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SPECIAL - Transformers 'More Than Meets the Eye' Pinball First Impressions

Flip n Out Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·35m 0s·analyzed·May 20, 2026
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.030

TL;DR

Stern's G1 Transformers pinball features massive mechs, Elizabeth Gieske code, 3-tier pricing, IC integration, and 750-unit LE.

Summary

Ken Cromwell and Greg Bone from Flip N Out Pinball Podcast provide comprehensive first impressions of Stern Pinball's newly revealed Transformers 'More Than Meets the Eye' pinball machine, designed by Elliott Eisman with code by Elizabeth Gieske. The game features massive G1-animated-series-accurate sculpts (Megatron with functioning cannon, Shockwave with cassette ball launcher, static Grimlock and Optimus Prime), three-flipper playfield with drop targets, Insider Connect integration, training mode, original voice work from Peter Cullen and Frank Welker, and launches at code 0.85. Pricing is $6,999 (Pro), $9,699 (Premium), and $12,999 (LE, limited to 750 units), with no price increases across tiers.

Key Claims

  • Transformers is designed by Elliott Eisman, whose previous work was John Wick

    high confidence · Ken Cromwell, podcast host, stated directly

  • Code rules by Elizabeth Gieske, who worked on Jaws; her code is expected to be a standout aspect of Transformers

    high confidence · Ken and Greg discuss Elizabeth's prior work and its impact on game quality

  • Game launches at code version 0.85, more mature than typical Stern launches

    high confidence · Greg Bone, co-host, explicitly states this during discussion of code maturity

  • Limited Edition production is capped at 750 units

    high confidence · Ken Cromwell states this directly when discussing LE features

  • Megatron does not transform; Optimus Prime remains static and does not transform

    high confidence · Ken and Greg discuss design decisions around which toys are interactive vs static

  • Pricing has no cost adjustments between Pro, Premium, and LE tiers (no price increases)

    high confidence · Ken explicitly states: 'there are no cost adjustments, meaning there are no price increases'

  • Peter Cullen (original Optimus Prime voice) and Frank Welker (Megatron/Soundwave voice) recorded new, original callouts for the game

    high confidence · Ken Cromwell discusses voice talent and callout recording

  • The game includes a training mode to teach new players how to play pinball

    high confidence · Greg mentions Elizabeth implemented a training mode; Ken endorses it enthusiastically

  • Artwork credited to 'Stern Team' at distributor meeting; based on 1984 G1 animated series

    high confidence · Ken states: 'we were told that this should be credited as a Stern Team art package'

  • Major Pro-tier difference: Megatron cannon is non-functional (static), Soundwave is flat plastic, Grimlock is flat plastic

Notable Quotes

  • “I am really appreciative of that, and I would encourage every pinball company to consider doing that moving forward”

    Ken Cromwell @ approx. 50:00 — Endorsement of training mode feature; speaks to accessibility and industry best practices

  • “this is one of the first times that I am happy with artwork across all three packages. I don't think one in particular stands out above the other.”

    Ken Cromwell @ approx. 5:00 — Rare positive comment on artwork parity across tiers

  • “If you're a Transformers fan and you're G1, I can't figure out any reason why you're not all in on this game, because it hits on every single level that you could possibly want with that nostalgia factor.”

    Ken Cromwell @ approx. 35:00 — Strong endorsement of game's appeal to target demographic

  • “You get some chills in there, man, when when it's like, again, and not to sound corny about it”

    Ken Cromwell @ approx. 32:00 — Emotional response to voice talent and nostalgia elements

  • “I would rather have all these other things and Optimus stay static than have him transform in one or two motions repetitively over time”

    Ken Cromwell @ approx. 18:00 — Design philosophy justification for static Optimus Prime

  • “the three drops block the ramp entrance but you don't have to drop all three to squeeze the ball in there”

    Greg Bone @ approx. 27:00 — Playfield design detail showing shot flexibility

  • “0.85 is not a rush. Like, she'll put its work into that code.”

    Greg Bone @ approx. 48:00 — Credibility assessment of Elizabeth Gieske's code maturity at launch

  • “Megatron, you can't not see him. And I think this is so cool, too.”

