Quoted from foxtj24:

How are the quality of the balls? I generally toss the ones stern includes and use the Shiny balls from pinball life. How are these in comparison?

Quoted from Yelobird:

Nobody should feel any pain. This Is an awesome pin and will certainly be worth the wait. A great team whose only fault is wanting to make sure every game is perfect. Look on the bright side, they are still 4 years ahead of the wait for The Big Lebowski!

Quoted from per3per3:

For context, I pre-ordered in June and haven't heard anything yet.

Quoted from mrossman5:

The side blades make the game look even more amazing.

Quoted from Rdoyle1978:

Oh great that does not make me feel good. Joe told me that the machine would ship to my door from Chicago, but I guess it still ships through his account. This is hella confusing, especially with other guys I’ve called saying they can have it in a month. I figured Joe had some pull, he always puts on such a great show

Quoted from konjurer:

I don't remember exactly... maybe September??? The list at my distributor wasn't very deep at that time. I still wasn't sure Houdini was the way to go. I almost went with TNA. Still want that TNA but Houdini was too much of a dream theme for me and packed a lot in for the money. When I finally got to play a Houdini I was very happy with my decision to reserve a spot.
I certainly feel your pain if you've waited longer than me! I like my dealer so if his pre-order list was already lengthy I still would have stuck with him.

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

Come on guys, both of you commenting here have gotten updates from me by email or texts whenever asked, immediately. I know you are excited to get your game and I appreciate that, but there is no news to report - they do not make 1000 games a day and fulfill every order on the first day of production. This game went on sale in April, and one of you ordered in June, and the other ordered in October. Unfortunately the fact is people ordered before you. AND they JUST STARTED SHIPPING and slowly at that. It's a new company, a new line, a new game, new employees, etc... There is a learning curve... And I can tell you AP is wildly quality conscious. Joe Balcer, bless him, has been playing every game for 20 minutes before he approves it to go into a box to ship. So, the slow roll out is first expected, and second appreciated - we all would rather have a game that's perfect shipping than one rushed with issues.
If you want to call around and get bullshitted with fake dates you'll get told to make a sale go ahead. I do not play games with my customers nor potential customers. I will not be unethical and sell a game early to a new customer to make a new sale while my loyal early buyers sit and wait - so whoever is telling you they can get you a game next week while there are 100s waiting from every distributor for months is either lying to you or might get terminated as a distributor if they get caught doing that line jumping garbage. The 'I can get you a game next week' as was told to me today came from somebody that IS NOT EVEN A DISTRIBUTOR for AP. So take it for what it's worth - it's BS. I can tell you NOBODY has allotments planned out more than a week or knows what they are getting when at this early point - they are just starting to ship to customers after a run of early distributor games and test games for locations. I got an email Tuesday 'we have 5 games for you Wednesday' - that's when I knew I was getting something off the line - a day or days before. They aren't too confident on how many can go out each day just yet so they are just giving them to us as they can when they are done. That will ramp up to faster production and higher confidence soon. Customers are in line. And I am in line with AP. They are doing things extremely fairly, as I am.
I can tell you I am one of AP's largest distributors. Here's how it works... If I have say 15% of AP's orders and they make 100 games in a month they are probably assigning about 15 games to me. Someone who ordered 5% of what has been ordered will get about 5. I get asked 'what's my place in line' frequently and I explain to people it's irrelevant for the above reason. Distributors do not get same allotment numbers so # 4 with one guy could be same as #15 with another. The idea is for the company to try to get product to every distributor in a manner so they are hopefully getting to customers who ordered around the same time frame across all distributors... It's an imperfect science, but a lot of thought goes into it so it is as fair and equitable to both the distributors and to the customers as possible.
Do people try to buck the system ? Sure... I once had a guy on DI come to me when they started shipping after 6 months of preorder with this line 'How much extra can I pay to get my game now'... I told him nothing cause it won't happen. He still did order from me, then later cancelled when he got one earlier, probably by stealing someone else's spot in line from a distributor who was less than ethical and felt a few hundred bucks was worth screwing his earlier customers. A few extra bucks or one sale is not worth the reputation I've build for years. I'm not your guy for that. Rest assured guys like that will not be the guys answering the phone on a weekend, texting you during their family dinner to answer your questions, or helping you with service issues, they are motivated by $ only and when they have it their motivation to you is over. That's just a general comment and that said, AP for the most part has a really small but top quality team of distributors - they didn't appoint just anyone, they did their homework.
So please everyone be patient... all the games are coming... We all love you are excited, we are too... But you can't see 10 people post on Pinside they got their game and think 1000 have shipped... Chances are 10 shipped. I can tell you the team at AP is so passionate about what they are doing - from Dhaval down to Joe Balcer and Jim Thorton in design and production, to Josh in programming, to Ryan in marketing - these guys CARE, period, it's all I've seen from any of them from the start. They want the best game they can make, filled with the most fun stuff they can put in it, built with quality, and supported after the sale... And they did that at a $ 7,000 price point Houdini is a stuffed / blinged out LE model for a Pro/Premium price... It's a great game and a better value. Let them do the good stuff they do, they won't rush it, and they will get faster, and soon everyone will have their game. ...and everyone will live happily every after... : )
Joe Newhart
[email protected]
570-357-0042

Quoted from Rdoyle1978:

It's all good, Joe - nobody's trashing you. We're just excited to some day get these games - and I can only speak for myself - I've not bought NIB before, so this is all new to me.

