Out of respect and decency then lets have an official comment from someone... Surely the longer they leave it go the worse its going to get and look for them/him. If it was me I would want to make an official comment about what is going on - even if there has been a 'mistake' about the release and 'no prior knowledge' of the effect etc. Why would anyone want to have their name tainted as bad as it is leaving everyone to surmise with speculation etc and making constant comments and remarks about how immoral and how wrong what has happened. Unless - a public comment has been brewing and waiting to be aired on WPR?!?! Its 12 o'clock on a Wednesday...

I think the problem is, they can't claim no prior knowledge since Craig himself posted that Bob King's effect was one of his all time favourites.

It's a hole dug so deep I doubt there's a gracious way back out of it, hence the deafenining silence.

Craig says he did a lot of checking. Guess he didn't check his own magicbunny post from 2003.

Crazy crazy stuff.

My respect! Jan

But if NWP was his favourite card trick in 2005 why would he need to show this to "Knowlegable Magicians" !

With 'Red' being withdrawn from dealers itineraries (either of their own volition or at the request of WMS) you'd expect the owners of WMS to limit any damage this fiasco could do to their company.

'Red' is potentially far more damaging to WMS than the blow-up that happened a year ago. Back then it was comments made by Craig/Dave that could be brushed aside as uninformed opinion. This latest debacle is very different. WMS are as invested and responsible for the content of 'Red' as Craig is and people know it.

If you were a shareholder of WMS and this had happened and you saw your share price taking a tumble what would you want the Board of Directors to do? If WMS want to retain any credibility and integrity in the magic community and among their customer base they need to be seen to act ... quickly. It wouldn't surprise me if WMS and Craig part ways as a result of all this.

Regards,
Lar

I just contacted penguinmagic through their chat feature and have agreed to take the item back. I suggested that they stop selling it as other shops have done.

Let's face it, Craig is hardly Professor Moriarty. Because he and Penn have a public forum and, relative to us , a certain celebrity, people assume that they are experts and very knowledgeable.

In fact they have both reviewed effects with OTT admiration in the past that many would consider rubbish.

Do I believe that Craig could forget his favourite trick of 2005, well, since I was think he's as daft as a brush...yep.

This whole thing has an air of embarrassed silence to it.

Is anyone here familiar with the word don'topedology? I am. It's defined as the propensity for inserting one's foot in one's own mouth.

Craig must address this issue this Wednesday for sure. Silence is not the way to go at this point.

mmm, that name, seems sooo familiar.
JM

Oh I can't wait to here him make excuses and squirm uncomfortably in his little magic show couch.

All those suggesting Craig and WMS may part ways as a result of this seem to forget that WMS is owned by David Penn who makes Craig look like the love child of Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa...

even if he is going to talk about this on wednesday... it would be nice for him to pop by the forums and just say: "I'm aware of the controversy and I'll be addressing it on wednesday's show. If there are still concerns after you watch the show, I'll be happy to discuss them at that time."

I love watching the wizard product review and craig and dave seem like great guys... I'll reserve judgement until we hear from craig... but it's not looking too good at this point. though I'm still optimistic that this situation can be salvaged somehow when we get all the facts.

I'm still floored that neither David Penn nor Craig Petty have not said boo since the very first page of this thread.

I think it's safe to say that realistically there is no way out for him. His own words have him painted in a corner. As someone said earlier, the Internet does not go away. Those words about NWP being one of his favorite effects are going to haunt him and and be a thorn in his side no matter what he does or says.

Someone earlier mentioned "a good man." That same good man also said "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

Wow! 42,000 views one this red thread in almost record time!

I noticed the sudden development in this issue yesterday and my wife asked me what I was reading that was so interesting. So I told her the whole story along with how vocal Craig Petty is about crediting, research, magic history, single trick DVDs, edited demos, ripoff products, etc. The comment from the Magic Bunny thread is a back breaker for the normal "independant creation" arguement. I was glad Alex DLF posted the link to Craig's WPR rant against Jesse Feinberg as I think this says a lot. If those are his true feelings towards a creator whom he mostly likely doesn't even know and to a situation where he mostly like has no additional information, it is hard to see how he can judge himself any less critically. From his own words he should be ashamed, the product should be taken off the market and he should go away and never come back; RED should be tossed in the bin. given 0% and Trash of the Century. Sounds harsh, but who am I to question his opinion on the matter? Personally, I think his best redemption would be to come onto his own show and give a similar rant, tearing a strip off himself and his own product. Either that or get a "Craig loves NWP" tattoo that he can proudly show off while he performs his Kevin Parker set.

As for magic shops taking it off the shelf, it has begun. Penguin has placed it into pre-order status until the end of the month. MJM Magic has placed it out of stock with the following message:

Message from MJM Magic: There is some considerable controversy surrounding the origins of this effect, with a lot of mounting evidence to prove that it was a direct copy of an older effect entitled "New Wave Prediction" by Bob King. So until this gets cleared up, MJM Magic will not be selling any further copies of RED until we feel that this issue is resolved between Craig Petty and Bob King.

I am glad to see this, but it would have been so much better if Craig Petty and World Magic Shop had initiated the process. So far it seems to me (based on what I've managed to find online) that it is Bob King who needs to contact them and it is the magic shops (who would no doubt rather not have to deal with this type of situation) who have to make a stand and do what they feel is right.

From the stand point of a magic consumer, it is a disappointing situation, but it is hardly a new one. Sooner or later it has to be taken more seriously. Two of my favorite magic creators are Steve Dusheck and John Cornelius. When real quality magic creators get turned off from sharing their creations with the magic community, we all lose in the long run.

Anything that has been worked on these past few days to say on Wednesday will almost certainly be damage control and excuses rather than honesty and accountability.

What this episode has brought up is the ethical stance he can now take in future reviews on other products. His rant about Jesse Feinberg is akin to Criss Angel giving a rant about David Blaine using camera tricks.