Transcript
Speaker: Thanks for tuning in the Loose Kid Pitball Podcast. I am Josh Roop. With me, my co-captain. Scott Larson. And Scott, it is Reveal Week. Goonies is at the end of the week. You and i are going talking a little bit today about it, but we have a guest on today, too. Who do we got here with us?
Speaker: So, yeah, my name is Cameron Copeland, otherwise known as Dr. C. My wife and i run the YouTube channel Pinball Pursuit. We do reviews, tutorials, reactions to the newest stuff, all that type of stuff.
Speaker: Heck yes. And Cameron's actually from Utah, just like us. He lives not too far from you, huh Yeah. No, he's, he I think you're closer to Saratoga, aren't you? I'm in Saratoga. We're in Saratoga. Yeah. Okay. So he's, he's about a, he's about a 15 minute drive from me. it's It's a lot closer than Josh's two and a half hour drive. Yes, that's true.
Speaker: That is true. um But yeah, so we're going talking Goonies today. If you want a Goonies, good luck. But you know what? You should still hit up Zach and Nicole at Flippin' Out Pinball to secure yourself on the list.
Speaker: You can play the lottery Friday morning with with Spooky. But seriously, if you want any new or used games, Zach and Nicole are the way to go. set Tell Greg and Ken we sent you and get yourself that new or used game that you've been dying to get. It is Christmas time, so it is time to start figuring out how you're going to fit it underneath the Christmas tree. Huh, Scott?
Speaker: Yep, and I actually, I'm going to get an ACDC. so nice masters like I'm looking forward to that one. I got my confirmation last week that my Totan is going to be on its way here soon. It's in nice. FedEx has the tracking number. It just hasn't like officially sat on their dock to get here. Yeah, no, I actually I'm pretty excited. I'm this is the first time in a long time that I'm going to have a big changeover in my lineup. mean, I've got Bon Jovi coming. I got Fallout, which is on my garage that I'm planning on moving down here.
Speaker: um and uh looking at getting a ah circus voltaire and uh and so there's a there's a lot of games that are on the uh on the block for me to get so this is a big year for me for pinball Definitely. and And Cameron, what is your collection?
Speaker: but Yeah, so my collection small. we're We're still really new at this. I own 1988 Williams Cyclone, which is the game that I used to play with my dad that really kind of sparked that pinball memory. And then I rotate a new game, and every two months I have a rental program. So ah currently enjoying Scooby-Doo by by Spooky Pinball. Yeah.
Speaker: Excited to finally be buying a new in-box pinball machine. I was able to get Goonies. So I'm very excited about what we're going to talk about.
Speaker: Dang, I'm excited for you. That's going to awesome. It's going to great. Yeah, first new in-box. I was really hoping that Stern was going to do an anniversary Madman 66. It's probably my favorite game so far. But alas, they didn't do the anniversary edition.
Speaker: there's still time. Maybe, maybe not this year. I, I, I would bet, I would bet that it's certainly on the list of remastered remakes that they're going to be doing.
Speaker: but I, with Oh, it's my dream. I would love one. I think it helps too that Goma is still there and like they have great people to enhance the code. mean, the codes are fantastic as is, but like was amazing. And he brings up that turntable. George has brought up that turntable in like the last three interviews that he'd done with people talking about stuff. So like, obviously it's on his mind.
Speaker: Isn't George fantastic too? Like, I don't know what they're going to do. Steve Ritchie just retired at 76 and I'm like, George, he's got five. Well, he, he had the rest of his life. George still has some, some left in the tank. dude he I don't think he's retiring anytime soon. Oh, I agree. But I'm just like, man, that that Stern is so lucky to have George. He's such a great dude.
Speaker: Yeah. So much energy. um one One quick shout out before we start digging into this. Retro Ralph had to mention, I did meet up with him at MoBeta's in Park City. It was like two ships meeting perfectly for 20 minutes to have dinner.
Speaker: We sat and chit-chatted. It was great to talk to Ralph. If you're not checking out his channel, you should, along with Pinball Pursuit, because Cameron's got some amazing tutorials, and he makes them like bite-sized and easy to understand with diagrams and stuff. So, um yeah. Yeah.
Speaker: but Okay, let's let's get into Goonies, all right? So we've had we've already had one interview. We had one with Kerry Hardy, and he sat with Spooky Luke with um with Bug.
Speaker: And sorry, I was trying to think of to even announce Dawn, the Dawninator. But Don was there as well. I think it helps when you live across the street, right? that You just walk over like, let's do it. yeah right And you buy Charlie's old house.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly. So ah some of the highlights I really enjoyed from the interview. So it's completely different art from the SLE to the CE.
Speaker: And it's like even the play field art, they did confirm like the gameplay is going to be the same, but the art is entirely different. And I think this is a really smart approach, especially when you're there's only going to be 100 of these. Sorry, less than 185 and only 55 are going to distributors and then they're keeping the other 30.
Speaker: as part of like if you buy a ce you automatically get put in for a drawing and then they're going to draw out after all the c sell and then you'll have the option to upgrade to the sle if your name is chosen which is crazy i was gonna say what do you guys think of this uh you know what it's okay my attitude is if there's a high-end option in pinball just like in cars you should try to capture the market If there are people out there who are willing to spend the money and as the company, if you are able to capture the money, it is brilliant for you to be able to capitalize on that. i
Speaker: My only reluctance is I don't want them to make it as that's the only good option out there. so and And that's the challenge anytime you have ah a super elite package is because you want to be able to have the the ones that the average people can buy and afford. You still want them to be a good version of it.
Speaker: and And so that that is that is always going to be a challenge going forward to find out, okay, we want something to be the super limited that is really cool enough to justify the cost, but it is also not undermining the other options that we have. Yeah, I think my take on it is...
Speaker: I don't know that I've ever seen, and granted I'm still new to the hobby relative to you guys, and I've never seen ah a deluxe or a premium or a limited, whatever it is, where they've completely changed the playfield art.
Speaker: You know, because you can kind of faux make your own limited edition of like Stern or something because you can buy a Translite, you can do your own powder coating. you can't really make your own play field.
Speaker: Like you can't really replace that. So to me, that's where this gets a little bit crazy. But to Scott's point, I think they can't make it too good because then people are going to be sad. They don't have it and they're going to fetch such a high price.
Speaker: Oh, definitely. Yeah. We have seen this actually even in your time, Cameron. You've seen two of these other than Goonies. Pedretti did Funhouse different, even the Playfield, and same with Tones of the Arabian Nights.
Speaker: The Playfield's different on that The Playfield's different. says I haven't seen a Pedretti remake in person yet. Yep. So those those are two, but I agree of like... I don't know if this is only going to have 85 made make it as cherries as you want because they've confirmed that the gameplay is going to be the same so you're still going to get the same gameplay and just if it's drool worthy and like they said they're going all out with you get the shaker motor the the butter cab that's all going to be included with the SLE where like a different topper like they're doing something special with the topper for it too. Yes. And so with the CE, you can add all those stuff. So obviously the new price is 11,000 or 10,999, which realistically everyone's prices went up over the last year anyway. And when that happens, I think it's more of a necessity for the industry and not necessarily one company trying to get more money out of their product. like That's inflation. i am Yeah, it's just inflation. It's inflation. I can't buy my house for what I paid for it 14 years ago.
Speaker: Yeah, true. Very, very true. So I don't see this as like ah we're getting there's some very upset people out there feeling like they that spooky is gatekeeping based on price and that they are also creating this price drive throughout the whole industry because of the higher price. But it's funny because like, okay, so here's one thing that it kind of confused me because they were talking about the SLE and they were going to leave it up to distros because then there's only going to be 55 of them. So who knows, you're going to get one or two maybe of the SLEs if you're lucky. So like they're leaving up to the distro to whatever they want to sell them for.
