Episode 1103: "Eric Explaining Potter Code Direction and Why I Think The Fix is Easy"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·30m 4s·analyzed·Jun 13, 2025

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034

TL;DR

Kaneda praises Harry Potter design but critiques code presentation; warns of Stern's massive unsold inventory crisis.

Summary

Kaneda breaks down Eric Minor's design philosophy for Harry Potter pinball, detailing how the game balances 90+ movie-based mini-modes for casual fans with depth for enthusiasts. However, Kaneda argues the current code implementation fails to achieve this vision: the movie clips are muted and buried beneath overlapping UI elements and simultaneous mode activations, creating sensory confusion rather than emotional connection. He believes a code simplification focusing on clear film audio/video presentation during mode scenes could unlock the game's potential masterpiece. The episode also covers inventory crises at Stern (17,000 unsold units), secondary market value collapse for older titles (Godfather/Avatar), DPX's topper supplier failure, and rumors of upcoming Stern releases (Star Wars EP1-3, Jaws 50th, possible Pokemon).

Key Claims

Harry Potter has 90+ mini-modes with 2-4 shots each, organized into fall/spring terms and final exams for each of six movies
high confidence · Eric Minor's extended opening explanation of the game's structure
Movie scenes in Harry Potter timeout after 30 seconds and auto-advance; players don't fail if they miss shots, but don't get completion bonuses
high confidence · Eric Minor describing the casual-friendly game design
The current code issue with Harry Potter is that movie clips are muted/buried and overlapping with simultaneous side-modes and UI elements, creating sensory overload
high confidence · Kaneda's detailed critique of the game experience after playing it
Stern has approximately 17,000 unsold games sitting in boxes that dealers did not order
medium confidence · Kaneda citing a rumored number but expressing skepticism: 'I heard a number that has to be wrong'
Godfather and Guns N' Roses Limited Editions will drop to ~$5,000 by end of year due to Harry Potter competition
medium confidence · Kaneda predicting secondary market collapse for older JJP titles
Predator pinball will cost $10,000, same as Harry Potter Arcade Edition, with no Arnold Schwarzenegger voice in the game
high confidence · Kaneda discussing Predator pricing and content
Harry Potter CE is unlimited production; Keith Elwin's King Kong LE did not sell out
high confidence · Kaneda observing unusual market behavior: both high-demand titles underselling
DPX's topper supplier went out of business; Melvin (DPX) found a new source but delivery will be delayed
high confidence · Kaneda reporting on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland production status
John Borg Star Wars Episode 1-3 is the next Stern machine coming within ~2 weeks
medium confidence · Kaneda speculating: 'Now, will there be in two weeks, and I think there's going to be...'

Notable Quotes

“What I really wanted to do was make this approachable for casual players as well as experienced pinball players.”
Eric Minor @ ~4:30 — Core design philosophy for Harry Potter: accessibility without sacrificing depth
“You don't want, I don't want, the fans don't want to play Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone every single time they hit the start button. That is not fun.”
Eric Minor @ ~7:00 — Justification for linear progression through all six movies rather than repetitive first-film structure
“There is a masterpiece waiting to come through in this game. And all they need to do is when you start those moments, they need to turn on the voices of the characters. They need to give us the sound effects from the film.”
Kaneda @ ~15:30 — Core constructive criticism: the fix is code presentation, not fundamental design
“I think the way it's also currently coded, where there's going to be just a couple shots for the mode, and then all the other shots are also lit up for other things you can achieve and accomplish at once. So it's sort of like two to three games are happening at once at all times.”
Kaneda @ ~17:00 — Diagnosis of why casual fans feel confused: UI/rule overload despite simple shot requirements
“I don't think King Kong is as bad as people are saying. I also don't think Harry Potter is as good as people are saying because of the code issues.”
Kaneda @ ~25:00 — Balanced take rejecting fanboy tribalism; frames both games as flawed
“Stern has 17,000 unsold games sitting in boxes that dealers and distros did not order. How are they ever going to move that inventory?”
Kaneda @ ~29:00 — Signals Stern's major inventory crisis affecting market dynamics
“Every month these games are going to lose hundreds, if not thousands in value.”
Kaneda @ ~30:30 — Predicts rapid secondary market depreciation for Stern backstock

