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Episode #187 Bonus show!

Don's Pinball Podcast (patreon feed)·podcast_episode·27m 10s·analyzed·Apr 24, 2025
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.031

TL;DR

Don discusses collecting, Dune impressions, LE pricing strategy, and rumors of Spooky/Brothers new releases.

Summary

Don discusses personal pinball collecting plans (Kong Premium, Dungeons & Dragons custom build), Barrels of Fun's Dune Pinball (slower cinematic experience, solid execution but limited appeal), Stern's pricing strategy on Limited Edition machines (Expression Lights cost/delay as value proposition), custom topper options (Brad Albright plastics vs. Electric Playground toppers), and unconfirmed rumors about Spooky Pinball's next title (Beetlejuice) and Pinball Brothers' imminent release (April 25th rumored date, debut at Pinball Expo).

Key Claims

  • Expression Lights cost $699 and have increased in price from initial $499 with Led Zeppelin

    high confidence · Don, discussing Stern LE value proposition and pricing inflation

  • Metallica Remastered comes with expression lights, adding ~$700 value that Jaws LE and D&D LE did not have

    high confidence · Don, comparing feature sets across Stern LEs to explain secondary market pricing differences

  • John Wick LE was produced in 1,000 units (vs. 200-500 for comparable titles) and 300 units still sitting unsold

    medium confidence · Don, speculating on John Wick oversupply and secondary market saturation

  • Expression Lights take 6 months to a year to receive after order

    high confidence · Don, citing personal recent experience acquiring Metallica expression lights

  • Barrels of Fun's Dune Pinball has a slower, cinematic gameplay experience with limited theme appeal

    high confidence · Don, based on personal gameplay at Barrels of Fun factory visits

  • Spooky Pinball's next title is rumored to be Beetlejuice (unconfirmed)

    medium confidence · Don, citing recurring rumors heard in community but noting no official confirmation

  • Pinball Brothers new game announcement rumored for April 25, 2025

    medium confidence · Don, referencing teaser images and April 25th date being 'battered around' with expected debut at Pinball Expo

  • Brad Albright created full-character Pulp Fiction topper plastics with single-screw installation

    high confidence · Don, describing recent topper unboxing and installation experience at Electric Playground

Notable Quotes

  • “Expression Lights take forever to get out. I only just recently managed to snag a set for Metallica that I needed. The six months a year long delay to get expression lights plus the $700 cost... supports value in the Avatar that otherwise is there.”

    Don @ mid-episode — Explains how long delays and high costs of Expression Lights paradoxically create value perception for LE machines

  • “I'm excited for Kong. I'm really excited for Spooky Pinball's next title. But like I not excited for getting... Dune... The game is very slow. It's not like an exciting game.”

    Don @ mid-episode — Direct assessment of Barrels of Fun's Dune as mechanically solid but thematically and experientially limited

  • “I think they're doing Beetlejuice this time. I haven't heard any confirmation from anybody about that, but that's the rumor that comes up the most.”

    Don @ late-episode — Unconfirmed rumor about Spooky Pinball's next title, signaling community speculation

  • “Are we two days away from a release? I know Joe at Pinball Star has been strongly hinting that he's going to have some brand new games to play at Pinball Expo... we were all expecting that to be the debut of the new Pinball Brothers game.”

    Don @ late-episode — Pinball Brothers imminent release tracking; date convergence (April 23 episode, April 25 rumor)

  • “It almost seems like it's me running the company. Like it's a one man show... It doesn't seem like there's a coordinated effort behind this and I really need to see that before I get excited about putting money down.”

    Don @ late-episode — Criticism of Pinball Brothers' marketing and communication strategy for upcoming release

  • “So this feels like all the best parts of Alice in Wonderland with a better layout than Alice in Wonderland... I would definitely get this over the game was very fun.”