Speaker: But they then said on Kerry's podcast, well, the SLE for us, we allow the people that are going to get the opportunity to buy them for $14,999. So you kind of send an MSRP, but or at least ah an idea. you and Yeah. you and And I don't think it was intentional, but it was definitely that like, this is how we're going to do it. um But 15 or 14, 9, 9, 9. That's what Jersey Jack's been selling their seas for at least five years now or four years since ah guns and roses. Or was it after without, it was after guns. that Well, but okay. Actually that's a good there was a price increase with guns and roses, but I can't remember what they went to. I think originally Guns N' and Roses was lower.
Speaker: Yes. and then they And then they increased it. But, okay, to um they we've seen this before, Josh. I the Beatles, you remember the Beatles? They had the gold, the ah platinum, and the diamond. Yeah, the diamond, yep.
Speaker: And so they basically let the distributors ah set their own price. And so I like I have a gold one, which is fine. Like i I like my gold one, but there's, you know, there's a diamond and a platinum out there.
Speaker: But that was, you know, there's always going to be some experiment to test the waters and see if there is a market for these things. Wollin Stern did it again i've been just a couple years back with Bond 60th from Keith Elwood.
Speaker: This isn't uncommon, so I don't understand like why people are upset by it. like I can be a i understand if you're upset. why No, ah come on. it's It's very simple.
Speaker: Everybody wants to say, hey, I want to get something super exclusive for a low price, and then when I resell it, I want to make $10,000. Okay, yes. We just simplify it. I always say it's so funny because they're always ticked at the price of games and then they're complaining when the price of used games is lower than the new in box.
Speaker: And yeah I'm sorry, they're they're children. They're living in a fantasy world. well Well, let's be honest too. Like if you go to a spooky site right now, can't you still get like a Looney Tunes? And like, I'm pulling up as we speak. Sorry. So i'm cool' up but tunes because I've been looking into it. ah You can get a Looney Tunes or Scooby-Doo. They're both still available.
Speaker: Well, okay. So this is the challenge that any small, ah any smaller company is going to run up against for them to actually maintain their demand. They actually have to batch into small runs.
Speaker: Because at some point, they um it is so difficult for them to compete when it comes to to layout and complete rule sets on the same level as a mass manufacturer, such as Stern or Thirsty Jack. And so they have to use other tricks.
Speaker: and i And I have no problem with these, by the way, because people will buy things based on limited availabilities. So if that's part of their their market, people can say, hey, great. I paid more for a limited version of this game.
Speaker: And if they could, if they had the ability to make 10,000 Goonies and sell them in the same volume, the Stern would, they would. But that's not that's not really what their company is. And so they have to recalibrate things based on what they're able to manufacture, what they're able to offer, and what their what their market is for the fans. Now, with ah with Scooby-Doo, they probably went a little too high. they They were a little too aggressive on that. And so I think it did devalue the game because they still't they didn't sell out all those.
Speaker: So they scaled it back. you know they Beetlejuice, they scaled it back. Texas Chainsaw, scaled it back. Evil Dead, they scaled it back. And this is where they're starting to scale up just a teeny bit.
Speaker: But we're still going to maintain the value for the game. So and that's that's what prompts people to take a risk on a smaller volume manufacturer if they know that they can sell it for ah for cheaper. And they did, a lot of people got burned on Ultraman.
Speaker: So they're not doing that again. that They're really dialed in and it shows the maturity of a company. Well, and and to to the point of like, so we're talking about this, right? Like if if you're concerned about the gatekeeping and the price, you can still buy these games brand new. So it is Looney Tunes, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Scooby-Doo is all still available through their website. So that means they either have them sitting in box or they've got the materials to build them and they don't mind building it for you. And then on top of that, like,
Speaker: these So Scooby-Doo is 9K. Sorry, it's 9,800. Same with Texas. Same with Looney Tunes. And here's the other thing, too. Looney Tunes in Texas Chainsaw Massacre, when we did the um best game of Spooky, when we did the the bracket and everything like that, there were multiple people that had said that was their best shooting game, hands down. So it's not about gameplay. Go bad.
Speaker: It's like, it's not it's not the gameplay that's obviously the issue. And a lot of these do games, like looking on the secondary market, I can pick up Texas Chainsaw Massacre for $8K, Looney Tunes for $7,800. We got Scooby-Doo for $7,200. And even in a standard edition, $6,200. I mean, yeah how is this gatekeeping at this point? Like, I some of like i get like...
Speaker: Evil Dead really drove things up because it was a really fantastic game and it really set a new bar for Spooky. But I don't feel like Spooky is the one that's like driving this, right? This is the used market because you have a demand, a supply and demand issue.
Speaker: So Spooky is supposed to make more games because you feel like it Like I just, I don't get it. Well, Spooky is walking into that balance because ah how many games do you want to have demand for and how many games do you want to sell?
Speaker: yeah The answer is N minus one. You want to have the demand for a thousand one games and you want to make a thousand of them. and Because you want to basically hit that sweet spot where there is still a demand, but you captured the entire market.
Speaker: and And that's what they have been slowly tinkering to do. And they have found it now that they obviously found that with Beetlejuice, they could have sold a few more. And so that's why they moved up a little bit. And that's exactly what they're doing.
Speaker: and And they're going to keep moving up. Like they're they moved up with this game. I guarantee they're going to move up with the next one. And eventually they're going to hit a point where they don't sell out in 24 hours. And then they're going to know where their sweet spot is. And maybe that's theme dependent a little bit, but...
Speaker: They're in such a boom right now because Evil Dead was so good and Beetlejuice was good that I think there's they're going to find a point, though, where they're they're going to make more than they can actually sell out of. Obviously, Goonies is not that game.
Speaker: Who knows if the next one will do the same thing, but I think that they're they're learning. it's To me, it's a shame that Scooby-Doo hasn't sold out because... Gosh, we are loving it right now in the house. It plays fantastic. The theming on it is is so good. It makes me excited for Goonies after having Scooby-Doo and being able to play on it and get some some time on it. So they're going to get there.
Speaker: It's going to happen eventually. They're not going to sell out. But right now they're just on such a hot streak. They can't be beat.
Speaker: Well, and I think they found, i don't want to say that sweet spot, but like between Halloween and ultra man, it was roughly 1750 on all the additions. Um, and they did that all in less than a year or they did that within a year frame. Right. Because, and I think that was just way too much. I think they put too much stress on there. So I think they found the sweet spot cause obviously this has more. So they've announced that they're going one shy of 1300.
Speaker: And then they're going to have 85 of the SLEs. So you're still under 1,400. That's less than what you did of Halloween and Ultraman together. it pushes you back into the Halloween category. And Halloween did sell out initially.
Speaker: yeah And then, unfortunately, the gameplay did not meet expectations. Live up. um but yeah so let's hit some other notes really quick because we were talking about goonies and we got sidetracked yes okay we're talking about spooky but we are talking about okay and so is this this is relevant considering we you know we we haven't seen the game yet we'll we'll see it we'll see it when they you two haven't seen the game yet i mean oh i
Speaker: All right. Unis is a wide body, but they're using the same theology as they did with Evil Dead. So even though it's a wide body, it's going to feel more like a standard body on shooting. This is per per what Luke said on Cary Hardy. So I'm not saying anything that's new or anything like that.
