This would hurt.....Im a Houdini fan.....
(Topic ID: 169477)
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Houdini
American Pinball, 2017-
Tales of the Arabian Nights
Williams, 1996
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As we all know, any game "announced" will take a couple years to ship.
So far, I have not been able to find anyone else this morning who knows anything about this.
I know, and respect, the emotions associated with JPop, and his Company.
Sadly, in this country, a Brand new Corporation, is a completely new Legal entity, and they do get to start over from scratch.
Sure, Boycott, share, Facebook, anything one wishes, but at the end of the day, its "seen" as a completely
different "person".
And the uniformed, and the eager, may repeat the same cycle we have seen.
Sadly it happens all the time in business.
Well Houdini was known to Hold Seances at the end of his career, as well as his public illusions of trickery, and deceit.
He bragged how no cell could hold him.
hmmmmmm
A Seance for Mr Angelo, and Jpop seeing himself as Houdini?
He certainly has mastered Public illusion and deceit!
Yes, he was, but he held many seances himself in the process.
He was hoping there would be some truth, personally motivated to reach his mother.
(I spent a bit of time with his Sister in law)
Most people dont know he was an accomplished actor in Silent films, doing his own stunts!
Also acting on behalf of the US Government as a Foreign Spy.
His Voice and Presentation and accent is interesting from its time, and lucky there is a recording:
Any professional magicians out there in Pinball?
Quoted from jeffspinballpalace:Something is fishy, let's look at the timeline. 4 weeks ago DGarrett went to investigate American Pinball and spoke to the owner. Asked do you build games and would you have anything available by Expo, the answer was no and it takes years to make a pinball. Expo was 7 weeks in the future.
Flash Forward four weeks to today and they pretend to show a game next weekend? That's 5 weeks after saying no way to 7. Very fishy dealing with someone like that. Regardless of what they say and won't be able to show, you prepay a huge chunk to get the business churning. All money paid would be at high risk.
Yes, the Only Game announcement was a post by Kaneda, and an email to Mike.
Nada, nothing else. Not saying it couldnt be, but Kaneda is eating Popcorn again tonight!
Send me a PM, Kaneda, and Ill share the Joke.
I love Houdini, and would love a Houdini Pin....But no Jpop.
Just cant get excited until an official announcement, and rows of games shipping, and vetted...
Give it 5 years, along with any Jpop BS to derail it.
Someone other than Kaneda should be able to add to this.
Hell, Id believe a Minions, Doom, SpaceBalls, Queen Game will be made first!
Quoted from spfxted:He texted me and said it's not him. This is legit. Just passing along that info….
Whats legit, Ted?
The Company? The Game? Jpop?
Quoted from davebowman:I would love a link to a pinball podcast that has something about all of this
Its 24 hour news, Broken by Kaneda, Podcast by Kaneda, and you want something new, now?
But your not him.
Erich Weiss is Spinning in his Grave at that image of him! He would have hated the hair!! 
Quoted from radium:Wow, someone really dropped the ball on some decent money there.
I remember reading that Houdini left a lot of his magic props to his brother, and in his will stated that they must be destroyed upon his death. His brother sold it all off instead and much of it burned later in a fire.
A massive amount never was burned or destroyed. When Dash died, his widow decided to find a home for
Both collections. I was involved in the beginning transfers, and it was a very massive amount, and I saw only the surface of the collection.
.....and if done right by those made wrong, and its been vested, and its available and ready, Id buy, after playing, and code, and bugs worked out.....
Its a theme I would have never imagined being made, but I think Ive read every book ever written about him, and he was one of my childhood idols, as a young Magician.
I sucked at it, but good memories.
A pin with this theme, has a good chance of long term success.
Quoted from LyonsRonnie1:You may know good sir, doesn't David Copperfield own a TON of Houdini props?
indeed, I believe the largest collection as he says!
David also collects Coin-op, Fortune tellers, automatons, and had proxy bidders 20 years ago at Super Auctions/Disney to grab a bunch of the 1930's and early stuff that use to be on main street emporium
in Disney World. Rumor has it Scherer took the Disney Property from Storage and sold personally.
I had tried several times to see his warehouse collection in Las Vegas. Its quite locked up and difficult,
but failed. At that time, he was dating one of the "Palm Girls", and I knew her Twin Sister.
Did you get in there, Ted? Theres video of it, but just a little bit...
I did get to mess with the Milk can, hand cuffs, and other props at his brothers Estate. David got much of this,
i believe it was after Randi and Vito took the most.
The personal Travel Trunks, were of grand interest to me. Very well made, secret compartments, and my passion for this.
Quoted from LyonsRonnie1:That's very cool that so much of the collection ended up in at least one place, sucks it's private but at least it's together and taken care of instead of scattered around the world.
I hope David chooses to create a museum from this collection.
Your right about much of the accuracy for the art, It would seem as though a quick search was done for ideas and buzz words. Im with you, but not sure at the end it matters to many. The crystal ball wouldnt be in his
ideals as well. Griffins? Snakes?
Heres a blow up in the middle of the weird ramp, looks like a switchback?
and whats going on with the torture cell? Is that a piece of plastic covering to look like water spilled?
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Here's a prediction using the same stupid lingo I keep seeing here...This thing will "shoot" like shit.
Im beginning to think that only a remake of "Stars LE" would make you happy!
I find this info very disturbing.
