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The Pinball Show Ep 150 BONUS: Episode 150.5

Pinball Show Patreon Feed·podcast_episode·15m 25s·held·Apr 8, 2024
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claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.028

TL;DR

Industry updates on remake partnerships, TPF debuts, and manufacturer quality improvements across multiple pinball makers.

Summary

In this The The Pinball Show bonus episode, hosts discuss recent industry developments including Pedretti Gaming rumored Funhouse remake partnership with Planetary Pinball Supply (using CPR playfields and Brian Allen artwork), Haggis Pinball's Centaur Revisited debut at Texas Pinball Festival, Chicago Gaming Company ongoing Pulp Fiction shipments, Spooky Pinball improved quality on Looney Tunes, Jersey Jack's CE/PE shipping timelines, and Barrels of Fun's production ramp-up. The conversation includes speculation about upcoming machines and industry dynamics around remake strategy, pricing, and quality control.

Key Claims

  • Pedretti Gaming first remake will be Funhouse, in final stages of production with partnership using Planetary Pinball Supply IP and CPR playfields

    medium confidence · Dennis describes the rumor about Funhouse being Pedretti's first remake and confirms partnership details with Planetary Pinball Supply and CPR playfield production

  • Haggis Pinball's Centaur Revisited was unveiled at Texas Pinball Festival with one unit brought by dealer Nitro Pinball from Canada

    high confidence · Host notes seeing video of Cary Hardy unboxing Centaur from TPF and confirms Nitro Pinball brought one unit as dealer

  • Chicago Gaming Company's Pulp Pulp Fiction continue shipping with no backward production bumps, LEs estimated to start production end of summer

    high confidence · Host discusses shipment batches and provides official production timeline from CGC

  • Spooky Pinball's Looney Tunes required zero fixes within first couple days, breaking pattern of issues in all prior Spooky unboxings

    high confidence · Host explicitly states this is first Spooky game unboxed without issues needed immediately, contrasts with previous experiences

  • Jersey Jack Pinball shipping CEs now, PEs arriving end of May

    high confidence · Host references previously given JJP update on CE/PE shipping schedule

  • Barrels of Fun shipping 10+ units per week and ramping up, currently four weeks behind intended schedule

    high confidence · Host provides current production metrics and schedule status for BoF

  • Pinball Brothers released photos of new game early, disrupting planned Saturday reveal on April Fool's

    high confidence · Host discusses how early photo leak affected Pinball Brothers' announcement strategy

  • Pedretti Gaming's Funhouse remake will feature multiple editions with highest tier including alternate art by Brian Allen

    medium confidence · Dennis describes rumored tiering strategy and Brian Allen involvement in artwork additions

Notable Quotes

  • “Look, the rumor is Funhaus is going to be their first remake. Oh, what a shock. Ah, Funhaus. I don't know. They already ruined it once.”

    Dennis (host) @ early — Sets up discussion of Pedretti Gaming's strategic choice to remake Funhouse rather than DMD-era games

  • “The reason I'm buying a remake is because it's nostalgic. It's an original theme. I wanted to read how it is.”

    Zach (host) @ mid — Articulates collector motivation for remakes and tension with alternate art modifications

  • “This is the first game that I have unboxed that within the first couple days of playing it, I have not had to fix or adjust one thing yet.”

    Zach (host) @ mid — Marks quality control breakthrough for Spooky Pinball on Looney Tunes vs. historical pattern

  • “It's cool. But, oh, it's beautiful. That's all I can really say because it's not like they're building them, to my knowledge. They're not building them yet.”

    Zach (host) @ mid — Indicates Haggis Pinball's Centaur Revisited prototype stage despite TPF appearance—production status uncertain

  • “I know you've got to play it safe but come on. What do you want from me?”

    Zach (host) @ mid — Reflects on pressure to meet aggressive production targets while maintaining quality at Barrels of Fun

  • “I think that you'll have to load up your avatar, steal some souls, and travel through time and space if you think that's coming next.”

    Dennis (host) @ late — Cryptic Matrix reference suggesting doubt about Matrix pinball game coming from Jersey Jack despite community speculation

  • “Chicago Gaming Company in the news because Pulp Fiction continue to ship. We have our next little batch that shipped from us. And right now, I don't know how many they're building a month, but it sounds like they haven't hit any bumps that have made them go backwards.”

