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Kaneda Pinball is live!

Kaneda Pinball Podcasts YouTube Lives·video·50m 15s·analyzed·Apr 6, 2025
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.039

TL;DR

Kaneda advises caution on $13k pinball purchases amid tariffs, praises Evil Dead, criticizes upcoming releases.

Summary

Kaneda discusses the pinball industry's current state during a technical-difficulty-riddled Saturday Morning Spectacular livestream, covering upcoming game releases (Kong, Dune, Harry Potter, Predator), pricing concerns amid tariffs, Evil Dead's quality as a standout Spooky title, and broader economic anxieties affecting consumer spending on premium pinball machines.

Key Claims

  • King Kong will be revealed on Tuesday (April 17th), same day Barrels of Fun is hosting media for their game reveal

    medium confidence · Kaneda speculates on scheduling conflict: 'Kong is going to come out that Tuesday and then you're going to have Barrels having the media there on that day.'

  • Evil Dead is Spooky's best game, more packed and impressive than Elton John and Avatar

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'It's Spooky's best game... Spooky's now punching above at a weight level that nobody thought they ever would. It's games way more packed and Elton John or Avatar...'

  • Stern machines lack the aesthetic and build quality of Evil Dead and JJP games despite premium pricing

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'you still stand over them and you feel now like you're standing over cheaper Tinker Toy-like machines compared to Evil Dead or JJP's... it's really hard to feel like in your hands is a $13,000 product.'

  • Automated Pinball's Mike has 87 Godzilla machines sitting in inventory

    medium confidence · Kaneda: 'How many Godzillas is Automated sitting on? I don't know. I mean, Mike said something like 87 of them.'

  • Harry Potter will have unlimited window to order CEs, allowing distributors to order as many as they want

    medium confidence · Kaneda: 'if the rumor is true that Harry Potter is going to have these like unlimited window to order CEs, why rush in and get one right away?'

  • Predator is not going to be done properly and is rumored to be bad; Arnold is not involved

    low confidence · Chat comment and Kaneda response: 'Predator is not going to be done properly. I heard Predator is terrible... I don't think Arnold's in it.'

  • Christopher Franchi's art direction was key to Evil Dead's appeal and success

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'I think Franchi is a big reason for this. I think what he did was he made it more inviting... a lot has to do. I think it all just came together nicely.'

  • Dungeons & Dragons artwork is bad and boring, a reason not to own the game

Notable Quotes

  • “Like, $13,000 for a Stern right now is just feeling real difficult pill to swallow.”

    Kaneda @ N/A — Core market concern about premium Stern pricing sustainability

  • “I think Evil Dead is a game that really raises the bar. It's Spooky's best game and I mean, Spooky's now punching above at a weight level that nobody thought they ever would.”

    Kaneda @ N/A — Major endorsement of Spooky as a competitive threat to Stern's market position

  • “It's kind of like, you know, I was wrong about like, if you don't like Evil Dead, you're not going to like the game. I think it kind of works.”

    Kaneda @ N/A — Recantation of previous skepticism, indicates strong community reception shift

  • “The problem I see with Stern machines is, you still stand over them and you feel now like you're standing over cheaper Tinker Toy-like machines compared to Evil Dead or JJP's.”

    Kaneda @ N/A — Direct quality and value comparison challenging Stern's premium market position

  • “I just don't know what Stern's marketing is anymore. Like, is great gameplay and flipper feel all Stern has? Because it's a great thing to have.”

    Kaneda @ N/A — Criticism of Stern's differentiation strategy beyond core mechanics

  • “I think everything's just kind of coming to a front now. We've had years of mediocre themes. We've had years of extremely high prices, years of these things just getting pummeled on the secondhand value market.”

    Kaneda @ N/A — Market saturation and secondary market depreciation concerns reaching critical awareness

  • “I think the wise people will wait. See Kong. See, let's face it like $13,000 for a Stern right now is just feeling real difficult pill to swallow.”

    Kaneda @ N/A — Investment strategy recommendation amid pricing uncertainty

  • “I have a tendency to make people mad at me... this isn't an 'A for effort' industry anymore. It is a 'you make a banger masterpiece game or you're going to be in trouble.'”

Entities

KanedapersonStern PinballcompanySpooky PinballcompanyBarrels of FuncompanyChristopher FranchipersonKing KonggameEvil Deadgame

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Tariffs creating significant uncertainty and pricing pressure industry-wide; manufacturers unhappy, consumer spending expected to contract

    high · Kaneda: 'nobody who makes pinball is happy about the tariffs... it's just going to be disruptive'; 'people are going to tighten their wallets'; 'I think people are going to be taking less vacations, buying less... pinball machine'

  • ?

    community_signal: Kaneda's livestream/podcast allegedly drove major distributor orders; 30 Evil Dead machines sold after prior week's Facebook live discussion

    medium · Kaneda: 'my Facebook live last week or two weeks ago... led to the last 30 machines selling like that... boom, 30 machines sold. Two distributor friends of mine putting in two big orders'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Critical media approach (vs. celebratory) gaining traction with audience; Kaneda's Patreon club positions anti-hype stance as value proposition

    medium · Kaneda: 'this isn't an 'A for effort' industry... we're not looking at it all through rose-colored glasses... there's just too much content that was just kind of glorifying everything'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Dungeons & Dragons artwork quality criticized as flat, boring, and unworthy of $13k price point; undermines game despite good mechanics

    high · Kaneda: 'art is really bad and it's boring and it's flat and it's got no personality, no depth to it... reason I wouldn't really own the game'

  • ?

    event_signal: Kong and Dune releasing same day (April 17th) with conflicting media events; scheduling inefficiency criticized

