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DPP #102 "Year in preview! Shark eats ball...and wallet"

Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)·podcast_episode·32m 20s·analyzed·Feb 15, 2024
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.039

TL;DR

Don previews 2024 pinball releases: TCM shipping, ABBA game rumored, Jaws LEs rolling out, TPF to feature new P3 module.

Summary

Don discusses upcoming pinball releases and industry developments for early 2024. Key topics include an impressive shark-eating-ball mod for Jaws Pro by Interactive Pinball ($475), Spooky Pinball's Texas Chainsaw Massacre shipping with strong production capacity, and previews of TPF (Texas Pinball Festival) in March featuring new games from Multimorphic (Princess Bride P3 module), Pinball Brothers (ABBA music game rumored), and established manufacturers. Don also covers his personal machine acquisitions (Labyrinth, upcoming Looney Tunes and TCM deliveries) and Patreon offerings.

Key Claims

  • Interactive Pinball's shark mod for Jaws Pro costs $475 and adds motorized shark head with subway mechanism, vertical up-kicker, and wire form integration

    high confidence · Don personally reviews the mod, citing NapArcade video and Trent Kennedy's YouTube walkthrough; describes detailed mechanical functionality

  • Spooky Pinball produces ~10 games per week or 40-50 per month at full capacity (observed during Scooby-Doo production)

    high confidence · Don states this based on Spooky's prior statements and observes initial surge of TCM shipments beginning with IO Arcade in Madison

  • Texas Chainsaw Massacre is Spooky's heaviest flow game to date, with shots and code still in development during Don's early playtest

    medium confidence · Don recounts early playtest experience where Bug coordinated real-time code updates during gameplay; describes TCM as heavier flow than Scooby-Doo

  • Jaws LEs are currently shipping; Flippin' Out Pinball has posted photos of Jaws LE inventory; Premiums expected next, then Pros for home market

    high confidence · Don notes Flippin' Out Pinball's storage area photos; projects timeline: LEs now, Premiums in March, home Pros later

  • Pinball Brothers are developing an ABBA music-themed pinball machine following Alien and Queen

    medium confidence · Don cites 'Paris Pinball Connection' sleuthing; notes rumor of music band theme, confirmed as ABBA but cautiously skeptical it may be codename

  • Multimorphic/third-party supplier is developing a Princess Bride P3 module, with teaser image released but minimal recent information

    medium confidence · Don references 'little teaser picture' and anticipation for TPF reveal in March; notes P3 platform recently updated with new mechanisms

  • Jersey Jack Pinball's Elton John (released October, six months ago) is selling better and receiving stronger reviews than prior JJP releases (Toy Story 4, Godfather)

    medium confidence · Don reports anecdotal interest reports and notes Denmark location performance; attributes success to Steve Ritchie design and fun factor despite 'B-level theme'

Notable Quotes

  • “Holy garbage. And then I went to the comments sections, and I've seen people that were a bit standoffish... But for the price, for the interactivity, and the fit and finish that this thing has... This doesn't look like something that's in the background... For the pro, right, you know, you go from having the rubber shark kool-aiding through the cage to an actual shark that moves, has motion, lights, and then can channel the ball somewhere else.”

    Don @ Early in episode — Describes enthusiastic reaction to Interactive Pinball shark mod despite initial community skepticism; emphasizes value proposition and production quality

  • “This is the heaviest flow game I've seen from Spooky... So I can't wait to see where this lands now and what other people think of this.”

    Don @ Mid-episode (TCM discussion) — Early positive assessment of Texas Chainsaw Massacre's playfield design and shot flow; signals potential community reception benchmark

  • “I think there's a 51%, 49% chance that Stern will have something new with the show. I think that would be awesome for them to do that.”

    Don @ Stern section — Speculates on TPF announcement likelihood; expresses hope for Stern surprise reveal amid LE backlash discussion

  • “And not only is it a music band, but it's featuring the smash 1970s hit band that everybody's been dying to play, ABBA... And I heard ABBA, and then that's the last thing that I have heard. So maybe ABBA was the code name. Please.”

    Don @ Pinball Brothers section — Rumor disclosure for Pinball Brothers' next game; expresses skepticism and hope for European acts instead; uncertain about codename possibility

  • “For the theme to be, definitely not mid, but not like stellar, and still be doing as well as it is and reviewed as well as it is, I think is great... I think it's a game that's going to kill on location.”

