The Dude is coming

[DRANO]

Thanks to Frolic for bringing this to my attention. My life is now complete.
Looks like "someone" is going to announce a Big Lebowski pin!!!!

http://dudepinball.com/

I always said that, if nobody did it, I would eventually want to do a custom re-theme. Looks like I just had my workload cut short

 

[scylla]

The "new sh*t come to light" bit is hilarious. Thanks for sharing!

 

[frolic]

I am sooooo pumped about this. I just hope it is not a dog turd. This is a dream theme for me as well.

 

[tkaye]

"Oh, you're not privy to the new sh1t!?"

Amazing! I'm the biggest TBL fan!!
How am I ever going to make room?!

 

[tim.sanderson]

I need to start watching movies. 9 out of 10 movie pins are movies I've never seen.

 

[spiroagnew]

Love the licence. Love the marketing approach. I, like others, hope it's done right...by a company that has talented people involved or have done their homework.

With the current feeding frenzy (aka upswing) in the hobby, a lot of wannabes will be coming forward with grand schemes that may be too difficult for them to execute.

 

[Luckydogg420]

This is way more exciting then a remake of MM. I will be looking for a second hand TBL a couple years from now.

 

[DRANO]

Love the licence. Love the marketing approach. I, like others, hope it's done right...by a company that has talented people involved or have done their homework.

With the current feeding frenzy (aka upswing) in the hobby, a lot of wannabes will be coming forward with grand schemes that may be too difficult for them to execute.

I agree. I am done with startups and pinball entrepreneurs.
For a theme like this, I want it done by someone who can deliver... within a year (not five).
I also want it done by someone who isn't going to set an unreasonably low production run and expect everyone to clamour over each other and to pay up front while we all wait.

As for the feeding frenzy and upswing... I suspect the frenzy has been in full swing ever since JJP announced WOZ and stern started their LE/Premium/Pro model.
However, I also feel that the recent MM repro announcement could be the start of the end.
I don't mean to be Debbie downer or to derail my own thread, but when you can reproduce an A-list game just because, and pin values start to depreciate overnight, it starts to call a lot of things into question. Also, why would I buy into an unknown like a Stern LE or any new game, when I can have a known commodity like MM for the same price?

Coming back from expo, I was extremely underwhelmed with the quality and of all the upstarts... starting with predator. If TBL isn't backed by some seasoned people, I'm going to be hard pressed to pull the trigger, despite my excitement.

 

[WARLOCK]

I will wait a day or so to add anything on this subject just yet.

Spending 22+ hours driving in a car to Expo + back with Drano
gives one an insight into the pinball world you can't imagine.

I will rest + sleep + think before I post any opinions just yet.

 

[Menace]

Ok, looking at the photo in the flyer I cannot help but notice the "silhouette" of the game under the rug... Is it me, or does the backbox on this thing fit the profile of a P2K cab? (look at the backbox shape, and how the top side edge seems to curve slightly like the P2K head)

Just something to think about...

Meh... just looked at it some more and I think it's just the way the rug is draping off the head now. Either way, I'm with Drano on this one.

D

 

[websherpa]

As for the feeding frenzy and upswing... I suspect the frenzy has been in full swing ever since JJP announced WOZ and stern started their LE/Premium/Pro model.

In 2000 / 2001 Williams sold it's rights to reproduce full-sized machines of Williams titles to Mr. Pinball aka The Pinball Factory Australia (Wayne Gillard ).

In 2004, Gene Cunningham of Illinois Pinball Inc. obtained the rights to finish production of the last 1996 Capcom game "Big Bang Bar" that had remained frozen in time as a prototype, and he managed to build and release 191 units to private purchasers in 2006 / 2007 ( which at the time people complained was a "long time to wait.") But I think it signalled the first "spark" in interest and willingness from the collecting community to acquire more expensive reproductions of whole machines (not just replacement parts for existing machines).

Mr. Pinball aka The Pinball Factory Australia (Wayne Gillard ) start the "madness" again sometime in 2005 by announcing Crocodile Hunter plus Medieval Madness and Cactus Canyon Remakes, and subsequently took hundreds of thousands of dollars of deposits (that were eventually returned with threats going both ways some years later) .. which put a damper on the whole business of whole machine remakes.

People have been speculating about the resurgence in pinball remakes and independent manufacturers coming back since at least then, and certainly speculation about a plan to remake MM has picked up significant pace again in 2009 when Planetary Pinball acquired those same remake rights from Mr. Pinball.

And in the interim we've had the slow ramp up to WOZ an ever-lengthening release date target for PREDATOR and a few other false starts.

So some people have been holding their breaths for new committed pinball manufacturers to enter the arena at least 13 years since the demise and break-up of Williams.

 

[movingpictures]

The Dude is Python!!

 

[frolic]

today is the big day. I'm going to be gutted if this is anything less than the reveal of an actual pinball machine.

 

[DRANO]

today is the big day. I'm going to be gutted if this is anything less than the reveal of an actual pinball machine.

Got my email last night too
Regardless of what this leads too... it's been very well done so far.

Based on what we all know of this industry, expecting a finished machine reveal today seems highly naive; or at least extreme wishful thinking. However, if someone out there has been developing this pin in secret for the last few years and has managed to keep this quiet with no leaks or rumours before Expo and manages to show us a finished prototype today, my hat is off to them!!! Let's hope I'm wrong

I'm still secretly praying this is linked to the rumoured return of Pat Lawlor, but seriously not holding my breath.

This is a dream theme for me. I even contemplated doing my own TBL pin or a re-theme until this was announced.
My biggest fear is that this will have no bonafide pinball producer behind it and be another home-grown project. If that's the case, I may be out from the start... Unless they do a very small deposit like SkitB and Predator.

 

[frolic]

definitely the best marketing of any pinball machine, so I hope that translates to competent execution of the actual machine.

 

[Vengeance]

Not much of a reveal, some crappie 1 min trailer with no real details.

Being done by another startup

And they want $1000 up front without even seeing anything other then the theme.

Wheres my check book :FP:

 

[tkaye]

I'm so tempted to deposit on this but I haven't seen anything really produced by Dutch Pinball yet except BOP 2.0 that really isn't out there yet either! It's also pretty expensive (yet pretty cool)

What's everyone's feelings on this? Anyone ready to put up your $8500 US?

:shock:

 

[frolic]

Dream theme for me, considered doing a custom pin, so, for $1k I've put my deposit down. Will re-evaluate at each instalment.

I do think that they "get" TBL, the potential is there.

 

[tkaye]

Dream theme for me, considered doing a custom pin, so, for $1k I've put my deposit down. Will re-evaluate at each instalment.

I do think that they "get" TBL, the potential is there.

Good for you Frolic!
I saw on the "other" forum that you had deposited...I guess I'm too much of a skeptic...I need to see more before that leap of faith.
However, as you can see from my signature, I'm also a big TBL fan...

 

[DRANO]

Sounds like $1K, but you're probably gonna have $6K into this thing before even getting a sniff of a prototype.
Not for me.

It's a dream theme, but also a bit of a cash grab on the part of the developers.
You want my money? Show me a little more; you ain't JPOP

Anyway. There's little to no incentive for me to buy in right now and curse and cheer for the next 3 years.
Like Hobbit, I'm happy to wait and see.