I noticed the other day that AP updated the trademark filing for this recently. There’s hope!

True but you can (and should) trademark Sherlock Holmes branded merchandise like pinball machines, which is different than the character being public domain.

https://tmsearch.uspto.gov/bin/gate.exe?f=doc&state=4808:kze2kg.2.2

Word Mark SHERLOCK HOLMES
Goods and Services IC 028. US 022 023 038 050. G & S: Pinball games; Pinball machines; Pinball machines; Pinball-type games
Standard Characters Claimed
Mark Drawing Code (4) STANDARD CHARACTER MARK
Serial Number 90242280
Filing Date October 8, 2020
Current Basis 1B
Original Filing Basis 1B
Owner (APPLICANT) American Pinball Inc. CORPORATION ILLINOIS 500 S Hicks Rd, Suite 100 Palatine ILLINOIS 60067
Attorney of Record Steven Marsh
Type of Mark TRADEMARK
Register PRINCIPAL
Live/Dead Indicator LIVE

Poker Run, Valkyries, Robin Hood, and their previous Sherlock Holmes filings from Jan 2019 are all dead but Sherlock Holmes was updated last October.

And Gottlieb did Spirt of 76/Pioneer for the bicentennial. William's Liberty Bell also came out just in time for the bicentennial.

I checked and I’m surprised no one has thrown out the possibility that it could be a Capcom Kingpin remake

Those guys need someone to build that game they’ve been slowly tinkering with.

I got bored and searched the USPTO for the name Kingpin and pinball as the good and service.

Illinois Pinball filed and abandoned it a few times in the 00’s

PPS filed for it 11-20-13, published for opposition 4-15-17, registered 8-25-17, and cancelled 12-7-18

Pinball Inc filed for it 6-17-17, published for opposition 6-4-19, and abandoned on 3-2-20

So no one publicly owns the trademark but it’s been passed around some recently. And it can take a while from filing to it being public and granted.

Another interesting thing I noticed was the same lawyer for Pinball Inc did the same filings for American Pinball's other games (and the Pinball Circus remake)

Not saying that’s what it is, but it does line up with a few things

Sure hope it doesn't mean Dennis is changing companies again to join Pinball Buzz (j/k). "First Class" was one of their many proposed titles besides Punny Factory

as an aside, their website is down https://www.pinballbuzz.com/first-class-pinball/ but Archive.org has a copy

"Ah, first class. The passengers that get to board the plane first, sit at the front of the plane, and seem to have settled in with a glass of champagne before anyone else has even lined up. We all know first class tickets are more expensive than other seats, but let’s get into the nitty-gritty are you worthy enought [sic] to fly First class?

Back Glass

You get to choose from several amazing destenations [sic] to travel to, then it’s off shooting targets and other tasks to gain your tickets, luggage , insurance, and more to finally get to board your plane and then take off.

Come fly with us around the world first class of course. We might include a private car service to the airport, a private lounge at the terminal, caviar and champagne for your flight.

Remember First Class passenger get more individualized attention and service from the flight attendant.

Interactive Airplane

Another first in the pinball industry.

When taking off in our First Class Pinball Machine, the player would be shooting into a model jet on the playfield after gathering all of their travel items. The model Jet would then tilt up complemented with the shaker motor rumble and real airplane sound effects, topped off with wind via a fan underneath the cabinet simulating that First Class Experience."

[I kept and noted typos as I saw them]

I don't care for this theme, but the way people kept bringing it up in the Spooky thread makes it seem like a good idea. Plus they just did a deal with Mattel Hot Wheels, so I'm sure they have some contacts to get to He-Man now.

Avatar LE is low key pretty cool. The art is awful and the code is boring, but mechanically it's relatively impressive.

In the back of my mind I've always wanted to re-theme it after one of my favorite albums of all time, Deltron 3030. It's a hip hop concept album set in a dystopian future where an imprisoned mech warrior tries to overthrow the evil corporate overlords with rap, magic, and technology.

They’re totally different, unless they’re retheming WOOLY as LOV which I doubt.

Another downfall to the contest is people will be much less likely to post their build logs as they work on their game. A few people are already iffy about sharing stuff, least a major manufacturer steal an idea. If they're trying to get it produced, then they would want to hide everything to make the best impossible first impression with a mostly finished game. Also the idea of starting and finishing a homebrew project in a year is A BIG ASK

I think it's cool if AP wants to help homebrewers make their games into a commercial product. I don't think the contest idea is good for the homebrew community though.

