I posted this in Damien's thread, but it relates to the warranty issues ;
Unfortunately this is proof the games were rushed out of the factory before being properly tested. I don't think anyone bothers with the "Supplier Pre Check" for three reasons ;
1 - They have paid for the NIB "experience"
2 - Game might be damaged at Dealers (accidental)
3 - The owners reporting issues are home users. Pre Check or "burn in" was done before operators sited them.
Each owner with a problem should politely contact the dealer they bought it from as this data is collated to Stern and they then release bulletins if the fault was a issue on the production line or a part is fatigued too early in it lifetime. Stern can't simulate 100 games on each NIB game, but they need to know if there is a trend with faults occurring. What we should also remember is THIS title was always going to be a big seller into the home market. These faults would have been picked up by operators and reported. So they would be losing income with the machines off site. Reporting the issues immediately is the best course of action.
I want to elaborate on the pre check. That is mainly for machines delivered to operators. Irrespective if you want to take out the pre check or not, a rushed production of a title with numerous faults may or may not have been detected. A scratch on a decal to an operator means NOTHING. We all saw the idiot operator screw in a flag to an AC / DC head. They don't care about cosmetic issues (operators). I doubt if a dealer would highlight this as ANY delay would mean they would lose income. Most of these new games won't even be cleaned for the first time until 2014. If a fault occurs, there's a delay on delivery. So instead of OWNERS finding issues, the Dealers would find them, and then would be waiting on a fix. So instead of reporting NIB issues, we would have the same number of complaints - the difference being owners would be complaining about "delays" rather than "faults".
Brett's comment - "I think it is important for people to remember these machines come from the other side of the world and have the shit shaken out of them in transport"
I disagree. I've pulled 20 year old games out of a container, plugged them in and they worked perfectly straight away. This is without foam and cardboard packaging.
Don't fall into the trap of believing a "pre check" would have miraculously reduced the number of reported faults. The faults are still there. The problem lies in the production line. Whether that be poor workmanship or short cuts. Stern needs to address this issue. The only way WE can help Stern is to notify them via the dealers.
