Welcome everybody to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. This is my favorite distraction in the entire world and boy do I need a distraction this week. One of my best friends passed away yesterday, age 35, 35 years old. She was the most amazing, badass woman I've ever met, and she will sorely be missed. And Angela, I love you, and everyone out there who's listening to this. Remember, life is very short, and we should maximize the little time we have with the people we love in moments we enjoy. And we should see this world, and we should eat delicious food, and we should share conversation with the people we absolutely love. love and we should hug those we love as much as possible and make as much effort as we can to just be together. Remember, we talk about pinball on this podcast and it's just a box of lights. All of this is just stuff. It's stuff we know deep down we don't really need, but it is fun and it is a distraction and we all work really hard. So that is part of life as well. We don't have to give up on the things we enjoy, but we should maximize the time with people. So let's talk about this thing we enjoy called pinball and i've been noticing this week a few news items we've got a rush topper for seventeen hundred dollars it somehow seems cheap now right all these toppers are normally two thousand dollars and isn't it kind of strange that the twilight zone topper that got released at texas pinball festival was also priced at seventeen hundred dollars. It's like everyone forgets how much it costs to put plastic up on top of a pinball machine. I'm looking at this topper. It's okay. Does it look like a $1,700 topper? No, it doesn't. And now all of a sudden, I'm doing the math in my head and a $13,000 Stern LE plus a $1,700 topper. Let's just assume the Foo Fighters topper is going to be around the same price. Now, all of a sudden, a Stern LE with a topper, with its accessories, is going to exceed over $15,000. $15,000 for a Stern LE when you add in like taxes and shipping on all this stuff. And I just want to say this right now. I think every one of us is in the same boat. We are seeing these crazy pinball prices. We are seeing the games that are now available. And all of these games have just come out, right? And we're all really excited to get more pinball in the world. We're excited for the variety of pinball that is in the world. But I think if everybody is like Kaneda right now, you're sort of looking at all these games and saying, great, we've got all of these options. But now pinball is the most expensive it's ever been in the history of pinball. And when you look down at these games, do me a favor, look down at these games and look at all of them. Foo Fighters. Look at freaking Pulp Fiction. Look at Galactic Tank Force. Look at Scooby-Doo. Look at Final Resistance. Look at every single game. The Godfather. Look over all of these games. The most expensive pinball has ever been. And then walk over to a row of Bally Williams games. Walk over to some of the Stern machines that came out like six years ago. Seven years ago. Walk over to the stern machines like Metallica and ACDC and Ghostbusters. And you tell me, when you look down at these games nowadays, that you're seeing more put into these games. And you're not. And I think that's where I'm at with all of this right now. We're going to talk about it right now. With this game right now that has everybody's attention because everybody just wants to see what is the deal with Galactic Tank Force. and this game has now been out for like two weeks and why is it so hard for everybody in this community before they order one of these games? If you want to order one of these games, what is the one thing you want to see American Pinball do? They've been shepherding this game around Texas Pinball Festival. It's now about to go to MGC. Why is it so hard for them to ship one of these games? We've got so many pinball streamers in the world. Why haven't they sent this game to a pinball streamer who can create a gameplay stream of this game so everybody can see what this game is really about? Now, if you were to ask me, I think we all know the answer to this question. Why they don't want you to see a stream of this game before the order banks open up. And I'm going to tell you right now, I played this game more than most people on Pinside who are saying the game is an instant classic. And here's my honest opinion about this game. And before I give you my opinion again about this game, I want to tell you right now, one of my friends just went up to David Fix and David Fix is telling him that they sold 2,000 Galactic Tank Force games. Do you believe that? I don't believe he's sold 2,000. I think he's allotted maybe 2,000 of these games to distributors. And that kind of makes sense, right? Think about it. You've got 700 of these tanks. You've got 500 LEs and 200 of the Signature Edition games. Then you've got the Deluxe Edition. So I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that David Fix has allocated 2,000 machines to distributors. But that is not selling 2,000 games. It is still easy to get an LE of this machine. It's easy to get the Signature Edition of this machine. It's easy to get a Deluxe of this