We’re Hosting the TWIPYs! | News with Colin | Kineticist

Bash Pinball Podcast·podcast_episode·44m 15s·analyzed·Dec 31, 2025

Analysis

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TL;DR

Bash Pinball hosting 2024 Twippies; major rumors on Transformers/Pokemon, Cabinet Gate cabinet design controversy discussed.

Summary

Bash Pinball Podcast is hosting the 2024 Twippies (This Week in Pinball Yearly Awards), a shift from previous years. Colin from Kineticist discusses the decision to streamline awards to focus on commercial games only, and announces a new monthly news recap segment. The episode covers several rumors including Stern's next cornerstone being either Transformers or Pokemon, Spooky's potential next game (Gremlins or Goonies), and Chicago Gaming's Halo. Cabinet Gate, a Spike 3 cabinet design controversy involving joint construction, is also discussed at length with George Gomez's recent defense of the changes.

Key Claims

The Twippies are in their ninth year, founded around 2016-2017
high confidence · Colin explicitly states 'I believe this is the ninth year' and confirms founding near 2016-2017
Last year's Twippies were hosted at Wormhole Pinball in Houston, Texas, which is no longer available
high confidence · Colin: 'last year we hosted it at Wormhole Pinball in Houston, Texas... unfortunately that venue is no longer available to us'
George Gomez confirmed the next Stern cornerstone is either Transformers or Pokemon
high confidence · Colin: 'George Gomez was just interviewed by Carrie Hardy about...Walking Dead, where he confirmed that the next cornerstone is one of Transformers or Pokemon'
Jack Danger was potentially working on the next cornerstone game before George Gomez came in to help finish it
medium confidence · Colin: 'that is the game that I think Jack Danger was potentially working on and the one that George was coming in to help him finish'
The Walking Dead Spike 3 cabinet uses HDF (high density fiberboard) not MDF, per George Gomez
high confidence · Colin: 'Gomez ended up confirming it was actually HDF high density board uh as opposed to MDF medium'
Walking Dead cabinet design includes different joinery than previous Spike cabinets, using butt joints with brackets instead of more traditional wood joinery
high confidence · Colin describes the change in detail: 'butt joint, and it's held together by brackets instead of the like join itself'
George Gomez spearheaded the Walking Dead cabinet redesign and has a long history with arcade cabinet design
high confidence · Colin: 'George Gomez basically had to address it...George Gomez spearheaded. I guess he's he's got a long history designing arcade cabinets'
Stern initially left the Walking Dead cabinet service manual blank with 'coming soon' text rather than publishing details
high confidence · Colin: 'the parts reference page for the cabinet specifically had nothing on it except for coming soon text. So it was intentionally left blank'

Notable Quotes

“I mean, I love the work that you guys do. I have been a big fan of your podcasts. It sounds so incredibly professional, especially in the pinball hobby space. It's like an NPR level podcast for pinball, which is amazing.”
Colin @ early — Explains Colin's rationale for choosing Bash Pinball to host the Twippies
“Twippies...celebrate the entire hobby of pinball...commercial game awards, homebrew awards, content creator awards, and pretty much an award for like every facet of the pinball community.”
Colin @ early — Defines what the Twippies award show covers and its historical scope
“People in pinball just they know it as the Twippies. They love calling it the Twippies. So, it's like...may as well embrace it.”
Colin @ mid — Explains decision to keep 'Twippies' brand name despite potential rebranding
“there there is stuff that I cover every week that is just if you're not in tune with it, it just sounds so ridiculous...The like stuff that people get worked up about the drama.”
Colin @ mid — Characterizes the pinball industry news cycle and community drama
“Pokemon is like an endless well...Pokemon has been evergreen since it came out in the '90s. Like, they just keep cranking out games and more and more people keep getting into Pokemon.”
Host @ mid — Analysis of why Pokemon as a pinball license would have broad appeal across age groups
“They used a different joining mechanism where it seemed to require a bit more machining...more of a butt joint, and it's held together by brackets instead of the like join itself.”
Colin @ late — Technical explanation of the Cabinet Gate cabinet joinery controversy
“I honestly, man, like I don't know a lot about woodworking...for like a pro machine, I think it's still a pretty good deal for like a brand new game, right? Like no one else can compete with it.”
Host @ late — Defends Stern's pricing and manufacturing despite cost-cutting concerns

Entities

ColinpersonBash Pinball PodcastorganizationTwippiesevent George GomezpersonStern PinballcompanyKineticistcompanyWalking Dead Pinballgame

Signals

?
community_signal: Walking Dead cabinet design sparked intense Cabinet Gate controversy on Reddit and forums; community speculating about cost-cutting; George Gomez forced to do emergency interview defense
high · Colin: 'discourse got intense enough, right? Where George Gomez basically had to address it by going on a last minute kind of live with Carrie Hardy'
?
design_philosophy: Walking Dead initially featured Woodberry street sign design that was traced back to community mod, not original machine design; Stern corrected before production
high · Colin: 'they had...used that as inspiration without really understanding where it came from...they worked with the original designer to work something out privately...they changed the design of the sign before it was actually produced'
?
licensing_signal: DPX holds US trademark for Blade Runner pinball per patent and trademark office database; development status uncertain
high · Colin: 'DPX...had confirmed this at Expo...they had the trademark on the US patent and trademark office database'
$
market_signal: Stern left Walking Dead service manual cabinet details blank with 'coming soon' text rather than publishing transparent specifications upfront
high · Colin: 'they published the manual...the parts reference page for the cabinet specifically had nothing on it except for coming soon text. So it was intentionally left blank'
?
personnel_signal: George Gomez spearheaded Walking Dead cabinet redesign leveraging his long history with arcade cabinet design