Topics

Pinball pricing and market economicsprimaryGame design and artistic direction (playfield art, cosmetics)primaryEvil Dead as Spooky Pinball breakthroughprimaryTariffs and supply chain impact on pricingprimaryUpcoming game releases (Kong, Dune, Harry Potter, Predator) and schedulingprimarySecondary market depreciation and FOMO cyclessecondaryStern Pinball's market position and quality perception vs. boutique manufacturerssecondaryMedia credibility and critical vs. celebratory coverage in pinballsecondary

Sentiment

mixed(-0.25)— Kaneda is cautiously optimistic about Evil Dead and upcoming releases but deeply concerned about pricing sustainability, tariff impact, secondary market collapse, and the broader economic climate affecting consumer discretionary spending. Praise for Spooky and Franchi's work is genuine, but skepticism about Stern's value proposition, Barrels' timing, and overall market health dominates. Broader personal reflection on culture and economics adds melancholic undertone to analysis.

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:35
Okay. Like I've I I've everybody in the world is having this problem. So it is um it's just going to be something that I I I the reason why I went on that little pause was I I went to read on Reddit. I went to a YouTube video. Everybody who's doing live streams now is having the same issue. It makes no sense to me. Why don't they want It's like they don't want people to make content. Um I don't know. But we're back backwards again. Let's just talk a little bit of pinball. Um I know this has been a a really clunky Saturday morning spectacular day. But anyway, I'm uh I'm telling you gang, I'm feeling I'm feeling a little bit I know it's still flipped. There's nothing I can do. Everybody in the world is dealing with this right now. Maybe I shouldn't have worn something that So,
1:32
like, you know what's crazy? You know what's crazy is I just should never have downloaded or updated the old Facebook app. Like, everybody finds this annoying.
1:49
The screen is flipped still. Uh, I know. Believe me, I know. I don't I'm I'm going to find out if there's any SAB. If not, I'm going to have to just use my computer. And I I could have just brought my laptop and done it that way. I just didn't realize it was going to be such a I don't Why is it that the laptop camera will make it accurate, but not not devices? I I don't know what the deal is. Anyway Anyway, we lost our whole audience. We had 100 people. I lost them all. They're never coming back. They're never coming back. Um, so the thing is King Kong April 17th, which means we'll probably see King Kong. See, here's what Barrel doesn't get. I bet King Kong's the media are invited in on that Thursday. But man, that game's going to be revealed on the same Tuesday that Barrels of Fun. Barrels, you might as well just show us the game now. And this is what I keep telling my friends over there. I'm like, well, you know, you you've just waited so long now. It's not the setting with the front camera gang. I've read everything. I've watched Everybody's having this issue. Everybody who makes YouTube videos on a phone, I guess, right now is having this issue. So, Kong Kong is going to come out that Tuesday and then you're going to have barrels having the media there on that day. Hey, I mean, just think about like I I I I just don't know, man. I just don't know. I just think they should have spaced it out differently. And I think they should have uh I think they should just reveal the game next week. I mean, it's they might, right? I mean, if people are coming in on that Tuesday, they might as well reveal the game next Friday, next Thursday, Friday. The problem is, are will people fly down if they reveal it's Dune and Dune doesn't excite people? I don't know. They might have a problem getting people to to make the trip. I feel bad for them. I do. I feel bad. I just think they they just the stars did not align with this um with with with their game being ready on top of everything else that is is ready right now. So, I I do feel bad for them. Uh, I think that it's going to be a slow burn. I even think Gang Kong, if it's not spike three and it's 13 and, you know, I mean, I heard Kong is packed. So, I expect, you know, a big gorilla, big hands. I expect Kong to be a pretty impressive looking machine. Taking bets on what color hair the person playing it in the launch video will have. Oh man. I think everyone's a little over it, right? I I feel I do feel like Stern went It's not that Stern is woke, guys. They're not woke. I just think they just I think they're struggling on how to present, you know, what what they consider to be the the audience they want is a younger audience. And so I think when they when they show up, they overindexed with the young audience on their website. I think they should I think they should just have more, you know. Look, Jack Dane. Oh, is it raining out? Like going outside. Let me see if it's Looks like it's a pretty crummy day out. Is it cold out, too? Yeah, cold rainy day. I'll do this here. Brenda's going to New York City tonight to go see Kylie Manoke. I got the

high confidence · Kaneda: 'What I don't like about D&D is the art is really bad and it's boring and it's flat and it's got no personality, no depth to it... D&D artwork to me is the reason I wouldn't really own the game.'

  • Four major games releasing within four weeks: Kong, Dune, Harry Potter, and Predator

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'we're about to get four games in basically four weeks. Maybe... Potter might be the one that takes a little bit longer to come out.'

  • Tariffs are creating significant pricing pressure and uncertainty across the pinball industry

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'I can tell you that nobody who makes pinball is happy about the tariffs. It's just going to get really disruptive for a while... people are going to tighten their wallets.'

    • Kaneda @ N/A — Industry philosophy: critical reception standard despite manufacturer's effort

  • “It's not about truth or lies, right? It's about subjective opinions about these things. But I think where Kaneda's Pinball Podcast has done well is we're not looking at it all through rose-colored glasses.”

    Kaneda @ N/A — Positioning of critical media voice vs. celebratory industry coverage norm

  • “How do you remove price from the equation of something like pinball? I can't do it. Everything, like, everything's more expensive these days.”