machine. the game is by no means a sales juggernaut. There is no frenzy to get this game. And I know that everyone thinks I'm always negative and I'm always toxic, but I'm just going to say after all of the hype, after all of the wait for this Dennis Nordman game and American Pinball's packed machine Galactic Tank Force, after all of the rollout of this game, I mean, I just want to say I am severely disappointed in how this game rolled out. I'm also disappointed in the lack of toys or creativity in this game. My job for a living is a creative. The thing about creativity is this. You need to have a creative concept and then you need to execute that concept in a way that makes sense, in a way that works. And as I look at Galactic Tank Force and I see Christopher Franchi marketing a game over in the corner, the game he's marketing doesn't feel like the game itself. And then I turn on the game and there's music in the game that has nothing to do with the way this game is marketed. It has nothing to do with the storyline of the game. It sounds like total nuclear annihilation. And then I look down at the game and I look at the artwork and I look at the tank and I look at what's on the play field and I'm just not seeing this like two to three years in the making. Dennis Nordman, Zofia Ryan from Valley Williams. They sold this game like this was going to be some modern Bally Williams game. And it is just not that. Like, it's not terrible, but there's nothing happening in this game on a mechanical level that is even that interesting. And here's the direction I think Galactic Tank Force is going to go in. Look at original IP games. Look at a game like Dialed In. Dialed In has so much more in it than Galactic Tank Force. Dialed In is another game in which the creative direction was executed kind of strangely. It wasn't a game about cell phones. It was a game about trying to save Quantum City, right, from all of these natural disasters. Now, would I have ever made Dialed In? No. If I was sitting in the room and they like Jack here the idea for the game Quantum City is getting attacked by natural disasters that you can stop with the use of your cell phone I would have been like what are you freaking talking about Let's just make the right version of Toy Story and sell 10,000 of those games instead of this joke. So you've got this game, right? Galactic Tank Force. And it's now been out for over a week and a half and still nobody can exactly tell you what the game is about. nobody and why aren't we seeing streams of the game and look I've shot this game over and over and over again and it's an all right shooting game but it does not have flow like dialed in it does not have flow like godfather it does not have flow like foo fighters out of all the new games it probably has one of the worst flows and layouts in all of the new games because you're constantly shooting up the middle at those targets and the ball is air balling over the flippers and ladies and gentlemen it is 2023 at these prices are you telling me when you design the white wood of a game that you did not notice that the ball was constantly air balling over the flippers and then you're going to bring the game to a show in which thousands of people are going to get a chance to play your game and we're going to stand over that machine and witness the ball flying from those targets all the way over that center post and over the flippers and drain And nobody caught that during pre-production. Nobody caught that at the Whitewood stage. So you got that. You've got this questionable design layout that's not really working. And if that doesn't give you some hesitation on going in on this game, maybe the fact that the artist himself, Mr. Franchi, is now attacking potential customers of this game on Pinside. Maybe he deleted his posts. But let me tell you something, Mr. Franchi, because I know someone will share this with you. I get that you worked on this game. And I get that you think you're protecting the people that worked on this game with you. But Mr. Franchi, you are selling an $8,000 to $18,000 for-profit toy. We are allowed to look at this game and we're allowed to nitpick whatever we want. We're allowed to talk about the 3D sculpts. We're allowed to talk about the confusing theme and the music and all the other stuff going on in the game. And that is not a personal attack against you or anyone who made this game. But once you make a for-profit item, you need to just sit back and let people react to it the way they want to react to it. If you're going to attack us for giving our feedback on the game, I'm sorry, but all you're going to do is make people not want to buy from your company. And you need to act more professionally, and that is not a professional class act. And I'm allowed to say whatever I want on my microphone. I'm allowed to say whatever I want on my show about your game because this is the only place in the pinball content space that will even say stuff like this because everyone else in the content space these days is getting kickbacks from these manufacturers and these distributors. Uh-oh, Kaneda said it again, but that's the truth. So look, I don't think anyone's rooting against this game and I'm not rooting against this game. I