If someone can finish a homebrew and it's worth building in mass, just build it in mass. The contest is unnecessary.

Disagree. Homebrew is hard and the community helps each other a lot. I don't see this fostering cooperation and only increasing secrecy. I think a positive community does more to build people up to inspire them to achieve great personal projects than thinking "oh I gotta beat so-and-so"

I don't see why it would increase the number of people trying to pull of a homebrew project. (Maybe increased visibility that people are doing this sort of thing?) If the person's end goal is to get a job in the industry, they already know building a homebrew is the best resume they could have.

Or if they do get into homebrewing due the contest, they're setting themselves up for disappointment after hundreds of hours of work.

Again, if something is worth mass producing...then mass produce it. The contest is unnecessary.

I’m telling you what many of us think…

It was a crapshoot because so few homebrews are viable for manufacturing (or come in a state close to finished)

As I said, the competition doesn’t help the community.

So few are viable they should evaluate them on a case by case basis, not leave it to the whims of the community and a yearly contest.

Maybe I’m misunderstanding what they’re doing? I thought it was take the game to Expo and people vote on it

You know how much Sega charges vs Nintendo?

What pins has Sega done*? Nintendo has actually licensed their IP out before (back during Mario mania where he even had his own soda)

Sure Sega owned Stern Pinball, but they weren’t actually involved with the company besides owning it as an investment in an arcade equipment manufacturer.

Even then, the “long history” is like 5 years and over 20 years ago. Anyone at corporate Sega then isn’t a decision maker now.

Sega probably would license out a Sonic pin, but that’s because Sega’s business is mostly licensing out Sonic products these days (and owning a handful of video game developers)

*let’s agree Sega of Japan making some pins around 50 years ago as being irrelevant today

You’ve talked to Nintendo and Sega yourself?

People say this about Nintendo. But go down any toy aisle or clothing aisle and you’ll see licensed Nintendo merch everywhere. There is so much random junk with Nintendo properties on it. And some of it is limited edition, small run type stuff like collaborations like Nike shoes and luxury watches.

And I was never arguing Sega wouldn’t license this stuff out. I’m questioning why you say Nintendo is more expensive. Why you think Sega owning Stern 25 years ago would make any difference

You’re just speculating like everyone else.

But you said "Definitely not assuming, I do think it’s a very strong possibility though. SEGA is not like Nintendo, the licensing costs are quite reasonable and they have a long history of working with pin manufacturers."

You said it as if it was a fact. That's all.

Bro calm down

You're the one who said Sega is so much cheaper and easier to work with than Nintendo. Do you know that? You say it like it's a fact. Based on what? Your personal interactions with the company? Maybe a personal friend or colleague of yours who has worked with them?

I just found it amusing that you said you're not assuming anything, then started talking about Sega and Nintendo as if you worked with them.

I'm not mad lol.

Can you provide resources to that effect? I'm curious

I know Nintendo are dicks to their fans who try to monetize or freely distribute fan made products (including video games), but I want to know more about the reputation they have about licensing their IP and being so difficult to work with.

They license to other video game companies like Ubisoft (who gave Mario a gun FFS), they work with a huge number of retail partners at a variety of price points and target demographics, they make theme parks, and they're getting back into movies and tv shows.

I feel like pinball people mostly assume Nintendo is unapproachable (even though they licensed Mario pins before and almost did a Zelda pin). Nintendo seems very friendly to licensing out their brand based on the products available.

I didn't quote you out of context. I was asking about your logic on the things you wrote. I think you misunderstood me asking about what you know re Sega and Nintendo and their relationships with licensors and pinball companies.

I'm sorry I upset you so much...

What was taken out of context?

Huh. Interesting they both left. And sure enough his LinkedIn shows Kugler gone.

Maybe he went independent contractor with AP or freelance in general? (Just on my mind after listening to Lyman's last interview on SAP podcast)

Hope it works out well for him and we see his work on other games. I know a certain company in Wisconsin really needs some experienced pinball coders and rule designers...

As evident by all the work Ryan did in making the game and bringing it to shows, he proved that a lot of people do in fact want a Sonic pinball. So it makes total sense why Stern would buy the license if the deal makes sense to them.

