I'm back, back in the New York blue. I'm back, back in the New York blue. Yes, sir, yes, sir, yes, sir, yes, sir, yes, sir, yes, sir. Ah, rest in peace, Ace. I am back at Pinball Expo, day one at the show, and it was a long day, but I'm going to say this right now. I'm tired, but I'm very happy. It was an amazing day, And it's, you know, if you've ever been to a pinball show, it is this combination of exhaustion and exhilaration. And, you know, like the first hour I'm getting there and I'm tired, I'm walking around the show because I've been up since 3 o'clock in the morning. And I didn't do myself any favors because the night before going to Expo, Brenda and I had an 80s dance party. We finished two bottles of sake and we're singing and dancing and making out like two high school lovers. It was amazing. And then I'm up at like 3.30, 4 in the morning. You ever like wake up early because you're nervous you're going to miss your flight? That was me. And so by the time I got to the show, I was just drained. And so I get in. I left the show. I see all the different manufacturers. And you probably caught some of my Facebook Lives from the show. I hung out a lot with Melvin. We're going to talk about his news. Kerry Hardy, the guys over at Barrels, Great American Pinball. Spent some time with Ken Cromwell at Flip N Out Pinball. All the different people out there. Carl D'Python Anghelo. You know, you saw my show. Neil McCray in real life. The Stern Pinball people were all there. What was it like day one at Expo? I want to just say, if I were to summarize my day one, it was that I didn't get to play many games. I did not get to play Winchester. The line was too long. I'm going to play it today. I also didn't get to play Predator because they had it on like one player only three ball games. And like, I don't know, like five people deep was like a half hour wait. And again, I always say this. I come to the shows because I want to hang out with people. I don't want to spend like half my day on a line. And you know me. I'm a very entitled, insecure man. And I don't think Canada's pinball podcast with eleven hundred and fifty something shows should have to wait on freaking line. And yes, there should be an early opening for pinball media to come in to the show and play all the games, talk to the manufacturers and capture their content before it's open to the public. That does not happen. And that's unfortunate. And if I were the manufacturers, I would be leaning on Rob Burke to institute that so that all of us can have great content ready to go for you without having to struggle to get it. And look, once the show's open, it's too loud. It's too crowded. It just doesn't work. But the overall takeaway from this show is very simple, that all the energy, all the excitement, all the sort of like swagger, all the smiles, it's all happening in the boutique areas. Primarily, it's happening at this show over at Barrels of Fun. And I'm going to talk about what it was like going over there and seeing those two games. sorry, those three games, Labyrinth was there too, and just seeing David and Robert Blakeman and the team over there, and then the difference when I went over to Stern, and they're all wearing black, and they've got Darth Vader holding a Death Star pumpkin, and real big everywhere, the ominous words, Fall of the Empire, and boy, oh boy, after playing Star Wars, it really feels like the Empire has fallen. Let me start with Star Wars. It really is one of the most uninspired, boring pinball machines I've ever played. After getting so many creative games over the last five years in terms of layout and geometry, when you hop on Star Wars, it feels like the game wasn't even finished. It feels like it's missing like an upper playfield that was supposed to go in it, or an upper right flipper that was supposed to open up more shots. I've never played such a boring game in my entire time covering this hobby. There is absolutely zero creativity in the game. It is a fan layout that is super tight, and none of the shots are that rewarding. You're bricking left and right all day long in the game, and it is a total soulless snoozefest. and I am really worried that Stern Pinball even have the audacity to bring this game out. Considering what's happening in the pinball world and what happening just down the aisle at Barrels and over at Spooky with their Evil Dead game and over at Jersey Jack with Harry Potter The fact that Stern Pinball is putting this game into market and it costs anywhere north of like $7,000 is a freaking embarrassment for them. And I am very embarrassed for Stern because, you know, at the show, this is just how I feel. They're so big, they reek of a company that's been so successful for so long. And this game is just an embarrassment. And I'm Sorry, but you're only as good as your last game in pinball, and this is really not a good showing. And I don't think we're going to get Walking Dead. I mean, they're going to try to shove as many of these Star Wars into consumer hands as they can. Look, I think newbies who don't know anything about pinball are the only people that will like this game. I think anyone that knows this hobby, that knows pinball, that knows what people are capable of in the design department and in the art department and in the code department, everything. This game is just not worth any effort. I think they should stick a fork in it. It is absolutely dead on arrival. And then you've got all these King Kongs everywhere too. You're not going to fool us, Stern. The topper for King Kong, lazy, right? I mean, they literally have stuck the mechanism from in the game on top of the topper. And look, I get what people said. Like they did it with Godzilla. Yeah, but this is like a motorized mech. Like they're doing this because they have unsold games. They have all these leftover parts and they're lazy. And then you've got two King Kongs now. You've got two gong things with a shooter rod handle. Again, lazy, lazy, lazy. And then they put on the marquee, I love bananas. What is wrong with the people over at Stern? King Kong is not a comedy. It's not Donkey Kong. So why does it say I love bananas on the marquee? I know you can change it, but they should have had the eighth wonder of the world from Stern Bimble. You know what I'm saying? Make it magical. They don't know what they're doing, and they really look like a company that's in desperate need of a hit. And I got