Kaneda's Thanksgiving Podcast Spectacular!

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·30m 11s·analyzed·Nov 23, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.033

TL;DR

Kaneda offers measured gratitude to pinball manufacturers while questioning Chicago Gaming's production photo authenticity.

Summary

Kaneda's Thanksgiving special offers gratitude toward all major pinball manufacturers, highlighting their unique contributions to the industry. The host expresses skepticism about Chicago Gaming Company's Cactus Canyon Limited Edition production photo being staged, praises Stern as the industry's center of gravity, celebrates Spooky's transparency and execution, acknowledges Jersey Jack's innovation push, thanks American Pinball for taking creative risks, and recognizes niche manufacturers. Personal thank-yous extend to distributors, venue operators, content creators, and community members.

Key Claims

Cactus Canyon Limited Edition production photo was 'somewhat staged' with production not fully begun
medium confidence · Kaneda citing an unnamed big distributor as source; explicitly states uncertainty ('I don't know if this is true or not')
Without Stern Pinball, the entire hobby would be 'atrocious' and 'almost like collapses' when they take breaks
high confidence · Kaneda direct assertion with reference to 2022 period; characterizes Stern as 'center of gravity for all of pinball'
Spooky Pinball is 'the most transparent pinball company on the planet'
high confidence · Kaneda emphasizes this claim twice; cites on-time delivery record and upfront communication about production capacity
Jersey Jack Pinball pushed pinball innovation and Sam Stern looked different before JJP arrived
medium confidence · Kaneda opinion-based claim; subjective assessment of competitive impact
Chicago Gaming Company has the 'best quality pinball machines in all of pinball' and ships without endless QC threads
medium confidence · Kaneda's assessment contrasting with past wait times; acknowledges 'you wait a long time'
American Pinball is in position to deliver 'original IP game that is going to be packed and give us great value'
medium confidence · Kaneda speculation about American Pinball's future capability; references homebrew opportunities
Jersey Jack released 'seven pinball machines' total
high confidence · Kaneda direct statement; aligns with known JJP catalog (Wizard of Oz, Guns N' Roses, The Hobbit, etc.)
The Big Lebowski Pinball runs on Jerry's P3 system from Multimorphic
high confidence · Kaneda stating Dutch Pinball uses Multimorphic P3 platform
Pinball Brothers recovered from Andrew Highway deal by taking over Alien production

Notable Quotes

“Sam Stern is the center of gravity for all of pinball. Sam Stern is pinball. Everybody else is kind of like a boutique company trying to do what Sam Stern does so effectively.”
Kaneda @ ~15-20 minutes — Core industry assessment: Stern's dominance and other manufacturers' secondary positioning
“How many times in the pinball hobby have we received a photo when companies want to proclaim that production has begun and then they share a photo in which what don't we see? We don't see an assembly line. We don't see many people in the photo.”
Kaneda @ ~12-14 minutes — Critical question about staged production imagery; pattern recognition in manufacturing announcements
“Spooky Pinball started with America's Most Haunted. They made a hundred and fifty. Their next game was like three hundred, then five hundred, then seven fifty, and now they are making twelve hundred and fifty games in an eighteen month period.”
Kaneda @ ~25-30 minutes — Spooky's scalable growth model contrasted with other manufacturers' rushed approaches
“I have one pinball machine that I own on planet earth and it is Guns N' Roses and it is a masterpiece and I'm very thankful that Jersey Jack Pinball got that license and made that game.”
Kaneda @ ~35 minutes — Personal collection detail; high praise for JJP's licensing and execution
“The most exciting time. The time of the year is when Jersey Jack Pinball shows us their new game because there is just something special knowing that this company is laser focused on just one machine.”
Kaneda @ ~40 minutes — Assessment of JJP's focused release strategy and community anticipation
“Chicago Gaming Company builds the best quality pinball machines in all of pinball... you wait a long time, but they make the wait worth it.”
Kaneda @ ~55 minutes — Acknowledgment of CGC quality over speed tradeoff
“The Big Lebowski Pinball [is] the greatest theme integrated pinball machine since I've been covering pinball.”

