not sure what's so confusing about their plan. They're expecting games to be available mid Jan. They announce a month before and already it's sold out. Pretty simple to me. The game is right around the corner and they're making it public to the world. It's not like it's coming out before June.

Having a video to go along with it would have been my only suggestion just to show one already built.....

Cointaker should have a flipping game to show and demo before the big container is shipped is what I was told. Hopefully they get the game right after the new year and the big shipment towards the end of the month.

Pretty out of the loop on this one. What's the license status? Was the old license extended? If so, by how long? If not, has it been renegotiated?

Seems like the way pre-orders are set up there isn't a ton of risk on buyers part, but just curious if anyone knows the true status.

I'd recommend listening to the podcast, and reading the Pinball News item. My understanding is that PB renewed the license i.e. paid for it in full rather than inheriting it cheaply from HP. It is also identical to the original license, so no Sigourney Weaver, sadly. That said, I'd buy one if we get a UK distributor or can buy direct And I'm sure it would be possible to customise the callouts etc (he said hopefully).

Super Awesome Pinball Show podcast (from 1 hr 20 mins in):
https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/17248715

https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2020/12/18/alien-remake-announced/

You guys are kidding right? Look at the frenzy the announcement has caused. Look at how many of you are like:

"IN!! Paid in full!!! 'X' many days until I have my precious!! Holy shit, this is really real!!! Cant wait to put in a bigger monitor!! When I get my SE, I'm going to play it until the LV comes in and then I'm selling my SE to get my LV, or heck I'll just keep both along with my original HW Alien!! YOLO, FOMO, Kony 2012!!!"

Dude, they know this community is itching to literally just throw money at this theme.

Why not announce it early and guarantee more money coming in as well as be right again - this community figuratively tosses money into the wind months or even years in advance with minimal proof of anything having been created.

Again. And again. And again.

No pre-orders and no pre-payment has been clearly stated by PB, and I commend them for this.

https://www.pinballnews.com/site/2020/12/18/alien-remake-announced

Personally, I'd possibly pay a deposit but nothing else until ready to ship. I recently bought Big Lebowski this way- no deposit, and only paid when it was ready to ship. I've been burned by pre-orders previously (Magic Girl, RAZA, Predator), so never again! PB clearly realise many people feel this way, not least about HP itself, so good for them. Dutch Pinball also learned this lesson, and hopefully this approach will remain the case with new pinball companies going forward.

Makes sense to announce early only if PBB are being fronted some of the deposit money for production costs, or the deposits are non-refundable. Otherwise, you've got the same problem JJP had with POTC, if you announce six months or a year before you're ready to ship games, excitement and attention slip away and you lose sales to the next big thing.

Pre-ship - all hype... everyone can't find their wallet quick enough
Post-ship - people talk about their hands on experience

Maximizing the hype period is natural and desirable for the company. Hype is cheaper than actual marketing.

Is either of the remake going to be wide body?

It is amazing isn't it?

Hype is marketing, it just shouldn't be the only element of the marketing plan.

It's been stated many times, this is a widebody pin and it's very similar to the previously released Aliens.

Same as Alien.

It does show me that the game (Alien) is a great pin and a value at the current new sale price. Much like MMR undercut the price of original games. I mean that Alien can sell well without a video because people know it’s a great pin. We just don’t know the build quality yet (unknown) just as was MMR at the time.

A big sell for me is the conventional cabinet with non swapping PF and non side. I never felt as if that was needed or necessary in a pin and so far the market has agreed with both Heighway and P3 having trouble getting traction where people don’t want to pay up front costs or inconvenience or any compromise for a swapping PF.

Clearly, I didn't know, hence the question. Thank you.

Thread search is your friend if you want to avoid getting called out for asking a question that's been asked and answered at least 5 times in the same thread.

That was part of what sold me on it. After listening, there was very little 'hype and marketing spin' in their responses. They seemed very straightforward.

I was impressed TBH. A refreshing change. And no braggardly comments either.

I've often thought it would be a crime to waste the Alien license, and they did too

I feel the same about Predator, which moreover is interlinked with the Alien storyverse. It might happen...

But dreams aside, I really want these guys to succeed.

Pinball made in Italy by Pinball Brothers??
If the factory looks anything like this too, take my money!!

