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Ep 45: Hard and Stiff

Pinball Party Podcast·podcast_episode·38m 54s·analyzed·Dec 11, 2023
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 (batch) · $0.024

TL;DR

Host discusses mental health struggles affecting his podcast, praises Spooky Pinball efforts, and expresses strong interest in upcoming Jaws release.

Summary

In this introspective episode, the host discusses personal mental health challenges stemming from medication withdrawal (amitriptyline), which caused unexpected anger and rage that influenced his podcast tone and community relationships. He reflects on leaving the Pinball Network, his evolving relationship with pinball collecting, and expresses enthusiasm for Spooky Pinball recent releases (particularly Looney Tunes) and anticipation for the upcoming Jaws game, while advocating for transparency from manufacturers and highlighting his appreciation for Flip N Out Pinball as a retailer.

Key Claims

  • The host experienced severe withdrawal effects from amitriptyline approximately one month after stopping the medication, causing unexpected anger and rage that lasted several weeks

    high confidence · Host's personal account of medical experience and its impact on podcast content and life

  • Jaws is 'legit the shit' according to what the host has heard from the community

    medium confidence · Host states 'from what I hear, Jaws is legit. If there's a game that's going to bring me back into the hobby...Jaws will do it'

  • The used pinball market has declined significantly, causing major price drops (e.g., Lord of the Rings dropped from ~$9,400 to ~$7,500 in 2-3 months)

    high confidence · Host's personal selling experience with specific pricing examples

  • Looney Tunes is a superior theme choice to Scooby-Doo and represents one of the best themes of the last two years

    medium confidence · Host's subjective opinion: 'Looney Tunes just demolishes Scooby...in terms of popularity' and 'Looney Tunes is one of the best themes of the last two years'

  • Spooky Pinball is being more transparent and responsive about quality issues compared to Stern

    medium confidence · Host's observation: 'Spooky doesn't seem to do that [hide behind issues]' and criticism of Stern's handling of Rush Scoopgate and Jurassic Park issues

  • The host sold all their pinball games due to declining used market prices making financial sense to exit

    high confidence · Host states 'I saw it really dropping to where, like, this is not financially intelligent...I sold all my games'

  • Godzilla has earned enough 'street cred' to potentially boost Jaws sales and the hobby overall

    medium confidence · Host: 'especially Godzilla has earned enough street cred to just give this enough sales to give the hobby a boost'

  • Straight Down the Middle released approximately 20-minute videos covering Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo

    medium confidence · Host states 'Straight Down the Middle did a 20-minute video of each, roughly 20 minutes' and watched the Looney Tunes one

Notable Quotes

  • “I'm doing this for me, honestly...if you're on board, keep listening. We talk about pinball. I'll interject some stuff that's going on through life because normally, what else are we doing here if we're not talking about life?”

    [name withheld pending review] @ Early in episode — Core philosophy statement about podcast direction after mental health crisis and departure from Pinball Network

  • “Coming off that stuff, holy shit fuck suck ass. Is that a world of mind fuck? Because historically, amitriptyline was treated...people coming off that is nuts.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ Early-middle of episode — Candid discussion of medication withdrawal effects that influenced podcast behavior

  • “Spooky is just, they're fucking being consistent over and over. It's a younger group. They're trying their asses off. It's honestly, it's impressive.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ Mid-episode — Strong endorsement of Spooky Pinball's work ethic and consistency

  • “Looney Tunes is like actually funny. I think Scooby was always a little forced in its thing...Looney Tunes just demolishes Scooby, I would think, in terms of popularity.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ Mid-episode — Comparative theme evaluation and expressed preference for Spooky's Looney Tunes IP choice

  • “Jaws will do it [bring me back]. But when I do buy Jaws, and I am already on the list, I'm going to buy it from a very specific place...Flip N Out Pinball.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ Late-middle of episode — Strong endorsement of Flip N Out Pinball and confirmation of Jaws pre-order interest

  • “Flipping out is, I think, the antithesis of good customer service, good prices, honest...they understand that, hey, things happen and they treat you like real human beings.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ Late-middle of episode — Detailed praise of Flip N Out Pinball's business practices and customer treatment

  • “A Lord of the Rings remake. Boom. Easy. Done. No questions. Full price MSRP. Flip N Out Pinball. Let me get you Lord of the Rings.”

Entities

Pinball Party PodcastpersonSpooky PinballcompanyStern PinballcompanyAmerican PinballcompanyFlip N Out PinballcompanyJersey Jack PinballcompanyJAWSgame

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Host discussing shift away from edited, polished content toward raw, unfiltered podcast format reflecting authentic personal experience and mental health journey rather than carefully curated community messaging

    high · Host states 'In the past, I may have edited a lot of this stuff out, not for being embarrassed by it, but this is always a show in the beginning' and 'I'm still happy to be part of the pinball community' despite personal struggles affecting tone

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Notable sentiment shift toward Spooky Pinball as model manufacturer, framed positively relative to Stern's opacity and American Pinball's execution issues

    high · Host repeatedly praises Spooky's 'trying,' consistency, and transparency while criticizing Stern's handling of Rush Scoopgate and American Pinball's GTF product; states 'Of all the other ones [manufacturers], I want Spooky to be the most successful'