just think the rollout of this game would make me wait and see. I don't think there's anything I'm seeing right now that would make me pull the trigger right now. Eventually, hopefully within a week or so, we are going to be able to see a one to two hour stream of this game being played nonstop. And I don't think they want you to see it because I think what's going to happen is this. I think you're going to see as you get into the modes of this game and as you see the layout more often and how the shots go in this game. I think you're going to see a lot more stuff that makes you cringe than makes you happy. I don't think you're going to see like this amazing campy game where it all comes together. And again, we all like campy games like Whitewater. We like campy games like Monster Bash. Medieval Madness is a campy game. But this is not that. Like those games were executed so perfectly well. And that is why those games still hold up after all of these years. And for those of you out there who think this game is going to land like those games, it's not going to happen. and I'll tell you why it's not going to happen because this game, when you hear the seminar and you listen to Steven Bowden, Christopher Franchi, Dennis Nordman, David Fix, everyone involved with this game, they were all on different pages. This is what happens when everyone's off doing something else and then you try to put it all together and you try to make it make sense. It doesn't really make sense to me. And I think that's going to be what people see when we finally see this game streamed for the first time. And I think you're going to see some people who bought the game because the tank is cool. And I think you're going to see guys like Iceman and he's listening to this. I know you're listening, Doug. I think you're going to see people who buy this game simply because it's different. And look, I'm not here to stop you. If you want a game that's different, this is it. If you want a game that's a little wacky and weird, this is it. If you want a game that's not cohesive and almost makes no sense whatsoever from a storyline standpoint, this is it. Like this is the complete opposite of buying another Stern or buying another Jersey Jack game or buying a remake. I mean, there is no other pinball game in the pinball universe like Galactic Tank Force, but that does not mean the game is going to be great. It doesn't mean the game is going to work on a campiness level. And I don't know. It's not going to work yet. But all I'm seeing right now, ladies and gentlemen, are a bunch of red flags. They don't want us to focus on the game. They want us to focus on the cabinet. They want to wheel the game in as if it's driving the tank into the seminar. All of that is just silliness. All of that is just marketing spin. And I just wish they would have made this campy 1950s sci-fi game. Like think about Attack from Mars. like how campy that game is and how it all comes together so nicely. I just don't think you're going to see that happen in this game because you go from like a tank battle to a dude in a lab holding up an ice cream cone with nuts on it. What the heck is going on in this game? And again, maybe Kenaid is going to be wrong. Maybe in a couple months, we're all going to be celebrating the fact that Dennis Nordman and team made the weirdest, wackiest game and everyone loves it. But from what I'm seeing right now, I just don't see it. So that's Galactic Tank Force. And hey, you know what they say, the numbers don't lie. This game hasn't sold out yet. I mean, there are Galactic Tank Force LEs for sale left and right. And I really feel sorry for anybody who bought the signature edition of this game because I stood in front of the game with the 3D Translate. And I'm here to tell you right now, it's not that nice. It's actually kind of weird. The regular Translate is much nicer. And the fact that American Pinball, I'm going to say this, and look, I know I might be still in a mourning period because of my friend, but I'm just going to say this. The fact that American Pinball implemented a call for price BS strategy around this $17,500 signature edition shows me one thing. It shows me this company has lost its way a little bit. The fact that David Fix wanted to price the Signature Edition at $6,500 more than the LE of this game with almost nothing extra in it, that shows me all I need to know about American Pinball. And they don't get to hide from this. They did it. I called for price. And calling for price, again, I hate it. It's a cowardly move and it makes no sense and it has no business being in pinball. I have a friend who already bought one of these games for 15 five So he bought his game for two thousand less than the damn Distributors want to sell you the game for right now And the reason why they want you to call for price and they don have the guts to actually price it themselves is they don't want someone to buy it for $17,500 and then learn that someone else bought it for $15,500 and then the original buyer is going to want to go back and get their $2,000 back because they got ripped off. And if you don't have the guts to actually price your machine and you want people to call for price, I think you're a coward. And