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Episode 1227: "Kaneda's Back With Some Hot News!"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·19m 33s·analyzed·Jun 4, 2026
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.033

TL;DR

Kaneda reveals Sonic June 23rd launch and cascade of licensing/release date rumors for 2026-2027 pinball pipeline.

Summary

Kaneda announces Sonic the Hedgehog release date (June 23rd) and delivers multiple rumors about upcoming pinball releases: Keith Elwin's Fallout pushed to March 2027, John Borg's music game (likely Ozzy Osbourne or AC/DC) coming next for Stern around Expo, Pinball Brothers securing The Fifth Element license, Jersey Jack Pinball licensing The Grateful Dead, and Spike 3 remakes of popular Spike 2 titles including James Bond Goldfinger. He also discusses community sentiment shifts around John Wick and Predator gaining popularity while Pokémon and Transformers underperform, and previews Back to the Future from Dutch Pinball with extreme limited production and secondary market speculation.

Key Claims

  • Sonic the Hedgehog release date is June 23rd, 2026

    high confidence · Kaneda, opening segment; stated as definitive announcement with '19 days away' reference

  • Keith Elwin's Fallout will not release in 2026; release date is March 2027

    high confidence · Kaneda, second segment; presented as guaranteed insider information

  • Next cornerstone Stern game is from John Borg, around Expo, likely Ozzy Osbourne or new AC/DC version

    medium confidence · Kaneda; hedged with 'either...or' but presented as insider knowledge

  • Pinball Brothers has secured The Fifth Element license

    medium confidence · Kaneda; noted David Van Es was shocked by the news, implying surprise confirmation

  • Jersey Jack Pinball has licensed The Grateful Dead for a pinball machine

    low confidence · Kaneda; explicitly framed as rumor ('that is what I'm hearing'), not confirmed

  • Stern will remake popular Spike 2 games on Spike 3 platform, including James Bond Goldfinger

    medium confidence · Kaneda; presented as technical inevitability based on platform economics and code portability

  • Back to the Future limited to 88 units in America and 88 in Europe; production starting September

    medium confidence · Kaneda; references Dutch Pinball Alice topper delays as context for slow production timeline

  • John Wick LE production was much lower than 1,000 units (estimated ~400)

    low confidence · Kaneda opinion/speculation; based on poor day-one sales and current rarity

Notable Quotes

  • “Sonic the Hedgehog, June 23rd. That's the date. Stop speculating. Stop wondering when it's going to be.”

    Kaneda @ ~0:30 — Direct announcement of the most anticipated 2026 release date, framed as definitive insider knowledge

  • “The next game from Stern Pinball, the next cornerstone game is going to be from John Borg. It is either going to be Ozzy Osbourne or an all new version of ACDC.”

    Kaneda @ ~2:30 — Major pipeline revelation contradicting previous speculation that Fallout would be next

  • “Pinball Brothers, if you are listening to Kaneda, give me game number one...I am going to get everybody that is listening to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast to get excited about this theme because it's such a good theme for pinball.”

    Kaneda @ ~4:15 — Confirms Pinball Brothers Fifth Element license acquisition and explicitly positions himself as community influencer driving demand

  • “Jersey Jack Pinball is going to make a Grateful Dead or the Grateful Dead pinball machine...Still a rumor, but that is what I'm hearing.”

    Kaneda @ ~5:30 — Major licensing rumor presented with explicit caveat about unverified status; includes personal skepticism about theme choice

  • “I think Transformers without the transforming Optimus is the biggest fumble in the last 10 years in pinball.”

    Kaneda @ ~11:00 — Strong critical opinion on Stern's removal of major promised mechanical feature; frames as systemic Stern failure, not just Transformers issue

  • “When people see the size of this DeLorean, when they see the flux capacitor...everyone's going to want one. I think that's going to be more like 10 grand scalping value.”

    Kaneda @ ~15:30 — Prediction of extreme secondary market pricing for Back to the Future based on visual/mechanical features and scarcity

  • “Post-Godzilla, every single modern Stern is really relying 100% on the code taking you somewhere magical. The actual mechanics aren't magical. The actual gameplay isn't incredible.”

    Kaneda — Structural critique of modern Stern design philosophy, framing as code-dependent rather than mechanically innovative

Entities

KanedapersonSteve RitchiepersonJohn BorgpersonKeith ElwinpersonGeorge GomezpersonDavid Van Esperson

Signals

  • ?

    announcement: Kaneda confirms Sonic the Hedgehog release date as June 23rd, 2026, framed as definitive insider knowledge with 19-day countdown

    high · Sonic the Hedgehog, June 23rd. That's the date. Stop speculating.