Entities

Kanedaperson George Gomezperson Gary Sternperson Jack GuarnieripersonJerry WillhitepersonBarry LawspersonEric Meunierperson

Signals

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product_concern: Cactus Canyon Limited Edition production photo allegedly 'staged' with production not fully begun per unnamed distributor
medium · Kaneda cites distributor claiming photo was 'somewhat staged'; notes pattern of companies sharing non-assembly-line photos; expresses uncertainty ('I don't know if this is true or not')
?
manufacturing_signal: Spooky Pinball documented production growth from 150→300→500→750→1250 games per 18-month period
high · Kaneda provides explicit numbers tracing Spooky's scaling model as example of proper boutique manufacturing approach
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industry_signal: Stern Pinball characterized as industry 'center of gravity' with other manufacturers as secondary boutique competitors
high · Kaneda states: 'Sam Stern is pinball... Everybody else is kind of like a boutique company trying to do what Sam Stern does so effectively'
~
sentiment_shift: Kaneda maintains skepticism about Chicago Gaming Company's production timelines despite quality praise
medium · States 'you wait a long time' alongside quality praise; expresses hope photo is not 'another example of staged production'
?
community_signal: Pinball podcast/YouTube community faces structural challenge of maintaining content in low-news-cycle industry
high · Kaneda notes: 'only true news five days out of the year' requires unique personality to fill weekly airwaves
?

