moment there, I want you to think about, just imagine, if Keith Elwin did go to Jersey Jack Pinball, the kind of machines that he would be able to create. Think about that. Pretty awesome, huh? But here's the thing. I do not know Keith very well. Keith, I'm sure you're watching this. But I'm willing to bet... This would be funny if I'm freaking wrong. But I'm willing to bet you're going to stick with Stern. And I'm thinking the reasoning behind that is that they are the ones that brought you in. They picked you up. They made your name famous. they have done so much for you and this is i feel you know you're probably thinking that i'm working for stern at this point trying to ask you to stay but i'm this is me just going mustering back and forth about you know the the pros and cons of this and you know and i feel like definitely you're loyal to the brand of stern and for a multitude of reasons one of those the fact that They brought you in. You probably got a lot of friends there. You're very comfortable and happy where you are. But another part of me is like, I mean, if your contract is coming up, man, make that money. You're the golden goose. You got some major negotiating right here that you could do, man. I'm not saying Stern would fail without you. they would keep on going but there's no way that people can say that you don't sell machines on your name alone it'd be weird to have stern lose like multiple designers you know within a short period of time because you know jack danger is transitioning to a different role which by the way for you homebrewers out there this may be a time to spruce up your resume and when i say your resume I mean a game for Pinball Expo coming up in October, because your homebrew is essentially your resume for the manufacturers out there looking for new talent. So a space may be open at Stern for a designer, so you may want to get your games all nice and shiny and show them out there what you're capable of. Just throwing that out there. but no i i do not believe that Keith Elwin will be leaving stern to go to jersey jack pinball would it be cool yes i would love to see Keith Elwin with a bomb like jersey jack gives their designers for what they can create but you also have to remember that we would no longer be getting one Keith Elwin game a year we would be getting one Keith Elwin game every three to four years unless somehow or other jersey jack starts being able to pump out games like stern so again weigh the pros and cons i'm definitely curious to hear from you guys out there what do you think about the rumor of that happening i'm leaning towards keith staying at stern but what do you think comment section down below guys pinball at the beach is i don't want to say it's coming up But what is coming up is the opening for purchasing your tickets and merch and all that jazz. I want to say they're aiming for next week. I don't even have the exact time or date yet, but they're aiming for next week for the orders to open up. I've been getting messages from multiple people, and they're worried that they're missing the window for purchasing Pinball at the Beach tickets. And I completely understand this is a much more anticipated show than it was the first year, which was last year. This show, I'm very confident, is going to sell out. That's right. This is a show that can sell out. It's aiming towards the exclusive market. And I'm pretty sure, especially after word of mouth, that this show will sell out. and if you would like to know the details and when they open up sooner than later then by all means don't forget to hit the subscribe and if you're a patreon then definitely you will get any information before anybody else but i'm not the spokesperson for pinball at the beach i don't get all the information first chances are they're gonna post it on facebook and then they'll tell me i don't know but we'll see what happens but i'm also saying i'm pretty sure that there will be a promo code to save you some money so you may just hold out but next week i believe is when they're opening up the order so stay tuned for that guys american pinball it's like where do i begin on this because you've got a functioning shooting game ready to go I've played it. I know what's there. It's like, you got it. You just need some more code, but you're not releasing it due to a number of unknown reasons that I'm not privy to. And one of those reasons speculation is that you need to sell all of your Galactic Tank Force games Their inventory before Mukesh is going to allow you to build the new Cuphead game And then there's also the other speculation that things are just falling apart and the company is closing down. And due to the most recent detailed information in regards to the name American Pinball, basically the trademark or the licensing for the name, they let it expire. so that definitely blew up as well as all the names for like galactic tank force and all that jazz those licenses ran out evidently according to the links that were sent to me and everything so i reached out because i wanted to figure out what the hell is going on because everybody's speculating that american pinball is shutting down and so that's probably going to be affecting the secondhand market and everything. But what I can tell you is that American pinball is not going anywhere. Now, in the future, there may be some changes done, possibly a name, maybe because they're looking to do more than just pinball. And this is not something new. This is something that