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Episode 58: The Goonies Pinball Leak Everyone Is Talking About!
The Goonies pinball rumors are heating up after a very interesting discovery inside Spooky Pinball’s Beetlejuice code. Did Spooky accidentally leak their next game, or is this just some clever pinball marketing? In this episode of The Flipside, we dig into the Goonies rumors, the latest Beetlejuice momentum, Pokémon pinball drama, connected play, Scorbit, PinAccess, and all the big pinball community buzz from the last couple weeks. If you love pinball news, rumors, hot takes, and community reactions, this one is for you. 🕹️ LOOKING TO BUY A PINBALL MACHINE? Visit Flip N’ Out Pinball for new and used machines: 👉 📣 LEAVE ME A VOICEMAIL I might play it on the show! 🎙️ 🎯 WANT TO COMPETE? Find a tournament near you on the official IFPA calendar: 👉 🎙️ CHECK OUT MY PINBALL PODCAST – “The Flipside” 👉 / @theflipsideretroralph • Spotify: • Apple Podcasts: 👉
Kineticist’s take
Goonies leak, Spooky's future, and pinball design philosophy dominate discussion.
Synopsis
Retro Ralph discusses recent pinball news and industry trends, with a major focus on the Goonies leak discovered in Beetlejuice's source code (a Splash.png file in a Pin Access folder). He explores implications for Spooky Pinball next release, examines Jersey Jack's design philosophy and momentum (especially following Harry Potter success), reflects on game difficulty and design trade-offs (specifically Fall of the Empire), and considers the future of connected pinball technology and its impact on location play versus home collectors.
Highlights
- A Goonies logo (Splash.png file) was found hidden in Beetlejuice's source code within a Pin Access folder
- Jack Winardi made a comment at TPF that designers who make games where players constantly brick are bad designers, and that JJP focuses on good shot geometry and wide ramps to minimize rejection
- Spooky currently manufactures approximately 1,000 games per year and cannot easily expand production capacity without significant capital investment
- Harry Potter had strong initial code quality when released, though JJP has tweaked things quickly
- Fall of the Empire has excellent code by Ray Day but suffers from difficult shot geometry and high rejection rates that limit enjoyment for average players
- Pin Access is Chris Turner technology, and if Spooky is integrating it into Goonies, it suggests partnership for online connectivity and achievement systems
- Jersey Jack is expected to announce Sonic as their next game following Harry Potter and Elton John, with momentum and evidence supporting this rumor
- Stern's Insider Connected is expensive to develop and maintain, including server infrastructure on Amazon AWS, making it costly for boutique manufacturers to develop independently
- Spooky has had two consecutive commercial successes (Evil Dead and Beetlejuice) that have sold out, establishing them as a 'super fan' brand
- The Goonies logo in Beetlejuice's code could have been an Easter egg, accidental, or evidence of Spooky/Pin Access partnership for Goonies development
Entities
- Flippin Out Pinball· company
- Jersey Jack Pinball· company
- Spooky Pinball· company
- Stern Pinball· company
- Pinball Expo· event
- Beetlejuice· game
- Evil Dead· game
- Fall of the Empire· game
- Goonies· game
- Harry Potter· game
- Pokemon· game
- Sonic the Hedgehog· game
- Winchester Mystery House· game
- Chris Turner· person
- Jack Winardi· person
- John Borg· person
- Mark Ritchie· person
- Ray Day· person
- Retro Ralph· person
- Steve Ritchie· person
- The Kineticist· person
- Insider Connected· product
- Pin Access· product
- Pinball Map· service