Arcade Art Book Kickstarter

[starcade]

Where do I start...?

Erm...remember back in 2007 when Classic Arcade Grafix sold off their archive and Fozzy tried to organize a group buy but it didn't quite work out? Remember how somebody stepped in and bought it out of their own pocket and shared it with those who'd signed up?

Well, that was me!

Now I'm back here asking for help in getting my Kickstarter project off the ground 

I bought another archive of arcade artwork from a props studio in Hollywood and I've spent over 1,000 hours getting the files ready to publish.

I really, REALLY want to do this: http://kck.st/1eCsrgq

Anything you guys can do to get the word out and gather some support for the project would be massively appreciated.

Thanks,

Tim

[Rick]

OMG, YOU HAVE PUNISHER MARQUEE ART!!!



Very, very nice!

 

[starcade]

You should see the 3' wide stretched canvas version! 

OMG, YOU HAVE PUNISHER MARQUEE ART!!!



Very, very nice!

 

[Rick]

You should see the 3' wide stretched canvas version! 

The day you sell a reproduction of that, let me know.

[starcade]

One of the rewards is a couple of copies of the book with your name in it and a 3' stretched canvas of any marquee you choose...

 

You should see the 3' wide stretched canvas version! 

The day you sell a reproduction of that, let me know.

[404]

Not to sound like a negative nancy or anything but what's going to stop you from getting sued for copyright infringement?

[Rick]

One of the rewards is a couple of copies of the book with your name in it and a 3' stretched canvas of any marquee you choose...

Eep! I love it. Let's see how much profit I make from my cabinet sales, and if I can convince my Wife!

Not to sound like a negative nancy or anything but what's going to stop you from getting sued for copyright infringement?

I'm sure that he's worked the legalities out. Regardless, if he's showcasing the art in a book, there's more than one way to say, "ownership is held by the registered owners" and still stay within the boundaries of international copyright law, Nancy.

[starcade]

Not to sound like a negative nancy or anything but what's going to stop you from getting sued for copyright infringement?

Valid question, and one that has taken me a while to get sorted!

For the book, it's pretty easy - just recognise the copyrights and trademarks in a statement in the front of the book. Art books are considered 'works of reference' and are treated as documentary works.

The framed prints and canvasses are much harder - that has taken a lot of phoning, emailing, writing and negotiating. The toughest part is that so many of the old manufacturers went out of business, got bought and sold numerous times and licensed/relicensed their assets over and over again. Just tracing the legal licensee or owner is a nightmare.

There's one company that won't budge on licensing but their stuff isn't likely to be on anyone's list of wall art so, no problem. 

Even Lucasfilm gave us a license for limited art prints. So far, Disney haven't been in touch to tell us they've changed their minds!

[starcade]

There's always the framed marque print option - that's often easier to get approved 

One of the rewards is a couple of copies of the book with your name in it and a 3' stretched canvas of any marquee you choose...

Eep! I love it. Let's see how much profit I make from my cabinet sales, and if I can convince my Wife!

[Sjaak]

I want one!

Can you publish a list of the artwork that is going to be in the book?

[starcade]

I think you've hit on the thing that's missing from my Kickstarter story. I'm getting the list together of what I think should be in there and I'll put it on the front page of the project ASAP. Tough to choose though! 

I want one!

Can you publish a list of the artwork that is going to be in the book?

[jimmer]

Good luck with the project,

I don't know anything about art books, but my concern is the spine. Have you considered a really wide book with maybe a bit of info and smaller pieces of art on the facing page?

[starcade]

That's something I'm working on with the printers - they're coming back to me with the results of binding a landscape format book of 18" x 6" (the majority of marquees will work on a single page at a 3:1 ratio).

Books tend to follow standard sizes to get the most copies out of a given volume of paper. Anything outside that and the printers start get nervous about off cut wastage!

Thanks for taking an interest - I appreciate it.

Tim

Good luck with the project,

I don't know anything about art books, but my concern is the spine. Have you considered a really wide book with maybe a bit of info and smaller pieces of art on the facing page?

[starcade]

The list of the first 99 games I have print ready artwork for is now at the bottom of the Kickstarter page. More to come as I work my way through the files!

The list is here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/woodpunk/artcade-the-coin-op-art-book

[Sjaak]

I'm now an official backer! This will be a great christmas present!   

[starcade]

Thanks so much for the support - it really means a lot to me 

Now, tell EVERYONE about it so we can actually get the thing in print! 

I'm now an official backer! This will be a great christmas present!   

[Rick]

I shared it on my Facebook page. I can't donate quite yet (thanks a bunch, Kickstarter, for not working with Paypal) but hope to in the next week or so. Good luck!

[starcade]

Thanks Rick - all assistance gratefully received! I've got a nice number of followers on Twitter (about 11,500) but no presence on Facebook at all.

I was surprised about the no Paypal thing too - I think Kickstarter are tied into some exclusive deal with Amazon Payments.

Tim

I shared it on my Facebook page. I can't donate quite yet (thanks a bunch, Kickstarter, for not working with Paypal) but hope to in the next week or so. Good luck!

[JDFan]

Thanks Rick - all assistance gratefully received! I've got a nice number of followers on Twitter (about 11,600) but no presence on Facebook at all.

I was surprised about the no Paypal thing too - I think Kickstarter are tied into some exclusive deal with Amazon Payments.

Tim

Probably due to the way payments are handled -- ie. not charged until the project actually funds - so paypal doesn't want to hold the payments till the funding date (figure if the project doesn't fully fund there are no payments charged since the project failed to reach it's goal.) I don't think Paypal does that type of conditional payment.

I'd also agree with jimmer - the marquees should be printed one to a page without a fold\crease for the spine - having them folded in the center kind of detracts from the work ! (perhaps a 24"x8" format since many printers seem to print on 2 foot rolls of paper and that would save the waste)

[DGP]

I was set to donate today until reading of the no paypal issue. 

Would really like to see this happen, best of luck!

Jason

[degenatrons]

Backed your project and wish you the best of luck.

Hoping that you reach your funding goal and I get to see the book.

Jon

[kahlid74]

I backed you.  I'll spread the word.

[starcade]

You guys are amazing! 

There's a lot happening in the background right now that should see a big surge in publicity for this in the next week. I'll keep you posted on what happens.

And THANK YOU!

[DLinkOZ]

My first kickstarter pledge, and glad to do it.  Also spreading the word.

[Firepro4Life]

Very cool project! Is the book only going to be marquees or will other cabinet art be included? How many total games are you planning to feature in the book? I have a few not on the list that I'd love to see but not sure they'd make the cut or if you have the art.

