Journalist Tool

Kineticist

  • HDashboard
  • IItems
  • ↓Ingest
  • SSources
  • KBeats
  • BBriefs
  • RIntel
  • QSearch
  • NName Review
  • +Health

v0.1.0

← Back to items

Saturday Morning Spectacular, July 6

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·1h 10m·analyzed·Jul 7, 2024
View original
Export .md

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.036

TL;DR

Kaneda predicts Jack Danger X-Men 97 as 2024 GOTY while criticizing Stern's John Wick and Multimorphic's niche platform approach.

Summary

Kaneda discusses pinball industry dynamics in mid-2024, predicting Jack Danger next Stern game (rumored to be X-Men 97) as Game of the Year, criticizing John Wick's poor market reception, analyzing Mark Seiden upcoming debut at Jersey Jack, and expressing skepticism about Multimorphic's platform strategy despite its innovation. He also addresses the Harry Potter homebrew hoax that temporarily duped the community.

Key Claims

  • Jack Danger's next Stern game will be X-Men 97 and will be Game of the Year

    medium confidence · Kaneda's prediction; presented as personal speculation, not confirmed intel

  • John Wick will tank in value, losing $5,000+ in secondary market within six months

    medium confidence · Kaneda's market analysis and criticism of game's mechanical design and marketing

  • Harry Potter homebrew was mistaken for an upcoming Jersey Jack game due to castle graphics 18 inches above glass

    high confidence · Kaneda's direct admission of being duped; physical specifications cited as disqualifying factor

  • Mark Seiden has been working on his Jersey Jack debut game for three years

    high confidence · Kaneda states this explicitly as known fact from Jersey Jack

  • Pat Lawlor left Jersey Jack and his influence on game design has ended

    medium confidence · Kaneda's inference based on design philosophy; timing of departure not explicitly stated

  • Elton John Collector's Edition will depreciate to ~$12,000 and Platinum to ~$9,000

    low confidence · Kaneda's price prediction based on market patterns and manufacturer production of 1,000 units

  • Multimorphic has sold fewer than 2,000 P3 units total to date

    low confidence · Kaneda's speculation based on production volume observations; Jerry refuses to disclose official numbers

  • No major pinball manufacturers are currently hitting with new releases; 2024 market is weak except for Jack Danger and Mark Seiden's upcoming games

    medium confidence · Kaneda's assessment of current market state and upcoming pipeline

Notable Quotes

  • “I guarantee you on this show I'm not going to talk about Harry Potter being next from Jersey Jack. What a terrible week for me.”

    Kaneda @ ~0:30 — Self-deprecating admission of being duped by Harry Potter homebrew hoax, establishing credibility by acknowledging error

  • “Jack Danger is the next Stern machine. He's also not making Pokémon next... I think Jack Danger's game is gonna be X-Men 97.”

    Kaneda @ ~2:00 — Core prediction of episode; directly contradicts community speculation about Pokémon being Jack's next design

  • “John Wick will be one of the most tanking Stern games ever... I think John Wick is going to hold less value than almost any modern Stern.”

    Kaneda @ ~3:30 — Strong negative assessment of John Wick's market viability; positioning it as worse performer than WWE

  • “When did Pat Lawlor actually leave Jersey Jack? When did Pat Lawlor's influence stop at Jersey Jack?”

    Kaneda @ ~9:00 — Raises question about Pat Lawlor's ongoing influence on Jersey Jack design philosophy; suggests his departure may reshape future games

  • “Mark Seiden's been working on this game for three freaking years... how can our expectations of this Mark Seiden game not be like through the roof?”

    Kaneda @ ~10:00 — Emphasizes high expectations for Mark Seiden's debut Jersey Jack game based on development timeline

  • “It's a buyer's market for a long time in pinball as long as these prices stay this high.”

    Kaneda @ ~18:00 — Assessment of market dynamics; indicates current pricing as unsustainable

  • “If Jerry just made the Princess Bride as a normal pinball machine, he would sell three to one versus his platform.”

    Kaneda @ ~25:00 — Direct criticism of Multimorphic's platform strategy; suggests standard cabinet approach would be more commercially successful

Entities

Jack DangerpersonMark SeidenpersonPat LawlorpersonKanedapersonKeith ElwinpersonSpooky LukepersonJerry

Signals

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Jack Danger's next Stern game rumored to be X-Men 97 rather than Pokémon; positioned as Game of the Year candidate

    medium · Kaneda states 'I think Jack Danger's game is gonna be X-Men 97' and 'If you think Pokémon is next, I think you're wrong.' Also invokes designer intent via 'Zombie Yeti on artwork' and Straight Down the Middle podcast praise.

  • ?

    leak_detection: Harry Potter homebrew game mistaken for official Jersey Jack announcement; castle mechanic 18 inches above glass revealed as disqualifying factor

    high · Kaneda admits 'I got duped' and explicitly cites physical impossibility: 'unless Jersey Jack made a new deep cabinet, there's no way this game was ever going to work.'

  • $

    market_signal: Widespread prediction of 2024 game depreciation of $3,000-$5,000 from launch prices; Elton John forecasted to settle at $12,000 CE and $9,000 Platinum

    medium · Kaneda: 'all of these games after a year are going to lose like anywhere between $3,000 to $5,000' and 'I think they're going to settle around 12 for a CE and I think it's going to settle around like 9,000 for a platinum.'

  • ?

    product_concern: John Wick criticized for lack of mechanical innovation, rushed appearance, and poor mechanical engineering despite designer Tim Elliot's background

    high · Kaneda: 'Tim Elliot is this mechanical engineer, where's the mechanical engineering in John Wick? Why does the game look so rushed? It looks so phoned in from a mechanical standpoint.'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: High expectations building for Mark Seiden's Jersey Jack debut after three-year development; positioned as critical brand moment for Jersey Jack

