Since there is absolutely no news out of Deeproot to talk about, lets revisit some Deeproot greatest hits of the last few years.
RM: When boiled (or torn down) to its individual components, there is nothing hard or novel about pinball machines. The magic comes in balancing each of the individual components together to create a ‘production’ that is fun, engaging, and immersive. ‘Pinball is hard’ has become an excuse rather than a fact of development.
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TWIP: Are you concerned about over-promising and under-delivering?
RM: LOL! No. Not at all. The bar is so low right now I think the bigger issue (for us) will be to continue to raise it after our launch.
RM: There is ample evidence of the amount of drama that this industry experienced over recent years. It is hard to believe that any current participant in this industry would be able to thrive in a more mature or competitive industry. I’ve built businesses and competed in multiple industries much more crowded and cutthroat than the pinball industry. That’s what makes doing pinball so easy for us.
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11/30/17
TWIP: Do you have the capability, expertise, experience, and financial resources to manufacture pinball machines in large quantities?
dr: Sure. Why not?
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TWIP: I ask this question because, as you know, in the last few years, this community has had several start up pinball companies not delivered what was promised, and several other startups that are having significant struggles in trying to manufacture pinball machines. It seems like nearly every company that has started since 2011 has had significant hurdles, significant delays, and in many cases had to be bailed out by bringing in additional investors. What makes deeproot different from the other startups?
dr: Unlike everyone else in the industry who shows off something shiny and then does the immediate take away, we simply are not going to tell everyone what we’re doing. When the masterpiece is ready, we will unveil it for everyone to enjoy. It is hard to believe that we (who arguably have more capitalization then all the other pinball participants combined and having accomplished the impossible in other industries) would not be able to find a way to do something as easy as pinball.
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TWIP: Better quality machines than any other current manufacturers, including Stern and Jersey Jack?
dr: Quality is subjective. People typically don’t judge a Ferrari by the gas cap it uses. It’s equally difficult to judge a pinball manufacturer by a particular title. Or a range of titles. Each manufacturer will have its own style and product profile. While some people might currently think that JJP is better quality than Stern, it wasn’t always the case. Our view is this… what’s the point of making a Ferrari with Ferrari prices and Ferrari costs. Ferrari already does that. We would love to make a Ferrari with KIA prices and KIA costs. No offense to Ferrari or KIA in this example. At the end of the day it would be hard to imagine any existing pinball manufacturer able to compete with us on the deeproot perfect blend of product line, price, costs, and quality.