    Zach (host) @ mid — Provides production momentum data and optimistic outlook on CGC execution

Entities

Pedretti GamingcompanyPlanetary Pinball SupplycompanyCPR (Classical Pinball Restoration)companyBrian AllenpersonHaggis PinballcompanyChicago Gaming CompanycompanySpooky PinballcompanyJersey Jack Pinball

Signals

  • ?

    machine_intel: Pedretti Gaming's Funhouse remake in final production stages, partnership with Planetary Pinball Supply and CPR, multiple editions with Brian Allen alternate art

    medium · Dennis details partnership structure, CPR playfield production, and tiered edition strategy with Brian Allen artwork involvement

  • ?

    product_launch: Haggis Pinball's Centaur Revisited premiered at Texas Pinball Festival via Nitro Pinball dealer, but full production status unclear

    high · Zach confirms unit appeared at TPF but states Haggis not building them yet and awaiting Fathoms completion announcement

  • ?

    product_concern: Barrels of Fun running approximately four weeks behind intended schedule despite shipping 10+ units weekly and ramping up

    high · Zach provides specific metrics on BoF production rate and schedule deviation with acknowledgment from both hosts

  • ?

    product_concern: Spooky Pinball's Looney Tunes breaks pattern of requiring immediate repairs—first unboxing with zero issues needed in initial days

    high · Zach explicitly contrasts with all prior Spooky unboxings requiring fixes, notes Texas Chainsaw Massacre still had issues three weeks in

  • ?

    supply_chain_signal: Chicago Gaming Company's Pulp Fiction SEs show inconsistent dealer stock—small dealers have inventory while major dealers backordered

    high · Zach describes broken distribution system where small dealers have stock while larger, established dealers remain backordered

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.046

0:00
Warning, the following episode contains adult language and screaming goats. Listener discretion is advised.
0:11
The Pinball Network is online. Launching the Pinball Show. Thanks again for the ongoing support as a Pinball Show Club member. Enjoy this exclusive TPS content and make sure to visit the Pinball Show Club Discord to chat about the bonus material.
0:30
What have we paywalled here? Episode 150.5, Pedretti Gaming, Dennis. You're not going to let them .5s go? No. Nope. You've ruined it already. So we're doing it. Pedretti Poop Monster. Oh, sweet. Poop Monster hype. Look, the rumor is Funhaus is going to be their first remake. Oh, what a shock. Ah, Funhaus. I don't know. They already ruined it once.
0:57
What's next? Rowland. i do you think funhouse is a good remake sure that would not be one of the first ones i would have went with well if we're not doing dmd games though why not i'm assuming that's the realm of cgc and no others i don't know if there's an alphanumeric that is worthy really of remaking i'm gonna put it out there how about that well as snobbish as you are though this is not surprising take on your part. What is worthy enough? Funhouse is close. Radical.
1:31
I don't know if it sells enough units. It's rare. I think Funhouse is more of a rescue. No. It's rare. You've never even played it. I've played plenty of transporters. You have not. I have two.

  • “Not a good plan. Or to announce it on April Fool's. Yes, you'd think everyone, but gosh, I still, the time, do you remember?”

    Dennis & Zach (hosts) @ late — References Pinball Brothers' poor timing choice revealing new game on April Fool's weekend

    • company
    Barrels of Funcompany
    Nitro Pinballcompany
    Pinball Brotherscompany
    Cary Hardyperson
    [name withheld pending review]person
    Texas Pinball Festivalevent
    Dennisperson
    Zachperson
    Tonyperson
    Looney Tunesgame
    Funhousegame
    Centaurgame
    Pulp Fictiongame
    Texas Chainsaw Massacregame
    ?

    industry_signal: Content creator Carrie Hardy faced backlash from Chris Coolers for unboxing Centaur Revisited, blamed for contributing to customer financial losses during production delays

    high · Zach recounts Coolers' damning comments toward Hardy for unboxing and discusses unfair nature of criticism

  • ?

