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Episode 1043: "Kaneda Rants on Alice Kickstarter & Addresses Feedback on Kaneda!"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·40m 36s·analyzed·Jan 10, 2025
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.036

TL;DR

Kaneda rages on D&D pricing, decimates Alice Kickstarter concept, responds to listener feedback.

Summary

Kaneda delivers a lengthy rant on D&D (Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's Eye) Pro vs. Premium vs. LE pricing strategy, argues the Premium is worth the cost due to the dragon mech, then pivots to harshly critique the Wonderland Amusements Alice in Wonderland Kickstarter campaign as fundamentally misconceived—a "solution in search of a problem." He also addresses feedback from listeners about his podcast content and defends his hosting style.

Key Claims

  • D&D Pro is $2,700 cheaper than Premium with a fully functional dragon mech that significantly impacts play

    high confidence · Kaneda, comparing D&D to Jurassic Park pricing structure; supported by listener James Garasa's email

  • The dragon mech in D&D Pro version is gimped; it's just a coil that makes it spring up and down, not impressive

    high confidence · Kaneda's direct experience/observation of the game

  • D&D LE buyers will lose $3,000+ immediately; the LE edition is inferior in design to the Premium

    high confidence · Kaneda's personal valuation and market opinion

  • Kickstarters for pinball machines have been tried and failed repeatedly; the Wonderland campaign will not succeed

    medium confidence · Kaneda's historical claim about the industry; stated as absolute but not sourced to specific examples

  • The Arcade 1-Up team behind Wonderland Amusements demonstrated ignorance by citing American Pinball as a company that revitalized the hobby

    high confidence · Kaneda reading from the Wonderland Kickstarter copy; his interpretation/opinion of what that indicates

  • No home pinball enthusiast is priced out of owning a machine; thousands of used games are available under $5,000

    high confidence · Kaneda's market analysis and opinion on secondary market accessibility

  • Shrinking pinball machines to 80% size under $1,000 will produce a crappy experience that nobody will want to play

    medium confidence · Kaneda's design philosophy and skepticism of the Wonderland product concept

  • D&D is selling slightly below Jaws, better than John Wick, Venom, and X-Men in recent Stern releases

    medium confidence · Kaneda citing what he 'heard' (unattributed hearsay); production LE count (740 units) still available as supporting signal

  • CGC (Chicago Gaming Company) took two years to deliver Bad Mojo Edition toppers for Pulp Fiction, damaging brand trust

Notable Quotes

  • “I think the LE buy is absolutely stupid. You're going to lose $3,000 on that cardboard box right away.”

    Kaneda@ 1:20 — Sets aggressive tone for D&D pricing critique; frames LE as financial mistake

  • “You could stop right there. Everybody needs affordable housing, everybody needs affordable food... what the world doesn't need are affordable versions of pinball.”

    Kaneda@ 14:04 — Core philosophical rejection of Wonderland's premise; encapsulates his argument against the product

  • “Would you give these guys a dollar if they think that the company next to Stern that helped revitalize the hobby was American freaking Bimble? It just goes to show you these guys have no clue.”

    Kaneda@ 15:18 — Identifies credibility fail in Wonderland's marketing copy; signals deep industry knowledge

  • “When you make a smaller pinball machine for under $1,000, what have you now made? You've made a crappy pinball machine.”

    Kaneda@ 18:40 — Direct dismissal of Wonderland's core value prop; clear design philosophy

  • “This mech is amazing. How could you have this game and play this game and not have that dragon mech working the way it was engineered to work?”

    Kaneda@ 9:19 — Argues strongly for Premium over Pro; places heavy weight on mechanical integrity and design intent

  • “Josh Sharp should not find it funny that this company absolutely has destroyed a lot of people's excitement around the brand.”

    Kaneda@ 20:29 — Direct criticism of CGC marketing/leadership; predicts downstream damage to Halo Pinball launch

  • “The trapdoor does not seem like a lot of fun to hit... It doesn't attach to a subway. It doesn't create any moment of wow in pinball. I think that was a major missed opportunity.”

Entities

KanedapersonDungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant's EyegameStern PinballcompanyWonderland AmusementscompanyAlice in WonderlandgameArcade 1-UpcompanyJosh SharppersonChicago Gaming Company (CGC)

Signals

  • ?

    product_strategy: D&D Pro undercuts Premium by $2,700 but compromises dragon mech functionality; Kaneda argues Premium is superior value despite higher cost; LE at half the price of Premium is viewed as worst financial choice for resale

    high · Kaneda's detailed breakdown of Pro/Premium/LE configurations and comparison to Jurassic Park pricing; listener email from James Garasa supporting the analysis

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Kaneda argues designers should prioritize full implementation of signature mechanics (dragon mech) even if it costs more; Pro version with gimped mech is inferior despite lower price

    high · Extended rant about dragon mech: 'How could you have this game and play this game and not have that dragon mech working the way it was engineered to work?'

  • ?

    product_concern: Kaneda notes D&D is first game from Stern's new factory; recent games from existing factories (X-Men, John Wick, Venom) had quality issues; D&D reception positive so far but manufacturing quality unknown until units ship

    high · Kaneda: 'Will the quality be there? We don't know yet if there might be an issue with this game the way there is with X-Men. And the games coming out of the new Stern factory haven't really been the best quality experience.'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Kaneda claims D&D selling slightly below Jaws, better than John Wick/Venom/X-Men; LE still in stock (740 units) indicating weaker sales than hot themes would generate

    medium · Kaneda: 'I heard that this game is selling kind of a little bit below Jaws... 740 LEs would have been taken by now if this was a hotter theme'

  • ?

