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DPP #126 "The pinball future is in black and white"

Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)·podcast_episode·30m 30s·analyzed·May 31, 2024
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.038

TL;DR

Godzilla 70th anniversary edition rumors, Stern pricing strategy analysis, American Pinball Cuphead speculation.

Summary

Don discusses rumors of a Godzilla 70th Anniversary Edition in black-and-white, expected in July at $12,500 MSRP, and analyzes Stern's shift away from aggressive LE rereleases after community backlash. He contrasts the premium anniversary strategy with the disappointing Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary, advocating for substantial cosmetic upgrades to justify premium pricing. He also speculates on American Pinball's next game being Cuphead, criticizes Barry O's Barbecue Challenge as undercooked art/animations, and calls for American Pinball to focus on licensed IP to compete with Stern's recent releases.

Key Claims

  • Stern is planning a Godzilla 70th Anniversary Edition in black-and-white, not branded as Limited Edition, releasing in July at approximately $12,500 MSRP

    medium confidence · Don discusses this as rumor: 'there's been this rumbling of a black and white Godzilla being released an anniversary edition turns out the 70th anniversary is coming up right around the corner in July'

  • Stern stopped producing multiple LE variants for anniversary editions after community backlash regarding Stranger Things LE secondary market depreciation

    high confidence · Don explains: 'there was some considerable backlash and so Stern took a step back and said, you know what? We're not going to do these limited edition releases anymore'

  • Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Edition featured inferior finish compared to Elvira 40th Anniversary and Blood Red Kiss editions

    high confidence · Don: 'Jurassic Park came out, and it had this doo-doo brown powder coat color... It was just kind of run-of-the-mill... not even like the two-step illusion prismatic powder'

  • American Pinball's Maurice (technical lead) has been let go, and Cuphead is rumored to be their next game after Sonic deal fell through

    low confidence · Don: 'their new technical guy, Maurice, man... apparently, he's been let go for reasons. I don't know if it's downsizing'

  • Barry O's Barbecue Challenge has inferior shooter rod metal quality (aluminum-like) causing sticky/inconsistent skill shots

    medium confidence · Don: 'the shooter rods they're using... feels like... it's like aluminum and it doesn't slide very good... you can't consistently get a skill shot off'

  • Godzilla Premium MSRP is $9,799; Elvira Premium MSRP was $10,500; proposed anniversary edition at $12,500 represents significant premium over standard Premium tier

    high confidence · Don: 'Godzilla Premium is $9,799... Elvira was selling for $10.50... this game is going to be like... $12,500 or something MSRP'

  • American Pinball needs to focus on licensed IP (video games, toys, Masters of the Universe, Thundercats) rather than original themes to compete

Notable Quotes

  • “The pinball future is in black and white”

    Don (episode title reference) @ title — Thematic statement about anticipated Godzilla 70th Anniversary Edition; positions monochromatic aesthetic as forward-looking

  • “I'm not rushing out to ditch my premium, though, and go in on this. Even if I sold my premium right now, I'd probably still hang back and just watch this one.”

    Don @ approx 15:30 — Shows cautious sentiment despite enthusiasm for Godzilla game itself; buyer hesitation based on unclear value proposition of anniversary edition vs. standard Premium

  • “If you buy a license, right... you're going to get a lot of assets... gold, man. This is going to make people walk across the arcade and throw tokens in your machine.”

    Don @ approx 28:00 — Core argument for why American Pinball needs licensed IP; reflects community sentiment on licensing value vs. original themes

  • “Godzilla is the best game of our modern age, right? Run this game for the next 20 years if you want.”

    Don @ approx 17:00 — Extreme praise for Godzilla; positions it as defining title of current era; establishes context for acceptance of multiple variants

  • “When you go with an original license, an original theme... you don't have to pay that licensing fee... but you've got to bring it... that's not free.”

    Don @ approx 27:00 — Addresses fundamental American Pinball strategy challenge; clarifies that unlicensed games still require substantial asset development investment

  • “The animations are not where they should be for a commercial game from a company. If this was a homebrew, I'd be ecstatic with those art and animations. But like, when I see you get the multiball and there's the propane grill that's taking off like a rocket ship, it looks like not just a cell phone game but like a bad cell phone game.”

    Don @ approx 33:00 — Detailed critique of Barry O's Barbecue Challenge art direction; establishes professional expectations vs. hobbyist standards

  • “Elvira had this in spades man that 40th anniversary edition with the shiny vinyl decal-ish stuff... that's what I want, something I can't get myself, at least without tons of difficulty.”