Entities

Eric Minorperson Joe Katzperson Jersey Jack Pinballcompany KanedapersonStern PinballcompanyHarry Pottergame King Konggame

Signals

?
design_philosophy: Eric Minor deliberately designed Harry Potter's 30-second timeout mechanic and non-punitive progression to make movie modes accessible to non-pinball fans while preserving scoring depth through multiplier stacking and scene completion bonuses for skilled players.
high · Eric's detailed explanation of scene timeout, auto-advance, and dual-path value building (experience vs. accomplishment)
?
product_concern: Current Harry Potter code implementation buries emotional impact of licensed movie clips beneath overlapping simultaneous mode activations and muted audio, contradicting the designer's stated goal of fan connection and character moments.
high · Kaneda's extensive critique: 'clips are coming at you and they are very muted...everything else going on on the display is also registering...two to three games are happening at once at all times'
?
business_signal: Stern Pinball faces severe overstock with ~17,000+ unsold games in dealer/distro boxes (number unconfirmed but acknowledged as severe); games losing hundreds to thousands in value monthly due to supply-demand imbalance.
medium · Kaneda: 'I heard a number that has to be wrong. It was something like Stern has 17,000 unsold games' but confirms 'definitely in the thousands' and 'every month these games are going to lose hundreds, if not thousands in value'
$
market_signal: Older JJP Limited Editions (Godfather, Guns N' Roses, Avatar) losing significant secondary market value as collectors shift allocation to Harry Potter; predicted 50%+ depreciation by year-end.
medium · Kaneda: 'Godfather and Guns and Roses those LEs are going to be worth about $5,000 by the end of this year because Harry Potter is so much better'

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.090

0:00

How do I get every character that every person has an attachment to into this game? And that's how we developed the movie modes for the game, right? You want to be able to show any scene that includes the characters that people love, which is why, you know, you can choose. You shoot the scoop. You can choose from the six movies, the first six movies. And each one of those is a mode. but as we do at JJP it's a lot of mode each movie is broken down into 15 or more different scenes and each scene is 2-3 shots and every one of those scenes has synced audio and video assets and rules that you're going for and again, it's not crazy and convoluted like I said, 2-3 shots and you complete that scene but walking through that there are going to be people who haven't played pinball before that are going to be interested in this because they're Potter fans how do I make sure those people can still experience these characters and still experience this gameplay so working with Joe Katz, the lead programmer on the project how do we make it so if someone can't shoot which a lot of people can't shoot they play whack-a-ball right how do they still get to experience these scenes and so the rule and again trying to make family friendly trying to make casual friendly gameplay if you can't shoot whatever shot but that's the mode shot eventually that mode times out you only get 30 seconds for each scene and then you don't fail and start over it just moves on to the next scene so you still get to experience these things even if you're not making the accomplishments and achieving the shots you still experience now if you do accomplish those shots you're building a value and these modes can be crazy valuable i mean i think joe and i played a game where all we did was focus on the movie modes we put up like 800 million you know like this is a massive if you can string these things together you build a bucket and you build a multiplier for every consecutive scene you complete. The fun is there for the pinball enthusiasts, right? And the players who hunt for high scores, but it's also there for the casuals who don't have that skill or ability or even patience to try to figure that sort of stuff out. They're still going to get to experience their characters and their creatures and their scenes that they remember and they love. I mean, there's 25 hours worth of films, obviously all the books, there's theme parks and all of that. Like, how do you turn that into a game and turn it into one game, which is what I wanted to do, not break it into seven or eight different games, which would be a monumental task.

