Just for the sake of clarification... the guy making the duplicate accounts is (allegedly) Tim Fife?

Late to the party. Been watching the situation unfold on the sidelines. Here's hoping that things will work out in favor of Skit-B's customers, but at this point I think all everyone can really do is wait and see what the outcome will be...

Fine. I'll explain myself then, I suppose. Apparently, I can't even spend a day on this site -- and my first one, no less!-- without having someone people point fingers at me, even when you're legitimately trying to offer condolences to those who were freaking screwed out on tons of money with this project.

And I say that I was watching on the sidelines because I really was; I never invested into the project AT ALL, and had no interest to; I felt more safe with Stern because they were an established company, and so I didn't want to take a risk. Plus, there's only so many games that I can fit in my living room. But I still wished Skit-B well, and listened in on the discussion and excitement surrounding the project among those who DID pay this guy money. Little did we know what was going to happen to it...

I played the game at pinball shows like Midwest Gaming Classic and Pinball Expo. My dad told me that he asked Kevin about the license, who responded that it was "confidential". We assumed everything was alright. Then the truth came to light and the pinball world (and Pinside) imploded in response. I felt bad for those who were involved-- all they wanted was a game and clearly Skit-B has failed in that they haven't fulfilled that promise, and --even worse-- people are I'm not happy at all with Kevin's untruthful nature regarding the license, but since legal action is still going on all I think we just gotta wait to see how things will end. I do hope you guys get your refunds.

And feel free to believe my explanation or not. I don't care-- but I'll gotta say that, if you don't, if you truly met me in person, you'd realize quickly how wrong you are about me.

Seriously, this is my first day on Pinside and I'm really trying to give it a chance. And already I'm being accused and caught in the crossfire. What a way to commence my first steps on this site... Just trying to contribute for Christ's sake.

Thanks Hilton.

Thanks. Probably should've waited a while before posting.

Thank you.
Oh, so he WAS making duplicate accounts. Alright. Just wanted to make sure.
The reason why I asked was because, just recently, I had an exchange with Tim on Facebook. A friend who I will not name -- in respect of his privacy -- had a picture of a Predator machine on his account from Feburary. I asked if it was his, and -- if it was -- why he had it when he could potentially get in trouble with Fox (or at least face the wrath of pre-orders, though I forgot to add that in my initial response).
My friend went on there and said it wasn't his, but he believed it to be a preproduction model running on a Windows? Then someone on there accused Tim Fife, who then appeared and went on to explain his stance regarding owning the game. He wasn't that combative or mean, I don't believe, but he was very vocal about his point and wasn't to be convinced otherwise.
I did take a bunch of screenshots, though I have yet to file through them and cross out certain names. But I do have them, and I was just wondering if everyone was cool with me posting the exchange? If not-- it's ok. Just don't want to get in trouble or add more fuel to the fire but I wanted to contribute, and I didn't know if any or all of the pre-orders knew this exchange was going on...

Added over 7 years ago: *EDIT: I didn't mention this, but I'll add that -- because you guys forced me to cough up my identity (and THANKS for that) -- Tim noticed and contacted me shortly after. He claimed he still reads Pinside. Also, he told me to feel free on posting the conversation (but restated his position that he was not in the wrong regardless).

Since I understandably didn't want to net myself grief, the exchange's gonna stay off the thread, and is only with Hilton, Skit-B's customers and -- probably -- Keith. It doesn't matter, anyway. Most of the information's already been reported, and the whole thing was really just Tim Fife being...well, Tim Fife.

That'll probably be the best thing to do. I'll do it as soon as I can...

Sorry for the mixup, guys. Like I said, I have no horse in this race but I can only hope that each and every one of you who pre-ordered will get your hard-earned money back. You've got my support!