Topics

D&D Pro vs. Premium pricing and feature valueprimaryDragon mech design and mechanical functionality in D&DprimaryWonderland Amusements Alice Kickstarter concept critiqueprimaryPinball machine affordability and secondary market accessibilitysecondaryCGC brand damage from Pulp Fiction delays and Halo Pinball viabilitysecondaryD&D sales performance vs. recent Stern releases (Jaws, John Wick, Venom, X-Men)secondaryKaneda's podcast content, format, and listener feedbacksecondaryCompact/miniaturized pinball machines as market conceptsecondary

Sentiment

negative(-0.72)— Kaneda is highly critical and dismissive of Wonderland Amusements' Kickstarter concept and business model; strongly positive on D&D game design and Brian Eddy's work, but cautious about manufacturing quality; mixed-to-positive on listener feedback but defensive about some critiques; overall tone is combative, satirical, and confident in his expertise.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.122

0:00
I spent all my money drinking on my hoe, yeah In this bar just sat here staring at my phone And I keep second guessing where did I go wrong I know I'm proud, but I've left one too many Come take me home Sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up, sit up Welcome everybody to Canada's Pinball Podcast Make sure you get your Twippy votes in.
0:32
Favorite pinball podcaster, favorite pinball content creator, and no, not eligible for the favorite pinball community member. Okay, everybody, we've made it through another week in pinball. The reviews coming in from D&D are very good. I've been reading some mixed stuff on the Pinside thread, but Pinside will do what Pinside does. A lot of opinions in a blender by 50 people, 30 of which are not going to buy the game.
1:03
And you have to sort of weed through it all to know where the overall feeling is on the game. But overall, a lot of positive feedback on this game. I want to talk about whether or not you should buy the pro or the premium of the game. I think the LE buy is absolutely stupid. You're going to lose $3,000 on that cardboard box right away. And the LE is not even that nice. Let's face it. You're going to be able to make the premium nicer than the LE.
1:33
And no one's ever going to really want the LE. So that's just my two cents on that part of the game. And then we're going to talk about this Alice in Wonderland Kickstarter that just popped up. I can't wait to read this for each and every one of you. It is the most inane thing I've seen in a long time. no common sense hire someone like Kaneda guys and you won't put out something like this we're going to talk about Josh Sharp thinks it's funny that it took CGC two years to get you your bad mofo

high confidence · Kaneda calling out Josh Sharp; this is documented industry knowledge

  • The dragon in D&D does not light up with synchronized lip-sync or speech indication; it just randomly illuminates

    high confidence · Kaneda's direct observation and criticism of the game's code implementation

    • Kaneda@ 4:24 — Design critique; identifies missed mechanical interactivity in D&D's secondary feature

  • “I could go a whole year not playing a single game of pinball and still be voted the world's favorite pinball podcaster.”

    Kaneda@ 29:22 — Self-confident statement about his influence and knowledge; addresses criticism about not playing enough

  • “It is designed to make real pinball accessible to everybody. What is this even going to be?”

    Kaneda@ 17:50 — Rhetorical rejection of Wonderland's pitch; questions feasibility

  • “Nobody's like, oh man, I can't find a pinball machine to fit into my home. Who are those people? Those people do not exist.”

    Kaneda@ 19:48 — Core rebuttal to Wonderland's market positioning; attacks problem definition

    • company
    Brian Eddyperson
    Dwight Sullivanperson
    Michael Dornperson
    American Pinballcompany
    Jurassic Parkgame
    Hobbit, Thegame
    Pulp Fictiongame
    Halo Pinballgame
    James Garasaperson
    Miles Shortperson
    Kelly Danielperson
    Chris Smithperson
    Jeremy Streckerperson
    Mark Nellisperson
    Chris Wardperson
    Multimorphic (Melvin)company
    King Konggame

    business_signal: Chicago Gaming Company's two-year delay on Pulp Fiction Bad Mojo Edition toppers has damaged brand trust; Kaneda predicts this will harm Halo Pinball sales despite Josh Sharp's dismissive attitude

    high · Kaneda directly addressing Josh Sharp: 'Josh, you're gonna now have to go sell people on halo pinball and they're not gonna forget how long it took to get the pulp fiction... guess what josh we don't want halo so dead on arrival with that game'

  • ?

    product_launch: Wonderland Amusements announced Alice in Wonderland pinball after Melvin's DPX; now launching Kickstarter campaign for compact 80% form factor machine under $1,000

    high · Kaneda reading from Wonderland Kickstarter: 'Our first table, Alice Goes to Wonderland... sized at 80% of a full machine, and with a target price under $1,000'

  • $

    market_signal: Kaneda argues there is no market for affordable compact pinball machines; secondary market for used games under $5,000 already serves price-sensitive consumers; Wonderland solves non-existent problem

    medium · Kaneda: 'Nobody's like, oh man, I can't find a pinball machine to fit into my home. Who are those people? Those people do not exist.'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: D&D receiving strong community reception; Kaneda notes 'a lot of positive feedback' and credits Brian Eddy and Dwight Sullivan with 'creativity and passion' lacking in recent Stern games (Venom, John Wick)

    high · Kaneda: 'I think the creativity and passion is oozing when they talk about this game. I didn't feel that way when they talked about Venom at all. I didn't feel that way when Stern talked about John Wick.'

