Ep. 104: Appetite for Pinball

TL;DR

In-depth speculation on unreleased Guns N' Roses pinball from Jersey Jack ahead of Oct 5 reveal.

Summary

Key Claims

• Eric Meunier is the designer of Guns N' Roses, his second game with Jersey Jack Pinball after Pirates of the Caribbean

  high confidence · Tommy directly states this as established fact; aligns with KB context confirming Eric Meunier as GNR designer

• Keith Johnson is the lead coder on Guns N' Roses with a team of six additional coders

  high confidence · Tommy reports Keith Johnson publicly stated this; Keith was also the coder for Pirates of the Caribbean

• Slash confirmed in a July 2019 interview that a new Guns N' Roses pinball machine was coming

  high confidence · Tommy cites this as direct confirmation from the band member himself

• Guns N' Roses production run is rumored to be multiball-heavy, similar to Pirates of the Caribbean

  medium confidence · Tommy attributes this to reading rumors but does not cite a specific source; based on designer pattern recognition

• Guns N' Roses pricing is rumored to match Wonka at roughly $7,500, $9,500, and $12,500 for different editions

  medium confidence · Tommy states 'the rumor I've read' but does not cite specific source; alternative rumor about cheaper pricing due to Chicago production centralization also mentioned

• Jersey Jack has hinted at revolutionary technology being included in Guns N' Roses, potentially internet-connected head-to-head play or streaming integration

  medium confidence · Tommy notes JJP 'bragged or advertised' this but admits uncertainty; speculates this could be internet connectivity based on P3 precedent

• A lawsuit occurred over the likeness of a temporary Guns N' Roses band member used on the Data East GNR machine from the mid-1990s

  low confidence · Tommy states 'I just learned' this but provides no source documentation; unverified historical claim

• Guns N' Roses' main material comes from albums released between 1987 and 1992, with only five or six total albums

  high confidence · Tommy states this as general music knowledge; factually verifiable claim about the band's discography

Notable Quotes

• “Welcome to the jungle that is the pinball industry in 2020”

  Tommy @ 0:00:45 — Sets tone for discussion of competitive landscape with Stern's Avengers and JJP's GNR launch

• “Pirates of the Caribbean is really, really highly regarded, especially by competitive players because of all the different choices that the game presents to the player”

  Tommy @ 0:02:20 — Establishes design philosophy expectation for GNR based on prior JJP designer track record

• “Keith has publicly stated that he is the lead coder on whatever the next game might be from Jersey Jack Pinball, but he was not alone. He said the team had six other coders on it. I love to hear that”

  Tommy @ 0:02:45 — Confirms large coding team and positions it as positive signal for game complexity

• “My biggest knock on these JJP games is this pricing... I'm just saying it's really hard for me to justify spending the money on these games”

  Tommy @ 0:12:30 — Voices common community concern about JJP pricing being barrier to adoption

• “If they can release this title at a $7,000 price tag, now you have my ear. Because at that point, you're not that much over what Stern is charging”

  Tommy @ 0:13:15 — Identifies price threshold where GNR becomes competitive with Stern Pro models in his view

• “Wizard of Oz they really did that that is a landmark game in the history of pinball and what it made other pinball manufacturers do to catch up”

  Tommy @ 0:14:45 — Establishes JJP's precedent for industry-shifting innovation as context for GNR hype

• “Axel rose is actually from Lafayette Indiana where I live... he was best known for being the kid on the cross country team who got stuffed in a locker at that school but he obviously went on to have become quite successful”

  Tommy @ 0:16:20 — Personal connection to the IP demonstrating organic collector/operator interest in the theme

Entities

Signals

• ?

  announcement: Jersey Jack Pinball scheduled official reveal of Guns N' Roses pinball machine for Monday, October 5, 2020, positioned as major holiday season release competing with Stern's recent Avengers Infinity Quest

  high · Tommy confirms 'the reveal is Monday, October 5th' and discusses speculation about reveal format; sets context for industry timing

• ?

  machine_intel: Community members on PINSIDE analyzed leaked reversed whitewood playfield image to speculate on GNR layout features including potential upper playfield, three flipper positions, pop bumpers, saucers/scoops, possible subway mechanic, and record or spinning disc mechanism

  medium · Tommy states 'those on Pinside took the time to spin that image around and start giving us an idea' and details specific layout speculation (three flipper cutouts, pop bumpers, center scoop, upper playfield, subway theory)

• ?

  design_philosophy: Based on Pirates of the Caribbean success, expectation that Guns N' Roses will feature very deep code despite band having fewer source material than movie franchises, driven by Keith Johnson's coding prowess and large seven-person coder team

  high · Tommy discusses how Pirates was 'all about stacking multiball' and notes Keith Johnson's ability to make deep games despite GNR's limited material (5-6 albums vs. multiple movie series for Pirates)

• $

  market_signal: Strong community concern about Jersey Jack Pinball pricing barriers; GNR rumored at $7,500/$9,500/$12,500 (Wonka parity) or potentially cheaper if Chicago production centralization reduces costs; pricing becomes critical factor in adoption by collectors and operators

  medium · Tommy states 'My biggest knock on these JJP games is this pricing' and notes multiple community pricing requests; identifies $7,000 entry point as competitive threshold with Stern Pro models