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Episode 1063: "TPF in a Week and Still Nothing!"

Kaneda's Pinball Podcast (Patreon feed)·podcast_episode·25m 33s·analyzed·Mar 14, 2025
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.034

TL;DR

No pre-TPF announcements; Kaneda critiques GNR design and lists dream themes.

Summary

Host Kaneda discusses the surprising lack of game announcements before Texas Pinball Festival (TPF), anticipating April will see a surge of reveals including Predators, King Kong, Harry Potter, and Portal. He provides detailed gameplay critique of Guns N' Roses, finding it frustratingly designed despite its production values, and articulates his dream pinball themes (Transformers G1, Fifth Element, Akira, Rocky IV) while considering selling GNR unless a truly exceptional theme emerges to replace it.

Key Claims

  • No major game announcements before Texas Pinball Festival despite historical precedent of manufacturers revealing games ahead of the show

    high confidence · Kaneda opening statement: 'It's the Friday before Texas Pinball Festival, and there's nothing revealed. I'm shocked.'

  • April will see four games released in one month: Barrels of Fun game, Pinball Brothers Predators, Stern King Kong, and Jersey Jack Harry Potter

    medium confidence · Kaneda's prediction: 'it's now starting to look like april could see four games in one month'

  • Barrels of Fun will not attend TPF with a new game reveal because David Van Ness wants to invite media and distributors privately before public reveal

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'tpf is the backyard show of barrels of fun they're not going to be there with anything new because i know david Van Ness wants to invite media and distributors to see the game before the reveal'

  • Kerry Hardy and other insiders report Portal by Multimorphic P3 is 'a hit' and 'the best game to date from Multimorphic'

    medium confidence · Kaneda: 'the early word on the street by folks like Kerry Hardy that have seen the game is that it is a hit. It is the best game to date from Multimorphic'

  • Stern will likely move King Kong reveal earlier than historical schedule (May timing like John Wick) due to competitive pressure from Jersey Jack

    medium confidence · Kaneda: 'I think we're going to see Stern bump up King Kong. I think D&D sales are okay, but not phenomenal. I think we're going to see Jersey Jack Pinball nervous of getting scooped by King Kong'

  • Spooky's next game is likely Beetlejuice, with Gremlins planned for December release due to Christmas timing

    medium confidence · Kaneda on Evil Dead box imagery teaser: 'I still think the next game from Spooky Pinball is going to be Beetlejuice. I also think they do have Gremlins, but I don't think Gremlins is next. Gremlins would be a great, great game to release in December'

  • Guns N' Roses has severe design flaws: excessive outlane drains, no playfield flow, shots too close to flippers, and overcomplicated rules that don't reward deeper play

Notable Quotes

  • “It's the Friday before Texas Pinball Festival, and there's nothing revealed. I'm shocked.”

    Kaneda@ 0:24 — Sets the episode's primary theme: unprecedented lack of pre-show game announcements

  • “This show is no longer the sort of deadline that everybody is working towards. In fact, there might only be one new game revealed at TPF and that might be Portal. That might be it.”

    Kaneda@ 3:15 — Reflects major shift in industry dynamics and TPF's diminishing role as premiere launch venue

  • “The outlane drains in this game are atrocious... There's absolutely no flow. You're never having any combos.”

    Kaneda@ 9:05 — Core criticism of GNR's playfield layout and design philosophy

  • “This is not a good machine to own when you only have one machine. It's a great experiential pin when you've got a lineup of other machines.”

    Kaneda@ 13:47 — Clear positioning of GNR's market fit and identifies collector vs operator divide

  • “I would need a theme like Fifth Element. I would need a theme like Big Trouble in Little China. I would need a theme like Predator.”

    Kaneda@ 14:27 — Defines Kaneda's personal threshold for next home machine acquisition

  • “For me to replace my Guns N' Roses... it would be Transformers G1, the movie... The soundtrack from Transformers G1 is the greatest movie soundtrack maybe of all time.”

