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Jaws 50th Pinball: Awesome Edition or Stupid Idea?
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Josh and Scott catch up and talk about Jaws 50th, Harry Potter AI Art, and Predator Pinball release along with other current news topics.
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Transcript
Introduction & Milestones
00:00:07
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to the Loser Kid Pinball Podcast. More than that, thank you to the over million views and listens that we've had through Loser Kid Pinball Podcast in the six years we've been doing this.
00:00:19
Speaker
Absolutely insane. Over 9,000 subscribers across our platforms. My co-captain with me today, scott Larson. And Scott, can you believe that? Like that is, that is insane.
00:00:31
Speaker
it Okay. It makes me happy because when you and I started this, uh, well, when you asked me if I want to do this, I'm like, yeah, sure. Why not? Um, I, I just thought this would be a fun thing to do.
00:00:42
Speaker
A fun thing to talk to someone because you know, as, as dad collectors, a lot of times we don't have time to, to enjoy our hobby with other enthusiasts. yeah I figured this was a good outlet for you and I just to talk on a regular basis.
00:00:55
Speaker
ah It's turned into a lot more than I imagined because you and I talk, well, we at least message it every day. yeah And you know I call and talk to you you know a couple times a week. So it's it's been great that we've developed our friendship and also developed a lot of relationships in pinball that have been really fun.
00:01:15
Speaker
And it really reinforces my experience. The reason why I got into pinball is because I need an escape from drama in life. And I know that pinball has drama, but you can find happiness and enjoy where you're looking for it too.
Podcast's Role in Community
00:01:30
Speaker
And it's been a great fun thing. And I've loved everybody who's been able to reach out to us and we've been able to, to meet some really awesome people through doing this. So again, thank you guys for listening to us.
00:01:42
Speaker
A quick behind the scenes. So once Scott says that we talk to each other like once or twice a week and we message every day, It's funny because I will call Scott and i'm like, what are you doing right now? He's like, I'm just standing over a body. Like, are you working right now? And he's like, yeah, but it's not a big deal. Like, like I imagine him like standing with like five other doctors operating on someone like, yeah, we're just removing something from some orifices. It's no big deal. You can talk to what you need.
00:02:03
Speaker
I'm not scrubbed in. This is me monitoring in the background. And so, you know, you, you, you can talk occasionally when, when there's nothing major going on in surgery. So, yeah.
00:02:14
Speaker
Yeah, this guy's just, he's belly side down. We're working on his butt. It's okay. we're We're working on his back. Yeah, yeah.
Partnership Announcement
00:02:20
Speaker
back Oh, you know the other great thing that has been a part of Lose It Kid almost since the beginning?
00:02:27
Speaker
ah Flipping Out Pinball. And there has been some amazing pinball machines have been released in the last three, four weeks. There's been a whirlwind. And you can get them all from Zach and Nicole Manny at Flipping Out Pinball.
00:02:38
Speaker
We highly recommend it. And we actually worked out a deal. I haven't told Scott about this. ah We have a deal for our listeners right now. If you use code loser kid in the discount spot while checking it out at flipping out when you buy fun house classic edition or a fun house LE edition, doesn't matter which edition you get $500 off.
00:03:01
Speaker
That's a pretty good deal, especially on the classic edition. and that's That puts it under seven grand. so Yeah. if If you're looking for a fun house and that you know those classic Bally Williams, there's a reason why they still resonate with people.
00:03:13
Speaker
Oh, yes. They're accessible. You understand what's going on very easily in them. Hint, hint. We'll talk about that. And, okay. I think the fun house classic is, is awesome. So if you're, if you're looking for a fun house, that's a great deal.
00:03:27
Speaker
I'm excited. Cause I've been looking for a fun house. Hint, hint, wink, wink.
Personal Pinball Stories
00:03:31
Speaker
Yeah. And so, uh, one of these might be going behind me, uh, to see what, what comes in.
00:03:37
Speaker
um Okay. And what are you doing with it, Josh? Uh, with the fun house? No, with with, with the one behind you. Are you guys, uh, ah i'm I'm trading one out to bring one in. Let's put it that way.
00:03:47
Speaker
but Okay. All right. I'm excited because I want I talked about this last expo, right? Like we were we were there with Larry DeMar, the man, the myth, the legend, right? yeah And having a great time on house shirt, by the way. wearing Oh, yes.
00:04:01
Speaker
And we're playing Funhouse. And Funhouse is a game that got me into pinball, right? Like yeah I got into pinball. I saw the world of pinball 14 years ago and loved every second of it, right?
00:04:11
Speaker
And then it became that like i quietly studied and researched what I should get. And at the time, fe Farsight Studios had pinball arcade. So I loved it because I just download on my phone, download the tab, you know,
00:04:23
Speaker
download Funhouse, I download Attack from Mars, I download Medieval Madness. So I gained a love for these classic Bally Williams. And I just, I fell in love with Funhouse. It's the bashing a marionette head that's harassing you and you showing it who's boss.
00:04:39
Speaker
And so, and and ah Bally Williams still resonate with people nowadays, right? Like, so I'm super excited to get this in the house and see how I've owned CGCs.
00:04:49
Speaker
I love CGCs. i want to see how pedretti has done right with how they compare bet yes i i've got my hands on a couple different ones i've enjoyed it i'm ready to pop the hood take a look underneath and tell our our listeners our viewers because everyone out here there is money to be to to be used in the pinball hobby and we're seeing it right like people are waiting to see what is being released like the game that released today ah and they're deciding where that money is going right and so maybe this can help them decide whether or not it's worth it to them to bring in a fun house or, or some game like that.
Pinball Machine Market Strategies
00:05:27
Speaker
So, uh, yeah, I guess that transitions to our next thing. Jaws 50th. Let's stop being around the bush. It released today. What'd you think, Scott? Well, I'm wearing my 4th of July hat today. Cause as we know, Amity means friendship and the 4th of July is when Jaws happened. And I am also wearing my Jaws shirt.
00:05:47
Speaker
So, uh, okay.
00:05:52
Speaker
First question, why was it made? Right. And that's the first thing you say is like, okay, so they, they're making Josh, Jaws. They're making Josh, making Josh, making more Josh's.
00:06:03
Speaker
ah They're okay. They're making jaws and they're selling jaws actually quite well as it is. And so making a special edition,
00:06:14
Speaker
I don't know. I, I, I, from a marketing standpoint, I'm wondering about it. However, it's different enough, but similar enough that I think it gives people options and people who are on the fence, uh, may actually consider getting this.
00:06:29
Speaker
Um, so i I can see why I can see why it's going to easily sell, 500, 500 additional units. And that's it. You add that to Stern's coffers and it certainly helps out. And it's very minimal investment on them. They just happen to do some cosmetic changes.
00:06:47
Speaker
Uh, what are your thoughts on jaws? I find it interesting, right? Like it's very, I'll point this out and i don't know if this is weird to you or not, but we've been talking about like, they're doing these anniversaries, right?
00:06:58
Speaker
Jurassic park, Godzilla, jaws, Elvira. The interesting part is outside of Elvira. All of them have been Elwyn's like, uh, What happens if there's an Avengers coming or something like that? You know? Yeah.
00:07:12
Speaker
So I don't, it's funny because people are complaining like, why are they making these anniversaries? It's just lowering the cost of, because like realistically, if you look at this, they're releasing a game that's slightly, that's better than a premium because you're getting more features than you would with a premium at the same cost as a premium and it's cheaper than an l LE.
00:07:31
Speaker
So you're getting like this, like in the middle between a premium and LE, they're, they're limited. They don't number them. But Stern has said they're only making these from July to December. So you're either in on the bandwagon or you've missed the boat, essentially, right?
00:07:46
Speaker
Yeah. i just It's really weird to me because what kind of message does this send to the rest of the community? Don't buy day one if you want a slightly more limited product to see how it turns out, how it does, and and see how, um I mean, Jaws 50th, it's funny, I've talked to a bunch of people that love this game, and they're like, well, wanna see what the 50th looks like. So they actually held out on buying the game.
00:08:13
Speaker
And then I've heard a mixed bag today of how it's how it's going to go. i just I don't know how long much longer this can go because I feel like Stern's kind of shooting themselves in the foot. think originally idea was supposed to be LEs.
