Episode 925: "Films Perfect For Pinball Vol. 1 (1980-1982)"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·20m 50s·analyzed·Mar 13, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.036

TL;DR

Analysis of 1980-1982 box office hits as untapped pinball themes; speculation on Stern's upcoming release slate.

Summary

Kaneda discusses underutilized film IP opportunities for pinball machines by analyzing top-grossing movies from 1980-1982, arguing that manufacturers are missing major licensing opportunities. He speculates on upcoming Stern releases (John Wick, Pokémon, Dungeons & Dragons, Metallica) and criticizes recent game themes while praising competitor offerings from Spooky, CGC, and Jersey Jack.

Key Claims

Steve Ritchie's Star Wars game from Stern is 'a huge miss' and there hasn't been a modern Star Wars pinball machine that the community collectively owns and loves
high confidence · Kaneda opening segment; speaker directly criticizes the game's quality and laments lack of modern alternative
John Wick will be the next Stern release, designed by either George Gomez or Keith Elwin (not Jack Danger as previously speculated)
medium confidence · Kaneda states 'So I think we're going to get John Wick by George Gomez or Keith Elwin. I know I keep saying Jack Danger. I'm going back on it because I'm getting new information.'
Pokémon is now rumored to be a Jack Danger game at Stern (revised from earlier speculation)
medium confidence · Kaneda: 'because I do think that maybe now Pokemon is going to be a Jack Danger game'
Dungeons & Dragons will be Brian Eddy's next game at Stern, collaborating with Dwight Sullivan on RPG-focused code
medium confidence · Kaneda: 'I think Dungeons & Dragons is going to be Brian Eddy's next game. We know that Brian Eddy loves working with Dwight Sullivan. We know that Dwight loves role-playing game code'
Metallica returning to Stern will be on Spike 3 platform, unclear if new game or port of original
medium confidence · Kaneda: 'we've got this Metallica coming back on Spike 3. Now, will Metallica be an all new game or will it be the old Metallica game, ported over to Spike 3'
CGC's next game is rumored to be Gremlins; Spooky has Beetlejuice, Sonic the Hedgehog; Jersey Jack has Matrix, Top Gun, Harry Potter
medium confidence · Kaneda: 'if the rumors are true and the next game from CGC is going to be Gremlins and Spooky Pinball might have Beetlejuice and Sonic the Hedgehog and Jersey Jack has like the Matrix and Top Gun and it's got Harry Potter'
Stern Pinball is 'playing catch up' with limited high-demand themes compared to competitors' rosters
high confidence · Kaneda assessment of Stern's pipeline vs. competitor offerings; stated directly as opinion-based analysis

Notable Quotes

“There isn't a modern game we all own and love. That Steve Ritchie game was a huge miss.”
Kaneda @ Opening — Sets up the episode theme; directly critiques Stern's Star Wars implementation
“I don't want to keep talking about expensive toppers. They're stupid. I don't want to talk about Haggis pinball and barbecue pinball machines. We all know Haggis is going to go under and nobody's buying this barbecue game.”
Kaneda @ Intro — Dismisses recent Stern/manufacturer theme choices; signals frustration with current direction
“I think Stern Pinball might be playing catch up, especially if the rumors are true and the next game from CGC is going to be Gremlins and Spooky Pinball might have Beetlejuice and Sonic the Hedgehog and Jersey Jack has like the Matrix and Top Gun and it's got Harry Potter.”
Kaneda @ Rumor segment — Competitive landscape assessment; positions Stern as behind competitors in IP acquisition
“How have we not had an ET game we know that steven spielberg is hard to license but hello we just got jaws and et is far more popular than jaws”
Kaneda @ 1982 analysis — Questions major missed opportunity; compares value of E.T. vs. Jaws IP
“How is Blade Runner all the way down the list here? ...this is where the boutique companies are going to crush it if they can make a good Blade Runner game”
Kaneda @ 1982 analysis — Identifies IP opportunity for boutique manufacturers; signals market segmentation
“First Blood would be great... You're trying to escape the authorities. You hiding out in the woods. You're gaining all the items you need to survive. And then you go on the attack and you take out the entire police force, FBI, and the entire U.S. military with one guy in the forest.”
Kaneda @ 1982 analysis — Demonstrates mechanics-to-IP alignment argument; passionate endorsement of untapped theme
“If a company like Multimorphic can get everything from The Princess Bride and you've got more money and more backing you and you're David Fix, there's no excuse why we're coming out with garbage games like this barbecue challenge.”