    Don @ Jersey Jack section — Assessment of Elton John's commercial and critical success despite moderate IP tier; notes location performance internationally

Entities

Interactive PinballcompanyTrent KennedypersonSpooky PinballcompanyTexas Chainsaw MassacregameLabyrinthgameDonpersonBarrels of Funcompany

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Don's Pinball Podcast operating Patreon with exclusive benefits (Discord, prize drawings, Translites); February 15 drawing for exclusive Translites; planning TPF booth presence with Balls of Steel Pinball

    high · Don details Patreon tiers ($5-$20), drawing mechanics, booth collaboration; positioning podcast as community event hub at TPF

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Interactive Pinball shark mod received mixed initial community reaction despite strong technical execution and price point ($475)

    medium · Don notes: 'I went to the comments sections, and I've seen people that were a bit standoffish, I'll say. The campus seemed to be split'

  • ?

    event_signal: Texas Pinball Festival (March 15-17, 2024) positioned as major spring showcase with multiple new game debuts and first public playtesting opportunities

    high · Don dedicates extended segment to TPF previews; confirms Princess Bride P3 module, likely Pinball Brothers announcement, Spooky titles, Don's co-hosted booth

  • ?

    leak_detection: Princess Bride P3 module existence confirmed via teaser image; minimal official details released but debut anticipated at TPF

    medium · Don references 'little teaser picture' and notes 'I haven't heard a whisper since then' but expects TPF reveal; notes new P3 hardware updates enabling better mechanics

  • $

    market_signal: Pinball Brothers discounting Queen and Alien ($500 off Queen noted); Don interprets as clearing inventory for next release announcement

    medium · Don observes: 'I kind of think so they've been doing this discount thing... They just knocked $500 off of Queen... kind of want to clear out their coffers there so they can make room for something new'

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.097

0:00
coming up on episode 102 of don's pinball podcast it's a year in preview we have a shark that finally eats a ball and we got a magic dancing baby song all that and more is coming up just after the drop get ready to get rekt son or at least have your eardrums massaged
0:30
There is no time for slowing down. We're here at 102. We're going to keep running. This has been an amazing week. I've gotten a lot of pinball deliveries, including one that I'm about to unbox tonight. Be sure to check that out if you have a time machine, because by the time you hear this, it's already probably live. But we got kicked off this week with me finally finishing up my week of work. We now have a shark that eats a ball, a mod from Interactive Pinball. I'm so excited. I really want to talk about that. Mr. Trent Kennedy from the wilds of Canada up there in the Rockies. This is the guy that brought us the Jerry ramp for Rick and Morty, right, that way to substitute that Jerry stand-up target for this cool tunnel passage that would still register and then fling up into the portal. Well, he's back. and I don't know how this man managed to do this because the shark eating the ball meme is only weeks old. However, there is now a fully functional and integrated interactive shark mechanism for the Jaws Pro pinball machine. So check this out. Naparca has got a link to it. He's got a YouTube video. Dude talks through the entire thing like it's not even a big deal. And it's like, bro, you've got a motorized shark to replace the, what somebody called it, the Kool-Aid shark from the Jaws Pro where it's busting through the shark cage. into a way that makes it interactive. So I'm still trying to wrap my head around exactly what's involved here. But what it appears to be is a shark head that functions as a scoop down to a subway. And it can turn its head back and forth a little bit and still registers the optos and still is interactive with the inserts on the play field. So the gameplay code seems to be intact. But what happens is you can actually shoot the ball into the shark's mouth. It drops into a subway, rolls back into a vertical up kicker, And then it looks like, and it wasn't shown in the video, but it looks like it has a way to kick the ball up into a ramp to land on that pre-existing wire form that threads the needle through the wave ramp and then comes back to the right flipper. Amazing. Completely altering the gameplay, turning what is a Newton ball into something interactive and fun. Not only that, it isn't just that the ball drops into a subway, goes into a VUX system, and then pops up. It looks like a ball gets staged back there on the VUX. So once it does go into the shark's mouth, it's immediately, like, fast-locked up out into the wire form. It's almost like Venom, man. So I saw this thing and was completely blown away. I thought somebody was going to make, you know, some 3D-printed shark tunnel that you can shoot up, and it would land up on the wire form or something. I wasn't expecting something to be, you know, interactive with the gameplay, have motion, add a subway to the game, and then a vertical up-kick or some wire form mechanics or something in the back. Like, this was blowing my mind that this guy has brought this to market for the sum of $475, sub-$500 for something that adds this much functionality to the game? Holy garbage. And then I went to the comments sections, and I've seen people that were a bit standoffish, I'll say. The campus seemed to be split, you know, and maybe that's because this thing was just revealed. But for the price, for the interactivity, and the fit and finish that this thing has, it replaces the whole insert in the play field. It looks like something that would have came from the factory even. This doesn't look like, you know, this isn't something that's in the background. The jerry ramp was largely invisible because it was underneath the plastic and everything. This thing is front and center. And for the pro, right, you know, you go from having the rubber shark kool-aiding through the cage to an actual shark that moves, has motion, lights, and then can channel the ball somewhere else. It disappears. It pops right back. What the heck is going on? Amazing, dude. So this was awesome. I can't wait to see, like, what he has coming and how this thing actually works. I don't know if it's up yet, but there's supposed to be a video kind of walking you through how you install this thing. So, you know, whether you get it, whether you don't, this is pretty imaginative and quick. Like, this is something I would have expected a year from now, maybe. Not like just weeks after the thing was released. I mean, I don't even think we've gotten Stern Pros into homes of home consumers yet. They just went through their location run. But, dang, man, just out the gate. Has it ready to go. It's amazing. Go check it out. Knap Arcade's got a link to it. Trent Kennedy's a guy. Interactive pinball. And I guess he's taking orders, or at least there's an order list sign up somewhere right now. And not only that, it sounds like he's working on something for the premium LEs as well. Now, this has the shark that comes up from under the play field, but so help me. If this guy is rigging away for the shark to come up from under the play field and then eat the ball, have it go into the scoop, chef's kiss all day, man. I am interested. You know, I may not. I don't know if I'm going to buy one yet. I need more information. Definitely need some more information. but I am definitely interested in this. This is nuts, man. To come out that quickly, man, kudos and bravo to you. You can air horn.

