I feel like we've all been holding our breath all day long watching all of this Toy Story content. I'm going to give you my take two on Toy Story 4 right now. You know, I don't know about you, but I just need to just exhale. It's been about four years we've been waiting for this game. We've known that Jersey Jack Pinball has been working on Toy Story for a very long time, right? So our expectations of this game have been very high. For many of you out there, you love Toy Story as a theme, so your expectations are even higher. And now that we've seen so much in such a short period of time, I want to try to tackle this from a few angles. What is it like waiting for a game for years, getting your expectations up, and then seeing everything in just a one-day window in which you're shown leaked images, and then you get to see a little bit of a two-minute video, and then you're asked to buy the thing for $12,000 or $15,000. Then you find out it's sold out. And then you find a 20-minute video that Zach does where he interviews the people who made the game. And then you watch another video of Joe Katz and the rule sets of the game. And all of this is happening while you're reading Pinside throughout the day as everyone is complaining left and right about the game. All of this is happening in one day. And I have to be honest. It is exhausting. It is absolutely exhausting. It's not fun. It's not fun reading all of that vitriol. It's not fun hearing the company try to convince us this is the most innovative game in the 21st century. Something about today just felt like a big miss in my book. And I want to explain why. I'm going to talk about it. I also want to talk about the fact that none of us, not me, not you, nobody on this show, no one who's listening right now, well maybe Zach and a few other people, but nobody has played the game and yet we are coming to finite conclusions on this game. And I don't want to write this game off, but I also don't want to just write a check for $15,000 and hand it over to Jersey Jack Pinball or to a distributor without asking some questions about whether or not the value is there, whether or not we're getting what we're paying for, because I think that is part of this hobby right now. We have to ask ourselves, are we getting what we pay for? And then the bleak reality is this. It doesn't matter. The game sold out. So even if this company didn't put everything in it that we wanted, it sold out. Even if it's not based on Toy Story 1, 2, or 3, it sold out. And it didn't just sell out in like an hour. It sold out on JJP in like three minutes. Three minutes. Now look, that doesn't mean every game is spoken for. We all know that distributors are going to have many, many, many of these games available for sale for more than $15,000. This is just the beginning of what happens next, the markups. We're going to talk about that as well. But I think the main thing is this. I think it's taking people more than a day to just accept the fact that we got Toy Story 4. We didn't get Toy Story 1 through 3. We got Toy Story 4. And that's a hard pill for so many people to swallow. It is like saying, we are going to make Back to the Future pinball, right? Back to the Future is coming. All right, awesome. Yeah. And then you get Back to the Future 3. It's like saying, we're going to make The Matrix and you make Matrix Resurrections. It's like saying, hey, we're going to make Lord of the Rings and you only make the third movie. I would really love to know how they landed on just the fourth film. I would love to know why there was no discussion about putting all four movies into one pinball experience. They put all five Pirates of the Caribbean movies into one pinball machine. So why did we get just Toy Story 4? But I can't change that, right? I mean, I could complain about that, but I'm not going to change it. It is what it is. The game is what it is. Here's the part I just can't figure out. Because Toy Story 4 is not a movie about a carnival. It's not. Like that is not the main part of the movie. Sure, there is a carnival there. There's a carnival that's across the street, I believe, from the antique shop. But this isn't a movie about moving these characters through a carnival. And yet that is what this entire game is. And I am listening to the rule sets and it's like collect tickets to go on carnival rides. And I'm like, wait, what is this? Like, why is this the rule set for this game? This is a movie about a girl that loses her toy and the journey to go find the toy. It's not a movie about going on carnival rides and collecting tickets. What is it with Pat Lawler and collecting tickets, right? That was like the rule set for Willy Wonka. Now, that made sense because that's a movie about collecting five golden tickets to go through the Wonka factory. But Toy Story is not a movie about collecting tickets, but here we are again. I mean, this rule set is actually a lot like Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland. It's all about collecting tickets and exchanging them to go on carnival rides. That's exactly what Raza was. But I don know when I hear them talk about it and I think about the movie I just keep feeling like what going on Like how are these themes being translated this way Is it Disney Are they pressuring them to do it this way? When you watch the video and you watch the JJP team being interviewed, you can tell that they are absolutely flabbergasted that they get to make this Pixar game. Pixar