Episode 1205: "Some News to Chew On"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·13m 32s·analyzed·Mar 31, 2026

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 (batch) · $0.013

TL;DR

Pokemon LE delayed on parts; Circus Voltaire HD remake confirmed; Dutch Pinball pursuing Big Lebowski Jesus edition.

Summary

Kaneda discusses Stern's Pokemon LE production pause (waiting on cosmetic parts), confirms an HD screen remake of Circus Voltaire by American Pinball with new artwork, reports Houdini shipments resuming (100 units in 30 days), and rumors Dutch Pinball plans a Jesus edition of Big Lebowski to fill revenue gaps before Back to the Future release. He also reflects on Deep Root Pinball's failure, predicts market oversaturation and price declines for older titles, and thanks supporters for a military pinball donation initiative.

Key Claims

Stern Pinball paused Pokemon LE production after fulfilling custom-numbered orders, waiting on cosmetic parts (possibly purple armor or artwork).
high confidence · Kaneda, directly reporting from insider sources, episode main discussion point
Circus Voltaire remake will feature HD screen below glass, new artwork by Brian Allen, and tweaks for increased replay value; American Pinball plans to produce ~150 units initially with exact total numbers disclosed at reveal.
high confidence · Kaneda reporting from direct communication with American Pinball leadership
American Pinball has made ~50 Houdinis and will complete all 100 units and ship within 30 days.
medium confidence · Kaneda citing conversation with Brian (American Pinball leadership)
Dutch Pinball is planning a Jesus edition variant of Big Lebowski to generate revenue between Alice production end and Back to the Future release.
medium confidence · Kaneda reporting as rumor from insider sources; notes rumor may have been reported elsewhere
Big Lebowski secondary market pricing has collapsed: NIB dealer stock at $11,500-$12,000 (vs $13,500 MSRP), open boxes ~$10,500.
high confidence · Kaneda citing market observation
Deep Root Pinball (Robert Mueller) burned through ~$60 million without producing a single game despite public promises at pinball shows.
medium confidence · Kaneda reflecting on historical Deep Root failure; characterizing community response as having applauded Mueller at shows
Kaneda's Pinball Podcasts was the only pinball podcast that publicly skeptical of charlatans like Robert Mueller and Damien Harton (Haggis Pinball).
medium confidence · Kaneda's first-person account and editorial position
Pinball prices have hit a ceiling due to inflation and supply chain costs; prices unlikely to decline further despite efficiency gains.
medium confidence · Kaneda's economic analysis and prediction

Notable Quotes

“if it smells like crap and it looks like crap, it's probably crap”
Kaneda @ ~early episode — Kaneda's editorial philosophy on skepticism toward industry charlatans; self-positioning as critical voice
“He burned through like $60 million of other people's money. We have gotten a lot better at sniffing out these charlatans.”
Kaneda @ ~4:00 — Summarizes Deep Root Pinball collapse and suggests community learning from past failures
“They made all of the games that people specifically asked for a number. So if you paid extra to get a specific number of Pokemon, your game has been made.”
Kaneda @ ~5:30 — Key production status update on Pokemon LE inventory prioritization
“I think there's so many new people in pinball... The only thing is inflation has really hit everybody in the world.”
Kaneda @ ~20:00 — Links market growth to inflation dynamics and economic context
“I think we're going to see a catastrophic decline in pricing on some of these older titles. I think we're going to get to the place of $3,000 Stern Pros... There's just too many of them.”
Kaneda @ ~22:30 — Prediction of market oversaturation and secondary market collapse; investment warning
“the moment I hit 800, I'm just going to turn into some energy force and evaporate up into the pinball heavens”
Kaneda @ ~end — Humorous meta-commentary on podcast subscriber milestone

Entities

Kanedaperson Robert MuellerpersonDamien HartonpersonBrian Allenperson Chris TurnerpersonBrian VincentpersonAndrew HighwaypersonStern Pinballcompany

Signals

?
product_launch: Stern Pinball paused Pokemon LE production after fulfilling custom-numbered orders; awaiting cosmetic parts (suspected purple armor or artwork elements) before resuming general inventory build.
high · Direct report from Kaneda citing insider sources; specific details about numbered order fulfillment and parts bottleneck
?
machine_intel: American Pinball confirms Circus Voltaire remake with HD screen technology below glass, new artwork by Brian Allen, and production commitment of ~150 units with exact numbers to be announced at reveal.
high · Kaneda reports direct communication with American Pinball; specific technical details (HD screen, Brian Allen artwork) confirmed; production plan structure disclosed
?
product_launch: American Pinball commits to shipping all 100 Houdini units within 30 days with ~50 already manufactured.
medium · Kaneda cites conversation with Brian at American Pinball; specific unit count (50/100) and 30-day window provided; includes skepticism about feasibility
?
machine_intel: Dutch Pinball rumored to be planning a Jesus edition variant of Big Lebowski with purple armor and different cabinet to revive demand and generate revenue between Alice and Back to the Future production.
medium · Kaneda explicitly frames as rumor; notes may have been reported elsewhere; estimates 150-250 unit production; contextualizes as revenue strategy for struggling manufacturer
$
market_signal: Big Lebowski secondary market heavily flooded; NIB dealer inventory at $11,500-$12,000 vs $13,500 MSRP; open boxes ~$10,500, indicating demand collapse and inventory glut.