    Don @ mid-episode — Comparative assessment of Barrels of Fun's Dune Pinball as mechanically/layout-wise superior to American Pinball's Alice

Entities

DonpersonBrad AlbrightpersonChristopher FranchipersonHilton JonespersonJoepersonBarrels of FuncompanySpooky Pinballcompany

Signals

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Spooky Pinball's next title rumored to be Beetlejuice; Don cites this as recurring community rumor with no official confirmation but notes Christopher Franchi's preparatory Beetlejuice translite artwork

    medium · I think they're doing Beetlejuice this time. I haven't heard any confirmation from anybody about that, but that's the rumor that comes up the most... This guy is probably like giddily putting his all into this cabinet if that is what the theme is.

  • ?

    machine_intel: Pinball Brothers new game expected April 25, 2025 (2 days after episode date of April 23); teaser images circulating; debut expected at Pinball Expo in Allentown, Pennsylvania; live Q&A and order details expected soon

    medium · I've been dropping teaser pics and things. I've heard the date of April 25th, battered around. And today's April 23rd... Joe at Pinball Star has been strongly hinting that he's going to have some brand new Games to play at Pinball Expo

  • ?

    product_strategy: Stern's LE pricing strategy relies on bundled high-cost accessories (Expression Lights $699, shooter rods $249) rather than traditional cosmetic differentiation; supply delays of 6-12 months for Expression Lights create perceived scarcity value

    high · Metallica Remastered comes with the expression lights. So that's like an extra $700 of value baked in there... The Six months a year long delay to get expression lights plus the $700 cost... supports value

  • $

    market_signal: John Wick LE (1,000 units) experiencing oversupply with estimated 300 units still unsold; contrasts with more limited runs (200-500 units) that command higher secondary prices

    medium · Nobody wants 1000, there's probably still 300 sitting in boxes in a dustbin. The game comes with the $700 lights.

Topics

Limited Edition pricing strategy and value propositionprimaryCustom pinball builds and customization trendsprimaryBarrels of Fun's Dune Pinball reception and gameplay characteristicsprimaryUnannounced/rumored upcoming releases (Spooky Beetlejuice, Pinball Brothers April 25)primaryTopper market and aftermarket accessory qualitysecondaryExpression Lights availability, cost, and delivery delayssecondaryPinball Brothers marketing and communication effectivenesssecondaryPatreon community rewards and engagementmentioned

Sentiment

mixed(0.55)— Don is enthusiastic about personal collecting (Kong, Dungeons & Dragons customization, Spooky's next title) and positive about Barrels of Fun's craftsmanship/layout execution on Dune, but critical of Dune's thematic appeal and gameplay pacing, skeptical of Stern's LE pricing/value strategy (Expression Lights delays/costs), and frustrated with Pinball Brothers' lack of coordinated marketing for their imminent release. Overall tone is constructive critique mixed with collector enthusiasm.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.081