Transcript

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0:10

You better not shout. You better not cry. You better not. I'm telling you why kinetic is coming to bad. Oh, that's good. Good. Oh, that's good. Good. Bash Pinball Podcast is hosting the Bash Pinball Podcast is hosting the Twippies. [laughter] Yeah. Hey, Colin. Welcome to the shed Yeah. Hey, Colin. Welcome to the shed cade and the Ash Pinball podcast. We do have you on the one other time at Stern, but we're we're working on doing but we're we're working on doing something more regularly with you. Um, and so I think the impetus for us Um, and so I think the impetus for us getting together in the first place here was you asked us to potentially host the Twippies this year. Not potentially to actually host Not potentially to actually host actually host the Twippies [laughter] actually host the Twippies [laughter] at this point. Initially the it was potential, but now it's a thing that's happening. It's happening. So, can you tell us a little bit about the the decision behind having us doofuses handle this uh task? I mean, I love the work that you guys I mean, I love the work that you guys do. I have been a big fan of your podcasts. It sounds so incredibly professional, especially in the pinball hobby space. It's like an NPR level podcast for pinball, which is amazing. Back backing up one second, there may be Back backing up one second, there may be some folks who don't actually know what the Twippies are. Yes. So maybe you can just tell us what Yes. So maybe you can just tell us what the Twippies are and a little bit of background and then we'll get into the why we're hosting it this year. Yeah. So the Twippies are an annual Yeah. So the Twippies are an annual pinball award show. It might have been like 2016 2017. It was shortly after this week in pinball was founded. I believe this is the ninth year. The whole idea is to celebrate the entire hobby of pinball. So, traditionally it's been commercial game awards, homebrew awards, content creator awards, and pretty much an award for like every facet of the pinball community. And this year, we're just deciding to make it a little bit different, make it a little more simple, and just focus on the commercial game awards. Okay, cool. And and I think the venue Okay, cool. And and I think the venue that you guys had last year is not available anymore, right? Yeah. So that that threw a little bit of Yeah. So that that threw a little bit of a wrinkle. So last year we hosted it at Wormhole Pinball in Houston, Texas, which was phenomenal. It was a great time. We had a whole like extended weekend of pinball focused events and it was it was basically like a a a really intimate fun pinball party. But unfortunately that venue is no longer available to us. And so we just decided to do something different this year. [snorts] Well, we're happy and excited to be a part of it and I'm I'm very excited to I I I think this I'm I'm very excited to I I I think this is going to be different. We haven't actually talked about this, but uh I'm assuming audio focused or we are we doing video? Well, go ahead, Don. Well, go ahead, Don. We're doing it all, baby. We're doing it all, baby. Hell yeah. All right. [laughter] All Hell yeah. All right. [laughter] All right. So, yeah, audio and video, but like not We don't know what we're doing yet. We don't know what we're doing yet. Calling a full disclosure, but here's the thing. It's like once we kind of get together and we just come up with ideas, man, it's kind of like we just [clears throat] just do it all as we can. Yeah. [laughter] Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I think Don and I Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I I think Don and I have discussed at least we will do a video and some potential interviews and put together like a nice video for it. Not live. I think the live part is Not live. I think the live part is the the live is is [laughter] very the the live is is [laughter] very difficult to pull off right now. Yeah. So, I'm excited for it to be recorded this year and edited. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. We can do that. Yeah. Cool. We can do that. Yeah. [sighs and gasps] You know, I'm I'm I'm stoked that you You know, I'm I'm I'm stoked that you guys agreed to help out this year and I think it's going to be a lot of fun. Dude, we're we're so stoked that you Dude, we're we're so stoked that you picked us. Yeah, you like I said, you guys are Yeah, you like I said, you guys are awesome. So, uh you deserve it. It does feel like a fun project and it definitely throws off our entire schedule. [laughter] But um but that's fine because it's like it's going to be great. It's going to be really fun and like Don was saying earlier once we sit down and like start hashing out ideas, I think we'll get back with you, start bouncing things off. Great. There's only like one major Great. There's only like one major category of awards uh to cover this year instead of like 200. So [laughter] that does simplify things pretty that does simplify things pretty dramatically. Yeah. So we we can narrow the focus a little bit. That should be good. Cool. Cool, man. Cool, man. Probably should say the Do you know what Probably should say the Do you know what it stands for? Twies. Yeah. Why? Yeah. Why don't you go ahead Yeah. Why? Yeah. Why don't you go ahead and say what it stands for? It is the This Week in Pinball Yearly It is the This Week in Pinball Yearly Award. I wasn't sure about the Y. [laughter] So I wasn't sure about the Y. [laughter] So now I know about the why. Keep in mind that I I did not found Keep in mind that I I did not found this. So it's like I I don't know why, but [laughter] I mean it that works. Most people I I mean it that works. Most people I think most folks who are, you know, into into pinball on a geeky level are probably familiar with them. But, you know, everybody sort of tried to to rebrand it last year. We we almost sort of put it head-to-head with the pinball community awards because I I wanted I wanted to kind of kill the Twippies brand too, right? And sort of completely start fresh. People in pinball just they know it as the Twippies. They love calling it the Twippies. So, it's like Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. May as well embrace it. Yeah. May as well embrace it. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's good. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's good. Yeah. [laughter] Okay. So, our podcast doesn't normally have a lot of news and we we tend to take some time to produce things and so other podcasts tend to kind of cover news stuff like the minute [laughter] it happens right away right away right away right away and we can't really do that because it and we can't really do that because it just wouldn't work for how we make our show. But at the same time, I think it'd be helpful to provide some occasional news stories. And like what better way to do that than have monthly news recaps with the king of news, Colin from Ketus. [laughter] Colin from Ketus. [laughter] Kinetic is calling. Kinetic is calling. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. You guys can expect from us and Colin You guys can expect from us and Colin going forward to have some more regular news coverage. And this is going to be fun because Don and I are like oblivious to news. So you will be telling us a lot of these news stories and we'll be hearing them for the first time probably. So that should just make it's gonna be so bonkers. Like there it's gonna be so bonkers. Like there there there there is stuff that I cover every week that is just if you're not in tune with it, it just sounds so ridiculous. [laughter] The like stuff that people get worked up about the drama. Uh yeah, it's it's [laughter] funny. Uh yeah, it's it's [laughter] funny. Well, yeah. I I used to keep up with Well, yeah. I I used to keep up with that stuff a lot more than I do, but via pinball podcast, but ever since I've been making a pinball podcast, my pinball brain is like spent on the stuff that we do. So, I'm looking forward to actually like I'm looking forward to actually like being a little bit more in the know cuz we're both pretty out of the loop to be honest. I don't read pinball news at all, man. I don't read pinball news at all, man. Like often times like I'll see like a new game pop up and that's brand like it's a news to me, you know? Like, well, and the other the other thing is well, and the other the other thing is like with regard to new games and game announcements, I kind of like to not know what's going on because I like to approach a game for the first time like not really knowing anything about it and just walk up to a game and just be like, I don't think I could do that. I don't think I could do that. It all hits me at once. It all hits me at once. I [laughter] I [laughter] It's It's one of the first things that I noticed too when we started the show, Matt, was um that's how I've lived my whole life. Yeah. And then we kind of started getting a And then we kind of started getting a little bit of like grains of of info. Oh, this new game might be coming out. And then like it kind of changed the way that I consume pinball. the way that I consume pinball. Yeah. Yeah. And honestly, for me personally, kind of And honestly, for me personally, kind of in a negative way because I started to like think about all these things, get some preconceived notions and ideas of what I was going to, you know, what it what I was going to, you know, what it was going to be and then it would come out and I'd be like, wait, this is not what I had in mind, right? And maybe it's not as good as what I thought it would be. So, yeah. yeah. Do you guys avoid like movie trailers, Do you guys avoid like movie trailers, too? I I do. Okay. I I'm very spoiler aver I I do. Okay. I I'm very spoiler aver averse to sort of a neurotic degree. Like I I I hate spoilers so much. I have this like unofficial rule that I have this like unofficial rule that I'll I'll go into like a trailer like 30 seconds and if by then I I should know if I want to watch it or not and I'll just like stop because nowadays like the whole movie I basically the whole plot on the trailer. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was real mad at Stranger Yeah. Yeah. I was real mad at Stranger Things for putting like the very end of season 4 as the thumbnail and I'm just like you can't avoid this. Why? Right. Why? Like the whole four episodes we Why? Like the whole four episodes we know this is what's going to happen anyway. Um Um so we should not so we should not cover so we should not so we should not cover rumors in [laughter] this. in [laughter] this. No no all that being said, right? No no all that being said, right? Let's cover rumors. Let's talk about Let's cover rumors. Let's talk about this stuff. It's fun to talk about. It's going to be fun. I want to talk about whatever you want I want to talk about whatever you want to talk about, man. Like you know, if you think it's newsworthy, even if it's a rumor, like that's when I want to know about it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The the rumors are interesting. I Yeah. The the rumors are interesting. I they're sort of background noise for me. like like I'm always sort of aware of it, but I don't like I don't know that I find any particular one rumored newsworthy in the newsletter and our articles. Like I don't tend to cover rumors that much. Every now and again I do. There's like a basically an ongoing tracker that I have on the website where it's like if I hear people talking about stuff in forums or like on a podcast and it seems credible or a lot of people are talking about it, I'll note it there. But that's like the most that I'll do with that. But people are crazy for rumors in pinball. Yeah. So I guess since we brought it up, Yeah. So I guess since we brought it up, are there any notable rumors that you want to talk about right now or that you think? Um, George Gomez was just interviewed by Carrie Hardy about one of our potential news topics, Cabinet Gate with uh uh Walking Dead, where he confirmed that the next where he confirmed that the next cornerstone is one of Transformers or Pokemon. Oh, whoa. Oh, whoa. Which makes me think it's because that Which makes me think it's because that is the game that I think Jack Danger was potentially working on. and the one that George was coming in to help him finish. Okay, that that checks out for me. You Okay, that that checks out for me. You know, we're not super dialed into like the rumor mill and whatnot, but that being said, I've also heard some pretty credible Pokemon pinball rumors from pretty credible sources that I can't divulge. So, that one that one rings true to me. So, that one that one rings true to me. Transformers, what what's happening with the Transformers world right now? I So this this is that that weird like generational split. Like you guys are younger, right? Um uh I think we're about the same age. uh I think we're about the same age. Well, Don's younger than us. Yeah. Um I I find that that people who are older than us are like pretty nostalgic for Transformers. Specifically the what they call the G1 Transformers, whatever came out in the 80s. in the 80s. Optimus Prime. Optimus Prime. Uh it was like I think it came out maybe Uh it was like I think it came out maybe a year before I was born or the year I was born. So it's like I I have no nostalgia for that, but people who are older than us do, like the actual cartoons, right? like the actual cartoons, right? Yeah. Yeah. So I or the movie, I think. So I or the movie, I think. Yeah, Yeah, I I did watch the cartoon and have some I I did watch the cartoon and have some of the toys when I was a kid. My older brother had like the Optimus Prime and all that stuff, but yeah, I've never been into the movies and I've never there's already a Stern Transformers. Yeah, the Michael Bay stuff was garbage Yeah, the Michael Bay stuff was garbage and it's like it does it doesn't seem like it is occupying the cultural zeitgeist, right? in any particular way right now, at least with the the younger generation. So, if you're going for, you know, straight Gen X nostalgic appeal, like, yeah, that checks the box. But if you're trying to hit some younger people, uh I don't know. It's not as exciting as I think Pokemon might be. Yeah. I mean, those those two games are Yeah. I mean, those those two games are almost entirely on opposite ends of the spectrum, like age- wise. Um, Pokemon has been evergreen since it came out in the '90s. Like, they just keep cranking out games and more and more people keep getting into Pokemon. And there's also balls in Pokemon. Right. Right. Right. I mean, there's so many tieins. there's so many tieins. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Pokemon is like an Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Pokemon is like an endless well. Did you ever play the uh Pokemon Did you ever play the uh Pokemon Pinball? I never played Pokemon Pinball. No. I never played Pokemon Pinball. No. It was cool. It was cool. Yeah. Yeah. I had like a rumble pack on it. I think I had like a rumble pack on it. I think I remember it having like a little like a rumble pack on the cartridge or something like that. Right. Right. So there there is some Right. Right. So there there is some Pokemon pinball precedent already. Pokemon Pinball President. Yeah, I did play it on the Game Boy. Yeah, I did play it on the Game Boy. Oh, really? Oh, really? Yeah. Yeah. Nice. Where were you already into Nice. Where were you already into pinball at that point? Sort of. Yeah. Sort of. Yeah. Was that what got you into pinball? Can Was that what got you into pinball? Can we say that officially now? [laughter] No, man.