00:08:25
Speaker
and And after the LE community was like, no, stop doing that. We're going to stop buying LEs if you keep making like, you told us there's only 500 to 1,000 of these of Godzilla.
00:08:37
Speaker
And you made another 500. You're making ours less valuable because of it. Which I mean is kind of subjective in its own right. But overall, i just I think it's a great move for Stern in the fact that like it's more product that they can offer to their consumer.
00:08:53
Speaker
ah But I think it's a it's a short term gain and maybe a long term loss. What do you think? So they've done this before. We know that they have the Lucy edition on ACVC.
00:09:04
Speaker
They have the Catwoman edition on Batman 66. So that this isn't unprecedented. Having like a limited ah supply, again, it caters to some people.
00:09:15
Speaker
I have it and you don't have it. Therefore, it holds value to that. I've never quite understood that um because you're always going to have some products that are going to be limited, exclusive, so to speak.
00:09:30
Speaker
um Guns N' Roses, you want the standard edition. That is going to be the most rare edition. They made less than like 150 or something. Oh, yeah. oh yeah Uh, if you want, uh, if you want a galactic tank force, um, you and less than 50 other people can have that game.
00:09:48
Speaker
So you remember mafia mafia, they were going to make like a hundred of anything. They trimmed it on like 50. Like it's, it's gotta be one of the rarest games out there too. Yeah. So again, if, if the rarity is what driving your purchasing power, fine, but that it it seems like the wrong focus.
00:10:05
Speaker
Uh, I want the best option of the product to be available to people. And if they like this, now there are some people who are going to like this version of this. Now it has powder coating, which is cool. It's a, it's a different color.
00:10:17
Speaker
It has some, ah you know, some Chrome painted rails. It's still still a premium. And so I don't think that the l LE people should feel completely shut out because it doesn't have the you know it doesn't have the shaker motor. It doesn't have the speaker lights. It doesn't have all that other stuff.
00:10:36
Speaker
So I think that that still gives you like the value. um But if you're like on the edge, you may actually get over the top and say, hey, this is something I really want to get. So you don't think that it signals a flag from Stern saying either a, they have more extra in the bill of material for, for jaws when they charge up front for a regular premium, or they're eating some of the costs by putting extras into the 50th anniversary because the price is the same. So it makes no sense of like, why are we adding extras but for a product that
00:11:16
Speaker
at the same cost. They're probably eating some of the cost. I don't see it being that big of a deal to put powder coating on the, you know, on the trim.
00:11:27
Speaker
That can't be that expensive for them. um kind You know, putting a gold tint on the, on the habit trails. Again, they can't be that expensive. It's not like they're adding, Hey, now you have a shaker motor.
00:11:39
Speaker
Now you have expression lights. Now you have a topper. Then you're getting into more of a bill of material. But having like a little bit to differentiate. And glitter in the play field.
00:11:49
Speaker
That's the glitter play field. Yes. ah So, so ah yeah. Is there something? Are people going to be annoyed? Sure. But i I don't see it being that significant of an issue.
00:12:03
Speaker
Now, I didn't buy Jaws, by the way. and so like That was my first album where I'm like, you know, I think I'm just going to hold off. This, I actually, okay, let's talk about the R package though. um and And by the way, even before it started going around, um i in our, in our chat with the triple drain guys, the first thing I said is this looks like a popsicle.
00:12:25
Speaker
It really does. It looks like one of those July 4th popsicles with the, the red, white, and blue. and, Now we have also said sometimes pictures cannot show how good something looks in person.
00:12:40
Speaker
definite and And we've also been on ah on a side where they've released something and people have been polarized by the the art or the chrome, I guess.
00:12:53
Speaker
um to Attack from Mars, the LE. So it's this green color. And, and there was so much backlash. CGC said, fine, we'll let you pick the color. You can get it in black.
00:13:06
Speaker
You can get it in green. I think they even offered like one other, i can't remember which one. And over 90, 90 people, 90% of the people finally just said, let's just get the green, including me.
00:13:18
Speaker
Um, so I think it does look, it'll probably look better in person. than what the snapshot is ah it is. It is certainly bold though, and it will stand out in your lineup.
00:13:30
Speaker
if If you pick this color, you're just like, okay, it will get noticed. Definitely. I personally, I obviously own Jaws. It's here over my shoulder with the little Davey Stumbler buoy of death mod attached in there. Heck yes. I can see it waving.
00:13:45
Speaker
I know you can watch the little, it looks just like a buoy. And the way it floats is awesome. Davey, amazing dude. Like, and he had to deal with my crap. I'm like, should it do this? And he's like, no, I'll send you a new part. I'm you don't have to do that, man. And he likes thinking, oh, I'm like, uh, what about, does it do that? Is this meant to do this? He's like, no, no, I'll send you another part. I'm Dave, you don't need to do that. Like Dave, you're amazing. Dave. I'm like, I know you listen above beyond.
00:14:09
Speaker
I saw the one today. i was slightly underwhelmed. Okay. Just because felt like the artwork, um it did look like the LE, which is fine.
00:14:20
Speaker
i feel like the poster just, it's essentially The movie poster, the classic movie poster just posted everywhere, right? Which is fine. Like a lot of people love that. That's that's great.
00:14:33
Speaker
I personally like the Michael Bernard POV back glass. The fact of ah like he's about to die. He's got a hatch in his hand. He's about to chop the the shark to death. I think it brings a lot more character. i love i love the side art.
00:14:46
Speaker
I mean, this this game has a lot of character in the art, ah and I really appreciate that. um And granted, you still have that art on the play field, but I just, like you said, it looks like a Popsicle, which they're going for the 4th of July. This will be the best 4th of July we ever had whatever, you Absolutely. Hallelujah.
00:15:04
Speaker
It just, I don't know. This one is not for me. I saw it, and I was like, I'm not upgrading I'm very, very happy with what I have. And it feels weird because I feel like it's been very polarizing.
00:15:16
Speaker
I feel like people have either loved the new one or they're like hot garbage, you know? But there are a lot of people that that don't own a Jaws that love Jaws and are going for this 50th anniversary because it looks amazing to them.
00:15:31
Speaker
You know, I, okay. i I had said behind the scenes, I'm like, I don't really care. I'm not really interested. um I've seen Jaws. I have, my friend has a Jaws like two blocks away. I can go play it.
00:15:44
Speaker
And I saw this, I'm like, I may buy this because it it it does look cool and it will stand out in your lineup. So it's I I'm eating my own words and saying that this art package and this kind of extra bling may tip me over the top to get one.
00:15:58
Speaker
And we're hearing that Jaws is doing fairly well. It's not as doing as great as Godzilla, but it's still still up there for sales. So it's still good. And and considering Godzilla, Godzilla is a unicorn.
00:16:10
Speaker
It came out in pandemic times when nobody was able to do anything and they were looking for entertainment in their home. So I don't think it's that like how long it's extended past that too. Sure. but but Okay.
00:16:23
Speaker
But it, it like launched and anchored. It got an anchor at that time and it still is a great game. am. I'm not downplaying it at all, by the way. I think that it just, it had such a great anchor that it still has some legs from that.
00:16:39
Speaker
And I would argue like Adam's family, the same thing. It has an anchor and it has legs from there. You know, medieval madness, a good anchor and legs. So. So the overall question. JAWS 50th, is it worth it?
00:16:51
Speaker
I'd say thumbs up. I'd say absolutely. Would I sell if I had one to sell it to get this? um that That would be subjective if you like the R package. It's the same as, hey, Godzilla, would you sell it to get the 70th?
00:17:05
Speaker
And for me, I thought the 70 was really cool. And I got one from my friend and I think it looks great. but it's not it's not something I wanted to swap out my current one for.
00:17:16
Speaker
But there may be people who are like, I like the bling. I like the the loud art package, and I i think it's good. I personally think if you're looking for a JAWS, you don't own a JAWS, it is worth the value.
00:17:32
Speaker
um i think that it brings a little bit of rarity to it. So if you're concerned about losing value over time, Jaws and Godzilla are proving to retain their value for the premium and the LA standard or levels. And so even if you lose two, 300 bucks, that is not near compared to what everyone else is losing on the market. It's it's not what we've seen on like John Wick and X-Men. Yes, which we'll talk about here in a second. But I think overall, if you get this, you're going to be very happy with it. If this is your style you're looking for. Like I said, I personally like the premium that already came out.