I'm gonna go ahead and reuse my return to the Mac intro music from the other show cuz it's already on the sound pad welcome to the bonus episode for 187 over on patreon I gotta do this for you guys cuz number one I got a lot more content to dump and I don't want to do another hour and a half long show and I also have to reward and welcome all the new patreon members shout out to you guys you are amazing and consistently rewarded we've got four Translight winners that were drawn during the live stream of For the topper unboxing yesterday, you'll be contacted by email here shortly later today, and then I'll begin shipping hopefully before the end of the week because I'll be back out on the road Why do I do this to myself? I don't know. I really need to cut back to travel a bit I think at this point, but the travel bug and the allergy bug is purely in my brain. Hey everybody yesterday I did a Pulp Fiction topper unboxing. I was sent the first Topper for Pulp Fiction from the electric playground. I had ordered like right away during Expo The So I was able to collaborate and say you know hey why don't I do an unboxing for you guys they said fine And then they sent along the first version of the new plastics for the topper Did you see this the big thing that people had problems with with the Pulp Fiction topper of course this being an unlicensed work? Was the fact that it was kind of you know the the two protagonists there with their guns We're a little bit in a soft focus You know with shadows over their faces and it was like oh man I was expecting to see the characters which you would from a first party title All these things are made in low quantities. It's hard to manufacture at those low quantities and keep prices low. Economies of scale play into these things. When you're making 100,000 of them for an end cap at Target, you can bring the price down to $39.99. But when you're only making $300, this is where you're at. But that precludes licensing costs and interactions and stuff and it probably wouldn't look as cool as it does. Whatever. completely separate and parallel from the top or from the electric playground brad Brad Albright the graphic designer of this game and also my seminal favorite portal Has done plastics with the full features of the characters and it's very easy to install them with just one screw You slap them right over the existing plastics and you're done like that's all you have to do So that is fun I was over there trying to figure out how to de-engineer this whole thing pull the wire ramp off so I could access the plastic and And then I realized, oh, all I have to do is just slap these on over the existing ones and we're done. So I should have read the damn instruction manual. But yeah, I unboxed that. So if you want to see everything that's in this, it's such a cool box. It comes into man. I love the packing. It's like Christmas morning, man. That's part of it. So go check that out. Congratulations to the winners of the pin tastic shirt, the hat and a hat from the electric playground with Mr. Christopher Franchi had one. My God, amazing. Those will all be shipping out soon. So that was super awesome. I don't have it hooked up yet. I've been working nights and I get off work and I'm pretty tired. I have to sleep most of the day and it leaves me like two hours to try to do content, build toppers, and then get to work. So I haven't quite had time to get in on there yet. I got a bit of Dueling Dragons going on now at the homestead. However, Dueling Dragons being a seminal favorite coaster from Universal's Islands of Adventure, which was then changed into, well, it was completely removed and rebuilt with Hagrid's Motorbike Adventure. If you know, you know, get your ride is great. WPPR plausistry filled it for 25 days yet if you are today watching this I must have we need you to come sweetie scent你是 most bring you digital start everyone turn off your remote apps for your PCOO20 around the internet easily Neil Pettis, All these things, it's at least, you know, a thousand dollars. Plus there's things like backglass that are really hard to get. If you would want to like recreate that LE. So you do get like some value in there. The kicker though is expression lights, right? They cost $699 now, which is outrageous. They started at $499, I believe, with Led Zeppelin and steadily increased it seems with every release. So this is twofold. If a game like John Wick comes with expression lights, I think Metallica Remastered would be a much better example. Metallica Remastered comes with the expression lights. So that's like an extra $700 of value baked in there that JawsLE didn't have, D&DLE didn't have, but was still the same price as like MetallicaLE was. And they really made 500 of those and we saw those go up in price. John Wick, okay, if there was only 200, we'd probably see John WickLE commanding higher prices. Nobody wants 1000, there's probably still 300 sitting in boxes in a dustbin. The game comes with the $700 lights. That is a big value that's added to that game that you don't get with a Dungeons & Dragons or a Jaws. Jaws came with a shooter rod. Those can be $249 now, which is like inflated pricing. But even then, you know, the value wasn't there. The other proposition is that ExpressionLikes take forever to get out. I only just recently managed to snag a set for Metallica that I needed. The So the Six months a year long delay to get expression lights plus the $700 cost to bake that in there And then that kind of more supports value in the le that otherwise is there so going forward Kong le Great back glass same art as the pro and premium does have foil So it does look nicer, but like is it that much nicer in this glass shaker motor easily gettable? Everybody's making a visit glass now anti-reflective glass coatings are available at every glass manufacturer Out of endorsed video of TEAM EXPO This week in Pinball Johnny Pneumonic Black Water Kaneda Pinball Podcast Twippies Awards transliteelectronic enough value is there 923 of these things um fine um you know will it hold value i guess i mean it an l1 jaws does i don know that kong really well um but for me i think premium is definitely the way to go i think the art is fine throwing visiglass in there shaker motor throwing your lineup i don think it worth the extra squeeze of the le and so for me i not going to jump at a stern le until i see them do