Journalist Tool

Kineticist

  • HDashboard
  • IItems
  • ↓Ingest
  • SSources
  • KBeats
  • BBriefs
  • RIntel
  • QSearch
  • NName Review
  • +Health

v0.1.0

← Back to items

4 Pinball Machines That STOLE The Show at Expo!

RetroRalph·video·18m 30s·analyzed·Oct 26, 2024
View original
Export .md

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

Stern dominates Pinball Expo 2024 with X-Men and Metallica; four standout machines define the show.

Summary

RetroRalph's comprehensive Pinball Expo 2024 coverage highlights four standout machines: Stern's X-Men (innovative layout, strong community reception), Metallica Remastered (drew massive lines), Jersey Jack's Avatar Limited Edition (fresh art direction), and Dutch Pinball X's Alice in Wonderland (visually stunning but clunky gameplay). The show merged with Video Game Summit, featured extensive homebrew exhibits, and positioned Stern Pinball as the overall showstopper despite strong performances from competitors.

Key Claims

  • Stern Pinball provided new code for X-Men specifically for the show floor that added awesomeness to the game

    high confidence · RetroRalph directly observed this and noted positive community feedback on the show floor

  • Alice in Wonderland by Dutch Pinball X has a 500-unit production limit

    high confidence · RetroRalph explicitly stated this figure and expressed concern about future opportunities to play the game

  • Jersey Jack Pinball's Avatar Limited Edition features new talent artist Leah Foskey with a fresh art style

    high confidence · RetroRalph directly praised the visuals and credited Foskey by name

  • Mark Seiden is the first-time lead designer for James Cameron's Avatar (Limited Edition)

    high confidence · RetroRalph explicitly identified Seiden as first-time lead designer bringing fresh ideas

  • Wonderland Amusements is developing a sub-$1,000 mechanical pinball machine with a team that has never built a pinball machine before

    high confidence · RetroRalph examined a prototype at the show and noted the small ball and cabinet size

  • X-Men's playfield design is by Jack Danger with artwork by Jeremy Packer

    high confidence · RetroRalph credited these designers while discussing the game's appeal

  • Turner Pinball's Ninja Eclipse was originally showcased in a non-standard cabinet but was redesigned to a standard cabinet due to community feedback

    high confidence · RetroRalph noted he saw it last year in a smaller cabinet and observed the change this year

  • American Pinball has become a distributor for Arcade1Up units

    high confidence · RetroRalph observed Arcade1Up machines at the American Pinball booth and confirmed this partnership

Notable Quotes

  • “Stern's been playing it safe a little bit over the last couple of releases, so X-Men feels fresh and exciting.”

    RetroRalph@ 1:01 — Sets up X-Men as a departure from Stern's recent conservative design philosophy

  • “The game is stunning, from the powder-coated side rails with RGB lighting to the detailed 3D sculpts on the playfield. And that super impressive topper. It's visually a work of art.”

    RetroRalph@ 2:15 — Praise for Alice in Wonderland's aesthetic design despite gameplay concerns

  • “I played it, and spoiler alert, I freaking love it.”

    RetroRalph@ 1:12 — Strong personal endorsement of X-Men's gameplay before detailed discussion

  • “After a few plays, it really grew on me. It's actually a really fun game.”

    RetroRalph@ 7:01 — Avatar Limited Edition gameplay impressed upon extended play time, showing learning curve benefit

  • “I think Stern Pinball overall won the show. They brought a new cornerstone game, the Uncanny X-Men. And then boom, on Saturday, they bring out Metallica Remastered.”

    RetroRalph@ 16:58 — Concludes that Stern's dual-release strategy (X-Men + Metallica) was the dominant show performance

  • “The layout is unique. I mean, it's Jack Danger. The shots are very satisfying, the artwork's by Jeremy Packer, and it's great, the sound package works well, and it's tightly integrated to what's going on in the game.”

