The Great British Pinball Podcas Episode 25 - Is pinball in a panic?
Podcast
The Great British Pinball Podcast
1 hr 32 min
Summary
Pinball industry struggles with launch execution quality across recent major releases despite strong game design.
Neil McRae and Scott Rundell discuss whether the pinball industry is in panic mode following recent major game releases (Evil Dead, Kong, Dune, Harry Potter, Predator, I Ain't Got Time to Bleed). They analyze launch execution quality, licensing complications, marketing failures, and code issues, crediting Spooky for a flawless Evil Dead launch while criticizing other manufacturers for poor planning, leaked assets, and complacency in product release strategies.
Highlights
- Evil Dead by Spooky Pinball launched with no drama, no reliability issues, and no AI art
- Predator gameplay video was leaked by a distributor and was never meant to be publicly released at that stage
- Pinball Brothers marketing person responsible for initial video leak (uploaded then unlisted instead of private) has faced backlash from the community
- Predator stand-up targets are improved over Alien's problematic versions which had metal that bent easily and snapped after hits
- Harry Potter artwork still has problems and did not come with proper film assets at launch
- Evil Dead experienced a coil failure and blown MOSFET after heavy play but Spooky sent replacement parts within 48 hours
- Stern's decision to use unlicensed Kong IP was driven by licensing difficulties with major licensors becoming increasingly difficult to work with
- X-Men playfield design by Jack Danger will be considered an all-time classic
- Stern code quality on Kong/X-Men is difficult to defend currently and Jack Danger has publicly criticized it
- Stern relies on the same voice actor for call-outs across multiple games since at least Jurassic Park, limiting variation
Send us Fan Mail Scott and Neil debate the recent pinball launches and ask the question is pinball in a panic?
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