  • ?

    design_innovation: D&D dragon mech is cited as 'one of the coolest mechs Stern has ever made' and 'one of the best toys Stern has ever made' but limited to Premium/LE versions; Pro version cripples the signature feature

    high · Kaneda: 'This mech is amazing... there's so much in this mech that just so much cooler... the way this dragon moves it just adds so much to the experience'

  • ?

    content_signal: Kaneda solicited listener feedback on podcast content; received suggestions for more interviews, gameplay focus, less repetitive criticism, and less solicitation for higher pledges; defended his style as unfiltered and entertainment-driven

    high · Multiple listener emails transcribed (Chris Smith, Jeremy Strecker, Mark Nellis, Chris Ward) with specific content critiques and Kaneda's responses

  • ?

    regulatory_signal: Kaneda claims pinball machine Kickstarters have been attempted repeatedly and failed every time; positions Wonderland campaign as doomed by this historical pattern

    medium · Kaneda: 'Nobody is going to invest in a Kickstarter around a pinball machine. It has been tried. It has failed every single time and it's never going to work.'

  • ?

    community_signal: Wonderland Amusements' mention of American Pinball as a company that 'revitalized the hobby' is flagged by Kaneda as indicator of poor market knowledge and lack of credibility; signals team may not understand pinball industry landscape

    high · Kaneda: 'You're gonna pick two companies to highlight... You pick Stern, absolutely. The second company you picked is American Bimble? Are you freaking kidding me? It just goes to show you these guys have no clue.'

