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The Flipside Pinball Podcast
The Flipside Pinball Podcast
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Episode 46: Can Spooky Pinball catch lightning in a bottle twice w/ Beetlejuice?

PodcastAnalysis updated yesterday1 hr 29 min listen
From the creator

In this special LIVE episode of The FlipSide Podcast, we’re diving into everything happening in pinball right now, the big reveals, the rumors, and your live questions! 🍻 There will be drinks, so...

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Highlights

  • Evil Dead succeeded not primarily because of its theme but because of exceptional theme integration, understandable code design, and high-quality callouts that work for both new and experienced players
  • Beetlejuice is already sold out before an official trailer/announcement, creating day-one sellout status and potential value retention issues that have been absent from pinball for a while
  • Stern released Walking Dead remaster gameplay on the same day Spooky launched Beetlejuice, which Retro Ralph views as potentially a strategic mistake if Stern is trying not to appear threatened
  • Christopher Franchi artwork on Beetlejuice has been praised by early viewers as capturing the theme exceptionally well, similar to his work on Evil Dead
  • Spooky Pinball games have been considered 'brick fests' (reliability issues) historically, which is a concern for Beetlejuice despite the hype
  • Harry Potter is their breakout game that has given them their own 'Spooky moment,' with the next JJP title potentially being Sonic the Hedgehog designed by Steve Ritchie
  • Beetlejuice is the only game in history to sell out before the title was officially announced
  • Retro Ralph would buy a Back to the Future pinball machine sight unseen based on theme alone

Notable quotes

“The callouts on that game that they did are so good and the way that they simplified, they didn't say, I don't know, simplify is maybe not a good word to use. The code is so understandable and then they also added really good callouts and I feel like that's a little bit absent from pinball.”
Retro Ralph
“So what could they do now? Now, it also puts a lot of pressure on Spooky because this week has to be good. Like this thing that we're gonna all see in, I dunno, less than 48 hours better be awesome because we all have these ultra high expectations.”
Retro Ralph
“I don't know if I worked at Stern if I was in the marketing department if they asked me should we do the Walking Dead remaster gameplay the same day that Spooky's launching their game I would say don't only because from a strategic move it would be a strategic move to say hey if we do that then it kind of looks like we might be threatened by what Spooky's doing”
Retro Ralph
“I think after Evil Dead, that just fired them up. And this is my impression of it. I don't have any insider knowledge. I really think it fired them up because they're like, holy shit, like we did it. And I think that made them go, we're going to do it again.”
Retro Ralph
“I think Spooky's really going to deliver... I think that fired them up because they're like, holy shit, like we did it.”
Retro Ralph
“I think with Harry Potter, they dropped a game that a lot of generations could be into, and if the next one really is Sonic the Hedgehog, I I think that's going to be huge because that hits my demographic.”
Retro Ralph

Entities

  • Electric Bat Arcade· company
  • Jersey Jack Pinball· company
  • Spooky Pinball· company
  • Stern Pinball· company
  • Amusement Expo International· event
  • Pinball Expo· event
  • Avatar· game
  • Beetlejuice· game
  • Elton John· game
  • Evil Dead· game
  • Harry Potter· game
  • Jim Henson's Labyrinth· game
  • Jurassic Park· game
  • Sonic the Hedgehog· game
  • Walking Dead· game
  • Bug· person
  • Cary Hardy· person
  • Christopher Franchi· person
  • Jack Danger· person
  • Mason· person
  • Retro Ralph· person
  • Steve Ritchie· person

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