  • ?

    machine_intel: Next Stern cornerstone game is from John Borg (music game, likely Ozzy or AC/DC) at Expo, not Keith Elwin Fallout; Fallout pushed to March 2027

    medium · The next cornerstone game is going to be from John Borg...either going to be Ozzy Osbourne or an all new version of ACDC...No Elwin game in 2026

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Pinball Brothers confirmed to have secured The Fifth Element license; David Van Es previously unable to obtain it

    medium · David David Van Es was shocked when he saw that news because David David Van Es has been saying he was unable to get it. Now he's shocked that they have it.

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Jersey Jack Pinball rumored to have The Grateful Dead license for pinball machine; Kaneda personal skepticism about theme mainstream appeal

    low · I'm hearing that Jersey Jack Pinball also has in its license portfolio a little band known as The Grateful Dead...Still a rumor, but that is what I'm hearing

  • ?

    product_strategy: Stern strategy to remake popular Spike 2 games on cheaper Spike 3 platform; increased profit margins through lower BoM costs

    medium · Spike 3 is just cheaper for Stern to make all these games. They're going to make more profit on a Spike 3 version of James Bond than they did on Spike 2.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.059

0:00
Put me up, put me down, put my feet back on the ground, put me up, take my heart and make me happy. Let's see, let's see, let's see, let's see, let's see, let's see, let's see, let's see, let's see, let's see. Oh, welcome everybody, Kinect is back. I know I made you go for days without Kinect's pinball podcast. You had to listen to the shills out there saying, get a Transformers new inbox. I don't want to lose my access to the company even though nothing transforms. How's everybody doing? I said I would come back with some fire and I got some fire. I got some info and no shilling happening here. No ads for dealers in front of this show. Not getting paid in a pinball machine this year. Just dropping it like it's hot. Let's start right away. Sonic the Hedgehog, June 23rd. That's the date. Stop speculating. Stop wondering when it's going to be. It is June 23rd. They are going to trickle out some stuff before then, but you are not going to see the Sonic full reveal until that date. That is just 19 days away. Knicks, baby. Game one, baby. We're going to take the championship. So can you wait? Are you going to be one of these impatient people that runs to the latest turn in a box and loses a small fortune, but then says, but pinball is fun. I'm trying to make a pinball salary, putting ads in front of my con baby, Canada back baby. The meetings in D.C. went so well. It was so fun to get up there in front of all the leaders of all the major brands across the portfolio and not sell them anything. And guess what I also did? I showed them some pinball stuff and they freaking loved it. I said to them, I've learned more from this pinball community than I have from PR people in 25 years because it's real. And the number one pandemic in the world is loneliness. And what this hobby gives each and every one of us is community, is belonging, is like a sense of like you've got friends and people out there that you can talk to about something that's not freaking boring, like global politics, geopolitical scene. I mean, I was listening to all this stuff yesterday about the geopolitical scene in the world and how we need to know what's going on everywhere in the world. And I'm like, I'm just trying to sell more beer, bro. I'm just trying to sell more Oreo cookies. Let's give you some more stuff. How does that sound after I made you wait a few days for the next episode of Canada's Pinball Podcast? Okay, let's just get right to it. I'm here to tell you right now that Keith Elwin's fallout is not next. The release date for Keeith Elwin's Fallout is going to be March of 2027. I am guaranteeing this. So you are not going to see Fallout next. Oh man, Kaneda, what did you just do? Everyone's been saying it's Fallout next. It is not Fallout next. The next game from Stern Pinball, the next cornerstone game is going to be from John Borg. It is going to be around Expo and it is either going to be Ozzy Osbourne or an all new version of ACDC. I think the Ozzy Osbourne might be more what I think it's going to be. But there you go. No Elwin game in 2026. You heard it here first. Go to Pinside, say, hey man, that guy, I can't say his name, just said this. You want some more stuff? Can we give you more news in five minutes than all these other shill shows that do nothing? And now they're all going to have content. Oh man, Ganesha said, oh, before I get to that, everybody, buy your game from so-and-so. They will take care of you. And I'm being unbiased. No, you're not. No, you're not. The jig is up, baby. The jig is up. The cool kids are over here and the sellouts are over there. And that's just the way it is now. Canada hot baby. Got some coffee in me. Got a hot wife, two beautiful kids living in an amazing town. There's nothing I need from a shill content creator. Here we go, baby. You ready for the next thing? Here we go. Giving everybody something to talk about. So we know that Jersie Jack Pinball most likely has Van Halen coming out after Sonic the Hedgehog. It's most likely going to be Mark Seiden's game. But here's another thing that I think has been floating around. But I here to tell you right now who has this license You know just like I said that the Pinball Brothers has the fifth element David Van Ness was shocked when he saw that news because David Van Ness has been saying he was unable to get it Now he's shocked that they have it. It's happening, David. It's happening, baby. Fifth element, Pinball Brothers, I'm buying that game even if Bruce Willis is not in it. I mean that. I'm going to buy that game even if Bruce Willis is not in it. I actually like that movie even more than Predator. So Pinball Brothers, if you are listening to Kaneda, give me game number one or maybe game number two. I think maybe the designer takes game number one, but I am going to get everybody that is listening