I hear you and I can't agree more-- there's really too much grief and anxiety here for someone like me anyway. Plus, I'll never be able to truly understand what it's like for all you poor guys, because I'm not in the same situation. However, I still want follow this thread in case of any updates. I DO want you all to get your money back. I'll probably comment very sparingly or none at all. Depends on what's going on, and how people are feeling at the moment, I guess.
At least what I can take from all this is simply to stay out of trouble (and there's plenty of it on Pinside). From my first days on here I've learned to identify how to deal with certain situations by alerting mods -- who are truly amazing and should be commended for all the hard work they do here. And I know to REALLY watch what I say and do on heated threads like this. Life lessons, from Pinside! Crazy how pinball in general has taught me so many things about life as I've grown older...

I've been to a few tournaments run by Hilton. Don't see him that often but I've had good experiences with him personally. I believe years ago he ran this one tournament, called "Last-Chance" or something in Wisconsin. Epic trophy, too! Me and my dad ended up playing each other in the finals on Stargate. Loads of fun and wish I can come back, but I've got college starting up.

Added over 7 years ago: You know what? I don't regret getting involved. I can participate if I wish, and hey--I contributed. The more help to the cause, the merrier. And I believe I can take care of myself, too. So the hell with the sappy rant I posted here (except the thing about Hilton, which is true--I know him very well and do trust him).

Me neither, out of all the other threads on Pinside! Add it to the list of stupid, cringe-inducing stuff that I've done in my life! But learning lessons nonetheless.
At least the confusion's resolved. If I offended or upset anyone by how brash I was when I revealed myself, my apologies. Took it a little bit too personal, I know.

I actually overreacted, because when I tried to put a link to my IFPA page on my response, I got a message saying that I couldn't due to spam abuse. I thought that someone had mistakenly reported me for spamming before I even had the chance to explain myself, when really it probably didn't happen!
Before I joined Pinside I saw everything with the duplicate accounts -- not only on this thread, but also on others by certain... uh, repeat offenders that I won't name. Crazy stuff and an utter shame that people have to put up with it. And then I forgot to realize that my account was brand spanking new... I now completely get the suspicion of recently-started accounts.

I NEVER want to trod down the path of being discouraged from Pinside, despite all that I've heard of it from my friends. Truthfully it's got flaws like any site. Much like in real life though you just gotta make the most of it and stick with the people that you can trust. And, like you said, have "thick skin" and be sure to watch out for yourself, but have fun. I've been fortunate that some of my closest pinball hobbyists and competitive players -- like you! -- are on the site, either as users or moderators.
Plus the tech advice here is excellent. Thanks to Pinside I'll hopefully get my hands more dirty in terms of actually getting into games and servicing them as opposed to menial tasks like changing bulbs or waxing and cleaning playfields.
Glad to see ya Ed (and on a different note, wicked job on your alternate sound packages for TWD)! Thanks for your support.

Added over 7 years ago: I take back a lot of the stuff I said. What I did wasn't "stupid" or "cringe-inducing". I posted a valid comment. Of course, the witch hunters here jumped the gun and made assumptions (like they always do). It's understandable because of stuff in the past, but my identity was essentially forced out of me. An interrogation of sorts. And that is ridiculous.

When I revealed it defensively, I didn't regret my response. I could care less if I was "brash" and offended or upset anyone. This was all a big misunderstanding, but I rightfully voiced my frustration. I don't give a damn if I took it "personal"--when you falsely accuse me of things, I WILL speak my mind. Mark my goddamn words.

Also, yeah...it discouraged me. Now back to take care of some unfinished business and stick as much with the market/tech advice as possible....

Very well said, Dave! So true. Such a pleasure to see you here!

Hope all's well with your family. Tell Danni I said hi!

Thanks again.

Perhaps "not a smooth move" is a bit much personally; I don't know if I'd necessarily word it that way myself. Otherwise I do see where you're coming from and there's a lot of truth here (especially about this topic's characteristics). This also wasn't my very first post; some of the first ones that I did were in the LOTR and TSPP club threads.

