Skip to content
Pinball Profile
Pinball Profile
200 episodes tracked since 2020 about →
Copied!

Episode 388: A FIXer Upper

PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago31 min listen
From the creator

Is American Pinball up for sale? Who are the new hires? When is the next machine coming? All these questions and more are answered by American Pinball's Director of Operations and Marketing, David...

Listen on Pinball Profile

Highlights

  • American Pinball is not for sale and is looking to bring in investors but has rejected unsuitable offers
  • American Pinball developed new circuit boards compatible with all legacy machines dating back to Houdini (P-Rock system)
  • American Pinball hit 300 machines produced in 2023, the most the company has ever made in a single year
  • Major IP licenses require substantial upfront 'dead money' payments before development begins, with Hot Wheels example suggesting costs in the $750k-$1M+ range
  • American Pinball self-graded as 'C' for 2023 performance, citing service and execution gaps despite production success
  • A new spring 2024 game release is coming, featuring the new Ametron boards
  • Deep Root Pinball previously approached American Pinball about manufacturing their games or selling parts/rights before dissolving
  • Maurice Smith was hired from Galloping Ghost arcade as a service technician; Lloyd Olson from S&S Billiards also hired as tech service staff

Notable quotes

“American Pinball is not for sale. We are fine. We're doing very well. In fact, we're excited about this coming year.”
David Fix
“I developed a board that I can now, let's say if I have Hot Wheels, which I do own a Hot Wheels, one of the first ones, and if the boards, the MPU board or the driver board ever crap out and I can't get them anymore, which they're readily available still, I can literally buy them from American Pinball, swap out the boards, and put the new code in on my game, and I can play that game still.”
David Fix
“We call it dead money because we have to pay that before we start. You're already starting in the hole, right? And then you have to work with the IP and get your approvals and disapprovals and all that other stuff.”
David Fix
“I'm a pinball collector first, a big fan. I have a ton of machines myself. I mean, everything for pinball is good, you know. I mean, more machines in the industry, more creative aspects.”
David Fix
“The 300 was just basically the challenge to the production staff to hit a number and make the most amount of games that American Pinball has ever made in one year to date.”
David Fix
“These boards, when you're watching the stream last night, you realize after the fact, new boards. But these boards have been out in location, haven't they? Yes. Yeah, they have been in location.”
David Fix / Jeff Teolis
“If they play American, they play Spooky, they play Stern, they play JJB, it's, again, for the love of the game, right? They're playing pinball.”
David Fix

Entities

  • American Pinball· company
  • Ametron Systems· company
  • Deep Root Pinball· company
  • Galloping Ghost Arcade· company
  • Jersey Jack Pinball· company
  • Mattel· company
  • S&S Billiards· company
  • Spooky Pinball· company
  • Stern Pinball· company
  • Illinois State Championship· event
  • Pinball Expo· event
  • The Beast· event
  • Galactic Tank Force· game
  • Hot Wheels· game
  • Houdini· game
  • Internet Pinball Database (IPDB)· organization
  • Chris Franchi· person
  • David Fix· person
  • Jeff Teolis· person
  • Lloyd Olson· person
  • Maurice Smith· person
  • Mukesh· person
  • Rob Burke· person

More from Pinball Profile

→ All content from Pinball Profile
Pinball ProfilePodcast1w ago

Episode 439: Emily Reilhan

30 min listen

Talk about a banner year…and it’s only June! Emily has won everything under the sun so far in 2026 as you’ll hear, including the Women’s World Championship, the WNACS, the first ever Women’s...

Contact us about this coverage