Can we Table this Thread?

Yeah, seriously. I have concerns, but it's about the game, not the company suddenly going belly up or people disappearing with money. I just want to hear that the license stuff is handled.

Kim:

I contacted them after I received the recent email and got a response from Barry within 10 minutes of me hitting the send button. I was happy with his response.

Brian

Someone beat me to it. If you have major concerns contact them.

is there any indication that the licensed stuff is now an issue?

What's all this talk of dirty laundry let's call it what it is, the whites dude his dirty undies.

I will very likely buy one once they start to ship/produce them. Must own theme for me but I will no longer be preordering any pins regardless of theme or rarity.

I agree, TWDLE did it for me, I can wait.

No. There isn't.

thanks

Nope! None at all. And I've talked to Barry and he's assured me he's carrying the torch and on top of it.

My understanding is the license stuff isn't 100% finalized yet, but is hopefully far enough along that it's just tying up loose ends. So I'm not "worried", it's just the only area of concern for me with Phil out of the picture.

I happen to agree with Phil's marketing plans and strategy, which I imagine is going to change now, but like I said, I'm already sold on the game, that's really just academic. I want DP to be successful, and thrive, and do more games. But I also can't spend time worrying about how they run their company, I don't work for them.

I'm not canceling my pre-order at this stage. I absolutely reserve the right to back out later if things don't feel right. I can always buy the game later when they're just rolling off the line.

I heard it 3rd hand that the whole thing started to go downhill when they asked him to roll on Shabbos...

btw, not to worry,

I think they offered a marketing and PR job to that drunk guy from the expo presentation....

Seems to be a there a lot of folks talking about DP as if they really know what has gone on and what is going on. Of course I'll probably be accused of the same in a moment, but based on what I know from conversations with members of the DP team over the last year, Phil was not involved in getting the Lebowski license and he had nothing to do with the great marketing splash at expo a year ago (which was all Barry). Phil also had little involvement in the design of the game.

I believe Phil spoke at expo, since the rest of the team felt he could do a better job than them, given that English is not their primary language. Of course whether or not he did a better job is certainly up for debate.

While I believe Phil leaving was a surprise, in the real scheme of things him leaving is basically a non-event, non-issue for DP and TBL.

No one should be making a decision to get in or get out of TBL based on Phil.

Exactly. Well done, Rosh.

Stay in. Got to support such a noble pinball endeavor. Don't know why they said anything. Phill not really important to the game itself.

For what it is worth, I have good contact with Barry, spoke with him today and yesterday and the whole weekend at the Dutch pinball open which I helped organizing and my pre order is still valid if that has any meaning for you.

Having Phil leave was a surprise for me to but he is, as said more, not required to built the TBL and his role was more or less over I think. Yes, the email he sent didn't do so well with me either. But, let's move on dude.

Starting a new pinball company is after all a bumpy ride as to be expected. Nothing new here.

So sleep well my pre order collegues. I know I will

We'll always love you, Phil!

+1 for making me LOL...not because all/any of that is necessarily true!

The Dude has spoken. The Dude is smart. The Dude abides.

Well of course you can. You gave them thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it. How could you *not* worry about how they run the company?

Pardon my ignorance, but...

Barry was always the public face of the company. I even remember reading an interview with Barry and no one else. Then Phil does his awesome F-bomb thing and the controversy that followed put him on the public map, and now (because perception is reality it seems) you guys think his childish departure is a big deal as to the future of this pin, with some of you canceling your pre-orders.

Look, I don't care that he used "fuck" in his presentation, but he was a passionate guy and he emotionally quit. This abrupt action didn't come from some logical and reasoned thought process, and so maybe it's for the best that someone like that be out of the picture. Good riddance.

And to Aurich, I love you man, but Phil just sold you a bunch of marketing speak and you fell for it, the good news is that you're going to get a great machine, and that's what this company will be measured by, not the salesman talk about the future, he's not the president of the company.

Also, this is a real company with a lot of your pre-order money, they can hire a new license manager with more experience for this sort of thing, one that might have been able to get the Kahlua name usage (which should have been easy to get, but maybe Phil was too emotional with them).

He's the Dude. So that's what you call him. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.

The Dude abides, I don't know about you but I take great comfort in that.

There's just one thing, Phil.
...
Do you have to use so many cuss words?

Phil: "Probably the most fucked up job has been here, with you."

Okay, Phil, have it your way.

The Dude said the same thing about MMr.

Well, that's true, to a point. But there are limits. Like, I care how the pin comes out. I can't worry about if their magazine press strategy is aimed at getting articles post Expo to keep the momentum rolling, or if they save the PR push for when the game is complete and ready to ship though.

So as far as that part of what was Phil's job, or what Jaap thinks, it's basically not my problem. I don't care if I read about DP in Forbes or whatever was planned, it's a bit of a blur now. Was a long night at Expo.

If Phil leaving means that there are problems with finalizing the actor portraits for the main inserts or getting all 20 songs in the game because he was the contact point and something goes sideways there, then yes, obviously that concerns me more.

Barry said he's on top of it. I'm going to take him at his word, it's all I can do. I had to do the same with Phil. Was he a salesman? Yes, absolutely, I'm not naive. But I had a chance to have a long session with him and I really found myself aligned with the ideals he said he was representing. At a certain point you have to decide you either believe or be a cynic and trust nothing.

