Jersey Jack Pinball

"Do you think people are looking at Wonka in comparison to Waz and saying, are we simplifying this, this company, right? And is JJP almost now just another stern?... No. No. I think that that was my major... that's what I noticed. That was my first impressions of when I first laid eyes on that game was that I expected a Waz."

Jersey Jack Pinball is simplifying games compared to early ambitious vision

"the job of the coder software engineer and designer of a pinball machine that's based on a beloved theme like Willy Wonka is to jam as much of the theme into the pin as they possibly can not remove stuff as they see fit"

The job of a coder on a beloved theme is to jam as much theme as possible into the pin, not remove stuff as they see fit

"I feel like JJP is our only hope, but Willy Wonka still isn't what I think we need"

Jersey Jack Pinball is the only hope for innovation but Willy Wonka isn't enough

"Jersey Jack pinball would not be around if they kept doing business as usual business as usual was driving that company out of business"

Jersey Jack would not be around if they kept doing business as usual - it was driving them out of business

"if Joe Katz and the design team decided not to do that, I think that was a stupid decision... you don't take an iconic movie that has all these iconic scenes, has all these iconic songs and decide not to use them in a way that makes you feel like you're recreating the magic from the movie."

If Jersey Jack decided not to make Willy Wonka feel like a journey through the chocolate factory, it was a stupid decision

"having the design team in Chicago while Jack and everyone else is in New Jersey is a terrible decision it's a terrible decision you need to make these games all in one location"

JJP's split locations (Chicago design team, New Jersey factory) hurt game development

"Jersey Jack Pinball actually revealed and shipped a game to people within two months. And I don't know if you can hear me applauding in my room... this is a huge milestone for them because they've never done this before"

Jersey Jack achieved major milestone shipping Willy Wonka within 2 months of reveal

"Everyone who's got like a pinball streaming site is just going to go there, set up their cameras, play the game over and over again to the point where everyone waiting for it's going to get sick of it... You stream it to you no longer dream it."

Streaming games on location ruins the anticipation and desire for buyers

"There's only one manufacturer on planet earth that gets it right, and that's Stern Pinball. They know that the game will ship is already on the line by the time they reveal the game."

Jersey Jack Pinball consistently fails at managing game reveals and launch timing, unlike Stern who gets it right

"They are now coding these games to be simpler and to be engineered for location play... Jersey Jack Pinball games are for the home collectors. They are not for location play. They are too expensive for location play."

Jersey Jack games are coded for location play instead of home collectors

"even though I have told Jack time and time again, stop streaming the games until the games are done so that you're not getting people fatigued by looking at it time and time again. But here we go, old habits die hard, another stream of Willy Wonka."

Jersey Jack should stop streaming unfinished games to avoid player fatigue

"You sell your most expensive version of your machine. You sell it first. It makes no sense to sell the collector's editions of Willy Wonka at the end of the run in year one."

Jersey Jack's collector edition release strategy is completely backwards from smart marketing

"The big problem of J.J.P. when it comes to communication and marketing and ideas. Oh, here's the big problem. Jack is in New Jersey and his design people are in Chicago. That is a huge problem for Jack."

Jersey Jack Pinball has communication problems due to geographic separation

"GJP, to me, if you look at pinball, is the current game changer. Jersey Jack pinball is the company that is pushing pinball forward far more than anyone else in pinball."

Jersey Jack Pinball is currently the game changer pushing pinball forward more than anyone else

"I can't help but cringe when I see them sort of bring the collector's edition around to different shows, but it's not really a collector's edition. There is nothing on that game that is final other than maybe the candy color of the armor that is on the game."

Jersey Jack needs to stop showing incomplete collector's editions at shows - it's a bad first impression when missing toppers, powder coated wire forms, sparkle, etc.