12:36

This is your dream thing, Don. I've always been a pinball man forever. I've always been a pinball man forever. Yeah. Well, I mean, that's cool. Uh, are Yeah. Well, I mean, that's cool. Uh, are you are you guys looking forward to a a Pokemon pinball to play? Uh, I'm curious. I I'm I'm more cur like Uh, I'm curious. I I'm I'm more cur like intellectually curious about like how it performs and sort of what it says about the state of the pinball market. That's that's what I'm interested in. It's a good point. I'm curious too It's a good point. I'm curious too because it is like not a younger brand, but like yeah, it does appeal to significantly younger it does appeal to significantly younger people than like Elton John or you know what I mean or something like you know what I mean or something like that. Yeah. Gakari is not a Pokemon fan Yeah. Gakari is not a Pokemon fan probably. But I'm curious too, man. That's a good I'm curious too, man. That's a good point. It almost seems like a Jersey Jack license though, you know, just from like what they do. Yeah. Colorful like familyfriendly kind Yeah. Colorful like familyfriendly kind of thing. Yeah, I could see [clears throat] it. Yeah. I'm really curious to see how it Yeah. I'm really curious to see how it would perform too because like we talked about like a potential Wednesday pinball thing like the Wednesday show and I think that's in a similar boat and I think that's in a similar boat where it appeals to like young girls. Yep. Yep. And is that going to also cross over to And is that going to also cross over to the average pinball buyer? Well, yeah. It's like it's like when Well, yeah. It's like it's like when when when people were were talking about doing like a Barbie pin uh when that when that film came out and what and what that would look like. Yeah. Yeah. I guess it's always what Yeah. Yeah. I guess it's always what percentage of the how many can you sell to just the collector market who aren't even into pinballs. Yeah. Yeah. I love the idea. I love the idea of it I love the idea. I love the idea of it though. Yeah. Yeah. If you could do like a limited run, you If you could do like a limited run, you know, like Winchester style, you could probably sell them, dude. Oh, they would sell some Barbie. Oh, they would sell some Barbie. Yeah, cuz it would be awesome, dude. Yeah, cuz it would be awesome, dude. Just get like a miniature Barbie house in there. getting like the Mustang or whatever car. [laughter] Yeah, Yeah, you could do you could really do a world you could do you could really do a world under glass with Barbie, man. It'd be it'd be awesome, dude. It'd be it'd be awesome, dude. Yeah, I kind of agree. But that that Yeah, I kind of agree. But that that feels like a that feels like a Jersey Jack cuz they did Toy Story. I don't know. Yeah. Are there any other hotly rumored Yeah. Are there any other hotly rumored games that Let's see. I'm going through my list. Let's see. I'm going through my list. Supposedly the next spooky is either Gremlins or Goonies. [clears throat] Okay. Okay. Yeah, those have been rumored for a Yeah, those have been rumored for a while. Yeah. Yeah. Be awesome, dude. Either one. Well, hope Be awesome, dude. Either one. Well, hope I mean I'd be happy if they just check off that list. I know Beetlejuice was on that list. Now we've got that. Dutch is forever linked to Back to the Dutch is forever linked to Back to the Future, right? right? And then don't we have like a a Twilight And then don't we have like a a Twilight Zone remake supposedly? Yeah, that's been talked about for a Yeah, that's been talked about for a while with Chicago Gaming Company. Um nothing concrete, but it's it's one of those things that's persisted in the rumor mill. Yeah, like they ordered a bunch of ramps Yeah, like they ordered a bunch of ramps or something like that. Their next one is supposed to be Halo, I Their next one is supposed to be Halo, I believe. Oh, Oh, yeah. Yeah, interesting. yeah. Yeah, interesting. Dutch Pinball Halo. Dutch Pinball Halo. No, sorry. CGC. No, sorry. CGC. Oh. Oh, we're still Dutch. Dutch's Back Oh. Oh, we're still Dutch. Dutch's Back to the Future. But actually, before they do Back to the Future, so their subbrand DPX, Dutch pinball exclusive, they had confirmed this at Expo, bringing back Raza, which was a failed Deeproot pinball machine, retro atomic zombie adventure land. So, if you've ever seen So, was that like a Papadoo? So, was that like a Papadoo? Yeah. Yeah, Papa. It it came from the Yeah. Yeah, Papa. It it came from the same uh storage locker uh that he bought in auction uh alongside uh Alice in Wonderland and a few other things. So, real quick, Colin, DPX, Dutch So, real quick, Colin, DPX, Dutch Pinball exclusive. Is it like a subsidiary of Dutch? Yeah, it's the company fronted by Melvin Yeah, it's the company fronted by Melvin Williams. Have you heard of that guy? Oh, no idea, man. these basically I mean Oh, no idea, man. these basically I mean they launched it to be a premium smaller than typical Dutch pinball run machine maker. So like Alice Adventures in Wonderland I get it confused with the the miniature one. Um but that is like a 500 unit run. Raza's a 300 unit run whereas Dutch might be going for more of thousands of units at a time. Okay, that was their focus. They do some other that was their focus. They do some other things like if you saw the pinball legends figures that Planetary Pinball put out around Expo, the like uh action figures of classic valley Williams characters like um Dr. Dude, for example. So, they collaborated on that as well. Yeah. And I think last time we talked to Yeah. And I think last time we talked to you that Dutch Pinball, I think you told me this has the Bladeunner license as well or DPX. Yes. It's been a while since I've Yes. It's been a while since I've thought about that, but they had the trademark on the US patent and trademark office database. Okay. Okay. So, theoretically, they do. So, theoretically, they do. I think [clears throat] I need to design I think [clears throat] I need to design a Bladeunner game and just get ahead of this thing and then sell them the design. Brilliant. Brilliant. Because maybe if they're busy with other Because maybe if they're busy with other stuff, like this is an opportunity for me to actually make this game. Yeah. Make their lives easier. Yeah. Make their lives easier. [laughter] Is that is that one of the like the Is that is that one of the like the games that you'd be most excited about? Like in theory? Yeah. The problem is I have no idea how Yeah. The problem is I have no idea how you would do it because it's such a like slow dark would you do just the first one or would would you do just the first one or would you do the first one and the second one? I think just the first one but I think just the first one but I don't think it lends itself to pinball I don't think it lends itself to pinball other than just vibe vibe. It's a super cool vibe and it it'd be like a Dune or U but you know that those games can be great. I just think they're harder to pull off. It's it's hard to to pull it off. Yeah. It's it's hard to to pull it off. Yeah. like with that much depth and um just like storytelling, it's it's kind of Yeah, it can be tough for sure. Yeah, it's very atmospheric. I would I Yeah, it's very atmospheric. I would I would I would say uh yeah, yeah, I don't know. Um barrels could could I don't know. Um barrels could could probably pull it off. Yeah, I I actually talked to David Yeah, I I actually talked to David Vaness at TPF and I was trying to pitch him on doing Bladeunner, but that was before that I knew cuz he was asking the same question. He's like, "Well, which one do we do? We do the first movie or the second one or the first movie or the second one or the universe?" But yeah, it sounds like kind of bummed But yeah, it sounds like kind of bummed that they sounds like they don't have the license. So, it does kind of bum me out when like the wrong company has the license for a [laughter] game. I'm like, that's the game I want. Oh, I don't know. Maybe Dutch will do a Oh, I don't know. Maybe Dutch will do a great job. All right. What else we got? Do you want to talk about Cabinet Gate? Do you want to talk about Cabinet Gate? Yeah, let's talk about Cabinet Gate. Yeah, let's talk about Cabinet Gate. This is a Spike 3 thing. Yeah. So, like, you know, every Stern Yeah. So, like, you know, every Stern release has like some little community controversy, right? And so, Walking Dead has kind of had a few of them. I think I actually wrote about this last week about how it's been kind of a a messy launch. Okay. Okay. So, when they revealed it, I don't know So, when they revealed it, I don't know if you saw this, they had a like welcome to Woodberry street sign above the Woodberry ramp. But what was interesting about that is that it was actually traced back to a community mod, not the original machine, that was released like just after the original machine was out. So apparently they had gone back to community sourced photos and whatnot of the game and used that as inspiration without really understanding where it came from. understanding where it came from. Gotcha. Tricky. Gotcha. Tricky. Yeah. Yeah. Not as bad as using AI. [laughter] Not as bad as using AI. [laughter] Right. Right. Right. Not quite. Right. Right. Right. Not quite. Still similar type of issue though. Still similar type of issue though. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's you know the sourcing and the Yeah. It's you know the sourcing and the I guess the like factchecking of it. Dude, it's getting harder. It's getting Dude, it's getting harder. It's getting harder with all the AI like summation. Yeah, man. Like it's getting tough. Yeah. So, has Stern addressed this? So, has Stern addressed this? They did. Yeah. To their credit, they They did. Yeah. To their credit, they addressed it pretty quickly. Pretty much as soon as it was brought to their attention that it was someone else's design, they worked with the original designer to work something out privately. I don't know what the exact resolution was, but okay. okay. They acknowledged that it was a mistake They acknowledged that it was a mistake and then they changed the design of the sign before it was actually produced. So yeah, as as far as ways they could have handled it, I was pretty impressed. You know, that sounds like a reasonable that sounds like a reasonable resolution. So that's cool. What else about Cabinet Gate? What else about Cabinet Gate? So as games started shipping, one of the So as games started shipping, one of the things that they didn't really talk about in marketing materials, but they've they've alluded to this in other releases that, you know, the the Spike 3 changes are getting rolled in over time, right? It's it's like we saw the larger screen with Star Wars and the sound system. Well, with Walking Dead, we're getting changes to the cabinet design. So, different changes than we saw on the So, different changes than we saw on the Star Wars, which was the first Well, so it was Spike 3 in like some of its guts, but the cabinet design is the same as the Spike 2 cabinets. So, it's sort of like a it's like a hybrid almost like a Spike 2 and a half machine. Whereas, this one has the upgraded Whereas, this one has the upgraded hardware, the display, and it's got the cabinet changes, too. And what people were mostly picking up on and and cluing in on is some photos got released showing the cabinet joinery at the corner. Whereas previous cabinet designs I'm not a woodworker so I'm going to like screw this up. They used a different joining mechanism where it it it seemed to require a bit more machining and people who were, you know, wood woodworking experts or whatever, uh, were like, "Oh, that's that's a much stronger, more sturdy type of joint than what they're using in Spike 3 cabinets, which is more of a well, it's a butt joint, and it's it's held together by brackets and it's it's held together by brackets instead of the like the like join itself." So people were concerned about that. They looked at the wood and assumed it was cheaper. The community at the time was thinking it was plywood covered by MDF where Gomez ended up confirming it was actually HDF high density board uh as opposed to MDF medium. Yeah. medium. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that ended up being being wrong. But So that ended up being being wrong. But people are are are they're concerned that Stern is moving in like an IKEA direction where their cabinets are are being more like flat pack designed versus something a little more custom. Gotcha. So, and we're just talking about Gotcha. So, and we're just talking about the cabinet itself, not the playfield. Correct. Not the playfield. Correct. Not the playfield. Okay. So, it I guess the concern is Okay. So, it I guess the concern is machines are just going to be jankier and fall apart. Longevity. People People are concerned that it won't hold up as well or that if moisture is introduced, it will warp or something. Bowl or Bowl or Yeah. Or or that it's just, you know, Yeah. Or or that it's just, you know, more than anything, I think people are just concerned or looking for points that kind of validate the thinking that Stern is cheaping out and cost cutting. cost cutting. Yeah. cost cutting and engaging in like Yeah. cost cutting and engaging in like anti-consumer practices essentially which okay okay I don't think is true but you know I don't think is true but you know teaching right right there there are people out there I there there are people out there I posted something on Reddit and I was like shocked at just all the hate people want this narrative to be true people want this narrative to be true and people were just like they've been and people were just like they've been you know cutting costs for years and dude what are you doing like they're literally providing us with pinball like every year like new stuff like get out of here yeah so like the discourse got intense yeah so like the discourse got intense enough, right? Where George Gomez basically had to address it by going on a last minute kind of live with Carrie Hardy for I don't know hour and a half, two hours. [snorts] They talked at length about the cabinet design changes, which is apparently a project that George Gomez spearheaded. I guess he's he's got a long history designing arcade cabinets, so it's something that he knows really well. But I mean, it does seem like some of the changes were made in order to gain some production efficiencies and some cost control. It's easier to ship the raw pieces of the cabinet and assemble them at Stern. Makes sense. That's fine. But you seem pretty confident in the But you seem pretty confident in the design. I honestly, man, like I I don't I don't I honestly, man, like I I don't I don't know a lot about woodworking and whatever, but just from like a man from manufacturing Yeah. Like six grand, man, for like a pro Like six grand, man, for like a pro machine, I think it's still a pretty good deal for like a brand new game, right? like no one else can compete with it, man. Like that. It's hard to argue that, man. Like that. It's hard to argue that, right? Like you can complain about cost cutting, etc., etc., but who else can make a game for and to sell for six grand? I think it's smart for them to get ahead I think it's smart for them to get ahead of inflation and tariffs and try to do something that will, you know, that's comparable that lowers their cost. Like every manufacturer is trying to do that with every single product that they make all the time. It's business. That's it's it's It's business. That's it's it's business, right? Yeah. If you don't do that, you just Yeah. If you don't do that, you just you're just leaving money on the table. That's what I was trying to say, right? But yeah, it's funny because with But yeah, it's funny because with pinball, you think about the cabinet design and you're just like whatever. It's fine. It'll be it'll be fine. However, if the weight of the machine changes significantly, it does change the game play different. Yeah, George George did talk about that a George George did talk about that a little bit in the interview where he he acknowledged that like Stern pinball machines, you know, they have a certain feel to them, right? That that players kind of expect to be consistent. So, that was factored into the redesign and they tried to preserve that feel and, you know, the weight of it, the physicality of it, uh, as much as possible. Yeah, I can see people being concerned if they're switching from, you know, a seven layer plywood to a five layer, something like that. It could change the density and change the weight and stuff like that. But honestly, when we were when we I think honestly, when we were when we I think when it was Yeah. during the Star Wars launch at Stern, George was talking quite a bit about him spearheading the redesign of the cabin and fitting the LC larger LCD in there and stuff like that. And I mean, I gotta say, he seemed pretty sincere and pretty excited. Yeah. About all these changes and real About all these changes and real positive about everything. So, it it it inspired confidence in me. I was like, "This guy, he's got Yeah. I I mean, I don't I don't think Yeah. I I mean, I don't I don't think Stern like does stuff to intentionally screw the consumer. I just don't Yeah. Yeah. You know, you've talked to a bunch of You know, you've talked to a bunch of people there. I've talked to a bunch of people there. I mean, we spent time in their building. That's just not the impression that you That's just not the impression that you get. At least at least me. I don't know. [laughter] I I agree. I mean, I think it's easy to like paint this narrative that like these guy, it's like big pinball, right? But but really like everyone there that we but really like everyone there that we talked to loves pinball, wants to provide like the best absolute product at the cheapest possible price to to keep pinball going. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know what I mean? It's like you know what I mean? It's like ultimately they're they're keeping ultimately they're they're keeping pinball alive. They're the big dogs. And you know, if they're trying to screw people, then I mean, the I'll say the the boutique I mean, the I'll say the the boutique companies would not be anywhere near as successful as they are today without Stern. Stern Stern subsidizes the market. They facilitate market expansion. They're really the only company that does. Uh, and everyone downstream of that Uh, and everyone downstream of that benefits from that work. I do think that they could have been probably a little more upfront or transparent with how they communicated that from the get- go.

