Pinball News & Pinball Magazine PINcast

By Martin Ayub, Jonathan JoostenLeisure Games

Pinball News & Pinball Magazine PINcast episodes

March 03, 2025 Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast February 2025 recap
After last month’s mammoth 3-hour special, Jonathan from Pinball Magazine and Martin from Pinball News are back with a more regular-length episode to bring you all the exciting news from the industry through the month of February in their new Pinball Industry News PINcast.The plans by American Pinball’s parent company, Aimtron, to change direction were discussed at length last month. This month those plans solidified with the formation of Funsup, a new contract manufacturing company. Hear what that could mean for pinball production in the US with the ever-present threat of import tariffs.Contract manufacturing isn’t always a pathway to success, as Dutch Pinball found out. However, more than ten years after they first presented the game, the final The Big Lebowski has rolled off the production line.Dutch Pinball can now focus on their next title, but they aren’t the only company building a game based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland book. Wonderland Amusements launch their Kickstarter campaign this month for Alice Goes To Wonderland with the latest look at the full artwork package. Will their plans disappear down the rabbit hole, or will they be grinning like the Cheshire Cat? Stern Pinball have been busy exhibiting at toy and magic shows, but they also found time to announce a new range of John Wick accessories, launch over a hundred new Insider Connected achievements and release new code, although it wasn’t necessarily the big update some game owners were hoping for.There are production updates from Multimorphic, Barrels of Fun, Turner Pinball and Chicago Gaming, as well as all the latest in the Deeproot criminal and civil prosecutions.Johnathan and Martin also look back on the first Pinball at the Beach show and ahead to this month’s Texas Pinball Festival where they will be hosting their popular So You Think You Know Pinball? free prize quiz on the Saturday at 5pm.So, come and join them there to walk away with lots of great prizes, and make sure you grab this latest Pinball Industry News PINcast right now from your favourite podcast supplier. You’ll also find it on YouTube and YouTube Music, or you can get it direct from Spotify on the link above, and don’t forget you can also subscribe to the PINcast for free to guarantee you get the freshest episode every month the very moment it is released.With so much happening in the pinball industry right now and lots more excitement coming up, join Jonathan and Martin each month to guarantee you don’t miss any of it. After all, it’s the podcast the pinball industry listens to.
1 hr 22 min
February 04, 2025 Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast January 2025 recap
2025 really started with a bang with a new game reveal by one company and big changes at another, while the show season got off to a flying start in both the US and the UK. So, Jonathan from Pinball Magazine and Martin from Pinball News are back to bring you all the exciting news from the industry throughout the month of January in their Pinball Industry News PINcast.
Last month’s PINcast anticipated the reveal of Stern Pinball’s first new release of the year, and sure enough Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye duly launched, with public premieres soon after at CES in Las Vegas and EAG Expo in London.
Jonathan and Martin were at EAG to play it, but they also got to sit down with Gary Stern, John Buscaglia and Doug Skor from Stern Pinball to talk about the new game, the latest news from the company as well as the state of the wider industry, while Gary also shared his cooking tips.
Big changes at American Pinball where their EVP David Fix is one of many staff no longer working there as the owners look to transition the company into a contract manufacturer. Whith hardly anyone left, what does are the prospects for their seventh title which is ready to launch?
To find out, the duo speak to David Fix about his departure and those of his fellow employees, while exploring the convoluted way American Pinball has been managed in recent years, where the business is now, and which of their many development projects might yet see the light of day.
One feature being newly integrated into one American Pinball game is the Scorbit scores and achievements tracking system. But they aren’t the only ones adding Scorbit, as Pedretti Pinball announce it will also feature in the next code update to their Funhouse Remake game.
Speaking of which, there are lots of new code updates this month, including Jersey Jack Pinball’s Avatar: The Battle for Pandora reaching feature-complete v1.00 status and Spooky Pinball’s Looney Tunes getting its new wizard mode.
Plus, there is news of a Customer Referral Program from Multimorphic which could save $1,000s on a new P3 game, the opportunity to get a Toy Story 4 game with a $2,000 discount, the latest updates on the two Alice in Wonderland titles in development, and a hands-on review of Homepin’s The Blues Brothers game.
There’s also a look at the potential impact of trade tariffs being imposed by the US and the resulting retaliatory action, as well as sad news of the passing of a prolific and popular pinball voice artist whose talents you are almost certain to have enjoyed.
