Episode 1025: "Spooky Nails Launch Timing"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·9m 5s·analyzed·Nov 21, 2024

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.027

TL;DR

Kaneda previews Evil Dead 1&2 reveal, crowns Spooky Pinball #2 in industry.

Summary

Host Kaneda discusses Spooky Pinball's imminent Evil Dead 1 and 2 pinball machine reveal scheduled for Friday, highlighting the game's multi-tiered design with four flippers (one hidden), Bruce Campbell voice work, extensive theme integration, toy density, sub-$10,000 pricing, and production of fewer than 900 units. He praises Spooky Pinball as the industry's second-best company and criticizes Stern's lazy Metallica topper design, positioning Evil Dead as a model of passionate, thoughtful game development.

Key Claims

Evil Dead 1 and 2 will be revealed on Friday with order banks opening Friday (or possibly Monday)
high confidence · Kaneda, opening segment; states this as imminent reveal happening in episode's present timeframe
Evil Dead game will feature Bruce Campbell voice work and will not have a spinning cabin
high confidence · Kaneda citing Kerry Hardy as debunker source; direct design confirmation
Game will have four flippers with one hidden flipper that is not visible
high confidence · Kaneda, describing game design; corroborated by Kerry Hardy intel
Production will be fewer than 900 units (Canada exclusive)
medium confidence · Kaneda making specific production run prediction; states 'I can tell you right now'
Game will cost less than $10,000 base price
medium confidence · Kaneda assertion; stated as guarantee but not official confirmation
Spooky Pinball is the number two pinball company after Stern in execution, theme integration, and reveal strategy
medium confidence · Kaneda opinion; stated as clear ranking but based on subjective criteria
Game is already on the production line and ahead of schedule at Spooky's new facility
medium confidence · Kaneda; states 'the game is already on the line' and they've never revealed a game this way before
Ben Heck is working on Evil Dead code and will deliver solid, complete code at launch
high confidence · Kaneda, citing Ben Heck as coder; used as confidence point vs. other games with incomplete code
Steve Ritchie is not working on a Sonic the Hedgehog pinball game if Jersey Jack has that license
medium confidence · Kaneda speculation; explicitly uncertain ('I have no idea who's working on it')

Notable Quotes

“right now, when you look at pinball, it's really shaping up to be Stern is number one and spooky pinball is number two”
Kaneda @ ~6:45 — Direct ranking of Spooky Pinball's market position and competitive standing
“Spooky Pinball is going to have, this is crazy, they're going to have more toys in a game than Jersey Jack Pinball”
Kaneda @ ~7:30 — Comparative claim about toy density vs. high-tier competitor Jersey Jack
“This game's gonna cost less than $10,000. I'm sure if you add the butter cabinet and maybe a topper, you might get over $10,000”
Kaneda @ ~9:15 — Pricing assertion positioning Evil Dead as value vs. premium competitors
“They are going to make less than 900 evil dead games but more games than x-men le has so do the math you got a one in seven chance of getting that right”
Kaneda @ ~10:00 — Production run estimate and scarcity positioning; implies X-Men LE produced ~128 units
“When this game comes out on Friday, the code is going to be solid. And maybe the best news, the game is already on the line.”
Kaneda @ ~11:15 — Confidence in code quality and on-time production; cited as never-before done reveal timing
“They've never revealed a game where the game's already on the line when they reveal it this company has grown up They making smart moves”
Kaneda @ ~11:30 — Assessment of Spooky's maturation and strategic reveal approach
“What's up with you, Stern? You're like the biggest pinball company in the world, the most creative people in the industry. and then you make a lazy topper”
Kaneda @ ~13:45 — Criticism of Stern's Metallica topper design; contrast to Spooky's attention to detail
“if they really want me to hype this game before Friday, give me some images, Bug. I know you're listening to this, Luke and Bug. Just sneak a little image”

Entities

Spooky PinballcompanyEvil Dead 1 and 2gameKanedaperson Kerry Hardyperson Bruce Campbellperson Chuckperson Ben HeckpersonStern Pinball

