Man people need to get off this "video game" push. How many times do people need to say this isn't virtual pinball? The PHYSICAL ball to VIRTUAL target interaction is secondary to the rest of the gameplay. Also, as the video provided shows, lower playfield inserts will allow for targets and mechs closer to the flippers. I've talked with Gerry that their next game needs to have either ramp entrances, targets, pop bumpers, or something overlaying the lower playfield. Not cause I need it, but so many people can't get over the open lower playfield (*cough* AFM *cough*) and don't understand this is a possibility of thew game design flexibility.

As for price point, $10K is steep, but getting relatively less so every day it seems. I love the Heighway games (I want Full Throttle and Alien) but people are flat wrong about getting 4 games for $15K. Straight from their website, Alien is $6450 and the Alien kit is $4350. Full Throttle is a couple hundred cheaper. So technically, you can't even get a full game and 2 playfields for $15K, much less 4 games. But let's say $15K for 3 to make it easy. If P3 is $10K and extra playfields cost $2500, the break even on the systems would be 3 games for $15K. P3 would be $2K cheaper per game after this. Even more so if Gerry lands closer to $1500 per game.

One thing that hurts me to read, but I can't argue with is the claim that you don't hear P3 more because people don't care. Unfortunately I think this is truer than I'd like. There are a number of factors. To the outsider, P3 doesn't look like it's advanced THAT much in the last few years, so it just feels like that thing that will never get here. Somehow there is still the misconception that this is video pinball (couldn't be more wrong), and that the playfield layout is too barren. Finally, the lack of a licensed game gives people that haven't played the system very little to grasp onto from the outside.

I think most if not all of these will be addressed in 2017. Releasing a second game with a more diverse playfield will alleviate the layout issue. Announcing some type of cool licensed theme could get outsiders drooling. And getting the system into more locations can get more people playing and realizing this is real pinball, not a video game.

I think (hope) once the train gets moving down the track, P3 will get all the attention it needs/wants. I'm so excited for the possibilities. I can't wait to get this system in my house and to see what other 3rd party developers can come up with in terms of add-on games.

But there really isn't that much interaction with the ball and the screen. Hitting targets and such manifest in feedback on the main screen, and there are things like ball trails, but there aren't many times when the main objective is to hit virtual targets with the ball. Search the crates is certainly one, and I'm sure there are others, but it really is a minor component of the shots in Lexy. Now, if people don't like the dynamic graphics, or have some issue with the playfield screen visuals, that's a different story, but that's not the main complaint I see.

It's first and foremost the "virtual pinball" argument, which just isn't true. Case-in-point, Jungle is over in the Heighway Alien thread telling people he doesn't believe people will plunk down $10k on the P3 until the ball physically interacting with the machine is a major part of the game. People really just need to stop commenting on things they obviously know nothing about.

If I were Gerry, I'd be pulling my hair out every time this argument comes up. Oh wait, he already did.

I don't agree with this. The dynamic art on the playfield is just one of the distinguishing aspects of the P3 (although the most readily visible), and the ball hitting virtual targets as a main objective is a small subset of that. My point was that while P3 can function as a virtual pinball of sorts, that is far, far from the reality or the intention.

Now, if you don't like the art, I'm not going to argue that point. I'm not wowed by the playfield art, but I don't mind it. The backglass art is another thing altogether (not in a good way). I'm guessing the style/art quality on the playfield is more skill/art direction related than hardware, so that will likely vary from game to game. Personally, I think the way the environments vary based on the setting and objectives is cool. Does P3 have XBox level graphics? Certainly not, and I don't think it should. But maybe having the monitor there at all with videogame-ish graphics sets that expectation.

While I personally would not prefer to have a static playfield graphic, that might not be a bad way to go with one of the upcoming titles. Your term "evolutionary" resonated with me. Gerry went for revolutionary in all aspects of the P3, and I think he achieved it. Like the style and execution or not, what he's doing is revolutionary in pinball. But maybe that is what's created so much disconnect. Maybe evolution in the most visible aspect would have gained more connection from average people than revolution did. It's not what I personally want to see, but more than what I want personally, I want what's going to be long-term good for Gerry and P3. The beauty of a multiple title system is you could continue down multiple paths with game direction.