00:18:08
Speaker
They still have these in stock at Flippin' Out too. So if you want to get your hands on one of these. ah Someone said, i'm I'm tired of the ball, shark-eating ball thing. ah Someone said it would sell gangbusters if they put the shark eating ball mod on it. I'm like, no, no.
00:18:24
Speaker
You and I saw Expo. You saw the original model. It looks like a potato. Yeah. Yeah. A flush colored potato. Yeah. Let's just say that lately it did not look good. No, it did not look good. It's yeah let's but all the jokes about the ah dune ah tube snake that's in the back. It's not. It's that's just awkward. Yeah.
00:18:45
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. So speaking of Wick and John or John X-Men and Wick. Okay. and Okay. I will say though, just summary on 50th. It's a great option for people.
00:18:58
Speaker
It's going to sell. It's going to bring money into Stern. And I, I approve of their, of their option. And if you don't like it, don't buy it by the other one. Yeah. right.
00:19:09
Speaker
Wick X-Men new codes out major overhauls. Um, for the most part, it looks obviously Tim Sexton's no longer there.
00:19:20
Speaker
Wason's no longer on lead. I've heard he's moved on to a different project. Yeah.
Pinball Code Updates
00:19:24
Speaker
Uh, what do you think of the code shenanigans on these two games? you're not going to get a ah blockbuster pickup on this unless you get someone who is who's an established well like a gifted coder on there for for rule sets okay and when i say that i i don't mean it to sound dismissive of of tim and wasan what i do mean to say is that
00:19:54
Speaker
There are code packages that are very much beloved, especially by the tournament community. And we know that the code package on there was not tournament level. And if you're going to give new life into an older game, then you need to cater to the tournament community who hasn't already moved on to everything else, you know? And so,
00:20:18
Speaker
we We saw this with Walking Dead. Walking Dead was a it was almost dead. It was terrible. Lyman came in and totally resurrected that game. And especially for tournament players, that is a much beloved tournament game.
00:20:35
Speaker
And there are people who are like, hey, i I want to get a Walking Dead. I want to get a premium Walking Dead because I like the Walker Bombs. So... if you have something like that and I don't know who would do it. I Raymond could totally do it.
00:20:50
Speaker
Raymond could totally do it. And cause he, he is a tournament level player and he can come and say, this would work for tournaments. Um, And he's had solid efforts on on the games that he has touched. And he's worked super well with the Metallica ah remastered. He's done great on um bringing the Led Zeppelin code actually to kind of where where it is. And I i know that was ah that was a team effort. I totally get it. But you can see Raymond's magic in the tournament pushing ah ah elite level of the code.
00:21:22
Speaker
And so you can see the magic there. If they have something like that, then you can breathe new life into these games. Right now they are being, like they're being hamstrung because elite players who know about these games, they are not going to spend the time to keep playing these games if the code is not deep enough to to warrant their time.
00:21:47
Speaker
i think I think the one thing that people complained about with WIC was the the blocking progress enemies right that ai thing it just it was annoying um i don't think you should ever make a game wood choppy by making them shoot the same shot like four times in a row because there's enemies stacked up there or whatever right i get the concept awesome concept great to the thing terrible for gameplay right so by getting rid of that i think that really helps the situation um and honestly so wick
00:22:23
Speaker
I feel like Wick is an underrated game. I'm not a fan of the premium just because that box is kind of like right there. Like it's not bad, but it's not my favorite. It's fine. it does fa It doesn't add a lot to it.
00:22:37
Speaker
And it it kind of blocks a little bit of gameplay, but it's not too terrible, right? I think if you're a fan of Borg, if you like that quick, some tight shots, some geometry that's a little off than the usual, but it still feels good once you hit it I think Wix for you, especially at price point it's at, I just, the, the, the heartburn I'm getting is with the X-Men code. Yeah.
00:23:01
Speaker
I feel like X-Men is already, don't get me wrong. I think Jack danger did a great job with the layout. I just think it was half baked when it came out. Right. And there's some stuff. Okay. But it was ah in fairness, it was also pushed up.
00:23:16
Speaker
It was, But I feel like, so when you and I went. this time, by this time they should have caught up. Correct. But Expo last year, it had been out for a month. Yeah. And the four that they had in their game room that I played, every last one played different.
00:23:32
Speaker
Yeah. They all, geometry wise, were not on par. And I feel like Jack tried to do something unique, so unique, but it had to be so specific that there wasn't much of a, like, you have to have a little bit of tolerance for,
00:23:46
Speaker
on on the machining and stuff like that because these games just go together not perfect every time, right? I've played Star Trek's, like Richie's Star Trek's, said play different than from each other because they just, you're not going to hit every spot perfect every time, right? and And Storm's trying to achieve that.
00:24:02
Speaker
But with X-Men, I feel like that that tolerance, is that window's way bigger. and And I just, I know too many people that just gave up on X-Men because the code wasn't great.
00:24:14
Speaker
You're forced to play the future and now you're forced to play it every stinking time you finish a mode. yeah So that's really annoying. And it just, this game for something that everyone was so excited for when it first came out, yeah it felt like it it feels like it's really fallen flat, right?
00:24:29
Speaker
And I don't know what the direction they're going now with the code. They could still revive this game. I still think you have some geometry issues that need to be fixed. And I don't know if they have fixed them in the factory. I just, i haven't played a new one off the like line. It just is what it is.
00:24:44
Speaker
Um, but yeah, it just, it's really cool that they're going back Like they could easily just wash their hands of this and be like, you know what we're, we're doing the codes where it's, uh, the game, people that already bought the games and have bought their games and we're not making any more of these, yeah but they're trying to make the code right for their customer. I think that says something to them, right?
00:25:03
Speaker
Yeah. Stern definitely has the certain definitely has the, the track record to say, Hey, we're not going to, completely abandoned games, even if they don't sell as well as other games.
00:25:20
Speaker
So they they they do have that commitment to making sure the game, that the customers are whole, which gives you confidence that if you buy a game, eventually you will get some version of a complete code package.
00:25:33
Speaker
um But I am gonna address exactly what you said. having you Having a unique layout, which X-Men is, will really help if you can have ah tolerances between games.
00:25:47
Speaker
So if you have 10 games and you don't have to dial them in so tightly, like, but you know, by someone who knows what they're doing, you need to have a game that even if someone who doesn't know what they're doing, puts the legs on, puts it up, legs all the way down to the ground, it should still play.
00:26:10
Speaker
And I, it doesn't feel like that's happening on this game. People are getting frustrated because even, even experienced players are having a hard time dialing it in to play nicely. Well, even like the Sentinel hands, right? Like, yeah, that was frustrating to me playing in a single ball mode.
00:26:26
Speaker
Yeah. The Sentinel Sentinel hands have pretty much been disabled except for multi balls. like Right. Yeah. Because stuff like that, you don't want to be, you want to have danger, but you don't want to get punished.
00:26:37
Speaker
You know, it's, it's like the, it's like a scoop that goes down the middle. Yeah. You know, and and that just feels like you, you know, you, you got, you got nut punched. It's just not, it's not cool.
00:26:50
Speaker
It's like, I, I got punished for doing something that I should be doing. And hitting a ramp with the Sentinel hands that breaks it on the ramp. Yeah. It should have some danger, but if it, routinely goes down the middle, you're going to feel like you're robbed.
00:27:04
Speaker
Especially if you're playing on location at home, you can roll your eyes and you can start again. If you're paying $2 for a game, that's going to be different. Well, even if you code in like a ball save for a split second, i mean I mean, Godzilla does it with the Manila WAP.
00:27:21
Speaker
I mean, ah there's there's a couple of games where it's like, I know this is coming out, like and it could go down the middle. So there's code in a, what, one second, one and a half second ball save?
00:27:33
Speaker
So it knows, oh, yeah, yep but and definitely did what we thought we didn't want to do. So here's a ball back, you know? ah i'm I'm hoping they can fix I do like that X-Men does provide a different feel of a play field.