Crazy thought: maybe Sega rather work with Stern considering they are the industry leader by a country mile? They can get thousands of Sonic games into location and home collections within a few years. This matters a lot if the license includes a per unit fee, plus the general benefit of how many would end up in public locations to promote the Sonic brand. Plus Stern already has extensive relations with a variety of media and licensing partners, greater brand recognition, a great track record, and an overall larger team to execute the project.

Regardless, Ryan has shown incredible talent, an eye for design, and an ability to get things done. Whatever he works on will be excellent.

Yeah, if Stern wants to be dicks there are so many better ways to go about it in an industry that is so small where Stern can (does?) throw its weight around

Random thought. I remember AP had a Sherlock Holmes registration filed. I like the idea of a mystery theme and that’s an ok public domain theme

I also remember they had Poker Run which sounds like it was changed into Hot Wheels, which is undoubtedly a better theme.

There was also a Valkyrie registration. Maybe that was going to be LOV before they kept it as LOV?

Anyway, if AP is still interested in a Holmes/mystery game, I really think they should try to make it Scooby Doo.

They get some credit for choosing a theme where they'd get some footage. And they did a good job slicing it up for modes. The original animations in it are fine. Better than some of the animations in their older games for sure...

Anyhow Hot Wheels is a blast. My only complaint is they use the air wrench noise way too much. It's got a solid set of rules and a few fun moments.

LOV...really don't care for the LCD screen use and some of the rules. But that game was mostly done out of house, so maybe not a great example of AP game dev

Oktoberfest...still never played one. I just don't see them. Seems like good rules.

Houdini...hated playing it. Neat ideas in the rules though.

The name is terrible, but campy sci-fi 50s is a fun pinball idea.

Franchi's good artwork, American Pinball's solid build quality, and a proven designer. Solid recipe. Interested to see what sort of ideas Steve Bowden has for rules and game design.

What are you talking about? Deeproot stole money from hundreds of retirees, dozens of people in the community lost money on RAZA preorders, and that's not counting the original Zidware cluster fuck of people losing money.

I remember there was some scuttlebutt about a possible Sherlock Holmes pin by American Pinball. I saw that the few books by Conan Doyle that weren't already in the public domain go public domain at the start of next year. That makes Holmes a fully fair use character for anyone who wants a recognizable theme without the licensing costs or approvals process.

That's a good point. I think Sherlock is a solid theme for a good ruleset. Not that I have anything against the retro-futuristic Galactic Tank Force theme.

They were kicking this idea around 2 years ago. I even suggested solving mysteries is a good code idea, but go get Scooby Doo as a license for that type of game. (I'm glad Scooby is getting made, though I'm a bit hesitant based off Spooky's track record)

Some of it is build quality. But more so I need to see their coding team make huge strides.

I don't like all of AP games, but their code creativity is top-notch.

It seemed like the Hot Wheels launch was going to be great till that whole Covid thing threw a wrench in their marketing plans of hitting major pinball shows and touring with the Hot Wheels Legends roadshow. I think it shipped within a month or so of reveal? (They also had gameplay stream ready within days, take note most other manufacturers)

Is it too late to change Galactic Tank Force to Galactic Tank Force Omega?

I just want the game initials to be GTFO

<3

The stars of the game got me like

5217F110-A17F-41B7-9311-29E358D606DC.gif

I kinda like the cabinet idea of making them look like tank treads. More art and it seems like you could take them off if you want a more traditional looking cabinet.

I'd be into FMV pinball cutscenes, but it's a real art to doing them bad "the right way" vs just bad.

I know AP didn't make the content, but I love the stop motion stuff in Hot Wheels. It's goofy in a fun way and is different than other pinball cutscenes

What if instead of a third button there was a touch screen with virtual buttons? Who needs physical feedback!

stop whining and drink your Ovaltine

I assume Ryan McQuaid will make the next game? Looking forward to it! He had some cool ideas on his Sonic homebrew.

make Trashland you cowards

Michael Jackson pin where the poor nose job is part of the charm

I assume Ryan's game would be next?

I know Fix talked a big game about doing at least 2 games a year. Hopefully they have the next game pretty far long

even if you're doing original IP, the homebrew dream contest always seemed extremely poorly thought out

if someone is able to make a viable design that could be produced, just talk to them...there's so few of those that there doesn't need to be a contest

But there are so many things that have to be done to take a homebrew and make it a viable product, beyond licensing. Hell the best part of homebrewing is not having to think about a BOM or overly worrying about complex-mechanisms/ease-of-manufacturing/reproducibility

Sure there are. The Amigo pins, the modern Pin 2k homebrews, Trashland, and others

Great, you're doing really interesting stuff. I like that you aren't aiming for some contest and just want to make cool stuff.