to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast to get excited about this theme because it's such a good theme for pinball. Now, here we go. Are you ready? Are you sitting down? Another theme. Now, I'm not even sure why they would make this theme, but this is what I'm hearing. First and foremost, love all of you guys. Thank you for subscribing. I'm hearing that Jersey Jack Pinball also has in its license portfolio a little band known as The Grateful Dead. That is what I'm hearing. That Jersey Jack Pinball is going to make a Grateful Dead or the Grateful Dead pinball machine. There is no band, and I mean this, in my entire 80s and 90s, there is no band that I could care less about than the Grateful Dead. And I know there were deadheads. It's like Phish fans. Like they're there. They were always in culture. I just could never get into that music. If I asked you, name me two Grateful Dead hit songs, you would come up short. It's just not like in my honest opinion, I wasn't into like drugs. I wasn't into that hippie subculture. So yeah, it means absolutely nothing to me. But I also know that the Grateful Dead is a huge, huge act that has a lot of fans. So just asking each and every one of you, do you think the Grateful Dead is a good choice for Pinball? I do not. I think there are more mainstream bands like the Beastie Boys, like Chili Peppers, like U2, like Bruce Springsteen. And of course, Michael Jackson would sell way more than the Grateful Dead. Again, still a rumor, but that is what I'm hearing, Jersie Jack Pinball and the Grateful Dead. All right, what else do you got for us, Kaneda? Let's see this. So if Keith Elwin is March of next year, let's look at the end of the year for Stern. So if John Borg's got a music pin, we also know we're going to get a remake of James Bond. It is going to be Goldfinger, and it is going to be on Spike 3. I am hearing that Stern is going to take all of those like Spike 2 games and all the popular ones are going to get a new version on Spike 3. So if you have Batman 66, trust me, they're going to make it again. And it's so easy for them because of the aspect ratio on the code is the same. So all they have to do is stretch it out a little bit more and you've got a Spike 2 game instantly is a Spike 3 game. It's on the bigger screen. It's on the newer platform. And we all know this. Spike 3 is just cheaper for Stern to make all these games. They're going to make more profit on a Spike 3 version of James Bond than they did on Spike 2. The cabinets are cheaper. Everything about it is cheaper. Stern did not make this platform a more expensive, high-end, bill-of-materials platform. We all know it. I think everyone's waking up to that. All right, what else is going on in pinball? Is John Wick having a second life or what? It's almost like everyone who's in this John Wick club is absolutely in love with this game. It's unbelievable. It's like two years later, after this game just took a beating by everybody, everyone's starting to realize it's a fun pinball experience. You know how I feel. I play John Wick a lot and I get the code is probably, you know, really satisfying. I guess that's just every modern Stern now. Post-Godzilla, every single modern Stern is really relying 100% on the code taking you somewhere magical. It's just the way it is. The actual mechanics aren't magical. The actual gameplay isn't incredible on their games anymore. But look, it's got good flipper feel every Stern game. And then you've got to get the code to pull you in and give you those moments of magic because nothing physical will do that. I've played John Wick Premium NLE. I don see anything in that game on a mechanical level that is that interesting And I don find the layout or the shots to be that interesting but I reading the room and the room is telling me that this game out of all the Stern machines over the last five years this thing is having a second life and people are really enjoying it In fact, we're seeing it's almost impossible to find a John Wick LE. Now, the reason that is, do you really think they made 1,000 John Wick LEs? I bet they only made like 400 of them. There is no way Stern put a thousand John Wick LEs on the line. This game did not sell on day one and there's no way they made that many. So John Wick owners are happy. Another club that is having a great time with their pin. And trust me when I say this, I am always a little bit jealous when I'm sort of like looking over at my Pokemon and nothing's in it. The page is dead. The club page is dead. The did Pinside get Pokemon all wrong? Thread is dead. Nobody's talking about this game, having fun with this game. There's nothing to do in this game. And then I go over to the Predator page and everyone's having a blast. So you're telling me 300 dudes are having the time of their lives on this Predator and thousands of people are underwhelmed with their Pokemon. It's just like I'm a little jealous. I would rather be in the jungle with these other gentlemen having a good time. And that's what this hobby is all about. And that's why this hobby is so interesting to me, because you can have the biggest company in pinball with the biggest IP in pinball. And they sell you something that is so incomplete. And then you got the Pinball Brothers with Predator, a game that, you know, I still think it has a fatal flaw without Arnold in it. But it doesn't change the fact that like people with it are having the time of their lives. Do I think people with Transformers are going to have the time of their lives? No, I do not. I don't think and I mean this when I say this. I think Transformers without the transforming optimist is the biggest fumble in the last 10 years in pinball. And I do think I don't care what the code does. I really don't. I think the fact that this was supposed to be in the game. Name me one other pinball machine, ladies and gentlemen, in which the major thing that was supposed to be in the game was removed. And I do find it comical that there are content creators that are saying it is Kaneda's fault that I got you excited about that and that you shouldn't have known that. And that it's someone at Stern's fault for telling. It was everybody at Stern, man. That's what these guys don't get. Everybody