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The Pinball Show Ep 144 BONUS: More Bally Williams Remakes, A NEW Scooby Doo Topper, A Princess Bride Tease, & The Return Of Pinburgh

Pinball Show Patreon Feed·podcast_episode·28m 39s·analyzed·Jan 7, 2024
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.032

TL;DR

Bally Williams remake deal, Pulp Fiction production, Princess Bride tease, Scooby-Doo topper, Pinburgh returns.

Summary

The Pinball Show discusses major industry developments: Planetary Pinball licensing Bally/Williams IP to Pedretti Gaming and Pinball Brothers (via Euro Pinball Corp), Chicago Gaming's Pulp Fiction remake in production, rumors of Multimorphic developing Princess Bride for the P3 system, Spooky Pinball launching an officially licensed Scooby-Doo topper with advanced features, and the return of Pinburgh in 2024 as a smaller, intimate 128-player tournament with controversial F5-based ticket sales.

Key Claims

  • Planetary Pinball has secured licensing rights to Bally/Williams IP in collaboration with Pedretti Gaming and Pinball Brothers through Euro Pinball Corp

    high confidence · Hosts discussing recent industry news; framed as confirmed 'big news' that 'hit right after our episode'

  • Chicago Gaming has Pulp Fiction on multiple production lines with SEs beginning to roll out in coming weeks

    high confidence · Host claims recent conversation with Chicago Gaming; stated as definitive production update

  • Chicago Gaming is undergoing facility renovations/expansion to increase pinball production capacity after historically leaning on cabinetry

    medium confidence · Host reports from recent CGC conversation; described as 'preparing for more pinball production in the future'

  • Multimorphic has secured the Princess Bride license and will develop it for the P3 system

    medium confidence · Host references 'rumblings' and speculation; not officially confirmed but attributed to credible rumor source

  • Spooky Pinball launched an officially licensed Scooby-Doo Where Are You topper priced around $900+ with RGB lighting, molded components, and integrated LCD screen with episode content

    high confidence · Host provides detailed product specification from recent launch; describes it as 'unveiled this last week'

  • Planetary Pinball allegedly mandates the use of Fast boards for manufacturers it grants licenses to

    medium confidence · Host states 'I've heard, alleged, allegedly Planetary mandates'; explicitly hedged as unconfirmed claim

  • Pinburgh 2024 will be smaller (128 players) and more intimate than the original Pinburgh, with plans to expand annually

    high confidence · Confirmed announcement; hosts discuss confirmed return with Papa (organizer) present in conversation

  • CGC's build quality is superior but their production speed is too slow, leaving money on the table and causing customer frustration with wait times

Notable Quotes

  • “I think Planetary wisely wants to find someone else who can turn out product because money is just left on the table here.”

    Host@ 3:27 — Explains strategic motivation for Planetary's licensing deal with Pedretti/Pinball Brothers over CGC

  • “What I see is Planetary now has three deals, and only one of them builds in America, and most of the market's in America.”

    Host@ 4:41 — Raises concern about overseas manufacturing logistics and shipping costs impacting customer pricing

  • “They just freaking nailed it. I hope that Euro Pinball Corp or Pedretti I hope they follow that model more so than the liberties they taken with some of the 2.0 kits.”

    Host@ 7:04 — Establishes expectation that CGC's design philosophy should be template for Pedretti remakes

  • “I'm already lamenting that I went with – Of course, hindsight's 20-20, but I'm lamenting I didn't get an Attack from Mars remake when I could have.”

    Host@ 8:50 — Shows customer regret about CGC availability/production delays affecting purchasing decisions

  • “It's not just 2D plastics. A lot of features on this. And it's going over very, very, very well.”

    Host@ 15:35 — Indicates unexpected market success for premium Scooby-Doo topper despite $900+ price

  • “The F5 bullshit is stupid. It's stupid when they do it for sneaker sales and it's stupid when they do it for Pinburgh.”

