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LoserKid Pinball Podcast
LoserKid Pinball Podcast
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Ep 72: Expo Recap

PodcastAnalysis updated 4d ago1 hr 26 min listen
From the creator

Scott and Josh give their take on Expo. From Homebrews and Pinball Olympics to the vendor hall and seminars, we cover it all.

Listen on LoserKid Pinball Podcast

Highlights

  • Stern is manufacturing more games per day now than pre-COVID, having become more efficient after COVID shutdowns
  • Stern is doubling their CNC machines for playfields (currently has 2, ordering more)
  • Spike 3 is in development at Stern to keep up with advancing technology
  • Stern's new president Seth Davis has a background in Walt Disney World, ESPN, and subscription-based streaming services
  • The Stern connectivity system allows operators to remotely monitor if machines are functioning and offline
  • Sonic the Hedgehog homebrew designer Ryan McQuaid was able to use primary source assets from Sega because Sonic is 'very, very free with using their intellectual property for hobbyists'
  • Mark Seiden, designer of the Metroid homebrew, was just hired as a primary designer at Jersey Jack Pinball
  • American Pinball announced a challenge (Ron Hallett challenge) to hire or produce selected homebrew machines from Expo presentations

Notable quotes

“Stern is making more games now per day than they were pre-COVID...COVID shut them down for three months...they re-evaluated how they were manufacturing. They were able to cut out some of the dead weight and become more efficient.”
Josh Rupp (citing George Gomez)
“Spike three is in development...technology is moving on and they need to keep up with it.”
Josh Rupp (citing George Gomez)
“I have no idea where it's going to go down in the future. Currently, it's just free. And it could be that in the future, if you want to add something, then it's an optional service.”
Josh Rupp
“He specifically found that Sonic is very, very free with using their intellectual property, their assets for hobbyists.”
Scott Larson (citing Ryan McQuaid)
“That is the best way to do it because...that's exactly how Keith Elwin was when George called.”
Scott Larson
“It was a really solid showing at the show...I thought it was a big step forward for American Pinball.”
Josh Rupp
“This felt very pinball-y to me, but it also felt like a pinball machine and an iPad game fused together.”
Josh Rupp
“Zach is sending some personal parts out of his collection to make sure that this customer gets taken care of because he knows how much this game means to him.”
Josh Rupp

Entities

  • American Pinball· company
  • Flip N Out Pinball· company
  • Jersey Jack Pinball· company
  • Multimorphic (P3)· company
  • Riot Pinball· company
  • Stern Pinball· company
  • Chicago Pinball Expo· event
  • Dave Fix· person
  • Gary Stern· person
  • George Gomez· person
  • Jack Danger· person
  • Jeff Theolis· person
  • Jerry Stellenberg· person
  • Josh Rupp· person
  • Keith Elwin· person
  • Mark Seiden· person
  • Nicole Meny· person
  • Rob Burke· person
  • Ryan McQuaid· person
  • Scott Larson· person
  • Seth Davis· person
  • Steve Bowen· person
  • Zach Meny· person

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