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Kaneda Interviews Jersey Jack of Jersey Jack Pinball

Kaneda Pinball Podcast YouTube (main)·video·16m 55s·analyzed·Dec 4, 2023
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.033

TL;DR

Jersey Jack discusses Elton John release, pricing ceiling, and Mark Seiden's next game.

Summary

Jersey Jack Guarneri discusses the Elton John pinball machine release with Kaneda, covering flipper improvements, sales performance at IAAPA, pricing strategy, and future game pipeline including Mark Seiden's upcoming inaugural title. The conversation touches on licensing complexity, asset requirements, code maintenance for legacy games, and market positioning as prices approach potential ceiling. Mike from Automated Amusements provides distributor perspective on pricing and market confidence.

Key Claims

  • Elton John flipper improvements achieved through software and hardware changes, specifically stronger coils

    high confidence · Jersey Jack directly states: 'It's software. It's hardware. We went to a stronger...' and confirms coils are same specifications as previous games

  • JJP sold 30-40 games at IAAPA show

    high confidence · Jersey Jack states: 'at IAAPA, you know, I haven't been to IAAPA in a long time where we sold games. We probably sold 30 or 40 games at IAAPA.'

  • JJP expects one-and-a-half games release cadence going forward, not two games per year

    high confidence · Jersey Jack: 'You probably see one and a half games... We see how that works'

  • Mark Seiden's inaugural JJP game is next after Elton John

    high confidence · Jersey Jack confirms: 'He's next. Okay, so it's his inaugural game. Yep.'

  • JJP will not make Pirates of the Caribbean again, though never say never

    high confidence · Jersey Jack: 'I'd be shocked if we're building pirates again' but maintains 'never say never'

  • Toy Story must be version 4 per Disney requirement, not version 1

    high confidence · Jersey Jack: 'Disney make you make for them? No. So could you still make a Toy Story 1? If I had the license, I could make a Toy Story 1, but it's a Toy Story 4.'

  • JJP licenses full-length songs and full video assets rather than limited clips

    high confidence · Jersey Jack: 'I license full length songs, I don't license a song for 15 seconds'

  • Design team decides asset usage in games; Willy Wonka musical scenes were design team decision

    medium confidence · Jersey Jack: 'the design team decides what they want to do in a lot of ways' regarding asset implementation

  • Mike (Automated Amusements distributor) believes pricing has reached ceiling and won't increase further

Notable Quotes

  • “My blood type is B positive. Right? So... I mean, that's a good dad joke.”

    Jersey Jack Guarneri@ 12:46 — Demonstrates Jersey Jack's personality and philosophy about maintaining positive outlook; becomes a catchphrase moment ('purveyors of positive pinball')

  • “I'm not going to say if I have it, and I'm not going to say if I don't have it.”

    Jersey Jack Guarneri@ 5:42 — Deflects direct question about Harry Potter licensing; shows deliberate vagueness about unannounced games

  • “I'd be shocked if we're building pirates again. Okay. Okay. And you've now, I think we got two games out in a year”

    Jersey Jack Guarneri@ 4:01 — Confirms Pirates of the Caribbean unlikely to return; establishes release cadence expectations

  • “The game didn't sell through in 15 seconds like some other games. But that was through distribution, too. It wasn't to the end customer. But the game's selling really well.”

    Jersey Jack Guarneri@ 1:48 — Addresses Elton John sales vs. other manufacturers' games; clarifies distribution vs. end-customer sell-through dynamics

  • “We try to do that. We try to do the right thing.”

    Jersey Jack Guarneri@ 8:35 — Justifies licensing full assets and getting proper permissions; positioning JJP as ethical licensee

  • “I really believe that we've reached the top on the pricing. It really certainly depends on if everything costs more money.”