  • Stern plans three cornerstone releases in 2024: Jaws (early year), two more expected summer and fall

    medium confidence · Don speculates based on pattern observation; notes possibility of interim special editions or reruns (e.g., Black Knight Sword of Rage, makeshift-display games)

    • Bug
    person
    Pinball Brotherscompany
    ABBAgame
    Stern Pinballcompany
    Jawsgame
    Jersey Jack Pinballcompany
    Elton Johngame
    Multimorphiccompany
    Princess Bridegame
    Texas Pinball Festival (TPF)event
    Jeffperson
    Turner Pinballcompany
    Chicago Gaming Company (CGC)company
    Pulp Fictiongame
    IO Arcadevenue
    Balls of Steel Pinballorganization
    NapArcadeentity
    Paris Pinball Connectionentity
  • ?

    community_signal: Trent Kennedy (Interactive Pinball founder) rapidly brought shark mod to market weeks after Jaws Pro release; demonstrates aftermarket manufacturer agility vs traditional manufacturer timelines

    high · Don emphasizes speed: 'this is something I would have expected a year from now, maybe. Not like just weeks after the thing was released'; notes Jerry ramp predecessor also rapid

  • ?

    product_strategy: Interactive Pinball's shark mod for Jaws Pro adds motorized interactivity with subway and up-kicker mechanisms; transforms static KoolAid shark feature into functional shot alternative

    high · Don describes detailed mechanical integration: 'shark head that functions as a scoop down to a subway... vertical up kicker... stages ball back on VUX system... fast-locked up into wire form'

  • ?

    product_concern: Don notes Stern's lingering delays on aftermarket accessories (Venom toppers, food toppers, expression lights) despite providing them in LE editions; requests faster aftermarket rollout

    medium · Don states: 'We're still here waiting for Venom toppers. We're waiting for food toppers... Hopefully that happens'; criticizes timeline for expression light kit release

  • ?

    product_strategy: Stern planning three cornerstone releases in 2024 (Jaws early year, two more summer/fall); potential interim special editions or reissues; Stern reportedly reconsidering LE strategy after public backlash

    medium · Don speculates: 'Maybe they would do a Black Knight Sword of Rage run. Maybe they would reach back and we're actually going to see a run of one of those .makeshift-display games'; notes 51/49 chance of TPF announcement

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Pinball Brothers developing ABBA-themed music pinball machine as next release after Alien and Queen

    medium · Don cites 'Paris Pinball Connection' sleuthing; notes music band confirmed but expresses uncertainty whether ABBA is actual theme or codename; describes ABBA as unexpected choice vs hoped-for European acts

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Jersey Jack Pinball's Elton John achieving stronger sales and critical reception than prior flagship releases despite 'B-level theme' tier IP

    medium · Don reports: 'Elton John is selling quite well... more so than Toy Story 4, more so than Godfather... People seem to just really be loving this game... killing on location at $3 a play in Denmark'

  • ?

    technology_signal: Multimorphic P3 platform recently received hardware updates improving left upper flipper mechanism visibility and robustness; enabling new game module development

    medium · Don notes: 'P3 cabins just got updated with new mechanisms and things that are supposed to be a little bit more robust and at least visible when it comes to that left upper flipper'

