There's something Dude-like or even Zenish about your thoughts.

Imagine for a moment that you're Andrew Heighway.
You're well into the development of the Aliens pin, and things are coming along, but slower and maybe more expensive that you thought.
You've been 100% forthcoming with info to your clients all the way along. Pictures of the progress and even the first pin rolling off the line and being shipped off to some lucky owner.
Money's running out, but you have a deal in the works to get more financing in place.
Unfortunately, that's also taking longer than you anticipated, and things are now starting to crumble.

You can do what? Be 100% honest? Basically announce to everyone that you're out of cash, and watch as they all demand refunds, immediately forcing you into bankruptcy, before the deal has time to close?
Or do you just do everything it takes to push through with the financing deal, possibly giving away a chunk of your company to someone who never experienced all the blood, sweat and tears that you've already invested. Pushed into a corner, the only way forward, and the only way to get these pins made, and delivered to customers. Stay alive.

So as I often imagine with so many other issues and problems we see, I expect this isn't simply black or white, but very grey.
We saw Andrew document everything and share all the details up until recently. I expect he's honourable, and simply can't operate the way he knows he should. I expect it's been pretty much Hell, trying to hold everything together, not being able to provide the level of customer service that he has been providing up until recently.

Not sure how many of you out there have owned your own business, but I found my whole mental state fluctuated with its success and failures. It's gotta be tough for him right now.

There is no excuse when a company ignores its customers, and/or refuses to answer their calls and emails, especially if they're asking for refunds, or asking for follow-up info on ETA, after missing deadlines.
But if you're Andrew Heighway, and this is what has happened, it certainly explains why communication has changed, and why it really was the best option to take. It also suggests that with any luck and possibly some good news later this week, Andrew will be back on track, answering emails, providing updates, and rolling out some Aliens pins to all you guys who are still waiting for your pins.

The JPOP and Predator fiasco sucked, and made us all a little gun-shy. I don't think this is anywhere near either of those nightmares.

Since Andrew has come on Pinside and provided a little information, and a very short deadline for himself, it only makes sense to continue being patient for a little while longer.

NOTE: I have zero information regarding Andrew, his company, his financial state, or any deals that may or may not be in the works.
I have not sent him any money, nor do I expect to purchase an Aliens pin.
All of this is purely speculation on my part. Up until very recently, I didn't even know what kind of car he drove. : )

I have nothing vested, and no knowledge, but am grateful for this post.

This part hits home:

Other Posts are painful.

you should of started your story with that! & Saved me 5 mins!

People are already demanding refunds. So F yeah, be honest about it. Why? Because you don't want the next guy coming along who has ZERO clue as to what is going on to fully fund a pin without all of the INFO.

That's the kind of BS that i hated with Jpop.

It's ALL, 100% on Andrew.

Make the pins and he's a hero for delivering something awesome. Bottom line, period end of story.

All he has to say is the following:

"I am working on an investor to help fully fund this project and make our company viable for many years into the future"

The guy has a great pin that actually plays, not some major POS after the fact Jpop box of lights.

The reality is NOBODY is getting a refund without a credit card dispute or paypal.

This hobby can be the greatest of times and the absolute F ing worst of times.

I will get "Back in the Saddle" and go try and find Suki Jones

Indiegogo
I'd buy a LE Backglass for sure!

I'm not sure wtf you are talking about right now manchild and i don't know if i believe myself on anything other than i love pinball!

Btw, its a 2000% given that regardless of planes, trains and automobiles, Heighway pinball is insolvent

And THAT i will stand by Captain Dan!

The worst offense so far is the neglect to support the pins already sold.

Ok, I'll say it.. Iceman & Manimal ! & Enough boys! Haha..faaak, go play some pinball!! Or sip scotch or smoke a doobie

Manimal is one of my favorite dudes on here!

8 hours later and.....you're still at it!!??!

Don't go to sleep yet Wicker!

It's just an interval after a LONG day.

Our brother Andrew better still love it while we actually CARE.

When nobody gives a shit as to what is coming or not, that is when he really better start worrying.