was spoken about many months ago, about how they were wanting to sell other items, the polycades and everything like that, but maybe they're going to be doing more than just polycades. Maybe they're going to be doing a multitude of different types of entertainment, type of arcade machines or whatever. So it wouldn't surprise me if we see a rebrand or a new name, but I believe American Pinball is still going to be underneath the umbrella. All the parts for you American Pinball owners out there, for all of your games, do not be concerned about whether or not you're going to be able to get parts in case something happens. They will be taking care of all of their pinball customers with all those parts. Those are parts that they still make, still keep in stock. So there shouldn't be any concerns about that. But in regards to the name American Pinball allowing that to run out, allegedly emails were being sent to people that were no longer employed there so it's merely a temporary hiccup in regards to still having the name under trademark or licensing or whatever so that's supposedly temporary and that should be resolved soon i haven't checked the website to see if it's been updated yet but now would be the best time for you guys to release cuphead nobody's releasing anything but that window is closing stern's about to release their next cornerstone and then we're getting closer to expo and we're going to be seeing their remaster of the walking dead and then we're going to see other companies releasing things like spooky and then your window is now and it's closing and i know you would love to release it but evidently there's things going on that you're not allowed to tell me and I'm perfectly content with that. Hopefully these things get resolved, you figure it out, and you can stay in the game. But you're gonna need to really do some, you know, resurrecting when it comes to consumer confidence because that is fading fast. And let's top this off by talking about the most recent news in regards to pinball brothers and their predator game i i it's like i feel like every time that you guys release a game there's all these things that you do to shoot yourself in the foot and i feel like this time with this game i don't know how many toes you've got left and granted not all of that's against you is your fault these tariffs are not a joke it sucks and i do feel for you in regards to that that's something that it's out of your control you can't there's nothing you can do about that and it sucks and for what you're doing now it is a big sign of desperation which it's one of those things where i believe you're doing what you have to do you know i mean you're pissing a lot of people off but you're doing what you have to do to stay afloat in this economy and with the lack of sales but according to you predator is very popular and there's only 150 machines left out of the alleged what 800 that you said you were going to make so supposedly you've sold 650 predators which i doubt and it's very popular and there's only 150 left so what do you do you figure out a way to lower prices i call bullshit it it's simple capitalism here when it comes to what do you do when your product is in high demand it's very popular do you lower prices has there ever been a company that's done that no it's supply and demand so what they've done in case you're not privy to this guys they are now basically eating the cost of the tariffs and the shipping and everything by shipping the games directly from their location overseas to their U.S. office in Du Bois, Pennsylvania. And you can buy them direct through them for $12,000. Here's the thing. You just pissed off every distro that sells your games. You're like, why, Kerry? Why are all the distros pissed off? Because why would we go to a distro to spend thousands more on a game if we can just buy it direct from you? Distros knew this immediately. So now you've totally pissed them off. It's like, well, we had customers, but people are going to want to, if they do decide to buy this game, they're going to be going direct. It's just simple what people do. They want the best price. That's what's going to happen. Whether or not you're great buddies with your distro, chances are you're going to go direct to save a couple of grand. And on top of that, and I should have stated this even before anything else, is that you went with Predator. Okay, cool. But you also decided to do Predator without Arnold Schwarzenegger. And this is where I really question, and I don't know the whole process when it comes to getting a license and going through things. that I know that sometimes get figured out down the road sometimes things improve but it's one of those things work for me I would know these things as someone who's not a professional in the whole marketing scheme and everything but I do know what people want on a lot of things and for me it just seemed like it would be straightforward if you going to do a particular theme then you have to have this this is what people will expect this is why i got so pissed off about john wick not having guns because it didn't make any sense and it's like if you can't have this then don't do it but it was told by you know regards to John Wick, that is, that they were too far into the project to wash their hands of it. More money was in, so they decided to go all the way through it. And that's a rabbit hole that we don't need to go down anymore. But going back to Predator, you had to have known that Arnold Schwarzenegger