    rumor_hype: Dennis expresses doubt about Matrix pinball coming from Jersey Jack despite community speculation, using cryptic metaphor about avatar/soul/time-space

    medium · Dennis makes coded statement suggesting Matrix game may not materialize, framed as counter to optimistic podcaster speculation

  • ?

    announcement: Jersey Jack Pinball shipping CEs now with PEs arriving end of May 2025

    high · Zach references previously given JJP update on specific shipping schedule

  • ?

    community_signal: Pinball Brothers' game announcement timing poorly executed—photos leaked early and reveal scheduled for April Fool's weekend, causing confusion about legitimacy

    high · Dennis and Zach discuss disrupted Saturday reveal and April Fool's timing confusion, reference historical precedent of April Fool's podcast swap confusion

  • ?

    manufacturing_signal: Chicago Gaming Company experiencing steady Pulp Fiction SE production momentum with no backward steps, maintaining shipment batches

    high · Zach confirms continuing shipment batches with no production setbacks despite slower pace than originally hoped

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Spooky Pinball's quality perception improving significantly—Looney Tunes achievement marks turning point after pattern of issues on all prior titles

    high · Zach expresses surprise and positive sentiment about quality improvement, contrasts explicitly with prior Spooky experience

  • ?

    event_signal: Texas Pinball Festival and MGC show strong attendance and activity—Spooky Pinball had excellent lines, multiple manufacturer prototypes displayed

    high · Zach notes Spooky cleaned up at MGC with hell of a line at TPF, multiple game debuts visible

