Who's in for going to the auction when stuff gets sold off?

Nope. No way, no how.

Sell prints of the art created for the games and use the proceeds to pay off investors.

Lately I've noticed that I have been giving an automatic thumbs up to any post that contains the word "JPoop".

It's juvenile, I know.

Ok guys, I've stuffed up but to make things better sign away any legal recourse . Also im releasing hundreds more machines but charging the same. As well I won't let you know the new owner's details.... Jpop (sarc, not a real quote)

Why not? Apparently there is boxes of parts and playfields done for the game, artwork and design is done. Sound, music and some coding had been started also. Why couldn't we take inventory and figure out what is missing and, shop our own manufacturer and finish the games on our own?
125 RAZA buyers with approximately half the money left on the table.....

Wow. I just - I don't even know where to begin. Ok, I have a start:

My sincere condolences to ANYONE with money involved in this situation. Might as well write any money you had invested off; it is long gone. Totally sucks, and I am sorry to see it.

Now, DO NOT move forward with this "new deal". What a total joke. I can't believe the audacity of this guy.

Let's look at this in segments.

Well deserved??? For who??? YOU, John? You are a real piece of work. How is this "well-deserved"? Can you finally sleep at night knowing you have some kind of plan to escape potential bankruptcy?

-_______- ....are you serious? This is like the equivalency of knowing 9th grade algebra and thinking you can master differential equations on your own.

Whoa - huge shocker here! Didn't see this coming after 4 YEARS with diddly squat to show for it.

Why did you not allow anyone to help you? Why did you turn so many away that wanted to see this project come into fruition before it got to this? Why did you totally pass on all the available people and resources that could have saved you? Why did you basically piss away over 1 million dollars of people's hard earned money when all they did was trust you?

Pride cometh before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall - and Jon Popadiuk, you are the epitome of that statement.

*insert pffftttt/muffled laughter face here* Right. Sure the financials will be available, and I am a Chinese jet pilot.

LACK of communication? How about NO communication. You've had your cheerleaders and your yes-men fill everyone with hopes, roundabout vague descriptions, half-truths, and whole lies. I know smoke signal stacks that communicated better than you. What a total joke.

You know what did this: YOUR ass on the line. YOUR nuts in a clapper. YOUR head on the guillotine. That's the ONLY way this happened. You have had SO many people come to your aid only to be turned away by you. You had hobbyists, businessmen, attorneys, engineers, software designers, and other occupational walks of life come try to help you, and YOU turned them away, and you did it because you still had money and time. Then the money spigot tightened up, and UH OH, time to finally do what you SHOULD have done at least 1-2 years ago: GOTTEN HELP.

MANY people were saddened by what you have done. You didn't put a black eye on the hobby; you fricking took one of its kidneys. You played with people's livelihoods, and you've stolen thousands of dollars of time and resources from fellow vendors. You told everyone "make like a tree and get out of here" while you played Arts and Crafts on a 7 digit bankroll, and no one is to blame but YOU.

So now we have some sort of angel/savor who is making DANG sure they keep their name out of the loop until they have enough suck, I mean, willing individuals to pony up EVEN MORE ca$h.

Well, I would prefer PROMISED pinball machines, but I sure know better.

An unveiling at an upcoming show - like - 2017 or so? I mean, let's be real here. You promised "TBL reveals" multiple times, and the community got diddly. You have some wizard behind the curtain making grandiose promises to a community already tainted with your misinformation and lies, and now you promise "in another 2 years" ???

Dude, to put that into perspective, that's the time it takes someone to go from 6th grade to high school graduation. Predator and WOOLY combined took less time than that. If MG was "so far into production", this game, even with the changing of company hands, should NOT take 2 more years. I am no pinball building expert, but you've had the equivalency of a Presidential term to make progress. Asking people to wait 2 more years is not a slap or spit in the face; it is a knife to the side of the throat.

See, here are your two majorly BIG albatrosses around your neck. These SHOULD NOT EVEN BE CONSIDERED until MG is 100% done. Look at Spooky, look at PPS, look at Heighway - they KNOW to get the first one out before even considering the second one. Ok, so maybe Heighway does not have Full Throttle out in homes quite yet, but they have FULL WORKING PROTOTYPES on video and a factory/warehouse to get the job done. They have more than "arts and crafts" tables. They have TEAMS of programmers getting things done; you don't even have a SINGLE programmer (much the less one getting paid).

Smoke and mirrors here, folks. We have no idea who this mystery licensee is. We have no idea how long this has been in the works. We have no idea what the business plan is. All we have our vague descriptions at best.

