Full text of "Play Meter - Volume 8, Number 13 - July 1st 1982 (600DPI)"

See other formats

Tih

TTiMrTj

■ ■ 1 j • ^

iTu

irfi)ii

■

(CM982 Atari. Inc. All rights reservod

Kangaroo is manutacturod under license
from Sun Electronics Corporation.

Atari, the first decade.

The creation of an industry.

The difference is Visioneering.
We’ve combined our own engin¬
eering expertise and research in¬
put from recognized gameplay au¬
thorities with a great game design
from Sun Electronics Corporation
to make Kangaroo the best it
can be.

Kangaroo is a sensational 1 or
2 player video adventure chal¬
lenge the whole family can enjoy.
“Mother” Kangaroo must hop
through various obstacles, jump or
duck apples thrown by a nest of
nasty monkeys (or punch them out
of the way) to reach her “Baby”
imprisoned at the top of the

screen. Along the way she must
also collect fruit for extra points.

A mother’s work is never done.
And neither is the player’s. Four
progressively challenging rounds
per skill level keep players hopp¬
ing back for more excitement.

Operator options include adjust¬
ability for “Easy” or “Difficult”
skill levels. 3 or 5 lives per game
and 4 pre-selectable bonus levels.

Jump into the Atari Era. Talk to
your Atari distributor now or con¬
tact us for referral at Atari Inc.,
790 Sycamore Dr, P.O. Box 906,
Milpitas CA 95035 (408) 942-3100.

Publisher and Editor:

Ralph C. Lally II

Volume 8, Number 13/July 1, 1982

Editorial Director:

David Pierson
Managing Editor:

Laura R. Braddock

PLAT MITEB

Associate Editor:

Mike Shaw

Administrative Assistant:

Valerie Cognevich
Art Director:

Katey Schwark
Circulation Manager:

Renee' C. Pierson
Typographer:

Jo Ann Anthony

Graphics:

Jeanne Woods
Technical Writers:

Randy Fromm
Frank Seninsky
Correspondents:

Roger C. Sharpe
Mary Claire Blakeman
Charles C. Ross
Mike Bucki
Paul Thiele
Dick Welu
Tony Bado
Michael Mendelsohn
Bill Brohaugh
Classified Advertising:

Valerie Cognevich
Advertising Manager:

David Pierson

Illustrator:

Bob Giuffria

European Representative:

Esmay Leslie

The Twice Monthly Publication for the Coin Operated Entertainment Industry
BPA Circulation Audit applied for

FEATURES

Ohioans Discuss the Issues

The OMAA has been in the forefront of nearly every
vital industry issue. David Pierson attended the eighth
annual OMAA show and reports on the exposition.

C-Store Market Grows

George Korzeniowski discusses how to get C-Store
owners interested in having video games.
Korzeniowski says profit, service, and image are
factors in the owners' decisions.

Move for Quality

Gremlin recently moved Into its new 125,000-square-
foot complex In the Rancho Bernardo Technology
Park near San Diego, California.

Inside Wico

Randy Fromm visited Wico—the amusement
industry's major supplier of replacement parts—and
tells us about the company's background and its work
flow.

Heads You Win!

Having problems with your coin system? Burt Weiss
tells you how to get some mileage from your
complaints.

PLAY METER, July 1J982. Volumes,
No. 13. Copyright 1982 by Skybird
Publishing Company. Play Meter
(ISSN 0162-1343) is published twice
monthly on the 1st and 15th of the
month. Publishing offices: 508 Live
Oak St., Metairie, La. 70005; Mailing
address: P.O. Box 24170, New
Orleans 70184, U.S.A.; phone:
504/838-8025. For subscriptions:
504/837-7987. Subscription rates:
U.S. and Canada—$50; foreign:
$150, air mail only. Advertising rates
are available on request. No part of
this magazine may be reproduced
without expressed permission. The
editors are not responsible for
unsolicited manuscripts. Second-
class postage paid at Metairie, La.
70002 and additional mailing
offices. Postmaster: Send Form 3579
to PLAY METER, P.O. Box 24170,
New Orleans, La. 70184.

European Office: PLAY METER
Promotions, ''Harescombe''
Watford Road, Northwood Middx.
England, Northwood 29244.

DEPARTMENTS

Up Front

Letters to the Editor

Equipment Poll

News Beat

Technical Topics

Frank's Cranks

Critic's Corner

New Products

Aids to the Trade

Classified

Last Word

Cover Credit: A pilot's rare view of the Zaxxon battlefield illustrates the
dilemma of the video games themselves. Thanks to Sega/Gremlin for the
artwork.

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

Bill Beckman

Coast Vendins Company

Beaverton, Oreson

The pool table is the base for
everything and almost all of our
locations want one because it
complements the videos. Videos
are here to stay, but if we had a
choice of a pool table or a video,
both on a 50-50 basis, on a 5-year
contract, we'd take the pool table
everytime. That table will make
money all that time, where we'd
have to change the video every

60-90 days. Right now we have
almost 200 tables in locations and
almost every one is a Valley. They
need such little maintenance...
absolutely no comparison with
videos. It's never necessary to pre
test a Valley pool table on location
... we know it will make money!"

Tim Norbers
C & N Sales
Mankato, Minnesota

"Pool tables are our bread and
butter...they've been the back¬
bone of this business, and will
continue to be. The income is
dependable and steady, not up
and down like our games. Mainte¬
nance is almost no problem with
a pool table, while one of our
games may go down as often as
twice a month. These are the rea¬
sons we have so many pool
tables—about 400, and 250 of
them are Valleys. Within the next
two or three years ^ will be Val¬
leys. Valley manufactures a quality,
maintenance free table. The Valley
8-ball leagues have been a great
addition to our operation. We have
some accounts that own their
tables, but many have asked to get
into league play next year. This
means we will put our tables in
those spots next year. Pool tables
make ail around good sense and
good economics."

Jim Mason

High Country Games

Laramie, Wyoming

"We pay our bills with pool tables
and music. A hot video may have
more money coming in at any given
time, but in six months it's dead. A
pool table—once it's paid for¬
goes on making money; there's no
re-investing over and over as you
have to do with a video. Our
tables are all Valleys—65 of them.
They're built well. If someone
picks one up and drops it the legs
won't collapse. Valley tables are
easy to fix, too, and we know
Valley will be around next year
and the year after that. When a
video breaks dov^ its a 50 per¬
cent chance it will have to go into
the shop and take a week to fix.
With a pool table, we can do what
has to be done on location most
of the time. Our 8-ball leagues are
a big help. Our collections are up a
minimum of 35 percent in locations
with leagues."

Hoyt Harrison
Harrison Music
Hartsville, South Carolina

"They'll beat video every time.
Now that our pool tables are on 50
cent play, they're our best profit-
makers. Out of the 300 tables we
have, 240 are Valleys. Some of
these are 15 years old and still pro¬
ducing. If we were to sell them,
we'd get far more than we paid;
they don't owe us a thing. A video
may work its way down through
the locations for a couple of years,
but the big dollars are gone in 6-8
months. Then it has almost no
value. Right now, we have 30 that
we can't use. When we have to,
we can usually fix a Valley table on
the spot; videos take so much
longer. A lot of lost income...some¬
thing that almost never happens
with a pool table."

Clyde Schaeffer
Schaeffer’s Music Co.
Quincy, Illinois

“Many of our pool tables gross
$80- $ 100 a week and we don't
do this well on a lot of the videos
we have out. We have about 60
Valley tables right now, no other
brands, and we've always had
better luck with Valley. Others
don't hold up, and some the play¬
ers don't like. Where the pockets
are too big, for example. When we
do have to work on a Valley it's
easy because of how well they're
built. The videos today are very
expensive, have only a short life,
seldom bring a high profit, and
they're worth little at the end. For
return on our investment, our pool
tables are just more profitable...
constant money-makers."

For your best shot at real, long-term profits remember...Valley
coin-operated pool tables cost you less, bring you more!

V\LLEy^

THE VALLEY COMPANY

Subsidiary of Kidde, Inc.

KIDDE

P. O. Box 656, Bay City, Michigan 48707

UP FRONT

There is a controversy presently raging within this
industry that has me deeply concerned. It has to do
with the interpretation of the U.S. Copyright law that
renders most enhancement kits or speed-up kits on
video games illegal. The reason for my concern is that
this controversy is between manufacturer and
operator—two vital segments of this industry that
should, ideally, never be at odds with each other.
With all the other serious problems this Industry
faces, one thing we don't need is in-fighting between
manufacturer and operator.

Until this most recent development In the video
game copyright wars, there was general agreement
with the decisions reached by the various courts
involved. In fact, most of us recognized that recent
rulings in U.S. district courts have been, to a great
degree, the salvation of video games in this country.
One need only look to Japan and Europe to see what
horrors were brought about by the number of copy
games that flooded those markets. Counterfeit games
have ruined the video game business in those parts of
the world and could have easily done the same in our
country had it not been for the protection afforded
copyright holders under the law.

The vast majority of the people in this industry
agree that the manufacturers have the right to protect
their own creations from video game pirates. Copy
games are a serious detriment to this Industry and, as
such, deserve to be illegal. But the questions now
arise: Where do you draw the line? Why is it illegal for
operators to Install speed-up kits In games that they
own? What criteria should be used to decide whether
or not one game falls just short of being a copy of
another? Has the copyright law. In regard to video
games been stretched beyond its intended purpose?

These are serious questions that need answers
because they pose a real threat to the relationship that
exists between manufacturers and operators.

As a trade publication for this industry, we don't
like to see operators pitted against manufacturers, or
battling with any other segment of the industry for
that matter. One of our main goals has been to draw
this industry Into closer harmony and bridge the gaps
that exist between the various levels of the industry. A
lot of progress has been made in that direction and we
don't want to see that trend reverse itself. We have
everything to gain by working together and every¬
thing to lose by working against each other.

We respect the rights of manufacturers to protect
their games from copiers and, at the same time, the
rights of operators to maximize their profits on the
investments they make in video games. Our loyalty is
to no one level of the industry, but to the industry as a
whole. And, therefore, our position will be to tell the
stories from all industry levels with responsibility. We
will continue to present both sides of the various
issues and report the story as it unfolds.

When the fallout from the enhancement kit
struggle settles, there will, most likely, be no clear cut
winner. We only hope that, in the process we don't
destroy the things we need most—mutual respect,
open communication, and Industry unity.

PLAY METER,.july 1,1982

Letters to
the editor • •.

Difficult issue

In response to your article published in
the May 1, 1982, edition of Play Meter
titled “How To Make Big Bucks And
Not Go To Jail,” we fail to understand how
you could ever have included Counter Top
Amusements as a firm associated with or
involved in such outrageous conduct.
Counter Top Amusements is not now nor
has it ever been involved in the selling of
less than a quality product. Since its
inception in 1978, Counter Top Amuse¬
ment has always stood behind the products
it has sold with vigor, offering full cus¬
tomer service and support well beyond the
expected norm. Nationally, customers in
vast numbers hold Counter Top Amuse¬
ments in the highest esteen for its efforts in
honest marketing and innovative sales
support. Counter Top Amusements
strictly complies with all state and federal
laws concerning the sale of a seller assisted
marketing plan, including full disclosure
pursuant to the Federal Trade Commission
rules, as well as total compliance with all
individual state laws regarding the sale of a
business opportunity. This can be easily
verified through the highly-respected law
firm of Freeman, Atkins & Coleman, Ltd.,
Chicago, Illinois, a firm specializing in
such matters.

In the May 1, 1982, article, you editori¬
alized a growing industry problem—fast
buck artists, preying upon unsuspecting
investors familiar with the incredible
success of video games and the many
lucrative investment benefits the video
industry offers. Counter Top Amusements
applauds your courage to address the
issue. We do have serious problems,
however, with your associating the honest
marketing of a good product to an eager
business community with the unscrupulous
tactics employed by other firms to bilk
investors, simply on the basis that they
both attract the business opportunity
investor on the strength of a viable
industry.

We maintain that the business opportu¬
nity investor has the same right to operate

PLAY METERJuly 1,1982

video equipment for profit as does the
long-established operator, so long as he
does so ethically and without harm or
malice to others. Even in your article, you
state that there is a place in the industry for
an honest company appealing to the busi¬
ness opportunity market segment. Counter
Top Amusements is such a company. We
encourage and support the swift enactment
of additional laws to protect the private
investor from harrassment by unethical
firms peddling putrid products for profit
and the funding to enforce the existing

thoroughly examining any company
approaching him with a video game invest¬
ment opportunity—Counter Top Amuse¬
ments invites such an examination.

Don Hale
President
Counter Top Amusements
Nashville, Tennessee

[Ed. Note: The conduct of firms selling
business opportunities in the video game
field is a difficult issue. The presence of
such firms has caused a plethora or image

statutes aimed at protecting innocent
people and their money. Unfortunately, as
things presently exist, the potential
investor must act to protect himself by

problems to the industry, led to innumer¬
able difficulties for unwary investors, and
theatened the “natural order” of things in
our industry (that is, the way machines

Pudio Visual

Pmusements

Offering the finest

new and used
equipment

REPRESENTING LEADING FACTORIES

• SALES, PARTS, SERVICE •

ARCADE PLANNING
SPECIALISTS

Every new and used video
in stock at all times

YOU’VE TRIED THE REST,
NOW TRY THE BEST

WE’RE EAGER TO SERVE

1809 Olive Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63103

(314) 421-5100

For further information, call Pete Entringer

(collect)

work their way to the public—from manu¬
facturer to distributor to operator to
location).

But, then again, to be different is cer¬
tainly not illegal. Indeed, above the muck
and mire of business opportunity dealings,
some companies offer honest investment
opportunities to interested and informed
investors in a broad spectrum of industries,
including video games. The fact is there i^ a
demand for the public for the type of sales
package offered by some video business
opportunity firms.

There is a right way and a wrong way to
do business. Unfortunately, the majority
of the firms introducing investors to our
industry are going about it in the wrong

way. While CTA may now be among the
minority, we would like to see the majority
either get their act together or get out.]

Advertisers’ claims

I have two reflex games that were
advertised in your publication, and I
wonder to what extent your magazine
checks out the claims of your advertisers
before they are allowed to be entered in
your magazine.

I had one machine “located” by a
locator, and I have just collected a total of
$4 for a two-week period. Four dollars is
nowhere near the “averaging over $100 per
week...” this company claims in its ads.

Steve Hochman

President, Crown Vending

“1 saved a $900.00 per week
location with Third Wave
Electronic Coin Acceptors.”

"Stringers, penny flippers and
sluggers were so bad that
we were about to give up the
entire location. We were ready
to pull out, Then 1 installed
Third Wave. We eliminated
100% of our problem."

"1 am so pleased, that

you may call me personally

at 212-592-7070

(Crown Vending, New York)

if you don't believe

this endorsement."

Steve Hochman

The TW-3

Jamproof Electronic
Coin Acceptor.

A kit for converting most games,
with all necessary parts,
is available from Third Wave.

Call 800-327-9476 and ask for
The Video Game Conversion Kit.

Third Wave coin acceptors are the first and
only electronic units approved by the
State of New Jersey Casino Control
Commission for use in Atlantic City casinos.
Try our product and see for yourself.

Third Wove
Q Electronics Co., Inc.

(A subsidiary of Digital Products Corp.)

4020 NE 5th Terrace, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 33334
(305) 564-0521

If this is such a hot machine, why won’t
this company buy back the machine?

B. Erickson
Gaithersburg, Maryland

[Ed. Note: An ad in Play Meter does not
represent endorsement by Play Meter for
the product. Play Meter has refused adver¬
tising of direct video games copies and all
gambling equipment. This is the extent of
Play MetePs advertising policy. To con¬
firm the claims of advertisers is virtually
impossible. However, we encourage
operators/readers to keep us abreast of
problems with advertisers. In many cases,
we’re able to help the injured party seek
remedy.]

Helpful seminars

The seminars that are being conducted
in your 1982 Amusement Operators Expo
could be tremendously helpful to any of
the smaller arcade operators.

I for one would purchase any number of
recorded cassettes if they were ava’V'^^ble.

I would appreciate hearing from ^ou in
regards to any possibility of this happening.

Also, may I compliment you on Play
Meter. It’s been like a Bible to me.

Jess Blake
J.B. Enterprises
Montebello, California

[Ed. Note: Sorry, but a spokesperson for
Conference Management Corp. told Play
Meter that the company does not make
tapes of any of its shows.]

New media package

There exists in today’s marketplace two
situations which are greatly affecting our
industry and your future.

Problem number one is the limitations
being placed on amusement machines by
local municipalities. Many of you are not
objecting too strenuously to these laws
because you’re allowed up to three or four
machines per location. Presently that is all
you want to place, and you must look to
the future. Many municipalities are includ¬
ing a jukebox in this number. If you
include a jukebox, pool table, pinball, and
video game, you already have four. Who
thought five years ago that the popularity
of pins would drain and video would be so
popular? The question is, what will be the
next mode of coin-operated entertain¬
ment? We may want to place five or six
machines in a location but will be limited
to three or four by present statutes. Also,
remember, as the federal government con¬
tinues to cut back revenue sharing, the
state, county, and local governments are
going to increase fees. As your average per
machine declines, due to the proliferation
of games, your cost of doing business is
going to increase with these license fees.

You can do something about the pro¬
blem. The local operators’ association in
Westchester County has been going to

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

We’re Playing Your Song.

From the electronic wizards at MARANTZ comes the MARANTZ Ragtime Piano, an exciting, profitable
addition to coin-operated entertainment. It’s a self-playing piano with a patented computer mechanism that
uses cassette tapes to control the piano keys and pedals, producing a vivid, “live” performance. Gone are
the limited selections, brief playing time and mechanical problems of old-time piano roll players.

That’s Entertainment!

The Ragtime Piano means music and style that will
never go out of date. It eliminates the trouble and
expense of replacing worn piano rolls or changing
records on a juke box. The Ragtime Piano’s fine
traditional styling fits any decor, and with the push of a

eliminates the problems of keeping up with top ten hits.

Easy to Service

Modular electronics make the Ragtime Piano easy to
maintain and unlike other automatic pianos, tuning and
service is a snap. And with MARANTZ, technical
expertise is never further than your phone.

COMING A unique video accessory that lets your
SOON! guests sing along with the Ragtime Piano

hidden button, it’ll even play Happy Birthday!

Plexiglass panels allow customers to watch the
mechanism and keys in action, and that’s adding solid
entertainment value.

Easy to Place

The Ragtime Piano is a welcome replacement for a
juke box in many clubs, restaurants and lounges, and will
open doors that reject juke boxes. It can even perform as
an ordinary piano; in fact, if a club already has a piano,
you can install our MARANTZ mechanism and convert it
easily into a profitable, coin-operated piano. And it

High Return

The Ragtime Piano promises maximum return on
your investment at a substantially lower price than you’d
pay for an old-fashioned player piano. If you recognize
the music of profits, give us a call toll free at
1-800-438-7023. Distributorships available. As always,
MARANTZ is playing your song: the Jingle of Silver.

Marantz Piano Co. • Morganton, N.C. 28655 • (704) 437-7135

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

Immediate

Delivery

Nintendo/Donkey Kong
Venture Line/Looping
Gremlin/Turbo (cpt)
Gremlin/Zaxxon
Midway/Ms. Pac-Man
Williams/Robotron
Atari/Dig-Dug
coming soon:

Iron • Kangaroo

From

CENTRAL

the prompt
delivery people

Representing all major
manufacturers
We have the best recon¬
ditioned games in the
country—no brag, just
fact.

CENTRAL

DISTRIBUTING CO.

3814 Farnam St.
Omaha, Nebraska 68131

402 / 552-5300

“Our prompt delivery
really sets us apart.”

hearings and has been working with local
officials to stem the tide of unfavorable
legislation. I strongly urge you to do the
same. One of the ways is to get to know
your politicians. They constantly run fund
raisers and need your support. Do you
remember the last time you supported
them?

Positive publicity is another way to
combat adverse legislation. The machines
you have that distributors will not take in
trade can be donated to local hospitals,
child care centers, youth centers, etc. You
give the machine, get your name and
picture in the paper, get a letter thanking
you, and then deduct the value of the
machine from your taxes. Another idea is
to donate all the proceeds from a machine
for one day to a local charity. Instead of
giving them the cash, write out a check for
the full amount as a donation.

We have a film that Atari recently spent
$100,000 to produce. A large segment of it
was filmed in the Tri-State area, especially
Westchester County. This film is ideal for
use at local town meetings. Also, it can be
shown at Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis, etc.

The second major situation facing us
today is the copy games and conversions.
The New York area seems to be a major
trading marketplace for these activities. I
would like to point out some negative
items concerning copies and conversions.

1. They are illegal! All major manufac¬
turers are instituting lawsuits and some are
seizing machines. Although there have
been few seizures in the metropolitan New
York area, certain manufacturers have
said that this is their next target area.

2. If copies continue, it will stifle major
manufacturers’ investment in research
and development. This industry would be
nowhere and will not go anywhere without
this research and development.

3. If you decide to sell your route, for
whatever reason, the purchaser is not
going to give you the value for copy games
as he would for originals.

4. Generally, the copies do not earn as
much income as the originals.

5. SERVICE. That’s what this business
is all about. Because of the unavailability
to get copies and conversions repaired at
major distributorships, the second-rate
service from the company who produced
the copy or conversion is what you have to
rely on. Most of the copiers do not last in
business very long.

6. FINANCING. Copy manufacturers
want to get paid on the spot. Major distrib¬
utors offer terms and financing to qualified
businessmen.

7. Last, but not least of the problems,
which is especially prevalent in Queens,
New York, is the fact that certain operators
feel that since they have not as much
invested in the copy or conversion, they are
willing to give sixty percent commission to
the locations. This will surely be the down¬
fall of this industry.

I strongly urge you to give these points
much thought the next time you might be
tempted to consider purchasing an illegal

copy game or having your old game
illegally converted.

Alexander F. Kress
President

Coin Machine Distributors, Inc.

Elmsford, New York

Two situations

The Penmont Company is a member of
the AMOA and has video game machine
investments in Oklahoma, Missouri,
Arkansas, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico.
We have become increasingly alarmed at
the continuing bad newspaper, radio, and
TV publicity the overall video game busi¬
ness has been getting in the local press.
Public opinion is very difficult to change
once it becomes established. All of this can
be translated into new legislative action
which may not be in our best interest. Any
ambitious uninformed politican or news
reporter could champion a cause against
the video business, while we sit by quietly
saying to each other that some affirmative
public relations action should be taken. It
is imperative that the AMOA solicit the
support of the game manufacturers, dis¬
tributors, and operators to combat the
prevailing negative publicity.

I understand that someone has devel¬
oped a news media relations package.
Would you please put me in contact with
the persons responsible for developing and
distributing the data.

Barry J. Talbot
Penmont Company
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

[Ed. Note: The Amusement and Music
Operators Association, in conjunction
with the Amusement Device Manufac¬
turers Association and the Amusement
and Vending Machine Distributors Asso¬
ciation, has produced a manual for public
relations that is available to all its members.

Also, Atari has released a seventeen-
minute video presentation, and accom¬
panying literature, it calls the Community
Awareness Program which can be obtained
through any Atari distributor.

These efforts are the beginning of an
industry resonse to its current public
relations problem. Hopefully, there will be
more hard-hitting developments in this
area in the immediate future.]

Something on your mind you want to
vent? Got a gripe? Full of praise? Have a
question? If you have comments on the
coin operated entertainment industry,
write to Play Meter. Our “Letters to the
Editor” columns are dedicated to you,
the operator/reader.

All letters must be signed; if requested,
only initials will be used or the name
withheld from print. Please include
return address (although, for the sake of
your privacy, addresses will not be
printed.) All letters subject to standard
editing. Be concise.

PLAY METER July T 1982

WITH A DEVILISH
TWIST TO IT.

AH ANGEL OF
^ A GAME.

,. .[■ ::?v**

\ « '

Contact your local distributor or...

CINEMATRONICS. (nc.

1841 Friendship Drive
El Cajon, CA 92020

(714) 562-7000 • (800) 854-2666

/MRPORKm

v*v*v

HEUIS^

Operators Convicted • IGT Sues Bally • Decision in Ohio
Distribs Bought • Easy Money • Ms. Pac-Man Catching Up
Atari’s Battle • Relief From Copiers • ADM A Names Director
WAMO Convention • 8-Ball Champs • A.G.E. Nabbed Again

OPERATORS

CONVICTED

The state of Oregon is taking action against
operators of “gray area” games. In four
separate judgments, four operators have
been found guilty of violating state gam¬
bling laws.

Three of the convicted operators are
members of the operators national asso¬
ciation, the Amusement and Music Opera¬
tors Association (AMOA).

But Leo Droste, AMOA’s executive
director, said he was unaware of the con¬
victions and unsure whether or not the
AMOA Code of Ethics had been violated.
The Code says in part that operators “shall
comply with all laws and regulations per¬
taining to our business.”

AMOA’s board of directors recently
voted to not distinguish between amuse¬
ment only games and “gray area” gambling
devices at its annual show. While sources
indicate the vote was very close, Droste
would not release an exact count or identify
which members voted for or against
inclusion of video gambling machines at
AMOA’s 1982 show.