A friend texted me saying AP is making a video game license that isn’t Sonic

I’d guess something like Mega Man from Capcom. Seems like that style game could translate to pinball. Lots of iconic music, bosses, a weapon level up system that could be translated to pinball. They should get something Nintendo, but I doubt they did. Mortal Kombat would be another killer license.

Halo would be ok too. It’s a pretty generic space marine theme that’s still popular despite a row of meh games.

And if you’re doing a generic Microsoft owned space marine game, do Doom

My grandpappy was killed by a kaiju. Very offensive game to me /s

The Dukes people already said it wasn’t them.

I’m all for a Pokémon pin. Idk Daikaiju but it sounds affordable (and I’m pro center pop)

Is Franchi into He Man? I know he loves toys in general

Yeah but Hot Wheel is the most fun AP game

Was Hot Wheels originally going to be "Poker Run?"

I just remember hearing about the titles AP had trademarked, and sorta assumed Poker Run got turned into Hot Wheels simply based on Poker Run being about racing.

The other trademarks at the time were Sherlock Holmes, Valkyrie, and Robin Hood. Maybe it was one of those? (I kinda assumed Valkyrie became LOV)

But I get if you cant/rather not share

I think a Hasbro board game theme could work if it combined a few different games into one. Like a little Candy Land pop bumper section, a sinking battleship visual, a dice popper like Trouble, the gator mech from Nip-It as a Hungry Hungry Hippo, connect 4 lit lamps on a grid for a reward, fill up a family car (up to 6) for Life Multiball, Simon as a video mode...I could go on

The story of the game can be a family gets sucked into the Hasbro-verse and you need to play the games to save Family Game Night

Ask any operator who has had a Monopoly...it's a better theme than you'd think

Yeah like AP could do a music pin... like The Who

Well I mostly said The Who because I know Barry O was working on that game before passing.

Is this a serious suggestion? Might as well try to do Nickleback

The magic of pinball is how it creates a playable diorama. A pinball machine about pinball is...just a pinball machine without a theme

Also it already exists

pasted_image (resized).png

Price is Right would be a great theme full of toys. Not saying it would sell like gangbusters just off theme, but it's recognizable and could lend itself well to a pinball game. (Really I just want to see a modern bagatelle backbox game like Apollo as Plinko)

Can you tell me what theme you want to see so I can explain to you why you are wrong about a totally hypothetical game? Thanks

Robocop = not really a relevant property anymore, but it at least is a somewhat iconic 80s franchise. The reboot failed but Amazon is trying to revive it. So they'd probably make you do the new one vs the one people want...

GI Joe = don't you shit all over Hot Wheels? It's a child's toy. Who gives a crap about generic solider man or the crappy cartoon from 40 years ago?

Invader Zim = I love this show, but also...it's super niche and 20 years too late

Magic the Gathering = Ok the theme is popular among nerds, but how do you make a pinball game out of a trading card game? And also I thought you didn't want board game themes? Unless you print some rare cards to include with the game, MTG players won't give a crap about a pinball machine. (also DnD is a better theme for making a pinball game if you want to do spells and orcs and shit)

Way to bankrupt AP in 15 seconds

<3

There is a lot to unpack in this image...

So I hear AP hasn't made 300 games in a year before? 2023 seems to be the first time it'll happen.

So since production starting in 2018 they have made less than 1,800 units over 5 game titles. I remember hearing 500 Houdinis and 300 Oktoberfests being tossed around a few years ago...Seems to line up with back of the napkin math.

I hope AP can deliver a game the market really wants

I'm curious what Food Truck even looks like without all the mechs in the whitewood. Unless it was another original single level design they are going to make Food Truck

But I don't think AP bought the Food Truck stuff at the auction? Or maybe they bought it off someone else who did buy it at auction? It seemed like the only thing of some mild value was all the custom animations for Food Truck that were already made.

Anyhow, I think it's rad they want to do a tribute to Barry O in this way. Terrible business move, but rad for pinball fans I suppose.

