Episode 234 – Bruce Is Right
-Stern Sales-Costco Dinosaurs-Spelling is Hard-Holding the Cup-End of an Era-Northwest Gold Wings-Mail Ball Bag-Deathball
Kineticist’s take
Stern code delays, failed home editions, and overpriced boutique games frustrate community as manufacturers struggle with licensing and sales.
Synopsis
Ron Hallett and Bruce Nightingale discuss Stern's distribution and code quality challenges, criticizing games like Jaws, John Wick, and Venom for incomplete code states months after release. They debate Stern's Costco Jurassic Park Home Edition pricing ($5k-$6k), arguing it will fail like previous home models. Notable discussions include Jersey Jack's misspelling of Steve Ritchie name in promotional content, Dutch Pinball's DPX (Alice) exclusive game at $20-25k pricing, American Pinball struggling sales with Barry O's Barbecue and delayed Cuphead, and broader frustrations with manufacturer pricing strategies and lack of major IP involvement (e.g., Keanu Reeves for John Wick).
Entities
- American Pinball· company
- Dutch Pinball· company
- Jersey Jack Pinball· company
- Stern Pinball· company
- Barry O's Barbecue Challenge· game
- Blues Brothers· game
- Cuphead· game
- DPX / Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Extreme)· game
- Elton John Pinball· game
- Godzilla 70th Anniversary· game
- Jaws· game
- John Wick· game
- Jurassic Park Home Edition Plus· game
- Munsters· game
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles· game
- Venom· game
- Bruce Nightingale· person
- Carrie Fisher· person
- Dick Hamill· person
- Dwight· person
- John Papaduke· person
- Kerry Hardy· person
- Ron Hallett· person
- Steve Ritchie· person