Pinball

"There is nothing that seems safe to collect. There is nothing that seems like a holy grail that much anymore... we lose some of that specialness of those games like Kingpin, Data East King Kong"

Collectibility in pinball is being destroyed by constant remakes

"Jack sits in his office, keeps sits in his office. None of them wake up and say to themselves, today I'm going to make great pinball. Today I'm going to make this greatest pinball machine ever. And if you're not doing that, then you're just here for the cash grab."

Company owners lack passion and just want cash grabs rather than making great pinball

"one, two, three is Stern, Jersey Jack Pinball, probably three in number two, I believe is CGC. In terms of quality, overall quality, performance and customer service, those are the top three right off the top."

Top three pinball manufacturers are Stern, Jersey Jack, and CGC

"And I think we will see a lot of machines hit the market in March, April and the 2-3k range, which might up end the 80s games and be titles from the 90s. That's my prediction."

Prediction: Many machines will hit the market in March-April in the 2-3k range, which will affect 80s and 90s game prices.

"It is such a good time to be a pinball buyer it is it's such a nerve wracking time to be a pinball manufacturer trying to steal some of Stern's market share"

Great time to be pinball buyer, nerve-wracking for manufacturers

"now that being said I think you're gonna be a little bit shocked at what I predict is gonna happen next year I think we're gonna see a little bit of the same but I also think we're gonna see more of a a finality in the realities of this hobby take place in 2019 right. This almost feels like 2019 is the final chapter in a"

Prediction: 2019 will see more finality in the realities of the hobby and feels like the final chapter in a story.

"I really wanted to deconstruct what goes on inside people's heads. That creates this atmosphere of hype that you have to own the next pinball machine that's going to come out."

Pinball hype cycle creates irrational buying behavior driven by curiosity, rumors, false scarcity, and FOMO

"the diehard Pinball community failed to understand what this game was all about... they think they're entitled for every single Pinball game to be made for them"

Pinball enthusiasts think they're entitled to have every game made for them

"building many of these across the country our goal is you know maybe Chicago and Tex uh pardon me is uh Florida and Texas within five years and then looking at big markets like LA and and New York and probably Las Vegas too"

Prediction: They plan to build venues in Chicago, Florida, and Texas within five years, then expand to big markets like LA, New York, and Las Vegas.

"if you look at the amazing art that Christopher Franchi and Zambi Yeti and Dirty Donny have brought to Stern, I mean they're all new guys to Pinball. These aren't guys that grew up in the 70s and 80s and 90s making Pinball Art... the competition in the Pinball Art world is as high as it's ever been"

Modern pinball art quality is the highest it's ever been, with new artists outperforming veterans

"I was really shocked at the amount of people that were like I'm in on an LE I want an LE I'm buying an LE I got an LE... and none of them have played the game like none of them like they literally have not played the game once They have one stream from Jack Danger and these and all these people are forking over nine thousand dollars"

People buy Limited Editions without ever playing the games

"I want you guys to ask yourselves the best pinball machines of all time the best pinball designers of all time the best pinball games of all time do they have a lot of really tight shots? Does George Gomez design games with tons of tight shots that are frustrating does Pat Lawlor do that?"

Best pinball designers don't make games with tons of tight frustrating shots

"Tomorrow is August first and come August in the entire month I want to read for you the list of pinball machines that are gonna be vying for your pinball dollars and let's let's not say this industry is not saturated"

Pinball market oversaturated - August 2018 has too many machines competing for dollars

"Why bother spending four years trying to re-engineer a complete disaster? I get that they want to pay homage to Python Anghelo. But ultimately, at some point, these designers of yester years, sometimes they have duds, sometimes they have concepts that just should never be made."

