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The Pinball Show Ep 180: From Birth To Retirement

The Pinball Show·podcast_episode·1h 39m·analyzed·Aug 26, 2025
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.038

TL;DR

Production updates and clarification of Pinball Brothers pricing controversy amid rumors of Star Wars pinball.

Summary

The Pinball Show hosts discuss Stern Pinball production updates including upcoming September releases (King Kong Premium, Jaws 50th Anniversary, Stranger Things Pro), rumored Star Wars pinball machine for October/November reveal, Spike 3 operating system details (based on Raspberry Pi Compute Model 4), Chicago Gaming Company's Medieval Madness shipping timeline, Cactus Canyon Remake kits, and clarification of Pinball Brothers' controversial direct-sales pricing strategy for Predator units.

Key Claims

  • Jaws 50th Anniversary already sold out with Stern; partial shipments in September with remainder in December, no production beyond December.

    high confidence · Host states directly from distributor knowledge that Flipping Out Pinball did not receive full order.

  • Star Wars pinball rumored for October/November reveal with episodes 4-6 and new operating system on Spike 3.

    medium confidence · Host cites persisting rumors: 'where there's smoke, there's fire' but acknowledges rumors often get shut down.

  • Spike 3 uses Raspberry Pi Compute Model 4, an off-the-shelf board, not custom-developed hardware.

    high confidence · Dennis references Pinside forum discussion confirming board specs and questions price increases justified by R&D claims.

  • Medieval Madness Merlin Edition shipping begins week of September 1st with expected 1,000 units built through February 2026.

    high confidence · Official announcement to dealers; host notes batched shipping over extended timeline.

  • Cactus Canyon Remake kits shipping September 1st with approximately 1-2 month production timeline for all units.

    high confidence · Host spoke directly to CGC salesperson Mia who confirmed kit assembly and pre-assembly to minimize installation time to ~1 hour.

  • Pinball Brothers' new direct pricing ($11,995) embeds $1,000 to cover air freight and tariffs; dealer pricing adjusted to match, no dealer undercut.

    high confidence · Host clarifies misreporting by media; explains Pinball Brothers offered same pricing adjustment to dealers to prevent undercutting.

  • Multiple Stern titles (Deadpool Pro, Star Wars Comic Pro/Premium Spike 2, Foo Fighters Pro, Iron Maiden Pro, Rush Pro/Premium, Mandalorian Pro/Premium) are vaulted/out of stock indefinitely.

    high confidence · Host provides dealer inventory data; notes licensing makes future production unlikely despite not formally vaulted for 2+ years.

  • Stranger Things Pro shows no future builds planned at Stern; quasi-vaulted status but not formally vaulted.

Notable Quotes

  • “Where there's smoke, there's fire, where there's fire, there's smoke. What do you need? Thunder and lightning or lightning and thunder?”

    Host (Zach) @ ~15:00 — Humorous rhetorical setup for discussing Star Wars rumor persistence; illustrates conversational tone and speculation.

  • “The Big Apple Update... this is a big one. It so big that it's helping trend the sales up of King Kong.”

    Host (Zach) @ ~22:30 — Notable claim that v.85 code update is driving sales momentum for King Kong machine.

  • “It's not a powerful system, unlimited power... This is an off-the-shelf board.”

    Dennis @ ~28:00 — Skeptical commentary on Spike 3 hardware; questions whether price increases are justified given Raspberry Pi basis.

  • “Pinball Brothers is selling direct and they're selling cheaper than what they were selling it to dealers for... It's incorrect.”

    Host (Zach) @ ~45:00 — Direct correction of media misreporting; establishes host credibility as insider distributor with knowledge of actual dealer terms.

  • “They fooled people to think that the price was kind of the same, but now they wouldn't have to pay for air freight or tariffs.”

    Host (Zach) @ ~51:00 — Explanation of Pinball Brothers' pricing strategy; illustrates sophisticated messaging to consumers despite no actual dealer disadvantage.

  • “Production ends December 31st. Three exclamations.”

    Host (Zach) @ ~41:00 — Humorous reading of Pinball Brothers' urgent marketing language for Predator availability; mocks QVC-style sales tactics.

  • “Medieval Madnesses are coming... long awaited that people have been waiting for those... I guess the line's fully staffed now.”

    Host/Dennis dialogue @ ~35:00 — Confirms CGC finally has full production capacity after staffing issues delayed Medieval Madness shipping.

  • “The Corn jokes... if they add a mode where it's just coral jokes... Coral. Coral. Coral.”

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyChicago Gaming Company (CGC)companyPinball BrotherscompanyFlipping Out PinballcompanyZachpersonDennispersonMiaperson

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Pinball Brothers restricting Predator/Alien production to 150 units with December 31st end date; final release positioning with FOMO-driven marketing.

    high · Host quotes: 'only got 150 predator units remaining... once they're gone, they're gone forever... Production ends December 31st.'

  • ?

    event_signal: Chicago Gaming Company fully staffed and shipping Medieval Madness and Cactus Canyon Remake kits; capacity issues resolved.

    high · Host: 'I guess the line's fully staffed now. Fully staffed. Kits are being built, tested, packed.'

  • ?

    leak_detection: Spike 3 operating system specifications discovered in Star Wars home edition sold at Costco; leaked to community before official announcement.

    high · Dennis references Pinside forum discussion of board specifications confirming Raspberry Pi Compute Model 4 use.

  • $

    market_signal: Multiple Stern vaulted/out-of-stock games indicate licensing constraints and production finality; dealer inventory only path to purchase.

    high · Host lists 7+ vaulted titles (Deadpool Pro, Star Wars Comic Pro/Premium Spike 2, Foo Fighters, Iron Maiden, Rush, Mandalorian) with no future builds planned.

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Chicago Gaming Company hired new salesperson Mia; represents staffing expansion and improved communications with dealers.

    high · Host notes Mia successfully installed Cactus Canyon Remake kit despite no prior pinball experience; indicates improved training/documentation.

Transcript

youtube_mirror_subs · $0.000

0:02
Warning, the following episode contains adult language and screaming goats. Listener discretion is advised.
0:26
[Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] We're back with another episode of the Pinball Show, episode 180. As I am interrupting Dennis's thought process. What were you thinking there, Dennis? Nothing. I was just I was just I was Nothing. I was just I was just I was contemplating introductions and how you don't you don't like you don't like certain traditional approaches but you like other traditional approaches. Try to get off the launch pad and Try to get off the launch pad and sometimes I hesitate it's a little stutter stop but it's a little stutter stop but but but you know what's coming up. you know what's coming up. We were talking about the uh the famous We were talking about the uh the famous horror film Halloween. We were talking about that and uh Labor Day. Have you seen the pumpkin Labor Day. Have you seen the pumpkin spices out yet? I still feel like it's the heat of the summer, but wow. wow. Yeah. All the uh suburban moms out there Yeah. All the uh suburban moms out there are just frothing at the mouth for they want their they want their little cardigans and they want their lattes, their little pumpkin lattes that they can sip in front of their that they can sip in front of their live, laugh, love signs with uh the latest fall foliage all around them. Oh, I love my wife in the fall. I like watching her through the seasons is wonderful. I love fall is the only Nicole. That's what Zach always says. She really is a nice fall girl. She really is a nice fall girl. There's probably another joke there, but There's probably another joke there, but we're going to move into pinball. Have you been good? Everything been good with you? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Great. Good. How would you Okay. Great. Good. How would you classify? Yeah, I'd say good. Great. Great. H gota Yeah, I'd say good. Great. Great. H gota got to really get like a lot of things have to align for greatness. True greatness. Wow. Okay. I would love to have some Wow. Okay. I would love to have some examples, but uh greatness is a sometimes food. Zach, you greatness is a sometimes food. Zach, you don't want to overindulge. I don't know what uh reference that is, I don't know what uh reference that is, but it's a reference to Cookie Monster who it's a reference to Cookie Monster who eventually had to start telling people that cookies were sometimes food because it's not actually healthy to encourage kids to just eat a bunch of cookies. Cookie Monster damn near got cancelled. Cookie Monster damn near got cancelled. I mean, they were like, "Look, Cook, uh, if you they were like, "Look, Cook, uh, if you don't at least do gluten-free chip chips with the child obesity rage, Cookie with the child obesity rage, Cookie Monsters messaging had to be reworked at least a little bit." Just I do like I do like a fat kid, though. I do like I do like a fat kid, though. Uh, I mean, given given choices. I give me a plump kid over a skinny kid I give me a plump kid over a skinny kid any day. I was a skinny kid, but uh, and my I got a kid uh what's his name? Fletcher. You got You got like four kids. my You got You got like four kids. my youngest. He's He's scrawny to a point where I'm like, I People may think that I'm neglecting you. Like, could you eat a cheeseburger, please? Something. eat a cheeseburger, please? Something. He might not like cheese. Did you He might not like cheese. Did you I like the fat ones, though. I like I I like the fat ones, though. I like I like the chubby ones. They run funny. I just love them. Those are the ones I like the most. I also like Would Would Would Would Would Would Would Would Would Would Stern Pinball be a chubby toddler? They'd be fit, dude. Uh, I mean, looking at looking at the new board set for Spike 3, uh, I'll tell you what, bulking up power is not not their approach. It'd be like, "Hey guys, it's me, Stern Pinball Production Updates, courtesy of the Pinball Show." Now, you can get this over information Now, you can get this over information over at the the Eclectic Gamers podcast. I know you guys love talking production updates over there. Yeah. You're just I'm just like, why'd Yeah. You're just I'm just like, why'd you just like they aren't going to hear about any of this? This literally may This literally may All I say every episode is nothing All I say every episode is nothing happened. If there's not a new release, I do not care. We squeeze blood out of a turnup over We squeeze blood out of a turnup over here. Well, you as a distributor, you have all Well, you as a distributor, you have all the production update information. I don't I don't rehash that over there. It's not my knowledge. And stay tuned uh later in this episode, And stay tuned uh later in this episode, listener and viewer. We are going to have some information that most all of media has been getting wrong lately over but we're going to clear a lot of that up. We're going to give you the goods here on the pinball show. But we start with Stern Pinball of course production updates over the last couple of weeks. And I say viewer Dennis because we are on video again. Are we? Are we? We are. So check us out on YouTube. We are. So check us out on YouTube. youtube.com/thepinball

high confidence · Host cites Stern communication to dealers; frames as 'safety deposit box' status with uncertain future availability.

Host (Zach) and Dennis @ ~18:00 — Joking speculation about Walking Dead Remaster code updates; illustrates community humor around franchise memes.

King Kong
game
Jaws 50th Anniversarygame
Star Wars (rumored)game
Medieval Madness Merlin Editiongame
Cactus Canyon Remake (CCR / Lyman Sheets Kit)product
Predatorgame
Spike 3product
Dungeons & Dragonsgame
John Wickgame
Walking Dead Remaster (rumored)game
Pocket Monsters (rumored)game
Joelperson
The Pinball Showmedia
Deadpool Progame
Stranger Things Progame
Raspberry Pi Compute Model 4product
$

market_signal: Spike 3 hardware uses commodity off-the-shelf Raspberry Pi board, raising questions about cost-justification for potential price increases.

high · Dennis skeptical: 'they all of a sudden say... we had to do all this R&D and I'm like no, this is an off-the-shelf board.'

  • $

    market_signal: Pinball Brothers embedded $1,000 into direct pricing ($11,995) to cover air freight and tariffs; adjusted dealer pricing to match, avoiding undercut but using pricing strategy for consumer persuasion.

    high · Host clarifies: 'they did add $1,000 to the price to cover those air freight and some of the tariffs... They fooled people to think that the price was kind of the same.'

  • ?

    announcement: Medieval Madness Merlin Edition officially announced to ship week of September 1st with 1,000-unit production timeline through February 2026.

    high · Host cites official announcement to dealers; confirms parts arrival and assembly/testing beginning immediately.

