Predator seemed like a scam --- but eventually happily resolved!

What he said.....

popcorn-fast-fat-guy-753.gif

The best internet scam that I ever heard of was a normal guy who had been selling on eBay for years; btw this story dates back maybe 10 years. A guy with a large amount of positive feedback sold a bunch of collectables all valued in the $5000-15000 range. He listed in his auction that he was going to be out of the country for a bit and that everything would be sent out when he got back. The items were staggered to end over a 10-20 day period. About the time that the first buyer was getting anxious that they hadn't received their item was the same time that the final buyer was sending their cashiers check out. If memory serves me correctly the final take was over $1,000,000. It was pretty smooth. I don't know that he was patient enough to plan this and therefore take the time to build feedback and reputation or if he just suddenly decided to steal then disappear. If it was patience it wasn't the first buyer that got burned but rather someone down the line. My point is I seriousiy doubt that the predator pin is a scam; perhaps they just bit off a lot and are realizing the complexity of mass producing something from scratch. With that being said I should take whysnow up on his offer; my reservation is placing a bet with a person that I have never met. If I lose my pin goes out the next day. If I win I have to rely on a person that I have never met to be honorable; only a fool would make that bet because the loser would be under no obligation to uphold their end. "Yes your honor! I made a bet with an out of state guy who I have never met and now he's not keeping his end! Will you force him to send me the pinball?" When I was 18 my mother's boyfriend's father bet me that I couldbt row across the lake and back before dark. I did it and then the dirt bag backed out. Yes it was nice knowing that everytime he saw me he knew I thought he was trash; it was better than having the hundred dollars. Here? Risking a pin? That juice isn't worth the squeeze. I will put $100 up that you don't have your purchased predator by 12/31/2014.

More like 12/31/15.

LOL, it's now $400.00 that Whysnow has to donate to pinside if he is wrong.., he may want to
put a cap on the amount he may be losing/donating.

He was willing to bet a game so I am sure there is a way to go.

I'll take the bet also. $100 to pinside from me if he gets his game before end of 2014.

MAY? You mean WILL be losing....So glad I got outta this drama 6 months ago.

Does anyone know the production order?
Ie, who is number one in the order?

I'm #16 if that helps ya

Paragraphs dude, and spelling.

My .02 ,, U guy's that put down a deposit or Pay-N full & wait for 2 or 3 Yr's for the Pin to appear have Alot More patience than i do .. Did i read that Skit-B doesn't even have Permission to use the Predator License , that's Balls'ee .. Thumb's Down if U please ,,

The Only thing I like about Predator is Hemi's Light effect's ,, otherwise the Pin lOOks 2 B A SnOOze Fest
but what do I know

Who wants to bet that BR has a Pred in his garage at some point in the future to shop and add moar LEDS, even though he thinks it's a sn00ze fest

And will sell it to the banker.

Just having fun BR

Pinside! We are safe! The spelling police are back! I'm just messing with you new guy! All of us here love S&GP almost as much as we love the Price Police!!! To those of you who are offended by my post I apologize; I was hammering it out on my iphone while multitasking on the toilet. I had a code brown!

https://www.facebook.com/PinballBasement

https://twitter.com/SkitBPinball

http://www.skitbpinball.com/

Where is Predator?

Ya Just Never know w/ me ,, I had a NIB Mustang Pro & add'd mods ( 4 a Week ) ,, I Should have my Azz kick'd cause i traded a 1 Owner Tron Pro 4 it and received 1k + a shaker & delivery ,,
I need to go Rate Mustang Pro -- art 2 B easy ..

Not a Problem cool ,, Predator might be Ok , hell TWD Pro might B cool , but i'm Not fork-n out any $$ until i can play it .. My Rule of Thumb since Mustang ..

That's totally fair. Am I'm coming around to that school of thought too.

Did the group really wait three years to check if skit b had the preditor license? Or need to have it?

Pinside police must have been snoozing

I was thinking the same thing. They definitely *need* to have it, assuming that they want to sell them legally.

"Quick Notes" 1 and 3 on skitbpinball.com sounds like covering for a lack of a license, in place just in case they missed any traces of Predator on the site:

1. Absolutely none of the items featured on this site or any of its affiliates are for commercial sale or use unless explicitly stated otherwise.

3. All images and likenesses used on this site are and remain copyrights of their respective owners.

Awesome comment! When I see threads that get on my nerves I go play some pinball. The hobby is awesome. Certain soapbox loving/ know-it-all pinheads, not so much.

Even more disconcerting than that language is the fact that there is zero mention of the word "Predator" anywhere on their webpage. Or Facebook. Or Twitter account.

Did Predator appear on their webpage before?

If so, speculation will begin that they in fact do not own the license, and received a C&D and had to take any references to Predator Pinball down from the site.