[Sjaak]

I have a few not on the list that I'd love to see

Pledge £150 or more
You get to choose a game! That's right, for your £150 you get to make sure the artwork from a game of your choice from 1980 to 1998 is included in the book (assuming I already have or can lay our hands on the artwork).

[Ben1981]

Awesome project, backing right away!
Wish you all the best!

[JDFan]

Was wondering --

Pledge £10 or more

3 backers

You get the book as a digital download. I'll also add your name to the supporters' page of the website.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2013

What resolution and format are the artworks going to be in the digital version of the book that you get for this Pledge ?? Are they going to be high quality digital images or lower quality than those used for the actual printing of the book ?

[msinks]

Any chance we could get a digital copy when we chip in for the hard copy?  If not, would it be possible to add an option for this?

[Rick]

Any chance we could get a digital copy when we chip in for the hard copy?  If not, would it be possible to add an option for this?

Because screenshots are so much easier than scans. (Damn - where's the donate option to receive full-size digital vector reproductions of the art?)

[TKW4rr10r]

Going to back this.... just need to decide if I can get up the funds for some cool art or not. Really want to see this book done since it's an awesome subject matter, obliviously 

Noticed a couple people already "chose" a game to be a contributor. At that donation level will it just be one name per game, or multiple names listed with a particular game? Can you tell us which games have been "taken" so far?

[JDFan]

Any chance we could get a digital copy when we chip in for the hard copy?  If not, would it be possible to add an option for this?

Could always just make a new account under another family member or friends name and pledge the £10 to get the digital copy !

[jimmer]

Hey Tim,

What size is the banner ad and is it just a single instance?  I was pondering the £500 advert but I'll struggle to even have a name for my business in 20 days time, let alone any graphics. The £50 option seems like a steal though.

[starcade]

They'll be high quality images - not quite as high as those used for printing the book or the filesize of the digital copy will grow so large that it'll have to be delivered on a hard drive!

You guys all promise not to use the content of the digital copy for printing your own artwork right?

Right?

Guys?

Hello...

Was wondering --

Pledge £10 or more

3 backers

You get the book as a digital download. I'll also add your name to the supporters' page of the website.
Estimated delivery: Dec 2013

What resolution and format are the artworks going to be in the digital version of the book that you get for this Pledge ?? Are they going to be high quality digital images or lower quality than those used for the actual printing of the book ?

[starcade]

1/8 page, single instance, full colour ad.

No problem if you don't have artwork ready right away - there'll be a few weeks of layout and proofing work to do after the Kickstarter ends. I've pre-booked a print run and that's only 5 days so there's no rush to go to press.

Hey Tim,

What size is the banner ad and is it just a single instance?  I was pondering the £500 advert but I'll struggle to even have a name for my business in 20 days time, let alone any graphics. The £50 option seems like a steal though.

[starcade]

I should have added that to the rewards from the start. I can't edit them now (no editing of rewards after someone has pledged) but I'll make it an update on the page to say that everyone backing a physical copy of the book at the £40 level gets a digital copy too.

Thanks :-)

Any chance we could get a digital copy when we chip in for the hard copy?  If not, would it be possible to add an option for this?

[starcade]

The plan is single name per game - first come, first served.

So far, Daytona USA is gone, so is SF2 and I'm getting Moon Patrol 

Got a game in mind? If so, I can use it as my next mock-up layout so you can see what it'll look like.

Going to back this.... just need to decide if I can get up the funds for some cool art or not. Really want to see this book done since it's an awesome subject matter, obliviously 

Noticed a couple people already "chose" a game to be a contributor. At that donation level will it just be one name per game, or multiple names listed with a particular game? Can you tell us which games have been "taken" so far?

[starcade]

That's the secret button, hidden on the Kickstarter page 

Any chance we could get a digital copy when we chip in for the hard copy?  If not, would it be possible to add an option for this?

Because screenshots are so much easier than scans. (Damn - where's the donate option to receive full-size digital vector reproductions of the art?)

[Minwah]

This looks great, nice one!

Just curious, is it just marquee art or will the book feature sideart, control panel art etc?

[starcade]

I'll be a bit of everything. Right now, I'm concentrating on getting the marquees print ready, mostly because they're the most recognisable and usually where the most effort went when creating the came cabs.

A lot of the sideart was never even seen in the arcades because the machines were lined up in rows right next to each other!

This looks great, nice one!

Just curious, is it just marquee art or will the book feature sideart, control panel art etc?

[TKW4rr10r]

I'll be a bit of everything. Right now, I'm concentrating on getting the marquees print ready, mostly because they're the most recognizable and usually where the most effort went when creating the came cabs.

A lot of the sideart was never even seen in the arcades because the machines were lined up in rows right next to each other!

That's good to hear. Some cabs had so much more work into the art besides the marquee, it would be a shame to not include it in the book. Tron come to mind, for starters.

You have so much source material, hopefully this book will bankroll future endeavors. Who wants a "Time Life series" of Arcades Artwork? [raises hand] 

[jimmer]

I see the problem now, you can only choose 1 reward.  So I can't add a digital download to my order   

[starcade]

Check the update I just made to the main image on the Kickstarter page - you'll like it 

I see the problem now, you can only choose 1 reward.  So I can't add a digital download to my order 

[Minwah]

A lot of the sideart was never even seen in the arcades because the machines were lined up in rows right next to each other!

True, not to mention in the UK at least many of the games were in awful generic cabinets with only the marquee artwork.

Still, lots of sideart is amazing and would be nice to see in the book!

[jimmer]

Check the update I just made to the main image on the Kickstarter page - you'll like it 

Cool.    

I was going to suggest that, but it would have been a forward even for me.

[starcade]

You're dead right - I suspect we had more bootlegs and generics over here than actual factory cabs!

A lot of people will probably have never even seen sideart for most of the games they played and I intend to change that 

A lot of the sideart was never even seen in the arcades because the machines were lined up in rows right next to each other!

True, not to mention in the UK at least many of the games were in awful generic cabinets with only the marquee artwork.

Still, lots of sideart is amazing and would be nice to see in the book!

[starcade]

Don't worry about that - I'm open to any suggestions on how to make this project a success so feel free to hit me with any ideas at all 

Check the update I just made to the main image on the Kickstarter page - you'll like it 

Cool.    

I was going to suggest that, but it would have been a forward even for me.

[Rick]

Don't worry about that - I'm open to any suggestions on how to make this project a success so feel free to hit me with any ideas at all 

Digital copy available in AI format?