  • ?

    product_strategy: Cactus Canyon Remake kits delayed until September 1st due to parts availability; previously expected earlier.

    high · Host states 'parts they've been waiting for finally arriving' and kits will now ship in 1-2 month batches.

  • ?

    product_concern: Spike 3 heat management concern flagged by Dennis; board cover may be adding heat sink to address Compute Model 4 thermal issues.

    medium · Dennis: 'I think that's to provide a heat sink because I've heard these uh the compute 4 boards run very hot.'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Star Wars pinball machine rumored for October/November reveal with Spike 3 operating system; described as persisting rumors suggesting high credibility.

    medium · Host acknowledges rumor persistence but notes rumors often get shut down; teaser expected Friday, full reveal day after Labor Day.

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: King Kong code update (v.85 'Big Apple Update') reported as trend-positive; sales momentum improving with update quality.

    medium · Host: 'it's so big that it's helping trend the sales up of King Kong.'

    • 4:58
    show I believe is how you have to do that or you can just follow the links on our socials and and you'll find it there. Um and for the patreon members Dennis they they got what video they got they they got what video they got exclusive video last last time. Oh yes I I well I didn't go back and Oh yes I I well I didn't go back and watch it so I I guess I just assumed you'd still give them the video since we kept it running like an added benefit. You know they're like an added benefit. You know they're already paying the same amount but we're giving them more now. Some people in this hobby, you know, you pay for something, you get less over time. We're giving them more. Now, contractually, we're not obligated to keep that. Maybe we don't do it in the f, but for now, yeah, yeah, the going is good. The past couple of the going is good. The past couple of weeks over at Stern Pinball, they've been making and building Dungeons and Dragons present again. again. Mhm. Mhm. Wow. Wow. Yeah. People were wanting some more of Yeah. People were wanting some more of those. We were out at flipping out pinball of both for a little bit of time. So, it's welcomed that they make some more Metallica Remastered Premiums they were making as well as Uncanny X-Men Pro all over the past couple of weeks. And last episode, Dennis, we did tell people August was going to be a very busy month for for Stern Pinball. Um, so they've been building all of those. Upcoming September, we're close to September. They're gonna make that coveted Jaws 50th anniversary pinball machine. That other run, keep in mind that's already sold out. Already sold out. Now, sold out with Stern. Meaning, in other words, uh I put in an order for for distribution for flipping out pinball, and I did not get my entire order that is being built in September. Okay? So, they're going to give me part Okay? So, they're going to give me part of the order in September and then the remainder is going to fall into December, which is the last documented run of that title and then never again until ever anniversary. ever anniversary. Yeah. So, no more Joel's 50th anniversary after December. But what I mean by sold out is Stern is not going to have any extra in September to sell anybody. And we we still have spots open for June 50th. So, you can still order one if you want a September run. King Kong Premium in September as well as Stranger Things Pro. And I would I would think the new Cornerstone game is going to be built in September as well. We are guessing uh this Friday, depending on when you're watching and listening. This Friday, we'll probably get a teaser and then the following Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, is that what that is? I think so. I think so. Maybe we will get a full reveal. The Maybe we will get a full reveal. The rumor is Star Wars again. again. Yeah. Often times we get rumors and then Yeah. Often times we get rumors and then they get shut down over time. This one has persisted. So it makes me kind of think uh where there's smoke, there's fire, where there's fire, there's smoke. What do you need? Thunder and lightning or lightning and thunder? Can you have thunder without lightning or lightning? No. No. Simple enough. Star War and uh the the Simple enough. Star War and uh the the thought right now is episodes four through six on Star Wars. That's what they did last time. That's what they did last time. Totally fine. Different operating system Totally fine. Different operating system though is new. Nobody cares about the operating system. Nobody cares about the operating system. It's a reason to uh to redo it. I would It's a reason to uh to redo it. I would have been fine with the old Revenge of the Sith or whatever that was called. I'd been good with that. The children, the fat ones, too. They never said that. That's so mean. You remember the tale of the Billy Goat You remember the tale of the Billy Goat Gruff? I do not I do not remember that. remember that. I remember Billy Grub, but I don't I remember Billy Grub, but I don't remember the story. The goat goes over the uh the the bridge The goat goes over the uh the the bridge and he's the troll comes up and is like, "I'm going to eat you." And he's fat bastard, but he's like And then the goat's like, "Don't eat me. Eat my brother. He's bigger and stronger. Tastes like chicken." And then the Tastes like chicken." And then the brother comes over and he's like, "No, don't eat me." And they And then the third one is a big bastard and he bucks that troll right off the br Where was I going with that I was talking about? I don't know. Something about the baby. I don't know. Something about the baby. That's right. Yeah. The rolly gets That's right. Yeah. The rolly gets I picture that like the the toddler I picture that like the the toddler comes up. Don't eat me, my teenage brother. He's he's even fatter. Don't eat me. My dad good jeans.
    9:30
    It's We're topical here. It's a good jeans reference. I love it. Okay, man. We're good at this. Late October into November. Another remastered game. Which one? Which one? We're hearing The Walking Dead rem. We're hearing The Walking Dead rem. I know, but it doesn't make much sense. I know, but it doesn't make much sense. Coral. Coral. There should be if they Coral. Coral. There should be if they add a mode, it will be it will be worth it if they add a mode where it's just coral jokes. Coral. They need to do that like the Coral. They need to do that like the frenzy modes that they do for Stranger Things. [ __ ] They need to do that for coral. Coral. Coral. Coral. Oh, your mom's dead. Coral. Oh, your mom's dead. Coral. I know. I killed her. Spoiler alert. I I know. I killed her. Spoiler alert. I hope they have video of that. Oh, if they have the meme meme of Coral sitting there after he done killed his mama and then his dad's right in his face giving a dad joke. Coral.
    10:30
    Oh [ __ ] I love video format. This is great. Okay, December, I said that last run of J and in January we'll get that 2026 cornerstone. The rumor is pocket monsters. I did want to give an update. There are many games uh that are out of stock at Stern Pinball. The vaulted games especially. Uh remember what was that like six months ago? Maybe they vaulted a number of games and stuff. I guess I didn't think it was that long I guess I didn't think it was that long but maybe not. They said we're done with maybe not. They said we're done with these games at minimum. Even if we wanted to make them again, we're not going to make them for at least two years, right? right? But because of licensing and stuff, good But because of licensing and stuff, good possibility never again. But they still had some in stock at Stern. As dealers, we could still purchase them for our inventory and sell them to customers. But there are a number that are out, gone. Never again are you going to not the next couple years. Never. Maybe. Never. Maybe. You know, never such a strong word. You know, never such a strong word. I mean, Russia is probably done forever, I mean, Russia is probably done forever, but I believe so. Yeah. Deadpool Pro Stern's I believe so. Yeah. Deadpool Pro Stern's out of them. They're gone. So, whatever whatever dealers have is what you're going to get for if you want a new Deadpool Pro, Star Wars Comic Pro and Premium, the Spike 2 Edition, Foo Fighters Pro, Iron Maiden Pro, Rush Pro and Premium, as Dennis said, and The Mandalorian Pro and Premium. All of those are vaulted games that are no longer in inventory at Stern Pinball. So, if you want one of those titles, you have to go to a dealer and then once the dealers are done with them, they're gone. And then they'll do the Aerosmith thing where now they're expensive again and all of that. They also have the following catalog games out of stock at Stern, Jaws Premium, and 50th Anniversary Jaws. King Kong Premium, Metallica Premium, Jurassic Park Pro, and Stranger Things Pro. They even indicated that for Stranger Things Pro, they really don't have any future uh builds planned. So, not fully vaulted, So, not fully vaulted, right? It's a quasi vault. right? It's a quasi vault. The quasi vault. The quasi vault. It's in the safety deposit box. It's in the safety deposit box. Mhm. It's crypto. Cryp. That's crypto. Mhm. It's crypto. Cryp. That's crypto. No, it's not crypto. No, it's not crypto. You may get it, you may not. Who knows? You may get it, you may not. Who knows? I don't know. I hate banks. I don't trust them. Yeah. So, let's trust crypto. It's Yeah. So, let's trust crypto. It's great. I don't trust them either. I'm like the I don't trust them either. I'm like the mattress guy. I'm telling mattress. mattress. Yeah. Just put that [ __ ] in a mattress Yeah. Just put that [ __ ] in a mattress or put dig it in a I'm like uh Yeah. Cousin Eddie. He's got jars in the backyard. I just I just It's like you're safe against so much with the mattress thing, except for of course your one nemesis, Big Fire. Fire. That's right. Big fire. Fire. That's right. Big fire. New code at Stern Pinball. And these were biggy ones. Girthies. King Kong v.85. We call this the big apple update. This is a big one. It so big that it's This is a big one. It so big that it's helping trend the sales up of King Kong. Really? Really? It is. Are they replacing all the art It is. Are they replacing all the art with the city? No, I they don't need that. No, I they don't need that. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. Dungeons and Dragons V93. Dungeons and Dragons V93. Uh, we're calling this update trinkets. Is that because it comes with a bunch of Is that because it comes with a bunch of mods? Oh, god, no. Trinkets. There's a whole Oh, god, no. Trinkets. There's a whole thing. I I'm not smart enough to to understand D and D. And new code for John Wick v.97. This is called Jobs Reworked, Allies Return. Are you saying he's back? Are you saying he's back? Um, well, reworked and I'm back. Um, well, reworked and I'm back. People are liking this. The on our Patreon, people have been talking about the John. It's It's starting to I again, it's just It's It's starting to I again, it's just still not a game for me. I haven't played the new code, but can't get into that game. Don't know why, but more people are like, "I'm telling you, Zach, it's great." But I don't know. We also talked about earlier, but we'll talk about it more now. The first look at the Spike 3 operating system from Stern Pinball. We get a sneak peek. Uh, someone found it inside the Star Wars home edition that's being sold at Costco. Yeah. So, it's got like the big one for Yeah. So, it's got like the big one for media people's HDMI out. So, before you had to get the Alibaba thing or you had to get the whole Yeah. I mean, back when we were doing Yeah. I mean, back when we were doing TPN, there was a whole thing about about that stuff and, you know, Stern about that stuff and, you know, Stern was looking at doing export boards and then they rolled that back and it was all me, very messy. We've been in pinball so long and media We've been in pinball so long and media so long that there was a controversy surrounding the connector boards that involved us. Like, we we've been in this a while on this Spike 3. It should have two HDMI on this Spike 3. It should have two HDMI ports. I know that one of them looks to be an outport cuz they tested it and yeah, you can just display easily the video on that screen onboard Wi-Fi and Dennis, you had some some choice words to say about the old Spike 3 system. That's Well, there's a discussion of it on on Well, there's a discussion of it on on Pinside where they went into the Spike 3, but yeah, no, it's using the Raspberry Pi, the Compute Model 4. It looks like Raspberry Pi. That's a cheap board. Um, which is good, don't get me wrong, but you know, I'm just saying like maybe on the last episode you were making it sound like they were spending all this time like customdeveloping this intricate board set with all this power. This is not a powerful system, unlimited power. unlimited power. I mean, it's not like a computer, but I mean, it's not like a computer, but the pies I've used pies uh to uh update board sets in older games. Uh, this is more powerful than the pies I've used. Computer adjacent. What's wrong with Computer adjacent. What's wrong with this? You're more of a rhubarb pie kind of thing. No, no. Actually, the the what would be No, no. Actually, the the what would be wrong with it in my opin opinion would only be is that they all of a sudden say, "Oh, look with for now the spike 3s we just we got to have this big price increase because you know we had to do all this R&D and and I'm like no, this is an off-the-shelf board." Um, but using an offshelf board, if they're but using an offshelf board, if they're not doing that, that could be a very good way to control pricing. And it can do I think all of the stuff most of the stuff you would think. I again some of this gets beyond my my knowledge. I know uh part of the discussion was going into like the graphical driving like where where is that going to be coming from uh to push to push the