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyDonpersonGodzilla (pinball)gameJaws (pinball)gameAmerican PinballcompanyBarry O's Barbecue ChallengegameCupheadgameElvira 40th Anniversary Edition

Signals

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Barry O's Barbecue Challenge criticized for weak animation quality (compared unfavorably to mobile game), underdeveloped characters, sticky shooter rods

    high · Don: 'it looks like not just a cell phone game but like a bad cell phone game... the animations... I don't know what's going on... sticky shooter rod'

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Licensed IP provides substantial gameplay/sales advantage over original themes due to built-in fan engagement and asset availability

    high · Don: 'If you buy a license... you're going to get a lot of assets... gold, man. This is going to make people walk across the arcade and throw tokens in your machine'

  • $

    market_signal: American Pinball facing competitive pressure from licensed IP titles (Looney Tunes, John Wick, Jaws) and needs strategic pivot to licensed games

    high · Don: 'for the same amount of money, you could put Looney Tunes in your arcade instead of Barry... where are the kids going to go and play?'

  • ?

    personnel_signal: John Borg (original Walking Dead designer) designed Star Wars Pinball; George Gomez provides licensing master class

    high · Don references master class from George Gomez about licensing IP asset integration

  • $

    market_signal: Godzilla 70th Anniversary Edition priced at $12,500 MSRP, significantly above standard Premium tier ($9,799) despite no LE branding

    medium · Don: 'this game is going to be like... $12,500 or something MSRP... that's a considerable bit more than a premium goes for'

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.091

0:00
Screaming to the end of the week. You got your hot cocoa packed? Put a little shot of rum in that and let's get some kick on back. It's almost June, you guys.
0:42
Can't believe it, man. It's been like 48 hours of solid Jaws. Only Jaws, all Jaws, let's get there. So it didn't take me that many plays to get there. I felt like it was more of a grind to get 500 million points in Deadpool. I've had some great games on Jaws Premium. I got a couple of billion-point scores, a handful of scores in the 800s and 900s. So I think, you know, maybe it was like 30 games or so altogether to get to that 20 billion point, which would have cost me $30 at the arcade, which is like the whole reason that they do these quests. But just to get us to come on back to the arcade as well. So, you know, we are appreciative for that. I love these quests that Stern's doing, man. Insider Connected, baller. whatever you guys are paying Amazon to host it thanks you guys and I can't wait to see what happens with John Wick but we talked enough about John Wick for like two episodes went to the factory, all that business we're now post-Wick but I want to talk about what's next and that's these rumors that keep dropping so consistently for a while now there's been this rumbling of a black and white Godzilla being released an anniversary edition turns out the 70th anniversary is coming up right around the corner in July, and wouldn't you know, Stern has a big, giant, air-sucking hole in their production schedule, and so that's probably where we're going to see it. Now, they were, you know, had visions and designs on doing these anniversary limited editions. Of course, Elvira was the prototype for that. What, there was one premium edition and, like, five different LEs, right? You know, you had the limited edition, the signature edition, which had a piece of the couch, I think. And then you had the 40th anniversary edition, which was just the most gorgeous pinball machine of all time, until the Blood Red Kiss came out. And so then they turned around and they did 500 of Jurassic Park for that's anniversary. And it was not as impressive. Not as impressive to me, kind sir, though some people have reached out that have purchased that, that are very happy with it. But for me, it was completely underwhelming. And then here we are on the eve of Godzilla, and supposedly there was tons of these that they were going to do, but of course they hit some backlash from the community. So, put yourself in a position you got yourself a Stranger Things LE and it's like going for $16,000, $18,000, you're riding high, and then if they would turn around and just release a bunch more for MSRP, all of a sudden you're completely undercut. Somebody can go get a brand new game out of the box way cheaper than you're trying to offload your use. That's just the whims of the market. So there was some considerable backlash and so Stern took a step back and said, you know what? Bet. We're not going to do these limited edition releases anymore. We'll do the initial 1,000 run, which is ample, and then they won't go back to that well again, but we will do anniversary releases, blah, blah, blah. So I guess this game is going to be classified technically as a premium, which I think just means that the little plaque is going to say 70th Anniversary edition, but it's not going to say limited one of 500 or one of 1500 or whatever. But, you know, are they going to bring the heat? We know they can do it because they did it with Elvira. So the rumors that I'm hearing is this game is not going to be $13,000, but it's going to be like, you know, $12,500 or something MSRP. So that, I don't know if you've been checking, dear listener, but that's a considerable bit more than a premium goes for now, that $97.99, which again is already pretty considerable when it comes to price, right? Now, Elvira was selling for $10.50 last I checked. When it first came out, it was $8 something. Oh, hey, Jaws is playing that John Wick trailer. Check out that John Wick goodness. Oh, man, this isn't even a 4K screen, and it looks amazing. Look at that case open up. All right, digressing over. So let's talk about this for a second. It's not going to be branded in LE, but it's going to be expensive, and I hope they bring the LE trim level accoutrement to this game if they're going to be charging that much for it because I'm sure the art package is going to look pretty amazing and boss, right? So when they did the Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Edition, what did you get? It was an LE, so you got a mirrored back glass. Okay. You got a powder-coated armor and lockdown bar, not the speaker panel and not the coin door. It did not come with a shooter rod. You got the shaker motor, the Invisiglass, and a different art package, right, the 30th Anniversary branded one. And I think there was a dinosaur that wasn't even in that Jurassic Park movie. It was in Lost World or something. It was some controversy. But the finish on the vinyl decals were just regular run-of-the-mill vinyl decals. There was nothing special about these. The last few LE releases, at least starting from Rush, from what I can gather, they all have this kind of reflective foil finish. I've looked at trying to get some of these replicated myself, you know, like some similar graphics, and it turns out it's really difficult to do. Well, not that it's difficult. It's just expensive. The people that I've talked to that do this type of large format printing for adhesive decals, they said, yeah, we can print, you know, something similar on that type of base, but you're going to have to go buy the whole roll and bring it in, and that's going to be prohibitively expensive. It's not something that they stock. So we're kind of in the same situation as, like, trying to find a mirrored back glass, right? It's not that printing on glass is difficult. It's just finding someone that will do it. And not only that, but finding someone that will do it in the small volumes that a hobbyist would want, which is, you know, one or two, you know. I'm a fan of alternate trans lights you know those are easy to get but like the holy grail has been the mirrored back glass and there are ways but there's so many hurdles between you know where you're at and where you want to be that it's like hardly even worth doing but you know that's that so when it comes to an LE I want that good finish on those decals if I can't get radcals I want foil embossed decals right Elvira had this in spades man that 40th anniversary edition with the shiny vinyl decal-ish stuff that was on the side there, replicated in the Blood, Bread, Kiss version. Like, that's what I want, something I can't get myself, at least without tons of difficulty.