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.211

0:00
What can I say except you're welcome for the tides, the sun, the sky. Hey, it's okay, it's okay, you're welcome.
0:11
I'm just an ordinary dilly guy. I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said, I said. Welcome everybody to the Saturday Morning Spectacular where I guarantee you on this show I'm not going to talk about Harry Potter being next from Jersey Jack. What a terrible week for Canada. I mean, when you think about it, I've got some of the rumors wrong. I get most of them right. But man, oh, man, oh, man, did I get duped on this Harry Potter homebrew game that had like a quarter of the pinball population thinking that was the next game from Jersey Jack. And what an idiot I am once I saw those photos where the castle is like 18 inches above the glass. It's like unless J-Pop made a new deep cabinet, there's no way this game was ever going to work. And I know it's a homebrew game and it looks like a Jersey Jack game with all the lights and whatnot and the artwork. but man that throws a monkey wrench into what's coming in 2024 and now I think all of us are realizing that 2024 isn't going to be what we thought it was supposed to be Harry Potter versus Pokemon versus Back to the Future now none of those games are coming out in 2024 so we're going to talk about what's going on in pinball right now I want to talk to people here I want to know what you guys are thinking. And I want to tell you guys right now, I want to make a prediction to what I think is going to be the game of the year. Are you ready for it? And I don't even know if there's going to be game of the year unless we get some award shows back. So hopefully the pinball content creators can kind of work together to figure out one award show. You know, now that Zach and me and Colin are all talking again and everything's fine and everything is fine. There's no drama anymore. It is amazing when grown men just extend a hand and say, hey, let's just squash it and move on. And it's been great ever since. I know all of them are having a better time this way, and I know I am as well. So maybe we can come together and actually create an award show in which all the people are represented, all the companies are represented, and there's only one. Right. So we don't have to, like, compete with each other. I think it would be fine. And here's what I would recommend. I would recommend going back to the original formula. If they can't get the live show together, then just do it like it was year one and have Greg and Zach host it. Let people vote and just do it online. I mean, you're going to get more people watching on the Internet than you ever would at a live show. And then you would save everybody the money of having to fly to Texas to see it. But, you know, if you want to do it at TPF, I would love that as well. All right, so here's the thing. Here's my prediction for game of the year. I'm telling you right now that Stern's next cornerstone game is going to be Jack Danger's game. That's right. You heard it here. Chris Arcades, my followers on the club heard it first that Jack Danger is next. It is not John Borg with a cornerstone. If anything, there will be a Metallica remake. There's going to be a Godzilla 70th remake. but Jack Danger is the next Stern Machine. He's also not making Pokemon next. So if you think Pokemon is next, I think you're wrong. I think Jack Danger's game is gonna be X-Men 97. I think it's gonna be X-Men 97. I think maybe gotta catch them all or collect them all is basically in reference to getting all the different X-Men together. And I think Jack Danger X-Men with Zombie Yeti on artwork, with the show being phenomenal, my prediction is X-Men 97 will be the game of the year. It will beat out Elton John, which is a great shooting game, but not enough people will vote for Elton John. Elton John just is very expensive. We're going to talk about the collector's edition that just went up for sale for $13,000. And I know the inner art blade is damaged, but man, $2,000, it's a $50 part at most. Takes about a half hour to change out the inner art blade. So yeah, I think we're starting to see what I've been predicting. That all of these games after a year are going to lose like anywhere between $3,000 to $5,000, especially with these high starting prices. So for Daniel who just said X-Men might sell 200 units, I think you're 100% wrong. I think X-Men 97 will be a sales juggernaut. And if you think about it, yeah, we've had a lot of Marvel themes, but man, X-Men 97 is just classic, it's iconic, it's a throwback, and it's done right. And that's the other thing is the show itself is absolutely incredible. and I think if Jack Danger makes it and they make it right, a lot of people would much rather have X-Men 97 than Jaws, than Venom. Nobody wants John Wick, nobody. I mean, let's talk about this for a minute because I'm watching the John Wick marketing efforts and it's over, like it's absolutely over. I don't know about you, but when I watch people talk about collecting these achievements and the contracts on 4th of July weekend, It's like, yeah, it makes sense to have a 4th of July stuff for Jaws, but who cares about collecting John Wick-like items on Insider Connected? John Wick is going to go down. I mean this when I say this, people. John Wick will be, I think, one of the most, like, tanking Stern games ever. What I mean by tanking, I think John Wick is going to hold less value than almost any modern Stern. I think you're going to see John Wick LEs for $5,000 less within just like six months, not even a year. It is a game that will come and go with very, very low interest. Will it do worse than WWF? Yes, it will. Because even WWE, it's not WWF, even that game, they sold all of the LEs. And even that game, I mean, seriously, when you look at WWE, it still has more interesting stuff in it than John Wick. And the more I look at John Wick, I'm sorry, but, you know, Elliot is this mechanical engineer, where's the mechanical engineering in John Wick? Why does the game look so rushed? It looks so phoned in from a mechanical standpoint. Why does the game even exist? And that's my point about John Wick. The more I see it, the less interested I get in it, because it's like nobody really asked for it. And I think Stern developed it when John Wick was more popular than it is now. What Chris doesn't love. Okay, so here's the thing. It's like I just think this game, it reeks of Stern doing zero market research. And look, the market is speaking. Nobody's really buying the game. You'll play it on location. You'll have fun on location. because it's fun knowing that you don't have to spend, you know, $7,000 to $13,000 on a tanking game. It's absolutely going to tank. And so that's why I think Jaws isn't going to win game of the year. It's not because Jaws gets compared to Keith Elwin's other games. And as good as Jaws is, it's no Godzilla. And I don't even think it's as good as Iron Maiden. I think Jaws is good. I think it's a good Jaws pin. I think the thing with Jaws is this. It's as good as Jaws could be given the source material. Jaws is a very slow movie. It's a little monochromatic in what's going on in the movie. But Jaws is done really well. And look, Clint, yeah, Jaws is not Keith Elwin's best game. It is not Keith Elwin's best game. It is like, I would say if I had to rank Keith Elwin's games, I would go Godzilla, Iron Maiden, then Jaws, then I would go, actually, yeah, I would do that. I would do Godzilla, I would do Iron Maiden, actually, no, I'm going to go back again. I would actually go Godzilla, Jurassic Park, because Jurassic Park theme is so good, then Iron Maiden, then Jaws, then Avengers, and then, did I miss Jurassic? No, what am I missing here? Am I missing one? I think I am. What am I missing? Anyway, they're all good. Bond 60th, no, Bond 60th is dead last. Here's the thing, all of Keith Elwin's games are really good,
person
Stern Pinballcompany
Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
Spooky Pinballcompany
Multimorphiccompany
Barrels of Funcompany
Chicago Gaming Companycompany
X-Men 97game
John Wickgame
Jawsgame
Elton Johngame
Pokémon Pinballgame
Back to the Arcade Futuregame
Pulp Fictiongame
Godfathergame
Godzillagame
Iron Maidengame
Princess Bridegame
Labyrinthgame

medium · Kaneda: 'how can our expectations of this Mark Seiden game not be like through the roof?' and positions it as necessary to counter weak theme reception of Godfather, Toy Story 4, Elton John

  • $

    market_signal: Current high pricing ($13,000+ for CEs) characterized as unsustainable; market described as 'buyer's market' with games overpriced by $2,000-$3,000

    medium · Kaneda: 'I think all of these games are two to $3,000 overpriced, all of them' and 'It's a buyer's market for a long time in pinball as long as these prices stay this high.'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Multimorphic's modular platform approach criticized as commercially disadvantageous; standard cabinet format predicted to outsell 3:1

    medium · Kaneda: 'if Jerry just made the Princess Bride as a normal pinball machine, he would sell three to one versus his platform' citing collector preference for static playfield aesthetics over swappable modules

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: 2024 mid-year assessment: pinball market in weak state with no exciting new releases aside from upcoming Jack Danger and Mark Seiden games

    high · Kaneda: 'Stern's having an incredible weak moment in the market and nobody's taking advantage of it. And right now, nobody's hitting with anything. Absolutely nothing. There is nothing exciting happening.'