    Kaneda @ N/A — Core market concern integrating pricing into game value assessment

    • Dune
    game
    Harry Pottergame
    Predatorgame
    Dungeons & Dragonsgame
    Automated Pinballcompany
    Keith Elwinperson
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Pinball Brotherscompany
    Zombie Yetiperson
    Evil Dead (IP)product
    Saturday Morning Spectacularevent
    Kaneda's Pinball Podcast Cluborganization

    medium · Kaneda: 'Kong is going to come out that Tuesday and then you're going to have Barrels having the media there on that day... just don't know, man. I just don't know. I just think they should have spaced it out differently'

  • $

    market_signal: Secondary market depreciation of premium Stern LEs is now widely acknowledged; games losing $3-5k in value post-purchase

    high · Kaneda: 'years of these things like just just getting pummeled on the secondhand value market'; 'nobody was losing three to $5,000 in a in a single game purchase'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Christopher Franchi's transition to Spooky and subsequent art direction impact suggests talent/expertise gap at Stern or strategic visual repositioning at Spooky

    medium · Kaneda: 'I think Franchi is a big reason for this... he made it more inviting'; 'art can do that... paint a house clean and white and it feels inviting'

  • $

    market_signal: $13,000 Stern pricing is becoming unsustainable; market showing signs of resistance and wait-and-see behavior

    high · Kaneda repeatedly: '$13,000 for a Stern right now is just feeling real difficult pill to swallow'; 'I think people are going to tighten their wallets'; 'I think the wise people will wait.'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Evil Dead's visual art direction (Franchi) is identified as key differentiator; aesthetics now primary purchase driver for Spooky vs. Stern's reliance on gameplay/flipper feel

    high · Kaneda: 'I think Franchi is a big reason for this... he made it more inviting... art can do that'; 'art on Evil Dead makes me want to own it even if I don't like Evil Dead'

  • ?

    product_concern: Stern's machines perceived as lacking visual cohesion and build premium feel relative to price; described as 'Tinker Toy-like' vs. Evil Dead/JJP

    high · Kaneda: 'you feel now like you're standing over cheaper Tinker Toy-like machines compared to Evil Dead or JJP's... hard to feel like in your hands is a $13,000 product'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Community perception of Evil Dead represents significant upward shift in Spooky's credibility; game now seen as raising bar above Stern's premium offerings

    high · Kaneda: 'It's Spooky's best game... Spooky's now punching above at a weight level that nobody thought they ever would'; 'way more packed and Elton John or Avatar'

  • ?

    business_signal: Harry Potter rumored to have unlimited CE ordering window, suggesting distribution volume strategy to capture sales vs. FOMO scarcity model

    medium · Kaneda: 'if the rumor is true that Harry Potter is going to have these like unlimited window to order CEs, why rush in and get one right away? Let the distros... order as many as they want'