    RetroRalph@ 11:12 — Detailed breakdown of X-Men's design strengths across multiple dimensions

Entities

RetroRalphpersonZach SharppersonLeah FoskeypersonMark SeidenpersonJack DangerpersonJeremy PackerpersonKen CromwellpersonMelvinperson

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: American Pinball diversified into Arcade1Up distribution, expanding beyond pinball manufacturing into adjacent retro gaming market

    high · RetroRalph observed Arcade1Up machines at American Pinball booth and confirmed partnership: 'they've become a distributor for the Arcade1Up'

  • ?

    community_signal: RetroRalph volunteered with Project Pinball silent auction; reflects ongoing community-focused charitable integration within pinball Expo events

    high · RetroRalph stated: 'I'm super pumped this year because I'm going to be volunteering to help out with the Project Pinball silent auction' and described it as 'a complete honor'

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Stern Pinball executed dual-release strategy (X-Men as cornerstone game + Metallica Remastered reveal) that overshadowed competitors and established dominance at show

    high · RetroRalph concluded 'Stern Pinball overall won the show' based on sustained crowd interest in both games and strategic Saturday timing of Metallica reveal

  • ?

    design_philosophy: X-Men represents departure from Stern's recent conservative design approach; RetroRalph characterized it as 'fresh and exciting' with unique playfield layout by Jack Danger

    high · RetroRalph stated 'Stern's been playing it safe a little bit over the last couple of releases, so X-Men feels fresh and exciting' and praised layout uniqueness

  • ?

    event_signal: Pinball Expo 2024 (40th anniversary) merged with Video Game Summit; record attendance indicated by expanded booth sizes and long lines at major manufacturers

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.055

0:00
Shh. Listen. It's so quiet in here. So, what are we going to do about it? Let's get this party started!
0:10
I'm going to go from big pinball to little pinball! Welcome to Pinball Expo 2024. This is the 40th anniversary and I can't tell you how excited I am for this show. The show merged with Video Game Summit this year, so it's going to be bigger than ever. My biggest concern is, how are we going to get everything done? We've got an action-packed week lined up. Zach Sharp invited several of us over to Stern headquarters, but I have a feeling it's not for a factory tour. He's got something up his sleeve. Is it the new Metallica remastered? Well, I asked him, and all he did was send me back some devil horns. So look, I'm no rocket scientist, but I'm pretty sure that says it all. But you'll have to wait and see. So what else is on the schedule? I've also got to go to the Stern booth and check out X-Men. I really want to see what the community reaction is to such a unique playfield layout. Stern's been playing it safe a little bit over the last couple of releases, so X-Men feels fresh and exciting. Will the community embrace it or feel like it's too different from what they're used to? I've played it, and spoiler alert, I freaking love it. But more on that later. I'm super pumped this year because I'm going to be volunteering to help out with the Project Pinball silent auction. It's going to be a blast, and what a good cause. This company places pinball machines in children's hospitals and Ronald McDonald's houses. So to be helping out is a complete honor. I've also carved out some time for an exclusive tour of Jersey Jack's manufacturing facility, so I'm super excited about that, and I'm teaming up with Bob Rose for the Token Taverns panel, and that's just the stuff I can remember off the top of my head. This week is going to be absolutely insane. I can't wait to see everybody, see fans of the channel, but honestly, If it wasn't busy, I'd probably be complaining, so let's dive in, let's embrace the madness, and make it an incredible week.

  • “I was in the freaking zone, man. I was in a trance. I was locked in. I felt like time had literally stopped.”

    RetroRalph@ 12:29 — Personal account of high engagement while playing Metallica Premium Edition at Stern headquarters

  • “I have a new appreciation for Jersey Jack Pinball. Great people. They build a solid product.”