things like add uh shooter rods add credit towards the topper i think there a lot of things they could do And add expression lights to every single game. I think it just should be there. I think they should put an amplifier in the game too so you can really like crank that sound and utilize those speakers that they put in there. This like internal 3 channel amplifier is garbage man. You need a nice powered external amp to throw some charge through there. Do that and then I'll be more interested in purchasing LEs going forward. You know and even like you know like Walking Dead Remastered LE if it doesn't have expression lights I'm just not interested. All these things are listed in the description box below. I'm sure there will be a price increase between now and then. So Don, are you getting a Kong? Yes. Don, are you keeping a Kong long term? No. I've got a Kong Premium on order. It will be another makeover for the 1UP Lounge to celebrate our ongoing partnership. They're getting pimped out versions of games from me. It's hot and heavy. I'm about halfway through the Dungeons & Dragons build that I have right now. I've got a glittery red powder coat on there. It looks like a sport fishing boat. Or like a speed boat with that shiny glittery in there. So we like to think All right, let's get started. So, I've got Dungeons and Dragons D20 shooter Rods. They're black and red to match my motif that I'm going with here, but they'll also match the T-molding there. If you're interested in one, I'm printing up like eight of them right now. And I'll put the typical 60 bucks on there and you can get yourself a shooter rod. Let me know. I've got the rods coming. These will be done printing. It's a two-day print because they are multicolored. And the size is great. It's 50 millimeters, slightly larger than the Stranger Things shooter rod. rent for MixedTail and And it's black and red. I'll have a couple of them here available. Don's Pinball Podcast at gmail.com. That's how we hook you up. I'll knock 10% off of that and $56 or $54. Let's do it. You guys are patron family now. So yes, I am getting one. I'm getting a Kong. I've got this idea. I haven't mentioned it really around. This game is going into an arcade bar. They have a lot of retro games to like your video games and such. So I thought why not do a new take on this. Cap custom has done some concepts for King of Kings. Atconomic)"participersonatejohnny mins Bieberkoή during the nationalוהrok immersive치는heamer plötzlichומ�ốn Atcheerful wsz). Starbucksπά adjustmentg 반 pounding trong ataque 방송 Con improvements here if you threatening Compuation here if you assловation Why Tony Astrid Kalifa Tatal Ferdinand Hoag Travel failing Daniel Laszlo Alvaro fb testament http://tw wspólitechpolishinfoalk.com.au movie presentelexiventv煎âgrqi¸ fe More containing BASICOSSTALK V enforced by TWIP partout쪽 slaxton inspectionsürlicheye websites and 1080ortequipc научigentlhoso vessor Most are played in overseries and gift cards and promotion parts due to the bịch health of each player, meaning читabank needs to be away from all War Group sir or osb prevWORLD announcement does the maybech playstyle playing a video напис We are compteelong, Ethan Casey Butler statisticians kızım, TheWayToon duke from Twipp noite ergues,bookscjearns.wehui, Noza I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with the game code, but I think Donkeykong is still relevant. There's a Donkeykong rollercoaster about to open at Epic Universe. There's already one in Osaka. I think it's a vibe. I think it would work good for this arcade bar, too. So I'm thinking of buying a Kong. I'll need about three months to complete the transformation, and then I'll get it out to them. So yes, I am buying a King Kong. Don, what's going on with Dune, man? Do you have yours ordered already? You're good friends with the Barrels of Fun People. You've been to the factory a couple of times now. You get on well with them. What's going on? The game is very brown. It's not like an exciting game. Like a game that I'm excited. Like I can't wait to get this thing into my house and play it. I'm excited for Kong. I'm really excited for Spooky's next title. But like I not excited for getting an ABBA you know Now I not saying Dune feels like ABBA It just very much more of a slower cinematic kind of game playing experience I not KnappoldKeep coolestroyale notified Ariutepertji Bai ple accompagnate re pic Bestest The end of the day, it's still Dune. I think JerseyJack did a great job of making a godfather pinball machine. I just don't think it's a theme that I would have picked for a pinball machine because I think the appeal is limited. I think that here, too. This isn't like, you know, I wouldn't have in a pitch meeting. I don't know if I would have went with this one. I would have said, okay guys, what else do you got? As far as how they integrated this theme into the game, I think they did a great job with it. I think it really looks like the world of Dune. It's just, is the world of Dune a place that I want to spend a lot of time in? I don't know. But who cares? Is Johnny Pneumonic a world I want to spend a lot of time in? No. Is the game fun to play? Heck to the yeah. So I can look beyond that too and judge it just based on a pinball machine. And that's why I'm not ruling it out because it was fun playing the thing. It's hard for me to evaluate it now based on what I played because the Code The game is a good game. It's got a good powder coat on it. I don't hate it. The art looks good on the cabinet. I really love the daytime on the one side the nighttime on the other. I think that stands out. I like the metallic foil. They did. These are rad cows. So they feel really good. So this feels like all the best parts of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland with a better layout than Alice in Wonderland. So like I would definitely get this over The game was very fun. I will be getting one near me at the IO Arcade run by Spooky's Own Hilton in Madison, Wisconsin. I'll be able to bop on down there and put some time on Dune, bring Monica over to play it. But I can tell both of us there's just for the money other games we'd probably rather have if we were in the market to spend that much, which currently right now I'm not really. I'm trying to rebuild my funds after paying off my car this year, which I did after owning it for two months. So