    Ken Cromwell @ approx. 10:00 — Comment on visual impact of Megatron sculpt in location/arcade setting

Entities

Ken CromwellpersonGreg BonepersonElliott EismanpersonElizabeth GieskepersonPeter CullenpersonFrank WelkerpersonStern PinballcompanyTransformers 'More Than Meets the Eye'gameFlip N Out Pinball Podcastorganization

Signals

  • ?

    announcement: Stern Pinball officially reveals Transformers 'More Than Meets the Eye' pinball machine; game available for order at FlippinOutPinball.com and from distributors

    high · Ken and Greg conducted hands-on evaluation at distributor meeting day prior; game details, pricing, and production specs provided for all three tiers

  • ?

    design_innovation: Megatron cannon and Shockwave cassette launcher feature ball interaction mechanics; design choice prioritizes interactive mechs over non-interactive transformations

    high · Ken: 'Fire that thing. Yeah, and it made it look like it's not just during a multiball. Did you get that? It'll launch balls.' Hosts debate trade-offs between transformation animations and interactive ball mechanics

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Deliberate design decision to keep Optimus Prime and Grimlock static rather than animate them; philosophy favors interactive ball-play over cosmetic mech animations

    high · Ken: 'I would rather have all these other things and Optimus stay static than have him transform in one or two motions repetitively over time.' Hosts reference AT-AT on Fall of the Empire as example of underwhelming non-interactive animation

  • ?

    product_strategy: No price increases across Pro/Premium/LE tiers; pricing holds constant within tier structure ($6,999/$9,699/$12,999)

    high · Ken: 'there are no cost adjustments, meaning there are no price increases from either of these models'

  • ?

    product_strategy: LE production capped at 750 units; early inventory signals suggest rapid sellout likely

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.105

0:00
Hey, what's going on Pinball Land? Welcome to a special edition of Flippin' Out Pinball Podcast. I'm your host, Ken Cromwell. With me today, Greg Bone. Greg, we've got Transformers More Than Meets the Eye, Reveal Day by Stern Pinball. How are you, buddy? What are your thoughts on Transformers?
0:30
More than meets you. I'm doing well, Ken. Thank you for asking. That's some good voiceover work. This is a game that's going to, I think, and we're going to get into the game. Why don't we do this? Why don't we, we'll give some of the highlights of the game or some of the features of the game. This is an Elliot Eisman design. His previous work was John Wick, right? So he's a designer. See, I love Wick. I'm going to start with controversy right now. I love Wick. So like, I'm already a fan of Eisman. Yes. Okay. So you're a fan of Eisman. In fairness, I don't have a lot of time on Wick. I couldn't give a fair judgment either way. On code or on rules this time, we have Elizabeth Gieske. Elizabeth is fantastic. You're an Elizabeth fan too, coming over from her work on Jaws, correct? Yes, exactly. And that's what, you know, I was listening to Zach over there at the Pinball Show, and he was touting that that is probably like, you know, that the game looks good. It looks like it shoots great, but that her code is probably going to be what the standout is on this game. And I have to agree because I love Elwin. I just don't think Jaws was his best layout. Like, it was fine, but I don't think it was anything crazy or magnificent like Kong is. But I think that kind of what the main thing with Jaws and a lot of the popularity with Jaws is Elizabeth's code. And Elizabeth's got some cool twists and turns with code on this game that we're going to talk about here shortly. As far as artwork goes, you've got three versions of the game. You've got the limited edition, the premium edition, and the pro edition. And there are no cost adjustments, meaning there are no price increases from either of these models. So $12,999 on the LE, $9699 on the premium, $6999 on the pro. And if you want to order the game now, it's out. You can go to flippingoutpinball.com and place an order today. You can also email Greg or myself. I'm Ken at FlippinOutPinball.com. He's Greg at FlippinOutPinball.com. When we look at the artwork on all three packages, there's not a specific artist that's credited on any of the packages. When this was discussed at the distributor meeting that we attended yesterday, we were told that this should be credited as a Stern Team art package. It's going to be exactly what you would expect on the 1984 animated series Transformers More Than Eats. It's the exact same thing. It's rezzed up and it's vibrant and it's colorful. Really well done. It is. And, you know, this is one of the first times, and again, it's one of those things that's very subjective to opinion, but this is one of the first times that I am happy with artwork across all three packages. I don't think one in particular stands out above the other. They're all three, in my opinion, pretty equal. You know, it just it kind of comes down to color and vibrancy that that premium tends to have a little bit more purple to to the majority of artwork. But I think that that they're all very much on par artwork wise. Like, I think they nailed it. I like it a lot. And if you're listening to the podcast, you can go to flipping off pinball dot com and you can kind of click into the gallery. You can see the different pictures of the different cabinets. The LE has the split cabinet feature with one half of the cabinet on the left side being the Autobots. The right side is Decepticon themed. You have that artwork split so much down the middle that even the lockdown bar left is represented with red with a fine line in the middle. And you've got the purple on the right for Decepticons. Are you a fan of that split art style? I think it's I think it's OK. I think it's fun. I know that that's something that's very subjective as well. I think that and I guess that this would have been more of a maybe a marketing nightmare and it would have been difficult to maybe sell one or the other. But I kind of like just doing a purple or red powder coat so you can pick Decepticon or, you know what I'm saying? Like you can choose one or the other. It's not split. I think that that's kind of, I don't know. I like that a little better. But again, you know, it gets down to low numbers and you've got a bunch of Autobots or a bunch of Decepticons. That's what I'm thinking. And people don't want to.