[starcade]

I've spent most of my life trying to avoid situations that could conceivably end with me being raped in the showers by Mr Big who's in with the Warden! 

Pretty sure your suggestion is one of those situations...

 

Don't worry about that - I'm open to any suggestions on how to make this project a success so feel free to hit me with any ideas at all 

Digital copy available in AI format?

[roknrol]

Sweet Young Ones reference. 

[Rick]

Reddit warriors, unite! Visit the link that Tim's got (hopefully, that's Tim's post) on Reddit, here, and upvote for more visibility.

[vorghagen]

Pledged.
Looks like a fantastic book.

[Rick]

Damn, some days I just hate Reddit. When you have close-minded idiots spewing negativity, it just makes my blood boil. Morans.

[mattgold]

Backed!

I actually saw it on Kickstarter - THEN came here to spread the word.  =)

Congrats.

[Sjaak]

Looks like this is going to happen:

112
backers
£4,835
pledged of £10,000 goal
19
days to go

[Malenko]

Id back it but 25£ is about $40 USD and I just cant spare that kinda scratch. Hopefully Saint buys one of the book packages and gives me one.

[yotsuya]

Id back it but 25£ is about $40 USD and I just cant spare that kinda scratch. Hopefully Saint buys one of the book packages and gives me one.

With shipping, it's almost $50, and that fluctuates depending on  the exchange rate. On the fence on this one. Looks beautiful and is definitely worth it, though! 

[CoryBee]

 

[Elaphe]

Amazing idea! I would be interested in purchasing a book like that, no matter the price, of course as a real book, not a digital edition. I hope it gets real. Good luck!!

Are you including screenshots of the games? In that case, please do not use pixelated and distorted raw screenshots from MAME. It's terrible the way old games look in several retro magazines or in books like 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.

[degenatrons]

Congrats on reaching your goal Tim

So the Artcade book will happen and I look forward to laying hands on mine. 

Your stretch goals are cool BTW 

[dgame]

This may be the first kickstarter that I back.

Congrats!

[gkarnik]

I'm in, I love it!

[404]

forgot to mention i have a few friends that either run or contribute to some gaming news websites. sent them notice about the kickstarter project about two days ago. Apparently One of them got tons of retweets about it on twitter last night.

[jimmer]

That's weird. It looks like you can change your pledge downwards! so a project can meets it's goal and then later become unfunded.

I didn't risk experimenting because my reward is sold out  

[starcade]

Well, that escalated quickly! 

I'm blown away by the support I'm getting for this project and I can see from the Kickstarter dashboard that 79% of the total funds so far have come from outside Kickstarter. 14% of that came directly from here - thank you.

Right now, I'm working on a couple of new stretch goals that could be really special. I'll know for sure tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks again for the support guys,

Tim

[Sjaak]

Just 4 more days to get the book (and the t-shirt)...

ARTCADE - The Book of Classic Arcade Game Art

[TKW4rr10r]

Finally pledged this morning. I bet quite a few more will before the weekend is out.

[Donkey_Kong]

Wow, this is freekin awesome! All over it as soon as I get to my laptop.



Sent from Tapatalk with a Nokia 1020

[Donkey_Kong]

Double posted from the phone.


Can't wait to get the book and t-shirt!  Looks amazing... 

[yotsuya]

I didn't end up buying this, but has anyone received their backer extras on this. Some on KLOV posted that the book hasn't been printed yet.

[Sjaak]

I didn't end up buying this, but has anyone received their backer extras on this. Some on KLOV posted that the book hasn't been printed yet.

The book hasn't been printed yet and no extras have been shipped.

First there was a problem with getting the right paper and ink combination. When that was solved, there was a problem with the printer. The middleman between the print company and Tim was some sort of con artist. He quoted a lower price and than took off with a down payment.

It appears that the print company I was working with are actually more of a print sales company, working as middle men between those with printing requirements and contract printers with spare capacity. It's those guys that quoted me prices for the book printing and also who I was working with on the colour reproduction problems. Unfortunately, I didn't know that.

At no point was it made clear to me that they weren't directly employed by the printers. In fact, they presented themselves as 'part of the same group' when I queried the fact that their email address was a different domain name.

As far as I can tell, they mis-quoted on the book printing by a significant amount and couldn't get the job done for the price they gave me. It seems that they were already in financial trouble at that point and have now closed their office and effectively disappeared, along with the sizeable deposit I paid to them.

Now there isn't enough money to print the book and Tim is trying to get a deal with a publisher to print the book.

The digital version of the book hasn't shipped yet.

I know this will disappoint some people and I'm sorry about that, but I'm not going to distribute the digital version before the physical book is shipped.
1. Because it's really important to me that the digital edition reflects the physical edition as closely as possible. There will very likely be some changes, albeit small, to the physical book now that it'll be printed on different equipment by the new print company. The digital version will be created from the final output file I sign off with the printers.
2. I really don't want to.
This always was and still remains, a project to deliver a big, beautiful hardcover book, full of incredible arcade cabinet art. The digital version was a side benefit for those who pledged to receive the physical copy and a way for those who didn't want the dead-tree version to support the project. I appreciate every single penny that has been been pledged to make this thing a reality, no matter the level of reward but, after everything that has happened, I still want everything to ship together.

[Rick]

This is seriously disappointing. I feel terrible for Tim and his backers. I certainly hope that those who are supporting this are understanding of the issues he's having.

[JDFan]

Sad part is the lack of timely updates and then the lack of follow through once an update is posted saying he'll have word and post new updates at a specific time -- last update he was supposedly having a meeting with another publisher that wanted to takeover the publishing\distributing of the book for him (and probably continue to sell it after filling the kickstarter rewards) but that meeting was to be on July 10th and was supposed to be an update posted on the 11th but once again here it is the 24th and nothing yet !!

I realize things have happened but he should at least post updates when promised rather than promising updates and then disappearing for several weeks with no word at all especially after such a long delay already 

[Malenko]

kinda glad I didnt drop $50 on it now.

[Sjaak]

kinda glad I didnt drop $50 on it now.

If it actually gets published by a big publisher, you can probably get it on amazon for $20 in a couple of weeks.

[yotsuya]

Any updates? Did people get their books or stuff?

[JDFan]

Any updates? Did people get their books or stuff?

According to the latest update :

Item 1: I have a publication date in writing.

It's not as soon as I'd have liked, but it's official and the announcement is being pushed out to online and traditional booksellers in the second week of January. Right now, I'm just happy to have a date. The book will officially be available on 27th March 2015, with shipments to all backers (Kickstarter and direct) a week before that.

