DPP #31 "Rush toppers everywhere but not a one to buy?"

Don's Pinball Podcast (regular feed)·podcast_episode·19m 22s·analyzed·Mar 29, 2023

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.035

TL;DR

Stern drops Rush accessories unexpectedly; toppers sell out immediately at $1,699.

Summary

Don covers the surprise launch of Rush Pinball accessories (topper, expression lights, shooter rod, side armor) with pricing details and discusses the strong community reception at the Twippy Awards. Rush toppers ($1,699) have already sold out their first run, with expression lights now priced at $499 (up from $450 on Led Zeppelin), and a $139 illuminated shooter rod. Don speculates on production decisions, questions the value proposition of Limited Edition machines at $13,000+ without premium accessories included, and reviews the full Twippy Awards results showing Rush's dominant performance across multiple categories.

Key Claims

The Rush topper costs $1,699, which is $300 less than the Mandalorian topper at $2,000
high confidence · Don states official pricing from distributor listings and compares directly to Mandalorian topper cost
Expression lights for Rush are now $499, up $49 from the $450 Led Zeppelin price
high confidence · Don confirms pricing across multiple distributors and explains the increase
The first run of Rush toppers and expression lights has already sold out
high confidence · Don states he's heard from distributors Great American Pinball and Flippin' Out, and rumors indicate Q2/Q3 second runs
Outfitting a Rush Pro/Premium with all new accessories (topper, expression lights, shooter rod, armor) costs approximately $3,000
high confidence · Don adds up individual prices: ~$1,700 topper + ~$500 lights + ~$140 rod + ~$200-250 armor
Rush toppers feature 8-10 motorized spinning gears, possibly 3D printed, with a motorized illuminated clock in the center
medium confidence · Don analyzes the video and references John Borg's Facebook mock-ups showing interlocking 3D printed gears
The Rush topper includes an exclusive 'Frenzy' game mode as DLC, plus four selectable modes on the center clock
medium confidence · Don describes seeing modes listed as 'extra ball, advanced time machine, millions, and frenzy' in the topper design
Rush Limited Edition machines cost $11,000, while Foo Fighters LE is $13,000 but don't include premium armor or certain accessories
high confidence · Don references his own Rush LE purchase price and notes Foo Fighters LE pricing
Stern did not give distributors advance notice of the Rush accessory launch, catching them unprepared
high confidence · Don states distributors 'all sold out of their first allotments' and 'Stern did not give a heads up'

Notable Quotes

“Rush toppers everywhere but not a one to buy? Well, they're sold out.”
Don @ intro/title reference — Encapsulates the episode theme: massive demand with supply shortfall
“Is this thing 3D printed? Is it metal? well what do we got what are our numbers well starting at the top literally the rush topper listed price one thousand six hundred and ninety nine dollars”
Don @ ~6:30 — First reveal of Rush topper pricing to the community
“So thank you, bless you, Daddy Stern, for selling this for $200 less than the Mandalorian topper. You benevolent overlord you.”
Don @ ~15:00 — Sarcastic commentary on pricing strategy; reflects community sentiment about accessory costs
“How deep into this sick, disgusting hobby have I gotten where I'm taking time on the beach and I'm buying Rush shooter rods, but it lights up.”
Don @ ~22:00 — Self-aware humor about compulsive purchasing behavior in the pinball community
“Now limited edition owners we already have some custom armor uh that's something that's been missing from the last few uh le's that i've seen particularly bond and particularly foo fighters the le doesn't seem to come with that nice laser etched or designed armor which is a shame”
Don @ ~26:00 — Criticism of declining value/features in LE models despite increasing prices
“For that $3,000 price tag, and then you're still going to be left needing a topper and a shooter rod, I don't know that it's worth it. I don't know that it's worth it for me.”
Don @ ~29:00 — Questioning the value proposition of premium machines; signals market concern about pricing
“Best Toys and Mechs, 007 took this. What's funny is actually Toy Story 4 got more first choice votes, 702 versus 628. But I think that when the rank choice voting went in, man, this one was close.”
Don @ ~37:00 — Illustrates how ranked-choice voting methodology affects results; shows competition between JJP and other manufacturers

Entities

Stern PinballcompanyRushgame John Borgperson Mandaloriangame Toy Story 4game007 (James Bond)gameFoo Fightersgame

