all right rush pinball is part of the pinball world now all the guessing all the speculation is over it is always exciting on a new pin day to see what stern pinball puts out in the world And without Stern Pinball, there wouldn't be much pinball to analyze because nobody else can do what Stern does. And that is get a new pinball machine. Even in pandemic times, they get us new machines every three to four months. It's amazing. And now we have John Borg's Rush. And all of us are having first impressions. And we haven't seen the gameplay. We've seen the layout. It looks very similar to a lot of John Borg layouts, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. We've seen the artwork. We've seen the toys in the game. We have to use our imagination a little bit at this stage. So what are my first impressions of Rush Pinball, and how did I feel on today's reveal of the game? Well, I'll start out by saying this. My expectations for Rush were about as low as you could get because I'm not a Rush fan. I knew I wasn't going to buy this game. I knew that nothing they showed me would make me want to buy the game just because I'm not a Rush fan. And I think music pins are for fans of those acts. And it's always weird to me when people buy a music pin and they don't even like the music. So I was able to go into today with very low expectations. I also heard that the art wasn't the best. So I was expecting maybe one of the most atrocious art packages of all time, a la Game of Thrones. And I will say this. After seeing the game today, I wasn't appalled by anything I saw. I wasn't appalled by the art package. I wasn't blown away. I don't think it looks great, but I don't think it looks horrible. I give it just a passing grade. But I do think it's a little bit of a miss because if you're a music fan, you don't want your pin just to shoot well. You also want it to be a work of art that pays tribute to the band you love. And I just don't think this art package is nearly anywhere close to the art packages we saw on Metallica, on Aerosmith, on Munsters, on Deadpool. You can add every Zombietti game, Iron Maiden. It's just not as good. So I just feel like as a Rush fanatic, if you are one, I know I see a lot of people justifying this game saying it's a home run. And I'm sorry, you don't get to say a game is a home run unless everything is a home run. And this art package is not a home run. Now, that being said, if you are a Rush fan and you got all of the details on this game today and you saw the level of integration and the level of collaboration between the band itself and Stern Pinball, you're a happy camper today. You are. You're a happy camper. You have an order in on one of these three models. And there's not a lot for you to complain about if you love Rush. And I want everybody to understand that. I think there are two camps of people here. There are Rush fans, and did they get what they wanted? And there are casual fans who might not care at all about Rush. And I think this game is going to be highly appealing to that first audience. And guess what? That's what a pinball machine should be. It should give the people that love the theme what they want. Now, I do think they'd want a better art package. I won't lie. But this game looks loaded. It actually looks loaded with a lot of stuff. It looks fun to shoot. It looks like an amalgamation of John Borg's older titles. I mean, it's basically like Austin Powers, Ninja Turtles, and X-Men had a baby, and their baby was the ring from Lord of the Rings. You put it all together, and you've got this game. I mean, it's eerily similar to X-Men, but I hear people complain about that and say John Borg just recycles his designs, and he keeps doing the same thing over and over again. I would argue that John Borg has a design style as does Steve Ritchie as does Keith Elwin and every designer I don't care who they are after they make like eight games they're gonna run out of original ways to do a layout and this layout looks like it's gonna be fun to shoot the toys look like they're gonna be fun to play you got the time machine you got the two scoops you got some drop targets, you got a diverter, you know the whole list of things in this game. And so it looks like it's going to be the amalgamation I just talked about. And John Boer games usually are pretty fun to shoot. But I think the most valuable element of this game we haven't really seen yet, it's not going to be the layout. I think the layout's going to work and it's going to work just fine. The thing that's going to make this game sing and soar is the collaboration between Stern and the band. It's going to be all of those call outs. It's going to be the two band members working with Ed Ed Robertson, putting a ton of personality into this game. And again, I only think Rush fans will appreciate that. If you don't like this band and you don't care for those two artists, why would you get excited about what they're going to put into the game? So I think this game is going to be a super appetizing package for Rush fans, but for everybody else, I don't think this is going to pull you in if you're not really into Rush, because chances are you see a game like X and you know what You going to be more likely to get excited about being an X than you are going to be about listening to 16 Rush songs you probably have never heard before Because if what excites you is the gameplay and the layout, you can get this from other John Borg layouts where the theme is something that's probably much more exciting to you than Rush. You know, so I wasn't extremely disappointed. I knew Rush fans would be happy. I