Take me somewhere cheap, where the living is easy Out of all their reach, set my spirit free I feel confined by societal norms I was born to walk the line The sun is shining And the last place I should be is indoors right now Making a pinball podcast But what we're going to do on this episode For each and every one of you First and foremost Thank you so much for being a member of the Kaneda Club I'm going to do something on this episode, which is one of the reasons why you sign up for Canada's Pinball Podcast. I am going to, with 100% certainty, confirm some of the rumors that have been floating around. Some people call them guesses. They've been rumors. And I've been holding back some actual confirming information I know just because I'm a decent guy. But I've asked people out there, is it okay if I talk about this stuff in a little bit of a roundabout way? And I got the green light. So we're going to confirm some stuff. Before we get there, we'll talk about some of the news in pinball. Now look, the first thing that's not a confirmation is the best news in all of pinball. That cuphead is not going to be made. Did anybody care to even see the game? I was curious to see what Ryan McQuaid would come up with with this theme. It's a horrible theme for pinball. It would have been a sales disaster. And American Pinball, under the leadership of David Fix, was a total failure. I mean, there's no other way to skin it. They made so many bad decisions in a row. You make a Hot Wheels game with no loop-de-loop, no car wash. None of the things that people loved about Hot Wheels was in the pinball machine. That's like removing and changing the Cracker Barrel logo. Like, it's crazy. Then they went and licensed a game that nobody wanted when we had the first chance of getting it, which was Legends of Valhalla. A game nobody wanted when, what was it, Riot Pinball tried to sell that on their own. And then what did we get after that? I think, was it Oktoberfest? fest no i think that was before all that i think it went houdini october fest and then i'm like falling short galactic tank force was that what was next uh Dennis Nordman's game that was in a barn that he tried to get spooky pinball to make for like a decade and nobody wanted to make the game until david fix opened that barn up and all of a sudden you're gonna bank the future of this company on a terrible game like that had maybe the worst launch video ever. Okay, so look, American Pinball, they're done. We're no longer going to have to talk about them. They are done. And I'm just going to say this, karma hit them and they deserve the karma they got. I'm not going to go further into it. All right, what else is going on? Stern Spike 3, the thing we've been waiting for is finally unveiled in a Costco game. It's in the damn Costco Star Wars game. If you undo the sort of computer cover, you see the Spike 3 logo, the new like board for Spike 3. It's got what, like Wi-Fi, HDMI output. What do you expect? I mean this. What do you actually expect to change over at Stern. Do you think Spike 3 is going to usher in this incredibly new innovative game? Do you think they're now going to start engineering magical mechs like the Ring and Lord of the Rings and Balrog and really theme integrate in the right way? Do you think it's going to look as nice and premium as a Jersey Jack machine all of a sudden? I mean, hopefully Stern's lighting system actually looks like it came from the last 10 years because right now it doesn't look that way. And yeah, it's just a processing chip. I don't care about that. Who cares how the sausage is made? I just want the sausage to be amazing. So Spike 3, which we've been waiting forever for. I know, look, we're going to see the real Spike 3 or half of it in the Star Wars game. I'm annoyed by this, by the way. I think it's bad marketing. I think it's a terrible mistake by Stern Pinball to only go halfway with the new Star Wars game. So we're going to get the bigger screen, the new Spike 3 computing, but we're not going to get the new cabinet with the improved lighting. I think that's a stupid thing. Like, just give it all at once. Put everything into Star Wars. Why do I want to now, like, buy a Star Wars, and then the next game is going to have the improved lighting in the cabinet? Why wouldn't you give Star Wars everything? And it just goes to show you, like, these pinball companies, man, it's like, we're not stupid. And we really are going to be looking at this stuff with a lot more sort of questioning. Are we getting enough for the money? And why do I have to always make a compromise? You know, Stern, it's like you should have had and made the unveiling of Spike 3 a moment, right? This is our next evolution of our product. You are the number one pinball company in the world. You hired a new CMO. I don't know who he is. I don't know what he's done. He hasn't really even like talked to us. Think about it. Has he spoken to any of us? You the chief marketing officer of the world number one pinball company in the world And nobody has heard from you What kind of job is that So it a behind the scenes job And so you going to now market this new platform and you not doing anything to drum up any excitement. And the first time we see any components of it is in a Costco cheap home edition of the game. And these companies wonder why they're going to get themselves in trouble. They