Quoted from KellerDj:
I understand full well that it is pinball and things will fail but don't agree that they should fail in less than 60 days and not being on location, this game has less than 200 plays. My concern is with these new Node boards, how long are they expected to last and when they fail are we all willing to fork out $219.00 for each one that does, yes could be multiple things but the more things each board does the better chance for something failing. Yes I am very glad it happened now and was covered by warranty, but if Stern knows there is an issue that these boards are not up to the task at hand is it fair for those that have machines out of warranty to have to pay this for each Spike 2 system they have to get them operational again. the older machines you could replace a $1.00 circuit and be on your way now with everything on this one board you have to replace 90% of what's working to fix the one thing that is not. I understand Sterns thought on this, and it does make (new) owners lives easier that they just have to replace a board, but those who have repaired these fun machines are seeing there is a cost to convenience. It is a throw away society and pinball is becoming in a way part of that. Sorry end of rant, but when you spend 8K on anything I think you would want it to work well for a period of time.
I hear what you're saying... but some electronics will fail nearly right away, no matter what the product is. It's the nature of manufacturing and technology.
Stern makes thousands upon thousands of machines a year. Just by the very nature of manufacturing, there's going to be some rate of failure. There always has been in pinball... there always will be. Let's be honest here: we have no idea what that failure rate is. Sure, there are some threads here on Pinside that make it appear to be an epidemic. But we don't really know.
Is it fair for Stern to put these boards in their games? Absolutely. Their warranty isn't hidden. Anyone can read it... and anyone can hit the net and gather information about their Spike system
You're expressing some very legitimate concerns about Spike games... the only advice I can give you is don't buy one if you don't agree with how's it's built. Just because you have an expectation for how a Stern $8K pin should behave and wear, doesn't mean that it's going to align with the reality of how it will behave and wear.
You have two choices: (1) throw caution to the wind and buy their games irrespective of the issues you've read about Spike and Stern's stated warranty policy or (2) Buy used games that meet your criteria or games from other manufacturers that aren't using a system like Spike.
So far, I've chosen option #2 for the very reasons you outlined. Doesn't mean I'll always stick to my guns. But, for right now, I'm not a buyer.
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