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

I'm always available and have answered every email from you in record time... Any questions on status... just ask ! Happy to tell you what I know - I talk to someone at AP probably just about every day lately ! Thanks Rob !

Quoted from Ericc123:

Joe, that was excellent. I love it when a manufacturer or distributor comes on Pinside and speaks truth but backs it up with facts and information that we can all understand. I love this thread because of Rosh and I’m very impressed with your post.

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

I just wanted to get the info out that all this order of who gets what is very regimented with not just AP but every company. You are in line, we are in line, and we all want it done fairly. I just felt an explanation would be helpful.. We all get there's a lot of angst and anticipation at this stage... We expect it... We see people wait for 6 months patiently then when the first game ships everyone gets 'excited'... We love that, but we also need to be realistic... I learned early on to not 'tease' or guess dates even if I wasn't trying to be untruthful, people take what you say as gold, even if it's a guess... I personally prefer to do these sort of lengthy explanations to customers so I am transparent and they understand the process vs just being told '2 months, it's coming'. The truth right now is no distributor unless you're next on their list has a firm handle on when we are getting what... I get mad when I hear 'I can get you a game next week' I know it's BS, upsets customers who are waiting their turn, and it makes us all look bad. We can guess timeframes, but the process is JUST starting and the team at AP will get there soon where they can tell me 'you've got 10 coming in the next 30 days' or whatever and then we can go to our customers with firm answers. It's just still early is all and the reality is not many have shipped in the whole scheme of things, and for good reasons mentioned above. I can tell you what happens having lived through WOZ, the Hobbit, and other roll outs that took a long time - in a few weeks, or months you'll have your game and the few weeks or months you waited and were anxious will be a distant memory and all we'll be talking about is gameplay, how to complete modes, how to backhand this shot or that shot, somebody got to the wizard mode, etc.. Have fun, be nice, these guys will deliver - nobody wants your game in your basement more than AP and your distributor ! : )
Joe

Quoted from Yelobird:

Bravo Joe, now wheres my game? lolol Next your going to tell me theres no Santa! By your tone I suspect your day at the CPA wasn't fun. All good and do as always appreciate the update. Don't worry we still love you ; )

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

Richie Wrench is still the king - he doesn't give a shit when he gets his game though - he just wants everything different than what the game is announced as ! He's a special kind of crazy ! : )

Quoted from Yelobird:

Granted I have read some of his posts, I'm Glad he only has Your phone number. lol Take this for what its worth, I actually appreciate how high strung (in a good way) you get about your business and how you safe guard your reputation. It shows you give a crap! Love it. Now about that coin door color on my POTC CE..... Richie said I need help him persuade you lol.

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

I just wanted to get the info out that all this order of who gets what is very regimented with not just AP but every company. You are in line, we are in line, and we all want it done fairly. I just felt an explanation would be helpful.. We all get there's a lot of angst and anticipation at this stage... We expect it... We see people wait for 6 months patiently then when the first game ships everyone gets 'excited'... We love that, but we also need to be realistic... I learned early on to not 'tease' or guess dates even if I wasn't trying to be untruthful, people take what you say as gold, even if it's a guess... I personally prefer to do these sort of lengthy explanations to customers so I am transparent and they understand the process vs just being told '2 months, it's coming'. The truth right now is no distributor unless you're next on their list has a firm handle on when we are getting what... I get mad when I hear 'I can get you a game next week' I know it's BS, upsets customers who are waiting their turn, and it makes us all look bad. We can guess timeframes, but the process is JUST starting and the team at AP will get there soon where they can tell me 'you've got 10 coming in the next 30 days' or whatever and then we can go to our customers with firm answers. It's just still early is all and the reality is not many have shipped in the whole scheme of things, and for good reasons mentioned above. I can tell you what happens having lived through WOZ, the Hobbit, and other roll outs that took a long time - in a few weeks, or months you'll have your game and the few weeks or months you waited and were anxious will be a distant memory and all we'll be talking about is gameplay, how to complete modes, how to backhand this shot or that shot, somebody got to the wizard mode, etc.. Have fun, be nice, these guys will deliver - nobody wants your game in your basement more than AP and your distributor ! : )
Joe

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

I told him nothing cause it won't happen. He still did order from me, then later cancelled when he got one earlier, probably by stealing someone else's spot in line from a distributor who was less than ethical and felt a few hundred bucks was worth screwing his earlier customers. A few extra bucks or one sale is not worth the reputation I've build for years. I'm not your guy for that.