I have tried to share some sense of non emotional optimism.
A separate company with an honest intent to fix, and this may still be the case.
But seeing the business filed this way, I am bothered.
An emotional change here, because it wasnt a company created, IMO, that reached to John, but now appears that
he was present from the creation.
The intent might be positive, but it now seems that this is following that same pattern.
Anyway my position is, its now smelling quite rotten now.
As a Contact on initial filing, its possible, and Im no lawyer, so I could be wrong, that financial interest is in principal
involved in this company, AP. We dont know how other things are set up, but if the current legal action has any ties to
John Personally, or patents, assets of Zidware, one cant simply create another company and move those assets over
cleanly.
...its as bed as Kevin buying a house under his wifes name.
Please do correct me if Im wrong.
My opinion now, is still the same in the sense that anything positive for our friends who are capitalized in some way.
If it means, " dont rock the boat", or antagonize etc.. I agree.
I myself, cant advocate 1 penny to this situation for any game for any reason, unless those affected are resolved.
Now to the level we give them a chance, an audience....I think we should, but with no blinders and no money.
Thats right, its unknown, and I am very much a layman.
Even if John is not on Corporate records, and is a 1099 Independent Contractor,
The use of assets, patents assigned to another company needs "something".
That is suppose to be an asset of Zidware, and by extension property subject to any legal action against Zidware.
Zidware may now have to declare bankruptcy? And then its Pinside fault? I just dont know and im speculating blindly.
Something I have now been wrong about a couple times in this fiasco.
We simply need a lot more transparency here. This appears to still be John running things, IMO.
Quoted from SilverballNut:The emergency contact is just someone who has access to the facility (think keys/alarm codes). If he is working on designs there, I don't see that be an issue.
Except that this would fail the Safe Harbor Act of an Independent contractor, and if John declared himself as such, there would be legal/tax issues.....
This one I know, unless the laws have changed, as I had a federal tax hearing, and truly rarely is an Independent contractor allowed keys and access, accept for a short period of time, as created in contract. Being named in this manner is a big flag.
1 week later
The problem here is jpop.
Suppose for a moment there was no news on this a month ago, no jpop.
A new company, showing only this.
Would we be jumping up and down with excitement without the jpop factor?
Just a thought, and my hopes for their success, as it may be the only way our friends might see something positive.
I'm rooting for those with a loss at this time.
Isn't everyone?
Isn't AP success the only way this might happen?
Or do others in legal action feel positive about recovery?
You could be right.
Say they ship MG and wash their hands of Jpop, and release Houdini. Some of us
want failure. Some don't.
Just our individual opinions.
2 months later
2 weeks later
Quoted from frolic:There won't be a playable game in Texas, correct?
Even without jpop, all we've got is a company ANNOUNCING stuff and showing up to a second pinball show without a flipping machine.
We've all been around long enough to know what a tough road it is in pinball even AFTER you've been bringing a fully playable machine to shows.
We're talking about an entirely new pinball platform here. Balcer happens to have been involved from the ground up before, but we all know how many years that took even after they started showing WOZ at shows. And then of course Hobbit, which also was his game, took longer than WOZ. And that was with millions of dollars spent on r&d.
Then you look at how long Heighway took, the delays with delivering Full Throttle and of course the Alien delays (basically 2 years late on that one).
Dutch Pinball of course is another example.
Even our darlings at Spooky, if we go back in time, it was still a slog for Ben to get AMH done and into production and to customers.
When it seemed like they were taking the zidware carcass, at least a lot of work had been done, but that all is scuttled now.
Not a single view to disagree, but something small to share.
I asked quite a few business friends over the last 30 years, and the owner and parent company
have a very respectable, and honorable position in the Indian community.
They have funds and factories, and now Balcer knowledge.
It doesnt mean it wont take a great deal of time, or even success, but Id be supportive of them trying.
The affect, fallout, and future from Jpop, is a cluster-fk, and who knows yet, if and what, this will all end up being.
2 months later
Just some unneeded info.....
Houdini was quite a unique person, he even ended up as a Spy for the US government.
I attended a Halloween Sceance for him in the late 70s with Randi and other Magicians.
What a hoot!
The respect from his peers, sticks with me still.
The weirdest. thing for me that I did only recently, was to listen to audio recordings of him speaking.....Not at all the voice I imagined.
Worth a 3 minute listen.
From what I know, I believe he would be thrilled at seeing this pin made in his honour!
Quoted from CrazyLevi:It's a hastily thrown together project funded by some bored billionaires trying to move out some product while people are still happily doling out $7,000 for new games. It's a cash grab. Unless you think they are going for a Nobel prize here?
I thought that's called business....Why are you so upset at a company making an entrance I to the hobby?
Or why not just ignore the thread....?
Quoted from lpierrick:I love this pinball machine and i would Like to buy it, but How ?
Carry on Luggage, with a visit?
Quoted from Delta9:Can someone please post a link to some decent game play
There isnt any yet...it was only available to play for like the last 24 hours......Patience!
Quoted from rosh:We are currently evaluating which shows we will be at and certainly looking at the ones that have been mentioned in this thread. MGC might be a touch too soon, but after we settle back in we will assess it.
Thank you for taking the time to post from your Position, Rosh! 
I wish nothing but the Best of Success!
Your Talent and Tenacity should result in a Superior Game!
1 month later
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