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The Pinball Show Ep 137 BONUS: Pocket Monsters Pinball

Pinball Show Patreon Feed·podcast_episode·13m 18s·analyzed·Sep 12, 2023
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.022

TL;DR

Pokemon pinball in active licensing talks with Stern and other manufacturers; no deal inked yet.

Summary

The Pinball Show hosts discuss Pokemon as a potential pinball license, exploring its cultural significance, market appeal across age groups, and licensing complexity. They reveal that Stern and multiple other manufacturers are actively in discussions with the Pokemon Company about producing a Pokemon pinball machine, though no deal has been finalized. The hosts speculate on potential cabinet variations (Pikachu, Squirtle, Charizard, Mew) and entertainment crossovers.

Key Claims

  • Pokemon Go generated over $25 million USD in monthly revenue last year

    high confidence · Host cites researched statistic during discussion of Pokemon franchise size

  • Detective Pikachu made over $400 million at the global box office

    high confidence · Host references box office data as evidence of franchise reach

  • Pokemon Red/Green/Blue series sold over 31 million units

    high confidence · Host cites sales figures for the flagship video game series

  • Stern has been or is talking to the Pokemon IP holder to make a pinball game

    high confidence · Host states 'Stern has been or is talking to the IP holder to Pokemon to make it a thing'

  • Multiple manufacturers beyond Stern are in discussions with Pokemon Company about pinball licensing

    high confidence · Host explicitly states 'there are still discussions with other manufacturers as well to make a Pokemon pinball machine'

  • No Pokemon pinball licensing deal has been finalized or 'inked' yet

    high confidence · Host states 'it has not been inked yet' regarding Pokemon pinball negotiations

  • The Pokemon Company controls all Pokemon IP licensing on behalf of Nintendo and other major owners

    medium confidence · Host explains the three-way ownership structure and Pokemon Company's role in licensing decisions

  • Pokemon has been around for approximately 27-30 years

    high confidence · Multiple references to '27 years old' and '30 years almost' throughout discussion

Notable Quotes

  • “I'll tell you my entire Pokemon experience in three sentences. I have played Pokemon Go. I saw Detective Pikachu. And I remember the cartoon because one of the few stations I got when I lived in New York in grad school.”

    Dennis (host)@ 0:40 — Establishes the host's limited Pokemon knowledge, setting up the casual tone while discussing the franchise's massive market appeal

  • “Pokemon's one of their franchise I looked up. Their biggest selling video game franchise is the Red, Green, Blue series, and it sold over 31 million units.”

    Host@ 5:03 — Provides quantifiable evidence of Pokemon's commercial dominance to support pinball licensing viability

  • “It's one of those licenses where being, actually being in the world of Pokemon with the creatures alone would allow you to tell whatever... you need the characters of Pokemon, and then you would be allowed to build whatever world you want around it because it's the creatures that people identify with.”

    Dennis (host)@ 6:11 — Articulates why Pokemon is uniquely suited for pinball adaptation—the flexibility of creature-focused design

  • “Stern has been or is talking to the IP holder to Pokemon to make it a thing. I don't know if they are in the middle of it, if they have and they passed. I don't know. But I can tell you that it has not been inked yet.”

    Host@ 10:17 — Direct confirmation of active licensing negotiations with Stern; explicitly stated that no deal is finalized

  • “In fact, there are still discussions with other manufacturers as well to make a Pokemon pinball machine.”

    Host@ 10:34 — Reveals competitive landscape—multiple pinball manufacturers bidding for Pokemon license, not just Stern

  • “If Stern were to get it this might be one that would make sense to do as a cornerstone but actually do four versions... maybe Pikachu LE because that's going to be the most popular one.”

    Host — Speculates on potential Pro/Premium/LE strategy with character-specific cabinet variants

Entities

The Pinball ShoworganizationDennispersonStern PinballcompanyPokemon CompanycompanyNintendocompanyJack DangerpersonDetective PikachuproductRyan ReynoldspersonDwight Sullivanperson

Signals

  • ?

    machine_intel: Pokemon pinball is in active licensing discussions with Stern and multiple other manufacturers; deal not yet finalized

    high · Host states: 'Stern has been or is talking to the IP holder to Pokemon to make it a thing... it has not been inked yet... there are still discussions with other manufacturers as well'

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Pokemon licensing controlled by Pokemon Company acting on behalf of Nintendo and other major owners; negotiations go through Pokemon Company as single licensor

    high · Host explains three-way ownership structure and Pokemon Company's coordinating role in IP licensing

  • ?