  • ?

    product_concern: Manufacturer transparency and responsiveness to known issues identified as key differentiator; Spooky positioned favorably against Stern and American Pinball for public acknowledgment and communication of problems

    high · Host advises: 'when problems come up, talk about them immediately...acknowledge it immediately. And even if you don't have the fix yet, say you're working on it' and contrasts Spooky's approach positively with Stern's 'shifty' handling

  • $

    market_signal: Significant used market price deterioration affecting collector re-entry decisions; Lord of the Rings case study shows 2-3 month decline of ~$1,900-2,000 (20-22% drop from ~$9,400 to ~$7,500)

    high · Host states 'the used market is completely fucked' and provides specific example: 'Let's take a Lord of the Rings, for example, that I offered someone nine, nine, I think 9,000 plus...today maybe 7,500' and cites this as driver of selling entire collection

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.026

0:00
I'm going to be a little bit of a joke about it. But hey, if I come across as a douche sack, at least I'm coming across as something. And honestly, thanks everyone for sticking with me and listening to the show. I really do appreciate it. I don't take it for granted.
0:43
It's not true. I totally do. How have I taken it for granted? Was it confession? You know, started this thing out, then went to the Pinball Network for a while. That was fun. It's a blast. It was an honor, honestly, to be invited on that show. Did a lot of stuff, had a lot of guests, and, you know, been kind of figuring this show out. What is it? You know, I'm trying a lot of different stuff. Just recently we started streaming on Twitch, and then those videos go on YouTube.
1:15
Well, hey, I guess, hello, everyone new here. You know, we're going to talk about pinball and stuff. But just like any other podcast, talk about some other stuff first, and we'll get to it. But trying to really find out what I'm doing with this podcast. I say that because that's really where my mind is at. When I started doing this, it was, was it COVID? I can't, keep me honest, I don't think it was. No, there was no masks.
1:45
It was after, and I've been doing pinball for a while, even before COVID. For those new, I used to buy and sell a lot of games, especially in the used market. Right now, currently, not happening, but I'd buy a game, I'd get bored with it, sell it, used to get some slack. I shouldn't say that. I used to get a lot of shit from people. Why would you bolt that shit to the floor and go through games and started building a community? No, I didn't build it. I was finding like-minded folk of similar ilk that wasn't so odd to go through these games quickly and then realize, oh, this is very much an addiction. It's just another flavor of it, just a high dollar. Price tag, great games, but there's so much awesome stuff about pinball.

  • A Lord of the Rings remake would immediately bring the host back to active collecting at full MSRP

    high confidence · Host's direct statement: 'A Lord of the Rings remake. Boom. Easy. Done. No questions. Full price MSRP.'

  • Spooky released Announcement of Errors before Looney Tunes reveal as a strategic sequencing decision

    medium confidence · Host: 'I think Spooky was right to release Announcement of Errors before this gets revealed'

    • [name withheld pending review] @ Episode end — Definitive statement of what would immediately return him to active collecting

  • “If there's a game that's going to bring me back into the hobby where I'm not too afraid to lose too much money on getting a game...Jaws will do it and is going to do it.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ Late-middle of episode — Direct confirmation of Jaws as catalyst for hobby re-engagement despite market decline

  • “I trick myself into thinking that once I obtain this golden thing, life will suddenly be on a positive trajectory...I get the dopamine from the chase, not the actual thing because that's how the brain works.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ Near episode end — Philosophical reflection on pinball addiction psychology and collecting cycle

  • “Just acknowledge it immediately. And even if you don't have the fix yet, say you're working on it. Don't do the other methods of hiding behind shit and don't say anything and acting like it's not true.”

    [name withheld pending review] @ Mid-episode — Advice to manufacturers about transparency, implicitly contrasting Spooky favorably with Stern's approach

    • Looney Tunes
    game
    Scooby Doogame
    Lord of the Ringsgame
    Godzillagame
    [name withheld pending review]game
    Straight Down the Middlemedia
    Electric Bat Arcadecompany
    Pinball Network (The Pinball Network/TPN)organization
    Gonzo's Pinball Flipperamaperson
    Mabelperson
    Danaperson
    Methperson
    Neon Daleorganization
    [name withheld pending review]event
    Jurassic Parkgame
    Matrix (game)game
    Iron Mangame
    Knapp Arcadevenue
  • ?

    collector_signal: Host demonstrating meta-awareness of FOMO/dopamine-chase collecting cycle while remaining vulnerable to it; Jaws positioned as unavoidable trigger despite intellectual understanding of addiction pattern

    high · Host references Gonzo's video on addiction: 'I trick myself into thinking that once I obtain this golden thing, life will suddenly be on a positive trajectory...I get the dopamine from the chase, not the actual thing' yet immediately states 'Jaws will bring me back'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Mental health crisis (medication withdrawal) significantly impacted podcast content quality and community messaging; host acknowledging unintended toxicity during withdrawal period

    high · Host describes 2.5-week mental emergency requiring therapy, anger management at gym, states withdrawal effects were 'delayed about a month, month and a half' and reflects on 'inconsistent podcast' and angry tone during affected period

