Welcome everybody to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. What a great Saturday it was yesterday. I went over to Automated Amusements. I met so many wonderful people who are fans of the show, subscribers of the show. I can't thank each and every one of you personally right now, but you know who you are. And you made yesterday one of the most fun days I've had in pinball in a really long time. And I always say this, pinball, it's all about the people and it don't cost much money to get together and geek out over pinball. An extra special thank you, though, to Mr. Mike over at Automated. What a great host. And Jersey Jack, it was great that you showed up with your two Elton John machines and you gave us such good, heartfelt, candid answers. Whether or not we believe you about the flippers is one thing, but I just want to say I talk a lot of stuff about a lot of companies. And I always respect when someone has the bravado to talk to me in real life. You know, Jack was a really good sport yesterday, and if you haven't seen the interview, go on my Facebook page and check it out. So I am really excited to do this show because I've been thinking a lot about the last 24 hours. I've been thinking about my fans. I've been thinking about this game Elton John. I've been thinking about all the games I've played over at Automated because sometimes it's just nice to go down a row and play like a hundred thousand dollars in value worth of pinball machines to make up your mind on what you appreciate, what you enjoy, what you value. And that's why I want to talk about on this episode of Canada's Pinball Podcast, a dilemma I've been struggling with. And that dilemma is simply this. Sometimes in life, less is more. Simplicity can actually provide more enjoyment, more fun, more satisfaction. And with this game, Elton John, I think that is the story. It is not the most loaded Jersey Jack game. If you lift the hood, it does not have as much on it as other offerings. If you look at the price, it's so expensive compared to what Jersey Jack games used to cost and what was in games like The Hobbit and Pirates of the Caribbean, what was in games like Dialed In and Wizard of Oz. And so this game compared to those games has a lot less in it. But then you stand over it and you look at all the beautiful artwork and the lights and the presentation and then you play the game and then all of a sudden you've got this dilemma because it may be and probably is easily the best shooting Jersey Jack game of all time. And yet there's less in it, but it's more fun. And this is a dilemma, people, because a dilemma, unlike a problem, does not have a solution. And so I want to talk about my feelings about this game because I have a lot of feelings about the game. I have a lot of feelings about Jersey Jack Pinball. I have a lot of love for Jersey Jack. I have a lot of confusion for Jersey Jack Pinball. It's been a very strange, strange journey. You know, when you think about Kaneda and Jersey Jack, I own a Jersey Jack machine. I went from Elton John and I jumped on Guns N' Roses. And that was an amazing thing to do because I got to see these two games delivered by two different designers, two different approaches from the same company, two music themes, two icons of music. And how did I feel after playing both games back to back to back? I jumped on James Bond 60th because I was having a real enjoyable time looking at all the different games and then asking that question, the value, right? Is this game fun? Is this game worth the money? Would I spend anywhere near $20,000 on a James Bond 60th? I'll get this out of the way right away. I thought that game was the biggest ripoff in the history of pinball. There's not much in it. I get it's very simple, but I don't think less is more when it comes to James Bond 60th. I just think that game is a ripoff, and I think Stern should still be embarrassed that they ever asked anybody to pay $20,000. The art's not good. The shots are not that interesting. There's not much going on. The scoring reel is boring. It's a fine game if it was like 6,500. But that game at that much money, if I paid 20,000, even 15 or $12,000 for a James Bond 60th and that's what slid out of the box, I would be heavily disappointed. So my tune is not changing on that game. All right. So Elton John, I walk over to automated. I go through the door. I got my zip card from New York City and I see Elton John Platinum Edition. And when you walk into a room and you see this game for the first time, I will say this is arguably, this is maybe the most beautiful pinball machine that's ever been made. And I mean that. Like, I know art is subjective, but that Christopher Franchi art package on that Platinum Edition of the game, it's by far his nicest work on a cabinet to date. I think it actually pops even more than Batman SLE. And then you look at the color palette that he put into this game, and it is perfect. Like everything about this game just screams colorful Elton John fun pinball. It is attractive. I think