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Spooky Pinball Buys the Rights to Jump In the Line for Beetlejuice; Wonderland Amusements Home Pin Videos; The History of Australian Pinball

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Mar 12, 2026
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.022

TL;DR

Spooky Pinball secures licensing for Beetlejuice's "Jump In The Line" song update; Wonderland ships Alice with QC issues.

Summary

Spooky Pinball successfully negotiated and acquired the rights to Harry Belafonte's "Jump In The Line" for inclusion in their sold-out Beetlejuice game as a future code update, announced during a live YouTube stream. Additionally, Wonderland Amusements has begun shipping Alice Goes to Wonderland home pinball machines, with some units experiencing warped playfield issues. Stern released new code for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire, and a historical article documented the Australian pinball manufacturer Hankin.

Key Claims

  • Spooky Pinball negotiated for over a year to acquire the rights to 'Jump In The Line' from Harry Belafonte for Beetlejuice

    high confidence · Spooky Luke on Pinside, quoted in article: 'Bug has been working on it for well over a year and we finally were able to get a fair price'

  • The song rights were initially deemed too expensive to license for Beetlejuice at launch

    high confidence · Article states: 'Back when the game launched, the folks at Spooky talked about how it was too expensive for them to get the rights to the Harry Belafonte song'

  • Jump In The Line will be added to Beetlejuice as a new game mode in a future code update

    high confidence · Article: 'Jump In The Line is coming to the game as a brand new mode in a future code update'

  • Beetlejuice is completely sold out

    high confidence · Article: 'the pinball machine is already completely sold out'

  • Spooky Pinball's next game is strongly rumored to be based on The Goonies (1985) and will be a widebody

    medium confidence · Article: 'Spooky Luke went on to say in a different discussion that the Company's next game (strongly rumored to be based on the 1985 film The Goonies) is a widebody'

  • Some units of Wonderland Amusements' Alice Goes to Wonderland home pinball have warped playfield issues

    high confidence · Article: 'Bee Kong's game ended up arriving with a warped playfield. Not good. From what I hear, some of the machines have the issue and some don't.'

  • Wonderland Amusements has begun shipping Alice Goes to Wonderland to customers

    high confidence · Article: 'Wonderland Amusements, maker of the Alice Goes to Wonderland Home Pinball machine, has begun to ship games to customers'

  • Alice Goes to Wonderland is now available for purchase on Walmart.com

    high confidence · Article provides direct Walmart.com purchase link and states: 'the game is now available to purchase on Walmart.com'

Notable Quotes

  • “I think I mentioned a few times that we were going to continue to negotiate and try to make it happen. I felt the first price given was an absurd amount. Bug has been working on it for well over a year and we finally were able to get a fair price and grab it for everyone. Still cost us wayyyyy too much money but happy to be able to get it lol.”

    Spooky Luke @ Post on Pinside; announcement made during March 11, 2026 YouTube stream — Official statement on the licensing negotiation process, cost challenges, and acknowledgment of Bug Emery's efforts over an extended period

  • “Bug goes through a lot trying to make these deals happen so buy him a drink at the next show for his troubles and our wallets!”

    Spooky Luke @ Pinside post — Recognition of individual effort and humorous acknowledgment of the financial burden of licensing negotiations

Entities

Spooky PinballcompanyBeetlejuicegameBug EmerypersonSpooky LukepersonJoel EngelberthpersonJared EngelberthpersonWonderland AmusementscompanyAlice Goes to WonderlandgameHankincompany

Signals

  • ?

    code_update: Spooky Pinball negotiated and secured licensing for Harry Belafonte's 'Jump In The Line' to be added to Beetlejuice as a new game mode in a future code update

    high · Official announcement via YouTube stream and Spooky Luke's Pinside post confirming acquisition of rights and planned code update with new mode

  • ?

    product_concern: Wonderland Amusements' Alice Goes to Wonderland home pinball machines experiencing warped playfield issues affecting some units during initial shipment

    high · YouTube unboxing videos documented warped playfields; article notes inconsistency: 'some of the machines have the issue and some don't'

  • ?

    product_launch: Wonderland Amusements has begun fulfilling customer orders for Alice Goes to Wonderland and made the game available for retail purchase on Walmart.com

    high · Article confirms shipments have begun, references unboxing videos, and provides direct Walmart.com purchase link