  • ?

    machine_intel: Jaws confirmed as upcoming Stern release with strong community validation; host on pre-order list with high confidence in game quality based on designer credentials and market feedback

    high · Host states 'I'm still on the list [for Jaws pre-order]' and 'Is it by the best game designer ever? Arguably' (implied George Gomez); 'from what I hear, Jaws is legit'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Shift in collecting psychology driven by secondary market deterioration; collectors now prioritizing lower-cost entry (Pro models) over Limited Editions due to poor value retention and market uncertainty

    medium · Host notes hesitation to purchase despite interest: 'I'm not too afraid to lose too much money on getting a game' and discussion of waiting for market to 'settle a little bit' before major purchases

  • ?

    venue_signal: Flip N Out Pinball positioned as preferred retail/distribution partner with strong relationships across venues; Electric Bat Arcade and others expected to stock upcoming releases

    high · Host states 'When I think of pinball I think Flip N Out Pinball' and 'Electric Bat will have Jaws, I'm sure' and describes Zach as 'tries his ass off' with 'good business'

  • ?

    content_signal: Host critical of long-form documentary approach by Straight Down the Middle; prefers immediate gameplay content over thematic/historical context for promotional videos

    medium · Host watched 20-minute Looney Tunes SDTM video and states 'I would have liked to see a little more gameplay instead of just talking about all the things' and 'before it comes out, I need a little more just give me the game'

  • ?

    industry_signal: Clear hierarchical market positioning emerging: Stern as dominant but opaque incumbent, Spooky as aggressive upstart with transparency advantage, Jersey Jack as respected peer, American Pinball as struggling challenger

    medium · Host's framework: 'Stern, yeah, great...you are the lifeblood' vs. 'Spooky is just, they're fucking being consistent over and over...trying their asses off. It's impressive' vs. American Pinball 'kind of have not. Like not responding'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Host explicitly refuses to engage with Jaws leak speculation while confirming game as 'legit' based on designer pedigree; maintains strategic agnosticism on specific mechanics while showing high confidence in overall quality

    medium · Host states 'I'm not going to speculate on any of the rumor stuff that we haven't already done or that's out there if you want to go look at leaked. What's in it?' but maintains 'from what I hear, this game is legit the shit'