video assets and such to push the video assets and such because um but anyway it sounds like they've um but anyway it sounds like they've covered up the board so you don't see the Pi logo on it immediately. But I think that's to provide a heat sink because I've heard these uh the compute 4 boards run very hot. So that would be my initial concern. But if they're putting in additional heat sinking, that's obviously to try and and and address that issue, which could have been something they were spending a lot of time testing. But hey, it's an easy to get board. So, But hey, it's an easy to get board. So, you know, we remember during the pandemic all those shortages, those F-150 chips that they needed for their Spike system, Spike 2 system. So, um, yeah, and it would also explain some um, yeah, and it would also explain some of the output, uh, capabilities. Chicago Gaming Company. Yes. Oh, Grand Chicago Gaming Company. Yes. Oh, Grand Papy, the the the, uh, the manufacturer who takes quite a while to develop and produce their games. Big announcement this last week, uh, announcing to dealers and to the public that Medieval Madness Merlin Edition start shipping the week of September 1st. next week depending on when people are watching. depending on when people are watching. That's huge news. They talked about the parts they've been waiting for finally arriving. Uh which means that they're going to be assembling, testing, packing these things up. Now, games are going to start shipping in batches that first week of September. But the 20 people messaging me um saying, "Where's my game?" uh they expect to build 1,000 units over the course of now to like February 2026. So in CGC speak, So in CGC speak, April, you know, we'll probably get off the ground in October. No, I do think that they're going to start shipping some here in September, but I do think it's going to take quite a while uh to get them all built. Why does the CGC ever do interviews? Why does the CGC ever do interviews? Who's their who's their I don't know who they would interview. I mean, there's Doug Duba, but he's not the most socially engaging persona. Um, yeah, but neither am I. And here I am yeah, but neither am I. And here I am talking to you. Fair point. Maybe they feel like they Fair point. Maybe they feel like they don't need to. Okay. Okay. They've got a new salesperson, uh, new. They've got a new salesperson, uh, new. They've been they've been there before. New position, Mia. Um, I don't know if I've met her in person, though. I'll ask Groot Expo if I see her. So, Medieval Madnesses are coming. The CCR, the Cactus Canyon Remake Lyman Sheets Kits. I hate that name. Not is that what they officially call it? is that what they officially call it? That's what they're kind of calling it. That's what they're kind of calling it. I call it the enhancement kit. Uh, the upgrade kit. It's uh it's got numerous names. Those are also starting to ship September 1st. Wow. long awaited uh that people have Wow. long awaited uh that people have been waiting for those. I guess the line's fully staffed now. I guess the line's fully staffed now. Fully staffed. Kits are being built, Fully staffed. Kits are being built, tested, packed. Each kit's going to include a full color step-by-step instruction installation booklet as well as a fullcolor promo booklet explaining all the new modes. They usually do a good job with all of They usually do a good job with all of that. And for those wondering about the difficulty of installation, that was the big people are like it was going to take a couple hours to install. Then they went back and tried to um they tried to minimize what it would take and try to pre-assemble a lot of things. And now it is much more minimal uh invasive to have to do that. I think they said an hour maybe I think they said an hour maybe installed. Oh, that's really not very bad. But Oh, that's really not very bad. But still seems kind of long to me that Mia the saleserson indicated to dealers. She said, "Look, I'm proud to report that I was able to successfully install the mech myself despite having never worked on a pinball machine before." Now, that does say a lot. So, I do like that. I What I think it's honestly, and I have no clue, but we'll we'll be able to see Joel at Flipping Out. He's doing a YouTube video instruction on how to install one of these. Why? Why? Well, because it's helpful. Well, because it's helpful. He's a helpful fella. He's a helpful fella. Well, it's already coming up with a Well, it's already coming up with a fullcolor step-by-step instruction booklet. Dennis, some people don't like to read Dennis, some people don't like to read and they would rather watch. I I was I was elected to lead, not to I I was I was elected to lead, not to read. Uh, and look, would people read the transcripts of this podcast or would they rather watch it? I don't know. You know, that should be I don't know. You know, that should be the next step is post the post the written version of the show for those book people who want to read it. book people who want to read it. Swipe it. Swipe it. If you heard the last EGP, how how on a If you heard the last EGP, how how on a scale of 1 to 10, how good was my um Patrick Warbertton?
    21:46
    It was okay. It depends on what era. I'm looking for a number. I'm looking for a number. A number A number one. one. Give the listeners a little flavor. Give the listeners a little flavor. I don't want to. I don't want to. Okay. See, that's my point. Uh Okay. See, that's my point. Uh was like, you're making it sound okay. That has not been the initial reaction. Three and a half. Um Three and a half. Um not everybody can do. Anyway, my Schwarzenegger is not much Anyway, my Schwarzenegger is not much better and I was hence why I didn't even try and do it with the elected to lead thing. So anyway, just an aside, hopefully everybody starts getting I hopefully everybody starts getting I don't know how long they're going to take. They're going to start shipping September 1st the the floods of people asking, "Hey, I'm in the first batch. We don't know how many are in said batch." Hey, what month am I going to get mine Hey, what month am I going to get mine in? We have no clue. I think that now I did talk to Mia and I said, "Are we looking like is this going to be something that takes as long as the games that are they like as long as a game production run would be? Are we looking to these kits are going to take from now to February to ship and produce all of them?" And she said, "No, no, no, no, not at all. No, these these will be much much quicker." She didn't give a definitive timeline. I would guess 1 to two months. They should all be produced and shipped out. So that's How many are they making? Do you know? How many are they making? Do you know? They didn't say I think that's just an They didn't say I think that's just an open thing. They sold a ton of them. They sold They sold so many viewer that it like it piqued my interest on damn did they sell that many Cactus Canyons? Like it was uh it was an awakening for me. They really must have sold a ton of Cactus Canyons because Yeah. A lot of people ordered ordered that kit, so they should be coming soon. so they should be coming soon. Okay. Okay. And if you want to watch gameplay of And if you want to watch gameplay of that this week on Flipping Out Pinball YouTube Wednesday night, you can watch Joel and Jared play. I mean, that's the plan as of right now. Play some some uh upgraded kit, lineman sheets, kit, enhancement packet, whatever the hell you want to call it. And he's loving it over there. So, And he's loving it over there. So, well, he I know uh Joel is a big fan of well, he I know uh Joel is a big fan of Cactus Canyon. He does like it. Yep. I've been waiting, He does like it. Yep. I've been waiting, too, cuz I still have my Cactus Canyon. I like it as well. Pinball Brothers, Dennis. Oh. Oh. Mhm. Mhm. That company. That company. What's going on? Tell me. Everything is What's going on? Tell me. Everything is everything coming up. Brothers, I see what you did there. I see what you did there. It's coming apart at the seams. Yeah, It's coming apart at the seams. Yeah, seems I was going to go with it appears, seems I was going to go with it appears, but well, not as bad as American pinball, well, not as bad as American pinball, but anyway. Yes, spoilers. Yes, spoilers. So, individuals So, individuals I I had heard what did you hear? what did you hear? They made an announcement and a change They made an announcement and a change in terms and they've not done the best job at communicating. Thus, a lot of people are misinterpreting what this recent announcement was. Surprise, surprise. They have a new pitch. The pinball brothers came out with this new pitch to the public to emphasize new terms and to emphasize purchasing direct to avoid freight and tariffs on predator kind of. So the media ran with this media meaning So the media ran with this media meaning podcast streams. Uh we hunger for content, Zach, we hunger for content, Zach, news, blog, article stuff. news, blog, article stuff. We all hunger. We all hunger. They jumped out in front of this then the the media and everybody and they were like, "Wait a minute." So, at surface level, I see where they're getting this information, but it's it's incorrect. They're jumping out and saying, "So, Pinball Brothers is [ __ ] on their dealers. They're selling direct and they're selling cheaper than what they were selling it to dealers for, what dealers were selling it for. How dare they?" Mhm. But there are finer details that uh But there are finer details that uh suggest they're not entirely doing that. Now look, it's not like I'm up here trying to look up for pinball brothers because there are parts of this new pitch that I don't like. And it might be more advantageous for me to just keep my mouth shut and let people really think the pinball brothers is doing that because you guys know what I think about once a manufacturer sells direct, they then become a direct competitor to their sales force, which I'm not wild about. So here's what happened. the inside scoop. They pitch this publicly. They say, "Look, we've only got 150 predator units remaining, and once they're gone, they're gone forever." Forever, Dennis. Mhm. Mhm. Forever. Forever. Yes. Because they have to return to Yes. Because they have to return to their home planet. Production ends December 31st. Three Production ends December 31st. Three exclamations. Wow, that's a lot of exclamation. It's Wow, that's a lot of exclamation. It's grammatically correct, but well, well, 110%. Maybe it's okay in in Dutch. Maybe they Maybe it's okay in in Dutch. Maybe they use the exclamation in different ways. I know you're freaky deicky Dutch uh I know you're freaky deicky Dutch uh exclamations as we update our licensing agreements and clear the way for the next big titles. So, what it'll be, So, what it'll be, that's one part of it. One part of it is that's one part of it. One part of it is that they've only got 150 units left. Mhm. They're selling direct They're selling direct and that uh once December 31st is up, and that uh once December 31st is up, you can't get any more any anymore. This is your final shot at owning a Predator or Alien. Why not? Both. Both. After this year, both the Bishop After this year, both the Bishop edition. Both will vanish from production. No Both will vanish from production. No reruns, no second chances, no takeback seies. And if you've been on the fence, now is the moment to lock one down. put a ring on it before they disappear into pinball legend. I don't know if that's the right term, but that's I'm getting the QVC vibe here. So, how I'm getting the QVC vibe here. So, how many pay how many payments of whatever 1999 do I have? Let this one slip away. Let this one slip away. This beanie baby is about to be retired. I'm thinking more of the what is it like the Shazam the racks. Shamwow. Shamwow. Shamwow. Shamwow. Yes. Wipe it and Shamwow. Shamwow. Yes. Wipe it and squeeze it. Yes. Yes. All right. So, games are going to be All right. So, games are going to be ready to collect or to distribute. Mainland freight is going to be added straight from the US headquarters in is it Dubo? I think Pennsylvania. I think Pennsylvania. Dub Boy. Dubois, Pennsylvania. We'll Dub Boy. Dubois, Pennsylvania. We'll continue to work with select US partners. Oh, no. Not the the Justice League of Dealers. Are you not a member of the Justice Are you not a member of the Justice League still? Oh, no. Oh, no. the select US partners, but adding direct sales from our own headquarters is the best way for us to serve the US market right now. Okay, so people are getting hung up on that. They're getting hung up on the price, too, because the original pricing was $1095. Then you could add the trophy package and all that. But this new pricing, they're putting you out there and they're saying, "Here's the price. There's no air freight, no tariffs. one price direct from Pinball Brothers. You don't have to worry about a darn thing. So, most customers thought, "Oh, [ __ ] Uh, I'm going to do that. I'm going to order direct." So, they they positioned it in a way, Dennis, that made it feel like if you order direct from us, you don't have to worry about all the stuff you're going to have to worry about with dealers, right? I mean, okay, I I see it. Yeah. okay, I I see it. Yeah. So, they position themselves well to get more orders than dealers. So, is this new pricing with the trophy So, is this new pricing with the trophy package? Uh, no. Sorry, I didn't add that in our Uh, no. Sorry, I didn't add that in our notes. It's still plus $14.95. So, what they had done was, so you see this thing was like $11995, but you still,000 more than the original but you still,000 more than the original pricing, but you didn't have to factor in the air freight, which was 500 more anyway. Y and then whatever the tariffs would be. and then whatever the tariffs would be. Tariffs were going to be 10%. Now, we Tariffs were going to be 10%. Now, we know they're 15%, so it's going to be pretty costly. 