How many pins will this make for Jeff Bridges?
Tron
IM
TBL
Missing any?

Well, I just plunked down my 1k deposit.

Would be pretty ridiculous if I didn't preorder one, what with all of my carrying on about a TBL....

Looks like all that incense burning with the Dudeist Priests finally paid off.

Starfighter, myself, and about 171 other dudeists are in a forgiving mood this holiday season. We will be graciously accepting the apologies of anyone who said that no one would ever take on this project!!

King Kong (film 1976, pinball data east 1990)
also he was on a tv show called "Sea Hunt", and there was a pinball of the same name a few years later ... probably not related, although both the show and game appear to be scuba diving themed.

No need to I will just buy one in 3 years if/when it happens.
This is a very complicated game, you know, a lotta unknowns, a lotta ins, a lotta outs, a lotta what-have-yous. And, uh, a lotta strands to keep in my head, man. Lotta strands in old Duder's head.

LOL and spit out my peanuts!

A bit lame to wait 60 days and all you get to see is their banc account.

69 days waiting to see the big reveal that ends up showing absolutely nothing.
Lamest hype train ever in the history of pinball.
Anybody got any leads?

This pin is a fantastic theme but I fear that it will not be done it's full justice as the soundtrack will not be attainable. Like most Coen Bros films the soundtrack is spot on and so intertwined with the scenes/characters it is a shame they will not be able to put them in the game. The team really looks to be well versed in multimedia though with a great teaser/flyer/bride of pinbot 2.0.

Still will be a great game no doubt and here is to hoping I can find one to play, just wish they could have. Condition my Condition was in, Run through the jungle, The Man in Me, Spanish Hotel California,Looking out my back door, Tumbleweed song haha to many to name.

Why?

I would assume getting the right to multiple bands catalogs would be unattainable. I would love it if I am wrong, can anyone shed some light onto this?

I believe the songs are licensed with the movie

I was wondering the same about music clips...man, wished they could grab a few...

I believe this as well. You are securing the rights as an complete "entity". There may be some track limitations similar to the deal Stern made with Tron.

Here's the soundtrack for those interested:

Seems like the big announcement fell a little flat here on Pinside. Only a couple hundred posts total it seems throughout all the Lebowski threads since today's announcement. That's fairly tame compared to the frenzy that happened a couple weeks ago with Planetary Pinball or even some of the Stern ST discussions lately. I know that might be a little like comparing apples to oranges, but it just seems a little subdued to me. A potential major player introduces themselves to the scene, and the Lebowski threads are slipping down the front page only 5 hours later? Of course we have no idea if they even have a chance to live up to that potential with so little revealed. They state their intention to make more themes in the future. I know Dutch Pinball has been around for a while, but this is a new ball game.

I think this reveal was really sloppy. How do they know their price point already when apparently they have no idea what they are even building (no designs or concepts offered)? The one thing they do reveal is a price tag they know will immediately turn away much of their audience. The majority of the discussion is complaining about the price, but I suppose that is always the case in pinball. This whole thing is just awkward. I hope Dutch Pinball succeeds and TBL is the greatest pin ever since it is my dream theme, but this was not a wonderful first impression in my book.

Well I know Stern ST couldn't use that new Theme which was "a bummer man, that, that's a bummer"

I agree with you and while I don't have a problem putting down an initial deposit, I probably will have one before the next payment if more details fail to appear. I would like to note that a pin like TBL has the ability to explode beyond the small pinball collecting community and reach the fanatics residing in the general public. ( $8500 fanatics that is... )

and there is the key IMHO. I have to think TBL fans looking to drop that kind of cash on a pinball machine are not super plentiful.

Personally I hope you stay in no matter what. That way there will be at least one somewhere in St. Louis. Then I'll just need to become your friend.

That and it's an awful lot of money to agree to hand over up front when there's no design and it's from a group of people who haven't actually made a machine before. There's not even a sketch of what the whitewood might look like.