Signals

?
announcement: Evil Dead 1 and 2 pinball game theme reveal confirmed for Friday (day after episode air date) with full game reveal and order bank opening Friday or Monday
high · Kaneda: 'they are going to reveal tomorrow the theme of their new game' and 'The game is going to be revealed in all of its glory on Friday. Order Banks are going to open up on Friday'
?
product_launch: Evil Dead game already on production line at Spooky's new facility; machines likely to ship end of December/early January; ahead of schedule
high · Kaneda: 'the game is already on the line... they are ahead of schedule' and 'they're most likely going to come out maybe end of december early january'
?
design_innovation: Hidden fourth flipper that is not visible to player; novel design element
high · Kaneda: 'It's going to be a multi-tiered game with four flippers, one of which is hidden. You can't see it. How are you going to know how to flip it if you can't see it.'
$
market_signal: Evil Dead positioned as sub-$10,000 machine vs. $10,000+ competitors (Avatar LE/CE, X-Men LE, Metallica Elite/Premium)
medium · Kaneda: 'This game's gonna cost less than $10,000' and 'Can't say that about X-Men LE. Can't say that about Avatar LE or CE.'
?
collector_signal: Evil Dead production run fewer than 900 units (Canada exclusive); scarcity positioning similar to X-Men LE but larger run
medium · Kaneda: 'they are going to make less than 900 evil dead games but more games than x-men le has so do the math you got a one in seven chance'

Topics

Evil Dead 1&2 reveal timing and strategyprimarySpooky Pinball's market positioning and competitive standingprimaryGame design philosophy: theme integration and passion vs. commodified assignmentsprimaryProduction run scarcity and collectibility strategyprimaryPricing and value positioning vs. premium competitorsprimaryStern Pinball's quality control and design consistency issuessecondaryJersey Jack Pinball competitive comparisonsecondaryCode quality and launch readinesssecondary

Sentiment

positive(0.82)— Strongly positive toward Spooky Pinball and Evil Dead project; enthusiastic about game design and execution strategy. Mixed/critical toward Stern's Metallica topper laziness and perceived commodification of game design. Neutral to speculative on Jersey Jack and other competitors. Overall tone is excitement tempered by frustration with industry shortcuts.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.027