to see Keith Elwin for a little bit. I shook his hand. And he walked over. He's a funny guy. He walked over and he's like, oh, look who it is. It's influencers. And look, Keith is the guy that we need. They need a hit. It's either going to come from Keith Elwin or Jack Danger. They don't have anybody else to hit a home run. And they need a home run. And I'm rooting for them to hit a home run. But until they do, Stern is looking so vulnerable and so boring. And that is just that. And then you walk over to Barrels of Fun. You walk over and there's a line wrapped around the booth. Now, given they don't have as many games as Stern, but still, the line was consistent the entire day I was there. And they've got these games that are shiny. They're sexy. You walk up, and I mean this, you walk up to the new Dune Translight. It's got the new alternative Translight, which I told David should have been the Translight from day one. It is absolutely stunning. These games look high end. They look premium. They look so much better than anything on Stern's floor. They even look as good as Jersey Jack games. There's a lot of Harry Potters there. I almost feel like there was too many. There's a weird thing about shows. I know the point of a show. It's open to the public. You want to have a lot of games out there because you want to get a lot of sales. But there's just something about when there's too many, it kind of loses a little bit of the game being special. It feels a little commoditized. But look, I get why they do it. And Harry Potter is still stunning. The CE topper is still horrendous and they're going to sell a ton of them. I haven't walked in front of a Harry Potter in a long time and I got to walk over to it again and I will say it is absolutely a phenomenal, beautiful pin. They did a really good job. But back to barrels. So I'm looking at this dune first and I'm like, wow, like that's how it should have came out of the gate. And then I go over and I see the talk of the town. The bell of the ball. The game that everybody's talking about. The game that now has restored what I think is the most fun part of buying pinball. It's restored the enthusiasm and the FOMO. This game is not only sold out. And by the way, I was right when I said it was sold through. It wasn't sold out. Now it's sold out. And it happened in two days. And you can't find one anywhere. and I walked over to the game and I'm looking at this game and I'm saying to myself, okay, okay, I understand what they have achieved with this game. This game is 100% what I love to look for in a pinball machine, which is a world under glass. You put this game next to Star Wars, Star Wars looks like the Costco piece of crap that it is. This game looks really good. But for those of you wondering if it's worth 11.6, I think it is. And let me go on to explain why. It is a world under glass That house in the back is so cool The pepper ghost effect is so cool And you know it just a beautiful machine to look at It a machine when you stand over it it's nothing but smiles. Now, look, I haven't played it. You're like, get it. But you haven't played it. I haven't. I haven't. I'm going to play it today. But I'm just saying, aesthetically, you putting this game in your house will make you very happy. Aesthetically, and the theme of Haunted House, and the name, and the art, and everything about it. It just works. It just works. And like, I wanted to be more skeptical. I wanted, you know, like Robert Blakeman and them, they're always like, hey, you know, you always give us a hard time. I do give them probably an unfair hard time because, because I know these guys personally and I know what they're capable of. And you know, when they take their time, they get it right. Now, was this game released too early with the code being so early? Maybe, maybe, but not really. Right. They did their job. They sold every single one. And now it's the game everyone who's a collector is kind of kicking themselves. They didn't jump in on. Now, I still think, and you know how I feel. I've seen this a million times. I still think when Beetlejuice drops, you're going to see Winchester spots open up for sale. Now, if you asked me three days ago, I would have said, I don't think this game is going to go up in value. Three days ago, I would have said, I don't think people are going to get more than $2,000 for their spots. In fact, I think you'll get $1,000 off on your spot. after seeing the reaction at the show, I don't think that way anymore. And hey, Kanae is allowed to change his mind. Is he not? I think this game is going to go up in value. I think people are going to have a hard time getting one forever. And I think it's just going to be one of those campy fun machines that people keep in their homes. Now look, it does come down to the code and the gameplay. If the game's not fun to shoot, it doesn't matter how many ghost effects you have and how big the sculpts are. It doesn't matter. Like it's going to have to be an enjoyable game to play time and time again. But I feel like everyone who got their hands on one now, because no one's really played it much and nobody owns one yet, like has one in their home. I do think right now, it's just making everybody happy they got one. It restored something beautiful we've lost for like four or five years. That FOMO, that fear of missing out, which is fun. It is fun. It's fun to chase after these things. It's fun to read people's enthusiasm. It's fun just to be excited about pinball. And that's what FOMO does. remember nobody has FOMO for something they're not excited about. The reason why we lost FOMO is not because FOMO died. We lost FOMO because the games sucked. Like it's just that simple. We just had too many mediocre games that were overpriced and everybody was just tired of losing money on everything. And this game, I mean it, if you buy it for 11.6, you're not going to lose money. And I got a little bit of a hint about the topper. There's going to be more ghosts and spirits arriving on your game. So I think we're going to see a really cool sort of ghost or spirit effect happening on top of the machine. And the colors I love, you know, when they start getting more colorful, like these barrel games. And I have to say this, that alternate dune trans light might be the nicest trans light I've ever seen. It is that nice. Now, the next thing I heard they're going to change is the lights inside the barrels machines. You