    • 5:35
    kids. Um, let's see. I'm going to just find a place to sit and talk to you guys about pinball because I've been on my feet, been driving. How's everybody
    5:49
    doing? Kind of want to be just, you know, a little respectful, too. Don't want to just go somewhere I shouldn't. There's nobody here.
    6:21
    here. All right, there we go. That's nice and comfy. So, I'm an automated pinball. Uh Mike is the best. He uh he's got a showroom. That beeping is probably gonna drive you guys crazy. He's got a showroom here with everything. So
    6:39
    he Oh man, that beeping noise is going to drive me crazy. Just put up with the beeping noise. I can't This has been um an exercise in in all of your patients, not just mine. Um, all right. Let me go in this office and close the door so we don't get that beeping noise. I don't think he'll mind. I don't see anybody in
    7:12
    Okay. All right. Okay. Um, okay. So, so here's my take on everything, gang. And and and I know this has been a weird Saturday morning. Um we're we're about to get four games in basically four weeks. Maybe, you know, Potter might be the the one that takes a little bit longer to come out. Um I think I think everybody is is is in a little bit of a wait and see, you know. I think people want to probably see the four titles. I would see the four titles before pulling the trigger right now because none of them are I think gonna be that hard to get. So if the rumor is true that Harry Potter is going to have these like unlimited window to order CES, why rush in and get one right away? Let the distros like order as many as they want, right? They're going to be sitting on them. And and we know Jack, he's going to say he got 5,000 orders, so he's going to want to make them for years. Um, great acoustics in the bathroom. Yeah, probably. Um, so I I would definitely Let me take Let me so I can read your comments better. I I look like Major League, you know? Um, got like a Charlie Sheen vibe going on with with with with this outfit. Um, there we go. I can see everything much clearer. I I do think it is a little bit of Only Fools Rush in right now. And I think the the wise people will wait. See Kong Se let's face it like 13,000 for a Stern right now is just feeling real difficult pill to swallow. Um is it true that Stern I I I don't know what Stern's like export import like situation is? I I can tell you that nobody who makes pinball is happy about the tariffs. It's just going to get really disruptive for a while. And I think that it's going to be um it's going to be a period in which I I I do believe I think people are going to tighten their wallets. I think they're going to pull back on spending unnecessarily. I think people are going to be taking less vacations, buying less Rolexes. Uh you know, buying a pinball machine now is going to be something where like value is the most important thing. And and I think that right now looking at all the games, the best bang for the buck is that Evil Dead I just stood over. Incredible machine for the money and everything you get with it. I I think you slide that machine out of a box and you don't really need to add anything and you're going to have just a stunning work of art. Uh the moment Spooky makes a mainstream theme a little bit more mainstream, they're going to sell out of Beetlejuice. If it is Beetlejuice or Gremlins or whatever it is, you know, Goonies, like whatever it is, like instantly uh instant sellout with a little bit more of a mainstream theme. The um the the the the thing is like I think everything's just kind of coming to a front now. We've had years of mediocre themes. We've had years of of extremely high prices, years of these things like just just getting pummeled on the secondhand value market. And I just don't understand why people thought it wouldn't like like it it wasn't Well, one of the things I never understood is like why more people weren't discussing it. You know, I think some people have the attitude of like it just it is what it is. Like everything's more expensive these days. Just deal with it. But I also I think I think now more and more of the pinball media is realizing this too is you kind of have to discuss the economics of it too, right? We can't just because we can't be blindly telling people to buy these things like we used to. I mean, I don't even hear Zach saying bye bye bye anymore, right? I don't I don't even think that's like a thing. It's not even like a behavior. Uh it used to be, right? It used to be great. Everything you bought was an appreciating asset. Especially you got your hands on a Sternle Lie. Your game went up. Your game went up tremendously. Sometimes nobody was losing three to $5,000 in a in a single game purchase. I mean, it's just and then and then you just want you just want better themes and you want magical pinball experiences and and that's something that, you know, we'll see what happens this year. I definitely think there's going to be a lot of big titles coming out this year. If if all things go according to I think plan, I think we're going to see like Pokemon, Harry Potter, King Kong, Back to the Future, you know, I don't know, you know, and then maybe Beetlejuice at the end of the year. Like, so I just think there's going to be a lot, you know, and but I think people are scared of what's going to happen to the pricing of everything.
    12:11
    Um, I I think it's going to be I think it's going to be tough, you know. I think um I don't know. I don't know. I I always get I I I just think there's going to be some real real interesting times coming, people. How many G&Rs is automated sitting on? I don't know. I mean, Mike said something like 87 of them. bell ies like yeah he uh he told me he wishes he ordered more Evil Deads. He loves it. He said it's one of his most fun games he's played in a long time and he would have took all 25. I think Joe Newart like Joe Joe snaked them a little bit. They were there's a little bit of a back and forth. Um I I do find it funny that my Facebook live last week or two weeks ago I think it was. Yeah, two weeks ago led to the last 30 machines selling like that. You know, people say Canadia, you got no you got no followers, you got no influence, you got no I don't know. Like we were doing a show, all of a sudden boom, 30 machines sold. Two distributor friends of mine putting in two big orders. I get no cut. Okay. Um but no, happy happy to see those games go. Well, I look I gang I I do think Evil Dead is a game that really raises the bar. It's Spooky's best game and I mean Spooky's now punching above at a weight level that nobody thought they ever would. It's games way more packed and Elton John or Avatar some, you know, some, you know, some and they'll keep getting better and finessing things around the edges, but like it's a stunning stunning machine. It's a stunning machine. It's loaded and it's it's kind of like, you know, I was wrong about like if you don't like Evil Dead, you're not going to like the game. I I don't know. I think it doesn't I think kind of works, you know, because again, I think what Franchie did and what they because, you know, I think I think Franchie is a big reason for this. I think what he did was he made he made it more inviting and and art can do that, right? You paint a house clean and white and it it feels inviting. and you paint the walls black, not so much. So, I think um a lot has to do I think it all just came together
    14:31
    nicely. Yeah. You know, the spookies don't they don't shoot as good as the Stern machines, you know, like it's it's weird because like it's kind of getting to the point now where like is that all Stern has like is great gameplay and flipper feel. And look, it's a great thing to have. They also have great code in in some of their games for sure. The problem I see with stern machines is is that but you still stand over them and you feel now like you're standing over cheaper Tinker Toy like machines compared to Evil Dead or or JJP's. And that's the problem is like it's really hard to feel like in your hands is is a $13,000 product.