    • 1:45
    Maybe you've played two. It's not fun. Is there a transporter two? I know there's like the force two.
    1:55
    Do you think Funhaus sells more or ABBA? Which one? Well, how much is Funhaus going to be as a remake? I don't know. I would guess. Price matters. I bet they're going to try to come in under $10. Well, but how much under $10? Because that matters also. For argument's sake, let's say it's $9,000. Then, no, I don't think it outperforms ABBA. Okay. But if it's closer to a Stern Pro price, yes. I just don't see it. I know that the rumor is they're going to have multiple editions, and then they even brought on, so they announced that partnership with Planetary Pinball Supply, who reportedly has the IP for all these Bally Williams games, blah, blah, blah. So they're going to be producing Bally Williams remake games and using genuine Bally Williams parts. The first game, they did say, is in the final stage of production, and then they announced that the play fields are going to be made by CPR and that Brian Allen, who we're familiar with as an aftermarket artist, if you will, going to be doing some of the artwork. He's done licensed artwork for alternate art packages for some of these games for hobbyists to purchase. So they're going to have him doing some of the additions. That's the rumor. Like the highest edition will have the alternate art package by Brian Allen, et cetera, et cetera. His alternate packages overall, I would say, are pretty nice. They're not always my favorite, but sometimes I do think they're an improvement. I like them, but I don't like them on the game. Is that weird? Not necessarily, no. I wouldn't say it's weird. The reason I'm buying a remake is because it's nostalgic. It's an original theme. I wanted to read how it is. There's leeway. I mean, look at CGC. The biggest success that I think they ever had was going with the jumbo displays over the traditional so much so that they kind of like – Sure, yeah, that's good. They had to reanimate it. Yeah, that's true. And they changed Bart Bart was ugly before our Cactus Canyon but they remolded him into a different figure for the topper and for the bash toy So okay I get that So there are some situations that I agree But some of it, eh. You're right. These aren't going to do well. Plus, Pedretti has its build quality rep to deal with. Oh, boy. Okay. Well, at least they're using genuine Ballywilliams parts. That's a start. Yes. No one cares about that anymore. People want genuine stern parts at this point. Snappy. Except for the coil stops. What game was I playing the other day? I'm like, shit, this game is too snappy. Like, it's so snappy. It was. Oh, it was. We'll talk about it here in a minute. It was Looney Tunes. Oh, Looney Tunes. Oh, shit. Too much snap on the Roadrunner. Wow. That game was flying. It felt like it was playing a Sega. All right, we'll get to that. But Haggis Pinball first. Did you see? Well, you did. You were there at Texas Pinball Festival. No, actually, I did not. You did not? No. What? I'm not exactly sure. I think I know vaguely where it was, but because there were always people on it, and I've played Centaur before. Oh, okay. I didn't. Like, I heard it was, like, the last time I was over there, I heard that they did have a Centaur there, which shocked me, I'll have to say. Right? I did not go and play it. I didn't see that coming. So Nitro, Nitro Pinball up in Canada is a dealer for Haggis, and they had one brought in from Haggis, I guess probably the first one. Yeah, since you didn't bother to be there. yeah i wasn't gonna have a booth so we had to turn to the canadians i'd turn to them to make sure this show keeps going on and had to turn to them for haggis oh boy so yeah i will say that i was surprised it was going to be there and then i saw a video carrie hardy unboxing it it's freaking phenomenal looking it's so beautiful um even i you know whatever you believe about the color play field, blah, blah, blah, whatever. I like it black and white too. Regardless, what a gorgeous, gorgeous specimen of a pinball machine. Nailed that. Now, they still have all kinds of hurdles. So to me, even as a dealer, guys, it doesn't really mean much that they got one over there. It's cool. But, oh, it's beautiful. That's all I can really say because it's not like they're building them, to my knowledge. They're not building them yet. Maybe they are. No, I don't think they are. So I don't know what's going on with Haggis right now. I would imagine Haggis will announce when they're finally done with the Fathoms, and I haven't seen that. Yeah, I think it didn't hurt them. I think it helped them. But, boy, Terry Hardy took some heat for unboxing that, which I did not understand. I didn't understand. Like, he's unboxing a game. Who cares? Yeah, I don't understand. I can see more of the heat of them going and bothering to get a game over when they can't even finish building the prior games. I know that Chris Coolers basically damned Cary Hardy and said that he's a bad human being for unboxing it. And he was basically in on making people lose money since the end. It was horrible, horrible stuff. And Cary was like, damn, I'm just unboxing it. I'm sorry. Like, I love Centaur as a game, so I wanted to unbox it. It doesn't mean that I'm, you know, the dims to breaks is what they say. Chicago Gaming Company in the news because Pulp Fictions continue to ship. We have our next little batch that shipped from us. And right now, I don't know how many they're building a month, but it sounds like they haven't hit any bumps that have made them go backwards, if that makes sense. Okay, no backward bumps. No backwards bumps. So two steps forward even when we expecting 40 steps by now at least they not going backwards So that is good The estimation that Chicago Gaming has given for LEs to start production is the end of the summer So still quite a bit of ways
    7:50
    So they're going to continue making SEs. My only frustration point is there are some dealers that have listed SEs for sale. I'm like, how in the hell do they have them in stock when your larger dealers are backordered this many? How in the hell do some small dealers have them in stock? Oh, yeah. That's what you call a broken system, listener. Not going to get on soapbox. Nobody cares but you. Well, the people that are waiting for their game care. I suppose, but maybe they need to start going to the small guy.
    8:24