    • 2:28
    And sometimes when I'm talking about it, it's coming across, I think to some of you possibly as like a negative maybe or cynical. Cynical is correct because that's just somewhat of my outlook on life. But let me take you through what has been going on in the last, I'd say, four months. Since some of you have noticed, you know, I left the Pinball Network, which was all, again, amicable. There's no negative there. It was just more so I wanted to be able to say shit that maybe didn't get them in trouble or vice versa or or not vice versa. It was very much a one way street of just I I'm doing this for me, honestly. And sometimes what I've been streaming recently, I really don't like the attention. I do enough of that in my day hobby, quote unquote, which is playing music in Neon Dale and being on stage and singing and all that. I'm not looking for the kudos. I really enjoy making music. And this podcast used to be very much, I just like making audio content because I enjoy it. It's a puzzle. I'm good at it. It just gets my creative juices flowing.
    3:33
    And yeah, you know, and doing stuff on the Pinball Network. Then I started going in the diatribe like let me get guests on. We got to do interviews and got to feel. And then it almost became work. Not because of any of the sponsorships and sponsorships are great and all that. But putting in so much time and effort into things that I need some sort of return and return was an enjoyment. For me, I get bored of stuff fast. And I think I've talked about this in the past and yada, yada, yada. But while that was happening, I was actually going off of a medication called amitriptyline.
    4:09
    Amitriptyline, I was prescribed with, I have chronic headaches. I've always had chronic headaches since I can remember, five years old. Just part of the way of life for me, headaches are just the norm. Then I went through headache studies in Rochester, Minnesota, actually, of, hey, these are nuts, legit. What's going on here? And this was a few years back and I did the headache journal for a couple of years. So one of the top specialists and all that. I know you've come here for your headache medical dues. So you're just strapped in your seat. Oh, my God, this is the gold. And that's what we're talking about. We'll get to pinball.
    4:42
    But the headaches became basically cluster headaches every two weeks. I'd get about three or four days of like, oh, here it comes. And then two days of you are fucked from life. Anyone who has headaches knows what it's like when it hurts to think. And, you know, I'm a musician. That sucks. That doesn't work well. Anyway, something that's prescribed for that is amitriptyline, which a very low dosage, mind you. It's a very low dosage of amitriptyline is treated for nerve pain. I had a cross of headaches plus occipital neuralgia, if anyone knows what that is. Awesome. Nerves in your head. Mixed head pain with nerve pain in the head creates a great soup. So prescribe that. Very low dosage helps. Coming off that stuff, holy shit fuck suck ass. Is that a world of mind fuck? Because historically, amitriptyline was treated, used at, I'll say, normal or higher dosage for depression. Then they, as in, I don't know, FDA, who regulates, you know, the powers that be to have money, what they're like, holy shit, that stuff is way strong for like antidepressant and people coming off that is nuts. It's kind of like the opiates of like, oh, maybe we shouldn't just give everyone opiates for everything. And I had a friend of mine, when he went off and he's like, oh yeah, nah, good luck, have fun. I don't ever want to touch that stuff again because of the side effects. Anyway, this was like a year ago before I decided to like, I just got to get off this stuff. Because long story short, I don't have the occipital neurology anymore. I'm off amitripline and all that. But here's the thing. The side effects of coming off of it are delayed about a month, month and a half. So you don't notice it right away. I had weaned off it slowly for all those. You should have weaned off it. I did for about a year, just going down like 2.5 milligrams every couple of weeks. But just like how it is effective or it takes about a month to start, same with withdrawal.
    6:37
    I noticed even from doing this podcast of some of my attitude of just like burn it to the ground attitude, Whether it was on here or just in life, it was like a month and a half delayed and I was just not aware of it. Hindsight is 20-20, but I'm almost, I mean, I want to say embarrassed, but I'm not really embarrassed. I'm not about things I would say or just the attitude I had toward things or what I was doing. I was just angry, honestly, just pure anger. I got to the point where in life, in my real life, like you're hearing now, me sitting in this room recording, I was like, I need to see a therapist. I've seen one in the past just for general like, hey, help me with stuff. But this was like the most mental emergency I've ever had in my life. It was blindsided. I had no idea what was going on. I was just suddenly just like, oh my God, I am so angry. I was going to the gym twice a day, every day, just to like burn off. I'm a weightlifter in general. I love it. Please go to the gym, be healthy. It's the best addiction ever. It's better than cigarettes. It's better than everything else I've been addicted to. It's harder to get the dopamine from it, but please do it. Anyway, I was going to the gym twice a day just to like, I took two and a half weeks off of work. I'm like, I just got to take time off because I'm freaking the fuck out, bro. And I had no idea what it was. Again, the amitriptyline because it was this delayed reaction.
    8:03
    I took two and a half weeks off and I found myself just at the gym like all day, every day. And luckily, one of my best friends who lives in Japan came back for a couple of weeks and we just hit the gym just nonstop. I'm like, I could just not get enough. I'm just eating and pushing weights just over and over. I'm like, I just need to do this. Otherwise, I'm going to destroy the planet. That's the only options I have. Work out or bomb this fucking place. Ended up seeing a therapist kind of emergency. I was calling everywhere. I got to get in and just freak out on someone. And then, you know, it subsided slowly and it was just, I woke up like, oh shit. I remember when my friend told me that like the side effects are somewhat delayed and like, whoa, whoa, whoa. I think that's what's been going on because I didn't know, you know, it's like, oh my God, I didn't know what's going on. I didn't think about the amitripline because I had been off of it for a month. I'm like, holy shit. I was angry at everyone. It's okay to be angry. I mean, it's normal. I'm angry a lot. It's genetics. My grandfather was an angry farmer, but this was a different level. I'm telling you, it wasn't even like funny. I was like, oh, no, I'm going to kill people.