I'm sure he's a nice guy. But honestly -- at that moment -- I felt like nobody was going to believe me. I had to say what I had to say to pass Pinside's "Are you Tim Fife/Kaneda" test I don't really regret what I said in my explanation, because in my eyes it was integral to holding my ground and waving it all off as a false alarm.
Plus, I wanted to get across my (brief) interactions with Kevin at pinball shows, to make it known that truthfully I WAS "on the sidelines" like I was telling you guys. Though I can't say I'm thrilled that my identity didn't last a mere ** day ** unraveled on this forum. Oh well, right?
I haven't heard from drewscruis, but I do hope that he knows it was all a misunderstanding, and I didn't mean to come across as rallying off against him. Just hope all is well!

Again, plenty of truth here -- these are issues that run amok the entirety of the Internet. And since you guys have been having run-ins with certain repeat offenders here lately, the suspicion is understandable. I don't know if there's any warnings displayed about this whenever a new Pinside account is created, but if not maybe that'd be a worthy addition.

Added over 7 years ago: EDIT: Scratch that... I'm really happy I "rallied" against drewscruis (out of self-defense). The fact that I haven't heard back from him registers to me that he got the message and backed off. Which is basically what I asked for in my message. And thankfully I got it.

Kevin lied through his teeth to me and my father at one of the Pinball Expos (I think 2014). He led us both to believe that he had the license. Obviously, this ended up not being true. And now here we are.

And the "smooth move" comment...yeah, that's TOTALLY too strong. Whatever.

Yeah, just a warning saying that you might be susceptible to cases of mistaken identity/suspicion if you are relatively new to Pinside, and post in certain topics.

Plus it might also mention that you can avoid this by introducing yourself, being careful where you post, perhaps considering not keeping your profile private, or waiting a while before posting.

Good points here! Potentially scaring off future users would not be good either.

Hoping everything will turn out OK for you guys! Best of wishes.

I'll just...quickly dip my toes in the pool and say that DutchTommy's a great guy in real life. Always been an awesome friend AND is one hell of a pinball player. Now he's raising a little pinball wizard of his own. On another note, learning a new language is difficult but you give it your all and that's what matters. It's the thought that counts. Nobody's perfect.
I can't imagine taking German, but that's awesome, Pintucky! Took 4 years of Spanish myself. German Club at my school watched Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope in German dub. Going overseas would be cool, too...
Back on topic: I already listened to both audio tracks. Sounds like the Predator case's been really moving along ever since I left. Still hoping everything works out for customers.

Added over 7 years ago: Wow, feeling like I've been taken advantage of! Time for a follow-up revenge edit!

I still stand by the fact that Tommy's a great guy in real life and a good friend. With that said, who gives a rat's ass about his grasp of English? Why bring it up in the first place against someone? That's just ridiculous. Then go on a huge post admonishing him about it, yet trying to mask it all in the nicest, most syrupy-sweet way possible? Really?

And being in "bad form" not to include his location? So just because he hasn't posted his location, you can use it against him? Some people want privacy. Yes, everyone's on edge with a "witch hunt" mentality because of several repeat-offenders that the moderation team took AGES to resolve (which is their own fault, bending rules). Banning them was apparently too simple of a task.

But you're screwing your own community when you're accusing newbies of crap they never did. Privacy's a choice, which EVERYONE should respect. Checking for repeat offenders, keep that private between new users and moderators/administrators upon a first day. PM messages or whatever.

So yeah. I guess I'm against you again. You give me the thing? What's that supposed to mean? Laughing at me? I don't have a clue, evidently, but looking back...it takes on a different context now.

Screw off and take it easy on my friend.

I don't think there's a third one yet. Not an expert at all....but I think they're giving Keith like three weeks for something. Looking through documents (something about this 1,000 page spreadsheet or whatever)?

Probably missed something posted here. And those audio recordings were pretty long.

Cool.