    Co-host @ ~Pinburgh discussion — Criticizes F5 (February 5th) ticket sales method as unfair and outdated; advocates for lottery system

  • “You better not talk the talk unless you can walk the walk. 120-something ain't walking the walk.”

    Co-host@ 24:22 — Challenges legitimacy of calling 128-player event 'Pinburgh' given historical size and prestige of brand

Entities

Planetary PinballcompanyPedretti GamingcompanyPinball BrotherscompanyEuro Pinball CorpcompanyChicago Gaming CompanycompanySpooky PinballcompanyMultimorphic

Signals

  • ?

    product_strategy: Planetary Pinball shifting from single-partner CGC model to multi-manufacturer licensing deals with Pedretti Gaming and Pinball Brothers for Bally/Williams remakes to accelerate production and capture market demand

    high · Confirmed announcement of Euro Pinball Corp partnership; hosts identify CGC production bottleneck as motivation

  • ?

    manufacturing_signal: Chicago Gaming undertaking facility renovations and expanding pinball production lines after historically prioritizing cabinetry; Pulp Fiction in multi-line production with SEs shipping in coming weeks

    high · Host reports recent conversation with CGC confirming facility changes and production ramp-up

  • ?

    product_concern: CGC's superior build quality offset by slow production speed and long customer wait times; community frustration documented with customers regretting purchases they couldn't obtain

    high · Host states 'fans who try and get all the CGC games who are pissed at CGC at this point' and personal regret about Attack from Mars availability

  • $

    market_signal: Hosts debate shipping cost implications of overseas manufacturing (Euro Pinball Corp in Italy) vs. domestic production; concern that international logistics inflate final customer pricing

    medium · Extended discussion about Haggis delays and shipping expense impact on market viability of remakes

  • ?

    announcement: Spooky Pinball launches officially licensed Scooby-Doo Where Are You topper with advanced features (RGB lighting, LCD screen, molded components) priced ~$900+; unexpected strong market reception

Topics

Bally/Williams Remake Licensing StrategyprimaryManufacturing Capacity and Production Speed ConstraintsprimaryChicago Gaming Pulp Fiction ProductionprimarySpooky Pinball Scooby-Doo Premium Topper LaunchprimaryMultimorphic Princess Bride P3 System GameprimaryPinburgh 2024 Tournament Return and FormatprimaryFast Board System StandardizationsecondaryIP Licensing Complexity and AvailabilitysecondaryOverseas vs. Domestic Manufacturing Trade-offssecondary

Sentiment

mixed(0.45)— Hosts express optimism about industry developments (Pinburgh return, new games, innovation) but concern about manufacturing decisions (overseas production, Planetary licensing liberties, CGC delays, Pinburgh format legitimacy). Tone shifts between enthusiastic news coverage and critical analysis of business strategy.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.086

0:00
Warning, the following episode contains adult language and screaming goats. Listener discretion is advised. The Pinball Network is online. Launching the Pinball Show. Thanks again for the ongoing support as a Pinball Show Club member. Enjoy this exclusive TPS content and make sure to visit the Pinball Show Club Discord to chat about the bonus material. exclusive club membership content dennis thank you thank you all all to the uh to the subscription
0:36
to the following us uh we we really appreciate it and we've got a lot to talk about such as this is big news a couple of weeks ago it hit right after our episode but securing the rights to bally williams licensing in collaboration with planetary pinball pedretti gaming yeah that one I felt was out of left field, at least to me. Right. Now, I heard some rumblings of Pinball Brothers, but then Pedretti Gaming, we know Pedretti
1:06
Gaming from the kits, Sui and the WorldWin 2.0, or no, the Rudy's Funhouse 2.0 and WorldWin 2.0. They did those kits. And so I'm still kind of confused, even as a dealer of Pinball Brothers. euro pinball corp was i think combined by the makes of pedretti gaming and pinball brothers that was my understanding although i didn't know about it being called euro corp yeah euro pinball
1:38
your core core yeah i think uh that was that was like six months ago they announced that even longer possibly now who's going to be selling these bally williams remakes i don't know i i I went to ask Pinball Brothers. I said, hey, are we able to sell these games? Do I have to request dealership? How is that going to work? And Pinball Brothers said, hey, we think the world is flipping out. Pinball, hang tight.

high confidence · Host opinion based on customer feedback and market observation; states 'fans who try and get all the CGC games who are pissed at CGC at this point'

  • “The games were never the bottleneck for Pinburgh's size in the past. But now it is another factor.”

