First and foremost, thank you so much for everyone's words of support. It means the world to us.
Nick, thanks for chiming in here (on a number of occasions) more quickly than I was able. You're an incredible friend and project partner, my man.
You reminded me of something, too. These books were delivered to me less than a week ago now. Last Wednesday, as a matter of fact, the carrier truck arrived at my home:
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...the books were unloaded:
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...the palette was dropped in my garage:
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...and promptly unloaded into my mudroom:
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...then eventually they migrated to my temperature controlled basement storage. But not before taking a good long look through the books themselves:
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The following day, Thursday of last week, I took our bouncing baby books to a professional photography session for their glamour shots:
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...which lead to the picture that started this thread:
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This is sort of a long winded way of saying that Nick and I are both keenly aware of the current pinball release climate, both in terms of pinball books and pinball machines, and we were both adamant about not asking for pre-orders, kickstarting funds, or any hint of money-before-product. So when we see comments like this:
Quoted from pinwiztom:I just hit the embedded weblink to your site and attempted to "purchase today" , by hitting the shop now button ; but it appears that it is not yet set up to purchase, at least from my android tablet. Hopefully soon. Cheers and good luck.
It's just our way of saying that both Nick and I are awfully determined to make this a "buy-it-and-get-it" experience, regardless of whether the purchase is made in person or on our website, and we'd like it to all line-up upon release.
The books are here. They are real. This is not vaporware. ...and we are ITCHING to share this with everyone. It's been really difficult to sit on this product idea for over two years and not be able to share it. But again, we'd much rather have it ready to go upon announcement than to announce and then need to push back a publicly announced deadline. We're cognizant of that trend, too.
Alright, enough serious stuff. COMMENTS!!!
Quoted from Pecos:Congratulations to you both, Ryan and Nick, on the completion and publication of your Magnum Opus!
I know that a lot of hard work went into this. I’m really impressed with the E.M. Tech Explained article, beautifully illustrated. A picture is worth a thousand words. Please allow me the honor of being the first Pinsider to let you know that I will be buying a copy - such a bargain at only $15.00!
Pecos, in my eyes, you've been such a backbone of Pinside. From your project pinball thread to your astute and personal comments which assisted me through my first E.M. restoration (can you believe that wet-behind-the-ears experience has turned into this?), it's always such a joy to see you pop up in a thread I'm following. Now, especially, this one. Thanks for all your support.
Quoted from GSones:Count me in for a copy at TPF. I've just recently been bitten by the EM bug so the timing is perfect.
A man of fine taste, that is clear.
Nick and I got to know this game pretty darn well over the course of preparing that particular article. You're a lucky owner, Shapeshifter!
Thanks, Cdemuro! We'll be doing a pretty unique tour stop in Houston this August at the Burke Baker Planetarium. Looks like it's in your neck of the woods. Perhaps we'll get a chance to meet in person.
Quoted from Cdemuro:I hope you can sell some to the DMD snobs also. Lol. Everyone needs to appreciate EM.
So, I know this comment was meant as flippant and fun, but I have nothing against DMD's. Nick and I both have era-spanning collections. Mine has examples from 1940 flipperless games to Stern's 2007 Spider-man, and Nick's collection event includes another decade in either direction on that spectrum. All that to say, we want this to be a positive place, one free of judgement and in-fighting. So let's leave words like "snobs" at the door.
With all that said, our hope for this publication is essentially what your post described. We made a near impossible goal with this project; to appeal to multiple audiences, both those familiar with electro-mechanical era pinball and those who aren't. The latter category could be relative newcomers to the hobby who are interested in more modern games, or even folks who aren't familiar with pinball at all. When the book is released we'll see whether or not we were able to accomplish this tall task, but I have a hunch this will be a widely accessible publication with a little something for everyone.
Thanks for chiming in, Cdemuro, and for listening to some alternate thoughts here.
Jonathan! You've certainly set a high water mark for pinball publications. The Pinball Magazine tomes occupy a place of pride on my bookshelf:
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...so it's nice to have you chime in here. Can't wait to hear your thoughts about our first issue.