Topics

Stern Pokemon LE production status and cosmetic parts delayprimaryAmerican Pinball Circus Voltaire remake with HD screen technologyprimaryDutch Pinball Big Lebowski Jesus edition variant rumorprimaryHoudini production and 30-day delivery commitmentprimarySecondary market price collapse prediction for older Stern titlesprimaryDeep Root Pinball historical failure and Robert Mueller's $60M burnsecondaryKaneda's editorial role as industry skeptic and charlatan gatekeepersecondaryPinball market inflation dynamics and price ceiling analysissecondary

Sentiment

neutral(0)

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.041

I feel it in my bones. Won't bring me down, no, not even close. Go ahead and throw your stones. But you can't stop this. You can't stop this. Welcome everybody to what's going to be a little short Tuesday edition of Kaneda's Pinball Podcasts. I'm your host Kaneda. You got a show yesterday. I'm going to start uploading what I'm calling Kaneda Classics. I've been doing this show for 13 years. A lot of you were not around way back then. So I'm going to go through the archives, if you will, of some of Kaneda's greatest hits, starting with those Deep Root sort of shows I put together where I spliced together all of the craziness that Robert Mueller said about what Deep Root pinball was going to accomplish in this hobby. Now, here's the really crazy part. For those of you out there who were not around during the Deep Root days and the five days of Deep Root and Robert Mueller's panel discussions he used to have at pinball shows, this community listened to all of that garbage and applauded the dude at pinball shows. And look, when push came to shove, most people did not order a Raza, but still, this man got up there. I was there at TPF and said he was going to do all of this, make the most games ever, and he was going to make every other company look embarrassing. And look at the reality. He made not one single game. He burned through like $60 million of other people's money. We have gotten a lot better at sniffing out these charlatans. Damien over at Haggis Pinball was another charlatan. So was Andrew Highway. And guess who was the gatekeeper of all of these charlatans? Guess who was the only pinball podcaster? While everybody else out there was interviewing these guys and giving them air time and actually believing their BS. It was always Kaneda's Pinball Podcasts that was like, if it smells like crap and it looks like crap, it's probably crap. All right, so here's what I want to talk about on this short little episode of Kaneda's Pinball Podcasts. A few updates. It seems that Stern Pinball has paused a little bit of Pokemon LE production. What I'm hearing is this. They made all of the games that people specifically asked for a number. So if you paid extra to get a specific number of Pokemon, your game has been made. I'm hearing there's a delay on making the rest of the Pokemons. From what I'm hearing, they're waiting on some parts that are LE specific. So what could that be? If they're making the premiums now as they wait to make more LEs, I'm sort of curious what the holdup could be. Is it the shooter rod? I don't think so. Is it the Translight? It has to be something artwork related or maybe it the purple armor they waiting on. It has to be something cosmetic because the playfield itself is exactly the same. So that is what I'm hearing. Hopefully the delay is not too long for all of you guys out there. And the reason my game number 50 was made is I did specifically order number 50 Diglett through automated pinballs. So that is why I paid a little bit extra for a specific number. No I don't care about the specific numbers. No I don't think I have a one of one Diglett edition. I think when the game arrives nobody's gonna care what number their machine is. I just saw a dude posted a video of this game playing the theme song and he was like look, I was skeptical like a lot of you. But once I turned this game on and I started playing it, it was so much fun. It gave me such a nostalgic feeling and that theme song playing after each game is just iconic even though it's not the original theme song it is still maybe a better version of the theme song and so this is what I thought Pokemon would do. I think it would break up the monotony of people that are tired of the same themes over and over again and it's just a really colorful fun machine. Will it hold value? I don't know. I still think Pokemon LE is going to do just fine. All right, what else do I want to talk about? I got a little bit of an update on a game called Circus Voltaire. So I reached out and I got a little bit of information for each and every one of you. There are going to be two versions of the game. There's going to be a reimagined version that is going to have Brian Allen on artwork. He's still working on the art package now. So it's not going to be exactly what you've seen him do in the past when he's I know I've done some Circus Voltaire artwork, but what is exciting and is confirmed is that this game will continue to have that screen below the glass. And what I learned this morning is that screen will be an all new like HD screen that will be underneath the glass of the game. And there's going to be some tweaks to the game that are going to make it better. And there's going to be more replay value baked into this game. And you know, if this thing is stunning and the build quality is there, Circus Voltaire, when put next to even modern machines, does look spectacular. I think they're gonna like sell around like 150 to start out and then they're gonna move on and maybe make more. But when they reveal the game to the world, American Pinball will let us know the total number of games they plan to make. So they're not going to move the goalposts. They're not going to like say this and then make more. It's going to be an exact number we get when they reveal the game. All right. I'm also hearing that about 50 Houdinis have been made already. They are going to make all 100 and ship them out. When I talked to Brian, he said everybody's going to have this game within 30 days. OK, that's great. Right. 