    Kaneda@ 15:04 — Top dream theme articulation with reasoning, shows 80s/90s nostalgia priority

  • “Sometimes less is more. If there was less stuff going on, less multi balls, less patches, less all of that crap, then you could focus more on the magical elements that are in the game.”

    Kaneda — Articulates broader design philosophy critique about complexity vs elegance in modern pinball

Entities

KanedapersonDavid Van NesspersonKerry HardypersonDerekpersonKeith JohnsonpersonEricpersonChristopher FranchipersonStern Pinball

Signals

  • ?

    announcement: Portal by Multimorphic expected to receive teaser before TPF; may be only new game revealed at the show floor

    medium · Kaneda: 'I think we're going to get a teaser for it today, and I think it's going to be revealed early next week before TPF, is P3 Multimorphics Portal'

  • ?

    announcement: Four games anticipated for April release: Barrels of Fun (unknown IP), Pinball Brothers Predators (end of month), Stern King Kong, Jersey Jack Harry Potter

    medium · Kaneda: 'it's now starting to look like april could see four games in one month'

  • ?

    product_concern: Guns N' Roses exhibits excessive outlane drains, poor playfield flow, shots positioned too close to flippers, and overcomplicated rules that fail to reward progression

    high · Kaneda's extended gameplay critique with specific mechanical issues identified through hundreds of play sessions

  • $

    market_signal: Shift away from TPF as mandatory announcement deadline; manufacturers now revealing games on alternative schedules; TPF losing status as premiere launch venue

    high · Kaneda: 'This show is no longer the sort of deadline that everybody is working towards'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Kaneda considering selling Guns N' Roses due to playability issues in home collection context; indicates single-machine household dissatisfaction with GNR

    high · Kaneda: 'I think I am coming to the conclusion that I might have to get rid of GNR' and 'I was happy to see there are no GNR CEs for sale on Pinside right now'

Topics

Pre-TPF announcement timing and manufacturer strategy shiftsprimaryGuns N' Roses gameplay critique and design philosophyprimaryApril release calendar predictions (King Kong, Harry Potter, Predators, Barrels of Fun game)primaryTexas Pinball Festival's declining role as premiere announcement venueprimaryKaneda's dream themes and home machine acquisition criteriasecondarySpooky Pinball theme pipeline speculation (Beetlejuice, Gremlins timing)secondaryPortal (Multimorphic P3) early reception and market impactsecondaryHome machine vs location machine design trade-offssecondary

Sentiment

mixed(0.35)— Kaneda expresses surprise and disappointment about lack of announcements (negative), frustration with GNR's design (negative), but excitement about upcoming April releases and Portal's quality (positive). Overall tone is critical of current state but optimistic about near future.

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.077

0:00
In the burning heart, just about to burst, there's a quest for answers and a creature of the best. In the talking fight, rising like a spider, in the burning heart, the unmistakable fire. In the burning heart. Welcome everybody to Canada's Pinball Podcast. It's the Friday before Texas Pinball Festival, and there's nothing revealed.
0:30
I'm shocked. March 14th. Usually, this time, right before the big Texas show, usually, we've had a manufacturer or two reveal their game to the world, so then when they bring it to the show, they can just set it up and everybody can bang on it, but there's nothing. It's nothing. Like, the whole pinball space right now, we're waiting for these games to come out. it's now starting to look like april could see four games in one month the new game from barrels
1:02
of fun is it going to be dune is it going to be gremlins is it going to be goodies we're going to talk about gremlins in a second is it going to be gi joe everybody's wondering now tpf is the backyard show of barrels of fun they're not going to be there with anything new because i know david Van Ness wants to invite media and distributors to see the game before the reveal. I have not received any word on when that will happen. So until that happens, and we know that David's going to want to give media at least a couple weeks to figure out travel, let their wives and
1:39
their co-workers know I'm going to be flying down to Texas on a Friday. So until we get that word, we can make a safe bet that we're not seeing the Barrels game for at least two more weeks. So that brings us into April. At the end of April, we're going to get the Pinball Brothers Predator game. We're also going to get, most likely, King Kong. Remember, John Wick was revealed to the world May 7th. And Stern Pinball usually keeps things on a similar schedule.

