We went through the collapse of skit-b, heighway, dutch pinball, and zidware. At that point, the warning signs of how pinball companies imploded were pretty clear. There were many warnings about doing preorders with unproven companies. So much so that all the legitimate companies altered their preorder models/methods. Then deeproot entered the picture with all their boisterous claims and strange agreements and other red flags.

I've said it many times before and I'll say it again: paying preorder money to an unproven pinball company is risky.

But, some people just YOLO and figure it's worth the gamble to have a chance at getting a game from a limited run, so they dive in anyway and ride the hype train until the end of the line.

Yeah, it sucks that people that lost money, but it really doesn't take a whole lot of research to determine there were red flags littered everywhere.

The issue is that hype threads are filled with drama and are wildly popular. Avoid those kinds of threads, and I'm sure your forum experience will improve significantly.

Apparently, there are still some people out there who are unaware, so it still seems to need repeating.

Educated guess based on past events. When the carpet is getting rolled up on everything and there is no transparency about what's happening, that's usually a pretty big sign that there aren't exactly good things coming. When good things are happening, announcements are typically highly publicized. When bad things are happening, usually they happen as quietly and as quickly as possible before people come beating down the doors.

It should be common sense that a company can't burn cash for years on end without producing any products. It's unsustainable, especially in the pinball industry.

Maybe there will be some hope for refunds--maybe those funds were kept safe in separate escrow account. Or maybe some refunds will be issued from reserves? Maybe they'll dig deep to keep people at bay to avoid lawsuits? I have no idea. But these quiet movements seem to indicate the closure of the project/company.

Yes, and I said as much.

I never said that. I would probably not make the choice to gamble on an unproven company. If you want to and ride it out to the end, that's up to you.

This is simply a word of caution about questionable endeavors and the hype that tends to come along with them.

Obviously. But do you really think this is going to be the last ever pitch for preorder money from someone?

Just because they outspent everybody else doesn't mean they had a viable or successful business model.

I've been curious about that. Has anyone seen the facility in the last couple days? Are there staff still there? Is it sitting dark & idle? Has it been cleaned out? Have the doors been padlocked? Is there anything posted on the doors?

Sure, but I never said anything different back then than what I'm saying right now.

Why do you believe so strongly that deeproot is or could be a viable endeavor, as opposed to yet another failed pinball project/company?

Well, you certainly fooled me about that.

You altered a quote from another post, so it was moderated. If you want to post your thoughts again without doing that, you're welcome to do so.

Throwing more good money after bad doesn't automatically make something a success.

With a good business plan, solid staff, effective leadership, and a viable product--sure, maybe more money could help a company turn things around. Unfortunately, deeproot has not seemed to have had a viable business plan or effective leadership to help get products out the door.

I can't disagree with you there.

It does matter a little bit. It doesn't seem like the information is just sitting there out in the open for just anyone to stumble upon accidently or even somewhat intentionally. It sounded like it took some effort to extract, and that's probably going to be beyond the reach of most mere mortals without the necessary technical chops.

Greed, entitlement, narcissism, lack of compassion/empathy for others, anti-social behavior...a whole bundle of wonderful things like that, probably.

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No, as usual, your opinions seem just a bit...odd and a little off-base.

You're taking a negative situation, trying to put a positive spin on it like everything is all sunshine and rainbows and all problems are in the past, yet in reality, there are still significant and serious hurdles & issues that still need to be addressed.

That situation seems kind of like a guy in a race who celebrates too early and falls over before crossing the finish line.

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Well, once all the EAs are made whole, I'd be perfectly happy to celebrate with you.

https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2021/lr25179.htm