that's the best word I can use. It is so damn attractive. And when you go into the other room and you see all the other pinball machines that Mike has, nothing popped like Elton John. So this game, just from a pure aesthetic standpoint, gets a 10 out of 10. And again, what's the theme of this show? Less is more. And if you spend less money on Elton John and get the Platinum Edition, I think you're getting more for your money because I think this art package is so much nicer and more interesting than what is on the Collector's Edition version of the game. This should have been the Collector's Edition of the game, but for $12,000, you're going to get the better looking game. And I get the CE has a lot of sparkle and purple and gold. But as Jack even said, platinum is more expensive than gold. And I even told him, I'm like, Jack, it's not too late. You should just switch it. Well it is too late because they can get Mirko to add the glitter to the playfields on the platinum But man this platinum game is Jersey Jack Pinball nicest looking game to date Its second nicest looking game to date is Guns N Roses And I will say that when I went over to Guns N' Roses, I was like, wow, this game still has it. Guns N' Roses is still such a stunning machine. It really is. I would say the cabinet artwork on Elton John is still better than Guns N' Roses. And Guns N' Roses has more to look at when you look down at the game itself. But let me wait till I get to the comparisons between the two games. Let me talk about Elton John. So when you stand over the game and you're looking down at the game, it's hard for me to look at this game right now and get out of my head. Everything that's been in my head. And I've read all the feedback from Expo. I've been on Pinside. I've heard everything. I've heard the good, the bad, and the ugly about Elton John. I've said a lot about this game before even playing it. I'm here to tell you right now, there's a little bit of truth in what everybody's been saying. The game is stunning. From a mechanical standpoint, when you look down at the game, there really isn't much in it. From a mechanical standpoint, this looks like mechanically what Stern would have in a pro version of a machine. There's just not a lot happening mechanically in the game. And you could say when you look down at it, it does look a little empty. Everything is at the top end of the play field. There's really nothing else happening interesting in this game on the left and right side of the game. You know, and the only really interesting thing to look at is that piano. And that piano mech is really cool with the LED lights. I will say this. When I was playing the game, though, I didn't really find myself looking at it. I was more just paying attention to the shots and the speed and the flow of the game. And I wasn't really paying attention to the mech. You know, the thing about the piano, I wish it did because it locks the balls. there's just not a moment in the game it just doesn't do anything where like there's a dramatic moment right like you lock the three balls in the piano it would have been awesome if like the top of the piano opened up and then the balls like got fired out of it somehow in some dramatic way kind of like the treasure chest should open up in Pirates of the Caribbean you're just not gonna play Elton John and see something happen mechanically where you're gonna say wow did you see that, right? There's no like Godzilla building. There is no T-Rex head that eats the ball and throws it around. There's just not a lot of toys in this game. And so that is why I do feel like it's like a Steve Ritchie pro game brought over to Jersey Jack pinball in which the main features are the music, the lights, the shots, the design flow, and like the sound in this game. So let's talk about the flippers first because I know that's the main thing, right? So many of you out there have really not liked Jersey Jack games because the flipper feel has not been great. And is this Jersey Jack's best feeling, best shooting game to date? The answer is yes. Does it feel exactly like a Stern and as snappy as a Stern machine? The answer is still no, but I didn't feel any issues with these flippers at all. The way you would feel with Guns N' Roses, the way you would feel with like Jersey Jack's older wide body games that were very floaty. This game plays great. So if pinball gameplay is something you love, this is going to be your favorite Jersey Jack shooting game to date. Now, all of a sudden, my friend Derek is kicking himself for ordering the Godfather LE because even though that game shoots fine, this is a much more satisfying game. And I played Godfather yesterday. And yes, it does shoot better than the previous Jersey Jack games. I don't think that Godfather as a game is executed as well as Elton John. And again, Godfather is Godfather, right? Lots of red, lots of black. It's a very dark looking game compared to Elton John. Elton John, like the marriage of the artwork and the lights in this Jersey Jack package are