    9:14
    Yeah, so all that time, what you're hearing on the podcast is like an inconsistent podcast, leaving TPN, doing... I don't know if I came across. Maybe I'm just delusional of self-importance. I was just angry and going down talking shit and just like all these bad things about pinball and you know maybe and maybe it like oh I didn notice that But to me it just for what I getting at is I don take you for granted that listening I the only reason I still doing this not for the gratitude but you know at least from the responses I gotten it like at least it some semblance of social something It's some sort of community. Maybe it's a one way street. Yeah, I'm talking to you. But for those who have emailed back and said, oh, this is cool. I liked hearing that or the meth stuff is funny or I like the audio production or whatever it is. And the negative stuff. The negative stuff eat my shit, you know, but I get it. And that was also what was happening. And so I'm like, oh, you shouldn't swear so much. The feedback of maybe don't do this. And, you know, I took it too seriously. Like, I forgot why I was even doing this. I'm not doing this for you. I'm glad you like the show. I'm doing this for me. And, you know, if you're on board, keep listening. We talk about pinball. I'll interject some stuff that's going on through life because normally, what else are we doing here if we're not talking about life? But what you won't get here is a negative Nancy who's always talking shit about everyone everywhere, everything's terrible, or on the other side of the coin, someone. Pinball is always great. Everything's positive. Life is positive no matter what. And any sort of negative concept of life, I defend it and I get it out of my, you know, I have no enough people like that in life that just, you know, uber positive or uber negative. I try to just do the only thing I can in this life, which is be honest with myself and others. And again, a third thank you for those who stick with me through these ups and these downs. In the past, I may have edited a lot of this stuff out, not for being embarrassed by it, but this is always a show in the beginning. Start off with music, get meth on here, do some skits, use sound effects, and while I can still do it, and I still may, it's a lot of work. And right now, I'm still working in priority on myself, on the music, and I want pinball back in my life. Can I do it to the point that it was before, where it was 24-7? No, but I've learned a lot from that and I don't regret a second of it. Um, and I'm still, you know, fighting that good fight of finding a good balance of pinball. So again, fourth thank you for sticking with me through this. And if you are, if I haven't lost you, I do appreciate it. And all the positive and all the negative, all the stuff. It's, um, I'm still happy to be part of the pinball community. I still keep in contact with people on the side and I still keep an eye out on pinball. So, speaking of, I did do a stream a couple days ago. Feel free to check it out on the YouTube or Twitch, but please don't. I'm kind of just, it was on a whim. I didn't have much to talk about. I was honestly, my dog Mabel, you've heard of Crunch on the show. She has recently discovered cancer, so I've been nursing her at home 24-7, not really leaving the house until Dana comes home, And then I can get to the gym. And it's been tough. It's surprisingly tough to be that lazy for me. But it's tough. We're still trying to find out the results. It went off to pathology to see the level of it. She's here. She's in good spirits. Today she gets drain tubes taken out of her legs. So that's awesome. And she's got all of her energy back and stuff like that. But anyway, Mabel is just our furry child and going through that as well. So like I did a stream, you know, I think I come across as probably kind of somewhat jovial, but honestly just fucking pissed and just angry at the world. So, you know, hey, anyway, so if you want to listen to me talk about Spooky and Looney Tunes in Texas and all that, go listen. But I will talk about it again here because there's just been so much of it recently.
    13:46
    Spooky, Pinball, Wisconsin, man, honestly. Honestly, out of all the companies, I want Spooky to be the most successful, I'll say story of all of it. Stern, yeah, great. I mean, they got to be there. It's like water is wet. Stern, you got to do it. You are the lifeblood of this. It's just, you're great. Just keep doing it. Thank you. Of all the other ones, I'm in Jersey Jack too, man. But let me just stick on this spooky splooge fest. As much as I've had the most trouble ever of selling a game was TNA and a lot of quality stuff with Spooky and it's just true. I mean, you all know it.
    14:30
    They're fucking trying and they're not American pinball trying from afar. Again, I don't know any of these people personally. And honestly, please, as much as you can, I mean nothing against people who are trying to make a creative product. This is no personal attack on anything. It's not. Just like, you know, when I'm releasing music or these podcasts, I expect some people to go, this guy's a fucking clown. Because, yeah, I am. You know, I'm not everyone's cup of tea. And does it sting sometimes? Of course. So I try to be cognizant of that, and I really don't mean it to anyone who's making these games. If you're listening and you hear me say, American Pinball GTF sucks, you know, it does.
    15:09
    Try not to take it personally. It's tough to do pot calling the kettle black, but also I think because I'm a victim of my own art as well. Anyways, all those defenses gone. GTF sucks. But American Pinball is still kind of trying, but they kind of have not. Like not responding, not doing all this and whatever. Spooky is just, they're fucking being consistent over and over. It's a younger group. They're trying their asses off. It's honestly, it's impressive. Aside from the stuff that's not, like Scooby-Doo looks so awesome. It didn't, I mean, it kind of played great, but I haven't played it other than that one day because it was kind of busted and like, oh man, for that expensive, it just can't. But it looks great. I'm cheerleading them. I think, I can't lie, being in Wisconsin myself, I mean, come on, you know, let's do it. Let's make Wisconsin proud. They're down south closer to Stern than probably they are to me, but I want them to succeed. And they're getting some themes that I truly, really like. Not Texas Chainsaw. I could not really care. I think that doesn't hold a candle to, you know, the big boys in horror. To some people it does.
