First, I like all pinball and have been playing off and on for about 40 years. In the last few years I’ve gotten more involved in the hobby. I purchased a great Twilight Zone which is one of my favorites and the only machine I own so far. It’s a great hobby and I like to play all kinds of different machines with both licensed and original themes. I've been reading all of the threads and posts concerning Dialed In and the other new games being released for quite some time now. I am in on the Dialed In CE and I'm excited about it at this point. I was in early and nothing I've read or observed anywhere has made me regret that decision at this point.
The theme is fine with me as I'm more interested in a fun game, original or otherwise, built great, and with lots going on versus a licensed game with poor or incomplete code and poor build quality. For many, especially the younger crowd, many of these themes based on older shows and bands may as well be original themes. They don’t know the difference in many cases anyway. I’m a huge Lawlor fan based on playing his games over the years and more importantly, I trust that he and his team will produce a great game.
Stern, the big boy in this market, is pumping out games left and right and I have played most of them. Metallica and ST were fun but the others (TRON, TWD, GOT, WWE, KISS, GB, MUSTANG), did not really impress me. It almost felt like I was playing the same games with different artwork. In fairness, once I learn the games a bit more and understand the rules better, I will probably like them better in some cases. In fact, I discovered I prefer STTNG to the new one. I was a crazy Kiss fan as a kid but for me, the theme and the songs are completely worn out. BM66 was funny to see (haven’t played it) as it brought back memories for me from my young days of sitting in front of the old TV watching that show. Unfortunately, the build quality with Stern is an obvious issue based on some of what I have seen and the numerous reports. I have quite a bit of experience in the electronics manufacturing industry and some of what I have seen in person and read on here regarding their games is just tough to grasp. I hope they get that worked out but honestly, they should clearly know better. They are the elders in this business after all. To be fair, I have not been to their factory, but it’s hard to see how some of those issues get out the door. Also, I have not seen any numbers to show just how bad these issues really are. That doesn’t diminish the significance to the folks with them though. Quality assurance is not rocket science here folks. At this point, I would not feel confident about buying a NIB from them. In my opinion, they should slow down, produce fewer games, and focus on build quality and code.
I liked DP’s TBL but the games I had a chance to play were not working properly so again, it appeared quality may be an issue with DP as well. DP, HW, and Spooky are all new, so in my opinion, they get a pass to some degree as long as they make a sincere effort to provide resolution to their customers and improve their processes. Alien looks great and I’m looking forward to playing it. I do hope they are all successful as it’s great to have a variety of manufacturers in the market.
As for JJP, I own none of their games but have played WOZ and Hobbit numerous times. They are two completely different games and the pins I played were great. Solidly built and fun to play. I was shocked to only obtain a score of couple thousand points on WOZ the first few times and thought it was bad but it was just me. 
I have not played Dialed in or seen it in person. However, a couple things stand out about JJP and Dialed In. They had games ready to play at the reveal that got played to death and did not break down from the reports I read. Pat and team designed this game over a long period of time from the ground up taking many things such as maintenance into consideration. As many have stated, as it’s an original theme, everything is designed from scratch essentially. That’s another factor in cost. Additionally, the game at level 257 is reportedly being checked and updated by Lawler himself. They are letting it get beat to hell by everyone under the sun to see where it fails. All that before production. That’s no surprise to me with regard to Pat. That is why I chose as my second pin ever and only NIB ever – Dialed In.
In regard to the CE and the list of features, I agree with others that the game needs to have some things that the lower level games do not and can never have. After all, this is a “Collector’s Edition”. A Custom topper, custom code with special enhancements, playfield extras, of course numbered X/X would all be cool and some of that is included as of now. I like the signed stuff and that’s cool for me as well. The lunch is really not a benefit as most will not be able to do that but it’s nice for the locals and others who can make that trip. I would like to hang out with the team for a while and learn something about the game and industry from the guys in it. Another great benefit would have been white glove shipping at no charge for CE buyers only.
In closing, I rarely post but decided to go ahead in this thread about the CE. I appreciate all the great info and opinions shared on Pinside and really enjoy it. I hope everyone enjoys their games, receives a resolution to their issues, and the quality they deserve with any of their purchases.
For me, I’m going all in on Dialed in and hope it’s everything I think it will be. 
Just kidding... 
Milford, CT
