Glad to see this.

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That update doesn't answer a single question WRT the licensing and timeline.

"building pinball machines is harder than we thought so no information will be shared that could possibly allay your legitimate concerns. But don't worry, we're on the job."

lol

Very strange.

Summary:

Making pinball machines is hard. There are going to be more delays in making the pin that shall not be named. I didn't intend to turn my back on Pinside, but I am.

Translation = oh Pinside... this is why we can't have nice things

Some people will never be happy.

Angry mob of non-buyers >"WE WANT communication!"

Kevin > " Hi folks, I am sorry for the poor communication. I planned to have games out by now that would blow your socks off, but have hit delays that were not planned for. I apollogize, but plan to have more communication going forward and share more often with owners"

Angry mob >> "That is not the communication we wanted!" "Arrggghhhh" "We need more drama!"

I appreciate the sentiment expressed here (I really do) but you have to admit that it is very strange that he once again intentionally refused to type the word P R E D A T O R once in that very long post.

Shouldn't the thread title have been "A Few Words About Predator Pinball"?

It's time...

To me, no, not really.

Liscense agreements can be very strange. Seems obvious to me with the language in his post that there must be some stipulation about online advertising and Kevin is specifically not saying certain words in order to fulfill obligations of this agreement. The most logical answer is often the simplest and also would make sense why it is not discussed >> he legally is not allowed?

I don't need anything else to make me happy. I have been told by the maker that the liscence is intact for making the games, I have seen photos of actual games being built, I have seen new pictures of some parts stocklpiled, and now I have communication from Kevin with a promise for more communication to owners in the future. So long as the communication lines stay open with biweekly email updates as stated then I am stoked.

I posted this in the other thread - think it might be relevant here also:

DISCLAIMER: I have not pre-ordered 'this game'. That being said, I find this whole situation very interesting, and enjoy following the drama.

My take on this is that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. The elephant in the room is why SkitB cannot mention Predator in public. My guess (and that's all it is) is that this is a licensing restriction. That SkitB paid as little as possible for licensing, and one of the restrictions placed on them was 'no public advertising'. Since Predator was sold out (or near so) maybe SkitB figured that was OK. But then the license holder came and asked them to cleanse the 'net of all mention of Predator pin...and that's what they did - but yet they still retain the rights to build the machines. ...and here we are.

....or I could be wrong.

There are pictures of the game being built?

There's no spin - the "update" basically just acknowledged that he's alive and behind schedule. The fact that the word "Predator" is never mentioned does nothing but fan the flames of speculation that it's not an officially licensed product. You have to admit - it's really really friggin' ODD that the game cannot be mentioned & its existence has been scrubbed from the website.....but hey, if the builds the games for the buyers, that's all that matters. It might just end up being a "homebrew Predator bootleg pinball"...if it gets built, plays well, and makes the 250 Predator pinball fans happy & Kevin doesn't get in legal trouble, it's all good.

Is this still "The Official Pinside Skit-B Predator Discussion"?

Maybe the posting Moderator can change the title.

Hard to believe when this was posted.........
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/a-few-words-from-skit-b-pinball#post-2076260

it's always time

You take yourself wayyyy to seriously,

Sincerely,
Angry Mob.

and you should stick to shitting on people's for sale threads mr HEP price expert….

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/for-sale-hep-no-fear-dangerous-sports#post-2076326

talk about typical asshattery.

: )

First rule of fight club is...... U do not talk in public about fight club lol

My guess is enough people bitched to bail that he responded. He bought himself more time to say the least. Best of luck to all involved, I hope you all get to unbox your games soon

Online advertising seems most likely explanation but why on earth doesn't he just say so!

He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-voldemort-vs-aro-21933014-375-500.jpg

Well... as of 6 hrs ago, it looks like we have 2 discussion threads going. I'm fine with that, but I suspect a Mod will lock that one shortly to avoid confusion in the community - can't have discussions going on all over the place in a discussion forum you know.

It's interesting that the Mythbusters guys decided to go unlicensed with "Experts of Dangerous." It seems like a move that someone would make after having problems dealing with a previous license, doesn't it? (I really hope they change the name of that pin...)

