Yeah, I can TOTALLY see that happening.

Pinside Riot.jpg

Eric posts his videos in the IM Owners thread. Check some of his most recent posts...

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/iron-man-owners-club?tu=epthegeek

He also did the colorization for the Iron Man ColorDMD.

I think your perception about "the facts" surrounding current sentiment about Dialed In may be a little distorted.

I can't speak for anyone but myself, but I was at EXPO all day and night on both Thursday and Friday, and I attended both the initial reveal and the "Deep Dive" presentation the next day. At the end of the Deep Dive, Pat specifically asked the crowd, "If you like what you see, tell all of your friends. If you DON'T like what you see, tell US." So there has (understandably) been a lot of evangelizing going on in the last 24-48 hours by supportive customers and JJP distributors attempting to reverse some of the damage from the initial reveal.

I was also at the reveal, sitting directly behind Joe from NewStar, and as soon as the comic was distributed and I read through it, I could tell this pin was not for me. Almost everything from the early leak many months ago turned out to be true. I almost walked out mid-presentation, like several people did, but I waited until the end, out of simple courtesy to the others packed in so closely around me. By the time the presentation was over, my initial reaction had only solidified. I left the seminar room without even playing one of the games, as did probably 2/3 of the audience.

I'm sure many of those who left the reveal without playing the game, including me, did finally play the game later in the vendor hall, and i will freely admit that it DOES shoot well -- no surprise there, for a Lawlor design -- but it's still not something I will ever own.

Pricing is not the biggest issue for me, because I'm not that price sensitive, and I know that pricing can be easily changed. Unfortunately, the pin's overall design contains too many core elements that are a real turnoff to me: e.g., the cell phone on the playfield, with it's SUPER-annoying ring tone, the "selfie" photos spamming all over the screen, the Mick-on-a-Stick electric company worker, the lady wearing coveralls, the SimCity visuals, the art package, callouts, and sound design, the gimmicky, remote flipper controls.

Unfortunately, the biggest deterrent to me, which is no doubt purely visceral, is that the central theme revolves around a magical, prototype cell phone, made by Dialed In Electronics, a corporation in Quantum City. This prototype cell phone has mistakenly fallen into the player's hands, and it functions as a primary element through which the game communicates with the player.

I do not want ANYTHING to do with that... Period.

I haven't posted anything about this publicly, or mentioned it to Pat's design team, because I honestly don't think the design can be changed significantly enough at this late stage, without completely scrapping it, to be even REMOTELY palatable to me. I play pinball as an escape, and the very last thing I want to hear ringing, actively listen to, or interact with, in a pinball game, is a cell phone. The selfie photos, gesture-controlled lotto tickets, and remote flipper controls only further alienate me as a potential customer. JMHO.

The above views have already been beaten like a dead horse by others on Pinside, and most of the current discussion about this subject seems to be occurring in threads populated by ardent supporters intent on evangelizing the rest of us, so I've simply chosen not to post about the subject. Nevertheless, I'm not an undecided voter on this issue. I've already made my decision, and I don't envision any realistic scenario which could ever change my mind.