Speaker: ah there will be no extra additions outside of the allotted amount that they've done. So the 1384, this has been one complaint in the past is what will happen is is they're making 900 of whatever game, but then they make an extra 300 for shows or whatever. So the 1300 that they announced includes show games. So I guess if you do look at like with Evil Dead, yeah, they did the, I can't remember how many, but there was more just for the shows and they were getting signed for that, right? Because they were not numbered. People felt like it kind of devalued what they were doing, yada, yada, right?
Speaker: So no extra additions, everything's gonna be numbered and it's gonna be as it says to the book. um Goonies came along the the exact same time as Beetlejuice. They got the licensing both at the same time. And they thought they'd have Goonies done sooner, but they ran into licensing issues. So Goonies was actually so release released before Beetlejuice, and then Beetlejuice got bumped up.
Speaker: So Goonies has been ready for a while now, and they've just been fine tweaking it as... the year has been going on and they said that the code will be at 1.0 and by the end of the year, it'll be at 2.0. So like you're getting a fully fleshed game the second eight ships and gets to your door.
Speaker: So they were pretty proud of that too. That's incredible. The more time to cook, man. I wish more companies had more time to let some of these games cook because I think it would really benefit some of them. um One other thing too, they said there's four flippers.
Speaker: ah Three are traditional, so like a three flipper layout. And then they'll have a fourth one. And the way that they said this on the podcast is it was on a boat.
Speaker: Eric Meniere style, which I assume is like Pirates of the Caribbean. So I don't know if they're confirming that it is a pirate boat. Yeah, well, okay, there's the pirate boat in there. Yes. So my assumption is there's a pirate boat with a flipper on it, but it's not rocking. I don't know.
Speaker: So, okay you know saying? If we do go based off of Pirates Caribbean, then maybe a rocking boat. which would be cool. I think that's a really cool concept from Pirates of the Caribbean. it's ah It's a really cool playing on that machine. variable it sounds It's hard to implement, though, and make the gameplay. It's a fun gimmick, but the gameplay is not quite as good with the rocking play field.
Speaker: Yeah. Yeah, when you play that game, it's best to pick the character that rocks it less. That's the one that I found that I gravitate towards. brown Um, one thing that they were saying, cause they were talking about different features on the game and then they said they didn't want to give too much away, but ah somewhere in between all that bug had kind of said there's a skull.
Speaker: Whoops. Maybe I shouldn't say that. Maybe we should reserve that. Yeah. He slipped up. It's, it was this weird slip. And when he said skull, the first thing that came to mind was csi css members CSI. Yeah. So I'm like CSI is only like half a skull though. And knowing spooky with how they've been doing stuff, it's probably gonna be like a full skull. Right.
Speaker: That's my assumption. It's got to just be one-eyed Willie's head, right? With the patch and everything. It's going to be something. with you I mean, it has to be. There's no other skull it could be. but also yeah And they revealed a skull in their little teaser. So it's got to be.
Speaker: It's got to be. So maybe we're flying way off in the nether or whatever. But like someone else would say maybe the skull's the topper. so I don't know. You you start getting out in the weeds, right? That's what was in the game. It's either of the top or it's on the play field. It's one of the two. Sorry.
Speaker: I'll go ahead. Is the included a VR ah mode? Is that going to be special or is that with all the additions? No, you say that. So like they talked about the truffle shuffle, you know, the the truffle shuffle. And it's funny because like they said that you're goingnna have to wiggle I couldn't decide if they said like wiggle the game or like wiggle yourself. Cause like they have the cameras and stuff. Right. So like, do you actually have to do the truffle shuffle to the game to like do the mode? Like see i heard that. I was thinking like you had to purposefully tilting the game was what I was thinking you had to do. They were going to make it so the tilt Bob didn't tilt you, but it was actually like you had to physically move the game enough to get your tilt Bob to go.
Speaker: and that would be how you got your points. That's what I assumed. Yeah. What do you think, Scott? Do you think you shake your booty to the camera or do you think you shake the crap out of the machine? Okay. I, I, I, my games are down here on carpet. And so I don't really shake my games that much. Um, uh, spooky has done the, these things in the past, like with Beetlejuice, if you say Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, then the game listens to you and does something. So,
Speaker: ah I, okay. If I were owning a game, I wouldn't want a mode that I have to shake my game. so true I'm guessing it's probably a visual thing.
Speaker: ah Speaking of spooky speak, which you just brought up, they will not have this in the game. But if people, if it's not only two guys asking them, there's a ton of people saying they want spooky speak in it.
Speaker: They all find a way. And I was like, okay, I just don't know. why you'd put spooky speak into this like Beetlejuice. It makes sense. It is very thematic. So I, I'm wondering about the interrogation when they're and interrogating the kid needs crying and about the throw up story. Yeah. It's like my favorite part of the film.
Speaker: Alrighty. Um, one interesting part, there is no traditional, if you're watching us, I put quotes up traditional bash toy in Goonies. They said that like, if you're thinking well Walker, if you're thinking like, uh, uh, sparky from Metallica. Yeah. There was not that in the game. So I'm like, is this similar to like Godzilla where you've got a bash toy that changes as the game plays on? Maybe maybe the ah pirate boats, the bash toy.
Speaker: maybe or i mean to me it would be it would have to be the piano right like you you you bash the keys and some of the keys will fall down i don't know that's that's to me like the only thing that to me makes sense that you could hit would be like the keys on the piano the skull piano and then like some of them would drop and and it would change over time maybe open up like ah a scoop or a subway that's that's how i'm thinking of it but who knows No, I i agree.
Speaker: um all right. They said no co-op, which they think they've never done co-op for any of their games or they they said they had to play co-op Scooby-Doo. Oh, OK. So, yeah, because I've done it with my wife.
Speaker: uh, all the speech is from the movies. It's going to be similar to bill juice. They have access to all the clips, um, from all the characters they said, and that there will be also a custom audio as well, but they didn't really go into that at all. So who could they even get to do like custom call outs? Cause you can't get any of the kids cause they don't sound like kids anymore.
Speaker: I don't know. I don't, I don't, I don't know if you could even like, if they got an actor to do it, who would they even get? Well, and the actual, that is she still alive? She, she passed away and so did sloth. So mama fatally and sloth are off the table.
Speaker: Oh, okay. It would be so awkward if they had like the, the kid, the chained up kid as the, the call outs, but that would be up spookies. Uh, well like i mean josh roland was older when he did it so maybe he could but he's i mean you would hear that in all i would hear was thanos so i don't know i don't know if they're gonna get to to do it it was funny because they'd mentioned that in the interview like we're not getting thanos to say hey you guys like right um and then ah just the other like they've caught a lot of slack about their so servos and stuff like that and they wanted to point out like they've done a lot better over these last games
Speaker: Um, and they've only had, i want to say like one for Beatles just that was returned on the servo or something like that. Like go back and listen to it. But like, it was something like that. And, um, but they said that their servos are more reliable and they only have one in Goonies this time.
Speaker: And then there's no pop bumpers in Goonies. So that's pretty much what I got out of the interview. If you got something else, please leave it comments and maybe we'll talk about next episode. So what are your guys, your resounding thoughts on, on Goonies before we wrap this up?
Speaker: I I'm excited for them because it is a theme that will sell. It's not my theme, but it is a marketable theme. And so I I'm really excited for them. ah It's probably the most marketable theme that they've had.
Speaker: That's mainstream. yeah that's that's That's a struggle for me because i i I'm amazed didn't sell more Looney Tunes. To me, that was their most marketable theme. okay I'm sorry. You actually talked to – okay, this is me ah wondering what in the world Warner Brothers is doing because – That's true. They have destroyed their brand.
Speaker: It is impossible to find any sort of compilation of Looney Tunes cartoons anymore. Like, you know, I tried a couple of years ago. I was like, oh, these are hilarious. I remember seeing them. I'm i'm in my 50s.
