don't call it a comeback

oh hello there.

the funny thing about buying a website and merging it with a different website is that work takes a long freaking time. particularly when you’re doing most of it solo.

it’s not that I didn’t want to be sending y’all weekly updates about what’s going on in the pinball world, because I did (and a lot is going on), but time is a finite resource and I needed to allocate that time to other places.

but, we’re approaching the end of that integration work (more on that in a bit) so with that it’s time to get back into the old weekly writing habit.

so you could say that TWIP is back (but don’t call it a comeback because we never really went anywhere in the first place!)

let’s get some housekeeping out of the way before jumping into some of the pinball news of the week.

the new lay of the land

most of the TWIP content you know and love can now be found on Kineticist. we migrated much of the blog content, the promoters database, the mods and toppers database, and some other odds and ends.

moving forward, Kineticist will be the home for things like game reveals, tutorials, interviews, and other long-form article content.

TWIP will continue as the best weekly pinball newsletter around, and its content can be found on this shiny new platform, located at twip.kineticist.co (but hopefully you’ll just read it in your email inbox). this includes the rest of the old TWIP content that was more ephemeral in focus.

on Kineticist, we now have:

• a robust games database, where we collect photos, tutorials, production details, and more about your favorite arcade game

• the pinball hype index, where we track and rank the themes pinball fans want the most

• a database of mods, toppers, and gameroom accessories

• the pinball promoters database

• a curated directory of pinball locations

• a directory of pinball industry people, with collected game credits, interviews, videos, and more

• 300+ pinball and arcade articles 

• interviews, tutorials, and events

• the upcoming pinball machines tracker (for all you rumor-hungry monsters)

I’m certainly proud of the work myself and others have completed to get us to where we are today and while it’s always a work in progress, if you’re a pinball fan, I’m confident you’ll find something you like.

a few ground rules going forward

1. expect nearly weekly updates

having a newsletter called “this week in pinball” kind of locks you into a specific format and cadence. weekly pinball news updates, go figure!

that said, we’re not going to force it, and we’re going to take breaks throughout the year. burnout is a very real and very tricky part of the content creation landscape and it’s something we hope to avoid.

we also really like the concept of a weekly pinball news and community digest that’s curated, thoughtful, and high-quality. so even while there may be pressure to cover things reactively in real-time, I don’t plan to operate that way for now.

2. we can’t cover everything

in the previous iteration of TWIP I felt pressure to read/watch/listen to everything the community was creating to stay informed and be as inclusive as possible. I learned quickly that this is not a sustainable approach.

in pinball, there are too many people doing too many cool things for me to engage with all of it and deliver this newsletter alongside other efforts.

my plan is to focus on the parts of the hobby that I find interesting, notable, or fun. if you are a creator who released a banger interview or a company that just released a killer new product, and you don’t see it covered in TWIP, there’s a good chance I just didn’t see it.

if getting in front of the TWIP / Kineticist audience is important to you, for whatever reason, reach out ([email protected])! I’ll gladly talk with anyone about a project they are working on and would be happy to discuss advertising and other paid promotional options with interested companies.

3. if you want to be included, ask! (but no 100% dicks)

to the point above, we will not be scouring the internet all day every day for every new piece of pinball content, every new mod, or every new content creator. we’ve put in some mechanisms to make it easy for you to get in touch with us or submit things for us to review for inclusion on the site.

here’s the submission form for pinball promoters, and here’s the submission form for mods and toppers, for starters.

that said, while our goal is to be as inclusive and comprehensive as possible, our focus will be on covering the things and people we admire and respect and not spending very much time on those rare “100% dicks” of the world.

4. we’re pro pinball (and not trained journalists)

I have a very pro-pinball bias. that doesn’t mean I won’t discuss problems in the industry or other hot-button issues, but it does mean I’ll try to approach things from a place of respect and love for the game and the people who make it all possible.

I’m also not a trained journalist, (even though I play one on the internet). so while I try to do right by my own moral and ethical standards, if you’re looking for an unbiased source of just-the-facts pinball news, you should try something like, I dunno, Pinball News.

5. we’re a for-profit endeavor

believe it or not, we’d love to make a living from this. writing these newsletters and building a site like Kineticist takes a lot of work and time. so if you find value in either, we’d love it if you became a paying subscriber so that we can continue to grow and do cool work with other cool pinball people.

currently, we offer a monthly subscription at $5.99 or an annual subscription at $60. to celebrate these changes, we’re offering a 25% discount on annual subscriptions through the end of February.

by subscribing, you’ll be supporting our ongoing efforts within the pinball community, you’ll receive access to our private discord server, and have the first crack at future giveaways, events, or other special happenings.

and for those of you who are interested in a more formal business relationship, we are happy to discuss sponsorship and advertising options in this newsletter and on Kineticist.

with that out of the way, here are a few things going on this week in pinball (including an update on the TWIPYs)!

this week in pinball

Pulp Fiction is Shipping

Chicago Gaming Company announced today that Pulp Fiction machines are “in production and shipping” so for those of you who took the leap on a game after it was announced at Texas Pinball Festival last year, hopefully, your patience will be rewarded soon.

Is American Pinball In Trouble?

The bombshell “news” of the week is a rumor that the parent company of American Pinball, Aimtron is entertaining offers for the company. The genesis of this particular rumor was a text message received by a podcast guest host (Electric Bat’s Cale Hernandez) while recording the latest episode of Pinball Party Podcast, so take it with a big grain of salt. To my knowledge at least, none of this has been confirmed or denied by representatives of American Pinball.

Mr. Fix - if you see this we’d love to chat!

LoserKids Interview Keith Elwin

Our favorite interview podcast, LoserKids Pinball Podcast, had another conversation with Keith Elwin, this time about his latest game, JAWS.

TWIPY Vote Results Coming Soon

Look for TWIPY voting results to be released soon - hopefully by the end of February. The results will be shared on the LoserKid Pinball Podcast, and I hear they have some fun things planned!

New Podcasts on our Radar

A couple of newer podcasts on our radar lately that deserve some wider recognition.

The Wedgehead Pinball Podcast from the operators of Wedgehead in Portland, OR. They are already 14 episodes into their run and so far we’ve appreciated their approach to talking about the hobby, as its felt like a pinball podcast for pinball players, if that makes sense.

The Fresh Pinball Podcast is 9 episodes into their run but listening to them it feels like they’ve been at it longer. This one includes perspectives from a growing distributor (Mad Pinball), an operator (Angeli Stark Novelty), and a hobbyist, so they cover topics from a few different angles in every episode.

The Latest from Kineticist

Few new articles on Kineticist that you may have missed.

• We discussed how Jack Guarnieri Gets It.

• We showed you the latest creation from Brian Soares, The Goonies Pinball.

• We did a deep dive on one of the most interesting homebrew pinballs we saw at Pinball Expo, Create Life.

Meme of the Week

😂😂

Until next week!

-Colin