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Song of the Week
One of those songs I'm not entirely sure how I found, but I've been obsessed with it since I did. Haute & Freddy are an LA-based duo — Michelle Buzz and Lance Shipp — who just signed with Atlantic Records, with a debut album (Big Disgrace) dropping March 13. This is pure 80s new wave energy run through a modern filter, and the band described it perfectly: "That bustling street, grime of the city, crowded dance floor, ready to forget the world kind of feeling." Someone in the YouTube comments nailed it: "The singer is like if Cyndi Lauper and Columbia from Rocky Horror had a kid." That's exactly right. I haven't been able to get it out of my head.
Pinball News of the Week
The TWIPYs Were Really, Really Good
The 2025 TWIPYs came together, and I'm proud of what we made. We co-produced it with BASH Pinball, filmed across five North Carolina arcades, and deliberately stripped the show down to seven categories focused entirely on games and the people who make them. No sponsorship segments, no ancillary categories, no bloat. We wanted a show that was creative and fun, and that's what we built.
Evil Dead swept three awards (Best Theme Integration, Best Art Package, Best Sound), Harry Potter took Game of the Year, and King Kong claimed Best Rules and Best Playfield Layout. The interviews were the real highlight — genuine conversations about craft with the designers and artists behind these games.
I'd rather make something weird and specific that we believe in than something safe that checks every box.
That's the creative energy this year. If you missed it, go watch it.
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Melvin Williams Lands at American Pinball
Melvin Williams has been named Creative Director at American Pinball, and we wrote up the full story this week. The short version: Melvin left DPX after disputes with new investors, and now he's leading the design team and creative vision for AP under new owner J. Bryan Vincent. His actual mandate is leading AP's remastered Bally Williams games and new licensed titles. But Melvin also still holds the IP rights to RAZA — the game he was reportedly near-complete on when DPX folded — and other JPop designs like Magic Girl and Space Mission X. AP's owner has said they have no plans to build it, but I don't know why you hire the guy who was working on revisions and holds the rights if it's not at least being entertained. The full piece traces the whole arc.
The Hype Index Got an Upgrade
Something I've been working on quietly for the past few months: the Hype Index has been rebuilt from the ground up. New composite scoring that weighs multiple signals together, era-based nostalgia modeling (Star Wars rates "Multi-gen" for a reason), cultural pulse tracking, and your user vote is finally a real component of the rankings. The catalog is up to 2,300+ tracked IPs with over 90,000 community mentions processed. Still a work in progress, but the rankings are meaningfully smarter than what we started with. Wrote up the full story of what changed and why. Go vote on something.
Links of the Week
Will Malone's pinball postcards — Photographer Will Malone is running a year-long daily postcard project and Day 46 is pinball-themed. Beautiful work. Originals available for $5. Double Negative Dispatch
Engadget on Pokemon Pinball — Mainstream coverage of the Stern Pokemon reveal, leading with the animatronic Pikachu and Master Ball plunger. The $6,999-to-$12,999 price range showing up in Engadget is interesting exposure for the hobby. Engadget
"So You Want To Be A Stern Dealer" — Lock Is Lit Pinball on the TiltTrek channel breaking down what it takes to become a Stern dealer. YouTube
Pokemon at NY Toy Fair — Knapp Arcade's hands-on report from the first public showing of Stern's Pokemon at the Javits Center. Knapp Arcade
TWD Remastered Premium added to Stern Rewards — The Walking Dead Remastered Premium is now available through the Stern Rewards Program. IFPA
Winchester Mystery House patch — The latest update adds the 13ths Wizard Mode, unlocked after completing all 13ths progression objectives. Also adds map trails showing visited paths, new Wildcard mementos, and a bunch of bug fixes. Barrels of Fun
Erika's Pinball Journey x Erin Winick Anthony on Pokemon — Erika and Erin Winick Anthony talk through their experience with Stern's Pokemon. YouTube
Five Minutes to Tilt: Eric Meunier — The Dutch Pinball Museum's timed interview series sits down with JJP's Eric Meunier. He talks about navigating secrecy in game development — including keeping things from his kids — and reveals the codename behind Harry Potter. YouTube
Poll of the Week
Melvin Williams at American Pinball — where are you?
Last Week’s Poll Results
“For me, zero connection with pinball world”
“Super hyped until I saw it. :( The original Pokémon fans are today over 30+! This looks like a cheap home game. :(”
“No nostalgic factor for me plus the artwork is very simplistic and juvenile.”
“Theme is not of interest.”
“Pokeman! Seriously? I can’t believe any adult would buy something like this unless you’re buying it for a kid. And that’s an awful expensive gift.”
“I mean, I’m not going to buy it for my home, but it should be easy to find in the wild and it looks fun. I’ll definitely sink some quarters into it!”
“Most Stern releases haven’t excited me too much lately, but this feels different. Maybe it’s the millennial side of me, but seeing them theme the game based on the original show, and stay with gen 1 Pokémon is exciting to me! Plus this feels like an IP that has so much potential for modes, battles, etc. can’t wait to play!”
“Basic fan game, not my theme but it is not up to Harry Potter or dune in complexity and quality of game play”
“What an excellent game to get hoarded away by some collectors only to come up occasionally for sale for six digits!”
“I'm out on this one. I'm not going to add it to my collection, but I would definitely play it. It looks fun. I love Nintendo, but was never into Pokemon. The theme just does not interest me. Never understood the hype.”
“Kids are gonna pump this machine full of dollars”
“Pokeman sucks. That said, there's a lot of people that are really into it. Hopefully, though, this means there is the potential for more Nintendo stuff in the future!”
“In!!! As a long-time Pokemon fan, part of me feels that it needs to be gestures vaguely… more, better, ~something~. But the rest of me is just OH MY GOD FINALLY ACTUALLY POKEMON PINBAAAAALLLLLLL”
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