So, make sure you grab this latest Pinball Industry News PINcast right now from your favourite podcast supplier, find it on YouTube and YouTube Music, or get it direct from Spotify on the link above, and don’t forget you can also subscribe to the PINcast for free to guarantee you get the freshest episode every month the very moment it is released.
With so much happening in the pinball industry right now, make sure you join Jonathan and Martin each month to guarantee you don’t miss any of it. After all, it’s the podcast the pinball industry listens to.
3 hr 28 min
January 03, 2025 Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast December 2024 recap
The start of 2025 sees the Pinball Industry News PINcast embark on its eighth year of bringing you all the exciting news from across the wonderful world of pinball. In this latest episode, Jonathan from Pinball Magazine and Martin from Pinball News look back at the events throughout December as well as the first couple of days of January.
Stern Pinball launch their latest cornerstone game, Dungeons & Dragons: The Tyrant’s Eye, while at the same time locking away a bunch of their popular titles in the vault for a minimum of two years. There’s also news on the Stern Pinball Cup race series as well as a fix kit for one of their recent releases.
Jersey Jack Pinball have been teasing their much-anticipated Harry Potter game, but there is a big price cut available on one of their previous titles, although only for a limited time. Meanwhile, owners of another JJP title finally gets their wizard mode added after years of waiting.
There’s more teasing over at Pedretti Pinball where there might be clues to be found about their next remake title. Buyers of the earlier Funhouse 2.0 kit haven’t been forgotten about either, with a new kit available to add a much-requested feature.
There are sales and production updates from Spooky Pinball, Chicago Gaming, Multimorphic and Turner Pinball, while over at American Pinball there’s much uncertainty about future plans for the company with several key employees having been laid-off.
No such worries at Vector Pinball as a new machine in their Aussie Icons series is launched, while Barrels of Fun’s Barrel Ball gameplay mode gains a new (although somewhat familiar) voice.
There’s much more news from Homepin, Pinball Adventures, Pinball Brothers, Dutch Pinball Exclusive, Hexa Pinball, Wonderland Amusements and TiltBob Pinball, along with the latest developments in the ongoing Deeproot civil and criminal prosecutions and also a look ahead to January’s EAG Expo show in London.
So, make sure you grab this latest Pinball Industry News PINcast right now from your favourite podcast supplier, find it on YouTube and YouTube Music, or get it direct from Spotify on the link above, and don’t forget you can also subscribe to the PINcast for free to guarantee you get the freshest episode every month the very moment it is released into the wild.
As you’ll hear, there is so much happening in the pinball industry right now, so make sure you join Jonathan and Martin each month to make sure you don’t miss any of it. After all, it’s the podcast the pinball industry listens to.
1 hr 48 min
December 03, 2024 Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast November 2024 recap
It’s the final show of 2024 and Jonathan from Pinball Magazine and Martin from Pinball News have a lot of exciting news to bring you from the right across the pinball world throughout November in the latest edition of their Pinball Industry News PINcast.
There’s a new game launch as Spooky Pinball announce their latest title, Evil Dead, which boasts assets from both the first two movies as well as custom speech from the lead actor, all crammed into a widebody, multi-mech, richly-artworked cabinet.
If the prospect of getting one of the 888 Collector’s Edition machines not enough to rattle your chains, you can also get a striking animated topper.
After dipping their toe in the redemption pool ten years ago, Jersey Jack Pinball have made a big splash with their new Pinball XP redemption pinball system for larger family entertainment centres (FECs).
It’s an impressive-looking showcase for JJP’s games and an excellent way to boost your redemption card’s value while having fun playing pinball.
To find out more, Jonathan and Martin call up Jersey Jack himself, Jack Guarnieri, who is in Australia for the Melbourne Pinball Expo from where he explains how Pinball XP works and what those at the company are hoping to achieve with it.
November means Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and this year there were loads of exciting deals on entire games, pinball parts and company merchandise.
American Pinball had the greatest discounts with up to $3,000 off their top-end titles. There were plenty of savings on other models too, swiftly followed by 30% off parts and merchandise. Jersey Jack Pinball were in on the Black Friday fun too, with $1,000 off some of their titles, while Hexa Pinball in France took €500 off both models of their Space Hunt game.
Hexa Pinball also announced a significant investment in their company from a very different games company. Who are they and what might that mean for future sales and future titles?
Not wanting to miss out, Stern Pinball offered free domestic shipping on their parts and merchandise, while announcing a whole bunch of new merch and add-ons for their most recent titles.
The PINcast duo also looks back on the events before, during and after the Dutch Pinball Open Expo which took place at the start of the month, and also look ahead to Stern’s upcoming Insider Connected Pinball Cup season of races which where the starting gun is about to be fired.