I love your audacity here:

Whose fault is this, John? It SURE isn't the vendor's fault who supported you and DIDN'T GET PAID. It sure isn't Ben Heck's fault or any other person/local pinball enthusiast who tried to help you only to walk away for the lack of control they were given to the project. I'd even be willing to bet it SURE isn't the customer's faults here - the people that ponied up some $erious ca$h to fund your lack of activities for 4 years. YOU are the reason "virtually nothing" would come of this. You are the government, and the purchasers/vendors money, supplies, and resources are the social security - and you flat-out stole it, John Popadiuk - you STOLE it.

No, no, no. The purchasers owe you NOTHING. You deserve NOTHING. YOU should be the one giving up anything that you possibly can to make this happen. How dare you ask people to give up even more. Seriously, you are like - the ultimate taxman - you keep trying to unfairly take away what is NOT yours with impunity.

You should work your fingers to bare bones until they become stubs and snap at the wrists for what you've done to this community and the trust you've betrayed.

We???? Who is "we" ??? How the HECK can you possibly even try to put this on anyone but yourself. No, John Popadiuk, it is not "we" - it is YOU who are lucky some savor came to help you. Don't you even try to put this on ANY facet of the community. You are the reason this situation came to pass, you are the reason your machines are a failure, and you are the reason this community is out $1 million+. No one else, YOU.

I just, I...WHAT?

So not only are you still trying to make all 3 machines, you are asking for even MORE money, and on top of that, you are trying to make a "tier" level release of MG.

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I have nothing else on this one. I just can't....no, someone else has to rail on that one.

In other words, please let me keep my "Get out of jail for free" card for the length of another Presidential term, and I'll make sure to not come to Pinside and make any updates as someone else now with business sense and big boy pants does this for me.

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Excuse me for asking, but WASN'T THIS THE PLAN ALL ALONG, or was it just 4 years of arts and crafts time, and NOW you'll start doing what you promised? Oh, and someone else has come and decided to do it for you because guess what, you're all out of kazah (cash).

Guys...community...fellow hobbyists...nuke this guy with lawsuits and litigation. DO NOT let him continue to puppeteer you through another 2-4 years. He has boarded a rocket, taken your trust and money and thrown it into earth's atmosphere just watching it burn away. DO NOT continue to be a victim. It is beyond ridiculous what he's done to you as a buyer, a vendor, and overall to our community.

I genuinely hope the pre-pay/pre-order/giving your money away for years without seeing a finished product days are DONE. Two absolute colossal failures in under half a year. Pitiful, absolutely pitiful.

Well, least you ended it with a joke .

Because the new owner needs Raza money to build Magic Girl. See a pattern?

And he starts the letter, 'It is with great excitement.......'

Maybe on planet Zod it would be.

quick is too late.

Well, that didn't happen.

We had skin in the game at one point, but no longer. Both Popadiuk and Marsh violated our NDA agreements and have defamed, misrepresented our efforts to have a very different result. I am sad to see this result when it could have been very different just a month ago. Lastly, (and not giving any legal advice to anyone)...as an attorney I am always concerned (from an ethical standpoint) when a 'client' brings me a contract or settlement agreement with a no-sue covenant. Most jurisdictions either do not permit this, or severely restrict its enforcement.

RJM dT/dP

Terry is a pretty smart a guy. If he wanted to make more pinball machines, he would start from scratch, vs taking on all the baggage that comes with this. I just don't see where there is any upside for him on this. Why would he want to risk his reputation on this craziness?

I also don't see DP, Heighway, Multimorphic or Spooky being interested for the same reasons. Obviously no reason for PPS to, they have plenty of games ready to go that they can make if they wanted.

JPoop!

I personally see both sides of this coin. Jpop could just as easily just declared bankruptcy and walked away. Anyone with not enough business sense could of got themselves into the same situation and it sucks for everyone involved. It seems like he is trying to do the right thing and come up with some kind of solution to not screw everyone over.

With that being said, the situation sounds like a way to screw vendors and not customers and still leave the doors open for Jpop to file for bankruptcy.

Your chances of getting deposits back are slim at this point. You can demand or sue Jpop but he can down the road certainly just file for bankruptcy to try to avoid paying these lawsuits or settle them for pennies on the dollar. Or you can try to be "transferred" to the new license holder, who is most likely not paying much for the license but removing this problem from Jpops hands. The likely hood of them actually producing the game in my mind is still slim at best.

Either way good luck everyone!

I'm surprised 'Popadick' hasn't taken off.. *ahem* Sorry.