27:26

was that they published the manual for the game, right? The service manual, and the parts reference page for the cabinet specifically had nothing on it except for coming soon text. So it was intentionally left blank because they weren't ready to release the details yet. So I think if they had prepared themselves to a point where where it could have been a talking point in their marketing, they never would have had any of this controversy. Right. Right. You know, look at Apple or Right. Right. You know, look at Apple or any of these companies like, you know, the next iPhone comes out and it's lighter and they brag about how it's lighter and then the one after that comes out and it's heavier and they brag about how it's heavier. So turn it into a feature, [laughter] So turn it into a feature, [laughter] right? Right. right? Right. It feels like that was a missed opportunity. At least they could have put the positive spin on some of those kind of details. I'm sure they will next time probably I'm sure they will next time probably cuz you don't want any kind of gate to be associated [laughter] with your product. Bend. What was Apple had? Yeah. I Bend. What was Apple had? Yeah. I actually worked for Apple. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Like right after that. Yeah, I did. Like right after that. Yeah, I did. Yeah, it was bad. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You don't want any Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You don't want any gates and a gate. It cost you a lot of money. Cost a lot of money. I was going to ask Cost a lot of money. I was going to ask Colin earlier, Colin, what are some of your favorite stories to cover? Right. So, we talked a little bit about rumors and headlines, etc., but what are your personal favorite stories to cover? Uh, I like doing interviews. I like when Uh, I like doing interviews. I like when really not everyone enjoys this [laughter] based on on the feedback that that I get based on on the feedback that that I get sometimes, but I love when pitball intersects with larger cultural trends and I can cover the intersection of those things. So like some of the the biggest stories that we had this year was like the IFPA OBX incident covering that the Harry Potter AI stuff talking a little bit about the impact of tariffs on the industry and things like that. Yeah. Can we briefly just talk about Can we briefly just talk about Beetlejuice cuz we haven't talked about that on the show. Not even that feels like such old news but yeah that feels like such old news but yeah talk about juice. Yeah, it is kind of old news but it's Yeah, it is kind of old news but it's new to this podcast. Yeah. Yeah. I haven't even uh I haven't Yeah. Yeah. I haven't even uh I haven't even seen it yet. Dude, I have I've been going out of my way to not look at spoilers. Yeah, Yeah, but Spooky announced Beetlejuice. but Spooky announced Beetlejuice. Yes. Yes. Has it started shipping yet? Has it started shipping yet? It uh No, it has not started shipping It uh No, it has not started shipping yet. They and they've been pretty upfront about this. It's kind of using the same cadence that like uh Evil Dad did. So, just like Evil Dad, they announced it in like around middle of November, took pre-orders, and I think they started shipping first quarter of this year, probably January. So, Beetlejuice is supposed to follow that kind of structure. I think the first show it's going to be at is Pinball at the Beach, and I think it'll start shipping pretty soon after that. What has the response been to What has the response been to Beetlejuice as far as insanely positive? Uh, well, it's So, insanely positive? Uh, well, it's So, Spooky did a pretty good job of generating FOMO for this release. So they've been they've been kind of quietly behind the scenes hyping it for most of this year in like community chats like Discords and Patreons and you know leaking leaking details to friendly content creators and sort of you know getting the word out that if people are interested in it they should you know get on a list with a distributor sooner than later. So, this is probably one of the the most prehyped pinball releases that I can remember or at least since since I've been in the hobby. Obviously, no one's no one's or very few people have played it yet. So, uh it remains to be seen what the actual game ends up being like, but um people seem really positive about it. So, were there any like big um features or toys or uh There's a lot. There's a lot. Uh yeah, it's So, the big marketing Uh yeah, it's So, the big marketing gimmick, at least early on, was Spooky Speak. Did you hear about that? No. No. No. No. So, it's part of the topper. So, you So, it's part of the topper. So, you only get it if you buy the topper. But essentially, it's like a voice assistant. Like, you could talk to the game uh and have it react. So, like you can say, what is it? Beetleju, Beetleju, what is it? Beetleju, Beetleju, Beetlejuice, and it it boots up, right? like that that that that kind of stuff. So that that was their big sort of marketing gimmick. I mean the thing is pretty loaded with like toys and sculpts like a typical spooky game maybe. Yeah. I guess the like the highlight mechanic is probably the sandworm mech where it's it's multi-function. It it moves. Uh it eats the ball. You know, it's it's a Is this the sandworm that everybody was Is this the sandworm that everybody was hoping Dune would have? [laughter] Maybe. Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. Well, it's um I I think I think it's more the shark that everyone was wishing was in Jaws. [laughter] I think I think it's probably more a I think I think it's probably more a response to that than the the dude sand. But Christopher Franchiard, people love his Christopher Franchiard, people love his art. Yeah, I I did see the cabinet looked Yeah, I I did see the cabinet looked looked pretty great. Yeah. Are they doing a limited run like they Are they doing a limited run like they usually do? Have they announced the number of units? 999. 999. 999. So that that is the other thing, 999. So that that is the other thing, right? It's a pretty safe theme, right? like yeah, yeah, they could have made more and they hyped they could have made more and they hyped it probably more than they needed to. So, it was basically sold out before they announced it, which it means, you know, they left a which it means, you know, they left a lot of money on the table. Yeah, it seems like I don't know if this Yeah, it seems like I don't know if this is a trend, but barrel, you know, barrel's doing such a limited number of Winchester and those selling out super fast. It does seem like, you know, FOMO is part of this marketing strategy for a lot of these companies. It is. Yeah. And it's it's been a part It is. Yeah. And it's it's been a part of how you market pinballs for a long time. Yeah, it kind of I mean I guess it works Yeah, it kind of I mean I guess it works as long as you maintain the quality, right? right? Um but if if you pre if Beetlejuice Um but if if you pre if Beetlejuice turns out to be a turd and everybody's already paid for it and then they get it home and it sucks and it breaks, well then then it's an issue for them well then then it's an issue for them again. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's the risk, right? I mean you you That's the risk, right? I mean you you sort of like you have to knock the game out of the park or you're going to have trouble. you're going to have trouble. Yeah. Well, I mean they're doing a great Yeah. Well, I mean they're doing a great job. I really feel like really since Texas Chainsaw Looney Tunes, I think Spooky has been firing on all cylinders. I've always loved their games. My only I've always loved their games. My only thing was like they just weren't maybe as flowy or as fast or whatever, but like I feel like recently they they've had that. So yeah, this is I'm excited to play movies for sure. I feel like that's when they started the I feel like that's when they started the Texas Chainsaw era is when it started getting more fun to shoot. Like Scooby, I I hated Scooby. I haven't been Scooby, I I hated Scooby. I haven't been a big fan of like any of their prior releases except for Total Nuclear, which, you know, really isn't their game. So, definitely seems like they're, you know, they're starting to figure some things out as a company, which is good. Yeah, that's that's exciting. Yeah, that's that's exciting. Aesthetically, man, I've always just Aesthetically, man, I've always just they they're awesome, dude. Like just like the visuals and the colors and like just like the little figures and mechs vibe. Yeah. And usually theme integration to some degree, too. Yeah. Too bad they don't have Yeah. Too bad they don't have Bladeunner. They probably do. They would kill they would kill Bladeunner in a good way. I think so. I think you have to be you I think so. I think you have to be you have to be a little more restrained, I think, to pull off Blade Runner, right? That's that's why I Blade Runner, right? That's that's why I think that's why I think like barrels barrels could do it because of what they did with Doom, right? right? I hear you. It has to be a little I hear you. It has to be a little subtle. I think in visuals exclusively. So, yeah. Who knows, man. I don't know. I yeah. Who knows, man. I don't know. I got to design it now. But yeah, I mean I I don't know. I don't But yeah, I mean I I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if you guys have a location near you that gets like all the the rare boutique games. I don't really, but like I don't know when I'm going to have a chance to play it. It might take until expo or our new local spot does have an Evil our new local spot does have an Evil Dead and they got Allison. They got the new advent what is Allison. They got the new advent what is it? Adventures in Wonder. Adventures in one. Yeah, Adventures in one. Yeah, I actually I actually really like that I actually I actually really like that game. Oh, you do? Oh, you do? I did. I did. I did not like it at all. I did. I did. I did not like it at all. [laughter] I I do not get along with that game. I I do not get along with that game. I get it. I actually really enjoyed I get it. I actually really enjoyed playing it. I don't get the upper play field. like I don't get the upper play field. like it doesn't doesn't feel right. Like the the magnet thing that was a fail for me, but I I loved it. I I loved it. [laughter] I kind of thought you might like it, but I kind of thought you might like it, but I It's like my least favorite game in a while. New game. Uh I agree. Yeah. And not not my Uh I agree. Yeah. And not not my favorite either. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I think we're probably good. Well, I think we're probably good. Yeah, I think that's it. I mean, we're Yeah, I think that's it. I mean, we're out of time. All right, guys. It's been a pleasure. All right, guys. It's been a pleasure. Just in that just in that hour, I Man, I Just in that just in that hour, I Man, I am like thoroughly informed. I'm way more informed than [clears throat] I was. an hour ago. Wait, did Colin freeze? Wait, did Colin freeze? Colin? Colin? Oh, his internet died. Oh, his internet died. Do you want to just like end it? Do you want to just like end it? Yeah, hang on. I'm texting Colin. Colin Yeah, hang on. I'm texting Colin. Colin got booted off, but right as we were wrapping up. So, we're going to just wrap it up and not make him get back on because who knows how long before his router like resets and yada yada yada. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, so bye Colin. Okay. Well, so bye Colin. Bye Colin. Bye Colin. Bye. Thanks for coming on. We're going Bye. Thanks for coming on. We're going to continue to have Colin on as a regular news anchor, right? Yeah. He's He's going to be our official Yeah. He's He's going to be our official I guess maybe we'll be his arm or he'll be our arm or arm and a leg content creation body, right? So right? So yeah, audio video. yeah, audio video. Yeah, we can work together and have the Yeah, we can work together and have the news. So Colin does pinball full time. So Colin does pinball full time. Does he really? Does he really? He does pinball fulltime. Yeah, He does pinball fulltime. Yeah, I didn't know that. I didn't know that. And so side note, I wanted to mention And so side note, I wanted to mention this earlier but I forgot. But for folks who don't know Kineticist or anything about Colin, how the Twippies or or how Kineticist relates to this weekend pinball, if you're interested in some of that backstory, want to get to know Colin a little bit better, check out Dirty Pool's number one episode, I believe it was. Was it? Was it? Yeah. Dirty Pool. Jeff did a interview Yeah. Dirty Pool. Jeff did a interview with Colin and he covers all that stuff. We're not going to cover it again here because probably half of you have already heard that. I think there's also a wormhole interview with Colin from about a year ago, which is I guess the JBS podcast now. So which is I guess the JBS podcast now. So check those two interviews out with Colin if you want to learn more about Kineticist and this this weekend pinball. And there was a pretty good one which And there was a pretty good one which featured Colin a little bit, you know, a little bit of his backstory, but then also covered um AI with Harry Potter on the Nudge cast. Right. Right. Totally forgot about that. Right. Right. Totally forgot about that. Yeah, that's that's not so much his backstory, but another interview there with Colin. I think this wraps up our our first our first our first US is next news episode. WBP our first US is next news episode. WBP Action News will be coming at you with a little bit more officialness than this one. Yeah, I got to um you know get my fit Yeah, I got to um you know get my fit right for for the news. Yeah. So, just to recap, 2025 Twippies Yeah. So, just to recap, 2025 Twippies will be February 7th. 2026. Well, it's the is it the 2025 twies or Well, it's the is it the 2025 twies or the 2026 covering 2025, covering 2025, right? It's the 2025 Twippies. Okay. So, right? It's the 2025 Twippies. Okay. So, yeah, the the 2025 twies will be here on the Bash Pinball podcast and also on the YouTube video. But yeah, it'll be February 7th on the Bash Pinball podcast, also on our YouTube channel. Public voting will start January 3rd and run through January 20th. and then the results. That'll give us a few weeks to get the episode ready with for the February 7th video. This is