Speaker: But you can't. You is so disjointed that Warner Brothers has criminally mismanaged the brand. You're right. That I guarantee if you walked up to anybody who's under 30, they probably couldn't name more than two Looney Tunes characters.
Speaker: No, that's that's that's a fair point. So yeah, it's definitely for the nostalgia of people that are able to spend money on pinball. This is probably their most marketable.
Speaker: um You're probably right about that. but Honestly, I think Beetlejuice is. I thought Beetlejuice would be over Goonies, but that's just me. Okay, Beetlejuice is still very niche.
Speaker: It is. It's still like yeah, it's, there are people who are super fans of Beetlejuice, but I would say that there are easily four to five times as many people who say Goonies was their childhood. Like it's it was their Luke Skywalker moment. It's like the, it's the one that they always watched when they got together. Yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. I think for, cause I'm a, yeah, I would have to agree with you on that. Like I love Beetlejuice, but yeah, I remember watching Goonies more as a kid.
Speaker: Yeah. Maybe this is the Goonies. It's funny. Cause like I've heard rumors that the list has been sold out for like, or the list. Sorry. They haven't been sold out. Cause it hasn't been officially announced or things or whatever. And technically they don't sell out because they take orders morning of right. Yeah. yeah But an interested list was, it was very long.
Speaker: was very long. Yeah. Yeah. yeah I know people that got on the list in in March of this year and they're not getting one. I know someone who reached out to three different people to get on the list and he was told people have been on the list for five years.
Speaker: i talked to ah I talked to a friend of ours. I'm not going to say it publicly, but um it is a dream theme of theirs. and they got the call this last week that they're getting one and they literally cried like this this theme i didn't realize this would resonate so hard with people and even with the added units like it's just it's crazy to me how much love there is for don't get me wrong i watched goonies when i was older so i don't have the nostalgia for one like watching it as a kid and i and it was the show was all right i would not say it's top tier but then again one of my favorite shows ferris bueller's day off and i know it drives scott absolutely insane the guy's a jerk ferris is a total jerk he is using camera okay i'm sorry i i love the interpretation that ferris is a figment of cameron's imagination that's a funny film theory i'd love that one Yeah, and that basically Cameron is manifesting his alpha male with... In his various... Yeah, people...
Speaker: see yeah people I don't know That's a thing for me that would just do amazing. But I i do also get that was eighties and like looking back at, I'm like, there's nothing wrong with it. And then people start. Oh no, no, no, no. There's, there's stuff that's wrong with it. Okay. No, no, it's the same thing as like a breakfast club.
Speaker: Like I watched the breakfast club so much when I was a kid, I was like, this is so deep. I totally resonate with these guys. I watched breakfast kid. Now I'm like, these guys are whiny brats. I totally like identify with the principal.
Speaker: These guys need more detention. Yeah. So, so someone did mention we need to have a segment just for Scott on his takes on 80, all eighties, on all eighties films. we yeah agree After Ghostbusters went over so well, like literally people are still butthurt. I'm sorry. Go watch it now. Okay. Before you come criticize me, go watch it again. It's an, it doesn't hold up.
Speaker: I showed my wife, who would my wife is not very pop culture literate, right? Mrs. J, who does the podcast with me and my YouTube stuff. And she had never seen Ghostbusters. And when I watched it with her, other than the graphics, which, you know, that makes sense. it's parallel weren where they were She's like, oh, that was good. I enjoyed that. So she's honest with me.
Speaker: Does she find Bill Murray attractive? Like at all. No, no. Because he's not a leading man in that way, but he's funny. Well, okay, but he is the leading man that show. He's not going to be an attractive leading man.
Speaker: Yeah. Really? Have you seen all of us? And have you seen our wives? I would definitely say that all all of our wives are out of our league, Scott. 100%. We are the boundaries of our relationships.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: Oh my goodness. Okay. This is my, this is my thought on Goonies. Yes, it is not my dream theme, but more and more and more spooky is proving that they know how to do theming integration. And with the modes, the way that they do them is so unique from everyone else.
Speaker: I would be happy if spooky picked up one of my dream themes and made my game. just cause I don't own a spooky doesn't mean I don't want a spooky and you can argue game points and blah blah, blah, blah, right? Like, but out of all the other companies that are out there doing it right now, I feel like spooky is in one is, is leading the pack for what pinball should be. And I do feel like in some ways other companies are starting to chase what spooky is doing because spooky is proving if you make a theme, you make it true to them with the theme is and you make the game play
Speaker: more than decent and just have all everything that a fan of that series would want it will sell it instantly and i just like i have to applaud spooky especially like i didn't know where they were going to go after halloween and halloween was fine but i remember playing at texas pinball festival you you and i did it was rough it was rough and we giggled at things like left like it just there was the I felt like it was like idea of vomit onto a play field. Well, I think they were they overshot.
Speaker: i think they too ambitious for what they could accomplish. And so with the multiple play fields. and And so I think it was just a little too, it was too beyond their reach at that moment.
Speaker: um Okay. But I will say one thing about spooky spooky knows their audience. It's, it's a little bit like movies, the two movie groups that know their audience well and consistently provide entertainment for their audience are horror movies and the Hallmark channel.
Speaker: Like they basically nail exactly what their, what their target audience wants. I it's a, it's a very focused target audience with, with horror. I have no interest in watching horror movies. i actually watched one the other day. yeah Have you guys seen the, the boy?
Speaker: no Okay. yeah Okay. I am not a horror guy and it was creepy as all get out. And it was like, I was watching and my wife's like, why, like, why are you, are you not? like How long have you known me? You know, I'm not a horror movie guy. I don't like any of this stuff, but okay. If you're looking for a creepy one, that's not actually gory or over the top. It's actually a pretty good one. So ah go, go and check that out with your family. But, but Kate, but think about that.
Speaker: Take your family to the boy. What rating is this? No, it's it's like an old, you can rent it. We rented it on Amazon or something. It was like four bucks. No. Okay. It was spooky, but it wasn't gory. So I'm i'm okay with that kind of stuff. But, um okay, but think about that.
Speaker: Horror, ah they they know jump scares. They know scary. All all people want to do is the adrenaline rush, okay? And Hallmark, nobody wants to have some ah some deep thing about a ah a drug addict going over rehab and, like, getting into all these – they just want, like – Uh, some big city girl goes back to the town and like falls in love with the, the lumberjack or something. and And it works every time because the people want, that's what they want. And spooky knows their audience and they consistently are able to give their audience what they want.
Speaker: And that's personally me. I think if you are a fan of these themes, this is where I want the game to go to is to you, to the, to the friend that called me like tears in his eyes that he was getting the Goonies. Right. Like, yeah.
Speaker: I have a hard time. I get a little bit of heartburn when, when we they get sold to flippers and then the flippers are taking advantage of those that want these games. It is what it is. Like this is kind it plagues all facets of industries. So it's not just football.
Speaker: Anytime there is a scarcity and as we know, scarcity is part of spooky's marketing. You're going to have people who are interested in a financial flip gain. Yes. Yeah. Yep. 100%.
Speaker: And I guess I'm not terribly against it, but like, I just, cause like, don't get me wrong. I think if I got a game and I didn't enjoy it, I would still like to make money off of it, but I wouldn't want people to be like, well, Josh bought this solely to flip it. No, I'm buying the game for the gameplay, but if it doesn't resonate with me, why can't I sell it to, you know what I'm saying? hu Now, for me, with Spooky, ah the first game I've really had a lot of time with is the Scooby-Doo we're renting, right? And I've had it for about three weeks now.