    Host@ 28:10 — Identifies practical constraint preventing Pinburgh revival: lack of accessible game collection for tournament setup

    • company
    Stern Pinballcompany
    American Pinballcompany
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    CGCcompany
    Haggiscompany
    Fastcompany
    Pinburghevent
    Replay Foundationorganization
    Pinball Arcadeproduct
    Back Alley Creationscompany
    Warner Brotherscompany
    Josh Sharpperson
    Papaperson

    high · Host provides detailed product specifications and reports 'it is multidimensional...it's going over very, very, very well'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Community debate over Spooky shifting from free topper model to $900+ premium accessory; some concern about extracting previously-included features into paid add-ons, but hosts acknowledge quality and optional nature

    medium · Host notes criticism: 'I'm tired of buying a collectible edition thinking it's the top of the thing, and there be features and stuff that's not in the game'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Multimorphic rumored to have secured Princess Bride license for P3 system; hosts received mysterious preview images but details remain speculative; teaser emails sent to select community members

    medium · Host received email about Princess Bride pinball being 'real and it's coming'; references 'rumblings that Multimorphic is the one that secured the license'; some community members received playfield closeup images

  • ?

    event_signal: Pinburgh competitive pinball tournament returns in 2024 as 128-player event; smaller format than historical size but plans for annual expansion; significant community excitement but debate over ticket sales method and legitimacy of branding

    high · Papa present in conversation confirming return; hosts describe 'overwhelmingly positive feedback' but ongoing disagreement about F5 sales method and tournament structure

  • ?

    community_signal: Significant community debate over Pinburgh 2024 F5 (February 5th) refresh ticket sales method; co-host argues lottery system would be fairer, particularly for international players; criticism of nostalgia-farming via outdated sales format

    high · Extended discussion with co-host stating 'The F5 bullshit is stupid' and advocating lottery alternative; acknowledges historical reasons for multi-ticket limits no longer apply

  • ?

    technology_signal: Fast board system increasingly dominant standard for third-party manufacturers; shift away from Multimorphic's historical multi-manufacturer arrangements; alleged Planetary mandate for Fast boards in licensed games

    medium · Host notes 'Fast has latched on with so many entities that don't want to develop their own board set now' and references alleged Planetary mandate (hedged as 'alleged, allegedly')

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Hosts emphasize CGC's approach to remakes (respecting classic appeal while modernizing with lighting/animations) as model for Pedretti remakes; concern about Pedretti's 2.0 kit history of taking 'liberties' with original designs

    medium · Host states 'They just freaking nailed it. I hope that Euro Pinball Corp or Pedretti I hope they follow that model more so than the liberties they taken with some of the 2.0 kits'