high confidence · Kaneda's detailed critique: 'The outlane drains in this game are atrocious... There's absolutely no flow... it's all like way too close to the flippers'

  • GNR is not suitable as a single home machine but works well in location/lineup settings to break up monotony

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'This is not a good machine to own when you only have one machine. It's a great experiential pin when you've got a lineup of other machines'

  • TPF may only see one new game revealed on the floor this year: possibly just Portal

    medium confidence · Kaneda: 'There might only be one new game revealed at TPF and that might be Portal. That might be it.'

  • Kaneda would only replace Guns N' Roses with a dream theme from 80s/90s era (Transformers G1, Fifth Element, Akira, Rocky IV, etc.)

    high confidence · Kaneda: 'I will not replace Guns N' Roses unless it's a theme that I love as much as Guns N' Roses'

  • @ 22:35
  • “Two flippers in almost the same exact position, and one delivers satisfaction, and one delivers frustration. That's what's interesting about pinball.”

    Kaneda@ 23:28 — Compares upper flipper shots in GNR vs Elton John to illustrate design execution importance

  • “I can't wait to see what Elwin does with Kong, what Minyard does with Harry Potter, what Pinball Brothers do with Predator, what Barrels of Fun does with something like, I don't know, Dune or whatever.”

    Kaneda@ 23:39 — Transitions from critique to anticipation for upcoming April game launches

  • “I was happy to see there are no GNR CEs for sale on Pinside right now. So I might have to put this thing up.”

    Kaneda@ 24:06 — Indicates potential listing decision for GNR; references low secondary market availability

  • company
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Multimorphiccompany
    Spooky Pinballcompany
    Barrels of Funcompany
    Pinball Brotherscompany
    American Pinballcompany
    Texas Pinball Festivalevent
    Guns N' Rosesgame
    Portalgame
    King Konggame
    Harry Pottergame
    Predatorsgame
    D&Dgame
    Evil Deadgame
    Lord of the Ringsgame
    Elton Johngame
    Pinsidewebsite
  • ?

    product_launch: Barrels of Fun skipping TPF floor presence to conduct private media/distributor preview before public reveal; game will remain unannounced for at least two more weeks

    high · Kaneda: 'tpf is the backyard show of barrels of fun they're not going to be there with anything new because i know david Van Ness wants to invite media and distributors to see the game before the reveal'

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Spooky Pinball next game believed to be Beetlejuice with Gremlins planned for December release; Evil Dead box artwork contains Gremlins poster imagery teasing future IP

    medium · Kaneda's analysis of Evil Dead box imagery and speculation on Spooky's release strategy

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Jersey Jack nervous about King Kong announcement and expected to reveal Harry Potter in April to avoid being scooped by Stern's major IP reveal

    medium · Kaneda: 'I think we're going to see Jersey Jack Pinball nervous of getting scooped by King Kong. I think we're going to also see them reveal Harry Potter'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Analysis of GNR vs Lord of the Rings demonstrates preference for elegant, accessible rules design with flow over feature-bloat; less-is-more principle in pinball design

    high · Kaneda's extended comparison showing LOTR's simplicity and clarity versus GNR's patch-heavy, stop-and-go complexity

  • ?

    venue_signal: Games like D&D and Evil Dead now available on location play, reducing travel demand to TPF; players can try new games locally before/after show

    high · Kaneda: 'You don't need to travel to Texas to play D&D. You don't need to travel to Texas to play Evil Dead. You can start to see these games out on location'

  • ?

    collector_signal: Kaneda monitors Pinside for GNR CE listings; lack of secondary market supply suggests either strong hold or low collector interest; potential listing planned

    medium · Kaneda: 'I was happy to see there are no GNR CEs for sale on Pinside right now. So I might have to put this thing up'

  • ?

    product_concern: Jersey Jack's GNR CE #500 contains printing error where '4' is crossed out and '5' written over it; Kaneda notes embarrassment of defect

    high · Kaneda closing: 'I was happy to see there are no GNR CEs for sale on Pinside right now. So I might have to put this thing up. You can have number 500 out of 500, even though they wrote it as 400, then crossed out the four and put a five. Really embarrassing, Jersey Jack.'