I certainly don't have a problem with his use of the word fuck like some people, it bothers me not even a little. My guess is we'll hear less of that now, but I dunno, they're Dutch after all.

.

I am not worried, I preorderd before expo, After expo I was more excited. I have faith in DP.

Phil did not impress me. If fact, price aside as that was certainly a factor, Phil is the main reason I did not get in on TBL to date. Need to see how this plays out but I may speak to Barry and buy in now.

Without all you pre-orders this game could not be made, so dont bail and stick with it. That way I can buy one a year from now cash and carry. Thanks for taking the risk that the rest of us wont.

I looked up DP on google and got some interesting images.

I have been going through a lot lately guys and have not posted in a long time, but let me be the first to tell you that dp is the real deal and stinks that Phil left but I guarantee you the rest of the team is awesome and they are fully dedicated to making a special game

I am in and staying in at the moment. The one thing that does concern me is DPs next steps. While the licensing deals with TBL might have been 99% done, I sensed that next title(s) deals were in play. I am in on TBL not just because of that pin but because of what DPs future could be. I don't know who at DP decided on TBL, but I hope that Barry, Jaap, and the new person will chose similar styled themes for pins in the future and updates on the status to give confidence in the long term plan for DP

Early Achievers Abide.....

I think you mean you saw, " Lotta ins, lotta outs."

those memes... no... not this again

when the Pulp Fiction pin comes along, you guys will ruin that movie aswell

I think I will say this after learning the news of Phil....

"Just because we're bereaved doesn't make us saps!" for not cancelling our pre-orders.

JJ, JPop, PP, SkitB, VonnyD are all enjoying the brief vacation because of this thread.

I don't think Vonnie is on a DP vacation at this time while in the slammer.

Did they ever make a XOX pinball machine?

"Pardon my ignorance, but...

Barry was always the public face of the company. I even remember reading an interview with Barry and no one else. Then Phil does his awesome F-bomb thing and the controversy that followed put him on the public map, and now (because perception is reality it seems) you guys think his childish departure is a big deal as to the future of this pin, with some of you canceling your pre-orders.

Look, I don't care that he used "fuck" in his presentation, but he was a passionate guy and he emotionally quit. This abrupt action didn't come from some logical and reasoned thought process, and so maybe it's for the best that someone like that be out of the picture. Good riddance.

And to Aurich, I love you man, but Phil just sold you a bunch of marketing speak and you fell for it, the good news is that you're going to get a great machine, and that's what this company will be measured by, not the salesman talk about the future, he's not the president of the company.

Also, this is a real company with a lot of your pre-order money, they can hire a new license manager with more experience for this sort of thing, one that might have been able to get the Kahlua name usage (which should have been easy to get, but maybe Phil was too emotional with them)."

I have to chime in here as a former co-worker of Phil in the military. He's top notch, 100%, and if you all recall, what made this project stand out from the other dozen boutiques. Remember the hot chicks last year and this year at Expo, the countdown website, the NSNLs, the after parties, etc., he's the energizer bunny of marketing and certainly more of a factor than these positions normally garner. I'd love to see him replace Stern's ass wipe in that capacity, but that's another discussion. Or, better yet, bail JPoP out of his current PR quagmire. DP also presented an awesome machine prototype which tells me that they are all rock stars. Phils departure isn't without consequence but it's also no reason to bail out now. I'm in to the end, but do plan to write Barry and Phil once this quagmire sorts out a bit. No need to be uptight here Dude, stick to a tight drug regime and you'll sort it out.

And I don't give a crap about your personal connection with him, you could be his bum chum for all I care.

Fact:
Phil left abruptly, and sent an awkward letter that resulted in talk of the canceling of some pre-orders. Maybe it's him who should "stick to a tight drug regime".

Maybe this is a marketing ploy

Phill will return in 3 mos & preorders will explode!

He will promptly quit again, say fuck a few times, return 2 months later & keep the drama preorders rolling in. That's some Jedi marketing right thurr

OMG....this thread has all the makings of being on at 2pm daily monday thru friday. What a soap opera....

everyone who knows me also knows that I won't disappoint you

I think you mean "early adopters".

rd.

This game is for real and looks amazing....

At this point, the only departure that would "worry" me is is their design and software team walked out the door..... Short of that- this thing looks like a home run.

Having said that, I don't do pre-orders, so I never really "worry" about any of these startups- I would just be disappointed if I couldn't buy one later down the road (when ready for immediate delivery).

Sorry but what a joke, the marketing guy in a company decides to part ways so the whole company must be going kablooey? The same guys who took this idea from this website and made it into a real machine a year later, some how are now suddenly lost? These are the same growing pains many new companies go through.

Hey RD, when u going to get that 100th? You cant get out on 99?

Untitled-2.jpg

Maybe TBL?

he is over 100, he just doesn't want to look presumptuous...

DP will always be measured by the quality of their machines. That's why they won expo.
There are other marketers. Phil is replaceable.

No Kvan,
First of all its been straightened out today but the hiccup was more than just Phil.
It was ordering at expo with no follow up email or replies to emails sent. Hearing delays in BP 2 and then this news.
Add that up and it's worth worrying.
Now Barry personally reached out and we cleared it all up but had he not I would certainly still be feeling skid dish .
Too ignore road signs is literally stupid. Now they can also be misread but certainly don't ignore them.