Listening to the podcast a while back, I get the feeling there is a set number of games and that is it.... forever.

It's a big ticket collectable for those who want something truly limited.

I have to listen again unless anyone who listened recently can quote it .

Yep - one run x amount of games forever and I got the impression it isn’t super limited which makes me think there will be enough available if you really want one. As for pricing, Joe was asked specifically if it was going to be really high like BM66 and he responded NO.

What all of this means in the end, I really have no clue. There is a shit ton of conflicting info out there and the only real substantive info is from the podcast.

That is what i am hearing to.

please do not leave out Rubber Soul which is Amongst my top favorites. Listening to JL in a few interviews he was fond of that album

Looking at TWIP, is the Beatles = Seawitch "leak" now official?!

Can't quite believe it.

But if so, it's definately no 'cornerstone' game, so 3 more games in 2019 (Elvira 3, Steve Ritchie, Brian Eddy) no problem.

If true I think it will certainly help keep the price in check a bit.

This is a one off boutique game so it is going to be unlike any other 'normal ' game.

Very limited run, high prices, no coin mech's, no pro's, not going on location etc etc

This one really is for 'collector's as opposed to 'player's.

That's my take of all the info that is already out there.

Well they said it won't be crazy expensive.

But won't be cheap either with all this drop Targets, 4 Flippers and... "Beatles".

I kinda hope it isn't true, but TNA showed that a single layer Layout can be very fun. And a Seawitch with some enhancements an deep code,... maybe...

I agree and happen to like Seawitch.

I think this could be pretty darn cool.

Limited availability, no additional runs, instant collectable, high license cost, drop targets..... People are already justifying the assinine price it will probably cost and convincing themself it's worth it. Then we wonder why prices keep going up and up. Hats off to Stern for getting the hype train rolling before it's even revealed.

Every additional bit of information about it has pushed the hype train more off the rails until now - there are no rails left for the Beatles hype train. I haven't been this ambivalent about a pin since WWE.

hype-train-fail (resized).jpg

I am so bummed that this could possibly be a seawitch reskin. If Stern can crank out games for bands like Metallica, ACDC, the Stones, Aerosmith and Kiss you would think that The Beatles, arguably one of the best, most influential bands of all time deserve their own layout. It is insulting to think this will get a woah nellie like treatment. After buying Iron Maiden and loving it, how can Stern expect me to swallow this re themed turd. I couldn't enjoy hitting either loop shot on Seawitch so out the door it went. I can hit loops for hours on maiden and not get tired of it. After securing a licence of this magnitude, honor the band by giving the game the attention it deserves.

Accepting the "home use only" terms of the license then guaranteeing that by leaving coin doors off is a definite step backwards.

I couldn't have said it better. "They deserve their own layout"
I'm so disappointed.

IF they actually made a classic Stern layout I think this is all worth it....im not going g to buy a kapow anyway.

The layout isn’t that big of a deal, as long as it gets updated with a lcd and decent rule set. The bigger travisty is that supposedly it’s centered on the Hard Days Night era, so it most likely won’t include songs from the later albums.

Uff

Anyone care to explain where these new rumors come from wich are partially the complete opposite that Kaminkow stated in his H2H interview?
(One Model, limited run, but not crazy expensive like Batman.)

They came from Pinside so let's just act like it's true

He also said not based off any of the movies either but everyone keeps mentioning yellow submarine, hard day’s night and sgt peppers.

But I have my video ready for Stern that shows why I'm worthy enough to give them $15k for a Super LE. Bummed

Seriously though I hope this isn't some old retheme, that would be extremely disappointing. However, I could see Stern making some low end Beatles game and charging $6k for it just to have a huge profit margin. Yup, that's something they would pull. They are also capable of making some really nice loaded pins though and I hope that is the route they take with Beatles.

"Mentioning" ist is one thing but first speculation was that it is a "Yellow Submarine"-only themed Pin, that was neglected.

There is this little site noone knows, it's called "This week in Pinball" where some random guy does nothing else but to quote interviews.

(Thx Jeff for doing this!!!)

And reading that again, he doesn't say that there's only one Modell, more the opposite. But I get where I draw that conclusion (but that's more like "one run" not "one model").

"1. Are The Beatles Coming in January?

The Head2Head Pinball Podcast marked their 50th episode with an epic interview with Joe Kaminkow from KaPow Pinball. It was a wide ranging interview that covered how Joe got into pinball, licensing in the 80s, the pinball wars of the past, and a ton more. Listen to the full interview here!! Joe also talked quite a bit about the new KaPow Pinball title in the following exchanges:

Joe K: “…I’d been working on a license for about 10 years. One of those things, every year for 10 years I called and said “let’s do this” and every year they said “no”. And about a year and a half ago I called and said “Let’s do this” and they said “Ok, lets do this”. So Gary and I and Dave have a product, another KaPow product. There is one product that is coming out that my name won’t be on but I helped them get the license and kind of envisioned the original concept. It’ll be one of their cornerstone games, you’ll see that probably in November. And then after the first of the year, probably at the CES show, we’re going to introduce a game that took me over a decade to get the license. And it is going to be a very very exciting game. I can’t say much more about it. It is going to be very limited in the quantity we’re going to build, and we’re never going to build it again.”