Signals

?
business_signal: Surge in Rush accessory demand (immediate sell-out) and high interest list activity suggests strong consumer appetite and potential margin opportunity for Stern through premium add-ons
high · Don notes: 'These things are already sold out and they're going to sell out. The second runs already have people's light up on interest lists'
?
community_signal: Twippy Awards demonstrate strong community consensus on quality tiers (Rush dominance) and reveal close competition in specific categories (Mandalorian vs Cactus Canyon toppers separated by 40 points)
high · Multiple vote tallies provided; Don breaks down close races showing community is relatively unified on top tier but divided on secondary choices
?
competitive_signal: Rush dominates Twippy Awards across multiple categories (GOTY 1,066 votes, Best Sound, Best Playfield Layout, Best Rules), establishing clear community preference
high · Rush won decisively: 1,066 GOTY votes (vs Toy Story 4's 530, 007's 477); won Sound category handsomely; won Playfield Layout; won Best Rules (Lyman Sheets Award)
?
design_philosophy: Rush topper features motorized mechanical gears (possibly 3D printed interlocking design per John Borg mock-ups) with illuminated center clock and album cover artwork interactivity, representing sophisticated accessory engineering
medium · Don analyzes: 'looks like 3D printed gears that were all interlocking...motorized clock in the middle...album covers that light up along the topper'
?
community_signal: Don's behavior illustrates deep engagement/compulsion within the pinball hobby—purchasing accessories while on vacation demonstrates community normalization of high accessory spending

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.058

0:00

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another action-packed episode, maybe slightly waterlogged, of Don's Pinball Podcast. Your news to your views to your brain, or however the ears work. Anyway, it's episode number 31. I am still floating on a boat in the Caribbean, coming to you from the waters just peripheral to the Grand Cayman Islands, and I've got some information, some news dropped today, unexpectedly as it does and i'm here to cover it off for you guys look at you guys you're beautiful and slam that's how the information came down today when stern pinball blessed us with new accessories for rush out of the game of the year out of nowhere boom i see an email from flip it out saying don't worry guys we're working on it just get us an email and get us on a list uh we'll get you on the list and we'll get you more information when we know and i'm like what the heck is going on? Perusing Facebook. Boom, there I see it. A link to the YouTube video showcasing four accessories that have just dropped for recently voted, Twippy nominated, and then achieved Game of the Year Rush Pinball. So we got the Rush Topper. It's out. We got the Rush Topper. We got a shooter rod. We got expression lights. People have been waiting over a year for those. And we also got some sweet, sweet Stern armor for the size of your pinball machine. and wouldn't you want to know what the prices are? Well, I did too, and at first they were unavailable. Now, Stern has surprised us all with that price of the Mandalorian topper being $2,000.