On December 15, 1981, the Oregon
Circuit Court for Multnomah County

rendered a judgment of guilty of “promot¬
ing gambling in the first degree against
Donald A. Anderson of A&A Amusement
Company of Portland. Anderson had just
finished a term on the board of directors
for the AMOA. He is currently on the
registration committee for the association.

Anderson was given a five year sus¬
pended sentence and lost more than $5,000
in coins that had been confiscated with 120
games. The games, “after ensuring that the
devices are no longer illegal gambling
devices,” were to be sold by the county,
states the court’s decision.

In similar action, a Lane County court
accepted a guilty plea from Steve Kraus of
Cigarette Service Inc. of Eugene. Later,
Steve’s brother, Jim, also pled guilty t^ the
gambling charges. Steve Kraus was given
a five year suspended sentence and fined
$2,000. Jim Kraus was also given a five year
suspended sentence but was fined just
$1,000 when he turned state’s evidence in a
case against John Langen, a source
reported.

Langen, owner of the El Dorado bar in
Eugene, was employing some of Jim
Kraus’s card game videos at his location
but was also operating some games of his
own there and in other locations. Sources
told Play Meter that when Kraus and
Langen argued over whether or not Langen
should be operating his own games, the
melee led to the arrests of both men.

Langen is currently appealing the five
year suspended sentence and $10,000 fine
levied after his jury trial.

The Kraus brothers are AMOA mem¬
bers, but Langen is not.

IGT SUES
BALLY

Si Redd’s International Game Technology
(IGT), the nation’s most productive video
gambling equipment supplier, has filed suit
against Bally Manufacturing claiming

rights to all Bally/Midway videos pro¬
duced from 1975 to May 31, 1983. Bally
has responded with counterclaims that
Redd has “improper ulterior motives” in
including the videos in a suit that is princi¬
pally directed at Bally’s new poker video
game.

Redd and IGT would like to keep the
Bally game out of the casinos in Las Vegas
and to do so they are suing Bally in regard
to certain contracts between the two.

Redd, known as the “slot king,” was
formerly president of Bally Distributing of
Nevada. He owned seventy percent of that
company’s stock. Bally’s chairman,
William O’Donnell, owned the remaining
thirty percent.

In 1975, Bally wanted to make the dis¬
tributing arm in Nevada a wholly owned
subsidiary and bought Redd out for some
cash and some considerations, one of
which was the rights to, according to the
contract as presented by an IGT attorney in
its complaint submitted to the 2nd District
Court in Nevada, “all coin-operated
gaming and amusement machines devel¬
oped or under development by the corpo¬
ration as of the date hereof.”

Bally insists the “agreements are limited
to video gaming machines.” The counter¬
claims against IGT state that such limita¬
tions were “expressed directly” by the
parties involved and that Redd’s conduct
since the contract is proof that he has no
claim to video profits.

“Indeed,” Bally’s counterclaim reads,
“IGT and its predecessor companies had
purchased such video amusement games
from (Bally) and sold them to third parties
for several years without any claim that the
alleged agreements prohibited (Bally) from
manufacturing or distributing said games,
and without any claim to the profits there¬
from.”

Bally contends that only specific video
gambling machines were included in the
pact.

Depositions have been taken from
parties involved with the two companies
and their contractual relationships, and a
court hearing has been tentatively sched¬
uled for sometime in July.

PLAY METER, July 1982

NEWS

DECISION
IN OHIO

The Ohio Supreme Court upheld a Frank¬
lin County appellate court ruling that draw
poker video games are gambling devices.

The case was initially filed in the Frank¬
lin County Court of Common Pleas by
Mills-Jennings of Ohio, operators of the
games who sought to keep police and
liquor authorities from confiscating and
destroying the games.

There, Mills-Jennings was victorious,
but after that July 9, 1980 decision, the
Department of Liquor Control appealed
the case to the state’s Court of Appeals
where the original decision was overturned.

Before the Supreme Court hearing,
Rufus King, attorney for the Amusement
Device Manufacturers Association, entered
an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief
asking the court to rule that the games were
gambling devices.

“Only a ruling by the Court that the
subject video machines are gambling
devices per se will curb their spread in
Ohio,” pled King who then asked for even

broader restrictions. “To affirm solely on
the Court of Appeals’ narrower ground
that only those with a poker motif violate
the anti-gambling sections of the Ohio
Code would not meet the problem.”

In deciding against Mills-Jennings, the
Court echoed the appellate judge who held
that “the playing of poker is a game of
chance and any apparatus designed for use
in connection with a game of chance is a
gambling device.” In so doing, the court
did not rule on games other than poker.

The issue of whether or not liquor
control agents can confiscate and destroy
the games was sent back to the trial court
for further consideration.

DISTRIBS

BOUGHT

Morgan’s Restaurants, a Kentucky Fried
Chicken franchiser, is evidencing a strong
interest in the distribution arm of the coin¬
op market.

Morgan’s has acquired major distri¬

bution companies and an operating firm
and is in the process of making further
acquisitions.

The North Canton, Ohio, firm owns and
operates 27 restaurants in Ohio, Pennsyl¬

vania, and West Virginia. It is a publicly
held conipany being traded Over-The-
Counter.

Morgan’s interest in the amusement
industry originated with the appointment
of Nate Dolin to the company about a year
ago. Shortly after Dolin brought his clout
to Morgan’s, the firm acquired Continental
Divide Distributors Inc. which distributes
games in Colorado, Arizona, and New
Mexico.

In March, Dolin became chairman of
the board. He quickly picked up Auto¬
matic Music Company, an operator in
Grand Junction, Colorado, and opened a
distribution office there.

Then, in late March, the company
acquired one of the industry’s largest
distribution firms. Southwest Vending.
This move brought Morgan’s distribution
subsidiary to Texas, Oklahoma, and
Arkansas.

“With this acquisition,” stated Dolin,
“Morgan’s will become one of the largest
distributors of coin-operated video games
in the country. We believe that this is one
of the country’s fastest growing and
exciting industries.”

Morgan’s is in the process of taking over
at least one more distributorship, S&H
Distributing, in Shreveport, Louisiana.

The latest entry in the pizza/animated character/ videos games business is Fuzzy
Wuzzy Wizzerds Wonderland of Food and Fantasy. The Tampa firm is opening a
franchise restaurant in Pennsylvania this summer and is negotiating for several
more sites nationally.

The toll-free numbers for Monroe
Distributing Corp. of Cincinnati,
Ohio, were left out of the Directory
issue. The numbers are: 800/582-
1026 (inside Ohio) and 800/543-
1186 (outside Ohio).

PLAY METERJuly 1,1982

EASY

MONEY

“If you want to be rich, you can be soon.”

“Earn an easy $700 per week because
you own a few video games.”

“In no time at all, you’ll be seeing steady
and big profits. Your bank account will be
overflowing with cash from this exciting
business.”

You might think that by now all the
easy money pitches about video game
ownership have been exhausted. But not
so. There is seemingly no end to the efforts
to try to squeeze money from unsuspecting
investors by promising unheard of incomes
from video games.

An advertiser in Entrepreneur
Magazine, calling itself Future World of
Encino, California, told readers it was easy
to make $700 a week with just a few games.
In order to learn how to do that, all you
need to do is send Future World $ 19.95 for
its manual From Quarters to Millions,
wherein you’ll find step-by-step instruc¬
tions on “how to start a street route and
video game arcade in your spare time with
a small investment.”

Henry Martin of New York publishes
Video Services Newsletter. In one issue he
offered information on “how to own a
video game room with no money down.”

Martin said he can “furnish you with all
the inside information you will need to
have your own game room, and cash in on
the greatest money maker since television.”

According to Martin, you’ll be “seeing
steady and big profits...in no time at all.” He
said you can expect to earn $400 a day per
machine at a good location. And if you
send Martin $35, he said he will send you
everything you need to know to make “big
money week after week.”

Since neither Future World nor Video
Services were listed as having a telephone
service, both were unavailable for further
comments on their programs.

MS. PAC-MAN
CATCHING UP

Women rejoice! Ms. Pac-Man has become
as big a success as her predecessor in less
than half the time.

Midway’s Jim Jarocki confirmed that
the Ms. Pac-Man production number has
reached about 91,000—a figure which
nearly matches the 96,000 Pac-Mans that
were produced by the company before they
started production of the character’s
female counterpart game.

Following on the heels of the fabulously
popular Pac-Man, Ms. Pac-Man has taken
only six months of production time to
accomplish what it took Pac-Man fifteen
months to do.

“No sequel game has ever gone over
20,000 in production,” said Jarocki, “and
we really didn’t expect much more than
that from Ms. Pac-Man.

But the production run might soon end

Sega! Gremlin executives are joined by city ojjicials in a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the company's new
125,000 square foot complex in the Rancho Bernardo Technology Park, near San Diego. The new building serves as the
company's headquarters and main manufacturing plant. Sega I Gremlin Chairman David Rosen prepares to cut the tape.

PLAY METERJuly 1,1982

before Ms. Pac-Man can overtake her fore¬
runner’s record. “Demand is softening,’’
said Jarocki, “and we have some games
that are completely developed waiting for
production.’’

Tron, the game version of the Disney
film to be released this summer, will be the
company’s next big effort, according to
Jarocki.

The company has sublicensed Pac-Man
to eighty manufacturers who are pro¬
ducing 400 items featuring the character,
but Jarocki expects Ms. Pac Man to do
even better. “She is a more developed
character with her eyelashes and bow in
her hair,’’ he said.

Indeed the characters’ popularity rages
on. The entire Pac-Man family will be
featured in a network cartoon show to be
aired Saturday mornings starting this fall.

ATARI’S

BATTLE

Atari has asked a High Court judge in
England to grant an injunction against an
alleged Centipede copier worldwide.

The request was refused, but the ques¬
tion is to be heard at a later date.

Atari asked the court to enjoin Model
Racing of Italy from selling an allegedly

infringing Millepiedi not only in England
but in France, Germany, Belgium, the Irish
Republic, and Italy.

Subsequent to Atari’s demands, the
Italian firm told the court they would
submit to judgment in respect to their
games and that they would stop the sale
of any Millepiedi games in England.

Therefore, Atari abandoned its effort to
extend the scope of action outside England
and concentrated instead on recovering
costs from Model Racing.

“At first blush the idea of obtaining
injunctions in our courts banning foreign
companies from dealing in pirate or alleg¬
edly pirate copies of machines, not just

here but in other countries as well, may
sound a pretty pointless exercise,’’ reported
the English trade press. However, if such
an action was granted, and the company
continued to market the illegal copies in
other nations, it would be in contempt of
England’s courts and would pose a threat
to any assets held within the United
Kingdom.

RELIEF

FROM COPIERS

The U.S. District Court in New Jersey has
granted Cinematronics a preliminary
injunction against U.S. Amusements of
New Jersey, banning that firm from
making or selling copies of Naughty Boy.

The preliminary injunction was granted
May 27 and was a follow-up to a temporary
injunction issued earlier upon complaint
by the California manufacturer (Play
Meter, June 1, p. 21).

Elaine Leitner, Cinematronics copyright
lawyer, told Play Meter that U.S. Amuse¬
ments was ordered to cease making and
selling the copies and must deliver all they
have for impoundment. Additionally, the
company must contact customers who
bought the infringing machines in an effort
to get the games returned.

In April, Cinematronics won an injunc¬
tion against CompuGame in Los Angeles
to keep it from selling 700 Naughty Boy
circuit boards that had been illegally
imported.

Leitner said that Cinematronics intends
to pursue the U.S. Amusements case and
seek permanent injunctive relief and
damages.

U.S. Amusements filed no opposing
papers during the litigation but told the

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

Magna Vend Inc., which operates games in the Northeast, discovered a public
relations ploy that worked well for them at the recent Northeast Food Service
Exposition. *'Now, when my salesmen call, ’’ said Magna Vend President Doug
Seavey, “they simply mention the tuxedos and visors and prospects immediately
recall our booth and product. ”

court it was unable to locate any records in
respect to the subject machines.

ADMA NAMES
DIRECTOR

The Amusement Device Manufacturers
Association has appointed Glenn Braswell
as its executive director to replace a
departing Paul Huebsch.

Braswell was former senior vice presi¬
dent and counsel of the U.S. Brewers
Association in Washington, D.C. Braswell
joined the Brewers in 1970 and has held
every legal and legislative position culmi¬
nating a twelve-year career as senior vice
president.

He is a native of North Carolina, a
graduate of the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, and holds a
Doctor of Law degree from Emory Uni¬
versity in Atlanta, Georgia.

ADMA is composed of seventeen manu¬
facturers of amusement games, mainly

video, in the United States. Its head¬
quarters is in the Chicago area, but ADMA
plans to relocate its main office to the
Washington, D.C., area.

Huebsch organized and operated the
association during its period of inception.
He is leaving to pursue other matters of a
more personal interest in the industry,
according to ADMA.

WAMO

CONVENTION

Exhibits, information, unique entertain¬
ment, and fellowship were all a part of the
1982 Annual Convention/Trade Show
sponsored by the Wisconsin Amusement
and Music Operators (WAMO), held in
Milwaukee April 30 and May 1.

Some fifteen exhibitors displayed
products including several new video
games, while distinguished speakers
informed Wisconsin operators about con¬
tracts, commissions, arcade operations.

local ordinance problems, and time
management.

The highlight activity of the two-day
event occurred opening night when some
120 operators, their wives, and families
were bused to the Milwaukee County
Museum where they enjoyed a private
reception, a “Bavarian-fest” buffet dinner,
and a tour of two major wings of the
museum, including one which featured
European village settings. A strolling
accordionist and a Polish dance troupe
provided the entertainment.

Certificates of Appreciation were pre¬
sented to Gene Urso, Elmer Schmitz Jr.,
John Speers, and John Miller for their
fund-raising efforts on behalf of the
Muscular Dystrophy Association and the
National Kidney Foundation.

Two major programs were initiated at
the convention by the membership. For the
first time in several years, the association
plans to hold a second weekend conference
September 10—11, in Appleton which will
focus on informational programming. It
will show no exhibits.

Also agreed upon was the implementa¬
tion of a new financing program for the
association that will feature a surcharge on
all new amusement and music machines

PLAY METERJuly 1, 1982

Women Play Hard
for Valley Title...

Chuck Milhetn delivers congratulations and plaques to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place
teams for this year's Valley 8-ball women's division. Hoff's Bar of Rochester,
Minnesota took the championship.

purchased by Wisconsin operators.
WAMO directors hope that the program
will substantially assist the association in
providing legal and legislative services to
its members, even at the local level.

8BALL

CHAMPS

That’s Valley...and that starts with “V”...
and that rhymes with “P”...and that stands
for pool...and pool was the feature of the
weekend at the Pioneer Theatre Audito¬
rium in Reno, Nevada, May 21—23, when
the Valley International 8-Ball League
reached its season’s conclusion.

It was Valley’s second championship
tournament and the culmination of
another “highly successful’’ year of pool
competition in ten states and parts of
Canada, said Valley’s President Chuck
Milhem.

This year 150 operators, distributors,
and location owners joined 300 players at
the finals to enjoy some very intense com¬
petition. There, a five man team from
Marshall, Minnesota, outshot a tough
Canadian five. The winners were repre¬
senting the Lariat Lounge and operators
from Music Service in Marshall. The
second place team battled in the name of
Cabato of Windsor, Ontario.

Winnings are based on the entry fee and
late fee collections. This year’s total prize
package was worth $20,000. The winner’s
share was $3,120. The Candians took
home $2,425 for second place. The
women’s champs hailed from Hoff’s Bar in
Rochester, Minnesota, which is serviced
by D&R Starr.

But the real winners in this tournament
and the season are the operators, said
Milhem.

“We were gratified by the enthusiasm of
operators for the tournament. The general
consensus is that this program is a tremen¬
dous one; the tournament is just the culmi¬
nation of a full year’s activity.’’

The league season begins in September
and runs through the finals in May, and
creates a year-round interest in pool. “It
leads to committed customers,” said
Milhem.

That leads to improved profits in all
aspects for the location.

“One operator from northern Ohio told
us his gross volume increased 200 percent
because of our program,” Milhem said.

The program requires locations to
install operator-owned tables which has
made operators enthusiastic about their

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

support of the 8-ball leagues, said Milhem.
He expects the current 5,000 player mem¬
bership list to double this year.

“The big change in our program from
last year to this is that the operators are
now selling the program for us,” he offered.

The leagues’successes have led to expan¬
sion and this year Milhem expects Valley
to add Pennsylvania, Oregon, and Texas
to the list of states getting behind the
Valley 8-balls.

A.G.E.

NABBED AGAIN

Just one year after settling a lawsuit and
agreeing not to engage in illegal business
opportunity practices, Bradford Lynn
Edwards has been arrested for video sales
fraud.

Edwards was arrested in San Diego on a
$100,000 bench warrant issued by Munic¬
ipal Court Judge Frederic Link. Edwards
was accused of operating an illegal invest¬
ment scheme. Accordingly, Edwards’s
firm, American Game Exchange, was
offering a $92,500 package consisting of
video games and various services, including
location finding.

Last year’s suit alleged the company
failed to register with the state of California
before engaging in sales and that Edwards
and his company failed to make proper dis¬
closures to investors.

Now, the district attorney’s office con¬
tends that the violations have continued
and that American Game Exchange has
taken in more than $350,000 from Cali¬
fornia investors.

COMPUTER

CONDUCTS

The computer has edged its way into the
pool hall. At least it has established its
presence at the annual South Dakota
8-Ball tournament.

The sixteenth consecutive edition of that
tournament was “run from start to finish
on the 5120 IBM computer,” said Pete
Thompson of the Music and Vending
Association in South Dakota.

“The merits of running a pool tourna-

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

\OlN

ECHANISMS INC.

817 Industrial Drive,

Elmhurst, III. 60126 - 1184

Manufacturing Coin Mechs, Domestic And Foreign, for
the Coin Operated Amusement Machine Industry

• Complete Door Systems

• Faceplates • • Anti-String Kits

• Midget Channels * Anti-Flip Kits ^ String Cutters

Customer Service
( 312 ) 279-9150

Ray Nicholson

Ron Rollins
Frank Schubert

EAGLE CONVERSIONS

WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY:

WE CAN REBUILD IT

Get the latest game at a fraction of the cost of a new
machine with our

HIGH QUALITY

P.C.B. Conversions Complete Video Rebuilds

P.C.B. Repairs Sales of Game Boards and

P.C.B. Conversion Kits Power Supply Units

For the most interesting possibilities at competitive prices ring

Kev or Steve at

EAGLE CONVERSIONS

25 Eagle St., Bldg. ^5^ Providence, RI 02908

( 401 ) 751-5438

ment on the computer were overwhelming,
even to the point where the winners of a
match were fed into the computer and it
printed out the next match and score cards
for both players,” Thompson said.

This year’s “tournament of champions”
paid out $12,000 in cash and prizes to
winners among the 464 contestants who
came to Pierre after winning local com¬
petitions.

Players await match assignments printed
out by the tournament's organizer, an IBM
computer.

The tournament’s top prize of $1,000
went to Dick Spitzer of Black Hawk,
South Dakota. The women’s champion,
Laurie Hawkins, is also from Black Hawk.

The tournament was sanctioned by U.S.
Billiards and played on the company’s
black Quantum tables at fifty cents per
play. The tables were furnished by U.S.
Billiards and its South Dakota distributor,
J-Mak.

MERGER

APPROVED

Stockholders of both Columbia Pictures
and Coca-Cola have approved a merger of
the two companies. That means that D.
Gottlieb & Company, as part of Columbia,
will become one of the soft drink giant’s
subsidiaries.

Part of the consideration for purchase of
Columbia was the profitable performance
of Gottlieb in the third fiscal quarter, its
second consecutive period of profitability.
The company had been struggling through

previous quarters and its turnaround was
viewed as the result of the pinball successes
Black Hole and Haunted House, said
Coca-Cola representatives.

The cost to Coca-Cola will be approxi¬
mately 12,250,000 shares of Coca-Cola
common stock and a third of a billion
dollars. The total cash value or aggregate
purchase price is $753,855,000 (estimated
by joint proxy statement).

However, in considering the Gottlieb
subsidiary, Coca-Cola told its stock¬
holders: “Although the revenues and
market share of D. Gottlieb...were
adversely affected by the weakness in its
pinball operations and the advent of video
games, Gottlieb’s management is attempt¬
ing to improve its existing operations and
is preparing for potential entry into the
video games market.”

ATARI LANDS
A KANGARDD

After three months of talks. Atari has
landed the first directly negotiated over¬
seas licensing agreement in the history of
Japan’s Sun Electronics.

According to the agreement. Atari will
market Sun’s Kangaroo throughout the

world except in West Germany and Japan.
Sun will market the game in Japan and
NSM/Lowen will control rights to the
game in West Germany.

The final agreement was credited largely
to the efforts of Joe Robbins, president of
the Amusement Device Manufacturers
Association, who worked as a consultant
on the arrangement.

Robbins, pleased with the final outcome
of the deal, was quoted by the Japanese
trade press as hailing the firms’ arrange¬
ment as a noteworthy development for
friendly relations between members of the

trade in the two countries.

“I hope the cooperation between the two
companies will also help to eliminate video
game copiers,” Robbins added.

Kangaroo features a mother kangaroo
who protects her child by punching enemy
monkeys. To score points, she catches fruit
falling from a tree.

The game will bounce off Atari pro¬
duction lines in the United States and
Ireland.

RESTRICTIDN

FALLS

Crestwood, Missouri, a suburban com¬
munity, in St. Louis County, has spent
several Inonths debating an arcade ordi¬
nance. On May 11, the ordinance was
finally presented to city aldermen and a
$100 licensing fee proposed by the statute
was given general approval by the board.

Another provision, however, to restrict
play on the games to persons 14 years old
and above, was eliminated, reflecting a
nationwide trend to avoid age restrictions
in ordinances governing videos.

“I see no harm in a child playing a video
machine in a game room. If they can’t con¬
gregate in such a room, why not stop them
from restaurants and public parks?’’
Alderman James Brasfield was stating the
major national issue in connection with
age restrictions on playing the games—the
right of citizens to congregate, no matter
their age.

According to the ordinance, arcades-
defined as establishments housing more
than three games—would be required to
have special use permits from the Board of
Aldermen after being reviewed by the
Planning and Zone Commission.

BDARD

EXPANDED

The Amusement and Vending Machine
Distributors Association, the national
organization representing distributor
interests for the coin-op amusement
industry, has expanded its board from four
to nine members.

Joining the current board are Stephen
PLAY METER, July 1,1982

-- NO. la

[^^'on/sSeefi I
^^^oriniM

^qM

Bullish on
the industry

with a whole new portfolio

It Started in 1981 with DEFENDER. Williams’ first entry in the
video category took the industry by storm and, by the end of
the year, the award for the highest earning game as well.

Then, following in its footsteps yet going one step further in
technology, in sophistication, in play, came STARGATE. A
proven winner, STARGATE is still earning strong, still avail¬
able and still in production after months of acclaim by dis¬
tributors, operators and players alike.

of video games!

Now, a hot new offering. The next in the new portfolio of
games. ROBOTRON: 2084. Paying big dividends. Fast
becoming th e best investment opportunity on the market.

Th^Wniiams portfonb of video games. '
Profitable, reliable, bullish on the industry. / J

ELECTRONICS, INC

Get Your Hands On
The Hottest Game In Town

Just try your hand at Triple Punchy the
sizzling new arrival on the video game scene
from Thomas Automatics Inc., and youTl see
why this action packed, family oriented game is
a proven high earner in location tests. Triple
Punch's dynamic sound effects and challenging
game plan are guaranteed to grab players again
and again.

All components are quality assured and
designed for "hands on" serviceability. Their
modular design makes service and repair as sim¬
ple as pulling out one board and popping in
another, so your Triple Punch is always ready to
earn you money.

Other big games from TAI are Survivor',** the
fast encounter game that pulls in players, and
Ten SpoC the exciting, innovative video game
that offers player selectable ten-game-in-one
options, for a choice of entertainment options
and skill levels.

High quality games from TAI. Available today.

thoma^ automatic^ inc.

3310 Woodward Avenue
Santa Clara, CA 95050
Telephone: (408) 748-7602
Telex: 171627 (NANET SUVL)

Lieberman of Lieberman Music in Min¬
neapolis, Norman Goldstein of Monroe in
Cleveland, A1 Kress of Coin Machine in
Elmsford, New York, Dean McMurdie of
Circle International in Los Angeles, and A1
Rodstein of Banner Specialty in Jenkin-
town, Pennsylvania.

, E. G. Doris, executive director for the

I association, said that the board was

expanded to add the experience of the new
participants. Their input, he said, will
benefit the entire membership.

The existing directors who welcomed
their new associates are Ira Bettelman,
C:A. Robinson; Jerry Gordon, Betson;
Rubin Franco, Franco Distributing; and
Jon Brady, Brady Distributing.

CENTERS

SCREENED

Another major city has approved video
games for use in its community centers.
The Seattle, Washington Park Board has
agreed that the city’s 24 community centers
can install videos and reap the profits
therefrom.

The decision comes briefly after the city
of Dallas decided to add the games to its
recreation centers.

The games will be installed “in accor¬
dance with the public sentiment,” offered
the board, and there will be good super¬
vision over the “controversial” pieces. The
issue will be reviewed after three months of
play.

The issue was approved by a three-to-
one vote, but even the board member who
introduced the proposal was cautious not
to appear too favorable to the games.