    • 5:22
    All right. A ton more news has come up. I got a text late last night from my buddies there at Spooky Pinball. IO Arcade in Madison has got the first public location of TCM, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the new bombshell game from Spooky Pinball, 888 being produced. And being produced they are. Now, we saw some information last week, some photos from the factory that they had what looked like 25 of each game, like lined up, ready to go, just waiting for the final sculpts to come in from the factory. It looks like they've done been delivered from the back alley, and they are ready to go on machines, and machines are now heading out. So when Spooky was up and running at full tilt with Scooby-Doo, they were producing about 10 games a week, they would say, and about 40, maybe 50 a month, which is a pretty good clip. But so I think we'll probably see an initial surge. I think they've been building up some supply and they haven't been shipping. So they probably have 30 machines or so, I would imagine, probably ready to go. Guys, correct me if I'm wrong, but based on the pictures I saw a week ago, now that you've got the scopes, if they're going in there and the games are passing QC, I would imagine like a flurry of games to start heading out the door. So the first one is in location, IO Arcade. It's a nice barcade in Madison, Wisconsin, run by some cool people. Love to go down there. They have tournaments and things, and they also have a ton of great games on location. They already have a labyrinth there. This is where I first played Scooby-Doo. This is where I first played Godfather. So they get them right at the jump, and I think it's only going to increase from here. So I'm waiting to see what the first public reactions are of playing this new layout from Spooky. You know I love it. I was able to play both games graciously pretty early on, and codes were still being developed. It was actually the code was being updated as I was playing the game. It was funny. Bug was talking to the coders, and as things would come up, they were texting back and forth. And then we stopped playing TCM for a little bit so they could go put in a code update, and we're playing with brand-new code. It's mind-blowing. So I can't wait to see where this lands now and what other people think of this. For sure, the code was still early, but the shots, man, the shots felt good. The flow was real. This is the heaviest flow game I've seen from Spooky. so yeah I want to see if I was just a fluke or if everybody else was feeling it too so that's what we're going to see soon so TCM is out there it's on location and I think we're only going to see more from here as they go into boxes now I'm in order I'm getting a Looney Tunes I'm getting a TCM I can't wait to get them there will be a double unboxing I hope once they're ready we'll find out soon but if they are producing them at that clip then I'm reasonably hoping for some time in the next three to five weeks uh that be a new pinball day here at the uh the the compound So very excited for that Go check it out if you in Madison or Madison adjacent What else have we got going on this week Well, tonight, dear friends, there will be another live stream from District Dawn Arcade here because I have brought Labyrinth home.
    8:21
    You remind me it's a babe. I'm a babe. A babe with power. What power? Power of voodoo. Do you? You do. They're what? Remind me it's a babe. I can't wait to dive headfirst in the pit of undeterminable stench.
    8:35
    The infinite sadness. What's it called? The bog of eternal stench. And then when you mess up that mode, which I'm certainly certain that I'll be doing, your score will then change to this, like, stinky green color, which will persist throughout eternity. So if you get your name up on the leaderboard, your score on leaderboard will also be showing stink lines from it. Amazing. So I've got the box set up now. I've got the cameras ready to go. 8 p.m. Central Standard Time is when we are going live. Please, everybody, join. Now, I'm speaking through the ether of time here because of the time of this recording. It hasn't happened yet. By the time of its upload, I'm probably live right now. So go check out the replay, though. It'll be multiple cameras on YouTube if you want that version with the high-quality audio, or the Facebook feed will be up there, too. So join if you can, or if you did, thank you so much for joining. I can't wait to tear into that box. I've got the topper. I've got the whole thing. I went and picked it up from the terminal today. I was talking to Mr. Brian Savage from Barrels of Fun when I got my invoice, and it came already prepackaged as an invoice ready that included the delivery fee for home delivery, right to my curb step. So I reached out to him, and he was able to finagle a pickup at a terminal. So they hit the terminal at 3 o'clock this morning. I picked it up at 2 p.m. in the afternoon, and now I have it home. If I was waiting for home delivery, oftentimes there's a several-day delay. We wait for a lift truck and a crew to come out. So I'm glad I was able to get it quicker and a little bit cheaper, man. So thank you, Brian, for setting that up for me. And, you know, I think at this point it's fairly safe to say that for Spooky Pinball, for Barrels of Fun, and for Boys at Stern, probably it's all right to just go ahead and just subscribe to the next games that are coming out because they seem to come out with a good clip, and these guys are bringing the bomb themes, which is kind of like where we are in the Pinball Zeitgeist right now. What else happened this week? I'm back to streaming. Streamed Elvira Blood Red Kiss last night. Thanks for everybody that joined. just a spontaneous live stream that I did. It wasn't advertised, but we still got about five or six people in there. Once Spooky Luke even dropped by a little bit. He had to go get dinner, so thanks for stopping by. I managed to get to the Gap of Angry mode twice, so that was fantastic. I'm going to do some more regular live streaming because it is fun to do that interaction. I'll try to get people a