How do JJP or Stern pitch the ROI to an operator on a 7K+ machine?

This is the exact challenge of unlicensed games... any of them. They need to be played. There is no built-in market for them. If JJP can manage this game as a "sleeper" and not expect heavy front-loaded sales, then it might work out.

I'd suggest they get demo units to every distributor asap. Demos to every show. Just get it out there.

"Crazy Bob" from Roadshow is on the side of the cabinet and as three stand up targets "b" "o" "b" on the playfield.

I hope there are some others from funhouse, earthshaker, whirlwind, etc. I don't expect and from Addams or Twilight since they are licensed.

Pinbutt2000,
I am starting to get the impression that this a throw away account to hide behind. Good form creating a burner account at Expo where it would be problematic for mods to figure out your identity. Classic.

Pinbutt2000,
Is this still available for sale? I'm interested. Please contact me at your earliest convenience. My number is 911.

Mr Butt2000,
You are making it too easy for pinside to take this and run with it. I must resist as I have been a habitual line stepper when it comes to these type of jokes and do not want to be booted from another thread. I must encourage others though as it is my obligation to comedy.

What really struck me about the phone integration was that Pat was very proud about the cabinet being 6.5 degrees at rest and the bubble level being back.

Yet they missed the opportunity to put a cheap accelerometer on the playfield and use this bluetooth link they have to provide a way to level the game using the companion app. Adding a little functionality would make the bluetooth seem more valuable as feature.

Good thinking Wolfmarsh. It would've taken me a year to think of that as a feature.

I was thinking that too... or if they want to be really innovative make the playfield seld-leveling.... I don't think I would actually want that though... a cheapo accelerometer mounted to the playfield with an interface int the diagnostics would be sweet tho.

We are already complaining about the high price, we don't need to give them a legitimate reason for it.

Are those not the property of the folks who own the rights to B/W stuff?? Those have to be trademarked and no way the ownership of Lawlor. Did JJP ask for permission? Curious.

An accelerometer package is about 2 bucks. Plus in therory they could also do away with the tilt switches and plumb re-couping that two bucks... of course they would need to develop an interface for the module and the ui interface but those are one time expenses that could be dstributed into the platform cost.

Ha ha.... Good points all
Have at it. I am all about fun and Assha.... Er

Hey Ryan, is this by any chance my old ECLE #324? If so, glad to see so many people enjoying it.
Back on topic, Dialed In is starting to look pretty good to me...lets see what a standard costs and I might be a customer.

Doesn't sound like Dialed in is going to have to hunt for sales.

Quoted from PinballSTAR's FS thread: "PinballSTAR sold more games in one day of Dialed In than we might regularly in 9 mos to a year. We placed a huge order with JJP yesterday for our initial allotment. I have confidence in JJP and Pat Lawlor that Dialed In is going to be a big hit."

Just throw the phone at the game to nudge.

I still have many concerns but if I was slightly interested I'd place an order.
It's ONLY $250.00 bucks and Fully Refundable.

Awesome! Glad to hear it. A name doesn't have to ring my bell to be a hit. I may very well be ordering myself once i have had a chance to play it

The more videos I watch the better the game looks to me.. definitely way more interesting to me then some 1966 rehash of Batman.. the world has enough Batman pinball machines already

Fine. I'm not inviting you over to play my BM66!

Consider me skeptical.

Well in that case, I really like Batman 66! It seems like a kick ass game!

I think having 6 working, well-playing games on the floor probably had a huge impact.

When I saw the unveiling on the live feed, I have to admit my initial reaction was disappointing. But, I did play it a few times today. After playing it I do like it a lot!! It has a lot of things going on that I enjoyed. I even was SUPER skeptical of the machine taking selfies, but it does seem to work well.

Keefer told me code is 20% done as of today.

Red and Ted.

Joe does not ever lie or even fib! Dude is a straight shooter. No reason to even question him.

I am very confused by this theme... What exactly is it?

Yep from what ive heard threw the grapevine it was around 50 the first day ....im happy to be one of them ...

I played a few games. It has a lot going for it... except the theme.