There’s much more news from all the pinball companies in November’s PINcast, as well as the latest update on the Deeproot saga as the accusations swing from civil to criminal.
You can grab November's PINcast right now from your favourite podcast supplier, find it on YouTube and YouTube Music, or get it direct from Spotify on the link above, and don’t forget you can also subscribe to the PINcast for free to guarantee you get the freshest episode every month the very moment it is released into the wild.
As you can see, there is so much happening in the pinball industry right now and coming up very soon, so make sure you join Jonathan and Martin each month to ensure you don’t miss any of it.
1 hr 57 min
November 04, 2024 Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast October 2024 recap
This month’s PINcast comes from the Dutch Pinball Open Expo and marks a unique moment as, for the first time ever, Jonathan from Pinball Magazine and Martin from Pinball News present their monthly Pinball Industry News PINcast while actually together at the same desk.
Plus, they bring in two special guests, with David van Es from Barrels of Fun and Daniel Janson from Pinball Brothers, both of whom have some exciting news to share. However, as you’ll hear, not everything went entirely to plan.
October’s Pinball Industry News largely revolved around the 40th anniversary Pinball Expo, the manufacturers stands, their seminar presentations and their factory tours.
Dutch Pinball Exclusive, having revealed their Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland title earlier in the month, premiered the now sold-out game at Pinball Expo with three machines on their stand for guests to play, and also held a seminar about the making of the game.
Meanwhile, Stern Pinball, off the back of announcing their The Uncanny X-Men brought out another new title with Metallica Remastered – an updated and enhanced version of their 2013 Metallica game. They premiered this on their Pinball Expo factory tour and then brought it to their stand at the show, along with a seminar by the game’s designer John Borg.
There were multiple talks at Pinball Expo from the pinball makers explaining how they created their latest releases, including Avatar: The Battle for Pandora, The Uncanny X-Men, John Wick and Jaws, along with tours of Stern Pinball, Jersey Jack Pinball, American Pinball and Chicago Gaming.
Naturally, Jonathan and Martin were both there to report on the excitement and bring you video recordings of the key seminars.
Then, a fortnight later, they reunited in Veldhoven in the Netherlands for the 25th anniversary Dutch Pinball Open Expo from where they recorded this latest October 2024 edition of the Pinball Magazine and Pinball News PINcast – the podcast the pinball industry listens to.
Unfortunately, without access to their normal recording equipment, the quality of the sound isn’t up to their usual standard, but they hope you can bear with them for this one-off special recording.
You can grab it right now from your favourite podcast supplier, find it on YouTube and YouTube Music, or get it direct from Spotify on the link above, and don’t forget you can also subscribe to the PINcast to guarantee you get the freshest episode every month the very moment it is published.
As you’ll hear, there is so much happening in the pinball industry right now and coming up very soon, so make sure you join Jonathan and Martin each month to ensure you don’t miss any of it.
1 hr 55 min
October 02, 2024 Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast September 2024 recap
Can you believe it’s already the start of another new month? The good news is that a new month means a new Pinball Industry News PINcast with Jonathan Joosten from Pinball Magazine and Martin Ayub from Pinball News.
Having covered the first few days of the month in the previous PINcast, the duo look back on all the excitement from the pinball world throughout the remainder of September.
After numerous teases, Jersey Jack Pinball finally announced their tenth game with the launch of Avatar: The Battle for Pandora.
Featuring six flippers, three under-playfield areas and numerous wireforms criss-crossing the playfield, perhaps the greatest innovation is the use of UV-reactive ink across the playfield, plastics, inserts and sculpts.
There’s also a first-time pinball artist who created the playfield, cabinet and backbox art package, as well as a musician who composed the music for his first ever production pinball.
To find out much more about them and the rest of the game, Jonathan and Martin are joined by the game’s designer, Mark Seiden.
Having launched their latest title just a few days earlier, Stern Pinball have been busy building and promoting their The Uncanny X-Men with video streams of gameplay along with a number of changes based on audience feedback.
The company has been busy in Europe too, attending the IAAPA Europe event en masse, as well as hosting an evening with Gary Stern at the Dutch Pinball Museum.
October is Pinball Expo month, so this latest PINcast looks ahead at what we can expect from all the major players at the show. There’s also full details of the extensive seminar schedule and how you can get to enjoy all the main talks even if you can’t be there in person.
There’s news about the debut of Homepin’s new The Blues Brothers game, who has signed an exclusivity agreement with Spooky Pinball, when you can see and play DPX’s new Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, who is manufacturing what, and why it looks like your final chance to get one of these titles before it is discontinued.