    • 2:08
    More information will come out early in 2024. Okay. So I don't know if there's a partnership. Well, that's weird that they don't know yet. Well, they might know. They might not want to tell me. oh well i guess letting you down softly is kind so i don't oh come on everybody wants flipping out selling their games then yeah if you're allergic to money then yeah sure don't have flipping out so games so i don't what do you think they build what do you think they make do you think they kit these damn things or do you think they actually remake them like cgc yeah cgc and don't
    2:43
    forget haggis so this is not the second time even that planetary has turned to another uh company to work with, to collaborate with, to do essentially remakes, maybe remake pluses, kind of like CCR Plus, if that ever comes out. I meant the finalized software. Obviously, the games are coming out to some degree. They're still building, yeah. Yeah, so, and I guess maybe the, in a way, I think it's smart because whatever's going on with CGC, it's too slow.
    3:15
    It's way too slow. The money's being left on the table. It doesn't matter if they're built like a tank. I know fans who try and get all the CGC games who are pissed at CGC at this point. And so I think Planetary wisely wants to find someone else who can turn out product because money is being just left on the table here. Haggis does not have the speed. Nor do they really have the focus right now. No, no, no. They seem like they're older solid-state kind of stuff. Sure. Well, I mean, they went with what they felt comfortable with working on, and they've got their system now that they're going to do that with.
    3:49
    And likewise, them noting that they still plan to continue to work with CGC keeps that opportunity and that door open. The thing that confused me was I thought, especially after the situation with Haggis, going with another overseas manufacturer just seems like a big mistake unless the plan is to focus on the European market. And I don't think that's the plan. That's why I would have thought you would naturally want to have a conversation with another company like American Pinball or someone who's got building capacity but doesn't have any good products to make.
    4:24
    Yeah, but what if they have some type of entity, some type of landing here in the States as well? I mean, it's possible. I'm just going off of what I see, what's out in the open and I see. And what I see is Planetary now has three deals, and only one of them builds in America, and most of the market's in America. I'm not doing it from like an American perspective. It's solely about shipping costs.
    4:54
    That's your biggest market is the U.S. And everything. I mean, it's expensive to get games from Australia, and that has to end up in the bottom line of the bill to the customer. and it takes products that might be within reach and pushes them, because we're not talking like $200 here. No, no. That's why I'm not quite sure there, but Planetary may just be confident that Pajerati, after working with the fast board system, which was mentioned as that's what these are going to be built off of,
    5:25
    for the Bally Williams stuff, that they have the competence to. It's kind of an accessory board kind of operating system for a lot of companies now. Fast has latched on with so many entities that don't want to develop their own board set now. It's interesting to me because I would have said five years ago it seemed like Multimorphic had all those arrangements. But now it seems like they've all gone to Fast. And part of it is I've heard Planetary. I've heard, alleged, allegedly Planetary mandates the use of Fast boards for people that they grant license to.
    5:58
    So there's a relationship there. Hmm. My worry is that Planetary sometimes licenses things out that even me as a, I'm not like a veteran hobbyist, but I've been in here. I've got my, got my coin day fixed back off. I've been in the industry long enough where even some of the stuff that they approve as licensed, I'm like, come on guys. Like, do we not care about some of the classic appeal of these IPs?
    6:29
    It's like, man, the liberties that they take sometimes make me question what's most important for an entity like Planetary, whether it is money or whether, you know, I don't know. I think it's pretty clearly it's money. Yeah. So that scares me a little bit. But I think CGC just nailed it with making what's old, everything that we loved about what was nostalgic, but bringing into a modern world what we love about the modern lighting effects and the animations and toppers.
    7:04
    They just freaking nailed it I hope that Euro Pinball Corp or Pedretti I hope they follow that model more so than the liberties they taken with some of the 2 kits That's what I hope, because that will bum me out, man. Well, as long as the original code is available, though, like they're bringing up their own characters and art and like, no. Right. Right. Well, yeah. But those I mean, the whole 2.0 kit thing was, you know, Bride of Pinbot 2.0. I didn't like that either.