SO we'll see come March if it actually happens or gets pushed back Again !

[yotsuya]

Hmmmmm..... nothing listed on Amazon...

[offset]

Havent seen mine yet.

[Donkey_Kong]

Hmmmmm..... nothing listed on Amazon...

Whach you talkin' bout willis?

[JDFan]

Hmmmmm..... nothing listed on Amazon...

Whach you talkin' bout willis?

According to the last update (prior to Xmas)

The book will officially be available on 27th March 2015, with shipments to all backers (Kickstarter and direct) a week before that.

Yet here it is mid February and Amazon and others have not made any announcement that they will have it available, which normally you can at least find some info from them several months before a product starts being sold. 

[yotsuya]

Hmmmmm..... nothing listed on Amazon...

Whach you talkin' bout willis?

Uh...... See JDFan's post...

[Sjaak]

The book will be published by taschen.com.

The book will officially be available on 27th March 2015, with shipments to all backers (Kickstarter and direct) a week before that.

[Malenko]

this ever happen?

[yotsuya]

I was just thinking about this the other day. According to the previous post, it should have been available a month ago. Did it get out you guys?

[yotsuya]

Interesting. I went to the publisher's website that was listed, and did a search for the book. Nothing shows up. Did he end up going with the different publisher at the last minute?

[HaRuMaN]

[BadMouth]

I backed it and get more updates than I'd care for.

I only signed up for the electronic version and that could have been released in some format a year ago.
He won't release the electronic version until the paper version is published though.

...but a couple of people have been in touch and suggested that I should probably post an update, even if there's no fresh news. With that in mind:

Right now, I'm still waiting for the individual concerned to get back to me and the only update I can make is 'there's still no news yet'.

The situation as it stands is that I'm doing everything possible to secure the printing and shipment of this book and it would seem that in order to do that, I'll need to sign away my share of any future revenue from ongoing sales, albeit to someone who has a passion for the subject matter and credibility in the market, but I will receive no financial benefit from any future sales whatsoever (just in case anyone thinks I might be getting rich off the back of all this!) I'm absolutely fine with that. It's fair, considering the situation and I just want this book to exist and for everyone who backed it to get what they expected.

I'll do whatever it takes.

After everything that's happened, including cease and desist letters from a crazed Atari fan's lawyers, getting screwed over by a print agent, discovering that the printer was in on the scam, learning that I'll get nothing back as a larger creditor had the company's assets liquidated and then getting involved in a rescue deal that was very far from what it first appeared, I could really use some good news to share. That news could/should be coming any day now.

I realise that when you all backed the book on Kickstarter, you were placing your trust in a random stranger on the Internet, but do remember that many of your fellow backers are my close family, friends and their family and friends too. They've been along for the rollercoaster ride and have seen the stress and heartache it has caused from a closeup position. I have a huge amount of personal 'skin in the game' with this book and they, along with every other backer that placed their trust in me are the reason I haven't given up on this project already.

Failing in public is no fun at all and failing more than once is tough to recover from, but I'm actually feeling positive about the chances of getting this book out there in a reasonably short timescale.

If for any reason, the current discussions don't lead to a deal that gets the book published, I'll be looking at what other options are open to me. One of the options I'm considering is to make a career change back into long-term freelance consulting to make up the shortfall left by Tyson Media's bankruptcy myself. It's something I'd have to consider very carefully, but it's an option.

As soon as I have more news, I'll let you all know with another update.

Kindest regards as always,

Tim

[pbj]

The more complicated the story, the bigger the lie.

Your money is gone.

 

[JDFan]

I'll get nothing back as a larger creditor had the company's assets liquidated

Hmm -- so he actually borrowed more money than what was raised by the kickstarter project and didn't pay the creditor back either ?? How if the company's assets have been liquidated is he going to print the book if the assets are no longer his and have been sold off to cover debts he incurred aside from the kickstarter funds  -- Sounds like there is a lot more going on than having problems finding a publisher - if there are other creditors involved that have monetary interests in the book printing it's doubtful they are going to allow the book to be printed and sent to backers using the available  funds that they are trying to recover since the kickstarter backers would be further down the repayment line then their investment - doesn't make sense that they would just say go ahead and spend the money we should be getting to fulfill your obligation to the kickstarter backers   

[pbj]

Nah, he's trying to claim the printer went out of business and a creditor seized all their assets.  I'm sure his PDF is still okay.

 

[yotsuya]

Thanks for the info, badmouth.

I find stories like this to be pretty fascinating. It's really a cautionary tale about getting set up on Kickstarter. I wonder how much planning this gentleman did before he created his project. Did he already have a printer signed up? Or did he just create the content and think it would be easy to find a printer. He mentioned a cease and desist letter from a lawyer. I wonder if he got all the clearances necessary to rerun this art. Little things like that. I'm sure that he had great intentions, but I'm wondering if all his ducks were in a row before he got started.

[BadMouth]

Thanks for the info, badmouth.

I find stories like this to be pretty fascinating. It's really a cautionary tale about getting set up on Kickstarter. I wonder how much planning this gentleman did before he created his project. Did he already have a printer signed up? Or did he just create the content and think it would be easy to find a printer. He mentioned a cease and desist letter from a lawyer. I wonder if he got all the clearances necessary to rerun this art. Little things like that. I'm sure that he had great intentions, but I'm wondering if all his ducks were in a row before he got started.

He's the OP of this thread, so maybe he'll weigh in.

One of the more interesting things about this project is that he corresponded with some of the original artists, who in turn contributed additional context and content.
Originally I just wanted the marquees as inspiration (and color sampling) for my own projects, but I find learning about the context in which they were created very interesting.

[Malenko]

he hasnt been here in 2 months or I would have PM'ed him. I was genuinely curious if it ever went to print.

[offset]

Haven't seen it, lots of empty promises, he is pretty active on Twitter though

https://twitter.com/woodpunk

[yotsuya]

Interesting- there's more info on the Twitter feed than on Kickstarter.

[dkersten]

Considering you can publish a book on Createspace and have print on demand with zero up front costs, I question the route this guy wanted to go.  Sure, in the past the best way to do this was to get the capital together to print a few thousand copies, then sell them out of your garage.  If you don't mind storing, shipping, and trying to sell your book the old fashioned way (travel to bookstores and talk to the manager about buying some) it offers the highest profit margin per book sold.  However, with Amazon KDP and Createspace, as well as services like Direct2Draft, publishing a book even one with nothing but pictures is easy as hell and costs you nothing up front with a better royalty than any agent or publisher will ever give you.  This guy either didn't do his homework or wanted some mega high quality photo printing that you can only get with a monster capital investment and a high quality press (which of course costs a LOT of money and reduces your potential royalties by a lot more).

