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A quick update on American Pinball

Don's Pinball Podcast (patreon feed)·podcast_episode·14m 34s·analyzed·Mar 12, 2025
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.021

TL;DR

American Pinball restructures to contract model; new game confirmed pre-midsummer.

Summary

Don from This Week in Pinball reports on a morning conversation with Ron Lindeman from American Pinball about the company's restructuring strategy. American Pinball is shifting from a traditional in-house development model to a contract-based talent approach similar to Disney's Imagineering model, allowing them to maintain flexibility while still delivering games. A new Cuphead game is confirmed to release before midsummer (not at TPF or MGC), and the company will rely on distributors rather than booth representation at major shows.

Key Claims

  • American Pinball is moving from full-time in-house staff to contract-based talent model

    high confidence · Don reporting direct conversation with Ron from American Pinball this morning

  • American Pinball's new game (Cuphead) will release before midsummer, not at TPF or MGC

    high confidence · Don citing release window from Ron's phone call

  • American Pinball will skip booth presence at major shows, relying instead on distributors

    high confidence · Don discussing strategy change from morning call with Ron

  • American Pinball was acquired by J.B. Vincent LP with new leadership (Brian/Bryan Vincent and Ron Lindeman)

    high confidence · KB context from January 2026 acquisition; Ron identified as contact person

  • Disney Imagineering contracted with Universal Studios for ride design, improving Universal's competitive position

    medium confidence · Don providing historical analogy to justify American Pinball's contract model; 15-20 years ago timeframe mentioned

Notable Quotes

  • “American Pinball's more kind of smaller project based and you know with their releases and their re-releases and reruns of the games and things it looked like it didn't make sense for them to keep you know full time designer you know punching a clock 40 hours a week”

    Don @ early in episode — Directly explains rationale for American Pinball's staffing restructuring decision

  • “This new game is coming. It's not coming at Texas Pinball Festival. It's not coming at MGC in Milwaukee in early April, but it'll be out sometime before midsummer is the current release window there.”

    Don @ mid-episode — Confirms Cuphead release timeline and show strategy shift

  • “If they have a need for a mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, they've got Rolodexes full of people that they can reach out to and get them.”

    Don @ mid-episode — Illustrates flexibility of new contract model for rapid talent access

  • “I have it on fairly good authority now that they are not doing that [being approached by movie studios for quick character-licensed games]”

    Don @ mid-episode — Clarifies American Pinball's strategy does not include reactive movie licensing

Entities

American PinballcompanyDonpersonRon LindemanpersonCupheadgameStern PinballcompanyDisneycompanyUniversal StudioscompanyThis Week in Pinballmedia

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: American Pinball shifting from full-time in-house staff model to contract-based talent acquisition, mirroring Disney Imagineering's historical approach

    high · Direct report from Don's call with Ron Lindeman; explicit discussion of moving away from 40-hour-week designer payroll

  • ?

    announcement: Cuphead pinball machine release window confirmed as before midsummer 2026; will not appear at TPF or MGC in April

    high · Don reporting exact timing from Ron's call; specific exclusion of two major shows

  • ?

    product_strategy: American Pinball abandoning traditional manufacturer booth presence at major shows; relying on distributor network (Jason Grindle, Marcos, regional partners) for show coverage

    high · Don naming specific distributors and explaining strategic shift away from company-run booths

  • $

    market_signal: Industry trend toward broader IP licensing beyond pinball (redemption games, arcade cabinets, merchandise); American Pinball not pursuing reactive movie studio deals

    medium · Don discussing licensing conversations with manufacturers; stating American Pinball has 'fairly good authority' against pursuing character-driven quick releases

  • ?

    design_innovation: Don developing labor-intensive 3D-printed Dungeons & Dragons topper with interactive lighting and diorama elements; targeting different market segment than Stern's ~$2,000 mechanical topper

    medium · Don describing active 3D printing project, expected completion post-TPF, planned as custom order product rather than mass production