high confidence · Ken provides detailed breakdown of tier differences at end of discussion

Transformers G1 animated seriesproduct
Hasbrocompany
Stan Bushperson
Insider Connectproduct
Megatronproduct
Shockwaveproduct
Grimlockproduct
Optimus Primeproduct
Zach Sharpeperson

high · Ken: 'There's a chance LEs are not available by the time you listen to this... we have an idea of how these games perform... I don't know that there will be games available'

  • ?

    code_update: Transformers launches at code 0.85, significantly more mature than recent Stern releases; Elizabeth Gieske prioritized robust launch code

    high · Greg: 'this game is starting off a little different than what we've seen over the last few titles from Stern... unveiling at code 0.85... they just put the nose to the stone and freaking grinded to get this code going'

  • ?

    design_innovation: Elizabeth Gieske implemented training mode to teach new players rule mechanics and shot sequences; aims to lower entry barrier for casual players

    high · Ken: 'she's implementing a training mode where you're going to be able to step up and you can log in if you want to... For somebody that's new to pinball, I mean... I am really appreciative of that'

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Stern secured original voice work from Peter Cullen and Frank Welker; both original G1 voice actors recorded new callouts (not just archive audio)

    high · Ken: 'Peter Cullen, who was the voice of Optimus Prime... Getting full fledged call outs from Peter Cullen, not just from the animated series, But brand new call outs from Peter Collin. And then you know who Frank Welker is? ... And he's doing original call outs for the game, too'

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Stan Bush's 'The Touch' from 1986 Transformers film licensed for special mode; 40-year anniversary tie-in

    high · Ken: 'It's the 40-year anniversary of the 1986 film. So that Stan Bush song is in there, and it unlocks during a special mode in the game'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Early first-hand impressions from credible distributors/retailers highly positive; no major design or quality concerns flagged

    high · Ken and Greg consistently praise playfield layout, sculpts, code maturity, voice work, and overall experience; Greg: 'This is some of the best that they've done ever'

  • $

    market_signal: Clear differentiation between Pro (flat sculpts, static Megatron), Premium/LE (3D sculpts, interactive mechs); Pro tier positioned for locations, Premium/LE for collectors and enthusiasts

    high · Ken detailed breakdown of tier differences: Pro has static Megatron, flat Soundwave, flat Grimlock; Premium/LE have 3D interactive versions

  • ?

    technology_signal: Transformers integrates Insider Connect platform for Cyber Coins and challenge mode unlocks; digital engagement layer deepens home/location play

    high · Ken: 'With Insider Connected, these Cyber Coins, I guess they unlock different challenge modes. So if you're logged in the IC and you're collecting these coins, different modes will unlock'

