Any Batman 66 owners buying a GOTG right away? Thought I would share my thoughts on Stern and NIB since Batman 66 was my first and GOTG looking to be a repeat of that.

I have enjoyed pinball for 15 plus years and have played many games. I use to import games for resale so I have played a lot of games but haven't gotten too deep into most games. So most of my opinions are first impressions and how quick I could learn the game without researching the internet and if I returned to it because it was just fun. I finally bought a NIB Stern Batman 66 because of the theme alone. After all the different pinball machines I've played and owned (mind you they were all 5-15 years old at the time so code wasn't an issue) I was STUNNED how awful Batman 66 came out of the box. Almost unplayable.

It was one of the worse pinball machines I have ever played. I never thought of the code before because it never was an issue. I just laid down $7500 for a NIB and was not very happy to say the least. I had read all the posts about Batman 66 code and NIB Stern but thought it was the typical anti-Stern drama and it would be OK. Pinsider complaints were right on the money, I should of listened.

With that being said...I just downloaded the new code updates for Batman 66 and it is a HUGE difference, for the better. The game is absolutely a blast to play and I now enjoy it. BUT, I am still blown away that Stern released it with such incomplete code and from what I hear, that is the new normal for Stern. Because of this I will never buy a NIB again from Stern unless the code is complete and playable. Stern will not change this business practice if the NIB machines (with incomplete code) still sell, that's just a fact of life in capitalism.

For the most part, Pinsiders are very knowledgeable and I am very appreciative of their expertise. I really want a GOTG but will wait for the code. Im sure my failure to purchase one right now won't impact Stern's incomplete code releases but if hundreds of us don't maybe it will and we can start to get complete games out of the box.

Is there any other industry or product where their customers buy incomplete? The Iphone? It at least works great when I get it, and to be honest sometimes the updates make the Iphone worse.