  • ?

    business_signal: Multimorphic refuses to disclose total P3 unit sales; Kaneda speculates under 2,000 units sold lifetime despite decade of production

    low · Kaneda: 'He won't answer this question... I don't understand why you wouldn't because you're building a connected platform' and 'There's no way it's been 2,000' based on production volume observations

  • ?

    industry_signal: Kaneda notes resolution of previous drama with Zach Sharpe and Colin; proposes unified Game of the Year award show collaboration among content creators

    medium · Kaneda: 'now that Zach and me and Colin are all talking again and everything's fine... It is amazing when grown men just extend a hand and say, hey, let's just squash it and move on.'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Mark Seiden making Jersey Jack Pinball debut after three years of design work; positioned as significant rookie launch

    high · Kaneda: 'Mark Seiden's been working on this game for three freaking years' and 'Jersey Jack hasn't really had a rookie designer over at Jersey Jack who's been working on a game now for three years.'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Recent Jersey Jack/Stern game themes (Godfather, Toy Story 4, Elton John, John Wick) underperforming; community appetite for licensed themes more selective than manufacturers anticipated

    medium · Kaneda: 'we've gone three in a row that is not taking off themes' and 'I think Stern developed John Wick when John Wick was more popular than it is now' suggesting licensing timing misstep