    • 4:28
    Yeah. You take the universe of Transformers fans. I mean, how many are aligning with Decepticons and how many are aligning with Autobots? I really don't have any idea. I don't either. So it could hurt sales. It might not be. It's not the best idea. I would say that's personally what I like. Right. It's like, oh, there's too many Autobots. We put them on sale. Make them roll out. Idea of the game here. You are joining Optimus Prime and the Autobots and their mission to stop Megatron and the Decepticons. You'll take on missions following major stories and events from the Transformers G1 TV show, store Energon cubes to power up, team up with Dinobots, Collect Transformer tech specs, Battle Megatron, and an epic showdown. Game features Insider Connect. More to talk about that, too. I think what a lot of people are going to be asking themselves right now is like, all right, what's drawing me in here? What are the major features of the playfield? What are the mechs? What are the toys? So we can kind of break this down. And we're going to start with the LE premium model. Both playfields are the same. Toys are the same. There are differences that are a lot of cosmetic differences and some feature differences between the premium and the LE. But playfield wise, playability wise, you're getting a carbon copy of one another. We got Megatron in the top part of the playfield. He's got his big cannon. He articulates left and right, raises that cannon up and down, and he's able to actually shoot balls out of the cannon. And I think that's going to be when most people walk up to the game and they see that massive toy mech on the playfield. You're going to have to smile. I agree. And while it's nothing inherently original in a sense, I mean, you know, we've seen cannons on games before. I do think having a sculpt around it the way that that it does is is original. It's something that all cannons should have had on any games. Sure. I think it's going to be cool, man. Like if you're watching somebody play and you load that cannon and you do like, I don't think it's one of those things that's going to get old. You know, hopefully Elizabeth really codes that in to utilize it better than cannons have been in the past. And I think that if you do, that's that is actually going to be a stellar feature for this game. Every time that cannon fires has the potential to create a moment, something memorable. And it doesn't even have to be repetitive, whereas the cannon itself over time might seem repetitive because you've got the same articulated motions. But if you're able to create excitement and build up to that cannon shot, I think that could be one of the more epic mechs in all of Pinball. So I'm also excited about that, too. And when you look at that G1 animated series, I mean, these sculpts, they're big sculpts, they're massive sculpts, but they look like you would expect them to look coming right out of the G1 Transformers animated series. You know, there's there's not any it's not like, oh, I can see where that's representative. It's like they're like little carbon copies of what you remember growing up watching Transformers, which is cool. See, and I think that that's what Stern's been missing some. I mean, I think that they've really skimped on on on sculpts and even sculpts that don't really do very much. Like it's just still when you skimp on those and you've just got plastics or you got tiny sculpts, it's it takes away to where is where you fill that game up. It just makes it look more full. It makes you feel like you're getting more for your dollar and it's just more pleasing to the eye and it just encompasses the world 10 times more. And to your point, man, those those sculpts are freaking massive for that. You know, I'm so happy to see. So when you look at these in the pictures and at some point you're going to be looking at the videos of the game, a lot of the marketing assets. I know right now Stern Pinball has a lot of the content creators in there You going to see a lot It really isn going to do it justice versus stepping up and looking over the game And we speak with this from experience Again we were invited in by Stern to look at the game yesterday So we actually got a chance to play this. We were in front of the games, all three models. We had the pics that came out a little earlier than launch, and you were trying to get that an idea of what you're looking at from that 2D kind of flattened image. Man, when you walk up to the game again, Megatron, you can't not see him. And I think this is so cool, too. Like on a location, if you're walking through a row of pinball machines, Transformers is going to bring you in essentially because that's a theme that a lot of people are fond of. Right. You grew up on Transformers. And then when you look at the playfield, you cannot miss Megatron. He's just he's massive in the back. Well, that's what I thought they did with you're going to hit the start button and you're going to be like, all right, what how do I get this thing to move? How do I what does he do? Yes. And that's exactly what they did with the dragon and dungeons and dragons. Like photos and videos did not do that. Just as you step up to it, that cave and it is so massive. And again, like you said, I just want to shoot that. Like I want to shoot that. And that's exactly what this is going to be. Another big sculpt on the right hand side of the play field in the form of Shockwave. Shockwave has an upper torso that has a cassette holder that opens up from his chest and launches locked balls. Yeah, launches them, just doesn't dump them out. He launches them. That cassette thing opens up and they fire the balls out of there, and this is going to be controversial.
    10:11