I think this might be an indication that people will be getting a game called "The Predatory Alien" or "Attack of the Predators." They are probably trying to think of how they can still get a cool game to their customers with a knockoff predator-like theme without breaking the law. If this is the case, they would be using this extra time to plan their damage control.

My best guess is that the buyers are going to get a pin, but it will be a predator knockoff. Better than nothing. If it is a great pin, it would go a long way to appeasing the true predator fans that were sold the game under false pretenses.

I wouldn't have even really felt the need to comment on this at all, as I was just watching the story unfold as a casual observer; but a few things rubbed me the wrong way about Kevin's post.

a) He stressed "open" and "honest" while giving little actual information of value, and avoiding the primary concern(s) altogether of the status of the license.
b) He attempts to invoke sympathy rather than directly addressing specific concerns
c) He uses a divide and conquer tactic by implying that the "non-buyers" have forced him away from pinside, and so they are the ones responsible for the "buyers" discomfort.
d) He blames pinside for having unrealistic demands for information and communication, when it is his own customers who are trying for weeks or even months to contact him directly and then coming to pinside to try to find somebody who knows how to contact them when it proves impossible. Or maybe to get some actual information from somebody "in the know."
e) He openly admits that he will continue to ignore phone calls and e-mails.
f) The picture he chose to post had no likenesses of predator in them. Maybe it's parts for Experts of Dangerous, who knows. (I doubt it, but you get the point).

There is plenty more that rubs me the wrong way. He makes excuses, he points fingers, he doesn't take care of his customers, he doesn't keep good relations with the community that allows this dream of his to become a reality. So I guess the reason I couldn't help from putting my 25 cents in is that I feel sorry for the customers. It's like watching an abusive relationship. He has all the power, and the customers have too much invested in the relationship now to just walk away. I don't know how he could possibly have any customers for EoD.

My hope is that in his first update for the buyers he will clear up what exactly is happening with the license. I'm fine with it if he just wants to communicate directly with the buyers and say screw everybody else. It doesn't seem necessary, but fine - maybe Skit-B can say a lot more in private communications than in a public forum. Makes sense. As long as the buyers are happy, IDGAF. But the only reason there is an "army of haters" on pinside is that even non-buyers care about what happens to the buyers. Because they are our community members getting treated badly, and that could be any one of us on a different day and a different pin.

OK! I'll fess up! I told Kevin..."When you make the comments on Pinside, do NOT mention the word Predator! It makes them crazy!" ..............worked!

Where do I send money to get in on "Experts of Dangerous"? That way I will be allowed to complain publicly when I don't receive any information on the progress of my game.

Pretty powerful summary.

Whatever the "truth", this is a terrible way to run a business. They have hopes of releasing many more pins, this is going to be a tough slog.

Hi Guys!

I just wanted to drop in and say that I would not be building cabinets and printing and applying decals for a project that's not fully licensed!

Anyone that knows me knows I won't even consider touching unlicensed projects!

Speculation can now rest.

Pre-owners can certainly look forward to receiving their PREDATORS.

Thank you.

I did nothing to you to warrant a personal attack or name calling. I get that you like to call names and that makes you look like a fool , but since everyone gets to see it here, I am fine with it.

Hit the nail on the head here.

I've lived in la la land before with 4 years of Woz cheerleading and 3 years of Jpop. While I understand people's desire to believe the best outcome, including my own enthusiasm, especially when you have skin in the game, there are others who aren't going to suspend all common sense if the face of the above reality.

Congrats on some communication that is long overdue and hopefully, unlike the promise of a "support" email that would be answered, he will follow through with the 2 week updates.

Btw, this is Pinside, there will be people that are interested in certain pins whether or not they have "skin in the game". "Haters", "Cheerleaders"? Bullshit, its just people presenting both sides of a story and what they think on a pinball discussion forum.

Thanks for posting and especially for saying the P word!

Woohoo! Cabs being built, parts getting ready, feels like...victory!

PREDATORS?

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9 months and 1 week ago from the "Mission Accomplished" thread

"As we move closer to the build date, our production schedule is becoming clearer. Most of you are already aware of your general place in the build order, so you can use that information to get an idea of how far away your game is based on a rate of approximately 40 machines going out per month of production, with production on track to be starting in early April of this year.