“I’m personally not at all eager to see our
young folks spend a lot of their time and
money on video games,” said resolution
author Phyllis Legters.

Community boards in suburban Seattle
already have several centers that include
the games.

FALKLAND
THE VIDEO

On Thursday, April 8, even before the
British engaged Argentine forces over the

Falkland Islands, an English telecommu¬
nications firm was beaming a video game
about the conflict to its subscribers.

The game is called Obliterate and the
firm, which ordinarily provides its sub¬
scribers with electronic editions of The^
Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and other
publications and information, is trans¬
mitting the game to 16,000 homes and
offices in England, the United States,
Germany, Australia, and the Netherlands.

“You are a commander of the HMS
Mercury 332, a British submarine in the
South Atlantic,” the screen tells customers
of British Telecom’s Prestel Service.

“You suddenly spot the Argentine fleet
steaming toward the defenseless Falkland
Islands. The honor of the nation is in your
hands. You must succeed...”

The flagship of the Argentine Navy
moves across the screen. The player uses a
computer keyboard to estimate the dis¬
tance and launches a torpedo.

A direct hit makes the flagship explode
and produces the message: “Congratula¬
tions, Horatio would be proud of you.”
(Horatio Nelson was an English com¬
mander who defeated the French and
Spanish navies at the famed Battle of
Trafalgar in 1805.)

COURT

STOPS MINORS

The British Columbia Supreme Court
upheld a.Vancover, B.C. bylaw May 21
enforced by local police to prohibit minors
from entering premises with video games.

The bylaw was challenged by the owner
and manager of two small businesses in the
western Canadian province. The two filed
a joint petition urging British Columbia’s
highest court to declare that regulations in
the bylaw do not apply to premises with
fewer than four video machines.

An attorney for the petitioners, Michael
Carroll, contended that the regulations

clearly apply to premises with four or more
video machines. Each of the two businesses
house three video games.

Justice Patrick Dohm shed some sym¬
pathy on the plight of Hail Park, owner of
Mary’s Grocery, and Song Hi Lee, man¬
ager of The Sub Stop, co-petitioners in the
action, but the Supreme Court justice took
a less positive view of the video game
industry.

“It is terribly unfortunate,” said Justice
Dohm, “that the petitioners are caught in
the same net as those whose principal, or
sole, business is the operation of these
machines.” He added: “It seems to me that
the city fathers ought to make some pro¬
vision for people who are doing their best
to make this a better place to live.”

The judge explained: “One of the
bylaw’s intentions is to control the num¬
bers of youngsters gathered in one place
over an extended period. Difficulties in law
can occur as a result of these congrega
tions.”

The petition filed by Park and Lee also
sought to invalidate a section of the bylaw
which prohibits people under the age of 18
from entering premises with video
machines. An attorney for the city told the
court that the bylaw derives its authority
from the Vancouver City Charter which is
authorized by the legislature.

In his judgment. Justice Dohm sup¬
ported the city’s position.

APPOINTMENTS

Centuri Inc. of Hialeah, Florida, continues
to reorganize its executive branch. Tom
Siemieniec has been named sales service
coordinator.

The announcement was made by recently
named President Arnold Kaminkow.

Prior to joining Centuri, the 31-year-old
Siemieniec spent ten years with Midway

PLAY METERJuly L 1982

FTE^SraTEl

r Dbtril^ngQoL 1

I For 31 years The Dependable Supplier to the Coin Machine Industry, I
I with Quality Parts and Supplies at the Lowest Possible Prices. For... I
I • VIDEO ...» INTEGRATED CIRCUITS ...» PHONOGRAPH I
^ • AMUSEMENT GAMES ...» SOCCER & POOL TABLES I
^ • ELECTRONIC SUPPLIES ... • VENDING MACHINES 1

"'We Guarantee Satisfactory Service” m

PARTS CATALOG AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. ■

PARTS DIVISION... 1040 Boulevard S.E. M

Atlanta, Georsia 30312 M
Phone 404-622-4401 ^^

Toll Free Phone... 1-800-241-1346 (except in Georgia)

Manufacturing.

During his tenure with the Chicago-
based firm, Siemieniec held the positions
of electronic technician, assistant service
manager, and parts manager.

As sales service coordinator at Centuri,
Siemieniec will serve as liaison between the
company and its worldwide distributor
network. He will also play an active role in
the company’s overall marketing program,
the company said.

PLAY
FOR PAY

A Canadian bowling alley chain has
launched an interesting campaign to ease
teenage unemployment and improve the
image of videos.

Jack Fine, president of Bowlerama, is
offering summer jobs to a few lucky teen¬
agers who will be employed as resident
games instructors.

Fine was looking for “presentable”
youngsters—no long hair or tattoos, he
said—who would keep the games in good
condition and give pointers to novices.

“We want to improve the image of the
games,” Fine said. “We want to show
they’re not bad or evil. There’s been a lot of
hysteria about them (games).”

“THE PROTECTOR’^ ' is your guaradian against vandalism and theft. It can be
installed on any coin operated machine, on location, in 15 minutes.

Solid State

Self Resetting

“THE PROTECTOR” is a self-contained unit that uses 2 nine volt batteries.
Replace them only once a year. No external power source needed.

“THE PROTECTOR” has

ANTI-ABUSE MODE ANTI-THEFT MODE

settings of 2)4, 5 or 10 seconds settings of 40, 80 or 160 seconds

YOU PROGRAM THE LOUD PULSATING ALARM

“THE PROTECTOR” can be disarmed to move the machine.

If unit should malfunction beyond the warranty period, the manufacturer
will refurbish alarm for only $10.°° plus shipping and handling fees.

$59.'

ENGINEERS

ADVANCE

John Pasierb, former chief electronic
engineer, has been promoted to vice presi¬
dent of engineering for Midway Manufac¬
turing. William Adams has been named
director of game programming and Allen
Ryan director of mechanical engineering.

Pasierb is a six-year Bally Midway
veteran who assumed the position of chief
electronic engineer two years ago and
began the initial steps of expansion within
the electronic engineering department.
This group has increased to five times its
original size.

Adams, a Bally Midway employee for
four and a half years, has been the nucleus
of the software development group.
Adams and his staff’s most recent accom¬
plishment is the development of Iron, the

PLAY METERJuly 1,1982

^Gpeatn
Escape I

> BGOm*|
BPLL //

S* ^

®l

TOKENS • TOKENS • TOKENS

I (STOCK AND CUSTOM) \

FOR ALL MAKES OF GAMES, ^ ^ ^ V\

j TURNSTILES & VENDING MACHINES |^Pt-iM0H^|

V.^^S 4 Es- 1981 jr fc-^ LANES

PRIZE REDEMPTION & TRADE CHECKS

UBINGO^ CASINO SLOT & GAMING COINS I IRqW

Phone or write for catalog A aamptem .otf ***^

VAN BROOK OF LEXINGTON, INC.
P.O. BOX 5044, LEXINGTON, KY. 40555

606 / 231-7100

•PINEWOOD^

^^COVE

iGPmE zooe]

f#m*iir

1 ^ irr*

WAREHOUSE CLEARANCE

VERY SPECIAL LOW LOW PRICES • ALL BRAND NEW MACHINES

Uprights

Sidetrak . $400

Blockade . 400

Soccer. 500

Basketball . 500

StarHawk . 750

Sun Dance . 750

Fire I. . 750

Zero Hour . 995

Lunar Rescue . 995

Space Bugger . 995

Enigma II . 995

Intruder . 995

Tank Battalion . 995

Co/ony 7. 1295

Moon IVars. 1295

Super Tank . 1295

Turtles . 1295

Venture . 1295

Pulsar . 1500

Space Fury. 1595

Strategy X . 1695

Cocktails

Extra Bases . 400

Blasto . 400

Astro Invader . 750

Cosmic Guerrilla . 850

Space Firebird . 850

Cosmic Alien . 850

Magical Spot . 850

New York, New York . 850

Uniwars . 850

Space Odyssey . 995

Missile Command . 995

Moon Wars . 995

Polaris . 995

Route 16 . 995

Spec tor . 995

Stratovox . 995

Targ . 995

Space Zap . 995

Space Fury . 1395

Qix . 1500

Time Warp . $ 500

Trizone . 500

Coney Island . 500

Torch .; 600

Alien Poker . 750

Asteroid Annie . 75O

James Bond . 75O

Scorpion .' 750

PINBALLS

Lazer Ball . 750

Time Line . 2000

Pink Panther . 2i00

^ors .■ 2200

Catacomb . 2250

Dragonfist .2250

Split Second . 2250

^iper . 2250

R. H. BELAM COMPANY, INC.

1 Delaware Drive
Lake Success, New York 11042
Tel: 516/488-5600
Toll Free: 800/645-6573

CALL
- OR -
WRITE

Lightning . 1250

Pharaoh . 125 O

Hercules . 2295

Medusa . i4go

Elektra . .2795

Orbitor . (Please Call)

Iron Maiden . (Please Call)

Devils Dare . (Please Call)

BELAM FLORIDA CORP.

1541 NW 154th St.

Miami, FL 33169
Tel: 305/621-1415

THE CALENDAR

June 26—27

Empire Distributing Follies '82,
Fuerst Auditorium, Novi, Michigan

July 10

Washington Amusement & Music
Operators Association, Summer
Meeting, Sea Tax Marriott Inn,
Seattle

July 16—17

Montana Coin Machine Operators
Association convention. Outlaw
Inn^ Kalispell, Montana

September 10—12

Joint North and South Carolina
Associations meeting, Radisson
Plaza Hotel, Charlotte

September 24—25

West Virginia Music & Vending
Association convention, Ramada
Inn, South Charleston, West
Virginia

October 7—10

NAMA convention and exhibit.
The Rivergate, New Orleans

October 14—17

ENADA (exhibition of coin-op
amusement machines). Congress
Building (EUR), Rome, Italy

October 15—16

Amusement and Music Operators
of Virginia, annual convention and
trade show, John Marshall Hotel,
Richmond

November 18—20

AMOA Exposition, Hyatt Regency
Downtown, Chicago

November 18—20

lAAPA annual convention (Parks
Show), Bartle Hall, Kansas City

1983

January 10—13

ATE 39th Amusement Trades
Exhibition, Olympia, London,
England

March 25—27

Amusement Operators Expo '83,
Hyatt Regency O'Hare, Chicago

We Cater To All Your

Coin-operated Amusement Needs!

Game Sales ln^erna^^onal

* Immediate availability of
Top Earners

* Excellent used and
reconditioned equipment

* Expert service and board
repair

* No knock-offs

* Lowest Prices

For price
quotes

Game Sales Inlernallonal

— Call Sandy 201-964-5230

HEWS

video game designed in conjunction with
the motion picture produced by Walt
Disney Productions.

Ryan has been with Bally Midway for
nine years. He has directed his mechanical
engineering staff from the solely mechan¬
ical design to the current use of mechanical
devices within video games. In his new
position, Ryan continues to be responsible
for helping his mechanical engineering
group keep pace with the present technol¬
ogy explosion in electronics.

ARCADE KEEPS
HOURS

According to a decision handed down by a
New York State appellate court, arcade
operator Charles Rubinstein has staved off
the efforts of New York City’s Department
of Consumer Affairs to set the hours he can
conduct business.

Rubinstein has operated an arcade in the
passageway from 42nd Street to the IND
subway for 27 years.

A five judge panel rendered the decision,
saying it was not the job of the Department
to take on the responsibility of “Improving
conditions for persons entering and exiting
the subway.”

The arcade has been the subject of much
criticism from the city. Police say criminals
have been hidden at the arcade over
the years and describe the passageway
as a no man’s land, outside the jurisdiction
of the transit police and below the watchful
eyes of city police patrolling up on 42nd
Street and 8th Avenue.

In its ruling, the court indicated that
there was no evidence that crime was
taking place inside the arcade.

The unanimous decision was seen as a
setback to the agency’s effort to combat
crime city officials say is committed by
those who congregate near the arcade.

“While this - is certainly a laudable
purpose,” Justice Leo Milonas wrote, “it is
not one which is within the scope of its (the
Department’s) duties, particularly since it
is the City Planning Commission which is
statutorily charged with deciding whether
a particular enterprise is suited to the
location involved.”

Ed. Note: Play Meter Equipment
Poll reprints, a set dating from 1979 to
May 1982, are available for $5
(prepaid).

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

“We have forty different
judges in forty different
courts who have ruled in our
favor. There have been no
dissensions.”
—A. Sidney Katz

“The copiers...have brought
a total collapse to the
European market.”
—David Marofske

“In the three cases I have
handled lately, no one has
raised the issue of
copyrightability. ”
—Elaine Leitner

In the

winner’s circle

by Mike Shaw

I f you’ve been operating videos any¬
where in the world this year, then you
know about efforts by manufacturers
to impede the flow of games and game
boards that imitate too closely pieces
which they have either created or licensed
from originators. While restrictive city
ordinances have besieged operators from
outside the boundaries of the industry,
within, the most publicized difficulty has
been over copyright infringement.

The issue has kept manufacturers’
attorneys busy and has provided them with
a platform for almost unilaterally victori¬

ous litigation. In fact, according to
Midway Manufacturing’s copyright
attorney, A. Sidney Katz, video copyright
holders have now won forty different cases
in forty different courts with no dissen¬
sions.

But, after all these trips to the winner’s
circle, what exactly have the manufacturers
won? Have they stemmed the tide of
counterfeit games, or are they hopelessly
overwhelmed by a massive wave of imita¬
tions that can’t be quelled?

Midway’s President David Marofske
believes that court actions have not

Plaintiff
(or Appellant)

Court

Decision

Midway

U.S. District Court
in Utah

temporary restraining order
and impoundment against
Imperial Games Inc., Telum

Inc., an<^ Trementon Shamrock

Midway

U.S. District Court
in Honolulu, Hawaii

restrain and impound against

42 defendants

Midway

International Trade
Commission

cease and desist importation
and sale against eighteen
foreign and domestic firms

Stern

U.S. Court of Appeals injunction, seizure, and
in New York impound-orders upheld against

Omni Video Games of New
Jersey

Midway

U.S. District Court
in Los Angeles

injunction against 25 manufac¬
turers, distributors, operators,
and locations

Atari

U.S. Court of Appeals preliminary injunction against
in Chicago North American Phillips’

Odyssey subsidiary

Nintendo of America

U.S. District Court
in Los Angeles

temporary restraining order
against Direct Connections and
Pacific Arcades

Nintendo of America

U.S. District Court
in Orlando, Florida

temporary restraining order
against ASC/Florida and
American Sun/Tronics

Cinematronics

U.S. District Court
in New Jersey

injunction for sale or distribu¬
tion, and recall infringing
games already distributed
against U.S. Amusements of
New Jersey

PLAY METER, July 1982

succeeded in cutting off the supply of
pirated games and printed circuit boards
nor have litigated victories been in vain.

“Litigation has helped maintain the
status quo,” Marofske explained from his
office at Midway’s headquarters in Frank¬
lin Park, Illinois. “But we must continue,
with strength, in the direction we are
going.”

Marofske blamed copiers for a ruined
European industry and a softened market
in Japan. In those parts of the world, he
said, players have been turned off because
of a saturation of different renditions of
the same game.

“Effectively, the copiers have eliminated
themselves. They have brought a total
collapse to the European market,” he said.

But because of successful litigation by
Midway and other copyright holders, the
American market “has not been so
attractive” to copyists.

“If we aren’t successful in the courts, we
don’t stop the flood of copies,” he said.
“We would then have a situation just like
Europe.”

Marofske’s dire prediction of a video
collapse without proper copyright pro¬
tection for license holders serves as a basis
for Midway’s broad attack on all levels of
the industry. Midway has filed court
actions against importers, manufacturers,
assemblers, distributors, operators, and
even locations who are found with infring¬
ing pieces.

“Attack on all fronts is the best position¬
ing,” Midways’ CEO explained. “We
walked slowly at first, beginning with
Galaxians. We served notices. We waited
until Pac-Man to take action on all fronts.

“As we continue to protect our rights,
others will grow to respect them. Our
industry will remain solid; all segments in it
will remain strong,” he said. “Our victories
in the courts will represent a win for the
whole industry.”

“As we continue to
protect our rights,
others will grow to
respect them.”

—David Marofske

And so, while admitting that the battle
against infringers is far from over,
Marofske solidified his stance that court
action is the best way to accomplish the
ultimate task of making the world safe for
videocracy.

Speed-up kits

Copies are defeated by their inferiority,
according to Marofske, and the same
principal applies to enhancements.

Speed-up kits, that alter the play of the
game by making it more difficult for
players who have mastered the original,
have been hailed by some operators as
game savers, responsible for added play on
games that have become nearly obsolete
because players find no more challenge in
them.

Midway’s boss did not deny the viability
of enhancements.

“Factories should listen to the market¬
place,” he offered. “Yes, there is some room
for speed-up kits and enhancements, but
only by the creator of the game.

“It is hard to judge when an enhance¬
ment kit will work. It can destroy the whole
feeling of a game. It is difficult to change
the game without taking something away
from it.”

Midway produced kits for Pac-Man, but
they were not accepted in great numbers by
operators, contended Marofske. Prior to
that, when the clamor arose for enhance¬
ments for Galaxians, Midway had refused
and the move turned out best for the con¬
tinued interest in the game, Marofske said.

^'Galaxians held its ground and its
value,” he said.

Attorneys speak

If Midway’s courtroom actions have
established its stance as the industry’s
most aggressive, then its law firm of
Fitch, Even, Tabin, Flannery & Welsh has
established itself as the most effective

• Easy-to-Operate Control Center is
Compact

• Desoldering Vacuum Operates on
Shop Air

• Controlled Heat and Vacuum are in
the Same Handpiece Tip

• Easily Releases
Components from
Double-Sided PC
Boards

Superior Technical
Manual

_n sELF*CONTAJNED__

rework

BEFORE: Pad and Eyelet are nDissing

Available from Kimco

AFTER REPAIR with SRS -050 Kit. the Pad
and Eyelet have been neatly replaced.

130 N t 32 nd St H Lauderdale FL 3 jj 1 ' 1 bOU 327 - 4133 . (in FL) 1 - 800 / 432-4839

Pac-Man

Grits

Both of 'em—Good Eatin*. We don't sell the grits. But,
when It comes to serving up the finest coin-op equipment
around, you can't beat our Southern hospitality. With over
50 years experience, we can offer the best games at the
best prices.

BIRMINGHAM

VENDING COMPANV

540 2nd Ave. North
Birmingham, AL 35204

205/324-7526

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

arguer of video game copyright litigation.
A. Sidney Katz, of the Chicago-based firm,
believes the company’s position on the
copyrightability of videos has proven
solid. Objections to the copyrightability of
videos have been effectively negated by the
courts’ renderings.

In the lone action where a major manu¬
facturer has alleged infringement and
lost—Atari’s Asteroids vs. Amusement
World’s (Maryland) Meteors —the ques¬
tion of copyrightability was not raised.
Rather, the decision was rendered based
on the opinion that Meteors was not a copy
of Asteroids.

Elaine Leitner, Cinematronics’s copy¬
right lawyer, agreed with Katz.

“In the three cases I have handled lately,
no one has even raised the issue of copy¬
rightability. That issue is no longer a
question; it is accepted.”

Although “fixation” has been ques¬
tioned as it applies to video games, Katz
said that the criteria in the copyright law
that requires an audio/visual work to be
fixed is met by video games. (Audio/visual
works, like movies and computer pro¬
grams, are always the same, from
beginning to end. The unfolding of a video
game alters with each quarter.)

“The Second Circuit Court of Appeals
found that the requirements were met in
Stern vs. Kaufman,” said Katz. (See Play
Meter, March 15, p. 11.)

“Besides, the material that is copied is
the material that stays the same.”

The position that the unintelligibility of
object code renders it uncopyrightable is
also denied by Katz.

“Simply stated, that position is wrong,”
Katz said. “The new act—the new copy¬
right statute was enacted in 1976 expressly
to cover the area of computer programs
and related expressions—does not make
that distinction. The position has been
argued and rejected in federal court in
California.”

The fact that object codes cannot be read
is wrong, Katz said. A person must simply
have the training to read the series of I’s
and O’s that object code is expressed in.

“There are programmers at Midway
who can read object codes.”

The copyrightability of video games is
universally accepted, Katz offered, and
there is no reason the courts should view a
copyright holder with any doubt. Registra¬
tion is entitlement to a “presumption of
validity,” he said. But he added that an
amendment to the copyright statute that
specifically names video games as included
under the law, as it currently does for
movies and phonographs, would be
helpful.

Midway’s president Marofske and his
attorney Katz are firmly entrenched for the
battle against the video pirates. They know
that winning substantiates their positions.
Whether or not a successful challenge can
be mounted against them is yet to be seen.
But for now, they are in the winner’s circle
surrounded by their victories, bolstered by
these successes.

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

PROGRESS BY COMPUTER

THE SUPERFIVE" BUSINESS COMPUTER

With The Coin Op Software Package

HARDWARE: Unlike other compu¬
ter systems designed for the operator, the
Superfive"* System offers the most mod¬
ern equipment available. It will not be¬
come outdated tomorrow; it will not pre¬
occupy you with maintenance or failure;
it will store greater amounts of data, and
transfer it 50x faster than a floppy disk.
Superfive^" is not a personal home com¬
puter adapted for use in the office. This is
a business computer, and it performs like
one. Featuring 5 Megabyte hard disk
storage, 64Kb RAM memory, and a 200
CPS line printer.

SOFTWARE: Unlike other software
packages designed for the operator. Coin
Op does not complicate the simple. It
does address the most commonly asked
questions by route managers: When to
rotate? What to pull? Which are my high/
low earners? Which are my best/worst
locations? Which machines have I had in
that location? How are all my Pac Mans
doing? It even answers some questions
you might not think to ask. Coin Op is a
straightforward package that is remark¬
ably easy to use. And there is no monthly
licensing fee.

If we were to tell you of every task the Superfive^" could perform, or of every superior
feature it sports, it would take many pages. We couldn’t do it in an ad. But we did do it in
our detailed brochure. For your free copy call collect (201) 968-0200 or return the
coupon below.

The Ultimate Tool Of The Trade

NAME_ COMPANY_

ADDRESS_

PHONE_ COMMENTS?_

This coupon entitles you to a $100.00 Rebate on the purchase of the Superfive"" System.

DIGITAL INNOVATORS INC

463 So. Washington Ave. • Piscataway, NJ • 08854

Watch out for
Play MetePs service
issue coming
August 1.

STRATEGIES

for making sure you get to read
your own copy of PLAY METER

Strategem No. 3 In a series:
Arise early...

Be at our printer's door when it conies
off the press!
or...

You can fill in the coupon below for easy, direct delivery of Play Meter
to your home, twice monthly.* Send check for only $50®® for 24 issues!

NAME _

TITLE_

COMPANY _

ADDRESS_

CITY_STATE_ ZIP _

Check one

□ Operator □ Distributor □ Manufacturer □ Support & Supply □ Other

*Please allow 4—6 weeks for receipt of first issue. Outside U.S. and Canada: $15(Po air mail only.

Send to: Play Meter magazine, P.O. Box 24170, New Orleans LA 70I84

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

Interest in the games was high and attendance for the OMAA
annual event was very strong—the result apparently of a strong
association doing its job.

And, of course, the general media was on hand to film the
proceedings and present its picture of what it thinks the industry
is. Fortunately, they got lots of help from involved industry
people to make sure accurate information was reported.

OMAA Show:

Buckeyes discuss the issues

By David Pierson

A round Kentucky Derby time an
operator called the Play Meter
magazine office, identified him¬
self and, as many inquiring operators do
these days, asked how the magazine could
help him out of a local municipal problem.

“My town is getting ready to enact an
ordinance that would severely hurt my
games operation,” he said, “and what I
need is something to fight back with. Does
Play Meter know if there are any model
ordinances for this industry because if I
had something like that to offer, I think 1
could beat them.”

He was informed he had just beaten the
odds of a betting man holding a win ticket
on Gato del Sol in the feature race at
Churchill Downs. “You just hit on a 50-1
shot, mister,” he was told. “If you were
from any other state but Ohio, you’d be out

of luck. But Ohio! That’s different. Ohio
has the only state association that’s drafted
model ordinances to help its members!”
(See Play Meter, May 15 and June 1
issues.)

Doing its job

The Ohio Music and Amusement
Association (OMAA) has been in the fore¬
front of nearly every vital industry issue.
From its stand on “gray area” machines, to
its developing model legislation and public
relations packages, to its numerous other
activities—the OMAA has opened what
can almost be described as an embarrassing
distance between itself and other asso¬
ciations—local, state, or national.

Of course, there are several programs
and stands which the OMAA was not the
first in the industry to initiate. But, still, if

the project (or position) was to the overall
benefit of the industry, chances were the
OMAA has not been far behind in
adopting it.

The Ohio association’s active role has
contributed largely to the success of that
organization’s premier event, the annual
OMAA exposition. Restricted only by the
size of the hotel where the eighth annual
OMAA Show was held, organizers quickly
sold out all available booth space (68
booths) and then had to start turning
exhibitors away, with the promise that
next year’s show would be held at a larger
facility than the University Hilton in
Columbus, Ohio.

The two-day exposition (May 7—8),
which featured a Valley pool league cham¬
pionship tournament and a golf-tourna¬
ment, has overleaped its own boundaries.

