you have not missed anything, but your analogy is completely flawed.

The correct annology would be that some one owes you money for stolen goods, which they have resold to their employer so the new employer could try and start a business. Guess what... The employer is now also sucked in to the bad decision making of the person that stole from you.

I am mostly amazed that anyone with money would be willing to potentially leagally marry themselves to Jpop and all that he owes.

They know it too... hence their offer:

"We American-Pinball empathize with the Zidware customers and therefore we are excited to share the following news with all of you.

By the end of 2016, Magic Girl machines will be delivered to their rightful owners."

If this AP company delivers games and/or money back to all Zidware customers, then they'all have incredible customer loyalty capital on their hands. I guess we'lol have to wait and see what they have to say.

Are you going to sue the new company and its principals?

problem being that MG customers are probably less than 10% of the people they need to make whole. They are not even scratching the surface with that statement and they also know that. All just more time buying as they likely try to leagally bleed dry what $$$ is left.

My guess is that this is a low risk investment for American Pinball at this stage. There were still Jpop $$$ in the bank. John is scared shitless with the reality of the hole he has dug. American pinball came in and worked on John and some how finally convinced him to give up control (too little and too late BTW). American Pinball is also dumb and thinks that 13 (or is it 25 now) delivered to MG owners will be enough good will to get them over the hump (it won't).

I predict they plan to just take houdini and reskin it back to MG to try and appease the original buyers. That is not going to make people that spent 16k on a limited run game, which is a reskin of a stripped back and standardized game that is the same as what they will be mass producing and trying to sell for 7k.

I am not but there are others that have a good case for doing so.

#1 on the list would be the previous unpaid contractors for Jpop which have had their hard work taken and now being used by American Pinball.

Zombie Yeti should be at the top of the list and guessing his current employer has a good legal department that woudl be willing to help out. (I really hope you ask them for help ZY!)

I apologize. My goal really wasn't to be funny. I was attempting to illustrate my agreement with John_I; but obviously sarcasm wasn't the best method. Even if American Pinball is working with JPOP to "write prior wrongs" it's a difficult task without having a clear record of those that are owed money, including those that put deposits for MG, RAZA, AIW, plus vendors. I hope they can be made whole, but agree that until they are, JPOP, and any company choosing to associate with him, will not be given any benefit of the doubt.

PS: Writing, "choosing to associate with him" really does make me wonder how this whole partnership developed. Were they naive about the whole situation? Seems unlikely. Do they consider JPOP such a talent that they were knowingly willing to take on his huge baggage through association? I don't understand how a startup could have such confidence that they could, not only handle their own affairs, but also take on the affairs of a consulting partner. Why take on that added risk?

How does this affect the ongoing law suite?

At this point the only path that they could succeed is to make the MG owners whole, and sell the game beyond it's limited run to generate cash. I don't know how else they financially could make it work.

Agreed on that point.

A couple of things worth noting.

AP claims they were fully aware of the depths of the issues with JPOP
JPOP is a consultant, not an employee
Houdini is supposedly not a retheme of MG

I don't believe the JPop is just a consultant one bit. How do they justify the making of Magic Girl to satisfy JPop's debt? Out of the kindness of there heart? If they bought the rights to all of this, did JPop even have the right to sell it?

Now there is some real bullshit coming out of this if this is what A.P. told you. Expo is going to be exciting!

Definitely what they told me and adamant about that.

Best guess is there's a legal difference which benefits them to have him as a consultant. And to your first point. Just a guess, but I get the feeling, based on their FB post that they believe JPOP is an amazing designer and will make them money. They weighed the risk/reward and put a huge emphasis on getting JPOP. Do I agree? Nope.

Also. They are bringing on another designer. No idea who.

To know that anyone has their hopes up that this will actually work out for everyone who was involved is true verification of what P.T. Barnum allegedly said: "There's a sucker born every minute".

The level of pure hope and faith that some here facilitate is beyond incredulous. I guess some people like a wrecking ball sized kick in the junk.

This whole venture needs to be buried. It won't end in anything good for anyone.

I hope if JPop really does show up that people have more than cameras ready. I don't need any 4K resolution photos of his back as he walks away. I mean, I'm sure that will show him who is boss, but it won't do much for me.

You all need to make him answer for what he has done. If anyone on this site who is aware of what he did to this community is ready to support him in ANY way whatsoever, you are nuts. That makes about as much sense as making a bullet-proof vest out of clown balloons.

I don't advocate violence, but I do condone making him face the music. He needs to man the fuck up for what he did to this community. There does not need to be any saving him unless EVERYONE is made whole.

If people actually give this new venture more money, I am going to tell people to take up ice-climbing with boxing gloves - makes just about as much sense.

Wait, what?

His books are a mess, he doesn't even know who paid in what?

Hey, I just remembered, I was in on MG! I must have blocked it from my memory to ease the pain, but now I seem to recall handing him five, no, eight, it's all coming back to me, yeah, the whole sixteen thousand dollars! Yeah, that's the ticket!

flanagan (resized).jpg

i just started following this tread again after months of staying away from it. So i'm sure my questions have been answer but here they are:

approximately how many people put deposits down on AIW? What was the prepay deposit?
And did Jpop's file bankruptcy for his business?

you and your wife, Morgan Fairchild.