are. They are. They just don't have a plan. Like, how is this a plan? How does this make any sense? And so, yeah, I'm excited to see Star Wars, but I'm not excited by the fact that I that I might buy this game and then we're going to see an improved cabinet lighting system on freaking The Walking Dead. Now, here's something I heard. It's just a little rumor. This one I can't confirm or deny. It's like, what if it's not The Walking Dead? What if it actually is Tron. Look, I know everybody wants it to be Tron, but I still think it's The Walking Dead. Okay, so Star Wars next, Spike 3 at Costco, Cuphead is not happening, anything else happening, Spooky Pinball just released a really cool shooter rod that looks like a shotgun handle for 450 bucks. How much is a real shotgun? I don't know, I don't buy shotguns. It feels like you could probably get a real shotgun used for 450. I don't know. I could be way off. I don't know how much weaponry costs in the world. All I got is some pepper spray if you're coming at Canada in Roeating, Connecticut. It's really cool though. And I love the fact that spooky pinball, you know, it's a, it's a button. It's not like you're pulling it back. You basically pull the trigger and your game starts. I love that it's compatible with other games. I want to put this shotgun on Rick and Morty just because it won't make any sense. Everybody's waiting on Beetlejuice. The rumor, again, I can't confirm or deny this one, is that they couldn't get Michael Keaton for the call outs in Beetlejuice. Now that has some people saying that maybe Beetlejuice might not even have Michael Keaton in it. And there is no way you can make Beetlejuice without Beetlejuice. So I think all of his clips from the movie will be in it, but we're just not going to get new call outs from him. And that'll still work because there's so many movie lines that would work really well. And you could also get a Michael Keaton sound alike to do some of those Beetlejuice showtime. You know, I don't know. That doesn't even sound like him. You know what I mean? You can make it work is what I am saying. Like they got a sound alike for Gandalf in the Hobbit on Jersey Jack's game. And that sounded really good. The sound alikes on, what was it? Guardians of the Galaxy was terrible. Like when Stern tries to like get those Marvel sound alikes, absolutely terrible. So Michael Keaton, I fully expect him to be in Beetlejuice, but no original call outs. I'm telling you, that's going to be the hot game of the year. I mean it. Like the spooky pinball game is going to sell out instantly and everybody should be trying to get on a list right about now. All right. What else is happening in the world of pinball? There is an accessory package for Dune. Speaking of accessories, they've got a new shooter rod. It's a long one. It looks like it's like a 10 inch knife from the world of Arrakis. But that one, I think you pull back. So that's, I don't know, you know, part of me doesn't like these really long shooter rods. I mean, when you think about walking past a pinball machine, there's a reason why the knob is usually only about an inch or two off the cabinet. I don't really want something sticking really far out. But this is where we're at in pinball. I'm almost over all of these accessories. I see all of these accessories on all of these games. And I'm just like, none of this interacts with the ball. None of this is going to make the gameplay more fun. none of this is going to add a moment of wow and I do think overly modding your game makes it look really tacky and really bad some mods are good but some just look way too tacky way too big I mean I'm seeing this big mod for D&D with like the tavern and everything and I don't know like it's just so big it just blocks so much of the view of the game and all this stuff in Jaws is now a dude with a chum bucket? All of it. Like, how about this? Let me just break it down for each and every one of you. How about we shouldn't have to mod our games at all for seven to $15,000? How about these pinball companies actually put stuff in the game that brings a modded 3D world to life? How about the onus is on them to make these games amazing and we get our money's worth versus them cheapening out, making everything flat plastic where you can see the screws. And then I've got to spend another thousand dollars on mods to make it look good because I want stuff to be engineered to also interact with the ball. I'm sorry, but like, I'm not just gonna like stick on all this like static stuff. And now my game is like a world under glass. That's hogwash. Okay, what else is going on in Bimbo? Canada look I've heard from each and every one of you I'm not name dropping anyone anymore I've said my piece I'm moving on the olive branch was always extended to people if they want to be friends with Canada and kale they can join us we are the bad boys of pinball content this is where the fun is at like you see some of these guys man they're like reading show notes we don't read no show notes here. We're just telling you like it is. No kickbacks. Kaneda is the number two pinball podcaster in the world and Kale is number one, baby. One and two rolling through Pinball Expo. By the way I got a note where they were trying to keep me out of Pinball Expo yesterday I got some correspondence that was like we would really appreciate you not coming to the show And I was