00:27:47
Speaker
And it it it's it is wild. um But on something like that, you need to take extra care that it works for all of all versions of your games, depending on ah a novice to an experienced player setting it up.
00:28:01
Speaker
And I really like this layout. like It's very unique. like Jack did an awesome job to redefine what pinball is right now. I think this is what a lot of people are clamoring for. I just, we'll see what happens, right?
00:28:15
Speaker
Yeah. Speaking of other stuff that CERN's trying to do, yeah got cheap toppers now, or relatively, I guess, in the pinball term, cheap. Okay. Was it 400 bucks for a topper now?
00:28:26
Speaker
Well, but flat piece of plastic with some LEDs. it's It's an LED that plugs into your game. And right now, the only stand-up topper that you have is Star Wars, right? Okay, yeah. yeah Now it seems like this is designed so you can swap out that piece.
00:28:48
Speaker
So, so having, if you buy the, the, the base model of it that has like the led stuff, and then you are able to, Hey, I have maybe, Hey, for example, an iron maiden that they don't sell the topper for anymore.
00:29:05
Speaker
And they're going to sell like a flat plastic piece that has the Egypt topper on it. Maybe that's something I would buy to throw up there. Or maybe, Hey, a Beatles and you have the Beatles and you don't have the, the topper that was made very limitedly.
00:29:23
Speaker
And you're like, I still want picture of John Paul and, you know, Ringo and, and George up there. Then they can have that option. as opposed to doing a committed run of the toppers, it's so much cheaper to manufacture the the illuminated base that goes on top of the game and have a swappable flat plastic piece.
00:29:46
Speaker
That makes so much more sense for all of the games out there. And it it is totally easy that you can say, hey, we're buy like if I'm selling a game, I can keep that topper and I can just buy a $100 swapper out there.
00:30:01
Speaker
that That's where I see this going. Yeah. I don't know. It is what it is. It's just weird to me. It's there. i mean it's i i It is a ah discount option, which people, if the discount option are available,
00:30:19
Speaker
then um we ah then people will buy it. Because right now people are buying third-party toppers, right? Yeah. Yeah, true. It's trying to corner a piece of the market that that's obviously a available. It's uncaptured market. Yeah. It is.
00:30:33
Speaker
And it's it's just funny. Like, I don't know, a $400 topper for a flat piece of plastic. Okay, but is it a $300 mounting piece, $100 topper? What if I told you that? Okay. A reusable mount.
00:30:46
Speaker
Okay. Okay. All right. Then I don't know. Yeah. does that Does that sound better? i think it does. Yeah. I don't know. It is what it is. Okay. But I actually think it's a good thing.
00:30:58
Speaker
i do. I think it's a good thing. Let me put this way. I don't own toppers. Uh, I just, I don't, I'd rather put something into my game that affects the gameplay okay or, or I don't know.
00:31:09
Speaker
I just, people are buying mods. People are buying mods for $500 it's a ah It's something that was purchased on the toy aisle and they crammed in an LED and an alligator clip.
00:31:21
Speaker
True. I guess this is a great solution to those that want a topper without spending two grand on a holographic. Yeah, sure. Sure. Mandalorian topper. So i think I think if you're looking for toppers, you don't want to pay pay the price of an EM pinball machine put on top of your modern.
00:31:38
Speaker
It's a great compromise. I think it's a great compromise. Now, that the challenge is you're not going to get the
AI in Pinball Art
00:31:45
Speaker
topper exclusive modes. Yeah. But I don't think anybody really... I don't have anybody buying a pinball machine based on a topper exclusive mode. It's kind of like a fun gimmick, but I don't really care that much.
00:32:00
Speaker
All right. Let's talk about the elephant in the room. The one that like supposedly we've we've had a ton... ton of coverage on. ah We did an interview with Eric Meniere, which is fantastic. Yeah, it was great.
00:32:12
Speaker
And then like a week or two later, it broke that like AI was used. Okay, not that AI was used. Someone had claimed that they did a whole deep dive synopsis on how there were AI artifacts in the Playfield artwork and the Wizard Edition, Arcade Slash Wizard Edition,
00:32:34
Speaker
that were not fixed. um And it's like blatant AI, derp the dragon. I don't know who coined it, but obviously this is now the dragons now beneficially named derp. I've heard this like multiple times across multiple platforms. It's derpy dragon. it It is what it is but ah because it's got two eyes on one side of the head.
00:32:53
Speaker
ah Just I've I don't know. This whole thing is kind of shenanigan-ness to me. What's interesting is I've talked to multiple dealers, hasn't done a thing to their sales.
00:33:04
Speaker
Like they're like, yeah, this came out. No one gave a crap. They're still buying Harry Potter. can i I don't usually put on my tinfoil hat, but I'm going to put on my tinfoil hat for this one.
00:33:15
Speaker
All right. Conspiracy time. I don't like to go in conspiracies because I think it's really weird, like especially with pinball. But I'm going on my conspiracy hat, right? Okay, Jesper. He's the artist. He's done multiple art packages.
00:33:27
Speaker
i think ah outside of Avatar, he's worked on every art package to help in some way or another. you know You have multiple artists over these games, so that way you can – one artist can't do a full package by themselves. It just is what it is.
00:33:40
Speaker
Um, but Jesper went off in like March about like AI and he's sick of corporate shoving in them down their throats and like the commodification of art instead of it being a, an art form. It's now something that you buy and it's being, you know, simplified and yada, yada. Right.
00:33:57
Speaker
And I'm not saying that he did this on purpose, but there's a lot of stuff in it. It's like either a, he was like, yeah, I'll give you AI. Here it is. Like shove right down your throat. You're right.
00:34:09
Speaker
Or B, like generally, like there's a lot that's going on in graphic art design. I've talked to a couple experts on this and they say there's a lot of times where when you're building a product, when you're when you're sending this all through, um sometimes the wrong file gets submitted and it just is what it is.
00:34:26
Speaker
But my other part of my tinfoil hat, right? So either Jesper like actively knew what he' was doing. He was trying to stick it to the man. Or B, he did like put out an apology ah message saying like it was like a sorry-ish kind of message, right? Like, I'm sorry this happened, but I did use AI tools, but it was just a little bit, and it was to help with some of the creativity.
00:34:49
Speaker
It wasn't much of a message, in my opinion. Okay, my other my other thing. The gentleman that brought this all to light, I did not pull him up. I could pull him up on Tiltform. The one that started all this. so one that yeah gave all this information, right? Like this is AI tools. This is, I'm like, this man knows a lot, a lot about this.
00:35:04
Speaker
Picked up a lot of stuff I wouldn't know. Yeah. So if you listen to NudgeCast, Colin's done a great job in covering a lot of all this. So he approached the gentleman that did this article, the one that said, Dirt the Dragon, Ron Weasley's face, all this stuff, right? The long hand on Voldemort.
00:35:21
Speaker
i And he asked the guy, like, what is your background? And he said, oh, I work in the pinball industry enough that I can't tell that I have an NDA game in my garage that I can't tell you what I have. Isn't that a little weird? Isn't that like a Like, did they know this was going to come out?
00:35:37
Speaker
Were they actively looking at the artwork when it came out so that they could? And this is kind of like, I don't know. but If you've watched the spooky yeah ah documentary, they claim that America's Most Haunted wasn't supposed to be America's Most Haunted. It was supposed to be a zombie game.
00:35:52
Speaker
But they claim when Stern found out that they were doing a zombie game, Stern ran out and got Walking Dead. yeah to make a zombie game to compete. I know that's all conspiracy stuff. And if you want to watch that, it's things like bump in the night.
00:36:03
Speaker
Okay. But Monster Bash came at the Monster Bash remake came right out at the same time Stern was doing Munskers. And so know we can do conspiracies, right? yeah And Godzilla, that's pretty a famous license where we know Spooky wanted it and Stern got it. So there's where's gamesmanship. Yes, there's there's definitely some some industrial espionage, so to speak.
00:36:27
Speaker
we know, we know for a fact that the market has dipped, right? Like you're looking for ge games, start looking on the used market, hit up Zach and Nicole, many, they got great used games on, on their Facebook.
00:36:38
Speaker
They update it daily or you go to pin side. There's easily playing games on pin side for great prices. Do you think this, the, obviously we've known Harry Potter is coming for a while now.