went on Pinside and I heard all the Rush fans super excited. I was glad to see that. I want to see fans of a theme excited about a pin. I think what's always deplorable in our hobby is when something comes out that the fans love and then the non-fans have to like berate them and be like, this is the ugliest game ever. Like this game is an unoriginal layout. Like why would you piss on it that much? At least let the Rush fans have their one day in the sunshine. We all know that in 24 hours, Pinside is going to turn on this game. It always happens. They're going to turn on this game. They're going to tear it apart. They're going to tear apart the artwork. You know they're going to get their hands on this thing, and they're going to go nuts. And I will say, if you're a Rush fan and this game speaks to you, just tune it out. Get your order in. Here's my advice. Get your order in and then turn off Pinside for a month. Why would you care? Your order's in. You love Rush. If I loved Rush, and I mean it when I say this, I would own this pin. I mean, I love a band and now there's a pinball game based on a band I love. I'm owning it. I'm absolutely owning it. Now, the real question becomes, do you want an Ellie? Do you need an Ellie? Is the Ellie nice enough to get? And is this Ellie going to hold value? I want to talk about the pricing of the Ellie because I think the main news story happening today isn't even Rush Pinball, right? We knew Rush Pinball was going to happen. The real eye-opening thing today is that Stern, once again, is using each new game to Trojan horse a higher price into the pinball market. And can you blame them? But it is official. Rush LE, look at this game. This game is more expensive than Godzilla LE. This game has an MSRP of $11,100 or $11,099. And I want to talk about this for a minute because it is getting so easy for me and maybe for you at this ridiculous price point to pass on these games. I mean, just think about what Stern has done. They've doubled the number of LEs they're making, which means they're not that special anymore. And now they've increased the price. And this is $11,100 with no topper. and you know them, they're going to sell you a $1,000 topper for this game. And then you're at $12,100. And they don't have a shooter rod that's different. So when they change the shooter rod knob, they're going to charge you another $100 for that. When you add it all up, you are now seeing Stern LEs will be $12,500. And that's if you get free shipping. And I just want to talk about that for a minute. When I looked at this game and I looked at what was in it and I said to myself, Chris, is this an $11,000 pinball machine? And again, maybe to you Rush fans, it is. But I'm not seeing it. And I'm not seeing anywhere close to that much money going into the machine. And then you get to the premium. And this is really where the Stern Trojan horse pricing has happened. You are now spending nine grand on a premium of Rush. And they removed the expression lighting from the game. So if you want to get the expression lighting, which will cost you 500 extra dollars, you are now at $9,500 for a Stern premium that has everything in it. Think about that for a minute. A premium, a game in which they're going to make an unlimited amount of is now more expensive than the Ellie's were just a year ago. And we're just sitting back and we're taking it. And they're not putting anything more into these games. people. That is the part that's scaring me. I'm looking down at Rush and I'm seeing some cool stuff. But then again, for $11,000, should I look down and see completely flat plastics everywhere? Like they couldn't sculpt anything by the pop bumpers. There's not much sculpted in this game. There's the time machine and then there's the drum clock and that's it. That is it. There is not this like tremendous 3D world under glass at all. You know, I'm just having a hard time. I'm just having a hard time with these new Stern prices. And I'm worried. I'm worried because here are two things that are not going to happen. Stern is never going to make less than a thousand LEs again, and they're never going to lower the price. So now the new base price for all LEs moving forward is $11,100. Do you want to spend 11 grand on a Venom? Did you want to spend 1100 on Rush? I could understand if it was Star Wars. I could understand if it was Back to the Future. but now this is the new base. I don't know, the more these prices keep going up and up and up. And again, I'm not seeing the stuff in the game to justify this. Are you? You know, the more Stern keeps raising the price of these machines and it seems like they're selling pretty damn well, we know that Jersey Jack machines are gonna go up market in price. And it's at the point now where, you know, you buy two pinball machines and you're over $20,000. I think if you buy two Jersey Jack CEs in the future, you're at $30,000. So at these price points, I think our expectations need to be through the roof. And I do think every game needs to be a home run for $11,000. And then you start to look at these games differently. You start to look at Rush LE for $11,100 and you say, well, maybe they could have done better playfield artwork, at least on the LE. Sort of like how Jersey Jack Pinball they give you more in the collector edition playfield But we know Stern not going to do that Maybe I should get a topper for this much money But we all sort of screwed ourselves because sales are so good And no matter what Stern comes out with, and they've kept raising the price, and they've raised the volume. I mean, collectors out there, if you ask me, collectors