I am curious to hear which OP's are buying this game to route? How many are you buying? Do you really believe this game will pay off for you in the long run? Hobbit seemed like slightly less risk (being a popular theme and lower cost). If the OP's are not on board to buy this game in decent numbers I don't see how they sell more than a few hundred tops to home collectors. I'm not surprised if 50 were ordered on day one since it was only $250 and there was a lot of hype and a certain number of people who were going to buy "the next Lawlor title" no matter what the theme or price was. Game looks pretty fun to me but I'm passing on the 9k price tag alone.

You know when i got my Hobbit and Smaug games this year there numerous problems with both games in regards to quality control and the games should have NEVER left the plant like they did....But they did....I called and i was upset....But the team at JJP made it right. If they did not.....I would have been done on any future purchases.

I would like to say that I have played the game and I am in for the CE for then12.5 K. I think this game is a winner. IT PLAYS GREAT. Way better than most and the quality of the game is far much more superior...I am looking foward to my game and I just hope that Jack makes it worth the extra costs for the upgrades. I have now place my order for the CE DI and i cant wait to the #4 Game...they are getting better and better each year and they are growing. JACK....Just dont forget the details and keep up with quality control.

If you don't mind a post from a competitor who's played it and been talking with other people who've played it, my two cents is it's a cool game, it feels like a Lawlor, and JJP deserves credit for trying an original theme. That takes balls. I wish we could be a little less quick to judge.

IMHO the people mocking the theme, worrying about the phone ringing sound, and all the other little things are going to forget all about that when the game is out. David Thiel is a pro (which means he doesn't tell me about competitor's games to be clear even though we work together) and I simply don't believe any game he does is going to have annoying sounds if he can help it. Again, he doesn't leak things to me, but I'm pretty sure he's spent a lot more time on Alien sounds than Dialed In, give him time to work his magic.

I saw one comment earlier in the thread that said something like "they shouldn't call you, they should text you", and I had to laugh, because it does text you. The text bubbles on the screen are the instructions for modes or whatever. Just saying, wait until you play it at least before getting too critical, you might find that your assumptions are wrong.

Did they nail everything? Nah, but what games does, licensed or otherwise? You're never going to please everyone. I don't want to look at selfies of myself playing for instance, but other people might think it's really cool. It looks like there's an option to turn it off anyways, the game I was playing had placeholder images that said D.I.E. (I think) instead, which I guess must be a theme reference I don't get yet? Anyone figure that out yet?

If I can be permitted one criticism, and it's the obvious one, it's the price. I talked to a lot of people who didn't like the theme, played it, and changed their tune. Playing was believing. But they still couldn't stomach the price. Even if I love the theme I'm personally out at $9k myself, just too crazy for a game, no matter how cool.

And to be blunt more than one person told me they were thinking about Alien now because it was the only reasonably priced new game at the show. I hope this runaway price thing can be solved, and competition can actually bring prices down instead of helping push them higher. I'd be good with Alien selling big to prove that to everyone!

Bottom line: I was impressed, I never saw any of the 5 games need the glass popped (that's no small feat!!), JP's animations were a clever way to handle the enormous task of filling a high def screen with original animations, and the return of the Wizard Block inserts was cool. The theme isn't really for me, though I think people should give it a bit more of a chance, and the price is just way too high, but I saw the game, I played the game, and I think it deserves props.

It's in the comic book they handed out on Thursday. It's the name of the corporation trying to get the super powered cell phone back. Dialed In Enterprises (D.I.E.), I think.

D.I.E. = Dialed In Electronics, the company that made the magical prototype cell phone that fell into the wrong hands.

If I buy one for my location, it'll be only one. Here is the problem from my vantage point: JJP should produce the "Pro" (or operator model) first so that we have a chance to reap the benefits of player enthusiasm. They aren't doing that. So, we can pay more now for the 'new machine' coin drop and get the game earlier or we can wait for the Pro model.

Of course, LE sales depend on early adopters lest zero WWE-LE sales, so, the most expensive ones are offered first.