00:36:51
Speaker
Do you think someone actively like try to sabotage, the artwork. I mean, we're definitely going like way conspiracy. And this is, this is the gospel. According to loser kid. This is not like, well, this is the apocrypha according to loser kid.
00:37:06
Speaker
Maybe, but do I think it's a do I think it's going to affect sales? No, I don't. um The, ah it does seem like someone who at least knows enough about it to say,
00:37:21
Speaker
hey This is what's going on. And if, and people, so it doesn't affect sales, but it does affect reputation because it when we're, when we buy a lunchbox or buy a t-shirt at Walmart, we're going to expect, you know, we paid 20 bucks for it.
00:37:41
Speaker
If it, if it's not, if it's not super like elite, then we're not going to care. It was like, okay, fine. It's a $20 lunchbox, big deal. If we pay $10,000 for a game, we are expecting some level of ah attention to detail that that should be there.
00:38:04
Speaker
And if you are claiming that you have this this elevated attention to detail, which which JJP does talk about, They talked about they talked about an avatar, how, oh, it's so important that this is how you know the lore and we incorporated it in.
00:38:23
Speaker
And even I looked at it and said, you said they're all left-handed. Why in your promotional photo is she shooting right-handed? Yeah. And and so just just little things like that where you're thinking, if you're claiming that, hey, you are getting a detailed, tailored product from us,
00:38:42
Speaker
And then people see things that don't seem to line up. So if you're saying we are doing an exclusive art package with hand-drawn art, this isn't clip art. This isn't the Star Wars package. This isn't a Game of Thrones original package where they just took like stock art and kind of collaged it together.
00:39:04
Speaker
This is a ah custom design. You're going to expect that they did a full custom design. Now, whether or not people use tools like AI, that's fine.
00:39:16
Speaker
um But it doesn't meet the expectation of what people thought they were getting. So it does take it does take you down a notch. And it's it's disappointing a little bit because there are artists where I look at their art package and I highly suspect there was a lot of computer engineering involved versus hand-drawn art.
00:39:41
Speaker
yeah and And you guys can pick out which ones which ones on your own that like have that look that you're like, I suspect there was some assisted assisted help on this.
00:39:55
Speaker
Now, whether or not that's a big deal to you, it it may or may not be. But when you're thinking the the attention to detail where the folds and the buttons, you know' it probably makes a big deal if you're saying, I only want to buy this game if there's only 500 of them available.
00:40:16
Speaker
If there's 3,000 of them available, I'm not interested. That's your level of detail. yeah And if if JJP is trying to sell it that way, then they probably should live up to the expectations of the of the consumer.
00:40:29
Speaker
Whether or not that's fair, i don't know. But that's how they sell it. Didn't Jack tell us if you're buying a Ferrari? i don't think Ferrari uses AI in their designs. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. And the other part too is as Jack did come out after this whole AI thing started blowing up and he's like,
00:40:45
Speaker
We don't use AI in our stuff. It's all hand drawn. Problem is, Jack kind of like, yeah. So Jesper did say, yes, I used ai tools and for the artwork.
00:40:56
Speaker
Here's the thing. I don't care if you use AI tools. I really don't. but I know other artists that do use ai tools in some of their stuff. Yeah. It's to get ahead of the curve, right? Like it helps with the rough draft. It's efficiency. You're trying to be efficient. Yes. Especially when you, you don't 18 months seem, might sound like a lot of time, but they don't start at the 18 month mark.
00:41:16
Speaker
Like they're lucky if they come in at the 12 month or the six month. And they're not getting $30,000 for these art packages. Correct. Correct. packages correct So here's my thing. And I echo this. Like if you haven't listened to Eclectic Gamers or Pinball Show or Nudgecast, I feel like we've all said the same thing. I would just want to echo what they've said.
00:41:35
Speaker
I don't care if you use AI tools. Just clean it up and make it look good. Make it look like it's sloppy. It looks sloppy. And it comes out that's the thing is if you're going to, if you're going to use Wikipedia as a reference, don't cut and paste.
00:41:51
Speaker
Yeah, exactly. and don't care that I don't care. Even if you take the artwork, you pulled it off the internet and you trace it by hand on your digital program.
00:42:03
Speaker
Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Like, okay, I know that there's a criteria. There is a book that comes from these licensors and it comes in and it says the exact colors, the exact yeah positions.
00:42:15
Speaker
So there's only so much you can do anyways. Right. You know I'm saying? Like there's a lot of, you have to meet a kind criteria. use what You mean like Gene Wilder having the exact same pose seven times on Willy Wonka?
00:42:29
Speaker
Yeah. So, so why not use AI to pull that? Right. from the internet already and say, Hey, I need Willy Wonka in seven different poses. In that exact, it well, it it but they told him that you had to use that exact pose. Surrounded by the kids of Willy Wonka. Make it look hand-drawn. Yeah, I don't know.
00:42:45
Speaker
And then go up a bit, like, okay, yeah, obviously this got stretched. obviously You know what I'm saying? Like, but it gives you a good base of where to start. And even, even we know that there was a slight delay before even launched because there was a character on the side.
00:42:59
Speaker
ah the but one is, yeah, that let's just say that I think there, I don't think that was the issue. I think there were some things with possibly, ah the physical things in there.
00:43:10
Speaker
But either way, they look at these things. No, they did. They told us. And even retro rough talked about this on, on his, okay on his episode, they did. What was the name of the kid? That's one of the, the henchmen to, to a crunk or crump yeah or something like that. Or yeah. Grunkle or,
00:43:27
Speaker
But obviously he had some ah personal issues during the recording in the movies. ah He even changed. And he was replaced. He changed entirely. He was entirely. He went from white to not white anymore. he was a lot more tan in the. Yeah. yeah And so um they had him as the original character on the side art and they and they take them out yeah they took him out.
00:43:50
Speaker
But they caught that like three weeks before. This is a character you guys have known for years, like halfway through the series you shouldn't be using. And why did that get passed off up till almost a month before release? You know what saying?
00:44:01
Speaker
Yeah. It just it is what it is. So I don't think it's that big of a deal if they fix it. And those that got the games, yeah If you want to keep it or not.
00:44:11
Speaker
what okay i I would just say, again, it's a hit to your reputation. It's not going to take the overall game. yeah it's it's it But if you're going to present it as an exclusive art package, you should probably make sure it's a detailed exclusive art package.
00:44:28
Speaker
Well, the Mia Lima stuff is spot on. There's no AI with that. It's amazing. yeah You know what my problem is with Harry Potter? Here's my problem. It's not the art.
00:44:39
Speaker
Art is whatever. Like I do buy a game because honestly, I think King Kong's art is amazing. yeah It's not what sold me on it, but I keep finding little tidbits throughout the whole thing. Just loving it. I love that we took old school artists with new school artists. We took three of them. We mushed them together.
00:44:56
Speaker
it just it looks beautiful. There's callbacks to other games like Elvira and stuff in it. Wonderful. OK, that is not what bothers me. is not the art. It's the code. I've had this problem with every JJP except for maybe Elton John.
00:45:10
Speaker
sure The problem with code, and like every time I come to your house, I play Wizard of Oz. I love the beauty of these games. I have no clue what's going on. The problem is it's telling you four to five different things all at the same time, telling you what you should be doing, but you don't know exactly what path you're supposed to be taking. Like even they tried to remy this in Pirates of the Caribbean with the compass.
00:45:31
Speaker
and It was supposed to tell you which shot you should shoot now based off of like what's best going on in your game. ah just, There is way too much going on in these games. There needs to be and one main focus, and then everything else is enhancement, right? Yeah. that's And that's what I'm hearing from everyone.
00:45:50
Speaker
I love Harry Potter. The layout is amazing. the The artwork looks really good to what I see. It's I don't know what I'm doing. I've played 20, 30, 40 games. I'm starting to kind of piece this together, but it's still as clear as mud.
00:46:05
Speaker
That's where I have a problem with Harry Potter. That's all JJP, right? a lot of JJPs, Elton John's probably the most linear code. Um, I love, and I, I love the Keith Johnson complexity.