8:24

Welcome everybody to Canadian Pinball Podcast. Sorry for that long intro, but in those eight minutes, I really wanted us to have sort of like a foundation for Harry Potter Pinball and how Eric and team approached the game. I know it was eight minutes long, but I saved you hours of having to listen to interviews to understand what is going into this game. What was their design philosophy? And now we have a much better understanding of how they coded this game, what the direction was, and how they wanted to make this an appealing game to all Potter fans. Now, I have played this game and I'm going to tell you right now, it's a really fast game you're going to be holding on. I'm not sure that someone who doesn't know how to play pinball is even going to start a single mode, let alone go through all of those different modes and see 96 characters. And I get that there was a lot, right? Eric really wanted to make sure that if you had your favorite character, there would be a moment in this game where you could connect with what you love about the Harry Potter franchise. Look, it was a big undertaking. I don't feel like anybody could really wrap eight movies into one game and make it feel like you're getting every major moment and it's coming at you the right way. But after listening to Eric and hearing the interviews, they have all of the rights to all of the clips from the movie. So it's all in there. When you play this game, and I like the fact that it is linear. When you start a movie, you are playing through the major moments in that movie in a linear way. You are hitting two to four shots to get through each mode. I love that. For some reason though, when I play this game, it doesn't feel like that because what's happening right now and it is fixable and I think they are hearing from everybody what is happening right now when you start the first moment of a film the clips are coming at you and they are very muted you can't hear from the characters they're just kind of happening in the middle of that screen. And also when you're in that moment from that movie, everything else going on on the display is also registering. And I think that's the big mistake. They've got everything layered and stacked at once. So you might be in the first moment of a film and then also quidditch is happening on the side or these shots are registering something else on the side. So you've got all these side things happening at the same time you're in the movie moment. So if what Eric and team wanted to accomplish was giving Potter fans a feeling of connection to the characters and the moments they've loved, they currently are failing horribly at that with the way the current code is. And I think what everybody is asking for, because the game, everybody, is so beautiful, minus the topper, it's so beautiful to shoot, it's so beautiful to look at, the gameplay is amazing, the mechs are fun, I understand why he put the elements he did into the game now, I'm okay with all of that. There is a masterpiece waiting to come through in this game. And all they need to do is when you start those moments, they need to turn on the voices of the characters. They need to give us the sound effects from the film. They just need to play the film clips. And so when you hit those two to four shots, I just want to feel connected to that. Everybody wants to feel that connection. And I don't want everything else happening at the same time. I think the problem is this, because I think the way it's also currently coded, where there's going to be just a couple shots for the mode, and then all the other shots are also lit up for other things you can achieve and accomplish at once. So it's sort of like two to three games are happening at once at all times. And I think that's the part that is confusing. and the one thing you shouldn't bury, the one thing that shouldn't be turned off, the one thing that shouldn't be muted are the clips from the movie. And so Eric and team, we are here as a community saying we love your creation. You've put so much in it. Now, just simplify it and let it sing to us. Let the game connect with us. I think they're going to figure it out. I would be more worried if Eric said, it's not linear. You're not going to go through each movie the way you do in the movies. I would be worried about that. I'm so happy to hear that those six movies are going to come through in a linear fashion. I think that's important. You can choose your own adventure, But when you're on that adventure, it makes sense not to mash up the films, right? You're not going to go from like young Harry to older Harry and you're not going to mess up the scenes the way Star Wars does where it like stack scenes from different movies on top of each other makes no sense. How good would Star Wars have been if when you play the game, you select from one of the three movies, A New Hope, Empire Strikes Back or Return of the Jedi. and then you play through each of those to get to the next one. It would be so much more fun. So universally, I think we're all feeling the same way about the game. I don't think we're feeling overly negative. I think we really want to give Jersey Jack the right kind of constructive feedback and I hope they listen I hope they make a new topper I don know if they going to Now that Melvin over at DPX is partnered with Lior they know who to call to get a better topper for this machine So I guess right now the thing is this. We know how they're going to make Harry Potter. There's going to be a wait because they're going to make CEs and then they're going to make Wizard Editions and then they're going to make Arcade Editions and then they're going to go back and make CE. they're gonna do a little bit of like, one week is gonna be this, the next week is this, or maybe it's one month of CEs. You know they're gonna wanna make mostly CEs. That's where the profits lie. That's where the margins are the best. The margins are the worst