    15:14
    So that's the one thing I'm just like it just doesn't feel you know what I'm saying? like the the same way when you stand over. So, the dragon is not and and Joseph, I was saying this about Dungeons and Dragons. The dragon is a really nice mech. What I don't like about D and D is the art is really bad and it's boring and it's flat and it's it's got no personality, no depth to it. Like the D and D artwork to me is is the is the reason I wouldn't really own the game. I'm sorry, but like Dn D needed it if Franchie was on D and D. Yeah. Like or Zombie. Yeah. But like I I get they worked with a D and D artist, but it looks like a cheap D&D booklet like that I would have versus a $13,000 item. And I just wish it would have like really looked much nicer. I wish the dungeon drop took the ball
    16:15
    somewhere. Okay. Jamie. Jamie, Jamie, Jamie, Jamie because I'm because this is this fits my because I I do love Otani, man. It's like Otani is like Jordan, you know? It's like if you love baseball, like you just love watching that guy play. Well, that's the thing, man. It's like it's going to be an AKLE. It's going to be an
    16:43
    AKLE, dude. The Yankees are great. The Mets are great. Like New York baseball is like fun to watch now. Like they just are both fun teams. Baseball's like just taken over, man. Like nobody cares about the NBA. Have you noticed that? Like NBA is dead. It's dead. Steph Curry ruined the whole game. All like all they do now is it's not a physical game anymore. They just shoot up three-pointers and it's dead. Like I I wouldn't even want to go watch an NBA game. Like I I could care less. like I they ruined they basically ruined the sport and there's nothing they can do like all the athletes now don't want to get hurt and you know you're just going to shoot three-pointers and that's it. That's it. Like what's the fun in that? Yeah. College basketball is where it's at cuz the college basketball game is just much
    17:35
    different. Yeah. No, they're all they're all like buddies. They're all driving their McLarens to the games and they don't care. like they care more about the clothes they have on on the walk into the arena than they do about winning. You can tell like and the moment LeBron James was able to get his son into the league who has no business being in the NBA, it was like it's like the like the saddest thing ever, too. It's like I've never seen that before. Like normally you have to earn your way onto a team. Like you know if Archie Manning is going to play football in the NFL, right? He's good. He's not playing because his parents were uh Peyton Manning, you
    18:17
    know, right? It's like, isn't that like Peyton's son? I think it is. I don't even know. I think so. Anyway, um so yeah, gang, I look I think we're going to go through a really interesting month. I think it's going to be fun. I think spectating is the way to go. Um and then when you're ready to pull the trigger, call Mike here at Automate It. Call Melissa. But, you know, play these games. I look gang if you're in Europe or Australia and these these tariffs like why would you like I mean this when I say this with all love and sincerity why would you buy a game now? Why would you pay these prices in Europe or Australia with what's about to happen? Like what what's wrong with you? Just wait. You've got games in your home. Do you need it? right now. I I just can't see, you know, I don't think the tariffs in this like the thing with and I'm not going to get political, but the thing is is like Trump doesn't like to lose. He's obviously getting very aggressive with this hand he's playing, but in the end he's not going to he's not going to drive America into like a terrible recession. I I because he's like again because I don't think he likes to lose. So, we'll see what happens. But, you know, this doesn't feel like a winning strategy right now. And maybe there's a little short-term pain for long-term gain. I don't know. I I just think everybody when it comes to the economy, the the truth is is that nobody really knows. And it's it's a shame that so much of our lives now have become polarized, divisive, extreme ways to talk to each other about all everything. Like I just I don't know, man. I want to travel the world. I want my kids to be safe. I want them to be educated. I want to I want other cultures to uh I want to explore the cultures of the world. I I can't wait to go back to Japan. I don't want to spend like so much money on basic things we need. I I just it it hurts. It hurts everywhere you go. You know, you got to find the places with happy hours again. You know, you got to only go out when there's uh something worth celebrating. You can't just like roll around. I mean, not everybody. Some people can, but you know, for the most part, I mean, I live in these towns, gang, where like like my town, like Darianne, like we have a friend here. Like, people got money. Like people I'm like, you know, I'm like doing all right, but I mean, people got money. Like, you know, you when I think about like what's left in my mortgage and then you go down the street and there's like a $6 million home, an $8 million home, and people have like 6 to8 million homes. They have like multiple homes, right? Like this isn't their only home. Then they got the beach house. Then they got which means like these people have made somehow in their family and their generational wealth or whatever it is. Somehow these people must be sitting on 50 to$100 million to have an $8 million home. Like you know that, right? Like when you have an $8 million home, you have at least 50 million usually or more net worth. It's like, wow. Wow. And that's just like in one town. And there's tons of these towns and there's tons, you know, it's like going to New York City. Like look at the buildings. Like in some buildings alone, the cheapest apartment is $6 million. They might be in debt. I don't know. I don't know. I don't I don't I don't know what everybody did, you know? You know what I'm saying? It's like when I drive around like what did these people do? Like these aren't like like these guys have like, you know, are they They're not like famous athletes or musicians. They're like, they must have done something, started a business, right? They're still the look, still the best country in the world. America is still the best country in the world. Hands down. Like it it's the best country. If you have an idea, you can bring it to market and you could you could elevate your life. Like I don't I you know, I always give advice to my friends on the far left. I was like, if you guys want to win, got to stop hating America, okay? because it's just like rule number one. You you want to be president of America, you've got to love America. Okay, that's that's like that's like the foundation I think for any campaign. And that's why Trump's like make America great again, whether you love it or hate it. As a communicator, as a professional communicator, I'm like I it's doesn't get more straightforward than that, you know? And and when you're you can't come at it with like we're not going back. Like that was the that was the Camala Harris line. We're not going back versus make America great again. Okay. So, no, we're not great yet. No, we're not. But also like, you know, the way I look at this country is like we're 50 states and within those states are all these different people of all these different cultures. Like it's like whatever. Like in the end, like all we