    RetroRalph@ 7:56 — Positive sentiment shift after factory tour with marketing specialist Ken Cromwell

    • Rob
    person
    Stern Pinballcompany
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Dutch Pinball Xcompany
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    American Pinballcompany
    Multimorphiccompany
    Electric Playgroundcompany
    Turner Pinballcompany
    Operation Pinballcompany
    Wonderland Amusementscompany
    Project Pinballorganization
    Pinball Expoevent
    Arcade1Upcompany
    Scott Ianperson
    Todd Tuckeyperson
    The Flipsideorganization

    high · RetroRalph noted merger expansion, red carpet addition to Stern booth, and sustained crowds for X-Men and Metallica throughout weekend

  • $

    market_signal: Turner Pinball's Ninja Eclipse nearly sold out at 100-unit production run; demonstrates strong community appetite for smaller manufacturers with original IP

    high · RetroRalph noted 'They've almost sold out of all one hundred units' and praised the 'up and coming' company with community embrace

  • ?

    community_signal: Mark Seiden (first-time lead designer at Jersey Jack Pinball) brings new design sensibilities to Avatar Limited Edition; paired with new artist Leah Foskey creating distinctive visual identity

    high · RetroRalph identified Seiden as first-time lead designer and Foskey as new talent with fresh art style that 'shows both on the playfield and the cabinet really well'

  • ?

    announcement: Metallica Remastered officially revealed at Stern Pinball headquarters to content creators during private tour; later brought to show floor Saturday with both Premium and Limited Edition models

    high · Zach Sharp teased reveal with devil horns emoji; RetroRalph witnessed official reveal in Stern arcade room and played Premium Edition; lines extended throughout Saturday

  • ?

    product_strategy: Jersey Jack Pinball improved booth strategy vs. Elton John year by bringing adequate inventory of Avatar Limited Edition machines, resolving previous capacity issues

    high · RetroRalph compared to prior year: 'Last year with Elton John as their latest release, they didn't bring enough machines, which made the lines really long. This time, however, they came prepared'

  • ?

    product_concern: Alice in Wonderland exhibits playfield design tradeoff: visually stunning but gameplay felt clunky with narrow playfield and poor flow due to content density

    high · RetroRalph: 'There's so much packed into the game that the main playfield felt kind of narrow and I struggled to find any real flow while I was playing'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Jersey Jack Pinball's Avatar Limited Edition improved upon initial lukewarm first impression after extended gameplay; demonstrates gameplay learning curve value

    high · RetroRalph: 'Initially I wasn't that impressed. But after a few plays, it really grew on me. It's actually a really fun game'

  • ?

    technology_signal: Multimorphic P3 modular system showcased magnetic side art replacement and interchangeable playfield modules, enabling space-efficient multi-game ownership

    high · RetroRalph demonstrated magnet-based side art swap and noted 'for someone that has limited space, you can enjoy some pinball fun and only have to take up the space of one cabinet'