    product_strategy: Potential Pokemon pinball strategy includes multiple cabinet variants featuring different Pokemon characters (Pikachu, Squirtle, Charizard, Mew) across Pro/Premium/LE tiers

    medium · Host speculates: 'you do four versions... Pikachu LE... Squirtle for the pros... Charizard... Mew would be a good one'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Potential super-premium LE variant featuring Detective Pikachu with Ryan Reynolds voice cameo to cross-promote movie IP and attract Deadpool fan crossover

    low · Host proposes: 'You do a super LE with Detective Pikachu and Ryan Reynolds' voice... That gets all the people who are upset that Deadpool wasn't Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool'

  • $

    market_signal: Pokemon remains one of the largest entertainment franchises globally with sustained commercial performance across multiple media (mobile, film, games)

    high · Pokemon Go $25M+ monthly revenue, Detective Pikachu $400M+ box office, Red/Green/Blue 31M+ units sold

Topics

Pokemon IP licensing for pinballprimaryStern Pinball's negotiation strategy and competitive positioningprimaryPokemon franchise cultural and commercial dominanceprimaryMulti-manufacturer competition for major IP licensessecondaryCabinet variant and positioning strategy (Pro/Premium/LE/Super-LE)secondaryCross-media IP licensing complexity and negotiationsecondaryNostalgia and generational appeal in pinball game designsecondaryParent-child market motivation for pinball purchasesmentioned

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Hosts express enthusiasm about Pokemon as pinball IP, acknowledge its massive market appeal, and see significant potential. Tone is optimistic about the licensing possibility, though playful and humorous throughout. No skepticism or negativity about the concept itself.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.040

0:00
Warning, the following episode contains adult language and screaming goats. Listener discretion is advised. The Pinball Network is online. Launching the Pinball Show. Thanks again for the ongoing support as a Pinball Show Club member. Enjoy this exclusive TPS content and make sure to visit the Pinball Show Club Discord to chat about the bonus material.
0:30
Dennis, you're a Pokemon kind of guy, aren't you? That's at least what my perception of you is. Video game people like Pokemon. You perceived wrong. I'll tell you my entire Pokemon experience in three sentences. I have played Pokemon Go. I saw Detective Pikachu. Oh, okay. Just because you're a Ryan Reynolds fan. And I remember the cartoon because one of the few stations I got when I lived in New York in grad school. That's it. I haven't played any other games.
1:01
I haven't played the cards. That's it. I won't judge. I almost want to judge for you watching the Pokemon. You do what you want. You do you. But I won't. I'll leave that hanging there. I get up on Saturday mornings and I turn on my little, my simple cable package that I got just to get internet. It was the first time I had cable internet. That was my first non-dial up. And Pokemon would be on. And then I'd be like, Pokemon. You sing a little song. You know what I watched? I watched Digimon. Digital monsters. Digimon are the champions. That's the one that made sense to me.
1:32
But that was a kid watching that one in grad school. Alright, that was enough. That's fine. I thought you played Black or White. That's also when I finally saw the Cell Saga on Dragon Ball Z. Those seem a little cooler. But Pokemon, is there anything bigger in the world than Pokemon licensed? Disney? Star Wars probably. Star Wars? Okay. But it's big. Pokemon's been around like 30 years almost. Have you seen my Pokeball? Huge. So thoughts on the IP of Pokemon as a pinball thing?
@ 10:53

  • “You do a super LE with Detective Pikachu and Ryan Reynolds' voice is just that one. That gets all the people who are upset that Deadpool wasn't Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool.”

    Host@ 11:40 — Proposes cross-media marketing tie-in (movie/actor licensing) as potential super-premium variant

    • Pokemon Go
    product
  • ?

    competitive_signal: Multiple pinball manufacturers competing for Pokemon license simultaneously; not exclusively Stern negotiation

    high · Host states: 'there are still discussions with other manufacturers as well to make a Pokemon pinball machine'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Pokemon IP uniquely suited for pinball because creatures themselves are the core IP draw, allowing game designers flexibility in world-building without needing specific movie/game IP rights

    medium · Host notes: 'you need the characters of Pokemon, and then you would be allowed to build whatever world you want around it because it's the creatures that people identify with'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Pokemon appeals across multiple age cohorts simultaneously—nostalgic 90s players AND current younger players familiar with newer Pokemon generations and mobile gaming

    high · Host observes: 'It will skew younger than say Led Zeppelin but it long enough that these people are adults... kids today know different ones they're new'

  • ?

    product_strategy: Pokemon pinball positioned to capture parent-child market where parents buy to introduce kids to pinball (similar to Jersey Jack Pinball's Toy Story strategy)

    medium · Host references JJP Toy Story model: 'if their kids are into it they're gonna want that there's always that desperate hope that their kids are gonna like pinball'