    I might like that mech more than I like the Megatron mech. I love the Shockwave mech. I don't know if I disagree or not. I don't think I do. I don't know what it is. You know, the ball is coming out. It's getting fired out from an elevated thing, and it's hitting the playfield. You know what I mean? It's not feeding a wire form. It's just out there. It's not like the Turtles van where it just dumps it out. No, multiball, yay. No, it's launching balls. Fire that thing. Yeah, and it made it look like it's not just during a multiball. Did you get that? It'll launch balls. It can launch balls in certain modes and different things. Does that seem what you felt? It could very well do so. There's no reason why it can't. Yes. And if not, Elizabeth, if you're listening, utilize that more. Just don't utilize it for a simple ball lock. Fire those fuckers across. Yes, utilize that. Put it in modes. I like Shockwave. I like that a lot. All right. And Greg, guess what? Another sculpt on the left-hand side. You've got Grimlock. He's a full three-dimensional sculpt. Now, he is static. He doesn't do anything. But he's represented there on the left-hand side. And then in the upper left, you've got everybody knows Optimus Prime and he's standing tall. He's got targets underneath him at his feet. Actually, his feet are actual targets. So when you're going up there and you're hitting him, you're physically hitting, I guess, Optimus Prime. Now, the elephant in the room that probably a lot of people will want to know is, hey, does Optimus Prime transform? He does not. He is static. He's standing up. But, you know, and I thought a lot about this. We were talking a little bit about this earlier today, whereas I'm so pleased with the layout of the playfield and how the game shoots and the animations and the sounds and the lights and the mechs that Optimus Prime not being able to transform from a truck to, you know, transforming into his Autobot self is not a deal breaker. And I'm going to tell you why. It's like I would rather have and look in a perfect world, you want everything right. But I would rather have all these other things and Optimus stay static than have him transform in one or two motions repetitively over time and maybe not have some of the other things. I think, you know, I don't want to say sacrifice, but I think the decision to not do that, whereas it would have been awesome. It doesn't prevent me from having excitement or general appreciation for the approach of the game and what I'm looking at and what I'm physically playing. And I agree, man. I think it'd be nice. I was somebody that wasn't terribly offended by the shark not eating the ball, too. Like, again, that would have been cool. But to me, it didn't take away from it. I think in the instance of this, it's even greater because I think something interacting with the ball is way greater than something just happening on the playfield, like a toy or a mech moving. And I don't know how that you would have integrated his transformation into the interaction with the ball, per se. I mean, maybe you could have done some stuff with magnets and everything. But, you know, like the AT-AT on Fall of the Empire, very underwhelming. You really didn't need it. I think a lot of energy and time went into that, and it just – you see it once and you're like, okay, I'm done. That's a great point. I could have gone without it entirely and really not missed it at all. And that's actually not a bad example of that. That's something that articulates, goes up and down. It's not very substantial.
    13:41
    The game is the same with or without it for me. Yeah, I'd rather have the cannon shooting. I'd rather have the balls coming out of the cassette deck than what I would – this is probably more controversial. Well, I mean it's on par with your controversy. But I would rather have those things where they're actually interacting with a ball and having a physical ball lock than what I would just a transformer transforming randomly or during the start of a mode or mid-mode on something. Yeah. Because it just, like I said, that to me would get old. You see it once or twice, you're like, oh, that's cool. See it on location, oh, that's cool. But then it's done for. Yeah, it takes a special mech to make you want to see it over and over and over. Again, we were talking about this. There's a handful of games where it's like I never mind seeing the mech in action. So, you know, unless that was like one of the most unbelievable tricks, because how many movements could you actually make? And I don't want to take too much time on this because it's just not there, but how many movements could you actually put in your thermal machine to make something? Yeah. Oh, yes. The team servos on that thing. Like, you know, the shark eating the ball, that would have been cool because it was interactive. You know, the T-Rex grabbing the ball in Dress Park is amazing. That never gets old to me. Like, I always think it's cool when he grabs the ball and shakes his head and thrashes and throws it. You know, that doesn't get old. But again, if you just have something transforming, it's not really interacting or doing anything within the gameplay that adds to it. Yeah, like you said, to me, it would wear, and I just don't think it's worth eating up the BOM on it and the time spent. You know, and if I had to guess, that's probably why Stern scrapped it. Yeah, if I had to choose between the three, I would rather have Megatron shooting with the cannon. I would rather have Shockwave with the cassette launch versus probably a transforming Autobot on the left. That's just me. You know, the one thing that I am kind of disappointed in is I would have liked Grimlock. Like, it's nice, again, you know, I was complaining about the sculpts, and it's nice to have big sculpts in there. I would have liked to have seen him done something, too, over there just because it would have balanced the playfield, another toy over there doing something. I don't care if he rotates or gyrates or does it. I don't know. I would have still liked him to have done something. Put him on a little spring? Yeah, something, anything. I would have liked him over there. Maybe his neck bobs. I don't know. I would have liked him to just, ah, something. Greg, that's what the mob community's for there, buddy. Hold the mob community's beer. It is what it is. It is what it is. And, you know, this is an audio podcast, so visually it's going to be very hard for us to explain exactly what these play fields look like. So again, go to FlippinOutPinball.com, check them out. But just things that Stern wanted to make sure were called out on the features, this is a three-flipper game. You've got, obviously, in the bottom, left and right, and then you've got an upper right flipper shot. There is an upper sling on the left side just below the Grimlock toy who is static. You've got the Energon optical spinner, which is like upper left. If you're looking at Optimus Prime, it's just to the right over there. It's a fun center shot. I like shots that are up the middle. I think everybody does because they're easy and attainable and you're ripping a spinner up there. So I like that there's a spinner that I'm going to be able to rip at will. Optimus Prime bash toy is up in that upper left hand corner. Upper right, you've got the Megatron cannon diverter. And then the Megatron Pinball shooting Fusion Cannon. Now below him, and this is another thing that I think is important, they're not stand-up targets, they're actual, it's drop targets. So, you know, drop targets, there's a difference in price there between