    • 1:58
    First up, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Dutch Pinball X, the offshoot brand of Dutch Pinball. The buzz around this game at Expo was incredible, with long lines the entire weekend. I didn't even get to play it till Saturday. My first impression? The game is stunning, from the powder-coated side rails with RGB lighting to the detailed 3D sculpts on the playfield. And that super impressive topper. It's visually a work of art. So if Dutch Pinball X's aim was to create an exclusive small run collector's piece, they definitely nailed it with this one. But the question is, how does it play? In my opinion, it played a bit clunky. There's so much packed into the game that the main playfield felt kind of narrow and I struggled to find any real flow while I was playing. Melvin, the head of design and engineering, kindly let me play a few extra balls, but my overall progress felt a bit unsatisfying. While I wasn't totally sold on how it plays, I think the more time on it, I could have had a better experience. Since only 500 units are being made, I'm not sure I'll even get a chance to play it again, but if I do see it on location or at a show in the future, I'll definitely give it another shot. Speaking of Wonderland, what's the deal with this mysterious sheet over at Wonderland Amusements. Well, to be honest, not much. It's actually an empty cabinet prototype hiding under the sheet with no playfield. This company is aiming to create a mechanical pinball machine for under $1,000. The catch is, the team behind it has never built a pinball machine before. I respect the pinball for everyone concept, and making the hobby more accessible is a great idea. That will help the hobby grow, but I'm not sure the result will be something comparable to the commercial grade machines we're all used to. Time will tell. The ball is smaller, the cabinet is smaller, and it makes me wonder, will the overall interest in this be smaller too? I guess we'll have to wait and see. This is the Multimorphic P3 platform. This thing is really cool. So imagine if you could have one pinball machine that you buy, but you could replace it with these modular units to change the game. It's really neat and interesting. They've been out for while their latest release is Princess Bride I did get a chance to play it it's pretty fun there's some unique mechanics in it and you can see these modules are right here so you can just buy them but that's not it I want to show you something really cool that you can do because when you buy another kit you get new artwork as well so check this out so when you buy a new kit you get new side art and it's just a magnet that you peel and you can put the new side artwork on that really cool and I think that actually something I have not seen before but it kind of makes it for someone that has limited space you can enjoy some pinball fun only have to take up the space of one cabinet I got this stupid can in my hand hold on I put it back on Let me line it up so it doesn't go bad, ready? Wait, hold on. I actually didn't put it on right.
    4:52
    Let's switch gears for a minute and go visit a company that's really changing the game when it comes to pinball toppers.
    4:58
    I'm over at the Electric Playground booth. If you didn't see my video, these guys make some awesome toppers. I did one on the Godzilla 70th Black and White Edition. They really focus on making things that interact with the gameplay and just having more options, more third-party options. But check this out. This is one from last year. Was it last year or a couple years ago? This is their Twilight Zone. It interacts with the game. It's got this light LED that has the eye that moves. But also, what's really neat about it is you're going to see in a second here, a pinball is going to come out of here. They incorporated an actual pinball into the topper. which is pretty cool. So that happens periodically. This is the new one they're showing off though. This is their attack from Mars. I'm hoping that Rob over at Electric Playground gives me one of these for a review. So Rob, if you're watching, I think I want to check this one out too. But if you're looking for a cool topper, check out Electric Playground. Really great guys, really innovative technology, and they look beautiful on your game.
    5:54
    If you've been to a pinball expo, they always have a homebrew section. These are people that make their own creations. Sonic the Hedgehog, a barrel themed game that you basically hug to play and a Borderlands machine with these crazy hydraulics. There was also this gigantic pinball machine called the Mothership. It's not yet playable, but they're aiming to have it flipping in time for Expo next year. I love this kind of stuff. You get to see people's creativity come to life. There's a Harry Potter in here that's really cool. I almost forgot to mention the Tony Hawk machine. It wasn't in the homebrew area for some reason, but people were really enjoying it, and it had some wild wire form ramps, things I've never seen before. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to play it, but from what I could see, everyone was having a blast with it. Come see and support people's creations. It's really awesome, but let's see what else is out there. Next stop, Jersey Jack. The Jersey Jack booth was a major improvement this year. Last year with Elton John as their latest release, they didn't bring enough machines, which made the lines really long. This time, however, they came prepared with plenty of their new title, Avatar. I got to spend a good amount of time playing it, and initially I wasn't that impressed. But after a few plays, it really grew on me. It's actually a really fun game. The visuals are stunning, thanks to a fresh new talent, Leah Foskey, whose unique art style shows both on the playfield and the cabinet really well. It does give the game a distinct look that we haven't seen in pinball. The design crafted by the first time lead designer Mark Seiden also brings something new and fresh to the forefront. I think overall the community enjoyed Avatar and while it's not a theme for me to add to my home collection, I think they'll be a Jersey Jack machine in my future, especially if they do the game that is rumored, The Matrix. While I was out in Chicago for Pinball Expo, marketing and communications specialist Ken Cromwell over at Jersey Jack offered me a private tour of the Jersey Jack manufacturing facility. I was really excited about this. I'm not going to show much of it here. I'm going to save that for its own video. But I will say this. I have a new appreciation for Jersey Jack. Great people. They build a solid product. But again, more on that later. Speaking of Jersey Jack games, let's head back to the show floor at Expo and check out the entire catalog of Jersey Jack games because I finally got to play a Pirates of the Caribbean. Obviously Jersey Jack has a big presence at the show because of Avatar but you know I haven't had a lot of time to really explore the Jersey Jack catalog and what's really cool is at Pinball Expo they have the whole entire catalog of games over here so you can experience Avatar, Elton John, Godfather, Toy Story, Guns and Roses. They got Willy Wonka here, Pirates of the Caribbean. You hardly see this one. I got a chance to play this a little bit and it's a really fun game. I wish they would rerun this. Maybe in the future they will. That's not something that Jersey Jack has really done is kind of reissue the back catalog. So maybe we'll see them do that. But I guess why I bring this up is they've got a pretty good catalog of games here and it's just something that I wanted to experience. And here at the show it's nice that they brought them all here for you to check out. For as large as Pinball Expo is this Sometimes you find a few hidden gems along the way I here at the Operation Pinball booth Now this has been my hidden gem of the show It a pinball distributor and they have this cool little booth set up with this badass screen but they have an Uncanny X LE Stern doesn't even have one in their booth so that's really cool and then they have an Avatar. So definitely check this company out. I'll have a link in the description if you're looking for a pinball machine. They actually sell a couple different major vendors. I gotta say I'm very impressed with the booth. Now I don't know how long it's going to stay a hidden gem so I'm going to get in here because the show just opened I can get some games in before this place gets flooded. Check this out. All right we're here at American Pinball. Now their latest game is a game about uh barbecuing. It's Barry O's Barbecue and you know my wife she's a vegan so I don't I don't think she'd like this so we're gonna we're gonna take the pig with us along the no we're not we're not gonna take the pig going away. The other game they came out with not that long ago was Galactic Tank Force. This was at the last show but there's really nothing new new here from American Pinball but there's some interesting news they've become a distributor for the Polycade I thought that was kind of interesting so now American Pinball technically does pinball and arcade games these are pretty cool this this company has been around for a little while they're these wall mountable arcade units kind of interesting that um you know they'd go down this path but nothing new from American So we'll see if they have something coming up for maybe Texas Pinball Festival. All right, next stop, the company with the largest presence on the show floor, Stern Pinball. This year, Stern brought back the signature red carpet. And man, did my feet thank me for that. Trust me, it makes a big difference. Anyway, everyone in the Stern booth was hyped for X-Men. Stern even provided new code specifically for the show floor machines that added even more awesomeness to their new cornerstone game. I hung out in the booth for a long time, not only to hang out and play the game, but to capture feedback, and the majority of the people I spoke with absolutely loved the game. Think about it. The layout is unique. I mean, it's Jack Danger. The shots are very satisfying, the artwork's by Zombie Yeti, and it's great, the sound package works well, and it's tightly integrated to what's going on in the game. When you can check every one of those boxes, it's hard not to have a hit. So the question is, did X-Men steal the show? Well, at that moment, I would have said yes, but then this happened. We headed over to Stern for a private tour of the factory and to see Metallica, or at least that's what I thought based on Zach Sharp's devil horns emoji he sent me in text earlier that day. We arrived at Stern, and it's changed a bit since the last time I was there. The outside of the building now has this amazing steel ball, similar to the downtown bean, but only way cooler in my opinion. So they funnel a bunch of us content creators into the main lobby, and then they tell us to play some games while we wait our turn. Wait our turn? Wait our turn for what? I can't take this kind of anticipation. Then, our moment came. We went into the Stern Arcade room where they stream from, and there it was. Metallica Premium and LE. First off, the LE is sexy as hell, but the Premium is no slouch either. I waited for a bit to play it, but when I did, I was in the freaking zone, man. I don't know if it was the thought of my content creator peers there watching me, but I was in a trance. I was locked in. I felt like time had literally stopped. It was kind of weird, but when you have moments like that, you have to take advantage of it. I was so stoked. I GC'd the game and I walked out of there pretty proud of what I had just accomplished. It was kind of cool to be able to do that in front of other