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Kanerda's Pinball Podcast Saturday Morning Spectacular Nov 8

Kaneda Pinball Podcasts YouTube Lives·video·1h 21m·analyzed·Nov 9, 2025
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Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.037

TL;DR

Kaneda defends criticism of Stern art packages amid escalating feud with Zombie Yeti; predicts Beetlejuice will embarrass recent Stern releases.

Summary

Kaneda hosts a Saturday morning show discussing Beetlejuice's imminent release and escalating drama with Zombie Yeti (Jeremy Packer), Stern's art director. The conversation covers Stern's pricing/market position issues, criticisms of recent Star Wars and King Kong art packages, praise for Spooky's upcoming Beetlejuice and Evil Dead, and speculation about American Pinball's return. Kaneda defends his criticism of $13k+ games as consumer feedback, not personal attacks, while Zombie Yeti's Facebook response attacking Kaneda's haircut and talent backfired badly.

Key Claims

  • Beetlejuice will drop to $10k instantly and then go up to $15k, while The Walking Dead Remastered will drop from $13k to $10k instantly

    medium confidence · Kaneda's prediction based on secondary market trends; unconfirmed speculation about future pricing

  • Big distributors have only sold a few Walking Dead LE units and are not selling out the 500-unit run

    medium confidence · Kaneda claims to have talked to 'biggest distro guys'; specific numbers not provided but presented as observed fact

  • Jeremy Packer (Zombie Yeti) sent late-night text messages to Kaneda at 12:44 AM and posted critical Facebook comments calling him talentless with a bad haircut

    high confidence · Kaneda reads Zombie Yeti's actual Facebook post verbatim during stream; direct evidence

  • Star Wars playfield artwork is poor quality and the game's art package doesn't look good for a $13,000 product

    high confidence · Kaneda's direct opinion stated repeatedly; supported by broader community sentiment referenced

  • Stern did not license the Empire State Building for King Kong, showing the company was 'cheap'

    medium confidence · Kaneda's inference based on final game not including it; not confirmed by official source

  • American Pinball is coming back and has hired a customer service person

    medium confidence · Kaneda reporting seeing this activity but does not provide specific sources or timeline

  • Christopher Franchi brought Stern the themes Beetlejuice, Wonder Woman, Batman 66, Superman '78, and Jaws

    medium confidence · Kaneda's recollection; not independently verified in content but stated with confidence

  • Zombie Yeti's X-Men art package is phenomenal but the game's code was torpedoed and burned Jack Danger out

    medium confidence · Kaneda's assessment; claims about code issues and Jack Danger burnout not substantiated in content

Notable Quotes

  • “There's no there's no more like illusions or delusions, if you will, that these Stern LE's are are worth any money anymore. Like, it's it's crazy.”

    Kaneda @ early segment — Central thesis on Stern LE pricing collapse and market reality check

  • “I need to do more personal work for my sanity. And I need to remember that most critics just have to deal with bad haircuts and lack of talent that drive their desire to tear people down.”

    Zombie Yeti (Jeremy Packer, quoted from Facebook) @ middle segment — Zombie Yeti's inflammatory Facebook post that triggered Kaneda's response; direct personal attack

  • “Do you understand how much money you have to make to buy a $13,000 game before taxes? Do you understand that we are your customers?”

    Kaneda @ mid-segment response — Consumer perspective on premium pricing and accountability to buyers

  • “King Kong is an abomination. Like it and and it's not even like the cabinet that's the abomination. It's the color palette of the freaking playfield looks like an abomination.”

    Kaneda @ King Kong discussion — Specific design criticism of recent Stern release

  • “The smart move would have always have been for Stern to have Franchi and Yeti be their one-two punches with art.”

    Kaneda @ strategic discussion — Analysis of Stern's art direction strategy and talent management

  • “Stern is one great game away from everybody moving back in their direction. They just haven't had it in so long.”

    Kaneda @ conclusion segment — Assessment of Stern's competitive position and what's needed to recover market confidence

  • “There is no way last month they sold more Godzillas than Jersey Jack has sold of Harry Potter in four months. There's no way.”

    Kaneda @ mid-segment — Challenges specific sales claims made by others in the community

  • “The Batman 66 Super LE with the Batmobile on the side of the cabinet is the nicest Stern machine ever. ever. It It's just so nice.”

Entities

KanedapersonZombie Yeti (Jeremy Packer)personSpooky LukepersonChristopher FranchipersonStern PinballcompanySpooky PinballcompanyAmerican Pinballcompany

Signals

  • ?

    business_signal: American Pinball returning to market; hired customer service staff and planning game releases

    medium · Kaneda reports seeing customer service hire and company claiming return; likely Cuphead project; no official confirmation provided in content

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Kaneda's criticism of art packages reflects broader community sentiment visible on Pinside forums; not isolated opinion

    medium · Kaneda: 'I'm reading what everybody's writing about this stuff on Pinside, bro' and references community feedback as independent of his commentary

  • ~

    sentiment_shift: Walking Dead Remastered LE (500 units) is not selling out; big distributors have moved only handful of units

    medium · Kaneda claims to have talked to 'biggest distro guys' and can count on 'just a few fingers' how many they sold; presented as fact but not independently verified

  • ?

    competitive_signal: Spooky Pinball (Beetlejuice) positioned to overshadow Stern's Walking Dead Remastered launch via simultaneous code stream

    high · Kaneda criticizes Stern's 'great great strategy' of streaming Walking Dead code same day Beetlejuice launches; predicts Beetlejuice will 'raise the bar another level' and Stern should be 'terrified'

  • ?

    design_philosophy: Stern's repeated use of overly colorful, bright art palettes creating visual monotony and brand fatigue

    high · Multiple references to 'bag of Skittles,' 'My Little Pony' games, and community criticism of bright colors across Star Wars, King Kong, Walking Dead Remastered

Transcript

youtube_auto_sub · $0.000

0:18
Ah, going to be going to be golden. If you ain't for us, you're against us.
0:37
I mean, you're just never going to get you're never going to get any cooler than G&R, people. I mean, it like it's still one of the coolest machines ever. I know we're a little bit late. We're a little bit late, but you know, better late than never. OH.
1:04
YEAH, GNR. Happy Saturday morning, baby. Let's do this. We're a little bit late. Super chats are back.
1:18
Hope you guys can see that the super chats are back. sad boy can now get back to his incredible donations. How's everybody doing? Happy Saturday morning. Let's do this. You know, I think we can get to and and I'm going to need your help. I think we can get to I think we can get to back to 700 subscribers by the time Beetlejuice comes out Thursday at midnight. We're 16 people away. Spooky Luke is in the house. Did you figure out super chats? Yes, the super chats are back on, baby. I had to like validate my home address or something like that. I don't know what's going on with this volume. Come on. Keep it high. Keep it high, baby. I think I have to take like let's cancel out Audacity. I think it's when you got two things open that are mic activated, it alters the volume. How's everybody doing? Boris, quit that. Let's get everybody in this house. How's everybody doing? We're going to go around the horn. It's gonna be a crazy week in pinball. I'm super excited. I don't know about you, but I am like this is it. This is it. We're gonna get We're gonna get Beetlejuice and then we're going to get Stern Pinball trying to like poor Stern, man. Poor Stern's gonna like they literally are going to try to stream The Walking Dead Weiss on code the same day Beetlejuice drops in the world. the great great strategy, guys. Yeah, whoever whoever uh whoever okayed that one. Insane. Not gonna work.