can really do is treat people as we want to be treated and and educate your kids, drink sake, and find restaurants in the town you live in where they know your name when you walk through the door and try to contribute at work so they see your value. And you know, go to Tokyo. If you've never been to Tokyo, gang, you've never been to like the greatest city in the world. You've never gone to a city that's actually clean, a city where people are respectful, a city where the food is the best you'll ever have, a city where the arcades are the best you'll ever see, a city where the architecture and the cars and everything. It is Tokyo. You You literally can't fall on the subway tracks. No one can push you onto the tracks in Tokyo cuz they built the subway system. So, you can't fall onto the tracks. The doors don't open up on the subway car until the car is there. There is a barrier. You can get on a bullet train in Japan and be somewhere in an hour that would take you three hours in America. every time Tokyo will actually change your perspective on life if you go I I it will it will it will it will it will make you realize because to me you know and you know I know this is a little bit off topic for me but to me I'll tell you why I became such a fan of of Japanese culture when I was in boarding school right first world problems my parents sent me to boarding school it was a tough place like I was just a teenager I and I'm living away from home with no parents, no car, you know, no locks on the doors. And the Japanese kids were the nicest to me. And everybody else was like, "You you you got like bullied, you got like threatened, you've got like your stuff stolen." But the Japanese kids were just always so polite and so nice. And I I was just always like just so fascinated by by that. And then they were also just the coolest kids ever. Like they had the coolest clothes, the coolest haircuts. They they they could kick all our asses in Street Fighter 2. Like they knew how to do stuff with Guile I'd never seen before. Uh my friend Jean, he like he was able to like get you dizzy with Guile and then get you dizzy again without you even like recovering. I I never even understood like that combo even existed. Uh that's what turned me on to like Akira. Uh they turned me on to like their culture and they were very, you know, ingratiating. Uh, and look and and look, you get that in America, too. In certain parts of America, you get that all again like but but cons on a on a on a universal level. I don't think we're the most polite. I don't think we're the most friendly. I don't I think like we can be very abrasive, right? So, but the thing about Tokyo too in the Japanese culture and it always like just blows me away. Um, yeah. Well, I don't, you know, I don't want to smoke weed in Japan, but the they they drink a lot, right? They drink a lot. The thing is, it always is crazy to me that, you know, Japan was like allied with Hitler, right? They were they were they did horrible atrocities in the world. And the shame of their behavior during and the recovery from that is what led to modern day Japan. and the and the rethinking of like how we build a society after we went down such a terrible path. And that wasn't even a hundred years ago. It it it blows me away just just thinking we are not even a hundred years past the time period in which the bomb was dropped or Hitler marched through Europe with the Blitz Creek. And think about how short a 100 years is, right? And so here we are like in 2025. I think what's what's what's happened in the world and we'll get back to pinball is like we've just we've lost the optimism. We've lost the hope and we universally we're we're just and I think it is because we lost decades like we just don't have like the 80s the 90s like what now we're just internet AI negativity like work your ass off don't get much in return and you know find yourself unemployed in your 50s like welcome to modern day America. Um yeah you know what we lost is is parents disciplining their kids though too. Go watch like Japanese kids on a train in like Tokyo. Like they're in uniforms. They're all like like go watch American kids like savages. Who keeps retracting messages? Um every anyway, what game I want to hear from you guys. What game are you most likely to buy out of the four games coming out? We're looking at Barrels of Fun. It's Dune people. We're looking at King Kong. We're looking at um we're looking at Harry Potter and Predator. All right. So, we got one for Kong, King Kong Pro, Harry
    28:31
    Potter, King Kong, and Harry Potter. Yeah, I think a lot of people are going to maybe do that. If it's the new Dune, that one otherwise Kong. Okay, I think it is the new Dune. Kong and Harry Potter. Predator is not going to be done properly. I heard Predator is terrible. That's what I heard. I heard it's bad. I don't think Arnold's in it. I don't think Arnold's in it. I'm I'm like so saddened by that. I don't I I'm so sad. Yeah. Bug needs to take Francancy to
    29:07
    Japan. Yeah. You know, I um I've never had better food in my life. And and it's not what you think. I mean, I went three Michelin star in Japan and yes, it was insane. I you know, Jirro Dreams of Sushi. I went to his apprentices, the the dude who who took like 12 years to make the omelette, right, or the rice. I went to his place in uh in Ginsa and it was like uh it was insane. like it was like on the eighth floor of a building like a like a like a res like a commercial building and Bren and I like oh my god it I think it was 550 a person but that wasn't the best right it like when you do those like 500 a person three Michelin staras like yes every bite is just like divine but sometimes you leave hungry the best meal I had in all of Japan I won't forget it was a ramen shop on a rainy day we went to the Ghibli Museum which is incredible in this like quaint little town and there's this ramen shop where you you pay before you go in which I love Japanese culture like you pay before you go in. They line the bowl with pork and then the hot broth the the noodle. Oh my. It was like it was spicy. Oh, just like oh my
    30:32
    god. Oh my god. Yes. So good. Uh the Kobe beef was amazing and then you know the market food was just like to die for. But yeah, all of it was good. You find like little hole-in-the-wall lumas places all throughout Japan. It's so good. Um Kong Kong a lot of Kong, right? I mean Keith Elwin's got he's he's got the following. I'm excited to see everything. I'm terrified of what I'm going to owe in my taxes. Isn't it Is it like tax day April 15th? Right. Like, is was it smart for Barrels of Fund to release their game on the day taxes are due? I don't think so. I I don't think I don't know what Brian was thinking really. But yeah, I I know they're mad at me. They I have a tendency to make people mad at me and and people can people think that I'm it's unfair of me to be giving them a hard time because I should be more complimentary of what they've achieved in their first year with their first game. That that's kind of like the the vibe between my friends at Barrels and me. Okay. Now, they're not wrong, but I'm also not totally wrong. Like I don't I don't really um I I you know like this isn't an A for effort industry anymore. It it is a you make a banger masterpiece game or you're going to be in trouble. That's the kind of industry it is, you know, and and you know, the Abbis family's been floating JJP all these years in ways that like, you know, they're not they're not around because of their successes. They're they're they can just they can just burn money through their failures and they they do the truth and reality isn't what people want to hear. Um yeah. No, it's like I I think that's that's um like like when you're giving opinions about