on the arcade edition of the game. Now, when Eric talks about casual people enjoying the 96 modes of Harry Potter, I just wanna say, look, And I get now why they're doing the QR codes to set the game on easy because I think they want to get those casual players to the things faster and easier. But the thing is this, if you've ever seen someone who's never played pinball before, they're not getting to anything. They don't even know what's going on and they never will know what's going on. I think in Harry Potter, you have to hit the scoop on the right side to start a mode. They are never going to hit that shot ever. You know what I'm saying? So like as much as I love their intent to get casual people into the game, you have to first and foremost make sure this game is exciting and fulfilling to people that love pinball and anyone that loves pinball that is jumping on this game right now. They're confused. They're not happy about the way the movie is buried in the code and there's just too much going on at once. So I would say start by making a game that makes the community fall in love and then figure out how to get the casual people to fall in love with the game as well. Now, speaking of toppers, I have some bad news for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, people. The topper company that was making toppers for the DPX game has gone out of business. So they can't get any more toppers and they're still making the games. So games are going to start going out to customers without toppers. The good news is that Melvin has found a new source for new toppers. It's just going to take a while to make sure the quality is there and everybody is getting what they paid for. But there is always some delays. There's always some issues with parts in the pinball world. I haven't been into the DPX thread very much. It's always at the top of pin side. There's this guy like Tony Horner or something or Homer. He won't let up about this game. The promise from DPX is that you would get your game by the end of the year. If you did not, you will get a refund. We are not even close to the end of the year. We all know the numbers don't add up. They're not going to make all 500 by the end of the year. I think they'll be somewhere around 350. I know that they will happily give you a refund if you want off the ship come January 1st. So until then, I don't understand why people are complaining. You will not lose any money at all. You were never promised a game by a certain date. So just put on your big boy pants and either wait for your refund or wait for your game. That is the agreement. look at this chopper in predator pinball anyone else sick and tired of the slow reveal of this game it is bad because every new thing we see gets even worse that chopper looks like a rubber chew toy that you would throw to a dog that Killian would play with in his bathtub and I don't get it. So you had a nicer helicopter mechanism in ABBA and you're going to put crap like that into Predator. And look, Genghis has all the assets, retro Django. They're launching this game through him. I mean, they didn't pick anybody like me or carry. They didn't divide and conquer. I mean, there's a lot of people with a lot more reach. They went with my friend with the Arnold voice. Yes, we are friends again. Don won't bury the hatchet, but Genghis did. So look, in what, six days, we're going to see the game. June 18th, Juneteenth, we are going to finally see Predator. By the time we see it, we already know almost everything about this game. I would just stop showing anything now. Just show us everything. We're over this slow tease. What we do know now is there is no Arnold in the game. I think now it's going to come down to how many are they going to make? I know the price of the game. The price is $10,000. So Predator is going to be the same price as a Harry Potter arcade edition. What else is going on in the world of pinball? I've noticed a lot of people can't talk about Harry Potter without saying Stern's in trouble. Stern sucks. King Kong sucks. Now, all of a sudden, like everybody who loves Potter is crapping on a Keith Elwin game. And I just implore everybody out there. I don't think King Kong is as bad as people are saying. I also don't think Harry Potter is as good as people are saying because of the code issues. I think both games have strengths. I think they have weaknesses. And I encourage everybody. Here's the good news. I encourage everybody just to go play both machines. You're never going to have a problem with either machine getting any model of that machine you want. I haven't seen it like this in forever. Like who thought that Harry Potter CE would just be unlimited? It's unlimited. Who thought a Keith Elwin L. Lee would not sell out? Not only that, not even close to selling out. Who thought that, right? King Kong, we thought that everything this guy touched was going to sell out instantly. And you know what's weird is when people are like, what should I get? What should I get? It's like they ask people for their opinions and everyone's just like, dude, just go play one. Go play one. And if you're not near a game, buy a $150 plane ticket, go to a pinball show or a museum somewhere or an arcade and then play it for a day versus spending $10,000 to $15,000 using someone else's opinion about whether or not you're going to like the game. All right. It's that simple. Here's what I love as we're heading towards July. We're going to get the next Stern machine sooner than you think. So the John Borg Star Wars episode one through three is going to be next. Now, will there be in two weeks, and I think there's going to be, there will be a Jaws 50th anniversary game. It is coming out. It's not going to be in black and white. And it shouldn't be in black and white because nothing about Jaws was ever in black and white. Godzilla had black and white films and shows So did King Kong Jaws did not It was from the 70s And so