    • 10:03
    and Jaws might win game of the year because Elwin's got such a fan base, But, you know, look, great games, great games. Like you can't go wrong with a Keith Elwin game other than Bond 60th. Bond 60th will always go down as the worst buy ever. You know, it's an interesting thing about Avengers, gang, is Avengers, I think, is maybe Keith Elwin's best shooting game. I'm going to say it. I think Avengers is Elwin's greatest shooting game. I think the game shoots so awesome. I think the mechs are cool. I think the ramps and the habit trails are awesome. I love the way the ball moves around that play field. And I absolutely hate the code in the game. I think Ray Day's code in Avengers is like the worst because it's so damn confusing. and when you play Avengers, it just doesn't bring you on a ride that's very exciting or interesting. It's way too complex. It's way too unemotional. It's way too sterile and I think it just kills it. It just kills it. When I think about the Avengers and all these amazing superheroes, I want to feel like I'm assembling this team of badasses and we're going to go save the world. And I just don't in that game. I just I feel like it's all over the place. So, all right. So game of the year, though, here's my prediction. I just predict that Jack Danger's next game is going to be game of the year because I still think Jaws is a little bit polarizing on the theme. And I think Jack Danger's game is going to be newer and fresher when we get to the end of the year. Now, that being said, if you asked me two weeks ago, I would have told you that Stern Pinball is not going to win 2024.
    12:02
    They're very vulnerable with John Wick being a total flop. And someone's going to take advantage of Stern's like weak moment in the market. And here we are. Stern's having an incredible weak moment in the market and nobody's taking advantage of it. And right now, nobody's hitting with anything. Absolutely nothing. There is nothing exciting happening as far as like new stuff in pinball right now. Funhaus remake, nobody really cares. ABBA pinball, nobody really cares. Waiting three years to get your Pulp Fiction, nobody cares anymore. It's just going to be a topper. I mean, I don't know what people think is going to happen when you get your Pulp Fiction LE. Like, do you really think you're going to have a dramatically different experience than And the people that have been streaming this game for like a year, a year and a half, I mean, it's the same game. Same play field, same everything. I get it. I've seen the topper. I've seen the dance moves. I've seen it all. It's not going to make the worth weight. It's not going to make the weight worth it is what I wanted to say. So, like, here we are, 2024, July, and nobody, right? Nobody's hitting. Now, look, what's exciting, though, is that it's going to be Jack Danger's second game versus Mark Seiden's first game over at Jersey Jack Pinball. Now, this is a big moment. I mean, think about it. When was the last time Jersey Jack Pinball ushered out a brand new designer? Joe Balser did the first few games over there. Pat Lawler was over there. Eric Minier's first game, huge first game launch that they botched, right? Remember when Pirates of the Caribbean launched? Everybody wanted one. And then they made us wait like 10 months for the game and they took out the two major mechs in the game and then nobody wanted it. So that was Eric's first game. And then Steve Ritchie's not new. And so you haven't really had a rookie designer over at Jersey Jack who's been working on a game now for three years. Now, here's my thing. Now that we know that Mark Seiden's been working on this game for three freaking years, I mean, just think about how many days that is, right? That is like over a thousand days of walking into a pinball company and being able to design something that us customers get to enjoy one day. And if it's your first game and you want to make a name for yourself and you've had three years of effort to put into the game, how can our expectations of this Mark Siding game not be like through the roof? Now, my worry about all of this is simply this. It's like, when did Pat Lawler actually leave Jersey Jack? When did Pat Lawler's influence stop at Jersey Jack? Because Pat Lawler is the reason why a lot of these games got stripped down because Lawler wanted to be Lawler of old. He wanted to walk around all these like locations and see his product everywhere the way he did with Adam's family. And so then he wanted to make Jersey Jack be an operator friendly game. And that's why we saw a lot come out of the games because of Pat Lawler. And now that he's gone, I think they're going to put a lot more back in it. I mean, look, Elton John is pretty empty, people. I mean, lift the playfield on it. It's pretty damn empty. I mean, it's like half as much as in that game as games like Hobbit and Wizard of Oz and Dialed In. Like, we know it's empty. Like, there's no fooling. It doesn't mean it doesn't shoot well, but everyone needs to sort of realize that the fastest shooting game with the greatest flow in the history of pinball would just be a blank play field with flippers. I mean, nothing would flow better than that. So, you know, you really can't take flow and then try to charge a lot of money. GNR would have had more drops. Yes, so in Guns N' Roses, there was a drop bank target in front of the scoop, which would have changed the dynamic on the game. Even as I think about the game now, though, I'm not sure that would have made the game better. Having played Guns N' Roses now for a while, I think a big drop bank target there would have bricked the ball. And it's too close to the flippers to have that there. Now, what would have been great was the subway system in GNR. Because what was supposed to happen is when you go to the backstage area, that was also a scoop into a subway that would return the ball to the right flipper. So I think that would have been awesome. And of course, the subway system in the upper left would have been cool too. And I think missing that from GNR, I do think like changed the ability to make the game flow the way the designer wanted the game to flow. So look, Mark Seiden's game. Let's talk about it for a minute, people. What do we think? I want to hear from you right now. What do you think Mark Seiden game is going to be And I going to read your responses right now You know the rumor was like Matrix or Muppets or this or that I really have no idea I do believe that the feedback I got was if you warm up to the theme, you're going to love it. Jay Sellers, welcome to the party. Canada's going to have a sip. Dave says it's Muppets. Albert says it's Metroid, which is the homebrew he made. It's not going to be Metroid.
    18:02
    Matrix 4, said Robert Bush. Collins said Frozen. It's not going to be Frozen. But that is funny. I mean, Frozen would sell. That is crazy. It's crazy when you think about it because we can make fun of the fact that someone said Frozen, Collins said Frozen, but Frozen would outsell almost anything.
    18:29
    Hold on. I'm trying to wipe off my Ready Player One book cover. I put the drink on it and it's kind of making it wet. Here we go. Okay.
    18:39
    Barbie, Silver Spoon, Avatar. What else we got here? Pac-Man was one that was rumored. I just, what I know is this. It has to be a hit theme. I mean, we've gone three in a row that is not take my money now from Jersey Jack, right? Godfather, Toy Story 4, and Elton John. All of those are not take my money now themes. All of them.
    19:11
    You know, and I think what happens next is going to be pretty critical for Jersey Jack because, and I don't mean critical because they need the money, because they don't need the money. I just mean from a brand standpoint. Like, I want to see the brand do well. Eric Peterson, welcome to the party. I want to see the brand do well. I would love a Super Mario Brothers from Jersey Jack Pinball. If they made a Jersey Jack Super Mario Brothers game, and it had the green sewer pipes, and then you go into the lower play field, it would absolutely crush. And then you've got the upper play field with the bricks that you smash. Can you imagine a Vuck that just kept shooting up into a brick and it made that noise? And even if you just make it so it's like contained so the ball can't go out from underneath the brick. But imagine that. I mean, you, all of us, we could sit in a room. and in just a few hours we could ideate the greatest super mario brothers pinball machine of all time jersey jack could make it and no not mario kart why the heck would you want to play mario kart in pinball form albert that doesn't make any sense but mario brothers makes sense because you're moving through the world. Like Mario Kart does not make any sense. I don't wanna play a racing game as a pinball machine. The same way I don't wanna play a first person shooter as a pinball machine because it makes no sense. The reason why Super Mario Brothers makes sense is the entire game is about bashing things and a pinball machine bashes things and it's just that simple. so I think that would be great that would be take my money now for sure but it's not going to be that it's not going to be that I'm drinking Baraka dropped into some ice cold water it's great I really think we're going to see this game around the same time we see Jack Danger's game and that's going to make for a very interesting fall into winter because you're going to have Jack Danger versus Mark Seiden. These silly Pulp Fiction LEs are finally going to come out. And then you're going to have the next game from Spooky.
    21:40
    I mean, people forget Spooky's next game is going to be fall winter. And then we're also going to have Alice in Wonderland. So at least it's going to be new stuff. I would also have to imagine that over at Barrels of Fun, there's got to be the discussion. We've got to just cap, you know, these labyrinth games. I don't know. You know, there's something about like a year to build all the labyrinths. I just want to talk about this for a minute. It's just too long. I'm sorry. One game a year.
    22:16