15% of the total price. Uh, what people aren't realizing, the sneaky little thing they did here was, what's so trixy about it, my precious? what's so trixy about it, my precious? People aren't identifying that they did People aren't identifying that they did add $1,000 to the price to cover those air freight and some of the tariffs when they presented as 11995. Boom. And before people were adding up, oh wait a minute, we got we got uh 10,000 got $1,000 in tariffs at 10%. And then 500 for air freight, so it was 1,500. So now it's 12 trophy pack, 1500. trophy pack, 1500. So you add that plus the tariffs. Mhm. Mhm. So you're you're more than a you know, So you're you're more than a you know, you're more than a thousand tariffs. You're a you're getting higher up. Now 15% would be even more. What was tricksy about it is they fooled people to think that the price was kind of the same, but now they wouldn't have to pay for air freight or tariffs. That's what they did. Uh and they encouraged people that if they did it direct, then they don't have to worry about those fees if they go through a dealer. But the truth is, and the fine details, But the truth is, and the fine details, the pricing for dealers is the same. So they offered this to us as well. They said, "Hey, all of the orders that you currently have, you can we can adjust pricing to reflect this new amount that we are presenting to the public um direct." So, dealers didn't lose any money. That's what media is getting wrong. Media is like, "Oh, they're screwing dealers." Because "Oh, they're screwing dealers." Because if I go through a dealer, it's like bad advertising because it's misinformation, too. So, that's why I wanted to clear it up. So you can go through a dealer and pay the same as this new deal that you're going to get through Pinball Brothers. It's the same thing going through a dealer or going through them. How they went about this very strange, very odd, uh, in that I messaged him and I was like, "Okay, so wait a minute. This whole release has been so damn confusing. All of these different prices." Now, with us at Flipping Out, we capped the tariffs that we were going to do, $600. That's just what we chose to to do. So, a lot of our customers because we've we've been build for a third of our orders, a fourth of our orders in full. We had to pay deposits, but we've paid in full for, you know, some games. So, I had to go back to them be like, "Wait a minute, I've already paid. So, how do I do this?" And they were like, they gave me the option, which is so strange. They were like, "Well, you can continue with the with the terms we have now, or you can utilize the new terms." And I crunched the numbers. I was like, "Why is this even an option? Like, the new terms are better. They save me money." They're like, "Yeah, but it's still an option." I'm like, "Well, okay, that's fine. I'll have them shipped to Pennsylvania and then I will take care of Pennsylvania." A lot of customers not also realizing that that's not to your door, that price. you then you still have to pay for shipping from Dubo, Pennsylvania to your home. Was that always the case though? Was that always the case though? That was always the case. But but when That was always the case. But but when you market it as we're going to ship it direct to US customers, I think some people just aren't thinking that. The only reason I bring this up because we have a couple customers that have paid in full. They came to me and they're like, "Well, wait a minute. Surely what are you going to do?" Because they were kind of heated like what are you going to do? it makes more sense for me to buy direct. And I'm like, read the finer details. It's the same price. There's no different. There was a difference between like it's like a $100 difference because we were capping at $600 tariffs. So, we sent them all a refund for $100. And they got the refund. They're like, "Wait a minute, Zach. No, no, no. It said I don't have to pay air freight or tariffs. Now, that should be $1,100 because you told me air freight's $500. You told me that tariffs are capped at 600. That's 1,100 bucks. You only gave me a refund for a hundred. I'm like, no. If you look back, the price they changed the price, too. And then people are like, h Mhm. Mhm. It's just very confusing. It's just very confusing. I can see where where they're getting I can see where where they're getting mixed up. Sure. Yeah. Um and I have had to check Sure. Yeah. Um and I have had to check it three or four times. I'm like, am I missing something here? It's been very confusing. I don't like this move just because of the confusion factor. just because of the confusion factor. It's been like this from the gate. And I just don't know what to trust. And I don't like being in business partnerships when I don't feel 100% trust. Got to trust your gut. Got to trust your gut. I don't like that gut. I like the brain. I don't like that gut. I like the brain. Uh the brain's better. I don't like gut decisions. Those are emotional. I don't like this move because I don't like how they're presenting this. I don't think it's clear. I think it's purposefully unclear. And I think it's I I I think it's unclear uh with with them not trying as well. Like only 150 units remain. They didn't sell that many Predators coming. Yeah. What was the what was the limit Yeah. What was the what was the limit count on it? Uh I'd have to go back. I'm supposed to Uh I'd have to go back. I'm supposed to be a good dealer. I don't know what it was. That was like 800 somethingous. I was like, "Wow, they've really moved a lot more than I realized." Even at 750, they didn't sell 500 of them games.
    35:44
    say that very confidently. What if Europe stepped up? They didn't. Oh, They didn't. Oh, and saying that and saying that one thing I hadn't considered. one thing I hadn't considered. I just don't like that they're I just don't like that they're presenting things in a way that I don't Maybe it's just marketing. Maybe it's sales. I don't know. It just doesn't feel Why do you not feel like they know what Why do you not feel like they know what they're doing?
    36:07
    No comment. But I know that they didn't sell as many as basically here's what here's what's really going on or what I think is going on. I don't know. I think the license runs out December 31st. And I think that they think that they could probably build 150 more between now and then on top of what they have ordered and feel comfortable enough. I think that they know that based on the initial orders, they're smart enough to know we're not gonna we're not going to ma we can probably make 300 more, but we're not going to get that many sales. Let's make it feel more limited and say we only have a 150 more. Uh I think that's what they're doing. I also don't like that they're selling direct and kind of they're not breaking the terms with dealers because they've done this before where they set up this whole US website thing and they're like, "Yeah, we've always sold direct." But then I talked to the saleserson prior to that and they're like, "We don't sell direct." It's that kind of [ __ ] that I'm like, I don't feel good about this always. Um, yeah, I didn't like any of that. What else didn't I like? Oh, the phrase that they put here. I don't like this. They put quote but adding direct sales from our own headquarter is the best way for us to serve the US market right now. I don't like that statement. That is the best. That is the best. I don't think Yeah, I don't think that's I don't think Yeah, I don't think that's true. Adding direct sales, they're putting into the consumer's ear add by purchasing direct from us. That is the best way to serve you. I think it's very inaccurate. Um, and I I think it's very inaccurate. Um, and I think it goes against my company and other dealers uh that have helped serve them for years. Would you agree, disagree? Am I Well, the anytime a company emphasizes Well, the anytime a company emphasizes selling direct, I think it it's hard to think of anything other than it undercutting the use of the dealer network. So from that perspective, yeah, I I understand where you're coming from on it, and I'm I'm not entirely clear either how it's necessarily advantageous to the cons the customer. It's not. I mean, ask the Haggus It's not. I mean, ask the Haggus customers which one was better served, buying through a dealer such as Flipping Out Pinball who refunded every [ __ ] penny versus the shitty manufacturer that went under and hosed everybody. I mean, I've I I totally understand the efficiency of the of the direct sale from the manufacturer's perspective, but if they want to do that, then it's sort of to me, I I don't care for people having their foot in both ponds. Like either you want to use distributors uh and offload all of that tech support and everything, or you don't, and in which case, you need to have a very robust ability to help all the people buying directly from you. they'll make more money in the latter model if they want to go to the trouble of staffing up for it, but no one ever wants to do that part. So, it's like that's why I think so many it's like that's why I think so many turn to the turn to the distributor network. But but I think in their case when they start doing moves like this to me as an outsider, it looks like they are so struggling for profitability that they're looking whatever few extra $100 or whatever that they think they can get by cutting out the middleman as they call it. got cut out the middleman. Yeah. Yeah. And that's what I think that this And that's what I think that this language it allows them to technically keep their middleman, but they're trying to to stir steer everyone who's still on the fence to it to goose sales here. Yeah. And I don't uh I I knew that this Yeah. And I don't uh I I knew that this is just how business works. Whenever I mean I mean whenever we get to the point where whenever we get to the point where manufacturers feel a little more tight than they want to, the first place that they're going to probably look is the blame game. I could see the argument for pinball rather saying, "Well, we wouldn't have had to do this had dealers sold the units that we wanted them to sell." I see that argument. My argument would be I'm not so sure it's the inability of the dealers more so maybe the presentation of the product, the product itself, etc. Well, but I mean from their perspective Well, but I mean from their perspective the sales aren't happening. So if you were in theory, if you were better, you could in theory, if you were better, you could make you could even sell a turd, but you're failing to. but you're failing to. Sometimes we don't trust selling turds. Sometimes we don't trust selling turds. I mean, there's multiple facets to the die that we're casting here. The the last communication I had with The the last communication I had with Pinball Brothers was um because when it prior to this coming out, I was told mid August we should get our first bundle shipped. Then they came out with this over the last week or so and I was messaging management there and saying, "Hey, what does this mean? Does what does this?" So, they clarified all of that. And then my last question was, okay, now that I'm purchasing direct from the US hub instead of Sweden, is this going to alter the estimates that you gave me for the first shipment, which you said were two weeks ago? No response. So, yay business. So, yay business. I don't know it. these some of these manufacturers get squirly and just the way it is. That's why with if there was a complex luxury item like this, I mean, I'm a dealer, so of course I'm going to say it, but I I think you would probably want an extra person in your corner, but maybe not. Order direct. I don't care. Speaking of companies that are squirly, American Pinball,
    41:45
    Headstone, RIP, question mark. RIP. RIP. Are they dead? Are they dead? Only mostly dead. Only mostly dead. There are rumblings of them forfeiting There are rumblings of them forfeiting their trademark company name, American Pinball. I saw a screen grab of it. I saw a screen grab of it. Wow. Yeah, I saw it on Nap Arcade. Wow. Yeah, I saw it on Nap Arcade. I think that's where I saw it, too. I think that's where I saw it, too. Yeah. and some insinuations from media Yeah. and some insinuations from media outlets that uh they're done. There will be no Cuphead or should I say cup dead.
    42:15
    All I had to do is change one letter for I know, but it's still I know, but it's still just just the bottom of a letter, too. just just the bottom of a letter, too. Just a little curl. It's clever. So, we may not see Cuphead anymore, even though people have played it and seen it. We may not hear of American Pinball anymore. Are they going to sell the rights to that company? It looks like maybe things in their emails now say powered by Orbit Games. And then there's like this little uh uh And then there's like this little uh uh what are we going to call him? Are we going to call him Orbee? It's like a robot. Yeah. Powered by Orbit Games. It is an astronaut that's doing this. It's from GTF. Leftover art. It's from GTF. Leftover art. Uh uh. So what do we make of this, Dennis? Um Um if I could quote uh Curly Bill from Tombstone. Well, bye.
    43:16