Critical mass is the answer this these questions. I love the P3, I think Lexy is super fun and cool (although I'm not going to argue the graphics point), and I'm looking forward to the possibilities. I'm someone generationally between pinball and video games, so I'm cool with the hybrid visual approach. I'm in and for a $1500 price point, I'd buy just about any additional P3 game that came out, if it was remotely cool. The question is how many people will adopt this as-is. If there magically become 1000 P3 customers out there, the economics of people designing games (hobbyists or professionals) is obvious. At midpoints along the way that becomes less clear. People still don't understand the platform and the possibilities either, which hurts the desire and creativity.

I hope desperately, both selfishly and for Gerry, that the P3 takes off and there are lots of additional games to support the platform. It's been a slow burn for sure, but we're getting to the point where things will come to bear, one way or the other.

I know Gerry mentioned assisting in some fashion with the logistics around production and the physical end, but I'm not sure exactly what that means. I'm sure it's still mainly on the designer to do most of the heavy lifting with that. That said, Gerry obviously has a vested interest in getting things up and going with a small library sooner than later, so who knows what the plan is.

That said, because the system is open, designers could develop software only games that utilize existing hardware layouts. P3 is shipping with a separate mini-game that uses the Lexy upper playfield. Designers would have the ability to piggyback off of other playfield designs and just design new graphics, rules, etc. This would eliminate the production aspect of physically building a playfield module.

That's part of what makes this system so encouraging, the options. Whether any of the options pan out is still TBD, but I'm hopeful as a consumer.

It is, but they wisely decided that given the limited resources and the need to get P3 on the map, it made more sense to get one game out and stop trying to work on Lexy and CCR in parallel.

This is AWESOME news. I'm in on a few other upcoming games, but there is nothing in the pipeline from any other manufacturer that excites me as much as P3. To hear that there are additional games in the works and somewhat playable already is fantastic news. I can't wait to get my game next year.

I'm one of the founding people who jumped on back when the P3 was a bunch of PVC and tech demos. Really excited to see this coming to form shortly.

I don't know the specific production numbers, but I can confirm that whatever they are, they will be underwhelming to the general public.

HOWEVER, unlike essentially every other start-up, they did this without collecting money from people to fund their R&D. Not to mention that their R&D is multiples greater than any other pinball company, since they're the only ones that are truly innovating in this industry.

Gerry deserves more respect than anyone else in boutique pinball (although Spooky deserves mad props too). While they may have taken a virtual eternity to go from concept to market, the reason this has been under the radar is because they are not holding peoples' money hostage like most other vendors who announce too early. Multimorphic has self-funded everything thus far. PROPS FOR THAT! Aside from the fact that I'm one of the original orders, I couldn't be happier for Gerry and his official launch of Lexy. Gerry has been one of the (probably the single most) forthright pinball company owners in the industry. He has not taken money from people to fund their extensive development, he has been up front about their challenges, has acknowledged their prior missteps, has been realistic about upcoming time-frames, and is as genuine of a guy as there is in this industry.

Sure, their initial production numbers will seem meager, but recognize someone who did things the right way and allow them time to grow their business organically. We've all seen too many other cases where the sexy theme and the shady practices have resulted in despair. Let's allow the honest guy without the blockbuster theme and the empty promises to build his business the right way.

I am. I've been in since the PVC "wireform" days, back when this was merely a tech demo. While I've never been concerned about my money with Gerry, I have been burned with other pre-orders (JPOP), so this is my last ever pre-order.

This was something I pitched to Gerry a couple years ago. Understanding that they didn't really want to increase scope with new physical features (creating additional delays) he said this could be handled with software, which I guess at some level it can be. But I always thought the mobile outlanes would be a super cool skill-balancing feature. My wife and I play together, but we're on completely different skill levels. Anything that can be done to even up the matches would be awesome. I'd be 100% in on any outlane post mod!

Is this referring to the first or second run? I have not heard anything about production timing in the last few weeks and I'm in the first run.

That was the last I heard, just checking whether the delay reference was supplanting this about first run, or was about the second. Thanks.

Just a heads up that I confirmed with Gerry that run #1 is active and absolutely not delayed to September. That reference was indeed referring to run #2.

No chance! There is so much tech that went into the ball tracking needed to create the collision detection on that screen, nobody will (can?) do it. Plus the hurdles Gerry has had to jump over with people thinking P3 was "virtual pinball" was frustrating to say the least. Nobody else in the industry has the balls Gerry does to shift the paradigm this much.