    Mike (Automated Amusements)@ 14:44 — Distributor perspective that pricing ceiling reached; contingent on cost inflation dynamics

Entities

Jersey Jack GuarneripersonKanedapersonMikepersonMark SeidenpersonSteve RitchiepersonJersey Jack PinballcompanyElton Johngame

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: Distributor perspective from 51-year operator indicates pricing has reached ceiling; expects manufacturers to hold prices 'for a long time' due to cost inflation dynamics; economic indicators (lower interest rates, consumer spending) support continued market health

    medium · Mike: 'I really believe that we've reached the top on the pricing' with contingency on inflation

  • ?

    community_signal: Kaneda references being 'banned two years in a row' from Pinball Expo; implies rule changes designed to make winning harder; hints at conflict with 'Colin running Expo'

    low · Kaneda: 'They like banned me two years in a row' and 'keep trying to change the rules to make it harder for me to win'

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Kaneda references community frustration with pricing and competitive theme rumors (Matrix, Top Gun); hints at TWIPPY voting competition between Godfather and Elton John

    medium · Kaneda: 'You've been saying the price conversation, right? And people are like 12, 15' and TWIPPY discussion

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Jersey Jack emphasizing Elton John's superior flipper feel and Steve Ritchie design quality vs. competitor offerings; design team creative freedom positioned as differentiator; game 'selling really well' despite pricing

    medium · Jersey Jack: 'Steve Ritchie and team game is something really special, especially when Steve Ritchie comes back from pinball, where you let him do what he wants'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: JJP design team given significant creative latitude in asset usage decisions; Willy Wonka lack of musical sequences was design team choice, not licensing constraint

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.051

0:00
Like little rock stars. We're here! Automated! Jersey Jack the man himself. Just got a chance to play Elton.
0:08
It is a beautiful machine, people. I mean, I've always said this, when you stand over these JJP games at a show, it's different than the internet. Flambeau artwork. So, gorgeous, gorgeous game. I want to ask you some questions about the game, okay? So it just came out. When is it going to go on the line? Because I know people who have the line... It's on the line. It's on the line and these games wouldn't be here right now. Okay, so when do customer games go out? Customer games are going out. They're going out right now? Yeah. Okay, so games are shipping. Okay, so you've been reading the feedback about the flippers, because a lot of people are like... I've been reading it? You've been reading it. I've been saying it. I heard at Wizard of Oz people complained they couldn't shoot the upper ramp. Okay. So I've heard that for a long time. Okay, but the flipper feel on this game is vastly improved. Right. What changes were made? Is it software? Is it hardware? It's software. It's hardware. We went to a stronger... Well, let me say this. In any of our games, you could have increased the flipper strength. Right. And been where you are now. Okay. So a lot of people didn't do it. They just went on location, the way they were set, and they were what they were. But can you make a GNR feel like this just by the settings? You can make it. Yeah, change the settings. I have mine changed. Could there be a possibility of putting some of the newer hardware into older games if the coils were changed? The same coils. Everything is the same coils. Okay. So maybe there's something to do with the settings. Okay. So how is it selling so far? I know prices are high. Everyone's moaning about prices. I moan about prices every day. So the game didn't sell through in 15 seconds like some other games. But that was through distribution, too. It wasn't to the end customer. But the game's selling really well. I mean, at IAAPA, you know, I haven't been to IAAPA in a long time where we sold games. We probably sold 30 or 40 games at IAAPA. Right, right. Because people got their hands on the game and got to play it like you did. Right, right. And you see what it is and you see how it plays. I mean, the Steve Ritchie and team game is something really special, especially when Steve Ritchie comes back from pinball, where you let him do what he wants to do and you don't take things out of his game. Right, right. So what was the most difficult thing that went into this game? Is it the piano mech? I mean, you see how they're moving with the ball on. What's probably Steve's question, but there's not much that gets done in pinball as easy. Right, right. I think everything's hotter than you expect it to be.

medium confidence · Mike states: 'I really believe that we've reached the top on the pricing' and expects manufacturers to hold prices 'for a long time'

  • Games are shipping now and customer orders going out

    high confidence · Jersey Jack confirms: 'Customer games are going out. They're going out right now? Yeah.'