stand-ups and drops. I don't know if there's a personal preference for either. Some people feel that, and I think it's probably true, stand-up targets tend to have the ball play a little faster. This is a fast play field, so these drops might be a welcome time for you to gather yourself as you're fighting off the Decepticons. Well, and I just always love a drop target that opens up to something. So having those three drops there open up to that ramp, I love that. I love just not having a shot accessible until I open it up. I want to see more of that in games You know what cool too is the three drops block the ramp entrance but you don have to drop all three to squeeze the ball in there And I think it would be fun. And maybe this is in the code. I don't know. But I can see challenges where like maybe the upper left targets up and you got to hit the ramp with the left target up. You can't hit the left target or you can't hit the right target, things like that. There's another game that's very special to my heart. I won't mention it since we're talking about this one. But that does that to where that you have to part of the code is hitting. There's three drop targets and you have to hit them in a specific order to be able to achieve that. It's harder than what you think to pick out, especially a center drop target. Oh, 100 percent. Yeah, I love that. So you've got the three drop targets that are right by Megatron where that ramp is, the right ramp. There is a lock at a ball post, and it's like a little physical ball lock where it'll stage a ball inside. The post goes up and it kind of sits still until that post drops and it lets it go out. The Soundwave ball lock, which we talked about. And then in the right hand side, similar, kind of say similar to like a Godzilla, you've got that pop bumper, the jet on the right side in that general area over there. So, you know, this is not a standard fan layout. It's got a lot of familiar shots, but it's got a lot of left to right action, too. And I think, you know, based on the time that we had on it, I think it's a refreshing play field layout. I think Elliot did a great job when you combine it with, you know, your light shows and animations. The animations is something that I wanted to talk to you about, Greg. You know, we're on Stern Spike 3. You've got the bigger screen right now.
    18:55
    One of the things I was a little bit concerned about because I went back and I watched some of the old G1 Transformers episodes just because I remember watching those as a kid growing up and all that sort of thing. But it's like, you know, graphically, they don't really hold up anymore. You know, you're looking at like 20s, 24s. These animations were rough. Right, right, right. You know, frames per second are really large or, you know, big gaps in between frames. It's almost like claymation sometimes. Like you said, the gaps are so like it's not a real fluid animation. No, it's like from that time. It's a little bit skippy. It's almost like you're not getting a lot of bandwidth on that. You're not getting 120 frames per second. And then some of the actual video in the series, you know, maybe it was just what I was watching, but it just looks old and degraded. And so I was like, OK, I wouldn't mind seeing it in that natural form because, again, I think that is nostalgic to me as well. I don't need to see HD crystal clear 120 frames per second Transformers. And you don't get that. You get more of the original core. I mean, there's like 70 episodes that they're pulling from for these for these assets. But also the animations that Stern created to play within those episode assets are very smoothly done. Oh, they look they look original. Like it's like when it shows something with a pinball in it or it does something, I'm like, oh, shit. That was. Yeah, that was pretty cool. It's pretty cool. This is some of the best that they've done ever. I would agree. Ever. Couple more exciting bits of information. If you're into call outs and those iconic voices that you remember, Peter Cullen, who was the voice of Optimus Prime. Well, guess what? Getting full fledged call outs from Peter Cullen, not just from the animated series, But brand new call outs from Peter Collin. And then you know who Frank Welker is? He's the voice of Megatron and Soundwave. And he's doing original call outs for the game, too. So it's like you get some chills in there, man, when when it's like, again, and not to sound corny about it, but if if you're a Transformers fan and you're G1, I can't figure out any reason why you're not all in on this game, because it hits on every single level that you could possibly want with that nostalgia factor. And it's fun. Well, and you don't even have to be like, you just have to be a fan of nostalgia or a fan of that time period. You don't even have to be a Transformers fan because I'm like you, like, like I had, I just missed Transformers. Like I saw the rerun, same thing, you know, G.I. Joe, He-Man, Thundercats, all of that was right there around that same era. So, you know, I kind of missed the whole first of Transformers, but I'm very familiar with it. Not a super fan, but just like you said, just listening to those call outs, the, you know, animations themselves just bring back such a flood of nostalgia. And then, you know, Stern went out and got the touch, the song. Like, there's the other one. Iconic and amazing. Like the 80s. It's like you said, dude, when you hear that, it almost gives you cold chills because it just throws you back so hard. So it's just like, you know, that that is outstanding. So to me, if you just like nostalgia in general, you're of that era. You don't even have to be a Super Transformers fan. I think that this is just going to grab you and captivate you. You're getting me excited about it. Yeah, you've got the touch. It's the 40-year anniversary of the 1986 film. So that Stan Bush song is in there, and it unlocks during a special mode in the game that has to be achieved during normal gameplay. So that's, again, you're right there. I love it. You're right there. Sure. Going back to code rules. Honestly, didn't have a ton of time to figure out the entire rule set. It was more of me just kind of getting shots and things like that. But Elizabeth is adding a couple of things that that haven't really been done in the past. As far as I know, there's something called Cyber Coins or something called Cyber Connected. Yes. With Insider Connected, these Cyber Coins, I guess they unlock different challenge modes. So if you're logged in the IC and you're collecting these coins, different modes will unlock, which I think is really cool. Something else that she