Quoted from schudel5:I don't think that all node boards are 'universal' across the entire Spike line. There seems to be various part numbers of node boards and the compatibility of the boards in certain titles leads me to believe that you'd have to stock several different ones depending on the game it's going into. That just seems to add another layer of complexity into the mix.
If I were a Spike owner I would probably buy a spare of each board for down the road. I know that doesn't sound feasible with node boards ($300 ea) and a CPU ($???), but a game that doesn't boot up isn't fun either.
EDIT: http://www.marcospecialties.com/control/keywordsearch?SEARCH_STRING=node
Looks like node boards seem to be $150 to $289. But the CPU prices are crazy! $419 for Spike 1 and $895 for Spike 2. Ouch!
Thanks for posting that. This discussion has convinced me that I will not be adding a Spike system game to my collection. Last Stern I will be adding will likely be a Walking Dead in the future. I have no interest in anything with Spike. Too risky. Plus there are a ton of old games still available. I've got over 15 games including, what I feel, are the best Sterns to date anyhow, so it's easy for me to make this decision. Others opinion may vary. I really haven't been impressed with anything since Walking Dead anyhow.