Ed Siegel and Ed Cochran, OMAA's attorneys, were the focus
of attention at a seminar on municipal ordinances.

Chuck Farmer of Bally told seminar attendees, '‘A lot of the
problems we've faced are because we've let things happen. It's
time we get involved."

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

Bart Gullong of All-Weather Amusements and Joe Westerhaus of Royal
Distributing discuss the show’s proceedings.

Cleveland Coin’s Ron Gold talks with an OMAA attendee.

With a viable seminar program and a good
product exhibit, the OMAA is quickly
becoming regional in nature. In fact, there
were several attendees from other states—
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Kentucky,
Indiana, and so on. But it follows that, to
the active, go the spoils.

Seminars

As could probably be expected, the
OMAA seminar program featured two
politically conscious discussions: “Munic¬
ipal Ordinances: Can You Afford Them?”
and “The Fragility of the Industry.”

Featured speakers in the municipal ordi¬
nance seminar included national associa¬
tion executives Joe Robbins, president of
the manufacturers’ association (ADMA);
and Leo Droste, executive director of the
operators’ association (AMOA).

However, neither man’s remarks were
exactly on the topic. Notably, in recent
months, both associations declined,
apparently for different reasons, to get
involved with formulating model ordi¬
nances for the benefit of the whole indus¬
try; so both the ADMA and AMOA
spokesmen used the forum to talk on a
distant relation to municipal ordinances
—public relations. Also, notably, all the
questions in the discussion afterwards were
directed to the other two panel members—
attorneys Edward Siegel and Edward
Cockran—who represented OMAA. They
were able to address the topic specifically,
apparently because the OMAA has taken a
risk on a 50-1 shot and offered something
on model ordinances.

ADMA’s Robbins spoke about the
public relations program the three national
associations contracted for. Calling it “the
most definitive and comprehensive manual
on public relations for the industry,”
Robbins said it contained a history of the
industry, guidelines on how to use the
manual, legal precedents, etc. “It’s a
veritable Bible for operators and their
legal counsels on matters affecting this
industry,” he said.

Robbins said the manual would be
furnished on request and, if assistance is
necessary, ADMA “will assist or appear in
person.”

He described the manual as “defensive in
nature” and then noted that Atari has pro¬
duced a video documentary which can be
viewed at Atari distributors.

Robbins then noted there’s a need for an
“offensive”—a public relations program
but noted that such a program would be
expensive. Saying that general media
reports about the industry are “not
necessarily accurate,” he said the “offen¬
sive” should be directed at governing
bodies more so than the general public.

He advised operators to be in a “constant
state of alert” regarding publicity and
legislative adverse to the industry. He cited
the fact that games, which were legal
throughout the Mid East and Far East as
recently as three years ago,” are today
banned in all those countries except Japan.

“And that trend is starting in Europe,”

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

To duplicate... inexpensively.

The Kurz-Kasch PP-400 simplifies duplication.
Just insert a master ROM, PROM, or EROM, a
blank EPROM, flip the power switch to “on” and
push the Program button. Operation is that
simple.

Very little technical background is needed to use
this unit efficiently and easily. There is no editing,
interfacing, programming or verification neces¬
sary. It will duplicate the majority of 24 or 28 pin
ROMS, PROMS, or EPROMs into most 24 or 28
pin EPROMs via personality modules. The dupli¬
cation of multi-power devices such as the 2708
and TMS27XX series is no problem with the PP-
400. It is fully self-contained, with all regulated
power supplies.

Because the PP-400 comes from Kurz-Kasch, its
capabilities, performance, and low cost will come
as no surprise.

Get full details. Call Kurz-Kasch, Inc.

(513) 299-0990.

KURZ-KASCH

Electronics Division

AMOA 5 Leoma Ballard and Leo Droste were guests of the OMAA and spoke at
the state association '5 luncheon.

Frank Fogleman of Gremlin and Steve Shaffer of Shaffer Distributing are all
smiles, as they .should be. Interest in Gremlin's Zaxxon was strong at the show.

he noted. “And it can happen here.”

AMOA’s Droste underlined the reason
the operators’ association has stayed away
from offering model ordinances for its
members. “Every state and city is differ¬
ent,” he said. He cited the “multitudinous
layers of government” as impeding any
effective implementation of a model ordi¬
nance program.

“If model ordinances for the industry
were developed,” he said, “then they would
only be tools because they must be adopted
and adapted to individual needs. There
cannot be one ordinance to handle all.”

Droste then said the problem of design¬
ing model ordinances “is compounded at
the national level.”

“We are aware of the problem,” he said.
Droste turned to the need to change termi¬
nology within and without the industry to
create a better public image and a more
positive communication with govern¬
ment agencies.

He focused on a need to turn away from
the use of the word arcade in favor of the
phrase /flfw/7v amusement center. He also
said the term commissions creates a
negative image, whereas revenue sharing
would more accurately describe the
operator-location relationship.

Droste also observed that license fees
can be destructive, and that is why the
AMOA produced its “Cost of Doing
Business” survey—to help provide the
operator with “hard data” to refute claims
that the industry is rolling in money.

OMAA Attorney Siegel stressed the
need to communicate with local govern¬
ments. And he made the distressing obser¬
vation that in Ohio “it is totally legal for a
city to prohibit games entirely.”

That’s why it’s essential, he said, “to stay
on good terms with City Hall.”

What is important, said Siegel, is not to
fight government gobbledygook (legal
and governmental verbiage) with industry
gobbledygook but to stop adverse regula¬
tions by taking preventive steps. “You have
to show your overall concern for society” to
show a willingness to work with govern¬
ment for the benefit of society, he said.

Such a predisposition by operators, he
said, instead of an immediate adversary
position, can result in favorable ordinances
which, for instance, might call for self¬
policing by the industry itself.

Cochran, OMAA’s other attorney, also
stressed the need for operators to get
involved at the local level. Instead of
seeking confrontation with municipal
officials, he said, operators and the indus¬
try as a whole should focus on “common
issues” and use that agreement to forge
favorable ordinances.

During the question-and-answer ses¬
sion, an operator from the audience offered
the observation: “We must fight the
impression that the games are evil. If the
games are perceived as insidious,” he said,
“then that seems to justify high fees on our
industry, as far as city officials are con¬
cerned.”

In the other featured seminar,” The
PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

STRETCH YOUR DOLLARS
AT ROYAL DISTRIBUTING

LOWEST CASH PRICES IN THE INDUSTRY

Call:

Jack Schleicher, General Manager
Claudia Wilson, Sales Manager
Fran Lutterhie, Sales
Joe Westerhaus, President

YAL

DISTRIBUTING CORP.

1210 Glendale-Milford Rd. Cincinnati, Ohio 45215

513/771-4250

CALL TOLL-FREE

(USA) 800/543-4250
(Ohio) 800/582-2699

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

Marshall Caras and Jim Newlander were on hand for the Gottlieb grand prize
donated at the show—a Haunted House pinball. Many manufacturers, in fact,
used the show as a courtesy donation of new equipment.

Toledo Coin Machine Distributing’s staff included John Rehkopf Phyllis
Ashenfelter, Rose Bennett, and Craig Rehkopf who .showed off their line of new
equipment.

Ben Rochetti looks on as a customer checks out Stern’s new Tazz-Mania.

Fragility of the Industry,’’Charles Farmer,
president of Bally’s pinball division,
praised the OMAA, saying, “Every state
could take note of what you’ve done here.’’

He said, in fact, the industry is gener¬
ating more revenue and said with this
“revenue increase comes an enormous
responsibility. We are the giant of the
entertainment industry,” he said,
exhorting the industry to start looking at
itself in a different light—that it is too big
to hide.

“I think it’s the new breed of operators
who are holding court,’’ Farmer said. “I
don’t think we would’ve gotten all this
attention if our games would be in taverns
and bars. I don’t think anyone cares about
the taverns and bars. But due to the change
in the location base, the customer base of
this industry, we have gotten all the pub¬
licity and, with that, the adverse reaction as
well.

“It’s our responsibility,” he continued,
“to paint the right picture.”

He said Bally’s Aladdin Castle stores
now regularly contact government officials
“to find out if we have any trouble spots,
any areas where we should be paying more
attention.” And he exhorted others within
the industry to follow this approach also to
keep the lines of communication open with
government.

“A lot of the problems we’ve had as an
industry,” said Farmer,” are the result of
our just having let things happen. Our Job
at Bally and yours as operators is not just
to supply games. Evidently it’s time we get
involved, too.”

Frank Fogleman, vice chairman of
Sega/Gremlin, said the risk-reward con¬
cept should apply in this industry. If
government—through licensing, through
restrictions, etc.—starts to put a ceiling on
the reward available in the coin-op enter¬
tainment industry, then the industry will
dry up and investors will move on to other
endeavors because government won’t
guarantee a ceiling on an investor’s risk.

Gottlieb Vice President Marshall Caras
turned the operators’ attention away from
governmental problems to pure economic
problems. The continued well-being of the
industry, he said, depends on the smart use
of available capital by the industry’s
buying base.

Caras surprised the audience as he con¬
tinued. Though a games seller, he advised
the audience, “I think some of you people
should start buying less. You need now to
develop a buying pattern.” Without that,
he warned, the operator base will over¬
extend itself and, though the manufac¬
turers would reap short-term gains,
everyone would lose in the long run.

Caras advised operators, among other
things, to investigate the use of software
programs to aid operators with any or all
their business decisions—including equip¬
ment purchases.

At the general membership banquet,
OMAA’s executive director, Paul Corey,
let loose of a couple items which have con¬
tributed tj the OMAA’s active role and its

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

success. The board of directors meets once
a month and boasts of a regular ninety
percent attendance of directors at each
board meeting “even though the costs for
travel and food are absorbed by the board
members themselves,” said Corey.

The featured speaker at the annual
luncheon was AMOA President Leoma
Ballard.

“You are learning how important grass¬
roots participation is,” she said. “We’ll
need this same grassroots participation to
win in Washington.” Her reference was to
the recent AMOA plan to push for a
jukebox copyright law. “There’s only one
thing we can do,” she said, “unite! The
government has more ways to tax us than
the public knows about.”

She zeroed in on the copyright law,
saying Congress would not approve of the
way the copyright law has impacted the
jukebox operator. “Congressmen want to
know about the increase of the jukebox
copyright fee and the excessive fines the
law is creating,” she said.

“We are going to have to come out of our
shell and make the public aware of who we
are,” she continued. “So let’s get behind the
AMOA and make it stronger.”

AMOA’s Droste then addressed the
luncheon gathering. Apparently attempt¬
ing to explain why the AMOA has been
inactive in many industry areas, the
AMOA executive said, “There are certain
restrictions we all have that we can and
cannot do. But I assure you we are not
standing still. We are attempting to
modernize our office so we can be a true
information source to you.”

He announced that the AMOA is
reviewing its entire education program.
Along those lines, the AMOA is consider¬
ing an executive development program
with a set series of courses “and possibly
even certification,” said Droste. The
AMOA chief also said the national asso¬
ciation is reconsidering the production
of technical videotapes. He also said
the AMOA would offer seminars for
new operators.

Indicative again of the active role of
OMAA in the industry, Droste said the
AMOA will be circulating forms to its
members to find out how well each mem¬
ber knows his congressmen. The OMAA
initiated that program last year in order to
coordinate effectively its legislative efforts.
(See Play Meter, July 15, 1981, p. 48.)

“We are trying to provide tools to fight
back,” said Droste, “but the AMOA needs
your feedback.”

Officers

The OMAA elected new officers for
1982. They are Richard George, president;
Larry Van Bracket, first vice president;
William Levine, second vice president;
Harold Laughlin, secretary; Norman
Borkan, treasurer; and James Hayes,
chairman.

Game unveilings at the OMAA included
Taito’s Wild West and Kram and Stern’s
Tazz-Mania. •

Bob Lapinski and Bob Fry of Penn-Ray supply house share a laugh with a
convention visitor.

Mark McCleskey and Joe Furjanic of Universal stand with the company’s two
newest offerings, Lady Bug and Snap Jack.

Len Schneller of U.S. Billiards and Joe Robbins of the manufacturers’ association
talk things over.

PLAY METERJuly 1, 1982

Grocery Store Location—

A manager’s view on getting in

by George Korzeniowski

A S the night manager of a 24-hour
grocery store in a small town
(pop: 16,000), I saw there are
basic things that are considered before
making the decision to bring in electronic
games. In order of consideration they
are: profit, image, service, image, and
more image.

It almost goes without saying that unless
you can show the management it will be
worth the loss of floor space, the hassles
(“Can I have a dollar’s worth of quarters

please?” dozens of times a day!), and the
noise (beep...splat...buzz-buzz... “Prepare
to die, SPACE KA-DETI”), you might as
well forget it.

But surprisingly few of the salespeople
that I see begin at the most logical starting
place—the cash register!

Bring some receipts in! Show... don’t
just tell! Have some way of demonstrating
how much money will be made. Show
some photos of other stores that are similar
in size and explain how much they make.

After showing him a nice profit poten¬
tial, the next—and in a way even more
important—point is the store’s image.

How will the customers take to these
games? Will the average shopper (probably
a married woman in her thirties) be
annoyed by a gaggle of kids playing these
screeching, bleeping, flashing games? Will
she decide that the store down the street is a
better place to buy hamburger because
there she isn’t overwhelmed with a
mechanical voice saying “Space Captains,
man your ship!” every few minutes or
some kid in bare feet and a T-shirt shouting

“Aw-it!” every time Squeaky eats his

Pac-Man.

Customer acceptance is everything.
Work for it. If the buying public doesn’t
want it, a grocery store can’t afford to carry
it. An average customer spends more than
$2,500 a year in a store, so the store
management can’t afford to offend any of
them!

Here are a few thoughts on overcoming
this tough line of resistance.

First of all, bring in some good photos of
setups you have in other stores! Use your
Kodak; you don’t need anything fancy.
Just make sure the pictures are clear and in
color (to show the eye-catching colors). On
the back, write the name and location. This
can then be used when working the profit
angle we talked about before, but use them
primarily to show how darn good the
machines look when set up!

If you don’t have any retail stores,
grocery or otherwise, on your route, don’t
make the mistake of substituting photos of
taverns, pool halls, bowling alleys, or
arcades. This will immediately create a
picture that you will probably regret. To a
grocery store manager/owner, these places
bring to mind dim lights and smoke-filled
rooms catering to a certain type of
clientele. He doesn’t want this type
hanging around all day, even if, like me, he
enjoys dropping a few bucks after work to
blow a few asteroids out of the sky!

You need to show bright, cheerful,
uncluttered-looking displays of some of
your more attractive upright games. Stay

PLAY MF-TER, July 1982

C-Stores: A growing market

Convenience stores may be the fastest
growing market for operating coin-op
electronic games, according to a 1981
study by C-Store Business, a trade
publication for that industry. From almost
nil operating of games ten years ago, 44
percent of the stores responding to the
publication’s survey said they have the
games now.

Analysis in C-Store Business advised
stores’ management that operating on a
commission basis with an operator may
actually be more lucrative for them than
owning the games that are on the premises.
Noting the usual 50/50 split of revenues
between the operator and the store chain,
the publication noted the operator’s role of
placing the machines “on a consignment
basis,” servicing, rotating, and collecting
from the machines. “There is no expense or
investment by the store,” C-Store Business
reminded its readers.

John Gatens, president of Southwest
Vending/San Antonio distributorship,
was quoted to estimate $90 a week in
revenue to a store from a game machine.
“C-stores will make more on a commission
basis than they would owning the
machines,” said Gatens. “They also don’t
have to worry about servicing the equip¬
ment, leaving the chore to a qualified
technician. I’m sure selling food is

complicated enough. Why should C-store
operators learn the electronic games
business?”

The publication went on to advise the
retailer who does wish to purchase his own
games to either buy new equipment from a
distributor or to shop for used games
(another market for the professional,
games operator). A store chain purchasing
its own games “should have more than
fifteen stores to make it worthwhile,”
Gatens advised.

(For the operator, games rotation by his
own personnel may be a major selling
point to the location, particularly if it is a
smaller chain with no personnel for
rotating machines and no spare warehouse
space for storage of played-out games.)

C-Store Business stressed the growing
popularity of the games in its report
“Electronic Games: New Frontier...”
(October, 1981 issue), and reported that,
while an estimated eleven percent of cus¬
tomers played video games regularly five
years ago, the number has now risen to
forty percent.

“C-store shoppers are also the type of
people most likely to play electronic
games,” Gatens commented. “Adult men
and teenagers are our prime audience.”

— R.E.T.

Contact your local distributor or

/ATfURFORKm

1841 Friendship Dr., El Cajon, CA 92020
(714) 562-7000 or (800) 854-2666

Mi /

away from cocktail tables as a rule,
though. Stores don’t have the room for
chairs, and even if they did, the uprights
are easier to take care of—^^only one piece of
furniture to watch instead of two.

Some rules for getting in

Remember that a grocery store is
basically family oriented and specifically
geared toward the woman of the house.
Even though it will be the kids, by and
large, that will drop their quarters into
your pockets, it’s the store (and therefore
the moms) that decides in which hot spot
you can park your game. Try and make it
easy for her to like it.

The second point to remember is simply,
research! Do some: Spend about fifteen
minutes before you approach the manager
and walk through the store slowly. Better
yet, go on a busy day and watch the cus¬
tomer flow in the aisles. Then come back
on a slow day and make your pitch. Not
only will you avoid sounding like an idiot
when the manager screams “Games!
Where the hell am I going to find some
room for games?”—but you will knock his
socks off when you tell him that you were
in the other day and spent some time trying
to find the best place for him\

Tell him you think this spot is the best
because it is quiet, etc. Very few food
product salespeople care about the store.
All they want is to get their product (in
your case a game) in and their money out.
Be different. Go out of your way and try to

solve a couple of his problems for him and
watch what happens!

Find a spot that is fairly out of the way,
to keep the noise down, but which can be
watched fairly closely.

If, as in our case, the store is located in a
mall, try and get the machines on the front
edge—the walk-by traffic is terrific!

Ours are placed between the store
proper and the deli which is tucked away in
the farthest front corner of the store.
Electrical outlets were readily available
here (something to watch for...the store is
probably not going to install new electric
lines just for you); the cashiers have a good
view of the machines; and the noise and
various audio effects (from both the games
and the players) are kept out of the aisles.

Being open 24 hours, we have a few
added problems. Being open all night tends
to attract the unsavory character anyway,
and you don’t want your games to be an
added reason for them to hover around the
store all night. We solved that problem by
simply turning the machines off at
midnight!

Work out a program

Now then, after you’ve got your
manager drooling at the profits and
convinced that his customers aren’t going
to abandon him, you need to assure him
that he won’t be stuck with a bunch of
machines that are either out of order all the
time or are so full of quarters from lack of
collections that they wouldn’t work even if

you burped them!

Explain your service and pick up
arrangements carefully and in detail. Baby
his fears. Promise to be in to collect and/or
repair promptly—then do it!

Work out a program for refunds that is
acceptable to both of you. At first we tried
simply giving cash refunds from the
registers and then adding this to the weekly
game profits for the store. We soon saw
that the players were suddenly getting their
quarters “stuck” in the machine or were
complaining that the machine wasn’t
working even after they “put their money
in” every few minutes.

Now we take their name, address, and
the amount of money they lost on
whichever machine, and the route operator
takes care of it from his end. The last thing
a busy store needs is lines of kids
demanding their money back at the
registers on a busy Saturday morning.
Working through the mail has cut down on
our junior rip-off artists a lot!

A grocery store is a very profitable
location. I’ve seen groups of kids come
in at 10:30 or 11:00 at night and drop
twenty bucks. Many moms give their kids a
couple of dollars, and the kids defend the
galaxy while mom battles for the groceries.

And face it. Fifty percent of that is
yours. Don’t pass it up by not being able to
get your transistorized, flashing, beeping,
laser shooting, quarter-eating foot in the
door. Be prepared, dind...Good luck. Space
Captain! •

EXPANDS THE WORLD OF PLAY

UNIVERSAL U.S.A., INC. • 3250 Victor Street • Santa Clara, CA 95050 • Telephone: 408-727-4591 • TLX: 172 247

As the Player begins his flight into
Adventure-Land, his airplane is quickly
surrounded by hot air balloons.
WATCH OUT! These seemingly
innocent colorful objects mean
destruction.

Immediately the Players flying skills
are tested.Tne hot air balloons
challenge and engMe the Player in a
fierce dogfight.The Player must loop
his plane to avoid and destroy the
swirling balloons.

\/ENTUREjlNejNS^ ^

3731 E. LaSalle Phoenix, AZ 85040
tel 1-800-528-1442, 602/243-6289
telex 667-499

As the Player continues his journey
into Adventure - Land he encounters
the Maze Tunnel. Now the Player must
guide and loop his airplane through
the labyrinth with precision movements.

looping is manufactured under license from Video Games GMbH

♦ ^

1 ' *#^0^

m:-AM . J

|VTjv

Great numbers of a top game undergoing still another extensive test phase (a six to twelve-hour final ** burn-in'*)—Gremlin

moves into high gear.

A Giant Gremlin?

In the same sense ^military intelligence’ and ^jumbo shrimp’
contain mutually contradictory words, a video game
company has risen up to create still another paradox.

A s one Gremlin official put it, the
question with Gremlin was
never one of when the company
would hit it big but, rather, considering
everything Gremlin has going for it, why
the company hasn’t hit it big yet?

Probably contributing more than any
other single factor to the company’s unful¬
filled potential was the industry perception
of inconsistent quality control coming out
of Gremlin. And officials for the San
Diego company, in their very candid
moments, readily admit “the knock on
Gremlin has always been on of quality
control.”

Apparently operators came to expect an
uneven, hit-or-miss mechanical perfor¬
mance from the video game company’s
product, keeping Gremlin a tier or two
below acknowledged video game giants,
like Atari and Midway.

Company officials even attribute the less
than overwhelming initial response to
Gremlin’s Convert-A-Game system to
technical failures rather than game inade¬
quacies.

Whenever any organization talks so
openly about its negative attributes—as
Gremlin was doing at its open house
ribbon-cutting ceremony May 15—it’s a
good signal that organization thinks it’s
reversed the trend. And further inquiries
with Gremlin personnel produced exactly
that response. “We now have the most
advanced testing equipment and quality
control procedure in the industry—bar
none!” stated a proud Gremlin official.

The occasion was the open house dedi¬
cation of Gremlin’s new 125,000-square
foot complex in the Rancho Bernardo
Technology Park—about twenty miles
north of downtown San Diego. And a
subsequent tour of the facility showed why
Gremlin feels it is now positioned to take
its place among the video game giants,
finally.

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

In a prepared release for distribution to
the media, Duane Blough, president of
Gremlin Industries, touched on the quality
control push the company has made to
buttress its share of the market. “We are
delighted to be in this marvelous new
facility,” he said. “Our people are happy,
our productivity is up, and we’re building
better quality games than ever before.”

In the past, the “knock”
on Gremlin product
was usually one of
quality control, but
recently the company
has silenced its critics
and is now positioned
to become a video
game giant.

For one thing, the new building consoli¬
dates many operations into a single loca¬
tion and incorporates many sophisticated
manufacturing systems. A day-long tour of
the new building confirmed that, from
receiving of component parts through final
game assembly and shipment, the plant
provides highly mechanized methods of
quality assurance and mass production.

Sophisticated testing equipment—like
the Fluke Digital Analog System, which
activates and exercises each integrated
circuit board to verify the board’s con¬
nections and performance, and the Zehntel

Troubleshooter 800, which tests each com¬
ponent and circuit board to detect shorts
and faults (at a rate of 45 seconds per
board!)—has been streamlined and.
Gremlin believes, improved tremendously
Gremlin’s product quality.

Increased production

“We’re realizing a significant improve¬
ment as a result of our operation here,”
Blough told Play Meter. “We’ve got much
better test equipment and a better system
for assembling products.”

The failure rate on Zaxxon, for instance,
is far lower than with previous product
offerings, said Blough, because the com¬
pany “is in a much better position than ever
before to weed out rejects.”

Yet that improved quality control has
apparently not hampered the company’s
production capabilities, the Gremlin
president said. In fact, Blough said, “We’re
building more than fifty percent more pro¬
duct with about 250 fewer people than we
would have needed prior to moving into
this facility.”

Sega/Gremlin Chairman David Rosen
went so far as to say productivity at the
Gremlin plant was up probably closer to
100 percent! “We’ve doubled our pro¬
duction with the same number of people,”
Rosen said.

Of course, the fact that Gremlin had the
two top games at the time of the ribbon¬
cutting ceremony (Zaxxon and Turbo)
went a long way toward pressing the com¬
pany into the position of showing exactly
what its production capabilities are.

As Blough put it, “In terms of saleable
product we are presently number one.” But
what about production? “We are shipping
25 times more product than we did in
1978,” he said.

Twenty-five times more product! The
phenomenal volume increase was obvi¬
ously the major factor in Gremlin’s move to

Among the half-dozen assemblies produced in the subassembly area are the
electrical harnesses w hich are tested 100 percent with automatic harness test
equipment to detect shorts and malfunctions before their final assembly into a
game.

Automatic test equipment—such as the Fluke Digital Analog Test System pictured
here which exercises each integrated circuit board to verify the board's connections
and performance—assures product quality through the game manufacturing
process. Gremlin officials state.