Entities

KanedapersonStern PinballcompanyJohn Borgperson George Gomezperson Keith Elwinperson Brian Eddyperson Dwight Sullivanperson

Signals

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machine_intel: Detailed speculation on Stern's 2024-2025 release pipeline: John Wick (George Gomez or Keith Elwin), Pokémon (Jack Danger), Dungeons & Dragons (Brian Eddy), Metallica on Spike 3; confidence in designer assignments revised mid-episode based on 'new information'
medium · Kaneda's rumor mill segment explicitly states 'getting new information' prompting revision from Jack Danger to other designers; cites designer preferences and collaborative patterns
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rumor_hype: Rumor hype around competitors' upcoming releases: CGC Gremlins, Spooky Beetlejuice and Sonic the Hedgehog, Jersey Jack Matrix/Top Gun/Harry Potter; positions Stern as behind in IP strategy
medium · Kaneda frames as conditional: 'if the rumors are true' regarding CGC and Spooky; treats as industry scuttlebutt rather than confirmed intel
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sentiment_shift: Negative sentiment shift toward Stern Pinball and David Fix/Barrels of Fun; criticism of theme selection (barbecue, Haggis) as 'garbage games' and poor strategy despite resources
high · Direct statements: 'I think Stern Pinball might be playing catch up' and 'there's no excuse why we're coming out with garbage games like this barbecue challenge'
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licensing_signal: Kaneda identifies major missed IP licensing opportunities from 1980-1982 box office leaders (Star Wars, E.T., Superman, Friday 13th, The Shining, Blade Runner, First Blood, Caddyshack) and notes early 80s contracts were 'much easier to get'
high · Extended analysis of historical box office data; explicit licensing difficulty assessment re: Spielberg (E.T.) and Nicholson (The Shining)
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Topics

Upcoming Stern Pinball releases and designer assignmentsprimaryUntapped film IP opportunities for pinball (1980-1982)primaryCompetitive landscape: Stern vs. Spooky vs. CGC vs. Jersey Jack IP strategyprimaryLicensing challenges and opportunities for classic filmssecondaryCriticism of recent theme selections (barbecue, Haggis) at Barrels of Fun/David FixsecondaryDesign philosophy: matching IP themes to pinball mechanicssecondaryBoutique vs. major manufacturer differentiation in IP acquisitionsecondaryCommunity sentiment on Stern's competitive positionmentioned

Sentiment

mixed(0.35)— Kaneda is enthusiastic about IP opportunities and some competitor releases but highly critical of Stern's current direction, recent theme choices at Barrels of Fun, and perceived strategic missteps. Frustration with manufacturers not capitalizing on obvious licensing opportunities dominates. Positive sentiment reserved for boutique companies like Multimorphic and competition from Spooky/CGC/JJP.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.062

