This Week in Pinball
Posts
THIS WEEK IN PINBALL: June 29th, 2020 – TMNT Production and Shipping

THIS WEEK IN PINBALL: June 29th, 2020 – TMNT Production and Shipping

— QUICK HITS —

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Production, Unboxings

As arcades across the country are re-opening at limited capacities, we’re seeing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Pro Models showing up and being introduced to the world!

Marco After Hours with Zombie Yeti

Our friends at Marco Specialties hosted a stream with Zombie Yeti last week! Zombie Yeti (aka Jeremy Packer) was joined by his daughter Hailey on the stream and they discussed how he works, his daughter’s involvement with TMNT and possibly more involvement in pinball in the future (check out her instagram of her artwork here!), which machine he worked on that he is most proud of, how long he worked on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, his work order and why he works on the pro model artwork first, talks about Jack Black being an inspiration for Krang and much more – check it out!!

Marco PinTech Live with Mike Vinikour and Elliot Eismin

Marco Specialties hosted a stream with Mike Vinikour and Elliot Eismin – check it out!!

Unboxings from Dead Flip and Straight Down the Middle

Both the guys at Straight Down the Middle and Jack Danger at Dead Flip did unboxings and gameplay of TMNT last week – check them out!

Limited Edition Models on the Line

Our friends at Stern Pinball also shared an image on Facebook showing Limited Edition models on the production line!

Pinball Profile: Interview with Keith Johnson

Last week our friends at Pinball Profile were joined by Keith Johnson, the Director of Software at Jersey Jack Pinball – here are just a few highlights!

On what the software folks at JJP are working on:

We’ve been trying to split our time up into getting the next [game ready] and working on some additional stuff. And some of the stuff people know about already like the beta tests we’re running for downloading updates on your game. So we have a lot of stuff on our plate.

On the final wizard mode for Pirates of the Caribbean and the rules on their next game:

I’ve started the [POTC final wizard] mode and have been working on it on and off. But right now, all of my time is spent on the next game and other stuff that we as a company have priorities to do – that obviously we can’t talk about…we’re always trying to our stuff better, always trying to make it do more, always trying to add more value to our games.

On Co-Op mode possibly coming to JJP machines:

I’ve talked with Scott Danesi about Co-Op mode and stuff like that a couple times now…and I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m committing to putting it in…our system at some point. I don’t know when we’ll get to it but it will probably happen…but I’m guessing most of the time it won’t be something you can do right away…we don’t want to encourage people to play it and get to the end of the game right away…might be one of those things that we release at a later date.

If you go back to TimeShock, the video pinball game, they actually have a mode in there like [Co-Op mode] where you share progress between all the players…in Time Shock they called it Cut Throat or something like that because whereas you shared progress between all the players, everyone’s score was individual. So if someone left multiball lit, then the next player comes up [they can] collect multiball and get all the points for multiball. We would probably do something where we offer you both of those styles of play – one score for four people or individual scores.

On rules on the new game:

Every game that you do, you don’t want it to be largely the same as something you’ve done in the past – at least I don’t…you want to give people a new experience…it has been our goal to give people a very different experience in our next game for sure. So hopefully people will like what we’ve done and get a kick out of it and it will be entertaining for a long period of time.

He also talks about working from home and Zoom meetings, how the team at JJP looks into and collaborates on the rules of the game, talks about online forums and RGP and how much of an impact that had on his life, talks about the rules on Pirates of the Caribbean, talks about Karl DeAngelo, talks about the action button, talks about video modes, talks about their new facility in Elk Grove Village, why he thinks Wizard of Oz is LOTR 2.0 from a rules perspective, talks about World Poker Tour, and much more!

Check out the full episode here!!

Buffalo Pinball: Heads Up Battle with JJP’s Eric Meunier

Our friends at Buffalo Pinball had Heads-Up battle last week between Buffalo Pinball’s McSirTuna and Jersey Jack Pinball’s Eric Meunier – check it out!!

Multimorphic Real Time Internet Connected Head to Head Pinball

Our friends at Multimorphic hosted a stream of real-time internet-connected head-to-head pinball on Cosmic Cart Racing last week – check out the video below!!

Silverball Chronicles: Stepping on Rakes: Gottlieb System 1

Last week David and Ron from the Silverball Chronicles released their latest episode which covers Gottlieb System 1 – check out the episode here!!

Monster Bash Tutorial in Four Minutes

Our friends at Pinball Mods Brasil released their latest tutorial video for Monster Bash – check it out!!

Kaneda’s Pinball Podcast Ends

Last week Kaneda’s Pinball Podcast announced that the podcast is done. All the past episodes were set to private and the Kaneda Facebook page has been deleted.

This Week in Pinball reached out to Kaneda for a comment, and he shared the following:

Dear Pinball Fans,

After covering this hobby for so many years, I’ve discovered the greatest thing about it isn’t even the pinball, it’s the people. Maybe that’s because most NIB games are mediocre at best and you know it

All of you are far more interesting and dynamic than the games themselves. My show was never about the games, it was a commentary about the people. The people who made the machines, the people who bought the machines, and those so obsessed they’d talk about pinball everyday online. It’s good to be obsessed about something. I’ve always felt the loneliest people have no hobbies.

I’ve made many mistakes along my pinball journey. Things I regret saying. Actions I regret doing. I have my flaws. To anyone I’ve offended, I’m sorry. I’m a never-ending work in progress. And to those of you who could only see my flaws, I also am very sorry, because you missed one hell of a good time.

I’m so happy I got the chance to entertain so many of you. Your commutes to work and mowing the lawn will never be the same! There are so many things about doing the show I will miss, but I will always look back on it with pride.

The final piece of advice I’ll give everyone is this: never care what anyone else says about you or the things you love. Find what makes you happy and hold onto it, yes, even if it’s an Oktoberfest.

Be good to each other and don’t forget to vote for me in the TWIPYs. That would be such an amazing way for all of my fans to have the last word

Love Kaneda