high confidence · Don: 'I hope they're doing Cuphead... that animation is gorgeous... bring the bangers... American pinball, you got all the assets'

  • Reflective foil-finish vinyl decals (standard on recent LE releases since Rush) are expensive/difficult to source for hobbyist custom work

    high confidence · Don: 'they all have this kind of reflective foil finish... it turns out it's really difficult to do. Well, not that it's difficult. It's just expensive'

    • Don @ approx 11:00 — Articulates what collectors value in premium editions; establishes Elvira 40th as benchmark for anniversary edition quality

  • “I hope that the Sword of Omen gives American Pinball sight beyond sight. And then they can say, you know what, let's go to our roots... Let's be the American Toy Pinball Company.”

    Don @ approx 45:30 — Strategic vision for American Pinball's future identity; references Masters of the Universe 'Sword of Omen' Easter egg

    • game
    Jurassic Park 30th Anniversary Editiongame
    Blood Red Kiss (Elvira variant)game
    John Wickgame
    Jason Knappperson
    Mauriceperson
    George Gomezperson
    David Fixperson
    Looney Tunes (pinball)game
    Texas Chainsaw Massacregame
    Masters of the Universegame
    Sonic the Hedgehoggame
    Gooniesgame
    Southern Fry Gaming Expoevent
    Stranger Things LEgame
    Don's Pinball Podcastorganization
  • ?

    announcement: Godzilla 70th Anniversary Edition in black-and-white rumored for July release

    medium · Don: 'there's been this rumbling of a black and white Godzilla being released an anniversary edition turns out the 70th anniversary is coming up right around the corner in July'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Anniversary edition strategy pivoting from multiple LE variants to single curated edition with enhanced cosmetics (armor, toppers, reflective finishes)

    high · Don contrasts Elvira 40th Anniversary (mirrored backglass, sculpted armor, reflective vinyl) with Jurassic Park 30th (plain powder coat, regular vinyl)

  • ?

