If I promise to send you the money with the same timeliness that you promise that I'll receive the game, can we strike a bargain?

That maybe true but holy ___ -that's a sweet looking cabinet!

if this is for real, and that back glass has to be redone...
wow. -and not in a good way.

I appreciate that your primary concern is the quality of the pin, so if it takes time, so be it -BUT...
like everything else, JPOP has overhead. Not high overhead, but everything costs money month after month.
With a limited number of games being produced, my concern is whether he'll run out of cash flow before he gets all these games made.

"Protoype Cabinet -DO Not Move" sticker...
-or what; you might damage the contents?
lol

So you're saying the money's all spent?

Could you take on a project like WOOLY without requiring massive up front payments?
This is one project that I think would sell big numbers if we could literally call in an order, charge the credit card, and watch the tracking number vs the current: send in the cash and hope to God that this pin doesn't follow the same fate that many of the other boutique companies are putting people through.

Let's say that MG turns out to be simply unbelievable and people are lining up to get one...
John's going to say "No"? Like he doesn't need more cash? At the very least, more cash could afford him to hire someone else to do some of the real work, while he does what he wants in "artistic inventor-world".

So, ummm...
What happens to the cash you've paid if you decide not to give him the next payment?

Does John figure he'll be keeping all cash from the cancellations?
Pretty sweet scam. Maybe not initially planned but may be how this ends for some.

Good luck guys.

Next time you guys get a letter asking for money, draw a picture of some hundred dollar bills and send it to him.

Maybe he pulled another translite-reveal; posted a 1 hour "making of" video with gameplay and full rules breakdown, but pulled it down the moment he saw someone log on his website?

If there was a guarantee that you'd either get the pin, or your money back, even without a deadline, I'll bet there would be a lot more potential buyers.

Mark my words:
Magic Girl -the best game never built!

Cashflow is 100%

How many of you guys would be really angry if he announced that Magic Girl would be produced to anyone who could afford one?
Cause I can't imagine this being completed unless he opens it up to all and sells a whole lot more.
-and would likely only be able to get them sold by using an investors money, as I don't think anyone else will be sending in cash after reading all these posts.

Can we not kidnap JPop and force him to design games at Stern or JJP?
It friggin pains me to look at how awesomely cool the pics are, knowing I'll probably never get one of these in my place for all of the previously mentioned concerns/reasons.

I don't believe that anyone was ever given a refund without another buyer to take their place.
The same number of enthusiasts would be in this very same position, no matter who they are/would be.
These believers are the best part of pinball. They have proven that they love the hobby enough to take a very expensive risk.
Blaming them is not the right thing to do.
"I told you so" has never been a smart tactic FWIW.

Totally agree. Of course with the first one under his belt, Ben can look at the things that can be improved upon and tweak the next one(s).
I'm a sucker for nice playfield art. If Jpop's artist had done the PF for AMH, I'll bet shallow people like me would have bought one!

Ben: keep up the great work!

Yes, you're correct. Additionally, StevenP is chuckling that others like you, are doubtful.
: )

Unless you also consider those of us who aren't on the buyers list, but are watching from the sidelines.
All together, we have a ton of cash for potential future projects.
What has already been done on these 2 pins looks incredible and I would be lying if I said I didn't want one.
At this point though, things are way too nuts to even think about sending in money.

Hey John,
If you're reading this, I want you to know something:
I love your previous games.
The new titles you're working on look outstanding. So long as the rules are decent, I'd probably buy one.
IF I could get one cash-and-carry.
With the nearly non-existent communication style you've shown your supporters, you have single-handedly destroyed all trust anyone will ever have in you. I expect that NOBODY will be sending you more money until you have a fully operational machine.
If you are currently unable to complete at least Magic Girl without another injection of cash, you really ought to come clean. Dragging this on and on is completely unfair for those who have funded your way of life for the past 3-4 years.
It's WAY overdue to man-up, come clean with the state that everything is at, and either fold, or accept help (yes, giving up some control) in order to get this done.
One of your buyers referred to himself recently as an "idiot" for sending you money.
I hope that's not lost on you.
There is NOTHING less respectful you can do than ignore these buyers. Even admitting that things didn't go as planned is a much better solution. At the very least, there's some respect in that.

I would love the opportunity to pay for one of these one day and then cart it home from my local distributor. I hope you can make this work.

Hmmm... Kaneda's Wired article started out about a guy who loved games and then quickly turned to a story about a guy who picked games over a girl, got dumped, and owns ninja turtle bedsheets.

If they do a similar story on Jpop, about an artist making pinball machines... How do you think this one might end?

Could be the stake into the heart of this pre-book-cash-sucking vampire once and for all.

I'd read the article, that's for certain.

How is it that the one guy who's into Public Relations is one of the least liked people on this website?
(Things that make you go "Hmmmmm"...)