  • 2:11
    So I think we're going to see Stern bump up King Kong. I think D&D sales are okay, but not phenomenal. I think we're going to see Jersey Jack Pinball nervous of getting scooped by King Kong. I think we're going to also see them reveal Harry Potter to the world. And the one game we're probably going to get today, I think we're going to get a teaser for it today, and I think it's going to be revealed early next week before TPF, is P3 Multimorphics Portal. and the early word on the street by folks like Kerry Hardy that have seen the game
    2:45
    is that it is a hit. It is the best game to date from Multimorphic and so I fully expect a Portal teaser today so we can chew on something over the weekend, but I'm still shocked. It just goes to show if you're one of these people who for many, many years traveled down to TPF, it was always the show that everybody was working hard to reveal their product to get it on the floor at TPF. How times have changed. This show is no longer the sort of deadline
    3:18
    that everybody is working towards. In fact, there might only be one new game revealed at TPF and that might be Portal. That might be it. For a lot of you out there now, you don't need to travel to Texas to play D&D. You don't need to travel to Texas to play Evil Dead. You can start to see these games out on location. And I think more and more of us are starting to sort of limit the amount of pinball shows we will get on an airplane for. And we'll probably drive to locations and shows that are closer.
    3:51
    So we'll see what happens today. I'm a little bit surprised nobody's sort of surprised and delighted or shocked us with anything. Now, speaking of a little shock and awe, did you see this new box for Evil Dead Pinball? Christopher Franchi has put on the box an image of a woman clawing through the box. Now, that image looks exactly like the iconic Gremlins movie poster. So is this Christopher Franchi teasing to us that this company has Gremlins?
    4:23
    Here's the thing. I still think the next game from Spooky Pinball is going to be Beetlejuice. I also think they do have Gremlins, but I don't think Gremlins is next. Gremlins would be a great, great game to release in December because the theme of the movie happens at Christmas time. Isn't Gizmo a gift from the father as a Christmas present? Now, what they need to do with Gremlins, if you get one machine wet, it pops out another
    4:58
    machine. Wouldn't that be funny? So look, I love that they're having fun with these teasers. I'm a little surprised that the company that was famous for its teasers, Barrels of Fun, has done absolutely nothing. They've done nothing to sort of give us clues, to give us hints, to bring us on board, to have some fun with their next game about to drop. Maybe that was the factory tour with the sort of Goonies skeleton key, and maybe they're just messing with us there. but there really hasn't been anything. There's literally none of these pinball companies in
    5:33
    March. It is mid-March. Nobody has done anything to fan the flames of their new game. There's been no teasers. There's been no interviews. There's been no rolling out of anything. And as a marketer, I look at all this stuff and I'm like, you know what? You know where I would want to be? I would want to be first or last. Those are the only two positions I would want to be in as we head into a month long period of new games, as we're watching everyone's 401ks decimated, as the stock market plummets.
    6:09
    I mean, I'm just going to say this right now. I have a few bitcoins here and there, which has done nicely for me. I bought at a low price, but man, some of the other stuff, some of the other stuff like Ethereum I think I lost a pinball machine and a half in just like a month on a little Ethereum I was holding And it very volatile right The markets right now are very volatile And I think a lot of you out there, it's a shaky world right now. And when things get uncertain, are you going to invest in another hugely depreciating asset? And that is pinball. We shall see. I just expected someone to do something unique,
    6:43
    something surprising, something that's different, like throw away the playbook of how to launch a pinball machine and just do something different. Nothing, nothing yet. So we shall see. So what I've been doing, what I've been doing as I've been healing with my hernia surgery, I've been playing a lot more Guns and Roses. I've been playing every day. I've been going through the game. I've started everything from the Around the World Tour to Slash's solo. I haven't got to the end of the game, which is what? The not in this lifetime, no sympathy for the devil mode. I haven't been