Kaneda @ Franchi discussion — Acknowledges Franchi's design excellence and Stern's past success

Jersey Jack Pinball
company
Beetlejuicegame
The Walking Dead Remasteredgame
Star Warsgame
King Konggame
Jack Dangerperson
Harry Pottergame
Evil Deadgame
Metallica Remasteredgame
Jaws 50th Anniversarygame
X-Mengame
Batman 66 Super LEgame
Godzillagame
Transformersgame
Spooky Pinballcompany
Cupheadgame
  • ?

    licensing_signal: Stern unable or unwilling to license Empire State Building for King Kong, resulting in incomplete/compromised theme representation

    medium · Kaneda speculates Stern 'was so cheap they couldn't even license the Empire State Building'; notes absence from final game design

  • $

    market_signal: Stern appears anxious and easily triggered by community criticism; defensive posture from leadership indicates market vulnerability

    medium · Kaneda: 'I think the people over there are anxious, easily triggered. They're acting like students at Harvard University'; contrasts with confidence expected of market leader

  • ?

    community_signal: Christopher Franchi departure from Stern to Spooky represents significant talent migration and loss of nostalgic/thematic design direction

    high · Kaneda details Franchi bringing Stern Beetlejuice, Wonder Woman, Batman 66, Superman '78, Jaws concepts but Stern repeatedly rejected his themes; Franchi now at Spooky

  • ?

    personnel_signal: Zombie Yeti (Jeremy Packer) confirmed as Stern's art director managing multiple artists and project oversight, not just individual contributor

    high · Zombie Yeti's Facebook post states 'I now spend the majority of my day doing support for other artists on numerous projects'; Kaneda discusses his role as 'art director' making decisions

  • $

    market_signal: Stern LE pricing ($13k) predictably collapses to $10k within weeks; secondary market depreciation is immediate and expected

    high · Kaneda confident in price trajectory: 'everyone knows instantly instantly that these 13K are going to be 10 grand in like a month. By the time you get it, they're going to be 10 grand.'

  • ?

    product_concern: Star Wars playfield artwork quality poor; King Kong color palette fundamentally mismatched to IP aesthetic expectations

    high · Kaneda: Star Wars 'playfield looks like trash' and 'looks like ass'; King Kong 'abomination' with color palette issues; wished AI had done it better

  • ?

    technology_signal: Spike 3 platform not sufficient wow-factor to justify $13k pricing; lacks compelling hardware innovations vs. competitors

    medium · Kaneda: 'I just think Spike 3 isn't enough of a wow factor to justify the price of these games. And I think we're about to see a wow factor with Beetlejuice'