Get all this and so very much more in this latest September 2024 edition of the Pinball Magazine and Pinball News PINcast – the podcast the pinball industry listens to.
Grab it right now from your favourite podcast supplier, find it on YouTube and YouTube Music, or get it direct from Spotify on the link above, and don’t forget to subscribe to the PINcast to guarantee you get the freshest episode every month, the very moment it is published.
There is just so much happening in the exciting world of pinball, so make sure you join Jonathan and Martin every month to keep up-to-date and also get advance notice of what’s coming up.
2 hr 18 min
September 05, 2024 Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast August 2024 recap
It may have been delayed by a few days to include the latest game launches and teases, but Jonathan Joosten from Pinball Magazine and Martin Ayub from Pinball News are back with the latest edition of their Pinball Industry News PINcast covering the month of August and the start of September.
Stern Pinball got their new game launch in first with The Uncanny X-Men featuring some innovative shots in a truly ‘uncanny’ playfield design from Jack Danger.
But that’s not the only new release from Jack, as his Jurassic Park Home Edition design is relaunched as a ‘Plus’ model, featuring a plywood playfield and a coin door, with the Inside Connected system also included. Find out where you can get it at a big discount to Stern’s own pricing.
In a busy month for the company, Stern also launched a new machine rental programme for corporate customers, while also releasing a new speaker lighting system to bring Limited Edition-style lighting effects to Pro and Premium models.
Jersey Jack Pinball also have a new game to launch. The reveal of Avatar: The Battle for Pandora will be on the 12th September, but the company has been busy running a series of teases. Find out more exclusive details about the game direct from Jersey Jack himself in this month’s PINcast.
Meanwhile, American Pinball’s EVP, David Fix, has been in the UK and was the guest at the UK Pinfest show where he gave an extended talk to show guests. Find out how you can watch it too, and get more details of their new Aura backbox lighting system.
There’s news about the production of The Princess Bride kits and machines, Spooky Pinball’s factory expansion, teases for DPX’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the first public showing of Homepin’s The Blues Brothers game, Turner Pinball’s Ninja Eclipse production progress, the latest in the Haggis Pinball saga, plus all the latest code updates.
Get all this and much, much more in this latest August 2024 edition of the Pinball Magazine and Pinball News PINcast – the podcast the pinball industry listens to.
Grab it right now from your favourite podcast supplier, find it on YouTube and YouTube Music, or get it direct from Spotify on the link above, and don’t forget to subscribe to the PINcast to guarantee you get the freshest episode every month the very moment it is published.
It’s a genuinely exciting time in pinball right now with so much going on, so make sure you join Jonathan and Martin each month to make sure you don’t miss any of it.
1 hr 58 min
August 02, 2024 Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast July 2024 recap
The summer months are traditionally a quiet time for news in the pinball industry. Not so this year, so join Jonathan Joosten from Pinball Magazine and Martin Ayub from Pinball News as they bring you all the excitement from the pinball world in the latest edition of their Pinball Industry News PINcast.
July’s news is dominated by the collapse of Haggis Pinball and the disappearance of the company’s head Damian Hartin along with any remaining stock and machines. With no assets left and millions of Australian dollars in debts, anyone who paid Haggis directly for a Fathom or Centaur remake is left at the back of a long line of creditors.
Happier news from Stern Pinball, as they both announce a new black-and-white anniversary edition of their Godzilla title and also celebrate the well-deserved retirement of Art Director, Greg Freres. Meanwhile a famous face pays a visit to the Stern Pinball stand at the San Diego ComiCon to play the game in which he stars. Who could that be?
That’s not the only time that happens this month though, as down in Austin a certain “Weird Al” pops up at the Multimorphic stand to visit his Museum of Natural Hilarity game.
There’s news of two pinball machine giveaways – one from Stern and one from American Pinball. Get all the details and find out how you can be in with a chance of winning either or both.
Pedretti Pinball are shipping both models of their Funhouse remake, while Pinball Brothers are shipping both versions of their ABBA game - all from the same factory - while in Topperland Pinball Brothers have shipped all their pre-order Alien toppers and Spooky Pinball has done the same with their Scooby-Doo toppers. Both now have extra stock for immediate delivery if you’d still like one.
Pinball Adventures are taking a step back as they look to bring the fun back to pinball making and make it less of a chore. Find out what that means for production of their upcoming Elements and Sushi Mania titles.