1:38

That's twice the cost of Elvira's topper when it came out. We've got prices now because all the distributors have started to put them up on their sites. So would you like to know how much money you'll be paying for this spectacular-looking Rush topper? Spectacular being subjective, of course. Is this thing 3D printed? Is it metal? well what do we got what are our numbers well starting at the top literally the rush topper listed price one thousand six hundred and ninety nine dollars is the cost to you a bargain compared to the two thousand dollar mandalorian copper or is it are we still paying way too much for these accessories i mean this is a game that you know what sixty nine hundred dollars you can go ahead and get a pro and for nearly 30 of that price uh is the accessory topper and definitely 30 if you want to get this thing outfitted. What else do we have? Expression lights. Now these have only been for sale for Led Zeppelin so far and they came in at around $450. Now for $450 you do get those interior lights for your machine. They fill into that channel and they come pre-surrounded with the graphic. You also get the arc blade that goes around that light LED inlay and then also I think there's a little board that comes with it too and it all plugs into the uh uh node board there that's down the left interior part of the cabinet uh and associated wiring so 450 that is now going to cost you 499 because rush and because pinball and because that's why and that's how much it costs now what we don't have is any addition numbers on any of this stuff how many of these are they going to produce that we still don't know apparently the first round for these toppers and expression lights has already sold out. But there's rumors that there's going to be a second run sometime soon is the best information I have. What else did we get? We got a shooter rod for Rush, finally. Have you seen this thing? It's in the video there. Kind of half-rounded, facing the player with that Starman logo. What I do like about it, though, is it is illuminated, similar to the Stranger Things shooter rod, which I really liked. It had that D20 with the purple lights on it. This one has red LEDs that seem to hit it. It looks like the Starman may be translucent, otherwise the shooter housing and everything else is black. Looks like it'll fit okay in the palm of the hand, but I do like the illumination. The illumination comes from two LED lights that sit in the shooter plate just underneath the shooter rod. A lot of plates and rods talks here. And then I'm sure it plugs into a node board on the other side there, similar to how Stranger Things does. I do like the illuminated rod. That can be yours for $139. Hit it. what else do we got? We got one more package thing for you, and that's the side armor. Fairly basic. It's lollipop-ish in design. It's got the Starman logo on there. Looks to be just, you know, it's not a laser-etched cutout or anything. Looks to be just either a sticker or graphic or a powder coat logo on there. Looks okay. It looks like it has a gloss finish, too, from what I was seeing in the video, which would contrast from that wrinkle coat of your crossbar. So if you want your thing to look nice and sweet, you're going to have to get that cross lock bar powder coated into a similar glossy finish. But that can be yours for about Ring me up That seems to be around the price for these sorts of things I think the Godzilla laser cut rails have been going for like from what I been seeing So if you've got a pro or if you've got a premium and you want to Cadillac deck this thing out, let me just add everything up here together. About $2,000 for the topper and the shooter rod. Add another $500 for the expression lights and then another $200, $250 for the armor. that brings you sir up to nearly three grand to outfit your device even more if you want a powder coat that lock bar so everything matches and everything has the same glossy feel so is that worth it to you probably worth it to enough people because these things are sold out of their first runs the distributors i've been talking to great american pinball sounds like flipping out as well they've all sold out of their first allotments some other distros i've talked to. I'm still waiting to hear back on what their allotments were. And it looks like Stern did not give a heads up to these guys either. They just dropped this on them just like they did us. So they probably spent most of the day scrambling around trying to find out how to fill these orders for these interest lists that they've had for well over a year, at least for the Expression Lights for Rush. Does this mean good things coming forward for the availability of the Expression Lights? Re, how about people that have a Foo Fighters Premium, which has these channels already built into it and that can have the expression lights put in does this mean we're going to get a kit somewhat soon for foo fighters or are we going to have to wait you know another year for them to release the topper and the side armor and the shooter rod and the whatever else uh for us to get those that i don't know that won't be a concern for people that have gone in on the pro foo fighters uh the foo fighters edition that is showing up in arcades as we speak because that does not have the built-in channels to accept the expression lights uh so the rush pro and premium they do have that ability it's already built into the side of the cabinet you just unscrew the black channel you can put the lights in there so you can put the lights in the pro you can put the lights in the premium but the foo fighters pro version does not have those in there so this is only an upgrade for the premium then is this