it was a bit of an expense. So I'm in a rebuilding phase of the year here. So I think how the rest of my year is going to go. I got The Dungeons and Dragons in that's a bill that's going out. I have Kong coming in that was a trade I did with X-Men LE so that'll be going out to one up lounge As far as the game it's staying here. I know I'll be ordering the next spooky It's just based on the very very high rumors that were if you're hearing rumors. That's what I'm thinking, too I think they're doing Beetlejuice this time I haven't heard any confirmation from anybody about that, but that's the rumor that comes up the most So I'm sharing that with my patreon folks and you know looking at what Christopher Franchi has done with the art or he's already done a translite that he was selling at shows for Beetlejuice. This guy is probably like giddily putting his all into this cabinet if that is what the theme is. I don't know anything about the layout. I don't know if it's a wide body again, a narrow body, a double body, a triple playfield game. I don't know anything about that. I don't know about mechanisms. I don't know if the sling flipper's back. Thanks for watching! Michael Jones JuiceNewissy Whoa thế 소념 побiedz banyakmaker objeto 등 Happy Mathice Special appreciate thanks to fade PresentionalG Cont shouldn't have been spent like I thought. You're fired an on camera Но Now I'm not sure if I can do this, but if I can, I'm going to do it. Here's the thing. I've been dropping teaser pics and things. I've heard the date of April 25th, battered around. And today's April 23rd. Now that I just put it on my computer. So are we two days away from a release? I know Joe at Pinball star has been strongly hinting that he's going to have some brand new games to play at a pin fest, which is going on Allentown, Pennsylvania here pretty soon. And we were all expecting that to be the debut of the new pinball brothers game. All 갿Et, móe spy desde N verte a palm essbear, Aut fotografia que pasamos I Tao like the Mare and Jesun'm fai collectoraheums stalkía in Pokév tienen unsurrones Toop Face Palmyeoure group Vannia phloemos De painful I Te c type in pinballCarl or francasole missionary Systems protective and detailowski bröll Butter neatly casino Stre political issue mandated the sorted releasing MASPA newspaper report out a free value priced I will be a latin of the game is probably lakedos recorded version to get uh... even though it doesn't have some of the bells and whistles of the earlier ones had whatever but moving forward from there they've been moving downortion queen was not agrenia This week in Pinball, Johnny Pneumonic, Black Water, Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, Twippies Awards, translite PSAKIartwork panel in backbox that is backlit during play~) preantiniunchole shocked flewvo SCH, grepeeebyeducaycs Smells at 23。 We can't tell you yet, but you're going to see something you've never seen before. You're going to see something that'll make you want to put in a deposit right away. We're hard at work and excited about our new release that's coming out. We're doing a live stream question and answers about the company, about the new game. When can you order it? When can you expect it to be delivered? You know, we're in active production right now. We won't release what the title is yet, but it's going to go into boxes. And when we release, which will be soon and will be announced soon, you'll be able to order it and get it same day. And if you live in the U S right now, this is going to be a great opportunity for you to get it. This is what the price would be with the tariffs, this is how it's going to work, this is who our distributors are, you know, these kind of things. And get people hyping. But there's been like silence as far as like, you know, other than little teaser images that something's coming out of the jungle, like that's it. It almost seems like it's me running the company. Like it's a one man show, like one person that's just in their spare time posting little things and like that's it. It doesn't seem like there's a coordinated effort behind this and I really need to see that before I get excited about putting money down on a product and tying it up Thanks for watching! I love you guys ThinkGuy 9. CC od Lindsey mastered spoken All right, so thanks for joining me in this very allergy heavy recording session with me and Don's BibbleVogels. Appreciate all the new people that are here and I'm still excited for what's coming forward from 2025. The rumors that we're hearing is Stern does have a lot of things in the pipeline to be coming out that will be shocking and amazing us. So we'll look forward to that at some point here in the next few months. We'll know everything about Harry Potter and who's getting it. We'll know if Pinball Brothers released a game in the next month or so and Dutch Pinball with Allison White. Headband. Gamer.toadmp uKof-g Spart foreigners,itors that do not competentrock tardy, This Week in Pinball, Johnny Pneumonicbrance, Black Water, Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, Twippies Awards, transliteelectronic Raza�un�장czasviety So for a couple of minutes I'm gonna challenge somebody here on this call that shows the league. And now you have to pay an extra thousand dollars like that's lame So there we go. Thanks for joining once again. Thanks for being a complete bro by belonging here I've got four translites to mail out to people the winners of the translates from the patreon if you watch the live West Merkel Domez foobier and Mike Hockison. What a cool guy do this this family wins so much stuff That was all done by random number generator during the live stream so you can check that out I'm gonna go contact everybody and I'll start shipping translates here. They'll be randomly picked from supplies that are in hand I do have some Dungeons and Dragons and some Kong ones inbound and if their quality is good. I'll order them in higher numbers So that's fun. It's patreon. Thanks for being cool. I'll talk to you guys later. This is a great bonus episode. I think
Pinball Brothers
company
Stern Pinballcompany
Electric Playgroundcompany
1UP Loungecompany
IO Arcadecompany
Pinball Starcompany
Pulp Fictiongame
Dune Pinballgame
Konggame
Dungeons & Dragonsgame
Metallica Remasteredgame
John Wickgame
Game of Thronesgame
Jawsgame
Pinball Expoevent
Epic Universecompany
?

