You're in luck! Avengers is SAM, not Spike.

"I've been driving without a seat belt for 20 years and have never been hurt once. You guys are suckers!"

...to you.

Not sure why you're written a thousand words trying to convince someone that his desire to play a specific themed pin is the same as someone wanting to keep their old TV. Here's a better analogy: what if your new TV doesn't play your favorite show?

Not a chance.

The market will fill that void if/when there are dozens of Kiss, Ghostbusters, etc. literally unplayable due to dead, irreplaceable, and unrepairable node boards. There was no crowdfunding to replace Bally MPUs. When enough of them were dead in the field that an opportunity existed, Alltek seized it.

When there's money to be made replacing node boards, a smart guy will figure it out and do it. Until then, not enough motivation, and we can only speculate about Spike games in landfills.

Failure rate isn't the primary issue anyway. Lack of documentation, difficulty of repair, and cost of replacement are the sticking points.

Lots of flipper transistors die on Whitestar and SAM games, but people don't grab torches & pitchforks because it's a $3 part and 10 minute fix. Now try telling them it's a $200 board replacement for the same issue.