H2H: “George Gomez, the question was asked at Texas Pinball Festival, if Stern and KaPow would revisit the Super LE product range, and he said ‘Yep, and you’ll probably see it pretty soon with the next KaPow title.’ Is that what we’re talking about here?”

Joe K: “Yeah, probably. And it is not going to be super duper expensive. They’ll be a couple limited versions of it. Guys, this game is the perfect pinball. And it is the one game that every pinball collector, player, has always dreamt would one day be made. I didn’t think it would every really happen. And it was literally a decade of tenacity to get the brand.”

H2H: “So are you trying to get that brand for pinball or for slot machines and pinball?”

Joe K: “Pinball. For slot machines, we offered I think $50 million dollars for it and we got turned down. I will tell you it is probably the first million dollar plus license ever for pinball, in pinball’s history.”

H2H: “Is it a license that has been around for a while? Or something that has been around for 10 years and you’ve been fighting for 10 years?”

Joe K: “No, it’s been around for a long time.”

H2H: “What do you think makes a good license these days? You obviously have a lot of licenses you now deal with, what makes you think – you know what, that would make a great pinball?”

Joe K: “I think it is the collectability of it. I think the affinity people have for the brand. The emotional attachment that people have for it. Do you guys ever see that guy James Corden, he has that talk show? And last week there was a video he did – he does that carpool karaoke. Did you see him with Paul McCartney? I mean, it was one of the best things I’ve seen on TV in years. Do you know how many views it’s had in a week? 100 million. 100 million views. You go, that is pretty powerful, that is what you want to look for, something that powerful.”

Joe K: “…when you see what we’re coming out with in January, it is going to blow your mind. You’ll just want to have one because it is so much fun. You’ll go, oh my god I’ve waited my whole life for this, and it finally happened.”

H2H: “What about something like – people are always screaming for a Harry Potter pinball machine. And I’m guessing slot machines would be popular as well. I guess the story there, I’m sure you’ve tried, is that she doesn’t want anything to do with gaming, slot machines or pinball machines?”

Joe K: “We’ll see in time. There’s a social game out right now with Harry Potter. You’ve got the Broadway show…will there be a Harry Potter game? Maybe one day. It might be a KaPow game one day, we’ll see…Never say never.”

H2H: “There is a Goonies slot machine, I don’t think it is made by Aristocrat, made by someone else. Do you see that as a good license for pinball machines?”

Joe K: “There are better things. There are better things coming. Maybe one day if you’re scraping the bottom of the barrel. Not to say the Three Stooges or Animal House wouldn’t have it’s collectable, but there isn’t enough heat around it, theres not enough affinity to it. There is just better stuff out there. You’ll see in January. There’s better stuff.”

H2H: “Will people need to possibly apply for this vs. just ringing up their distributor?”

Joe K: “No I don’t think so. I don’t think so. That was something we tried and it was interesting and created some hype and some demand. This game is just going to be limited. We’re going to make X number of them. That is all we will ever make of them. It is one of those games that when they’re gone and they’re gone – they’ll be thousands if not tens of thousands of games in demand for the brand. So if you buy one and put it away and buy one to enjoy, probably two years from now it’ll be something you can sell for more. There just simply not be enough games to meet the demand. And that is designed that way. We want to leave the market hungry so people that get them and put them away will know it will always have value. And the games you want in your home or in your collection, its the first game any friend you have that will come to your house, it will be the first game they walk to to play.”

H2H: “Will Lyman Sheats be working on this game?”

Joe K: “He’s not on this project, he’s still working on Batman…we’ve got a different team that has worked on this project. This is a different type of product. It is very classic pinball. And I think you guys are going to really appreciate this game a lot. I mean if you like playing pinball, you’re going to like this game a lot.”

H2H: “While you were chatting I was listening, but I also just emailed the Australian distributor to be put on the list for the next KaPow game, just in case. You’re hyping it up so much…”

Joe K: “You won’t be disappointed. You’ll be really proud of this game when you have it in your collection. I’ve been playing it, I’ve been playing the whitewood. I was in Chicago Thursday playing it. It does something really special that I can’t discuss right now. But…just wait until you see it. I can’t say enough about it. It is a game you’ve always wanted. And I honestly never thought I’d get the license.”