Oh, welcome everybody to Kaneda's Pinball Podcast. We're going to get a new pinball machine this week from Spooky Pinball. It is November 20th and they are going to reveal tomorrow the theme of their new game, which I revealed to everybody how many years ago, Evil Dead 1 and 2, ready to come out from Spooky Pinball. And what's exciting about this game is we know that Spooky Pinball loves these themes, and they are very passionate about these movies. You know, they grew up watching all these horror films. You could argue that maybe Chuck should not have let his kids watch all these horror movies, but it sure has turned into a beneficial thing as spooky pinball gets ready to release evil dead one and two it is based on those two movies and they are going to have all the assets they're going to have bruce campbell do the call outs they're going to have everything you want if you love those two movies in this pinball machine it is not going to have a spinning cabin thank you Kerry Hardy. Now all of a sudden he knows everything because he's seen the game. Kerry, thank you so much for debunking the rest of us out there who speculate time and time again as you sit back and get it right after you've seen everything. It's going to be a multi-tiered game with four flippers, one of which is hidden. You can't see it. How are you going to know how to flip it if you can't see it. That's going to be interesting. And there's going to be a ton of theme integration. Carrie said something that was funny. This is going to be spooky Godzilla. All right. Well, Godzilla is the number one game of all time. But what he means by that is his game is going to be loaded. It's going to have a lot of stuff in it. It's also going to nail the theme integration much like Godzilla Is it going to shoot as good as Godzilla Probably not But Spooky recent games have shot pretty well And this is also not gonna be a game where they're gonna make another theme on the design. So you're gonna get Evil Dead 1 and 2. You're not gonna have to look down the row and see someone playing Looney Tunes, you know, or watch someone playing like Care Bears Pinball sharing the design with Evil Dead. it is going to be Evil Dead. And so we're going to get the theme revealed tomorrow, which is what, Thursday. And then the game is going to be revealed in all of its glory on Friday. Order Banks are going to open up on Friday, which is great. You're going to get a chance to get one. I'm not 100% sure about that, but they're going to reveal the game. They might do something where Order Banks open up on Monday. But to be honest, if they do it right, When you reveal your game, you want to take money instantly. Don't give people time to think about it. Don't give people too much time to go on pin side and be talked out of it. But I do find it amazing that Spooky Pinball has once again found the perfect window to launch a pinball machine. And look, right now, when you look at pinball, it's really shaping up to be Stern is number one and spooky pinball is number two i mean that i feel like spooky pinball is now the second best company in all of pinball when it comes to launching games when it comes to theme integration when it comes to executing a reveal properly right they're not going to do this long drawn out teaser campaign i mean everyone did that last time it didn't really work out i think this is the better way to do it. I really do. Unless you have a theme like Elton John, you got to give it a long runway or a theme like Avatar or a theme like Godfather or a theme like Toy Story 4. You know what I'm saying? It's like Spooky Pinball is going to have, this is crazy, they're going to have more toys in a game than Jersey Jack Pinball So tell me they not now the number two company They going to have better theme integration in their machine than Jersey Jack Pinball Yeah it not going to look as good as Avatar but it going to be more fun. I can guarantee you that right now because it's going to be campy, it's going to have perfect theme integration, and it's going to have toys and mechs. And what more do we want in Pinball? And I guarantee you the multi-level gameplay is going to be more satisfying than going underneath in those lower playfields in Avatar. And here's the best news. This game's gonna cost less than $10,000. I'm sure if you add the butter cabinet and maybe a topper, you might get over $10,000, but you're gonna be able to get this game for less than $10,000. Can't say that about X-Men LE. Can't say that about Avatar LE or CE. And so coming Friday, Evil Dead 1 and 2 for less than $10,000. there's also going to be less than a thousand units made i can tell you right now canada exclusive i'm going to give it to you like this they are going to make less than 900 evil dead games but more games than x-men le has so do the math you got a one in seven chance of getting that right so less than 900 games less than ten thousand dollars loaded with toys perfect theme integration, maybe not the theme for every one of you, but when a theme integration is done right, it's the greatest way to get into a theme for people. You're not going to be staring at Mute Eclipse. You're not going to have an auto plunger not working. You're not going to have incomplete code. Ben Heck has been working on this code. And when this game comes out on Friday, the code is going to be solid. And maybe the best news, the game is already on the line. They are happy there are no windows in the new spooky facility the game is already on the line now i don't think you're going to see games ship in a week or two they're most likely going to come out maybe end of december early january but they're making games and they are ahead of schedule and they've never revealed a game where the game's already on the line when they reveal it this company has grown up They making smart moves This is still not a theme for me They gonna get to a theme I really want I also here to tell you that Steve Ritchie is not working on Sonic the Hedgehog So if Jersey Jack has the license, I have no idea who's working on it. Maybe it's Mark Seiden because he likes video games. He made a Metroid game. What else is going on in pinball? Let's just go back for a second to that Metallica topper. How can you put so much effort into Metallica, Ellie and premium and make it gorgeous? It's a stunning machine. And then you just give up on the topper. What's up with you, Stern? You're like the biggest pinball company in the world, the most creative people in the industry. and then you make a lazy topper with just the name Metallica and four flasher caps, whatever you call those damn things. It's a part bins thing. How cheap is that? You've got this incredible artist who made this incredible new Metallica machine and you couldn't incorporate any of his artwork into a topper? What are you doing? I'm so tired of this. We need companies who think it through, everything through. And that is why I'm happy that Spooky Pinball is making this game because they're passionate about these themes. They don't leave loose ends untied. And also it's like they wake up and they want to make these themes. This is stuff that means a lot to them. Where I feel like some other designers and some other companies, they're just answering an assignment. And this is not going to be that game. So super excited to see more about this game. I haven't seen anything. They haven't given me anything other than a flyer that says Evil Dead 1 and 2. So it is Evil Dead 1 and 2. And hey, if they really want me to hype this game before Friday, give me some images, Bug. I know you're listening to this, Luke and Bug. Just sneak a little image, kanadapinball at gmail.com. And let me just see it. I give you my word. I won't leak it. I am personally telling everybody I will not leak it. You can watermark it. You can put whatever you want on it. I'm not going to leak it. Let me see the damn game, Kaneda out.