yeah why would it A 1975 movie why would it have a black and white edition So Jaws 50th coming out Curious. It's probably going to be a premium. $9,800. I don't think it's going to be limited. You know, but Stern didn't sell what they needed to of King Kong. So are they going to do something with this game? Are they going to limit it in some way? You know, if they make a limited version of a premium, that isn't going against what they said. They said they're not going to make another LE of a game that already has an LE. But I don't know if they mean like more of the exact looking game. I think what they meant was just not another LE, right? Jurassic Park wasn't the same look as the original LE. It was a new LE and then everybody got pissed because then every version of the game sort of like lost value and they burned everybody. So Stern Pinball, John Borg is going to do Star Wars episode one through three. And then the rumor is maybe Keith Elwin on Pokemon. There's also most likely going to be a remake or a remaster of Tron or The Walking Dead sometime in the fall. But man, Stern's got to figure something out. And they know that. Like I was talking to George and Seth. They know that Harry Potter is creating a big wave in pinball. They know Harry Potter has sold a lot of units. And they know that they have thousands of games that are unsold. And I think the one thing we're going to see is more of these games on sale, significant sales on old titles that are still in a box. You are going to have to move those thousands of Venoms and John Wicks and X-Men. These games are sitting in boxes. I heard a number that has to be wrong. It was something like Stern has 17,000 unsold games sitting in boxes that dealers and distros did not order. How are they ever going to move that inventory? I don't think the number's that high. It's definitely in the thousands. The problem is with some of these games, nobody wants them. Nobody wants them. The demand for them is so low and the supply of units is so high that every month these games are going to lose hundreds, if not thousands in value. The same is true with old Jersey Jack games. Godfather and Guns and Roses those LEs are going to be worth about $5,000 by the end of this year because Harry Potter is so much better and I just don't think people are going to want those games same is true with Avatar I know people are trying to hype Avatar now like if you get on it people blasted this game when it came out but it's really good gang it's not it's a soulless journey it's a theme we didn't want the movies aren't coming through in the game. And it's not just me saying this. Look, most of the pinball buying community has had time on Avatar. And there's a reason why they didn't buy it. And I get some people don't want to see that reason, but it's pretty obvious why most people don't want Avatar. And yeah, it's a lot of fun to play a game when you have low expectations. It's also a lot of fun to play a game when you know you're not going to keep it forever. You're just going to bang on it. Then you're going to move it on. Sure, of course, it's fun. Of course, it's got some moments, but people don't want it in their lineup. It's that simple. When you open up someone's game room door, people want those games to telegraph what they think is great pinball. And we don't think Avatar is great pinball. Harry Potter, different story. I think everyone's going to proudly display their Harry Potter pinball in their game rooms. I really, really hope the team over there unwakes the masterpiece that is in this game. So anything else happening in the pinball world? We got Predator next week. We've got Pedretti Gaming. Where's their Tales of the Arabian Nights? Where's that game? Do you hear anybody talk about Merlin's Arcade? Remember that game by Turner Pinball? I don't hear anybody like unboxing one. Not sure what is happening there. I have a hard time believing, especially after Harry Potter. Remember Merlin's Arcade with all the options is the same price basically as a Harry Potter pinball machine with everything. They didn't yank anything out of that game. I think it's kind of game over for Turner Pinball. I just don't think he's going to survive with games like that. Is there anybody else we're missing? We don't talk much about CGC. Where are the Merlin's edition of Medieval Madness? Those games are still not out. I think a lot of people, and I mean this, you might have paid for your Merlin's edition of Medieval Madness, but you also now might want a Harry Potter. You might want a Predator. It's why I always tell everybody, you just got to wait till these games are made. You got to wait till they're in a box. Like buying these games and then waiting a year or two the way Chicago Gaming Company always does it. I love that people were like, well, this time they're actually going to be on schedule. Yeah, sure. These games, what's the holdup? What's the holdup? They made this game already like three times. Why would it be hard to make it again? It's just like they're changing the powder coat on the armor. Why is it so difficult? I don't even know what's after this game. Is it going to be a new Twilight Zone? Is it going to be Halo? So many rumors, only so much room, only so much money. Everybody, thank you for being a member of Canada's Pinball Podcast. I might drive to Automated today to play a little bit more of Harry Potter pinball. Now that I know how the modes are, I'm going to just like aim for them and see what the experience is like. Everybody have a great Friday. I'm hoping to do the Saturday morning spectacular tomorrow. We shall see. We'll talk live all about what's going on in pinball. And thank you all of you for your monthly subscriptions. I know that you could spend that $5 at a coffee shop and get one drink, or you could get two to three episodes of what I believe is the most entertaining and unbiased pinball podcast that is out there. Have a great day.