    I get that's what boutiques are going for. But man, it's just boring. You know what I'm saying? It's like, yeah, like I get it. Like I get it. That's all you can make. But man, it's like, I don't know. Like there's nothing left or interesting to talk about. It's like having the same movie in the theater all year round. And if you're going to do that, then you got to make it a movie you want to see over and over and over again. I just don't feel that way about Labyrinth. I never did from day one. I don't like the theme.
    22:56
    I get it. I get why people would like it. But I guess I was just one of those more alpha males when I was a young kid. Watching wrestling. Watching Hulk Hogan. You know, watching Rowdy Rowdy Piper. I guess I was a little younger when Labyrinth came out. But I was watching other stuff. It wasn't really a movie that made its way into my sort of circle of films that I wanted to watch over and over and over again. And I don't know anyone who felt that way about Labyrinth either. I mean, I went to school with, I was born in 76, a child of the 80s and 90s. Like, I don't know. I just never hung out with any of my guy friends. And when I was a kid, no one was ever like, let's go watch Labyrinth. I just never heard anybody say that. Like ever. In fact, I don't even think I even saw the movie back in the day. I just don't. And so like, but I understand for some people, it left an indelible impression. Now, I will say this. If I had seen that movie when I was a little boy or, you know, seven or eight years old, I actually think the main thing would have been Jennifer Connelly would have been the most exciting thing from the movie, right? And she's not even in the game. So it's like I don't want to look at David Bowie's bulge. I just don't. I would rather have Bloodsport. I would rather have Die Hard, Big Trouble, Karate Kid. You know me. You know what I want. Never going to get it. One day I'll get it. But right now, I think John Wick is a wake-up call. I think Ultraman is a wake-up call. I think, you know, I don't know. Did Spooky even sell out of Looney Tunes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre? Like, can you go on Spooky's website right now and order both of these games? I think you can. I don't think either is sold out. You can still go on to JerseyJack.com right now and buy an Elton John collector's edition.
    25:06
    Let's talk about this CE for sale. So, you know, look, Elton John is a great game. It's a great game because it's basically Steve Ritchie's recycled great layout. Like you take a great layout, which he used in Star Trek, elements from Spider-Man, you know, all that. He knows how to make a game shoot great. So he's taken like the best hits in terms of flow and he's put it into Elton John and it makes the game play great, right? There's not a ton of other stuff in it. The music is great. It's Elton John music. The light show is phenomenal. the experience is a lot of fun that being said right that being said it's still not a take my money now theme for most people um let me just say something about australia okay because shannon's like elton john is sold like everything sells out in australia because you get freaking 15 You get 15 Elton John collector's edition in Australia. There's 985 more in the world. And the fact that you guys spend like freaking Elton John CE in American dollars is like $25,000 for these guys. These guys are nuts. Nuts. wow you got 50 out of 900 so there's 950 more shits but shittin it's like i i i actually when i hear about australian pinball collectors i i feel bad because you would be much better off just buying a place in america as a second home and storing all your pins there and maybe having just one or two locally because you're spending, it's cheaper for you to fly over here and just play the games here. It doesn't make any sense. You know, like, I don't know. It's just something with when I see an Australian price of a pinball machine. Are you guys making like that much more money? I don't get it. Like, I really don't get it. But anyway, like the fact that Jersey Jack said they're going to make a thousand and you go into the owner's club and you know, everyone's enjoying the game. No, no issues there. Games are got good quality. They're not breaking down, but there's a thousand of them. And that's the part, like a thousand of them. And so Jersey Jack has gone on the record and said, they're making all 1000 games. And when I hear that, I'm like, all right, who's buying them all? That's my point is you don't see a lot. And I mean this, you don't see a lot of unboxings of Elton John collector's edition. And here's the part we don't know. How many of these are going to stay in Jersey Jack's personal inventory, like their own inventory? How many of these are going to be sitting at dealers? And how many are actually sold to customers? Now, that's just something I've been thinking about. And I would say like I don't think they've sold more to customers I don't know what do you think like 600 at most at this point I don't know I don't I mean it's hard to tell everything's just a guess but they're not hard to get and now that we saw one used with a inner art decal destroyed which is like because the fool opened up the play field without putting on the plastic protectors and yeah I don't know why you would do that the game quite clearly tells you to use them they come with every game that you can't miss them they're huge they're the size of the entire cabinet so like yeah like I don't know like but if you want to fix that issue it's easy and so the fact that this guy's selling it for 13 that's a good deal I guess uh but look I think if they make all 1,000 of them and Mark Seiden's game is, I don't know, it just got more appeal to the pinball buying demo. I think we could see Elton John prices. I think they're going to settle, you know me, I think they're going to settle around 12 for a CE and I think it's going to settle around like 9,000 for a platinum. I just think that's where it's all at, people. I think all of these games are two to $3,000 overpriced, all of them, all of them. And I think they all slide down back to that number. And it's just like, it's just where we're comfortable buying pinball machines, right? It's like, I don't wanna spend more than 10 to 12 on an Ellie or a collector's edition. I don't ever wanna spend more than 10 on a Stern. I mean, a Stern Ellie is a $9,500 game at most. Everybody knows that, because think about it. And then they want you to buy a thousand or $2,000 topper. They want you to accessorize it. And you could do that. You could do that. You could drop $15,000 on a Foo Fighter LE. Just think about that for a minute.
    30:23
    15 grand for a Foo Fighter LE. There's a thousand of them out there and you could do that. And then your game's worth 10 grand at the end of the year. So like, I wouldn't do that. Do you want to lose five grand? I don't know. I don't know. Maybe some people do. So like, I think it's going to be a very, it's going to be a buyer's market for a long time in pinball as long as these prices stay this high. Every once in a while, a Back to the Future or a Harry Potter will come out and justify the high prices, but most games won't. And I think that's going to be the hard lesson or the hard sort of hill to climb for all these companies. Now, speaking of hill to climb, let's talk a little bit about Multimorphic. We don't really talk about them. I mentioned Jerry. I put up a Steve Jobs video, however you want to say it, in which he talks about innovation.
    31:16
    And you got to figure out what kind of innovation is going to help you sell product at scale. And even though you can innovate to do some things well, it's not necessarily the right way to go unless you create something that a lot of people want. And I know we've been going back and forth on this for years, really, because It's like, you know, Multimorphic has decided to make a platform that is completely different than anybody else in the market. And it's been around for about a decade.
    31:50
    And, you know, Jerry is not altering the course. And that's fine. Like, it's his prerogative. He can do what he wants. I've interviewed Jerry over the years. I know everything their strategy is about. I know, you know, and they finally got licensed themes, which has helped. But man, it's like, you know, why?
    32:10
    That's my whole thing is when you look at the pinball buying demographic and you do market research, you're not going to land on a place that most people want these swappable play fields and these like modular systems. It's been tried many times and because what you sacrifice for what you gain is not worth it to the majority of pinball buying people. That's all it comes down to. There's pros and cons, of course, but I don't want to give up this to get this. Like I don't want to have to store this somewhere. I don't want to give up the beautiful playfield artwork when my game is off. Because most people who buy games, and especially collectors, they don't play them. They walk by them. They light them up. They drink whiskey. But they don't really play their games a lot. and they love walking by and just seeing them in all of their beauty when the game is turned off. They don't want a big black TV screen looking back at them, right? And then even like the front of the multi-morphic cabinet is all black. Now they're accessorizing it, but now it also doesn't make sense because you can order a Princess Bride and it has Enrico Montoya's swords like stuck to the side of it. So then that doesn't make any sense because those don't come on and off. Do they? Then what you got to do, you have to store those swords when you're playing Lexi Lightspeed, because then now you've got like a dedicated cabinet to if Jerry just made the Princess Bride as a normal pinball machine, he would sell three to one versus his platform. because when you buy into the platform, you kind of have to be committing into the platform and all the other games.
    34:24
    You know, I just, I really would love it if Jerry just at least tried to make a normal game. That's it, just try it. And I don't think he will because I think it would outsell what he's done before.