    • 3:00
    Say something nice about The Walking Dead remake. You can get the same game for half the price. How's that? Is that nice enough? Same game for half the price,
    3:15
    gang. I I just like, [sighs and gasps] you know, I I love where we're at now. There's no there's no more like illusions or delusions, if you will, that these Stern LE's are are worth any money anymore. Like, it's it's crazy. It literally is crazy. Like, everyone knows instantly instantly that these 13K are going to be 10 10 grand in like a month. By the time you get it, they're going to be 10 grand. And by the time Beetlejuice goes on sale, it's going to be 10 grand. And here's the funny part. Beetlejuice is going to go from 10 to 15 instantly. And The Walking Dead is instantly going to go from 13 to 10. That's it. That's it. There's nothing else. There's like there's no other way to skin this cat, baby. That's what's going to happen. And I can't wait for everybody who uh listen to Canada gets their deposit in. I mean, look, a thousand games is a lot of games. I hope all you get hooked up. I hope all you guys get hooked up.
    4:21
    What's up, Brad? How you doing, brother? We got we got a beautiful day here in uh Rowan in Connecticut. There is barely a cloud in the sky. It's drying out. Little little precipitation last night. Brenda's sister went back to Ireland. Look at Sad Boy, baby. Making up for lost time with the $100, baby. I love this man. Man, look at this guy. He gets it. He gets it. What's good, brother? I heard you made Zombie Yeti super buttthurt about the abomination of color art packages. Well done. No one needs that eyesore in their life. Um, yeah, he's he's not happy with me. I think the I think the more disappointing part about Jeremy's correspondence with me, and I I understand his frustration 100%. I do. I I just I just the way he packaged it all. I saw Zombie Yeti's Facebook post. What did he write on Facebook? [snorts] Brian, can you post it here?
    5:29
    The The way he packaged it though, as if like I'm like solely responsible for hurting his family and his desire to work in pinball is unfair. like that that's not fair to me. Like I didn't I didn't do anything to him. I've been simply reporting back on what people are saying about these art packages. So like whatever. Um and I I honestly he can go two ways with the feedback we've been giving him. He could like take it to heart or they can keep releasing overly colorful games regardless of the theme. So, I I you know, it's on him.
    6:11
    You know, I'm I'm not really um concerned about this like this narrative that is now brewing over at Stern Pinball cuz I know for a fact that people are trying to get out of Stern. They're they're sending resumes to other manufacturers. American Pinball apparently is coming back. We're going to talk about that. And You know, the unfortunate thing for Stern is like, okay, for example, like if you take Jersey Jack for example, every one of their games looks different. Think about it. Every one of their games looks different. This guy, what was it? Dale Henry Jr., right? The guy who did the art package on Guns and Roses. This game's beautiful, right? How many times did they use him again? How many times? Zero. I think it's Dane Henry, Dane Henry Jr., you know, this whole notion that we're just going to keep the same art style over and over and over again and this, you know, very bright color palettes over and over again. Like it it's just not working for Stern. That's why Jaws was like a Jaws broke up the monotony, you know? I didn't like the illustrated Jaws stuff. I liked more of the uh the movie poster inspired stuff.
    7:39
    So, it is what it is. Like, if if if Jeremy wants to talk to me, he can talk to me. But, you know, I um I didn't appreciate him trying to I I understand that when you're stressed at work, you bring it home. I understand that work stresses can cause interpersonal relationship stresses with your wife and children. I' I've lived through all this people. I get it. But but I have a show behind a payw wall and I didn't even call him out. He didn't even do the artwork on The Walking Dead. I didn't do a show that said Zombie Yeti once again torpedoes a game with where I he didn't even do the art on Star Wars. He did not do the art on The Walking Dead. I didn't even like mention him. I think what he's feeling now is a tremendous pressure because he's now the art director at Stern. Like he's the top Stern art guy. So, I don't know if he's like making the final calls, but I also just don't understand like how you end up with Star Wars art package. It just doesn't look good. Like that playfield looks like trash. And I'm allowed to say that. Like, I'm sorry guys, you're selling a $13,000 product. And like I don't feel like this sympathy because, oh, that's what the licens are made of. Like, why why can't you do anything better than this? If this is all you can do, then don't do it. Do something else. I'm allowed to say that. I'm It's within my uh freedom of speech to have an opinion about these products. It's just crazy. And look, he's not asking me to stop talking. They're not trying to cancel me. It's not like I just think, you know, Jeremy just came at me late late at night and just was upset. And I think he was speaking from a place of emotion. But I think if he woke up the next day, he probably would not have said that same thing to me. The part that disappoints me the most in Jeremy's correspondence to me is that he tried to throw Harry Potter and Evil Dead artwork under the bus. Like that's the part that I don't get. Like he tried to say like those games also have like super bright I don't know rainbow puke whatever. I I don't understand um why he I I I don't know. I just got a sense of like are you really trying to put two like I I look I think Evil Dead and Harry Potter art packages like are superior than what they've been putting out recently,
    10:29
    let's see what he wrote. He writes, I'll read what he wrote on Facebook. Okay. Morning coffee rambling. Admittedly, taking a step back from doing what I've done every day for the past decade, making art all day long by myself has been quite a difficult adjustment for me. I now spend the majority of my day doing support for other artists on numerous projects and managing various facets of the process. See, I'm not a performer. I don't seek a stage as my self-satisfaction in is in the work and the challenge to hopefully grow in ability. So maybe I'm I am perfect for a role behind the scenes. And yet, despite some critical of my authored work, I used to rest easy knowing I tried really hard. And if I failed, it was without any shortcuts and a whole lot of genuine effort. But now I have a task to bring in new artists, and I want to protect them from the internet vitriol that orbits the world around us. The point of it all, a simple rambling realization this morning. I need to do more personal work for my sanity. And I need to remember that most critics just have to deal with bad haircuts and lack of talent that drive their desire to tear people. [ __ ] this guy. Like, [ __ ] this guy. Look at this guy. [snorts] Like, like, oh my god. Like, what a direct attack at me. [ __ ] Like, I honestly You know what, Jeremy? You're really you're really a work of art, bro. Like, no. You know what, bro? Like, you keep digging the whole deeper here. I here I am reading this thinking you're going to just like have some sort of reflection and and you want to now Okay, fine. Whatever you Bro, seriously. Seriously. Like you're just literally, you know, I Let's take a moment and deconstruct Zombie Eddi now. Insulting me, calling me talentless, bad haircut, uh, all this stuff. Well, I can't draw like you can draw, bro. Yeah, I never said I could. But you same on the same vein, bro. You couldn't walk into meetings that I have to walk into and come up with campaigns for clients the way I do. We have different talent sets, different skill sets. And you know what? You know what's annoying about you, man? And I'm g be honest, is I've never ever insulted like, you know, like you you literally didn't even do the last two games I've been talking about. And now you think your job is to protect these artists. If you think that's your job is to protect these artists from the vitriol of the internet and the pinball buying community, you don't understand the job, bro. Your job isn't to protect them. Your job is to guide them so they put out art packages that don't suck. Do you understand that, Zombie Yeti? Do you understand how much money you have to make to buy a $13,000 game before taxes? Do you understand how much hard work that takes? Do you understand that we are your customers? All of us, me, everybody watching right now. And do you understand that continuing continuing your insults on me is I know you don't have the skin to go down this road, brother. So I don't know why you're continuing down the road because I know you don't got it. Like you don't have the the skin thick enough to keep lobbing insults at me, bro. But I'll just take the high road and say I think your artwork's great and I think as a company you guys have been putting out overly colorful bag of Skittles games for the longest time and people are sick of it and either you want to listen to that feedback or you can keep on making these games look like My Little Pony and and and protect your artists who are getting paid for their work and you know I think shutting down the conversation shutting down the conversation the way you're trying to do it. Whatever, man. What you should have done is just, "Hey, Chris, sorry for the late night text accusing you of like ruining my family and making me not want to work in pinball." Like, like, can you just like, you know, I don't know. Maybe you could have had an adult conversation about it, but cool. Insult my haircut. You and my mom don't like it. You You really put on your adult pants and took the high road. Whatever, man. Like you're paid a salary, bro. You have a job. And if you think if you think any of the feedback that I've been saying about Stern Products originates with me and this community, you're 100% wrong, bro. 100% wrong. And and you literally I I like you I I I think you're suffering a little bit because you were the bell of the ball for like you know when you were in like new and pinball. We've seen it. We've seen the style. Dude, I'm repetitive too, man. We're both artists. You know, mine's with the mic. I don't think you could do a podcast like this. Is this not content creation? You create content in the form of art. I create content in the form of live videos and podcasts. It's still content, bro. Right. Right. I'm not I'm not handy with the I can't draw, but I can speak. The same way someone can like Axar Rose can sing, but he can't draw. Everyone's an artist in a different way that's making content to entertain. And I just like literally I can't believe you then go and insult me again. Okay. I can't believe it.