It’s also peak show season, so there’s news of who has been exhibiting what and where, what’s coming up, plus details of all the latest code updates.
Get all this and much, much more in this latest July 2024 edition of the Pinball Magazine and Pinball News PINcast – the podcast the pinball industry listens to.
Grab it right now from your favourite podcast supplier, find it on YouTube and YouTube Music, or get it direct from Spotify on the link above, and don’t forget to subscribe to the PINcast to guarantee you get the freshest episode every month the very moment it is published.
There's so much happening right now with masses of excitement coming up in the pinball world, so join Jonathan and Martin each month to make sure you don’t miss any of it.
2 hr 1 min
July 02, 2024 Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast June 2024 recap
Here we are at the half-way point of 2024, so that means it’s time to join Jonathan Joosten from Pinball Magazine and Martin Ayub from Pinball News for their regular monthly look back at all the excitement from the pinball world in the latest June edition of their Pinball Industry News PINcast.
The flurry of new game announcements has slowed as manufacturers get around to actually building and shipping their latest titles. Pedretti Pinball are first with their Funhouse Remake games, while Pinball Brothers and Multimorphic are also poised to start their own deliveries.
In addition, Pinball Brothers announced several new modes and two new songs have been added to their ABBA pinball.
Elsewhere, there are Fourth-of-July-related announcements from American Pinball and Stern Pinball, while Stern have also launched a new John Wick ‘contracts’ feature as part of their Insider Connected system. They also have a new range of accessories for their Jaws title, including a topper.
There are production and timeline updates from Barrels of Fun, Spooky Pinball, Chicago Gaming and Multimorphic with details of what their plans are for the rest of the year and into early 2025.
There is more news and code updates from all the major pinball makers, while the Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil case against Deeproot founder Robert Mueller is finally settled. Find out what was agreed and what it might mean for any potential criminal prosecution.
Get all this and much more in this latest June 2024 edition of the Pinball Magazine and Pinball News PINcast – the podcast the pinball industry listens to.
Grab it right now from your favourite podcast supplier, find it on YouTube and YouTube Music, or get it direct from Spotify on the link above, and don’t forget to subscribe to the PINcast to guarantee you get the freshest episode every month the very moment it is published.
There's so much happening right now and coming up in the pinball world, so join Jonathan and Martin each month to make sure you don’t miss any of it.
1 hr 16 min
June 05, 2024 Pinball Magazine & Pinball News PINcast May 2024 recap
It’s a new month, so time to join Jonathan and Martin for a brand new edition of the Pinball Magazine and Pinball News joint Pinball Industry News PINcast looking back on May and the first few days of June.
This month’s PINcast is just slightly later than usual to make sure it can include the latest breaking news on the announcement by Dutch Pinball Exclusive about their first title. Jonathan and Martin discuss what it means, the history of the title and when you can expect to see it.
There were also three new game titles launched in May.
John Wick from Stern Pinball caused plenty of controversy, as much for the lack of visible weaponry as for the game itself. With several podcasters taking issue with the company and their products, Stern invited a bunch of them over to get a better understanding of how pinball is made and the challenges faced.
Meanwhile Pedretti Gaming released full details of their first remake game, Funhouse, together with the differences between the two new versions and the all-important pricing.
Finally, a new game for Multimorphic’s P3 was released by Ian Harrower with his Blood Bank Billiards add-on title.
Although not announcing a new title, there was much speculation around American Pinball this month. So, to get to the bottom of things, Jonathan and Martin interview American’s Vice President, David Fix.
In an extended in-depth discussion they find out about sales for current titles, details and the timing of upcoming releases, what the floatation of their parent company means for the pinball operation, who has left the company, the pinball market in general, and much, much more.
Plus there’s all the news from the many companies designing and manufacturing pinball machines right around the world.
Get all this and much more in this latest edition of the Pinball Magazine and Pinball News PINcast.
It’s the best way to keep up-to-date on what’s happening across the industry, so it’s really no surprise it’s the podcast the pinball industry listens to.
Grab it right now from your favourite podcast supplier or get it direct from Spotify on the link above, and don’t forget to subscribe to the PINcast to guarantee you get the freshest episode each month the very moment it is published.
There's so much happening and much more coming up in the pinball world, so join Jonathan and Martin each month to make sure you don’t miss any of it.
3 hr 32 min

About Pinball News & Pinball Magazine PINcast

From the publisher's feed

Pinball Magazine Editor, Jonathan Joosten, and Pinball News Editor, Martin Ayub, look back at all the exciting news from the pinball industry over the past month.