    7:19
    able to get there, but I just want to give my overall, after playing this game hundreds and hundreds of times, I understand now why this game just frustrates people. It is a mixed bag game for sure. I love the energy of the game. I love the moments in which you start a song and you're rocking out and you've got a few balls locked up on that guitar neck and you're with just one ball
    7:52
    on the lower play field and you feel good because you've got like three balls locked just in case you drain. You've got some more balls you can put into play. If it were up to me, I would have figured out a way when you lock like four or five balls on that guitar neck and you drain the one ball you have in play that not all of those guitar neck balls drop into play. I wish you could control how many balls you fed into the main play field. It would just make it more fun. I know there's some strategy involved there. This game has those moments where it gets your adrenaline
    8:26
    going and it's a lot of fun. But here's my thing with GNR. There's two things that are just killing this game for me and make me not want to turn it on much anymore. The outlane drains in this game are atrocious. And I wrote that on Facebook and I mean it like this game. It's not just from the slingshots, all these shots and these targets and all these different things, the ball can hit on the lower half of the play field, send the ball into the outlanes so frequently. And this game
    8:59
    doesn't have any flow whatsoever. That's my bigger gripe than the outlaying drains. It's like there's just no flow. There's absolutely no flow. You're never having any combos. All the shots and all the stuff to hit, it's all like way too close to the flippers. I wish this game like pushed everything back like two to three inches on the play field. It's a lot of stop and go. when you try to get flow going like the ball just ends up like ricocheting all over the place and
    9:34
    that's what also is sending the ball into the outlanes all the time a lot more outlane drains on my machine than straight down the middle and so then when I just step back and think about you know what I love about pinball and games I really loved like I loved Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings was my first pinball machine you could say I was spoiled in playing one of the greatest machines of all time. Now, Lord of the Rings was also coded by the same guy that coded Guns and Roses, Keith Johnson. But what I loved about Lord of the Rings, even though there was a
    10:06
    lot in it, and that little wheel in the middle of Lord of the Rings that has all the little mini lights where you can collect all the different stuff, that's like the patches for GNR. But even if you didn't get into that, it was really simple to understand how to play that game, how to get to each movie's multi-ball, how rewarding it was to get to each of those. And then once you get past those three, you move on to such an iconic moment in the game where you destroy the ring. And it was so much fun. And you were able to see, and you were able to get deeper into that game and get to
    10:42
    wow moments. I think my favorite wow moment in all of Lord of the Rings is after you get to destroy the ring and then you get to there and back again. If any of you out there have never experienced there and back again in Lord of the Rings pinball, it is one of the greatest pinball moments ever. It didn't require an LCD. You don't need animations. It's the way the music changes and the way the call outs come at you. It is so magical. And when I think about GNR,
    11:14
    there's never any magical call outs. They never do anything like unique with the music that's really interesting. And again, I don't know why they didn't do this, right? You've got all this GNR catalog. You've got access to everything that GNR has ever done. And there's never a surprising moment musically in this game. They also could have done some stuff where you built a song maybe. Maybe that's a special mode. So imagine that, right? Have you ever played rock band? Imagine like build a song mode in gnr like a secret mode where it starts out with just the bass
    11:48
    And then you add the drums then you add axel's vocals There's just more they could have done but in lord of the rings I knew exactly how to get through the game the same thing with batman. I knew how to start extra ball I never ever in both of those games ever had to put those games on five ball to get deep into the game. With Guns N' Roses here, not only did I have to lower the outlane posts, I also put it on five ball, and that's still not making me have any more fun. It's not getting me