Uhhh Dudes bathrobe sold for $21,250 ... so they're out there.

http://www.julienslive.com/view-auctions/catalog/id/36/lot/11022/

Is this the beginning of the end? Sending $$$ overseas for something sight unseen.....

Whatever, the Dude Abides.........

We are indeed. I never in a million years thought I'd buy a new pin -- I'm perfectly content with older, used machines -- but for The Big Lebowski, I'm very likely to make an exception.

I don't understand the talk of this launch falling flat. This is a niche community, and what I saw was a lot of interest from the niche and a release of useful, pertinent info. Whether it met expectations varied by individual, just as you'd expect. Remember, a lot of people thought this was a total prank job, and expected the "announcement" to be bupkis. Instead we got info on the theme, a price, a release date, info on the team and setup, and also some new ideas related to how the playfield will be developed. Personally, I'd rather they incorporate ideas from the playing public, rather than have released a design today and said "Here's what you get, hope you like it."

The biggest sign that this was a successful launch was the reaction to the news that this was Dutch Pinball. As a barely-fringe hobbyist, I had no idea who that was, but what I saw was genuine enthusiasm that this was the company behind it. The tone seemed to me to be "Yes, Dutch Pinball, that means this is actually going to be done right!" I found out later that they haven't built their own pin yet, which is of course a huge deal, but the fact that these are people who have built a good reputation individually is extraordinarily positive.

Yeah, well, that's just, like, my opinion, man.

pinball news just updated their website:
http://www.pinballnews.com/news/lebowski.html

Oh hey, Boerne TX... never mind, you buy it and I'll come play yours.

Color me very disappointed

There's gonna be a heartache tonight, I know. 'Please be home for christmas' turned into 'How long??'. But get over it. With life in the fast lane, 2015 will be here with little wasted time.

Not the fu#%ing Eagles, man.

Haha....naw, I've got a few "future pins" already in the hopper, but this is definitely one for you to jump on and I'll make the short trip out to Helotes.....

Take it easy.

I would have liked more details too for sure, especially if the people behind it had no pinball rep. But DP has some street cred that will get them through this first phase. Their website is informative, they definitely get the vibe of the movie, and their FAQs were pretty good. They seem pretty well organized.

They have made a huge step and financial commitment by securing the license.

They are asking for ideas, which is good, because the peeps on this forum have awesome ideas and have already given this quite a bit of thought.

I will need some more substantial info before I go beyond this initial $1,000 deposit. They have until April, but I am fine putting 1k on the table at this point and with the amount of info out there.

I would be all the way in at 6.5K hesitant at 7 but might go on the title. I'll have to see it before I shell out that kind of money.

I'm basically feeling the same way.

I'm really tired of the false scarcity tactics of limited releases, but at the same time when they are asking for money upfront, it really hinders the pre-orders if everyone knows they can get one later.

Really, what am I getting for my risk and tying up the cash? first machine out the door? dunno if that is worth it.

Perhaps if the DP guys are reading this (I'm sure you are), maybe you can sweeten the pot for us pre-orders, and that might help overall.

Ha they're Dutch, they're born organized...seriously.

Nothing wrong with this figure at all.

So are we defining viral campaign as "talked about on Pinside a bunch"?

Curious if this viral campaign is being discussed outside the walls of Pinside. Any one seen anything about this elsewhere? (Other than pinballnews.com or the few pinball blogs)

I don't get why some some are disappointed. What Dutch Pinball did with Bride of Pinbot is simply stunning. They have a team of 12 experienced people, which I think is more than JJP started out on. Plus there is already an existing facility. So they hopefully won't run into the trouble JJP, Heighway Pinball and others ran in to when setting up their own. Then look at their current marketing. If that is a showcase for what is coming marketing-wise, I think there will be plenty of cool updates. I'm just as excited as when JJP was announced, maybe even more