    product_concern: Manufacturing quality expectations for premium anniversary editions include reflective foil-finish vinyl decals, but sourcing/replication is prohibitively expensive for small volumes

    high · Don: 'reflective foil finish... really difficult to do... it's just expensive. The people... said, we can print something similar on that type of base, but you're going to have to go buy the whole roll'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: American Pinball's next game after Sonic deal fell through is rumored to be Cuphead video game IP

    low · Don: 'Jason Knapp... dropping a lot of American Pinball news... this is rumored to be their next game... the one that Sonic Kid is supposed to be making after they didn't get the Sonic license'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: American Pinball technical lead Maurice recently let go; unclear if downsizing or performance-based

    low · Don: 'their new technical guy, Maurice... apparently, he's been let go for reasons. I don't know if it's downsizing'

  • ?

    business_signal: Stern shifted from multiple LE variants to single anniversary edition model after Stranger Things secondary market collapse

    high · Don: 'there was some considerable backlash and so Stern took a step back and said, you know what? We're not going to do these limited edition releases anymore'

  • ?

    technology_signal: Shooter rod material quality issue on Barry O's Barbecue Challenge (aluminum vs. steel) causes sticky/inconsistent skill shots

    medium · Don: 'feels like... aluminum and it doesn't slide very good... fortunately after talking to David Fix I think they're working on going more traditional'