My recollection was someone was saying they heard him say it in casual conversation, not that he actually said it on recording

If it really is single level, it better be cheap. I think it is well documented by this point between the first TNA run, the Whoa Nellie et al series, The Beatles, TNA CE, and Bond 60…there is limited demand for a high end single level game

Unless it’s Pulp Fiction, which is a licensed theme people are really interested in. And also it’s by a very well respected company with a reasonable price point.

Even though they’re wrong to think this, most pinheads have a real low value perception of mechanically loaded single level games. Ramps are cheaper than drops, but the value perception is the opposite.

Yeah. TNA sold 550 units at 6500 (more than a stern pro at the time). And the CE version took months to sell 250 a few years later at 9k and change (and it’s a game people knew and wanted more of)

There is a pretty clear price ceiling for single level games

Also to be pedantic, I know people considering PF a single level…but it also has a subway and ball lock under the playfield and a vuk and elevated ball lock/return on the back wall. So it still has a lot of modern pinball design elements

I thought the 5 year comment was aimed more at podcasters at the time who were influencing a lot of the hobby's narrative without much historic context

Then again, I feel like Fix would really benefit if he viewed the hobby in the lens of someone who has only been in the hobby for less than five years. Then he'd know what most of the new people in the hobby want. People who are ok with spending big bucks because they weren't around for sub $2k DMDs a decade ago. It was easier to appreciate original themes when they didn't break the bank.

Granted, I'm a millennial who has no real experience with the pinball arcade scene back in the day. But I know people don't want original themes now, no matter how many different times people try to do them in the modern era. There is a very hard limit on the potential sales.

Like it really doesn't take a sales genius to imagine what the typical family walking through a dealers showroom will naturally gravitate towards... Stern keeps making Star Wars for a reason, even though a lot of players don't care for the gameplay.

(also Hot Wheels is AP's best game, don't @ me)

Oh I agree, it was a really dumb thing for him to say.

He has a knack for putting his foot in his mouth in a lot of ways

My only issue with Hot Wheels is the air wrench noises. Good flow, great rules, good light shows, I like the YouTube show they cut into clips, etc

It was the most complete package for an AP games

Also remember that time Fix said he’d sell game addons/mods? Basically hinting they’d sell a loop replacement of some kind…

Some owners have made some cool loop mods though.

Spooky has also been smart enough to know

a) limit the release to a number based on factory production
b) pay for a good license and a talented artist

Not counting AMH, the only time they didn't stick to that winning formula was TNA. A game that Scott dragged around for a year at shows for people to get familiar with and begged him to get it produced. I want to reemphasize that point....they made an original theme game AFTER strong demand was demonstrated.

AP designs and builds better games than Spooky. Yet Spooky crushes them in sales... Stop fighting the market forces and stop trying to make original themes a thing again.

I think he said he only did a concept drawing of the art with some rough ideas for playfield element placing.

He sorta made it seem like Cuphead won, just based on other people saying "no I didn't win". And there have been rumors Cuphead will be done by AP...

Now I love that Cuphead homebrew. Nails the theme. I really don't think that's what modern pin buyers want though, unless it's sold at a price AP could never remotely afford to build them at. But maybe they're doing a more feature rich game. Still not a very strong license IMO.

I wonder how Oktoberfest did in Germany

Not mentioned: the lower expectations of original themes vs dream themes

The one licensed game AP did people shat on because, even though Hot Wheels wasn't a dream theme for most, it didn't have a loop-de-loop. Hey remember that time Fix said AP was looking at selling official playfield mods to add stuff like that? Yeah that was years ago...

Hell modders already figured it out

I hope someone tackles Sherlock. Seems like a natural fit for pinball and there is a good opportunity to sell additional mysteries over the years as players work through the base content. Imagine a murder mystery of the month

Good to hear someone else was smart enough to get you on a pinball project though

I just don't see it. I think American Pinball could skate by for a long time with original themes because people were so excited to support a not-Stern-pinball-company. But now they have way more competition. And some of those upstarts actually license popular themes that people want. There's a giant glut of new games in the market.

Neither one of those games is actually Food Truck in that photo. Just cabinet art. The left is Merlin's Arcade (modern Eight Ball Deluxe). I can't recall what the one on the right is (edit: it's The Goonies)

190_268[9BB40D08C810F88AA0FE912333ED4A31] (resized).jpg

Also here's Yukon Yeti for funsies

168_268[E9C686A01F07F786B8975D12318C9556] (resized).jpg

reading the menu...