    7:35
    Well, the game wasn't very good to start with. So they tried to make it into something that was more fun to play and not so one trick. And some people thought it worked and some people thought it didn't. And then there just became this rash of, hey, let's just try and make these games. It was big in the homebrew scene, too. A lot of people were just kind of like, I just want to take an old game like this and just make it feel better than what we know now versus all the flaws in the old days. And so I would assume with this licensing collaboration that it's not going to be just a bunch of kits.
    8:08
    I would hope not, that it will actually be actual remakes. And I suppose if I had my druthers about it, it would be that Planetary would still steer all the – like if Twilight Zone's in play – I'm not a Twilight Zone fan, but if it's in play, you'd want Chicago to do it. But Pedretti can do Gilligan's Island. Well, I will say Pinball Brothers has been making wide-body games for a while. Well, and again, it would just be – Pedretti might be – build quality-wise, it's going to –
    8:41
    no one's going to be seen as capable of beating CGC. It's just how it is. But the problem is people are tired of waiting years to get a CGC game. And it's – I mean, I'm already lamenting that I went with – Of course, hindsight's 20-20, but I'm lamenting I didn't get an Attack from Mars remake when I could have. Because it's like, are they ever going to build it again? And even if they said they would, I wouldn't believe I could get it for a year. And I think if I'm going into the remakes and I'm remaking stuff, but I don't want to put in the effort it would take licensing something like an Indiana Jones, per se.
    9:18
    Maybe I look into Twilight Zone. Because that's pretty nostalgic and classic. Yeah, but I mean because of the – with the host and his involvement in the – I mean I just remember from Pinball Arcade, the thing prior to Zen, Pinball Arcade, virtual pinball, video game pinball. They – when they did their Twilight Zone, like it was – they struggled with the licensing because it was a real show and there was the estate of the host was a big deal. I don't remember if they ended up securing it or if they ended up not using him for the virtual one.
    9:56
    I think they got it squared away, like they did a Kickstarter because they need the money for it. So I think it was Adam's family where they couldn't secure Christopher Lloyd. I know Adam's family is tough. Yeah, Adam's family, Indiana Jones, Terminator could be tough. Oh, that could be tough. I wouldn't think it would be that tough to get from Stoker's Dracula. I don't see them. Shadow, maybe, because I just don't think it's expensive. I see them doing, you know, the European man.
    10:26
    They love that J-pop stuff. Well, that's the thing. People have been begging for Theater of Magic. Twilight Zone, I think, or Theater of Magic. And what makes me think that is they have licensed out from Planetary the IPs to make toppers for Theater of Magic. Did you know that? Yeah. Technically, there's an official topper. Same with, I believe, Elvira's Scared Stiff they may have licensed out. I don't think they make Scared Stiff again, but they aren't as Twilight Zone.
    10:59
    I think they Twilight Zoned a topper. They made a Twilight Zone topper. Those are the two I think they would make. Now, regardless, CGC, I've talked to Chicago Gaming recently. They indicate that they've got Pulps on a line, building up a line for Pulp Fiction. How about that for some news? And we should start seeing those in the coming weeks. Some of the SEs start to roll out, I believe. So they've got a couple of lines they're building. And over at CGC, they're doing some, I don't know, renovations is the word.
    11:36
    They're preparing for more pinball production in the future. I'll say that. They leaned heavily on cabinetry and stuff in the past. They're really going all in on pinball in the future. And preparation-wise, it is taking them a lot of time to do so. Okay. Well, it looks really amateur. so i mean no one else is no one else is having this level of build difficulty no argument there i need to see pulp fiction i mean jeez come on yeah people are going to want to drop out of that
    12:09
    and get jaws now i've been hearing about princess bride what what are we doing with princess bride did you get the email i didn't get i i i got one back when and i first i thought it was someone pulling my leg we scared because well well because tony and i on eclectic gamers podcast had made mention of Princess Bride on the episode that we dropped the episode two days before. And then I get this email about Princess Bride pinball is real and it's coming. And I'm like, oh yeah. Email us back if you want
    12:39