How about all three?

I'm all in on an Alien LE.

This machine looks very very good and looks to be a really challenging player. I can't wait to stick it next to my Full Throttle which by the way is very good as well.

Best wishes to Heighway.

Hey Andrew,
Make sure you give all the complainers,on this thread, their game last.
Just kidding everyone. Lol.

I'll tell you what Hilton, I'm on ASLE and hitting the Brewskies in between and loving pinball my man.

No Doobies BUT its all good.

Yes, Colonel Klank, I'm ok with Andrew giving me my game last! Sargent Schlutz sees nothing and hears nothing.

I'm not gonna lie, you're a lil easier to follow than all that lawyer talk! Haha, what a shit show this has turned out to be.. from the rubberduk shmuck, delayed announcements, now cointaker! ..i Just want to own this game one day! Dammit! Cheers to you iceman! No le but I did frost the scotch glass!!

Haha! You crazy bastage.
ASLE is surprisingly a fun game. I was playing it as well. But let's stay on topic.

I'm deferring all my future posts to Manimal and signing a POA. Illinois short form of course.
Manimal is a good voice of reason on this thread.

Well I think he's former Law enforcement so I agree, an excellent voice of reason.

New owners announcement?

similar to what Houdini is doing, and same thing as what we do with Stern. Small deposit to hold a position, balance ONLY paid once game was actually being built and shipping was imminent.

I dont preorder anything anymore.

I have no issue putting down a deposit and actually think more companies should use the Spooky model of a 1k non-refundable deposit to hold position (esp for any limited game). I think it is smart for buisness.

I also think there should be no option to jump a line or pay more to get in front of others. I am not a fan of that model but understand why it is done.

You have to keep in mind that it appears Heighway favors supporting original customers since the first 2 pre-produciton games went out to operators that also owned and put out Full Throttle. I appreciate this and also think it was both fair and smart. Both operators are known to be able to maintain games and keep them running well which is a smart move for any company looking to get more exposure for a game.

I have offered to do the same thing for Houdini and would be happy to be a beta location for your game once it is ready. To me it would make sense since Madison is not too far from you guys and would make tweaks and troubleshooting easy.

There was a different announcement that has gone missing

is there a problem with Heighway? Are they having financial problems?

That is today's speculation

Just spoke with Melissa at Cointaker, and she talked me off the ledge. She couldn't give details, but said everyone will be happy with the announcement.

Um...

Isn't that what pre-ordering is?

That's literally the procedure game stores like GameStop use for pre-orders (deposit or full payment).

everyone only thing I know of that can fit that bill is free money. I'll take a handful please.

That's what she said.

i'd chuckle if its Stern have bought it and all the cry babies who said they'd never buy another Stern suddenly had no choice

*Note: this was a joke*
*Note Just in case: This was a joke*

Cheers,
Neil.

not really. A small% down is not the same as a pre-order IMHO.

Pre-order is what kickstarter does >> pay up front in full and then pray.
Pre-order is what TBL and SkitB did. They took a majority of money up front.

A small deposit is what everyone else (Spooky, Stern, Heighway, Houdini, etc...) do.
I fully understand there is a happy medium between no money till pickup and pre-order. I think the non-refundable small deposit is smart and fair for both the business and the customer when dealing with high end toys in limited production numbers.

Granted, if you dont want to be early, then a customer can just wait it out also. (i.e. I know many that dont buy sterns until they are actively in stock for pickup/shipping and that is by far the smartest thing to do)

Saw this posted here yesterday and it was gone this morning. Reposting since it's public and relevant

https://www.facebook.com/TopScoreGamerooms/posts/1356461757733095

it say page doesn't exist?

dead link FYI

Link opens fine for me.....