Each component device and all circuit boards are tested on a Zehntel Trouble¬
shooter 800 to detect shorts and faults at an early stage of the production process.

a more sophisticated production facility.

“We struggled in the past to turn out 300
games a day. Now our company is turning
out nearly 500 games a day," Gremlin’s
president said.

“With the amount of product we’re
turning out today,’’ he continued, “We
would have been hard-pressed at our old
facilities.’’

At the new Rancho Bernardo complex.
Gremlin has three separate production
lines, each with the capability to produce
between 125-150 games per day. And if
pressed by extra production demands.
Gremlin officers said, the company could
turn out as many as 700-800 games per
day.

Quality control?

In light especially of the saleability of
Gremlin’s present product, the production
capability for Zaxxon and Turbo is good
news for operators, but what about the rub
against Gremlin’s quality control? Besides
the installation of some sophisticated
testing equipment, what makes Gremlin so
confident it can maintain a rigid quality
control over its product? It’s a question
which could be asked to each factory when
one considers the large numbers of highly
technical machinery this industry turns out
every day—possibly as many as 3,000-
4,000 machines daily—according to one
industry (not Play Meter or Gremlin)
guesstimate

In Gremlin’s case, Blough said, just the
move to the new facility has got to increase
the company’s quality control drastically.
Prior to February (when Gremlin actually
moved into its new facility), the company
was spread out in seven buildings. That, he
said, created extra handling of subassem¬
blies at the increased risk of manufacturing
flaws. Despite all human attempts, said
Blough, the physical restriction of being
scattered in seven buildings necessarily
created a certain degree of quality variance
because game subassemblies have to be
shipped from one building to another.

Another factor which will cause opera¬
tors to notice a decline in Gremlin game
failures in the field, said Blough, is a signif¬
icant increase in the company’s “burn-in"
time.

Burn-in is the time a factory devotes to
trying to force a game failure. That way, if
there is a flaw in one of the components, it
will be detected at the factory when a fix
can be applied, rather than in the field
where it ends up costing the operator/
buyer time and lost revenue.

All electronic components are subjected
to twelve hours of burn-in at approxi¬
mately 125 degrees Fahrenheit to cause
any weak components to fail prior to being
assembled in the final game. They are also
tested after they are taken out from the
burn-in. Also, finished games are plugged-
in as if they were on location and are
operated non-stop for between six to
twelve hours to insure the games are in
operating condition when they leave the
plant. This is achieved by an automated

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

NEW

LARGEST

INTRODUCING.. KIWI

MONEYMAKING KIDDIE RIDES

KIDDIE RIDES U.S.A

IMPORTER OF KIDDIE RIDES IN THE USA)

HYDRAULIC RED ARROW (IT ROTATES)
FLASHING LIGHTS, DIFFERENT MOTIONS
VARIOUS SOUNDS

HYDRUALIC GALACTICAR (IT ROTATES)
FLASHING LIGHTS, AND SOUNDS
"A TERRIFIC RIDE”

HYDRAULIC HELICOPER (IT ROTATES)
“MOST PROFITABLE RIDE EVER”

HYDRAULIC RED BARON
(IT ROTATES) WORLD WAR I TRIPLANE
"REAL LIFE ACTION"

LOTUS RACE CAR
ALWAYS A FAVORITE

SANTA FE TRAIN
WHISTLE AND STEAM SOUNDS

‘*ln terms of saleable product, we are number one!’* proclaimed Gremlin President
Duane Plough. Zaxxon has been attracting a lot of play in arcades across the
country. And that has resulted in increased production demands. Fortunately, with
the new Gremlin facility, company officers stated, the company will be able to meet
the product demand.

Continuing review of station layout of the final assembly line assures timely and
accurate completion of production schedules. In fact, Sega j Gremlin Chairman
Rosen claims the company is now able to double its previous production capacity,
with the same number of people.

Scorr Baker, Gremlin manufacturing engineer, explains to the open house tour
group the operation of a Northeastern automatic IC insertion machine.

burn-in line which makes each of the
games go through repeatedly every func¬
tion it must go through on location. With
the line being automated, games are con¬
tinually coming off the burn-in line, unless
a failure was forced, ready to be boxed and
shipped.

Of course, continual employee training
is essential to any reliable product, and
toward that goal the company in its new
facility has incorported two new employee
training areas to improve employee per¬
formance.

But, still, it’s the revolutionary testing
and production equipment which Gremlin
points to with pride and which they claim
will quickly change the industry’s percep¬
tion of uneven quality control at Gremlin.
Rosen told Play Meter much of the new
equipment was custom-designed to
Gremlin’s specifications and that, in fact,
terms for the new factory had been worked
out a year ago. It’s just that it has taken a
year for the company to get the machinery
it specified!

One of the areas benefiting most from
the Gremlin change—and one of the areas
which has increased tremendously the
company’s production capabilities is the
automatic insertion area. There are three
types of machines in this area. These
machines are apparently capable of
handling axial and radial leads, as well as
integrated circuits at a very high speed
without sacrificing reliability. Ninety-five
percent of the components going into
Gremlin games are inserted here, said a
factory spokesman.

There are two operations for axial lead
components (consisting of resistors,
diodes, and some capacitors). The
sequencer, which moves the components
from a reel and retapes them in the
sequence to be inserted into the printed
circuit board, produces at a rate of 25,000
per hour; and the inserter, which positions
the board, then bends and inserts the com¬
ponent into the printed circuit board and
then cuts and crimps the lead under the
board, produces at the rate of 12,000 per
hour.

That “slower” rate on the inserter neces¬
sitated the installation of two such
machines in order to keep pace with the
axial lead component sequencer.

A second step is the radial lead com¬
ponent insertion equipment, which is used
for most capacitors and some transistors,
to sequence the component directly into
the insertion head at a rate of 7,000 per
hour.

Also there’s the integrated circuit
inserters, which are capable of inserting
sockets and IC’s directly into the circuit
board. The entire operation in the auto¬
matic insertion area is computer operated
and must be programmed to allow for the
positioning and sequencing of the com¬
ponent insertion into the proper position
on the printed circuit board.

High-speed production capabilities with
a significant increase in reliability is echoed
elsewhere throughout the Gremlin plant

PLAY METERJuly 1,1982

Some People Call Us WICKO!
And Some Call Us WHYCO!
Others Call Us WEECO!

But you can be sure they CALL us!

Why don’t you?

WIG

WE’RE
NUMBER
ONE —

The World-Wide Source Of Quality Replacement Parts And Supplies For The

COIN OPERATED MACHINE INDUSTRY

Call our TOLL FREE ORDER NUMBERS FOR

FASTER SERVICE!

LOIVER SHIPPING COSTS!

WICO CORPORATION

It’s The Place to Go!

6 WICO DISTRIBUTION CENTERS — Contact the one nearest you!

CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS

CHICAGO

6400 W. Gross Point Rd.
Niles, Illinois 60648
Phone (312) 647-7500
Telex 28-9413

800-323-0765
Except IL

NEW YORK
26 Madison Road
Fairfield, NJ 07006
Phone (201)575-0515

800-526-2536
Except NJ

LOS ANGELES
5584 E. Imperial Hwy.
South Gate, CA 90280
Phone (213)923-0381

DALLAS ATLANTA LAS VEGAS

10514 Kir>g William Dr. 6685 Jimmy Carter Blvd. 2901 S. Highland Drive

Dallas, Texas 75220 Norcross, GA 30071 Bldg. 13, Space B

Phone (214) 556-0356 Phone (404) 449-4212 Las Vegas, NV 89109

Phone (702) 737-7508

Toll Free Order Service-

800-421-9731 800-527-9970 800-241-5974

800-352-4151 CA 800-442-7901 TX Except Ga

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

'‘If only 30—50 percent of the games were replaced in a year’s time, that means
there would still be a replacement market for somewhere between 300,000-500,000
video games, said Gremlin’s Chairman David Rosen, pictured here with a whole
host o/Zaxxon videos behind him.

Gremlin President Duane Plough told Play Meter the company is positioned well
to adapt to the market’s demands. "We could even cut down to one production
line working just one shift and still operate profitably, ’’ he said.

Company officials took visitors on a complete tour of the new Gremlin facility,
showing the company’s capabilities in light of the stepped-up production demands.
At far left in picture, Sega j Gremlin vice-chairman Frank Fogleman accompanies
one of the tours.

facility—for instance, the harness assembly
area where a Eubanks Wire Cutter auto¬
matically cuts and strips wires at a rate of
7,000 per hour.

At this point, only special projects and
the engineering departments are not
housed at the new facility. Reportedly, the
special projects department will soon make
the move north to join the rest of Gremlin’s
factory personnel. But the engineering
department will probably remain housed
in separate facilities since it’s not essential
the company’s research and development
arm be in the same location as the pro¬
duction facility.

Wisdom of expansion questioned

When asked about financing for the
relocation and expansion, Sega/Gremlin’s
Rosen said the company was “quite suffi¬
cient at this time, that no outside financing’’
was needed for the expansion.

However, in light of the volatile nature
of the marketplace and the perception by
many in the industry that video games are
reaching a saturation point. Play Meter
asked Rosen if such an expansion at this
time might be construed as a risky pro¬
position. His response was, “Gremlin is not
in a feast-or-famine position.”

He said he still sees potential for an even
greater expansion of video games today,
that municipal ordinances pose the greatest
threat to the normal expansion of the
industry. But even with the prevailing
negativity by many public officials, Rosen
pointed out, all is not bad for video game
companies which are well-financed.
Because of the proliferation of video games
on location, there is a very large replace¬
ment market which needs to be supplied
regularly with new products. “If only thirty
to fifty percent of the games were replaced
in a year’s time,” he offered, “that means
there would be a need for somewhere
between 300,000-500,000 games to be
replaced.”

His remark seemed to reflect the earlier
cited industry guesstimate from another
factory’s source that video game pro¬
duction is nearing the 900,000 a year level.

As a gauge that would put that produc¬
tion total into perspective. Play Meter
estimated, according to its annual opera¬
tors survey, that there were 470,000 video
games sold in the United States last year.
That means, despite all the gloomy pre¬
dictions to the contrary, game sellers this
year may be realizing even greater growth
than last year when many industry people
figured the industry had topped out.

In a separate interview, Blough con¬
firmed the viability of Gremlin as being in
for the long-term. He said the company
could easily adjust to the marketplace,
even if there were a slowdown—to
Gremlin’s product or to video games in
general. Although Gremlin is geared up to
produce as many as 500 games daily,
Blough said the company could cut down
to one production line working just one
shift and still operate profitably.

That ability to adapt is no doubt largely

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

Our service is second fo none. One of the
largest spore ports inventories in America.

OVER 100 ITEMS IN STOCK!

Trains • Dumper Cars
Cartoon, Daloon and
Egg Machines
Carouseis • Boats
Animals, etc.

We represent
more factories
thon onyone in
the business.

• UDI

• MHI

• F&W Associates

• Dofco

• MDC Designs

• Whittaker Bros.

• Newborough

• Vending Int'i

• Continentai Amusement

• Lumberjacks

This means o brooder and more
diversified selection...no waiting...
the lowest prices in the industry.

309/706-0105

KLAY MtIbK, July 1, 1982

iock Island, IL 61201

Engineering specification and workmanship standards are A machine operator installs PC boards into a high-speed
double-checked and verified after "burn-in. ” Universal inserter for automatic insertion of axial lead

components.

attributable to the company’s move to add
machinery and not plant personnel.

In unrelated matters, Rosen divulged
that Sega/ Gremlin plans to enter the home
consumer field in the near future. In the
interim, he said the company has licensed
others to produce their games—most
notably Parker Brothers for Fogger and
Coleco for Zaxxon and others.

Rosen also said the company is re¬
evaluating its position with regard to PJ

Pizzaz restaurant-arcade operations
because “of the high number of operators
getting into the field.”

But it was the proud show of strength
that was noteworthy at the occasion-
even to the company’s insistence that the
industry not take Gremlin at its word.
Whether people choose to believe Gremlin
has turned things around as far as quality
control and production capability is
unimportant, they seem to be saying. It’s

performance that matters. Blough put it
best at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“We’re in an industry where actions speak
louder than words. We want to show you.”

Operators who are used to hearing lots
of words from each and every factory will
no doubt be putting Gremlin on trial in the
months to come to see if the words spoken
on May 15 were empty claims or whether
they marked the coming of age of another
video game giant, finally. •

— ! WARNING ! —

Contrary to all the publicity, there are many top
earnins same boards that are lesal and can be
used by you to convert old turkeys into new
winners — We have them!

GAME PARTS AVAILABLE -

• GAME P.C.B.- HOT new sames - Steady
earners and a few barsain boards for cheap
conversions.

• Power Supply Modules: Edseboard connector,
complete wirins harness, fuse block, line filter,
heavy duty D.C. power supply, rugged grounded
line cord, just add our P.C. board.

• Clear English Documentation. ^

• Lifetime Joystick - 4 way, 2 way. (

Phone: (213) 768-7144

Los Anseles

NEW-GAME P.C.B. AND CONVERSIONS

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

b BUTTON

[sTRors

Ittacicers

these game^ and the feati
ibiect to various state and)l(

Manufacturij

ik-‘’-’-:''.-i :^ii

J:: J'-.'/r ■ - KPP

^i4£MM

iT3

Fa V 1

WIC0

From a one-sheet
flyer to the largest
parts distributor

by Randy Fromm

A ccording to the slogan printed
on its catalog binding, Wico
Corporation is “The world’s
largest distributor of parts and supplies to
the amusement, music and vending indus¬
tries.” If you haven’t heard of Wico, you’re
probably a newcomer to the coin-op
business!

As the amusement industry’s major
supplier of replacement parts, Wico pro¬
cesses thousands of daily orders to over
19,000 active customers! And yet to most
operators, Wico is just a catalog or a dis¬
embodied voice on the telephone. But
there’s more to Wico than that...Much
more!

The early years

Depending upon what part of the
country you’re in and to whom you happen
to be speaking, you’ll hear “Wico” pro¬
nounced as “Wye-co” or “Wee-co,” but in
fact the proper pronunciation is actually
“Wick-o”!

The name “Wico” comes from the
founder and present day owner of the cor¬
poration, Max Wiczer, and stands for
“Wiczer’s Company.”

Wico Corporation started as a Chicago
based parts distributorship in 1940,
carrying replacement parts for Bally,
Chicago Coin, Exhibit, Genco, and
Gottlieb machines.

Max Wiczer, Wico chairman of the board.

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

At that time, the business was known as
the “Harry Marcus Company,” and was
located at 1035 North Pulaski Road.

The business of distributing replacement
parts soon led to manufacturing them as
wartime shortages of materials, such as
rubber and phosphorus/bronze, meant
delays of weeks and months before
obtaining the parts needed to satisfy the
growing demands of customers. Among
the first items to be manufactured were
coils, coil stops, coil sleeves, and ball
shooter rods. Some of the most popular
items offered were kits of miscellaneous
springs and switches. These kits remain in
the catalog and are still among the most
popular items currently offered.

The company name was changed to
Wico Corporation when it was incor¬
porated in 1946 as a privately held
corporation. At present, Wico remains
wholly owned by the Wiczer family. In
1970, Wico moved its headquarters to the
present location in Niles, Illinois, a suburb
of Chicago.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing remains an integral
part of Wico’s operations. Flippers, coils,
buttons, switches, and joysticks are all
manufactured in-house at the Niles
location. The 105,000 square foot facility
also houses a complete machine shop for
fabricating items such as hasps, safes, hand
trucks, and “pin dollies.”

Wico’s electronic division produces a
wide range of products. Among them are
pattern generators for video game moni¬
tors, vending machine price conversion
kits, and electronic sound kits for the
older, electro-mechanical pinball
machines.

“We’re trying to serve the operator,”
stated Wico President Gordon Gorenson.
“Whether it’s a sound kit that helps him to
be able to maintain that game on the street,
or whether its a price conversion kit on a
candy machine because of inflation, we’re
trying to help him keep his equipment
going.”

Wico’s latest additions to its long list of
manufactured items include what is known
as O.E.M. (original equipment manufac¬
ture) products. These are components such
as buttons, switches, and joysticks that
Wico supplies to the game manufacturers
for use in their production games.

“The O.E.M. came out of the video
explosion,” explained Wico’s executive
vice president, Steve Parks. “Asteroids was
one of our biggest successes. Every
Asteroids that went out the door went out
with five Wico buttons and five Wico
switches. We were also fortunate enough
to have the joystick on Defender."^

Also available from Wico as an O.E.M.
part is their most recent addition, a “Trac-
Ball” type of unit similar to that used in
Atari’s Centipede video.

Joysticks are manufactured
in-house in Niles, Illinois.

Manufacturing a wide range of products, including coils, is an integral part of
Wico’s operations.

All of the O.E.M. parts are available for
purchase by operators, either singularly or
in quantity.

The catalog

The Wico catalog has grown from a
one sheet flyer back in the Harry Marcus
era to more than 300 pages in the 1982
edition. All of the art production for the
catalog is taken care of in-house by a
staff of artists, photographers, draftsmen,
typographers, and printers. All catalog
supplements and advertising flyers are also
printed in-house.

“The catalog really doesn’t list all of the
items we stock,” said Frank Nickerson,
Wico’s national sales manager. “You

should see the catalog I have! It just
wouldn’t be practical to list the parts in the
catalog that we get maybe one or two
requests for in a year’s time. But the parts
are still available to our customers. If
anyone needs a part that’s not listed in the
catalog, they should make a point of
calling us to ask if we really do have it.
Operators that call to inquire about parts
they cannot find in the catalog are an
important source of information as to
what new items we should add to the
13,000 different items we now stock!”

To help determine what new products
the operator might need, 37 Wico rep¬
resentatives are kept “on the road”
visiting operators across the country. In

i i

M c m

Phone or write for catalog & aamplea

VAN BROOK OF LEXINGTON, INC.
P.O. BOX 5044, LEXINGTON, KY. 40555

606/231-7100

39th AMUSEMENT TRADES EXHIBITION

OLYMPIA, LONDON W14
JANUARY 10th—13th, 1983

9500 SQUARE METRES • COVERED EXHIBITION SPACE

Applications for Space
are now invited

' ■ Prospectus available from:- -

AMUSEMENT TRADES EXHIBITION LTD.

122 Clapham Common North Side • London SW4, England

Telephone: 01-228-4107

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

^ico stocks more than 13,000 different items.

addition to determining the needs of his
customers, the representatives will often
offer periodic “specials” on certain items or
introduce new products that are not in the
current catalog but may be of interest.
Operators can arrange to have a repre¬
sentative visit by writing or calling Wico.

“Our marketing strategy is to go to the
customer,” commented Parks. “That’s why
we have as large of a sales force as we have.
That’s why we have the number of
branches we have.”

There are six Wico facilities. In addition
to the headquarters in Niles, Illinois, there
is a Wico outlet in Los Angeles, California;
Dallas, Texas; Fairfield, New Jersey;
Atlanta, Georgia; and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Each branch carries a more or less com¬
plete stock of popular items.

If a customer needs a rush delivery on an
item that’s out of stock at his nearest
branch, it will be sent directly to the cus¬
tomer from Niles, or from the nearest
facility that has the item on hand. Each
branch also has an order desk where local
operators can walk right in and pick up
what they need.

Computer link

Keeping track of the inventory at each
of the six branches is a computer system at
the Niles headquarters linked by special
telephone lines to the other cities. Stock
can be located in any of the branches and

ARC VOUR VIDCO GAIRCI
on THC **IICH IlfT?”

Don't let your profitable games get “laid-up" due to worn-out or broken parts.

w 2 penn-ra/ inferrKiHorKil corporafion

1705 Winchester Road# P.O. Box 390
H H Bensalem, PA 19020

1 - 800 - 523-8934 1 - 215 - 638-4720 510 - 667-1537

At Penn-Ray where fine quality
at a low price is traditional,
this buy is

ALMOST UNBELIEVABLE!

PUSHBUTTON ASSEMBLIES

ANY SIZE
ANY COLOR

ONLY $ .40 EACH

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

P.C. DOAM>S

—Fully Licensed, No Knock-Offs!

CADINETS

—Easily Adaptable To Any Gome!

MONITORS

—The Latest In Video Technology!

GAME PARTS

—Power Supplies, Isolation Transformers,
Joysticks, and More!

EASTERN MICRO
ELEQRONICS, INC.

12D World's Fair Drive
Somerset, NJ 08873

(201) 469-9690

Home Study Electronics Course Now Available |

Electronic Institute of Brooklyn announces its complete classroom course for the Video Game Repair |
Industry is now available on video tape for home study. This includes all material necessary for
hands-on troubleshooting work. If you re worried about not having a V.T.R., we’ll rent you one for the
length of the course.

Also available to home study students is a free Hot Line to the instructor.

Our course covers the following:

Course Description:

1. Basic Electronic Theory

2. TTL Logic

3. Power Supply (Theory & Repair)

4. Monitor Theory & Repair (B&W, X-Y, Color)

5. Using a digital meter

6. Using a Logic Probe

7. Soldering techniques on double sided boards

8. Microprocessor and memory theory

9. Electronic Pinball troubleshooting and repair

10. Video Game troubleshooting and repair

11. Reading & Understanding Schematics

For more information, call collect

(in NY State) 212/377-0369

(out of State) call Toll Free: 1-800-221-0834 • or write

Our classroom schedule for evening Classes (5 weeks):

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday — 7 p.m.—11 p.m. • call for next starting date

SnMuU oj

4801 Avenue N (corner E. 48th St.), Brooklyn, NY 11234 J

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

sent directly to the customer from any
terminal in the system. The computer is
also used to automatically flag low stock
condition for reorder.

The same computer also keeps track of
Wico’s customer list using a clever and
simple system whereby the customers’zip
code is the first five digits of his “customer
identification number,” followed by a
three digit number. For example, the fifth
customer established with a zip code of
92008 would have a customer number of
92008005.

This system allows for quick and
accurate determination of which branch is
closest to each customer. It also eliminates
confusion with the similarity of business
names in this industry. If the customer can
remember his zip code, he will be assured
his order will get to its intended destination
and not arrive at the “other” Pinball
Wizard Amusement company in the next
county!

Repair service

Wico also provides a guaranteed repair
service for totalizers, coin counters, coin
changers and rejectors, CO 2 regulators, air
compressors, pumps, and ice makers.
Electronic repair is also available for any
electronic product manufactured by Wico.

A Wico catalog may be obtained free of
charge by contacting the branch nearest
you or the Niles headquarters. •

David Ross, director of computer operations.

TOKENS • TOKENS • TOKENS

(STOCK AND CUSTOM)

FOR ALL MAKES OF GAMES,
TURNSTILES & VENDING MACHINES

PRIZE REDEMPTION & TRADE CHECKS

CASINO SLOT & GAMING COINS

Phone or write for catalog & aamplea

VAN BROOK OF LEXINGTON, INC.
P.O. BOX 5044, LEXINGTON, KY. 40555

606/231-7100

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

SEGA-GREMLIN

IMPORTANT

NOTICE

To Whom It May Concern
Re: Illegal Copies of Video Games

S ega and Gremlin are the
owners or exclusive
licensees of many
popular new video
games. Sega and
Gremlin protect their
proprietary rights in
these games by

registering the audio-visual works
embodied in these games with the
United States Copyright Office. The
validity of such copyrights has been
upheld by the Federal Courts. In some
cases the Federal Courts have ordered
that infringing games and circuit boards
be impounded.

This Important Notice is to advise all
concerned that Sega intends to avail itself
of every available legal remedy and to
take action against any and all persons
who infringe on Sega's copyrights,
trademark and other proprietary rights in
its current video games: TURBO^m,
FROGGERTM, SPACE FURY™,
ELIMINATORTM, 005Tm, ZAXXON^m,
and all video games that will be
introduced in the future.

Sega Enterprises, Inc.

Gremlin Industries, Inc.

Sega Enterprises, Ltd.

Sega Enterprises Inc., 2029 Century Park East, Los Angeles, CA 90067

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

Heads you win—
tails I lose

By Burt Weiss

I have often heard it quoted that the
coin system represents the major
service problem operators face in the
video game business. There are more
service calls related to the coin system than
any other single factor. It is therefore
apparent that some of the newer techniques
for eliminating problems in the coin system
are cost justifiable, even on a retrofit basis.

Let’s look at the present situation. First,
operators do not have an effective block
voice to the manufacturers when they have
complaints relative to product quality.
Second, the marketplace has created a
situation where price rather than perfor¬
mance very frequently dictates decisions.
Manufacturers are not motivated to
employ improved products at higher cost
unless there is a sufficient demand from
operators. This is the apparent situation
even when the cost is justified.

Presently, in the area of coin systems; a
manufacturer will select one device, based
on price or a similar factor, and will pro¬
duce video games with this one device—
allowing the operator to change out the

acceptor if he prefers another type. Until
recently this was acceptable because in
dealing with mechanical acceptors, there
was not an extremely high cost factor
whether one preferred metallic, plastic, or
whatever. With the advent of electronic
coin acceptors, which are increasing in
popularity and use at the operator level,
there is a significant difference in the price.

Therefore, if operators make their
choices known, it is possible that manufac¬
turers could be convinced to produce
games at a lower cost without coin
acceptors, but with the capability of
accepting any of the types and allow that
decision to be made at the operator level.