pinball and these companies and these products, there's it's not about truth or lies, right? It's about subjective opinions about these things. But I think where Canadas Pinball Podcast myself has done well and I think the community that has joined on Patreon and enjoys being a part of Canadas Pinball Podcast Club, right? If you will, like it's a club. We have a club. We're like a clubhouse. We hang out. It's a Patreon. It's a lot of fun. I think why people enjoy it is we're not like looking at it all through rosecolored glasses. And I think there's a there was just there's just too much content that was just like kind of glorifying everything and not and and not being like, well, yeah, like this is good, but is it worth it? You know, and I don't I don't know how you separate it. Like how do you how do you remove price from the equation of something like pinball? I I I can't do it. Everything like look, there's a watch. Brenda got me this this um you know Steve McQueen classic tag. Is that how you say tag? Um you know the Monaco watch. It's it's a it's an iconic design. To some people this isn't worth a hundred bucks. You can see the back the movements. It's nice. comes with this blue. It's the It's the classic. They massproduce these things, right? I think brand new. These are like $6,000 maybe brand new. You can go get them used for probably 4500, right? They don't they don't go much lower. But it's all subjective, you know. To me, I I love wearing this because Brenda gave it to me as a gift and I wasn't expecting it.
    34:31
    Um, can you write that comment again? Let's see. That's why I love the chat. Just saying everything is awesome and amazing means nothing. Yeah, like I I agree. I do do not think everything is awesome. Like I think that Dungeons and Dragons artwork is hideous and it's the reason I wouldn't buy the game. That's just my opinion. I just don't think the art is good. I think the art on Evil Dead is like makes me want to own it. Even if I don't like Evil Dead, that's how good it is. I also think, gang, a lot of us are going to have to be probably a little bit tighter with our finances this year. I say that as I go out and I buy like lunch and drinks and whatnot. I just bought um a long nice, Wayne. Wayne, how much was that watch? which is like we can find on the internet. But Wayne, how much was that
    35:31
    watch? I'm curious, Wayne. Watches are fun to me. 50 5400. Okay, nice. Austral Yeah. No, like it's um I always believe like watches should be something you buy because you um you know, you like it. It's like jewelry for men. I mean, I have two watches on right now. I I wear this one even more. And I love this watch tremendously. Need to change the clock. It's my Initial D. It's what's on the side of my car. And it's um it's my G-Shock. It's all dirty. Got to clean it. But they, you know, they only made a limited number. There's less of these. There's less of these in the world than these in the world. And that's kind of why I like some of just cheap fun Casio theme watches because I I like, you know, I I like that it's themed on something that I'm into and at night they're cool. They light up and the logo of like Initial D pops up. It's really cool. You know, my dad would always tell me when we would go to Knicks games, my dad was in in M&A, he was in mergers and acquisitions for 37 years. And he'd always say, "Son, let me tell you who's got the real money in in Madison Square Garden." He's like, "Look down there. Look at the watches that all the investment bankers are wearing. They're wearing the cheapest Casios there are because they would never waste their money on a watch. They would put they would put that money in the market. You know, that's that's what someone who understands the value of money is because time is just time. Why would they why would they want to spend $40,000 on a Rolex when those guys are turning 40,000 into 400? You know, I was like, "Dad, can I can we go get Rolexes now?" But he's right. My dad never got into watch collecting. My dad never he cars were his thing or are his thing. He's still alive. Um uh yeah, little nick on my Toyota rim. $1,000 for a new wheel. I'm not doing the Sharpie pen. Five bucks fixes it.
    37:50
    Yeah, of course Rolexes are of course people think about Rolexes as investments because they do hold value and some like my brother's got a $40,000 gold Rolex. If he went to go sell it today, he'd get like maybe 35 for it maybe because of the scratches on it. But he wears it all the time. It It's heavy. It's like it's worth its weight in gold literally. Um, I I won't lie. I'm always like jealous of my brother's watches. He just has much nicer watches than me. Uh, and I have watch envy. See, I went like the other route. I got like this. I got the Omega James Bond. Like I I all my watches probably total up to like 30,000 maybe. But I probably would, you know, I don't know. Maybe it's better just to have one $30,000 watch. But I also just believe in wearing them. You know, it's like people don't wear their watches. is they don't want to scratch them up. It's stupid. I also don't want to like get into watch talking about watches with people. I mean, it's just
    38:49
    weird. Yeah. Vacation envy. You know what I also get envy of is like first class envy. Like flying business class is like couldn't do it. And we're going to Scotland next week. I just couldn't justify it. I wasn't going to take a six-hour flight for like $7,000. Now, when I go back to Japan, I will go for No, this is not a pinball podcast. This is not called a pinball podcast. Now, on my pinball podcast, gang, if you're a member of the Canada Club, yes, we're all pinball all the time. So, yeah, that let's summarize and then we'll end this show. This has been a rocky show. It's been like three or four times I've gone live trying to get the camera flipped around. Um, Evil Dead is pretty impressive game, gang. It's Spooky's best game to date. It it it really is for the money. You can't beat it. You absolutely can't beat it.
    39:49
    Bruce? Uh oh. He's talking to Franchie. Okay. So, great game. Stern's got its work cut out for them. They do. You know, they can't just bank the whole company on Keith Owen. one Keith Owen game a year is going to save us or we're going to remake the old classics. That's not going to work. They need to up their game. Their games are looking a little tinker toyish, a little cheap. Um some of them, you know, look, not all of them, but I just think in general there's um it's like it's really become, you know, I think they need to up it and I think Spike 3 needs to come out on Kong. And now there's a rumor that Spike 3 is not going to be on Kong and I'm just like I I I don't know. Maybe they maybe they know Spike 3 needs to be a $14,000 a game and they don't want to do it now with the tariffs and they I don't know. Maybe they're going to hold back. And I I just don't like that Sterns are this much money. They're losing so much money on the secondhand market and they're just they're just plowing forward with the same high prices on everything regardless if it's Elwin. I think they're in trouble. I do. I don't think it's a winning strategy. U I think Barrels of Fun is going to come out with Dune. I think they're the dropping it the same week as Keith Ellwin's machine is is a colossal mistake. Um I think they should move it forward. I think it show the game today. Like whatever it is, show the game. Get orders today. I just don't know. I don't think anything is I don't think I don't think the only way out of this situation for Barrels right now is if the game is incredible and they're proud of what they've made and it can go up against some big stuff.
    41:22