Speaker: And what they have done, and the the play field, the gameplay is good, it's not great. But the theme integration and the call-outs and just what they've done with with creativity there on representing a theme...
Speaker: just makes me so excited for Goonies. It just makes me so excited for everything they're doing. i can't wait to get my hands on the Looney Tunes. I've never found one in the wild to play. um i love what they've done with Scooby-Doo so much. It's tragic they didn't sell out of those ah because they are so good from a theme perspective.
Speaker: Yeah. All right. I think we've hit the nail on the head on this one. I think we're good to go. like Excited for Friday. i'm will. I'll be out of town. So um and then hopefully we can get bugging Luke on later to talk about it. but The other thing I really wanted to cover. We did this last year. It was a massive success. made It's because Scott just talks so glowingly about Harry Potter, but we're going to do the top five of 2026.
Speaker: um while the guys are getting their notes ready i'll explain what we're going to do so the game must have shipped this year right so um scoonies which will not shoot ship till january it's not included in this list i kind of put acdc on here with a question mark because turn is pretty good to get stuff out but other than that um it's going be any games that were produced in 2026. i'm going to go through these chronologically really quick so our audience knows which games we're going to be talking about beetlejuice Pokemon, Yukon Yeti, Three Musketeers, Transformers More Than Meets the Eye, Tales of the Arabian Nights, Sonic the Hedgehog, Dungeon Crawler Carl, Ender's Game, Bon Jovi, Circus Voltaire, Fallout, and then ACDC? question mark
Speaker: So one thing I do want to point out before we get going into this too, I feel like 2025 was the year of the boutiques. I feel like, and I don't, I guess JJP is not a boutique. I would say that they aim a little higher than that.
Speaker: but like JJP killed it. I felt like Multimorphic killed it with Portal, ah Winchester from Barrels of Fun. like It was just, I felt like Stern lagged last year and that the other guys kind of came into the spotlight. And I felt like this year Stern came roaring back. So that's where I'm going to off with mine. But the way that we'll do this, we'll start off at five, we'll work our way back to one, and we'll each take a turn. So Scott, why don't you start us off with your number five?
Speaker: Okay, so, okay. I'm going to say number five would be Sonic the Hedgehog. And i I will point out, this is unfortunately not fair to Steve Ritchie because it is a little bit of a hangover from what you know, Harry Potter was such a huge release.
Speaker: And when you're coming behind Harry Potter, it's not possible. It's not possible to come up and do exactly the same thing. Sonic the Hedgehog, it's, It's a very specific, it's a supposed to be straightforward. It's a video game. They really tried to focus on that, that Genesis, that 16 bit Genesis vibe. And it's a, it's a fun, solid game.
Speaker: But it does lag a little bit when you compare it to the other offering. It is a beautiful game. I hear it shoots very well. um And i still I still haven't got a chance to play it because it's not been close. But if I'm looking at all of them, number five for me is is Sonic the Hedgehog, which...
Speaker: I, I would like to still get my hands on this because, uh, Sonic the Hedgehog was, that was a kid thing. I love that. That's, that's what put Genesis on the map. That's what basically ended Nintendo's reign for a while. And they basically had to reinvent themselves.
Speaker: But for me, Sonic the Hedgehog, number five. All right, Cameron. Interesting. I also have Sonic as my number five pick. um I've got the chance to play it. um I've played a couple of different copies of it, actually.
Speaker: It plays well. um The Dr. Eggman little thing that comes out, super fun on the boss rush mode. I really enjoyed it. it To me, it's of the two video game games,
Speaker: pinball machines that had diamond enemy based things in the middle of the play field, Pokemon and Sonic. I think it's the lesser of the two.
Speaker: um And it is, it is tragic that it's Steve Ritchie's last game. Cause I do think I love how Elton John plays. I think it's incredible. This was okay. um I, I like it. The, the, the two copies I played both had the same issue though, where that loop de loop ramp, uh,
Speaker: misfires and shoots it kind of somewhere that it's not supposed to go. And so I think there's still some things they they got to kind of figure out on it. Theme integration, it's great. It's a Jersey Jack game. It's beautiful.
Speaker: um I love the call outs on it, but it's it's good, but not great. That's why it's my number five. One thing too with the updated code, at least when I played at Expo, every time you shot that loop, the magnet did crash catch it and shot it through. So there was never a misfire in the loop when I did it. That's good. That's good.
Speaker: So, all right. Funny enough, my number five is not Sonic. Mine is actually Pokemon. I felt like this was a dynamite theme.
Speaker: It is The funny part is the play field is similarly shaped to Sonic. ah I just feel like the code. so Pokemon is a dynamite theme and I get that they were going for a more general audience and which is fantastic.
Speaker: Um, I felt like for me, it fell short in that the code fell. basic um I do appreciate that what they have added into it I do like the collectability of the Pokemon I do like where the code is is growing to right now like it's it's fun um last time I played this game I just I find that one more feel I just felt like for me personally it fell short of where I would want my Pokemon game but that was no slight discerning what they did with it because I think they made the right call when because I felt like Teenage Mutant Turtles was made for me but it was very brutal and there was a lot of people that complained It was too tough.
Speaker: So I feel like Pokemon went in the other direction. And this isn't like the cakiest cake game I've ever played, but it definitely it has that old school kind of Bally Williams fan layout vibe mixed with more modern modern goodness. right And so overall, that's where my number five is at. so Cameron, let's go on to your number four.
Speaker: Number four, I have Beetlejuice as my number four. um I've had, I've got the chance to play at a few different places. Most importantly at Texas Pinball Festival where they had like 20 of them. um And I was, I was lucky enough to, to have a media pass where i got it a little bit early and got some real dedicated time on the machine.
Speaker: It's gorgeous. Franchi killed it on the art. Um, It's the modes are unique. I love the mode where you had to hold your hand down and kind of play a little bit. The dancing flippers to the day Oh song was it's hilarious, even though it's frustrating when you drain on it. um When it comes to theme, like we've been talking about spooky, does it so well, it doesn't get higher than number four for me because There are three scoops, and the three scoops thing is just not the most fun. there's so much top and go. um I think that it's it's a weaker layout than some of the ones that are above this one. But it's you can't get better than theme integration on Beetlejuice. It's incredible.
Speaker: I'll do my number four next. My number four is Bon Jovi. This game shoots fantastically. I think the code is really cool. I love how you build the set.
Speaker: I love how you go through, like you're walking from outside of a concert and then you get into the concert, the music's playing like they did so much so well. And especially Jeff from dirty pool and his music, like seriously, this man should be leading the way of how you should be doing sound in pinball. It is so good.
Speaker: My fall short is it's Bon Jovi. That's how I feel. makes You wish you were Aquabats, right? Yes. i would like Seriously, if this is Aquabats, it would be in my basement. no No questions asked. And I think I've described this to you, Scott. I can't remember if i've ever talked about this on the podcast. But it's hard because my aunt was obsessed with Bon Jovi when I was growing up, even to the point she had a Bon Jovi pillowcase so she could wake up to Bon Jovi every day. So that weird obsession with Bon Jovi just made it a little, just brought it down a couple notches. So I've always seen Bon Jovi as the Monjean rock, which is, there's nothing wrong with that. That's no slight. I know i'm gonna i know exactly who's going to texting me wow here okay when she hears it. And no, this is not a slight to you. It's just,
Speaker: I don't like Bon Jovi for those reasons. And so that's that's the hang up here. Like David Van Ness, you did fantastic on the layout. The sound is amazing. It shoots so good. And there's so much unique to this game. It's just it's Bon Jovi. Yeah. Wow. That's how I feel.
