Episode 4: March '23 "Here is all the pinball news for the year" - October '23 "Hold my beer!"

UK pinball hosts discuss October 2023's massive game announcements and UK Open tournament success amid industry-wide market headwinds.

Synopsis

Scott Rundle and Neil McRae discuss a record-breaking month in pinball (October 2023) featuring major game announcements including Venom, Labyrinth, Alien/Ripley, Elton John, and David Bowie. They explore Venom's accessible design philosophy, Stern's code update strategy and Insider Connected stability issues, the UK Open tournament's international success, and market challenges affecting game sales.

Highlights

• Venom is the worst-selling Stern game they have seen, driven by multiple market factors rather than a single cause
• Stern has released significant code updates to James Bond, Jurassic Park, and Stranger Things that dramatically improve gameplay quality
• All Stern games at the UK Open exhibited rebooting issues during the tournament weekend related to Insider Connected networking code
• The UK Open tournament attracted over 60% of the top 20 WPPR-ranked players, making it the top eighth tournament by championship points value
• Guardians of the Galaxy launched without music at IAAPA, which was a critical flaw given the game's music-centered theme
• Venom is designed specifically for casual/low-skill players who love pinball but struggle with technical difficulty
• Stranger Things sold poorly despite being a high-quality game with strong theming and music
• Insider Connected's reliability has nosedived since implementation, with games experiencing frequent reboots on Wi-Fi connections

Entities

• Stern Pinball· company
• IAAPA· event
• Texas Pinball Festival· event
• UK Open· event
• Guardians of the Galaxy· game
• James Bond· game
• Jurassic Park· game
• Stranger Things· game
• Venom· game
• Pinball Republic· organization
• Brian Eddy· person
• Carlos de la Serla· person
• Craig Coolan· person
• Daniel Acciari· person
• Kaylee George· person
• Keith Elwin· person
• Kishore· person
• Mark· person
• Neil McRae· person
• Ray Day· person
• Roberto Pedrosa· person
• Scott Rundle· person
• Insider Connected· product