Ah, every time I hear that Star Wars music, I just get sad that there's not like an epic Star Wars pinball machine made in modern times with toys and all the goodies we want, you know, all the clips from the films and the music. There isn't a modern game we all own and love. That Steve Ritchie game was a huge miss. Here's what we're going to do on this episode of Canada's Pinball Podcast. We're waiting for the TPF news. I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something I haven't seen anybody do. I want to start with 1980 and go all the way to the year 2000, not on this single episode of Canada's Pinball Podcast. We're going to break it up into chunks, but I want to look at all the movies that came out since 1980. We're going to go off of the box office numbers and read off the top films of the year. And let's ask ourselves, are we missing some amazing pinball theme opportunities and discuss like which ones on the list would translate well into a pinball game. I don't want to keep talking about expensive toppers. They're stupid. I don't want to talk about Haggis pinball and barbecue pinball machines. We all know Haggis is going to go under and nobody's buying this barbecue game. I do want to add a little bit into the rumor mill before I do this on this episode of Canada's Pinball Podcast. I want to talk about a theme that wasn't really discussed on what's coming next from Stern Pinball and that's Dungeons and Dragons. Now look, if John Borg is making the game after the next game, what do we think the next game is going to be? Also this, do we think Stern is going to count Jaws as one of the cornerstone games in 2024? I don't really think so because Jaws came out January 4th. I mean, I think that's like the last major cornerstone from 2023. Just a few days short of being a 2023 reveal. I think we're going to get three more games from Stern Pinball, and let's talk about it real quickly. So John Wick is the next game. I think John Wick is going to be designed by either George Gomez, or it's going to be designed by Keith Elwin. I know I keep saying Jack Danger. I'm going back on it because I'm getting new information. So I think we're going to get John Wick by George Gomez or Keith Elwin. Then, you know, is the next game going to be John Borg? This is where it gets weird and nothing really adds up because I do think that maybe now Pokemon is going to be a Jack Danger game. And then we've got Dungeons and Dragons and we've got this Metallica coming back on Spike 3. Now, will Metallica be an all new game or will it be the old Metallica game, ported over to Spike 3. Now let's just talk for a minute about D&D. I think Dungeons & Dragons is going to be Brian Eddy's next game. We know that Brian Eddy loves working with Dwight Sullivan. We know that Dwight loves role-playing game code, right? That's what he put into Venom. And so if Dungeons & Dragons is actually a real title and not just a code name for something like Indiana Hilton Jones Dial of Destiny, you know, D&D, then I think we're going to see Brian Eddy on Dungeons and Dragons. Now, all that being said, I still don't think Stern has these juggernaut themes. I mean, Pokemon is a big one. It would absolutely do well, but I don't think John Wick is going to do well. Another Metallica, is that what people want? I don't really think so. and Dungeons and Dragons doesn't sound like a hit theme to me. So I think Stern Pinball might be playing catch up, especially if the rumors are true and the next game from CGC is going to be Gremlins and Spooky Pinball might have Beetlejuice and Sonic the Hedgehog and Jersey Jack has like the Matrix and Top Gun and it's got Harry Potter. I think Stern Pinball has a lot more competition and then, you know, stuff like X-Men 97. Is that going to be Keith Elwin's next game? So a lot floating around the rumor mill. Let's start this right now and look at 1980 and the top movies of 1980. And let's ask ourselves, we'll go down the list. Which one of these films would make a great pinball experience? Number one at the box office grossing $203 million was Star Wars Episode V, The Empire Strikes Back, arguably the greatest Star Wars movie of all time, and it sucks that this is wrapped up into Steve Ritchie and Stern game so we have it out in the world and it just not good Now the second highest grossing movie of that year is 9 to 5 Then Stir Crazy. Then Kramer vs. Kramer. Then Any Which Way You Can. Then Private Benjamin. Then Coal Miner's Daughter. Then Smokey and the Bandit 2. Wow, man, what a year for weird movies, right? Maybe Smokey and the Bandit might be, but you're not going to sell many games. Now, number nine on the list, grossing $57 million, I think would be an interesting pin. I don't think it would sell very well, but it might be something that a boutique company could make work, and that is the Blues Brothers. Now, after that, we have Ordinary People. Then we have Popeye. Now, Popeye has already been made into a pinball machine. It is a horrible wide-body pinball machine. But Popeye the Sailor Man, that seems to be like something that may be like a spooky pinball. You know, a company that makes Looney Tunes and has been diving into older cartoons, Popeye might work. Now, this is the live action Popeye with Robin Williams. Then we get to some interesting ones here. Number 12 is The Shining. Now, imagine a company like Spooky making a classic like The Shining. I think The Shining would work well in pinball format. I think it's a lot more popular than Texas Chainsaw Massacre. And maybe it's harder to get the rights because you need Jack Nicholson's likeness. But The Shining is definitely a strong contender for a great pinball machine. Then we got Cheech and Chong's next movie. And number 14 is Caddyshack. And 15 is Friday the 13th. Now talk about two games that absolutely would crush it in pinball format. Friday the 13th. I mean, hello, Spooky. Come on, just give it to us. And then you've got Caddyshack, which we know back in the day they wanted to make a Caddyshack game, but they couldn't get