claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.036
Stern confirms King Kong April 17 media day; hosts hype Keith Elwin's track record and discuss competitive timing.
King Kong media day is Thursday, April 17, 2025, with dealer call Monday morning, trailer release at noon, and public play at Pinball at the Zoo (Kalamazoo, MI) April 17-19
high confidence · Official Stern email invitation to Genghis and Donnie via Zach Sharp; specific dates, times, and venue confirmed
Keith Elwin's recent games (Iron Maiden, Avengers Infinity Quest, Godzilla, Jurassic Park, Bond 60th, Jaws) establish him as the designer to compete against, particularly Godzilla as current #1 ranked game
high confidence · Genghis and Donnie discuss Elwin's portfolio and cite Godzilla as #1 on Pinside top 100 list; Genghis states 'since Godzilla, no other game from no other company has come out and destroyed that game'
Tim Sexton, John Wick coder, has left Stern Pinball; rumor that Raven Davidson took over John Wick code updates
medium confidence · Donnie states 'I just found out about this yesterday, and I think it happened a while ago' and 'I heard a rumor That Mr. Raven Davidson had taken over'; timing described as 'weeks' ago
Venom topper originally designed with ferrofluid but final product shipped with LCD screen instead due to technical failures
medium confidence · Donnie describes Disney's ferrofluid demo and speculates 'housing melted and everything ran on the floor' causing Stern to pivot to LCD; describes budget allocation affecting final product
Evil Dead pinball has only ~50-80 units made, which may prevent it from appearing on Pinside top 100 due to eligibility thresholds
medium confidence · Genghis notes Evil Dead not in top 100 on Pinside; Donnie responds 'Maybe there's got to be so many made before it's eligible or something'
Jaws topper sold out in two hours; John Wick topper also sold out quickly
medium confidence · Donnie states 'Have you heard? Because they released the topper for John Wick, and it sold out like in two hours or something'
Pinside top 100 rankings show questionable placements (Medieval Madness #2, Jaws #12, Dialed In in top 100)
high confidence · Live Pinside lookup during show showing: Godzilla #1, Medieval Madness #2, Jurassic Park #3, Jaws #12; hosts express skepticism about list accuracy
“I'm so sad for any pinball company, any designer that will release a game at the same time as a Keith Elwin game. I'm just saying.”
Genghis @ mid-episode — Establishes Keith Elwin's competitive dominance and market positioning; signals risk for Jersey Jack/Barrels timing decisions
“Since Godzilla, no other game from no other company has come out and destroyed that game.”
Genghis @ mid-episode — Positions Godzilla as the current benchmark game; establishes King Kong's implicit target for 2025
“I think the time to release a new game if you're not Stern was last week. I mean, it's now. When you hear this show, release the game right now, not tomorrow, right now.”
Donnie @ mid-episode — Emphasizes urgency for competitors (Jersey Jack, Barrels) to announce before Kong announcement seals market deposits
“It's like, if we go there and we behave ourselves, eventually we can bring our other friends with us too, and eventually this can grow to just be like a public event.”
Donnie @ late-episode — Reflects on media day evolution and Stern's scaling of accessibility; suggests progression from exclusive to broader community engagement
“Avengers Infinity Quest on location that wasn't even maintained, and it was still better than 70% of the games out there.”
Genghis @ mid-episode — Demonstrates Elwin's game design durability and code quality; subtext: underrating of Avengers despite excellence
“Jaws doesn't shoot as well. Jaws doesn't have as impressive of a mechanism, but Jaws' theme is so much better than Godzilla.”
Genghis @ mid-episode — Illustrates tension between mechanics and theme appeal; explains why strong IP (Jaws) can compete despite inferior shooting
“This guy, I mean, Donnie what the heck why is keith like so good at this not only keith his team because i love his game design but also his game code. It's just next level.”
Genghis @ mid-episode — Attributes Elwin's success to both design and code quality; suggests systemic excellence beyond single designer
business_signal: Pinside top 100 rankings perceived as unreliable/community-manipulated; Medieval Madness #2, Jaws #12, Dialed In in top 100 questioned by hosts
medium · Live Pinside lookup with hosts expressing skepticism: 'This is the stupidest list'; questioning Medieval Madness above Jurassic Park and Godzilla
event_signal: Twippies awards show (fan-voted) completed; hosts clarify support despite not covering on podcast; suggest industry awards could complement fan awards
high · Genghis: 'go and re-watch it. It was a great show. Congratulations to the winners'; Donnie suggests 'pinball industry award' with manufacturing/artist perspective voting
sentiment_shift: Hosts appreciate media day inclusion and Stern's scaling of accessibility; frame progression from exclusive event to potential public-facing expansion
high · Donnie: 'if we behave ourselves, eventually we can bring our other friends...eventually this can grow to just be like a public event'; Genghis: 'Getting that accomplishment...Recognition, baby'
competitive_signal: Keith Elwin positioned as dominant design benchmark with Godzilla (#1 Pinside) setting competitive bar; hosts suggest no other manufacturer should release simultaneously
high · Genghis: 'I'm so sad for any pinball company, any designer that will release a game at the same time as a Keith Elwin game'; Donnie emphasizes urgency for Jersey Jack/Barrels to announce before Kong reveal
design_philosophy: Keith Elwin's success attributed to integration of superior game mechanics AND code quality; systemic excellence across design and programming
groq_whisper · $0.221
high · Genghis: 'not only keith his team because i love his game design but also his game code. It's just next level'; demonstrates consistency across Avengers IQ, Godzilla, Jaws, Jurassic Park
event_signal: Stern Pinball confirms King Kong media day April 17, 2025 with dealer call Monday morning, trailer release at noon, and public play April 17-19 at Pinball at the Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan
high · Official Stern email via Zach Sharp to Genghis and Donnie with specific dates, times, and venue details confirmed during episode
market_signal: John Wick topper and Venom topper both sold out in rapid timeframe (John Wick in 2 hours); indicates strong accessory demand
medium · Donnie: 'they released the topper for John Wick, and it sold out like in two hours or something'
personnel_signal: Tim Sexton, John Wick coder at Stern, has departed; Raven Davidson rumored as replacement
medium · Donnie states Sexton departure 'happened a while ago' (weeks), causing code update halt; 'I heard a rumor That Mr. Raven Davidson had taken over'
product_strategy: John Wick code updates halted after Tim Sexton departure; no new contract work released for weeks
medium · Donnie notes gap in code updates and contract releases; attributes to Sexton's absence; expresses desire for improved gameplay substance
product_concern: Venom topper compromised design: originally featured ferrofluid mechanical effect, shipped with LCD screen instead due to technical failures during development
medium · Donnie speculates ferrofluid prototype caused housing melt/electrical failures, forcing pivot to lower-cost LCD implementation; 'housing melted and everything ran on the floor'