was going to be too expensive for you. You had to have known that immediately. Pretty damn quick. But you went through it anyways. You made the game. you went through all of this in hopes that people wouldn't care that much and some people probably don't i know that you sold some predators no doubt you've sold some predators but i don't think you've sold 650 and if i really wanted to i'm pretty sure i could call up all my distro buddies that sell your machines and ask them how much they've sold to really confirm whether or not you're trying to create fake FOMO and lie to the consumer base out there. And if I really wanted to confirm this, then it would not look good on you guys. So by all means, I hope that you've sold that many. Good for you if you have. That's great. Because then you can move on to your next game. But on top of just continuing to shoot yourself in the foot, you also have a history of just games that aren't really that good. So this is also hindering your ability to sell Predator. It's like every time I walked into a store and someone kicked me in the nuts, I would stop going to that store. Or I'd start wearing a cup or have somebody else walk in before me to make sure that guy's not in there to kick me in nuts when I walk into the store. It's like if I was to get another Pinball Brothers game for people that have already bought one. And they've been disappointed for a variety of different reasons. If you bought ABBA, I'm sorry. Queen, when you've got a company that's re-skinning your game into another game, that kind of speaks a little bit of volumes too. What was it, like some sort of Italian company or something? They were taking the Queen playfields and Queens and re-skinning it into a completely different game. Yeah, there you go. That kind of explains it right there when it comes to Queen. like your only good decent shooting game was aliens and that technically wasn't 100% yours it was most of it was done and you could sit there and argue that you did a bunch of this and you tweaked this and you changed this and you had to do all this but the most part of it was done yeah they didn't have Ripley and eventually you got Ripley you did great by finally putting Ripley into the game. But that was another thing that was like, why would you create aliens without Ripley? That was the character that everyone loved, that everyone stood behind, that was rooting for and cheering for. And you don't have it in the game. It was confusing. And so now you have Predator with Arnold, a character that everyone was standing behind, rooting for, praying that he would get out of there alive. And then you don't have them in the game. I hope that your next game, whatever that is, you do better by the assets. And hopefully, and we haven't played Predator. That's the thing also, guys. I'm sure that no one's going to be able to play Predator and get good footage of it until pinball expo and for all we know maybe the game is great maybe minds will be changed confidence will be there from the consumers and we'll start seeing predators start getting bought up that's another thing that they've got going against them is their location tariffs lack of arnold history of bad games you've got a guy you got a lot going against you pinball brothers it's not going to be an easy fight for you but hopefully you can find a way out but in the current economy and situation it's not looking good my god i feel like i probably went on that for too long but hopefully it was entertaining for you guys i think i'm gonna close this video out because it's getting late and uh i'm sure some of you have noticed this right here i mean wondering what's going on this is my new computer now did i have to put it here no but i wanted to have a little extra little flare in the background so that way you know you don't have to look at my ugly mug you got something else shiny going on behind me or whatever and stuff but the reason i got this is because it's been 10 years since i've upgraded my computer last so now editing in 4k should be a much more smoother experience for me and i know some of you have noticed the circus Voltaire that has been behind me. I've seen the comments in my previous videos in regards to that. I'm merely borrowing it from a friend. It was supposed to be a swap. We just haven't actually completed the swap. I've had this game for months. I just haven't. It's, I don't, I don't know. It's just, it's here kind of thing. I've got, I'm working on a Judge Dredd right now for the location near me. But yeah, I'm thinking that's pretty much everything that I wanted to touch on at this current point in time a big shout out and thank you to all my patreon supporters out there it's due to your monthly support donations that keeps this channel sponsor free i don't have distributors i'm not boosting up trying to boost their sales and if i really wanted to i would start accepting all these offers i get from emails in regards to all different types of products but i delete these emails immediately because i've got support from the community which keeps me neutral so that's great so unless you want to start seeing raid shadow legends no i'm just kidding but uh again thank you supporters out there very much appreciated and i'll see you all at the end of the video Steve, if you're doing Sonic There better be a damn loop in there Don't you dare if you dare make a Sonic game without a loop. I might even get more pissed off about a non-loop in a Sonic game than no guns and wick.