>hot dogs

of course!

>veggie dogs

well, gotta be current with the times I suppose

>banana dog

I don't want to live on this planet anymore

Step 1: pay for a popular license
Step 2: there is no step 2

Themes sell games. I know purist don't like to hear it, but themes sell games...not gameplay. Hell art probably sells more games than actual gameplay.

I can't imagine they spent more than 50 grand for the actors, sets, costumes, studio time, etc

You probably have to give Fox/Disney 50 grand just to answer the phone to discuss Futurama licensing

Good sales down under?

hmm...the ship builder is the one who chose to not put on enough life boats to not obstruct the deck views (and in their defense, they provided as many as they were legally required to)

Interesting reboatal. I much prefer the maritime version of carguments to mix things up.

is selling the formely exclusive thermos a life ring to keep things afloat?

pasted_image (resized).png

(meme for fun, I don't really know if that's the case)

I also bought a lunchbox and thermos. Why not.

What was the last unlicensed game that sold well and wasn’t also a remake of an older highly regarded game?

TNA with less than 1 thousand units? High Roller Casino might have out sold that…

Monster Bash is not an original theme…

The amount of engineering work to make and sell 1k Dialed Ins is disappointing

Which was outsold by NBAFB by a few hundred units

Anyhow…we’re going back over 20 years to find a particularly popular original themed game

But sure, let’s keep going back to that well. This time it’ll be different

David Fix hired a designer whose last games included Whoa Nellie Big Juicy Melons and Elvira House of Horrors. But then feels compelled to cover up a modest amount of cleavage? Why hire the guy doing boob games…

(And let’s not get into how you’re saving milk producing tits in GTF)

If the triforce doesn’t eat the ball, I’m out

The benefit to Lego is that they don't use any actor likenesses, which should help to some degree. Same reason why Funko Pop can do all sorts of random brands and can make versions of characters where the actors don't license their likeness (such as Chief Brody/Roy Scheider).

Warner Brothers was surprisingly cool with Lego mixing and matching their IP for the Lego Dimension video game series

Price Is Right is a stronger pinball theme because it actually lends itself to pinball form. You can recreate the famous stage games. It has iconic sounds associated with the show. (I don't think it would sell, but I can at least mentally picture what the game would look like)

It's just a theme idea...it has as much, or as little, flow as you can imagine.

A big announcement? It can be anything! Get hyped!

IMG_4407 (resized).jpeg

Maybe the news is they hired a proofreader

pasted_image (resized).png

Also...what is the URL?

pasted_image (resized).png

Their own website doesn't have the right URL...

pasted_image (resized).png

Maybe that's why emails go unreturned

Apparently http://www.americanpinball.com works, but not https://www.americanpinball.com ?

Just weird

pasted_image (resized).png

What if American Pinball wasn't up for sale, but Aimtron was. Then they could be technically correct that AP isn't for sale

j/k though

Maybe they'll announce lunchboxes and thermos for the rest of their lineup /s

I hope they don't feel compelled to show/hint what they're working on next. They really can't screw up launching the next game...

Instead of adding a loop toy, I hope it’s the shark hotrod car that eats a ball

I like that they want to do weekly streaming to help market and promote their games. I don't like being teased that there will be a big news update though.

It's cool there are new service people. The board thing is whatever. It makes zero difference to most people, unless they're passing the savings on to the end user...which doesn't sound like they are

They really needed a moderator in their twitch chat. It was bedlam in there. And what's the point of live streaming if you're not going to engage with the audience?

Not trying to be negative. I feel like that is constructive feedback

I'm pretty sure they've always used their own lamp boards, power distribution, and some other minor boards. It's mainly the main P3-ROC board (which has a ton of features that aren't utilized) and the associated power driver and switch boards that were still externally sourced.

It should bring down the cost of the boards a lot. Then again, they spent "hundreds of thousands of dollars" developing the replacement...so probably not going to see any discounts for customers.

I'm also curious, did they say you could mix and match stuff? If I have a P3-ROC Houdini and I need to replace a power driver board, would I be able to use their new one? Or would I need to order one from Multimorphic for $100

It's fine if they don't mix and match. If they are basically creating a whole new system, I hope it reduces wiring complexity.

You'd think they would want to lift the playfield and show off their new board if that was such a major news item...