00:46:18
Speaker
It also can be overwhelming. And so it's, I, I, I wish that there were a way to streamline something. And I don't know if it's a flip a button and have it like be more streamlined code and like a deep button. I
Jersey Jack Pinball Critique
00:46:32
Speaker
I'm not sure. Cause that seems to be his wheelhouse is the, this super complex code, but in something like Lord of the Rings, it's complex and deep, but it still feels linear enough that people understand what to do.
00:46:47
Speaker
So I don't know if that's like the limitation on the, on the DMD that Lord of the Rings has or Simpsons. And it has to focus you a little bit and their screens are huge.
00:46:59
Speaker
They're 20, they're like 27 inch screens and it's, it has so much information that it is a little hard to, to distill exactly what you're trying to do in a game. Yeah, it's true.
00:47:10
Speaker
don't man, they've got to figure it out. It's just, yeah. But hey, I applaud it They in Avatar, they have like a flow sheet, but it's hard to play pinball when you have a flow sheet. And and Wizard Oz has a flow sheet, too, that it has like pause button on my pinball machine. Let me pause that while i look at the flow sheet. And it plays a lot more like a like one of those three hour board games rule sets where you have like all that all those cards in front of you. And you're just like, what what's the rule on this? I don't understand.
00:47:45
Speaker
I don't know. I'm excited for Harry Potter. My whole family loves Harry Potter. Yep. I think this could be a game that could come into my collection. i just need to see how this all pans out. Yeah. And my friend's getting one. He's getting a CE. So I want to take a look at it.
00:47:57
Speaker
And so it'll be a lot of fun to see that. Speaking of getting CEs, did you see you see that poor man? as he is a huge Harry Potter fan.
00:48:08
Speaker
He dressed up as Dumbledore for one of the expos or for Southern they Fried Gaming. had Poor man gets FedEx shows up. It's the best day of his life. And then he sees the broken glass coming out the bottom of the pinball box. And he's like, yep, I'm sending this one back. Yeah.
00:48:29
Speaker
ah it's oh It's so heartbreaking because you know it's like ah that's because that that puts you down a spiraling
Logistical Challenges
00:48:37
Speaker
staircase of Yep.
00:48:40
Speaker
Or one those moving staircases, Harry Potter style. Yeah. Oh, well, and here's the worst part. If that happens, it has to get shipped back to the manufacturer. They need to fix it. They got to go through the stuff. Then they'll ship it back insurance.
00:48:51
Speaker
Yeah. That whole shenanigans, right? Unless if, you know, you're going through Zach at flipping out and he's, he actually ships you. If he has the game in stock, still a new box. it's what He'll ship you that He'll ship another one. Yeah.
00:49:02
Speaker
Yeah. And then, and then he'll deal with all the headache of ah the game going back and, ah i just it's I feel bad for the guy because i your dream theme and you just yeah it's it's like opening it's like actually sitting down to a great restaurant and then pulling it off and you realize that the meat's rotten or yeah ah it's like sitting there for an hour for the great service right yeah you've waited so long you brought rotten meat.
00:49:29
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, the kitchen's got to take that back. It's going another hour. Yeah, exactly. Oh, so terrible. Oh, heart goes out to you, dude. All right. Let's talk about, sadly, you couldn't make it. Well, we did the predator interview. You know what? This is, this is the, the downside of working in a hospital. Sometimes your schedule is not your own. And then Josh, you know, Josh also, sometimes his schedule is not his own, but I i couldn't make it to the predator.
00:49:56
Speaker
launch thing. They had a very tight window. They, they were recording with us the day before and we we are grateful that they, they reached out to us and we got the American, uh, podcast release on it. So that was, that was great. And we appreciate everybody who listened and, and reached out, talked about it. Um,
00:50:16
Speaker
However, with the release, there's always some challenges. um so Josh, what was the main challenge with the alien edition? The original alien edition was there was someone missing.
00:50:28
Speaker
Yeah. There was yeah the main character. Yeah. yeah All aliens about like the whole crew gets killed off. What? In the first like 30 minutes. Yeah. Ripley and the alien. Yeah. And well, and aliens, mean, it's the same. The whole thing is her trying to, to save, save newt.
00:50:45
Speaker
We're not going to talk about alien three. Cause they did, they did them dirty and alien, alien three, but um okay. So with predator, yeah. there's If you're going to do, so we asked, is this that is the, is this predator as in like, there's like eight predator movies. There's like an alien versus predator. There's all that kind of, so is it like, like that one. Yes. Yeah.
00:51:07
Speaker
It's like an alien character or, you know, sorry, a predator character. And they're like, no, it's the first film. Okay. Well, there are certain things that if you're going to do this, that you want the first film, is there some special person that you really want involved in this project?
00:51:25
Speaker
Well, obviously Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold Schwarzenegger. And so it's like the last, what it? The last 45 minutes is essentially just him and the prayer going at it. Yeah. And so, and and and it's, it's a great eighties movie. It is so good.
00:51:40
Speaker
And I still want to know how mud on him actually prevents heat from transferring. um It doesn't really work in, in physics, but yeah.
00:51:51
Speaker
It's still a fun story. He's an elite. He's an elite military man. He knows what he's doing. He's elite. me He found some, ah some, ah whatever, some, some heat, heat resistant mud.
00:52:03
Speaker
um But either way. So they don't really have Arnold ish in there. They have, they have like pictures of his like muscles or him running or his chest. Don't you want his chest and his belly button, man?
00:52:16
Speaker
Well, sure. Sure. Close up of those, those biceps, those muscles. Okay. shoot that chain and It's impressive. i They're slightly bigger than mine, but actually, okay. Do you know a funny story though?
00:52:28
Speaker
So him and Jesse Ventura, did you, did you hear the story one time where, He left like a measuring tape that was ah measuring his, his biceps. Cause Arnold back in his prime, he, his arms were huge, right? Oh yeah. Ridiculous. Yes.
00:52:44
Speaker
And so Jesse, they, they told him, yeah, that's Arnold size. And Jesse measured his biceps and his were like an inch bigger around the arm. Did you hear this?
00:52:56
Speaker
No, I didn't. And so he was like, Hey Arnold. So, you know, he was feeling, feeling good about himself. And so he's like, Hey Arnold, Mr. Olympia, how about we measure our biceps?
00:53:09
Speaker
Arnold had totally punked him and Arnold's biceps were like three inches bigger than just even. Oh my goodness. It's terrible. But I, okay, come on. I mean, that's a good old fashioned measuring. Like, you know, it it was a bicep measuring. on bicept Yeah. That's what they should call Yeah. The bicep measuring contest testing and Arnold's was three inches bigger.
00:53:31
Speaker
um But yes, the, the, Okay, i I appreciate that they're passionate about this and I know that there's challenges with the license on this. And so this could be completely out of their control.
00:53:44
Speaker
Now, do you still go forward with the game if you don't have all the assets to make it the game the dream game? Or do you say there's enough that we can do it to make it right now? For me, i i would have wanted Arnold in there.
00:53:57
Speaker
I'm hoping they'll sell enough of these so that it actually makes it worthwhile for them. And maybe they just need a limited run to recapture it. But i I don't know. it it It seems like an odd choice. I guess I'll put it that way. It seems like an odd choice.
00:54:13
Speaker
Well, during the interview, they said that like they do have access to Arnold, and they are still trying to work on like the close-up. So he said that they're not allowed to have a close-up of Arnold.
00:54:23
Speaker
Sure. I don't know. And I think it's interesting. like They used a voice actor. Uh, for Arnold, I know i feel like everyone in the world yeah can do an Arnold impression, but Arnold can't and say like California.
00:54:40
Speaker
Like, yeah I don't know. I just, it's, it's one of those things where it's like, there's, ah I don't know. I just, okay. Arnold has done call outs before though. Yeah. And so, okay.
00:54:52
Speaker
Arnold, he's not an in demand star right now. Right. sure It's not like he's making a lot of movies. He's kind of in the Richard Dreyfuss Jaws category.
00:55:03
Speaker
And so, yes, he's totally iconic. Like, is it possible that reach out to Arnold to actually do the call outs? And who knows? I, we are totally speculating because we don't know.