heads up before I go so we get more people in there. Also, with my labyrinth here, I was able to get in on the accessories as well. Thank you to Jeff at Mad Pinball. We were able to hook that up. And at the time that my game was being boxed up, I think the accessories went in there as well. So we'll get the little ripper shooter rod, the extra back glass, the alternate back glass with that gold chrome color. Man, I can't wait for it. Email Jeff at Mad Pinball. He is a barrels of fun distributor now. Spooky Pinball distributor. Jersey Jack. Everybody. If you need a game, let him know. He's got inventory in stock that's moving. He gets used games in. He trades. He does it all. And he's not the worst looking guy I've ever seen. I'm just going to put that out there. So email Jeff at Mad Pinballs. Tell him I said what up. Or just harass him. You know, that's fine too. What else do we have? Oh, would you like to win yourself a Translight courtesy of Don's Pinball Podcast? Well, you can. There's a drawing tomorrow, February 15th. We will do it in the afternoon. This is exclusive for Patreon members. So join anywhere as low as the $5 group up to the $20 producer level and get into that secret Discord and make decisions. that can help shape the future of the podcast show and the empire that we are building. But everybody that's on Patreon gets an entry. We did a great drawing two months ago for that Godzilla banner. This month, I've got a stack of Translites. I'm going to pick a winner, and you get to decide which one you want. Options include Jaws Premium. We got Magic Girls in there. I got Elvira 40th Anniversary. I got a bunch of stuff, man. You're going to like this stuff. I got a Black and White Munsters. All kinds of cool stuff available. Patreon members getting that. It's happening tomorrow. And I already had somebody that just signed up for the $5 Patreon level. And you, sir, are now in the drawing for tomorrow. So way to go. Think of it as just buying a $5 raffle ticket. But you're supporting the show. Really appreciate everybody. It's not necessary. The show is free. I'm not diving behind a paywall. But there is some extra content on the Patreon if you're interested.
    12:41
    So something I thought that would be fun is to do a year in preview. what this is is instead of looking backwards at the last 12 months and what happened how we got here let's use our brains and our thinking caps let's tighten the screws and kind of speculate on how the year is going to develop what are we going to see certainly the things in the near term seem to be more shored up and the future is unwritten as who is that wasn't Beyonce the future is unwritten I have to think of what female pop star did that was it Like, was it a vitamin C chick? Was it Avril Lavigne? Who did that? Someone email me. All right. So we are in February right now, 2024, year of our Lord. And Jaws LEs right now are shipping. In fact, Flippin' Out Pinball has posted a photo of their new storage area with a bunch of Jaws LEs already in it. So that means that Jaws LEs have been produced, put into boxes, shipped, and have arrived in far-flung regions such as southern Indiana. So they've got to be out everywhere now. Stern just distributing LEs like the coronavirus at this point. Well, maybe Influenza A. It's a little bit more prevalent in the community. Nevertheless, we're going to see some Jaws LE unboxings. I can't wait to see that. I want to know more about the expression lighting kit that they've put into the back box speaker lights. I'm glad Stern is doing that. I would like to see them roll that out to the premium as well just to offer a little bit more content. Nevertheless, I would like to see them offer this as an aftermarket addition. and not only that, but offer it sometime in less than a year. We're still here waiting for Venom toppers. We're waiting for food toppers. So are we going to get those expression lights? Probably. When? Who the heck knows. But hopefully that happens. So that's happening right now. Premiums will be run next, and then I think that will take us into March with more premiums being run of the Jaws game, and then I think the rest of the pros for the home people will be then released. So that's from Stern. What else do we have? Labyrinth is shipping. I know because I went and picked it up today. So Labyrinth is coming out. Looney Tunes and Texas Chainsaw Massacre are, if not already, are about to leave the factory. So you early adopters, you are in on those. Everybody else, go and play one and then go pick one up. Pick one up at a show. Pick one up direct. Order one from Jeff. Order one from your mama if she's a distributor. I don't want to discriminate or anything. But those are shipping. And then right now, if you're on the fence on getting a Queen pinball machine from the Pinball Brothers, you can save yourself $500 right now, apparently. Just saw that on Nap Arcade. So grab your Santa Cruz skateboard and go get yourself a Queen, if you want that kind of throwback 90s-style type game. When will we see something new from the Pinball Brothers? Well, let's take ourselves into March. So next month, just a few blissful short weeks away, March 15th to the 17th, we have TPF. T.P.F., the Texas Pinball Festival, the seminal events of the pinball year for many people, but definitely of the spring. So last March was like March Madness with pinball. We had like 17 different games that all released at the same time, and they were all playable at T.P.F. That was awesome. I don't know, for sure we're not going to recaptulate that. The planets were aligned so well last month that everything just stacked and stacked and stacked. What we will see is definitely at least one new game from the P3 metamorphic folks or their third supplier Whoever this new mystery pinball company is that produced what is likely to be a P3 module of the Princess Bride I am extremely exuberant about this. I want to play it. I want to see what they've got going on. I don't have myself one of these P3 machines, so I'm not, like, eager to jump on the bit and be an early adopter, but maybe this will change my mind. Please, I want my mind changed. I know the P3 cabins just got updated with new mechanisms and things. that are supposed to be a little bit more robust and at least visible when it comes to that left upper flipper. So let's see what they have to bring. We saw that little teaser picture, but I haven't heard a whisper since then. But in a couple weeks, we will know. What else do I have on my list? What's going to come up from Stern? It's a bit early for another Stern cornerstone. We're going to get three of them this year. The first one being Jaws that came out at the crack of the new year, the one-year anniversary of the last Keep That One Machine, the Bond 60th Anniversary Edition. We got ourselves three trim levels of Jaws with some expression lights in the LE level. So what's going to come next? Well, two more games are going to come this year as far as cornerstone, big triple trim level themes.