    I like that quote. They're having a Labor Day blowout sale right now. They always have a sale. All they do now They always have a sale. All they do now are sales. I'm I'm I mean, I'm sorry. Why do you even put this in here? Are they the coohals of pinball distribution? They always have everything is always on sale all the everything is always on sale all the time. But the furniture store that has gone But the furniture store that has gone out of business. Yes. Yes. Yes. Ex. Yes. They are benchmark or Yes. Ex. Yes. They are benchmark or whatever you want to dance mattresses. The mattress king. Remember funs up. Remember funs up. Shutting her. I'm shutting her down. Shutting her. I'm shutting her down. Time to get out of this game. Shutting her down. They have been for over a year now doing incessant sales. They have a Valentine's Day sale. Like everything's always on sale. As soon as Labor Day is passed, there will be the Halloween sale. The pumpkin spice sale. The pumpkin spice The pumpkin spice pumpkin. I can already imagine the ad. pumpkin. I can already imagine the ad. They don't have anyone to put it together, but where it's like, you know, nothing goes quite like pumpkin spice and barbecue. Buy yours today. 2,000 off. Be a suburban mom sipping bar sauce. Yes, Yes, that's fantastic. that's fantastic. With a picture of a hot rod on the cup, With a picture of a hot rod on the cup, barbecue. They'll change the foam to barbecue They'll change the foam to barbecue color looking like there she's shipping a cup of sooie. Sorry. But I mean, anyway, I don't not to I mean, the sales are a little frequent is all I'm I'm saying, but signature of GTFs are down to like signature of GTFs are down to like in the 7,000. in the 7,000. But is this in any way surprising? I But is this in any way surprising? I know people there have been some people that have been insistent, well, no, Cuphead's right there. They just need to get across the finish line. But I had been hearing other rumblings that while Cuphead's design was done that the code wasn't and that it wasn't remotely close to being done. And this was several months ago around the time when David Fix left. And so it's like they don't have anyone to drag anything across the finish line. And then there of course was the rumor and again it was just a rumor that they had you know Amtron from On High was said we ain't doing any more games until we sell out of the stuff that's still in our own warehouse. And it's like, well, that ain't never going to happen. So, So, that's what all these sales have felt like to me as an attempt to just liquidate what because the sales, they're not minor sales. These are actually pretty significant cuts to the games. Yeah. Yeah, they absolutely are. Uh, and Yeah. Yeah, they absolutely are. Uh, and it does feel like that. It feels like they're selling off Yeah. Yeah. all their games. And I think the best all their games. And I think the best thing for them and what they probably are doing, they're selling everything off. We probably won't see Cuphead. These are just guesses for me. I have no clue. We We won't see a Cuphead. And they will contract manufacture stuff or uh assist in the manufacturing process for companies, not just pinball. Uh most likely non-pinball arcade stuff. We see them doing that already for some arcade out. Didn't they have a Flying Dutchman thing Didn't they have a Flying Dutchman thing they showed off years and years ago where they they clearly wanted to do more than just Ironically enough, it didn't get off the Ironically enough, it didn't get off the ground. Yeah. It just it did not take flight. It just it did not take flight. No. So I and they might do little things No. So I and they might do little things like that here and there. Yeah. Con I Yeah. Con I I think for Amtron this is the right I think for Amtron this is the right decision to go into contract manufacturing. Not to go into contract manufacturing. Not like here's the thing they never don't have the creative. They just don't don't have the creative. They just don't have the creative aspect of this stuff. They don't. The thing that always felt and it's a The thing that always felt and it's a weird you because who knows I I didn't talk to all these individuals behind everything and they clearly brought in some pinball people but it always felt to me like it was you know in so many instances like even you talk about like Jersey Jack and getting bailed out by billionaires. The billionaires who bailed them out were really into pinball. Amtron didn't ever feel to me like they Amtron didn't ever feel to me like they really cared about pinball. It was they were making electronic circuit boards and then realized pinball was buying a bunch of these things and they were like, "Hey, maybe we could get into this space. It would make sense for us." And then and maybe it was just because when they launched off the ground the idea of American Pinball, it was immediately with J-pop. And so it's like clearly they didn't have any knowledge of the hobby whatsoever. You're starting with a guy who was in the midst of lawsuits regarding all of his Zidwear stuff. So, I I'm just saying like they it it felt like they didn't really know the pinball market. Uh they brought in competent pinball people. Their first few games resonated to varying degrees. I, you resonated to varying degrees. I, you know, I think that the community gave them a lot of kudos for Houdini turning out as well as it did with the short development time that ended up uh happening for Joe Balser. Uh, I know some people love Oktoberfest. Um, but nothing has been a hit, but they were respected for their build quality. Um, were Yeah. were Yeah. And it's just I I feel as of the once we And it's just I I feel as of the once we reached the and I've heard from people that that American Pinball was a mess internally, it was a mess and David Fix was brought in because it was so messy. However, it is hard to say that it's like you have the prefix era and the postfix era and the postfix era has been worse and by like every measure it's been worse. I agree. I agree. And some of that had to do with the And some of that had to do with the pandemic and everything else, but it's just there's no point in my mind. There's really no point in continuing the American pinball experiment. like no one everyone at this stage is so untrusting of its survival that they're if you're uncomfortable with the idea of maintaining the game without the company being in business already or there are people that I see who see the sales and they're like I would like to get GTF but I don't trust that I will be able to buy parts from American Pinball tough part yeah that's why haven't we tough part yeah that's why haven't we haven't been inventorying much of anything so they're already behind that eightball so they're already behind that eightball and without a success a big hit they'll never get in front of it. Who knows? Excuse me. Who knows how long the license arrangement exists with Cuphead? Like it's like, you know, they just they made so they made so many mistakes uh including pre like their obsession with unlicensed themes. Um I know Hot Wheels had the legs taken right out from under it because of the pandemic, but uh you know, and then they like they they went all in. It felt like they blew the entire company budget on GTF. A game out of Hot Wheels too, A game out of Hot Wheels too, but a game that's deliberately campy. but a game that's deliberately campy. You look at the pricing they sell those for now new versus what they were selling for at the time. The decision everything I still GTF could have worked. Could I still GTF could have worked. Could have I I think there was potential, but they I I think there was potential, but they leaned into the wrong things and it was too much. I I feel like you saw the same behavior from GTF in barbecue. It was just more grounded in barbecue, but also more uh because it was so grounded, it was more frustrating in all of its failure. But I mean, I still, Zach, I'm still hung up with this. Let's have a game that the upper end folds into a tank because people just love to constantly fold their games when they're done playing them. Um, let's do a classic uh sci-fi 50s, but deliberately campy, but we're going to make it so campy that you'll actually see the actors reading the Q cards. And then we're also going to just uh drop it all with dubstep, which has nothing to do with the 50s. Um, and have a single ramp game, which has not been popular since Avatar, the first Avatar from Stern. So, I'm just like every decision they made. But couldn't you argue that I Here's the But couldn't you argue that I Here's the one of the glaring issue I see. They bring in seasoned veterans of the pinball industry, but they're super seasoned. And what do we know about some piece of meat that's super seasoned, right? And then they brought in so not not of current times. And then they also brought in the other subset of people were super new to the industry. What do we know about meat that's uncooked? They didn't have anything in between. No, nobody that no current no current people. It was people that were kind of out of touch that knew the 80s and 90s of pinball and people that were so so new that they were great thinkers and they could potentially be the new face of this company, but they're not there yet. They needed management in between that knew how to organize and uh and say no when they should say no and yes when they should say yes. I I I do think you have a fair point I I I do think you have a fair point there. I I mean it's tough to say because you know you kind of get what you get in some regards. I think the biggest issue kind of prefix postfix was Balser understood the manufacturing side and after he left I felt like they didn't really have a lot of people who understood manufacturing. Now they had some engineers who were experienced but you know when your when your head or your VP or whatever the title is doesn't know the manufacturing side and is also coming in with some very outdated philosophies about licenses and what games will sell and still thinking like this is as you noted the 80s or 90s and that arcades are your audience like just all the strategies were like the not necessarily the worst choices but they were not good choices like, well, we'll just we'll just get our game at a, you know, at 50 shows a year and then people will fall in love with it. It's like that'll work with like a TNA and but that's where success is defined with 550 sales. Like it's not Well, didn't they rumor they rumored to Well, didn't they rumor they rumored to have the He-Man license and messed that up? Yeah, there was some stories that they had had that and then let it go and it was like and even Hot Wheels like and even Hot Wheels like I still I still shake my head at that I still I still shake my head at that one, Zach, because it's like it was again it was like someone who who it was again it was like someone who who was reading about licenses and love for licenses and they were like looking at it all on paper and didn't know in practice what any of it meant and they were like, "Oh, Hot Wheels, everyone knows those from when they were a kid." It's like, "Yes, and there's no story with it. It's just cars. Twitter, but we don't there's not. Yeah. That that idea that there's not. Yeah. That that idea that there's like this this nostalgic view for playing with Hot Wheels. It's not the same as like remembering watching Goonies. It's not the same. There's no story there. I mean, I get that Hot Wheels now has a story because it has a YouTube show, but no adults know that. The other thing is that they were going The other thing is that they were going to like if they do this contract manufacturing, I think it's probably the best idea for them. And they can sprinkle in their own little products here and there if they want to. The problem is their build quality as of late. Everybody's like, "Oh, they're known for their build quality. They should do that." They were. They were. I'm I'm a little hesitant on that. Like I'm I'm a little hesitant on that. Like there's a reason that like you were saying, "Why don't I inventory games as a dealer more?" Well, because I know that I'm really good at my job and if something comes up on a game, if it's like worst case scenario, I'll refund the game or I'll swap them for a brand new one. And if I inventory too many of those games and then they no longer support them, who's going to be left supporting them? Now, a lot of dealers would be like, "Hey, sorry, tough shit." Like, they don't support the games. They don't support the games. What do you want me to do about it? But me as a dealer, I know that I'd take care of those people. And to me, that looks like a very, very big risk. Huge risk. Um, that I frankly, there's a couple manufacturers that right now, I don't want to take that risk anymore. I'll sell their product. If the customer wants it, I'll support that product, but I don't want to take too big of a bite because I'm afraid I'll choke and I don't think that manufacturer is and I don't think that manufacturer is going to be there to uh to him that that bad food that's lodged into my throat. None of this is surprising to me, but I None of this is surprising to me, but I have been forecasting American Pinball going out of business for years now. Well, here's the other issue I'm having Well, here's the other issue I'm having and their recent I guess I can uh I'll say it. I don't care. They were like giving us updates on games, what's in stock, what's on the line, and all of that. They were like, "Look, I know we retired Oktoberfest, but hear us out." Oh, no. Did they unretire it? Oh, no. Did they unretire it? They unretired. Well, not officially. They unretired. Well, not officially. If If we can get another If If we can get another I'm guessing I'm back. Give me a beer. I'm guessing I'm back. Give me a beer. We'll be guessing back. That's right. We'll be guessing back. That's right. Oh, look at the little wiener dog. I Oh, look at the little wiener dog. I guess can't guess. It's like he's like 15 years old. He's barely getting up them steps. Look at the little beagle. He gets shot. Look at the little beagle. He gets shot. All right. So, if they get enough interest, we've got the parts. Maybe we make one more run at this guy. No, you've already retired it. How many of those barrels do they have How many of those barrels do they have lying around? [ __ ] How many autos do you have? [ __ ] How many autos do you have? Jeez. Wow. I was waiting for the for the the the I was waiting for the for the the the 10th anniversary October Fest. They're going to be like limited to 100 cuz that's how many of the inappropriate monkey black glasses we have and we're going to do we're like we're going to sell the controversy ones. The crab ass edition like woke is dead. The crab ass edition like woke is dead. We're back. They're just like they're just like They're just like they're just like clearing out every little broom closet full of crap that they have with this stuff. [ __ ] it. And you know what? Speaking of [ __ ] it. And you know what? Speaking of squirrely manufacturers, Pinball Brothers, did you guys read this is your final shot at owning a Predator or Alien? Now, Dennis, I don't know how many [ __ ] times they I don't know how many [ __ ] times they have said aliens are done. These are the last Ripleys. We're done making it. I think they sold me the quote unquote last one. And then I was like, well, it'd be cheaper if I got two to inventory if you're [ __ ] Oh, what's that? We've got two more. we've got two more that we'll ship in. I was like, "Oh, okay." I ended up canceling one of them because they were going to throw a tariff on me and they weren't going to support that tariff and I was like, "No, [ __ ] that. No, I don't want I was being nice to inventory your games." And now I They were charging less on their website that they were charging me as their dealer. And I said, "Are you high?" "No, I'm not doing that, guys." And I said, "No, just" and I had already paid for it, but I'll give them credit. I asked I said, "Just give me my money back or transfer it over to Predator." And they did do that, so I won't give them too hard of a time, but [ __ ] Like, I don't know. Some of this is just not hard. It's just really not. They make it seem pretty hard, Zach. They make it seem pretty hard, Zach. It's super I've become arrogant to a degree that now when I say hear people say making pinball is hard. I'm like I mean I think it is but it's really hard for some of these people. Maybe maybe it's not quite as hard like and I still even post deeproot Zach I and I still even post deeproot Zach I still push a little bit on that. It's it's manufacturing. People build more complex things than pinball machines in this country. I I I don't I think the problem is that you have a lot of people that just get in without having any sense whatsoever about what they're getting into and then they, you know, they do their stuff and then they they they do their stuff and then they they piss off and go make hydroofoils. Yeah, it's it's I think it's very hard. Yeah, it's it's I think it's very hard. I think that the the margins are just not there from a large base manufacturing niche type of thing. It's a reliance upon too many parts deal parts dealers. Uh it is hard but some of these people are just not good at what they do. So it's going to make it hard. Yeah. No, I agree with that. Yeah. No, I agree with that. Jersey Jack Pinball. Jersey Jack Pinball. Speaking of hard, hey, can you tell me Speaking of hard, hey, can you tell me when I'm going to get my Harry Potter? That company. What about What about That company. What about What about them? It's just still a mess. It's just still a mess. Well, they lost Kin and I think that Well, they lost Kin and I think that that he was their ship right who was keeping him straight and now they're a drift lost at sea. and now they're a drift lost at sea. They didn't utilize Ken. We've never They didn't utilize Ken. We've never even talked about that publicly, but No, it's been a dark secret. No, it's been a dark secret. They had they had gold there, Jerry, and They had they had gold there, Jerry, and they didn't mine it. They didn't mine it. That's their loss. But, uh, Jersey Jack Pinball, they have still the hottest pinball machine on the market. People are loving how Harry Potter People are loving how Harry Potter plays. They're still selling extremely well. They're still selling extremely well. Still a mess with management and allocations and the communication process. They just now since we've talked last fewer, it has gotten better. I've been given some information that does make my job easier, but only to a certain extent. It still does not go beyond the expectations and the standards that I and any other buyer should have. It's like I'm trying to think of an analogy when somebody's doing really bad at something and not being fair with something and they're like, "Well, yeah, but I Okay, it's like somebody that needs to quit smoking." I don't know a better analogy right now, but we'll use this one. And they need to quit smoking because they're killing themselves and they're killing everybody around. They're they're blowing smoke in the fat in their fat baby's faces. And they they come back and they're like, "Look, I'm I know I'm Patrick seesing 40 a day, but dude, I'm down to I'm down to 10. You know, I'm not smoking 40 a day. I'm only smoking 10. What do you want from me?" It's like I just want you to stop blowing smoke in the fat child's face. That's all I'm asking. Is that too much to ask, Dennis? Probably not. Probably not. So, the frustrating part is here's where So, the frustrating part is here's where I'm at right now. A little sausage making for people. And we talked about this on our Patreon last week titled uh Dark Tales of Pinball titled uh Dark Tales of Pinball Distributor. We talked about and you guys have to go listen to that. patreon.com/thepinball show. We talked about the in ends and that people really like that, didn't they? I I was surprised at how interested they I I was surprised at how interested they were. But I guess I hear it so often from you But I guess I hear it so often from you that that's why I I lose I lose touch. You've seen all the giant stuff, the You've seen all the giant stuff, the sausage. I've seen a lot of the the I've seen a lot of the the You're a vegetarian. You're a vegetarian. I can't help it with the little tiny I can't help it with the little tiny hand. I was just like, it's full of the the penises and the vaginas. Tinies. Tinies. Take my take my baby head. Take my baby Take my take my baby head. Take my baby hat. Sorry. Sorry. Oh, coming. Scary Movie 2. Not the first Oh, coming. Scary Movie 2. Not the first one. That's the second one. It's the second one. Absolutely. It's the second one. Absolutely. Second one. It's the best one because of Second one. It's the best one because of the timing. Just get it. Just get it. Uh we [ __ ] out of it. Damn it. Uh we [ __ ] out of it. Damn it. Hi.
    62:26
    I forgot the Hawa. He takes his mole off and he I wonder how adlib that scene was. I wonder how adlib that scene was. Chris Elliot is the best. Oh, he's so Chris Elliot is the best. Oh, he's so good. Okay, where was where was Did you ever see the movie Cabin Boy? Did you ever see the movie Cabin Boy? Yeah. Yeah. So long. So long. I need to watch. I'm a fancy ponog. Oh my god. Sorry. I All right. Okay, back to the Sorry. I All right. Okay, back to the All right, so Jersey Jack sausage making. sausage making. Thank you. All right, at this like it's Thank you. All right, at this like it's tough because I would like to as a dealer, I'd like to inventory Harry Potter, right? So, put yourself in my shoes. I'd like to inventory some Harry Potter. I would like to I would like to extend my order even greater than it is now. But I'm having a hard time doing that because if I were to extend my order, I I would like to know how that works, right? If I extend my order, does that then go into the lineup of what my current order is amongst all the other orders? Does it go at the end of the order? I would kind of think it would go at the end of uh the back orders currently, right? Let's say I bought 10 Harry Potters. And I said, "Where are they going to go?" And they're going to say, "Well, all the existing orders we have right now, they're go with the the back of that." So that could be probably like I don't know the winter, spring. Okay. Okay. I would say right now they probably have I would say right now they probably have enough to build throughout the winter, maybe into the spring. So your 10 go at the back of that, Zach. All right. So what if Pete down the road orders So what if Pete down the road orders one? Does that go after my 10 or is that I think so I think so with Okay. with Okay. Isn't that something I should be able to Isn't that something I should be able to ask? I should I would think you wouldn't even I should I would think you wouldn't even need to ask that. I wouldn't need to. I do based on I wouldn't need to. I do based on history. Lord knows I do. So I asked that and I don't get an answer. Not sure. Don't know what to tell you. Not sure. Don't know what to tell you. It's a very strange sausage. It's a very strange sausage. It's a calculated measurement of when do It's a calculated measurement of when do other dealers have stuff in stock because they messed up that whole allocation thing too. So maybe they're going to other dealers are going to have some in stock before I will. Maybe I will before they do. It's damn mess. At what point It's damn mess. At what point do you allow? cuz I'm thinking to do you allow? cuz I'm thinking to myself, I don't want to this to go on too long because then people are one out cuz they see the new shiny stuff. Between now and when another game or between now and when they're done making Harry Potter, even at this rate, there's likely 10 or more pinball machines that we'll have released. So, as a dealer, I got to think to myself, how many of these people are going to want out of these orders? And they're non-changeable. They're non-refundable. But if you tell people no and you keep their money because Jersey Jack's going to keep my money. Otherwise, I just be losing like 2500 bucks. I can't afford to to do that, then they're likely going to be angry at you and they're not going to want to order from you in the future. So, if I make them mad on Harry Potter, I'm compromising my brand and my business on future games, nonJJP games. There's a new Stern game coming out in a week or two. There's a new Sternf Fall game coming out. There's a Barrels of Fun game coming out. There's a spooky game coming out. CGC is making games. Stern's going to have another game uh in January and then a follow-up Cornerstone in probably March or April. And the the hits keep coming, another remake. We've got So, at what point do I tell some of these people that are on our Harry Potter like maybe we allow you to switch your deposit from Harry Potter to something else because I know when that's coming. I can calculate that. I can I'm not giving a interest free loan to JJP to sit on for eight months. These are all big questions that I have. When you cut off orders, do you just keep ordering? I just keep ordering into the into eternity on to keep taking orders on Harry Potter. When do you cut those off and say, "I don't even know when we'd get them." I it's like this balancing act that I'm doing right now because there's no in my opinion uh no organization for these orders or certainly no prioritization or hey this person's buying a lot that means a lot to us versus the person's only buying a couple but still a mess. Sorry for the rant. That's the stress I've been dealing with. I'm hearing continued rumblings of Sonic the Hedgehog as the next JJP game. That's what media are talking about. I'm seeing it in articles. I'm seeing it on podcasts. Uh Steve Richie designing Sonic the Hedgehog. We've we've talked about that as a possibility in the past. Sure. And of course, there's always been Sure. And of course, there's always been the American Pinball uh, you know, rant that David Fix had a while ago where it was like, "Well, we wanted to get Sonic, but another company stole it from us and it wasn't Stern." So, So, I still think Top Gun would be a better I still think Top Gun would be a better build for Steve, especially if it's his last game than doing Sonic. Last game. Last game. There's been some rumblings. Well, There's been some rumblings. Well, there's a designer there leaving soon there's a designer there leaving soon and he would be the most logical given um he's into retirement age already. Oh, yeah. Well, into that. I know Steve Oh, yeah. Well, into that. I know Steve Richie's next game is a good one. I know that. Not that I've seen anything or anything, but people are going to be very happy with Steve Richie's next game. Not only the license, but the game itself. It's It's a Jersey Jack. They're They're It's It's a Jersey Jack. They're They're doing well. They're doing very well right now. they are trending in the right direction. Um, and if you're interested in getting on that list, let us know at flipping out pinball. Uh, email myself or Ken or or Greg. Spooky pinball. Right now, they're shipping around game 390 for Evil Dead. So, they're they're producing at a high rate right now. Really coming in quick. The there's a shotgun handle mod. I don't know if you've seen this. They announced an official mod or an accessory from Spooky Pinball. $449 for a like it's like a diecast metal and real wood handle for the the plunge, the automatic plunge. the automatic plunge. It's [ __ ] cool. Like I [ __ ] on mods It's [ __ ] cool. Like I [ __ ] on mods last week because some of them are just atrocious and they actually actually they anger me. I shouldn't be angered by 3D printed, you know, filament, but I am. Uh when I smell the burning of plastics when I turn on my game, that's a problem. But this is not that. This is actually a freaking awesome mod. And uh yeah, the only thing it sucks is I can't sell them. They're doing it just direct.
    69:23
    They wised up. Damn it. Damn it. It's easy to support a shotgun handle It's easy to support a shotgun handle mod. I think the bomb in that's probably I think the bomb in that's probably pretty expensive. The bugs scream and stream. Oh, before I talk about that, shout out to Gonzo's Pinball Flipper. Enzo over there. uh interviewed Bug on their YouTube channel and I got to say that was a damn good interview. That was very I interviews sometimes are hard to sit through the whole thing. Not this one. It was fantastic. It was good. I skip actually skip a lot of interviews I skip actually skip a lot of interviews at this point. Lately I have too. Yeah, but not this Lately I have too. Yeah, but not this one. I was did my due diligence to start it to see what they No, it was a good one. So nicely done, Enzo. What does Enzo always say? Uh, games. Uh, slap. Isn't that what the kids say? They slap. I I'm old. I don't. The bugs scream and stream. This Wednesday, they may have some special guests. Wednesday night. Tune in. Wednesday night. Tune in. Up against Joel's stream. Up against Joel's stream. Thursday. Thursday. No, Wednesday. [ __ ] Thursday. Thursday. No, Wednesday. [ __ ] When is that? Oh, Joel. Bug's going to take you out. Oh, Joel. Bug's going to take you out. No, it's not Wednesday. [ __ ] Nah, we'll No, it's not Wednesday. [ __ ] Nah, we'll have to figure that out because I thought basically I'm gonna be up there. Greg's gonna be up there. We're gonna be up there. Oh, you're competing against Joel, too. Oh, you're competing against Joel, too. Oh my god. It's like competing against Oh my god. It's like competing against my own sales now. Oh my god. Oh my god. You're like, here, let me do my let me You're like, here, let me do my let me do my impression of Zach. Uh, I'm dripping with arrogance and I'm Uh, I'm dripping with arrogance and I'm the greatest distributor uh that has ever lived and you know, every move I do is smart and that is why I'm taking out my own channel stream. My name is Zach. this world. I can take My name is Zach. this world. I can take you out. I'm not the best. Well, I guess that's I'm not the best. Well, I guess that's subjective.