00:55:14
Speaker
Maybe they did. And Arnold's like, no, I'm not into it. But, um, don't. I've already got three pinball machines. Why do I need a fork? Exactly. Exactly. But he's a terrible accent. I apologize. No, I, Hey, it's better than mine. I haven't even tried an Arnold.
00:55:31
Speaker
So do the chopper. Yeah. The chopper. All right. I just, it is, don't know. Here's, honestly, the Arnold thing doesn't but bug me. Here's the weird thing. Like, I watched the gameplay video, and maybe maybe this is different. They only showed two whopping minutes of the game, right? And they're editing and matching and stuff like that.
00:55:49
Speaker
The video that they show of every character is literally the end credits video. That's only like a minute long, minute and a half long where all the characters are doing like the wink at the camera. They're doing their little favorite thing, right? Like, yeah.
00:56:03
Speaker
And then once they're in magazine a magazine and like that. And it's like you collect the character and you get it's like you literally you have this whole movie. And I don't know what you had access to. Obviously, you don't have access to Arnold's face.
00:56:14
Speaker
OK, whatever you have. all this footage and the literal footage you put into the game is like you is, is the end credit scene. And like 90% of the video I'm seeing is like someone like computer generated, just walking through jungle.
00:56:30
Speaker
Like you're not seeing anything. It's all point of view. It's like the cameras just walking through the jungle and it's like you collect a character and he's like, I'm here. All right. Okay. the k Do you know what they really should have done?
00:56:41
Speaker
they should have dressed up Sylvester Stallone as Arnold in this. That would have been hilarious. That would have been so great. Did I get predator? Did I get they get Rambo? Okay. Okay. You know, back in the day, they actually are Arnold and, and ah Sylvester had like a kind of a rivalry going.
00:57:02
Speaker
Like there's a reason why, ah when, uh, when, um, ah sorry, Sylvester Stallone, when he did Rambo, like Arnold Schwarzenegger did commando.
00:57:15
Speaker
It was like a total back and forth when there's like, you know, and so it it was interesting to see who was like the, who was like the bigger, you know, the bigger star, the action star in back then. So, and yeah Contra, the Contra, the n NES game, it's totally like a fake Arnold and a fake Sylvester Stallone in there.
00:57:35
Speaker
Nice. So, I know that would, that would have been funny, but yeah, no, I, know. I I'm hoping I'm, I'm really hoping that they get the, the ability to at least incorporate him into the game a little better because it would make a lot more sense.
00:57:50
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I just, so is this a game that you're going to pick up? Uh, I'm not either. No, I, it's not, what ah I have a, okay, I have a great collection. This is my problem. I have a great collection.
00:58:03
Speaker
And if I need to, ah sell a game, I have to, you know i have to buy a game and sell a game. Yeah. Throw it over your shoulder and drag it out of that basement. could climb Actually, Kate, I, I don't know if i told you this. Did I tell you that my neighbor,
00:58:19
Speaker
he excavated and under his garage. Did I tell you this part? No. So he excavated under his garage and it's given me crazy ideas because behind me, this wall here is the outside wall.
00:58:35
Speaker
Yeah, and so it goes to your garage. Your gar garage is on the other side of that wall, isn't it? Well, okay, but there's nothing there because it's dirt. So they didn't go under the garage. You know how i have a double deep garage there? Yeah.
00:58:47
Speaker
I'm starting to save up. And so I can shave off that garage, dig down, and that's going to be the entrance to the new Loser Kid room. Nice.
00:58:58
Speaker
And it'll be it'll it'll be like a 40 by 30 room back there. i can just imagine you was like in there. you're You're going to tell the construction guys, can I go through that wall like Kool-Aid Man? You're just going to... Yeah.
00:59:11
Speaker
No, so scenario so that's ah that's my couple-year plan is to save up money so we can go through this wall and have like a ah proper arcade.
Personal Stories & Community Initiatives
00:59:21
Speaker
Honey, I just remodeled the upstairs for you, and it's just the way you want it. It's beautiful. It's great. Yeah, no, it's great. Now I'm ready for my arcade room.
00:59:27
Speaker
Yeah, I just need a garage and an arcade underneath it. Yeah. You know how we have all those pinball machines sitting in the garage. Exactly. I have no place to put. yeah te Yeah. You know, text me for more marriage tips here.
00:59:40
Speaker
So exactly. Yeah, exactly. That's the new loser kid segment. We're to start doing on on the, the biweekly. It's not just marriage therapy, couples therapy. Yeah. Shower thoughts and marriage therapy with Scott. la Yes.
00:59:54
Speaker
ah Oh my goodness. right. So we're out on predator. I don't mind playing this game. I'm going to play expo. I think I'm excited to play at expo. Like, um i kate i I would be interested to see it. It's not in this version of it. It's not for me. However, I hope they sell enough.
01:00:10
Speaker
yeah You know, there were enough people that that were really in on aliens. So they sold enough on there. When, when they talked to me on the interview, I said it gave me like Richie getaway vibes and like L1 stuff like Jurassic park because of the jungle and like the tower and stuff like that.
01:00:25
Speaker
More and more. I looked at this game. Honestly, this game looks like wide body version of whirlwind. okay If you look at it, I really... so Depending on how they did the geometry, i mean, Worldwind's already fun game.
01:00:37
Speaker
may work. so ah and Really interesting. You want to play before you buy, right? so Exactly. I'm definitely interested in playing this game. That is the motto right now. Like...
01:00:49
Speaker
Yeah, play before it play before you buy. Unless if it's Elwynn. But even then, you probably should play before you buy. I love King Kong. like Seriously, we could do another hour just me talking about yeah this game.
01:01:01
Speaker
I wonder, though. We we talked well google don't talk about this in the chat, though, today. There's still some LEs available, right? so There are. Is this a signal the market's... at the market declining or is this more of a like King Kong with such a random theme as is okay that's all one it's all one but I think I only goes so far though to like Ellen in my opinion is the cream of the cream the cream of the crop right he's the macho man it's It's not Metallica. I'll put it that way. Metallica, you're going to get ah like Metallica has sold hundreds of millions of albums.
01:01:41
Speaker
It is a huge thing. So even people who know nothing about pinball are going to be interested in ah Metallica LE. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. um But with these, I'm also to the point where it probably has reached that saturation point where if you really are invested into the theme, you can get an l LE and say, yes, I want all the bling. I did that on Metallica.
01:02:07
Speaker
Like the theme was great. I knew the game was great. And so I am just like, okay, I'm going to pay for the package, the art package and the complete stuff that I wanted. But with, even with King Kong, I looked at it and i said, you know, actually I like all three art packages.
01:02:22
Speaker
And it's, it's okay. Like I, and really, I made that choice on Godzilla too. I saw the LE art package and I liked the, the premium package. So I, I got, I bought it on that.
01:02:33
Speaker
um It doesn't have the same draw because historically there was that moment where if you bought an LE, you could flip it for a thousand dollars more.
01:02:46
Speaker
So you got the the, you know, you got the, ah you know, the scavengers in there who are just not collectors who are just in it to flip it. But when they could no longer do it, they evaporated. And so you kind of got back to your, like your core, your core group.
01:03:05
Speaker
and And with, you know, attack from Mars, those were available for like a month. Like they didn't sell out immediately. And so's so there's a lot of those games where like, I don't think it's a big deal. If you don't sell them all out, it's fine.
01:03:18
Speaker
Yeah, I agree. and I think, I think what hinders this, and as much as it pains me to say this, I really do think doing kind of the non King Kong thing. But the problem is too, is like, I look at King Kong and there's nothing iconic enough to be like, like, I like Skull Island, but then like, what do you do with Skull Island? Do you do,
01:03:39
Speaker
Samuel Jackson and Tom Hilton. all of a sudden you're starting in these actors that are kind of, it'd be great to have in a game, but. I'm glad they went with King Kong. i I'm glad they went with a nondescript.
01:03:50
Speaker
I'm glad they went with Timeless. I love i love Congo. I love playing Congo. Hippos. This gives me hippos. The music's reminiscent of it. There's hilarious. Okay.
01:04:03
Speaker
If you own a King Kong, is it just me? Is it just me? Are you going to octopus multiball? Is there at some point in time where they quote stepbrothers and they said, keep your tentacles off my stuff.