Serious question, then.. if most jurisdictions don't permit it or don't allow it to be enforced, wouldn't that be a good thing? I mean, then you could 'agree' to this silly letter, and then in two years after more money is asked for with no progress. take him and the licensee to court?

Jpop'd is now Jpoop'd he officially shit on everyone.
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That's a big mofo!

My opinion based on that letter and offer is that the license sale would be considered a preferential transfer that would be voided by a bankruptcy court if that's we things wind up. There is no notice to creditors, etc and they are not going to be reimbursed as the licensee is not taking over the liabilities of Zidware. It's a classic "sweetheart deal" and it won't hold up in bankruptcy...which is why they want everyone to sign a contract saying they won't sue.

Blue Horseshoe loves Anacott Steel.

That's what this is. Please stop using the word "INVESTOR" here. An investor would come in with a million bucks, build games and sell them. That's what I would do as an investor. They are not, though; They are asking for MORE money. This is a shill to get everyone to release JPOP AND the new owner from any personal liability here. Please do not fall for it.

The letter clearly states the Zidware is still on the hook for monies received:

"To be clear, there will not be any refunds as Zidware lacks the cash reserves necessary to return any
customer deposits. The Licensee is here to create and build pinball machines and it is not responsible for
Zidware’s liabilities".

Nice little article on how an 'incorporation' protects (or lack there of) personal assets

http://www.businessknowhow.com/legal/assets.htm

I appreciate the question, but I'm not going to respond as any response might be construed as legal advice. This whole affair has taken a very litigious turn and everyone with a stake has a duty to obtain their own legal counsel to protect (or not protect) each's interests.

RJM dT/dP

Yes it didn't pan out fairly in my opinion. That is why i'm out. Said in the past numerous times contractors need to be paid, & people should be able to get a refund. I don't know who is the investor unless they come out since a few were in the running possibly or were trying to get this saved. I was never in the loop, & have had no personal dealing with John!

Me neither. Please update your list of contractors and vendors owed to list my official business name.
Orange Cloud Software Ltd. instead of 'original programmer' and thank you for keeping a list updated of all vendors/contractors owed.

Some history:

My company was a contractor for Zidware from June 2012 to May 2014. We worked on many things including: hardware design, os software, game software, graphics, effects, rules as mentioned by others in this thread. We were forced to stop working with them due to unpaid invoices going back 3+ months at the time, now over a year ago. We were working on things full time until then.

I am still chasing the outstanding amounts, or any communication on this matter and am still bemused as to why much of the work i created has never been publicly shown. I have until today tried to keep an open mind (despite being owed a large sum of money) that the projects may be finished and delivered for people. It was extremely difficult for me personally being a very small business to soak up 3 months of non-payment, but i still feel worse for every customer who put their faith in Zidware/John and have been repaid like this..

WOW, people like you are hard to find now days. No one wants to sacrifice or work hard to get what they want. Im including myself in that group. Me, Im pretty much a coward. Im to afraid to risk what I have to better my situation. CUDOS to you.

Finally we get to know u... Welcome to the SUCK

IANAL, but if ZombieYeti hasn't been paid for his artwork on the Zidware games, I'd think that he'd have a case to claim that they are still his assets. If so, he should be able to do what he wants with them (e.g. sell prints, license the art to Stern, print Popadookie toilet paper with MG art on it, whatever).

Unfortunately we saw this happen to Aaron of FAST pinball when the Predator fiasco went down. A person with a vested interest became overly optimistic and urged support for a criminal project. The project itself is still a fraud, as many have seen for a long time.

JPop uses all of the classic con man tactics. Leaving time frames short forcing people to make split second decisions, the "if you don't bail us out we will fail, you get nothing" bankers tactic of 2008, everything about John's method is disgraceful. He is a 2 bit con with a ponzi scheme. I can't believe he conned someone into taking on the project, and they expect people to throw 10k more at this and sign more legal promises not to hold them responsible for delivery for 4 years? These people must know absolutely nothing. JPop is a weasel. I hope he is held accountable to the full extent of the law.

I thought this bit was interesting (hat tip Nate!) in the actual order letter, not the first letter:

"Yes, I would like to convert my order(s) for RAZA and/or AIW to a Magic GirlTM–Classic, at a price range of (USD $9,995 to $11,995). My deposit(s) to Zidware will be converted 1:2 into a Magic GirlTM–Classic."

Note the 1:2 part. Looks like they were hoping to incentivize RAZA and AIW buyers into buying the "cheaper" MG by doubling their money.

