Playfield situation is ugly… no way I would buy until I see proof they have it fixed. If my playfield chipped it would drive me crazy… and a playfield swap is expensive and while it would be fun to do myself, no way I have that time. Honestly other serviceable things breaking not as big of a deal, but the playfield, got to get that right JJP.
Question is what does that proof look like ? New vendor would be nice, how about release statistics of the warranty claims. The only place I get my quality info is what is available to me as a consumer. Let’s see, 1) pinside threads and pictures showing chipping playfields, 2) a warranty that frankly is pretty poor at protecting the customer. 3) fact that company has struggled with playfields previously 4) JJP offers solution that I buy a playfield for $500 and magically get it installed.
Hard part is it is really hard to know if this is just a few vocal folks, if so, JJP should just replace with a populated playfield and move us all on… or if it is a Xbox 360 red ring of death situation. So given above, I come to the conclusion that there is a good chance that I would buy a pin with a flawed playfield and have to live with it…. Not something I am interested in.
And I get that things happen, but when they do and you are the company that had the thing happen, you need to fix it. And I get that it is not easy… these companies do not have the financial resources of a Microsoft..not pr the manpower
So yeah I’m out…. I’ve been on the border of buying a NIB pin for awhile…. This stuff clearly keeps me in the keep waiting camp.
For JJP…. Changes they should make:
Make sure their warranty front and center, be explicit… if chipping is potentially part of the normal on their playfields call it out and own it. When someone buys a JJP game they should know what to expect…
A better warranty would be awesome…,but your call.
Improve the quality so the warranty does not cost you a fortune. I’ve seen how much that can add up to and it is not cheap.
Get a new vendor for playfields. Current vendor is killing you.
Keep designing killer games…. I love everything you guys have been doing on the design front.
Create a spare parts kit for your games that you sell with a new game…. With things that commonly break over time… plastics, wear items, etc, get a parts business running that makes money.
Agree with above that jack probably should not have accused folks of damaging their playfields.. even if he thinks it’s true… not the right call unless he has something specific he could call out that could help folks prevent damage.