    to be included in all that. Because I think we were kind of talking about it might have been the one when Labyrinth came out because I think Princess Bride is a stronger theme than Labyrinth. So I would have preferred to see that. But anyway, I did not get this latest email that I then heard some people got information. Some people got like a picture of a screen of a, of a closeup of the play field or something. Yeah. It was a plastic or a captive ball or something like that. I didn't get it because I didn't sign up for the email.
    13:11
    I think I replied with like, Oh yeah, no, I replied with like, if I were you, I'd want the exposure. So I don't blame you for reaching out, but you're gonna have to give me more than that. If you're wanting me to pay attention. Yeah, we didn't do it for a mystery pinball company. I'm not, I'm not doing it for anything. But I'll talk about the speculation of Princess Bride. I think for a lot of people it's a good theme for pinball. There were some rumblings that Multimorphic is the one that secured the license for this. Oh, really? So we may see that on the P3 system, which selfishly for me I'm glad because Princess Bride as a theme does zero for me.
    13:46
    And the P3 system at this point does zero for me. So I think it's a match made in heaven. I don't want it to bog down. If you get a theme that you want, you don't want to bog down a manufacturer that you really enjoy their games. But I think it's – Well, I understand the perspective. It's interesting that you're not into Princess Bride. I just never landed with me. I don't know why. I get it, and I understand why people like it, but it's conceivable for me. Okay. Well another EGP reference when I did our year review Tony and I had a discussion about how in our opinion Multimorphic needs another licensed game if the goal is to sell more P3 units
    14:28
    And I think this – I mean, if they're the ones that have Princess Bride, I think it actually moves the platform. I agree. I think it's a good choice for Jerry and team if this is indeed true. Absolutely. It'd be hard to argue against that. What does Spooky Pinball have? A topper. Ooh, they got a lot of fair sleeves, including a Scooby-Doo topper accessory. I didn't see this coming. Well, I did because, I mean, come on. I did because, but when they approached me to tell me,
    14:58
    hey, I think we're going to make an accessory topper, and I said, guys, you guys fucked that up. You give free toppers away. What do you mean you're going to make it? They were like, people seem to enjoy toppers. We think we could have some fun and bring a lot to our customers that are looking for more elaborate, complex toppers. So I think we're going to take a stab at it. And I was like, all right, I'm in. What are you guys doing? So they launched and unveiled this last week an officially licensed Scooby-Doo Where Are You Pinball topper.
    15:33
    It's not just 2D plastics. A lot of features on this. I'll give them credit. And it's going over very, very, very well. I didn't know if it would go over well because everybody with a CE already has a topper, so I didn't know if people would buy a $900-something topper. But it is multidimensional, so it has layered plastics. It is RGB integrated throughout the topper, so it gives you status and information through the use of lighting, such as the framed villains in the plastics.
    16:04
    They light up different colors if you've started the mode, if you've completed the mode. Think like Game of Thrones official topper kind of thing. And then there is a, everybody likes a mold. They don't want just 2D plastics. There's a molded bookcase right in the center, a Back Alley Creations molded bookcase. And then that bookcase opens up a secret passage to unveil an LCD screen. And then, listener, the LCD screen showcases content from the classic episodes that are themed around these modes that you're not going to get in the game. So you get extra visual content.
    16:36
    You get a video mode. You get multi-ball animations, specific animations. Some really cool stuff on this topper. But you didn't get a chance to see the promo video that had the Easter egg at the end of it. No, it was just too difficult to load. Too difficult to load. So what do you think about spooky pinball coming out with a topper? I know you don't care about toppers. But what does this do when you hear of this?
    17:10
    It tells me they were supposed to give it away for free. Really? That's what they do. Yeah. So you think it's a bad move? I mean, if they're selling well, it's not a bad move because then they're selling well. But I do think when, you know, here's the problem with having done them for free initially, because I think people may look and go, well, now you're taking stuff out of games and selling it separate to make an easy thousand. We have heard of that. We've heard of, damn it, I'm tired of buying a collectible edition thinking it's the top of the thing,
    17:42
