Hi Guys,

I'm thinking about buying a new Stern game, but I have some concerns about the long term reliability of the Spike system, especially when I see posts about node boards crapping out within 100 plays. I'm no expert, but it looks like the SAM system is more robust and repair friendly. For operators, Spike is probably great since it's swap-a-board-and-go. For hobbyists, I would imagine SAM is more familiar repair-wise. Regardless, which system is more reliable?

Do you think that after Stern stops supporting Spike games, the repair community will be able to handle fixing Node boards as easily as other systems?

Thanks,
-Doug

For Stern, it seems like the SPIKE system is a win-win. It's cheaper to make and reduces shipping weight. They spin it as making serviceability easier because it requires less technical aptitude to fix. Instead of buying a $2 transistor from someone else, you buy a $300 board right from Stern = more profit. They couldn't care less about game value in the future, as most operators will have moved onto another new Stern game by then.

From an operators standpoint, a half working game earns more than a non working game. How does this affect an operators desire to purchase a Spike game, given the "all or nothing functionality" of the Spike system?

-Doug