because stern has looked at and said you know we have trouble meeting demand with it being supply chain issues or whatever the issues were so they want to limit the demand? Were they looking at the pro buyers being mainly location-based and not prone to putting in lights in their machines, and that's why they did that? Who the heck knows? Well, Stern Pinball, and they're not talking. But what we do have is me talking and my speculation. Now, what do I think about this Rush Topper? It looks like it has about eight to 10 spinning gears on it, motorized. Watching the video, I was trying to decide, are these all belt-driven, or are these actually mechanical linkages? And then John Borg apparently put up on his Facebook page some preliminary mock-ups of his design here. And these look like 3D printed gears that were all interlocking. So is there plastic interlocking gears that are running this whole thing where one gear in the center is motorized and that drives the whole business? Or is there still belts involved that will wear out? That I don't know. But it does look like it has actual metallic finishes on the gears. The gears look cool. uh kind of what i was expecting i'm sure they were going to work in that clockwork kind of steampunk look um there's gears all over the interior art blades um on my le uh so you know i think they want to go with that design uh also like a big clock type device right there in the middle it looks to be illuminated it is motorized and uh does light up the four modes so just like with mandalorian it appears there will be at least one exclusive mode that will come to the game through the form of this topper. So treat this topper as some downloadable content, gameplay expansion as well. And then figure that into the value price of the cost. It doesn't matter because these things are already sold out and they're going to sell out. The second runs already have people's light up on interest lists for them. So I don't think Stern will have a problem selling these. But thank you, bless you, Daddy Stern, for selling this for $200 less than the Mandalorian topper. You benevolent overlord you. So what are these four modes? Looking at what information I was able to see, the four modes on the clock in the center say extra ball, advanced time machine, millions, and then a new mode called frenzy. And I think that's the DLC mode for this. So it looks like, I don't know, maybe you'll hit a mode or something, the clock will turn around and highlight an area, and then that will be the award for finishing that mode. I'm still a little bit unsure. They did also drop some new code today. So maybe there'll be some implementation implementation. Or if you look through the code update, printout, maybe it'll have some clues in there how that'll work. And that'll be discovered later. Finishing up on just the topper though there are how many is it Four or five on those 10 total song or album covers that look like they light up along the topper So as the songs are playing or you in that mood they probably be or in that mode they probably be an illumination of that actual album cover So there be some interactivity there Not that you really look at a topper while you're playing, but if you've just got to have it, at least that's another cool function. So there's light up albums, there's going to be about 10 of them, five on each side, a spinning clock, a new frenzy mode, and a bunch of spinning gears. And so if that adds up to 1,600 $199 worth of value to you, get your name on one of those interested lists because it looks like Q2 and Q3 will be the next runs of the topper. Anybody else, if you do have a premium, you should outfit it with the expression lights. And actually, the pro can too for Rush. The shooter rod, that was a little easier to swallow. It'll be $139 plus the cost of shipping for most distributors to go in on. So if you do want to bless your Rush with a new shooter rod, what this does have over other shooter rods, though, is that illumination. And I know these are cheap 10-cent LED diodes that illuminate it, but I do think that extra little flash makes it a little more palatable. So me, in a moment of great weakness, I was sitting on a seven-mile beach in Grand Cayman, and I was looking over all this news, squinting into my phone because of that bright, bright Caribbean sun when I fired off an order for a Rush shooter rod. how deep into this sick, disgusting hobby have I gotten where I'm taking time on the beach and I'm buying Rush shooter rods, but it lights up. There's readily D lights. Oh my goodness. At least I didn't just jump in on a topper with a $500 deposit, which a lot of places are looking for. I've seen some distributors asking for half right now up front. So Rush Game of the Year, new version of Code Drop Today 1.1. We'll see what's new in there. I saw one thing that's leaked out so far from the update is this concert mode they're calling it. So the Rush user interface on that LCD screen is fairly cluttered with a lot of information talking about what's going on with the mode that you're currently playing, how many records you've unlocked, how much time you have until midnight, when you can open up the time machine, and what have you. So it looks like there's now a setting where you can reduce the visual impact of all of that information that crowds the LCD screen. It looks like you can even turn it off completely in what they call concert mode. So then as you're playing, you're not going to get that feedback information up there on that heads-up display, but you will have more screen availability, more screen real estate for the concert footage. So that'll be a fun little thing to play with when I get back and get my LE updated.