So, American Pinball updated/added content to their site!

http://www.american-pinball.com

LEARN ABOUT US AND OUR MAGICAL PINBALL FACTORY

OUR SPECIAL POWERS

American Pinball provides amusement game design and high quality manufacturing services all Made In Chicago, USA. Being a gaming company, we understand the commitment required to design and produce games that will satisfy feel excitement of all age group and hobbyists. Quality control is our main focus and we have developed a strong reputation for lean manufacturing. American pinball having 15000 SqFt facility with dedicated design-development, engineering, manufacturing & testing area. At American Pinball, we believe in quality parts and products, so when you see game made by us you can see difference.

DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT

American Pinball provide complete end-to-end game design & development solutions, taking care of your IP across its lifetime.

Our services include:
Game Theme Selection, IP, Licensing
Artwork direction from concept to final product
Game design from concept and documentation to realization and white wood prototype.
Graphics development across multiple platforms giving your games ultimate market flexibility
Agile project management delivering your games on time and to budget
Ongoing live game management, development services and software support.
Game hosting from design to daily operation with best PR/ advertisement campaign.
Game BOM monetization programs to help ensure your games’ profitability
Social media retention strategies to keep customer updated with latest news and upcoming launching events.

MANUFACTURING

American Pinball provides comprehensive manufacturing & testing services to meet customer satisfaction.
From initial game parts consultation to our proofs and material check points, we understand customer needs and deliver smooth production experience, engineering assistance, value analysis, quality control assurance, product safety testing.

SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

American Pinball provides integrated, turnkey solutions that ensure a continuous supply of parts and materials, reduced inventory, cost savings, asset visibility, enhanced forecasting capabilities and materials sustainment. Our systems keep you prepared, functional and efficient everywhere. We don’t just push supplies out the door, we create end-to-end procurement, transportation, delivery and sustainment infrastructures that can be controlled. We provide end-to-end management of your supply chain.

That site really has a JPOP 'feel' about it.

As they say in the Game of Thrones, "words are wind."

David Hannum said it.

LTG : )

Very true. The new company has no obligations towards JPOP customers.

I don't see how JPOP customers will be "whole" if they don't get the machine they were promised.

It seems (because I'm clueless) it would be easier for AP to take the hit by providing refunds instead of making a handful of machines.

Press Kit Photo, no data yet...

1HoudiniPressKit (resized).png

Is the old zidware warehouse still being used by jpop or has it been emptied out?

Who bets we get photos of art and no footage of an actual game.

I messaged the Venetian Las Vegas yesterday with no reply to if/when Houdini is debuting today...

https://www.facebook.com/VenetianLasVegas/?fref=nf

Ambitious, to say the least, very hard, and very expensive to do all thats promised.

Im sure current industry manufacturers that would read this, would chuckle to themselves, and
say with a degree of sarcasm and disbelief, "Good Luck!"

I just called the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas and nothing Pinball or Houdini related is on the schedule they said.

I believe it will be more than that. It will be empty cabinets with artwork and we are expected to be impressed.

I don't get a lot of you.
I choose a pinball over nothing anyday.
Send me a shitty alice in wonderland?
I take it for my loss

Today's is the supposed reveal day

Im guessing an empty Cabinet, with strangely familiar graphics and features in a slide show presentation...

Anyone know what time they are supposed to unveil Houdini today?

no,that was a dude who looked like my online me

American Pinball , poised to be set up as the next scapegoat in the magical world of JPOP.

The grammar and sentence structure from this website reads like a spam email (Try reading it in Borat's voice, "so when you see game made by us you can see difference"). Based upon the website alone, I hope nobody is getting their hopes up, and certainly nobody is putting money down before seeing a completed, working machine.

The only viable answer would seem to depend on volume. They may look at Spooky's pricing, compare it to JJP and BM66 and calculate a healthy per unit profit margin. If they can move a few thousand produced at an AMH cost yet priced at JJP/BM66, it becomes a reasonable investment.

As someone who has watched the drama across all manufacturers over the past few years, I have learned one thing. Pinball manufacturing is a very deceptive business. On the one had, anyone can make a single pinball machine for not a lot of money. On the other hand, mass production (say 3000 units) is extraordinarily difficult and takes a lot of time, people, $ and process to do it.

Maybe they have that expertise and/or access to it, but certainly not for the faint of heart. Seems like starting with the JPOP weight hanging around your neck only makes it that much more difficult.

Alright... so 9am passed in Vegas. No game shown?

...that website is a mess of cut/paste from google images. That header isn't even really Houdini- it's the Adrien Brody version "fake poster" from the docudrama....lol....nutty.

houdinimilkcanposter (resized).jpg
Header 1170x500 (resized).png

That seems like a good way to get sued by the actor, the owners of the artwork, and the company that owns the rights to that docudrama.

I'm guessing this is how the presentation is going.

Ice, don't drive yourself crazy trying to find a logical, legally sound, and financially viable explanation for any business venture in which Zidware, Inc. or its owner is involved. Zidware, Inc. is insolvent, and John Popadiuk is desperate. Desperate people tend to do desperate things, and their actions are often not logical, legally sound, or financially viable.

So comes here telling he is going to the show and will report, apparently free lancer for a pinball website, and than aborts his account ?? What the hell. Mystery after mystery

IMG_0305 (resized).PNG

Maybe he accidentally shot himself in the back of the head twice

Where is this 15K sq ft factory located at?

He got upset with some of the stuff in the two other JPop/AP threads that were closed, as well as being moderated for some of the stuff he said.

I asked American Pinball on FB what booth they're in. They liked my comment, but didn't respond. This thing is falling apart.

But, but, but.... The scoop!

Just kidding, looks like all the stars aligned, but then the sky fell. Is he on a temp ban or will his account come back up when he feels like it? No idea how all of the different phrases for "not currently allowed to post" work here.