01:04:15
Speaker
And he says it just like he does in the movie. And I'm like, did I just hear that? i think I wouldn't be surprised. i was Hilarious. Absolutely hilarious. I just, yeah. All right.
01:04:27
Speaker
Quick shout out. Thank you. Pen quest. Thank you for letting us be your guest takeover for the month of June. Nap Arcade's up this month. You better go hit up his league stuff.
01:04:40
Speaker
ah Those that won free swag, congratulations. You fought hard. It's awesome. Did you get you end up winning yourself, Scott? I got myself. i don't own one I can't remember what game we did for you. Was it Mead Evil Madness? Yeah, we did Mead Evil Madness.
01:04:54
Speaker
Okay, the problem I have is that I went on a two-week trip it Like right during the middle of it. And so I was out of the country. So I didn't even play it. And when I come back, this is the problem of being in my field.
01:05:07
Speaker
You get slammed for like 10 days coming back. And so I didn't even, don't think I played medieval madness because I've been so busy and I'm also getting knee surgery tomorrow. So I, I've been trying to to gather some stuff together for that.
01:05:21
Speaker
Gotcha. So yeah, i I didn't get a chance. what i hear I'm sorry. I didn't get a chance to collect myself. I got my own face, but I own a Godzilla too. So yeah, well you could, you could come over and you could collect mine, I guess. Well, we can't do that anymore. i was just, fucking hey you know, I appreciate everybody who gets to look at my ugly mug on your pin quest.
01:05:39
Speaker
So, but thank you. Thank you for everyone that went and did that, that did the league. support pin quest. They're doing amazing stuff. They're doing awesome things. It's free to use a consumer.
01:05:52
Speaker
It's no, if you own these games in your house, you're already having fun with them. Right. Like, and, and it's actually a pretty good thing for an operator too. So i just keep that in mind. Cause it gi does have that have ways of them contacting you. So I, yeah, totally awesome.
01:06:07
Speaker
Scott, anything else before we do the old ah they will wrap up? You know, i I really am excited for Jaws 50. I really want to see it in person. I want to play it. um And man, I need to figure out ways of of increasing my basement so I can get 20 more games down here.
01:06:22
Speaker
Exactly. We're going to turn that into a museum down there. Yeah. to To your own personal arcade. If you want to get a hold of us, we are LoserKidPinballPodcast at gmail.com, at LoserKidPinball, and all the socials on YouTube.
01:06:35
Speaker
Hit subscribe, like, yada, yada, yada. ah or Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, X. Twitter is X. If you caught that, all right. If you want swag, this is not available. The shirt I'm wearing is not available on Super Bowl Swag.
01:06:49
Speaker
This is the Flipping the Script on Autism shirt. And ah I mean, People keep asking, are we ever going to do that again? I don't know. It was a lot of work. It was a lot of work, but you know, I, I appreciated it and I supported, this was your project. I was there to support you and, and it was great.
01:07:06
Speaker
um Maybe, maybe in the future, I thought it was really good. And we were able to raise that money for those, for those families. Cause that's the biggest bridge to get people into treatment. And you're now, okay.
01:07:18
Speaker
Tell us about your kid. your son who actually is in, is in the treatment. Tell ah tell us about him. Grayson's doing amazing, man. He, ah he, so when you're autistic, they, they categorize you one two things. When it comes to school, you're either neurotypical or non neurotypical.
01:07:34
Speaker
So neurotypical means that you would think what the way the average person thinks, right? Not necessarily a bad thing. It's just like, Like two plus two, people equal four. Some people might go, well, one plus one plus one plus one. And like they break down the twos into ones, that still equals four, right?
01:07:51
Speaker
It's the way that you approach a problem. So non-neurotypical approaches things differently, right? The one we would standard. Grayson's been doing so well. It makes us cry that we're having full speech, like full conversations with him because like this is a kid that was nonverbal that we just...
01:08:09
Speaker
We didn't know what to do with him because he just couldn't communicate with us. And full speech is now top of his class for math. Like he's double the score he's supposed to be. He's just doing fantastic. And he's he integrates with everyone else very, very well to the point that ah like we've had him on soccer teams and stuff like that.
01:08:30
Speaker
And he he might have an episode here or there. Autistic kids may have a breakdown because there's sensory overload and stuff like that. We had that once with the soccer team this summer. I scooped him up. We we took him off the field. We told the coach, hey, I think we're done for today.
01:08:44
Speaker
ah I told the coach coach later, like sorry, he's autistic. and He said, he's autistic? I went out of a clue. like he's He's doing what the other kids are doing. and He's doing great. and so ah yeah he's Learning Solutions has done a ton of amazing things for my child. and so i just If you have any andlin inclinations, my suggestion is reach out to your local community and see if if they can help your child. if If you have any inclinations that they may be autistic, the earlier you can get them help, the better they will succeed in life.
01:09:18
Speaker
And so, yeah, I just, I want to thank everyone that made Flipping the Script on on Autism. I know I've said it multiple times. It's been four years since we've been three years since we've done it uh i just it's amazing that the life changes that you guys did for the positive guys and gals out there and i and it's something that's just like i can't believe we did it yeah know what i'm saying like it's just It's almost like, did that really happen?
Autism Support Success
01:09:51
Speaker
We had almost $30,000 raised in less than 12 hours. We had people like Slash from Guns N' Roses and Michael Bay donate stuff to help the cause.
01:10:01
Speaker
We had Mark Silk flying from London to be on our interview with us. And it just, and all the people, Keith Elwin, Roger Sharp, Eric Meniere, just so many great people in this community that are just faces of and like the face of great pinball right now and every blast it it wasn't like there was stern and jersey jack and american all that we were all there for one reason and we all sat down and and it wasn't a fight it wasn't it just it was coming together to help what we could and it was amazing so
01:10:36
Speaker
No, it was great. So I, again, ah amazing thing. And I love hearing about your son, that he he was, a he's able to live a more normal life than he ever would have. He needs routine, but I think all of us need to routine, I think.
01:10:51
Speaker
um But yeah, other than that, it's it's crazy to see he's able to take direction from teachers and stuff like that.
Family & Future Plans
01:10:59
Speaker
Like we never thought he'd take swim lessons. He's in swim lessons for the first time this year and he's loving it and he's understanding how how to do it and uh it just it's not something we would have thought he would have ever done before and just yeah so okay um join us at expo uh i well scott will not be there yeah yeah my yeah my son uh my son's class is actually going to be heading out to dc so i think we're going to be taking them to dc for a quick um patriotic uh tour um i
01:11:33
Speaker
I'm very grateful to live in this country. and It's an amazing country. And even with all the warts that we have, I'd still rather live here than anyone or anywhere else. And so I used to live in DC.
01:11:44
Speaker
It'd be fun to take my kids back to DC and show them some, you know, some of our our patriotic history. So.
Upcoming Events & Closing Thoughts
01:11:52
Speaker
Definitely. So join me at least. I just got my flight tickets today.
01:11:56
Speaker
I've had my hotel for like a year now or whatever it was as soon as they opened up. We do. Rob Burke has asked us to to do a panel. so Oh, that'd be cool. um Yeah. So it sounds like it's been me, Retro Ralph, Jared, and Joel Engelberth.
01:12:13
Speaker
maybe Zach, may many like maybe you should just message him. like just Just do it, Zach. Just do it. yeah But we're doing that. So join us at Expo. Like I said, speaking of Zach.
01:12:24
Speaker
Again, if you're looking for a fun house, doesn't matter if it's the classic edition or the LE $500 off either through flipping out a pinball here in the U S that's discount code loser kid.
01:12:35
Speaker
If you're over in Europe and you're listening to us, you can also get that discount by going directly through prod ready and doing discount code loser kid and their stuff as well. So, uh, I'm excited.
01:12:46
Speaker
Fun house should be here on Monday. That's great. I'm excited. So, uh, Other than that, Patreon hit us up. We appreciate those that support us on Patreon. ah I know that they've been happy with some of the cool stuff we've been able to do behind the scenes with them.
01:12:59
Speaker
um And then, yeah, I think that's it, right? Yeah, I think so. I've done the spill for like 10 minutes now. Okay. All right, give us our last words, Scott. right. Happy 4th of July. And as you know, Amity means friendship.