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The Pinball Show: A Special Announcement

The Pinball Show·podcast_episode·18m 15s·analyzed·Dec 23, 2020
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.024

TL;DR

TPN launches Pinball Industry Awards: critics'-choice game awards + media excellence recognition + public Hall of Fame.

Summary

Zach Minney and Dennis Creasel announce the creation of the Pinball Industry Awards, a new critics'-choice style awards ceremony designed to complement the existing Twippies by featuring voting from vetted pinball media professionals rather than the general public. The awards will include three components: media-voted game awards, TPN-curated excellence recognition for content creators, and a public-voted Hall of Fame inducting classic machines from different eras. The inaugural ceremony will be held virtually in late January 2021.

Key Claims

  • The Pinball Industry Awards will feature voting from vetted pinball media professionals (podcasters, streamers, video creators, writers) rather than the general public.

    high confidence · Dennis and Zach explain the core structure of the main awards category, emphasizing objectivity and expertise-based voting criteria.

  • The awards comprise three distinct components: main game awards (media-voted), excellence awards for content creators (TPN-voted), and a Hall of Fame (public-voted by era).

    high confidence · Zach and Dennis systematically break down the three-part structure, explaining the rationale for each voting mechanism.

  • The Hall of Fame will induct one machine from each era: EM, 1970s early solid state, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s—six machines total in the 2020 class.

    high confidence · Zach explicitly outlines the six eras and explains the voting format for the Hall of Fame component.

  • The ceremony will be held virtually in late January 2021 due to COVID-19 considerations.

    high confidence · Dennis states: 'Now, with 2020 being wretched, we think it's best to hold a virtual ceremony for this event. Now, this ceremony is going to be held toward the end of January.'

  • All media voters will have their names publicly listed to ensure transparency, though individual ballots will not be released.

    high confidence · Dennis explains: 'one of the things for those that do choose from media to do these votes will be agreeing to is that their name will be listed publicly available that they did vote.'

Notable Quotes

  • “I wonder if critics would pick the same choice as the general public.”

    Zach Minney @ Early in announcement — Articulates the core motivation for creating a critics'-choice awards show distinct from the Twippies.

  • “The pinball hobby and the industry as a whole are large enough at this stage to warrant a more Critics' Choice style award to join the mix.”

    Dennis Creasel @ Mid-announcement — Establishes the rationale for a second major awards show in the pinball industry.

  • “This is not a TPN thing. This is not a Zach thing. This is not a Dennis thing. This is a media thing.”

    Dennis Creasel @ Eligibility explanation — Emphasizes that the awards are industry-wide, not exclusive to Pinball Network members.

  • “They're all winners. Podcasters that take all of the time they do to record and edit this content for each of us to listen to week after week, they're all winners.”

    Zach Minney @ Excellence awards explanation — Explains the philosophy behind the TPN-voted excellence recognition category.

  • “What 90s game? Is it going to be Addams Family? Twilight Zone? It's so hard to pick one. But only one gets in from each era.”

    Zach Minney @ Hall of Fame explanation — Illustrates the competitive nature and difficulty of the public Hall of Fame voting.

  • “I think a lot of people that have had criticisms on how things happen in a People's Choice Award need to understand that those are just inherent issues with the People's Choice Award, just like a Critics' Choice Award like this has its own inherent pitfalls as well.”

    Dennis Creasel @ Mid-announcement — Acknowledges that the new awards format will have different strengths and weaknesses compared to the Twippies.

Entities

Zach MinneypersonDennis CreaselpersonPinball Industry AwardseventPinball Network (TPN)organizationTwippies / This Week in Pinball Awardseventwww.thepinballindustryawards.comproductThe Pinball Showorganization/mediaAddams FamilygameTwilight Zone

Signals

  • ?

    community_signal: Awards developed through iterative feedback process with TPN committee and content providers before public announcement.

    high · Zach describes: 'we pitched it to our formal pinball network committee' and 'we presented it to our providers to get their feedback.'

  • ?

    community_signal: Pinball Network establishing formal critics'-choice awards show as parallel infrastructure to complement existing Twippies.

    high · Zach and Dennis spend entire announcement detailing three-part award structure designed to provide alternative evaluation framework based on media expertise rather than public voting.