I never looked at the kickstarter page, but you give me a bunch of pictures and captions and in a matter of hours I could have a book on Amazon that you can buy and have on your doorstep two days later (free shipping with Prime) or downloaded in seconds.  This isn't rocket science, and the "indie scene" has changed dramatically in the past few years. 

If you have a collection of artwork and you want to see it in an actual book, you can do so for free and for an insanely low price print one or as many as you want, all from your desktop.  Createspace, Lulu, and a handful of other services can get you any kind of book you want with zero up front money and even offer it up for international distribution channels. 

[Malenko]

I never looked at the kickstarter page, but you give me a bunch of pictures and captions and in a matter of hours I could have a book on Amazon that you can buy and have on your doorstep two days later (free shipping with Prime) or downloaded in seconds.  This isn't rocket science, and the "indie scene" has changed dramatically in the past few years. 

Its not a bunch of art, its a bunch of art owned by multiple other companies. The book looked like a licensing NIGHTMARE, which is why I didnt back it.  Not sure how cool the publishers would be printing bootleg books, or how comfortable I would be buying one.

[BadMouth]

...good news. But frustratingly, still not quite the news.

Sorry for the longer-than-expected delay in getting this sorted. The situation is this:

I've been busy extracting myself from the original commercial publishing agreement in order to partner with someone much more in tune with what this book was supposed to have been from the start. For the new arrangement to happen, it's vital that there's an absolutely cast-iron acknowledgement from the original publisher that they've relinquished any claim to the publishing rights. They've agreed that I can exercise the severability clause in the contract without objection from them, but they haven't sent over the written confirmation. I need that written confirmation to satisfy the new partner that he's not at risk from a legal challenge sometime in the future. I sent a copy of the contract over to the new partner and he's satisfied that the severability clause plus the confirmation letter is enough to make this happen.

I'm chasing that confirmation every day. I've signed the ongoing NDA they (the original publisher) sent over so there's nothing holding this up now, other than their achingly slow internal process.

As soon as that document comes through, things will happen very quickly and the new partner will make themselves available to answer any questions you might have (I'll still be here - they just want to be upfront and available, to make everyone feel comfortable that this book is in good hands)

I've now had the artcade.co.uk domain transferred back to me from the original publisher and there'll be content appearing on it in the next couple of weeks.

I'm trying really hard to explain exactly what's happening, without upsetting any of the parties involved. I don't want to fall foul of the NDA I signed, nor do I want to upset the new partner by saying too much too soon. If that makes all this sound somewhat cryptic, I apologise.

This is a done deal, apart from the one letter of confirmation. I've spoken to my solicitor (lawyer) about what happens if they never send the confirmation and he has already prepared a notice to send to them, stating that the fact they haven't objected will be considered as their consent. We'll send that over to them if we don't have their confirmation by the end of next week.

It's driving me crazy not being able to tell you the full detail of who, what, when etc. because I know it'll be a big boost to everyone who's hung in there through all of this. All I can say is, it'll be worth the wait. The great thing (apart from the fact that the book will actually exist!) is that I can reverse all the edits and stylistic changes I was compelled to make by 'the other guys' and get the book back to what 'the new guy' agrees it should always have been: a big book full of double-page spreads of spectacular arcade artwork.

I really hope my next update is the one where I introduce our new buddy to you all :-)

Thanks everyone,

Tim

[opt2not]

Karma's a ---smurfette---.

[yotsuya]

Any word? I see on Kickstarter that there was a posting titled "It's Decision Time", but it's for backers only. Is this thing happening?

[JDFan]

Any word? I see on Kickstarter that there was a posting titled "It's Decision Time", but it's for backers only. Is this thing happening?

From the comments it seems "it's decision time" is more about deciding to drop the project altogether than to release it - but as you say it's for backers only so haven't seen the actual update or comments on it. I still think it will never happen as it seems the new publishing company he was talking to are worried about the production rights and whether someone will wind up suing them if they do print it.

[yotsuya]

I see people requesting refunds. Can you do that with a Kickstarter?

[HaRuMaN]

I see people requesting refunds. Can you do that with a Kickstarter?

No, I don't think so

[pbj]

Your money is gone.

 

[JDFan]

I see people requesting refunds. Can you do that with a Kickstarter?

Think you can request one but whether it materializes or not is up to the kickstarter lister - don't think kickstarter themselves will refund anyone and they already took their part of the funding so it will not be being refunded ! - Too bad he never just released the digital copy for download at least to give the backers something ! 

[Sjaak]

I requested a refund a while back and got my money back.

I think the whole project has been canceled, but I don't have access to the updates anymore.

[BadMouth]

Any word? I see on Kickstarter that there was a posting titled "It's Decision Time", but it's for backers only. Is this thing happening?

Last update was July 28th.

It's decision time...





Apologies for being somewhat absent for a while - as you can probably imagine, after recent events there has been a lot for me to deal with, both practically and emotionally.

At this point, I'm not quite sure what to do, but I do know that I need to either finalise the publication of the book through the new deal I was working on prior to my having to step away for a while, or admit defeat and draw a line under this whole thing before it eats me alive. I really don't know how this will go: in all honesty I don't have the heart for it (or much else) at the moment, but I can't imagine giving in after all this time and effort and letting everyone down either.

I'm not ready to throw in the towel right now, but I do have to consider the possibility.

Kickstarter has guidance on what to do in this situation and I'll ensure that I do things in the appropriate manner. I'll process any refund requests received so far, (I think there are three to do) but no more once this update is published until I know for sure what is going to happen. This is to protect everyone's interests: either the remaining funds will be needed to help fund the publication, or they'll be returned on a pro-rata basis to remaining backers and the accounts of what has been spent made available to everyone, as per Kickstarter's guidance. I realise that this would disadvantage those who have remained supportive and I'll do everything I can to avoid this if possible.

I think it's realistic to expect that I'll know what's going to happen in the next few weeks, so I will update everyone again with a final decision one way or the other by the 28th of August at the very latest, most likely before then. I'm chronically short of time right now, having gone from working at home every day, to a four hour daily commute Monday to Friday and family needing my support at the weekends, so please forgive any delay in responding to messages and comments.

On another note: to everyone that sent me kind words after my mother's death; my heartfelt thanks. It means a such lot.

