Spooky Pinball

"I think the whole like we're waiting on license or approval is absolute BS. This is the new excuse by a manufacturer when the code is not ready."

The 'waiting for license approval' excuse for not showing code is BS - it's really because the code isn't ready

"to your door, a Spooky Pinball Collector's Edition with ButterCabinet is over $12,500. Okay, over $12,500. So this is not like your cheap and cheerful thing... For this much money, there's no more excuses, right? You're spending $12,000 on a Spooky Machine, $11,000 on a Spooky Machine. Everything about it should be pretty damn good."

Spooky Pinball Collector's Edition at over $12,500 is overpriced and there's no room for mediocrity at these prices

"when Stern launches a game they just act like they're always better than us, they don't really hang out with the community, they don't do much for people, they don't talk to us, they're not really answering everybody's questions, they're basically just saying like here it is, we know you're gonna buy it because we're Stern"

Spooky Pinball engages better with the community than Stern or JJP

"I don't think they have the talent to make games as good as Stern or JJP or Chicago Gaming Company"

Spooky doesn't have the talent to make games as good as Stern, JJP, or Chicago Gaming Company

"say what you will about Spooky and their hot glue gun madness. What they do do really well besides making the best playfields in all of Pinball, is they know how to create amazing call-outs"

Spooky Pinball makes the best playfields in all of pinball and amazing call-outs, but struggles with hot glue gun madness and mech design

"If there's one thing that Spooky Pinball has never done in the history of Spooky Pinball, they've never designed a great mech or toy. And they've been at this now for almost a decade"

Spooky Pinball has never designed a great mech or toy in almost a decade of existence

"the quality control issues on these TNAs is really embarrassing for Spooky right now... There is no way that these things are worth $2,500 more than the original TNA"

Spooky Pinball's TNA quality control is embarrassing and the games are not worth $2500 more than original TNA

"Spooky, come on, you've already made TNA. How is it hard to just make this game again without these boneheaded mistakes?"

Scathing criticism of Spooky Pinball's quality control issues on TNA rerun

"Good luck trying to sell spooky machines for $10,000, $11,000 with their quality issues. I mean, did you see that TNA? They're shipping these games out and the shooter rod, like come on, spooky."

Spooky Pinball has persistent quality issues that are unacceptable at current price points

"Spooky's moves will always benefit them but they will always come at a cost to the consumer."

Spooky Pinball's business model benefits them at consumer expense

"Spooky Pinball seems to be the only company, and I mean this when I say it. Spooky Pinball is transparent. At least they are honest with people about how many games they can make a week. They're honest about when you're going to get your game."

Spooky Pinball is the most transparent and professional boutique manufacturer

"Who's going to win the pinball winter? I think it's going to be spooky. I'm calling it right now. I think the game that's going to have most of the hype is going to be spooky's new game"

Spooky Pinball will win the winter sales period

"So here is my prediction, and we all know the secret. I think it's gonna be Scooby-Doo Pinball, and I think it's gonna be probably, hopefully, I'm begging, I'm praying, Spooky Pinball's most impressive game to date."

Prediction: The new Spooky game will likely be Scooby-Doo Pinball and hopefully their most impressive game to date.

"That's nine titles, people, and they're gonna do another TNA, and they're gonna do this new Scooby-Doo game. So that is eleven titles that Spooky Pinball will have put out into the pinball world, eleven. That's more games than Jersey Jack Pinball has managed to get out the door."

Spooky Pinball has made 9 titles and will have 11 total, which is more than Jersey Jack Pinball has managed

"I think everyone is still waiting for Spooky Pinball to make a game. That is just as good as, and I mean this, as good as, a Stern Pro. They just haven't made a game yet that shoots really well, that has interesting mechs in it, that has the total package"

Spooky Pinball hasn't made a game as good as a Stern Pro yet due to poor design and flow

"The things they do really well are this, they have the best playfields in the industry. They have really great light shows, they use full RGB LEDs in their games. Their games look great."