    71:13
    All right. What are we going to give people exclusively this week? I The people are asking. We got to give them We got to give them what they want. They've been asking the the the numbers came in hot and heavy last week. They liked the tales, the dark tales, They liked the tales, the dark tales, the dankst of tales. Yes. Yes. A pinball distributor. A pinball distributor. We titled Inside Pinball. So, I think we get maybe we give him a little bit more horror as we continue to peel back the hobby sausage in the dark tales of a pinball dealer part two. part two. Part D. Part D. We just got to give them more. I had We just got to give them more. I had there was a What do we do that one? We got a lot of great feedback on that one like horror stories with customers. Yeah. You you you had one where the Yeah. You you you had one where the customer was shipping a g like they were really slow to ship the game back and it came back in maybe a less than new condition. Like rolled it down a hill after playing Like rolled it down a hill after playing it entirely. That was one you shared you shared with That was one you shared you shared with them a while ago. Oh my gosh. People loved that and they Oh my gosh. People loved that and they were appalled. They couldn't believe that there are humans out there that do what they do. But if you thought that one was bad, this one may take the cake. this one may take the cake. May take the cake. May take the cake. Let them eat cake. Is it real? Is the Let them eat cake. Is it real? Is the cake a lie? I don't. There you go. Portal reference. There you go. Portal reference. Oh my gosh. It feels like we went back Oh my gosh. It feels like we went back into time for that game. Is that still a game? Yeah, that was Yeah, that was Oh, okay. Oh, okay. This is just There's been so much stuff This is just There's been so much stuff this year. It's It's easy to forget that that was the hotness at TPF. It was to a lot of people it won TPF. Are they building them yet? Are they building them yet? I thought so, but I I don't follow I thought so, but I I don't follow I don't know. But uh yeah, you got you I don't know. But uh yeah, you got you guys have to listen to this. We're going to talk about some. And as a reminder, if you guys like the dankst of tales of a pinball dealer, all you've got to do is message message us on the Patreon, uh, some questions. If you want to hear the answers to a question that you have about pinball distribution or sales or behind the curtain kind of stuff, ask and I will answer everything that I can. And I'll probably get in trouble for some of it, too. So, here's your chance. And then we'll we'll do some of that on Patreon. Dennis, how can people sign up if they want to hear all of this stuff? Oh, I think they go to patreon.com/thepinball show. Absolutely. And you get all extra Absolutely. And you get all extra goodies as well, like a privateish Discord channel. You get some swag and stuff. You might even get a nickname if you're high enough up the list. We also have a um a meeting, a happy hour hangout coming up. We have to alter the schedule a little bit. It's going to be Monday the 25th. The 25th, I think. So, probably the day this comes out. So, probably the day this comes out. Yeah. Yeah. So, tonight potentially 8:00 Yeah. Yeah. So, tonight potentially 8:00 p.m. So, come check it out. We also have to thank some people. We would be remiss if we did not thank the goats. the goats. They're our favorite people ever like They're our favorite people ever like Rodney. He's a bobcat. I don't know what we would do without I don't know what we would do without Rodney. Oh, shoot. Oh, shoot. Probably just thank Rob
    74:19
    Snarly. Thank you so much, Rob, for the continued support. What about Mr. Frank? And that's Mr. Falcon to you. Mhm. And Charlie, thank you, Charlie. Dingdong. And thank you. Dingdong. And thank you. What wonderful, wonderful bells. You What wonderful, wonderful bells. You have big bells. You got a nice set of bells there. I'm not going to lie, William. You're our dude.
    74:47
    Never get this. [Music] Thank you for the continued support. William, I'm trying to William trading in some stuff. H H William trading in. William trading in. He just needs to add another addition. He just needs to add another addition. Uh I think he's trading in
    75:09
    couple less. Maybe he's prepping. He's He knows what's coming. He's screaming goat. I mean, come on. He's screaming goat. I mean, come on. They know all. He knows what's coming and he's making some room. How about that? One of our newest members, Adam. Thank you so much for the support, Adam. You getting any sleep there, bud? Get the coffee out. Get the coffee out. You are like papa. You are like papa. I do. Let go.
    75:31
    What? That's so good. His fger. His fger. It almost makes me want to make our next It almost makes me want to make our next member fat bastard. But no, that wouldn't be too kind. And Dennis, we kind of teased it earlier on and we're having a tr tough time just keeping a straight face here, but we do have a new screaming goat level member and oh man, this is there's been some time come. We've wanted this for so long and we we have the opportunity now to name our newest screaming goat club member here at the pinball show. We do first uh before we announce your nickname, we want to thank you truly. Thank you, Brian, for coming and joining our group. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Now, Brian's already utilized messaging Now, Brian's already utilized messaging us privately. Yep. Yep. He's been well informed. He's been well informed. Mhm. Mhm. Wellformed. We even give him guesses if Wellformed. We even give him guesses if we don't know the answer. Like, here's what we're here's what we think. Don't know. Uh we there are so many things that we could have nicknamed old Brian. Um, we were I don't want to say which ones because we were waffling and then at the last right before we started recording, we felt good about something. So, uh, and we've been wanting to add this for a while. So, Brian from here on out will be known simply as the pinball show caretaker. I'm the caretaker.
    77:02
    Welcome aboard, Brian. May I ask which one your strong hand is? I better use my strong hand. I cook it I better use my strong hand. I cook it with all the giblets, the penises and the ginies. Never have I wanted to add that one so Never have I wanted to add that one so much. Bam. That just kicks off. Bam. That just kicks off. We've had the screaming pug that we were We've had the screaming pug that we were But there's nothing like that. Can I take a step? I like when he gets into that tit and I like when he gets into that tit and tap back and forth with the uh the comb over guy, the the handicap guy with the the wheelchair. I'm just going to walk away. Walk. If you guys have not seen Scary Movie 2, do yourself a favor. Please do yourself a favor. It's It's almost as good as Kung Powell. So Brian, whether you like it or not, buddy, you're the caretaker with your cute little hand. I hope you can make some mashed taties and some turkey for Thanksgiving cuz it's coming up. You've got a couple months to prepare, but we're expecting nothing uh nothing but aces over there on on making that turkey and your pie.
    78:20
    All right. Okay. Reminder. Yeah. Yeah. That happy hour hangout's nice. Oh, Angel. We got to do it. It's that time. You hear it? Does everybody hear it? Uh-huh. The one, the only. It's none other than Pinball Market Trend. Baby,
    78:41
    you feel that one? I like your style, dude. I like your style, dude. Got my strong hand out for it. My my tana hands upside my tana hands upside probably peaked that mic out too much. probably peaked that mic out too much. Use your other clipping now. Your edit's Use your other clipping now. Your edit's going to be bad. It's okay. Trending up this week is It's okay. Trending up this week is quite notably August is usually like the the most tame month of the pinball year for new products and for things like that. Uh and it has shown sales have been down in August. They have been. But what is ramping up and what is very much trending up a lot of the messages I'm receiving right now is interest in not what's out now, but what's to come trending up is the next spooky pinball machine and the next Stern pinball machine. Those are that's what everybody's talking about. That's what the media is talking about. All they ever talk about All they ever talk about more so some months than others, but August it's heating up for that September release of the next Stern. And people are already talking about whether or not that next spooky is going to sell out. This is August and they're talking about a sellout of a November game. What? Get out of town. I think it's going to sell out. No, I don't. It's pretty good. So, trending up or what's coming? Do you think Oh, I know the answer so I can't answer. But do you think we see anything new between now and November
    80:14
    from another manufacturer? Other manufacturer than who? Other manufacturer than who? Than Stern and Spooky
    80:23
    from now to Expo. Do you think we see anybody else release a new? No.
    80:32
    This for the video people. Get a watch. All trening up this week is the baby. It's not that fat baby. It might be a fat baby. I don't know. Um, trending up is fat children in general. I love them. I love them. But what I love more is what happened. Was it last week? Maybe it was last week before we were having our flipping out stream on YouTube Wednesday night. Joel and Jared. They were playing Jurassic Park. I don't know how we got into it, but one of the chat people, Dennis, said made some kind of inference that their spouse was about to like they were about to have a baby or something. We're like, "Oh, congratulations." And such. And then they mentioned like dude was like, "No, like I'm in the delivery room right now and my wife is gonna gonna be having a baby." And we're like,"Wh are you watching a pinball stream when your wife is like, "What are you doing?" And it's like, "Oh, it's okay." And we thought, "Damn, that is quite odd." Uh, where all people watch pinball content? So, I was just, you know, being who I am. And I said, I tell you what, I'm a giver. You know, coin giver is what they call me. And I thought what better than to give somebody a nice giveaway in chat if they can come up with some weird places in which or situations that they are watching our live content or even our content in general. So I said, "Look, I'm going to give one of the best giveaways ever. If somebody ever is in a situation where they're having a child and they shoot a picture of themselves watching in the delivery room watching a uh a flipping out stream or video or anything and damned if within five minutes I got a ding on my phone and I look at it Dennis and it was a picture of the guy and his wife his wife laying on the delivery table with a the phone showing uh the live stream. They were watching as that child and the baby crowning and the baby crowning as Yep. It was a pointer and it they as Yep. It was a pointer and it they were showing all of Oh my gosh. A little tear ran down my cheek. So, you know what I did? [ __ ] gave him a topper. That's right. Gave him a topper. You know, the kiss topper. the kiss topper. Not the kiss one. Maybe. Not the kiss one. Maybe. Of course not. You're too busy selling Of course not. You're too busy selling that for $4,000. But I didn't give him a cheap expression lighting topper. I went I went total uh Teenage Mut Ninja Turtles topper. Like $1,000 topper free of charge uh for for being so awesome and sending us that picture. So you never know what we're going to give away over uh at the Flipping Out streaming channel, youtube.com/ flipping out pinball. Do it. So training up is that couple because how awesome was that, man? If you if you guys want free cool [ __ ] do do cool [ __ ] and you'll get it. Trending down though, unfortunately. I wonder if anybody would send Oh, that's too graphic. I can't say that out loud. You think we could get a mid quitus picture of uh watching the stream? I I think Joel might quit if that happened. Maybe animal quitus. Is that fair enough? like your your dog just going to town on a pillow. If you get that and the little snapshot of the stream by them when that's happening, you'll get a giveaway, baby. Going to be a good one. Poor Dennis. I wish people could watch this. They are watching a lot of them. Trending down this week, I got to do it. I'm sorry. Those squirly manufacturers and their select pinball distribution channels. They're Yeah, they're they're pin Justice League of Pinball dealers. It's pinball brothers been a little squirly not communicating the best changing terms of something midream. Come on, man. I've got to trend them down, right? It's only fair. Still love you. I'm still waiting to get to the top of But until you Where's my games? Get get to the I believe they've sold 500 of those I believe they've sold 500 of those already. There's only 150 left. I promise. Scouts There's only 150 left. I promise. Scouts on uh
    85:12