    • 2:05
    editions of what Pulp Fiction why is that a funny thing Josh like aren't you like a marketing and sales dude like you revealed a game you locked in everybody's money and you basically took two years to put a topper on a game. Why did that take so long and what's wrong with you guys? And if you think that hasn't damaged your brand, you're dead wrong. All right, what else we're going to talk about? I'm going to read for you some of the feedback I got about how I could make my pinball
    2:35
    content better, right? The world's number one favorite pinball podcaster. I do a stream every week. It's really unedited, just right from my brain into your ears. But I wanted to hear how I can make the show better and give you guys my response to some of your feedback. How does that sound? So where should we start on this show? So I asked you guys, let's start out with some of your feedback. So I asked you about D&D and to email me at canadapinball at gmail.com. And I think I got three responses. Let me read them right now.
    3:06
    So James Garasa said, I think D&D Pro is the best value we've seen in the past few years. I believe that Stern knows perfectly well that the premium is not going to sell. I can't think of any pro that loses less from the premium than does this game. Look at the comparison to Jurassic Park, which essentially uses the same main feature. So he basically breaks down that Jurassic Park Pro was $1,600 less than the premium,
    3:36
    and D&D Pro is $2,700 less than the premium. Well, that's true now of every single game. And the main feature on Jurassic Park, the T-Rex does not move on the pro. In D&D, the dragon moves on the pro. But here's the thing, James. That dragon doesn't really move. There's just a coil attached to it that makes it spring up and down. It's pretty bad, bro. We're going to talk about that next. And then he writes, the secondary feature removed.
    4:07
    Jurassic Park, the raptor pit, extra up post, drop target, and lunging raptor are removed. D&D, the trapdoor. Yes, I would say that Jurassic Park loses more. The trapdoor does not seem like a lot of fun to hit. Even talking to people who played the game, they basically said the trapdoor is kind of meaningless. It doesn't attach to a subway. It doesn't create any moment of wow in pinball. I think it was a big missed opportunity that when you go in that dungeon, depending on which way you go, the ball doesn't exit somewhere differently. I think that was a major miss in the
    4:42
    design of this game. All right, then other features removed. Jurassic Park removes the helicopter blades and the upgraded pop bumper caps and D&D the side hand guard rail extension. All right, well, look, James, here's the thing. Is the pro of D&D a great value game? Absolutely. I'm going to go back to this in a minute. Let me read two more people's comments on the game. And I want to talk about whether or not the pro is the way to go on D&D. So Miles Short said, hey, Chris, my thoughts on whether D&D will be a success are below.
    5:16
    Oh, man, everybody always writes so much. Everybody's got to learn how to get a little bit more concise. He goes on to say, I think it depends on how you measure it. I don't think it will be a huge seller considering all the competition this year, Kong and Harry Potter and some of the rumored remastered and Goonies. D&D also has an aura of ultra nerdiness that some just can't get past. However, I think it's already a success to some degree. It shows us Stern is still trying. It shows us some of the love, creativity, and passion of Brian and Dwight.
    5:50
    It shows us some unique gameplay, elements, and toys. It shows us that they can make a new game in a new factory and have it be developed and put together properly. assumptions that this one will be delivered soon and play as well as a few others out in the world i'm not going to read everything miles says i enjoy the show so much so i doubled my paid amount thank you so much miles i really appreciate that he said i definitely get my money's worth so miles i 100 agree with you i think this game has been a success for stern on a lot of levels
    6:23
    i think it's exceeded people's expectations i think the creativity and passion is oozing when they talk about this game. I didn't feel that way when they talked about Venom at all. I didn't feel that way when Stern talked about John Wick at all. I kind of felt it when they talked about Jaws, but not as much as this game. This game feels like they achieved what they wanted to. Nothing major was yanked out of the game. I think the thing that got yanked out of the game, I think the dragon was supposed to have wings that flapped as well. I think they removed that
    6:59
    and replaced it with the cave. I totally agree. Now, will the quality be there? We don't know yet if there might be an issue with this game the way there is with X-Men. And the games coming out of the new Stern factory haven't really been the best quality experience for the pinball buying base. So we will see what happens when we actually get production models of the game out there. But yeah, overall, overall, I think this game is gonna convert people even though it's a very nerdy theme. and even though it goes very deep into D&D.
    7:31
    All right, last one. Kelly Daniel said, love the game. Don't think it's a take my money now license. Sales will be moderate. I bought an LE, but I run an arcade. Most folks are out of room and money and not able to sell their older games for what they want to get. Also King Kong on the horizon and that is much more suitable to the pinball demographic. Great job by Stern adding more mechs and deeper software, but better themes will make their factory busier and more profitable.
    8:04
    Diehard, take my money now. Okay, I think he means the Diehard theme. Kelly, absolutely. Each and every one of us would buy Diehard if we could. All right, so overall, right? Overall, I think everybody is impressed by the game, and I know people are talking about a few things around this game, but the major conversation is which model. And remember, the pro version of this game is half the price of the LE version of the game. Right away, that to me makes the LE stupid. You really, really, really have to be stupid to think you're getting twice as much game in the LE.
    8:38
    I don't even like the LE artwork. I don't like the armor that much. I don't like anything really about the LE. I like the artwork better on the premium. I think you're going to be able to make your premium look even better easily than you can with the LE of the machine. So like right away, I think the LE buyers are gonna lose the most amount of money. Now, the real decision happening in your head right now should be between the pro and the premium. And I'm just gonna say this. I get all the feedback. I get what everybody is saying, but you have to be out of your mind
    9:10
    not to buy the premium. This is one of the coolest mechs Stern has ever made. It's hands down, stop the conversation right there. This mech is amazing. How could you have this game and play this game and not have that dragon mech working the way it was engineered to work? I could not own a game knowing that there's a version of it where this main mech, this is the main toy. And not only that, people, this is one of the best toys Stern has ever made and you're not going to want it in full working form.