The advantages to the operator are
many. The operator would only pay once
for coin acceptors of his choice. With the
present situation, if a manufacturer
provides metallic acceptors and the
operator prefers plastic, he must pay first
for the metallic acceptors and then change
them to plastic. He also pays the manufac¬
turer a profit on the coin acceptor that he
does not choose to use.

Performance vs cost

It is important for operators to become
aware of many innovations in coin systems
along with technological developments
in video games. Why? Because we face an
era of more competition and shrinking
profits.

Each coin system offers its own advan¬
tages and disadvantages. Let’s look at
some of the factors.

Tokens of various sizes and metal
content are available, as well as keyed
tokens. Although most games are played
for 25 cents, this too is likely to change in
the future. A coin system should be as
flexible as practical.

There are several types of acceptors. In
general they fall into three categories:

1. Metal/Mechanical

2. Plastic/Mechanical

3. Electronic

Factors that are functions of your
choices of the above include:

1. Require adjustment

2. Jams—cost of service, lost revenue

3. Slug/String—lost revenue

4. Failure—lost revenue, cost of service

5. Multiple capability (coins and/or
tokens) with one unit

6. Life—ability to outlive game and be
used from one game to another

Each system offers its own cost justifica¬
tion and features for different environ¬
ments. Your potential problems are related
to location and other specific location-
oriented variables. At show after show, I
talk to video game operators and ask them
to tell me about problems related to coin
doors, coin acceptors, slugging, jamming,
etc. Then, when I talk to manufacturers,
they will me these problems don’t exist.

How to get some mileage from your
complaints

To better serve the industry, I wish to
compile a list of coin system problems. To
be of value, there must be valid and specific
data. Therefore, please take a minute and
fill in the following questionnaire and send
your complaints, problems, or gripes
related to coin systems to me in care of this
magazine. I will compile this data and
present it both in forum form through this
magazine and directly to the manufac¬
turers. There is power in numbers.

Send to: Play Meter Magazine, P.O.
Box 24970, New Orleans, Louisiana 70184,
Department BW.

QUESTIONNAIRE

1. I prefer □ plastic □ metal □ electronic coin acceptors.

2. I □ use □ do not always use acceptors which are supplied by the

manufacturer.

3. I remove supplied coin acceptors and replace with_type.

4. When I install coin acceptors of my own choosing, I use_

5. I have more problems with_doors than others.

6. I □ do □ do not use tokens.

7. My major coin acceptor problem is □ jams □ stringing □ slugs

□ vandalism □ other tokens.

8. I estimate the cost of a service call for a coin-related problem to be:

□ up to $2.50 □ $2.50-$ 10 □ $10-$25 □ over $25

9. Other Comments: _

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

I.C. LOGIC DESIGN COURSE

Lesson Ten:

Pulse Forming Circuits

Editor’s Note: The material below is a serialization of the Kurz Kasch correspondence course for electronics,
designed specifically for the coin-operated amusement industry. This course is copyrighted and owned by Kurz
Kasch of Dayton, Ohio, and its reprinting is being sponsored jointly by Kurz Kasch and Play Meter magazine. This
material is authorized for publication exclusively in Play Meter magazine.

Lesson Ten, Pulse Forming Circuits. There are many additional
applications of I.C. logic elements. The use of I.C. logic to
eliminate contact bounce is explored in this lesson. The
student is also taught methods of pulse forming and methods of
constructing multivibrator circuits.

CONTACT BOUNCE ELIMINATION :

The R/S flip-flop (fig. 10-2) is commonly used to obtain
a bounce-free switch output. The value of the resistors (about
IK) is chosen to just ensure a logic 1 input. When the switch
is in the one position, for example, the entire 5 volts will be
dropped across resistor Ri and logic zero will appear at the
input to gate A. The ungrounded input to gate B, however, is
at logic 1. In this condition Q = 1 and Q = 0.

Although bouncing occurs in most mechanical contacts,
it can usually be ignored or in some instances mercury wetted
contacts will suffice. However, switches, relays, and other
mechanical-contact devices must be conditioned before they
can be used in conjunction with high speed I.C. logic circuits.

+5 O

Off

Bounce

Fig. 10-1. An illustration of contact bounce in a mechanical
switch. When the switch in the top diagram goes from the OFF
position to the ON position, the output will actually be as
shown in the lower diagram. The leading edge ‘‘spikes” are
contact bounce.

+ 5

Off

Fig. 10-2. Elimination of contact bounce by utilizing a R/S
flip-flop in conjunction with the mechanical switch. There are
no leading edge ‘‘spikes” in the waveform in the bottom figure.

If we switch Si to the zero position, there will be no
output transition until the first contact is made at point zero.
When this occurs, the flip-flop locks into a new stable state
and cannot be affected by bounce. This type of bounce eli¬
mination is so widespread and necessary that it should be
considered basic knowledge to any serious designer.

To actually observe the problem of contact bounce, we would
need an oscilliscope. Fig. 10-1 shows the waveform we might
see when a mechanical switch goes from the OFF to the ON
position. Instead of an instantaneous +5V output, we are faced
with a series of sharp pulses and then a +5V output.

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

MONOSTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR:

Unlike the bi-stable flip-flops that we studied earlier, the
mono-stable, or oneshot, has one stable state and one unstable
state. Normally, the mono-stable will remain in its stable state

until receiving an outside trigger signal. At that time, it will
go to its unstable state and remain there for a specific length
of time before returning to the stable state. The time spent in
the unstable state is determined solely by the components of
the mono-stable. When used in this manner the mono-stable is
often referred to as a pulse shaper.

Perhaps the simplest mono-stable that can be constructed
from I.C. logic gates is the gate delay mono-stable (fig. 10-3).
As the name implies, this mono-stable will remain in the un¬
stable state for a length of time determined by the propagation
delay of gate B. The input is normally at logic zero, and,
hence, the output of gate B is normally logic 1. When logic 1
is applied to the input, it goes directly to one of the gate B
inputs but must pass via gate A to reach the other. The pro¬
pagation delay may be on the order of 10-50ns depending on
the I.C. family being used. If Ta and Tb are the propogation
delays of gates A and B respectfully, the logic zero output
pulse occurs at a time Ta after the input and will last for
time Tb-

Ta = Tb

Propagation delay

Fig. tO-3. A monostable flip-flop constructed with a NAND
gate and an inverter. The output is a zero going pulse with a
duration of Ta which is equal to Tb-

In order for the mono-stable to function, the input pulse
must be longer than Ta + Tb- The device is also limited to
very short output pulses. We could lengthen the duration of the
output pulse by increasing Ta - Fig. 10-4 shows how Ta may be
increased by tripling the number of inverters. A longer, more
useful delay results from inserting a R-C network between A
and B, fig. 10-5. The R-C time constant, which determines the
delay, is somewhat adjustable in this case. However, the
voltage drop in R cannot be so great that the B input falls to
logic zero. In RTL, we are limited to IK and in TTL, 2201).
In practice, this limits the output pulse duration to about
1 m/sec or less; and, of course, the input pulse must still be

Fig. 10-4. An inverter and NAND gate monostable flip-flop
where the output pulse width has been expanded by cascading
the inverters. The output pulse equals Ta - Tb + Tb or Ta-
The student should verify this output pulse width.

longer than the desired output pulse. Once the mono-stable
returns to the stable state, the capacitor must recharge before
the circuit is again triggered. This period is called the mono¬
stable’s recovery time. The ratio of the ON time to the recovery
time is termed the duty cycle of the circuit. Typically, the
duty cycle ranges from 2 :10 to 3 :10, that is, 20% to 30%, and
exceeding the duty cycle will shorten the output pulse duration.

1 “

Fig. 10-5. The inverter and NAND gate monostable flip-flop
with the output pulse period extended by the addition of a RC
network at the output of the inverter. When the inverter output
goes to zero, the bottom input to the NAND gate will remain
at the 1 level until “C” has discharged through “R”.

The gated mono-stable in fig. 10-6 does not require an
input pulse longer than the output pulse. Both inputs to gate A
are normally logic 1. When a logic zero input is applied at A
the input to B will go from logic zero to logic 1, and the mono¬
stable will be triggered.

T”

Fig. 10-6. A monostable flip-flop similar to the circuit In
fig. 10-5. The output pulse depends on the RC time constant.

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

STEP 3 : Solving for C.

Out

Fig. 10-7. A monostable flip-flop constructed with a NAND
gate, an inverter, and an RC network between them. This
circuit requires one less gate than fig. 10-6.

Once triggering has occurred, the output of C goes to
logic zero and continues to enable gate A. This self-enabling
process will continue, even in the absence of input pulse,
until the mono-stable reverts to the stable state. Of course, as
mentioned previously, the duty cycle is limited by the size
of the capacitor. The student should notice the similarity
between this mono-stable and the one in fig. 10-5.

Perhaps the most common mono-stable circuit is shown in
fig. 10-7. It is similar to the mono-stable in fig. 10-6; however,
one less gate is required. Both the input and the output are
normally logic 1, keeping the output of gate A logic zero. The
value of R must be small enough that the input to gate B is
logic zero. In RTL, R must be less than 25K, while in TTL, it
must be less than 2200.

When a logic zero input pulse appears at the input, the
output of gate A goes to logic 1. At the same time, the input
to gate B is also pulled up to a logic 1, and will remain there
until C can effectively charge through R. As before, the mono¬
stable is self-enabling with the output of gate B fed to the
input of gate A.

As mentioned earlier, the output pulse duration is con¬
trolled by the values of R and C. The formula for computing
the ON time is:

T = 0.8RC

where,

T is in milliseconds
R is in kilohms
C is in‘microfarads

For example, if R = 220 ohms, C = 1 /if.

T = (0.8).(0.220).(l)

= 0.176 milliseconds

DESIGN EXAMPLE;

Design a mono-stable as shown in fig. 10-7 to have an ON
time of 0.25 milliseconds. Use TTL.

STEP 1 : Since the value of R cannot exceed 220 ohms in
TTL, we shall choose a value of 200 ohms.

STEP 2 : Plugging in the values of T and R, we have:

T = 0.8 RC
0.25 = (0.8)-(0.200). C

c =-2.25-- ^ 50 f

( 0 . 8 ) ( 0 . 200 )

Fig. 10-8A. The squaring action of a single inverter. The
output is not quite square.

Fig. 10-8B. Several inverters cascaded to provide more com¬
plete squaring of the input waveform. The output is a much
better square wave than the output in fig. 10-8A.

SQUARING AND PULSE FORMING:

Squaring, as we might assume from the name, is the pro¬
cess of changing an irregular or rounded pulse into a square
waveform. For example, a squaring circuit might be used to
convert a 60 cycle sine wave into a 60 cycle square wave.

Fig. 10-8A shows the action of a single inverter in
squaring an irregular pulse. In practice, several inverters may
be cascaded to further decrease the rise and fall times of the
pulse (fig. 10-8B). When the input voltage rises to the logic
threshold of the gate, the gate will switch very rapidly. This
creates an output pulse that rises rapidly to logic 1. The out¬
put will remain logic 1 until the input falls back to the logic

Fig. 10-9. A square wave output pulse forming circuit using a
basic R/S flip-flop with one input inverted. The diode provides
reverse voltage protection.

threshold. Again, the inverter will switch very rapidly. The
rise and fall times of the output are limited to about 20ns. for
RTL and 10ns. for TTL. This is more than sufficient to trigger
devices such as a JK flip-flop.

The pulse forming circuit in fig. 10-9 could also be used
with a 60 cycle sine wave input. In this case, the output would
be 60 pulses per second (pps). The two NAND gates form an
R/S flip-flop which is triggered through an inverter. The single
diode insures that the reverse voltage applied to gate B will
not exceed -0.6V.

PLAY METER July 1,1982

frequency is given by the formula :

Fig. 10-10. An astable multibrator using two inverters and
two RC circuits. The output is a square wave whose symmetry
is basicaliy dependent on the matching ef the two RC circuits.

where,

F = -1—
2RC

F is in kilohertz
R is in kilohms
C is in microfarads

For example, if R^ = R2 = 1000 ohms and Ci = C2 = 0.01 /if,
then,

F-i-

(2)-(D-(0.01)

= 1/0.02 = 50 KHz

DESIGN EXAMPLE:

ASTABLE MULTIVIBRATOR :

The astable or free running multivibrator has two unstable
states and switches back and forth between them. It is com¬
monly used as a square wave generator or oscillator.

The circuit shown in fig. 10-10 is typical of DTL and
TTL astables. Although the frequency of the oscillations is
determined primarily by the value of the capacitors, the re¬
sistor values are chosen to ensure that the gate inputs are
near the logic threshold.

Assume that Ci is discharging and C2 is charging. During
this time, gate A and gate B outputs will be one and zero
respectively. When the input to gate B (which is developed by
C2 charging through R2) drops below the gate B threshold, the
gate B output becomes a one. At this instant, the one output of
gate B is coupled by Ci to the gate A input; therefore, the
gate A output is a zero at this time. Ci then begins charging
and C2 begins discharging. When the input to gate A drops
below the gate A threshold, the multivibrator will change
states again and thereby completes one cycle of operation. In
the given circuit, if Ri = R2 and Ci = C2, then the approximate

Design an astable as shown in fig.2-2 to oscillate between
unstable states at 20,000 hertz.

STEP 1 : We start by choosing a standard resistor value
around IK. For very high frequencies, R must be
smaller and for low frequencies, higher. For this
example , we will use 2,200 ohms.

STEP 2: Plugging in the values of F and R, we have:

F --i-

2RC

20 -- 1 -

(2)-(2.2)-(C)

STEP 3 : Solving for C.

c-1-—

( 2 )-( 2 . 2 )-( 20 )

0.011 0.01

Introducing Our Latest Videoshirts

mi*/

• All shirts are printed on 50/50
Quality T-shirts.

• Ali shirts hove 5-coior silkscreen design.

• One dozen minimum per style
e Sizes:

Doys: 10-12; 14-16
Adults: S-M-L-XL

THE WIZ KIDS 161 Everest Drive, North Huntingdon, PA 15642

"PRINTERS OF THE OFFICIAL VIDEOSHIRr / 412/751 -0020 600/245-6176

MANY OTHER VIDEOSHIRTS IN STOCK

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

FRANK'S

CRANKS

Video Outpost
protects equipment

Video Outpost could probably withstand World War III, the manufacturer seems to claim. But could it establish a beachhead
on a more dangerous inner-city location? ‘The Crank* investigates.

W with vandalism on the rise, the
Video Outpost is welcomed
with open arms by the coin-
operated machine industry. This video
game encasement (a fortress would be
more appropriate) not only opens up new
markets, (unsupervised mall areas, store
entrances, amusement parks, airports) but
can help operators maintain locations
where vandalism kept them from making
an adequate investment in equipment.

It has been quite a while since there has
been a product in our industry (padlocks
and hasps) that truly can be classified as a
capital investment. As All-Weather

Amusements’s advertisement reads,
“Video Outpost lends permanence to a
vendor/location relationship by the com¬
mitment it implies and by its very design.”

George Rohm of Superior Marine Pro¬
ducts actually designed the first Video
Outpost. Rohm and Superior are better
known for designing the present token
booths in the New York City subways and
the interior of the Trident submarine. Six
non-production prototypes of the Outpost
were made before the current design was
utilized.

Bart Gullong of All-Weather Amuse¬
ments, West Hampton Beach, Long

Island, New York, is the main individual
responsible for seeing this idea through
from original concept to a finished market¬
able product. Gullong strives to make a
product that will last: “Whatever is wrong
with this product, we will make good on.
Whatever can be retrofit, will be done at
the manufacturer’s expense,” he said.

The factory is located in College Point,
Queens, Long Island. To date, about 120
units have been ordered and sixty shipped.
A problem encountered with the Outpost
is the high shipping costs due to its size.
The company is negotiating with other
manufacturing facilities nationwide

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

(Texas, California, and the Southeast) to
make it easier for operators to cut shipping
costs and increase production to fill orders.
The unit costs about $2,300.

The Outpost is about the size of two
phone booths (86 inches tall in the front,
slanting down to 79 inches in the back, 68
inches wide, and 42 inches deep at the
base). The side walls vary in thickness from
1 /16 of an inch to 1 /4 of an inch steel. Two
types of structural bolts are used. Easy-
spin hex bolts are used on all the interior
areas (10/32" diameter).

The outside bolts are all one-way
machine screws (10/32" diameter) with “up
set” threaded nuts. Up-set nuts catch on
every clockwise turn. If the bolt is turned
from the outside, it will just spin in place. A
wrench on the inside is required to
unfasten this type of bolt. The only
exposed bolts are those securing the roof
edges, sixteen in all. All of the other edges
of the unit are lapped which makes the
cabinet extremely sturdy. It takes two
people about two and one half hours to
assemble the Outpost.

Preventing rust-out

Steel beams are positioned every eight
inches throughout all the walls, roof, and
base. Even if one cuts through the steel
plate, it wouldn’t be wide enough to get
inside between the beams. The base is

made of exterior grade plywood placed
over a five-beam steel frame with a steel
bed covering. The plywood is used to
prevent rust-out if the cabinet should sit in
a few inches of water. The Outpost can be
easily supported by any one of its bottom
four edges without deformation. Leg
levelers with concrete expansion bolts
come with the package.

The two front doors have hinges that are
pop-riveted onto the main frame from the
inside. The doors are easy to replace if one
or both should be completely bent. A
whole door costs about $200 with about
$90 of this cost pertaining to the plastic
view shield. The two adjustable view
shields that allow players to view the video
game monitors are Dupont S.A.R. which
is virtually bulletproof. This is the same
material used in airplane windshields.

S.A.R. has the highest scratch resistance
of clear, non-glass materials. However, a
knife can put a scratch in it. The designers
believed it was better to make this section
unbreakable and give up a few points on
scratch resistance. The view shield is
adjustable vertically about six inches to
allow for games that may have higher
control panels.

The coin access area on each door is
eighteen inches by sixteen inches. The sides
of this area accommodate two-inch wide
steel bars (1/4" thick) leaving a minimum

opening of two inches horizontally to
allow players to have access to the coin
slots and coin return areas of the games.
Two panels called the night lock-up panels
cover the whole coin access and player
control areas when the games are not in
operation.

Each panel is made of twelve-gauge steel
riveted to a steel frame. The panels are
locked into position with the turn of a key.
All-Weather Amusements has used the
same key (HL302) that is used on the
Tournament Soccer tables. They feel it is
better that a standard key be used on the
lock-up panels to make it simpler for the
location staff to lock these units after hours
and unlock the panels prior to operation.

A snug fit

The front doors are secured with a pop-
out T handle lock. The lock cam pushes
both higher and lower bars into the cabinet
frame for added security. Both doors must
be closed together because the fit is very
snug. There is not enough space for even a
hacksaw blade to fit in between the doors.
A steel plate protects the lock cam.

In order to hacksaw through the cam,
one would have to first cut through this
steel plate. The way the door is designed, a
hacksaw blade could only be moved a dis¬
tance of about one inch holding it through
the slots in the access area or under the

VIDEO GAME &

AMUSEMENT MACHINE TOUR

' A

1 2 TOURS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

T0URA:SEPT280CT12

T0URB:0CT24-N0V7

1. Japan Amusement Machine Show

1. Japan Electronics Show

2. Taiwan Toys and Gift Show

2. Korea Electronics Show

3. Hong Kong Toys & G ift Show

3. Taiwan Electronics Show

4. Korea Trade Fair (optional)

4. Hong Kong Electronics Show

I COMMERCE TOURS INTERNATIONAL, INC.

MAiLTO:

Name

_ 870 Market Street, Suite 740

Company

_ San Francisco, CA 94102

Address

Tei: (415) 433-3072 / 433-3408

City State Zip

VIDEO AD BD

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

view shield. During a test, it took four and
a half hours to get through the cam with a
hacksaw blade. If this wasn’t enough
security, two hasp rings have been attached
to the inside of the doors. An operator can
reach in and place his padlock on each of
the hasp rings, but there isn’t enough space
to get near the locks or hasp rings with bolt
cutters.

The Outpost has been designed to house
any two video games. Battlezone, the
tallest game available, will fit inside. The
widest game, Starfire, takes up less than
one half of the width, but the Outpost was
designed to house two Starfire games—not
that anyone in his right mind would want
to put two of them in together. In order to
accommodate a mini Make Trax, the
smallest game, there are adjustable tri¬
angular brackets on the floor which will
keep the games from sliding backward and
in line against the front.

The front coin access area also comes
with an insertable steel two-inch bar that
has a perpendicular bar welded to it. The
T-Bar prevents a small coin door from
being opened on games like Atari’s Space
Duel, where the front control panel is
entended leaving a space between the
front bars on the Outpost coin access area
and the small video game coin door.

The next important area to consider is
how well the graphics will hold up. All of

the graphics are applied at the factory
where the whole Outpost is put together.
The cabinet is then disassembled for
shipping. The designs are four millimeters
thick and made of the same vinyl that is
used on most of the larger trucks. They are
made from a four-color process and
guaranteed three years against sun fade.
The whole vinyl is then treated with an
epoxy clearcoat. The clearcoat makes the
removal of graffiti and even spray paint a
simple task.

As stated before, all of the edges are
lapped together so there are no edges
where the vinyl can be grabbed and pealed
off. Under the vinyl are two coats of baked-
on urethane enamel paint-lock. Nickel
plating is used on the steel to prevent the
spreading of rust. If steel is scratched, rust
will form. The rest then quickly spreads
under the paint.

Nickel plating stops the rust from
spreading and also gives a stronger bond
for the enamel paint. The black and white
colors of the paint-lock were carefully
chosen by All-Weather Amusements
to match closely with Rust-oleum semi¬
gloss colors. This, it was believed, would
make it easier for Outpost owners to easily
obtain paint to match the cabinet.

Complete decal package

White paint has been used under the

sections where the graphics are because
most of the graphic sections are white. A
complete decal package can be purchased
for about $100. For this to happen, the
cabinet would have to be torched.

The roof is coated with three coats of
white enamel to reflect as much heat as pos¬
sible. Foam insulation inserts have been
placed in the roof panels to keep heat inside
in the winter and outside in the summer.
Video games have been tested inside the
Outpost down to minus six degrees F. The
sliding vents located both high and low on
the cabinet walls were taped closed, and
the game vents were also plugged up. From
the ambient heat of the games alone, the
inside temperature of the Outpost was
measured at 40—50 degrees F. Just to
make sure, a thermostatic heater is also
available for areas with extremely cold
temperatures.

In the summer it is recommended that a
blower be added inside the Outpost to
blow hot air out of the vents. Wico Cor¬
poration (They sure do make everything.)
makes a shaded pole blower (part #45-
6807-00) for about $34 that slides into a top
rear vent on the Outpost very nicely. The
blower will keep the inside of the cabinet at
shade temperature.

To keep rain from getting in, a tube of
General Electric silicone comes with the
unit to seal the one seam in the roof. The

TOKENS • TOKENS • TOKENS

(STOCK AND CUSTOM)

FOR ALL MAKES OF GAMES.
TURNSTILES & VENDING MACHINES

PRIZE REDEMPTION & TRADE CHECKS

CASINO SLOT & GAMING COINS

8L0TS-0F-FUN

Phone or write for catalog & eamplea

VAN BROOK OF LEXINGTON, INC.
P.O. BOX 5044, LEXINGTON, KY. 40555

606/231-7100

■o

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

I
I

The Repair Center for the Games Industry

EAS !S a complete service agency organized to help the video games operator
and distributor solve the service problems that plague many of today 's
sophisticated electronic games. EAS provides you with:

• a fast, reliable, and inexpensive alternative to buying expensive test
equipment

• repair and testing of all monitor, video and pm ball logic boards

• a 24 hour turnaround on video logic boards and monitors

• a 60 day warranty program on all work

• free telephone consulting on chronic service problems — we are here to help
you at any time.

Looking forward to serving you.

8134 Capwell Drive • Oakland. California 94621 • 415-282-9900

I I ir^ ELECTRONIC
AMUSEMENT

(—/ I ^(service

n ELECTRONIC
"—.AMUSEMENT
JSERVICE

Learn To Repair
Video Games!

It’s no secret. . .

Video games seem to be everywhere!
The extraordinary popularity of coin-
operated video games has created an
enormous demand. Not only for the
games themselves, but for qualified
service personnel as well.

Randy Fromm’s Arcade Schools are a

practical, no-nonsense look at how
video games work, and how to repair
them when they don’t. No previous
knowledge of electronics or video
games is required to get the most out
of the six day course. Lab sessions al¬
low students to gain valuable “hands-
on” experience. Late model video
games are used during lab and lecture
so Arcade School graduates will be
familiar with the types of equipment
they will encounter on the job. The
tuition of $400.00 includes all texts and
classroom materials. There are no
hidden costs.

Founded in 1980, Randy Fromm’s
Arcade Schools are the most respected
and often recommended training pro¬
grams in the coin amusement industry.
As a technical writer, Randy Fromm’s
comprehensive articles appear regu¬
larly in the industry trade journals.
ISk)w he has condensed his ten years
of experience into a proven Arcade
School program that has allowed hun¬
dreds of Arcade School graduates
learn the easiest, fastest, and most
accurate ways to repair coin operated
video games.

