Actually I think what you suggest is similar to what I suggested earlier on, but your concept is more refined. I think that could actually work, benefit all involved and pinball in general and we still get to see games made.
To continue this project I think the math is actually pretty simple (helicopter view mode on):
- For MG John received like $250,000.00 in pre-order money.
- Basically a new investor could license the right to build that game and would inherit the obligation to deliver the game to those who pre-ordered and didn't get a refund earlier on, or he should refund whoever wants a refund. So in theory getting the license means buying into a $ 250.000 dept. That may make it a very affordable license.
- The design of MG is pretty cool. From what I've seen think in the style of TOTAN.
- Could a new manufacturer sell 1,000 of those games? If priced reasonably (and 16K or even 12K seems not reasonable) I'd say yes. Most likely such an investor is still likely to have a margin on each game sold of $ 1,000 or more.
- So in theory sell 250 games and the investment in the license is recouped. Sell another 100 and the production set up costs are recouped as well. Sell the other 650 games and that not just $ 650.000 in profit, but actually more as then only the production materials and costs need to be paid for, so the profit margin on those games is bigger.
- If I had a pinball factory this would be a no brainer. I'd take the license in a heartbeat, get the games produced, everybody happy.
I've seen/heard about a figure of $1,000,000 being received by John. That obviously requires some more math as I'm not informed on how many deposits that is on which games. But in theory you can still see that money as development costs for all the games worked on. Stepping in as an investor means owning these and being obligated to manufacture them, but you could skip the obligation to refund. So if you pre-ordered there is no refund possible, but you will get the game (as long as you paid in full).
As far as I could tell when visiting John's workshop in October of last year, both MG and RAZA seemed to be pretty far in developement. Plus there is aparently another game that no-one has seen yet (not AIW). So 2, potentially 3 designs to manufacture to recoup your investment. That may still seem profitable. Especially since a new investor may not even have to pay that much money. In theory that money was spent to develop the games, but an investor could still buy the whole thing for less. As long as the games get made there is no reason / need to refund. So basically there's a couple of cool designs up for graps. How much do you think it costs Stern or JJP to develop a game? My guess is if buying the Zidware designs is an option they'll spend less on that than designing a new game from scratch. Again: a no brainer.
Let's say the above isn't fiction, but a realistic option. Another, but less favorable option: John could sell the designs for X amount, but keeps responsible for doing the refunds. Then it would be a more expensive investment, but hardly more than the total sum of pre-order money. If John would get that kind of money out of such a deal he can refund most / all of the deposits. When refunded by John the new owner would not be obligated to deliver that game for free to that person, so another game that could be sold = more income / profit.
Keep in mind one thing: John may have made some mistakes as a business man, but he designs some pretty interesting and good looking games. It's actually amazing that pinball companies aren't outbidding each other to get these designs. If I had a pinball company I'd be on my way with a checkbook.
Utrecht
Festus, MO