  • ?

    content_signal: TPN establishing separate excellence recognition category for podcasters, streamers, video creators to acknowledge non-competitive acknowledgment of contributor work.

    high · Zach and Dennis dedicate entire segment to excellence awards, emphasizing all contributors 'are winners' and recognition is designed for those not receiving public visibility.

  • ?

    event_signal: Virtual ceremony planned for late January 2021 due to COVID-19 constraints; positions awards during typical pinball season when Twippies historically held.

    high · Dennis: 'with 2020 being wretched, we think it's best to hold a virtual ceremony for this event. Now, this ceremony is going to be held toward the end of January.'

  • ?

    industry_signal: Pinball industry showing maturity through diversification of award mechanisms, suggesting growth sufficient to support multiple award shows.

    high · Dennis states: 'the pinball hobby and the industry as a whole are large enough at this stage to warrant a more Critics' Choice style award to join the mix.'

Transcript

groq_whisper · $0.055

0:00
The Pinball Network is online. Launching the Pinball Show. Pinball is a game of skill. For some, it's a passion and a lifestyle.
0:26
It's time for the Pinball Show. It's pinball with personality. that Dennis and I have been working on for the past couple months, I would say. Maybe, well, we were kind of dabbling in the summer a little bit on this. Slowly but surely, we have created a team to help take some of this over to work on this project, the special project that we're about to announce. And then we built up an internal group within TPN to help with the special project that you and I have been working on, and they've been doing a terrific job as well, Dennis. We at TPN have been having fun for, it's going on almost a year now. We've had a lot of success. I really like the direction that this group effort is heading in. A lot of fun. People are really enjoying it. They're enjoying the content. The content providers are really enjoying working on their streams or their respective podcasts, et cetera. And we want to continue to grow and to expand the pinball industry. Early on in the TPN creation, we started passing around different ideas of what TPN could bring the industry and the community. And we found out that, Dennis, you'd been kind of thinking about a project similar to this for a couple of years now. And I think the community in general has been thinking about something to this extent. And for the last three years or so, the community, as well as myself, has really been enjoying the award show that we have in the Twippy Awards, This Week in Pinball yearly awards. A fun public vote as two favorite pinball machines, designers, podcasters, video recorders, etc., etc., locations. The Twivies has done a lot.
2:38
But like many industries, there are numerous awards that are given. And usually the format is different, the voting procedures are different, etc. You know Dennis, listener. Dennis is all about objectivity. I'm as well, but, you know, Dennis is our objectivity guy. And we were talking about, I wonder if the same choices would be made if the panel of voters were different. Instead of general public, I wonder if the game of the year would be different if it was experts voting or critics voting. And I've seen on threads and on social media many people having the same discussions.
game
  • ?

    business_signal: Emphasis on public accountability for media voters; voter names published while individual ballots remain confidential.

    high · Dennis and Zach repeatedly emphasize transparency commitment; explicit policy of listing all voters publicly to allow audience to assess award legitimacy.