added, and I don't know the specifics of it yet, but it's something that I think we've had conversations with before. I know that I've been championing this for years, and that is she's implementing a training mode where you're going to be able to step up and you can log in if you want to. You don't have to log in, but you can get into part of the game where it's going to teach you how to play. See, I love that. But for somebody that's new to pinball, I mean, and if this is going to be your first pinball machine and you only appreciate pinball for trying to, you know, beat gravity for the sense of not draining the ball, pinball opens up to a whole different world when you start understanding that there are rules and that you can, you know, get through the game and you can unlock different modes and you can see different animations and different light shows. A lot of people don't understand how to start that. So for you to have a training mode that explains, hey, this is what this shot is and this is how you start this. I am really appreciative of that, and I would encourage every pinball company to consider doing that moving forward. So kudos to Elizabeth and the team on that. I love that. Well, and she also, you know, this game is starting off a little different than what we've seen over the last few titles from Stern. You know, she's kind of busted her ass on this, and it is unveiling at code 0.85. So we're getting a lot more in this game out of the gate than what we have seen in a long time out of Stern. I mean, they just put the nose to the stone and freaking grinded to get this code going. And, like I said, just knowing Elizabeth, knowing what she did with Jaws, it's not a rushed code. Like, it's going to be 0.85 is not a rush. Like, she'll put its work into that code. So you're getting a damn good game out of the gate. Instead of, you know, like Fall of the Empire came out a little bare and now an amazing code set. So any of you haven't played that recently, get out there and play Fall of the Empire. The code has matured into something fantastic on that. You know, but I know some people were kind of disappointed a little bit with Pokemon and stuff. And, you know, so I don't think you should have any hesitation with this game from that aspect. Yeah, excellent, excellent, excellent point. Wanted to take a minute and talk about the limited edition really quick. Gets you guys an idea of what you get with that LE. As we're recording this, it's just that launch time. So we're going to get this out as soon as possible. There's a chance LEs are not available by the time you listen to this. But in the event that they are, and that's not salesmanship, we have an idea of how these games perform. We've got our interest list. We know our allotment at this point, so I don't know that there will be games available. But the production on the LE is limited to 750 units. You get the certificate of authenticity, you know, signed by the CEO and chairman, individually autographed by Elliot Eisman, the game designer. You've got sequentially numbered limited edition plate that is on there. Limited edition full color mirrored back glass showcasing Transformers artwork from the original animated TV series. So you do have a mirrored back glass custom full color side cabinet decals featuring the Transformers artwork. It does come with the cabinet expression lighting and the speaker lighting, which is great. There's an upgraded sound package that's on all LEs. You get the anti-glare glass, shaker motor, etc. And the side rails are cool because you got like this inscribed carved out Transformers language that on there The light shows that are on the exterior that go along the rails really really really sharp And then I think the other important thing is going to be what is different between the Pro and the Premium And I would say that the major differences between Pro and Premium is that in the Pro the Megatron sculpt in the back he there but he static He doesn't load balls. He doesn't shoot balls. The Soundwave toy on the right is not three-dimensional. He is a flat plastic. It's a large flat plastic, but he is a flat plastic, so you're not getting ball locks, you're not getting anything thrown out from inside the cassette area. And then on the left, the Grimlock toy that's 3D sculpted on the Premium LE, he is also a flat plastic. But, you know, for the most part, you're getting a very similar game experience. I would say, just personally, and this isn't salesmanship on my part, this is just my opinion, If you are a fan of the franchise and you're thinking of getting the game, if you have the means, I would absolutely recommend getting the premium or the limited edition. I think the three-dimensional sculpts and the interactive nature of those sculpts do make a significant difference in how you can enjoy the game. But from a shots and rules and art perspective, you know, at 6999, that pro is going to be a solid game. It'll do great on location and it'll be a great addition to any pinball home or game room. So again, FlippinOutPinball.com, jump on there, order your game today, or you can email us, Ken at FlippinOutPinball.com or Greg at FlippinOutPinball.com. Now the next question you're going to have is, hey, what's going on? When am I going to get my game? What's up with shipping, Greg? We're looking at Stern Location Pros here, end of this month, very first of the next month, and then rolling out those LE premiums all of June. So pretty quick, I mean, what are we at? We're already at the 20th. So I mean, you know, that'd be nice here. I would assume, you know, within two weeks that we should start seeing those location pros roll out. And then, you know, Stern's quick, quickest in the business, followed by those LEs and premiums. So super quick on this title, it seems. It's just incredible. I mean, again, when you order something, you want it as quickly as you can in most cases. And Stern Pinball never seems to disappoint, you know, two weeks wait list versus, you know, sometimes over a year. Well, it's smart. It's just smart. You're staying on the hike. You know, people start playing it on location, then they can immediately go purchase one. You know, no waiting around when you get your hands on the game. You like it, you go buy it. And then, you know, that brings me to the point, you know, once we have those games, any games that we have in stock, super quick shipping. I get asked all the time, hey, what's lead time on a game, Greg? You pay the invoice today, game will ship the next business day, depending on where you are in the country. It's typically two to four business days before that game will reach you. Most of the time, I