at Stern was telling everybody how awesome that mech was. They weren't telling those guys because those guys have no contacts internally that give them anything. So it's not our fault for getting you excited. It's George Gomez and Stern's fault for yanking it out. Trust me when I say this. They are going to throw that optimist onto the topper because they ordered like 3,500 of them. And so that is going to be so pathetic. They're not going to be able to sell 3,500 Transformers toppers with Optimus on it transforming. Speaking of toppers, right, where's the Pokemon topper? We were promised it. It would be out in May. It didn't come out. No new Pokemon. They can't throw the Pokedex into this game. I don't know what's going on, man. I really don't. I don't like the way Stern doesn't even manage any of our expectations. But I don't feel like buying another Stern again for a really long time after this experience. Good news is I don't like Ozzy Osbourne. It's not music that I opt into, so I'm not going to buy an Ozzy Osbourne. I'm not going to buy a Goldfinger. And then we've got, I think, Brian Eddy's Dracula. And then we're going to get Keith Elwin's Fallout. When I look at that lineup gang from like Ozzy Osbourne, Goldfinger, Fallout, it's not really like exciting me. You know what excites me? Goonies from Spooky Pinball I am hearing is insane. And then it's going to be Gremlins. I hear the next three titles coming from Spooky are going to sell out before you even see them. That excites me. I'm looking at Back to the Future. I am definitely getting a Back to the Future super limited edition. There are only going to be 88 in America and 88 in Europe. And hey, the other version of the game is also super limited. They're not going to make that many games. If you've been reading the whole Dutch pinball Alice Topper situation, it is such a boondoggle. It's like they're not even going to start making these things until maybe September. New Aldous buyers are getting the toppers instead of old Aldous buyers simply because it so much more expensive for Dutch to mail the original buyers the new topper That's why people it's cheaper for them to install it onto a game that's going out the door. The whole thing has left a bad taste in people's mouth. It's just like what? But, but the silver lining for every single person out there that is looking at their Alice game right now, You are first in line to get back to the future. And here's the good news for all of you. Because back to the future production will be so slow, I guarantee you will be able to make at least $5,000 scalping your year one back to the future spot to the pinball community. I think that's a low number, to be honest. I think it's going to be more like 10 grand. Because when people see the size of this DeLorean, when they see the flux capacitor, when they see the 80s cafe, when they see the clock tower, when they see the Christopher Franchi artwork, when they see the 27 inch screen on this game, everyone's going to want one. When they see all the assets in this game, everybody's going to want one. So it's going to be a really, really fun October. That is when Back to the Future is coming out. All right, DeLoreans, you know what else is coming back? The game nobody asked for. Galactic Tank Force is coming back, baby. That's right. There's a new deluxe edition of Galactic Tank Force coming back out. It is going to have like blue armor, blue purple armor. It is going to have a topper. Lior is doing the sculpts on the new tank, so it's going to look better. And I know they're also going to go back and give more code to the game. You know, who thought that we were going to get another edition of Galactic Tank Force? But, you know, look, this is Melvin's and Brian's strategy. They've got the parts for these games. Let's make them a little bit nicer like they did with Houdini. And let's clear the slate for what's coming down the road. Now, I have a little bit of a hunch of what the banger theme is going to be from American Pinball. And it is a take my money now theme. People have been asking for forever if they can secure it. OK, so a lot of exciting stuff happening over at American Pinball. I'm excited for my friends over there and I think it's going to be great. But this month is all about Sonic, baby. Will it live up to the expectations? Will it be loaded? You know, it's weird to me when people are saying like, Steve got everything he wanted. Name me the last Steve game that was loaded. This is the part I don't get. Steve Ritchie is a flow guy. He never loads his games with toys or mechs. Never. What was the last Steve Ritchie game loaded? What, like ACDC? See, like that's like 14, 15 years ago. All of his recent games have been really empty in the mech department. Now you might say, well, that's because Stern didn't put anything in it. And I'm like, well, really? Because there's a lot in Godzilla. So I don't really get it. Like Led Zeppelin is one of the most empty games ever. Elton John is a pretty empty game at Jersey Jack. So I don't know what people are expecting. I'm expecting a loop-de-loop. I'm expecting a Dr. Robotnik sort of bash toy. I'm expecting an upper play field. And I'm not expecting that much more. Harry Potter isn't loaded. Jersey Jack hasn't loaded a game since like Pirates of the Caribbean. So that doesn't mean it's not going to be good. I just want to manage everybody's expectations. Everybody, happy Thursday. In 19 days, we get Sonic. There's going to be some other stuff happening. Maybe we get the, I don't know, Pedretti's Totem sometime now. If I were them, maybe release it now. What's everybody waiting for? But no Keith Elwin game in 2026 is the big news. Jersey Jack's got Grateful Dead. That's another big piece of news. And Sonic's release date is June 23rd. Welcome back. Kanade is happy to be in the seat in front of the microphone giving each and every one of you the most entertaining pinball podcast in less than 20 minutes. No ads, no interviews with your buddy. No, just the hotness, just the fire. Everybody have a great day. We'll talk to you soon.
@ ~9:15
  • “Name me the last Steve game that was loaded. Steve Ritchie is a flow guy. He never loads his games with toys or mechs.”