Attend the Arcade School
nearest you in:

Atlanta, GA
Baltimore, MD
Chicago, IL
Dallas, TX
Minneapolis, MN
New Orleans, LA
Phoenix, AZ
Salt Lake City, UT
San Francisco, CA
Toronto, Ontario
Whichita, KS

Call or write for
FREE information package

Randy Fromm’s Arcade School

6123 El Cajon Blvd.

San Diego, CA 92115
(714) 286-0172

unit has been tested and designed to be
impervious to rains in driving winds of up
to fifty miles per hour, according to the
specifications.

The hood sides and awning front, which
have been added to reduce glare, can be
removed without affecting either the
structure or the graphics. The front Video
Outpost sign will also perfectly fit on the
flat top section behind the awning.

A four-way electrical box is located
inside the middle aisle of the cabinet.
Twenty feet of grounded electrical cord
comes with the Outpost. The electrical
cord can be run through the floor base or
through one of the four high and low
knockouts in the rear wall. The unit can be
anchored to a wall from the back utilizing
these knockouts or sunk into concrete or
asphalt. In most instances, because of its
weight, there would be little reason to
anchor the cabinet.

Improving Video Outpost

As with all products, there are some
areas for improvement. The space between
the bottom of the view shield and the top of
the door control area should be adjustable
for maximum security. It is still possible
for the control panel of the video game to
be removed and the panel and coins stolen.
It would be simple to redesign this area to
be adjustable so only a few inches of space
remains between the video control panel
controls and the bottom of the view shield
(just enough for a pair of hands to fit
through to grip the controls or push the
buttons). Another video control panel
would be locked in position by side
brackets.

I also feel that all the locks on the night
lock-up panels should be keyed differently.
There are enough HL 302 keys and 1350
keys floating around to drive an operator
crazy.

Glare is a problem that I don’t have an
answer for. The view shield is angled
inversely to cut down on the glare, and the
hood sides and awning sections also help
reduce glare. It’s something that Outpost
users will have to contend with. The only
suggestion I can make is to carefully
choose the direction you place the
Outpost. If the unit is going to be outdoors,
face it away from the sun as much as
possible.

The price of the Outpost seems high, but
for what goes into this product, it’s worth
the money. It will be around for ten years
unless the dimensions of video games
change drastically. The Video Outpost is a
fresh concept for our industry. As Gullong
told me, “It’s unfortunate, but there is a
market for the Video Outpost.” I rate it a
9.3 out of 10. That’s the highest I’ve given
to date. All-Weather has done a fine job,
and from what I know of the company,
they will continue to improve this pro¬
duct because they believe as I do—every¬
thing can be improved. •

PLAY METERJuly 1,1982

8,000 SQ. FT. SHOWROOM DISPLAYS.

ALL CURRENT EQUIPMENT FROM LEADING FACTORIES.

WHEN YOU CAN'T FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR,

YOU HAVEN'T CALLED BENSAR.

P.O. Box 47 Toll Free (Outside Ohio):

200 Market Street 1 •800-543-0368

New Richmond, Ohio 45157 International TWX:

(513) 553-2672 (810) 460-2875

LEADERS SERVING OPERATORS IN THE INDUSTRY
FOR NEW & USED EQUIPMENT.

FULL LINE DISTRIBUTORS: SALES • SERVICE • PARTS

**********************************************

ALSO A FULL ARCADE COORDINATING DEPARTMENT

Helps in all areas of game selection, room decor and management & technical training.

CRITICS

CORNER

Summer gomes offer
roys of hope

W ell, how was your holiday? I
could be asking about Memo¬
rial Day weekend, but really, by
the time you’re reading this, the explosive
fourth should just be coming up. And just
as explosive is the fact that this writer has
made some news of his own. Not to get a
jump on the releases that will be forth¬
coming, or make the announcement anti-
climatic, although many of you probably
know already—it’s true, I have made a
career switch.

It’s a move that was inevitable, given
how my life has been affected by this great
industry in the past eight years, and should
provide me for the first time to actually
have the means and support to have a far
greater impact on many different areas of
the business and implement some of the
things I have been writing and talking
about over the years.

Now I’m much closer and ready to help
and aid all who ask. The commitment, I
don’t have to really state, but will, is real
and if there are any doubters, I think time
will prove how valuable my contributions
can be for a variety of activities and
programs.

I also hope and believe that this new
departure will equally benefit Play Meter,
which has proved to be such a strong friend
and supporter in the past by allowing me
to offer my insights into the coming
days of the business and the changes which
are not only taking place as you read this,
but those which will come down the road.

The challenge is exciting, but so too do I
believe will be the results. For those of you
who might still be in the dark regarding
this changeover, very simply, after eight
years at GQ magazine, the last six as
managing editor, I have now landed at
TRG Communications as vice president.
You probably will remember the name
from such events as Bally’s Supershooter
pinball tournament (the first and so far
only national effort ever undertaken on
such a broad and ultimately incredible
scale).

As part of the team, I know we’ll be able
to now do even more, especially given the
nature of how events have taken shape and
what the very real needs of the business are
considering the games themselves, as well
as the image of the people involved to the
outside world.

Provide a service

With this step taken, and I don’t want
to belabor it, but felt it important to state
at the onset of this particular column, my
sincere hope is that no one will consider my
work for the Corner as being a conflict of
interest, because I don’t and will be the first
to admit it, if it is ever the case. I would still
like to feel that 1 can provide a service to
you, the Play Meter readers, if no one has
any objections. But it really will be up to
you.

Anyway, I’m obviously excited by my
new opportunity, as well as some of the
games that are now available—not to
mention those ready to hit the streets in the
coming days and weeks. The biggest news
has been the continued success of Sega/
Gremlin’s Zaxxon and the fact that this
company has put back-to-back winners
together with Turbo and additionally has
brought a new level to the importance of
graphic presentation as a means to greater
earnings.

Also hitting with much fanfare is what
many hope to be the summer season
sensation as Disney’s Tron makes it to the
silver screen, and Bally’s video version
takes the action to the arcade in an effort to
capitalize on the instant publicity and
recognition tied into the movie (a move
that is reminiscent of that company’s
Wizard pinball machine and its timing to
the film. Tommy, too many summers ago
to remember).

But that isn’t all that has occurred.
Besides video’s very real move to person¬
alize and make more realistic the action on
screen, pinball variations continue to offer
glimmers of hope for an admittedly limited
market, which still appears too large to

ignore. The few companies committed to
appealing to all segments of the playing
public, even now find themselves looking
for the next stage of development that will
enable the games to remain viable.

Cashbox support

To the chagrin of many, this category
of game just isn’t ready to become a part of
ancient history, although the appeal has
become far more specialized and in need of
very selective efforts. However, the success
of Gottlieb’s Caveman and Bally’s Mr. &
Mrs. Pac-man prove that the cashbox can
support a flipper machine if it’s innovative
enough and still challenging.

Add to these things the advent of the gun
game, (if that’s what you want to call them)
such as Williams’s Hyperball and Bally’s
Rapid Fire, and one can sense that players
are ready for anything that gives them
value and enjoyment for their entertain¬
ment funds. And more is on the way to
keep the industry on the upswing as the
summer heats up for the crowning of those
standout games from those that just
couldn’t cut it.

Sega/Gremlin’s Zaxxon

The backbone of the industry over the
years has been those companies which
consistently produce good, competitive
equipment while not forsaking innovative
ideas that might have an impact on design
or manufacturing trends. Sega/Gremlin
has strong efforts such as Head On and
aggressive thinking that brought us the
dual game concept as well as a convertible
game idea.

Well, this time they’ve struck gold with a
corporate posture that obviously put a
premium on the image before the player in
a way that bridges yet another plateau for
coin-op, evident by the popularity of first
Turbo and now Zaxxon with its three-
dimensional effect.

PLAY: In what appears to be a movement
back to simplistic controls rather than the
array of buttons and knobs which were

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

flooding out in recent years, Zaxxon shows
that less can mean more with a pilot con¬
trol stick and a single firing button. This is
all any player needs to maneuver and blast
his way through the action on screen,
which, simply stated, is to fly an aircraft,
shaped very similar to the present space
shuttle, over and through a floating stellar
enemy fortress which features walls that
need to be circumvented and a host of
targets such as fuel tanks and missiles.

Once past this phase of attack, the action
moves into the outer space and a battle
against an enemy fleet of aircraft. When
this is accomplished, the fortress comes
back again, more highly fortified, offering
as a last challenge the confrontation with
an armed robot, where more than a single
shot is needed to escape ‘alive.' And the
cycle then continues.

ANALYSIS: The measure of the game is
the realistic quality of the action on screen,
with the three-dimensional effect holding
the spotlight. The movement is really from
left to right at a slight angle and far differ¬
ent from most of the video efforts in the
past with similar themes. It is further
enhanced by such touches as the player's
fighter plane having a shadow as it travels,
which can act as a gauge for elevation as
the battle ensues on the fortress. Points are
scored by the amount of destruction
heaped on the enemy, and there's also a
need to hit the fuel tanks foradding on fuel

to the player’s supply. But in many ways,
this may seem secondary on Zaxxon
because of the strength of the graphics—
the fact that it really does stand out from
the crowd and is more than a show for the
entertainment dollar (or quarter).
GRAPHICS: They excell—pure and
simple. Sega Gremlin has shown the way
for the future and what we will undoubtedly
see more of as the year progresses and leads
into the AMOA. You can bet your bottom
dollar other manufacturers will be readying
their versions of 3-D, if they haven't
already. In addition, Z^z.v.vo^? supplements
the total package with some strong effects
that could have made this a completely
enveloping machine if it had come out as
an enclosed cockpit sit-down model. In
this category alone, all praise is due to the
folks responsible who were willing to leap
ahead when others were willing to move
slowly to the next evolutionary plateau for
video games.

PROS & CONS: The cashbox has already
proven the appeal and staying power of
Zaxxon and should help to keep this
game in production for a long time.
Admittedly, when I first encountered the
game, 1 had some perceptual problems with
the trailing shadow and maneuvering the
ship over and through the fortress with its
walls and radar images, as well as locating
the proper elevation for hitting any of the
targets. As a result, Zaxxon might have

been more successful if the action would
have been straight ahead and not at an
angle. Too much emphasis had been placed
on ‘showing off' the graphic effect to the
detriment of the player's control, but this
attitude has since changed, not only from
playing the game more but from watching
and talking to a number of other players. It
might take some time to adapt, but the
compensation is once again the visual on
screen. It’s a learning experience of a dif¬
ferent kind and far different than working
out a pattern to prolong play or some other
system to bring the action down to its
basest level. That, for once, is a refreshing
change of pace.

RATING: Although some of the
comments I heard at the AOE included
that the game was not difficult or chal¬
lenging enough because there wasn’t the
strikingly different levels of difficulty
present on many of the other games,
Zaxxon transcends this barrier, if it is one,
just because of what it offers as a game. It
has winner written all over it and from this
writer gets a strong ####.

Gottlieb’s Caveman

Considered for so long to be the most
conservative company in the coin-op
sweepstakes, the past year and a half has
proven this observation to be far from the
truth. We have been the recipients of some
singularly innovative and unique pinball

The Video Outpost advantage:
Put any two
video games

ANYWHERE!

How many profitable locations have you passed up because of security risks?

How many outdoor locations could be producing profits for you right now?

The all-steel, weather-repellant, vandal-resistant design of The Video Outpost
makes nearly all locations possible. Count your potential new locations
tonight. Call us tomorrow.

The Video Outpost produces and protects profits with:

• Easy assembly • Easy mobility • One-man game installation and service.

• Steel inserts for total nighttime lock-up • Complete security for coins

• Dupont "S.A.R!' viewshield for game security

• Vinyl exterior appliques over 2 coats baked-on urethane over nickle-plated steel.

TOTALLY IMPERVIOUS TO ALL WEATHER AND TEMPERATURES.

For more information or the name of the distributor nearest you, call collect

ALL-WEATHER AMUSEMENTS

Building 131, Avenue B, Westhampton Beach. NY 11978 516-288-5252

Patent Pending TM-Registered Trademark

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

machines, not the least of which is this
hybrid effort. This medium of entertain¬
ment still has some life left in it when the
boundaries of design are allowed to
expand and accommodate the extra¬
ordinary idea.

PLAYFIELD: The May 15 cover inspira¬
tion for Play Meter brings to life the fact
that pinball and video can be integrated in
one package without sacrificing too much
in terms of play appeal or action. The
layout begins with a short plunger shot
that drops the ball down to the center of
the board on the right side. Without
getting too complicated, the pinball

pinball and video—by bringing together
some very simple and straightforward play
action within each mode. The pinball play-
field is a symmetrical design, evenly
balanced, without any surprises in terms of
hidden angles to possibly throw off the
novice or video player. The video portion
is a basic maze that’s fairly easy to under¬
stand even if a player has remained faithful
to pinball over the years. The strategy is to
hit down the lit drop targets in tandem to
increase bonus multiplier up to 5X, while
also impacting on the video play as well
while the C-A-V-E on the sides, when hit,
will light a small video game circle in

by 1,200,000 points, while free play levels
could survive at these scores, although you
might want to increase them by about
200,000 points each. As for five-ball
settings, which some are choosing to use
since the game is going out on a 50 cent
play, the previous scores should be decent
unless you want to further increase them
by another 200,000 or so points—depend¬
ing, as always, on your percentaging and
the caliber of your players.

PROS & CONS: When I first saw a rough
whitewood in the engineering and design
area of Gottlieb many months ago, I liked
the concept and how it was being

...pinball and video can be integrated in one package without sacrificing
too much in terms of play appeal or action.

portion of the board features a middle area
with two flanking banks of four drop
targets and a triangular configuration
between three thumper bumpers.

Up and behind this is a little niche where
the ball can land, thus triggering the action
on the video screen above. Also, at either
side are two long flipper shots to vari-
targets which bring time units into the
video play or can offer possible specials
when lit. Finishing off the pinball field, are
two short lanes at the left and right of
center (C-E) with targets in front (A-V)
leading down to a top pair of flippers
which have short lanes next to them
leading down to a bottom pair of flippers.
The outside lanes feature an opening and
small ringed posts fora possible roll down
and over to the flippers.

Meanwhile, back to the video screen,
where the action is controlled by a single
joystick, there’s a maze and the need to
maneuver a little caveman (who else?)

midmaze that can only be collected when
the Caveman passes over it.

And that’s the primary emphasis on the
pinball game with the vari-targets meaning
more for the video game values and images.
In the video game, the idea is to complete a
species without getting eaten by the red
menace which increases in number depend¬
ing upon how many of the five have been
had. And each level brings with it more
speed, difficulty, and scoring values, as
well as different colors of the screen.
There’s good access to all points on the
pinball board, left to right and right to left,
as well as with reverses and four spots to
land for activating the video segment of
play.

GRAPHICS: Gottlieb has come up with a
new cabinet design for Caveman with a
novel backglass treatment that also incor¬
porates seven-digit scoring. But take notice
of the artwork. It’s colorful, cute (in a nice
way) with really some very ingratiating

approached for the first time out. Since
that time, my feelings haven’t changed,
although I did hear a comment from some¬
one in the industry who stated that
Caveman was the result of combining a
bad video and pinball together. One has to
look at this innovation as a first step which
should prepare the players out there for
possible future renditions. But more
importantly, it serves as an attention-
getting and very challenging, as well as
enjoyable, novelty game that should prove
its worth over time and fill a very large void
in the range of products available.

It’s not an end-all or do-all and was
never meant to be, nor should it be put in a
location for that purpose. Its draw is that it
stands alone as a unique machine, which
just so happens to be fun to play whether
you’re into video, pinball, or both. The
need for Caveman was to attract players of
all types, not risk .turning any off because
any of the action or programming was too

Now comes a new frontier in pinball design which further stretches the

imagination and deserves attention.

around in the hope of ‘devouring’ bron¬
tosauruses, tricerators, or pterodactyls—
five in each group—while trying to evade
the red tyrannosauruses, which each
creature turns into once it has been eaten.
And there are different levels of difficulty
in the video portion. Values are addi¬
tionally affected by what has happened on
the pinball part of play, but the two really
do work hand in hand, although, admit¬
tedly, much of the focus is on the scoring
potential of pinball amplified by video and
not reversed.

ANALYSIS: Caveman has attempted to
bridge the contraints of both art forms—

characters. Along with the different
cabinet shape, it is an eye-catching effort
that is further embellished by strong sound
effects and some very entertaining speech.

PLAY: Caveman brings seven-digit
scoring which, thankfully, is utilized with¬
out being abused as was the case with the
company’s Devils Dare. In fact, reaching a
million becomes an accomplishment.
Although the scoring potential is there for
higher totals, this should only add to the
continued challenge of the game and allow
operators some flexibility in setting limits.
For extra ball areas on three-ball play, a
600,000 point start isn’t too steep, followed

difficult to understand. So judge it on that
basis, if you need to have more proof as to
whether the game has potential—because
it does. Placement in any location might
well make a difference. Place it in the
middle of a pinball line and it’s lost despite
the fact that the cabinet is different (the
same holds true for Hyperball and Rapid
Fire). The games are different and need
special attention if you want to maximize
your earnings.

From a player’s standpoint, any nit¬
picking that might be warranted in terms
of game play is that it would have been
nice, for extra ball areas, if there were

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

multiple added balls rather than just one
per ball. You can find yourself close to a
limit and also in a position to collect an
extra ball from the board—the two cancel
out and can effect strategy not to a positive
level. Also, after working to get C-A-V-E
out, which isn’t that easy to do, a player
can lose the chance for the extra ball on the
video screen if a red tyrannosaurus gets to
it first, meaning that the player has to get
the targets out all over again to activate it.
Admittedly, it shouldn’t be a gimme, but
there is some frustration when you’ve
gotten that far and it’s taken away. But I
categorized these comments as minor nit-
picks, nothing more.

In addition, a condition I’ve talked
about in the past is the problem of a game
maxing out: when particular features or
areas on a board are hit so often during the
course of any given ball in play, that hitting
them again will not reward the player with
an incremental increase in value. On
Caveman, once you get to 5Xon the drop
targets, there is no more to shoot for, per
se, besides a continued buildup of out-hole
bonus points up to 29,000 and a chance to
increase values on the video screen. Here
it’s an intangible, but I wanted to mention
it because it does happen when a player is
on a roll.

Last, but not least, is the suggested
pricing of the game which poses a question
as to whether you see it at 50 cents for three

balls, three plays for an SBA, or 50 cents
for five balls. For one. I’ve never ever been
totally comfortable with this price rise
unless it was tied into five ball settings, but
more importantly, is the effect and rela¬
tionship of the game to the price of playing.
Some machines warrant it, and I would
include Caveman because it is different,
can tend to play long, and really is two
games in one.

However, the negative I see is that, for
myself as a player and others I’ve talked
to, the investment of the buck for three
plays means that you’re locked into the
machine even if you do really well on the
first game and just want to take a break
from it. It’s hard to stand there and be com¬
mitted for three games because it can be
draining if a player really gets going. In
many ways it’s far better as a two player or
more situation, where the competition
against another person makes the pricing
valid. But start it out at this level, and be
aware that you might want to scale it back
down to quarter play if you’re less than
satisfied with the earnings.

RATING: Caveman has to be viewed for
the new dimension it brings to game design
and the novelty attraction it can bring to a
location. It is also a different machine
when the majority of efforts now available
are strikingly similar. For these reasons
and the potential application it offers by its
very existence, a definite #### is in order.

Stern’s Orbitor 1

One of the industry’s great success
stories was the likes of Rawhide and
Stampede which ended an era and began
another. Much has happened in the
interim, not the least of which were some
very memorable pin games, the introduc¬
tion of a line of powerhouse videos, and
many other ventures that have made Stern
what it is tod^y. Now comes a new frontier
in pinball design which further stretches
the imagination and deserves attention.
PLAYFIELD: As it is being described in
the trades, Orbitor 1 features a contoured,
molded playfield that ‘simulates the three-
dimensional substrata of a lunar land¬
scape’ that is illuminated from below. In
other words, this ain’t your standard flat
board. The layout takes this into account
with a minimum of features dotting the
surface. There are seven drop targets
fronting seven standups (O-R-B-I-T-O-R)
at the center top. Over at the far left is a
little resting place curled behind some
plastic overlay and sided by a target where
it’s possible to lock up a ball for potential
multi-ball play. Just below is a three bank
of drop targets, while the middle brings
something additionally different in the
form of two widely spaced, motorized
spinning bumpers which propel the ball
away, up, down, and around. Meanwhile,
the right bottom has another three drop
target bank with the bottom featuring two

\f^

AMES ^

PEOPLE PLAY

DISTRIBUTING CO.

ALL VIDEO GAMES AND SOME PINBALLS
AVAILABLE

JUKEBOXES BY CENTURI
POOL TABLES BY DYNAMO
FOOSBALL TABLES BY DYNAMO

* * Jte * ♦ 5|e 3je J|e

COMPLETE PARTS DEPARTMENT
TO BACK UP SALES

♦♦**♦♦**♦*♦♦♦♦♦*♦♦***♦**************

ALSO THE LATEST COMPUTERIZED
DIAGNOSTIC SYSTEM FOR
ALL GAME BOARDS

WE SERVICE WHAT WE SELL

4156 S. STAPLES • CORPUS CHRISTI, TX 78411
512/855-4811

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

kickers, what I will call gates on the outside
left and right, two flippers, and the only
way to lose the ball—a small hole just
between and below the center placed
flippers.

ANALYSIS: How can you begin with this
revolutionary creation? The bonus multi¬
plier, up to 15X, is attained by hitting
down any of the target banks, while the
spinner can build in value from 1,000 up to
9,000 points per spin. Once the ball is
locked on the left side, which is possible off
the plunger, hitting out all the top targets
will gain multi-ball play and specials, as
well as extra balls that are activated by
hitting various targets on the board at
specific times.

But the features themselves become
secondary, which is why I’m spending so
little space on explaining them. There is a
rationale and interaction as well as strategy
for what to do, but Orbitor I goes beyond
this just by the uniqueness of its design. It’s
an experience to play, which is obvious,
but there are also some added program¬
ming capabilities not easily apparent to the
player, such as a backglass display for ball
time (adjustable by the operator to award a
credit if someone lasts longer than anyone
previously), a one hundredth game special

might even have a bearing on how you set
your limits. This will become a factor when
you’re deciding what the role of Orbitor 1
should be on location.

By having levels that are too high for
either free plays or extra balls, you run the
risk of turning off players by not allowing
them the extra opportunities to get close to
and comfortable with the game. However,
if you’re too lenient, you’re going to throw
off the earnings and your percentaging. So
the advice here is to closely monitor
players’ reactions and make adjustments
accordingly.

As for some rough guidelines, far less
exact than those normally given in this
space regarding pinball settings, try a
breakdown of about 500,000 points to
start, followed by 1,200,000 if on extra ball
play. Increase this by anywhere from
100,000 to 300,000 points for free play but
know that there is some flexibility within
this, and you might even want to add a
third, far higher, limit for an extra incen¬
tive if you think it will add to the drawing
potential.

PROS & CONS: It’s difficult to make any
realistic, objective judgments about
Orbitor 1 only because everyone who is
going to come in contact with it will either

‘gravity’ tends to effect the roll. It isn’t easy
to make the transition and adapt, nor, for
some players I’ve talked to on location, are
the rewards ample enough or ultimately
satisfying.

As a result, the reaction from this writer
and player, is that too much was done too
soon in an attempt to shock the player
rather than build him up to it slowly and
methodically. With rumors tending to
support that Stern will be following
Orbitor 1 with other similar designs, the
hope is that the surface of the field will be
more fluid in terms of movement and rolls
for the ball rather than what is offered
here. However, as a novel direction to
pursue without overdoing it, I am anxious
to see the future efforts and if there is more
sensitivity to the basics of pinball as well as
to a better understanding in translation of
design, of the appeal it holds which is really
so important.

RATING: What may be apparent is that
I’m ambivalent about the execution of
Orbitor 1 but recognize and empathize
with the rationale behind its existence.
However, the verdict is still out on whether
the direction chosen was the best possible
one. I laud the motivation and willingness
to reach beyond the ordinary for some-

The summer is obviously heating up and events are rapidly taking shape
that offer some clues to the rest of the year and beyond.

which happens, you guessed it, every hun¬
dredth game, and a minimum game time
feature that will award the player a free
ball, if at the end of his game, his total time
of play has been less than 90 to 180
seconds.

Taken as a whole, the concept is
enhanced by these attractions, but the
game itself will have to stand alone on the
basis of whether players will come back for
more. Most assuredly, they’ll try it at least
a few times just because of what’s before
them.

GRAPHICS: Orbitor 1 has tried to
enhance the total effect of what it offers
with a bubble backglass that dimension-
alizes this portion of the cabinet. The field,
with its ridges, hills, and grooves, is cast in
a glow of light from below the surface. All
in all, if the moon is the inspiration, the use
of color, or lack of it, tends to be faithful to
the original with highlights in black and
some brighter tones at the head. In addi¬
tion, the game brings into play some
speech and interesting sound effects to
round off the complete package.

PLAY: Although you’re dealing with an
unconventional game, by and large, much
of the scoring is standard in terms of
pinball. Although the overall experience of
playing tends to overshadow this and

love it or hate it. It’s hard to be impartial
and stand in the middle. And I think this
will hold true in terms of how it is received
by the public—the earnings are going to be
very good in some spots and very bad in
others. It will be the task of the operator to
really know his market and how well the
game might do before he commits the
dollars and space.