think, what does Zach tell us? Because we track everything. We have analytical data. I think something like 70 percent of our shipments were two days or less. Yeah, it's crazy, man. Any of our games. It's unheard of. Anytime I've ever ordered a game, it's been weeks. Yeah. So literally, you go play Transformers or you go play any game that we have in stock on location. You come home and you go, man, I really like that game. I'd like to order one in two days. You could have that game in your house playing it, most likely. You know how many times people are stunned by that? Because they'll get excited about an order and it'll be like a Tuesday and they'll be like, all right, so how long do you think until it gets? I'll be like, dude, you're going to be playing pinball by the weekend. So I go, now's your time. You call your buddies, you call your family. You might take off Friday. Take off Friday. I know. Get that unboxing party on the schedule because you're going to be playing some pinball. I love that. Which is awesome, dude. It gets me all hyped up. I love that. So final thoughts. We're going to jump off here because we've got another episode that will be coming out here in a few days where we can kind of, Gauge the community feedback and talk a little bit more maybe about the distributor invite. I wanted to thank Stern Pinball and team, Alex, Eddie, Zach Sharp, Seth Davis. Everybody is very gracious in allowing us to come in. George Gomez, give us a walkthrough of the game and let us bang on the game and actually get a little bit of extra footage on the game as well. So thank you to Stern. I will look. So I'm I'm bullish on it. I think the game is great. I think it's going to do very well. I think this is one of those games that potentially can be an evergreen title for Stern Pinball the way that they did it. Who doesn't like Transformers G1, especially if you were growing up in that area of life or in that time frame? So I'm going to give this one a big thumbs up, and I'm going to go out on a limb here, and already congratulations to Stern Pinball on what I think is going to be a solid banger for them, coming off of another solid banger with Pokemon. What are your final thoughts, Greg?
    30:50
    Yeah, so Ken, I've been excited about this. Again, it's just from the nostalgia standpoint. I've learned to not get very excited anymore when it comes to pinball because I typically get disappointed. But I will tell you on this, I am not disappointed. And it's one of those things like I've already got a pro ordered to put on location. But I think that this is going to be very similar to Jaws to where then I have to upgrade and go with the premium. I personally think that the premium is where it's at on this game. It's just too much going on. You know, it's not just one toy. It's fun, cool toys. And like you said, the cassette deck, it gets me. I'm in on the cassette deck. You know, I think another interesting thing to talk about is you're putting one on location yourself as you operate pinball machines. If you are a location and you're just looking for a game that's going to earn, I think Transformers is going to be perfect. And Stern Pinball has this set up to where they want to help with promotion of the game. And a lot of times they're kind of giving some expedited shipping on pro games to locations for the fact of exposure and letting people play. So if you are a location and you're thinking about dabbling into pinball or if you have some pinball and you're looking to kind of upgrade that lineup, that's what we're here for, too. So, again, flipping out pinball.com or email us and let us know your location because that's important to know. And we can put you on our preferred location list. But because typically what they do, just like you said, they want to prioritize those locations very first thing. So we will get a certain number of games. In the past, it was sort of unlimited. So let's say that we had 15 locations that came in or we had 30 locations that came in, no problem. But I will tell you that on Pokemon, and I don't know if it was just with that license, And they ran out of games or they, you know, of what they could build in that first quick run. But they did cut that off for the first time last time. And, you know, I know some locations in some places lost out. We were lucky and I believe squeezed most of ours in, if not all of them in. So if you are thinking about getting one of these games for a location, get it now from us so that I can get it submitted because we will only get the amount that we submit that we have sold for locations. So make sure to jump on that ASAP so that you can be sure to get in on that very first run so we can get to your game and then hopefully beat out the competitors. Well, and take into consideration that Pokemon, when it came out earlier this year, Stern Pinball is on record as saying that's their fastest selling machine in the company's history. And it's been a top location revenue generator, you know, and it's been bringing in a lot of new pinball fans. And if you are an operator as well and you missed on Pokemon or you decide to skip by it, I know that we're talking about Transformers today, but Ken is exactly right. Like I literally, when I was hitting up some of our locations, some of our operators about this game, you know, I literally had one that said, hey, my Pokemon has already almost paid off. That's insane. That's incredible. That is insane. To quote him, he said, this mother prints money. Swear to you. Prints money? I'll show you the text. Yeah, he said, this mother print money. Print money, I'll put two in my garage to sit back and watch cash come in. I passed on it because I didn't, and I operate Pinball, so I literally said, damn, man, I'm going to have to order one now. I was going to say, it's not like you missed a boat. It's not like anybody that ever wanted to play Pinball with Pokemon theme has already played it. Because a lot of my locations that I have games on are, they're removed from the Pinball community in a sense. I got Pinball people to stop in, but it's mainly Patreons of those establishments. So even people in town that already have a couple of Pokemons, it's not messing with my brain. Yeah, yeah. Well, I totally get it. So I can still throw one out there because I'm looking to print some of that money. Let's go. It's helping to buy the cigars. We're going to be having a victory cigar later as we make the world happy and offer as many Stern Pinball Transformers more than meets the eye as possible. For Greg Bone, I am Ken Cromwell. Don't forget to take some time out of your day. Play some pinball. So long, everybody. Roll out.