    34:37
    How many P3 Multimorphics do you think he's sold to date? How many? Like, guys, in the comments right now, as of today, how many total units do you think Jerry has sold? He won't answer this question.
    34:52
    Now, I don't understand why you wouldn't because you're building a connected platform. You'd think you'd want people to know how many other people are out there like you that you could connect with, that you could play games with. All right. Pat says 500 Colin says 500 to 1 1 400 700 says Carl
    35:21
    Tons, I mean tens. There's no way it's been 2,000, Tony. There's no way. I mean, they barely make these games. They're trickling out.
    35:33
    Now, I don't know. I don't know the answer. I don't know. So, I mean, it's Jerry's to tell us if he wants to.
    35:42
    But I know that he has two more licensed games coming after The Princess Bride. So it's not going to stop. We're going to get more games, and that's fine. You know, look, at the end of the day, I do agree when people say it's better to have options, and there's nothing wrong with having options. I just don't see the value when – I'll tell you what. I'd be nervous because if you want to get out of the platform, it's hard to get out of it. It's really easy to, if you price it right, get out of your Jersey Jack, get out of your Batman, get out of your Pulp Fiction, get out of your Chicago Gaming Company game. It's easy. Because when you want to get out of a used multi-morphic, Like you've got a niche within a niche within a niche person you got to find. You know, it's not easy. That is not easy at all.
    36:45
    So, yeah, I mean, I would have just made a regular game. I mean, I think Barrels of Fun is doing it right. I think Spooky is doing it right. You want to make money. You want to grow and you want to be able to invest that money in future titles. And if you don't make money, you can't reinvest in the organization. He's got a 94% retention rate on his customers. Well, that's easy if you've got like 100 customers. And I don't even believe that, Colin. I don't even like, you know, the thing is this. You can't cherry pick the data you're going to feed people. You tell me you've got a 94 retention rate on your customers. Okay, then my next question is, how many customers do you have? Right? I have 100% retention rate on the women who will sleep with me. All right? 100%. Because it's the same woman. It's one woman. I'm 100% effective on getting the women who want to sleep with me to sleep with me because there's only one. It's Brenda.
    37:48
    So that's my point. It's like, I just want to know how many. how many people out there bought a Multimorphic. Look, we know. We know that it's hard. Like, it's hard. Like, Labyrinth can't even crack 800. And they said they're going to make 1100. So we know it's not easy. And we know that, like, Spooky didn't sell out of Looney Tunes or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. So, like, you know, we're at the point now, people. You know what that means? When you can't sell 1100 labyrinths and you can't sell out of Looney Tunes or Texas Chainsaw Massacre, it means you're supplying more games than there is demand. I mean, there's no worse offender of that than 1000 John Wick LEs. And see, this is the problem. I mean, I would see if I was one of you is I don't want to go in on a game where right away there's more supply than demand, because it doesn't mean I don't want to eventually get the game. But if I can see that in the first week of sales, right, the first month that there's more supply coming than there is of demand. the only game where that wasn't the case was Jaws right over the last like basically six months that was the only game I mean Jaws LE is is like sold out and they're not readily available and they don't trade hands very often and that's because there's more demand than supply uh no other game has that Spooky Luke joined right away I love it everyone's like get on there Spooky So, you know, when you go across the board, all the other companies this year have experienced, you know, something that is kind of unprecedented, which is there's just more supply of everything than there is demand. And so what that's going to create for us as a customer is a good environment because it's going to create an environment in which we're going to be able to get better prices. it's going to create an environment in which these companies are going to have to work harder right to sell the games Todd Tucky welcome to the show brother it's also going to like create an environment in which companies are going to fail I mean like let's face it like haggis is done we'll talk about them in a second uh American pinball is done um nothing much spooky luke just just talking about supply demand here and i did say that spooky's next game is coming end of the year it's going to be jack danger's next mark seiden versus spooky i mean those are going to be the three there's nothing else i mean maybe alice in wonderland but i a little bit worried i'm very worried that alice in wonderland code it's going to ship code incomplete. But what is that? What is that about? Why would a game that you've had all this time to work on, if you want to launch Dutch Pinball X, and I got to talk to Melvin, but I don't think that's a good look at all. You can't launch Alice code incomplete. Again, you're branding yourself as this premium, high-end pinball experience. Well, there's nothing more premium than getting a game that's done. A game, you think people buy a Bentley and it's missing a door? You're going to buy a Lamborghini and not all the cylinders are turned on yet? You're going to pay for a first-class flight, but you have to wait for the champagne? no if you're gonna go premium and that's the entire billing of your company then there's nothing more premium than having your game complete right you don't have to wait and they even said like we're gonna we're gonna build this game with feedback from the community and then it just like canada just wants to throw the mic over his shoulder that is the least way a premium brand behaves Ferrari Rolex like Bugatti like Ritz Carlton they don't give a shi t what you think they're the experts on what people want you know this whole like this crowdsourcing the code that's not what a premium brand does a premium brand hits you with stuff you don't even know you want. They know exactly what to do. And that's the thing. It's like, come on. Like, I think what they're doing, it's a lot of marketing hubris and hyperbole. But man, it's like it's starting to look sloppy. I don't want to hear that. Like the code's not going to be done. I don't want to hear that. We're going to listen to the community feedback. And what? So I have to do the work for you. So we have to tell you what would be nice to see in the game. So then there's no visionary. Did you have to tell Lyman Sheets what needed to be into a game to make it good? Did you? Did you have to give him feedback? Did you have to give the team that coded Godzilla feedback on how to make the game better? Did you have to do any of that? I mean, think about it. All the greatest pinball machines. Did you have to give Keith Johnson feedback on what he should do with Lord of the Rings to make the multi-balls exciting? No, no. I'm telling you, like there's talent and then there's not talent. And i'm sorry, but like if you want to make a pinball experience in a game amazingly fun You need talented people that know what they're doing and a lot of those talented people don't need your feedback I don't want to hear from you how to make the song better because I know how to make it great I mean the same is true in every creative field And i'm sorry. I'm sorry, but like when I hear stuff like well, we're gonna we're gonna build the ship in the ocean I mean, that's basically what they're saying. We're gonna build the ship in the ocean and we hope you come on board for it. And I know there's like the apologists who are like, well, you know, it's fun to see the way the sausage is made. No, it's not. Nobody wants to go to a sausage making factory. Nobody, all right? This is just like, come on, like get your SHIT together.
    44:26
    Walk into the room and pull the sheet off a completed game. Is it that much to ask for? you know what people want in this hobby you know how to get it done I mean it's just like it's just again it's a cop-out it's a cop-out because they need to because what they want is money coming in without a final product done and then they want to use the money coming in to pay for the coding it's just it's like we got to get some revenue going we got to get some revenue going to get some talent. I get it, but it's just not the way it should go. I love it. Right now, they're like, Canuto, you don't know what you're talking about. You're all wrong. Am I? Am I? Am I wrong? Did any of us have to give Lyman Sheets feedback on how to make a game great? All right. Let's talk about some titles in the rumor mill. By the way, guys, you absolutely suck. I mean this. Your Facebook live days are coming to an end because I just got a notification from Patreon that they are going to start allowing their content creators to do live streams like this. And I was saying to myself, you know, like, nah, but I love Facebook live. It's easy. It's good. It's good. You know, but like 10 stars, why am I doing this here? Like I'm, I'm, this show is going to, If you love the Saturday Morning Spectacular, which I know you do, and I know there's 1,500 of you that watch it at least, usually like 1,800, the show might be going to Patreon because they're going to start allowing the content creators, which I think is smart. Which I think is smart. And they allow the content creators to actually pocket what they create. Where here it's like it goes to Facebook, it goes to Apple, and then I get a cut. But at least there's nothing to cut. There's nothing to cut when you get 10 stars.
    46:28
