Lots of good points here. I still think that The Hobbit is going to be a fun game.

As for Balcer leaving and it impacting the game I think everyone interested in the game should read Pinball Magazines interview with Joe Balcer below. During the interview Joe discusses The Hobbit playfield, how he wanted the game to have a wide open feel and put the shots along it's permitter. After reading the interview again it seems like his design is still intact.

http://www.pinball-magazine.com/?p=1449

From the interview

"I was looking for a wide-open feel, because of the movie. It’s based on the shire, so I initially wanted to put everything on the perimeter of the game layout and have more of a wide open feel to the shots and the game. Using different mechanisms within that area gives you targets to shoot at that are there one moment and gone the next. It gives it different levels without creating different levels, which I really like about this layout."

That game has a motorized target bank with a shot behind it, and a scoop shot to the right of it. Imagine there just being 3 drop targets instead with stationary standup targets, no shot behind it to destroy the saucers, and no scoop shot to to right...

Kaneda,

You bring up a lot of good points. When the playfield designs were released I thought there had to be more to come in terms of a mini playfield or under playfield as the design seemed far less complex then WOZ. When I realized that wasn't the case I thought "they that's cool as the Smaug toy is going to be very interactive". I thought maybe he would "eat" pinballs off the wireframe and shoot them back at you. Maybe his head would lower above the drops and you could shoot pinballs into him. Maybe some of the drops in front of him would be on a motorized target bank Attack from Mars style that lower to reveal a shot into him and a shot off to the side that only the upper right flipper could make.

When none of those came true and it was revealed that Smaug would talk to you but not interact with the ball I was bummed. In a $7500 game I expected to be able to shoot into the Smaug area if that is the games central toy. While drop targets are fun interactive toys are what makes many of us shell out the big bucks with these higher end games.

I still hope that JJP can turn things around. Personally I think if the entire Smaug area is dressed up to look like an interactive lonely mountain toy that the game can come off as having a toy more interactive then the castle in MM. Now we just need to give them time to make some of the changes many of us are suggesting.