Transcript

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0:00

This is going to be Kaneda's Thanksgiving special. I'm going to say something thankful about every single pinball company out there. I can do it. I can do it. Kaneda can be very positive and this is the song that I bet every single pinball manufacturer is like playing and dancing when they see that there's a new episode of Kaneda's Pinball Podcast coming out to the world. Picture Jack Lenari, David Fix, George Gomez, Gary Stern, Mr. Ryan White, all of them, Charlie Emery and Bug, they're all dancing when they hear that Kaneda's Pinball Podcast has a Thanksgiving special in which he's going to say something nice about each of their companies. Here we go. Tantan, Tantan! Aw yeah! Six Twippy comin right here, hit it! Yeah! Jack loves me! JJP's biggest fan! Let's do this! While I was an intro happy Thanksgiving. We got everybody on the whose Canadian spin ball podcast the world's only pinball by gas that just tells it like it is and I'm super thankful that be here. I'm thankful for my beautiful wife, my beautiful child. I'm thankful for every single day on the ground and I get to hang out with what I think is arguably one of the weirdest, one of the most niche, one of the most interesting hobbies in the entire world and that is pinball and I mean it. And on this episode, I am going to go through all of the manufacturers and say what I am thankful for with each and every one of them and I mean it. There is stuff that each of these companies is bringing into the pinball world that we should all be thankful for. I know I can be the one who's always the bearer of bad news. I can be the one who harps on about the lack of toys in a game or the extreme prices of these machines and the ridiculous nature of the hobby at times. But for the most part, if you're listening to Kenaida Spinball Podcast right now, we each have a lot more to be thankful for in life. And if you're not thankful for what you have in life, just change your perspective. There are so many people out there with a lot less than us. So, if we're buying pinball machines, trust me, we're in a much better position than most people on the planet. So, here's what I want to do first. I want to give a shout out to each and every one of you who contributes to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. Now, I want to do a little bit extra for those who give a little bit extra. And so, I want to give a personal shout out, and these are people who donate more than $10 a month to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. I want to give a shout out to Tony V, to Steve J, to Hans T, to Jordan M, Jason C, Dan J, Arcade Time, and an extra special shout out to my number one monthly contributor, Mr. Donald over at Oasis Arcade. It means so much to me and it means so much that all of you, I know that every single I'm so happy we got to this place and you know my goal it's still to get to 1000 club members. The other people I want to thank are those who are super generous during my Facebook Thank you for tuning in. We're always glad to have you on our Facebook event. tür서 걸�elas пис을 고� Editfire 수해요 sp ப neurot sing propagation This Week in Pinball, Game of ThronesCHEERING Butal GuoSchak to Interactive All right, and I just have a few more personal thank yous because these people again have just gone above and beyond. I want to thank Mr. Robert Mooney for storing my Fix It Felix Jr. all of these years and breaking the monitor and fixing it and also for his star's contributions and then an extra special thank you to a man who every time there's like a milestone moment in my world, whether it's a good thing like Brenda's birthday or something like a memory As a I also want to give a shout out to Derek. He's always bashful when I give him a shout out. But Derek, you know him as the ultimate JJP fanboy and apologist and the guy who drives the Porsche and only can contribute $5 a month to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. But I've really made one of the greatest friendships of my life. And I'm always telling Brenda this. It's a sign of a true friend when someone actually picks up the phone when you call them. Like almost none of my friends pick up the phone, but Derek always picks up the phone. And he's probably tired of hearing I'm going to go down the list of pinball manufacturers and I'm going to say what I am thankful for for each and every one of these companies. Okay. Now first before I do this, I want to say something real quickly. That's not going to be a positive and I just heard from one distributor who's a big distributor and here's what they said. They said that that photo of Cactus Canyon LEs, you know the one that Chicago Gaming Company shared with a bunch of games with toppers on top of them and then some games in boxes. I am hearing that that photo was somewhat staged. And what I mean by this is that production hasn't really fully begun on Cactus Canyon LEs. Now look, I don't know if this is true or not, but let me ask each and every one of you a question. How many times in the pinball hobby have we received a photo when companies want to proclaim that production has begun and then they share a photo in which what don't we see? We don't see an assembly Line. We don't see many people in the photo. And so is this another example of a company trickling out a few games and staging a production photo that isn't actually a production line in motion. I'm going to let you decide. So we will see how I not sure how many Cactus Canyon LEs get unboxed between now and the end of the year but I don think you going to see like 30 or 40 or 50 games going out a week So we shall see if this is another example of a stage production All right so let start with Stern Pinball So what am I thankful about when it comes to Stern Pinball Well look it real simple I very thankful for George Gomez I very thankful for the entire team over at Stern Pinball I mean it Without Stern Pinball this hobby would absolutely be atrocious And we saw what happened in pinball over 2022 When Stern Pinball took a break from new and box releases We saw what happens to this hobby when this company The entire industry almost like collapses because nobody else does anything. Stern is the center of gravity for all of pinball. Stern is pinball. I think that's the fairest way to say it. Stern Pinball is pinball. Everybody else is kind of like a boutique company trying to do what Stern does so effectively. I'm very thankful for Stern's design team. I think they have the best designers. I think they have the best coders I think they have the best artist in all of pinball We've almost been so spoiled that Stern has released so many great games over the last 10 years That when a new game comes out the reason why we're sort of hypercritical is we're comparing them to other games Stern has Delivered for much cheaper prices arguably, but this company if you were to say all the pinball stops tomorrow I'm John Papadiuk, Black Water Podcast, Twippies Awards, and I'll see you next week.