Thanks,

Tim

If everything is true I feel bad for him. 
If he's going to throw in the towel and not publish the book though, I don't understand why he just doesn't email a digital copy to everyone that pledged. (like JDFan said)
That's all I signed up for anyway, but even for the people who signed up for a hard copy it would be a lot better than nothing.
I don't even care if it's in book form.  I just want to sample the colors and rip off the styles of the original marquees.

[BadMouth]

The book is going to happen...!



...and I'm very, very happy to tell you that it'll be published as a Bitmap Books title :-)
Many of you will already have backed one or more of the Bitmap Books Kickstarter campaigns. Sam and I have been in touch since before his first one launched and I consider him a friend. He has stepped in with an offer to publish the book, making sure that Artcade doesn't just fade away as a nice idea that disappointed a lot of people. We have agreed the details of how things will work and I received the contract today.
Sam will take responsibility for the final design and publication of the book, including making sure that every backer gets their copy/copies along with the t-shirts and CDs. I'll ship out the few outstanding artwork rewards shortly (over the next couple of weeks)
At this point, we haven't discussed a publication date, but I know Sam will want to get things moving quickly, while delivering the best possible quality. As soon as we've worked out what will happen when, I'll let everyone know.
Thanks for sticking things out - it will definitely be worth it :-)
Have a great weekend everyone!
Tim

[JDFan]

Good to hear that someone that has actually put out some books is assisting and hopefully it will eventually get released and things don't change again in a few months. 

Just wonder if it is going to be the same size as the other bitmap books (230mmx170mm or approx 6x9 inches) as that seems a bit small for this book but better than nothing I guess !

[BadMouth]

A message from Sam @ Bitmap Books... 

Hello Artcade backers,

Some of you may know me, but I run a publishing company called Bitmap Books where we specialise in books all about retro gaming. So far we have successfully used Kickstarter to fund and produce books on the Commodore 64 and Amiga, with a book on the ZX Spectrum due out in November. I have known Tim for a while and for the last few months we have been discussing how I can help with the Artcade book.

I am a graphic designer by trade so very experienced in book design and print/production. I also have very high standards of production so Artcade will be produced to a very high finish.

My No.1 priority at this stage is to deliver the book to you backers. I will also take responsibility for shipping the British IBM CDs and T-Shirts. Tim will be handling canvasses.

All the amazing artwork that Tim has produced is finished, so that is a huge chunk of work already done and he is in the process of transferring these large digital files to me. The reality is that I am going to have to start from scratch with the design and layout and start pulling together the book that everyone's been waiting for. Please note that I will not be altering the design style as seen in the original Kickstarter. Part of Tim’s wish is that the project is seen through how he imagined it right at the beginning.

As far as timings go, design will start right away. Working alongside my other book commitments (and imminent new arrival to the family) I am setting a publication date of April 2015 at the latest. The digital PDF will be distributed as soon as book shipping starts. I appreciate that this may be a long time to wait but I will make sure I share regular updates showing progress.

I believe you can still change your addresses as some of you have probably moved since first filling it out. On the main project page, under your selected pledge will be a ‘Your response’ link which will allow you to edit your address.

I cannot comment on these updates so If anyone has any questions about the book/shipping please email me directly on sam@bitmapbooks.co.uk and any updates on the books progress will be posted here as updates by Tim from me.

Thanks,

Sam Dyer
 
 
 
 

[yotsuya]

As far as timings go, design will start right away. Working alongside my other book commitments (and imminent new arrival to the family) I am setting a publication date of April 2015 at the latest.

Damn thing is already 5 months late!!!! 

[JDFan]

As far as timings go, design will start right away. Working alongside my other book commitments (and imminent new arrival to the family) I am setting a publication date of April 2015 at the latest.

Damn thing is already 5 months late!!!! 

LOL -- Think he meant April 2016 (hopefully not April 2017  )

[pbj]

If you close your eyes, clap your hands, and stamp your feet real REAL hard, you'll get your book.  If you don't get your book it's because you didn't clap hard enough.

[BadMouth]

Hi Artcade backers ,

I received all of the marquee files from Tim at the weekend so now I can start on the book.

The first job to start paginating and creating a page plan and then I can start the design. As with Tim's original vision for the book design, each double page spread will feature a single marquee in all its glory. At the back of the book will then be an index which will have the details of the specific games, the artist (if known) and a small review of the artwork. I have loads of these amazing marquees to include and I am even more excited now I have seen them all as a set. They will appear in chronological order within the book so you can see the evolution of the artwork throughout time.

Also within the book, which Tim and I have recently spoken more about, will be x2 interview/features with prominent artists Larry Day and and the late Python Anghelo. Within these features will be unseen concept artwork which will look fantastic and be fascinating to read about.

I am also really pleased that Tim will be working with me in an active roll to complete the book and oversee proceedings.

Now that we are officially underway, I will commit to regular updates on progress to keep you all in the loop as I’ve done with my other books.


Thanks,

Sam Dyer

At least they're keeping people updated.   

[yotsuya]

So the  book will have one marquee spread out over two pages? So there'll be a fold in the middle? Or am I reading this wrong?

As with Tim's original vision for the book design, each double page spread will feature a single marquee in all its glory.

[JDFan]

So the  book will have one marquee spread out over two pages? So there'll be a fold in the middle? Or am I reading this wrong?

That was one of the drawbacks of the original book plan and looks like they are keeping it --


 each marquee pic will run across 2 pages with the binding down the center - Now the question is will the size be the same as he was wanting originally also or is it going to be smaller like the other books bitmap has released ( 230mm x 170mm - or 9 x 6.7 inches)  Hopefully the digital copy of the book will have the actual marquee pic as a single pic designed to be displayed 2 pages at a time and will be of decent quality but guess we'll have to wait and see.

[yotsuya]

So the  book will have one marquee spread out over two pages? So there'll be a fold in the middle? Or am I reading this wrong?

That was one of the drawbacks of the original book plan and looks like they are keeping it -- each marquee pic will run across 2 pages with the binding down the center which pretty much ruins the pic. Hopefully the digital copy of the book will have the actual marquee pic as a single pic designed to be displayed 2 pages at a time and will be of decent quality but guess we'll have to wait and see.

Agreed. What's the point otherwise. A wide format book, like the one used for comic strips, would have been way better...

[yotsuya]

Oh, and I like how that render makes the seam look almost non-existent...

[JDFan]

Oh, and I like how that render makes the seam look almost non-existent...

Yeah when it's just a page or 2 the seam isn't that bad but when it's 200+ pages there is no way to lay it flat like that so you lose a good portion of the middle of the pages add to that they are also not all center pages so the pic will not be across a single page but the front of 1 page and the back of another and having them line up is not going to happen.