    No, no, Dave, it's like, Dave, it doesn't work like that anymore. I've like plateaued on how many people will join the club. Like nobody's, nobody's discovering Canada now. They're just not. Like I've hit, I'm almost like hit capacity, like around like between seven and 750 is like the most amount of club subscribers you're ever going to get. Right. I mean, right now I have more club subscribers than all the other pinball content creators combined on Patreon. Like, much more.
    47:00
    So it's like, it is what it is. I'm happy with it. Albert's going to keep us here. I'm happy with it. I'm happy with where we're at. And it's because of guys like Chris Arcades. He just joined, 50 bucks a month. Chris, you get another shout out.
    47:15
    I mean, I got guys, you know, most of them, most people, $5 a month. I got guys at $5 a month that will kick Stern $2,000 for a plastic topper, right? And then I'm giving them content, way more content throughout the year than they're getting on Insider Connected. And these guys will also donate money to Robin at Pinside way more than they donate to my show. It's fine. It is what it is.
    47:40
    It's not in front of the window. There's a gap. See that gap? See that gap there? Now you see the window. There's a gap. And also, I've got the windows covered because the UV company is coming July 17th.
    47:56
    Albert, thank you for the $10 a month. Let's walk over Guns N' Roses. I can't walk away from the mic, but let me turn this around and show you something cool. All right. So, all right. We're back. We just did a little house tour, but we're not going to make people – you can't listen to a house tour. You've got to see it.
    48:15
    The demon is going to get stolen. Oh, good. Take it. I'd rather have the insurance company pay me out for it than even keep it.
    48:26
    Steal the demon. What does that mean? I'm not worried about these cars anymore. There's something about when you grow up a little bit and you realize, man, it's just cars. It's just this. I'm not a teenager anymore. I'm not looking to flex with these automobiles. I'm just looking to have some fun. And, you know, I grew up in this, these towns are funny. I'll say this, like, there's a lot of money in these towns. I mean, the houses that are on the beach, you know, they're 10 to $15 million houses, like people have money, like there's, when you reach that supernal point where like, money's no issue. I always find it funny, because, you know, I have conversations in these in these wealthy towns. And I've grown up in these towns, I went to private schools with these kinds of kids. And there's a lot of insecurity where people right away talk about money. They size you up instantly. And I don't talk about that when I talk to people. It's like I try to talk about things or what did you do or what are you into or did you see this show? You know, let's talk about the acolyte, whatever it is. But I've noticed that trait in a lot of wealthy people, they're also very insecure. And it's an interesting trait. And my dad always raised me. He's like, look, nobody should ever bring up money. Like you shouldn't talk about how much your house costs or how much you make. Now, we talk about money with pins because none of that's private. All these pinball machines are publicly sold for an MSRP. But, you know, I think when you talk to people and the first thing out of their mouth is a financial question that's personal, insecure right away. Right away. I'll tell you real quick. I was talking to a neighbor on the block and he's like, yeah, we bought our house from this young couple and they moved to a house for $3.7 million in Darien. And I was like, all right. Why is that important? Why is that even part of the story? Like what? I don't. OK, cool. Are you promoting them? I don't know what. Does that make you feel small? Like, I don't know what what what do you want me to do with that information?
    50:46
    All right. So the acolyte is terrible, by the way. Like the one that there was a really cool lightsaber scene in it. But for the most part, Star Wars is dead.
    50:57
    You know, like Mandalorian put Star Wars back on the map and Star Wars pinball killed it. It wasn't even like the terrible shows. I think Andor was amazing. I think Mandalorian was amazing. I think Boba Fett was terrible. I thought Obi-Wan was terribly like, it was like interesting enough, but it just felt cheap. Star Wars needs to go back to the big screen. The problem is by the time it gets there, the damage Disney has done to this franchise, I don't know how you're going to reverse it because they've just got so much. Martin, nobody's watching Rebels. Can we like grown adults are not watching these animated series? It's just I get that Rebels and Clone Wars. But come on, grown adults are not watching this stuff.
    51:51
    You know, I don't want to have to like invest in a kid's show that's really meant for adults as a way to actually get good Star Wars storylines. I think it should happen in the theater. And I think that's where it should take place. The problem is with all of Disney now is the message is more important than the storyline. And it's like they're trying to make up for all the lack of diversity and this and that over the years. And they're just jamming it down everybody's throats now with every single installation or new show. But the good ones don't do that. Like Mandalorian didn't do that. Andor didn't do that. Like you can just have a good show or movie with a diverse cast and strong female characters and not have to make it about that because that's the big difference nowadays is like they like they make it about that. Like that the reason why the show exists versus the narrative and the story that going to pull everybody in And that bad storytelling It a distraction It's an absolute distraction.
    53:00
    You know, when they say like we need strong female characters and I'm like, well, what about Princess Leia? She's pretty damn strong. She was badass. You know, it is what it is, you know, I don't know. and the Disney stock price reflects the decisions they've made. You know, even as I'm watching Acolyte and I'm watching like the story and the acting, I mean, a lot of it is just terrible. It's just terrible. You know, the female lead in it, she's kind of just like wooden and sterile and the whole like identical twin thing is stupid and you don't really feel anything. Like there's these scenes where you're supposed to feel something for these characters and you're more just distracted by their images and their haircuts and the way the lines are so poorly delivered. It's terrible.
    53:57
    Look, I think getting back to pinball, let me ask you guys a question. What is the one game that you're looking forward to the most? We know there's a lot in the rumor mill, but not a lot has transpired. Like, what's the one game you really, really want and you want them to nail it? Like, what is it? What is it? Is it Back to the Future?
    54:26
    So Trent just said Goonies. We're going to talk about that in a minute because I think Goonies is interesting. Tony said Muppets.
    54:34
    David said Back to the Future. now it sucks that back to the future now is not until next year joe abadi said alice i you know the funny thing about joe is he's he's serious he's a huge fan of alice in wonderland and that's great i mean joe luckily for you you're gonna get it and it's gonna have your floating levitating upper play field how did they do that it's it's gonna be obvious how they did it it's easy to use like the angle at which you see a game to make an upper play field look like it's hovering. I mean, they all kind of do for the most part. Lost, Goonies, no Muppets. I love when you ask people like, what do you want? And they're like, not Muppets. That wasn't the question. Mario Brothers, Back to the Future, said Hector. Mad Max, said John. You know, Mad Max,
    55:33
    the Furiosa movie just bombed. Oh man, I would love Javier, the Ronald Moore Battlestar Galactica TV show with Edward James Olmos. Did I get his name right? Greg Colton will correct me. That show is insanely good. I don't know if there's enough, though, to warrant a pinball machine based on it, but it's really good. Eastbound and Down would be funny. I do think we need some comedy shows or movies as pinball machines. We got Prince, Sonic the Hedgehog, Van Halen. Let's see, Fallout. I think we need The Office. I think we need some, you know, Seinfeld. Some comedy would be good. Batman 89 done again would be great. Can you imagine if Steve Ritchie made Batman 89 as a Jersey Jack game? Let's just think about that for a minute. Batman 89, Steve Ritchie, Jersey Jack. The Abbas family gets the music from the Prince soundtrack for the game. Can you imagine that game? Way do they get a load of me. Can you imagine the clips from the movie, the mechs you can make, the Batmobile that like the shields pop up on the car,
    57:01
    the balloon from the Joker. Can you imagine going into the art museum as maybe an upper playfield, all the stuff you could do, the bat, like lower playfield bat cave. I'm just like at the point now where I'm tired of dreaming about these things and I'd like to see more of these companies hit with the magic now you know Dave said Steve Ritchie's Superman 78 now look I think a Superman machine would crush it right now and with the new movie coming out maybe now is the time to get that movie and put it into pinball form. Not iconic, though. The smarter bet would be to go with the Christopher Reeve movies because they're iconic. Rodney, thank you for the 100 stars. I can't even afford not even a soda with 185 stars. Robin Hood, Men in Tights, No, no, no, no. Guys, come on. Okay, I get it. It's a comedy. But like Ferris Bueller would be better.
    58:07
    I'm trying to think like, you know, Airplane would be good. Trying to think about the comedies. Well, yeah, and Kerry, you're not wrong. I think Stern is just like, everything's on the screen.
    58:23
