Quoted from Who-Dey:

So I guess anytime that I have questions or concerns about a product that instead of trying to find the answers to my questions, that I should “just not buy” that particular product? This doesn’t concern me enough to put me in the insane asylum or to derail my purchase of a spike system game, nor is it going to bury me financially in the event this happens but its definitely something worth trying to get answers for in my opinion. I’m confident enough though that there will be some very intelligent people out there to come up with solutions to repair these games down the road if Stern is not still in business.

Quoted from jar155:

If we get documentation and if working on surface-mounted components becomes more common. Even then, those boards are not super friendly to poke around on. Right now there's no way for anybody to act as a third party without documentation. We need that first.
But yes, your point works out if a few conditions are met.

Quoted from jar155:

It's not just 10 years from now that you should be worried about. It's after the game leaves the line and it's not being supported actively anymore. For now, warranties are covering most issues, but that certainly won't stay the case. It's as much of a short term issue as a long term one.

Quoted from CaptainNeo:

the problem is, are they really making all the different versions of node boards? For how long? You think stern keeps tons of parts on hand for long term? they do not. For those that don't plan on being in this hobby for the next 5 years, or someone who goes through games like mcdonalds goes through employees, this is not a big deal. But some of us have been around for the past 20+ years and not liking the looks of this new disposable model, they are starting to make. It should be a concern now, so stern doesn't make the same mistake on the next board set that comes out.