    Kaneda @ ~18:30 — Manages expectations for Sonic by referencing designer's established style; contradicts community hype about 'loaded' game

  • Sonic the Hedgehog
    game
    Keith Elwin's Falloutgame
    The Fifth Elementgame
    The Grateful Deadgame
    Back to the Futuregame
    James Bond Goldfingergame
    John Wickgame
    Pokémongame
    Transformersgame
    Predatorgame
    Gooniesgame
    Gremlinsgame
    Galactic Tank Force Deluxegame
    Houdini'sgame
    Stern Pinballcompany
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Pinball Brotherscompany
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    American Pinballcompany
    Dutch Pinballcompany
  • ~

    sentiment_shift: John Wick experiencing unexpected community resurgence two years post-launch; LE units now scarce and highly sought

    high · It's almost like everyone who's in this John Wick club is absolutely in love with this game...We're seeing it's almost impossible to find a John Wick LE

  • ?

    product_concern: Transformers missing Optimus Prime transforming mech (removed post-announcement) characterized as biggest pinball fumble in 10 years; Kaneda blames George Gomez/Stern leadership

    high · I think Transformers without the transforming Optimus is the biggest fumble in the last 10 years in pinball...It's George Gomez and Stern's fault for yanking it out

  • ?

    collector_signal: Back to the Future extremely limited (88 US/88 EU); Kaneda predicts $5-10k scalping value due to visual/mechanical appeal and slow production

    medium · I guarantee you will be able to make at least $5,000 scalping your year one back to the future spot...I think it's going to be more like 10 grand

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Pokémon community engagement declining (dead forum/club pages) while Predator and John Wick gaining traction; Kaneda expresses jealousy of alternative games

    high · The page is dead. The club page is dead...I go over to the Predator page and everyone's having a blast...I'm a little jealous

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Steve Ritchie characterized as 'flow guy' who avoids heavily loaded playfields; expectation management for Sonic sparse toy/mech count

    medium · Steve Ritchie is a flow guy. He never loads his games with toys or mechs...Led Zeppelin is one of the most empty games ever

  • ?

    supply_chain_signal: Dutch Pinball Back to the Future production delayed until ~September; Alice topper fulfillment strategy favors new buyers, creating customer satisfaction issues

    medium · It's cheaper for them to install it onto a game that's going out the door...The whole thing has left a bad taste in people's mouth

  • ?

    content_signal: Kaneda explicitly claims role as community influencer driving demand for licensed properties; contrasts self against 'shill' content creators taking manufacturer deals

    high · I am going to get everybody that is listening to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast to get excited about this theme...No ads, no interviews with your buddy

  • 19:28
    Thank you.