At my location, there is no way it'll pay for itself in less than about 8 years (assuming it equals my best earning machine). The "bank" lies in the residual value.

Oh right, thanks! I read the comic and then left it on a table and forgot about it. Maybe stick to pins instead of publishing comic books. I probably should have kept it as a collectible, but I just didn't care enough to take it back up to my room.

Anyways, yeah the D.I.E. logo (looked vaguely Illuminati like) shows up in the polaroid on the screen if the camera is off I think. Someone had to cycle the power on the game to fix it, so I assume it's not necessarily on purpose, but I bet you can turn it on in the options.

Joe is straight up no b.s.. I'm so tempted. Just wish it was $500 cheaper.

As it sounds like such a great player, packed with features I bet a different name and 8500 price tag and nobody at the show would have complained and far fewer here... some of us here who only saw the grainy constantly moving and obstructed view with a confusing explanation of the theme probably would have still been grumpy but its in fun.

I'm glad to see a positive thread about the game. My first impression was that it looks like fun, looks like classic Lawlor, and looks like he made an effort to bring a 20+ year old platform into today's technology. Glad to see people who actually played it confirm my first impression!

Played about 25 games today.
What a blast multi ball is!
There are several magnets under the playfield
That not only throw the ball the way you'd expect...you just don't know where and when.
They also do a mini pulse, that changes the
angle of the ball by a few degrees.
Wow that keeps you on your toes!

This feature messes with balls more then
Magna slings!

Also to share, from JJP.
Prices aren't set yet, and they hear our concerns.
Lots of talk between JJP and players about
Price, so hang on, you may be surprised
by the final price.

Its just so quirky and fun, in a Pat Lawlor
way.
I saw only 2 adjustments made to switches
The entire time.
Brilliant to have them working so well
and 5 games for everyone to play.

As Aurich and others mentioned, you'll
need to play this, before any judgement.

All I can end my expo trip with is, I wanted
to come home knowing what my next game
is, in a year, and Dialed in won me over!

Sad thing is, even if JJP comes out and says they want $7000 for the LE, people will still bitch and say it's only worth $6500. And if they say $6500, people will say $6000. And so on and so on.

He pin looks great, but I think they should change the name to disaster city, or Pinball Attacks!!! Or something.

I definitely only agree with that to the extent that only a small minority would be bitching at your stated price points. There is always going to be a small minority of complainers. However, the sales at those prices would be huge. The market has shown over the last 2 years that about $7500 is the right price for full featured games (equivalent to LE's Stern and JJP have been making) to sell in large quantities when the game is good. If it is a stinker in gameplay then they will even sit in distributor's warehouses at that price.

I suspect the number of unit sales for a great full-featured game would be about 2-1/2 to 3 times greater at the $7500 price point compared with the $9000 price point. Plus your distributors would be a whole lot happier not getting stuck holding inventory nobody wants to buy.

It does look fun and I look forward to playing this pin but the theme is really lame and the toys as well, a lot of folks will enjoy it so while I'm more an Alien type of guy I'm glad theres options out there with more to come.

If JJP is smart they will change the LE price to $8500, keep their custom edition pricing as is, and then offer a stripped down "pro" version for $6999.

I totally agree, I own my own business and my phone rings all day, emails , orders, at the end of the day, I leave it on the counter and head to my pinball room, even started leaving it in the car or shut it off while I take my wife out . I'm looking at this or Big Lawbowski, either way no pre order shit, when it's in stock and I can hit buy now I'm in.

As someone who has sat through the past 5 years of missed deadlines, companies going out of business, prices going out of control, and preordering things years in advance, I find it disappointing that people are still lining up for it. I don't get it. Dialed in is 6 to 9 months away at the earliest, what is the point of even preordering it, why not just buy it when it comes out? By signing up for preordering, you're just telling the companies that $9k is great, keep jacking it up. Save your money for when it ships, reward them then if the game is complete and awesome, by preordering you're just giving them all the power (again). sigh...

Yes the game is great. Plays and feels like a B/W game. yes it's awesome.

But it's not awesome enough to try and warrant the price he wants. But it's an awesome 6k machine.