know, those light rails, you can kind of see each individual LED. I think in future games, they're going to make it more seamless so you don't see the individual LEDs. That's the only thing I think they need to change on the platform itself. But other than that, man, it was like walking into a locker room after a team won the championship. That's how much energy and how much fun the people over at Barrels are having right now. And I walked in and it was great. You probably saw my interview with David David Van Es. Like everyone's just like, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's just where you want to be. And there was this moment I was at the restaurant in the hotel and all of the stern people were at a table. They were all wearing black and they just looked angry. And I'm just like, it's just not inviting. They just have an issue. Like they need to figure it out. Like I really mean this. If I'm George, I got to get everybody together. Like we got to get back, you know, to the fundamentals of pinball. We've got to get back to the fundamentals of our company and our culture. Stern had like a DJ at their booth. It's like they're trying so hard to be cool. They feel like that old guy that's trying really hard to stay cool. Hello, Canada, pot calling the kettle black. But you know what I mean, okay? So that was Stern Pinball. Star Wars, Atrocious Barrels won the show. There were six absolutely stunning evil deads over at Great American Pinball. They redid the powder coat on the armor to add blood. And these games were $16,000 fully like maxed out with options and everything, toppers, everything. And I think four of them sold already. The other two are going to sell It not a bad buy Actually I think it a great buy because the game on the secondhand market now is going for 15 and they definitely added a lot more additions to the game that I think these games are easily going to sell. Now, the only thing is they're show games. So people are beating on your $16,000 game. But I think now he's turning them off when they sell, which is smart. Okay. By the way, shout out to my friends over at Great American Pinball. Super fun hanging out with you guys yesterday. Thank you so much for the goodie bag and all the hospitality. Then I walked over. I saw Big Trouble in Little China. Very, very cool game. I haven't played it yet. He told me someone offered him $50,000 for the game, to which I said to Kyle, I was like, Kyle, take the $50,000, bro, and make another. I don't know what it is, man. I'm like the Matrix game. When they reskin Johnny Mnemonic, just make eight of them. Take the rich man money and call it a day. Call it a day. Take your wife on a trip around the world with that money. I don't understand it. It's not a $50,000 game. It's not a $20,000 game, but it's a fun game. I'm glad it exists. It looks really cute. And I can't wait to play it today. I went over to Predator. And look, Predator, man, for all the themes at the show, it's really the theme that aligns best with the audience of pinball. I can't wait to play it. I haven't been able to play it. They always had a line. I will say they always had a line. And if they're only making 200 of the Predators, even though Arnold's not in it, they most likely will sell their allotment. But I think still without Arnold, there's just going to be a lot of difficulty for the Predator fanatics like myself to really want to own an Arnold-less Predator. I'm going to play that game today. I didn't get a chance to see all the homebrew stuff. I didn't really get a chance to jump on much. Today's my day to jump on most stuff, and I can't wait to do it. I'm going to head over there a little early. Maybe they let me in a little early. Neil McRae's got a media badge and not Canada. What? I've done 1150 podcasts. How do we not have a media credential, Rob? All right. And the final thing I'll say was the news from Dutch Pinball. Ex-Melvin Williams sitting up there in front of an empty seminar room told everybody, if you're in on an Alice and you buy an Alice, you purchase your machine, you will be first in line to get back to the future. I mean, talk about a smart marketing move to secure people staying in on their Alice's and not asking for refunds come January 1st. He also did announce that Raza is coming back, to which there was no clapping whatsoever. I still think Raza is going to do fine. When you see that there's only going to be 333 Razas and it is really a cool game. I've seen what he's done. I've seen the adjustments to it. It's a really neat game. He's not going to have any problem selling it. There's more in Raza than there is in Alice. But now Alice has got this carrot attached to it that you're first in line for Back to the Future, which will be coming out most likely October of 2026. And so that's big news. And here's why. Because Dutch Pinball does not make games quickly. So if you own an Alice, you probably are going to be one of the first in the first year to get Back to the Future. everyone else is going to have to wait at least a year because they can't even make 500 games a year. I mean, that's like their capacity. So really interesting move to reward people for being loyal to the company. And you know what? It's their company. They can do what they want and they just did it. So everyone who's got an Alice who might be thinking about getting rid of it, you might want to hold on to it because it's your ticket to back to the future. And here's why I would hold on to it, because even if you just don't even want Alice, you could then get back to the future in year one. And you know you could flip that game if you have it in a box for a hefty profit. So it's basically like them giving you money on the table or you can have your money back. So it's your decision, everybody. All right, Canada's gonna head over to the Renaissance. I'm staying down the block from the convention. Everybody, can't wait to see you. Now look, we're gonna do the Canada Hangout at the bar. We did a little bit last night. But if you're at the show and you're listening to this, today is the day to get me. I am leaving tomorrow at like 6 a.m. So today is the day. I will let you know on Facebook and on Patreon where I'm at at the Renaissance Center so we can just hang out, have some drinks. I'm going to be off site between like 430 and maybe 730. And then I'm back, baby. Let's have fun tonight, everybody. Expo Day 2. Here we come. Thank you.