have lost out because now you're paying so much more. The value that the game used to go up in, Stern is now getting that money, not you. and they've also doubled the volume. So as a collector, I really think these things are not gonna be nearly as collectible or sought out as people think. If I were you, I would only buy a Rush LE if the game is gonna be bolted to your floor because you love the band so much. I'm hearing people say that dealers are already charging $13,000 to get it. So we're seeing dealers inflate the price over 11K already. At what point do we say enough is enough? And I really do mean this is the news of the day because we're seeing this. It's only going to get worse. If we're seeing dealers ask for $13,000 for Rush, what do you think they're going to ask for James Bond? What do you think they're going to ask for for Back to the Future? What do you think they're going to ask for when Jaws comes out, right? What do you think that's going to happen? It's going to become a brutal bidding war to get any of these games. It was different when we used to be able to get a Stern LE for $6,500. hundred. You could buy a game. You could play it for a year and you could move it on. If the game was a hit, you would make a few thousand dollars. Now we're in bizarro world. You're spending almost $12,000 from Stern with tax already with shipping. If you get a topper, you're at almost $12,000, $13,000. And then when you go to sell your game, you think you deserve $15,000 for it or $18,000 for it. And the sad part is you'll probably find some new to the hobby guy who has no idea what he's doing and we'll give you $15,000 for a Stranger Things LE. And this is where we're at. And some of this is chipping away at my enjoyment of the hobby because again, I can't erase the prices. When I see a Jersey Jack LE, I see where the money goes. When I see a Stern at $11,000, I don't see where the money goes. Am I being unfair? Am I really being unfair? Put Rush LE right next to Guns N' Roses LE. And you tell me how that Rush LE is more expensive. And if you say it's more fun to shoot, I'm gonna slap you through the microphone. I am talking about what is in the game, what is physically in it, what is in it from a code standpoint, what is in it from an animation standpoint. And it's crazy to me. And if you're Jersey Jack, again, you're looking at this being like, what are we doing? We are giving our games away at these prices if Stern can sell at these prices. But Stern gets it. They're the only drug dealer in town that could cut up the dime bags fast enough because that's what these people want. And I will say this. The one thing I want to implore each and every one of you, if you want a Rush LE, I would just be patient. I think there are a bunch of dealers that are going to try to sell this for over sticker. I think some of them will be successful in luring some suckers in on day one, but I do think there are going to be rush LEs available much closer to this $11,000. I can't even believe I'm saying this. $11,000 Stern is going to pocket for an LE like this, and there's a thousand of them, and they're still hard to get. This is insane, and it's hard for me to give my first impression of a Stern without looking at it through that lens. I think the game is going to shoot great. I think the art package is underwhelming. I think the code is going to be amazing. That is my first impression of Rush Pinball. I also think that the silver lining in all of these high prices and in the market nowadays is this. You are now only going to buy games you love. You're now only going to consider games that are themes you absolutely love because you can't afford to do what you used to be able to do, which is just run into everything, play it for a few months, and then sell it for a profit because it's not going to work out like that anymore. And someone's going to be left holding the bag. I think for Stern, they're capitalizing on this hot market, but I'm a little worried that when the market goes a little bit south, will Stern have to reduce their prices or are they going to stay at this high price? I don't know. I don't think this is the ceiling, which is scary to say, but I'm also not seeing $11,000 in pinball machines here. I'm just not. This is just Kaneda saying, I've always wanted high price games because I wanted people to put a ton into them. I'm seeing a pretty loaded game for a Stern. I am. There's a lot to like in this game. There's a lot happening in this game, but then I see stuff, right? For $11,000 Stern, you've got two scoops in the game that look really fun. Two scoops are great, like two scoops of ice cream better than one, but then you don't put a scoop protector on the game. Why do we have to do this? Why do I have to go and disassemble my game and buy a Cliffy scoop protector when you know, Stern, that these scoops are going to wear and you don't even put a scoop protector. Again, I'm just saying this for 11 grand, I just want these companies to give me everything I want in a game. And don't you want a scoop protector? You do, but you have to go do it extra. But in summary, I think Rush fans are going to be blown away by this game when they get it. I think mostly everybody else will enjoy the game on location and at shows, but I don't think you're going to be running to buy this game if you don't love Rush. I don't think it's going to have the same crossover appeal of a game like Iron Maiden, because a lot of people will say that like I don really like Iron Maiden but I love Keith Elwin Iron Maiden and I don think I don I don think Borg pulls people over the way Elwin does