    17:16
    I don't know exactly what day, but if I was to postulate, I would put them out in the summer and then in the fall. So I don't think Stern in March is going to have a brand new cornerstone game for us for sure, for sure. But what I think they may have is another kind of one-off or a rerun or some anniversary edition. We know that they're not doing the LEs anymore if they've already been released. But what about, like, if they reran Munster's Premium Black and White with the Grandpa Basement? They did a run of 500 of them, and they didn't call it Limited, but they called it, like, the special Munster's Green Kiss Edition Premium. I could see something like that happen. Maybe they would do a Black Knight Sword of Rage run. Maybe they would reach back and we're actually going to see a run of one of those .makeshift-display games that they've been a little bit coy about, saying that they had no plans to release them just yet, but it was something that they were thinking about. Well, maybe they've been thinking about it for a couple years already, and it's already ready to come out. Maybe on a Spike 3 platform system. Who knows? But is Stern just going to show up with their Jaws again, or are they going to have something new? It's going to be March. The next Cornerstone release will be a few months away. So there may be a nice little hole in the schedule for something cool to come from Stern. Now, let's face it. They probably had plans to do LE releases, you know, three to four times a year. And then, you know, they saw the public backlash. So they said, okay, we're not going to do LEs anymore. But maybe they still make them, but they just call them a premium. And they don't put a limited number on it, but they only make 500, and that's all they're ever going to make. They still could do that. And in which case, they may have everything already in the pipeline. They kind of work that far in the future. So let's see. I think there's a 51%, 49% chance that Stern will have something new with the show. I think that would be awesome for them to do that. So that's probably what we'll see from them. What are we going to see from Pinball Brothers? We do know, thanks to the sleuthing from our friends at the Paris Pinball Connection, they already came out and said that Pinball Brothers have another game to follow up Alien, to follow up Queen, and it is a music pin. And not only is it a music band, but it's featuring the smash 1970s hit band that everybody's been dying to play, ABBA. A-B-B-A. These maniacs from Sweden that had all these earworms, like Dancing Queen and all that.
    19:33
    And my mind is blanking on the rest of that little disco inferno stuff. But the rumor was that they were doing a music band, which had me perked because I'm like, perfect, let it be a European band, please. Let me get some Scorpions. Let me get some Ghosts. Let me get some Rammstein. Let me get something, you know. And then I heard ABBA, and then that's the last thing I have heard. So maybe ABBA was the code name.
    19:54
    Please. But let's see what they have to bring. Will it be an old-school throwback machine? Will it be like Stern's Beatles but with ABBA? I know on the virtual machine, like the first machine that shows up, if you go alphabetical, is an ABBA re-theme of, I think, Sea Witch. And, oh, my God, I can't skip that fast enough because it goes right into Dancing Queen like every single time. when it comes to disco i would be totally down with some bgs i unironically enjoy them just because of how how absurd it is especially with the lens coming from the 21st century looking back at what was going on the 70s all of the drugs apparently is what was going on so bgs yes abba i'm gonna reserve judgment i'm gonna wait and see what happens with that will they have a new game i i kind of think so they've been doing this discount thing with kind of like a budget Alien version. They just knocked $500 off of Queen. I'm thinking they kind of want to clear out their coffers there so they can make room for something new. I don't think they can go through just keep bumping Aliens and Queen for too much longer. I think the market's kind of saturated with where it's at. I haven't even looked at what Queen prices are going for now. If you want a Queen, I think you can get them. If you want an Alien, I think you can get them. So let's get something new going. I want to see Pinball Brothers just kind of springboard ahead with like a Dynamite release. So maybe, maybe, maybe TPF we might see something. There wouldn't be a bad time to reveal, you know, if they're going to be here. Otherwise, are they still going to drag out the same queen and alien? I don't know. Have to wait and see there. What else do we got? Turner Pinball. Chris Turner, friend of the show, member of the Patreon. Thank you so much for your contribution. And I can't wait to hear more from you. I can't wait to play Ninja Eclipse again at TPF. I've already started thinking and postulating, wouldn't it be fun if we did a little event with Ninja Eclipse, you know, where, say, you can play Dawn, and if you beat me, you win yourself a T-shirt or a Translight or a side hug or whatever you want or a concession from the concession bar or something. I haven't worked out the details of how this would work, but I think it would be a fun way to showcase how fun it is to shoot Ninja Eclipse, and it would allow me to play it more without having to stand in line because I could just have a lot of people coming through. Maybe we'll do it for an hour or something. I'll set it up with Turner. I want to see if he's got the arcade edition of Ninja Eclipse, something that looks like the rest of the games in my lineup. Because, you know, at the price point he's looking at, he's going right up against Stern premium prices. So bring it. You know, I don't want, like, half off cabinet. I want the full thing, sir. But I do like the other innovations and things that he has. So I would like to see his boutique company stick around, because I want to see more of his ideas implement and permeate the diaspora, as it were. So we'll see Turner Pinball there.