    • 3:14
    So Dennis and I were just doing some exercise. We were like, I wonder what this would look like. I wonder what an additional award ceremony would look like for the pinball industry. one that is showcasing all of the hard work and the creation that these manufacturers are putting into pinball each and every year. The design elements, the artistic elements, the technological advances, and elements with different toys, mechanisms, etc. I wonder if critics would pick the same choice as the general public. And that's when the idea of a new awards emerged. Dennis Creasel and I kind of brainstormed and outlined and worked on the most efficient, objective, and transparent way to add an additional awards to the yearly circuit of the pinball industry After hammering out all the details, we decided to develop and release what will be known as the Pinball Industry Awards The Pinball Industry Awards, we're going to poke fun at ourselves a little bit, the acronyms PIA and oftentimes the media for a lot of these pinball manufacturers are quite a pain in the ass We believe as pinball media that we can actually give back to the industry by recognizing some awards of excellence
    4:41
    The pinball industry awards will be comprised of pinball media voters, a panel of vetted voters that is podcasters, streamers, video creators, writers, etc. that will be coming together and using their experience, their knowledge, their expertise, to not vote for their favorite innovation, their favorite layout, their favorite music and call-out, but their most objective approach to determining excellence for this year and many years to come.
    5:15
    Once Dennis and I felt great about the direction that this was heading in and all the pitfalls that we could try to avoid and to really bring another way of celebrating pinball and congratulating and awarding and thanking those that make this industry so great, we pitched it to our formal pinball network committee that works tirelessly to keep this whole network running. They voiced the same concerns as we did initially, but more importantly, they voiced the excitement that we had about the idea of a more objective approach to celebrating the creations of the year. With that group, we worked diligently to, again, try to figure out the best way to go about this, the most respectful way of going about this, and the most entertaining way for you, listener and viewer, of the upcoming Pinball Industry Awards. So even after the second stage of presenting this to the committee, we wanted more feedback, and that's why the TPN group is great. We presented it to our providers to get their feedback. They were equally excited as well. Many of them wanted to be a part of this and to help out with this.
    6:28
    So the Pinball Industry Awards has become a major group effort, which follows the mission statement that we have here at the Pinball Network. Working together to make pinball fun, more recognizable, and more supportive.
    6:44
    So Dennis and I are here to present to you the Pinball Industry Awards. Dennis, what is the pinball industry awards to you? Well, as you summarize, Zach, I'd say the main thing for me is, in my opinion, the pinball hobby and the industry as a whole are large enough at this stage to warrant a more Critics' Choice style award to join the mix. I know a lot of – there have been a number of pinball awards over time. The Twippies are the largest and most celebrated awards, and this is not designed to be a new Twippies. I think a lot of people that have had criticisms on how things happen in a People's Choice Award need to understand that those are just inherent issues with the People's Choice Award, just like a Critics' Choice Award like this has its own inherent pitfalls as well. For example, that it's only going to be a much smaller group of people that will be allowed to participate.
    7:37
    I do think one of the things that is noteworthy is while we are organizing this through the Pinball Network, the selection of these industry awards is designed for anyone in pinball media that meets set criteria. It's not just for TPN members. And being a TPN member, if you don't meet the criteria otherwise, like thresholds for number of podcasts or streams, that you don't automatically get a seat at the table. Correct. Yeah. Now, for the award categories, you're going to see a lot of similar categories, whatever breaks down pinball that we can help celebrate. This is not a TPN thing. This is not a Zach thing. This is not a Dennis thing. This is a media thing. The fitting criteria as a media member, as a provider in the industry. This will allow you to become part of the judging panel, whether it's this year, next year, etc. You have a voice in this. The audience is going to get to hear, Dennis, what the critics think about the games of this year Absolutely This is a multifaceted award show So we've got the main awards there that will be voted on by the media The second thing that we're going to do is we want to recognize the excellence of the year from the media From the content providers From those streamers that are going above and beyond pushing those markers for pinball. We're going to be congratulating them as well. Now with that we going to be very careful We going to be very sensitive to the fact that when media votes for media it can get sloppy right When the public votes for media, what we've witnessed firsthand and experienced, it can get a little messy. Because of that, we decided with this case, in terms of these excellence recognition awards, that this will be a TPN group doing this. It's separate from the main industry awards in part because there's not any sort of set requirements here in the sense that there's only one winner. It's not about winning in this. Those streamers who provide this type of content for our industry, they're all winners. Podcasters that take all of the time they do to record and edit this content for each of us to listen to week after week, they're all winners. Anybody, and for the most part, nobody's getting paid. Everyone is a winner. So we don't want to showcase a winner. And that's why we're keeping it more internal. We want to, as a group, we want to recognize those that maybe we feel don't get the recognition that they might somewhere else. They might not get this popular vote. They're not out there trying to drum up as many votes as possible. We want to objectively as a group look at who has provided exceptional, exceptional work. And Dennis will tell you and the rest of the committee will tell you there's not one winner in these categories. If two awards make sense to showcase excellence, so be