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We Are Pinball #34 "Mad Jeff tells us what games are hot!"

PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago1 hr 29 min listenBy WAP
From the creator

Listen here to this amazing episode featuring Jeff Cernava from Mad Pinball, The Fresh Pinball podcast, and out hearts!We discuss what games are selling well! How is the pinball market...

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Highlights

  • King Kong LEs sold out within one hour of Mad Pinball's announcement; all additional allocations obtained from Stern also sold out
  • Internet community sentiment (Pinside, social media) often contradicts actual sales data; games heavily criticized online frequently sell out quickly
  • Dune received strong sales response despite being positioned as a non-legacy IP theme, with both home collectors and location operators placing immediate deposits
  • King Kong Premium sales were 'insanely strong' with Mad Pinball having only 2-3 first-run premium spots available as of the podcast recording
  • Stern changed King Kong production strategy to build LEs and then build Pros and Premiums in tandem (simultaneous) rather than sequentially
  • Barrels of Fun announced 1,000 units of Dune with a goal to complete the run within 12 months
  • Chicago Gaming Company does not respond to emails efficiently, making it difficult for Mad Pinball to secure a distributor contract
  • Spooky Pinball declined additional distributor relationships, stating they cannot produce games fast enough to justify adding more distributors
  • Mad Pinball customer base is not primarily composed of hardcore Pinside users; many customers don't engage with pinball forums or social media communities
  • Barrels of Fun changed allocation strategy between Labyrinth and Dune from first-come-first-served order queue to volume-based priority system similar to Stern

Notable quotes

“What the Internet says and what the sales say are not always the same.”
Genghis
“Within an hour, we had all of our LEs. Within an hour of announcement, all of our LEs were spoken for.”
Jeff Cernava
“We cannot even produce games fast enough, so we don't need another distro.”
Jeff Cernava (reporting Spooky's position)
“That list for us filled up quickly with deposits. We went back to Stern and said, hey, can we get a few more?”
Jeff Cernava
“I think there's this Godzilla pinball machine coming...How as a normal human being do I get this commercial equipment into my house?”
Jeff Cernava
“Dune enthusiasts, huh? Yeah, the Dune enthusiasts, I was surprised and pleasantly surprised.”
Jeff Cernava
“It's not My Little Ponies. It's not Matrix. It's not Harry Potter. It's not one of these ones where people are just going bananas for something.”
Jeff Cernava
“We're going to build them in tandem. We're going to build them together, which I think then gave the consumers the real opportunity to not look at it and go, well, if I want to get it first, I have to get this.”
Jeff Cernava
“All we do is what I expect whenever I'm making a purchase of this magnitude...people are forking over, in some cases, $15,000, like they should be able to get ahold of you.”
Jeff Cernava
“I have a Keith Elwin list. I literally have a list of customers that say every time there's an Elwin game, I take it sight on scene.”
Jeff Cernava

Entities

  • American Pinball· company
  • Barrels of Fun· company
  • Chicago Gaming Company· company
  • Cointaker· company
  • Hexa Pinball· company
  • Jersey Jack Pinball· company
  • Mad Pinball· company
  • Pinball Brothers· company
  • Spooky Pinball· company
  • Stern Pinball· company
  • Dune· game
  • Godzilla· game
  • King Kong· game
  • Fresh Pinball Podcast· organization
  • We Are Pinball· organization
  • Brian Savage· person
  • Colin/Kineticist· person
  • Corbin Angeli· person
  • David Van Ness· person
  • Don/Donald Garrison· person
  • Genghis· person
  • Jason Knapp· person
  • Jeff Cernava· person
  • Keith Elwin· person
  • Wiktopper· product

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