"NOTICE;
Regarding the Alien pinball machine by Heighway Pinball company. We were originally proud to announce when we came to an agreement as a dealer of this incredible looking pinball machine and other future games from this company. We've met with the owner and talk to him many times. The company truly does have a great passion for putting out great games. But since our initial connection and investment with Heighway Pinball the company has struggled to finish producing games and also providing customer service on their previous game, "Full Throttle". Other issues not disclosed also have arose so we have decided to break ties and we are no longer a product dealer/distributor for Heighway Pinball company products at this time. This does not mean we might not revisit getting back together with them in the future but they first must get production, manual/schematic documentation and customer service in a much better place first. We need that support for ourselves and to help supply our customers. They have a unique product there so communication and documentation service and repair is vital
I wish them the best of luck in their growth and production. We hear there is a new announcement coming for some restructuring of their company and hopefully that will go smoothly as well.
Thank you
Troy North and Top Score Gamerooms LLC"

It's still a pre-order, no matter what you try to define it as. I don't care that you do, just pointing out that it's still a pre-order.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-order

From the wikipedia page: "pre-orders were usually placed by providing the vendor with a small percentage of the game's cost to hold their reservation (such as $5 or $10 on a $50 game) with assurances they would receive their copy on release day after paying the remaining balance"

My guess they have been working balls out and have 100 built ready to ship - and are going to deliver them paratrooper style across various countries... probably not.. Hope the news is good and allows for more games to be built and shipped to eager buyers. Heighway is making a fantastic product, you can tell alot of care and attention to detail that have gone into all parts of the machines.

gg (resized).jpg

Maybe Andrew got accepted to appear on Shark Tank ?

Robert - the drama and schenanigans of all the pinball "companies" over the past few years have DESTROYED the joy of buying new games. You've got the scams of Shit-B and Jpop, the attempted scam of Vonnie-D, the current uncertainty of DP (I'm sitting here with my finger up my butt waiting for my hostage Lebowski), Heighway's continual misleads and drama, Stern's greed/arrogance/perpetual code & QC issues, JJP's prices & Spooky's ...well, Spooky doesn't seem to do anything wrong, they just haven't made a game I like lol. Anyway - F all this S, seriously - the pinball world is run by maniac dreamers...I'm out for good. Hopefully something better will rise from their ashes. As I've stepped back, the ridiculousness of spending $7-$8k and waiting for years has become so clearly bonkers. I'm having so much more fun with my $300 Nintendo Switch and games that cost $10-$60 and are playable instantly with no drama. The "new Pinball game" is stupid as F.

On cue...

Why not do what people did for decades? Enjoy playing and collecting games that already exist?

And think how many hours fun you will get from this when it comes out

RAREHERO .. how can u play Nintendo with all those beauties in your pin collection? I just heard Red say,"time to go to work!"

RAREHERO...how can you play your Nintendo with one finger up your butt?

This thread is hilarious, I'm currently unemployed and even I don't have time for this shit lol.

Yup. The pinball hobby is massively enjoyable without anything new. New is interesting, especially if it's a theme you love...but I'm over it. If I want to enjoy Lebowski, Ghostbusters, or Alien, I'll just watch the movie. For the price of a new pinball machine, you could buy a great HD 3D Projector, screen, 7.1 receiver, speakers, Blu-Ray player, your favorite movies...and STILL have a TON of money leftover.

OMG, Mario Odyssey looks incredible. Zelda: Breath of the Wild drew me in completely...I put 150 hours into it, and with the upcoming DLC, I'll be diving back in for more!

I've had most of my games for a long time....so there's an element of "been there, done that". I still play them here and there, but definitely not as much lately. Been playing Mario Kart & Puyo Puyo Tetris with people online...the ARMS Test Punch was this past weekend, and that game is incredibly fun, that'll be eating more of my time when it comes out in a few weeks. Splatoon 2 comes out this summer...so much goodness on Nintendo...and after the price of pinball becoming "normalized" in my life, video games seem practically free.

Well, Mario Kart does have options for motion control, auto-accelerate & driver assist...and the Joy-Con is small....hell, I probably could play the game WITH my butt!

Well said , well said !!
Been loving pinball forever and since I'm old it's been a long time.
But this shit is gone of the track.

Having more fun with my car collection, keeping it real !!

pics or it did not happen...

Hey Rarehero are you selling your machines? I'm looking for a Ghostbusters premium, I know you don't list it but you have one