One thing I don't understand with the new timeline is according to Tim the book was ready to go to print so why now do they have to start over from scratch. (makes you wonder how complete the original version actually was ) - though I guess it could be the new layout needed since the dimensions of the book are different if they are going with the stock Bitmap books layout of 9" tall x 6.7" wide.

[pbj]

CLAP HARDER

[yotsuya]

Oh, and I like how that render makes the seam look almost non-existent...

Yeah when it's just a page or 2 the seam isn't that bad but when it's 200+ pages there is no way to lay it flat like that so you lose a good portion of the middle of the pages add to that they are also not all center pages so the pic will not be across a single page but the front of 1 page and the back of another and having them line up is not going to happen.

One thing I don't understand with the new timeline is according to Tim the book was ready to go to print so why now do they have to start over from scratch. (makes you wonder how complete the original version actually was ) - though I guess it could be the new layout needed since the dimensions of the book are different if they are going with the stock Bitmap books layout of 9" tall x 6.7" wide.

I'm wondering if the books will just be 6.7" tall and 9" wide. The campaign didn't promise any sizes or dimensions.

[BadMouth]

I'm pretty sure they stated it would be bigger than the usual bitmap books.
I don't care enough about it to bother trying to find the comment though.

[offset]

In my opinion, this guy is a fraud until he delivers.  Twitter seems to be the best place for updates about this and other projects he works on - https://twitter.com/woodpunk

[pbj]

Shush and give him some more money.  Rent's due in two days.

[vwalbridge]

Speaking of Kickstarter Houdini. This popped up on the nets today:

Video Game Kickstarter Disappears With Over $30,000

[yotsuya]

Thanks for the link!

This gem was in the comments...

[BadMouth]

Thanks for the link!

This gem was in the comments...

That's what I thought about the $9 computer, but those hipsters delivered.
Honestly I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about them pulling it off.
It's cool they did, but I hate being wrong.

[yotsuya]

Thanks for the link!

This gem was in the comments...

That's what I thought about the $9 computer, but those hipsters delivered.
Honestly I'm not sure if I'm happy or sad about them pulling it off.
It's cool they did, but I hate being wrong.

Those guys seemed better organized. I always had a concern with the Art Book on whether or not any legalities would hold it up, but not necessarily the printing process.

[Vigo]

That's what I thought about the $9 computer, but those hipsters delivered.

Ironically, delivery is the second most common position held by hipsters.

[BadMouth]

For me, it took an annoying turn when he started adding tons of other items that had nothing to do with the book.
(framed marquees, a music album, stretched canvas prints, cnc carved arcade sign, canvas print of sideart, t-shirt, star wars memorabilia?!)

[offset]

What is this ?

http://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/collections/all/products/artcade-the-book-of-classic-arcade-game-art

[yotsuya]

That is where this Kickstarter has led to.

[BadMouth]

Book is in production.  Larger update supposed to be posted this weekend, hopefully with release dates.
I just want my e-book.  I'm glad I didn't get a physical copy since the marquees are going to be split between two pages.

[JDFan]

Book is in production.  Larger update supposed to be posted this weekend, hopefully with release dates.
I just want my e-book.  I'm glad I didn't get a physical copy since the marquees are going to be split between two pages.

Good to hear it might actually get released and totally agree it pretty much defeats the entire thing to have every image split down the middle - distorting every image. Hopefully the digital images will be decent resolution and not just copies of the readily available lower image marquee files and be kept as a single image and not a low res. scan of the book including the crease in the middle of each image !! 

Then again they'll probably pull a Mikonos and add a bunch of watermarks to every image with a link to his website to purchase printed copies 

[Rick]

pull a Mikonos

And that, my friends, is why I love these forums.

[BadMouth]

FYI, I received my digital copy yesterday and people are reporting receiving the books.
The digital copy is done right, no lines in the middle of the marquees or anything like that.

My plan for it is to rip off design styles and sample colors to make original, but proper looking marquees for future projects.
 

The book is available for purchase here:
http://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/products/artcade-the-book-of-classic-arcade-game-art?variant=6989580099

[JDFan]

FYI, I received my digital copy yesterday and people are reporting receiving the books.
The digital copy is done right, no lines in the middle of the marquees or anything like that.

My plan for it is to rip off design styles and sample colors to make original, but proper looking marquees for future projects.
 

The book is available for purchase here:
http://www.bitmapbooks.co.uk/products/artcade-the-book-of-classic-arcade-game-art?variant=6989580099

What format and size are the images in the PDF - ie. can they be resized for printing images without introducing artifacts or are they lower resolution ?

Hmmm -- How do you sell out of a PDF version of a book ?

[yotsuya]

Easy, you limit it so people buy your physical stock on hand.

[JDFan]

Easy, you limit it so people buy your physical stock on hand.

LOL - yeah I guess but most people buying the PDF version wouldn't buy the hard copy and vice versa.

I figure they make more profit selling the PDF anyway since the production cost is nothing but the download bandwidth at this point and you'd think after 3 years in production they'd want to recoup the investment any way they could but if they don't want the sale   

[yotsuya]

Once the PDF gets hacked, nobody's going to want to buy the book anymore anyway I bet.

[JDFan]

Once the PDF gets hacked, nobody's going to want to buy the book anymore anyway I bet.

All the more reason to not have it unavailable for purchase ! 

[BadMouth]

What format and size are the images in the PDF - ie. can they be resized for printing images without introducing artifacts or are they lower resolution ?

The pdf pages are sized 23.39"x8.27" including borders, so they are a good bit smaller than original.
Not sure of the resolution.  They'd do if you had fairly low standards, but don't compare to vector images already available.

The attached pic is from a screen grab.
Image came out 1363x486 pixels.
I shrank it before attaching because I'm not trying to help pirate their book, only answer your question.
The marquee is probably available elsewhere anyway.

EDIT: I guess the resolution of my screen grab isn't really relevant. 

[JDFan]

"

The pdf pages are sized 23.39"x8.27" including borders, so they are a good bit smaller than original.
Not sure of the resolution.

Seems that would be at 72PPI (IIRC thats the default for most pdf viewers) which would mean they are a medium resolution (1684x595 pixels with border - (ie. 23.30" x 72 pixels per inch = 1684 pixels ) since from your description of them it seems they'd be less than 7017 x 2481 pixels that 300 PPI would be so if printing at 300 PPI they'd be around 5" x 2" a bit small if not resized but would probably work pretty well for some light box prints @ 150 PPI - they'd come out 11.22" x 3.97" without resizing them. So not bad for the $16 +/-. Thanks for the info 

[yotsuya]

"

The pdf pages are sized 23.39"x8.27" including borders, so they are a good bit smaller than original.
Not sure of the resolution.