Pinball Circus remake project is a complete disaster that should be laid to rest

"what people really want is this they want a limited game that is an experience that only they're having that doesn't have a negative story attached to it... that's a work of artwork and when you walk past it it makes you smile that's what they want"

Pinball collectors want truly limited experiences, not just cosmetic variants of mass-produced games

"I think a pinball machine is meant to be 50% code, 50% shots. And sometimes when they're in unison together and when there's that right harmony between the code and the shots, that is what makes a game really fun"

Pinball code is 50% of what makes a game great, can compensate for mediocre shots

"I don't think there's anything that's going to go up in value... why would anything go up in value because they're going to keep making better games as hot as Iron Maiden is in 2018. Iron Maiden LE will not be that hot in 2019"

Current pinball machines won't hold their value due to constant innovation from manufacturers

"The same way, Stern is going to keep making great pinball machines. Jersey Jack is going to keep making better pinball machines. Spooky is going to keep makin"

Prediction: Stern, Jersey Jack, and Spooky will continue making better pinball machines over time.

"And I think in 2018 as I predicted, I don't mean to get on my high horse but I will just a little bit as I predicted 2018 will be the year of reckoning in the pinball hobby And it's a good thing, the purge will happen"

Prediction: 2018 will be the year of reckoning in the pinball hobby and it's a good thing, the purge will happen.

"the only white space, the only real white space, the door that Stern has left wide open, is the high end collectible market for Pinball... There is no room there. There is none"

Only white space in pinball is high-end collectible market, not competing with Stern's price point

"I still think it's over saturated. I still think we have way too many pinball companies here and I think half of them are going to fail by the end of the year."

Pinball market is oversaturated with too many companies

"What complaining about pinball machine teaser videos on a Saturday really indicates to me that some of you guys just need to shut the computer down, go grab a beer, go out with your friends and get a life"

Pinball enthusiasts need to get a life and stop obsessing over forums

"But there's so many games coming out. And is there just like a level of just maybe it's fatigue, maybe it's just exhaustion, maybe it's just really hardly get excited every month. Because someone else has a new idea for a new machine."

Too many pinball games coming out causing fatigue

"you and I collectively have two of the most popular podcasts in the general world... Do you think when we go to these shows, like dudes like us should get some sort of experience with the manufacturers and the games that are a little bit more tailored and personal"

Podcasters should get special media treatment at shows

"I have to say that that is the worst way to give people a first impression of a pinball machine... I think all pinball reveals should happen in a separate area of the show"

Pinball game reveals at shows are done poorly - games should be shown in private rooms with intimate experiences rather than on loud show floors

"I think it's absolutely ridiculous that people would spend $7,000 to $9,000 on a game, on a toy, that they've never played."

People shouldn't buy pinball machines without playing them first

"Most of the collectors I know, they fucking suck at pinball. Hate to curse. But they're not that good."

Most pinball collectors are not good at pinball

"But I am in the camp of no shot should be that hard in pinball."

No shot should be that hard in pinball - tight shots are bad design

"Everything people were doing in pinball when it came to purchasing decisions four years ago was idiotic. Everybody was stupid. We were throwing money at Magic Girl. We were throwing money at Roz, and we were throwing money at the Big Lebowski."

All pinball buyers were idiots making stupid purchasing decisions

"and you know I just think I think here's my prediction what's going to happen they're going to need new money to come in to build to pay for the parts right to build machines to get the line going they need new money to come in there's no way the old money that was collected almost four years a"

Prediction: The company will need new money to build machines and get production going, as the old money from four years ago won't be sufficient.

"All of these dudes need paychecks. They need paychecks. They don't make much money. I think people fail to realize that Pinball designers are not making six-figure plus salaries. Maybe a couple do and their names are like Pat Lawlor, but for the most part, Dennis Nordman, Barry Oursler, John Norris, when it comes to Pinball, they need paychecks."

Pinball designers like Dennis Nordman need paychecks and aren't making six-figure salaries

"Tim if you think Oktoberfest pinball would sell more than big trouble in little china I am willing to bet my entire annual salary on the fact that I think big trouble in little china would run circles around Oktoberfest in terms of which machine would you buy"

Big Trouble in Little China would outsell Oktoberfest as a pinball theme

"this is the problem with all of pinball when it comes to collectors and people like what's wrong with this guy why would you buy a pinball machine play it 32 times and then sell it you could go play it 32 times in a bar"

People buying and immediately reselling pins with minimal plays is problematic

"Do I kick and scream if I buy a base level Mercedes that someone who paid a lot more for the AMG has a much faster car? You see this notion that pinball people think that they all deserve to have the same experience no matter what they spent is stupid. I actually think if you spend more you should get more of an experience versus just window dressing with stickers and toys"

Kaneda argues that premium/LE buyers should get exclusive code and gameplay features, not just cosmetic differences

"Pinball is pinball. If you make a great pinball machine with a great theme, with great mechanisms, with great flow, with great code, you are going to most likely have buyers for that pinball machine. Pinball does not need to be completely re-engineered. Ball does not need to be reinvented."