It would be nice if Kevin could come on here an nip this in the bud asap.

Predator is the first game to be manufactured by American company Skit-B Pinball. Based on the movie title of the same name, Predator has " licensed " a full art/music/sound package for inclusion in the game. Targeted for release in " October 2012 " the game will see a limited production run of 250 units.

Yes sir, it did (see wayback machine):

http://web.archive.org/web/20130414092155/http://www.skitbpinball.com/

Ok, that is very odd.

Bottom line here is just like with Jpop, we have hit a wall. Someone needs to find Kevin and tell him it is time to make few comments. Period!

Yep. Especially considering this:

Not good.

I realize that Predator is sold out so technically there's no real reason to "market" the pin for sale. But to not list the one pin that you've done anywhere on your website?

That's a head scratcher, and makes no sense.

I would be freaking out right now if I had $3000+ down on this game with this lack of information.
I am already having a sick feeling in my stomach thinking about a couple of local friends that are in on this game.

I feel good. Whysnow is ready to up the bet and include his house. Predator will be here this year.

Don't worry look how long its taking some people to get the WOZ. I actually have made peace with the fact that it could take another year till I get mine maybe longer but Predator is a must have theme. Its coming.

With what theme/license?

It was his first post in this thread. My guess is that he didn't even read the stuff about the potential license issue.

I don't think these guys are scammers, but it sure looks like a licensing issue to me. I'm impressed they built a pin. When they first announced Predator on Pinside it struck me as a couple guys at a kegger decided to build a pin. Well I'm not sure it was a kegger, but they did build a pin. If the theme is a problem, retheme the damn thing. How about Space Invaders 2?

I hope this rumor can be put to rest real quick. If there is something up, this has been going on for a long time, that website without Predator has been that way a while.

It never made sense to me that even with the game "sold out" you don't say shit about it on your own site?

I was in from the beginning, but backed out when it came time to put up or shut up. The reason for me was financial, only so much pin money and it went toward our WOZ.(Our first NIB and absolutely love it.) I don't doubt this pin is coming. When? I don't know. But with 250 buyers cash in hand there is no excuse for the lack of communication. I've talked to the guys multiple times and know they are dedicated to seeing this thing through but man, a little info goes a looooong way.

Are there still people waiting for that game?!?!?!?

It's not a real bet until someone includes a sister or a spouse...

Okay, I can understand you guys being impatient and even having a few concerns. But Kevin is a standup guy with a real passion for pinball. You don't build multiple custom games and do what he has done simply for the sake of taking people's money and skipping town. He has a beautiful family and from Facebook alone I can tell you they are very busy. Has he run into licensing issues? Possibly. Has he run into supplier issues? Quite likely. But I think it's silly to even remotely suggest this is a "scam". Thats terrible. Im sure he is feeling significant pressure and just trying to get his arms wrapped around all the challenges in front of him before he communicates something more. Remain calm!

No Schittt !!

Hey , I'm ( not ) gonna build a Resident Evil Pin , 250 pins will be built , $ 5500.00 ship'd and it will cost U $ 3k deposit ,, that's $ 750,000.00 .. make's ya think .

For someone to supposedly producing 250 "Predator" pinball machines and not having a single mention of it anywhere on their web site(s) IS cause for concern. Even more so is that it was listed and then obviously pulled. My suspicions is that the license was not obtained and at this point if it is produced, they are trying to not draw attention to it for obvious legal reasons.

I could be wrong, but that would be my gut instinct.
Its either that or they have failed marketing 101.

Kevin needs to post here soon. Natives are restless and with a vacuum of latest info folks fill the gaps in with other stuff. Then that stuff becomes fact whether it's real or not.

Yes, you can absolutely be wrong to suggest they never had the license and are considering producing it illegally. Some might even call that slander and libelous. Considering Kevin has been an incredibly well respected and active pinhead in all things pinball related for MANY years, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

He certainly does not have the army of foot soldiers to patrol Pinside nonstop like JJP does. Although Im sure he is working hard, it is not spent sitting on Pinside constantly. Keep trying to email him.

He said they were suspicions and gut feelings not facts, so it is not slander/libel.

Also, you do just as much in the WOZ threads.

No one has stated anything unequivocally, just asking questions and pointing to suspicious things.

Lol .. yes, ive stated strong opinions for sure but Ive never accused them of a scam or something illegal. Im just saying, before this mob lights any more torches they should take a deep breath. Was Kevin not at Expo to talk to?

most likely guess would be recently they had a license issue and are working it out....i dont think its a scam...these guys go to shows not one a bunch..there all over the place..there not skipping town. lets just hear from the horses mouth if theres a license issue or not...theres no scam they intended to build games...intended anyway...maybe just hitting a wall to sort through