Spooky Pinball has the best playfields in the industry and great light shows

"There are people out there that don't want to spend $9000 on this game but there's also a community out there that just doesn't want to sign up for the Fang Club. They don't think they should have to pay you an additional fee for the privilege to spend $9000 on a game that cost $6000 just a few years ago spooky."

Spooky Pinball should open TNA 2.0 sales beyond Fang Club members

"for all of my like annoyance at Spooky this week, they build the damn games... They've never burned anybody. They've never made people wait a year after. They've always been upfront... respect needs to be given to a company that gets the job done"

Spooky Pinball deserves respect for consistently delivering games on schedule

"No, I will not support a company that screws over its dealers and distributors who help them get to this point."

Spooky Pinball is screwing over dealers and distributors by doing direct sales only

"Can you imagine if Stern said, we're going to make as many LE's as you want? What would happen to the price of the LE?"

Spooky Pinball's pricing model is flawed because they make unlimited collector's editions with no gameplay differences

"But I'm just here to tell you, my prediction is these games are going to keep going south. The only saving grace of the value of these machines that could bump them up a little bit, here's, you know what it is?"

Prediction: Halloween pinball machine values will continue to decline.

"If there's one thing Spooky Pinball needs, it's to get their coding department up to snuff because the code on Halloween and Ultraman, not there."

Spooky Pinball's code quality has declined and they need better coding talent

"The only company out there where I'm like, okay, they sold everyone is Spooky. Spooky sold every single game or they sold through every single game."

Spooky sold through all their games successfully

"It was Spooky Pinball. And I believe it was Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle was the first game where it was non-refundable deposits."

Spooky Pinball started non-refundable deposits with Alice Cooper's Nightmare Castle

"Probably the worst business decision they ever made was to get the hottest license they'll ever have, Rick and Morty, and they would say this, idiotically limit Rick and Morty production to 750. Charlie could have sold 7,000 Rick and Morty's."

Spooky Pinball's worst business decision was limiting Rick and Morty to 750 units

"They burned everybody with Ultraman and Halloween. They did. They really burned everybody. They willingly didn't show you the game because they knew how unfinished it was and they got everybody to put deposits down because we had faith in them and we got burned."

Spooky burned everyone with Ultraman and Halloween by taking deposits without showing games

"these are just like C plus B minus games in my book... I think Spooky's stock value in terms of the brand value, the brand perception has been clobbered in 2022."

Spooky Pinball's recent games are mediocre C+/B- games that damaged their reputation

"I don't really trust spooky owners anymore because they all just defend their purchases. It's like when people who own Led Zeppelin tell you how great Led Zeppelin is."

Spooky Pinball owners defend purchases regardless of quality

"I think the confidence in them is really eroding away... I think a lot of this is them trying to make more games than they should right now. I don't think they properly quality control tested these games"

Spooky Pinball quality control is failing, rushing products

"Like they've been around a decade now and there's just no more excuses for spooky games not being at least at the level of a Stern pro. Ding, ding, ding. They need to hire more people to get there."

Spooky Pinball games need to be at Stern Pro level quality after 10 years

"Spooky's talent level isn't even close to Pat Lawlor, Eric Meunier and like Keith Johnson and Eric Katz the guys over at JJP...don't ever put the talent over at spooky in the same conversation as Jersey Jack pinball. That's insulting"

Spooky Pinball's talent level isn't even close to Jersey Jack - it's insulting to compare them

"They really are and I must say they must be eating a lot of humble pie right now and eating crow because they know What the response to these games is there's no avoiding it like their good will is really in jeopardy"

"This company has done something nobody thought they would do. They have single-handedly destroyed FOMO Pinball forever."

Spooky Pinball has destroyed FOMO pinball forever by releasing poor quality games that lose value immediately

"There is no way the next spooky title will sell out sight unseen. There is no way this community is going to hand them non-refundable deposits sight unseen... this burned a lot of people"

Spooky's FOMO pre-order strategy burned customers and won't work again

"I think Spooky's taken advantage of all the goodwill they've built. And I think their recent releases are a little bit of a let down."