like, what? Wait, why? Like, I went last year. It was really cordial. There were no issues. And you know what they said to me? They said that the reason why they didn't want me there was because Jersey Jack Pinball complained about me. And I was like, wow, that's strange. And I told them, I'm like, you might want to check on that because two weeks ago, I was having 21-year-old whiskey with Brett Abbas. So go back and check that, because I don't think Jersey Jack doesn't want me at Pinball Expo. Now, will I go to Pinball Expo? Maybe. Do I care about it that much? Not really. And do I revolve my life around pinball shows? Not at all. The only reason I want to go is to hang out with each and every one of you that is going. I could care less. I could care less about lapping the floor, playing games where you can't hear them. It's the worst environment ever to experience pinball. It's the best environment ever to get wasted with your pinball friends. All right, let me confirm some rumors for each and every one of you. Now, the first one is a big one. And the first one has me excited because I know I'm going to get this game. I know that I'm probably going to move the game I own out of my house for this game. I'm probably going to store it. I just want to let each and every one of you know, I am never selling my Guns N' Roses. I love Guns N' Roses. I think this pin is absolutely amazing for what it does. It's not the best player, but it's the best damn music pin experience I've ever had because of what it does well. Now, that being said, I do wish Jersey Jack and Slash would put the iconic music videos as like Easter eggs to unlock in the game. It's been long enough. Can we get those? Doesn't Guns N' Roses own the rights to their own music videos? They might not, but I think they probably do. And I just would love to see more of the original GNR music videos when you're playing those iconic songs, but I'm not selling it. So the next game coming out from Jersey Jack has been rumored to be a lot of things. It's been rumored to be Top Gun. It's been rumored to be Matrix. But the latest rumor and guesses are accurate. It is happening. The man who is known for making the greatest flow in the history of pinball. His designs take pinball to a new level of speed and combos. and you know him as Steve Ritchie. And what better theme to give Steve Ritchie than Sonic the freaking Hedgehog. I mean, he is going to crush it and then some. And I've heard from people that have like seen what he's working on and they keep saying one word and one word only. It is his goat. it is the greatest game he's ever designed they are not worried about Harry Potter sales if you know this information they are so confident in both games Harry Potter is selling tremendously well and will continue to sell very well Harry Potter is an amazing shooting game look I would love to see a little bit more of the connection of the movies with the code and I think they're working on all of that. But Harry Potter, man, people are loving it. It is a huge hit for Jersey Jack Pinball. And with Sonic the Hedgehog coming out next, and you think about what Steve Ritchie is going to put in this game. I mean, I love the fact that like Ryan McQuaid, you know, his home Bruce Sonic, they lost the license and we knew somebody picked it up. And I love it, man. Imagine David Fix leaving the Sega meeting and in walks Jersey Jack with their machines and Abbas money and all the swagger that goes with it. Imagine, and imagine if you're Sega and you're like, well, let me see what you can make. And you wheel out Hot Wheels and they wheel out Guns and Roses, or they wheel out Wizard of Oz, right? Who are you going to go with? Who are you going to go with? And now that Jersey Jack is Harry Potter, the clout, the swagger, their portfolio of product is going to open a lot more doors than it's going to close. And I just think about Sonic the Hedgehog as a property is perfect for pinball because because Sonic himself is a pinball. He's spinning around that world. He's bouncing off of pop bumpers. He's doing loop-de-loops. And I heard this game is so fast. And it is going to be like everything you want and more. And it is not based on the movies. It is based on the iconic Sega video game. And so, everybody, I think you're going to be getting your checkbooks ready for what Jersey Jack has coming out in the future. And I think you're going to have it for Spooky. I think Stern, it's like, you know, it's just like Stern just feels like they make games for everybody and they destroyed their collector base and nothing is truly that special anymore. They've got work to do. These other two companies to me have the swagger, have the juice, have the mojo. So Sonic coming next from Richie, that's probably going to be, I would say end of next year sometime in like the fall. So it is coming. It is absolutely coming. All right. Something else that is absolutely coming. If you own a Big Bang Bar, your game is going to get remade. It is going to have some tweaks It is going to have some improvements It is going to be another remake of a game that was a remake So if you own one and you feel like you got the last of the remakes and you sitting on a $20,000 to $30,000 game, I hate to burst your bubble. You should list your game for sale because it's coming. It is undeniably coming out. I'm not going to tell you who's making