    Um Um Yeah. No. And then I think that Harry Potter is is such a question mark. It's such a question mark to me. I is Eric going to be able to do what we want. Load it standard body game with a lot of flow and those assets. Boy, I just am still nervous that it's not going to have what are assets that we want. I that is my worry.
    41:57
    Um, so yeah, I think I think Harry Potter is going to be either the biggest uh there's going to be the b biggest excitement for it or biggest disappointment for it. I I think there's no middle ground with Potter. And I think with all the movies and I just think it's like if I were I just think I just think it's going to be hard to deliver against the expectations of that game and I think it's it's a real problem they're going to
    42:30
    have. Well, I mean I I'm not here to crown anybody, but last time I checked who's hanging out here with us right now, Michael. Yes, Bug is here. franch they're hanging out. You know, when I go live, where's where's the Stern marketing team? Where's where's JJP employees chiming in here saying, "Yo, Chris, can't like where's Eric Miner on here being like, "Yo, Chris, can't wait to for you guys to see my game." And I'm just saying this right now, that goes a long way for me. You want to build relationships with Canada. And I told this to my friend at Barrels because he was, you know, he was really laying into me. It's not fair. It's not fair. And I said, "Look, I got to be honest. I got to be honest. I think you guys do a terrible job being transparent. You do nothing. Your game's coming out in 11 days." This was yesterday. Your game's coming out in 11 days and you haven't done anything to get people excited. You've done nothing. There's no hype. There's no marketing. There's no teaser. Where's David Vaness? Do people even know what David Vaness looks like? Why isn't he going live? Why isn't he like, "Gang, I can't wait in 11 days. I know Stern's got Kong coming out, but you know, you're really gonna love what you see with our game. And unlike those games where they're gonna make thousands of them, there's only gonna be like 800 of this game. And I think you're going to love it. And I can't wait for you to see. Where's Where is he? Why isn't he doing that? He's doing nothing to hype his product. And so, I'm allowed to have favorites. It's the way life works. I'm allowed to have favorites. I have favorite people at work that I go into. Look, there's people at work that hate me. There's people that like me. There's people that love me. There's people that hate me. I have my favorites. I have people I want to work with. I have people I don't want to work with. I have pinball companies I love because of my relationship with them. And it goes both ways. It's what I told my friend at Barl. I'm like, "Dude, it goes both ways. I don't know what I don't know." So, like, if I'm ragging on your game or if I think it's Dune and I'm ragging on it, then change my mind. Make me sign an NDA. Show me something to get me excited. But they don't do anything. So, like, what do you want me to do? you want me to just sit back and just like blow smoke up your ass because, you know, there's this sense that like, oh yeah, you're blowing smoke up Spooky's butt and you're like overly praising him. I'm like, I'm giving praise where praise is is is is due, right? If Spooky came out with Ultra Man right now, I'm I'm telling them what a piece of crap it is. But they didn't. They came out with Evil Dead. It's freaking cool. It's freaking awesome. Like, what what am I supposed to do? I'm not allowed to like, wow, you've come a long way, but let me be the same negative
    45:06
    Nancy. What reason would Stern have? Michael, I'll tell you what reason they would have. Because when I do a Facebook live, Michael, guess how many people see it? 3,500 people watch every every Facebook live I do. Yeah. Cool. But here's why, Michael. because they jump in to places where they know they're going to get, you know, nothing but pats on the back. And guess what, Michael? They'd be smarter to jump into MySpace more often because if if if if even like a third of my audience is listening to what I'm saying, the amount of potential buyers that might change opinions, yes, people will change opinions on what they hear.
    45:57
    Michael, it's not about who's watching live. People watch these videos after. Do you know how they you know how content works, Michael? Okay. So, yeah. And guess what? So, a week from now, when 1500 people watch this, more watch it on Facebook. So, what what what good is it to avoid it all? So, I'm not Look, I'm not saying like I I'm I'm I'm like this huge influencer, but I'm a nano influencer in a nano
    46:29
    community. So, like, cool. So, avoid avoid me. Look, they invited me to go see King Kong. I just I'm just not going to spend my own money to go to Stern when it the game's going to be here, which is 25 minutes away. That's That's
    46:52
    why, you know. So, I think um I think I'll do that. I think I'll play King Kong here when it gets
    47:02
    unboxed. Dang. I don't care whether I have 85 people at 120. It doesn't matter. I'll tell you this, and this is this this makes me proud. I'm the only pinball podcast content creator that moneti I that monetized the show successfully. The only one in in 12 years of pinball podcasters probably people have been pinball podcasting for 15 years. I'm the only one that monetized it in a way that makes everybody happy. It works for me. It works for my fans and it's been consistent. and why would I go do it for free and and pretend like because look the people that like keep it all open for free is like to them the awareness matters more but I've got the awareness I've got the audience and I've got the you know at the end of the month at least a little bit of money not a lot I mean it's not making me wealthy if I lost my job and all I had was my pinball content money yeah I wouldn't be in a great place financially but it's enough to buy a couple pins for me a year why wouldn't I want that look, it's good. It's good. I'm happy with where I'm at. I'm happy with the audience I get. Um, but I do I do think Stern should hang out more and and, you know, and engage more. But look, I don't look I kind of get why Stern doesn't, but I think, you know, it'd be nice if Ken did more over at JJP. be nice if just I would be I look if I was Eric Minor I'd be in it with every if if there was a dude like me and then I'm going to end this podcast or this live. If there was a dude like me in in the hobby I'm in like if I was a designer and there was a dude like Canada, I would be all up in this like just giving and taking it with the dude in in a fun way. I would I wouldn't just like
    49:02
    But whatever. It is what it is, gang. It is what it is. That's why Spooky gets a little bit more love. And And look, I told the barrels and just come on, man. Come on. Get in the ring. Get in the jungle. Um, all right. Yeah, of course they watch Albert. I mean, come on. Up in here. Oh, man. DMX. I love it. All right, everybody. Look, have a great Saturday. This has gone late, but it's been a wonky show. I get it. Um, and it's about to get crazy. It's about to get crazy. And if you want to hear the world's most entertaining pinball podcast, entertaining, right? I didn't say favorite, but entertaining. Um, at least two to three shows a week. Lots is going on, right? Lots going on right now. Just go to Canad Pinball Podcast, Patreon. You know where the show is at by now. if you're not a member. Seriously, gang, for five bucks, you get like now like 300 shows plus you get uh you know, two to three shows a week. Anyway, everybody, be good. We'll be back next Saturday. We're going to do it here next Saturday. I'm just going to do Why? I'm just going to do it on YouTube from now on, but I don't know. But on my computer.