Speaker: Okay. So two things. Josh has no soul. Two, i your Christmas present is a Bon Jovi pillowcase. I'm definitely buying that for you. You're going to get couple of those. Yeah. and And you don't know what good music is. I'm sorry. It's, it's just, it's a total fail. You're, you're living on a prayer. I don't know what, what it was. you shot me through the heart. Fine. Okay. You know what? Yeah.
Speaker: I, I don't, I don't love you in that way, buddy. ah Okay. All right. All right. My number four, I'm going to pull out a remake.
Speaker: Toten. Toten consistently, i unfortunately I could not go to expo. i was actually taking pictures with my family for my in-laws 80th birthday party, but Toten consistently, everybody who went to expo, they said, this surprised me.
Speaker: And if you can get high watermark, you know, if you can get the high watermark at the show by saying this was a it was a great theme. People liked it, but you really delivered on it.
Speaker: ah ah way higher than what people expected, then I'm going to give you points. And I will say you probably are benefiting somewhat from Funhouse was a solid game.
Speaker: Solid game, right? we ah We all agree Funhouse was a solid game. This is a better version. This is a better version of a remake. And you're really pushing a lot closer to what the CGC remakes were.
Speaker: And so I'm going to say that everybody who went to expo, they say, you know, this was way, ah way above my expectations. And I will, I'll take that solidly as my number four game.
Speaker: Nice. I don't blame you there. I'm going to start us off with our number threes. My number three. is beetlejuice.
Speaker: I think that the theme integration is great. I think the uniqueness, like you were talking about Cameron of holding the flippers and the special modes and like the dancing sandworm and the dancing flippers, the, the garage or the car going off of the bridge, all that, the way that they integrated it and everything.
Speaker: um it's so good. My, my hangup is the gameplay itself. Yes. You got the scoops that slowed down way too much. I feel like the upper left side with the couch and everything, it's a little discombobulated.
Speaker: Yeah. It's a little, it's it's a little rough. Um, I get why they did it and I'm, I'm not docking them on that. It just, for me, the gameplay is not really great. And if I can't enjoy the gameplay of the game, I'm not going to come back to it repeatedly. And that is why my, why Beetle, like Beetlejuice is elevated so much everywhere else that I just, the gameplay is what just draws it back for me on my number three. of it So Scott, what's your number three?
Speaker: Okay. Well, unlike Josh, me and 130 million people know that Bon Jovi rocks. Okay. And so Bon Jovi, absolutely. Number three party pin. If you're looking for a, the summer blockbuster, you're coming out of the basement.
Speaker: You are going to be wanted dead or alive. You're going to be living on a prayer. You're going to be slippery when wet. I don't care. You're going to be playing this game and you guys have no, no soul.
Speaker: Like you're going to walk out. You're going to go out, walk out on a pee break when, when, you know, it's, it's my life. I don't know what you guys, you guys are terrible. I do like it's my life actually. Yeah, no, it's, I'm sorry. It's just, you have no soul. you have no taste in music. And ah yeah, it's, it's just, it's, it's sad. Really? I feel bad for your soul.
Speaker: I'm surprised this isn't higher for you. It's your number three. Yeah. I thought it would be like number there two or number one. for It's my number three, but it's Kate. 1, 2, and 3 are actually quite close. Absolutely Bon Jovi. Okay. ah All kidding aside, Bon Jovi, they did something very smart.
Speaker: They actually did like a limited run on this because they they found like, hey, we are going to be doing this. Everybody who's played bo Because they found that not many people love Bon Jovi. Wow. what Josh, did you invite him on?
Speaker: ah Okay. this is This is the first and last time that Cameron's on this ah on this show. He's the worst. The worst. ah Okay, but... Sorry, i the dig I had to do it.
Speaker: Okay, but but legit, it's actually... If you really look at, I'm not kidding, the dominance of the 80s, Bon Jovi totally ruled from like 1987 to about 1991.
Speaker: And if yeah you look at the popularity, ah it's not even close. If you're looking at early, you could you could argue Journey would be ah high high up there. Hey, you could even argue Holland Oates would be up there in the early 80s. But when you're talking like late 80s, there's two bands. There's Guns N' Roses and Bon Jovi.
Speaker: And so being able to make that, ah again, small company, you don't want to overshoot your ability to make. um So I got two Bon Jovis, one for me, one for my friend. My friend is a huge Bon Jovi fan. And so he's getting his, it's shipped right now. I gave him my spot for the first one. And so he's going to be getting that ah great game, party game. And there's nothing wrong with just having a good time, guys.
Speaker: I don't disagree. I want to get my hands on when I'm playing Cause it does look incredible. Yeah. Well, you're not invited to my house anymore. So I'll start. I'm sorry. I'll take it back. All right, Cameron, give us your number three.
Speaker: Number three for me is Pokemon. um i agree with you that it is a little too simplistic for my liking, but I've gone to, so I've gone to some arcades with my nieces and nephews.
Speaker: And they all run right to that game. If you want to get people into pinball, Pokemon is absolutely the way to do it. I think they were smart in making a simpler rule set.
Speaker: Catching the Pokemon is addicting. they have the It's not a Pokedex, but it is a Pokedex in the InCenter Connected app now. um I enjoy it. My wife, who you know she's the more casual of the players between the two of us.
Speaker: loves the theme and loves that she can do anything in it when she plays the game. It's... it's Yes, it's simple, but Pokemon is such a draw that you want simplicity. And I think it's going to outlive any of the games that we talk about today. Likely it's going to outsell everything we talk about. And it's going to get more people into the hobby than I think anything on this list is going to do. And so for that reason alone, I think it it earns its spot.
Speaker: And I enjoy playing it too. It's fun to catch a Pokemon. it's I think they did a really good job encapsulating that world And those video games, which are pretty cozy, easy video games to play, and they capture that feel inside of the pinball machine. So for me, that's why it gets the number three spot.
Speaker: Nice. Nice. All right, Scott, why don't you start us off with your number two? All right. Number two, it it is Beetlejuice. Beetlejuice is number two. If you look at everything Spooky has done, it's still in demand. Yeah, i ah you you are right. The gameplay, you can definitely take a slight ding on the gameplay, but that's never been Spooky's go-to move. Spooky's go-to move has been theme integration, been presentation, been everything, and it's fun. it's still fun And so people still want to Beetlejuice.
Speaker: and And so 100%, this is the reason why Goonies is going to sell as much as they did because they did such a good job with Beetlejuice that the expectations are sky high.
Speaker: And yeah, they tend they tend to rely on under the play field art. So whether or not it's sculpts, whether or not it's presentation, it doesn't matter. People still like it. And this is an in-demand game, still my number two in the and the year. And I bet you could probably still sell 500 more of these if Spooky, theoretically, in a theoretical world, wanted to make more.
Speaker: Absolutely, you could. Cameron, let's give us your number two. My number two is going to be a little controversial because of my number one, but I put Fallout as my number two.
Speaker: um I think Fallout is... I've only been able to play it about five times. I finally was able to find a copy of it. I played a premium, which is great.
Speaker: It's got some of the coolest mechs. That vault door popping out and then rolling to the side and being able to do the vault door underneath playfield is so cool. i think that it it shows that...
Speaker: They just almost gave a blank check to Keith and said, go nuts. And it shows. It is so packed with so much stuff. um I absolutely had a blast playing it. I think ah the guy that does the call-outs that's in the show is really enthusiastic, does a great work.
Speaker: They've got the clip clips from the video game, clips from the show. My only complaint on it is that the one that I was playing had the left out lane post set to the absolute bottom.