is one of the most creative institutions on planet Earth. And I think Jersey Jack Pinball felt honored that they were making a Toy Story Pixar pinball machine. That's great, right? I love the fact that they felt this obligation to do this theme justice. So you've got that side of it, right? That this company that we know can do so much amazing stuff in pinball feels an obligation to make the greatest creative pinball machine of all time for Pixar. And then on the other side of the coin, you're putting in what looked like people are showing this. It's like cake toppers are the figures that are just being dropped all over this game. Like these aren't original sculpts for the machine. And these cake toppers are like 20 bucks. So you're going to sell people a $15,000 machine. And it doesn't even have original sculpts of Toy Story for the machine. It's off the shelf parts or figures. And we know this has been done before, but not on machines that cost $15,000. I feel like I need more than a day to process all of this. I also feel like this launch was really sloppy. I feel like something about it, it was just not well orchestrated. It just wasn't well executed. It was almost like they needed to not do this the way they normally do it. It just felt like there was too much we were trying to absorb all at once. And it started with bad news that it was Toy Story 4 only. And I do think they needed to get in front of that. I think they needed to rip that band-aid off. And then you look down at the game. And look, everybody, come on. Like, have we lost all ability to sort of think about all the different major mechanisms in pinball machines? Even when Jersey Jack talks about this game, they say the major mech in the game is the Duke ramp. It's just a little pop-up flap ramp in the game. That's the major mechanism in the game. And they said it. I didn't say it. They said it. I just get this overwhelming sense that like Jersey Jack Pinball is trying to convince us that this thing is the most innovative game. It's the most fun pinball machine, that it's doing justice for the Toy Story property, that it was an honor to work with Pixar and there's so much magic in this game. I just feel like they're trying to convince us and even trying to convince themselves that that's the case. And in the greatest pinball machines we've all loved over the years, I just don't feel like there needed to be so much of a hard sell on what we're seeing, on what we're getting. And I don't know, like maybe the game's going to deliver, right? Maybe you're going to play this game and you're going to feel all of that excitement and all of that energy and all of that magic when you play this machine. But when I was watching the video, I feel like you can still tell that the mushy flipper feel is still around. Like you could see it. Like the ball is not snapping up that play field the way it would in a stern machine. So I don't think that's gone away. I just can't get over the fact that we're not going to go back to Andy's room. That we're not going to go to Pizza Planet. That we're not going to go to Al's Toy Barn. We're not going to have lots of like disrupt our plans with Ken and Barbie. And where's Mr. Potato Head? Where's Etch-a-Sketch? Where's Slinky? Like all of these things, all of these iconic characters. part of me was just hoping that after they revealed this game that it wouldn't sell out right away because I knew it if this game sells out right away with what's in it then as a community we're heading in the wrong direction we're heading in the wrong direction this is not a $15,000 machine this is not a $12,000 machine but because it sold so well immediately what message is that going to send to Jersey Jack what message is it going to send the Stern Pinball what message is it going to send this spooky pinball? It's basically telling them, if the theme is right, take my money now, regardless of what really is in the machine. So I just feel like a little deflated. I feel tired. I feel uncertain about this game. When I saw Guns N' Roses for the first time, I was certain it was awesome. You know, after watching the Toy Story video, I went and watched the Guns N' Roses launch video. I mean, it's night and day. It's night and day. The Guns and Roses launch was spectacular. It was amazing. If it weren't for the playfield issues, Guns and Roses would still be talked about as being the greatest pinball launch and one of the greatest pinball experiences, but we know it happened with all of the playfield issues. The other part no one wants to talk about is where are our replacement playfields for Guns and Roses? I hope they announce that sometime soon because the Guns and Roses line is done and I want my backup collector's edition playfield. But this is it now, right? This is it. It does feel like this hobby has jumped the shark. And I think many of you out there feel this way. There's just no way around it. I watched the stream with Joe Katz. I'm watching this game and I don't know, like $12,000, $15,000. And the game still does sound like a slot machine Like they need to get David Thiel back Like the game just doesn have that rich sound that Jersey Jack pinball machines used to have It got all these bells whistles chimes and all these things that sound like you're walking around in a casino. And look, I know Jersey Jack wants to put a lot into their games and also make their games simple at the same time, but I just think something's missing. I just can't