Phil please, if I'm understanding this right, To move the funds from u to dp it needs to be done by first issuing refunds...?

Please please answer.

Rod

This guy sure will sleep better tonight...

Man, I'm sorry to see the drama bomb having to explode like this. Most of this isn't news to me, it's probably clear now why I had so many concerns over Phil leaving (cue the he's just the marketing guy responses) and the Bride situation. I laid out my concerns to Barry (the way Jaap was offering the 'closed' pre-order deal especially rankled me, though no one on Pinside apparently noticed it) when I bowed out of the game, but he never responded.

I don't have all sides of the story, and I'm not really in a position to judge anyone because of that. But this pre-order shit is just getting stupider by the day.

I still want to see TBL made, very much. But maybe it's time to just build it and sell it after it's ready, like real companies do. If you have someone leave the company, whatever his role or relationship, then you gotta stop what you're doing and take care of the money shit. I don't know why anyone is bringing games to New York is that wasn't done.

Phil I'd never out your sickness, but since you brought it up yourself, it's kind of insane to just leave all the money with a guy who's battling serious cancer. Just take care of that shit. I'm pulling for you man, whatever happened and whoever is right it's just pinball, take care of your life and yourself however you need to.

I am devostated!

If Uni had an issue with the launch party in Oct, why have they not brought any action against DP at this point?

Wow talk about having the rug pulled out

We all are.

devo.jpg

they don't know. And despite all my arguing to the contrary, I couldn't convince the others to slow down.

I think the question is more did Universal even have any idea about what was happening at Expo? The answer is apparently no. DP basically gambled, or didn't care. You might remember just before Expo when the TBL teaser video went live, it had a big black NOT APPROVED box over the actors' faces in the middle of the playfield. Reason for that.

Just like the Kahlua bottle on the playfield, though I think everyone knows that wasn't approved. Same goes for the Time magazine cover on the spinner, not licensed. Those are relatively minor issues though I would think, it's pretty unlikely that would come back on DP unless the final version still had those.

I was assuming that the final licensing stuff had been taken care of since they were bringing the machines to New York and continuing public events. Probably best to not assume that. If you're staying in on this I would ask DP for a straight answer on that one, if your money is tied up with them you deserve to know if they're risking the future of the game or not with these events. I doubt anyone buying the game thinks that's a worthwhile risk even if you're excited to see it.

No, Rod, if Barry (or anyone) takes over DP USA, all assets, including the paypal account, would transfer to that person.

That's why I'm refunding all the money. Preorder money is NOT revenue. It's not earned. It's a debt. Only when the machine is shipped does it become revenue.

I just want to reduce the amount of liability this company has.

Phil,
Has any of the deposit money in the DP USA account been used to fund DP operations/costs? Or to put another way, is there enough money to refund all deposits?

Phil, what can you say around the licensing of Brunswick and all the songs from the soundtrack? Are those secured?

edit stayed in

Phil, what a rollercoaster, thank you.

I think that's the only thing any of us needed to know tonight, that we are secure w/ your involvement.

Feel better Phil, physically and mentally, you've got to have some of the biggest balls on someone I will ever know in my life.

Rod

The go* dam* plane has crashed into the mountain!

I wish you the best with your health issues Phil...Good luck to you and your family

dont forget this guy

jackg.jpg

Hmm refund received

I sure feel better now about cancelling my order back in February.

LTCG.jpg

Holy shit, I gotta get off here and enjoy the rest of the evening w the family.

But upon a quick reflection of what just happened here I can't help but think when my money is back in my account and after a few months of fallout, Phil is going to deserve some serious applause, respect, and thanks from all of us.

When I first spoke w him - which had to be over an hr long conversation, I had the feeling I had just met one of the most genuine people.

I trust Phil's word, and because of this will sleep tonight.

W that said I'm done w preorders.

Rod

Tell me again why I should pre-order a pinball machine?

I'm sorry you are fighting cancer. I hope you do well and beat it.

You get a free rug sometimes!

Good Bye!