  • “I think he's lived with it for years. Maybe just about.”

    Jersey Jack Guarneri@ 4:57 — Indicates Mark Seiden has been developing his game for approximately 2-3 years; vague timeline

  • “You know, if the economy was so bad, the restaurants would be empty. The flights would be empty. We should have bought Royal Caribbean stock at the beginning of COVID.”

    Mike (Automated Amusements)@ 16:01 — Provides economic confidence outlook supporting continued pinball sales; consumer spending resilience argument

    • Pirates of the Caribbean
    game
    Godfathergame
    Toy Storygame
    Wizard of Ozgame
    Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factorygame
    Guns N' Rosesgame
    Automated Amusementscompany
    Pulp Fictiongame
    IAAPAevent
    TWIPPYevent
    Christopher Franchiperson
    Ericperson
    Disneycompany

    medium · Jersey Jack: 'the design team decides what they want to do in a lot of ways' regarding asset implementation

  • ?

    licensing_signal: JJP licensing strategy emphasizes full assets, full-length songs, and complete video/choreography rather than limited clips; design team has authority over asset implementation; Disney mandates Toy Story 4 version over Toy Story 1

    high · Jersey Jack: 'I license full length songs, I don't license a song for 15 seconds' and Toy Story licensing restriction

  • $

    market_signal: Elton John strong sales at IAAPA (30-40 units) attributed to hands-on play experience; did not sell through in 15 seconds like competitor games but performing well overall

    high · Jersey Jack: 'at IAAPA...we probably sold 30 or 40 games' and 'game's selling really well'

  • $

    market_signal: JJP acknowledges pricing at $12,000-$15,000+ range; won't commit to no future increases; competitive marketplace has signature edition games targeting $17,000+; secondary market shows Pirates of the Caribbean $40,000 COVID-era sale

    high · Jersey Jack: 'if it doesn't come from us, it comes from other people in the marketplace' regarding price positioning

  • ?

    product_strategy: Indirect reference to Mark Seiden game development timeline ('lived with it for years') suggests multi-year development; no specific theme confirmed despite community speculation about Matrix/Top Gun

    medium · Jersey Jack: 'He's lived with it for years. Maybe just about' regarding development timeline

  • ?

    product_concern: Elton John flipper improvements achieved through stronger coils and software adjustments; positioning as superior to previous JJP titles; addresses community feedback about Wizard of Oz flipper complaints

    high · Jersey Jack: 'flipper feel on this game is vastly improved' and technical specifics about hardware/software changes

  • ?

    product_strategy: JJP transitioning from two-game-per-year cadence to one-and-a-half games; Mark Seiden's inaugural game confirmed as next title after Elton John; development timeline approximately 2-3 years

    high · Jersey Jack: 'You probably see one and a half games' going forward

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Community rumors about Mark Seiden's next game theme include Matrix and Top Gun; Jersey Jack declines to confirm, attributes Top Gun rumor to 'somebody else' or Jack Guarneri

    low · Kaneda: 'People are saying maybe Matrix, or there might be Top Gun' and Jersey Jack: 'I don't think I said that'