quite put my finger on it right now, and I need more time to think about it. There's just something so similar about this game and Willy Wonka that just feels like some of the heart and the soul of these two properties. And I mean that. Both Willy Wonka and Toy Story are two franchises that have a ton of heart and soul. And I'm just feeling like the pins aren't translating what we love about both of those properties in the right way. I think Willy Wonka has turned a corner and they made the game easier and now you're seeing more of the game. I mean, Pat Lawler talked about how it's a waste if only three people get to see fun stuff in the pinball machine. It's ironic that he said that because when he made Willy Wonka, he buried so much of that game for the first year behind such a difficult rule set that almost nobody saw so much of the game. Like the last one third of that game, nobody saw. And now he's changing his tune, which is good, which is how it should be. A pinball machine shouldn't be something. You shouldn't make Willy Wonka where like after a year people only collect like two golden tickets. But I don't know, ladies and gentlemen, I don't know what happens here. Like what happens next? So I do know that this game is going to be at Pentastic at the end of June. So if you want to play this game, if you want to play Toy Story, you are going to be able to play it at Pentastic. I saw Zach Many getting a lot of heat because apparently I guess they were deleting some negative comments about this game. and obviously you know Zach went over to JJP and he recorded this game with his friends over at JJP and I don't think Zach should get any flack this wasn't a review of the game I mean he just interviewed the people behind the game and I thought the video was well done I thought it was well shot the only thing with the video I was like can we just play the game a little bit you know it was so much of interviewing Ken and Joe and Pat and then like when the angles switch it's kind of weird. Like these aren't like the most dynamic figures where we need to see different camera angles. But I was really hoping we were going to see that video before people were asked to buy the game. I really can't figure out how they all sold out so fast. How did so many games sell so quickly at $15,000? That's it. That's the story of today. Nothing else really matters, right? My opinion about it, your opinion about it doesn't matter. Nothing really matters. The moment that they decided to make Toy Story, even if it was the least popular Toy Story version, it didn't even matter. The game sold like hotcakes. And I reached out to some of the distributors that I'm friends with, and they were like, these things are gone. Like, I've got a waiting list to get more of them. And the CEs are all spoken for. We're already seeing people list the CE on Pinside for $25,000. It's absolutely bonkers. And that just goes to show the power of the brand, the power of this franchise. I mean, Toy Story is a multi-billion dollar franchise. It is an amazing theme for pinball. I just don't think it got the treatment it deserved. I don't think it got the right installment it deserved. And that's it. I mean, that's the story of today. That's my second take is I think today was completely exhausting. It is exhausting hearing so many people be so negative about a game they've never ever played. And I'm sorry if you think I overhyped it. Remember, I never saw this game. People were mad at me with Wonka because I played Wonka and I was excited about Wonka and then I changed my tune on it. Now, I never played this game. You can't fault me for saying that I'm somewhat underwhelmed by what I saw because I was seeing it for the first time with all of you. But it's been a long day. It's been a long day. I'm in Ireland. I woke up before all of you and I saw photos of this game. Like, I think someone probably in Australia hacked the the website. I mean, let's talk about that for a minute. Like, how are they using WordPress to launch this game? Like, someone just hacked the WordPress JJP site, and everything was out there well before they wanted it out there, and that spoiled a lot of it. Not that Zach's video would have erased that, and not that the video with the guy and the girl playing it would have erased it. I just haven't seen anything yet. Everything I'm seeing on this game makes me curious to play it, But nothing really is selling me on the fact that this is going to be like an incredible, magical pinball experience. And I don't know where else to go emotionally with it. I don't know where else to go physically with it. I can't wait to play it. I did not get rid of my CE deposit. Why would I give up my CE deposit? I mean, it's just a deposit and I want to see which way the market goes on it. But for now, I'm still in on it. I heard they're not making the CEs until the fall. So that's good. It gives me more time to save up for it. And by the time I have to fully pay for my collector's edition, I will have ample time on the game. So I figured, like, why not? Just keep it. Like, I'm not going to send them a message if I cancel my CE and declare that you didn't give us enough, Jersey Jack Pinball. Then great some other guy is just going to go grab my spot and flip it for like profit Dammit if anyone going to flip it for profit it going to be me No I don know I don know where the secondary market is I don know if people are still trying to get one I don think FOMO is