    • 6:55
    So Elvira came out. It was $10.50 for the premium as the current going rate for it. The Signature, the Limited Edition, the 40th Anniversary Edition were all released like high dollar, right? And so when they came out with the Blood, Bread, Kiss, I think it had an art package, and most people will agree that rivaled the 40th anniversary and may have even surpassed it, also at the current LE price of $12,999. Not this $20,000, $25,000 dealers get what you can get for it. We're not even going to put an MSRP on it. It's just like our gift to you. This was something that looked as good and came in much less price. That was amazing. Plus it came with that shooter rod You had a choice of a regular one or that bejeweled dagger that only came on the 40th anniversary edition You had the mirrored back glass the great art and everything else that comes with an LE the Invisiglass and the shaker motor was already in there. So that was the full package. The armor on the sides was even sculpted to look like, it was the same one from the 40th anniversary edition with the drippy kind of blood motif. So fancy upgraded armor, the whole thing was powder coated with a sparkle powder coat that looked great, It had the upgraded graphics on it and everything, and it came in at $12,999. So that's a win. That's a win. And then Jurassic Park came out, and it had this doo-doo brown powder coat color, this copper. No sparkles in it. No glittery clear coat on the top of it. Not even like the two-step illusion prismatic powder that I put on my machines. It was just kind of run-of-the-mill, kind of blood rust brown.
    8:24
    It had a bearded back glass. Okay. You know, it said the anniversary was on there with a little sticker. And then just these run-of-the-mill vinyl decals. And you didn't even get the shooter rod. It didn't come with a topper. And it was just like, why is this $12,999? Now, yeah, Don, the Jurassic Park LEs were selling for more than that, you know, back in the day there. But, like, this should have been, you know, the definitive edition. Let's make a video game argument. You know, when, you know, a AAA title comes out after about nine months to 12 months or so, they will re-release it with all of the downloadable content that had come out in the interim, the pre-order bonuses and maybe a bonus level or something and they'll put like a metal steelbook or something it'll be like the definitive edition and it'll come out you know at the price of you know the game originally released that you know video game comes out and it's 69.99 or so and then trickles down in price as time goes on and then they come out with this definitive edition it's got all the upgrades in it it's full price you know if you haven't bought it yet this is the one you want i think the pinball should be the same way this jurassic park should have came with a topper that was a little distinct to the 30th anniversary. Something should have been on there. It should have came with the amber shooter rod. It should have had some sculpted armor. You know, throw a dinosaur on the side of it or something. You know, you got the laser cutting equipment right there, man. Make some cool armor. And then you can throw a cool powder coat in here, like a jungle green with a top glitter coat, you know, or something. Or if you're going with doo-doo brown, like throw a sheen in there. There's some two-step illusion powders that bring some depth and some sparkle or some spectral aspects to it, you know, like do that and bring it. You know, powder coat the coin door. Throw some magnet graphics on there. Give me something. Give me a petrified dinosaur scale to put in the apron, you know, something like, okay, this is the definitive version of this great game of Jurassic Park. Like that's what I would have wanted to see, and that's what I didn't see. And so for Godzilla, black and white edition, still a rumor. But if it comes out, in addition to the Invisiglass and the Art Blades and the shaker motor. I want some custom-colored armor. I want it to look black with white accents, maybe some touch of gray scale in there. Do something special with the speaker cutouts. Yeah, do the speaker cutouts that you're doing like with John Wick now and you did with Jaws. Put those expression lights in the speaker panels and come up with a cool trans light or back glass, and then throw that black and white version of the $1,000 Godzilla topper in there and then we got a deal. Okay, do a black and white edition run of the shooter rod. Okay, I know it's a Mothra egg or whatever, but that would be cool. If that was black and white and the topper was black and white, like what the guys at the electric pinball, no, electric playground make, they did a black and white version for Twilight Zone of their Twilight Zone topper. Like do that. I'm looking at the Godzilla topper right now and just do that in grayscale, black and white, put it out, but have it included. and then if you want to charge $12.50 I feel like I'm getting a lot of value I feel like I'm getting the definitive edition of this amazing game. I did a live stream a little bit ago at the dog park and I was talking about I ain't even mad that they're running more versions of Godzilla is the best game of our modern age, right? Run this game for the next 20 years if you want. Come up with multiple versions of it I'm totally fine with that. I don't mind going to an expo every now and then and like, oh hey, here's a new release of Godzilla Let me go play it. If I end up selling my Godzilla and three years down the line I want to pick up the definitive edition, or at least what is the latest one, I'm okay having that happen. Like, let's go ahead and do that. I'm fine with that. Godzilla is a special, special game. If you were going to do a Jaws limited edition, anniversary edition, you know, three to five years down the road, I think that's totally fine too. But, like, throw something cool in there. You know, throw a couple of different shooter rods. Throw that topper in there. Make it like a definitive package. and then there'll be a whole lot more goodwill from us in the fan community going forward. And it will put a nice veil over the cash graph that these are, right? And so I wouldn't even be mad. So we'll see what happens. We'll see what happens. When's this thing going to come out? So July. I think July 24th was the 70th anniversary.
    12:38