    • 2:41
    Absolutely, absolutely. So you've been saying the price conversation, right? And people are like 12, 15. Have you guys, is this it? Like any more, is this no more price hikes? Are we at the ceiling? Do you think like the industry as a whole has hit a ceiling where we're at?
    2:56
    Probably not. And I'm not going to say we have a plan to raise prices. But there are games out there right now, signature edition games and things like that, that people want to get $17,000 for plus. Right. So, you know, if it doesn't come from us, it comes from other people in the marketplace. And you probably saw a Pirates of the Caribbean collector's edition in box during COVID sold for $40,000. Right. Now witnessing that, which must make you feel proud that, you know, that game had a late demand. I don't know if I feel proud. I feel it's supply and demand. Right. You know, somebody wants something that there's not many of. There were only a small amount made. Yep. You know, and somebody wants it and somebody has the money to do it. You know, it's like anything else, supply and demand. Now you've said sort of, Jersey Jack, we're looking forward. So there's like 100% no more pirates coming. Can we say definitively or do you want to never say never? I always say never say never. But, you know, I'd be shocked if we're building pirates again. Okay. And you've now, I think we got two games out in a year, right? We got Godfather and we got Elf and John 2024 are we going to see a similar cadence of releases maybe two more games Or is this considered like game You probably see one and a half games We see how that works Okay. How it falls in. And who's next? Is it going to be... Is it Eric Seiden? No, it's Mark Seiden. Mark Seiden. Sorry. I always get that confused. So Mark, is he next on the roster or is it going to be... He's next. Okay, so it's his inaugural game. Yep. How excited are you for that game? Very excited. Okay. He's making something with his team that's really... He could have been here and it would have been great, but he's here. Right. And it's... He's been working on that for a while, right? Almost two and a half, three years? No, I don't know. I don't keep track of time that much. I don't know if it's two years. Okay. I think he's lived with it for years. Maybe just about. And there's a lot of... You know the rumors of the themes have got people really excited. People are saying maybe Matrix, or there might be Top Gun, I think you said once. I know Tom Cruise is hard to get. I don't think I said that. Somebody else might have said that. Somebody else might have said Jack Guarneri. Harry Potter. Wait, wait, my name. How do you pronounce my name? Guarneri.
    5:19
    Guarneri. Okay, okay. Guarneri. Okay, you've got to say it with your hands. Yeah, like the guy on the football team, the Giants quarterback. Okay, all right. So, and then Harry Potter, right? I mean, that was a little weird, what shows, like, they have it, like, kind of sandbagged you a little bit. Like, how do you feel about that? Like, was it? I don't really care. Right. Because, like, I'm not going to say if I have it, and I'm not going to say if I don't have it. All right. It's a good one, though. It's a good one. It would be a good one, yeah. It would be. So, as you see the industry, you know, we've got high prices. More than ever, though, has there been, like, a feeling, like, we really have to nail the theme at this much money? And we see, right? A theme like Pulp Fiction. You know, it costs you the same money to develop a game with a bad theme and a good theme. Right.
    6:08
    We know there's a lot of games out there that are not good themes, but great games. Yeah. And we know there's a lot of games out there that have great themes and are not good games. Yep. We're not trying to be one of those. Okay. Now, I have to ask the question. So, Toy Story 4, just 4. Were you guys able to make just Toy Story 1? Yeah. And was it the delight that Disney make you make for them? No. So could you still make a Toy Story 1? If I had the license, I could make a Toy Story 1, but it's a Toy Story 4. I know, I heard. But Toy Story is a great game, whether it's Toy Story 1, 2, 3, 4. Rose by any other name still smells like a rose. It's a great game. And on location, I think it kicks ass. It does kick ass on location. It kicks ass. It kicks you into every game. Right. And I think as people are clamoring for stuff from their childhood and nostalgia, are you guys looking more towards contemporary properties or do you still think there's a lot from the 80s and 90s that hasn't been touched? So licensing is tricky because we need to cover the earth. So what plays well here might not play well in Australia or the UK. And then you want to cover generational, and you want to cover every gender, however many genders there are these days. Right. And you want to have something where you're going to sell through a certain amount of games. And then the bigger thing that I want is I want a lot of assets. I can't really make a team based on a movie poster. Other people could, we can't. Right. the amount of video assets and choreography. You know, I license full length songs, I don't license a song for 15 seconds.