Speaker: And trying to do a drop cache, it kept rolling out and down the out lane. Like every single time. must have drained... sticks balls by doing a drop catch and having it roll up and then out um the left side my only complaint is that otherwise that it plays amazing it looks amazing that i kudos to you scott for getting the the um limited edition because it is gorgeous it is a the best looking pinball machine i think that that stern's made in a while it's incredible
Speaker: one One note to what you just said. ah There is an adjustable post. to actually If you move it up about 50%, it will stop the ball from going out, but yeah it doesn't stop the flow. see that it was there that you could move it, and the person who had it set up had it set at the bottom. So, got unfortunately for me.
Speaker: I get you. all right, my number two. Tales of the Arabian Nights. This game has genuinely shocked me at Expo. I'm excited that mine is shipped and coming to me.
Speaker: This game, okay, Funhaus was really good. I really loved my Funhaus, but there definitely was some hiccups with the code. And like I said, I don't know if it's because they emulated the code and it just wasn't super balanced well. I don't know if it was the people that were on the code.
Speaker: I don't know. I could speculate all day, but that's all it is is assumption or speculation. So I'm not going to go down that rabbit hole. When I heard that they hired the CGC team, I've owned monster bash. I've owned attack from Mars. These are fantastic games that just, they take those nineties games and bring them into the modern world. And when I was playing at this expo, this was what I would want for a tells the Arabian nights. It was so amazing what they had done with it, with the lighting, with the flippers, the flippers felt just so good and snappy up there with the stern. It was shooting the ramps with no problem.
Speaker: The, the, the only hiccup is, they haven't gotten out new adjusted code from the original. So the original, as you play the modes, there might it might be as simple as shooting one shot and you've completed the mode.
Speaker: So getting through all seven gems can be a little easy, but the world and the atmosphere that they were able to put under this, like it just made me smile the whole time I was playing this. It was great.
Speaker: So I was excited for this. um That's why it's my number two. All right, ah Cameron, give us your number one. So again, I'm i'm guessing when you guys are the number one, basically what you haven't talked about yet, and that's what I just put as number two.
Speaker: I'm sure with more time, Fallout might move to the number one spot for me. But the game that surprised me more than anything, and that I had a blast playing... was Yukon Yeti. I loved playing Yukon Yeti when I played it at Texas Pinball Festival. Yes, it was early on in the code, but that avalanche multiball and that mountain going up and down just surprised the heck out of me. it was ah It's a gorgeous game.
Speaker: um i got the chance at Texas Pinball Festival to talk to Chris Turner a lot and was just super impressed with what he's done with the engineering underneath the play field, which I kind of geek out about. And with like how we you can just remove the glass with the tap of a button and you just move it to the side instead of having to slide things out. The game played like an updated Whitewater and I love Whitewater.
Speaker: um i was just so pleasantly surprised and it makes me... excited like i already know that keith elwin's a great game designer and i'm gonna love all of his games but this the yukon yeti makes me so excited for where turner's gonna go next i can't wait to see what he does it it makes me excited and for that reason i think he earns the top spot for me just because of what this game shows that he can do and just how good it plays and how smart it is that what what chris is doing up there i agree and it it it definitely gets an our honorable mention from as well It really, really is a good game.
Speaker: All right, Cameron, you kind of outed me. Yes, my number one is Fallout. I'm a huge Keith L1 fan, if you can't tell by the games that are behind me. I've owned all of his games outside of Bond 60th.
Speaker: This was no shortage of amazing to me. i was happy that... Like King Kong, I really love King Kong, but I feel like the pro is entirely fine for what you want to own just because I felt like the mechs and stuff, yes, they did interact with the ball. There was a ball mech and a gong. think they just...
Speaker: It is what it is With Fallout, I felt like they took that to the next level. You've got the lower playfield with the magnet, which actually felt like how you should control a ball. Like if you ever play Twilight Zone, it you kind of are guessing, you're kind of hoping that they're flipping right.
Speaker: No, this like feels like you can control the ball with the right and left flipper to do what you need to do to make those shots. And it doesn't feel like it's a hindrance. It feels like actual gameplay.
Speaker: And then the upper play field, i can kind of take it or leave it, but it's really, really cool. And I love the fat man mech. So like, I like that the code doesn't always have it going off over and over and over again, but it's definitely a nice little break from what you're doing, but it gets you right back into the game. i agree the vault when you hit it and it rolls out, just looks so good. And it's popping out. Yes.
Speaker: and the pip boy like the pip boy is so cool i know we've had displays but this one between the extra dialogue because you can't fit that all on the lcd and i don't want to look up at that so having it down where you can see it while you're playing plus the different directions of where the ball is coming out because that thing's a four-way ball diverter with a magnet This game is just packed to the brim.
Speaker: And I think this was Stern's fire back at everyone else of like, this is what we can do. Get ready, strap your boots on. If, if an old school Star Trek is coming from Keith, that one, and they give him this, I can almost guarantee it's going game of the year when it reveals.
Speaker: So that's my number one. Scott, what about you? Yeah. Fallout number one. I, Hey Cameron, I'm kind of shocked with Yukon Yeti. So I, that he, that really came out of nowhere. Um, I,
Speaker: i'll I'll give Yukon Yeti props in that it is definitely a ah a fantastic sequel to Whitewater. And apparently it's super reliable.
Speaker: Kale at Electric Bat said that he's had how how many plays on it, Josh? Over 2000. Yeah. yeah yeah And he he didn't have to do it. So reliability is huge for me as a team. So I will give Chris Turner and Yukon Yeti the honorable mention, especially for a small company and reliability for sure. but fallout number one, hands down, no question. We're talking seven individual mechs that all interact with the ball. This is not something just for eye candy. They all are pivotal into how the bottle ball is being used. The lower play field is, it was so good that they took a lot of the ideas from the lower play field and then put it in ACDC.
Speaker: Because it was so good compared to all the other lower play fields. You have all of the mechs. You have the theme integration. You have Bethesda on board, which Bethesda is very, very jealous about how they want their stuff presented. But the fact that they were able to go through with Bethesda, Bethesda was an an asset into the way they were presenting the game, the ideas that they were bringing to the game, the fact that they were able to get the music done. for the game. And it's the whole experience is so good. The light show, the art package, everything is exactly what you want. And i will even say for their limited edition, even though it was a higher price point, it was still under undersold for like, it it was sold less than what I would have anticipated. I would have paid for it.
Speaker: yeah And they could have made 500 more of those. And so and and I paid full price. This was not me like like being a shill on this. i I got in line with everybody else and got the full price. ah And I was kind of skeptical because I hadn't played or or known much about the Fallout franchise before I went to the game reveal. I went to the game reveal, played it and immediately said, I need to get an LE on this.
Speaker: ah You know, the light package, the the sound, everything, the gameplay. And it's interesting because if you look at um a lot of games, it's almost like you zoom out and zoom back in depending on how the game feels. This feels like a zoomed in game.
Speaker: where it feels like all the mechs are so enormous, but it doesn't hinder the ball paths, which is which is a feat unto itself. And so, hands down, Keith Elwin's team, they came roaring back. i yeah King Kong, I believe, was my number four last year.
Speaker: I think it it was either five or four, but them coming back, solid number one, no no question at all, best game. And if you if you're going to buy one game this year, you should buy Fallout.
Speaker: I agree. Yeah, I need to get my hands on it more. Like I said, I've only played five individual games on it I'm sure my opinion is only going to go up as I play it more. Well, if you if you apologize for your opinion on Jon Bon Jovi, you can come over and play mine.
Speaker: Bon Jovi is kink. Okay, all right. Sounds good. Well, and the other thing too about Fallout, people are loving the pro as well. Like it's not, they don't feel like they're getting shortchanged by buying the pro and it's more value. don't think you're getting shortchanged, but it' ah it's a different game.