just perfect because, you know, Elton's got his colorful rainbow world. and you've got this colorful rainbow light show in Jersey Jack games. And so it just fits together so nicely with Elton John. All right. So then I play the game a bunch. I just sat on it. I just played it. My first ball was actually my best. I had about like a five minute ball going and I was just hitting shots. I was ripping orbits. I was going up the ramp. It was looping around. I was locking balls. Everything was just going great. I didn't really have any idea what I was doing in terms of what the code wanted me to do. So I just wanted to enjoy the gameplay. Because it's been like over 10 years and most of us have never really enjoyed the gameplay of a Jersey Jack game. And so now we've got one. We've got a game that you're going to really enjoy shooting it. And I think everyone who jumps up on this machine is going to have a good time shooting the game. And playing the game and standing over it in person is so much different than watching clips on the internet. And I'll give you a good example of that. Like on the internet, I am so annoyed by those call-outs in the game. But when you're playing the game and you're hearing the Elton John music, those call-outs don't really stand out that much. They're not as annoying in real life as they are when you watch a stream. And so I was expecting to be more like turned off by the audio package in this game. And I'm telling you right now, I think they upgraded the sound system in this machine because it's the best sounding Jersey Jack machine of all time as well. The game sounds amazing. Like when I was walking around automated and I was watching people play other games, and then I came over to this game, it just sounded so much better. And this is to take nothing away from all the great games at Stern Pinball, but there's just no denying the fact that when you put a Jersey Jack game like Elton John next to Stern's best looking games, it still makes Stern games look cheap. It really, really does. And I know that's Jack's dilemma is he's looking over at these Stern games and they're charging $13,000 for an Ellie that doesn't come with a topper, that doesn't come with sparkly armor, doesn't come with radcals doesn't come with this stuff and then he's giving you everything he's giving you a topper he's giving you radcals he's giving you inner art blades all that stuff is coming standard on his machine now for twelve thousand dollars and he's got to feel like what the heck why is everybody complaining about my prices when they're paying that much for that game with not as much in it and the reason why we've been spending so much money on stern machines is because they play well And now we have a period in time we haven experienced ever before A Jersey Jack game that shoots as good as a Stern machine But then we get into some of the dilemma now The dilemma is it's still Elton John, which is not a take my money now theme for most of you. And so you've got the best shooting Jersey Jack machine of all time wrapped up in a theme which is not very popular with the pinball buying demographic. so it's got a lot of people on the fence. A lot of you don't want to put an Elton John theme into your game rooms. Now, I would encourage you to keep an open mind on that after playing the game. Also, if you put this thing in your game room, it's going to be the most stunning machine in your game room so it's going to win some points there. And if you just love playing pinball, it's going to satisfy you on that level. But still, the dilemma exists. With a theme that's not take my money now, in a time in which they want to take the most money they've ever taken from us, how are people going to reconcile that dilemma? Are you going to hand them $12,000 and just give it a whirl? Are you crazy enough to hand them $15,000 for the CE in which the art package isn't as nice as the LE? See, that's the dilemma too. If I bought a CE, I would always want the franchise version of the game. And I don't want to be feeling that dilemma if I'm spending the most amount of money on their product. The most expensive version should be the nicest in every way. And it's just not this time around. And the other dilemma is this. Even if you're willing to give them the $12,000 and you're willing to have the best shooting Jersey Jack experience of all time, you've seen what's happened with Toy Story LE prices and Godfather LE prices. And knowing that Elton John LE is not limited to any build number, you're worried that if I go in at 12, I'm going to see this game for sale for like $8,500 in less than a year. And so you're listening to guys like Kaneda and you're saying, I'm just going to wait it out. And when this game reaches a certain price point, I'm going to jump in on it. But that's a dilemma for Jersey Jack. How are they going to order parts and make these games if everyone's waiting for it to hit the used market? There won't be a used market if there isn't a somewhat robust new in box market for this game. And