2014-12-13-18-46-14.png

Sounds like it's time for me to fall back and just enjoy the games I own.

Does this mean I don't get my t-shirt?!

I didn't get any refunds, day one order, I hope I'm not screwed.

Yep

blkyk.jpeg

And yet I'm sure everything is perfectly fine when it comes to the license (and Arnold) with Predator.

Yep, I went there...

Until I get a solid answer on whether or not there will be licensing issues, I'm staying in. Even then, I don't care if it says Kahlua on my shit...I do care if John Goodmans usage will be an issue. Thank you for all the information Phil, and I sincerely hope that you can just relax and focus on your health now. When I signed up for pre-order, I knew the risks, and while it may end up costing me a lot of money in the end, I want this pin. I have faith that going forward, and with these issues out in the open, DP can fix what is wrong and make a DAMN good pin. If the sky IS falling, well then fuck it, I'm going out bowling.

I wanna thank you so much, Phil, for your honest kind of doing work!

Is it possible, that DP take proceedings against you (misappropriation of $xxx.xxx)?

I hope really not.

Wish you the best in all directions.

Why would DP make a mention about not having the rights to use kahlua when they supposedly never had the rights to using John Goodman in the game? We really need to hear the other side to this story.

Edit: I just seems odd to fret over kahlua when the supporting actor of the movie never approved.

As far as I know, nobody has actually received a rug.

Hell, how many even got their damn T shirts?

Time for a new Avatar David!

I'm staying in as well since I really would only preorder a game with money I can afford to lose. And who knows? Maybe it will all work out? Either way, I'm not risking my house payment or food on the table for my kids so I'll sleep fine tonight!

Just seems like there's not enough reward considering the risks of staying in at this point.

If you can really afford to lose that money, how does it make sense to stay in for the relatively minor cost benefits of doing so?

MsxsV29.gif

"THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS BARRY WHEN YOU F**K A PINSIDER IN THE ASS!!" Walter.png

barry.jpg

It may sound dumb, but I really want the rug!

I was in Ferguson today...

This thread seems crazier tho.

Looks like DP tried to DP its customers.

Bummer, this game looked so dope.

Ok well then the promise of a rug... If that doesn't suit your fancy, perhaps a shaker motor, some companies offer that... Perhaps a special plaque with your very own machine number on it, but just to be clear you'll need to pony up an extra $100-$300 if you'd like to pick that number... If nothing else you get months of anticipation and loss of any gains you could have had from investing your money wisely... If that's not enough, assuming your machine actually does arrive, you get bragging rights! That's right you get to come on Pinside and tell others how your machine, with its wanky code, was the very first to arrive! Who wouldn't want a part of that?

Because if you don't, there's a risk that this bank run, whether justified or not, can put the company and the game itself at risk. If everyone withdraws, where does the project itself end up without any backers that believe in the title and the game?

I really want the rug too!

Of course there simply is no come back for that!

Dude, don't know what that means but I hate the violin!

KC was that the deck of the Titanic?

Well I guess it's clear Barry and Jaap lied to me in an email stating they would "initiate the refund process" over a week ago. Clearly had no intention on getting it done through DP USA.

I hope you are successful in your battle against cancer Phil.

Does anybody have a direct email or number to Barry?

_{Post edited by iceman44: Edit: I retract my statement here. I'm putting all of this on Phil}

I'm going off memory here, but if I'm recalling correctly the issue isn't that Goodman can't be in the game. The issue is that DP can only use the approved marketing assets from Universal of him, and nothing else. So for instance, no going through the film and grabbing a shot from the movie and using it. I know they can't use anything that involves him and a gun (I believe he has veto power of any likeness of himself even appearing next to a gun). No drawing his character or rendering him.

So he's fine on the translite for instance. That's made from the approved PR shots. That's why the characters have the poses they do, that was basically the only option. It's filtered in Photoshop to give it that more painterly look, the studio allowed filters so long as they were applied to the photos and nothing was hand drawn or anything.

That's their F ing problem. Maybe the dozen or so left can still get pins made and go from there