    22:33
    What else are we going to got? Don's Pinball Podcast is going to have a shared booth with Balls of Steel Pinball, the pinball league of note, of record from the great Peach State of Georgia. We will be co-sharing a booth, and I haven't even begun to get that fully fleshed out yet. But it's going to be a place where we can do meet and greets. It's a place where we can do the giveaways. We can handshake, slap babies, whatever you want to do. It's also a place I can store my purse and come and chillax. And I don't know. Maybe we can see if we can finagle a game or something for the booth. Either way, it'll be a fun place to hang out, semi-formal. You know, I know, it's going to be totally informal. But I can't wait. We're going to be on the show floor, so come by and say what up. Sign the guest book. Take yourself a sticker. I'll have stuff on the table for free, and I'll probably bring some of the mods that I have. Maybe we'll do a product toss, like it's a 1990s skateboarding demo or something. We'll see. We'll see what happens, but that will be happening definitely in March. March is power-packed. Who else do we got? Barrels of Fun, I'm sure, will be there with a ton of labyrinths. So if you need to get yourself one, you haven't ordered yet, and you want to go grab one from the show floor, I would contact those guys now or their distributors and see if you can finagle yourself into one. If you did order one, pick yourself up some accessories. If you haven't bought the game, if you're not going to buy the game, buy the topper. The topper looks amazing. I wish it was like a mode where you could just turn the topper on by itself and just have it talk to you. But that's amazing. Be able to add that functionality. CGC, I'm sure they're going to drag around the same nine Pulp Fictions they have been doing. I still want to get one. I'm glad that they're finally shipping. I saw somebody today, a distributor, I think it was Great American Pinball, that posted one of these boxes of that SE version was in their truck So that cool That cool that they coming out Thank you so much You know we been waiting so long We been waiting so long But they going to be out soon And once we get them we going to forget how long we waited for it I think And it's going to be quality built. And so I'm glad that's finally happening at some point. So I don't know that we're going to see any new games from them for sure, though. I think we're going to see Pulp Fiction probably for the next three or four years. And, you know, okay, fine. We'll be getting them. JJP, I think it's a little bit early for their new game. Now, their last one released, Elton John, in October at the Chicago Expo, Pinball Expo. And here we are, October, November, December, January, February, March. That's six, five, six months. They seem to be more on like an 11-month cycle, I think. You know, they want to have two games within a calendar year, and coming in 10 to 11 months between the releases will allow them to accomplish that goal. What I will say is it seems like Elton John is selling quite well. There's a lot of interest for this game, more so than Toy Story 4, more so than Godfather. People seem to just really be loving this game. Build quality seems to be pretty equal among all of them, but it seems like the fun factor is really there with this Steve Ritchie machine. And the theme, I think it's like a B-level theme. This isn't like a Cadillac AAA title that we've been asking for. This isn't Back to the Future. This isn't Ghostbusters. This isn't Gremlins. So for the theme to be, definitely not mid, but not like stellar, and still be doing as well as it is and reviewed as well as it is, I think is great. I love this game. I love the radcals on the side. I love the art of both versions. I love the toppers. This game is fun to shoot. I love how sparkly the collector's edition version is. It's just a little bit on the higher end for me for price-wise, so that's why I haven't jumped on it, but it is super fun to play. I want to see it more on locations. I'm getting word, even as far as Denmark, that it is killing on location at $3 a play in the lovely nation of Denmark. It's killing. So I think like Toy Story 4, this is probably also a game that's going to kill on location. And at the prices, it kind of needs to. But yeah, I think it's doing well. I don't think we're going to see something new from J.J.P. just yet. I think it's going to be later in the year. Who else? We've got Spooky Pinball will be there with a grip of their new games. And this is probably a lot of people's first opportunity to spend some time playing some Looney Tunes, playing some TCM, and kind of seeing firsthand how the shots are great in each version of it. but the code and the art and the feel and the vibe of these games are so different. It'll be fun to palate cleanse and just go back and forth. Kind of like when you were a kid and you used to hang on the hot tub and then go jump in the hotel pool and then jump back in the hot tub and feel your pores just screaming as they're expanding and contracting like a neutron star, right? That's how this is going to feel. I get to replicate that here in the basement soon, I think. Hopefully in the next month and a half or so. I can't wait