  • ?

    licensing_signal: Spooky Pinball spent over a year negotiating music rights licensing, initially deemed cost-prohibitive at launch, but successfully acquired at a lower rate post-sell-out

    high · Spooky Luke statement: 'Bug has been working on it for well over a year' and acknowledgment of absurd initial pricing; deal completed despite game being sold out

  • $

    market_signal: Spooky Pinball's Beetlejuice game is completely sold out, yet manufacturer continued licensing negotiations, indicating commitment to post-sale content support

    high · Article: 'the pinball machine is already completely sold out' yet 'Spooky Bug continued to negotiate with the rightsholder for the song even though... there was absolutely no incentive for him to do so'

Topics

Licensing Strategy & Song RightsprimaryCode Updates & Rule AdditionsprimaryManufacturing & Quality ControlprimaryProduct Shipping & AvailabilityprimaryUpcoming Game AnnouncementssecondaryPinball History & LegacysecondaryCommunity Content & StreamingsecondaryHome Pinball Marketsecondary

Sentiment

neutral(0)

Transcript

web_scrape · $0.000

News Spooky Pinball Buys the Rights to Jump In the Line for Beetlejuice; Wonderland Amusements Home Pin Videos; The History of Australian Pinball k knapparcade March 12, 2026 Here's some exciting news for owners and people who have ordered Spooky Pinball's latest game Beetlejuice. Back when the game launched, the folks at Spooky talked about how it was too expensive for them to get the rights to the Harry Belafonte song Jump In The Line from the movie for the game. Well, Spooky Bug continued to negotiate with the rightsholder for the song even though the pinball machine is already completely sold out and there was absolutely no incentive for him to do so...and he got it! Last night, Joel Engelberth and his brother Jared streamed Beetlejuice gameplay live on YouTube with special guest Bug from Spooky in his own special box on the screen providing commentary. That's when the acquisition of the rights to the song was announced. Jump In The Line is coming to the game as a brand new mode in a future code update. Here's Spooky Luke had to say on the subject over on Pinside: " I think I mentioned a few times that we were going to continue to negotiate and try to make it happen. I felt the first price given was an absurd amount. Bug has been working on it for well over a year and we finally were able to get a fair price and grab it for everyone. Still cost us wayyyyy too much money but happy to be able to get it lol. Bug goes through a lot trying to make these deals happen so buy him a drink at the next show for his troubles and our wallets!" Congratulations to owners of the machine. A great game just got even better. In other Spooky Pinball news, I believe that Spooky Luke went on to say in a different discussion that the Company's next game (strongly rumored to be based on the 1985 film The Goonies) is a widebody. 🔴LIVE - Beetlejuice Pinball Machine with Corwin (Bug) Emery! - YouTube Flip N Out Pinball 🔴LIVE - Beetlejuice Pinball Machine with Corwin (Bug) Emery! Flip N Out Pinball Search Info Shopping 0:00 / •Live • I shared this next article on Facebook yesterday, but it is so awesome that I wanted to share it here again for the people who missed it. It's a fascinating article about the history of the Australian pinball manufacturer, Hankin which built 1,150 pinball machines between 1978 and 1980, around 200 for each of its five different models. ![Advertisement](https://sternpinball.com/) You won't believe how little they had to pay to license the rights to The Empire Strikes Back...one pinball machine! Iconic Australian-made pinball machines preserved for generations to come https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-12/pinball-machines-collected-nfsa-hankin/105971386 New sponsor slot Your sponsored ad here Be the first to claim this placement. Contact knapparcade@gmail.com today Earlier today, Stern Pinball released new code for its Star Wars: Fall of the Empire game, Version 0.92 - "Rebel Rebellion (Part 1)." Stern's Raymond Davidson and Jack Danger are going to stream the new code live from Stern HQ in a few minutes on the Stern Pinball Twitch channel. https://www.twitch.tv/sternpinball * I wrote a week or so ago that Wonderland Amusements, maker of the Alice Goes to Wonderland Home Pinball machine, has begun to ship games to customers. A couple of YouTube unboxing and gameplay videos of the game recently dropped. Here's vids from the Kongs-R-Us and TNT Amusements channels. As you will see Bee Kong's game ended up arriving with a warped playfield. Not good. From what I hear, some of the machines have the issue and some don't. For anyone who is interested, the game is now available to purchase on Walmart.com: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Wonderland-Amusements-Alice-Goes-to-Wonderland-Pinball-Machine-with-LED-Lighting/19612551858?sid=401c0c7d-4439-4d8f-b9f2-969270028ec1&fbclid=IwdGRjcAQcRORjbGNrBBxE3WV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHlPKevVFENrz58xzW2uJbURizP6gEuKJdtbs-BTnDfxR3G3dSH5Vj-tn\waA\aem\_qZpbDDXqUxtEdXitOabfag ALICE IN WONDERLAND PINBALL: The $1,000 Mechanical Miracle? LIVE Unboxing \| Wonderland Amusements - YouTube 0:00 / •Live • How I Fixed My Warped Playfield - Alice Goes to Wonderland Pinball - YouTube Kongs-R-Us How I Fixed My Warped Playfield - Alice Goes to Wonderland Pinball Kongs-R-Us Search Info Shopping 0:00 / •Live • #1852 We BUILD a new Pinball Machine ALICE GOES TO WONDERLAND at TNT Amusements! Step By Step! - YouTube TNT Amusements Inc #1852 We BUILD a new Pinball Machine ALICE GOES TO WONDERLAND at TNT Amusements! Step By Step! TNT Amusements Inc Search Info Shopping 0:00 / •Live • Posted 33 minutes ago k About knapparcade Site administrator Comments (0) Please sign in to join the conversation. No comments yet Be the first to share your thoughts on this post! Related Articles Spooky Pinball Buys the Rights to Jump In the Line for Beetlejuice; Wonderland Amusements Home Pin Videos; The History of Australian Pinball 33 minutes ago American Pinball Announces New Team Members, Partnership with The Electric Playground about 4 hours ago American Pinball's New Logo; Stern Pinball's Pokemon Now On Location + Official Gameplay Video; New Game Reveals at TPF? 6 days ago Subscribe to Updates Get the latest pinball news, blog posts, and event announcements delivered to your inbox Subscribe ![Advertisement](https://sternpinball.com/) New sponsor slot Your sponsored ad here Be the first to claim this placement. Contact knapparcade@gmail.com today StripeM-Inner
Stern Pinballcompany
Star Wars: Fall of the Empiregame
Raymond Davidsonperson
Jack Dangerperson
The Gooniesgame
Bee Kongperson
TNT Amusementscompany
Knapp Arcadecompany
  • ?