I think the timeline is realistic since I know some JJP customers waited 2.5 years or something from the deposit to delivery of their WOZs? So I would rather have that up front, and as far as being unproven or having folks who haven't designed a pin before, I think that can go either way. Just today I was talking to another pinhead about how there aren't as many people taking as many risks b/c most of the folks working in pinball have been working in pinball for a while. So I'm personally excited to see what they come up with. This isn't a knock on anyone working in pinball now as I love a lot of what's being made now, but maybe folks can have an open mind to this. I know I am really excited to see how this evolves

I don't think so either. Even if they only sold 300 (a solid bowling number), it would be $285/pin in licensing fees. I have paid that much for a board to fix an old pin. I would gladly build that into my $8500 pin price for a TBL theme!!!

Congratulations to Dutch Pinball for securing the license and I wish them the best of luck- very excited to see the final product. Although I understand people's concerns, I wouldn't call DP "unknowns"- yes they have not designed a machine, but they have talented programmers and have been an active part of the community for awhile now. Of course things can happen with a new company taking on a difficult project, but I believe that DP's heart is all in for this and I don't think anyone has to worry about them scamming anyone or taking advantage of people because they are foreign.

I don't believe that is correct.

I believe this is why Iron Man does not have any AC/DC music in it for example.

Hmm...I said that I'd preorder one of these if it ever came to be, but with the whole Metallica fiasco I'm out until I know that it's both real and good. The $8,500 price tag makes saying no a lot easier, too.

For me personally a Lebowski pin is the most exciting pinball news I have ever heard. I'm thrilled to think I might get to play one some day. It is incredible that Dutch Pinball has secured the license, and that they are going to try and make this happen.

What I am disappointed in a little is the execution of the announcement. The only thing I learned today is who will be making it and how much it will cost. That's it. Why set up a countdown timer and reveal so little? The only significant detail that is revealed, the $8.5K+ price, is not a positive. That is a pricey pin anyway you look at it. I would think it is over the cash allowance of much of their audience(myself included). If that price was accompanied by a really ambitious design layout, or at the very least a listing of possible features (voice actors, licensed music, potential toys, etc) perhaps that would help explain the price tag. Instead we are left to think they haven't really designed anything yet. Well, how the heck do they know how much to charge for a pinball machine that doesn't even exist on paper? To come out of the gate with a higher asking price than most of their competition, and not provide reasons that explain that price seems clumsy to me. It's just not a great way to make an entrance.

The initial announcement leaves me with mixed emotions. I know more details will follow. Patience is a virtue I guess. I will eagerly await more news from Dutch Pinball. I'm rooting for them even though I'm being critical right now. Time will tell.

Let me explain then:
Price
Lack of information

Obviously i don't care if the company is "overseas". The people involved have done outstanding projects.

No comparaison can be made with SkitB: you could gave bought 2 predators for one TBL, deposit was $250 and WE saw plenty of pictures and videos before. For Nemo I actually played a prototype...

So...until I win the lottery I am out...

For starters price and completion date literally pulled out of someone's ass.
If they will pay 8K surely they will pay 8.5K seems to be how they arrived at the price.
What is this bullshit?
Nobody fu(ks with the Jesus.

The Jesus.jpg

I was somehow hoping that Stern would be behind the big announcement however unlikely I knew that to be. I would lay my money down tomorrow if the company behind this had Sterns proven track record. I think I will have to wait and see on this one. The least they could have done is have some reveal about the pin. Anyone could have hired a few models and gotten licensing. I think we all learned by following JJP's startup that producing a pinball machine from scratch with a new company is quite daunting. I sure hope this succeeds because I really want a TBL pin.

I doubt that. They have an experienced team and a facility. That means they should be able to narrow down the basic costs and production times of standard parts like a cabinet, playfield, boards and such. They also have experience in programming BOP 2.0, so should be able to indicate how much time they need to get everything going.

As for the pricetage: Exporting from EU to USA has become very expensive over the past 18 months. You can't blame the upswing of the American economy on them, but it does affect the cost of the game.