    16:23
    Yeah. You know, like should should I read the zombie Eddie art where he comes out evil dead and Harry Potter and tries to like take them down? Meanwhile, Harry Potter CE is being looked at as one of the most beautiful art packages of all time and is selling like hotcakes. So, look, Jeremy, again, I it's just not in your nature. And if you want to, again, I just don't even think it's about defending and protecting these artists. I just think it's about maybe finding a way. And this is what this is the advice I I keep giving to Jeremy. This is the advice I keep giving to him. Maybe find a way. You're the art director. maybe find a way to bring in some people to help give feedback on what you're considering with the art, you know, cuz like here's the thing. It's like people just recolorized The Walking Dead Ellie artwork and made it a little bit darker and a little bit more grayscaled with color and it just looks people just like it more. So, I don't know. I don't know.
    17:36
    H god. No. J R Rancho Jang as we read I I was shocked I to just read that Zombie is making fun of my haircut. Let's let's re let's like literally let's read what he wrote again. Hold on. Hold on. Man, I just I always thought Jeremy man it's weird to me, man. I I just don't get it. I really don't get it,
    18:12
    let me let me screen grab this too before he deletes it. And he's got a picture of an adult. I guess that's me. Is that him making fun of me? I [laughter] don't know. I don't know. The point of it all, a simple rambling realization this morning. I need to do more personal work for my sanity. And I need to remember that most critics just have to deal with bad haircuts and lack of talent that drive their desire to tear people down. Wow. Also, I need to stop drinking coffee. Well, maybe maybe we share that in common. So,
    18:57
    so like, so all of us that don't like an art package now at Stern, you know, don't like don't like some of their art packages, it's it's because we are um we lack talent and we just want to tear people down.
    19:19
    All right, whatever. You're about to see, you're about to get your asses kicked with Beetlejuice art. It's about to kick all your asses, Stern. So, go ahead, lob your shots. You're you're you're really going down this the the wrong way. And I guarantee you that this is why I guarantee you I guarantee you this is why the new Stern CMO has no idea that Yeti is firing off these text messages at 12:44 in the morning to to Canada. I guarantee you he has no idea he's posting this stuff on social media cuz again like what's the what's the outcome of that?
    20:05
    But look in the end, you know, Stern continues to just do stuff um that just make it easier to say no to their product. I I I don't even you know honestly it's like I don't look you know how I always feel gang you guys can always make up your own mind on what you want to buy and I encourage you to you know buy the things that you want to buy but um I [clears throat] let's be honest the the artists over at Stern Pinball are effing jealous of what's about to hit and what has hit recently cuz we're no longer like gawking over there look I think Zombie Yeti's X-Men is I've said this. I think his X-Men is one of the most amazing looking pinball machines that's ever been put out. Weiss torpedoed the game's code and now they have to try to repair it. That game burnt Jack Danger out to the point where he doesn't even want to like do any more design. So like great, great. But I've never said the art package the Zetti's art package Yeti Zetti Yeti's art package on X-Men is phenomenal. King Kong is an abomination. Like it and and it's not even like the cabinet that's the abomination. It's the color palette of the freaking playfield looks like an abomination. What about that? Like see this is the thing he gets mad cuz you know and and when when I when I like everybody else said that King Kong's art package was an abomination like everything louder than everything else color palette. Yeti came at me and he's like, "How dare people tear down like Kevin O' Conor and you know John Ferris's work or you know David like whoever f like like literally like we we should have shown them more respect because of their pedigree and we shouldn't have judged that art package on its own merit."
    22:00
    I I don't I don't really agree with that man. Paul Ferris. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you, Paul Ferris. Like it was like Kevin Oconor and Paul Ferris, right?
    22:15
    Anyway, lack of talent, man. I got no talent, man. Man, I wish I had some talent. I wish I had talent. Why Why am I employed by Why am I employed by some of the biggest brands in the world and one of the best marketing companies in the world? Because I have no talent. Okay. Well, it's crazy to have like a career as long as mine with zero talent. Why have I had such a great podcast following for the longest time? Is it because of lack of talent? Do you think if Yeti did a podcast, you guys would be into it? I mean, he's done interviews, but like, you know what I'm saying? I would love to hear like um a podcast all about how hard it is to work with licensors because I know we know it is. We know it is. But, you know, look, I know it sucks. I know it sucks for these new artists to come into pinball and get torn apart. But let me ask you a question, guys. Has anybody torn apart the artist that did Metallica Remastered? No. Because they made a great art package.
    23:23
    It's just that simple. Like I just don't and I get artist subjective, but the response to Metallica was phenomenal.
    23:42
    Well, look, look, Franchie, here's the deal. Here's the deal. I think it's natural to feel competitive with other artists and and they're definitely when you look at the history of like Franchie and Yeti and Stern, you know, it's it's it's an interesting one. The smart move would have always have been for Stern to have Franchie and Yeti be their one-two punches with art. You know, you you you give Jeremy the stuff that requires more illustration and comic book style and, you know, line line work. You know what I'm saying? Like like X-Men, right? Like stuff like Deadpool. He heck Ghostbusters was amazing even, you know, and that was one that really surprised everybody. And then you give like other things that are like perfect for his style. and Stern Pinball could have had like the two best looking artists in pinball like going back and forth on every release or you know when appropriate and they would have crushed it. But you know what I'm saying? But this is again this is where you know I think Stern made short-term decisions that they're they're going to feel the mistake in the long run and letting Franchie go was obviously a mistake but I think it's bigger than that. I think not listening to the themes that Christopher Franchie wanted them to make is the real mistake that Stern made. Chris brought them the kinds of nostalgic stuff that he knew this audience would eat up and they said no time and time again. And you know, I think that that will hurt Stern more than anything as they try to, you know, win us over with their latest offerings which just are not as compelling.
    25:49
    The art should not have to be interpreted. Yeah. Like look gang, it's like
    26:03
    can you list the themes Franchie brought? I would say Franchie brought them Beetlejuice. I believe Franchie brought them Wonder Woman. He brought them Batman's He brought them Superman 78. Um, I want to say he also brought them I mean Jaws was one that he also wanted to make which they end up actually making. Uh, so you know just right there I mean boom boom but it's but it's just more of an understanding of what these people want is the nostalgia and and people also forget how he saved Batman 66. They gave him almost no time to work on it. They d they were going to do Photoshop drag and drop on Batman 66 and Franchie came in and freaking saved the day. Still to this day, the Batman 66 Superle with the Batmobile on the side of the cabinet is the nicest stern machine ever. Ever. It It's just so nice. See, I don't want it to turn into this. I I I I actually I think collectively I want to in front of each and every one of you, I want to bury the hatchet with Mr. Jeremy Packer. I do cuz I because again for his sanity not for mine but for his own sanity I just want to say Jeremy look I know he said f you because I think like you know you're just again taking cheap shots and you think I've been taking cheap shots but Jeremy the reason why nothing we say about your company's artwork is a cheap shot because the damn products cost you know 7 to $13,000. It's not nothing cheap about them bro. So we're we're going to have opinions. I want to say I'm sorry that we've upset you. I say we because you keep referring to it as some Canada army that I'm leading against you. So I'm sorry that we've upset you. I think moving forward there's an opportunity here for real growth. Maybe for both