    • 2:06
    Strong. It does feel like it makes sense to pinball to me, and I'm not even a Pokemon fan. As I've noted, in the video game space, they made Pokemon pinball games. Again, I haven't played them, but they made them. So it's been, it's just like Sonic was kind of associated with pinball as well. It's associated with our genre of pinball. Speaking of judging, I dabble in collectible cards, sports cards, not magic or Pokemon or anything. But I can tell you because of sports card collecting, Pokemon is still hot, if not hotter than ever when it comes to collectible sports cards or collectible cards.
    2:44
    Do people play Pokemon as a game or they just collect the cards? I don't know. I didn't play that game either. I listed it as one of my sentences. Do you think sales would be really good on a Pokemon pinball? I would assume so for a few reasons. One, Pokemon, 27 years old. There are plenty of people that remember Pokemon who are in a position at this point to buy games. Good point. Nostalgic. It will skew younger than say Led Zeppelin but it long enough that these people are adults It like Super Mario Sure It got so you got that uh also even though i know a lot of people you know it depends on the person a lot of people
    3:25
    will will deny doing this but it's the same sort of recipe we saw jjp try with toy story for a lot of people if their kids are into it they're gonna want that there's always that desperate hope that their kids are gonna like pinball yeah and it'll be like oh my kid loves pokemon they saw the Pikachu edition and they're just like, Daddy, Pika Pika? And then Daddy's like, okay, Daddy's gonna spend $8,000 on you, little tyke. Now, do we know does Pokemon, because of the card collecting, it does have that
    3:56
    collectability where people will spend some big ol' bucks for that? Look at old Post Malone. Is Pokemon collectible otherwise? Other than the cards? Are there like memorabilia stuff? Is that big? I'm sorry. I don't know. Well, I mean, there could be people that might collect all the games because it is on consoles for a long time. So maybe there's that. I mean, and when you play the game, I do know one of the key things is about people actually collecting the Pokemon in the game.
    4:29
    So the games are like collection. Like you go around, you can try and get all these different creatures and stuff is like the whole point. Should have Tony on here. He's a big Pokemon guy. I don't know. Maybe he is or isn't. At least one of his daughters is. All right. So we know it's big. It would be big. Oh, yeah. No, we're talking like monthly Pokemon Go revenue last year was monthly, was estimated over 25 million US. Wow. And Detective Pikachu, that made over 400 million at the box office globally.
    5:00
    Okay. This is huge. Yeah. Pokemon's one of their franchise I looked up. Their biggest selling video game franchise is the Red, Green, Blue series, and it sold over 31 million units. So these are very substantive numbers. Well, and you know, for me, like if we're talking about Sonic the Hedgehog, it almost has to be the second Genesis era, that 8-bit, 16-bit kind of thing. But Pokemon, and I could be ignorant to this, Dennis, but Pokemon feels like it's current enough that it could have the more current iterations of it and still be beloved as it could still focus on the older kind of stuff as well.
    5:36
    It could focus on the cards and be loved. It could focus on the animated series and be loved. The game itself, the mobile, it could focus on almost anything and be a hit, it feels like. Yeah, it's one of those things where, and again, I'm not, because I'm not as steeped in the Pokemon culture as fans are, I might not be correct. But my assumption is Pokemon is one of those licenses where being, actually being in the world of Pokemon with the creatures alone would allow you to tell whatever, like, you don't need the rights to Detective Pikachu.
    6:09
    You don't need the rights to Pokemon Red. You need the characters of Pokemon, and then you would be allowed to build whatever world you want around it because it's the creatures that people identify with in their abilities. No one cares about the side characters. You want to make it around Ash, who was the kid who was doing the whole thing back when I – I think they just wrapped that up recently. But back when I was in college and that was what was on him going off on some adventures with his friends No one cares if you do that or if you want to do like pokemon go doesn do that you an avatar and you going around but you getting pikachu and you getting charizard and the characters go they yeah and they added more
    6:48
    and more generations so like the ones i know the names of like squirtle and stuff other like kids today know different ones they're new i bet you right now dwight sullivan would be having a squirtle if he could code something like this you just think of the evolution just like his venom game evolution of the characters that can sure they can evolve and yeah and you could so ready for pimple it would i mean especially with that sort of like ensire connected as a case in point you could do something like that whereas monsters as you go along you can you evolve the and some
    7:18