    I'm a little like, I'm a little tired of seeing like Stern's approach, if you will. I, Stern's got to up, they got to up the ante. They really do have to up the ante. They have to make their games look better. I'm sorry, but they do. They have to make their games have more of a, of a sculpted world. The cheap plastic is just looking so thin now on their games. And you know, that's why they don't care about the mod community doing all the work for them. But, but man, for like 10 to $13,000, I shouldn't have to be spending all this money on mods to make the orca look like the orca or or jaws eat the ball or you know go down a list of things like they they i feel like they stopped certain games like godzilla i feel like they made an effort ghostbusters they made an effort but man it's so hit or miss with the stern and usually they just don't make an effort and they rely on the artwork and the lcd screen but But they don't really, like, why is putting good sculpts into the game so challenging for them? They don't do sculpts. Like, almost everything they do is flat plastic. Why? Why can't they have better sculpts in these stern? It would go such a long way in just making these stern machines look good. Thank you, Chris, for the stars. Because, like, the sculpts wouldn't break. you're just wrapping your game in a much nicer looking world. I don't understand why they can't do that. And again, the reason why they don't do it is because we're suckers and we'll buy the flat plastic crap. And I think it's unfortunate. Why we should be demanding more for this much money? They don't even give you a topper for $13,000.
    60:16
    It's crazy. If I told you five years ago you're going to be charged $13,000 for a 1,000 run LE and it comes with no topper and that you could accessorize a stern to be almost $16,000 with shooter rods and toppers. You would be like, get the F out. And this is a thousand run of a game. It's not even like it's a super LE where there's only 50 or 80. A thousand of them are out there. I don't know. I really don't know. it's going to be brutal man unless these companies can like really bring the value I think a lot of people are are tapping out I think a lot of people are just content with what they have and that's the biggest thing I would worry about if I was every single pinball company is that people will just reach a point where there's just enough good games or you know and there's enough great games that can be had now for great prices. I don't need the next thing. And what all of these pinball companies need is to keep the line going. They don't want you to be satisfied with what you have. But if everybody becomes satisfied with what they have, that's bad news for these manufacturing companies. So they've got to find that middle ground. And I'm telling you, they shot past it. The middle ground was when the nicest creme de la creme version of a stern was less than 10,000. The nicest Jersey Jack was less than 13,000. They've shot past that so significantly that it's just not gonna work. And I don't know, like, yeah, we could wait it out until a juggernaut theme comes, but what about all the other themes? Because then every John Wick is just a casualty of your pricing mistake. Every Venom is. And then all the people that bought those games, what do you say to those people? You know, after they lose all this money, they're not gonna go in on your next game. and so you're burning the candle at both ends and it's just not going to work. It's just not sustainable.
    62:39
    And look, the distro system is in trouble. Of course it's in trouble. There's just only so many deals you can do before like the deals are up. The deals are up. And it's weird, right? Because a lot of ways a dealer has to have the mentality of like a drug dealer. Like I got to keep you hooked and I know you're not going to feel the same high on the games you've owned for a while. And I need you to feel a new high with a new game. And look, that can get you only so far. And there's only so many people that will absorb all of these new games. And that's what I love about this hobby and covering it through this lens is that's the real challenge. How can a modern pinball company with a customer base that already has more than enough games than they ever really need. And you know I'm talking about you because I have only one machine and this is enough pinball to have in a house. It is like you don't need more. So how do I get a community that already has more than they even need, how do I get them to buy more of a 400 pound, hard to move, you know, game that a lot of them don't even play to begin with. So I think it's a really interesting time in the hobby. One is enough, Eric. I'm telling you, one is enough. I don't know, like, why would one not be enough? You know, when people come over, we play pinball. When I want to play pinball, I play pinball. I don't need more. Now, like, yeah, there's a lot of great games out there, but it's enough because unlike video games and it's the same way, like I play FIFA and I don't really play anything else. I play FIFA on Xbox because every game's different because I'm playing online. The same is true with a pinball machine. Every game is different because it's random, and no two games are the same. You can't say that for a lot of other video games and stuff out there.
    65:00
    Yeah, I'm the only one playing. I'm the only one playing. Now, look, I'm not indicting if you have more than enough, because I know most of you have way more than one, but my point being is you got those games. Most people got their games for a pretty decent price, right? When prices were like reasonable, they're not reasonable now. You need to think about it. Like the prices are not reasonable. Inflation means your dollar is worth much less money today than it was five years ago. So in a world in which your dollar doesn't go as far, you're going to throw it further on pinball machines that have gone up 40% in MSRP pricing over the same five years, and that is going to make you happier, that's going to sit well with you, that you could legitimately pay more money for a Foo Fighters with a topper than you did for a Batman SLE. like you really can wake up and feel good about that. Maybe some of you can. I would look at it like maybe it's a lot easier for me to adjust where happiness lies and what I'm looking for in life. And for me, look, look, I'm in a different stage than a lot of you. A lot of you, you've raised your kids, they're out of school, you've paid for colleges, you're in the golden years of your life, you've got money to burn, you don't care. I get it. I totally get it. I've got a four and a half week old baby. All right, I've got a three and a half year old champion. I'm just beginning. I'm just beginning the journey. A lot of you are well past. So this, to me, my priorities are not these things. It's education. It's cars that are safe to get them around in, even though I take Killian and the Demon. The Demon is safe, by the way. I mean, the thing is a tank. It is a tank. And the car seat fits nicely in the back. Because remember, it's built on a four-seater chassis, a Mercedes E-Class chassis.
    67:02
    I think a lot of us are, but a lot of you, I just, I feel it. I feel you guys are like kind of over it. You're over the FOMO new in box like insanity, and you're just slowing down a little bit. And that's going to put the pressure on, and I think it's good. And I don't think that's a negative. I think it just puts the onus on these companies to bring out better stuff and to innovate and to get the themes right. Who wouldn't want that? You know what I'm saying? It's weird. The only people that wouldn't want that are Stern's financial department. They want you to buy John Wick and not think about it.
    67:39
    Everybody, look. This has been a fun Saturday Morning Spectacular. Again, thank you to Chris Arcage for the $50 subscription to Canada's Pinball Podcast. For all you club members out there, thank you so much. More shows coming this week. I'm going back to work next week. It goes by fast. My paternity leave, I took eight weeks. I get 12. I took eight at once. And then I'm going to take the additional four later on in the year. It's amazing how fast time flies. It goes way too fast. I'm lucky I got paternity leave and did the house move because of all the work that had to be done. I can't imagine moving while you're working, coming home every night to boxes and boxes. No, we're like settled because we've had time. But I also have a little bit of time to play some Guns and Roses right now, which I want to do because Brenda took the kids to the store. So I don't get to crank this thing and enjoy it very often is what I'm saying. So I'm going to let you guys go. I'm going to go have a great day. You guys have a great day. I'm going to go play some GNR and be content with my one machine. I've also by the way I adjusted the code in the game there is some great gentleman on Pinside who really went through the new code and adjusted the code so that you know there's not as many multi balls but there's still multi balls but it's such a better code because it's not just the multi balls that he dials down it's really about when you start a song it doesn't just endlessly keep feeding you balls for the first like minute and a half of the song because I always hated that. Like you just don't feel like you can focus on what you wanna shoot because you're just slapping at the balls. And so he's minimized that so much with the new code settings, which makes each song now way more enjoyable. I feel like I'm actually knowing what I'm shooting at. It gives me time to read what's on the screen to know where to shoot. and it just allows you a much more intimate connection to the gameplay. So I think Jersey Jack should look at some of those settings because they're just settings. Like he didn't have to do any major coding. He didn't do any coding. He just changed the settings. And I think it works much better. I love the pin woofer system. I put pin woofer into this game. I know some people like it. Some people don't. It doesn't need an external sub. It rocks. and it really, really rocks. I mean, let me show you guys. Hold on a second. And then we'll end this. I'm going to say goodbye to the subscribers right now, but I'll walk you over and we'll crank it.