of us, bro, but there's an opportunity for real growth. And I think where you guys would be beneficial is if you figured out a way to bring in some focus groups earlier on to sort of ask their opinions about well, you know, if we were if we were to make King Kong, you know, find some King Kong fanatics, find some guys that collect King Kong movie posters, what what would be the interpretation of King Kong that would be most exciting to you? It is what it is. Look, again, you know, I um I really just um I think we're in this hobby to have fun. We're not here to see wars between art directors and podcasters. Uh it's a beautiful Saturday morning. I've got two beautiful boys. cuz I've got a beautiful wife, a beautiful job, a beautiful friends, and you know, we've just been disappointed in Stern's recent offerings. And I think they don't know how to really accept that. And I think they they look at, you know, it's it's easy to look at Canada and say, "It's just Canada trying to tear us." Like, Jeremy, I'm reading what everybody's writing about this stuff on Pinside, bro. And um I know, you know, and look, some people love the King Kong artwork. Some people love the Walking Dead remastered artwork. I I just don't feel this pressure to say that I also love it. I actually, you know, quite candidly, I I think The Walking Dead art package looks better than the old one. I do, but I also think they missed the mark because it didn't need to be so colorful. Like, I think the illustrations are better. I think the overall look of the game looks better. But again, I think Stern is kind sort of stuck like just putting those zombie heads on the slingshots. Um, I just think the way they're dressing up their games now, I don't think they really know how to make their games look ultra premium. And I think it's a big problem for them. And I've been saying this for a while. I just I think Spike 3 isn't enough of a wow factor to justify the price of these games. And I think we're about to see a wow factor with Beetlejuice in six days. And it's going to be $10,000. And I think they're I think Stern should be pretty damn terrified if that game raises the bar another level. Evil Dead raised the bar. And I and I think they're, you know, even though they're going to sell their volume, they don't have mojo going. They don't have swagger with these games. No one cares that they're going to sell the volume that only Neil McCrae is excited about the volume by which Stern sells. I mean, Neil acts like he's an investor in Stern. You know, he's making ridiculous claims. There is no way last month they sold more Godzillaas than Jersey Jacka has sold of Harry Potter in four months. There's no way. But see, you can say a statement like that that is a flatout lie based on no evidence whatsoever. He has no idea how many Godzilla's sold. He also has no idea how many Harry Potters have sold. And it like to say something like that is absolutely ridiculous. Like I would never make a stupid claim like that.
    31:37
    Everybody wants the same thing. Let me look into the Jeremy, George, Seth, Luke, Bug, Franchie. Everybody wants the same thing, gang. They just want amazing games that are magical, that are a world under glass, that interpret the theme in an amazing exciting way, and that are like really give us the value. That's all we want, man. I don't, you know, I don't want to tell you that Star Wars art sucks. I wanted to buy a Star Wars game, you jackasses. So, if you attack me because I think Star Wars playfield art looks like ass. It does. I love Star Wars. I'm worried about Elliot Eisman doing Transformers. The dude was How old is Elliot Eisman? Isn't he like, is he even old enough to have been a kid when Transformers was popular in 1986? I don't think so.
    32:37
    But all but again, Stern is one great game away from everybody moving back in their direction. They just haven't had it in so long. And I think the people over there are anxious, easily triggered. They're acting like students at Harvard University more than they are pinheads. They all want You see this at Harvard? Last year, Harvard gave 60% of the students at Harvard received an A grade, an A. I think I think it's something like 10 years ago or maybe more like only 20% of the students got an A. 60% of the students are not supposed to get an A. And now that the university is aware of that, they're going to start grading harder because you need a you need a scale where not everybody can get a an A. It makes makes an A mean nothing. And all the students are complaining now about their mental health if they're if they're if they don't get handed an A. It's what it sounds like. These guys over at Stern, it's like they want an A for effort. I know you guys are making a big effort to make these games, but like I'm sorry, Jeremy, do you think Star Wars looks great? You you think the little addat by the flipper button looks good? You think that Playfield artwork, which which you look at more than anything else, you look down at that Playfield artwork more than anything else. You think that Star Wars artwork looks great.
    34:10
    And if you say yes, you know what? That's on you. But I don't. Does anyone like the Star Wars playfield artwork? Anybody?
    34:25
    I'd rather they use AI. AI would have made that artwork better.
    34:32
    Uh here, you know, you know, look, it's funny because here we are uh one week away from Beetlejuice and it it's not surprising to me that the the Stern camp is not in a good mood. It's not surprising to me. You know, I talked to some of the biggest distros guys. This is real facts. They are not selling many Walking Dead LE. I mean, I I can count on just a few fingers how many the big dros have sold. They they are not selling out those 500 Walking Dead LE. Now, I mean, think about how I mean, I was wrong. I thought they would easily I thought Stern only making 500 of a classic game would easily sell out. I was wrong. This is This is gang. This is a bad sign. This is a bad sign. you know, they they they they don't even know what to do now. It's like, what do we do now? Where do we go now? This just doesn't make much sense.
    35:33
    I Yeah, I don't think Stern really does understand what 10 to$13,000 means. It's The problem is not the 10 to 13. The problem is is what the game's going to be worth in in 10 months. That's the problem, everybody. It's not the 10 to 13. is that the $13,000 game is going to be worth 10 and the $10,000 game is going to be worth seven in just like a few months. That's the problem that if you buy the game new in box, you are just going to it's just going to tank in value.
    36:15
    Anyway, man, guys, I'm sorry that I don't have any talent. I'm sorry that I have a bad haircut. I'm sorry that I'm a I'm a bad father, a horrible husband, a terrible co-orker, a horrible human being because I've been critical of $13,000 pinball art packages. I'm I'm really sorry. I'm really sorry. that um I wanted King Kong to look like the iconic King Kong movie posters. I'm really sorry that Stern was so cheap that they couldn't license the Empire State Building. Just think about that for a minute. They were so cheap they couldn't even license the Empire State Building. How much do you think it would have cost them to license the Empire State Building for King Kong? You know, I know the people who do the communications for the Empire State Building, I bet they would have like happily given it to them. I bet they didn't even try to get it.
    37:39
    Yeah. Is it a bad day for me to apply for the Stern CMO job now? No. No. All the resumes are going elsewhere, people. Let's talk about what's going on in Pinball. Let's let you know, Zombie Yeti can have his cup of coffee and uh he can um you know, he can make fun of my haircut. I wish I had Jeremy's Jeremy's hair. Just make sure you have enough class to wear your Franchie Art tea next Saturday on your spectacular art. Um, all right. Let's talk about American Pinball coming back. I I I keep seeing this like they hired a customer service guy. They're now saying they're going to be back. Um, I don't understand it. I I'm assuming it's Cuphead. American Pinball coming back. You know what's interesting about AP coming back is I think the thing they should do is become like Rick's partner, not Padreddi. I think AP should be the company that makes the remakes of like Todden and Theater of Magic. I also think the smartest thing in the world, the smartest thing in the world would be for American Pinball and Dutch Pinball to do this and do a joint production of Back to the Future. I I think I don't think it's going to happen. I think Mukesh and like Barry Melvin don't really get along, but I think the smartest move is to just make AP the US manufacturing location for Back to the Futures and you just keep and you make, you know, Barry just makes the European ones and you just you just keep going. Keep going. Wow. They said it's not Cuphead.
    39:36
    So, I mean, that's what I would Cuphead is dead. Wow. Okay. Um, I don't know. Maybe it's He-Man. Maybe it's Masters of the Universe. The new movie is coming out. Yeah. I look, I I don't I don't think anyone cares. I I think they um
    39:57
    I don't know. A year a Expo just happened like a year from now. Six days from now, people. How cool was that? Um, how cool was that spooky speak that Luke gave us to watch? Um, you know, still laughing at that weasel call and like took off my my credit. Literally Luke gives me the clip and says, "Chris wanted to share this with you early and give a treat for your fans because this was your idea to put this in the game." and he's like, "I'm we're so happy we did it and here you go." And then Colin, the purveyor of positivity in pinball, removes my watermark from the video, gives me no credit, and then releases it as his own exclusive. Think about that for a minute. Think about the men, how they were raised, who their mamas are. The these are This is a father. This is a husband. This is a guy that's got children who's going to teach them what values in life. People like, you know what I always say is like, I always give credit where credit is due. I don't care if I like you or hate you. I will give credit where credit is due. If David Fix came out with the best game tomorrow, I would be like, David, you nailed it. And I I I just think it's crazy. It's crazy,