100 games in 30 days. How many days does it take to make a? You got Yeti baby. I heard Chris Turner's next game is going to be limited to 100 units and they going to make one game a year. No I just joking I know I know Chris. We got to figure something out. So speaking about manufacturing and speaking about taking a long time we been talking about Dutch Pinball and Back to the Future. Here's what I'm hearing is going to happen next at Dutch Pinball. You're $5 a month. You're getting your money's worth. So I'm hearing this and maybe this was reported somewhere else. And if it is, I give credit to those individuals, but I'm hearing that because this company is not going to be making Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland, they need a game to fill in the gap between the end of Alice production and Back to the Future. And Back to the Future, let's be honest, like, I don't know if it's going to come out in October on Back to the Future Day. I don't know if they're going to show it then and then there's going to be like a long wait for manufacturing. But every single day that this company has no games on the line and no money coming in, they're burning money. So here's the plan I'm hearing, that they are going to make more of a game where the demand has dried up and that game is their only game in 13 years, the Big Lebowski. Now, the problem with Lebowski now is this. I think it's something like $13,500 new in box from Dutch, but that demand has dried up. There are literally dealers and distros that have the Lebowski new in box for sale for like $11,500, $12,000, and an open one, I think you're looking at more like $10,500. So how do you make more Lebowskis and create some demand for them if the game is readily available and way cheaper than new in box? Well, the answer is you burn everybody who bought the game previously by making a different, newer, more special version of the game. It is what these pinball companies do. And so I'm hearing the rumor is this. They are going to make a Jesus edition of the Big Lebowski. It is going to have purple armor and it is going to look different. The whole cabinet is going to be different than the original game itself. How many Jesus editions they're going to make? I don't know. If I were to guess, I would say 150 to 250 would be the number I would think about. But again, a company that's struggling to make even 300 games a year, do you want to get on the line and wait for the Jesus edition? So that is the rumor I am hearing. Wow, man. There's so much always happening in this hobby, it never ceases to amaze me. I think this hobby is about to go through a crazy six months. I think we're about to see some incredible pinball. I think Pokemon is going to get to an incredible place with the code. I think Circus Voltaire is going to be super cool. We'll see what the price is. I think it's going to be around $12,000 or $13,000. And I think they're going to sell if they make the game look stunning. I think there's so many new people in pinball. I think the global recession hasn't really happened. It never happened during COVID. The rich got richer. Your checking account your net worth hasn't really gone down much. And even though we're at war and all this terrible stuff is happening we gone through a pandemic. Nothing has created a real recession. The only thing is inflation has really hit everybody in the world. Inflation is why these games are so expensive. It is the whole reason why it is not more expensive to actually make pinball. It's just more expensive to use your money to order the parts to make pinball. You see what I'm saying is like our dollars are not worth as much. Neither are Stern's, neither are Jersey Jack's, neither are anybody who's making pinball. And so it's just a lot more expensive to do what should be cheaper by now, what should be more efficient. And so I don't think we're going to see prices go down. I also up. I think we've hit a bit of a ceiling. There's enough of a margin baked into all these games right now that I think we're going to see prices remain pretty constant. Okay. So I think we're going to go through a crazy six months in pinball. I think it's going to be super fun. And I think the other thing that we're going to see is a complete oversaturation of older titles hitting the used market for sale. I think for a lot of you out there, I've been saying this for a while, I think you should think about thinning out your older collection now. I think we're going to see a catastrophic decline in pricing on some of these older titles. I think we're going to get to the place of $3,000 Stern Pros. like $5,500 premiums. I do. I just think there's so much out there. Think about how many Godzilla premiums are out in the world. What are they worth? There's just too many of them and people are just going to get tired after a while. I mean, games after a while, you do want to move on to the next thing. I also want to say thank you to Ozzy out there after my story about the military person who another P-Kavos award of this month goes to Robert P. And that pink one over there. LinkedIn tells us how they now have 200 solo dedication opportunities. I've got to reach out to Spooky Luke and Joe Newhart at Pinball Star to see how we can do this, but it's looking good. It's looking like we've got some very good progress in getting this man a machine by his birthday and his son's birthday when he's home for R&R. We're going to make this happen. You know Kaneda, you know Spooky Luke, you know Joe Newhart. These are all good people. We're going to get together and make this happen. Everybody, happy Tuesday, a little bit of a shorter show. Look for more Kaneda Classics moving forward. Thank each and every one of you for your donations and your subscriptions every single month. We are just one person away from 700. Remember, you can give the gift of Kaneda's Pinball Podcasts to friends out there who are into pinball. We would love to hit 800 one day. That is still the goal. It's like the moment I hit 800, I'm just going to turn into some energy force and evaporate up into the pinball heavens. Everybody have a great Tuesday. Kaneda out.