Speaker: It's not like King Kong Pro versus King Kong Premium. it is It is a completely different game because, hey, shocker, it's a pro and it has three mechs in it. When's the last time you had a pro that had three mechs? With that freaking Pip-Boy on there, too. You gotta be kidding. That's a display, and you could fight. like it But it is a diverter and a magnet. a diverter, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. But, like, I think the only way that the Pro... I think if they would have left the lower play field in, I think they probably would have got more pro sales than if they would have got. Because I i do believe that upper play field, people can take it or leave it kind of situation. yeah when i when i was It is cool. like and I'm sorry.
Speaker: It's really cool. No, I agree. It's really cool. Getting a shot up there is really cool. I got it once on the on the four or five games that I played. And it was cool. I'll give it that. But yeah, it's they don't overuse it, which is good.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah. All right That was our top five for 2026. If you agree with us, tell us. If not, give us your, actually give us your top five in the comments and then we'll compare notes, right?
Speaker: And now you can be, everyone can disagree with me, but. ah ah So other than that, man, I mean, that was kind of everything had written down. um I'm also looking forward to something like with, ah ah with fallout, they still have like the top or we still haven't seen some of the accessories. We still haven't seen ACDC still hasn't really gotten the full release too. So I want to know more about it.
Speaker: No gameplay video yet. And no gameplay video, but again, i will, okay. I will say that's smart. It's smart to say, Hey, we're going to be putting this out. And then if they need more time, you take more time.
Speaker: Like you don't want to have, you don't want to have the Batman 66 reveal, which I understand why they did it. Adam West was sick and they were trying to get it in, but it really took a long time for Batman 66 recover from that that release disappointment.
Speaker: Yeah, but look at it now. it's oh yeah It's one of the top. It's great. If they remade it, I would probably pick one up. so I would, yeah day of, I would be, it's it's of all the games we've had on the house, we've had 16 games in the house so far. It's my number one.
Speaker: Batman 66. So yeah, i I appreciate you coming on Cameron. This is great. I do want, I want to bring one thing up though, before we leave, ah before we shut this all down, Scott, I told you about this last week or the week before my mind is blown. We have done over a million views alone on frames.
Speaker: That's not including YouTube, not our podcast or anything like that. We've had people watch us over 124 days straight of loser kid content on Facebook. and Grant, that's not one person just watching us, but but right. Okay. Isn't that insane? Does that include you only does that include your OnlyFans account too?
Speaker: No, no, it doesn't. That is strictly loser kid content. Strictly loser kid. Yep. Yeah. So what's my congratulations on the milestone guys. You guys are killing it. It is amazing what you guys are doing. I'm honored to be here.
Speaker: Well, I will say I, Josh and I have a good time doing this. mean, this is, we have day jobs, we have stresses in life, just like everybody else. And there's a reason why i think a lot of people get into pinball is because they want something that is, is completely you know, it's not political. It's not, not religious. It's nothing. This is just a fun game escape that we can all, all get together and do.
Speaker: And i I appreciate that. I am able to share it with other people and, um You know, it's ah it's a fun time, even when I have people come over to my house who they met me through the podcast. It still blows my mind that people are willing to spend time listening to us talk about pinball because I don't think we do anything special that anybody else couldn't do. be It's just Josh and I talking about pinball.
Speaker: You guys are just so positive. And i you guys are the first podcast that I really latched on to when I was first got bit by the bug two years ago. um So yeah, no, again, honored to be here. And you're right. it's Pinball is amazing because...
Speaker: And things that i love about it is you can't really do anything else. You can't multitask while playing pinball. You have to focus on one thing. in ah In a world where you're constantly having to do 17 million things, you can just focus on one thing, be with some friends to do it. And it's just, i don't know. it's It's amazing. And again, thanks for having me on, guys.
Speaker: Definitely. Well, we appreciate you coming on. And honestly, Cameron, it's been great to meet you and grow this friendship and whatnot over this last year and a half you've been into this. ah Your content really has captivated me. I've really enjoyed the stuff that you've been putting putting out. So keep up the good work, man. Like I like i was telling you before this, like yeah i talk about how we we did all these views but like we've been doing this for seven years and you are killing it on your end with your views on youtube and stuff like that i think that it's one thing that when we did the content creators um stuff at expo when we did the seminar and which by the way i was told that was recorded but i guess it wasn't so i apologize to those that that i was gonna put that up but we one of the questions is asked how do we start getting
Speaker: more eyes on pinball and people were asking like how do we get millions of views and stuff like that We're there, guys. like If LoserKid's done a million on Facebook alone for the last year, I guarantee there are other pinball content creators out there doing just as much, if not more. So the eyeballs are on pinball.
Speaker: It's how do you convert those eyes into actual, into the hobby, wanting to get there like get more into this. And I think that's really where the next step is, right? So...
Speaker: Yeah. And Cameron, I'll, I'll point out you actually, did you've done something that's really interesting because a lot of us do this as like our side hobby. Like my, my wife is very supportive and she'll come and play, but she's not really that involved in, in what we're doing. You actually doing it with your significant other. Like if you really want to go deep into pinball, do it with your significant other, like, like whoever, whoever that is and being able to, to do the hobby together actually will,
Speaker: That is something that is an untapped resource because they're there's a lot of ah there's a lot of dudes in this that don't bring a significant other in. And so the fact that you're able to do that, and and I know there's women's leagues out there and all that kind of stuff, but it's being able to do it as a couple is something that is, it's not as common as is i would like. and I'd love to play pinball with my wife more. So this is something that you are bringing to the table and we appreciate your comment.
Speaker: Well, and and we love doing it. It's too bad she's not here, but you know, Josh called me and said, Hey, do you want to, do you want to do this tonight? And I'm in California traveling. So she's not with me. So yeah, it's, it's amazing that I have such a supportive wife who also just happens to like a lot of the same things that I do.
Speaker: And it's one of those things that we fell in love with together. I'm much farther down the rabbit hole in terms of doing competitive and stuff, but she loves playing as a casual and loves talking about it from a casual person's perspective. And,
Speaker: It's great. It's great. i highly recommend if you can get your significant other into pinball. It's fun. Yeah, definitely. That's the way to go. Makes it a lot easier going over that hurdle of getting one of these into the basement. Right.
Speaker: But no, seriously, thanks for coming on. i guess I was just the last thing I wanted to hit was just I'm dumbfounded by people actually want to listen to a Scott. It's really weird. And I've actually met a lot of awesome friends through through this. And I appreciate that people are willing to be the silent third chair or fourth chair in our conversations. And it makes us feel like at least we're being approachable and we're not trying to gatekeep the hobby. We're trying to to get as many people into it as we can. And and that is that's a po a force for good. It's a force multiplier.
Speaker: I agree. Cameron, if you want people to get ahold of you, where do you where do you want them to get ahold of you? Where's your content at? Our content is primarily on YouTube. We are pinball pursuit.
Speaker: Again, we do reviews. We do news. Our big thing are tutorials, which are are different than any tutorials you'll see. They're scripted. We have diagrams and and arrows and everything. It's, it's, and it's bite-sized meant to get people who don't know how to play a game so they can get up and running, playing the game.
Speaker: We're also on Instagram under Pinball Pursuit. and And it's there. So check out our stuff there. We're really proud of it. And if you want to get a hold of us, we are LoserKidPinballPodcast at gmail.com. We're at LoserKidPinball on all the socials. Doesn't matter what it is. We're probably on it, except for OnlyFans. If you want to hit that up, you need to text Scott directly or message him on Facebook. That's the best way to get a hold of him. Scott, give us our last words for the Eve.
Speaker: All right. Living on a prayer. Bon Jovi rules.