9:18

jeaktoriktp Dawn, Sıra fastingiorok Dalamho, نت Bilal Fuč Part Earlyмент slıčidė tou Bриzoţ vor octopus moval đi Śn een peşikătkă yok nişkiciţ nuestras kişis resemble nişkça geliyor Marian Suhan, pibr кого'ţu măma grants minimalitas rozomını vTrŸktăşă, Let's go on to Spooky Pinball. How am I thankful for Spooky Pinball? Well, I'm very thankful for Spooky Pinball. And the thing I'm very thankful for when it comes to Spooky Pinball is a few things. I am very thankful that they are the one boutique company that did it right. I think they showed everybody else out there how you do boutique pinball. We've seen many companies come and go and none of them realized what Spooky realized early on. To throw your hat into the pinball ring, You need to start small. You need to learn how to do it. You need to manage your own ability before you can manage customer expectations, right? We saw Deep Root be like, we're going to make more pinball machines than everybody in a single year. Spooky Pinball started with America's Most Haunted. They made a hundred and fifty. Their next game was like three hundred, then five hundred, then seven fifty, and now they are making twelve hundred and fifty games in an eighteen month period. I'm very thankful that Spooky Pinball is still the most transparent pinball company on the planet. Let me repeat that. This company is the most transparent company on the planet. One of the reasons why is they use hot glue guns and glue is transparent. I'm just joking but no but this company from day one has always been very honest and truthful about how many games they can make a week when you can expect your game and everything they've done even from the non-refundable deposits they've always been very upfront with us about how it's going to work and every single person who's ever ordered a spooky game got their game there was no shenanigans there was no like year-long delay they got you You're game when they said they would get you your game. So I'm very thankful for spooky I'm also thankful for spooky pinball because they will tackle themes that nobody else would Their company is called spooky and I like that we have this sort of niche pinball company that brings out Obscure themes and like little niche themes like Ultraman when nobody else would they caught lightning in a bottle with Rick and Morty Arguably one of the craziest themes that everybody overlooked I'm thankful they got that game and they were successful with it and I really look forward to Scooby Doo and seeing what this team can do in the future and I'm thankful you deliver every single year new pinball for the pinball community. Alright, let's go to Jersey Jack Pinball. So why am I thankful for JJP? Well look, when I'm talking about these companies, when I look at a company like JJP and I look at this logo, I'm very thankful that Jersey Jack Pinball is in pinball. I'm very thankful that Jack Winari threw his hat into the ring and competed with a company he used to sell and that is Stern Pinball because I truly believe that JJP since its inception has been on a mission to put as much as they can into pinball. I believe this company and I'm thankful for this company because they pushed pinball innovation. You need to go back and look at what Stern Machines looked like before JJP came out. I'm very thankful that Jerseyjackpinball is here. I have one pinball machine that I own on planet earth and it is Guns N' Roses and it is a masterpiece and I'm very thankful that Jerseyjackpinball got that license and made that game. I'm very thankful that Jerseyjackpinball has built a following and a community and has given us all of the pins they've given us. They've released seven pinball machines in the pinball landscape. I'm very thankful for those options. I think these games are really unique. I think they're really interesting. And even though all of them aren't my cup of tea, I think about how boring pinball would be if we didn't have JJP. And up until the recent game, I mean it when I say this, up until the recent game, I'm going to keep it positive and not mention what the game is. Up until the recent release, deep down, each and every one of us knows that the most exciting time The time of a pinball year is when Jersey Jack Pinball shows us their new game because there is just something special knowing that this company is laser focused on just one machine and they put everything they know to date in each and every game and then they release the games with these great release videos and it's a moment and I think we're going to get back to another moment with the next title. I think everyone's excited to see what Eric does next and I'm very very thankful for guys like Keith and guys like Eric and guys like Jack and guys like Leonard and Brett and people who just keep this pinball hobby going and don't let this company go under. I mean it. There have been so many chances this company could have gone under and I want to give an extra special thank you to the Abbas family because they don't need to be here. They don't need to make money in pinball and they deserve some thanks because they This is a labor of love It is a passion project for them If it wasn for the Abbas family this company would have gone under during The Hobbit There would have been nothing after The Hobbit So thank you Leonard and Brett you can adopt me as your child any day and I will happily change