that's another dilemma. Because if this game doesn't have good sales and they don't make many of them and they move on to the next game and they don't make this game again. And then what happens, right? Do we see like only a thousand or fifteen hundred get made and then it spikes in value like Pirates of the Caribbean and then they never make it again? Because one of the reasons why they're never going to make Pirates again is Leonard over there was like, screw him, screw him. I'm not going to give them what they want. They should have bought from me in the first place. And that's the attitude of a billionaire. And who are we to say he's wrong? And so I think we might see that with Elton John. And so it's such a dilemma because I think this is a great pinball experience. I think this is the kind of gameplay we've always wanted in a Jersey Jack machine. Yes, there should be more toys in this game. Absolutely. Yes, those three targets up the middle are not that interesting to shoot. It's absolutely numb feeling when you shoot those three targets. It's uninspired. I wish they went down. I wish it opened up a ball path to something more dramatic. I wish there was a little bit more wow magic mechanically in the game. But it's still really fun to shoot. And when that music's going, it's rocking. I mean, this is rock and roll music, people. Elton John is rock and roll. Guns N' Roses is hard rock. But this was like 70s, 80s rock and roll. And it's awesome. And it's perfect for pinball. This game has energy. It has lights. It has colors. It has a personality, right? I don't feel energy when I watch people play The Godfather. I just see my friend Derek losing money every time someone streams that game. And so like the dilemmas are all over the place with this game. And then the next dilemma is this. It's happening outside of Jersey Jacks control. How are you going to order this game knowing that Jaws is just a couple of weeks away? Knowing that there's a new spooky game around the corner any day now. There's just so many options in pinball right now. You really have to love it to say take this much money. Like it's a lot of money now. It's a lot of money. And this is where this game is netting out for me. I'm worried that this is a great game that is going to be doomed by the realities of the market right now. The last two games did not help its cause, and I'm worried that Elton John is going to go down in flames, and it doesn't deserve to. But it's just the reality of where we are. Prices have been so high for so long. Too many Jersey Jack faithful people have lost money on bad decisions. When people say like this game was a bad decision to make because nobody wants Elton John, I don't really think that is true. I just think after Toy Story 4 and Godfather, this is a tough game to follow up with. And yes, it still is a very polarizing theme. But ladies and gentlemen, I'm just going to say this. Elton John music is way better than Iron Maiden music for most people he sold 360 million albums so if you can jump on Iron Maiden because of the gameplay even if you don't like the music if you can enjoy Iron Maiden because of the gameplay then you sure as hell could equally enjoy playing or owning Elton John pinball and that's where I'm at with Elton John a great game that is stuck in a crazy dilemma moment that I don't know what the answer is. Each and every one of us is gonna have to struggle with this now with every new game that comes out. There is no longer any room anymore in pinball for mediocrity or mediocre success. Your game is either gonna be a hit or it's gonna flop because people are not gonna dabble at these prices. They're not gonna lose $3,000 to $4,000 on a cardboard box. But this game is just crazy stunning. And I'm just going to say this. This game is much more stunning than Elvira Blood Kiss Edition. I've seen these two games side by side. It's just prettier. But Elvira has more toys in it. It sure does. I don't think it shoots as well as Elton John. And look, as I said, I went over to Guns N' Roses, right? It's the one game I own. Like, let me go play the game that's been sitting in a box for three years and see how Guns N' Roses feels compared to Elton John. and immediately I felt the weak flippers. Immediately though I did feel like there a lot more in GNR A lot more in it And there a lot of different unique shots to hit in GNR I don think the shot layout in Elton John is as interesting as Guns N Roses Now, you would argue that GNR is not interesting because the flow is not there. And that's the other thing I noticed, is that Guns N' Roses doesn't have flow. Like, you're shooting in all these different directions, and there's all these different things and ways to go, but none of it is flowy. And so it feels a lot more like a rocky road than it does like a drag strip. And so like Elton John, when it comes to flow and like combos and like shot layout is a much more rewarding game to shoot. But Guns N' Roses has a lot more interesting things to see the ball do when you play the game. And