it. Three, four, one, none. There's no set amount. We just want to look at those that are standing out above the pack that are really providing exceptional, exceptional work this year. Yes, I view these excellence awards as, in a way, highly experimental. I think it's something that's very different for our hobby. And I don't know how it'll go over, but I think it's interesting to try. So we're going to do it in this model for this year, and we're going to see if it works the way we think it will. And hopefully it will. And if not, we can always make adjustments. We're segregating it out from the industry awards because it's not about picking the best. it's about recognition for people that are doing really good work even if not a lot of eyeballs see it and a lot of the listeners right now you guys could even attest to this think about that one streamer that you really watch and you're like man to see the growth over last year to see technologically what they've brought to this industry or maybe your favorite photographer wow they never get recognized and this photographer is doing so much work in the industry a videographer, a writer. We want to showcase the excellence and appreciation that we have as a community towards them as well. And then finally, Zach, we've got, this is really your brainchild, and this is the part which will involve the public. It's the only people's choice-esque element that we've got, but it's not about picking anything that's going on in the current year, but rather it's a hall of fame. The third piece of the Pinball Industry Awards we had, the first being the main game awards recognized and chosen by a vetted pinball panel of media. The second being the excellence awards in pinball content creation voted on by the TPN group. The third is voted on by you. And Dennis said it is a hall of fame. We're presenting to you the pinball industry awards hall of fame, which is voted on by you, the listener, the enthusiast, the lover of pinball. But instead of inducting people into the Hall of Fame, I thought it would be a really fun idea to induct the things we love the most, and those are the machines themselves. Instead of inducting into the Pinball Industry Awards Hall of Fame individuals, we'll be doing that with additional excellence and recognition awards. These are going to be machines. It's going to be up to you, listener, to vote in the best of pinball machines in existence. You, the public, will be voting in, in 2020, an EM machine. A machine from the 70s, that early solid state. A machine from the 1980s. A machine from the 1990s. A machine from the 2000s. And a machine from the 2010s. We thought it would be really fun in the year 2020 Was it centennial number I don even know Centennial Not centennial but you tried It nice It's 2020. Let's take a look back and what better time than now in the year 2020 to start inducting games and titles into the Hall of Fame. And we need you. We need your vote. What are you guys going to select for the one machine that will be honored as the 2020 class of the Pinball Industry Awards Hall of Fame. What 90s game? Is it going to be Addams Family? Twilight Zone? It's so hard to pick one.
    14:20
    But only one gets in from each era. Which one will it be? Those six will go down as the 2020 class. Next year, there will be an additional six. This is a very important vote. And I hope that you guys take the time to really recognize the machine of that particular era. It's going to be a blast. It's going to be a lot of fun there. The format of the Pinball Industry Awards will be ceremonial. It will be showcased as a media piece. Now, with 2020 being wretched, we think it's best to hold a virtual ceremony for this event. Now, this ceremony is going to be held toward the end of January. And since this is our announcement, voting is now open. You can go to www.thepinballindustryawards.com for further information on voting for the Hall of Fame, putting in your choice of votes for those different eras. For those pinball media providers out there, all the criteria needed to become part of that media panel of the main game awards, All the criteria is available at that website, the pinballindustryawards.com. There you'll find a form to fill out so that we can review your eligibility. And once submitted and approved, you will be sent out a formal single ballot for you to complete. Now, at the start of this announcement, Zach mentioned transparency. So I do want to go ahead and point out that one of the things for those that do choose from media to do these votes will be agreeing to is that their name will be listed publicly available that they did vote so that the public will be able to know who who did votes we'll have the overall vote totals released we won't be releasing the individual ballots but we will be so we will be stating who all chose to participate and vote because we feel that if people want to judge what went into this sort of critic style media choice award they need to be able to know who were actually those that chose to participate. Absolutely. Transparency has been something of the utmost importance to Dennis Creasel and myself. All of the details regarding transparency, collection, etc. will be on the website. We're going to try to make this a really big, really fun event each and every year. I cannot wait to share with you the ideas that we have for the live event. That's going to be unbelievable. We're already gearing up for that, but we thought, you know, 2020 is a good year to get a good dry run going to show you guys what this awards is all about, what this group is all about. We also have some fun additional awards in there that we won't, we'll surprise you guys with, but it's going to be recognizing some additional achievements in pinball that we're really, really proud of. In closing, we want to thank all of those who will be supporting and continuing the support of the pinball industry awards. Again, And it is our hope that this is yet another way to showcase excellence, transparency, and objectivity in the hobby that we all love so much. So let's have fun with it, everybody. Go over to the pinballindustryawards.com and start checking out all the information there as well as stay tuned for the dates of the award ceremony, the host that will be presenting the awards, and all of the fun surprises. you may have to tune in live to experience for yourself. Thanks again for the time. For Dennis Creasel and myself, Zach Minney. And don't worry, everybody. There is no award for toppers.
    17:58
    Hold up. We do have an accessory award, I think. There is an award for toppers. Always practice safe pinball voting and vote now. So long, everybody.