    machine_intel: Spooky Pinball's next game is strongly rumored to be based on The Goonies (1985 film) and will be a widebody format

    medium · Article attributes to Spooky Luke: 'the Company's next game (strongly rumored to be based on the 1985 film The Goonies) is a widebody'

  • ?

    content_signal: Spooky Pinball held a special YouTube streaming event featuring live Beetlejuice gameplay with guest commentary from Bug Emery to announce the licensing acquisition

    high · Joel Engelberth and Jared streamed with 'special guest Bug from Spooky in his own special box on the screen providing commentary' to announce the deal

  • ?

    historical_signal: Historical article documents Australian pinball manufacturer Hankin, which produced 1,150 machines between 1978-1980 across five models, and achieved Empire Strikes Back licensing for minimal cost

    high · Article references ABC news piece on Hankin's preserved machines and notes licensing achievement: 'You won't believe how little they had to pay to license the rights to The Empire Strikes Back...one pinball machine!'

  • ?

    product_launch: Stern Pinball released Version 0.92 'Rebel Rebellion (Part 1)' code for Star Wars: Fall of the Empire on March 12, 2026, with live stream from Stern HQ

    high · Article: 'Stern Pinball released new code for its Star Wars: Fall of the Empire game, Version 0.92' with scheduled Twitch stream from Stern HQ with Raymond Davidson and Jack Danger

  • ?

    business_signal: Wonderland Amusements achieved retail distribution partnership with Walmart.com for Alice Goes to Wonderland home pinball, expanding beyond direct-to-consumer model

    high · Article provides direct Walmart.com product listing link and confirms: 'the game is now available to purchase on Walmart.com'