    they advertised the red polo. Like what the hell, man? I guess they can still show it. Just not his head. Can they show his bicep? Yeah, he probably doesn't have a light Yeah, he probably doesn't have a light disclaimer to the shirt. Also trending down is a retired games that become unretired. What are you doing? Is this an October Fest reference? Is this an October Fest reference? We already retired alien in Octoberfest. We already retired alien in Octoberfest. Don't go back to the well, Timmy. That dog don't hunt. It's Lassie. She's got rabies. You got to take her out back and shoot her. She's dead. We've got a new dog. We're calling it Orbit.
    85:59
    That's a ugly [ __ ] dog, too, let me tell you. [ __ ] Have you seen the new Superman? [ __ ] Have you seen the new Superman? No. No. Trending down. Superman. What are people Trending down. Superman. What are people seeing in this game or in this movie, man? Not a good movie. Nope. Not a good movie. It was like It was like I don't know. like taking Superman and thinking that they were going to give it the Guardians treatment and it wasn't that. I don't want my Superman like Star-Lord. I want my Star-Lord edgy and sexy. I mean, I don't I don't want Superman saving squirrels. Like, we're good. I don't need any of that. And the bowl cut guy. Not funny. Not good. I'll give Peacemaker season 2 a chance. Also trending down this week is lowballers. I don't know what it is with these people lately. Look, there's always been lowballers, Zach. It is bad right now. And they get mad if It is bad right now. And they get mad if you tell them, "No, we're not interested." When somebody says, "Or best offer, Dennis," usually a percentage of like what's acceptable as a, you know, a range of what that offer might be. If I'm selling something for $7,000, why would I sell it for $5,000? Why are you wasting your time? They might they might think that you're They might they might think that you're saying or best offer means if their offer is in fact the best one you get, you will accept it. Really? Really? Mhm. Mhm. Okay. Okay. They're very literal, these low ballers. They're very literal, these low ballers. Very literal. So, I feel bad when I have to explain to people, okay, so if I'm selling something for $7,000 and you offer 5,000 before just losing $2,000, what I'd probably do is I'd probably in four to six days reduce it 200 bucks and then I'd only be up 200 bucks and then if it doesn't sell over a week or two, I'd probably reduce another hundred. Like, why would I? That's typically what I do. Why? What? That's typically what I do. Why? What? Why would anybody ever be like, "Yeah, I'll take 2,000." And then they got the balls to be like, "It does include shipping, too, right?" Oh, yeah. Why not? Let's just include it all. Air freight and terra all for one Air freight and terra all for one together price. Yes, that's right. Yes, that's right. That's what we want. It's what we've That's what we want. It's what we've been taught to expect. The Dutch taught us this. I just don't know what's wrong with I just don't know what's wrong with people. Like, they just are looking for a deal. in they just are looking for a deal. in this in these trying times. Market's dead. Sell your dead game. Speaking of dead, some of these mods. Oh, we're coming back to it. Trending down or more [ __ ] mods. People are asking for it. I'm going to give it to you. Uh, an example of something I experienced this last week on my own game. It was my own beautiful creature from the Black Lagoon. Move your car. Move your car. Move your car. Can I have a kiss? Maybe.
    89:01
    Such a weird game, but I love it. Uh, and but I have this restored one. So beautiful. I love this game. Uh, I just basically like the nostalgia of it more than the gameplay or anything. If I get the pin sound, that's a great mod. And it's got the all the old timey 1 2 3 clock 4:00. It's got the 50. Like it I love it. It's before my time, but I love it. Um, but there was a mod that stopped working on it. It was like the uh the hollow mod SP mod thing. It replaces the hologram creature with the screen, the LCD screen, but it's not the Oh, there was one, but it's not the one. It's like the the the secondary one. Anyway, I think I've heard of it. I think I've heard of it. It's the LCD screen one, right? And it's It's the LCD screen one, right? And it's by Hollow Mods. It's not by the Mike D. It's not the Mike D one. It's the other one. Oh, Oh, which is f It was a cool mod. So, this which is f It was a cool mod. So, this is a quasi hatening on this mod, but it's just if shit's not easy to set up or configure to troubleshoot, get that [ __ ] out of here. You don't you don't you shouldn't be able to sell products if it's if you have to be a coder just to get this thing up and running. Thing was working fine. I moved the game and now it doesn't work, right? So, then you go troubleshoot all this [ __ ] All right. Maybe it's a bad HDMI cable. Check that. Maybe it's a bad this. I checked that. Or monitor. I check that. Maybe it's a mispinned connection or something. Checked all that. All of that's working out. So, I basically traced it back to it's either a bad Raspberry Pi as we were talking about cuz those things do get very hot. Um, that's like the 50 bucks to replace 4030 bucks, whatever. I can try that. But also, I figured like the firmware, maybe it's like a corrupt file or something. It just needs the SD card. I need to re re uh burn the SD card, right? Should be a simple process. You download the little code and you guys know me, I don't like doing the whole code thing. Anyway, you should be able to just download the code, put it on an SD card, reput it back in, and should be tried, right? No, no, no, no. Can't do that. First off, you got to translate the damn bad English and all of this stuff. Then once you translate the bad English, it's like, no, we can't give you the up or here's the updated firmware. I download that. Then you got to win roar it. Try doing that in a Mac and and be happy afterwards. So you then you got to download another program to do that. Allowed to do that. I figured all this [ __ ] out. Download it all. Then I'm reading through it. Okay, how do I get this to this? It won't let me open it because it's locked. And I'm like, [ __ ] lock. Why do you have this locked with a password? What? Why? What the [ __ ] is the reason? You have like a 5-year-old mod that nobody buys anymore. Why is it password protected and locked? Maybe it's in the read me files. Nope. Go on the forum. How do I unlock this [ __ ] thing? And it the person's like, "Contact me." Oh, not this guy. like not a guy that you have to contact every time you want [ __ ] permission to use a thing that I paid money for. [ __ ] So I email this guy and hoping cuz he's overseas hoping I can get a good response time. He does get back with me. He's like, "What seems to be the problem?" And I said, "Well, in the per my last email, I just need a [ __ ] password so that I can try to reburn this thing." His response, "Explain to me a little bit about what's going wrong so I can understand." I'm like, "Oh, he's just trying to help." he's just trying to help." I said, "At this point, I hate your mod. I said, "At this point, I hate your mod. I want to burn your [ __ ] mod. Um, I just need a password because for some god-awful reason, you password protected this whole thing. So, can I just Is there any way I can get that password? Uh, if not, let's rip the [ __ ] thing out. I'll be done with it anyway. I don't care." Then he comes back, "I'm simply trying to help you. Can you tell me what the" And I'm like, "All right, that's the password. Password is peace the [ __ ] out. This thing's getting ripped out of my damn game, and I'll buy something else. these mods. People, what are you the [ __ ] gatekeeper of mod? No, just if I'm spending5 to $800 on something, can I plug it in without having to do electrical engineering or programming? Please, just deal of the week this week. Star Wars Comic Home Edition. We got in on trade by Couldn't sell it at 42, so I slashed it Couldn't sell it at 42, so I slashed it to 4,000. Couldn't sell it at that. So, I'll take another 500 off. $34.99. Just get rid of this damn thing. It's like new condition [ __ ] pinball bounty. I want something restored and beautiful without godforsaken mods on them that need passwords that you have to email somebody overseas just to get to work. I hope it's a Raspberry Pi. What are the odds that it will be? I don't know. And as always, I'm just here to report the facts. I'm just telling you all the truth. I don't want you hurt. I don't want you harmed. If you get retired, I don't want to pull you out of retirement. Numbers don't lie. Neither do I on Pinball Park Trench. That's right. Where can people catch you? You can always email eclectic You can always email eclectic gamersodcast@gmail.com or you can reach out to the pinball or you can reach out to the pinball show@gmail.com. Email us there as well. Just gmail.com. Just gmail.com. Sorry the way you said it. The Sorry the way you said it. The the pinball showgmail.com
    93:57
    uh and then uh all the socials too. Please follow, like, uh, Facebook, but honestly, YouTube at this point, you got to watch us on YouTube. We We got a lot more views on the We We got a lot more views on the YouTube. We need more subscribers on YouTube, though. That's what we need. patreon.com/thepinball patreon.com/thepinball show for all the goods. Uh, Tik Toks, Instagrams, all of that. Uh, Tik Toks, Instagrams, all of that. Straight down the middle of video series where we got some real cool stuff coming up between now and the end of the year. A lot of really cool stuff, multiple cool stuff. Uh, so follow us on YouTube and the socials. Uh, the sponsor of this show is proudly flipping out pinball. When I buy my pinball from flipping out When I buy my pinball from flipping out from I've got it figured out. Figured out [Music]
    94:49
    when I buy from Flipping Out. Over at Flipping Out, we've got a Over at Flipping Out, we've got a product showcase. Um, I should just make it. If you've got a Harry Potter in order and you want the new shiny stern, you you want to trans I'm not going to do that. It's still nonchangeable.
    95:07
    Don't Don't make it enigmatic about what you're doing with your deposits. Well, I'll join the club of everybody Well, I'll join the club of everybody else. Oh, you buy a product. When do I get it? I don't know. Let me see. This is my magic eightball.
    95:27
    Time will tell, but not today. Oh god. Good lord. Sorry. Uh, buy yourself a Harry Potter. It's a damn great game. It's so good. It really is unbelievable. King Kong, the trending up game. Buy that. Uh, Jaws Dune. Get yourself a Dune. Don't you like sand, Dennis? Pretty sure you like sand. It's gritty and it gets everywhere. It's gritty and it gets everywhere. It's a sandworm thing, I guess. It's a sandworm thing, I guess. 2025 pre-owned games. Buy yourself a pre-owned game. Yeah. Flipping out Facebook page for all of those. I think I've got four or five coming in this week. So, get one of them. I listed my Fathom Revisited. My Oh, Oh, yeah. It's got the custom flipping out yeah. It's got the custom flipping out logo on the apron, but I also have a replacement apron, so you can have that. and this big old we ran out of money because we do [ __ ] like this where they printed off big old plaque and stuff, commemorative plaque. It's just a stain for me. Every time I walk in our showroom and I see that thing, I'm like, man, [ __ ] you. [ __ ] you so hard. And I just want it gone so I have a price to go. Please, somebody buy that thing. It's beautiful and awesome. It's just, you know, I got thrown out with a bath water on that. So, no matter how hot she is or how fat her baby is, she's dead to me. Uh, games, accessories, purchase from us, we would really appreciate that. Truly appreciate that. And I promise we'll give you the best service, the best support, uh, in the business. So, it's kind of a no-brainer. All right, what else? Oh, flipping out media. Joel is going to be streaming that Cactus Canyon remake the the new code this week, ideally. And he's also going to have a tutorial for Cactus Canyon, that updated remake, an installation video for that, as well as I think we got a Jurassic Park tutorial coming. Flipping Out Pinball Podcast. If you haven't subscribed to that, go listen to it now. Subscribe. Ken and Greg over there doing episode 6, Pinball Confessions. That one had I laughed twice out loud, and that's rare for me. Uh, but if you haven't listened to it, Dennis, I Yeah, you need to go listen to it. It's pretty good. people people wrote in and gave their confessions that they haven't told anybody told many people and and some of them are really really good. Until then, uh Dennis, these people need to know something. Well, I think they need to come with me Well, I think they need to come with me into a special world where sight and sound are different. a a world where October Fest and Alien are unretired and available for your purchase now. Please buy only in the 2025 pinball world. And always practice safe pinball, And always practice safe pinball, but not Cuphead but not Cuphead because it's Cup Dead. because it's Cup Dead. Cup dead. And always practice safe Cup dead. And always practice safe pinball. And if you act now, there's 150 more episodes of the Pinball Show. 150. And then we're going to retire this fat baby. Once retired, this thing's going to go up up up in price. And you What is that? And you What is that? You're going to be able to retire. I'm You're going to be able to retire. I'm trying to do There's this baseball card guy. Baseball card guy. Baseball card guy. Yeah, you have to go back and watch the Yeah, you have to go back and watch the uh the baseball card guy doing the like the QVC stuff and the the Beanie Baby stuff, too. He's selling these Beanie Babies. I'm telling you right now, I don't even know how we've got these things. That got I don't even know how the beans got in I don't even know how the beans got in there. Can you Can you cook them? I love you guys. See you. I love you guys. See you. I just have to occasionally I just look I just have to occasionally I just look into the it's dead lens. This camera ah it's like a doll's eye. Like a portion Like a portion black and lifeless black and lifeless in Hadenfield. in Hadenfield. Deepest and darkest of holes. The dankst Deepest and darkest of holes. The dankst and dankstankest. dankstankest. Yes. Thank you.