    Are we going to see it at a show? Southern Fry Gaming Expo is in the kind of beginning to middle part of July. So maybe then. Maybe they'll bring it to the show. maybe we'll see it unveiling or at least we'll see more around then if you want to get one of these there's nothing wrong with putting your name on a list with the distributor i know jeff's got the hook up if i want to get in on one i put my name down and then when the game drops and it's revealed i can then say hey you know i'm in line i decided i want to get this let's work a deal let's work a trade let's do it um you know but that's something you could do so i ain't mad at stern um i can't wait to see this thing i am i'm a lifelong godzilla fan as far as the pinball machine so So more Godzilla is always going to be okay for me. I'm not rushing out to ditch my premium, though, and go in on this. Even if I sold my premium right now, I'd probably still hang back and just watch this one. All right, so let's move on to some, I was going to say greener pastures, but are they?
    13:36
    Oh, my cuphead. This rumor keeps picking up steam. Have you heard this? Jason Knapp friend of the show friend of Don, hung out with that dude great beard, personable guy anyway so he's dropping a lot of American Pinball news and getting a mix of some heat with the truth nuggets that he's dropping so this is rumored to be their next game this is the one that Sonic Kid is supposed to be making after they didn't get the Sonic license, I don't know what's going on with American Pinball though because I've also heard that their new technical guy, Maurice, man. I met this dude. Firm handshake and not terrible on the eyes. Well, apparently, he's been let go for reasons. I don't know if it's downsizing. I don't have the inside scoop knowledge on this. But, you know, things I guess aren't going great at the house that Oktoberfest built over there. Now, Berrio's Barbecue Challenge, not a barnstorming, barn-burning game by anyone's measure. It's got a lot of challenges to it. I think Barry O's not the only, the barbecue challenge is the game itself, I think, and trying to hit all the points. Okay, when I look at games and I kind of rank them or rate them and give them, you know, kind of a score in my own head as far as its desirability, I kind of do the Excel spreadsheet thing, you know, not literally, but like in my head. I'm like, okay, you know, let's rank this concept, playability. Is it fun? What are the rules like? What's the art like? You know, what are the animations like? Because I want all that business. And you know American Pinball has been very vocal that they like to do original licenses so they don have to lose that dead money early on just paying for a license Okay and I have I think there an aspect to this that gets glossed over Okay, if you buy a license, right, and I'm not into licensing. I don't know all the ins and outs, though. I just had a master class by George Gomez. If you do a license and everything's in agreement, you're going to get a lot of assets. You're going to get video. You're going to get art assets. You're going to get call-outs. likenesses of characters. You can directly pull from the theme and incorporate that into your machine.
    15:48
    And so you're going to pay for that, but in exchange for that, the reason you're paying for it is because you're getting gold, man. This is going to make people walk across the arcade and throw tokens in your machine. This is going to get friends to come and hang out at your house, right, if you've got the cool new theme that people love, right? And this will excuse a game that maybe doesn't play incredibly well because of the strength of that theme to the person. I'm looking at games like Munsters and Halloween. I loved my Halloween, and 50% of it was because I loved that license. So playing in that world was super fun to me. When I went and played Ultraman, I didn't have the tie to that theme, and so the game, even though it was the same layout, it was significantly less compelling to me.
    16:33
    Munsters, I think it's got its issues. It's not a complex game. There's not tons of wire forms. There's a 180 ramp. There's the cool stairway. I like how they put that in there. I love it any time a ball path goes behind that back plate. And, you know, who doesn't love a bash toy on a lower play field? But, you know, it's not Godzilla, right? It's not Avengers Infinity Quest with wire forms going all over the place. But the theme makes up so much of that. When you go with an original license, an original theme, you know, you conceptually come up with an Oktoberfest or, you know, Houdini, which was not open source but a free range public domain,
    17:11
    and a Berrios barbecue challenge, you don't have to pay that licensing fee. You don't have to stick to a licensor timeline. So it does free you up, but you've got to bring it. All of those video assets, all of those art assets, all of that compelling gameplay, you have to then come up with that, man, and that's not free. Just because the license is free because you don't have to pay the licensing cost doesn't mean there's not a considerable amount of work that you have to do for an independent theme, an unlicensed theme to be compelling, right? Whitewater. Okay, we're doing whitewater rafting. Nobody owns that. But we got to design some cool ramps. We have to have some cool call-outs. We have to come up with this game. We have to create this Yeti character. We have to make it fun and interesting. And then you get a game like Whitewater. That's gold. When I look at Berrio's Barbecue Challenge, I don't see whitewater. I don't see a roller coaster ramp. I see some symmetrical wire form ramps With spinners on them I see the bash locks Which I completely enjoy I see the pop bumper nest With the cool LED lighting top I really like that And that's kind of it There's some drop targets in there There's a very sticky shooter rod I don't like the shooter rods that they're using And fortunately after talking to David Fix I think they're working on going more traditional with them So there's really good action It feels like the shooter rods they're using Have inferior metal or it's like aluminum and it doesn't slide very good. I'm a skateboarder, right? You know, our trucks are made out of a certain type of metal. And so when you jump on a steel pipe, like it grinds and slides right along there perfectly. You know, if you