Haggis Pinball is Hard At Work Cranking Out Celts

Knapp Arcade·article·analyzed·Mar 17, 2022

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.021

TL;DR

Haggis Celts production surge signals optimism for delayed Fathom remake launch.

Summary

Haggis Pinball is actively manufacturing and shipping Celts machines, with large recent shipments reaching European and US customers. The author views ongoing Celts production as a positive signal for Fathom remake customers, despite communication gaps about delays. While acknowledging legitimate frustration from pre-order customers, the author distinguishes Haggis from troubled manufacturers like Deeproot and speculates Fathom shipments may arrive within months, possibly with announcements at Texas Pinball Festival.

Key Claims

RS-Pinball GmbH received a large shipment of new Haggis Celts machines
high confidence · Author reports personal observation of distributor shipment and multiple unboxing photos on Pinside
Haggis founder Damian has adopted radio silence on Fathom delays due to negative publicity and community hostility
medium confidence · Author's interpretation based on shift from transparent communication to silence; author acknowledges personal experience with threatening DMs
Stern Pinball has a backlog as large as 10,000 units
low confidence · Speculation mentioned without source attribution; author cites own Deadpool order delayed over one year
Haggis continues to ship Celts and generate revenue despite Fathom delays
high confidence · Author notes ongoing Celts shipments as distinguishing factor from Deeproot/Heighway situations
Fathom is a remake of a 1981 Bally classic
high confidence · Author explicitly identifies game as 'remake of the 1981 Bally classic, Fathom'

Notable Quotes

“Clearly Haggis is hard at work cranking out games for customers. I personally view this as a very good sign for collectors who are anxiously awaiting word on the status of their orders of Haggis' second title, the remake of the 1981 Bally classic, Fathom.”
Knapp Arcade (author) — Core thesis connecting Celts production to Fathom optimism
“To me, it seems as though Haggis' founder, Damian is upset by the negative publicity that the delays have created and decided to just go with radio silence until he has units ready to ship.”
Knapp Arcade (author) — Author's interpretation of manufacturer communication strategy during delays
“To me this doesn't seem at all like a Deeproot or even Heighway Pinball-like situation.”
Knapp Arcade (author) — Distinguishes Haggis from other troubled manufacturers, uses comparative framing
“Throughout the entire delay Haggis has been shipping Celts games out and bringing money in.”
Knapp Arcade (author) — Key operational distinction: Haggis maintains revenue flow despite delays
“For him to go there without a Fathom to show, or at least concrete proof that production is under way seems like it would be extremely awkward to me.”
Knapp Arcade (author) — Author's speculation about Texas Pinball Festival appearance and expectations

Entities

Haggis PinballcompanyDamianpersonCeltsgame FathomgameRS-Pinball GmbHcompanyDeeproot PinballcompanyHeighway PinballcompanyStern Pinballcompany

Signals

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business_signal: Haggis maintaining revenue through Celts production while Fathom is delayed, distinguishing from failed manufacturers
high · Author explicitly states 'Throughout the entire delay Haggis has been shipping Celts games out and bringing money in'
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sentiment_shift: Customer frustration with Fathom delays, but author distinguishes situation from fatal manufacturer failures
high · Author acknowledges frustration is 'completely understandable' but differentiates from 'Deeproot or even Heighway Pinball-like situation'
?
event_signal: Speculation about Haggis founder Damian potentially appearing at Texas Pinball Festival with Fathom announcement
low · Author notes 'rumors that Damian may be going to next week's Texas Pinball Festival' and states appearance without concrete news would be 'extremely awkward'
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market_signal: Active Celts production and shipments visible through distributor orders and US customer unboxings
high · Author reports 'surprising large shipment' to RS-Pinball and 'surprising number of Celts unboxing pictures' on Pinside
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product_strategy: Haggis Fathom experiencing significant production delays with communication gap; author speculates shipping within couple of months
medium · Author notes 'large delay in shipping Fathoms' and 'radio silence' but expects resolution based on Celts production momentum
?

Topics

Production capacity and supply chain impactsprimaryHaggis Pinball Celts shipping and manufacturing statusprimaryFathom remake delays and communication strategyprimaryManufacturer comparison (Haggis vs Deeproot vs Heighway)secondaryCommunity sentiment and customer frustration with delayssecondaryTexas Pinball Festival expectationssecondaryPinball community toxicity and threatening behaviormentioned

Sentiment

cautiously positive(0.65)— Author is optimistic about Haggis's prospects and distinguishes company favorably from troubled competitors, while acknowledging legitimate customer frustration. Tone is balanced and empathetic toward both manufacturer and delayed customers.

Transcript

raw_text · $0.000

This morning the European distributor RS-Pinball GmbH received a surprising large shipment of New In Box Haggis Pinball Celts machines. Beyond this specific shipment, I’ve seen a surprising number of Celts unboxing pictures recently from people in the United States on Pinside. Clearly Haggis is hard at work cranking out games for customers. I personally view this as a very good sign for collectors who are anxiously awaiting word on the status of their orders of Haggis’ second title, the remake of the 1981 Bally classic, Fathom. I get why a number of people are upset by Haggis’ lack of communication about the large delay in shipping Fathoms, particularly when the company has been very transparent since the beginning. I probably would be concerned too. To me, it seems as though Haggis’ founder, Damian is upset by the negative publicity that the delays have created and decided to just go with radio silence until he has units ready to ship. That’s probably not the best way to handle the situation, but people can be nasty (I know from firsthand experience given the recent threatening, evil DMs that I’ve received from a pinball person while I was with my family) so I get where he’s coming from. The supply chain has thrown a monkey wrench into the production plans of even the biggest and best pinball manufacturers. I ordered a Stern Deadpool over a year ago and still have several months to go before it’s ready. There’s speculation that Stern has a backlog that’s as large as 10,000 units. Frustration is completely understandable for people who have laid out thousands of dollars and aren’t receiving updates on the delayed product that they’re expecting to receive. Having said that, to me this doesn't seem at all like a Deeproot or even Heighway Pinball-like situation. Throughout the entire delay Haggis has been shipping Celts games out and bringing money in. While I have no skin in the game in terms of a Celts order (though I’d love to play one) or a Fathom order (it looks amazing, but I don’t personally lay out that much cash for games that I’ve never played) I personally am optimistic that Damian and Haggis are going to surprise a lot of the naysayers by shipping Fathoms in the next couple of months. There’s even rumors that Damian may be going to next week’s Texas Pinball Festival. For him to go there without a Fathom to show, or at least concrete proof that production is under way seems like it would be extremely awkward to me. If he is there, I expect to see something for the company. I’m rooting for Haggis and Fathom customers and hope that everyone involved in the situation is happy in the near future. We’ll see.