    16:25
    Nothing against that. But for me, Texas Chainsaw was always more of closer to a B-movie really than... Well, maybe it's supposed to be. Like, Jason, you fucking idiot. Of course it is. But it's not like Friday the 13th or Nightmare on Elm Street or, dare I say, Event Horizon. Oh, Event Horizon.
    16:43
    But I speak of Looney Tunes when I'm starting to talk this accolades. Looney Tunes is so awesome. For me, Looney Tunes was... I haven't thought about this deeply of what exact age, but it was after school kind of thing. Eating my Cheerios. I would get home as a latchkey kid. A lot of us were born in the 80s. It was normal that you'd come home and your parents were gone for a few hours. You'd come home at 3 and your parents get home after 5 because they have to work to pay for stuff. And you just, you know, you fucked off for a while. It was awesome. Played Nintendo, ate, you know, whatever. Shitty food. It was great. And then you'd watch cartoons and stuff. And so I would, you know, when I think of Looney Tunes, I think of after school eating some sort of sugary sustenance, sustenance, some sort of sugary food. After just hating school, except for I just want to see my friends, I don't care about school. And then Looney Tunes would come on. Wile E. Coyote, that son of a bitch, look at that fucker go.
    17:45
    They mix some fun, some humor, some speed with Tasmanian, some Looney Tunes. It has a sense of cynicism to it. It's like Disney, but with some more reality. Disney can get dark, Bambi and a lot of that stuff, but a different kind of... It's Looney Tunes. You know what I'm talking about. I don't have to explain to you what Looney Tunes is. It's around for a reason, but Bugs Bunny was fucking hilarious. He still is. Elmer Fudd. Roadrunner Coyote was always my jam, and I think it was a lot of people's jam. Tasmanian Devil was my wife's, but... Looney Tunes kind of gets in you where it's a little more real of a cartoon than Disney, I guess. Well, to me, Looney Tunes was always kind of the more just like, yeah, this is your shit. And maybe partially because my grandfather and father taught me, father, I don't ever refer to him as father. I'm not trying to be eloquent here. My dad grew up equally liking Bugs Bunny and that kind of shit. And Bugs Bunny is just fucking funny. Pure and simple. Mickey Mouse being that mascot in Disney is like, eh, it's Mickey Mouse. It's okay. It's like, eh.
    19:08
    But Bugs Bunny is cocky son of a bitch. He doesn't give a shit. But he has fun. Um yeah anyway Looney Tunes That theme does way more for me than Scooby ever did So I want it to succeed I think Looney Tunes could have been a fantastic theme if Stern got it or anyone else I think Looney Tunes is one of the best themes of the last two years I just going to pop on Pinside while I talking And I'm not streaming, so you can't see this. There's no video of this, so don't get all jones of what I'm looking at. But thinking of games that have come out in the last couple of years. What am I doing this? I'm a walking encyclopedia of this shit, right? At least I know what's been selling.
    19:57
    But in the last couple of years, really, what has beaten this? Some maybe say Scooby. No way. Looney Tunes just demolishes Scooby, I would think, in terms of popularity. Again, from my point of view. And hey, I smoked plenty of weed in high school and still, you know, I get that. Like, you know, you get it, Scooby's. Yeah, I fucking get it. Looney Tunes is like actually funny.
    20:24
    I think Scooby was always a little forced in its thing. I mean, it had its own style. Yeah, but Spooky, theme's great. Looney Tunes, Halloween, sure, for all the fans, great. Doing a two for game, kudos. And that's got some sack to it. You got some balls, and I commend that. And they did it once. Did it succeed? Debatable? Fucking try it again. If first not succeed, try it again. Honestly, maybe that's the Wisconsin in us. Learn from your failures. Keep going. Persevere. It's a negative 30 degrees outside. Don't give a shit. Go shovel your snow. Get it done. That kind of thing. But come on, guys, you can do it just advice from a consumer is just when problems come up, talk about them immediately. I think you do anyway. I'm not really trying to tell you what to do from someone who has dealt with things in the past. Just acknowledge it immediately. And even if you don't have the fix yet, say you're working on it. Don't do the other methods of hiding behind shit and don't say anything and acting like it's not true. Just say it and work on a fix. Even if the fix is shitty, keep going. The Rush Scoopgate was somewhat shifty from Stern. I'll say I've had some issues with Jurassic Park. Shifty shit of where they just basically ignore it, don't talk about it, blame it on you. Spooky doesn't seem to do that from what I've heard on some of the positive stuff. I haven't had that. But anyway, I say that because some of the stuff hasn't come out great. So just keep on keeping on, but be public with what you're saying, the good stuff, the bad stuff.
    22:10
    I'll say I am, as a consumer, noticing that you're trying and you're not trying softly. Does that adjective work? You're trying hard? Yeah, but I just want to see Looney Tunes succeed. Maybe, more than anything, maybe it's just Looney Tunes, maybe it's just Bug Bunny. On that note, I know Straight Down the Middle did a 20-minute video of each, roughly 20 minutes, don't sue me if I'm wrong here.
    22:39
    I watched the Looney Tunes one this morning, I would have liked to see a little more gameplay instead of just talking about all the things, but hey, you know. I've never been a big fan of even video game documentaries that are like a half hour long. I'm talking about little things that we've done. Like, yeah, good. Are you making this for you? Or do you want to sell stuff? What are you doing? I think, you know, in retrospect, in the future, I like to look back at documentaries. But before it comes out, I need a little more just give me the game.
