121 episodes tracked since 2023 about →
Episode 48 - Insider Connected
PodcastAnalysis updated 3d ago58 min listen
Highlights
- Stern Insider Connected has been included on every game released since Godzilla (2021)
- Retrofit kits for Insider Connected cost approximately $200 and are compatible with all Spike 2 games (25+ games) including Batman 66 and later
- Stern has not monetized Insider Connected beyond using it as a selling point for new games
- Some Stern games from before the IC era (e.g., Elton John) cannot log into Insider Connected
- Insider Connected leaderboards only show scores from logged-in players, not the true all-time machine high scores
- Revenge of Comics and Pinball uses Insider Connected leaderboards as a promotional tool with prize incentives
- Stern hired a Disney+ executive, causing community speculation about potential subscription monetization
- Account creation for Insider Connected has friction points including email confirmation requirements that confuse new players
Notable quotes
“I like using it because I myself am competitive... I'm competitive primarily with myself... I don't get any enjoyment doing that in front of human beings. I think that's really rude.”
“It's like an indirect selling point they're not like hey we're going to charge you for this thing it's like hey this is why you're going to think our new games are sick”
“the reason why I don't have them up at Wedge is because it's not the real scores. And that will always fucking bother me.”
“We're spoiled that they're on the same friggin street like we're i remind our community all the time i'm constantly telling la players we're spoiled”
“Do I have a solution for it? Absolutely not. Uh, but I'm still going to describe it.”
Entities
- Batman 66· game
- Black Knight Sword of Rage· game
- Elton John· game
- Godzilla· game
- Venom· game
- Revenge of Comics and Pinball· organization
- Waltz Bar· organization
- Wedgehead· organization
- Alan· person
- Alex / the Waterboy· person
- George Gomez· person
- Tyler Jerome White / Pinball Jesus· person
- Scorebit· product
- Spike 2· product
- Stern Insider Connected· product