for that. Our friends from Suka will be there. Anybody else, we'll see what other surprises come. March is going to be a huge month once again for pinball, and I love it. What's going on in April? Nothing much that I can forecast. We'll be coming right off of the big month of March with Texas Pinball Festival. I think we'll see more and more games delivered. I think this is going to be a busy month for the delivery vehicles, for the lift gates, and for the cardboard box recyclers. Because all of these games we've been ordering over the last six months, they're finally maturing like ripe fruit falling off the tree. And I think that's going to be happening in April. The weather's going to be getting better. We do have the Midwest Gaming Classic going on in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. That'll be happening from the 5th to the 7th this year, so it's not piggybacking directly on TPF like it did last year. So I'm sure I'll be able to make an appearance there. I can't wait. It's a fun show because pinball is only part of it. Last year, Tesla was there. Also, console gamings, homebrew arcade people, tribute bands, tabletop gaming. It encompasses all of gaming. So it's fun to go to, not just for the pinball, but for everything else that's there, some of the used things that are available. So we have a good time at the MGC. I don't know that we'll see any big game releases or anything, but definitely our folks from Spooky will be there. All the locals will be there. If you want to get yourself a game, it's not a bad idea to contact a distributor a little bit early so you can line up to take one from the show floor. That's how I got myself a Halloween, right off the show floor, right out of the box, 400 plays, and I saved myself some money too. so that was fun so MGC is happening in April, May so May is going to be interesting May is when we're going to be in the summertime, the weather will be feeling fine, we'll be hitting the beach and that's when we start, we'll probably start to get some more solid information on what the next Big Daddy release from Stern is I'm thinking and I've heard just every kind of rumor title, I've rattled them off before I have no insight on which one is actually next, I don't know if it's Raiders of the Lost Ark I don't know if it's Pokemon, I don't know if it's Dungeons & Dragons, I don't know if it's another 70s band. Who knows? And I can't wait to be surprised. Nobody's leaked any information to me yet of any note. But May is when we're probably going to start hearing consistent rumors start building. I think May into June is probably when we could expect maybe a summer release, somewhere in that time frame there. So we're looking forward to that. It's going to be fun. Pinball June. Going into July, we're going to have the Southern Fright Gaming Expo on the 19th through the 21st. This might be when we first start to hear about what's next from JJP. We will know by here what the next Stern Cornerstone is. Spooky will be delivering machines. Maybe they'll be done with the Scooby-Doo build by then. And then we'll probably know a lot about what we're speculating now at the beginning of the year, what's Pinball Brothers doing next, et cetera, et cetera. Hopefully I'll have a Pulp Fiction by then. I think that would be fun. But I'm hoping to jump down to Georgia. Don went down to Georgia. He was looking for a game to play. He was in a bind. He was way behind. He wanted to go to Don's Oasis Arcade, but I think I'm banned from there. August and September, we'll have the next Stern. That's probably when we'll have the next JJP announcement. Leading up into October with Expo, which is going to be like seven months long, apparently. No, Expo is going like six days long. And it seems like they're talking about every pinball manufacturer is going to be offering a tour of some kind. If you buy yourself a weekend ticket, it includes one tour. If you want to do the other ones, you've got to add them on. I did Stern last year. I think it's not Can't Miss. I'd love to do a Jersey Jack tour at least. And if CGC will let us in the building, I'd love to go there too. So I'm looking forward to those. November will bring us to the IAAPA Expo again. I'm going to be there. That's not a really big pinball event per se, but it's like going to a theme park of expos, of expo proportions.
    30:50
    All right, so that's November. Now we're really speculating out here for December. What are we going to see? Probably another follow-up game from Spooky Pinball. They seem to like that December pocket for January production. I know they kind of were a little bit early this year, revealing TCM and Looney Tunes kind of in that November time frame. So we'll look forward to that. That's kind of how I speculate the year of 2024 is going to go. I'm sure there'll be a lot of other fun stuff that comes out. November will probably be when we get another, that third final Stern Cornerstone. Who knows what it is? I have no idea. Can't wait to see what it is. I'm going to have a Jaws Premium powder coated and modded out. maybe with a shark-eating ball for sale right around that time too. So if you're interested, I already have some people on the list. Otherwise, for me, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. Every couple days, I'm going to jump on here with some more information, speculation. Let's talk about the news and the reviews. Let's drop those live streams. Let's drop that YouTube content. Let's unbox some machines. Let's build them up, make them look awesome, and get them to some new homes so we can keep this cycle going. Anything else? I think that's about it for today. email your homeboy don's football podcast gmail.com let me know what's going on reach out instant message me jump on the patreon we got a giveaway tomorrow february 15th pick a translate i'll pick a name you pick the translate and you can pick your nose waiting for the postman to deliver it because it's gonna come i love everybody jump on the youtube channel jump on the facebook make sure you like and subscribe love it when people interact and hang out we're just having fun in pinball