    9:42
    That is idiotic. I don't care. It's worth the money. It is worth the money to get the premium. And then you get everything else, right? There's nothing happening in the LE that you're not getting in the premium. And so I think if there was one game where I know it, I know, like, I know visually it looks like the pro is the way to go. But the problem is there so much in this mech that just so much cooler Like in Jurassic Park the T doesn really block the ball or three pathways the way this dragon does And the way this dragon moves
    10:16
    it just adds so much to the experience. And the way the dragon is in the pro is just so silly. Now look, I know for some of you that doesn't matter, right? If you just want the gameplay and you want all the fun of the modes and all the software, then yeah, absolutely the pro is the way to go. But I'm the kind of guy that wants to have all the bells and whistles doing what the bells and whistles were designed to do. Now, I've been seeing a lot of feedback in the thread about the dragon and how in D&D, this is interesting, in D&D, the dragons are evil.
    10:51
    Like they are the enemy. They're not supposed to be humorous. They're not like Smaug and Hobbit. They're not supposed to be talking to you with a little sarcasm. And I think that's turning off some of the diehard D&D fanatics because this is not what it's supposed to feel like when you encounter a dragon battle. So there are some people asking for more call-outs that make this game more serious and a little bit more intense. My feedback to those nerds is get over yourselves.
    11:24
    Who cares, man? Look, this game would be more fun to me if the damn dragon started singing Cod and I Joe in the middle of a mode. I don't really care. Like, oh, Michael Dorn has to be serious. And we know he can be. You know what? Come on, gang. It's a pinball machine. Now, what I do think is silly about the dragon is when Michael Dorn is talking and the dragon is talking at us, I don't think Stern has coded it in a way where it feels like the dragon is speaking. And I still think that's a huge miss. I do. I think when you go over and play the Hobbit, it's really going to feel even better now,
    12:00
    even though it doesn't interact with the ball. But Smaug talking to you is absolutely awesome. And it just looks kind of crappy the way the dragon just kind of randomly lights up. And I don't even think the dragon is lighting up with the words. And I don't even know how you make that work, because that's not really how we connect a spoken word with a dragon's head with just lights. Like you kind of need to see some movement. All right. So D&D, we will see what happens. We will see how the sales go. I heard that this game
    12:31
    is selling kind of a little bit below Jaws. It's selling better than John Wick. Everything has. It's selling better than Venom. Everything has. And it's selling better than X-Men. So not surprised. But again, the Stern games of late have been sort of really bad sellers. And it's obvious that they're selling mostly pros and premiums because the LEs are still available. And you know, if this was a hotter theme, those 740 LEs would have been taken by now.
    13:03
    All right. So remember when Wonderland Amusements announced that they were making an Alice in Wonderland game and they announced it like after Melvin brought the DPX game to market. Now it turns out that these guys are doing the biggest mistake you could possibly do in the history of pinball, and that is expect people to invest in your company before you've made the game. They've launched a Kickstarter. I mean, I don't even have to go on. It's over. It's already over.
    13:33
    Nobody is going to invest in a Kickstarter around a pinball machine. It has been tried. It has failed every single time and it's never going to work. But let me read for you how they think they're going to cajole people into supporting this project. And they write at Wonderland Amusements. Our goal is simple to make real mechanical pinball accessible for everyone. Affordable, compact and full of fun.
    14:04
    OK, you could stop right there. Everybody needs affordable housing. everybody needs affordable food everybody needs affordable transportation in life right affordable health care those are the things that we need affordable versions of what the world doesn't need are affordable versions of pinball especially compact versions of pinball which is like a kitty-sized version of the game. They go on to say, real mechanical pinball is an unmatched
    14:38
    sensory experience, a perfect blend of skill, strategy, and gravity that no virtual table can truly replicate. Well, I don't disagree with that. Let's go on. This is the part that makes me laugh so hard. They write, while companies like Stern and American Pinball have revitalized the hobby with exciting commercial tables. Okay, let's stop right there. You're gonna pick two companies to highlight as the companies that have revitalized the hobby.
    15:11
    You pick Stern, absolutely. The second company you picked is American Bimble? Are you freaking kidding me? Would you give these guys a dollar if they think that the company next to Stern that helped revitalize the hobby was American freaking Bimble? It just goes to show you these guys have no clue what they are doing and what they are saying. I don't care where they come from. I don't care what their backgrounds are. I don't care what they've done in a previous business venture.
    15:43
    You put American Pinball into the description of a company that revitalized pinball. It sends a signal to everybody. You don't know what you're talking about. They then go on to say there are $5,000 to $15,000 price tags. put them out of reach for most home enthusiasts. Okay, you've done no market research. I don't even, what does that mean, home enthusiasts? What does that even mean? Do you mean game enthusiasts? What's a home enthusiast? Someone who just really loves the home or someone who has a home who's what?
    16:14
    Are they a pinball enthusiast? See, this is what makes no sense. I love this because we have to stay on this because they have done no market research. If you love pinball and you want a pinball machine in your home, there's absolutely nothing keeping you from putting a pinball machine in your home. There's nothing. You can get a game for 500 bucks. You can get a game for $2,000. You don't have to go buy a brand new in box game from American Pinball or Stern. You can go buy so many games that are still in working order for much less money. And this is the problem. They are now
    16:49
    positioning themselves as a company that is a solution in search of a problem. Because there is no problem. There is nobody that's a home pinball enthusiast who's just been priced out of the hobby. No, you might be priced out of the expensive new in box stuff, but all those people know that there's thousands of games out there that they can buy for much less money than $5,000 to $15,000. Okay, but then they go on to say, that's where Wonderland Amusements comes in.
    17:20
    Founded by the creative team behind the Arcade 1-Up line, we're reimagining pinball for the home with high-quality, affordable machines. Then they have some pictures of Alice's adventures in Wonderland. Our first table, Alice Goes to Wonderland, combines the whimsy of Lewis Carroll's classic story with modern design and engineering, sized at 80% of a full machine, and with a target price under $1,000. It is designed to make real pinball accessible to everybody.