Another fantastic announcement we are happy to share is that throughout the life of the project we have been trying our best to keep the cost of the game under $5000 USD, and we have succeeded by $250, making the finalized cost of the machine only $4750 USD! Also, for those of you who have adopted the highest level of deposit incentives, we have decided that the standard translite installed in your game will not be autographed, but an EXTRA translite will be autographed and included at no extra cost. Also, since very few pre-owners have opted to use our lowest incentive option, the two lowest options have been combined.

Lastly, the last call for all of the pre-deposit incentives is now upon us. At this point in the project, much more significant deposits are necessary to move forward with our production schedule. As previously discussed, a deposit for roughly half the final cost of the machine is required when your machines are to be built. We have worked out that deposit amount to $2750 USD, which will combine with your initial $250 to make $3000 total towards your game. As always, these deposits are fully refundable if you choose to withdraw for any reason. Any deposits made following this email WILL go towards the incentive program, which will again be delimited below. Of course, if you have already deposited this amount or more, nothing will be required until it is time to pick up / ship your machine.

Thank you all for joining us on this incredible ride, and many thanks to all of the invaluable folks in the industry who made such a wonderful journey possible. Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to clear a spot in your game room and get ready for one of the most awesome pinball machines ever built!"

PREDATORs.

Is that better?

Could you identify yourself for the masses kind sir...

Paul Maletich
President - VirtuaPin Cabinets, Inc.
http://virtuapin.net

....as long as they don't call it "To Catch a Predator." The translite would suck worse than WPT.

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Thank you! There you have it folks. Confirmation of cabinet builds. Charlie@Spooky confirmed contract for 250 pf's. So things are progressing.

Good one!

It don't mean anything! They probably have him brainwashed!

Can you throw in an IJ too

LOL.

It's currently in production, along with PREDATORs!

LoLed.

That's great news!

But still be better than The Shadow...

I don't think he mentions the word "Predator" here either...

On June 28th, when there was a video to view and $$$ to collect. fyi

"The video above should answer any remaining questions about the game that you may have had, except for one: production schedule. After doing everything we possibly could to keep this process as comfortable as possible for all involved, we are frankly way overdue to get this proverbial show on the road. Producing products of this level of depth and involvement is a complex endeavor with many dependent factors, all of which must align to meet with any sort of success. It has become apparent that our hopes to be able to handle our production schedule in smaller blocks is unfortunately not congruent with maintaining the quality and pricing standards that we have set for this project, simply based on the nature of manufacturing. We apologize for any issues this may raise for some of you, and we look forward to helping everyone as best as we can while providing any assistance you may require as we go through this process.

As a message to pre-owners who already have an assigned game number and deposit in place to hold your game, if you have yet to meet or exceed a total of $3000 USD towards your machine, this total must be achieved by no later than Saturday, June 28th in order for us to reasonably continue and get these machines built on a schedule that is acceptable for everyone. For most of you, this will be easily handled by using the $2750 option either by mail at the address listed below, or through our PayPal deposits page at the link that follows. Please keep in mind that, at this point, if you choose to finish your balance off completely, the incentives previously discussed will still apply.

For the waitlisters recieving this message, please be advised that at this point in the project, if you receive correspondence from us informing you of an opportunity to move onto the pre-owners' list and get assigned a game, a deposit of $3000 USD will be required in order to acquire said position. This helps us maintain a dedicated pre-owners' list and will keep us steadily moving in the right direction.

What this all means for all of you anxious pinball fanatics is that following the date provided above, we can finally break out of the initial stages of our production cycle and get to assembling these awesome machines and getting them out to you in a matter of a few short months! Thank you all for being a part of this project, now let's get it done and go play some pinball!

-Kevin W. Kulek, Skit-B Pinball"

He actually did mention "Predator" earlier in that post of his

The other Thread! He said it!!!

Yeah Skit-B responded in the other thread. Congrats everybody, you can finally relax.

thanks,

imagine that, the guy's busy building cabinets, applying decals and he still find the time to come here and tell us.

Been relaxed since day one.