There you go.

Going to post this in another thread. Game On!

Nice! MAGICAL !

I knew this day would come. Wife says grab all the OT they're offering, she wants this one.

So, this is a pre-order sale?

When will you start shipping?

You mention when you start building.

i think what scott_freeman was implying that build date vs ship date are two different things, one being mutually exclusive from the other, but i think it is safe to say that games will start shipping shortly after they are built...

But I'm not in the market for one so there's no risk to me.

Has anyone even played this game? Was it available at any of the shows?

Yes, lots of people have played it including myself. It's a fun game for sure, I hope it is a huge success. But if we have learned anything from the past 4-5 years, you should know not to buy or put money down on any game until it is actually SHIPPING not just "being built".

it was at

Texas Pinball Festival (prototype debut)
Midwest Gaming Classic
Southern Fried
Allentown
Pacific Northwest
Pin-a-go-go

i am not sure on the rest.

It was at Allentown, I played it a couple times each day. It was fun and had that 'wow' factor - the AP guys laughed their asses off at my reaction to the ball catapulting through the air the first time.

It was at Pin-A-Go-Go along with Jim Thornton!

Brad

updated

Fixed it for you. All caps was the change : ).

You are the KING!

Brad

I hate to be...That Guy (to use a cutsie term we are all sick of already)....but why is "final Paymant" of $6,000 due two weeks before a game ships?

Can't we just wait two weeks, and THEN pay $6,000...and then our game ships that day?

I think it's a fair question to ask considering...well...you know, the past several years of stuff.

It was not at replayfx. If it was then I would probably have been in on it. It was at the northwest show.

I played it at the NW Show and it shot good then. Pretty sure it will make an appearance @ EXPO for those wanting a test drive....

I always interpreted this as acknowledgement that it would take them a while to get momentum on building the games, so you still have plenty of time to back out, up until your game is in the queue on deck for a 2 week build date

I suppose if you were to walk in with a pile of Benjamins, that might work. But the people making these games and the distributors probably want to make sure payment clears fully before sending out the machine so they don't get burned like what happened a few weeks ago.

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/cc-scam-aerosmith-premium-sn268317

Changed

I'm pretty confident if Houdini suffered total system failure and didn't ship at all, Game Exchange would get your money back...but who knows? They build their business on repeat, happy customers I'm guessing so it'd be in their interest to guarantee it. Plus, if you pay with a CC or some other "backed up" funding source you'd have legal recourse.

Yes, there are long threads here detailing legal recourse. I have no reason to be confident.

That is good news. I haven't been following the threads on this and the only show I get to attend is Chicago, so I figured it would be here this year and hopefully set up for play. I have learned my lesson on putting money down before I play a game, but I will admit I am a huge Houdini fan and will snap this up in a heartbeat if it plays as good as it looks.

I really enjoyed this machine @ pin a go go. It was set on 2 ball mode, and I found it to be challenging, yet rewarding when I hit the vary few shots. Someone had a real cool TOM at the end of the row, this game hits that same button. I look forward to playing it in the future. If you live close to me please go ahead and acquire it any way possible, and I will bring the whisky.

It will be playable at EXPO?

A simpler common sense question is why any final payment should be considered until after the game is properly revealed, tested, and reviewed, none of which has occurred. The games shown were just samples at various shows over the past year. All examples had teething problems. I played the game myself. I do not discredit anyone's efforts at the company as they "turned a dime" on the second prototype Houdini examples in less than 6 months. A testament to their hard work.

However, this is a very small company with limited manufacturing capability and near zero established track record. Quantities initially available will be small even to the largest of distributors. Two weeks could easily turn into two months or much more based on potential orders of only several hundred machines at the beginning. There is no "limited edition" production run. People should not need a history lesson, or they simply have not been around. Remember what American Pinball already tried to build, and how long a period was required to complete a small 25+ Magic Girl machine production run. If a person really wants a floor model, they could even take Houdini off the showroom floor at the Expo, but they are still rolling the dice on completeness, and I am not referring to programming. The only major testing that has been done on the machine title was the shows themselves and the factory, but not locations. Concepts all omitted by distributors when offering games for sale, that are really not even for sale. The term "for sale" implies the game is ACTUALLY available, which it is not.

Distributor's ability to generate on added hype is waning, and people are getting smarter especially after continued to get burned repeatedly. The era of "pre orders" is ending again, just like what occurred in the mid 2000s, 90s, and 80s, if those were not around to see it.
Good luck to distributors.

Welcome back TheBlackKnight, why the name change?

Just a reminder that AP is not asking for preorder money, so people do have the opportunity to check and review the final
Product as you suggested. It wouldn't be good for anyone for another magic girl/predator fiasco to happen. Nobody is asking for money yet - other than some of the distros who are using the small downpayment as
A way to track buyers' order in line

I can easily answer this, we all do it this way. A two week notice allows you time to gather the $ and pay the dealer (you avoid expedited fees) It also allows a bit of time for payment to clear, many pay with personal check (you avoid wire fees). It also allows us dealers to coordinate freight and get all the games shipped quickly and in one shot! In some cases direct from the factory. (Factory will not hold games for a week while you collect payments)

With a preorder game, we have the luxury of a notice, so you get the game as fast as possible, it literally ships the moment it's "available". 3 days later you have a game.

Alternatively, shipping the machine to our warehouse once "available". 3 days later it's "in stock" and notify customer to make payment, 3 days later the check arrives, take to bank and allow ample time to clear 5-7 days, schedule freight pick up for one game, 2 days later truck arrives. 3 days later game shows up at customers home. Which calculates into a two week delay...hence the two week notice.

I get it, but if the customer is paying "cash" via bank wire or even by credit card 2 weeks is completely unnecessary....a few days prior to shipment is completely fair. For example I got notice that my DI LE was shipping from the factory in 2 days...I wired the money the next day....all was good...

Does the extra time allow more pins to be freight coordinated ? That's got to be part of the equation

sex change?

15 (resized).JPG

My name is Karla.
I am not xTheBlackKnightx. I am opening a moderator request to clear up this matter. I do not like being accused of being somebody else. Some women do like the hobby and own pinball machines.

Welcome! We could use more ladies on the forum. I'm sure a mod will be able to clear this right up. Thanks!

I agree, her response was way too short and not Patronizing enough to be xTBKx.

Good one. But the location and x****x name is quite a coincidence.

Karla is quick to the ways of pinside to be opening a moderator request so soon after joining.

You go girl!

Is there video of gameplay ?

Some left outlane on that thing. They need to get rid of the dreadful flipper covers.

Closeup video of gameplay

This is the protoype machine. Changes have been done to the playfield and multiple software updates.

Not sure why this wasn't done by the company who is making this game. Like i said - feel like the marketing on this can be tighter to promote. After seeing one of the few videos of gamplay, it seems like animations on that DMD look really stiff/rough and call outs can be flat (I get he's french but really laying heavy on the "frenchness") but the game looks to shoot really well and pretty to look at. Just hoping that polish comes through prior to build. Def on my radar to check out.

No apologies needed as I am married so use to the failures!!!

Thanks as I wasn't aware! I am late to the Houdini party! Game looks great but just not willing to do the whole pre-order deal!

Agree, you would think a company would have something to show potential customers and not leave it up to a distributor, like JJ, or worse a forum to provide video of game-play!

It seems like they are really wanting to have real shipping machines before they do a lot of promotion. Definitely takes the issue of preordering away!