    17:54
    What is this even going to be? How are you going to do anything that's a good pinball experience for under $1,000? It just doesn't even make sense. It really doesn't. I mean, look, I get what they're going for. I do. Like they made smaller versions of all the classic arcade games and they were successful doing that. But what these guys are missing is that when you shrink down, right, for example, Tron or Street Fighter, you can still put, I know you don't have a CRT monitor, but you can
    18:27
    still put the exact game everybody remembers on the screen, right? nothing about the game itself has had to have been altered to make a smaller version of it. When you make a smaller pinball machine for under $1,000, what have you now made? You've made a crappy pinball machine. It's not a smaller version of Twilight Zone. It's not a smaller version of the Addams Family. You've just made a compact pinball machine that nobody will have any emotional
    19:01
    desire to play. So it's just going to be like a really expensive kid's toy that they want to sell to adults. Again, I don't think there's a market for this. We will see. The market will determine this. And then they write, if you love pinball and always wished you could find an affordable machine that would actually fit in your home, look no further. Please click the notify on launch button to receive an email when our campaign goes live and help us make Alice Goes to Wonderland home pinball machine a reality. Gang, why? Why? Why should we have to fund this thing? I don't
    19:38
    get it. Did people fund Arcade 1UP? I don't think so. I just don't think this is going to work. I don't think they're going to get funding. And again, I think it's a solution in search of a problem. Nobody's like, oh man, I can't find a pinball machine to fit into my home. Who are those people? Those people do not exist. And if you love pinball, then you want pinball done right. and this is going to be neither. All right, before I get to your feedback, just real quick, look, real quick, Josh Sharp. Look, it's not funny, man. It's not funny that you guys did this reveal two years ago You went radio silent for almost an entire year Your company has been terrible in all of its marketing around this game And so yeah I canceled my pre deposit on the game I know other people have as well If you were happy waiting two years to get your
    20:23
    Pulp Fiction, that's great. I don't care. I still think as a sales and marketing guy, Josh Sharp should not find it funny that this company absolutely has destroyed a lot of people's excitement around the brand. And yeah, I get play mechanics isn't CGC. I get it. But Josh, you're gonna now have to go sell people on halo pinball and they're not gonna forget how long it took to get the pulp fiction and you don't think that's gonna bite you in the halo ass it is and guess what josh we don't want halo so dead on arrival with that game all right so let's go on
    20:57
    so i ask people what could i do better as a pinball content creator right and there's only about like i don't know a hundred or so people that actually know what it takes to make pinball content on a weekly basis and they understand the challenges, but I'm always up for feedback because I always want to make the show better and I just want to grow as an individual. So here are some of the things that people said. Chris Smith said, for me, I think it's great that you call out issues with games and companies. In fact, several improvements have been implemented as a result. I do think at
    21:30
    times you beat a dead horse to a pulp. Not going to lie, Chris. Hell yeah. Maybe branch out a little bit. I think he wants more interviews, special interest stories in the community. Oh, and stop bashing people about the placement of pinball machines. Sometimes we work with what we got. Oh, Chris, thank you for the feedback. And look, gang, I love making fun of pins in front of windows. I know myself has a little bit of a pin window problem going on upstairs. It's just funny. Like we got to learn to take the piss out of things in this hobby. All right. I'm not like
    22:04
    bashing people mean spirited. It's just funny to call out how some of you out there, though, have horrible taste. Maybe I am bashing you. Some of you have like the worst taste ever in how you lay out your game rooms. And hey, just like the feedback you're giving me, I think my feedback to some of those game rooms is valuable. And most of you, I know your wives are not happy walking into a room and there's a bunch of neon signs with wires everywhere and there's pins in front of windows, it doesn't look good. You shouldn't block artwork with the back box of
    22:37
    your machines. It doesn't look good. All right. Paul Rubin said you could figure out how to get an old pinballer who doesn't know what a podcast is in the first place. Otherwise, listen to your audience on forwarding the pinball ethic. Play long and prosper. Paul, I have no idea what you just said there, brother. I mean it. I have no idea what that means. Christian said, talk more about what's happening on Pinside. I mean, new topics and interesting new contributions, as you sometimes mention. Yeah, Christian, I think I do a good job of scrubbing Pinside for
    23:11
    what's happening with all the new games and the other things happening in the hobby. The stuff that I've shied away from, like, I just don't care, like these new mods, you know, or these new tappers or these new accessories. Like, I don't really care about that stuff anymore. I do read Pinside a lot, and a lot of my opinions or sort of show topics are formed by what I'm reading on Pinside. So, for example, like with D&D, I'm reading what people's feedback on the game is. It's not just my own opinions about the game.
    23:42
    I'm also sharing a lot of the point of view of the community that happens there. Jeremy Strecker wrote, You put on a good podcast and you should get paid for what you do. That I agree on. The persistent badgering on who has the most money, biggest game rooms, and how much they should be contributing, yada, yada, yada, is a complete turnoff. Well, Jeremy, first and foremost, do I badger on who has the most money? No.
    24:12
    I think I maybe make fun of Neil McRae and Bill Brandis and all their millions. That's about it. And I don't really ever talk about whoever has a bigger game room has a bigger you-know-what. I never bring up that. Now, look, every once in a while, Jeremy, I will ask people, you know, if they could and they like what they get, if they could up the ante, that would be great. That would be much appreciated. He goes on to write this. No matter how good the episode is, when you get on the topic or go full Dr. Phil on us,
    24:43
    I turn it off. I'm not here for that. I'll 100% admit that I'm a $5 subscriber. I'll also admit that I pay way more for way less on other patreons because they get me there on my own okay so Jeremy let me get this straight I didn't get you there on your own so I had to ask to get you there and you're not going to get there because I didn't get you there on your own is this clear so you're giving other pinball maybe pinball patreon maybe other people more than Kaneda even though Kaneda gives you way more because I ask people if they can up their ante