12:17

But yeah, I think that covers everything that I have to talk about from the new Rush package. We got the prices, $3,000, and you can outfit your Rush completely. now limited edition owners we already have some custom armor uh that's something that's been missing from the last few uh le's that i've seen particularly bond and particularly foo fighters the le doesn't seem to come with that nice laser etched or designed armor which is a shame especially as the cost you know my cost for the rush le was 11 000 now we're looking at 13 for foo fighters and all you're getting is that powder coat um but regular armor you're not getting any kind of ingrained image in there like with the Godzilla one though or at least the aftermarket Rush comes with that nice matte finish and it looks like a guitar on the side with guitar strings there's a lot of work that went into it a fair bit more than just the the same plain slanted armor that you get with 007 which also came with Foo Fighters so I would like to see them go back to a little more oomph into there but if you do own an LE you've already got the expression lights. You've got the interior art blades. You've got a nice powder coat on the lock bar that matches the side rails, mirrored back glass, and all that business. So to outfit it with just a shooter rod and a topper, hey, you're coming out a little bit ahead. So it makes my purchase of a Rush LE feel a little better now. Going forward though, I don't know if LE is really what I want to leap for. It does look beautiful for the Foo Fighters, for example, but for that $3,000 price tag, and then you're still going to be left needing a topper and a shooter rod, I don't know that it's worth it. I don't know that it's worth it for me. Everybody's going to come down a little bit different. There is something about owning that limited edition version, but do we need to rush to it? That will end with that for there. Now, another thing I wanted to cover after going through all the Texas Pinball information and the show that I just did a few days ago, I didn't talk about the Twippy Awards really. I didn't have a chance to really kind of go through them and give some feedback. So I want to do that real quick. It was basically what we would have expected, but there was a couple interesting things that came out with the results. So best theme was actually James Bond won that over Weird Al. But for the most part the difference between first place and second place wasn very close except for just a few categories For instance for that best theme 007 947 people voted first choice The next runner-up was, weird out, 754. So there's about a 200-vote discrepancy there. Favorite pinball mod, the Stumbler took it with his Godzilla Tokyo Neon sign. I just finally received mine after, I think, ordering it about six months hence, and that one won handsomely. 700 people voted that first choice, only 260 voted for the next thing up, which was actually the lab set from Stranger Things that Medicinal Mods made. Now, Straight Down the Middle did a really great video on the install and how that looks. I think that adds a heck of a lot more to the visual impact of the game than the amazing Stumbler light-up mod does, but maybe it was limited because of how many people own Stranger Things and what the availability for that mod set was. As cool as it does look, I think that may have hurt it. Best Sound, Rush took it. I don't think anybody else was even really close there. Favorite pinball event, Texas Pinball Festival. I mean, how can you complain with that? Although Chicago Pinball Expo was only about 60 votes behind it, so that was one that was close for the category. For favorite homebrew, Elf took it. I got to play Elf, so I'm not mad there. Pretty close, though. Dukes of Hazzard, about 90 points behind that. The Lyman Sheets Award for Best Rules, Rush took that, I think, over Toy Story 4. I think anybody you could argue that Rush is certainly a fair bit deeper than Toy Story 4, where we basically have to loop the game twice to wizard mode it. I still have no idea of the depth of the rules on Rush. I own the damn game. Favorite Pinball website, Pinside handsomely took that one. Best Toys and Mechs, 007 took this. What's funny is actually Toy Story 4 got more first choice votes, 702 versus 628. But I think that when the rank choice voting went in, man, this one was close. Bond took it by 3,468 vote points and 3,438, only 30 points difference between a Toy Story 4 taking it. So that was fairly close. Um, Toy Story 4's toys are really just literal Amazon toys though. Um, a mechanism, a spinning disc. What else did it have? Oh, I'm, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. How could I forget the independently controlled Benson posts? Now you never see these Benson posts function independently though. They only pop up when the Duke Caboom ramp pops up, but they are listed as independently controlled Benson Post. So there's your game-breaking mech right there. TNT Amusements took it away with her favorite pinball YouTube channel. Best Artwork Toy Story 4 by JJP. Now, should JJP accept that award or should Disney Pixar accept that award? I'll leave that for you to decide. Favorite pinball streamer, GoDeadFlip647 as first choice with Flippin' Out383 and Canada's Facebook Live 462. So handsomely, DeadFlip took that one. animations to display toy story 4 again should they accept it or should disney pixar accept it favorite pinball podcast ken ada's pinball podcast look at that 664 first choice votes the next closest one was a pinball show another favorite of mine 405 so well done chris seven for seven you goat you uh favorite pinball topper 2022 i don't think anybody could argue that mandalorian what took that one however this was a close one um when we look at the breakdown of the toppers here. 742 first choice votes for Mandalorian, but only 733 for the Cactus Canyon topper. So that was incredibly close. And then when you look at the breakdown of total points, this one was only separated by about 40 points total. So these are neck and neck, Mandalorian and Chicago Gaming Company's Cactus Canyon remake. I think there was a lot more going on with the Cactus Canyon. That's hard to say though. There was that Pepper's Ghost effect on the mandalorian neck and neck those are the two best toppers i would say weird out was funny but it didn't have like the interactivity that you see with the other two uh best play field layout rush took that over 007 favorite pinball location next level pinball in hillsborough oregon i'll hit you guys up next time i'm in the what is it the beaver state um game of the year rush took this one um fairly uh was this one close this one was not close uh 1066 people voted rush number one 530 voted for Toy Story 4 and 477 by 007 so 007 came in there, split the vote but Rush won handsomely, go you game of the year Rush, you currently floating back towards home, when am I going to be home? we'll find out, but I will keep commenting on news, views and reviews and other things that pop into my head to fill your pinball day thank you so much for listening, appreciate it as always, Don Garrison, or no Don's Pinball Podcast at gmail.com. Give me some feedback. Hit me up. We're having a great time on the Facebook page. We keep building followers in that community, guys. Thanks.