    We'll see where that gets you. We will see. CGC, get your shit together. Come on. All right, Spooky Pinball. I think they've gotten their shit together. I say that because I unboxed the Looney Tunes, and I'm friends with them. So take this. This is truly going to be a bias. Even though I always tell you the truth, it's not like I can say, well, it's just a business relationship. I am friends with spooky pinball people, and I will tell you that every spooky pinball game that I have unboxed had issues. Every one of them, Dennis. Every one of them. Besides Looney Tunes. This is the first game that I have unboxed that within the first couple days of playing it, I have not had to fix or adjust one thing yet. Oh, that's nice. I was actually kind of surprised. Now, I will say, Texas Chainsaw Massacre came about three weeks ago. Had to fix something.
    9:21
    Just did. So, I was pleasantly surprised by Looney Tunes. And actually, because of that, having a lot more fun, too, when I want to fix something. So, yeah, I've had a very positive experience thus far on this game. So, bravo, Spooky Pinball. And it looked like they cleaned up at MGC and had a hell of a line at TPF. So, they're doing good things.
    9:47
    Jersey Jack Pinball, we know they're doing good things. I already gave you guys the update of Jersey Jack Pinball. They're shipping CEs. PEs are going to come end of May.
    9:58
    Yeah. You already did. They want something else. They want the barrel. Everybody says that Matrix is coming and all of that stuff. That's what they say. I'm going to pull a day fix here. What? Don't believe everything you hear from these podcasters is all I'm saying. Are you saying the Matrix might have an earthly demise?
    10:18
    That's right. I think that you'll have to load up your avatar, steal some souls, and travel through time and space if you think that's coming next. Why in the Matrix does Neo have to choose between the red pill and the blue pill? I would take all the pills because they're coated in plastic. The avatars, why will they try and take my soul? I won't let them. I will kick them with my fists. I don't have a soul. My parents are dead. That's right. They were died in Crime Alley. I tried to stop them from going down it. I was like, Mom and Dad, it's called Crime Alley. It doesn't sound like a good idea. And they were all like, listen, Nordman, you will become great. And this is going to be Crime Alley. It's like the transporter. It's a fun game. Just come down here with us. And then it turned out to be like Millionaire. Those are System 11 references that Zach doesn't really understand. But he's laughing so that he fits in.
    11:17
    I wonder if there's an abiverse that they didn't leave the theater and go down Crime Alley, and Northman just becomes a normal asshole. It was. In an alternate world where my parents survived they ended up going on to establish a chain of restaurants and then I became the inventor of the dumb barbecue game It's not a good future. I may not be what I wanted to be, but I'm what the world needed me to be. You got your medallion of truth or whatever from Abbaverse. The Abbaverse, there are parallel Abbaverses all over. There's a world where J-Pop was good. Barrels of fun. There's a world where G-Ball... Instead of Zidware, it's Dizware.
    12:05
    Instead of Retro Atomic Zombie Adventureland, we have the Adventureland of Retro Zombies. They're in there with, like, chaps and stuff. They're adorable. Oh, with Henbeck? That's bad. All right, Barrels of Fun. Currently running about four weeks behind their intended schedule. I'm guessing based on what they're shipping us they're probably like what are you doing? They are shipping more than 10 a week and they're ramping up every week That's information It is? It's slower than I'd hoped by now I think they would probably agree with that No, they'll disagree and say we wish we were slower Come on, Zach I know you've got to play it safe but come on What do you want from me? Oh, shit But none of them are really breaking, so that's good. That's good. Yeah. I have lots of positive buzz about it in terms of people first seeing it at TPF. You said it really wasn't for you, though. No, you know, I think that's more of the theme thing for me. And I didn't have enough game time on it to know if I was in love with it. So I wasn't in love with the gameplay. Tony loved it. He did. But I will tell you what. I have by about four times my prior levels in telling people, hello. Hello. I think someone said something mean about episode 149.5, and I just said, hello. That's all you responded to? Yep. That's fantastic. It's my version of the Zach, thank you so much for the support. That's right. Thank you so much for the support. I appreciate your comment. Thank you. Oh, that's my favorite, whenever people are just shitting on the Abiverse on our advertisements. And I'm all like, hello. Hello. What do you say to people that are like, really? I thought it was an April Fool's joke. I have to say, Pinball Brothers' plan, though, I know they got disrupted because of the early release of the photos, but their plan to do the reveal on Saturday, not a good plan. No, not a good plan. Not a good plan. Or to announce it on April Fool's. Yes, you'd think everyone, but gosh, I still, the time, do you remember? because they're not competitive players. Pepperidge Farm remembers. But Pepperidge Farm remembers when Josh Sharp did a major... I think that's when they rolled up a dollar fee. Yeah, that was a dollar fee. And now I think he kind of like... I think he kind of thinks that was a good idea, but it really was a bad idea. And now you just can't trust IFPA. I know. Or the time that everybody swapped podcasts on April 1st. That did confuse more people than I thought it would. They believed it. You know... They believed it. This is where I talk about this being a potato chip show. This is what our listeners are. They're potato chips.
    14:54
    Now you are listening here behind the paywall. You guys are like a veggie tray, but the potato chips listening, they have the thinking of a potato chip sometimes, and I get it. That's fine. I love potato chips too. Just occasionally I want to eat something healthy, and that's what episode 149.5 was. It was health food. No, it wasn't. It was healthy for all of you. It was sushi. It's not edible. I think that's it, right? All right. Y'all can push stop now.