Modern pinball doesn't need to be completely re-engineered or reinvented

"I don't think people realize how extremely tiny the Pinball Market is. I don't think they understand that."

The pinball market is extremely small and cannot support multiple new manufacturers

"if a manufacturer thinks that a podcast like mine or head to head pinball doesn't influence their sales in a way they're dead wrong I mean I think we do have the power to either excite or to remove people's enthusiasm around a title"

Pinball podcasts have significant influence over manufacturer sales

"I think if stuff comes out, and there's corners that are cut, and the quality is not there, and it lacks inspiration, it lacks creativity, I think we're in our right to criticize it, because these things are for sale, and they are asking for our money."

Criticism is valid for pinball machines because they're for sale

"But I predict they're going to, I mean, they're going to, I mean, they're going to make it. If they can get their shit together because evidently, a lot of people even when these games don't even work, people are enjoying them."

Prediction: The company will survive and make it if they can get their quality control issues together.

"Well, here's my prediction. These guys have been promising pinball circus for a couple of years now. They've delivered nothing. Now they're tearing apart kingpin saying they're remaking that. Here's my prediction in this company. I just still think these guys do abso"

Prediction: The company will do absolutely nothing and deliver no games despite their promises.

"This is a rich man's hobby. It is a rich man's hobby... You should have at least at least 10 times the cost of a pinball machine in your savings if you even consider Buying a pinball machine new inbox at least 10 times"

Pinball is a rich man's hobby and you should have at least 10 times the cost of a machine in savings before buying

"the market itself has reached that tipping point that I knew was going to happen. That when the prices hit around 10 to 12 thousand dollars, people start sitting back in their chairs and going, is this really worth spending the outmuch money?"

Chris believes the pinball market has hit a tipping point at $10-12k where people question if games are worth the money

"If these modern pinball machines are going after current licenses that make it really difficult to license the voice actors from Hollywood stars... Why are pinball companies bothering to go after some of these licenses if they're so restricted?"

Pinball companies should stop chasing modern licenses they can't afford proper integration for

"And I guarantee you this. If I marketed a pinball machine launch, it would be the best freaking launch ever. It wouldn't be just like, oh, let's just go to expel and be on the floor."

Prediction: If Kaneda marketed a pinball machine launch, it would be the best launch ever, not just a basic expo floor presentation.

"Collecting is a disease. It is. It takes over people's lives. It really does. And psychologists will tell you this. When you start to let your collection take over your life Something bad happens. You start to see everything through the lens of pinball"

Collecting pinball machines is a disease that takes over people's lives

"prices are dropping. They are dropping fast. On a lot of titles that people thought We're going to stay strong for very, very long... someone who paid $9,000 for a NIB America's most haunted If they opened up that game they just lost $4,500 on that investment"

Pinball prices are crashing and people are losing thousands on games they thought would hold value

"I Think the pinball stall that the black knight and I have talked about for a long time. It's here People are gonna want to sell their old games to get these new games"

The pinball market is heading for a stall where old games will lose significant value

"the number one mistake they all make is they make assumptions or they simply have big egos and say this is how we're going to make my product. I don't really care. This is what I want to make and that's the way you have to take it. But a real company, a real company that is making products, they don't operate like that. They make stuff that they know the target wants."

Pinball manufacturers make assumptions and have big egos instead of doing market research to understand what customers actually want

"So I kind of laugh when Mike says if you listen to what he's saying it's kind of a little bit hypocritical... It's idiotic to think that consumers want there to be more pinball versus going into bars to see their favorite sporting events and whatnot."

Pinball location growth is a false assumption - the community is very small and bars make more money with TVs than pinball

"I have always felt like streaming people playing pinball for hours is a little bit tantamount to watching paint dry at times"

Streaming pinball for hours is like watching paint dry - should show features quickly instead