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

Can we not talk about Richie Wrench anymore - he's been quiet lately and he's like Candyman, you mention his name 3 times in a thread and all of a sudden he's texting you at 2am telling you the ground wire braid should be painted gold on his game or he's going to lose his mind.

Quoted from bemmett:

pinballstar definitely the man. He has earned my business thru the years and I hassle him all the time, not once has he ever not taken the time to help and/or explain things in detail as can be seen in the posts above. Good and ethical business practice in this industry will put you on top most every time and glad there are still people out there that care about their reputation and customers like Joe.

It's 5 times, don't worry.
Richie Wrench...Rich

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

Come on guys...

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

All good guys... let's talk about Houdini gameplay, rules, etc... not the wait list and distributor stuff ! That's boring !

Quoted from hawkmoon:

All this whining is funny!!! If this is your first NIB buy,then chill out!!Those of us who have waited for nib pins to arrive know this drill!! It WILL happen!!The last one was our B66! Took forever!!I've been waiting for three years for "The Beatles"!

Quoted from NPO:

next week at TPF 2018

Quoted from bemmett:

How about Magic Glass anyone seen it in person yet?

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

Joe Balcer, bless him, has been playing every game for 20 minutes before he approves it to go into a box to ship.

Quoted from rosh:

Joe does not spend 20 minutes playing the machine, Joe (or Jim or Barry) spend way, way more than 20 minutes going over the machines, adjusting and tweaking the flat rails and ball guides to be sure the ball flows correctly to the flippers, adjusting the coil strength, reviewing wiring, checking switches and overall inspection. Then they will typically run though a few of the modes to confirm other things are right. It is a far more thorough check then just playing the machine. Not saying they will never miss something but as you have seen, there have been pretty few issues on the games that have shipped.

Quoted from rosh:

We should have four at the show, so lines won't be like they were last year.

We are hopeful to have some of new version of magic glass on a couple of the games at TPF. Have not gotten confirmation. I believe they will then become available shortly after that.

Joe does not spend 20 minutes playing the machine, Joe (or Jim or Barry) spend way, way more than 20 minutes going over the machines, adjusting and tweaking the flat rails and ball guides to be sure the ball flows correctly to the flippers, adjusting the coil strength, reviewing wiring, checking switches and overall inspection. Then they will typically run though a few of the modes to confirm other things are right. It is a far more thorough check then just playing the machine. Not saying they will never miss something but as you have seen, there have been pretty few issues on the games that have shipped.

Quoted from bemmett:

How about Magic Glass anyone seen it in person yet?

Quoted from PBFan:

Well, based on some of the preceding comments I'd have to say:
"I don't always buy NIB pinball machines but when I do ... I would go with PinballSTAR Joe"!
I like the upfront business honesty and the importance he seems to put on his reputation. That's the kind of salesman I like to deal with - and I would pay more for that experience.

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

Richie Wrench is still the king - he doesn't give a shit when he gets his game though - he just wants everything different than what the game is announced as ! He's a special kind of crazy ! : )

Quoted from RichieWrench:

HI ALL -- DID SOMEONE SAY MY NAME????

Quoted from bemmett:

pinballstar definitely the man. He has earned my business thru the years and I hassle him all the time, not once has he ever not taken the time to help and/or explain things in detail as can be seen in the posts above. Good and ethical business practice in this industry will put you on top most every time and glad there are still people out there that care about their reputation and customers like Joe.

It's 5 times, don't worry.
Richie Wrench...Rich

Quoted from Ericpinballfan:

Did you order a Houdini Richie?

Quoted from RichieWrench:

Going to check it out at the TPF

Quoted from bemmett:

pinballstar definitely the man. He has earned my business thru the years and I hassle him all the time, not once has he ever not taken the time to help and/or explain things in detail as can be seen in the posts above. Good and ethical business practice in this industry will put you on top most every time and glad there are still people out there that care about their reputation and customers like Joe.