my name to Abbas and we can roll this planet as billionaires but no thank you guys for being a part of the pinball community alright so what am I thankful for with Chicago gaming company well look CGC you what can you say I mean look we have to be absolutely thankful that this company remade some of the greatest pinball machines of all time and they made All of these games are made even better. It's really hard to improve upon a classic and they have done it time and time again. So I am so thankful that CGC has remade those games, opened up the opportunity for far more people to enjoy those games and also this, this company builds the best quality pinball machines in all of pinball. And CGC shipsAgain, you don't have endless threads about quality control issues. You wait a long time, but they make the wait worth it. So thank you to everybody over at CGC and I just can't wait to get more from you guys. Like stop making us wait so long for stuff. And please, I hope that's not a stage production photo of Cactus CanyonLE. I also want to just say thank you to Doug who runs CGC because Doug has kept the prices low. And I mean it. And that is something that really deserves a thank you and a praise. They could have easily have been very greedy and charge thousands more for Cactus CanyonLE. And they didn't and they wanted to give the value to us. So thank you so much to everybody at CGC for keeping the prices at a fair point for the community. We really appreciate it. Alright, what am I thankful for over at American Pinball? Everybody's favorite mustache and pinball. Mr. David Fix, Mr. Dennis Norman and Mr. Christopher Franchi are over there working hard on a new game that I hear is going to be really interesting. So look, I am thankful that American Pinball is another company that sort of came out of nowhere. We didn't expect this company to be anything. John Papadiuk launched it with them. And I am very thankful that American Pinball is around. And I'm going to be very honest here. American Pinball has the potential. They make great quality games. They also know how to pack a pinball machine with a lot of fun toys, right? They've done it with Houdini. They did it with Oktoberfest. And I think this company, I'm very thankful they're around. I'm very thankful because I think American Pinball is in a great position to deliver an original IP game that is going to be packed and give us great value in pinball. You know, I'm also very thankful that American Pinball is going to give a shot to a lot of these homebrew guys and is actually going to think differently about pinball, right? Stern and Jersey Jack, they're going to fight over all the big IPs, but it's nice that this company is actually going to give like homebrew guys This Week in Pinball, Game of Thrones unintlected by Ryan McQuaid, who made Sonic, a chance to get their pinball machines into production. It's a big risk. Absolutely is a big risk. They know this, but I am very thankful that we have a company that's just doing it differently. And we will see if they can hit the bullseye with an original IP game that's loaded, that looks amazing. I think the pinball buyers are going to show up also because the IP games are costing a fortune. We're gonna keep going so P3 Multimorphic. Look, I am thankful that Jerry is still kicking it because look Jerry invented the P rock and without Jerry's P rock system We wouldn't have a lot of what's been in pinball over the years He's really been the engine that's fueled a lot of games that we've loved He's fueled the homebrew area of pinball It's just amazing right is Jerry gave all of these dreamers a chance to make their pinball machine. So I'm super thankful that Jerry is in this hobby. I'm like I think I'm thankful that we have multi morphic P3 like I am like I'm absolutely thankful that he's given people a platform to design and create their own vision of pinball. And I think he's very, very on the precipice now right Weird Al has been successful for him and if he can just get these games made Jerry you gotta hire some more workers. But look, it's shown that people are I'm just super thankful that Jerry's been in pinball and he has fueled so much of the boutique industry that all of us love. Now speaking of fueling the boutique industry and P Rock, Dutch Pinball, right? Dutch Pinball's Big Lebowski if I'm not wrong runs off of Jerry's system. So that's great. We wouldn't have the Big Lebowski if it wasn't for Jerry over at P3 Multimorphic or Multimorphic I always say it wrong, but look I'm very thankful for Dutch Pinball for again sticking it out. They're getting it done. And you know how I feel about Barry. I think Barry is one of the most creative minds in pinball history. And yes, I'm saying that after just one machine because it is the greatest theme integrated pinball machine since I've been covering pinball. I'm super thankful Barry is still in this hobby. I'm super thankful he's getting it done. And I really look forward to seeing what's next from him. This is going to be the hardest one and I said I was going to say thanks to everybody. The next on my list is Home Pin. So what am I thankful about when it comes to Home Pin? Let me think about this one for a minute. I'll say this. I'm thankful that Home Pin is around because I think what they do is every few years they make it easy for us to keep our money in our wallets. I can't do it. I'm