I think this behavior is once again taking advantage of the pinball collectors that have been keeping this hobby going very strongly for the last like 15 years. And I think they deserve more respect than that. But ultimately, it comes down to your own self-respect, people. Have some self-respect. Don't buy a game if the price is call for price. Have some self-respect. I don't care how rich you are. I don't care how much money you got. But why aren't we, as a community, making sure these companies actually price their products? It's the least they could do because we know we're all getting ripped off to begin with. Just tell us how much you want to rip us off by. I mean, is it too much to ask? Here's what I think is going to happen over the next couple months. I think there are going to be no new games that come out. I think we've seen everything. And now I think the debate is going to happen, where is the value in pinball? And look, I'm walking away from all of these new games absolutely content that I have a Guns N' Roses CE that probably has a playfield falling apart in a box. I have a Batman SLE that is still in great condition, brand new condition, that I have to make one more payment on. And I spent $25,000 on it. Don't get me started. But I kind of think it's still worth that. We'll see what happens. and I have a deposit down on a Pulp Fiction LE, which I probably won't see for an entire year knowing CGC's manufacturing speed. So now what, right? Now what? Here's what's now what for me. I look forward to playing all of these games. All of them. I look forward to playing all of them on location. I look forward to playing them in people's collections. I don't really feel the need to buy any of them. And even Pulp Fiction included, even though I have a deposit down on it, I know that like three months from now, our hype and enthusiasm for Pulp Fiction is going to start to wane. And it's amazing. It's amazing what happens when you let go of the FOMO. You let go of this like desire to have to own everything that comes out. And I think that's the thing with everybody right now is we really want to buy new pinball machines. I mean, we're in this for a reason. Like we love the new stuff. I think everyone out there who's been anticipating all of these new games has been very excited. But my ultimate takeaway on all of these new games is the following. Scooby-Doo is the best spooky machine to date. It is very easy. It is easy for casual players to play the game. But considering so many of the spooky games have had questionable layouts and have been brick fests, this is by far their best offering to date. The Godfather is one of Jersey Jack Pinball's most barren machines to date. This doesn't feel like the kind of game and the kind of product that Jack Guarnieri wants to make. The only way you can look over at Godfather and feel like you're seeing a $12,000 to $15,000 game is if you forget what Jersey Jack used to give us in games like Dialed In, games like The Hobbit, games like Wizard of Oz, games like Pirates of the Caribbean, and heck, even games like Guns N' Roses. And when I stood over Godfather, instantly I knew that this is not the same Jersey Jack pinball that we know. This is not the company that was going to put everything and the kitchen sink into a game. And I also want to say this. I think people are getting somewhat tired of Keith and his rules and the constant multi-balls and the stacking of multi-balls. I think this is hurting Jersey Jack as well. And I think it's an unspoken thing because you're not allowed to talk negatively about some of these luminaries in pinball. But I think Keith and his overly complex codes and stacking multi balls, it isn't working for most people. And I think Godfather is going to go the same way as Toy Story. I don't think they sold all thousand CEs. I bet they held a lot back. And I think you're going to see people get this game. They'll enjoy it for a few months and then they're going to want to move on from it because it's not really the Godfather. And I think we're going to see the values on this game tank pretty quickly. And everyone's going to start to realize, like, Jersey Jack is no longer a game I want to buy and keep. It's a game I will buy used, save thousands of dollars, and just hopefully, fingers crossed, they'll make a theme I really want. Because that's the other story of Jersey Jack Pinball. They very rarely have made a theme everybody really, really wants, right? As grown men, did you really, really want Wizard of Oz? Did you want The Hobbit after the movies tanked? Did you want Dialed In? Did you want Pirates of the Caribbean? Did you want Willy Wonka? Did you want Toy Story 4? GNR was like the first theme that actually was like perfect for the demographic. And look how well that game sold. And if the rumors are true and the next game from Jersey Jack Pinball is Elton John, I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what to tell you. I'm happy watching this company on the sidelines. I will absolutely enjoy my Guns N' Roses collector's edition. The other thing is this, people. You can now get a Guns N' Roses collector's edition for like the same price as a Godfather collector's edition. And look, the speculator in