It's 5 times, don't worry.
Richie Wrench...Rich

Quoted from PinballSTAR:

Come on guys, both of you commenting here have gotten updates from me by email or texts whenever asked, immediately. I know you are excited to get your game and I appreciate that, but there is no news to report - they do not make 1000 games a day and fulfill every order on the first day of production. This game went on sale in April, and one of you ordered in June, and the other ordered in October. Unfortunately the fact is people ordered before you. AND they JUST STARTED SHIPPING and slowly at that. It's a new company, a new line, a new game, new employees, etc... There is a learning curve... And I can tell you AP is wildly quality conscious. Joe Balcer, bless him, has been playing every game for 20 minutes before he approves it to go into a box to ship. So, the slow roll out is first expected, and second appreciated - we all would rather have a game that's perfect shipping than one rushed with issues.
If you want to call around and get bullshitted with fake dates you'll get told to make a sale go ahead. I do not play games with my customers nor potential customers. I will not be unethical and sell a game early to a new customer to make a new sale while my loyal early buyers sit and wait - so whoever is telling you they can get you a game next week while there are 100s waiting from every distributor for months is either lying to you or might get terminated as a distributor if they get caught doing that line jumping garbage. The 'I can get you a game next week' as was told to me today came from somebody that IS NOT EVEN A DISTRIBUTOR for AP. So take it for what it's worth - it's BS. I can tell you NOBODY has allotments planned out more than a week or knows what they are getting when at this early point - they are just starting to ship to customers after a run of early distributor games and test games for locations. I got an email Tuesday 'we have 5 games for you Wednesday' - that's when I knew I was getting something off the line - a day or days before. They aren't too confident on how many can go out each day just yet so they are just giving them to us as they can when they are done. That will ramp up to faster production and higher confidence soon. Customers are in line. And I am in line with AP. They are doing things extremely fairly, as I am.
I can tell you I am one of AP's largest distributors. Here's how it works... If I have say 15% of AP's orders and they make 100 games in a month they are probably assigning about 15 games to me. Someone who ordered 5% of what has been ordered will get about 5. I get asked 'what's my place in line' frequently and I explain to people it's irrelevant for the above reason. Distributors do not get same allotment numbers so # 4 with one guy could be same as #15 with another. The idea is for the company to try to get product to every distributor in a manner so they are hopefully getting to customers who ordered around the same time frame across all distributors... It's an imperfect science, but a lot of thought goes into it so it is as fair and equitable to both the distributors and to the customers as possible.
Do people try to buck the system ? Sure... I once had a guy on DI come to me when they started shipping after 6 months of preorder with this line 'How much extra can I pay to get my game now'... I told him nothing cause it won't happen. He still did order from me, then later cancelled when he got one earlier, probably by stealing someone else's spot in line from a distributor who was less than ethical and felt a few hundred bucks was worth screwing his earlier customers. A few extra bucks or one sale is not worth the reputation I've build for years. I'm not your guy for that. Rest assured guys like that will not be the guys answering the phone on a weekend, texting you during their family dinner to answer your questions, or helping you with service issues, they are motivated by $ only and when they have it their motivation to you is over. That's just a general comment and that said, AP for the most part has a really small but top quality team of distributors - they didn't appoint just anyone, they did their homework.
So please everyone be patient... all the games are coming... We all love you are excited, we are too... But you can't see 10 people post on Pinside they got their game and think 1000 have shipped... Chances are 10 shipped. I can tell you the team at AP is so passionate about what they are doing - from Dhaval down to Joe Balcer and Jim Thorton in design and production, to Josh in programming, to Ryan in marketing - these guys CARE, period, it's all I've seen from any of them from the start. They want the best game they can make, filled with the most fun stuff they can put in it, built with quality, and supported after the sale... And they did that at a $ 7,000 price point Houdini is a stuffed / blinged out LE model for a Pro/Premium price... It's a great game and a better value. Let them do the good stuff they do, they won't rush it, and they will get faster, and soon everyone will have their game. ...and everyone will live happily every after... : )
Joe Newhart
[email protected]
570-357-0042

Quoted from vicjw66:

however only the grand champion score is ever shown in attract mode. Weird.

Quoted from vicjw66:

I enjoyed it, and hopefully more sound effects will be coded later for hitting shots. There are times when you make a shot and there is no observable feedback.

Quoted from vicjw66:

The part I thought was really cool was the chance to win back your drained ball. I much prefer that you have a set number of "flips" to hit all the shots vs the way WOZ gives you a timer countdown

Quoted from flashinstinct:

Well said pinballSTAR....now ill let you pick a client that deserves a set of houdini decals.....lets keep it civil people...send me a pm

Quoted from beatmaster:

i noticed a little bit of wear in the shooter lane, for those of you who wants to protect your shooter lane, there's a shooter lane protector that fit almost perfectly. just need to trim the edge a little under the apron close to the metal bracket or not if you install it under the metal bracket, other than that it's a perfect fit.
https://www.pinballlife.com/index.php?p=product&id=4130
also added a metal protector on the right side of the shooter lane to protect the wood, can't remember where i got it (years ago), darker than brass like a chrome bronze fits the game perfectly.