it just yet. I'm not going to tell you more of the details, but it is coming. and Big Bang Bar is about to Big Bang Bust your Big Bang Bar. I don't like this, to be honest. I do not like this. I think for this hobby to have collectible items, some stuff needs to just be left alone. If you keep remaking everything and you keep making more, right? They're making more Merlin's editions now of Medieval Madness. Just keep recycling everything. it's just going to absolutely oversaturate the market. It's also just going to like remove what makes Big Bang Bar special. Where if you own one, there's only a few hundred in the world and you have one and now you're going to remake it. Now you might change some of the artwork. Now you're going to change some of the mechs. Now there's like all these different variations and now we have more of something that just always should have been a very limited thing and leave it at that. It's okay, just leave it at that. Let there be only like eight original prototype King Kongs. Let there be only 16 Magic Girls. We don't have to keep making everything over and over again. Speaking of that, Raz is coming back. You know that. I've confirmed that. Raz is going to be the next game from Dutch Pinball. It's going to be the next game. It's not Back to the Future. It is Razza. I don't know where Back to the Future is at. What's going to be fun is this. Just think about it, people. Think about how fun the end of next year is going to be. We are going to get Dutch pinballs back to the future around the same time as Steve Ritchie's Sonic the freaking Hedgehog. Can you talk about yes to all of that? Yes. Nostalgia. Yes. This is what we want. Stuff from the 80s made by two companies that are going to put everything and the kitchen sink into the game. I love it. This is why I've been saying I think the next three years of pinball are going to be the best pinball ever. And I think all your old stuff, trust me, sell it, sell it. It's going to look obsolete. It's not what you really want it like you really want dialed in or Sonic the Hedgehog, right? You know what I'm saying? Do you want Toy Story 4 or Sonic the Hedgehog? Do you want Venom or John Wick? No, you're going to want these games and it's going to get so competitive over nostalgia. These companies are not fighting for our dollars. They're fighting for our hearts and our souls. I only want to buy stuff that makes me feel alive. I only want to buy games that were built with passion. Everything else is going to fail. You either bring out a game that emotionally connects with people, and if it doesn't, it's going to fail. Themes like Dune don't do that. In our age demographic, that's not what we want, David David Van Es. It's not. How can you have Brian Savage as your partner over at Barrels of Fun, a dude that ran the fan clubs for G.I. Joe and the original Transformers, that's your partner, and you're going to bring out the modern day Timothee Chalamet Dune? Bro, you don't get it. You just don't get it. It's staring you right in the face. Just let Brian Savage make the themes that he is so intrinsically connected to. We don't want Dune in modern day. You didn't even sell. How many did you sell? Did you sell 500, 600? I don't believe it. And look, anything you make in this modern pinball era, if you hit nostalgia right and get the design right, you're going to sell a thousand on day one because we're hungry. We're hungry. We've made money. Like I'm making money on like stocks. I don't even know what they're doing. I don't know, but I'm making money. My balance, everyone's got some burning money in their pocket and I want to give you my money. Are you man enough to take it? Are you man enough to pick a nostalgic theme, design it with some combos and speed, make it fun, and I'll hand you my $15,000 no questions asked. But if you ask me to warm up to a theme or a movie that we don't love in this demographic, you don't get marketing. It's so simple. When Seth Davis had to send out a survey to know what his own customers want. It's like, seriously, he could have just had one phone call with Kaneda. I could have given Stern 10 IPs that would be juggernaut sellers. Maybe some of them can't be made because of licensing issues, but I would never in a million years landed on Venom, John Wick, D&D. Like, no, these games are not selling. They're just not selling. And you know what? 2026, baby, it's going to be great. and we're going to get Star Wars, by the way. I think the trailer or the teaser comes out next Friday is what I'm hearing. Happy Friday. If you're in Connecticut, come over here. We're going to go get on Roedan Seafood's boat and we're going to drink some like transfusions and we're going to have some fun and we're going to enjoy the short period of time we have on planet Earth. I love each and every one of you for being a member. I feel blessed to be here and to be able to do this every week for each and every one of you. Nothing but good vibes for each and every one of you and your family and your friends this weekend. Kaneda out. This time I don't think I'll turn back This time I'ma do shit my way I'm gone by the time they come back This route is a one road highway Same face with a brand new wardrobe My whole clothes in gasoline Smoke hand rolled cigs on my whole soul I feel just like James Dean But take me somewhere cheap Where the living is easy Thank you.