the license, so they made No Good Gophers, which is basically an homage to Caddyshack the movie. I would love to have more comedy movies make their way into pinball format, and Caddyshack would be incredible. All right, let's keep going down the list. Then we've got Brubaker, the jazz singer, Flash Gordon, which I believe Flash Gordon was a pinball machine. Wasn't there a rumor that Flash Gordon was coming back? Then we've got Bronco Billy, Raging Bull, the Robert De Niro classic. We've got Xanadu. We've got American Gigolo, My Bodyguard, Fame, Altered States. It's getting weird now. The Honeysuckle Rose, Hero at Large, The Long Riders, The Island, The Nude Bomb. All right, so that's the top 30 movies of 1980, people. You know what's funny is I'm scrolling down this list and there's like a lot of stuff I've never seen. All right, so that's 1980. Let's go to 1981. So from this list, just to recap, from 1980, I think we're missing a great Star Wars game, which we don't have. I think The Shining, I think Caddyshack, and Friday the 13th are the strongest contenders here for pinball machines. Let's go to 1981. Oh, man. Number one at the list. Now, look, I know I'm starting with the 80s, but this means we got to go back to the 70s because number one on the list with $108 million is Superman 2. Now, Superman 2 is amazing, right? That's the one where you have Zod and Superman loses his powers. Incredible movie. But I think it's like Superman 78. I think that's the first one. If we had a Christopher Reeve Superman game, it would absolutely crush it. We've seen the art package that Christopher Franchi made showing people how awesome it would look. And I'm here to say right now, absolutely. Christopher Reeve Superman would crush it. It would be just like Batman 66. there's just something iconic and timeless about the Superman that Christopher Reeve brought to the silver screen and I can't believe we don't have a classic Superman do we even have a Superman like pinball machine that's not like from the 60s or 70s nope we don't all these modern Superman movies and not one of them has been ported over to a pinball experience all right let's keep going down the list here. Then we got Stripes. Nope, that wouldn't work. Cannonball Run, I don't think that would sell today. Four Year Eyes Only, The Four Seasons, Excalibur. Well, you know, Excalibur, The Tale of King Arthur, I think that would work as an original IP much better than a barbecue theme or Raza. And I know my friend who's listening to this right now is working on Merlin, which is based on the King Arthur storyline. And I really hope you guys get to see this Merlin pinball machine one day because it's absolutely stunning. And I know he's listening to this. What's the latest brother? Come on, send me something. It's been years in the making. And if you get this game to market, if it looks as beautiful as I seen you not gonna have any problem selling a few hundred of these in the current pinball market All right then we get History of the World Part 1 That might work as a comedy Bust and Loose, The Great Muppet Caper. Everybody, we've been talking about The Muppets with Jersey Jack. I do love The Great Muppet Caper. Isn't that the one with the baseball diamond? I think it goes without saying that if you do the Muppets right, it does have some viability in the pinball space. All right, so what's after that? We've got Endless Love, An American Werewolf in London. Again, when you go to early 80s, it's tough, right? It really is tough because this was a long time ago. You know, even me, you know, I was born in 76. So even me, these movies, I don't have that much nostalgia for a lot of these movies that I'm reading. Here's what's crazy. After an American Werewolf in London, Halloween 2, Body Heat, and coming in at 14, right? This is the 14 highest grossing movie of the year is Indiana Hilton Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark. How is this movie so far down when it comes to the top grossing films of 1981 with only $21.8 million and right next to it is Friday the 13th Part 2? Wow. But here's what's crazy. over the lifespan of this movie. The total gross for Indiana Hilton Jones is $212 million. It's weird here that it's 14th because I see the total gross of Indiana Hilton Jones is $212 million, which puts it well above Superman 2. So I'm going off of this box office mojo side. So I don't know what's happening there because the total box office for Raiders of the Lost Ark is double what Superman 2 is. So I guess that's the number one. movie. And look, we all would love to have a brand new version of this game. The Bally Williams game is really special, but who wouldn't want another Indiana Hilton Jones? We've been hearing rumors about it, but not sure. But everybody agrees it would be great. Friday the 13th, again, would be great. The Final Conflict, The Incredible Shrinking Woman, that wouldn't work. Under the Rainbow, Outland, Continental Divide, Dragon Slayer, Nighthawks, The Legend of the Lone Ranger, None of these would work for pinball. Let me skim down this list from 81 and see if there's anything else I think would make a good pinball machine. Oh, Reds, Arthur, Taps, Ghost Story, Roll Over, The Hand, This Is Elvis, Sphinx. What are these movies? Cinderella, Silence of the North, Ragtime, Chariots of Fire. All right, so that's 1981. Let's do one more year. Let's do three years every time we do this. So we're going to get to 1982 now. All right, we're at 1982 now. Okay, see, I see what's happening now. See, remember back in the early 80s when a movie went into a theater, it stayed in the theater for a long time. Something stayed in the theater for a couple years. So a movie didn't just gross over like one summer. People kept going back and back to see it. Remember, this is pre-internet, people. So if you wanted to see Star Wars, they kept playing it over and over. That's why it makes sense now when you look at the total gross. which is why in 82 the number one movie can you guess what it was in 1982 and this would make for a