content creator peers. I'm not the best pinball player in the world, So it felt really, really good. Ian at Nudge Magazine has this no days off thing that he posts on Instagram all the time. And I've been trying to practice that the best I can. So I think that really paid off. And I know that's Ian saying, so maybe I should send a royalty check in the mail to Nudge Magazine. Anyway, back to Metallica for a second. If you're on the fence on getting one and you love Metallica, don't be. The game is amazing. I can't wait for them to take this over to the show floor on Saturday because people are going to absolutely lose their minds over it. Well, that was really awesome, but there's one last thing to do while we're here. Zach let us tour the manufacturing facility for a little bit, and even though I've done it before, there's something so awesome about being back there, watching all these amazing people hand-building the games we love to play. Everyone at Stern is so passionate about pinball and growing this awesome hobby that we love. So thank you Stern Pinball for all that you do This hobby is awesome It brings people together and it brings joy to so many of us And as a community we can thank you enough for all that you do All right guys we here in front of Spooky Pinball. This is like a smaller boutique brand, but everyone really likes them. They build a high quality product. They have their new game here, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. I like following this company because they have some unique themes. They do horror, but then on the other side, they'll do something fun like Looney Tunes or Scooby-Doo. So they kind of mix it up from time to time. I hear they have some pretty interesting licenses in the hopper, but this is the latest one. So if you come to the show, check it out or any other pinball show in the next couple of months, because this is a pretty fun one if you're a horror fan. Between all the madness, I found a way to sit down and record a quick episode of The Flipside, my pinball podcast with Kale and Rachel from Electric Bat and Jamie from Wormhole Pinball. We had a great time breaking down everything we experienced at Expo. If you want to check it out, Head over to Retro Ralph Live. The podcast is available in video form there, but also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. I'll put a link in the description so you can check it out. Okay, moving on. So even though Pinball Expo is traditionally just pinball, there's always been some arcade games and things worked into the mix. But this year, Video Game Summit and Pinball Expo merged. So you see stuff like this. This is Alan 1. They had Asteroids Recharged as their first game that they released under their Atari license. These are really cool. So this is like trying to bring some of these legacy games back in a new way for people to enjoy a new generation in the arcade. They actually refined the cabinet quite a bit. It didn't have this sort of light up bezel before. This is now the final marquee. It looks really great. It plays really great. And more of these Atari Recharge games are going to be coming soon. So be on the lookout for Alan 1. I'll have a link in the description of the video. Guys, Todd Tucky was unable to be here this year. I want you to show some love for Todd Tucky. Give me some love for Todd Tucky. Come on. We love you, Todd. We miss you. We wish you were here. All right.
    15:55
    Oh, and you got a heart, too. You got a heart, too. We love you, Todd. We're here in front of Turner Pinball checking out their game Ninja Eclipse. This is the second year in a row I've checked out this game. Now, the game has changed a little bit because they originally showcased it in a smaller cabinet with a lot of new innovations. The community kind of like rebelled against that a bit, so they did put it in a standard cabinet. It had no coin door in the first iteration. Now it looks kind of like everything else, but the game itself is really unique. It's a unique IP. It's their own IP, not a major IP, which is pretty cool, and it's just a passionate group of people. They've almost sold out of all 100, so I like to see that. Smaller company, up and coming, doing real well, and the communities definitely embrace them and the game is really fun too. So the question still remains, did Metallica steal the show? Well when they brought it over on Saturday they brought over both an LE and a premium and the lines were super long to play Metallica. But keep in mind the lines were still steady the whole entire time with the Uncanny X-Men. You gotta think, it's actually more like did Stern steal the show? Think about it, they brought a new cornerstone game, the Uncanny X-Men And then boom, on Saturday, they bring out Metallica Remastered, which was already a game that was beloved by all. So I'd say Stern overall won the show. This was a really fun Pinball Expo. I can't wait to come back next year. If you attended the show, I'd love to know your thoughts and opinions. But there was a lot of stuff to celebrate. Jersey Jack's Avatar seemed like it was a hit. It seemed like people really enjoyed Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, although I kind of felt like it played a little clunky. I'd like more time on it but like I said with only 500 made I don't know like am I gonna see this game ever again I hope so because if I do I will give it another shot like I said earlier in the video all right guys well that was my pinball expo 2024 experience I gotta thank all the people that came up to me to say hello to thank me for the content that was so nice I got to meet so many cool fans and fans of the new flip side podcast I'm only 15 episodes in and it's really picking up steam. It was amazing how many people knew about the podcast. So thank you so much for your support on that one. And that's it for now, guys. We will see you on the next one.