Seems that would be at 72PPI (IIRC thats the default for most pdf viewers) which would mean they are a medium resolution (1684x595 pixels with border - (ie. 23.30" x 72 pixels per inch = 1684 pixels ) since from your description of them it seems they'd be less than 7017 x 2481 pixels that 300 PPI would be so if printing at 300 PPI they'd be around 5" x 2" a bit small if not resized but would probably work pretty well for some light box prints @ 150 PPI - they'd come out 11.22" x 3.97" without resizing them. So not bad for the $16 +/-. Thanks for the info 

PL1? Is that you?

[Malenko]

PL1? Is that you?

Ugh calling someone PL1 is almost as bad as calling them X2. Not cool bro. 

[JDFan]

Ugh calling someone PL1 is almost as bad as calling them X2. Not cool bro. 

Not even close !! - Yots is just afraid of a bit of Math and lumps everyone that references any in a post  together.   

[yotsuya]

No, I just think it's funny you seem to want the PDF of the book to print out the marquees, which kind of defeats the purpose of them publishing a physical book.

[BadMouth]

Step 1: buy acquire book
Step 2: print marquees
Step 3:
           

[yotsuya]

No, I don't think JDFan want to do anything sketchy, I'm just thinking that's why they're limiting how many PDFs are available right now.

[JDFan]

No, I just think it's funny you seem to want the PDF of the book to print out the marquees, which kind of defeats the purpose of them publishing a physical book.

Well - I surely wouldn't want the physical copy of the book to print out the marquees  - Maybe it's just me -- but they pretty much already defeated the purpose of them publishing a physical book when they decided on a layout that distorted every image right in the center rather than paying a bit more per book to have each marquee on a single page rather than spread out on dual facing pages. 

I'd much rather have spent a bit more on a book that kept the images intact so that they could be viewed inside the physical book or even taken out of the book and framed for display rather than placed on facing pages with a binding in the center of the image - so was wondering what type of quality the pdf images were to see if it was worth buying that format (I had already decided not to buy the physical book - back when they decided on the layout of the book during the kickstarter. ) but was still interested in purchasing the pdf if the quality of the pictures was worth the investment.

[yotsuya]

No, I just think it's funny you seem to want the PDF of the book to print out the marquees, which kind of defeats the purpose of them publishing a physical book.

Well - I surely wouldn't want the physical copy of the book to print out the marquees  - Maybe it's just me -- but they pretty much already defeated the purpose of them publishing a physical book when they decided on a layout that distorted every image right in the center rather than paying a bit more per book to have each marquee on a single page rather than spread out on dual facing pages. 

Oh,  I agree with your sentiment on the worth of the physical book,  my friend.  This just all goes back to why I think they're "sold out" of the PDF right now.  Saint had the same thing pretty much happen with his book.

[JDFan]

Oh,  I agree with your sentiment on the worth of the physical book,  my friend.  This just all goes back to why I think they're "sold out" of the PDF right now.  Saint had the same thing pretty much happen with his book.

You are probably correct on their thinking - or could also be part of the agreement with the publishing company that bailed him out in order for them to make the investment in getting it to this point. (there may be some sort of revenue share that limits the number offered at that pre sale price and might be a new pricing model after release etc. 

[yotsuya]

Oh,  I agree with your sentiment on the worth of the physical book,  my friend.  This just all goes back to why I think they're "sold out" of the PDF right now.  Saint had the same thing pretty much happen with his book.

You are probably correct on their thinking - or could also be part of the agreement with the publishing company that bailed him out in order for them to make the investment in getting it to this point. (there may be some sort of revenue share that limits the number offered at that pre sale price and might be a new pricing model after release etc. 

I'm pretty sure you hit it right on the head there. :-)

Has anybody received a physical copy of the book?

[JDFan]

Has anybody received a physical copy of the book?

Here's a youtube unboxing video posted by one of the sites they sent a preview copy to posted on the kickstarter page (they show some of the inside pages around the 2:40 mark - pretty much what I thought it would be - a nice quality book with all the images ruined by the binding ! )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7M4qT3P9-Q&feature=youtu.be

[menace]

Interesting--I didn't even know this existed--may have to order a copy..Small annoyance:  in his youtube videos he is asked which is his favourite marquee and he goes on about moon patrol (which I agree with) but then they cut to pictures of outrun???  He starts talking about another one and they cut to a third, completely unrelated marquee--just odd...

[JDFan]

Oh,  I agree with your sentiment on the worth of the physical book,  my friend.  This just all goes back to why I think they're "sold out" of the PDF right now.  Saint had the same thing pretty much happen with his book.

You are probably correct on their thinking - or could also be part of the agreement with the publishing company that bailed him out in order for them to make the investment in getting it to this point. (there may be some sort of revenue share that limits the number offered at that pre sale price and might be a new pricing model after release etc. 

I'm pretty sure you hit it right on the head there. :-)

Looks like they got in more stock of the PDF version    and it is once again available for purchase

[yotsuya]

Yeah, forget that, I'm more excited for this:

http://www.amazon.com/Art-Atari-Robert-V-Conte/dp/1524101036/ref=zg_bsnr_8622803011_1

Ordered!

[TKW4rr10r]

Only took about 3 years, but I got my copy in the mail today. Unfortunately it arrived damaged   
Already in contact with Tim and the publisher in getting a replacement. Hoping it won't take too long because I gotta admit the book is otherwise gorgeous. The "seam" going through the marquees doesn't bother me. I mean it's a book, after-all. I'd rather have a "spread" of the marquees than smaller artwork, but that's MHO. Hoping my t-shirt is in another package coming soon.

Been very jaded toward anything kickstarter-based, I think most of us have been burnt at least once. But it feels good to finally see something come out of this, even though in my case its bitter-sweet. I never got the impression this was not going to happen, but three years is a bit of a stretch. Tim seemed/seems very dedicated in getting the art the appreciation it deserves, so I give him props for sticking with it.

[ark_ader]

I have all this artwork. I'm sure most of you do too. Why would I go and buy a book with the images cut in the middle. 

I would avoid buying this unless you have nothing else to spend your money on... 

[yotsuya]

I must be a Griff-richer then.  I bought the PDF because I wanted to read the content.  No way I'd buy the book with the split marquees,  though.

I did preorder the Atari book, though. I love that stuff.

[CheffoJeffo]

Still love me some Supercade, despite the drama surrounding it.



https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/supercade