also, you know, I'm a little bit biased because GNR is my favorite band. Guns N' Roses is still cooler than Elton John as a theme. and when you start a Guns N' Roses song and the light show in it is still superior than the light show in Elton John. You know, Elton John's so colorful, I think we're just getting used to these JJP light shows, but no game has really created a moment with those lights the way they've done it with Guns N' Roses where you've got the song and the lights are doing this beautiful dance together. It still holds up after all of these years, you know, and that's why everybody's like, Is there a way to get Guns N' Roses flipper feel? To feel as good as Elton John. I asked Jack the question, is it hardware? Is it software? He keeps going back to that default answer that you can raise the flipper power. That's not the problem. The solution really is there's a new driver board and it's new software. Even if the hardware is the same, they change the way the software is talking to those flippers. And still no real answer on whether or not it will be backwards compatible. So if you own a Guns N' Roses, I don't think you're going to get Flipper Fields to be ever as good as Elton John. I asked Jack about Guns N' Roses code and Pirates of the Caribbean code. I don't think we're going to get that. And like I guess the final dilemma too is if we feel that Jersey Jack has the Matrix and has Harry Potter coming and Mark Seiden is next in line at Jersey Jack Pinball. Again, like, do you buy Elton John at full price? Do you wait for those titles you'd rather have? It's still a Steve Ritchie game. So you know it's going to be hard for someone to make a game that shoots better than Steve Ritchie. If you look at the top pinball machines of all time, it's really like Steve Ritchie and Keith Elwin are the two, from a gameplay standpoint, that people appreciate the most. So it's tough. It's tough. And look, I love this. I love thinking about these dilemmas. I love unpacking this hobby this way. I love doing this show during a time like this. And this is why Canada Spinball Podcast is the most successful it's ever been. You know, and we're having a good time here. We had a great time yesterday. I would love to hear your feedback. We had people over at Cointaker playing Elton John yesterday. And everything I'm reading is positive. Like everything I'm reading is positive except for the price. If this game was 9,500 bucks, it would be selling like hotcakes. I would buy one at 9,500. I just don't want to buy one at 12 and then in three months, it's 9,500 new in box. And that's my fear. But would I own an Elton John pinball machine after playing it, after standing over it? The answer is absolutely. and if money is no object to you, then you should really seriously consider this game and one day we're gonna get there. One day we're gonna get there where Jersey Jack is gonna check all the boxes. A game that shoots this well, that has a few more toys in it and is a theme that's take my money now. They have never achieved that yet. They got very, very close with Guns N' Roses but we know what happened. The playfields fell apart and there's too many damn multi-balls and the gameplay isn't there. That's the other thing with Guns N' Roses. I walked up to it and immediately a multiball started. I didn't hit anything. I didn't aim for anything. And now two balls are shoved in my face, which changes your ability to really focus on gameplay. And I didn't feel that in Elton John. You know, it's getting to the point now where Joe Katz is the superior coder over at Jersey Jack because he doesn't throw multi-balls at you every 30 seconds like Keith and Eric have been doing over their last few titles. You know, someone needs to sit Eric down and say, look, man, a multiball should be a rewarding achievement you get at the end of a journey. It shouldn't just be thrown in your face immediately. And you can start a multiball in Guns N' Roses. This is the sad part. You can start a multiball without even knowing what you've done. That is bad design. That is bad coding. I always feel like in pinball, you should know how to lock balls and multiball should start after you lock those balls. It shouldn't be any more difficult than that. Eric, Keith, less is more. Less multiball and your games become more fun. How many times do we have to tell you this and you keep doing it? And Derek, I don't want to have to go into the settings and adjust the game. They just need to wake up and hear the feedback and make a game the way people want it. The way I make a podcast, the way people want it. Love all of you. Thanks for the support. This was a fun show to do. It gives us a lot to talk about. The world's favorite pinball podcast. We're going to go seven for seven in the twippies, people. No more drama. No more poking. Let's just get your votes ready December 18th. And let's take it and send a message to everybody out there why this show is number one and why you're a member of the best club in pinball. Later. Thank you. you