Thanks a bunch. We really appreciate the support!
Quoted from goldenboy232:If you're ever looking for guest writers, I'd be interested as well (EM pinhead and former journalist)!
Mark
Thank you for the offer, Mark. While we'd love to reach out to you, and also a number of pinball historians we really respect, Nick and I have outlined this 4-issue series pretty tightly. And if I have a hope of staying on this proposed, approximately every-other-year release schedule, we need to stick to this plan. So, sincerely, thank you for your offer and for your interest in our publication. Please swing by our booth or seminar at TPF this month. It'd be great to put a face with your Pinside handle.
Quoted from Pinballflare:Can’t wait to get my hands on one of these! You should see if you could get them at replayfx also. Thanks again for all your time and effort you both put into the hobby.
Hi Pinballflare, thanks for your enthusiasm and kind words! We really appreciate it. Neither Nick nor I will be at ReplayFX/Pinburgh this year. We know it's a great show, but it just didn't fit into the schedule of our lives this year. However, we're doing our best to give the community ample opportunities to connect, whether that's online or in person. Sorry. Maybe in a future year(?). *fingers crossed*
Quoted from Ballypin:Bravo !! Looks great Ryan. I won’t be at TPF but I hope to have a buddy pickup a copy for me.
We'll be there!
Quoted from pinwiztom:I will have to visit the website to get all the details for ordering, hope you take paypal. I assume there will be some nominal charge for shipping, but it will still be a barigin at whatever the price.
Hi Tom,
Good to see you around here, and thanks for your support. We will be charging shipping, which will be based on where you are in relation to us. So, it's hard to give you a definitive answer, but the shipping calculator will work it's magic upon check-out (once that goes live on March 22nd, 2019).
Hi Chris!
By this point in the thread, you know when you can order them. Ha-ha! Also, I just shot you a line at that email address you listed. Looking forward to chatting.
Also...
Quoted from cjmjmm2006:If you have met Ryan you will realize that this is of very good quality. He is an exceptional person and I don't throw comments like that around.
...thanks a bunch for your flattering words. Truly.
Quoted from Kipsie:Amazing! It looks insightful and more machine focused than the other publications out there.
I bookmarked your site!
Thank you!
Thank you, Kipsie! We appreciate you saving our site and checking back in a couple weeks or so!
Woo! Thanks, 1stpinballdave.
Psst...thanks for the explanation, Alex.
Quoted from gstellenberg:Looking forward to seeing this (and both of you!) at TPF. Congrats on the milestone. The previews look fantastic!
- Gerry
Gerry, that means a lot coming from you. Nick and I have both been long-time admirers of the P3 platform and games. I'm also happy to say that I'm completely jealous and happy for my homey @bingopodcast , who recently purchased and received his own P3(!!?!??!). SOOO COOL!!! Can't wait to see what you have in store for us at TPF this year and what sort of changes you've made to CCR since last TPF.
Quoted from robin:ryanclaytor and bingopodcast - I now how much work this has been for the both of you and I'm gonna try and spread the word about this fine publication.
I had a chance to preview an early copy of the first issue and even though I'm not really well versed into EM games (*) I found this a really interesting read and so beautifully illustrated. I can only highly recommend everyone: get a copy!
(*) for no particular reason other than little exposure to those games here in Holland. I love playing them at US events.
PINSIDE ROBIN!!!
What you've created with this pinball enthusiast portal is SO inspiring and nothing short of a labor of love. I've met a number of great friends across the country and around the world I'd have never connected with if it wasn't for you building this site. So, thank you, both for your efforts with pinside, and for your thoughts about reading through an early copy of this book. All I can say is, it's even more polished than when you saw it. Can't wait for you to see it at TPF. Safe travels!!!
Finally we get to meet in person. Thanks for your help in pinball over the years, Ken!
Ha! Thanks, pacmanretro. We really do appreciate you prepping for our release date. Means a lot!
Yaaas!!!
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Thank you!
Thanks, again, all! You're all making this release an incredibly gratifying experience. Thank you.