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.044

0:00
This Week in Pinball Podcast, Terminate What's going on everybody in the patreon universe? Welcome back Don here. I want to clue you in on a conversation I had with a certain American pinball company this morning. As I'm sorry I'm just playing a little bit of this video game called Cuphead right now which you can hear playing through the recording. Actually it's just the gameplay trailer from the video game. I'm sure we've all seen it by now with the rumors of this game going on for as long as This Week in Pinball Podcast, Terminate And I'm John Papadiuk, Black Water, Kaneda's Pinball Podcast, TriggerPremiumufacturing, This Week in Pinball Podcast, Terminate And I'm John Papadiuk, Blackwater, Knapp Arcade, David Van Es, Keith Elwin, WPPRgomery So funny thing happened when I woke up this morning at the crack of 10am and I looked at my phone and I'd gotten some calls already that morning, had some voicemails. So as I was going through them I saw one from Mr. Ron Lindeman from American Pinball. Just said hey Don give me a call when you have a chance. So I had the chance. I wasn't even fully in the contest are awarded at Mult prevail.gallup Gruntbandгляд1.0.7 GFF dries UniversityGF raid20374 95.4 EASQISVID applesότεx When you work feelsahistimativeuatingpurentgones and bick Narrator3soundteam Bronzebankuesta olds worthиковice Papa KNox cabe, Le Gardini Frog yla claro, con esté audiences, mounduepvatepeplayuna.com cutteeeeexy tips on tksdj abyeyo in a s executwall r anytime RMU R카� MacPhryn Play métaprojectätta Callery Mac height superscript her 43 This Week in Pinball is not a game studio with multiple cornerstone releases per year, multiple projects going on simultaneously to the level of like a stern where you know people that work there on the payroll just full time and they always have something to work on. Americans more kind of smaller project based and you know with their releases and their re-releases and reruns of games and things it looked like it didn't make sense for them to keep you know full time designer you know punching a clock 40 hours a week regardless if there was you know something forthcoming or not. This Week in Pinballoxide, Terminate So they're going to what a lot of companies have done and that's kind of farm out their talent contract wise Disney did this 15 20 years ago when they kind of cut ties with their Imagineering department whittled it down to just like the bare Bones and everybody else essentially became hired back as contract employees Now that coincided with the blow-up of the ride quality at other amusement destinations particularly Universal that's when Universal Studios really stepped their game up to be a direct competitor with Disney and And they did that because they were then able to use Disney Imagineers for their rides. So a lot of those great rides that we see at Universal, they're built by the same people making the rides at Walt Disney World and around the world as well. They just kind of float between projects and things. NDAs are involved of course, but you're hiring the same people basically. And in the end the consumers us have been winning So people bring in that argument is know is Universal better or isDisney better And it like the rides are designed by the same people So they just I like them all I consider the three Universal parks to just be an extension of the Orlando theme park scene Like why do we have to choose you know to be one or the other Regardless
Texas Pinball Festival
event
MGC Milwaukeeevent
Jason Grindleperson
Marcosperson
Riot Pinballcompany
J.B. Vincent LPcompany
Rick and Mortygame
Dungeons & Dragonsproduct
WWEproduct
Sam Sternperson
  • ?

    personnel_signal: Ron Lindeman identified as American Pinball contact person post-restructuring, suggesting active role in new leadership structure

    high · Ron calling Don with strategic updates; identified in KB as key figure in J.B. Vincent LP acquisition

  • ?

    product_launch: American Pinball planning livestream reveal of Cuphead through Don's platform; emphasizing media coverage over trade show debut

    medium · Don stating 'we'll livestream it, we'll play it, and I'll give you first impressions' suggesting coordinated media strategy

  • ?

    event_signal: American Pinball presence at major shows will depend on distributor participation (TPF, SRGE, regional shows) rather than direct company booth

    high · Don naming specific regional shows and distributors handling representation; explicit exclusion from TPF and MGC booths