me, if I were you, I would grab one of those machines because I think people are overlooking GNR CE right now. And when the dust settles, I don't think you're ever going to see another Jersey Jack game where they get the assets like GNR. And I don't think we're ever going to see another music pin quite like GNR. If the rumor is true where Jersey Jack Pinball is going to offer a kit to get better flipper feel on Guns N' Roses, I think we're going to see a resurgence in GNR popularity if we can make the game shoot better. Because trust me, those flippers are really soft. They are really mushy. So if they can make this game shoot better, then I think you're going to see people appreciate GNR all over again. All right, so Spooky, that's Jersey Jack Pinball. Stern Pinball, Foo Fighters. Well, look, Foo Fighters sold out. You know, Stern Pinball continues to do what Stern Pinball does. But I think deep down, we all know something here. If every single Stern Pinball machine is now $10,000 for a premium and $13,000 for an LE, and the LEs don't come with toppers, and Stern Pinball has done the incredible. They have taken stuff out of their games. They have doubled the price of their LEs from just a few years ago. They have absolutely realized that if you make the game beautiful with artwork, and you make the code amazing with animations, you're going to get people to buy your games. Stern Pinball will always be successful because they will always get the best themes. Their pins will always feel the best. And if you just love playing pinball, nothing plays better than a Stern machine. And that's the great thing about Stern is every time you walk up to a Stern, it's familiar. It's familiar in the way it feels. It's familiar in the way it looks. It's familiar in the way it shoots. and it's always going to be fun. And I think that's the thing about Stern. Isn't it crazy that we're giving Jersey Jack credit because they finally figured out flipper feel after 11 years? Like Stern's flippers have always felt great. And it's just funny, right? It's like every game should feel good. At these prices, you shouldn't have to take a decade to figure out how to get the flippers to feel right. And while I think Foo Fighters is a B theme that has been executed nicely, I still think the game is somewhat empty but it is gorgeous Like the game looks gorgeous And Stern doesn end here We going to see Venom We going to see Indiana Jones We going to see Jaws We going to see a lot more great stuff from Stern Pinball And I think Stern Pinball is going to continue to clobber everybody because they will also make the games faster than anybody. And as they move into the new factory, I think we're going to see Stern hit about a thousand games a week. Think about that for a minute. A thousand games a week. They can make every Pulp Fiction LE in just five days, where it will take everybody else years to fulfill their orders. So Stern is going to be fine. You know, then we get to Multimorphic, Final Resistance, and I don't know what the future holds for Multimorphic. I just know like it's another company where it's only appealing to people who really want something different. If you really want something different, go get a Multimorphic. I just don't see many people unboxing these machines. And I think Jerry needs to figure out manufacturing because I don't even think these guys are making like 10 games a week or five games a week. So imagine going to a show and showing a new game. And what happens if you get 100 orders? You got to tell those 100 people they're going to be waiting a year to get the game. I mean, Stern's going to be making that many games in like half a day. All right, Chicago Gaming Company, right? Everybody wants Pulp Fiction LE. Pulp Fiction LE was the hit of Texas Pinball Festival. It had the longest lines. It's got such great hype. You know, I think the other thing about Pulp Fiction is as more and more people stream it, and as you see the call-outs more often and you see the gameplay, I think people's enthusiasm will start to wane a little bit. But then the real question begins is like the wait, right? We've still got like 800 people need to get their Cactus Canyon LEs. And then we got to get Pulp Fiction made. Now, obviously, making Pulp Fiction is going to be a lot easier than making Cactus Canyon LE. It's a lot easier to make that game. I mean, look at the game. It's a lot easier to actually screw it together. I think it's exciting. I think, you know, having a single level Pulp Fiction game executed the way they executed the game is actually really good for pinball. And it's good to have this variety. So I think they nailed Pulp Fiction and I think the excitement around it will remain. I think out of all of these new games, Pulp Fiction is the only one. And I mean this from a speculative standpoint. If you got in on this game at MSRP and have a deposit down, I think this is going to be a game in which you're going to be able to flip it for more money if you want to. I don't think anything else in the pinball space you'll be able to sell for more than you bought it for. And I know people are like, it's not about the investment, but at these prices, we must be thinking about what the secondhand value is