"The guy was reading from his cell phone, his cell phone and he knew this was going to be a live stream event... you can't read from your cell phone"

Jersey Jack's reveal presentation was amateur with cell phone reading

"5,000 LE's. Is it a joke? Yes, I think it is. A joke. I think everyone realizes that when it comes to how many limited edition games are going to make a high number of limited is kind of silly."

5000 limited edition games is a joke and not really limited

"I still think Jersey Jack's first four games were mistakes on all different levels. I wouldn't own any of them. I don't want to own any of them"

Jersey Jack's first four games were mistakes on different levels and he wouldn't own any of them

"Their line needs to look like the line that I saw when I saw the Stern video today. Right? There weren't people. Those those pirates, when I went over to Jersey Jack, there was pirates of the Caribbean on the line, the big line, the main line. Guess what it wasn't doing? It wasn't moving. They were waiting for parts."

Jersey Jack needs to get their manufacturing line moving like Stern's

"I think he knows that he has definitely not knocked it out of the park with some of the prior games. And definitely he's been things. He's made a lot of lessons and learnings. And I think he knew that he knocked it out of the park with this one."

Jersey Jack has learned from past mistakes and perfected their approach with Willy Wonka

"It is so professionally put together. Jack is an amazing facility. And there were a ton of people and it really just coming from a seafood industry where I've seen manufacturing and I've seen companies behind the scenes. This was like super legit. I was super, super, super impressed."

Jersey Jack Pinball is highly professional and impressive as a manufacturing facility

"I've always felt like every single Jersey Jack game always had something about it. Like some major thing about it that might have made you hesitant"

Previous Jersey Jack games had significant flaws that prevented them from being great

"A golden edition Willy Wonka game one of five made by jersey jack pinball"

Pinball companies need special ultra-premium editions for wealthy collectors

"This really is jack's last chance to make a hit pinball machine"

Willy Wonka is Jersey Jack's last chance to make a hit

"Jack should make 500 Willy Wonka collectors editions for $15,000 each and just watch every one of them sell."

Jersey Jack should price Willy Wonka collector's editions at $15,000 and they would all sell

"I can't help but shake this feeling when I see them sometimes that there's this vibe that all is not good back at the home for that things are really dire and they need money badly"

Jersey Jack Pinball may be in financial trouble and the Yellow Brick Road release was to raise capital

"there is something under the surface a jersey jack pinball that just makes it really hard for them to do what Stern does"

Jersey Jack Pinball lacks proper business planning and keeps stumbling despite good intentions

"What I certainly wasn't expecting. I don't think anybody else was expecting was that they made the game more expensive after having removed one of the key mechanisms that's featured in all the other models"

Yellow Brick Road edition is more expensive despite removing key mechanisms

"if you were to ask me if you were to say Kaneda what is the most successful original IP game since the BLE Williams days I would not say it's dialed in I think the game that actually blew expectations away... I think it's total nuclear annihilation by Scott and E.C."

Total Nuclear Annihilation is the most successful original IP game since Williams era, not Dialed In

"I believe this that if Jersey Jack games were manufactured at Stern the quality would be better. I think there's a lot of issues Jack has with getting consistent quality from the people who work the line at Jersey Jack"

Stern manufacturing quality is superior to Jersey Jack

"you make less money selling a Jersey Jack pinball pirates LE you make less money than you do if you sell a stern monster's pro"

Distributors make less money on Jersey Jack games than Stern

"what is failing Pirates to the Caribbean and where Jack is falling down is he's not making the games immediately accessible"

Jersey Jack's approach is failing - games aren't immediately accessible

"don't you understand that they fired the guy who inked the deal because they realized the lack of assets was a horrible deal."

Jersey Jack fired the person who made the Pirates licensing deal because it was so bad

"I'm here to tell you on Kaneda's Pinball Podcast that I think after seven years of trying to figure out this pinball thing after all this time, I think Jersey Jack pinball is finally about to hit it stride."