try to jump on an aluminum fence post and do a grind on there, it sticks, man. It's just, it's not fun. You got to wax the crap out of it to get it to work. So I see this the same way. I think they may have sourced, hey, you know, these rods are much cheaper, but I think the metal is inferior and it doesn't give as good of a... It sticks. It's sticky. You can't consistently get a skill shot off the plunge, you know? So, okay, so Barbecue, it's fun to play. I don't mind how it plays for what it is, but when it comes to everything else, the callouts, the gameplay, they don't make any sense to me. I do like Jeff Teolos' voice, but I don't know what he's telling me to do. I'm not sure what the characters have to do. I don't think they were fleshed out and developed to the level that they need to be. The animations are not where they should be for a commercial game from a company. If this was a homebrew, I'd be ecstatic with those art and animations. But, like, when I see you get the multiball and there's the propane grill that's taking off like a rocket ship, it looks like not just a cell phone game but like a bad cell phone game, you know, like something that's designed only to kind of fish your e-mail account, right? And so if you're going to do an original theme like this, you've got to be willing to bring the heat when it comes to the assets and everything and put them in there. And I get that they were trying to build a lower cost of budget game so they could bring that price down and be competitive in the market. And I like the Aura lights, and I like the lights on the pop bumpers. And I love the lighting show that's in the game. But when it comes to everything on that screen, I mean, I'm not even talking about the stock film footage. That doesn't really even bother me. That's hilarious. But the animations, like, I don't know what's going on. Why is this pig on a motorcycle? Why are these three motorcycles driving around with nobody riding them? What is even happening here? What does this have to do with Berrio? What am I doing in this arcade talking to myself? Like, that's the issues I'm having. Okay, Cuphead. All right, so imagine if Berrio's Barbecue Challenge, same layout and everything, was Cuphead. You would still have a game that's fun-ish to play. You got the bash logs. You got the fun ramps and things. You got these cool LED light shows. You've got the aural lights. That's all great. And then you would have compelling art on the play field. You would have cool art on the side of the cabinet, the front of the cabinet. You would have a back glass that would look interesting. And you would have all kinds of great animation ready to go for that screen, for all the different modes. Speaking of the modes, have you played Cuphead? I have. It's awesome. Each little stage is essentially a boss battle with this really kind of compelling, developed boss. Each one has like a different theme to it, whether you're fighting a giant plant or some kind of flying airspace weirdo or a woman throwing cupcakes at you. It's all done in very fluid animation. The game plays and looks gorgeous. So if I was looking at that, I would not hate myself for playing some Barrio BBQ Challenge, let me tell you. That would make me love Bash Locks even more. Keeping the gameplay exactly the same as it is, no upper play fields, no lower play fields, just taking it to what it is, it would incredibly increase my likelihood to buy something like that. So I hope they're doing something like this. I hope they're doing a license. I hope they're doing Cuphead. I'm okay with that. You know, it wouldn't be my first choice, but that animation is gorgeous, and it could be something special. And this is a direction that I think this company needs to do if they want to start having bangers. This is a company that needs bangers. This is a company that needs games to come out and to sell, sell, sell, something it could sell year over year a perennial favorite you know do this and then step up with masters of the universe and like bring the heat like dig deep and get everything you can ring the the lemon juice out of that license and get the gold the liquid gold all over your face and all over the glass on top i don't know where we went with that um but like bring the bangers i think everybody wants that nobody rooting for american pinball to fail but when when we see things like Galactic Tank Force Okay it folds up like a tank Why would a pinball machine ever need to do that Why put money in the R to do that when you could have done something more compelling? And then Barrio's Barbecue Challenge, what the heck?
    23:03
    You know, if you were to do a play field swap and it was Cuphead, and then they also made 50 or 100 Barrio Barbecue Challenges as an homage, okay, I'm not mad at that. But, you know, just this game alone, I don't think it offers enough in this market to be compelling enough to compete with John Wick and Jaws and Looney Tunes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Looney Tunes, you can still get the basic game of that, the basic version of it, the standard edition, I think they're calling it. And it's priced comparatively with the Burials Barbecue Challenge, and it's full of the freaking Looney Tunes. It's got four ramps. It's got four flippers. It's got magnets. It's got other little hidey places. It's got an Acme rocket. And it's got a compelling theme. And come on, man, you know, for the same amount of money, you could put Looney Tunes in your arcade instead of Barry. You know, where are the kids going to go and play? You know, come on. So I think that's the power of the license. I am hoping, like, I hope that the Sword of Omen gives American Pinball sight beyond sight. And then they can say, you know what, let's go to our roots. Let's look at what's been successful. Hot Wheels was a successful game for us. It's based on a toy. Let's be the toy company. Let's be the American Toy Pinball Company. Let's do Masters of the Universe. Let's do Thundercats. Let's do Cuphead. Let's do video game licenses. Nobody else is doing it yet. Do video game licenses. Do toy licenses. And just, like, own it. Have that be your thing. Build your identity. And sell them games, man. Get them out there. Get where we, like, I want to go out and travel an hour because this arcade has one of these. Like, that's what I want. I love that about pinball. And American pinball, you got all the