because so many more new games are going to come out and then we might want one. And when we move some of these current games on, who doesn't want to get more for their money? Okay. All right. So who am I missing? American pinball, galactic tank force. I don't really know what's going to happen here. I really don't know. And I think what's going to happen is this. When we finally see the stream, you're either going to see people get on board the tank or you're going to see people get off the tank. And I think if it comes together in a way that makes people happy, I think they'll do all right. It's going to be a slow burn, though. There's no way people are going to be running and throwing money at this machine like there's no tomorrow. you know, American Pinball can make games, but they also don't make games very quickly. So if there's 700 tank versions they have to make, that's going to take them a decent amount of time to actually manufacture. And I do think the majority of the orders are going to be the deluxe version of the game. If you're putting this game in your pinball lineup, you're really not going to be able to appreciate the tank. And once you fold the backbox up, it doesn't really make sense. And I think another big mistake they made was this. You're telling me that Christopher Franchi couldn't have designed a second Translite for the Deluxe Edition. I really feel like that Translite should have been just for the tank version. Is nobody studying how pinball works? If you're going to make three versions of the game, have three different art packages. Like, nobody knows that better than Franchi. And the fact that they didn't do that, I think it's just kind of lazy. And I think they needed to find more ways to differentiate each model, not less. and everyone's seeing the same translate because you're going to see that translate more than any of the other artwork on the game. And if every version has the same translate and the same play field, then why would you spend more on a cabinet you'll barely be able to appreciate once it's in your lineup? All right, what else is going on in pinball? So we are getting very, very close to 600 club members. I think we're just a few away. Crazy Kim Mitchell has said he will give $200 to club member number 600. All right, he's going to pay that. It's not me. I'm not bribing you. And I think he said he was going to give $100 to $598 and $599 and $200 to number 600. So thank you, Kim Mitchell, for that. But I did tell him what's going to happen is this. At the end of the month, there's always a few people who leave the club. I know, I know, I know, I know. But then we get them right back. So I think we are definitely going to get to 600 sometime in April. And I really mean this, everybody. I'm so happy you all are here. I'm happy you're listening to Canada's Pinball Podcast. And look, I am in a period of mourning, but this is a much-needed distraction for me. So if this show is a little negative, a little downer, please keep in mind what I'm going through. But I actually think I'm calling it as it is. And if I'm getting any of this wrong, if I'm not calling it properly, I would love to hear from you. Let me know what I'm getting wrong. I think we just got six or seven games of arguably like B-level themes in pinball. I think we all want to love these games more than we probably really do. And I think there's a lot of apologists out there that don't want to look at the price and what we're getting. And I think the biggest disappointment right now out of all of these games, because none of us had high hopes for Godfather. I think Foo Fighters actually blew people away in which we thought we were going to be laughing at the game. I think the biggest disappointment right now is Galactic Tank Force. And I think they need to show us more. I think they need to put up or shut up. And I don't want to be arguing with Franchi on Pinside. Show us the game. Stop hiding behind the marketing. Show us the freaking game. If you're so proud of this game, then give it to a streamer and let us make up our minds before you take our money. And I think that's what's going to happen over the next couple of weeks. And no, they haven't sold out of 2,000. and they sold 2,000 through to distributors. But I think distros are probably sitting on at least 1,000 of those games. Everybody, Canadian Spinball Podcast, even in a day of mourning, I will come to you and talk pinball. Thank you so much. I highly doubt there will be a Saturday Morning Spectacular because Brenda will be in Ireland, and I will be watching Killian on my own. And what we could do is this. I might delay the Saturday Morning Spectacular until his nap time. So he goes down around noon on Saturday. So I might do it then as just a way to talk to you guys while he's sleeping because there's nothing else I can do. So maybe look out for Kaneda going live around noon on Saturday. Please don't take away your Saturday noontime to watch me rant and rave about pinball. Go do stuff with your family, your children, and your wives, and your partners. And if you're single, go to the pub and have a drink for my friend Angela. everybody thank you so much for being a member of the club I'll talk to you soon love is a battle