    7:59
    So there's a lot that goes into that. And I feel the more assets we have, the better chance we have of making better games. Yeah, okay. No, I mean, everybody wants the assets. I mean, with Elton John, I don't want to interrupt you. If you didn't have Pinball Wizard in there, or you didn't have the video from the Tommy movie, it wouldn't be the same. Right. I guess I could have said well I not going to spend that extra money and that extra time licensing Tommy video and get permission from people and do all of that Or go to The Who and get permission to use Kimball and even have them join Purge But we try to do that. We try to do the right thing. I've been critical of the assets at times. You've been critical? I've never heard that. I have. I have. Well, I'll use Willy Wonka as an example. The movie is a musical, and they sing the songs in the movie. and then in the game we don't see the musicals. So was that just we couldn't get that or is it just extra cost and we just didn't see, like it didn't need it? No, the design team decides what they want to do in a lot of ways. So that was a lawler decision? I don't know if it was him or the people on the team, but they decide what they're doing and they have a lot of leeway to do it and we trust them. I know it's getting loud in here, guys. Just a few more questions. Jack, thank you for taking the time. It's okay. This is gonna be a fun day, by the way. This opens at nine at Automated. We've got two Elton John's set up here. He was in the parking lot at 6.30. We had to push him out of the way of the door. He was talking by the front door when we got in. Yeah, and I missed you at Expo. They like banned me two years in a row, but I'll be back. What's the matter then? I don't know. Was that guy Colin running Expo? Yeah, I don't know. Probably, they took me off the database. What's going on with this question? I don't know. I don't know either about it, but what's going on? You know, there's a lot of drama. keep trying to change the rules to make it harder for me to win. I mean that's basically what's been happening. And this is a beautiful game and this will be because it's shipping by December, it's shipping, right? So it should be eligible for Twippy voting which is interesting because you know I think it has two games battling against each other. Godfather and this and I think you're gonna have Franchi vs. Franchi with people voting for our package. I think he said every package there is on every game. Will he be coming back and working on some future Jersey Jack owns? Yeah, I think so. I like Chrissy. A lot of excitement. You know, if you make the Matrix with the Jersey Jack life system, this thing is built for the Matrix. All black and green, raining down. We want to see it. People, Jack, they would order it right now. They would order it right now. I'm calling now. I got one last final question I want to ask, and pans are free. I'm going to do this for you.
    10:44
    Finishing the coat, right? You must hear this. Where's the code? Pirates for six years, guns? Like, is there like, do you just want to put some of the code to bed and like do a, like just shut up the critics that the code is always at the 98% and then like finally finish it? I think so. Okay. I think it was many years after Wizard of Oz was done. They were still releasing codes for Wizard of Oz. Right. So there's still, there are still people tinkering on pirates in the ABGNR? Okay, and so, all right. I think you guys should just do, like, an end of the year, not this year, by next year, finish code, you know, on the games that are legacy, that people, because, like, Guns and Roses is a good example. It's a beautiful game. It's your best-selling game, right? Just playing that. Oh, and I have one. It's in a box. How do you play it?
    11:36
    In my dreams, I play it. It's number 500. Melissa has one? She has it. We're looking for a house, and it's going to be my housewarming gift. So that's going to be what I unboxed. I'll come and help you unbox it. See? And I'm looking in Connecticut, so it'll be nearby. Jack, it's a pleasure. Always good to see you. Guys, the founder of Jersey Jack Pinball. It's going to be fun today. Elton John, jump on it. It definitely feels like a Steve Ritchie game with the beautiful Jersey Jack package. I might get one when the price gets a little lower. But that's just me. I got a house to pay for. Listen, you've got to remember, there are all kinds of people.
    12:16