    and there be features and stuff that's not in the game. We have heard of some of that. Well, I mean, I see both perspectives. I do, too. I do think it's cool for people, especially when you don't have to have it. This is an option. And I think that it lends itself well to spooky pinball being some of the most competitively priced, fully featured games on the market. Arguably one of the best. They've already got their top of the line edition priced at a certain premium.
    18:15
    If they want to make an accessory that some people may or may not want, so be it. I don't think it's a big deal at all. And they're diversifying. They're finding ways to continue revenue by doing things that make people happy, and they're extending their licensing and relationships with Warner Brothers. I mean, I don't know. But I do see the argument of, damn it, why don't I get a video mode? I get that, too. Papa? There he is.
    18:46
    Oh, hey. Papa's returning with Pinbird. Hello. Sorry. The labyrinth creeps in sometimes. Come inside. Make the messes. Baby's first Pinnberg. Yeah. Smallest Pinnberg ever. Don't swallow the worm. Pinnberg 2024. It's back, and it's smaller than ever. I was going to say bigger than ever. Yeah, it's quaint. It's cute. It's an intimate affair. People are freaking out about getting a ticket to this thing. How many are there? Like 125?
    19:16
    Yeah, 128, something like that. 120 something. The plan, I guess, is to do Pemberg in 2024 and continue to expand it every year, maybe. Yeah, I love this idea. Most of the community is in love with this idea. They they are frothing at the mouth. The competitive scene is in a tizzy that Pemberg is back. I think overwhelmingly positive feedback thus far about the idea that Pemberg is returning. People don't like the fact that
    19:47
    They're going to have to on February 5th You know refresh refresh To try to get one of those rare Golden tickets But you know what Not both grandpas got to go to Wonka's factory It was only Grandpa Joe Yeah I um I don't know I hear everybody We'll do a lottery system Oh come on They should do a lottery system It's not fun. Everybody gets a medal, too.
    20:17
    I know they're leaning into that. Everybody should give Division A, too, right? No. They always preached about, I mean, if this is really Pinnberg and not fake Pinnberg, which is what it sounds like to me, quite frankly. Fake Pinnberg. Well, because what's special about this other than that they've got the name? It's not the same. They don't have the same games. No, but it's still the structure in the group that's putting it together. Doesn't Yagpin do this format? Yeah, but who did it first? Who did it better? This isn't the real – this is a false pretend-bearer.
    20:48
    Yagpin? Isn't Yagpin – that's a foreign entity. America? It's not the biggest tournament in the world anymore. District 82, like, has bigger tournaments than this. What is this, a tournament for ants? Yeah. Look, I'm fine with this, and it's clearly got people excited, but I'm just saying, like, I don't know that we need to do everything the same garbage way that it used to be run. and I know that sounds a little harsh but we're behind the paywall
    21:19
    and I'm telling you guys I telling y that this F5 bullshit is stupid it stupid when they do it for sneaker sales and it stupid when they do it god well because you get releases because bots and stuff scoop all this you know how it is your sneaker head the bots and stuff's creeping the whole reason i that i recall why they continue to do the f5 nonsense in the old days was you could buy multiple tickets
    21:51
    with one purchase. And it used to be like nine. And they scaled it down, I think, to five in the end. But the reason was that there were some people that would be like, I'm not going to go to Pinnberg unless me and my brother and my friend, that we could all do it together. So that was sort of their logic for, well, we can't do a lottery system because then we'll break families apart. And their tears would flow like wine and all of this nonsense. And so that's why they did it. But now, if I remember reading this one right, Baby's First Pemburg, it's one ticket per purchase.
    22:26
    So if that's the case, why don't you just let people sign up, lotto it, because how is it fair to what time are you going to pick? That's not going to be fair to all time zones, especially if there's going to be international people who want to go. I'm just saying this is not the most fair way to do it. It adds to the drama. It's the drama, the part of the drama that no one cares about. At best, it's trying to farm free karma nostalgia points off of the old way, but the old way was bad. I think it's so clever that they're calling it F5 day.
    22:58
    February 5th, F5 refresh. Come on. Yeah, no, I get it. They've leaned into it. Just like how it's half the fun, I'm sure, for Josh Sharp to do his let's do a rules change release on April Fool's Day, but it's actually real. That's crazy. Well, it happened. It happened one time, and I think on accident, and now it's sort of a joke. But, you know, I get it, and they're leaning into it. They're trying to have fun with it.
    23:28
