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LoserKid Pinball Podcast
LoserKid Pinball Podcast
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Episode 10: Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown with Dan Nikolich

PodcastAnalysis updated yesterday1 hr 20 min listen
From the creator

In Episode 10, we sit down with Dan Nikolich and talk all things Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown! After the interview we talk Flip N Out pinball stream and the results of the Aquabats pinball theme

Listen on LoserKid Pinball Podcast

Highlights

  • Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown was founded in 2003 and will be its 16th year at the upcoming event
  • The show features approximately 300 pinball games queued for the upcoming weekend event
  • Colorado has a disproportionately large collector base and home pinball scene compared to surrounding states
  • Dan Nikolich operates approximately 25 pinball games on location at one venue near the show, plus 12-15 games in home collection
  • Colorado Pinball Pub bar arcade will open by end of summer 2024
  • Celebrity Sports Center, a Disney-owned 75,000 sq ft bowling/arcade facility that closed in the 1990s, may have contributed to Colorado's strong pinball culture
  • Manufacturers increasingly favor direct streaming and Comic-Con style announcements over festival launches
  • Game Exchange is the local Stern distributor for Colorado and major supporter of the show

Notable quotes

“The community is really what makes the show special because they are the kind of the heart of the show. They bring games, they do things, they set up things, they help us with ideas.”
Dan Nikolich
“We were around in 2003 when there was only Stern, and pinball was always one game away from being all done... I think that this is a great time right now in the industry.”
Dan Nikolich
“I think 10 years from now, I don't think we're done on the top of the pile yet. I think we're probably, I see pinball is going to keep growing for at least another five, six years before, you know, unless we have some sort of terrible economic downturn.”
Dan Nikolich
“It's my favorite part of the show is we'll have kids that come up that used to come to the show as, you know, seven to 10 year olds and their parents brought them. And they come back now as adults because they love pinball.”
Dan Nikolich
“There is a pathology involved in this sort of devotion.”
Podcast host (Joshua/Scott)
“We're marketing specifically to the public that enjoy pinball. So we have thousands of people that are there to play pinball. So what better place to put your pinball machine out and have people play it than festivals like that?”
Dan Nikolich
“I have quite a few games, but I also have some games on location, too. So part of my other craziness is I operate some games out, kind of a hobby operator.”
Dan Nikolich
“We have an EM workshop that's happening all weekend where you can go and take classes and learn how to fix games and read schematics and do all of that.”
Dan Nikolich

Entities

  • American Pinball· company
  • Chicago Gaming· company
  • Game Exchange· company
  • Jersey Jack Pinball· company
  • Stern Pinball· company
  • Blizzard Mountain· company/venue
  • Lion Spring Classic· event
  • Rocky Mountain Pinball Showdown· event
  • LoserKid Pinball Podcast· organization
  • Dan Nikolich· person
  • David Thiel· person
  • Dennis (Eclectic Gamers)· person
  • Don· person
  • Jeff· person
  • Joe Balcer· person
  • Scott Larson· person
  • Scott Wickberg· person
  • Steve Ritchie· person
  • Colorado Pinball Pub· product/venue
  • Celebrity Sports Center· venue

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