    And life is short. People want to buy something. They want to feel good. The world's on fire right now, as it always is. And I kind of stopped watching the news. I'd go downstairs and I'd click him or I'd want to feel better. So we make games that make people smile. We want to be positive. We want to say positive things We want to be negatively charged is not what we need to do We need to be positive in this world because like I said many years ago when I used to do a lot of talks I can never be negative. My blood type is B positive. Right? So... I mean, that's a good dad joke. That is a good dad joke. Well, look, and look... It's true. I can cut my arm and you can check my blood. I'm B positive. There you have it, everybody. Hey, who's here? Come on, man. Get in here. Get in here. Get in here. We are purveyors of positive pinball. That's right. He's putting a coffee inside a pinball cabinet that's got to make everybody nervous. It's his game, though. Get in here, Mike. It's my game. Look at this. Hey, how are you? This is it. Look at this beautiful team here. Mike looks exactly spinning image from the sculpting. Oh, yeah. Well, we copied him and put him in the game. Now, Mike, how do you feel about being in a game? I'm thrilled. The Godfather is my favorite movie of all time. Okay. When Jack shared with me about a year or so ago that they were doing it like this, I was so happy, like a little kid. Just like a little kid. Did they scan your face? Yes, they did.
    13:44
    Eric took some pictures of his side in the front. I guess he molded it out of clay, didn't he? Do you have a CE at home? I haven't brought one home yet. Is it here? Yes. Okay. No, I'm sorry. The CE is not in there. No kidding? You're playing the cards right. we might put you on the game. That's right. I mean, I'm trying to think. I could be an agent in maybe Matrix that gets killed by me or something like that. Well, you've got to help me get the license. Okay, okay. We should talk. I mean, I know some people over at, what is it, Warner Brothers? Warner Brothers, yeah. Okay.
    14:16
    Mike, how many games a year do you move out of here, do you think? Just on a guess. Don't say it. Is that a comparison? Over 500. Over 500 you move in. Okay, and you've been in business for a while, right? 51 years. I started when I was 17 with one bubble gum machine. Okay, so you've seen it all, the peaks, the valleys, the highs and lows. So when we're talking about pricing, is the highest it's ever been? As a distro, like, and a dealer, do you feel like this is it? You don't want to see any more elevation of the price? I really believe that we've reached the top on the pricing. It really certainly depends on if everything costs more money. A lot of people retain the higher prices, like labor and everything. is I think that will work into the machines being not so heavy in price. I really believe that with inflation. And I think the manufacturers will keep the prices where they are for a long time. That's my personal opinion. Yeah, we all hope so. And again, I think at these prices, really it's just the onus is to make a game that people won't even think about the price. The game has to be right. That's right. And you've got to remember, there's still more people coming into the hobby. And next year is going to be a year where the government actually lowers interest rates. It's probably by March or April. I'm not an economist, but it's going to go that way. And it's going to spur the economy again. It's going to spur the housing market. And today people are buying things that feel better. What I was saying before is true. I see it. My friends have a lot of different businesses with different industries. And people are spending money. They're going out to dinner. They don't care. They're buying cars. They don't care. And they're looking at it and they're saying, you know what? Life is short. I want to enjoy myself. Look, you can't even get on a cruise. You can't even get on an airplane. You can't rent a rental car. You can't get an Uber. I couldn't get an Uber last night. I mean, if the economy was so bad, the restaurants would be empty. The flights would be empty. We should have bought Royal Caribbean stock at the beginning of COVID. It went to $20 a share. I'm not talking old people on the cruise. It's all young people with families and everything like that. They want to go on a cruise. So everybody wants a pinball machine. Everybody wants a pinball machine. Life is short. As I say, Ichigo Ichi, dwell in the present, live for today. everybody. We're going to have a great day at Automated today. Come on down. Nine o'clock, doors open. We got pizza later, right? We got cannolis.
    16:33
    Elton Jack is going to make an appearance. Elton Jack, you're going to have the sequence on? Of course. I'll wear a shirt so I don't scare you. Awesome, man. We'll be back at 10 a.m. for the Saturday Morning Spectacular live, but I wanted to interview these gentlemen before it gets crazy, because it's going to get crazy by 10 a.m., so we're going to have a good day. Everybody, purveyors of positive pinball. Colin, we're coming for you. We're taking the twippy. We're going to do it. Later.