happy these guys picked up the buton that Andrew Highway dropped. Andrew Highway burned so many people and the people he burned the most were the Pinball Brothers. They lost so much money on Andrew Highway and instead of declaring bankruptcy and walking away, I'm thankful they didn't do that and I'm thankful they're now making Alien games. They're at least giving people who would have lost everything a chance to get an Alien and salvage something out of the raw deal that Andrew gave them and I think these guys are I think there are designers out there and artists out there and coders out there that would happily work with these guys on bringing great pinball to market. So I do want to thank the Pinball Brothers for not calling it quits and getting everybody who was in on Alien a chance to finally own that game. Haggis Pinball what am I thankful about when it comes to Haggis Pinball Well this one easy I just thankful that these guys build what I think is probably one of the most beautiful and detail machines If you lift the hood on a Haggis Pinball machine it embarrasses everybody else machines I mean I David Van Es and I see you next week I'm thankful with what they're bringing to market. I'm also thankful that they're making these games over there in Australia because for the Australian buyers, it's nice that we finally have a company over there because they don't have to pay the crazy import taxes on games and they can buy from a local supplier and a local manufacturer and that is Haggis Pinball. So Damien and Marty, I give you guys probably more arrows than anybody. I would say that most of them you deserve, but I am thankful you're around and I hope each and every one of you at all of these pinball companies has a very, very healthy and happy Thanksgiving with each and every one of your families. And I mean it when I say it. It's really easy for me to get up on the mic and critique these companies, insult their boneheaded moves and forget that almost all of these people that I critique on a weekly For any questions or suggestions or questions related to this topic about to be answered, That on a personal level, I do wish each and every one of you the best. I do want each and every one of you to be around many, many years to come so we can see what you have up your sleeves in the pinball world. I mean it. And if I see each and every one of you at a show, the words will never be in anger. We will shake hands and have beers and have a great time and that is why this hobby is great. But I'm not done with my thanks just yet. I want to say thank you to Knapp's Arcade and give an extra special shout out to Jason Knapp who has now arguably the greatest source for pinball news in all of pinball. Every single day I'm at work, I get like emails all day long, new posts from Knapp's Arcade and it's not like it's spam, like it's actual news that he is covering in real time. And I want to take my hat off to Jason Knapp because without you Jason and without your We would have to plow through the dumpster fire that is pin side to find out what is happening in the pinball world. So thank you so much, Jason, for all of the hard work you do. We really appreciate it. And I love your site. I want to give a special thank you to all of the distributors and dealers out there, many of which are my good friends. All of us out there, if you're listening right now, all of us out there have a good friend who's also making a living in pinball. I'm a pinball enthusiast and I want to thank each and every one of you who distributes and deals these machines. It's not always easy even though you've had it really easy for so many years. Now it's going to get a little bit more difficult but I want to say thank you so much. On a personal level, I've made some incredible friendships with people in this area of pinball. Chris and Melissa, you know, Joe Newhart, Tati Tucky, these are very, very dear and close friends of mine and thank you so much for all the pinball hookups and it Pains me that I can't flip your machines for a profit in the future, but no, thank you so much to each and every one of the dealers and distros that are out there. I want to give a very special thank you to all the bar Kades out there, all the Jack bars of the world. If you're operating pinball out in the world or at an airbnb wherever it is, if you're putting pinball in the world for people to walk in and enjoy, thank you very much. It really is I say it is how we were supposed to play pinball. You take 20 bucks, you order some beers, you have some fun and you go home. You weren't meant to spend the price of a car and be some lonely man down in your basement with nobody watching you play. That isn't what pinball was intended to do or how it was meant to be played. Okay, I get it. You can dive into the code when you're in your pajamas at three in the morning, but that's not what pinball was supposed to be in culture or in the Thank you to all of you operators out there. I can't wait to visit more of you and I have such a good time every time I go to Jack Bar and it always reminds me this is pinball. It was always meant to be a social magnetic device that was out there in public that brought people together. I want to end this podcast by saying thank you to all and I mean this all of the pinball content creators out there. Each and every one of you who either does a podcast or does a 나오 qualified