great pinball machine it is et the extraterrestrial how have we not had an et game we know that steven spielberg is hard to license but hello we just got jaws and et is far more popular than jaws number two is raiders of the lost ark i guess it was in theaters for two years Then we've got Rocky III. You know me. I would love Rocky IV. I think Rocky IV is the best Rocky for a pinball, like, adrenaline-pumping thing. We're going to get to that as we get into later in the 80s. Then we've got On Golden Pond, An Officer and a Gentleman, Porky's. Porky's made $105 million at the box office. Again, funny movie, but it wouldn't work well in pinball. Then we've got Arthur. We've got Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan. Now, obviously, we've had a lot of really good Star Trek games over the years. So absolutely, like if you're a Trekkie, your itch has been scratched by the pinball machines that have come out. And almost all the Star Trek games are great. So I think you're happy. Number nine is a spooky possibility, Poltergeist. Like there's a lot of classic horror movies. You know, a game like Poltergeist from Spooky, I think you could sell like 750 of those. if they wanted to go in a direction like that. All right, what else we got? The best little whorehouse in Texas. The best little whorehouse in Texas. Well, that's what David Fix should have made. He would have sold more of the best little whorehouse in Texas than this damn barbecue theme. All right, then we got Chariots of Fire. We've got Annie. First Blood, people. First Blood, Rambo. Oh my gosh, this has to be made. How do we not have First Blood as a pinball machine? Take my money now. That first movie is incredible It a perfect theme for pinball It all right there You Rambo You trying to escape the authorities You hiding out in the woods You're gaining all the items you need to survive. And then you go on the attack and you take out the entire police force, FBI, and the entire U.S. military with one guy in the forest. It's amazing. You basically blow up a small town as one dude. All right. First Blood would be great. The next one I think would be interesting. Firefox. Now, if you haven't seen Firefox, it's this awesome movie about this like supersonic plane. And that's all I really know. It was like when you were a kid and you saw Firefox, you were like blown away. You're like, Dad, do you know there's this plane that's undetectable, that's super cool. It was kind of like the Hunt for Red October, but up in the sky, like whoever had Firefox could control the world. So I don't know, super cool, super nerdy. I still think a little too niche to work in pinball format. And then we get number 15 here. Now, look, look, this would be a take my money now kind of game. This would be awesome. This would be the kind of theme that barrels of fun should go after. And it is no other than Conan the Barbarian. I mean, there's no other way to say it. Like it would be great. And the fact that we don't have more Arnold. Arnold, get to the choppa games in the pinball world is just a tragedy. And so, yes, Conan the Barbarian, number 15 from 1983. We need to make it. All right, then we have the sword and the sorcerer. I don't know. Absence of Malice, Reg, Richard Pryor Live, Friday the 13th Part 3. They just turned on Friday the 13th and made a new one every year, and we're just making money. They made $34 million in 1983. I bet that budget for the movie was like half a million dollars back then. At most, like a few million dollars. All right, then we got Time Bandits. No. Taps. Sharky's Machine. Tootsie. The World According to Garp. Victor. Victoria. Blade Runner. Oh my gosh. How is Blade Runner all the way down the list here? but that is another like classic Harrison Ford perfect storyline for pinball and it just goes to show you it's stuff like Blade Runner man this is where the boutique companies are going to crush it if they can make a good Blade Runner game and replicants and get the footage from the first movie the reason why Blade Runner would be perfect for pinball it's that world under glass of Blade Runner just so damn good Blade Runner what else we got Fast Times at Ridgemont High I don't know about that. The toy, some kind of hero, Bambi, Pink Floyd, the wall, things are tough all over. Well, number 48 is interesting. Airplane 2, the sequel. We know the airplane movies. Someone made a homebrew version of them, but I think the airplane movies would do well. All right, let's just stop there. That was three years, and we went down a list. We grabbed about over 10 themes that would really work well in pinball format. And it just goes to show you, we haven't even scratched the surface. This is just movies, let alone musical acts, let alone TV shows. You know, and I wish I worked in the marketing department at a pinball company because I do think these pinball companies, sometimes they just don't get it. Like it doesn't make any sense. Like if you're David Fix and Mukesh has all this money, why aren't you looking at some of these themes and saying, hey, what's the possibility of grabbing one of these, especially from the early 80s when the contracts were much easier to get all of the assets? If a company like Multimorphic can get everything from The Princess Bride and you've got more money and more backing you and you're David Fix, there's no excuse why we're coming out with garbage games like this barbecue challenge. All right, everybody, this is going to be fun. We're going to go through the years. I'm not sure I'm going to do this on every episode because I really want to cover what happens at TPF. But let's keep diving back over the years, looking at these nostalgic years, looking at the movies that came out those years. And let's just ask ourselves, would this make for a great pinball machine? And are these companies missing some golden opportunities to sell at least a thousand or more games if they made machines based on these games? Everybody, have a great Wednesday. We'll talk to you soon. © BF-WATCH TV 2021 © BF-WATCH TV 2021