    23:07
    I know they streamed last night. They, as in Spooky and what's his name? Bug? Mustache Man? Slick Hair Mustache? Just call him that. I saw NAP Arcade, KNAPP, that they streamed last night. I skimmed through it, you know, because of the theme. I don't really care. And since the first like six minutes were just explaining something that I had no context for, I'm just kind of like, I just want to see the game. But hey, they're getting out there and they're showing it. So good luck, Spooky. Good luck, Looney Tunes. I'm saying that to me because I would like to play it.
    23:45
    But Jaws. Let's just talk about Jaws. Mention this and I don't know if I release it on a podcast or whatever, but from what I hear, Jaws is legit. If there's a game that's going to bring me back into the hobby where I'm not too afraid to lose too much money on getting a game, because that's currently where I'm at, because the used market is completely fucked, Jaws will do it and is going to do it. I'm still on the list. I think Spooky was right to release Announcement of Errors before this gets revealed.
    24:19
    And I guess with Elton John as well. Because from what I hear, this game is legit the shit. I'm not going to speculate on any of the rumor stuff that we haven't already done or that's out there if you want to go look at leaked. What's in it? What could possibly be in it? But the theme is it passes the sniff test. Is it the best theme ever? No. Is it by the best game designer ever? Arguably. So that's kind of what's got it. And I think especially Godzilla has earned enough street cred to just give this enough sales to give the hobby a boost. Because honestly, like, if it's done this to me, I say this, if it, the used market prices going down made me sell all my games because I saw it really dropping to where, like, this is not financially intelligent, at least for me, for what I needed to do.
    25:20
    Not judging anywhere else, like, will it bounce back? Not to what it was, but that's why, like, some of the games were games I bought at the price that it won't go back to. So I don't think I'm the only one out there who is good with money because clearly if we're buying pinball machines, we're good with money.
    25:38
    Getting out of it, though, was – and I still am, have no games. I can't quite bring myself to just suddenly lose money. Jaws will do it.
    25:50
    But when I do buy Jaws, and I am already on the list, I'm going to buy it from a very specific place, and that space – that place is flipping out pinball. I'm going to buy my pinball shit I buy from Flippin' Out. From toppers or free materials I've got it figured out. Flippin' Out, figured out. When I think of pinball I think Flippin' Out. Flippin' Out, figured out. When I buy, buy, buy, I buy from Flippin' Out. Buy, buy, buy! Yeah, I'm going to buy, buy, buy from Flippin' Out Pinball with Zach and Greg and Nicole and, you know. I don't remember his dad who works there. All I know, Zach works there, tries his ass off. And he does or does not try. You know what I mean? He continues to do great business. Flipping out is, I think, the antithesis of good customer service, good prices, honest. I've backed out of plenty of games from them. Don't do that. Don't do that. But I have. And, you know, not like, oh, I promised something and totally, but I've come close. And they just, they understand that, hey, things happen and they treat you like real human beings.
    27:03
    Beings, beings. This isn't, this isn't a commercial to say, flip it out, Pimball, the place where you can back out of every game. No, but I'm just saying there's other places where like something has come up. I think I've mentioned in the past, when a dealer blames you for things that they put on their website, walk away.
    27:26
    Flipping out is the exact opposite, but just a little bit of feather puffin. If you would like to see basically a video promo of the song you just heard, Flipping Out, I did make a music video. You can find it on YouTube, Pinball Party YouTube, in the show notes, you'll see a website. But yeah, for streaming, I don't want to just play the song and just stare at the computer like a dork. So I made a music video. Mabel's in it. Meth's in it. Rachel and Kale from Electric Bat Arcade are in it. They make a little appearance, a cameo.
    28:00
    Speaking of, go check out the Electric Bat cast. They just recorded one a couple days ago. They continue to do us a wonderful service of talking about the world of pinball from a very successful arcade in Tempe, Arizona, the Electric Bat. They share with us the earners of the week, which, hey, started on this show of talking about earners. Still good friends of the show. We still talk plenty of shit over text, and you'll see Kale on various streams of this, and they're good friends of the show. So go check that out. But Jaws, you can buy Jaws from Flippin' Out. Electric Bat will have Jaws, I'm sure, and that's a game that I would bet they'll have a pro and a premium. They seem to know what they're doing there at the old EB.
    28:44
    Jaws will bring me back. I'm still getting tickled back by like an Iron Man, but honestly all the vaulting and all the, or sorry, the vaulting, the remakes and the bringing games back is like, I need the market to settle a little bit to know. So I happy to lose a couple hundred and I know this is just repeating this is old hat and I happy not happy willing to lose a little bit for a hobby to pay for a hobby Of course I not looking to make money I not stupid They not like but like if I would have bought a couple of the things I was going to like the last week before I sold my last game and I tried to sell them today
    29:23
    Oh my God. Let's take a Lord of the Rings, for example, that I offered someone nine, nine, I think 9,000 plus. I think it was basically 94, 9,400 after all. It's Lord of the Rings, of course I did.
    29:38