    pokemons can evolve more than once in pokemon go because i did play that there were some i had that like it evolved four times. Ah, like a Tamagotchi. Yeah. Except not in that annoying egg thing. Yeah, you could do all sorts of things where you'd power up the Pokemon enough. I kind of want one of these and I don't even know anything about Pokemon. It sounds cool. What does Pokemon stand for? It's like Japanese. Yeah, I think it's Japanese for pocket monsters. Didn't they used to call you that in college? Hell yeah. You got one hell of a pocket monster.
    7:50
    knew it's coming you fucking knew it's coming okay oh my god i'm gonna have to use that one on my wife tonight oh my god that's her i'll tell i'll tell you which one when she asked if she if she plays along and asks you what's its name you say squirtle squirtle yes oh my gosh i want i wish squirtle was in gtf but then she might also ask when will it evolve oh well it's cold baby it's the fall
    8:26
    what is your pumpkin spice at pumpkin spice all right uh so i'm hearing you want to hear the the juice here i am hearing that it is true pokemon is a pinball theme is a working possibility that is people are talking to the companies responsible to make this a pinball themed game now keep in mind i believe the ip ownership is a bit muddled though it's not like nintendo owns
    8:59
    this i mean they partially owned some of it and then the pokemon group own the all right um part of it and other companies right yes there are there are multiple owners basically however my understanding is that the ownerships formed the pokemon competent company and the pokemon company as a business is the one that gets to control all the licensing okay all right so like nintendo owns part of the pokemon company and so do a couple other big i think there's more multiple there
    9:30
    are three big owners i think there may be some smaller owners as well but but yeah so the way I think they've got it all set up is so to avoid that confusion, you just go through the Pokemon company when you want to do IP licensing and they handle it because they get to speak on behalf of Nintendo and the other major owners. Okay. So, but what I'm hearing is your exclusive squirtle here is that this becoming a pinball machine does in fact have legs and is in the motions currently There you go I think it would do very well Oh I do too It do very well regardless
    10:03
    This is one of those regardless, but there's so much potential if done right. Now, everybody's talking about Stern. This is a Stern game. Jack Danger's talked about this. Stern, Stern, Stern, Stern, Stern. All right. Here's your evolved Squirtle here. In fact, Stern has been or is talking to the IP holder to Pokemon to make it a thing. I don't know if they are in the middle of it, if they have and they passed. I don't know. But I can tell you that it has not been inked yet.
    10:34
    In fact, there are still discussions with other manufacturers as well to make a Pokemon pinball machine and bringing that weird red and white ball thingy to the pinball industry. but uh but so it's not been inked it's it's possible but multiple companies are speaking interesting you know if if stern were to get it this might be one that would make sense to do as a cornerstone but actually do four versions why so where well obviously you've got the pro
    11:06
    premium le and i think there the the main difference would be to go ahead and do the cabinets each is a different character so you pikachu le because that's going to be the most popular one. Squirtle can be the pros a lot. It could be. I mean, I could see doing that. I don't know, though, because of the bright yellow cabinet that would be necessary for all the Pikachu-ing. Maybe you do Charizard, Squirtle, and Pikachu, if you want to keep it old school. But you see, Mew would be a good one. That could be a good LE one, or Mew too. But here's the thing. You do a super LE
    11:36
    with Detective Pikachu and Ryan Reynolds' voice is just that one. Wow. That gets all the people who are upset that Deadpool wasn't Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool. And that would explain a little more complicated negotiation because you would have to deal with the movie rights of that specific film if you wanted to do that. Squirtle. Isn't he a turtle? I'm just now thinking of that. Yeah, he's a turtle. He's a little turtle. He spits water. That's why he's Squirtle. Aww. What about, isn't there like a Hufflepuff or something? I thought there was a Hufflepuff. Jigglypuff.
    12:06
    Jigglypuff. Yeah, Jigglypuff. Aww. Little pink one with a microphone and when it sings, you fall asleep. That's its ability. Like a fucking gremlin? Like mogwai? Like cuter. Yeah, like a mogwai, yeah. Nothing's cuter than a mogwai. Moopsie is. Moopsie. Moopsie sounds like something you accidentally do after I ate barbecue yesterday. Moopsie is like the latest episode of Star Trek Lower Decks. I was like, Nicole, I just had a moopsie there. We got to get home ASAP. Moopsie. So Pokemon pinball, from what we're hearing, is going to happen.
    12:39
    We just don't know by whom or when. Exactly. and for those listening this is now the end of this part so you can know that it's stopped oh that's right we'll see you later we'll see you next time goodbye everybody oh my my maybe we need to do that oh my my oh shit they have like four outro songs yes how many outro songs do you need oh my god get rid of some of them the other zach
    13:12
    okay