assets. You got everything you need there. You got a great factory. maybe you could hire back your technical help I don't know, I haven't talked to anybody at AP about what's going on or even verify any of that all rumors at this point, but that's what I think might be coming, so supposedly all hands are on deck to get this game ready for Expo, fantastic bring on the fall, 2024 the year of our pinball, it's been a heck of a year already man, Jaws is killing it right out of the gate, we got TCM and Looney Tunes, Labyrinth was released at the end of last year and then we still have another 6 or 7 months of this year to go. Will we see something new from Jersey Jack? Is it going to be Munsters? Is it going to be Muppets? Is it going to be Harry Potter? Is it going to be Goonies? Who's doing Goonies? Somebody supposedly somewhere is doing Goonies. I saw a sketch of a whitewood somewhere a year or so ago, and I don't even know if that's the same project or that was a prior project or something that just hit a wall, but I'd like to see it. I'd like to see someone do Goonies. Maybe after ABBA is done rushing off the shelves, Pinball Brothers can bring us Goonies. How fun would that be? A Swedish company bringing America Goonies. I think that would be interesting. That would be something to see. What else are we going to see in the other half of the year? American Pinball maybe bring a game. Spooky, I don't think they'll have a game ready for Expo. I think they're riding high off the sales of TCM and Looney Tunes. I think they've sold plenty to keep themselves busy all throughout the rest of the year. So it might be January, February when we see something next. Will they try to jump out ahead of the next Stern Cornerstone? That January release wouldn't be a bad idea, but they'd have to be ready to go. And if not, maybe push it back and do an early spring release and jump in front of the next Stern Cornerstone. Maybe that's what we'll see. Hey, want to give a quick shout out to everybody that's been rushing to the Patreon, man. People have been signing up. I've been dropping tons of content on there.
    26:31
    It's nothing for me to just jump on and do a little bit more personal, a little bit more kind of content that I wouldn't do for mass media market for the regular show. And I've been putting it on there, and the feedback has been fantastic. I comment on some personalities that are in the diaspora of pinball and what's going on here at the moment, not to call people out, but just to give some perspective. And people are really enjoying it. The feedback I'm getting, which I love, is fantastic. So I'm going to keep that up. I've got more story times I'd like to do. and I like to do it's fun to do content for the Patreon I'm doing more work in the mod lab so I'm putting stuff out there we're doing giveaways and we're going to be at 100 people on the Patreon which is like double where we were 4 or 5 months ago so I may be able to do even more Translight giveaways jump on in there think of it as $5 a month and not only are you helping out and showing support for your homie Don but you're also entering into a raffle that's completely passive You go in on it and then you just wait for the email. Hey, guy, you won some stuff, man. The more people we get in the Patreon, the more my clout builds and the more I'm able to get stuff from vendors to give away to you guys. I want to be the funnel to get that stuff out there. And I've got a lot more fun stuff that's planned. So thanks, everybody, for coming in there. Thanks to the producers that have joined. Jump on the Discord if you haven't had a chance to do that. I'll post a link down below on this video, a link to the Discord. that's been blowing up as well. We're having, like, I come in there, and people have just been having whole conversations, and, like, I was at work or something, and then I jump in there, and it's like, oh, hey, guys, this is great. It's like my ant farm is kind of self-perpetuating and growing. Completely amazing, and I love it. We're coordinating on some cool events and things. I'm making some appearances. I'll be at Southern Fright Gaming Expo in July. I will also be in Seattle, or Brigham, Bighampton, Bighampton, Birmingham. No, Bellington, Bellington. Washington, so north of the Seattle metro area At 1UP Lounge We're going to be unboxing this Amazing Jaws that I have sitting right here next to me It's completely powder coated It's got the cab custom armor on it It's got the balls of steel shooter rod And my topper that I produced Which is currently one of one, soon to be a two of two For Jaws, it's going to be there We're going to do a whole event, that's going to be fun If you're in the Pacific Northwest, get over there dude And then I'll probably, I've got to go to the next level as well While I'm out there In Oregon So that'll be fun. More fun to come. If you're in the Orlando central area, um, like next week, I'll be swinging through again. So, uh, look for, uh, some meetup posts on the Facebook page. Make sure you're liked and subscribed on there or followed or whatever it is on the Facebook. Um, I'll keep streaming. I put up a, a YouTube stream of Pulp Fiction recently. I devised a new budget method to do Penn stadiums, which I'm exceedingly proud of. It works great for streaming. And I got a bit of a copyright strike streaming Pulp Fiction just because of the copyrighted music that's in it. So we'll see what happens if it was fair use or if it was not. If it's not up there, that's what's going on. I'm trying to get it restored up there. But I'm going to keep trying to do my weekly streams. Now that I get the lighting, that's much better. This was episode number 126. You can email your boy Don at donspinballpockets at gmail.com. You can also follow me on the Facebook, on the YouTube, on the Discord. Head over there. Head over to the Patreon, man. We're having conversations all over the place. And it's been doing nothing but growing and just getting, like, great positive feedback. We're all playing pinball, man. we're all playing pinball. What's next for the arcade? Let's see what the next half of the year brings us.
    30:04
    Hit it! I already gave you my email address. Let's just vibe on this outro, you guys. The Donald Spimble Podcast 2024.
    30:18
    Where else do you want to be? Get your views, your shoes, and your news that you can't afford to lose over here at DPP. Later