gameplay_signal: Barrels of Fun's Dune Pinball designed as slower, cinematic gameplay experience; Don compares favorably to Alice in Wonderland (layout superiority) but questions whether Dune theme/pacing appeals to collectors seeking excitement-driven play

high · The game is very slow. It's not like an exciting game... I can't wait to get this thing into my house and play it... feels like all the best parts of Alice in Wonderland with a better layout than Alice

  • ?

    industry_signal: Don criticizes Pinball Brothers' marketing approach for imminent release as disorganized, one-person operation lacking coordinated effort; suggests this undermines buyer confidence despite interesting product

    high · It almost seems like it's me running the company. Like it's a one man show... It doesn't seem like there's a coordinated effort behind this and I really need to see that before I get excited about putting money down

  • ?

    product_launch: Brad Albright offering premium custom Pulp Fiction topper plastics with full character artwork and single-screw installation as alternative to Electric Playground's official topper; represents aftermarket customization trend

    high · Brad Albright the graphic designer... done plastics with the full features of the characters and it's very easy to install them with just one screw

  • ?

    community_signal: Don running bonus Patreon-exclusive podcast episode with custom giveaways (translites, toppers, shirts) and shout-outs to new subscribers; signals active community monetization and retention strategy

    high · I gotta do this for you guys... shout out... you guys you are amazing and consistently rewarded we've got Game of Thrones (Premium) four translite winners... Congratulations to the winners

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Don building custom versions of recently released games (Dungeons & Dragons glittery red powder coat, custom D20 shooter rods; Kong custom arcade bar theme) for 1UP Lounge partnership; reflects collector community trend toward personalization and venue-specific builds

    high · I'm about halfway through the Dungeons & Dragons build... glittery red powder coat... I've got Dungeons & Dragons D20 shooter Rods... Shane Black and red... I'm getting a Kong... This game is going into an arcade bar

  • ?

    business_signal: Stern reportedly has multiple unspecified titles in pipeline expected to release in coming months; described as potentially 'shocking and amazing'; creates anticipation for announcements

    medium · The rumors that we're hearing is Stern does have a lot of things in the pipeline to be coming out that will be shocking and amazing us