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I’m just perplexed that Alien is ranked so low at 64 on the top100 lower than Judge Dredd, below SW episode 1 for example. When clearly it’s a top theme and has a lot of good things to speak of.

It's because it's a terribly horrible game that no one wants.

My guess is a lot of the ratings were based on problematic games early on location. Watch it go up now!

Has more to do with lack of people getting to play it, also..pinside ratings are not real world in many cases.

Personally i think it’s an easy top ten if people get to play it... Plus any game in the top 100 is some kind of respectable fun. Your taste may vary but there’s no total crap games in it.

I agree and they also showed considerable understanding and knowledge of, not only their machine, but pinball machines in general - also one of the guys is an operator so having that insight will only benefit what they design & build of machines (for example how they've changed from the original larger PCB under the PF to smaller boards making the machine more easily serviceable.

Which one do you prefer? One looks cheap and released 2 years after. They have margin for the LE to make it better.

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I prefer the one that doesn't cost me $12-14k for same gameplay. Besides those aren't even good comparisons. One would assume the lighting is going to be pretty much the same aside from the cab. If you don't want it, you don't want it. Go spend your money.

So many things removed... pf LCD, big screen, side blades lit, black legs, lighted cabinet, beacons lights ..... wow. Many several models will be released with more and more mods... or maybe everytning will be on a LE minus the LcD pf... we’ll see

No one has really played it. Game is going to jump big time. It’s my fav.

I am so in if the factory looks like that...lol

This is a ridiculous comparison.

New alien is more reliable, much cheaper, better code, additional PF features including a physical ball lock and extra magnet.

Old alien has that nice big screen in the BB and PF screen as well (which is great), lit inner side and outer art.

Cabinet is up to the buyer. Neither really makes me say awesome but good enough.

Bottom line, the game is awesome. Pick the one you want but don’t do some BS comparison like that.

I find it hard to believe returning to Williams Bally parts along with redesigns of boards (1 bulk PCB vs little ones) and updated quality parts like the alien mouth (which is basically what we did as owners of the original - replaced the gears in there from the crappy plastics), isn’t more reliable. Plus they’ve spent two years to achieve the same. Unless you think it will be less reliable than highway ; )

If your point is the game hasn’t even been made yet, I hear you. This is assuming the game is built and shipped.

I would never buy an original Alien, I dont have the skills to keep it running.
What the pin community have done to keep them on life support in astounding.
In the other Alien thread you can hear the owners clenching thier teeth, that there looks to be a reliable, improved Alien around the corner.

But who in thier right mind would not want the PB version, that has been upgraded with reliable Electronics and mechs?

I've been hoping for the last 3 years that the remake would happen, as I think it's the best theme integration in all pinball.

My LE is extremely solid. I was expecting to have to work on it more, and I enjoy that element of owning pinball machines, but other than a couple of minor adjustments, it’s as solid as anything I’ve owned so far. It’s a top 5 game for me personally, sits right next to my TZ. I’m on the list for an LV as well, like some other original owners. It’s just that good. I assume one or the other will win in my collection, not sure which but I’m guessing the original. If they add new code, or I’m in love with the extra magnet and hypersleep lock mech, and that’s possible, it may be the other way around. I hope they bring back the LCD screen in the playfield and figure out illuminated side blades. That might do it for me. Can’t wait to compare them in person.

Does anyone know what the new Aliens platform will be running on?

PC?
PRoc?
OS?

Also what did original game run on?

It’s a refundable deposit and the balance is not due until your game is here and ready to ship. Don’t see much risk here. Worst case scenario, game doesn’t come, I get my deposit back.

TBL and Aliens- nice!!!!

I just listened to the podcast a couple of days ago, so I’m somewhat behind the curve but I thought that I could maybe offer a point of view regarding this machine being assembled in Italy. I work in an industry that draws some similarities, as many of my vendors are domestic manufacturers/assemblers. But they also source some finished product (as well as subassemblies) from Italy to complement their offering. The level of quality is quite good, and the cost is lower than if the pieces were produced in USA. I’m not familiar with Pedretti but there is an Italian company called Industrias Lorenzo who make joysticks and buttons that are a clone of the Suzo Happ stuff.
I feel that having the machines produced in Italy is a smart move by PB from both a cost and quality standpoint. Really in my opinion the only concern is that they haven’t assembled a complete machine. From the sounds of it they are just a manufacturer of components, so the learning curve may come with the actual assembly of all the components on a line. Given the current market with every manufacturer in the USA backlogged with orders, I think this was the best that a potential buyer could hope for. Labor in Italy is lower in cost and the people in general take pride in their work, and logistics/shipping is readily available. So I think that once the line is up and running, machines should ship with regularity.
That is, until summer holiday rolls around...those folks pretty much shut down the country for 8, 10 or even 12 weeks during the summer.

