Wedgehead Pinball Podcast

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast Alan and Alex are joined on the show once again by Roger Sharpe, aka the 'Man Who Saved Pinball' to discuss his career at Williams from 1988-1999 as the Marketing Director.  Roger tells us some great stories about getting hired, the merger of Bally into Williams, his role in licensing games, and more. And we discuss a lot about the dif...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast Alan and Alex are joined on the show by their friend Tyler White from LA to discuss Stern's Insider Connected platform, and why he loves to use it, and how he wants to see it grow into the future. Stern's IC is a feature that has been on all their games since Godzilla (2021), and has retrofit kits to connect all their Spike 2 games goi...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this episode, our friend and member of our local Portland Pinball scene, Nate Tayloe joins us on the show to educate us on the weird case where Gottlieb chose to sue Paramount Pictures over alleged copyright and trademark infringement due to the inclusion of Gottlieb's "Silver Slugger" pinball machine in the 2000 movie, "W...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast Ty Ueda from Pop's Pinball Parlor in Boston, Ma. is back to defend another game on the show, this time it's 1993's Rocky & Bullwinkle and Friends! Released by Data East and designed by frequent DOTH designer extraordinaire, Tim Seckel, this game probably barely qualifies as it seems to sit somewhere in the middle of truly hate...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast We're joined again on the show by Greg Freres whom we spoke to in the last episode, about the legendary Bally Art Department of the early solid state era.  But in this episode we focus our discussions on his ascension to head of the art department at Williams/Bally after the 1988 merger,  guiding them through their wild 1990s pinball renais...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this episode, Alan and Alex are joined on the show by long time pinball artist Greg Freres, and they discuss Greg's time working in the late 1970s and early 1980s art department at Bally, a truly remarkable time period for pinball art. Greg tells us all about the different processes that revolutionized the industry, working under art dir...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this MEGA sized episode of the podcast, Alan and Alex discuss the rise and increase in the number of pinball MEGALOCATIONS with 100+ machines. We discuss traveling to these pinball destinations, what to expect playing massive collections in warehouse buildings, and talk about our own experiences at some of these locations such as Past Times,...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast Sean Irby, homebrew pinball designer from our last episode rejoins the show to defend his "Die on this Hill" game: Sega's Godzilla. Before Stern released their Godzilla to a near deafening roar of approval, Gary's previous pinball venture had a much less successful go at a Godzilla game, based on the similarly ill - fated God...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this episode, Alan and Alex are joined on the show by Sean Irby, a northwest pinball neighbor from Seattle to discuss the making and development of homebrew pinball machines, AKA making your own pinball machine. Over the last 5 years, the homebrew pinball community has exploded thanks to the availability of boards, mission pinball framework,...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this special edition of our popular 'Die on this Hill' series, Alan teams up with his buddy AJ, the owner and operator of the Flip a Coin Arcade, to defend Data East's Hook. Alex is there as the resident hater on the show, and he GLEEFULLY reads AJ and Alan an avalanche of awful reviews scoured from the depths of the internet....

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast We are joined on the show by Adam 'AJ' Jordan, owner and operator of the 'Flip a Coin Arcade' that they built in the basement of his girlfriend's bakery, the 'Bite Me Cake Company' in Pueblo, Colorado. We talk about building a scene in a small town, taking a leap in the middle of covid, and how his day job as a...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast Our pal Jeff Johnsen, the operator of Walt's in LA, is back on the show to defend the last pinball machine that the original Stern Electronics company ever made, Orbitor 1. Jeff tells us about the historical significance of the game, including the two pinball outsiders and NASA engineers, who brought their concept and ideas for an entirely...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast We speak with Jeff Johnsen, owner and operator of Walt's Bar in LA's Eagle Rock neighborhood about how his father taught him and his brother how to work on games as kids, almost blowing themselves up in the process. We talk about the LA pinball scene, pricing games, giving up his route, and how to properly rehab an old plumbing supply...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast Pinball restoration artist Ashley Ludwig (@ludwigsynopsis) is back on the show to defend her favorite trashy 90s pin, Lethal Weapon 3. Made by Data East in 1992, and based on the hit series of odd couple buddy cop films, Ashley passionately tells us why she thinks that LW3 is actually better than the Addams Family, and we confront her with the h...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast Ever wanted to know why operators choose to use quarters vs tokens? Or why so many large arcades have ditched coins altogether and installed card readers on their games?  Or why Wedgehead moved over to a freeplay model? Then this episode is for you.  Alan and Alex discuss each payment system in depth and outline the pros and cons of each from bo...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this episode Alan and Alex are joined on the show by Ashley Ludwig (@ludwigsynopsis on instagram) to discuss the finer points of restoring old pinball machines. Ashley restores old pinball machines full time in Rochester, NY and she enlightens us on the skill and craftsmanship it takes to get to the level at which she operates. Make sure to f...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast Ian Matheson, owner and operator of Propeller Arcade comes back onto the show to defend his love of all things Freddy Kreuger, but especially his love for Gottlieb's 1994 pinball machine, A Nightmare on Elm Street. Hear Ian passionately defend Freddy as a great gateway game, with incredible theme integration as Alan reads him  scores of bad...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast It's the year 1980, and the US Olympic Hockey team shocks the world and beats the Soviet team in a stunning 4-3 upset in Lake Placid, NY during the height of the cold war. But another miracle happens in pinball that same year too, as a fledgling Stern Electronics releases 9  excellent machines in 1980.  They were the clear last place manufa...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this episode Alan sits down to talk with Ian Matheson, operator at Propeller arcade inside of Propeller Brewing in Halifax, Canada. We talk about how he got started, including some incredible stories about the old school underground Nova Scotia pinball scene before opening his public arcade which include stories of setting machines on fire in...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this episode, Alan and Alex discuss the outlier machines released in the last 7 years without ramps, and with simpler rulesets. We talk about Total Nuclear Annihilation, Beatles, Bond 60th, and Pulp Fiction, and why we love seeing the variety added to modern pinball offerings. But sometimes we use swear words. Support the show

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this episode we finally talk in depth about "Modern" pinball, where it started, what defines the modern era, and the different innovations or changes to the classic game that we all know and love. For all the listeners out there that have been asking us to talk more about modern games, this episode is for you.  And if you want to he...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this edition of our popular "Die on this Hill" series, we are rejoined on the show by Mitch Curtis, the operator known as 'Pinball Over Boston' as he jumps onto the show to defend one of his favorite underappreciated games, 2000's Sharkey's Shootout made by the fledgling Stern Pinball. Mitch is a very passionate...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this episode of our 'Operator Spotlight' series Alan and Alex speak with Mitch Curtis of Pinball Over Boston, about his decade of running a pinball route in the Boston area.  We cover what it was like starting out, how he grew it, how he handled the covid 19 shutdowns, and what it's like for him nowadays on the other side. We t...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In this edition of our "Die on this Hill" series, John Dozier of Inner Orbit Pinball rejoins the show and steps up to defend Sega's 1996 pinball machine based on the hit movie, Space Jam! This game is actually the LOWEST rated game that we have featured thus far on the show, and the internet has some strong opinions! And despite t...

Support the show: https://ko-fi.com/wedgeheadpodcast In the latest addition of our Operator Spotlight series, Alan speaks with John Dozier of Inner Orbit pinball about his pinball route based in Springfield Missouri.  John began operating pinball machines about 10 years ago, and was drawn in due to a familiar refrain of the modern pinball operator - there just weren't any good machines to pla...