Spooky Pinball is the only truly successful boutique company but they're now taking advantage of goodwill

"It's like they're basically using their customers as guinea pigs on everything they do with their games. It's like if you buy a spooky game now they're going to use you and they're going to crowdsource your feedback to make their games better."

Spooky Pinball relies too heavily on community feedback and crowdsourcing, operating like a big garage operation

"spooky put out one of the most unfinished games I've ever seen since I've been covering this hobby and look at what their years been like it hasn't been good... I think people are really disappointed in spooky I think they see those games as being somewhat lazy"

Spooky Pinball has disappointed with unfinished, lazy games and poor user interface decisions

"When Spooky Pinball took money for Rick and Morty they were up front with everybody. We can build 10 games a week. If you order a Rick and Morty you will have your game within 18 months."

Spooky Pinball handled manufacturing transparency correctly with Rick and Morty by being upfront about capacity and timelines

"So every single Ultraman has his little scribble and it is like a little scribble and it does not tell you what game number you are. Why? Why Chuck? Why Bug? Why Luke? Why couldn't you figure out a solve?"

Spooky Pinball made a major mistake removing game numbers from Ultraman limited edition plaques

"I have to be honest, people. There are hardly anything in spooky games that meet this criteria. I would almost argue that spooky pinball has never really engineered a toy. I don't think they have like a complete mechanism that was engineered to do any of the things that I've been describing."

Spooky Pinball has never really engineered a proper toy

"I'm upset because I think Spooky Pinball was nowhere near ready to release these games when they did. And I think they put them out there way too early... I think they should have hired people to make these games be further along."

Spooky games are incomplete and launched too early

"There was a pinside comment last night where somebody said that Kaneda is ruining this game for everybody, that he's just a fool and he doesn't know what he's talking about... If you like Halloween and you enjoy this pinball machine, why do you care what I think?"

Defends criticism of Spooky Pinball games against community backlash

"If you're going to physically add something to a different layer of a pinball machine, whether it's a lower playfield or an upper playfield, you need to make sure that that area makes sense."

Spooky Pinball needs better designers and understanding of upper playfield environments

"now that a lot of people have seen what those games are and seen like the shot geometry and the inlane feeders and the animations in Halloween, which have no business being on a pinball machine that costs this much money, now that people are seeing this, a lot of people want out."

Spooky Pinball's recent games (Halloween/Ultraman) are disappointing quality

"There is nobody excited. You cannot find anybody but Roder Dave excited about what is happening over at Spooky Pinball. So Spooky Pinball, I think, had a bad year in 2021."

Spooky Pinball had a terrible year with games nobody wants to buy

"they need to take a step to the side and hire people that are more talented than them, and that will be the make or break decision by Spooky Pinball... ask yourself, who has Bug learned from? Chuck? Chuck's not a good designer, Scott Danesi is not a good designer, they've never really had a great designer over at Spooky"

Spooky needs to hire talent more skilled than the Emery family and step aside from design roles

"I just think Spooky Pinball took one step forward and two steps back with this game... one step forward, they made a game that shot better than most of their other games... but they took two steps back in animations, in code, in rule sets, and also two steps back when it comes to desirability"

Spooky Pinball took one step forward and two steps back - better shooting but worse code, animations, and desirability

"what do you think would happen if Spooky Pinball offered refunds right now... there would be a run at the bank and everyone would say give me my money back for the most part, because why, why would you stay in when you could get your money back and buy the very game you bought for cheaper than you bought it for"

If Spooky offered refunds, there would be a run on the bank because people could buy the same games cheaper elsewhere

"Why do you want Spooky to make any of these? If you have a dream theme, how are you not handing it to CGC, to Stern or JJP? I don't get it. I don't get why you would hand it to Spooky at this point."

Strong criticism of giving dream themes to Spooky Pinball instead of established manufacturers

"It doesn't happen overnight. Okay, you've been in the industry now, Chuck, for like eight years. This isn't an overnight thing. And I don't think he can keep playing this card anymore. Not when you're putting $3 million in the bank on one day."

Spooky can't use 'growing company' excuse after 8 years and $15M revenue