I love my Alien that I bought little while back, game is awesome! Good to see more people will get to enjoy one. But sadly I was one who got taken by Heighway Pinball in the original fiasco and lost my money so I feel kind of inclined to purchase one of the remakes if they are going to give partial credit back. So might try and sell my original and eventually buy a remake just to feel like I got something out of what I thought was nothing. Sometimes I feel like I am throwing bad money at bad money and then worse money. But hey it's only pinball!
Anyone that might be interested I have a super pimped out original with tons of mods, boatload of spare parts, spare playfield and more. Here is the original ad from local friend I bought it from. I'll probably get my own ad together soon. I'm in no huge rush and sure many will just want to buy a remake which is cool, if in the end I just end up keeping this one, I'll be happy too. Thread on the FS ad has good gameplay video as well - https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-alien-21

Machine - For Trade

Alien Archived

HUO - Undocumented (Home Used Only) - “HUO and fully working Alien pinball, running the latest 1.4 code. Mods are beacons on top and playfield, topper, shaker, clear speaker panels, ramp decals, powder coated legs, clif...”

2020-10-03

Loveland, CO

manadams

Trade

Archived after: 4 days

Viewed: 1584 times

Status: Not sold

Well, I suppose the worst case scenario would be if for some unknown reason, you didn't get your deposit back.

Not saying that scenario will happen. It's probably unlikely. But it's certainly possible, and would be worse.

The original is totally a much better looking cabinet, and the sweet screens (both).. Personally I'm still more interested in the "refakes" with lame standard cabinet, missing and weak backbox screen, minor playfield tweaks and standard sounding driver board over the very handsome original.

I'm just catching up on this news today and I really hope PB can pull this off. I was so close when the original was announced to buying one even though I would have had to put it on a credit card. I was even sold on the modular system. Lack of liquid money prevailed so I was out. I would love to own one of these new ones some day. Having W/B compenants is a big improvement in my mind.

If PB can see this thing all the way to the finish line, I think they could do well with their first title. Lots of fans of the movies out there, as well as nostalgia of 80s/90s pop culture. So then it becomes a matter of keeping pace with demand, which as we know has been a challenge for even the largest of manufacturers. Hopefully they can ramp up quickly and keep enough people happy to keep things moving along into a second title. I know that many folks were burned in the first generation and it’s tough to let go or have faith. I myself have lost NIB pinball machine levels of money when I put faith in someone to deliver a product to me, so I know what it’s like. It’s the worst feeling to realize that you’ve basically given away money to someone with absolutely zero to show for it. It’s awful.

I've always thought that about the original version from Heighway....

standard sounding driver board ...... can you elaborate bc the sound on the original was amazing

for the original game, lots of content out there for those that look

Original game included a standard small form factor PC and drove custom I/O boards that connected to larger interface boards that then connected to lights, switchs, etc. Game runs linux for an OS

I don't think they talked about the new platform in detail yet. Because of that I'd speculate it is similar to the old design but with the boards themselves being redone to get rid of the b0rked I/O boards that were full of conflicting design issues. Maybe new I/O boards with the interface boards simply being broken up into smaller boards to make them cheaper.

I should reword.. the pinballnews says it's one dedicated driver board.. more of a "standard" thing than the node boards.. i guess I'm overlooking the newer sterns.

You are mixing things up a bit. The reliability comments are not about parts availability- but the actual reliable operation of the game and components performing as intended. Design flaws — not so much dying parts. Some parts were unreliable because they were crap quality or how they used... but those were more off the shelf things that you can replace. Servos, display cables, etc.

Parts were available because people literally just went to the china suppliers that heighway used and bought the same parts... including the heighway PCB boards, pcs, etc