There is a written warranty. And it basically says "Have a nice day". In reality that means they might do something, or they might not depending on how bad it is for them. That is why they call it a Playfield Lottery. It's the most expensive thing in a game (not just parts, but all the labor). If a single mech breaks, they will always support you. But playfields are always a risk.

I've had 2 playfields replaced by the manufacturers. One Stern (populated), and one JJP (unpopulated). That was a little while ago. The Stern one took 6 months to get. And honestly I shrank my NIB buying because of it. I now try to buy games I want during that first wave of selling that new games have. That way I can inspect them for playfield issues and reject the ones I do not approve of.

It is what it is. Neither company has been struggling because I am reluctant to buy NIB games. They both have a backlog of games to build that are already sold. If not enough people buy them, there are none to get HUO, and greater minds can worry about that. I'm considering a new game right now, but NIB is my last resort.

There will never be a large enough group of pinball people to actually put real pressure on manufacturers. Again, see above that they can't even make enough games for the sales they have. People are waiting 6 months for new games, maybe even longer.

Agreed 100%. And because you are used to working with manufacturers, you also know the real answer is don't put out shitty playfields. We all know that Stern is capable of putting out amazing playfields, and each time we start bitching too much, they pop out a title or two with amazing and durable playfields. And we all slap ourselves on the back that we "made" them make better playfields.

When I see that, I am pretty sure that means the cost of doing putting out amazing ones is higher, and so it is more profitable to do the less durable ones and deal with the cases where they are so poor they need to be replaced. I don't know their cost structure, but I see their actions.

This happens everywhere. Products get scaled back until the failure rate becomes more costly to deal with comparted the cost savings of a worse product. Whichever cost is lower, that is the one they will do. They are a business, so they have to.

Dude, love ya. So don’t take this the wrong way.

JJP is inundated with orders. They had so many orders for GNR that they raised the price by a thousand dollars. As a community, we love what they are doing. And the only barometer I’m using for that is that they have a massive backlog of games they have been paid to build. They are a massive success with those playfield issues.

The thing you are not accounting for is labor. If this was a simple sheet of plywood, sure, send it back to JJP and they deal with Mirco to get it replaced and drop shipped to your door. Unfortunately the actual cost of putting that playfield into a game is much higher, and beyond the capabilities of most people. That is what makes this business different.

And don't get me wrong, I agree, it stinks. I'd vastly prefer all manufacturers to take the greatest care with their playfields. It is by far the most expensive component of a game, because everything touches it. The playfield is the heart of a game, and when it is bad, the entire game is crap because of it. Nobody wants to buy a modern game with a trashed playfield.

I distinctly remember that first morning, coming down my stairs and seeing an Evel Knievel pinball machine in my living room. Yes, I had put it there. Yes, I had played the heck out of it the night before. But that first walk down the stairs was the time I realized there was a pinball machine... in my house! It definitely belonged there

I don’t have numbers to back this up, but I find a ton more games in peoples houses than I could find on location around me. I don’t feel it’s even close.