and Elwin's got a fan base and a following that for some reason right people can't resist the way a Keith Elwin pin shoots and that is why even if people hate Iron Maiden they love the pin because of how Elwynn designed it. Do I think this game's going to have that crossover appeal? I don't. I just don't. I also think Rush music is just a really acquired taste. It is. And not everybody loves it. And I don't think it has the same high energy level of Iron Maiden music for pinball. So we'll see how it translates into a pinball machine. I'm not going to lie. I know one Rush song and that's it. I know Tom Sawyer. I don't know the other stuff. I'm not going to rag on it. But man, if I want a high energy pinball music experience, I don't think Rush is what I'm playing. But I understand why a lot of you love Rush and I'm happy you're getting a pin. I mean, that's sort of it. I'm happy you're getting the pin that is based on the theme you love. I think the majority of people would love to see Stern do more mainstream stuff. I think knowing that after this pin is Venom creates a pretty much a six month window in which it's an easy pass for the majority of people. James Bond is going to be a watershed moment in which tons of people go after James Bond. But when you look at Stern as a portfolio of games, right, you have to always remember that. Stern wants to make sure its portfolio of games appeals to everybody. And when you go on Stern's website, you've got Rush, Godzilla, Mandalorian, Led Zeppelin, Avengers, Ninja Turtles, Stranger Things, Elvira, Jurassic Park, Beatles, Deadpool, Iron Maiden, Batman, Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy. That's what they have on their website as games you can order today. All right, you go into Jersey Jack Pinball's website, they got one game you can buy. One. You go on Chicago Gaming's website, they got one game that you can buy that's not even shipping. You go on American Pinball's website, you got one game that's an original IP. You see what I'm saying? Stern is just clobbering everybody. Everybody. So I fully expect them to add Foo Fighters to this list and it won't matter because they'll have Foo Fighters and The Mandalorian. And then they'll have Foo Fighters and James Bond. They'll have Foo Fighters and Back to the Future. Foo Fighters and Jaws. You see what I mean? All they need to do is sell a thousand LEs to a fan base. Easy to do. And then the rest is gravy. And if the game doesn't do great, it doesn't matter. They'll just make more Mandalorians or make more Godzillas or make more this or make more that. That doesn't happen anywhere else. Like Jersey Jack Pinball knows people want more Pirates of the Caribbean. They're not making any more. They know you might want more Wizard of Oz's new inbox. They're not making any more. They don't care if you want dialed in. They don't care if you want more Hobbits. They're not going to make you any more. This company is so far ahead of everybody else. It's not even funny. Speaking of that, the Twippies are coming up, right? And if you haven't voted yet, please go to the Twippy voting on twippies.com and please vote for Canada's pinball podcast for favorite pinball podcast. And do me a favor. If you and one other person in your family votes for Canada, we would have like 700 votes. So I think we might take it and go five for five. And if you watch Canada's Facebook live on Facebook, my Saturday morning spectacular, I would also love it. If you would vote for Canada for favorite pinball streamer, I don't think I'm going to win, but I want to get in the top three because I think it would be amazing to show everybody that you can have an entertaining pinball stream when you don't even play pinball. But back to my point, speaking of the Twippies, and I mean this when I say this, Stern Pinball is going to win every single category it is nominated in. Every single category Stern Pinball is going to win. Every one. They're not going to lose out to Spooky. They're not going to lose out to Jersey Jack, who's not even in it this year because they can't get more than one game out a year. They're not going to lose to CGC. They're not going to lose to anybody. They're not going to lose to P3 Multimorphic or American Pinball. They are the only game in town. Everybody else is so far behind Stern. It's not even funny. Now, that doesn't mean that everything Stern does is gold. It doesn't mean their games are worth this kind of money, but it doesn't matter. Like I said, if you're the only drug dealer making drugs and this is a drug and it is, and these grown men don't need another pinball machine, but they're addicted to this. They want to feel this FOMO every three to four months. If you put that pinball machine in that stern dime bag, they're buying and they are buying and dealers and distributors are selling this crack every three to four months because nobody else can bring their crack to market. That might not be the best metaphor, but it's true. So let's see what happens on Pinside over the next 48 hours. It's always enjoyable to get out the popcorn and watch Pinside cry and moan about a game. I think if you love Rush, do me a favor. Order the game, enjoy your game, and turn off all of the noise. It's not worth it. Everybody, Kaneda out. Let me know what you think about my first impressions and my assessment of this whole situation. hit me up at canadapinball at gmail.com and thank you guys for being a part of the club the numbers keep going up the haters are losing every time a new person signs up to listen to canada's pinball podcast i'll be back with more episodes this week later you you