    Hey, some people may. I would have just, like, if we're, if Pember's getting a new breath of life, I would have been trying to fix things. What about, do you think the first Pember that they ever held was as big as it was at the last year? It had to grow in time. It did grow. However, we have to remember that Pinnberg, like branded Pinnberg, that doesn't go like back to the early 2000s. There was the Papa Circuit, which was smaller and intimate. And honestly, I think that's what they should have branded this as given its size.
    24:00
    You're on Bruce Knight and deal with it right now. Okay. Well, because this is – There's no prestige in the Papa Circuit. It doesn't even roll off the tongue. Spoken like a true non-competitive player. Yeah, this is Pinnberg, baby. Pinnberg's got the balls. It's the big kahuna. The big kahuna. This is the grand stage. The center stage. Except here's the problem with calling it Pinberg. You know, you better not talk the talk unless you can walk the walk. 120-something ain't walking the walk. It ain't the biggest show. It ain't the biggest tournament.
    24:30
    And that's what it was. It doesn't need to be. Well, I'm fascinated that – well, as a sponsor, I suppose I'm not. But I would be if you weren't fascinated that the – like if you were to ask the everyday plebe what is special about Pinnberg versus anything else, it would have been, oh, yeah, it's the biggest competitive tournament in the world. And now it's not. So it's not Pinnberg. It's Pinnberg. I think in addition to them saying it's the biggest, they would have said it's the most enjoyable. It is the greatest.
    25:01
    Not just it's the biggest because sometimes bigger isn't always the best. It just so happened. This 12 inches worked really well on Pinnberg's team. And it's only two right now. And there's some other aspects to this new one, the smaller, more intimate one. I mean, one of the other things was because of Pinnberg's size, one of the reasons why people loved it so much, I agree, wasn't just that it was the biggest. But in the end, they were able to have A, B, C, and D divisions. You actually got people grouped at similar skill levels.
    25:33
    I don't think with 120 some people that they're going to be able to do that many breakout groups. What I would say is if this is what it takes to get to what we had in the past, then I'm all for it. That's fantastic. Because even not being a competitive pinball player, Pinberg in its glory was everything to this hobby. almost so much so that I nearly played in the damn thing and I've never played in a tournament in my life.
    26:04
    So maybe it's not the Pembroke of old in 2024. Maybe it's not in 2025. But if its goal is to progress to become what it once was, then not only will I support it, I will, as my bias shows, be one of the official sponsors in flipping out pinball of Pembroke because I believe in the group running it, and I believe in the goals that they do have. But, yeah, I agree. It's not what it – 2024 is, you know, it's a Jaws 3D type of year.
    26:40
    For me, it's – I am actually, as harsh as I may have sounded, I'm totally fine with them bringing back Pemberg in this particular format. It's not the way I would have done it, but, hey, I'm not the one doing the work, so they get to do it the way they want to do it. I am unconvinced that there's actually a strategy on how to get it back to the old Pinberg. I think that they're saying it because it sounds good, and I do believe that's truly their goal. But they are starting from a very different position than when there was a nonprofit that controlled all of the games that were able to be there, and they sold that collection off.
    27:14
    And so without rebuilding the collection, I could try in Kansas City to organize an event, use the local collectors, and bring in enough games to match it. But keeping them fine-tuned, keeping them set up ahead of time before going to the event, that was all stuff that Replay Foundation was able to do when they owned the collection so that they weren't doing everything the day before the tournament. That cannot happen now. and maybe they could get there eventually but i don't think there's this ongoing plan especially
    27:44
    with today's pricing uh even though we're down from pandemic levels uh to you know it was basically one very very wealthy collector who had like owned all that stuff and you know without that that's the key to getting back to the old pinberg without it being like a 20-year glide path and i'm not even sure you could do it in 20 if the plan is just well we'll try and add a few more people every year. I don't think so. The games were never the bottleneck for Pemberg's size in the past.
    28:14
    But now it is another factor. We'll just have to wait and see. That's the end of this segment, guys. You can turn it off. Hit that F5 button. Hit it! Get it! I think there's going to be some clever ways to maybe win a ticket to Pemberg, too. coming soon. Yeah, now you can click off now.