Almost all of the suggestions I've read would create a decline in sales. The main problem seems to be that 'regular' people do not have a chance to get an LE. The only potential solution I can see to this is for Stern (or whoever) to create a lottery for a pre-determined percentage of games that they sell directly. Obviously the distributors have their good customers that they have to take care of.

I've read suggestions that assume pinball companies are the government and they should be operating in a way that's beneficial to all. Stern and all pinball companies are in the business of making money and have all realized that you need to create "fear of missing out". American pinball company is the only one who haven't created a LE and their sales reflect this. Expect that to change with the next model.