    12:20
    deeper into the game. I just don't like that GNR, when you step back and think about the game itself, after you get over all the experiences of the song modes, it's like there's not a lot else to really get excited about. The multi-balls that you start, the four multi-balls that you can keep starting in the game are not that exciting They not rewarding to start It still confusing to me how to light extra ball I don really know I think you got to collect four patches That one way to do it
    12:51
    And maybe after you start or get through a couple album modes, it lights it again, but it's not very clear. And I've owned this machine for like eight months now, but it just doesn't for me anymore have that one more game feeling. I feel like when I get on it, I'm having some fun, But then after 20 minutes, I'm good. And I think it's a good game in a lineup where you have a lot of other machines. Like if I had a Lord of the Rings next to this and I had Batman 66 next to Guns and
    13:23
    Roses, yeah, I'd feel really good about having GNR to break up the monotony and deliver, right? It still delivers. The most amazing modern light show, music, concert in a box ever. It still delivers on that. but it doesn't do much more than that. And in a home like mine, where I've only got one pinball machine, I can say this with full confidence. This is not a good machine to own when you only have
    13:55
    one machine. It's a great experiential pin when you've got a lineup of other machines. And so I think I am coming to the conclusion that I might have to get rid of GNR, but I will not replace Guns N' Roses unless it's a theme that I love as much as Guns N' Roses. So yeah, I don't love Godzilla more than Guns N' Roses. I don't love Deadpool or Tron more than Guns N' Roses. For me
    14:27
    to replace my Guns N' Roses. I would need a theme like Fifth Element. I would need a theme like Big Trouble in Little China. I would need a theme like Predator. You son of a bitch. I'm going to put Predator in there. I don't think Predator is going to be that good, but I've watched the Predator movies hundreds of times. But if I had to choose my dream theme, it would be Transformers G1, the movie, not the entire series of G1 Transformers. The movie with Unicron and Hot Rod and Rodimus
    15:04
    Prime and Ultra Magnus and Optimus Dies and Galvatron and the album from that movie, the soundtrack from Transformers G1 is the greatest movie soundtrack maybe of all time. So Transformers G1 would be at the top of my list.
    15:48
    Yeah! Number two would be Fifth Element. Hey! Ray! The gun! Give me the gun! The gun! The gun! I'm gonna go and try to see if I can see something a little closer. Number three would be Akira. Leave me alone! Akira!
    16:18
    And number four would be Rocky IV.
    16:48
    We're not indestructible Baby, man, get that straight I think it's unbelievable How you're giving to the hands of fate
    17:18
    That something's always fighting for Some feelings never got it I'm not asking for another chance I just wanna know why There's no easy way out There's no shortcut home There's no easy way out Give it in, can't be wrong
    17:49
    I mean it. Rocky freaking four. Not Rocky one through three, but Rocky four. I want to get in that Lamborghini and have no easy way out with the lights going crazy. I want a boxing ring where you get in there and you fight and you're Apollo and you die and then you fight Drago and you've got to get to Russia and you got to train. Hearts on fire. I want Rocky IV. Now, obviously, Back to the Future would be one that I would put here. I'm going down a list, but I'm just saying this is a dream theme spot in my house.
    18:25
    I plan to open up the garage to put another pinball machine in, and that's where I'm going to play the new stuff. You know, just bang on D&D for like a month, bang on Evil Dead. I plan to do that and give you my impressions of machines in my garage. But the machine that makes it up here needs to be a dream theme. And it needs to be worth the effort for Derek to come back. Not Derek who took his ball home and doesn't want to talk to me anymore. Derek's my guy that moves pins for me on the East Coast. He helped me get this machine up the stairs.
    18:57