going to be more limited categories than in previous years. There's going to be game of the year, best theme integration, Lyman F sheets, best rules and code, best art package, best playfield layout, best audio package, and best animation. So, those are the things that you're going to be able to vote on. And yeah, it's going to be fun. Solid. It's nice. Nice and concise, man. Solid. It's nice. Nice and concise, man. Yeah. Yeah, looking forward to it. Yeah. Yeah, looking forward to it. Keep it simple. Keep it simple. So stay tuned for that and have a happy So stay tuned for that and have a happy holidays, but this will this is probably our last main episode before scheduling has been tough these last few scheduling has been tough these last few months. And uh yeah, I mean this time of year is rough, man. It's this time of year is rough, man. It's always rough and then other stuff happens and then everybody gets sick and then it's just like, wait, what? wait, what? Yeah, I know. We haven't been able to Yeah, I know. We haven't been able to follow up with our Swords of Fury acquisition, you know. Oh, yeah. We got to we got to get back into that, too. We got a lot of stuff coming and a lot of stuff kind of half done and on the back burner and anyway, but this is going to be fun. We're excited to do the Twippies and be involved and doing more stuff with Kineticist and just kind of expanding a little bit what we're doing. And I'm excited, too, man. And I'm excited, too, man. Colin's great. Like, what better dude to Colin's great. Like, what better dude to partner with on this stuff? You the man. You the man. You're the man. All right, I think You're the man. All right, I think that's it. Oh, yeah. We should say subscribe. Follow us on YouTube. Do all those dumb things that we hate asking you to do. Just do them. Do them. Just do it. You know what's funny is I have I think You know what's funny is I have I think one subscription like on my YouTube, my personal YouTube. I've had it for years and years. I think I'm subscribed to like one channel. I've subscribed to like 25 YouTube I've subscribed to like 25 YouTube channels. That's fun. That's fun. But I do like pair them down pretty But I do like pair them down pretty regularly. Yeah. Smash that. Yeah. Smash that. Subscribe. Subscribe. Like button. Sub follow. Thumb thumbs Like button. Sub follow. Thumb thumbs thumbs up stars. Dude, what's what's the benefit of the Dude, what's what's the benefit of the bell icon? Like, who wants notifications? I I don't But click it anyway. But click it anyway. Why do people want the bell icon? I Why do people want the bell icon? I guess so they know when new stuff comes out so they know when new stuff comes out like instantly. like instantly. I mean, yeah. I mean, yeah. Jeez. Jeez. I You got to know, man. How else are you I You got to know, man. How else are you going to know? You're going to miss it. You got to click that bell. It's a little too much. My opinion. It's a little too much. My opinion. I mean, just depends. Like, I have I mean, just depends. Like, I have notifications turned off on my phone entirely. So, I I like to um So, here's what I like. Check this out. This is maybe similar. Uh so, on YouTube Uhhuh. Uhhuh. I'm a big fan of like scary YouTube I'm a big fan of like scary YouTube videos. There's this channel called Nick Crowley. Okay. Crowley is a good scary last name. Okay. Crowley is a good scary last name. Yep. Um it's basically like for example like Um it's basically like for example like just like a clickbait title. Uh like the darkest corners of the internet part one. Is this where you hang out most of the Is this where you hang out most of the time, Don? No. Which is why No. Which is why pinball? pinball? No, it's not. which is why I enjoy these No, it's not. which is why I enjoy these videos because I get to see a little bit about what's going on without actually venturing into those dark corners. Oh, okay. Oh, okay. But, um, yeah, he's I mean, he's he's But, um, yeah, he's I mean, he's he's amazing, dude. His his videos are great, the production, the storytelling, everything about it. And I love he puts out about one video a month. I love when I just randomly open up YouTube and the first thumbnail it's like recommended for you, it's like Nick Crowley. And it's not a notification. It's like it's more of like a surprise. You just you want to stumble upon You just you want to stumble upon things. It's like opening a cabinet and seeing like a snack that you forgot was there. Yeah. Yeah. But if if I had something notify me But if if I had something notify me that, oh, you have a chocolate bar in your cabinet all the all day, all the time, I don't think I would enjoy it as much. Well, that's that's true. You can Well, that's that's true. You can subscribe to a channel without the notifications and it'll still like you just click on subscription. That's how I use YouTube. Like I just click the little subscriptions button and then it's just got everything there and it doesn't actually notify me. But and it doesn't actually notify me. But well, that's what I mean. That like guys well, that's what I mean. That like guys out here pushing that hit that bell icon. I think that's a little greedy. I mean, I I don't know if it's the dad I mean, I I don't know if it's the dad blasted algorithm that that that helps with. I have no idea. I don't know. Anyways, what I'm getting I don't know. Anyways, what I'm getting at is uh you know, don't hit the bell unless you absolutely need unless you absolutely need unless that's how you roll. Like that's unless that's how you roll. Like that's fine. If you subscribe to stuff, do or if you if you if you like notifications, absolutely need to get notified that absolutely need to get notified that we're putting something out. But yeah. Yeah. yeah. Yeah. Otherwise, I'll Otherwise, I'll And you do. You definitely do. And you do. You definitely do. We don't we personally don't. But you We don't we personally don't. But you do. You do. I get stressed out, man. I have all I get stressed out, man. I have all basically all notifications off on everything all the time. Yeah. Yeah. I've start I've kind of been Yeah. Yeah. I've start I've kind of been rolling that way too. I just feel my heart rate. Like my I just feel my heart rate. Like my phone's like buzzing. I'm just Oh god. A responsibility. A responsibility. Yeah. Yeah. It's a nightmare. It's a living It's a nightmare. It's a living nightmare. That was fun, man. Nice job on that. I That was fun, man. Nice job on that. I think we got a pretty good idea of uh what's coming up with Colin and kind of, you know, what to look forward to in the future. And I'm actually really excited. Get to get to talk to Colin a little bit more and kind of also be more informed through Colin. Yeah. Yeah, me too. All right. Well, Yeah. Yeah, me too. All right. Well, Don, it's been fun hanging out in the shed cade. Peace out, guys, or whoever's watching or mom or whoever you are. Bye. Happy holidays. Bye. Happy holidays. Oh, yeah. And happy holidays and merry Oh, yeah. And happy holidays and merry Christmas. Christmas Christmas from your friends at Bash Pinball. Keep from your friends at Bash Pinball. Keep playing pinball, [laughter] having fun, and being awesome. and being awesome. and being awesome. Stay warm for sure.