    41:23
    you know, but in the end, like Colin just cancels himself because I I don't Are any Do any of you subscribe to the Kineticist? Do Do any of you actually pay for the Kineticist or for Twip? Do you actually give that guy like a dollar? Like, I can't even imagine. Like, I unsubscribed from that so long ago. And guess what? Uh, Knaps Arcade is all you need. Pinside and Naps Arcade. What else do you need? I've never met anyone that subscribes and he's always like begging for like 40 bucks to keep it going. Like nobody cares, bro. If the kineticist went away tomorrow, would anybody be devastated by it? I don't think so. And again, like Colin and I, we did, we made up. He had a golden opportunity to continue a good cordial relationship. And but it it's it's clear he doesn't want to do that with people. He and and it's not just with me gang. The stories of him and other people and it's just it's all
    42:25
    you know I mean other people are are not so outspoken like me and and other people just won't you know don't want to get in it with people. I I don't have that problem. I can call someone a weasel because they are a weasel.
    42:42
    No, no. I mean, look, I I'm I'm we're we're I'm all things are all good with Ralph and Don now where you know, Jenis and Zack, Greg, Ken. Like, there's no I think the only person I have an issue with now is like Colin. I re I really think that's it. Well, and Zombie Yeti apparently, right? It's like Zombie Yeti's cup of coffee. Um yeah, I'm going to do the you know, Zombie Yeti haircut next. Um, but again, like you know, and I will say this, the people that double down on the hate, it it it'll eat them up. It won't make them sleep better at night. Like right now, Jeremy posting that and now he he's going to be like, "Oh, Canada did a whole thing about what you said about him. It's not going to add to his sanity." And again, Jeremy, when you just take the high road, you you that's what makes you sleep at night. And it's funny that he he puts up a picture of an adult baby and then I I guess that's me and he's the adult. He's the mature guy. Okay. Sure. Sure. I I I don't you know it's it's weird to me because Brenda loves Jeremy's artwork. She's got his uh Ernie Hudson thing hanging on the like refrigerator. We met him. He's we he's we've always I I just I again I just think um I think Stern ruined him. I really do. I think Stern's ruined him. I I think he's still the great nice guy. I think Stern has put him on too many things. I think Stern has forced him to be part of projects he never should have. And now he's got to, you know, now he's got to manage all of this. And I I don't know, man. I just don't think it's like what he loves to do. I I have to be honest. I I there look there's a reason why I even in my career, like I don't want to manage all these people. Like I I'm a very good creative, but I'm not the best manager. you know, I'm good with the concepts. I'm not great with the with like the the operational logistics, if you will. And so, like, you know, the next stage in my career would be chief marketing, chief creative officer, CCO, but a CCO role is much more managerial and I I I just want to stay in the work. I just want to stay doing the concepts. like I know my strengths and my weaknesses and I and I I will I will succeed when I'm in the right role. If I'm in the wrong role, even though it might be elevated, even though like, you know, I some people's egos think they can do it, I'm not that's not what I excel at.
    45:16
    Yeah. Because like much like what Zombie Yeti is going through now, like I don't want to be accountable for somebody else's ideas. and he now has to like he now has to like manage other people's art projects on things and he you know what I'm saying like he knows the Star Wars playfield art is not great he come on he knows it
    45:43
    how's everybody doing um all right so AP coming back Winchester where where the Winchesterers at are they in the line you know what's funny is, you know, like I just think this week is Spooky's week. I think anybody doing anything marketing this week is is wrong. I think Barrel should not be doing their factory tour Saturday. I think that's a mistake. I think it's a huge mistake for Stern to be streaming The Walking Dead on Friday, right when Beetleju, it's Beetlejuice's week. This is Beetlejuicees week. This is Spooky's week. And and if you do something marketing on top of this week, you're going to get ignored and it's not going to work and you you you'd be you you'd be better off just waiting a week, you know, wait a week. Um I I don't think, you know, because again, what's the point? I mean, all the Winchesterers sold. I mean, factory tour, cool. I just my my I still am curious to see if the game's just on the line. People are gonna get them. I mean, no one's worried about if. It's just a matter of when and and will the excitement continue to last. There's been a few streams happening around Winchester, which is good. Um, you know, I I've been on the record for saying I still think Dune is a better shooter than Winchester. Winchester is definitely unique, but it's not a game with flow. And I think for a lot of you guys out there, it has a difficulty level that I'm not sure everyone is going to find appealing. And I and but it's got it's got some it's it's cool, though. It's just different. It's cool. It's unique. I mean, it's it's always going to win on that level. And it just feels like having a Winchester now is always going to be like kind of like a special thing. And it will always be that. Like when you have a great launch like this, name me a game again. Uh maybe Alice, but name me a game where I don't even know. But even Alice, Alice didn't have a great launch. Alice kind of sold out. Um you know, I just because it was like different and unique. I mean, but I definitely think there's much more game here than there is in Alice for sure. But it but it's more about what this says about the pinball buyer and the collector now is that they're all looking for something unique and different. And I think that's what you get now with a game like Winchester, with a game like Alice. Raz is Roz is amazing, man. I mean, wait, wait, wait. Let me let me take that back. Roza's Roz has got so much more in it than Alice. I think it's it's there's some amazingly cool stuff in Raza. Uh Matt Andrews, who uh who worked on Raza, his art package is stunning. It it's it's like it's it's really cool. Pumping Spooky is a 100% Canada move. Um Matt, I don't I don't know what you mean by that. I Is anybody saying anything negative about Spooky right now? I I call it like I see it. I mean, the spooky guys have they, you know, they've they've heard me in moments of appreciation of what they're doing, and they've heard me tear their stuff down when I think it's not good.
    49:01
    Uhoh. Hold on. Are we back? That was weird. Did they get me? Are we back? I think I think Zombie Yeti got me.
    49:19
    [sighs and gasps] Oh my god. Oh my god. Funny. I I I I I want to do like a What is that? Like Pearl Jam like Jeremy's spoken yesterday. He's got no challenge and a bad haircut tearing people down. Jeremy spoken yesterday 12:42 a.m. Jeremy spoken yesterday.
    50:00
    YETI, LET'S DO THIS, [screaming] BABY. YOU WANT TO GO TO WAR WITH THE DATA? WHY? WHY? I GET YOU CAN DRAW, BRO. YEAH, [screaming] MAN. WOO. You got to give Evil Dead credit, brother. You got TO GIVE HARRY POTTER CREDIT. WHY YOU COMING AT POTTER and Evil Dead? Two of the most beautiful games we've seen. I'M SORRY. WE DON'T LIKE KING GONG, MAN. WE DON'T LIKE IT. WE DON'T LIKE IT. ARE WE ARE WE ALLOWED NOT TO LIKE IT? WHO IS EVERYBODY A EVERYBODY A TALENTLESS hack if we don't like it. YOU PUT THE SAME ART PACKAGE ON THE PRO AS THE LE, BRO. You put the same art package on the Pro as the LE. So, what happened there, brother? WERE YOU BUSY GETTING A BAD HAIRCUT, OR WERE you just thinking that people spending $13,000 would be cool WITH YOU PUTTING THE SAME DAMN ARTWORK ON THE PRO? JEREMY, WAKE THE F UP. THE LE SHOULD BE EXCLUSIVE ARTWORK, you know. OH, SO YOU'RE SO BUSY. So then we have to compromise. So maybe maybe maybe Cana is not wrong. Maybe Canada is speaking on behalf of everybody. Maybe the reason people didn't want Kong is because you made Kong Pro look exactly like Kong Lee. And maybe that gong ain't enough. That gong ain't enough, baby. That little spider, little magnetic spider. Tentless hack. Talentless hack with a bad haircut. For my sanity. For my sanity. I'm going to keep attacking him.
    51:50
    Bump. We doing this? We doing this, Jeremy. Or we building bridges, baby. We building bridges.
    52:02
    It's like it's it's it's it is what it is. It is what it is. Don't get me started, man. Don't get me started. I don't sleep. My kids are young. My kids are young. My boomer parents are wise. It's It's good, man. The kids are going to be all right. You know, my mom's an artist. She's very She's ve I mean like I get it man. Artists are like my mom is um You think I'm emotional? You think my mom is Sicilian like her she like it is all emotion all the time. She's a very talented artist and and much like Yeti like my mom my mom can draw like perfect like pen and ink sketching. when when my family um really had no money when they were when we were younger like my mom did pen and ink sketches of houses to earn some extra money to to buy us like winter clothes and stuff like she'll she'll give you the whole so story like they had no money they were literally like parents came from nothing you know then they you know then then they climbed up a little bit they climbed up in this world no shill zone Maybe. [laughter] Yeah. But G, here's the thing, man. It's like I'll tell you what's not going to work. When people say the art is NOT THAT BAD. HOW'S THE PIZZA? Not that bad. That's not what we want for $13,000. Not that bad. If that's the goal is to make an ARP The Walking Dead, the new one. It's not that bad. Not that bad. Hey, do you want to buy a $13,000 stern machine? It's not that bad. Not that bad is what I want to hear about. I don't know how how much salt is on the popcorn at the movie theater. IT'S NOT THAT BAD. THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO HEAR. NOT THAT BAD. RIGHT. OKAY. NOT ON MY $13,000 PINBALL MACHINE. I WANT TO HEAR THE ART IS EFFING AMAZING. IT'S NOT THAT BAD. You know it's not that bad. Canad's haircut. Canad's haircut is not that bad. Are we still going? Yeah, we're still going. We're baking.