Look, I get that people are mad, and this is a weird deal. Lot of unknowns. And obviously the "no sue" stuff isn't gonna make people feel good.

I just wonder, taking emotion out of this for a moment (easy for me to say) – what's the end game?

Because let's say everyone says FU to this deal (it's feeling that way now), then what? John is broke. It's not a rumor, he has no money. What exactly are people hoping to do? Pierce the veil and try and get him and his wife to sell their house and assets or something? It just feels like the possibility of actually getting your money back is really low.

Throwing more money at this probably isn't an awesome idea either, granted, but isn't this kind of what people wanted? Someone to step in, be the big business man, and shove John aside, and take over?

Awesome
Papadookie toilet paper (Tm)

This is really just a no win for anyone. Customers screwed. John could possibly be brought up on charges of some sort. Just a nasty mess that's bad for everyone.

This was my question as it appears to lack any semblance of quid pro quo. If you sign away your right to sue, in return you get...what? Maybe, if enough other people sign and pony up the $, you may be able to purchase a game at an unknown price (AIW, RAZA), if the game is ever made? Would that pass the consideration hurdle for contract validity?

Are we sure that JPoop is not a politician?

You're being too kind

I hope all my other projects on pinside go someway to explain that i am a decent person and tried my best to help these projects succeed. Indeed, the journey almost brought me to my knees, as i relied on being payed in a timely manner, but wanted to keep the projects moving forward. I had to sell around 7 pinball games from my personal collection that i built up over 25 years to keep myself afloat. I was lucky i had them.

John actually sent me an email once telling me to stop sending invoice reminders as it was "annoying him" ...

Smart people know when to cut their losses.

Presumably Zidware goes bankrupt, the assets (artwork, computers, CNC machine, cabinets, "patents", etc.) are auctioned off and everyone gets back a few cents on the dollar at some point in the future.

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This is all you guys should have to know to know that continuing in any relationship with JPop and Zidware is toxic and a huge risk that isn't worth staying in.

You know the money is gone. There is no money to be made, even if the licensee completes their plan.

It's my personal opinion that anyone that wants to get anything (even if that's just the satisfaction of making his life hell) should either pay him a visit or file a lawsuit. This new scheme is a hail mary for a dead company.

I'll put my name as a creditor and collect a few pennies. I'm not going to be part of any new deal, and definitely not under these circumstances.

John can go bankrupt and face the music and shame. He's not going to say "my bad" and walk away.

Maybe I read this wrong but I thought he was offering RAZA buyers 1/2 value on their deposit twards Magic Girl Classic?

I'm familiar with JPop. Who is Marsh?

Marcus

Yup. They only get half their money put towards the game. Otherwise it would say 2.

with great excrement...

The other way around. 2 RAZA dollars get you one MG dollar. That means if you have at least $5k paid toward RAZA or AIW, even if you get the "classic" you're still basically paying the full MG price. You can't tell me they aren't going to try and charge the upper end of that range. So, $5k converts to $2500, with another $10k due. That's $15k invested for the "classic" version as opposed to converting straight to the limited MG for $16k. They obviously want to push people to the limited version.

Follow that kick in the nuts with the "we MIGHT still make RAZA/AIW if you decide to keep your money there" BS. I've been pissed and fed up with this on many occasions, but never as furious as this has made me.

I absolutely WILL NOT invest another $10k into MG. I don't even think that game looks cool. It looks like a convoluted pile of crap and was not the game I put in for.

My money is gone. Nothing I can do about it. I refuse to fund Jpop any more. I refuse to pay $16k for any pinball machine, especially this garbage. But I don't have enough sunk to pay more money to an attorney to try and get it back. If there is some group thing, maybe. If I had $20k+ in this, definitely. But us with $4-6k invested don't have many options.

I said this 6 months ago and feel it more now than ever, my money is gone and I'd rather just ensure Jpop goes down on this than bother trying to get a few pennies back (or sinking in another $10k).

You did what you had to do. I have been in your situation a couple of time with back invoices and now pretty much take only pre-payments for development work.

This whole deal stinks and whatever company in Chicago is getting involved better be wearing a suit of armor to deal with the hate they are about to encounter.

So if I follow, the solution to this mess is:
Pre-pay more cash for the same machines... for the second time... to support a business that operates on customer cash only... with no risk to the investor themselves... again

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Can ANYONE tell me why I would entertain accepting HALF the 9k dollars JPop has had of my money that I paid for RAZA, having suffered all his crap, to apply to a Magic Girl??? That MF has some balls....

Wow...