    25:18
    to do it and that turns you off. Like get there on your own. Okay. All right. So let's just to summarize, Jeremy didn't get there on his own. He'll never get there on his own because I asked him to get there. And because I asked him to get there, he won't get there on his own. All right, Jeremy, I hope on a future episode, I can give you a big shout out for being a member of the Raise the Roof Club. So Jeremy, we're all looking at you now, all 720 of us. Will Jeremy Streak Strecker? will he join the raise the roof club and will he be able to get there on his own now Jeremy I hope
    25:52
    you can this name is going to be fun Streckenberger Romain did I get that right I love listening to you in the car thank you for your work maybe sometimes focus a little less on just the news and a little more on the gameplay or anecdotes from the world of pinball because sometimes it's a bit of a repetition, but congratulations and continue. Thank you so much for that feedback. I'm going to read more because I think more people have mentioned gameplay, but we'll talk about it in a second. Mark Nellis, friend of the show. Mark says, turn up the volume on everything.
    26:27
    Be a walking firework, more sparkles, more sequence, more unapologetically chaotic broadcast energy, lean into the chaos, rock outfits so flamboyant they make peacocks jealous. Your drunken Facebook lives are your art form. Give us the rants and the unexpected plot twists. All right. He goes on to say, this is your golden formula, unfiltered, outrageous, and unbiased pinball content. Well, Mark, I will always deliver that. The drunken rants aren't really the way to do it.
    26:58
    And I mean that because whenever I do it, I wake up and I don't like not exactly knowing what I said. And if I'm going to get drunk, I told this to Brenda, I'm never going to do it really on camera again, unless it's under a highly controlled environment. I've learned a lot over the years. Let's just say that the amount of times I've been drunk and did anything pinball related, the amount of times I've regretted that behavior is about 90% of the time. I get it's enjoyable.
    27:29
    I get it's entertaining for you, but it doesn't make me wake up in a good mood. And you know me. I think you measure life by how many days you wake up in a good mood. All right. So this guy said, Joseph Palermo said, stop doing Saturday morning spectaculars. Spend the time with the family. Well, Joseph, thank you so much. And I think, Joseph, you get it, right? There's a lot of time out of my family time that I take to do this show. that's hours I could be spending playing with Killian watching Paw Patrol with him and that's
    28:02
    another reason why and I mean it when I say this Mr. Jeremy Strecker soon to come to it on his own conclusion that maybe Kaneda is worth more than five dollars a month you know there's a lot of time and energy that goes into this and I really do appreciate those that do appreciate that and appreciate the time I'm taking away from family but I'll tell you this though I also have so much time with the family. Don't get me wrong. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything, especially with more remote work. We spend more and more time with our family than we ever have before. I see them in the morning. I see them at night. A lot of times people didn't get that.
    28:37
    I also see them all weekend long. So trust me, as a parent, you know this. If you have kids my age, you know you actually kind of look forward to having a couple hours to yourself. And so this is a pretty good gig I got going because Brenda knows every Saturday from 10 to 1130, it's my time. And every parent needs their time. Eric Jackson said more back to the future. I don't know anything more in back to the future, Eric. I don't think it's coming out this year. That's all I know. Chris Ward said, and Chris Ward, what's up, brother? I think Chris is on Patreon. Chris
    29:10
    and I used to work together. Awesome guy. He said, try playing pinball sometimes. It's really fun. You know, Chris, I'm going to be honest with each and every one of you. I told this to Brenda a few years ago, so don't cancel on me now, people. I said, Brenda, I bet you I could go a whole year, not play a single game of pinball, and still be voted the world's favorite pinball podcaster. I just did that as a challenge, right? I could be entertaining enough and know enough about what's going on in the hobby that without even plunging a single ball, I could win favorite pinball podcaster.
    29:44
    Now, of course, I play pinball. But yes, I'm going to play a lot more pinball. I hear this from people. I'm going to go to automate it more often and play games, especially when a new game comes out. I want to drive there. It's only 30 minutes away. And it's a lot easier to get to than it was even for me to get to Jack Bar. It is. It's like a lot nicer, too. I can get in my car, in my pajamas, walk into my car, drive to automate it, and get out and be right there. If you know what it took to get from the 6 train to the L train, then I had to walk to Jack Bar.
    30:18
    It wasn't much fun. And then Uber back were like So I will be playing more pinball now than ever before Zachai Hussein said yell at somebody Well I think I do enough yelling on this show Robert I going to butcher your last name Sikini. Sikini? He wrote, it's just fine now as is. I agree, Robert. Perhaps get a distro as soon as new releases are available to spend a decent time on the game. Yep, that's going to be automated. You may need to go incognito. And regular interviews. I think they work better when
    30:50
    you have a private chat, take notes, and then explain what you can discuss in the podcast. Yeah, look, I want to do more interviews. The thing is, interviews are really time consuming. And when you talk about eating into time with family, those things really eat away at your personal time. Aaron Davis, what's up, brother? Keep your word. Oh, Aaron's funny, you know, because I think Aaron's funny. Aaron, I'm not going to out you. I'm not going to tell you what you told me that led you to say that. But yeah, look, sometimes people tell me stuff and I say,
    31:24
    I'm not going to say anything. I'm not going to say anything, but here's what usually happens. Then I hear it from a few other people and I get impatient and I want to be the one who has the scoop. And then I reveal it to the world. And you know, so people feel like I burned them. Aaron, sorry, brother. I will keep my word. I will keep my word next time. But remember people, none of this. All of these secrets in pinball are stupid. And some of these people have secrets on companies that aren't even the companies they're working for. And they still like act like they don't
    31:56
    want the world to know who cares. We all know King Kong is coming. Harry Potter is coming. Goonies is coming. Beetlejuice is coming. We all know Aaron. Jason said more Todd Tucky. Absolutely. Charlie Martin said, tell us what you really think. I know he's joking. Javier said, don't talk shit on avatar avatar sucks it sucks it is one of the worst theme integrated pins i've ever played the muted clips are stupid there are no toys in the game it is absolutely the worst