That is a load of information. He doesn’t say that the license is the Beatles. But he seems to give some strong hints in that direction. So let’s work through this.
•Back in January 2018, This Week in Pinball confirmed that The Beatles license had been acquired by a pinball company/manufacturer.
•In March at the Texas Pinball Festival, Barry Oursler gave an interview saying that Stern had the Beatles license.
•The current rumors we have for upcoming big Stern licensed titles include Deadpool, The Munsters, The Beatles, Superman, and Beetlejuice.
•Joe mentioned he was turned down for a slot machine for this license. The Munsters, Beetlejuice, and Superman have slot machines.
•Deadpool is rumored to be the next Stern license released, which doesn’t seem to fit the January schedule.
•Joe talks up the license – it is expensive, many have wanted it…
•And then there is this exchange:

H2H: “What do you think makes a good license these days? You obviously have a lot of licenses you now deal with, what makes you think – you know what, that would make a great pinball?”

Joe K: “I think it is the collectability of it. I think the affinity people have for the brand. The emotional attachment that people have for it. Do you guys ever see that guy James Corden, he has that talk show? And last week there was a video he did – he does that carpool karaoke. Did you see him with Paul McCartney? I mean, it was one of the best things I’ve seen on TV in years. Do you know how many views it’s had in a week? 100 million. 100 million views. You go, that is pretty powerful, that is what you want to look for, something that powerful.”
"

Yep, same as I heard. Everything else pondered on Pinside was created on Pinside and nothing more then speculation.

Where did you hear this? Not having coin mechs makes it another Costco game to me. I don't understand how that would be an acceptable term of the license for Stern knowing how that has gone for them previously.

Supposedly McCartney didn't want his music playing in public "for free" as a side-effect of being music in a for profit pinball machine on location where he didn't get a cut of each play. That would be a license killer for me. Guess not for Stern. :shrug:

Where was this mentioned or written? Would like to check that out.

Wow, such restrictions!

What's next, not even having full songs?

This was received via the telephone game. We'll know pretty soon if the message was mangled in the various retellings between McCartney (or his lawyers) and me. If there's no ability to collect payment for location play, you'll know it was right.

That along with the "It is very classic pinball" comment from the TWIP interview makes it sound like an EM type game.

That bible theme is looking awfully thrifty by comparison. It's all in the public domain!

Please let me know if I am wrong, but can a freeplay or hourly place put a non coin mech game out in the wild anyway?

I know people who helped develop Beatles: Rock Band and it was a huge hassle dealing with Apple Corp with the license. The end product was fantastic, but it was a hard road getting there. Too bad Stern couldn't borrow those visual assets from the game for use with the LCD. They crushed it on that game.

Well,Yelosub.is not a Beatles Movie ! Sir Pauls Music, away from the Beatles ,would have no bearing on a Beatles pin! MJ bought the Beatles commercial song Book,so they would have to go through his estate wouldn't they?? SO,a Pin based on some early work makes sense!!!!

Just like Oktoberfest! A theme that totally doesn't suck according to Pinside!

There was an agreement of some sorts on it.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jul/04/beatles-song-rights-dispute-paul-mccartney-and-sony-atv-work-it-out

Not necessarily. We were lucky enough to meet Gary Stern in Australia last month. He attributed IMDNs success to the game having a "classic feel". Juicy Melons did not sell very well so I cannot see Stern going down that road again in a hurry.

Thats why the Beatles Spike 3 will be Wifi enabled, Each time a Beatles song is played a central data base will log and royalties will need to be paid, lol

I thought you were going to say that each time a song is played it goes online and bills the owners credit card, lol. Would be just like playing Golden Tee online then, lol.

Sure, a nearby hourly location had a Spiderman Home Edition for a while.

I guess Beatles pin will be based on serious material have contemporary art and an LCD.
Can't wait to see how the team integrate the songs into the game and onto the LCD,

still reckon cartoon version has more to offer and be more fun.

Yep, I'm still trying to figure out who's gonna pay ?

Very much doubt the owner would be down for it.

Well, will be interesting to see how much they tweak this layout.

image-4 (resized).jpg

4 flippers, spinner, 11 drops...I'm good with that.

Hope they don’t replace the Seawitch on the pf with this one...
3BB2F7A8-F449-4181-9C35-86973B9DC710 (resized).jpeg

Think TNA. Stern would need to get the code to above that. Light show. Song integration, etc.

It would make sense to turn the droptarget bank on the mid left to a 4-bank. Then each target in a drop target bank can represent a group member and the players can shoot them (no pun intended). Aren't there also 4 standup targets? then each member could represent a set as well. I can see how some new rules can work with that.

K-man said the rumor is 1964 machines are being built and that's it. 3 versions with the SLE is being called the diamond edition and limited to 100 machines.

Supposedly spinning disks added and coming before the munsters.

What would be the significance of 1964? Beatles hired ringo in 1962 and began their rise. Spinning discs sounds interesting.