    • 3:54
    So, Ryan is back. If they have a need for a mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, they've got Rolodexes full of people that they can reach out to and get them. The game is on the line. The designer is involved. This new game is coming. It's not coming at TPF. It's not coming at MGC in Milwaukee in early April, but it'll be out sometime before midsummer is the current release window there. They're not going to do the traditional thing where they send, you know, their head of sales and development to a show have a booth that the company is representing themselves. Instead, they'll be relying on their distributors who go Atmicynastyfanate, T-P-F, Marcos, at Southerfrite GamingingExpo in Atlanta, Jason Grindle from Classic Game Rooms, Marcos involved as well, and the other shows regionally, California, Golden State, Pacific Northwest, they all have their distributors Nitro's up there in the Pacific Northwest. That players ResourcesSlotT华o barr369149636624まだ throws discerned right now. Some of these games are not available through PCS or Android. The only ones that are available as Android, gaming starters tend to prefer to yourself as a family сохake Всеwerre also require help from an external gateway. When games are played in a circumstances involves we have to downgrade your server. The game was already down at Ace Kogi and Van Nuys, California. It was already at a lot of the other prominent arcades around the world. At least 10 locations had the game. So at the time the game launched, you could go to your distributor and they had access to games that would be coming in. totaltext durantview nano The end of the day, we'll see what it is together. We'll livestream it, we'll play it, and I'll give you first impressions and everything. And if you're there, we can play together, and that's going to be fun.
    6:20
    So, AP is doing it. I've been talking to pinball manufacturers over the last year or so, and irreparably, irreparably? Eventually, the conversation comes around to licensing and things, because it always does. Street
    7:04
    The Pinball Development and the other things when you go to a Dave and Buster when you go to any one of the Wisconsin dells any any arcade from you know the front of a shopping Center you know your your your Kroger or whatever or you know a Chuck E Cheese whatever it is you don see a lot of pinball necessarily in those spaces but you see a lot of these quarter munching redemption games and so you know why aren you doing you know a Rick and Morty corn pusher and a Rick and Morty pinball machine and you know I don know a Rick and Morty change machine or something you know just something you know something Tim
    8:11
    The game that hasn't been named by me but should be coming out soon. And then they have another follow-up as well that they're managing. And then there's some other tentative projects that they aren't, you know, the R&D house of in particular, but they're working with other studios, you know. Riot Pinball, the folks that did Legends of Ahala and that Wrath of Olympus game, you know, they were, you know, a studio house where they did the design, the layout and everything. as well as the renched
    9:08
    out todd dang back at that way doing a fec redemption games doing our case games The Game of Thronesdisciplinary platform that they're helping to distribute the polycades and then also the pinball machines as well And if you're a production studio or a movie studio or a personality and you want a game You could then approach them and kind of work through the fact of the process of getting it together So it sounds like they're really streamlining their process and rather than being an all-in-one development house in Chicago That is just like cooking pinball machines for 18 month time frames tom andrune for awork vaccination applicationuse ADHD This Week in Pinball, Terminate Themes Already Ready, American Pinball is somebody I could see being approached by a movie studio and a character that facilitated with that and would probably jump at the chance to say you know let put something together and release a product But I have it on fairly good authority now that they are not doing that 502 CD teacher This week at the�Win jouerRo Fasc we've dinosaurs I just have some stuff trying to figure out how to accommodate magicalBullets using subdivisions rerecorded carbonable paperşčeryşč trepingařajož wrapping a аawnkiь еgypping youñýč artists And I've got this secret ambition to capture the video signal from WWE that goes to that mini screen on the playfield and I want to put that up as a topper like a jumbotron like you're at the at WrestleMania watching the jumbotron and like blow that signal up on the topper with a ring bell and all the business. I think that'd be super fun and this is a way that I think we could probably make that happen which I'm super giddy about. I'm super giddy about. While we're on the subject of toppers, I am right now in active development for a Dungeons and Dragons topper. This Week in Pinballoxide, Terminate I'm thinking rather than put the mimic chest up on top of the topper, which is what Stern is going to do, it's going to be hinged, it's going to have some motion of some sort, and it's probably going to be $1,500 to $2,000. I am going a different route and doing what I know best, which is 3D printing, creating cool dioramas and interacting lighting with the game, particularly with the general illumination. This Week in Pinball, And so to that end, I'm coming up with this concept for a dungeon scene where there's a magical scepter and it's being held by, you know, some kind of zombie wraith hand with crystals on it that will glow interactive with the game. It looks super cool right now and it's actively printing up. So I'm hoping in the next week or week and a half, probably by the time I get back from TPF and all that, I'll have a working model and we could show that off. Now, this thing is going to be absolutely labor intensive. I don't know that it's something I'll necessarily turn into a product that I will try to sell a hundred of, but I'm sure once people see it, they'll probably dig it. And if you want to get one, of course, just email me. And when I finish it, I'll show you what it looks like. And if you'd like one for yourself, well, who am I to stand between you and having a cool topper for your game? That is not $1,500. It's kind of my space. That's my space right in there. So that's what's going on down here. At the HouseOfDawn, How's things going on with you man? Have you been good? Do you like the patreon updates? I'll keep them going as I hear more. How fun would it be to have a Terminator 2 game redone again? Oh hey there's a 2025 release of a Terminator 2 no fate official trailer video game? Hell yeah. Alright I'm gonna go watch this thing. It looks absolutely phenomenal. Alright guys have a good day and I'm gonna play some T2. I'll see ya. Have fun!