    32:31
    fifteen thousand dollar pinball machine maybe of all time but yeah enjoy your topper look i'm being a little facetious, but I'm not. How did they spend all that time making a game with no toys in it? Also, the movie kind of sucks. Like you don't even want to watch that movie again. All right, Craig Young said, it's always great when you focus on staying grounded and appreciating others. It helps build stronger connections with your audience. The heated disputes, although entertaining, are off-putting, but please keep calling out the outrageous pricing. Absolutely, Craig. Great
    33:06
    feedback. Bruce Zamo says, wear a shirt that reads, I make good podcasts for pinball babies and wait to see if any of your subscribers notice. I should try that. Daniel Brennan said, stop being a prick. Oh man, Daniel, what side of the bed did you wake up on? Did I pee in your cornflakes this morning? Daniel, I'm sorry, brother. Well, you know, like, I don't think I'm really a prick. I think I'm pretty even keel. And if I ever am a prick, anyone who's on the receiving end, trust me, deserves it. Berto Moon said, arm wrestling challenge is live once a month.
    33:42
    Loser plays winner's game of choice for four hours straight. All right, sure. Why not? Dan Jansen said, teach us to live catch ball and drop catch the ball. Dan, I know how to do that. Okay. For those of you out there who think I suck at pinball and don't know how to do like live catches and post passes and all this stuff, I know how to play. I've put up decent points on GNR, albeit it's five ball and I've lowered the outlay in posts. Let's see. We've got Tony Agrusa said, he says, I walk a lot and pinball podcasts have been my go-to for years, including yours.
    34:16
    The main thing that makes me cringe is when you get into what I call Chris's life lessons. When you launch into your log off pin side, go to the gym. Pinball is all about the people, copy, pace to I tap out. Wow. It's weird, right? Why would that upset anybody that I'm just trying to give you a little bit of advice? And look, I'm not like going woke on anybody, but yeah, Tony, like get to the gym. You should be doing as many pushups as plunges. And I would give that advice to everybody, but you walk a lot. All right. Walking is not as good as weights. Okay.
    34:51
    And pull-ups. God, man, Canada's life advice. See, I think some people like it. Some people hate it. Hey, but here's the thing. I like it. And I like having the freedom on my content to say how I feel about life and other things happening. I think that's what makes my show a little bit more interesting. It's not just this transactional content about pinball. Michael Brazda says, might be a bit more work, but sounds like you're brainstorming. So here's some random thoughts. The biggest issue I have on watching pinball podcasts, it's normally an hour of ranting.
    35:22
    What I would like to see is to break up segments of the cast like the news does. Maybe like pinball news segment, then maybe follow some tournaments, announce winners and highlights if you get them. Maybe this month in pinball history, then maybe a quick tech talk. Okay, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael. That's a lot of work. I'm one person. Do you know how a news program operates to have all those different segments? They've got multiple producers that are creating all the content
    35:53
    that they then hand to the hosts and the talent to simply read the teleprompter and get through the sports, the news, the weather, the this, the that. So you want one man, which is me, to do all of that work. And guess what'll happen, Michael? If I do all that work, I won't get one more subscriber. It's not happening. Mark Henry wrote, more Facebook Lives, more roasting, more merch, some giveaways. I stopped doing merch because, again, like the juice wasn't worth the squeeze. Steve Massa said more content about gameplay, less about
    36:27
    pricing. Here's the thing. I want to address this because the thing about gameplay, I am going to play more. I want to tell you the reality is a game gets revealed. And how many of you get a chance to jump on a brand new game when the company asks you to buy the game? Almost nobody, right? By the time the game actually makes its way into market and on location. And now that Stern is making LE Machines first, there's almost like a two-month gap between the reveal of a game
    36:58
    and the ability to actually play it. And then there's like a six-month or more gap between a new game and the code actually being done or at a place where it's worth reviewing. And this is the problem is by the time all of that happens, the game becomes old news. And so the lion's share of the energy around any new game happens in a window in which most gameplay is not happening.
    37:31
    It's the reason why it's a weird market, right? It's like nobody can take a game on a test drive before these companies want you to buy now. And my show predominantly is about discussing whether or not you should buy now, right? If we see enough good in the game, if we're excited enough about the game, if the theme's great, if the art's great, if the code looks good, all of that is what drives my show predominantly. Okay, so let's say by the time I jump on a game and talk gameplay, is anybody going to care? And also trust me on this. So many other pinball podcasts are so dialed
    38:07
    in and so many YouTube content creators are so dialed in on gameplay. And yeah, you're definitely going to get that it's scratched by those individuals. You're not really coming to me for most of that. Now, what I want to do is do this. I do want to play games more and give you more gameplay feedback. But what I really want to look for in pinball machines is I want to look for those moments of wow. And that's sort of what excites me. I want to figure out if these games have those moments of wow. I want to jump on them, get to those moments, and then communicate to you
    38:43
    whether or not, you know, I think this game really crushes it in pinball gameplay and moments of wow. Cliff Albert sort of said the same thing, like get better at pinball. I'm actually not terrible, Cliff. I mean that. I just don't have enough time on a lot of machines, okay? I'm going to read some of these at a later date because there's a lot more and I don't want this show to keep on going. But everybody look, happy Friday. I will read more of this feedback on another show. All good feedback. I take all of this seriously. I mean that. So everybody look, have a great weekend.
    39:17
    Josh Sharp, you should be ashamed it took two years to get a game to market. That's it. I don't think it's funny. D&D hype is real. I think premium is the way to go. I think pro you lose too much of one of the greatest mechs Stern has ever made. I also still think, though, over the next few weeks, the hype is going to die down and we're going to start to think, right? Like, what else could be in Kong? What is Spike 3 going to be? Because don't forget, people, D&D is not Spike 3. So there's going to be more muscle happening
    39:49
    when Stern releases Spike 3 Kong. I also think there's going to be a price increase. So we shall see. Everybody have a great Friday. We'll talk to you soon.
    40:28
    I've had one too many