going to last very long on this game I think there are so many of them made that I think you're going to see a lot of distributors listing them for sale over the next few weeks. The other thing I just can't understand is I was reading stories of people who went on the website and it sold out in like two or three minutes. And then they got frustrated and bought an LE. Really? I mean, you really, you couldn't wait to see if some distributor would have a spot that would open up. I think these things got sold through to distributors mostly. And I think with a thousand of them out there, your chance of finding one for a decent price, I don't think it's going to be too hard. I really don't because I don't think there's anything in the CE that really makes it that much better than the LE. I would be patient. And don't fall into the FOMO bucket on this one. This game is not going to be the next Godzilla. This game is not. This doesn't feel like it's going to be the next like Tron LE or Lord of the Rings. I just don't think this pin is going to end up like in the top 10 on pin side. I don't. I don't know how this pin like overrides all the negativity. And my gosh, you guys have been brutal. Brutal. But I think the brutality is somewhat deserved because I think the brutality comes from a place that's very simple. You guys love Toy Story. You love pinball. You wanted to see the greatest example of Toy Story pinball. And I think what you got was Pat Lawler's final game. And I do think this is going to be Pat Lawler's final game. And I think it's going to be his final game because I think he's out of ideas. And I think everyone is recognizing that. I'm not seeing all these original ideas. I'm seeing a lot of recycled thinking. I'm seeing stuff that will probably shoot well. It'll have good gameplay. The code will save it, right? The code is more interesting than the layout looks. But ultimately, I think we're at the point now where Eric Minier and Keith are the two best designers in pinball. I think the two most creative designers in all of pinball, Keith Elwin and Eric Minier. And I think everybody else is chasing those two. Those two, every time they make a pin, they've been special. They have. Pirates was special when it launched and so was Guns N' Roses. and I'm not feeling the same way from these games. You know, Pat's games all have this like similar feel to it. There's something about it. It doesn't feel like he throws out the playbook when he starts a game. It doesn't feel like he watches the movie and then his creative brain just makes all this crazy stuff we never could think of before. It's almost like he's got a parts list of all the things he's done before and he's like, how can I take this from No Good Gophers? How can I take this from Whirlwind? How can I take this from that? And he just puts it in the game. That's it, ladies and gentlemen. My voice is tired. I'm tired. I would love to know what you think about this game. I would love to know if you think I'm being too soft, if I'm being too apathetic, if you want me to scream about it. But I just would love to hear from you right in the comments section on the Patreon page. I want to know what you think of Toy Story. If you bought one, why did you buy one? If you passed on one, why did you pass on one? I would love to just see what your thoughts are on this game. Everybody, let's get some sleep. Let's get some rest. This wasn't the day we expected. I thought we were going to get a game that was absolutely going to just blow everybody away. We didn't get it. We absolutely didn't get it. I think we got a game that's more of a head scratcher than a fist bump. And I think by making it Toy Story 4, this game was never really set up to be hugely popular with the pin side crowd. But somebody's buying these games. Like somebody out there is gobbling up these games. And I don't know if it's Leonard. Like Leonard's got enough money to buy all of his own pinball machines. But how did they sell out in three minutes? That's the part. When I go to bed tonight, how did they sell so many in three minutes? And how many did they even have for sale? That's the other part. We don't know how many they sold on JJP directly. I did feel bad for Ken because he made that video being like, here's your best chance of getting a CE. And there was no chance at all. Like hardly anybody got one. Anyway, we will see what happens. The debate is going to rage on. This game is going to be polarizing, people. It is going to be a very polarizing pin. And I think the future of Jersey Jack Pinball is now moving in a direction of more simplified games, LCD screens where there should be mechanisms. And they are going to rely on lights and screens to get people attracted to their machines. And these things are going to be easier for them to make. They want to be like Stern. They want to be able to make multiple games a year. And their approach to doing that is to simplify the games. The problem is, as they're taking stuff out, they're raising the price. And I think each and every one of us saw that today. And I think it underwhelmed us. And I think we felt the burn. But yet again, it sold out. So nothing we say seemingly matters. This hobby has jumped the shark. And it is now just theme, take my money. I don't even need to see much. I will buy stuff regardless of the price. Crazy times in pinball, people. You'd think the stock market was doing great right now, but it's not. Kaneda out. I'll talk to you later.