    54:30
    Yeah, but that's that like I don't hate it, but I don't love it. Welcome to Stern. I DON'T HATE IT, BUT I DON'T LOVE IT. WHERE'S NEIL MCGRA, BABY? Where's Neil McCrae planning his next trip? Pinball Media, baby. Neil and Iceman, they're gonna put their Walking Dead al together and just play together. They like Neil, they just they should just hug each other while they play. IT'S NOT THAT BAD. I DON'T HATE IT. I don't hate it. This is like the new Stern Mark. I DON'T HATE IT. I DON'T LOVE IT, BUT I DON'T HATE IT. I don't hate it. I don't hate it. People, welcome to Canad Spinball Podcast. Are we having fun? No one else could talk. Like I just like not that bad.
    55:21
    Yeah, there is a word for it. And it's called mediocre. Thank you, Dwayne. Like, it's ridiculous. Not that bad. Not that bad. It's got to stop. It's got to stop. [groaning] [sighs]
    55:40
    Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice. First of all, we haven't even spoken about how cool is the voice activation on Beetlejuice. How cool was that clip that that Bug sent us
    55:58
    Fizzy? Um, look, can we can we just be real for a minute? I mean, let me just go get another cup of coffee. I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna dish some real real on about Jeremy, about everything I know that's going on. And I just I know it's hard to hear, but like whatever. It's it's um it's time. All right, so let me just get a little bit more coffee and then we're we're really going to we're really going to drop some truth bombs.
    56:32
    You can't like you you can't, Jeremy. can't beat a guy that walks around in public like this in in a full Dorian football kit. Like you can't like you can't like a dude that's my age wearing a robotic cat from the 31st century like you know you got to like evaluate can I beat a guy that walks around in public with a full doon kit on start there like that's just base level questioning I need you to do for your sanity apparently
    57:08
    kit kit look at and Roses by Jersey Jack Pinball. Hell yeah. Oh, it's not that bad. I don't I don't HATE IT. I DON'T hate it. I don't hate it. BUT IT'S NOT THAT BAD. I DON'T HATE IT.
    58:16
    Oh my god. Are we doing this? Not that bad. Not that bad. [snorts] I wish it was a onesie. All right. Do we want to do we want to just do we want to just drop the real real right now? Do we do we want to talk truth? Well,
    58:49
    I'm not going to scream. I'm just going to tell you what I think is happening. And I've I've witnessed this in in other industries. I've witnessed it in my own personal career. Um, you know, when you're part of a creative project, there's good years and bad years. There's years in which you seemingly can do no wrong. There's years in which you are celebrated. Every move you make is working out. People's response to your creative ideas is is amazing. Everyone's in love with what you're working on and everybody's looking at you for the answers. and and sometimes you can continue to hit and and solve problems and create stuff that people love consistently and then some years you just don't have the same opportunities and it's very much like pinball. I feel like every once in a while, you know, you're going to get a project that just everything clicks like Godzilla. You're going to get a project where the design is there, the mechs are there, the art is there, the the theme integration is there, the assets are there, and you put it all together and everybody loves it. Everybody loves what you've worked on. Everybody appreciates it. Everybody's buying one, everybody's loving one, and it just feels so good. And you got to think about you have almost the same exact people that made that game that game made King Kong.
    60:32
    And you got to imagine like what what like how four years later, same people, same passion, same energy, same opportunity, you know, King of the Monsters, Godzilla and King Kong collectively are the two big beasts that are culturally in the same realm. They're in the same movies recently. You know, it's like we think about these larger than-l life things and one game is one of the greatest, most beloved games of all time and then you make another one and it's ridiculed. It's passed on quickly. Most people don't want one and it was a flop and a failure. And how did that happen? Right? What changed? You know, you can go down a list of things that were different. Also, just there's just natural fatigue when you start to see the same stuff, same looking stuff. You know, Stern games, this is the part that like they just don't get. Your games all look the same. And when I put up that picture of like seven stern releases and if you squint your eyes, they all look the same. They all are are are working like the same color palettes. They're just it's just and it's not just the colorization of your machines, Stern. It's like the art itself. It's just all looking the same. And because you make so many games a year, not only are we like oversaturated with like the look of them, but also the colorization of them. just the overall sense that like you guys don't know how to make a machine that just feels independent of like the portfolio and everything just blends together. And I think for a time gang, it worked. But as I've been saying recently, look at like Tron next to Ghostbusters next to Batman. They don't look the same. Like nothing about them looks the same. They all had like an individual identity. Put Lord of the Rings next to those games. Star Trek, AC/DC, Lucy, right? They just they all looked so different and they were also so much cheaper. So like when you were making games that were half as much money, they all had much more visual identity to them. And gang, like the Star Trek armor lit up side rails are far more impressive than 10 years later they put the lighted rails on The Walking Dead remastered and the lights are going the wrong way for the way bullets travel. And like again, like so nobody over there is like I I I I guess if if if we're only selling this game to people that don't remember what we used to do, maybe it works. MAYBE IT'S NOT THAT BAD. Maybe I don't hate it, but the lights are going in the wrong direction. So, like it's just really hard for us to feel like we want to keep supporting all of these moves when in a time when you're charging the most you ever have for your games, you're not really elevating. And I think I think everybody over there needs to slow down. And I mean is this I think Zombie Yeti is burnt out. It's not Jeremy talking to me like that. That's not how Jeremy talks. These games aren't what Jeremy is capable of. He knows he doesn't want to only do two art packages for King Kong. He doesn't want to recycle King Kong art on the three cabinets like that. He didn't have enough time because he's on too much other stuff and he spread too thin and now you have him in a role that's going to spread him out even thinner and now not only that now the pressure is on and I will tell you this in any creative field whether you're playing baseball illustrating creating pinball or like Canada coming up with creative ideas for major billion dollar companies. Pressure sometimes works against you. Sometimes it's good. Sometimes it's good to have a deadline and pressure to get something done. Like I just went through a new business pitch and it was good that we had like only a week to get it done. So, we had to make decisions because that's what pressure does do is it actually makes people make decisions which can be hard with organizations like Stern where I bet there's a lot of committee and a lot of people weighing in and I bet that's also hurting Yeti and George and Seth. I don't think they know what to do per se. I think there's too many people with opinions. And then in addition to all of the committees at Stern, they've got to deal with jackasses like me, they got to deal with people on pin side. They like everyone's in their head. And and and that's why I mean this when I say this, they need a timeout to re-evaluate and re-establish and make a game that reminds everybody what they are capable of as an organization. They need their next Godzilla. Jaws was not it. Jaws was close is as close as they've gotten to a Godzilla, but they need another Jaws another Godzilla. They need a nostalgic game that they execute perfectly well and there's no compromises. There's no I don't hate it. Like the fact that they destroyed Star Wars again, they made an ugly Star Wars game, a a game with very little creativity under the glass, gang. It's like you don't just recover from these things and because what happens with all of these launches is it just makes more and more people look elsewhere. If you think about a pinball company like a restaurant and I think as grown adults you can relate to this metaphor. When you find restaurants that you enjoy going into, even if the food's not the best, right? you might go into because the customer service is amazing. When you walk through the door, they know your name and they greet you in a way that the fancy Michelin star place would not. And so maybe you decide to