    Yeah, today maybe 7,500. And that's only like three months. Two months? That's too much. Because I'm not bolting anything. No one should. This is just stuff. You know, as Gonzo, Flipperama? Gonzo, a great YouTuber, does pinball stuff. Go check him out way better than I am, especially when it comes to video stuff. Gonzo's Pinball Flipparama. Awesome shit. I was just watching one of his videos on pinball addiction or what he thinks about the addiction in pinball. And I've referenced that in the past too and continues to do because we're foolish if you think it's not for a lot of us of the like, well, if I just get this next game, then I'll be happy. And it just never happens. It happens for me like 20 minutes and I'm like, oh shit, right. I get the dopamine from the chase, not the actual thing because that's how the brain works. Fuck me, I guess. But yeah, he was talking about the addiction and all that kind of stuff and how no game is probably going to be bolted in so many words. He says it differently. Go check it out. Don't listen to me spoil his awesome content. But yeah, I trick myself into thinking that once I obtain this golden thing, life will suddenly be on a positive trajectory. And of course, I would have been better off without it or I would have been better with it if should I have gotten it sooner. So then I get all like amped up and I got to find this game and where's it?
    31:00
    You know, and then that never pans out because here we are. So throughout the last few months of inconsistent podcasts and doing different attitudes and all this, learning, you know, trying to very much pay attention to myself and what's happening. And the more money something is, the more you got to kind of pay attention to like, what am I doing? This is, is this stupid? And then do I do this and then I'm dead? Am I dumb? I think I might be a dumb person. Let me pay attention to what I'm doing. But Jaws will bring me back to the dumb person that I am. Beyond Jaws, it would be, I think the only thing to bring me back as hard as Jaws. A lot of hard and stiff in this episode. Hard and stiff, episode title. So, Matrix and Lord of the Rings.
    31:52
    Hmm. In order of what would bring me back into this crazy hobby. Let's say that... No, let's not. Let's just... What would bring me back full stop today? December 11th. Right now, what would I just start writing checks for that no one takes in pinball? It's not checks. Bank wiring, right? Or cash. Cash on the glass. Something stupid like that. In order of yes, absolutely to like, okay, number one today, writing a check for 10 grand? I don't know, let's say 10. A Lord of the Rings remake. Boom. Easy. Done. No questions. Full price MSRP. Flippin' out Pinball. Let me get you Lord of the Rings. Thanks. What trim? Premium or LE? Fish out. You know, if the LE had too much orange like the Looney Tunes, pass. But if it had a good gold, okay, it's pretty obvious. Lord of the Rings. Number two, very close number two, would be a Matrix.
    32:49
    A Matrix from, no, not any of them. Jersey Jack or Stern only. Those are the only ones I would trust doing Matrix. Or Lord of the Rings. Like if J.J.P. got Lord of the Rings, I'd be like, yeah, okay, fucking let's do it. But J.J.P. and Stern are the only two I fully trust. Like I'll give you money. Um, third, uh, would be, oh God, I'm thinking of more now. Third would be Superman for sure. Oh God, just make Superman. Serious? Superman, pick one. Uh, you know, Superman, um, the Christopher Reeve movies. Yeah, please absolutely do it. That would be number one. Even if you want to go weird, Dean Cain, Lois and Clark. Okay. Smallville. I'll fucking get stupid. Yeah. Let's get all weird. Let's make a Lois. Let's make a Smallville or a... I say this specifically, a Superman and Lois, the newer one, which is... it's good. It's good. For Superman fans, it's good. It's not great. It's good.
    33:48
    Lois and Clark, Smallville, Man of Steel. Yeah, for some reason I think Man of Steel might be the least favorite, but they won't make it. Make a fucking Superman game, you serious... Jesus. I'm in Harry Potter. I bring me back hard. Stiff as shit. Harry Potter. Let's go. What are we doing?
    34:06
    And then probably Back to the Future or Ghostbusters. All these things that just aren't happening right now. God damn it. So Jaws clearly wasn't on that list, but it's made by Keith Elwin. It's going to be great. I don't need a theme to get me all stiff. And now I'm just forcing it. That's what she said. But I, it's the best we got coming up, at least that I know of, Winky Face. Yeah, or we'll say. Jaws, coming up soon. It's gonna kick some shit. I would get your orders in to Flappin' Bird Pinball to secure yours, because it's, it is all that. As long as we don't get a grid like in Avengers, you know, like, oh, it's great, but, oh, don't, that part's weird. Don't do that. Yeah, but I'm out of pinball for the time being, but I'm trying to get back in, baby. I'm trying to get deep back in and maybe the frequency of the podcast and see what's happening is kind of part of it. I'm trying to bring it back.
    35:12
    I'm still finding my place in this world, this world of pinball. I don't want the attention, but at the same time, I need it to even do this. I mean, I got stickers, I got merch. I have a fucking fully built website that's honestly pretty impressive. I just never launched it because like, what am I doing? And I think those know from long-time listeners, again, thank you very much for sticking with me.
    35:34
    Usually I'm putting out quality and sometimes I marry that with quantity, quality and quantity. But it's been very hit or miss lately and I'll continue to kind of find my place in what I'm kind of doing. Thanks again for sticking with me. I really wanted to get on today and honestly just open up a little bit about that stuff in the beginning. Talk about stiffies for a while. Really, you know, cheerleading for Spooky, keep doing your shit. GTF's still shit. Just tossing that in there. Jaws, yes. Come on, bring me back in hard. And music, still going.
    36:10
    Doing some pretty sweet stuff. So, you know, like a classic episode, I will end this one with a Neon Dale song called Excuses. Releasing soon. Thanks for joining everyone. Take care.
    36:24
    Pinses I long for no better reason Working things through so I get a feeling Maybe a coward, maybe I'm useless Maybe I'm all the things my parents used to say I can't escape these, all of your opinions, maybe I'm making up excuses for myself.
    37:04
    Cross-sighted, I stare, needing stimulation, gasping for air, is anybody here? Show me a purpose, give me a reason Give me something strong enough to grab my attention I'm not a joker, this is a weekday And I'm sick of being bored of by myself
    37:44
    Zach Sarky Ethan, I really hate these, all of your opinions. Maybe I'm better off just talking to myself. I can't stand these, all of your opinions. Maybe I'm making up excuses for myself. I'm really sick of being bored all by myself. Maybe I'm better off just talking to myself.