    I do hope that I never ever have to put a Jersey Jack machine at the top of these stairs because they so damn heavy So that is where I at I waiting like the rest of you to see what happens with these games King Kong is not a dream theme for me Harry Potter is also not a dream theme. Pokemon is not a dream theme. I was born in 1976. I grew up with stuff in the 80s and 90s. Those are the things that I have the strongest affinity for. So more stuff like Die
    19:34
    Heart and Karate Kid, less stuff like Pokemon and Harry Potter. You know, I like stuff like John Wick, but it doesn't last the test of time like Predator does. I would also love Total Recall. You know what pin I think would be amazing? I think Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Running Man, out of all of his movies, The Running Man as a storyline would be the best for pinball. And you know how in that movie they shoot them out in those like steel sleds it's like they're getting fired into the
    20:05
    play field you know in a wire form sort of contraption that's how the movie puts the running man into the game it's perfect for pinball it's time to start running On your marks Get set Kill him I'll be back Only in a rerun
    20:39
    Go! I want more of that stuff. Stuff like Goonies and Gremlins. Yeah, I get excited about them. Like Beetlejuice, yeah, but they're not dream themes for me. I don't go back and watch the Goonies.
    21:11
    I haven't watched Beetlejuice over and over again. Back to the Future, yes. You know what movie I would love? Two movies that I would love. Dream themes. It would be up here. Pee-wee's Big Adventure and Edward Scissorhands. I know, I know. I know what you're saying, but trust me. Edward Scissorhands, A World Under Glass is perfect. The soundtrack, the game, all the moments in that movie. I've seen that movie like 100, 200 times. Same thing with Pee-wee's Big Adventure. You know, it's just stuff like that.
    21:43
    Maybe stuff like The A-Team. You know, there's a lot. There is a lot to choose from when you're thinking 80s, 90s nostalgia for somebody like me. Super Mario Brothers. Yeah, maybe. Right? Maybe, if done right. But again, that's where I'm at. In a week in which I'm waiting for all these new games to come out. I'm kind of getting over GNR. I think the game does stuff so well. I just think the design and the layout for this game isn't working for me. I think they overcomplicated the gameplay with all the patches and it's just not fun or rewarding.
    22:19
    There's too much in it. And it saddens me because what they got from Slash, if they had laid out GNR with a better layout and also allowed you to experience more of what's amazing in the game. See, sometimes less is more. If there was less stuff going on, less multi balls, less patches, less all of that crap, then you could focus more on the magical elements that are in the game.
    22:50
    I even think two less shots would have been better. I don't even think the upper right flipper and that orbit shot that's very clunky. I don't even think it's fun. So I would have rather had Eric remove that shot and just make the game a little bit more wide open, a little bit faster, a little bit more fun. I mean, look how good the upper right flipper shot is in Elton John. It is one of the most satisfying shots in all of pinball history. And then you look at the upper right flipper shot in GNR, and it's one of the worst and
    23:24
    clunkiest shots in pinball. It just it's crazy to me, right? Two flippers in almost the same exact position, and one delivers satisfaction, and one delivers frustration. That's what's interesting about pinball. That's why I love pinball. I can't wait to see what Elwin does with Kong, what Minyard does with Harry Potter, what Pinball Brothers do with Predator, what Barrels of Fun does with something like, I don't know, Dune or whatever. Everybody, it's about to get real. Thank you for being a club member.
    23:55
    Happy Friday. I think we got a few days and then we're going to get real news. It's coming soon. Hang in there, everybody. Hang in there, Canada. Have some whiskey. Drink some sake. Don't get rid of GNR just yet. I will say I was happy to see there are no GNR CEs for sale on Pinside right now. So I might have to put this thing up. You can have number 500 out of 500, even though they wrote it as 400, then crossed out the four and put a five. Really embarrassing, Jersey Jack. Canada out.
    24:26
    Just about to burst There's a quest for answers And a quench of a thirst In the darkest night Rising like a fire In the burning heart The unmistakable fire In the burning heart Just about to burst There's a quest for answers And a quench of a thirst In the darkest night Rising like a spider
    24:56
    In the burning heart The unmistakable fire In the burning heart © BF-WATCH TV 2021