only spend your money there. And pinball is a lot like that. People have a certain amount of money they're willing to spend on new inbox games a year. Dealers and dros are different. You know, they want as much allocation that they feel like they can sell. It's different. But for consumers, you're going to decide if Stern is still the restaurant you want to go into. Now, all of a sudden, this new restaurant opened up and it's called Evil Dead. It's Spooky's restaurant. Spooky's now and and I say this, it's like Spooky's now got a new chef in the kitchen. They've got a few new chefs in the kitchen. And now all of a sudden, the dishes they're serving up are much better than the dishes they were serving a few years ago. Not only that, they've renovated the place. It looks better. It tastes better. And and they really have great customer service. All of a sudden, now I might want to go into the spooky restaurant and I'm I'm good not going back to Stern. Barrels of Fun, same thing. You know, it's like Jersey Jack. Same thing. The more these companies continue to uh exceed your expectations, the more you're going to continually want to support those manufacturers. And this is the number one problem at Stern Pinball today. Nothing they've come out with recently over the last few years has exceeded or even met our expectations for them for these prices and for these themes. And it's not just Canada saying this and Neil McRay is delusional. Zombie is just frustrated. I get his frustration. I don't have a great haircut. I agree with him. I I I just I don't know what else to do. I got trapped in this like high buzz cut during COVID and I've just kind of fallen in love with the high buzz because it it removes the gray hair from my head. That's it. That's the truth. I I I can look a little younger if I just go high and tight. My mom hates it too, Jeremy. Don't worry. You're not the only one. And she's an artist, too. My mom is actually embarrassed by my haircut. Every time I go home, she's like, "I can't believe you're my son and you have that haircut." So, you're not wrong, Jeremy. But I think Jeremy and the team over there, I think they're just like because they have to keep games on the a new game every three to four months. I think at the speed and size they are, they're not able to all focus on making that new game that exceeds expectations. And here's the big thing, and I mean this when I say this, and you can guys tell. I mean, I'm not screaming here. I'm not trying to like, you know, get likes or like I, you know, all I'm just trying to be real. The biggest mistake Stern did is they did not release Spike 3 with a statement game that introduced its new platform to the world in a magical way. You cannot do what they have done. You cannot pussyfoot, for lack of a better term, into your new platform the way they did. You cannot you cannot introduce what is supposed to be the next chapter of your company's product in such a bad way. And it's just been a terrible slow rolling out. People are confused by it. Is this the new is this fully Spike 3 now? Nobody knows. And when they talk about a Raspberry Pi with an HDMI out as one of the things they're going to highlight as the power of their new platform. Thank you, Stern. We're done here. That is like Ferrari announcing its new inline 4 engine. It's embarrassing. It it it sounds like they don't have anything. It sounds like they're they want credit for something they shouldn't. And I just it just doesn't feel like the next evolution of the world's biggest pinball company's platform. And so all of it, all of it, you add it all up. You add it all up and people more and more are avoiding new and boxed stern purchases. And then you look at the secondhand value of their games and they're tanking.
    72:28
    What What about what I just said do you disagree with? I'm the floor is yours. I I will read what you guys write both on Facebook and on YouTube, but I I I think that's a fair assessment and I think this company needs to call timeout. I think they need a statement game and I think they need to put all their efforts into that statement game and it's not going to be Fallout. I mean, Pokemon is big. Should be Pokemon. Um, but I'm I'm I'm worried I'm worried that there's just internal committees and personalities and they don't feel like a a culture that's a unit anymore. So, I I I would love to hear what your thoughts are on what I just said.
    73:24
    Stern is beyond innovative. You're comp is beyond innovative. You're completely off base, Seth. That's funny. Okay, that's a joke. The distributors insulate Stern from reality. I mean, I don't know, right? I don't know if that's like the case anymore. I've been speaking to some dros. They're not selling Walking Dead's
    73:55
    for some reason. When Jack watches on Facebook, Jack, welcome to the party, pal. It just keeps saying that Dead Flip is watching. [laughter] It just keeps repeating it.
    74:06
    Um, you know, I saw that game room goodies was closing. Um, I mean, again, I don't I don't think um someone closing is necessarily uh indicative of the health of the hobby. They might just be closing for other reasons or personal reasons. I wasn't, you know, who knows.
    74:44
    See, this is the part I don't get because then Neil McRay says they're having one of their best years ever and they have back orders. Back orders. How How is this How is this How are those two things even How can they be true? How can we have like nobody? Ellies are not selling out yet there's back orders.
    75:19
    I I don't even think that's like humanly possible. There's not that many people that buy pinball.
    75:29
    Well, you know, they only sell like 10 Walking Dead Elise direct. You know, you guys know that. Like there's none on the Stern Stern website is not an indication.
    75:45
    I I said it. I I think Jaws 50th is the game I would buy if I were all of you. I think that's going to be the one like if because they're never making more if we believe them. But I've always felt Jaws 50th is gonna is going to hold value way better than like Walking Deads. And I I just think Jaws is it's it's it's like the last good game they've made.
    76:13
    They they did not sell 27,000 Godzilla. If they had eclipsed the Adams family with the greatest selling pinball machine of all time, they would have promoted that.
    76:33
    Wait, Zach thinks they sold 50,000 Godzillaas. That That's That's not even like I can't even entertain that.
    76:52
    Yeah. 15,000, not 50,000, guys. Thank you. Yeah. No, I look I 15,000 I would believe I would believe 15,000. That's a lot, right? But it's also probably the best modern pinball machine ever. So I I'm I I don't doubt 15K. I 27. No way.
    77:22
    Anyway, gang, it's a beautiful Saturday. Um, I hope you enjoyed this. I I want to ask Can I ask you guys a favor? I'm trying to get back to 700 subscribers. We're We're only 16 people away. 16. Now, I know there is at least 16 people that will be watching this today that are not signed up club members. Some of you might be stealing the show. I don't know. You know how it is today. People share loginins, I guess. Um, I would love it. And if you are a member, you can give the gift of Canadian now. It's real easy. You can gift one of your friends. Well, Fizzy, you can gift it to a friend. You could double subscribe. If you want to double subscribe, Fizzy. All you got to do if you're already a member, you can just subscribe under a different email and you'll be on there twice. Um, but definitely, you know, definitely I think if we can get 16 people by next Friday, that'd be amazing. Um, I also, yes, there is now the Silver Ball swag has some Canada merch on it. Thank you, Neil. Um, we can uh you guys can uh check it out. It's on my Facebook page. It's on my Patreon page. We've got the Band Canada Expo shirts. Uh, no idea how to sign up, says Jim Hood. Can somebody on Facebook Let me do this right now. Jim, come on, man. Where where you been? Where you been? Canadas Pinball Podcast Patreon.
    78:54
    Let me let Jim like this is literally the most well-known link in all of Let Let me just put it in the chat right now.
    79:07
    By the way, did you see like the um just go to Patreon, Canadas Pinball Podcast, and you're good to go. Did you guys see um my my cover photo were like literally the the pixelated spinner stickers?
    79:29
    Here we go. Come on, gang. Let's get Let's get it going. Some are just waiting for Colin to rip off the content.
    79:45
    Can I just pay you 60 bucks? Um, if you want to, Jim, the the thing is, Jim, just sign up because I I can't unlock the shows for if you just want to give 60 bucks, that's cool. I mean, just canap pinballgmail.com on PayPal. Um, or you can Venmo my personal name, which is easy to find on Facebook. Uh, everybody look, I thought Neil said Canada was at 1500 subscribers. [clears throat] It's a beautiful day. You know, for everybody's sanity, why don't we do this? Why don't we Why don't we all not play pinball today, go outside, invite a friend out that you haven't seen in a while, or take your family out for a nice lunch, and then just be present with your family and friends today. and forget about Pinside, for forget about Facebook, for forget about Canada, and just like let's all just have a, you know, joyous time on this beautiful planet, on this beautiful day, this beautiful fall day, and everybody go get a bad haircut. Okay, I think let's do it. It's 39 degrees outside. I know it is cold out. Put on the put on the coat, Franchie. Everybody, look, big big day this week with Beetlejuice. We're obviously going to have a lot of shows leading up to it. I can't wait. Um, sticker doesn't look pixelated. They use a polycarbonate matte finish laminate on these that have texture. When zoomed in, the more the texture you can see. No, it looks pixelated. Come on. [laughter] It looks pixelated. All right. Later, guys. Let's get off this Facebook. We'll stay on Facebook for a second.