2019 will be the year of Jersey Jack Pinball after years of struggles

"their stuff tends to look like the olds just looks like Photoshop drag and drop to me it just does like look at pirates it's just it's drawn over photography it's not art... Stern is winning in the art department right now"

Jersey Jack art packages are unimpressive Photoshop work, not real art

"Jersey Jack machines to a lot of people they just feel like work. It feels like a grind... There is an approachability and there is a level of enjoyment that stern games give people right off the bat right when you flip"

Jersey Jack games feel like work compared to approachable Stern games

"I think Jersey Jack has the best handle on integration of the LCD screen with the activity on the playfield"

Jersey Jack has best LCD screen integration

"There will not be a brand new reveal at Texas Pinball Festival for Jersey Jack Pinball. And I think that's a good thing. I've said it. I can't criticize them for revealing games too early."

Jersey Jack won't reveal new game at TPF - earliest reveal will be May, possibly Toy Story themed

"jack's problem now is he's once again creating an environment in which he's destroying his sales he's destroying his ability to be profitable"

Jersey Jack's communication strategy is destroying their ability to be profitable

"That's why no JJP games are blockbuster successes. But fucking iron maiden sells out. Stern games at the very least have a cohesive nature to them."

Jersey Jack Pinball's lack of cohesion prevents blockbuster success despite individual quality elements

"Why didn't Jersey Jack give Cliffy the Playfield a year ago? The Playfield was done a year ago. Why did they not have that done a year ago and why did they not install these protectors at the factory when it was on the assembly line"

Jersey Jack should have installed Cliffy protectors at the factory instead of making customers tear apart their games

"My prediction for JJP 2019, it's going to be, you know, I don't think it's like a maker break because he's got a billionaire financing the company. I think, but I think Jack needs to I think he needs to hit a home run."

Prediction: Jack needs to hit a home run in 2019, though the company won't fail due to billionaire financing.

"But my prediction for Jersey Jack pinball is that they will once again, this is just my prediction. They will reveal the game much too early and they will make people once again, wait months to get their game."

Prediction: Jersey Jack will reveal their game much too early and make people wait months to get it.

"Anyway, so my prediction for Jersey Jack in 2019 is I think this is sort of like a watershed maker break year for Jersey Jack. And what I mean by that is Jersey Jack finally needs to create a hit, a hit game that is a theme people want."

Prediction: 2019 is a make or break year for Jersey Jack, they need to create a hit game with a popular theme.

"And these aren't difficult things to get right the manufacturing part is obviously a lot harder to get right when you're using temp workers but picking themes that don't make people go crazy for that's a marketing decision. And that to me continues to be the head scratcher"

Jersey Jack's theme selection continues to hurt sales

"Jack's pro version of pirates is the same as the collector's edition. Think about that for a minute and then ask yourself why Jack has failed to create hype the way Stern does."

Jersey Jack fails to create hype like Stern because all their editions have the same gameplay

"imagine if Jersey Jack said we're only going to make one thousand of each game right one thousand I can manage that production there's going to be 250 LEs there's going to be 250 premiums and 500 pro versions and that's it you know we're going to make one game a year at that volume"

Jersey Jack should drastically reduce production runs and increase prices to become true collectibles

"I think they have the capacity to build the best pinball machines in modern times. But there are just those things. Those those those head scratching things that I just don't understand. Like making people you know drill their own holes on their toppers in the collector's edition of Pirates of the Caribbean CE."

Jersey Jack Pinball is capable of building the best pinball machines in modern times but makes important detail mistakes

"I don't think he should think about Stern as his competitor and I don't think he should chase like markets like the operators like I think Jack should really focus on I am a high-end direct to consumer collectible company"

Jersey Jack should position as high-end collectible company rather than competing with Stern

"So I think Jersey Jack's biggest weaknesses are they are the first I think their theme selection just leaves a lot to be desired in my book and I think it's pretty clear that they haven't really had that one pinball theme that is I have to have for the kinds of people who buy pinball machines"

Jersey Jack's theme selection is their biggest weakness