When I saw and played it for the first
time at the AO E, people asked what I
thought about it and my comment was that
it made me dizzy and that I could just see it
in some bar where a guy’s had one too
many. Playing Orbitor 1 would really put
him over the edge. Seriously though, and
this machine more than any other tends to
support the view, pinball design has
become so radical due to current market
conditions, that the range of concepts are
far outstripping the normal boundaries of
just what pinball is all about, why players
continue to step up before them, and what
they expect in return for their investment.

For instance, one very tangible appeal
and interactive quality of pinball that the
true player looks forward to is hitting and
bumping the game. But here the effort is
almost futile, replaced instead by some of
the nuances tied into the movement of the
flippers when the ball is near and how

thing a bit more special, but like anything
else that tries to leap ahead into a new
frontier rather than step lightly, there is a
price to pay on some level. Here it’s the
player, to some extent, although there is
much room for improvement and still
much to offer as it now exists. We’ll try a
generous ### and hope that future devel¬
opments will only enhance the validity of
the concept instead of detracting from it.

There you have three distinct machines
within their own categories which are
reaching out for new and novel solutions as
a way of making a definite statement and
establishing a niche for themselves. It is the
nature of the times that is more responsible
for at least these games this time around.
Although, maybe more importantly, is
that they support a sense of gret change
about to descend upon design in all areas.

Adding fuel to this view is the plan to
cover at least Robotron and Mr. & Mrs.
Pac-Man next issue and comment on their
unique aspects.

The summer is obviously heating up and
events are rapidly taking shape that offer
some clues to the rest of the year and
beyond. Together we’ll explore them. As
always, and to end this rather long edition
of the Corner, be well and prosper.

PLAY METERJuly 1, 1982

Krammed full
of uarietv

Think of a maze game, add more play
variations, incorporate obstacles and
sound, cram all of it into one video game,
and you have Kram from Taito America.

Kram, with his red body, rolling blue
eyes, and white sneakers, is controlled by
an eight-way joystick that chases and
catches the floating point targets but must
avoid the sneaky Skulls who destroy Kram.
The players get three Krams per game. For
every 30,000 points (adjustable) the player
is awarded a bonus turn with one more
Kram.

This game starts each phase with a dif¬
ferent wall configuration on the screen.
The Skulls move quicky and try to catch
Kram unless the player blocks the Skulls by
building a wall with the wall button. The
player can also break down the wall at any
point with the bustout button, and then
Kram can escape. Players must also
beware of the Ripper who tears down walls
(beyond the player’s control) to let the
Skulls run free.

As the game progresses, it becomes
harder and harder with more Skulls on the
loose and more Rippers on the attack.
When the screen flashes red, a new field
begins with more Rippers and Skulls out to
get Kram.

Jack Mittel, president of Taito America,
believes that this game will appeal to
women as well as to men. “Frankly, the
character is cute, and it’s difficult not to
sympathize with him as he gets in and out
of trouble. The numerous play variations
will keep players absorbed throughout
many games,” he said.

Kram is for one or two players and
measures 67 inches by 24 inches by 30
inches.

Exploring with
Naughty Boy

Enter a new adventure by guiding Naughty
Boy through forest and field to the pirate’s
fortress! Your adventure is ready to begin
because Naughty Boy, available exclusively
from Cinematronics Inc., is now in full
production. Naughty Boy is licensed from
Japan Leisure Co. Ltd. and is available in
upright and cocktail models.

On the way to the pirate’s fortress.
Naughty Boy must avoid the monsters,
goblins, and robots that chase him. His
only defense is a pocketful of rocks that he
throws at his adversaries. Naughty Boy
must also avoid the fire-breathing dragon
that periodically appears.

Once Naughty Boy reaches the fortress,
he hurls his rocks at the flags. Once all the
flags are destroyed, the fortress bursts into
flame and Naughty Boy begins another
adventure.

Naughty Boy provides players with chal¬
lenges and high-scoring opportunities.
The game has four different play fields, a
bonus round, and fifty difficulty levels to
provide players with new and progressive
challenges. Operators have flexibility with
four coinage settings, four extra man
settings, four lives per garhe settings, and
an easy/hard option.

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

string along
with Talto

A flashing, energetic yo-yo turns a kid’s toy
into a video game with Taito America’s
The Electric Yo Yo.

The Electric Yo Yo is based on a yellow
and red yo-yo maneuvered by the joystick.
The player strings out the yo-yo to erase as
many “blox” on the screen as possible. The
longer the string, the more points scored—
between 10-500—depending on the length.
With every 50,000 points, (adjustable)
the player earns an extra yo-yo.

Eight different fields of configurations
challenge the player. The player must
avoid the deadly trions and bions because
they can explode the yo-yo. For double
trouble, a trion can pick up a bion and
head right in the direction of the yo-yo.

When a trion touches a blox, the blox
becomes super charged. If the yo-yo erases
this charged blox, it changes color and has
the power to pass over a bion without
danger and can score double point values.

The last twenty blox on the screen are
worth five times their normal value, giving
the player an extra chance to score more
points.

Taito America’s sales manager Mike
Von Kennel is pleased with the initial
reception of The Electric Yo Yo\ “I don’t
know of anyone who hasn’t tried to mai'ier
a yo-yo, and The Electric Yo Yo gives
players the ultimate challenge.”

Punch oua

Battle a gorilla, ghost, broom, and fire to
capture territory by enclosing squares and
rectangles, and you have Triple Punch, the
latest video attraction by Thomas Auto¬
matics Inc.

The purpose of Triple Punch is to
capture territory by enclosing squares and
rectangles, all the time being careful to
avoid coming into contact with four
moving objects. If contact is made, the
player is “knocked out.”

The moving objects—gorilla, ghost,
broom, and fire—all react in a different
fashion. The gorilla constantly pursues the
player with a hammer and tries to hit him
on the head. The ghost moves randomly
around the screen sometimes pursuing the
player and sometimes avoiding him. And
the broom erases the trail made by the
player to enclose the squares.

Gorilla, ghost, and broom can be
“punched” by pressing the fire button. If
pressed once or twice, the object is tempo¬
rarily immobilized and the player can
proceed unharmed. If the fire button is
pressed three times in succession, the
object is then “punched out” and an
ambulance will come to remove it. The
player must decide if he has enough time to
press the fire button three times in order to
“punch out” one object before another
object knocks him out.

If a second moving object is “punched
out” before an ambulance can remove the
first, then the player gets twice as many
points. Fire cannot be “punched out” and
must be avoided at all times. It always
moves downward, and once it has reached
the bottom of the screen, it reappears at
random at the top of the screen.

Escape routes allow the player to move
right or left to a similar screen which will
have the same captured territory blocked
out. This allows the player to capture the
remainder of the screen from either
direction. After all the squares have been
enclosed on the screen, the player receives
bonus points. A new screen then appears
which has increased difficulty due to the
appearance of a second fire and the more
aggressive rnovements of the other objects.

Triple Punch is available in both upright
and cocktail table versions.

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

Aids to the Trade

Billiards desk

Featuring the “Cougar” look, a new desk
manufactured and marketed by The Valley
Company has an entertaining appearance
in a business-like practicality. “It has so
many of the features of our pool tables that
it’s fooled some people,” says Richard B.
Shelton, vice president, manufacturing, of
Valley. “But we believe we’ve created a
unique piece of furniture that will enhance
the decor—and efficiency—wherever it’s
used, in the home or at the office,” Shelton
continued.

The desk features four ample drawers: a
center drawer, two on the left-hand side,
and one full-depth legal-sized drawer on
the right. Each drawer is equipped with
slides, and has unique 8-ball pulls. The
stainless steel corner caps are stamped with
the well-known Valley Cougar symbol.
The balance of the unit’s molding and trim
is anodized aluminum.

The Exe-Cue-Tive measures 72 inches by
36 inches, stand 31 inches high, and has a
shipping weight of 285 pounds. For excep¬
tionally long wear, all exposed surfaces are
protected with high-pressure Penelite lami¬
nate in walnut tones. The top surface is
covered with genuine green billiard cloth,
and each of the four reinforced fiberglass
legs has its own leveler.

Detects faults
in 1C units

Currently available from Bugtrap Instru¬
mentation is the Bugtrap Logic Compara¬
tor. This logic comparator has been
designed to be used by non-experienced as
well as highly trained technicians. Unlike
an oscilloscope, the Bugtrap Logic Com¬
parator requires no interpretation of
digital activity to detect I.C. faults.

The test process takes place with a
“reference” I.C.’s and the suspect I.C.’s
inputs effectively piggy-backed to one
another and the outputs separated com¬
pletely. The comparison takes place
between these separated outputs. The

suspect or “on board” I.C. is allowed to
continue its function without interruption
while its activity is constantly monitored.

The reference I.C. is connected into the
comparator circuitry via a zero-insertion-
force socket mounted on the comparator
while the suspect I.C. is connected via a test
clip and cable. By use of the switching
circuitry, the inputs of the reference I.C.
are tied to the inputs of the suspect I.C.,
thereby placing the two into parallel opera¬
tion. The reference I.C. and the compara¬
tor draw their power automatically from

. '

the I.C. under test. All are powered by
+5VDC. Through parallel, yet isolated
comparator lines, the activity of the
reference I.C. is then compared directly to
that of the suspect chip. If the two I.C.s do
not compare exactly, an error signal is
generated and a corresponding LED is lit
and latched to expose the faulty line.

The Bugtrap Logic Comparator will test
such varied TTL chips as counters, shift
registers, flip-flops, latches, multiplexers,
adders, decoders, buffers, inverters, AND
gates, NAND gates, OR gates, NOR gates,
XOR gates, etc. The reference manual
included with the comparator documents
over one hundred of the most commonly
used, testable TTL I.C.s. You can easily
expand this to meet your requirements.

For additional information, contact:
Bugtrap Instrumentation, 1173 Tasman
Drive, Sunnyvale, California 94086;
or telephone 408/734-1 118.

Eliminates coin jams
electronically

Coin Mechanisms Inc. introduces its new
Electronic Coin Mechanism. This elec¬
tronic mechanism comes as a “retro-fit”
unit to all existing coin mechanisms in
the field today.

It requires an input voltage of between
12V-32V. This wide range allows manufac¬
turers and operators to tap a line wherever
convenient.

The most notable feature, however, is the
“sample coin” holder which determines the
coin or token to be accepted. To convert

the electronic mechanism, simply change
the coin in the sample holder to the one
desired for acceptance.

Other features include:

• "no moving parts, eliminating coin
jams

• a “driving” system which eliminates
the coin switch (which may be trig¬
gered by stringing or “penny” flipping)

• vibration resistant electronics (which
eliminates the need for slam switches)

• no noisy blockout coils

For further information contact: Coin
Mechanisms, Inc., Elmhurst, Illinois,
312/279-9150-1-2-3. U.S. and foreign
patents pending.

Larger screen displays
for colorful coin-ops

The Special Products Division of Indus¬
trial Engineers Inc. (lEE), a manufacturer
of diverse display technologies, announces
a new, larger screen display in the 4400
Series. Called the 4401, it delivers an image
1.20 inches square with one of up to twelve
messages. This viewing size is 38 percent
larger than the 4400's (.75 inches). The new
unit can reproduce any image, in any color
in the most minute detail.

The new 4401 shares the same design
breakthroughs recently introduced in the
4400. Those improvements include a new
lens design resulting in brighter illumi¬

nation (100 foot Lamberts) and a plug-in
connector. The lamps are factory-wired as
a modular unit. The entire lamp assembly
snaps out for easy lamp replacement.

The 4401 measures 2.125 inches (53.98
mm) high, 1.547 inches (39.29mm) wide,
and 5.125 inches (130.18mm) deep.

The 4401 will meet a wide variety of
applications. The first major use of the
4401 is in coin-operated gaming equip¬
ment. In this installation, the display had
to be low in cost and still able to reproduce
large, sharp color images of intricate
symbols.

The use of projection displays today
spans the globe in equipment used for
education, transportation, medicine,
public service, and point-of-sale.

For additional information, please
contact: Tom Kira, Technical Sales
Manager, lEE Special Products Division,
7740 Lemona Ave., Van Nuys, California
91405, 213/787-0311, ext. 243.

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

ClASSIFIED

ADVERTIHNfl

WOODGRAIN VIDEO
CABINETS

arcades, cabarets, cocktails
Accept 19" monitors
Quantity & Price negotiable

NELSON’S CUSTOM
CABINETS

, 7800 Industrial Street

West Melbourne, FLA 32901

305/723-6500

PHOTO MACHINES
WE BUY & SELL

CHEMICALS, FILM, PARTS

BEST PRICES GUARANTEED!

ED HANNA

P.O. Box 5249, Utica, NY 13505

315/738-1122

UPRIGHTS
LOW PRICES
Super Cobra .. $1300.

Venture . 1300.

Red Baron . . 1300.

Wizard of Wor . .1300.

Battlezone . 850.

Stratovox . 850.

Armor Attack .... 900.
Astro Blaster ... 1300.

8,000 stock tokens size .882: 7^ ea.

8171634-7771

AVAILABLE: MANUALS & SCHE-
MA-TICS for any electronic pinball.
Also some videos. Call: 212/458-5005.

INDEPENDENT OPERATORS: We

can repair your equipment on a contract
basis. 7-day week service. New York City
area only. Call: 876-2424

SCHOOL FOR
ELECTRONIC GAMES
Two-week course covers video and pins.
By Schematics! Our 11th year! CAL’S
COIN COLLEGE, P.O. Box 810,
Nicoma Park, OK 73066. 405/769-5343

Williams Electronics, Inc. has recently noted, in the clas¬
sified sections of some of our industry trade publications,
advertisements that offer games for sale that may infringe
Williams copyrights.

Williams is actively engaged in the Federal Courts to pro¬
tect the rights of our original works against those who attempt
to violate our copyrights, patents and trademarks.

Buyers please note that the games mayday and defense
COMMAND have been found to be infringing copies of williams
DEFENDER^** game and crush roller and picture to be

infringing copies of Williams MAKE trax"^** game.

Williams will take whatever steps necessary to seek pros¬
ecution against any company or person that manufactures,
sells, distributes and/or operates any games that violate our
exclusive proprietary rights.

FOR SALE: Star Castle $1050;
Asteroids $1000; Berzerk $1000; Super
Cora $1000; Space Invaders $450; Space
Invaders Deluxe $550; Armor Attack
$750; Submarine $350; Qix $1895;
Galaxian $1100; Venture $950;
Mousetrap $1700; Tempest $2100; Targ
$550. D & P MUSIC CO., 658 West
Market St., York, PA 17405 TEL:
717/848-1846

VIDEO GAME
LOGIC BOARDS
LONG LIST

Fabco International, Inc.

104 Applewood Dr., Suite ‘A’
Longwood, Florida 32750

305/831-0399

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

COCKTAIL TABLES

Largest supply of Amercian

games in the south.

(Midway) GolOgO .

.$2295

(Nintendo) Donkcy Kong ....

.2145

(Gremlin) Fro gger .

..1845

(Dynamo) LlV Hustler .

..1745

(Midway) Omega Race .

..1595

..1295

(Stem) Scramble .

..1295

(Midway) Galaxiatt .

...995

REILLEY ELECTRONICS

2046 BramUewood, Atlanta, GA 30329

404/320-1112

FOR SALE/RECONDITIONED

Ms. Pac-Man.

. .$2300.

Stargate .

. ..2300.

Denkey Keng (Nintendo).

. . .2100.

Centipede.

. . . 2200.

Tempest.

...2200.

Galaga.

. .. 2200.

Jack the Giant Killer ...

. . .1900.

Thief.

. . .1900.

Frogger .

. . .1900.

Lady Bug .

. . .1900.

Pac-Man.

. . .1900.

Defender.

. . .1900.

Qix.

. . .1800.

Omega Race.

. . .1800.

Monaco GP (sit down) . .

. . .1800.

Phoenix.

. . .1600.

\ Monaco GP (mini).

. . .1600.

1 Asteroids.

. . .1200.

I Missile Command.

. . .1200.

1 Galaxian.

. . .1200.

1 Turbo (sit down).

...3400.

1 Turbo (upright).

. ..3000.

i Zaxxon.

...2300.

Frenzy .

...2200.

Looping.

...2000.

The Pit.

...2000.

Black Hole.

. . .1600.

Streaker .

. . .2100.

Naughty Boy.

. . .2100.

Rapid Fire.

. . .2100.

Space Invaders.

. . . 500.

$400.

Star Trek

$300. Kiss

$500.

Mata Hari Genie

Meteor

8 Ball Hot Hand

Gorgar

Slrkes & Spanss Head On

2 pi Football Nat'l Crown

800 (cig)

NEW CLOSEOUTS

Solar Quest.

.$1300.

Phoenix (CT).

. .1200.

Vanguard .

. .1300.

Challenge.

. .1300.

Astro Lazer (CT).

. . 500.

i Space Ranger (CT) .

.. 500.

^ Moon Lander (CT).

.. 500.

[ Clay Shoot (CT).

. . 500. ,

N.J. 201/729-6171 |

CHECK US OUT!

ASTEROIDS DELUXE ...

. ..SIJ

ASTEROIDS (CT).

. . ..12

CRAZY CLIMRER (CT)..

.... 1

RED ALERT .

....U

....and many more at great prices.

We also carry an extensive stock
of parts. No order too small
so Just give us a call.

717 / 545-4264

\ Allentown Blvd.

} ^ Harrisburg, PA 17112

VIDEO GAME ROUTE FOR SALE
located in Metro Atlanta, Georgia.
All locations secured by contract.
Easy one man route.

Less than 20 locations
with annual gross over $300,000

404/255-5160

PRICE GUIDE

Our address was incorrect in our last ad
If you would like to subscribe to D.R.A.
Price Guido, the address is:
D.R.A. Price Guide
6595 N.W. 36th St.. Suite 109B
Miami, Florida 33166
305/871-4980

IT XT XI II T X

RliSiiiSil

sga

SUMMER SPECIAL

Atari ASTEROIDS.$995

MISSILE COMMAND . $ 1195

F O B. New Jersey

FLAG COIN MACHINE CORP.

532 New Brunswick Ave., Fords. NJ 08863

201/738-7171

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

NEED NEW CABINETS?

\Me manufacture formicated
Galaxian-styfle cabinets &
cabaret-styfle cabinets
Quantity

1-24.$275 each

25 or more.$250 each

100 or more ... .call for quote

F O B. LONG ISLAND, N.Y.

Complete with cut-outs
and interior braces
Also available: metal hardware,
cash box doors, & control panels.

SYSTEMS

Telex: 971443

HIGH EARNING
VIDEO GAME SALE

Asteroids . $1545.

Crazy/ Climber . 1645.

Eagle . 1545.

Defender C/T .1995.

Kick Man . 2195.

Qix . 1995.

Space Fury. 2395.

Super Cobra .1795.

Tempest . 2495.

Vanguard . .1995.

Venture .1695.

PLUS hundreds more!
Inventory; changes weekly;
All games location ready;

(Delivery not included)

15191 Telegraph, Bedford, Ml48239

313/534-7880
US 800/521-9500
MICH 800/482-6569

SPECIALS

.i:

VIDEOS

Galaxian (Midway) .

$1350.

Moon CreSta (Gremlin) .

..1250.

Space Encounter (Midway) ..

...550. :

Space Firebird (Gremlin) -

..1225. :

Space Invader (Midway) .

...600.

Star Castle (Cinematronic*) . . .

.1425. >

FLIPPERS

Cleopatra (Gottlieb) .

...295. >

Count Down (Gottlieb) .

...430. :

Flash (Williams) .

...475. :

Ground Shaker (Baiiy) .

...450. :

Mata Hari (Baiiy) .

...325.

Super Sonic (Baiiy) .

...435. :

MUSIC

Rock-Ola 452 (furniture) ..

..$525. >

Rowe TI-1 .

...460.

Rowe R-74 .

...625.

Rowe MM5 .

...375.

Seeburg SPS160 .

...595.

Seeburg STD3 .

Call or Write:

...700.

i' COLUMBIA VENDING

; I 6424 Frankford Ave., Baltimore, MD 21206

\ 301/485-3700

Ask for Tony/Paszkiewicz ;

STOP THIEF!

NEW -HIGH POWERED WIRELESS BURGLER
ALARM FOR THE COIN-OP INDUSTRY

• INSTALLS IN MINUTES • BATTERY POWERED
• SOLID STATE CONSTRUCTION
• TRANSFERABLE-MACHINE TO MACHINE
• FITS ALL GAMES & VENDING EQUIP.

SECURITY MASTER'” IS A MINIATURE ALARM SYSTEM SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR
COIN-OP EQUIPMENT CONSISTING OF SOLID-STATE TRANSMITTERS AND RECEIVERS.
COST PER GAME EXAMPLES:

3 Games - S46.30/Game 10 Games = S30.56/Game 20 Games = $27.63/Game. Elc.

ALSO AVAILABLE IS A UNIQUE ' GAME THEFT SENSOR "

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION. CONTACT: PDI SYSTEMS

WHOLESALE DIVISION
P. O. BOX 720476

SSCVm^ASTFK ATLANTA, GA. 30328

"THE CHEAPEST INSURANCE YOU CAN BUY ANYWHERE!"

UNBELIEVABLE PRICES!!!

LOCATION READY EQUIPMENT

VIDEO

Asteroids. $1050

Asteroids Deluxe .. ,1050
Missile Command ,,, 900

Battlezone .. 650

Super Bug . 350

Red Baron . 1095

Galaxian . 1050

Ralfy'X . 1250

Gorf . 1400

Omega Race . 1550

Super Cobra . 1300

Scramble . 1000

Moon Cresta . $925

Astro Fighter . 895

Space Firebird . 900

Astro Blaster . 1295

Spectar . 1095

Targ . 850

RadarScope . 995

Basketball . . 350

Star Castle . 895

Rip Off . 800

Carnival .. 1000

Stratovox . 900

Lunar Rescue .. 795

PINBALL

Kiss . $350

8-Ball Deluxe . 1295

$6 million Man . 300

Space Invader . 650

Star Trek . 350

Flash Gordon . 1000

Skateball . 600

Magic . 475

Magic . ,475

Meteor . 275

Sea Witch . 495

Cheetah . 495

Flight 2000 . 750

Superman . $295

Space Riders . 275

Solar Fire ... 1150

Flash . 300

Firepower . 500

Tri-Zone .. 350

Pharaoh . 1150

Blackout . 795

Black Knight . 975

Buck Rogers . 375

Count Down .. 250

Pinball Pool . 275

Panthera . 500

MANY OTHERS AVAILABLE FROM OUR OPERATIONS
" THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY

CALL CHARLIE AT: 201/891-7990

“ 455 West Main St., Wyckoff, New Jersey 07481

Terms: 113 down — Balance C.O.D. certified check jyou pay freight

L jacL -sn jan jag, jar, z ae : as:

WHOLESALE GAMES

CEG

FROM COAST TO COAST

Computer Earning Games, knc.

51 Monroe St., I8th Floor, P.o. Box 1687 Rockville, md 20850

(301)251-1200

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

SUPER SPECIAL
DEVIL FISH

by A rtic Electronics
LATEST, HOTTEST GAME
as advertised in Play Meter

I $ 1795.00

1 F.O.B. Atlanta, GA

Immediate shipment jfactory warranty

**If you bought this game else-
where, then you paid too much. ”

L Call Dana: 404/482-1624

SPECIALISTS IN ARCADES
SERVING TRI/STATE AREA

COIN MACHINE
DISTRIBUTORS, INC.

425 Fairvicw Park Drive
Elmsford, NY 10523
914/347-3777
NYC 212/538-1285

L.I. 516/222-4540

NJ & CT 800/431-2112

WANTED: GAME ROOMS

» Corporation seeking to buy existing and profitable game

5 rooms. Single or multiple units in locations throughout U.S.

> Immediate purchase funds available. Broker protected.
I Contact: Mr. L. Budd

> RMC Realty

I 5227 W. Touhy

> Skokie, IL 60077

PYRAMID DISTRIBUTING

Offering the finest new and used video and pinbaii

ARCADE PLANNING SPECIALISTS

NEW FOR '82

JACK THE GIANT KILLER: Heading for the #1 spot, don't miss it.
BOXING BUGS: New color Vectorbeam cutesy game.

NAUGHTY BOY: Hidden hit of the show! Make a point to see it.
THIEF: Already showing strong resuits.

ROBOTRON: Wiiiiams continues making the best PLAYER games.
HYPERBALL: Don't settle for less; it's the best.

HAUNTED HOUSE: Number 1 pin--what eise can we say!

ALL GAMES IN STOCK & READY FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY

****** CLOSE OUTS ******

Turtles, Solar Quest, Lil’ Hustler, Armor Attack, Wizard of War
Complete Selection of other top quality used games
Call for prices

SALES/SERVICE/PARTS

(Call US collect)

3909 BROADWAY
KANSAS CITY, MO 64111
816/531-3549

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

CHECKED &

\ location ready

Ms. Pac-Man.

..Call ;

Alpine Ski .

..Call

Zaxxon .

Call :

Amidar .

Call

Galaga .

Call

Lady Bug .

$2459

Bosconian .

2359

Kickman .

2359

Mouse Trap .

2159

Strategy .

1795

Qix .

1795

Frogger .

1995

Omega Race .

1495

Tempest .

2295

Asteroids Deluxe .

1195

Eliminator .

1495

Armor Attack .

. 995

Red Baron .

1195

Star Hawk .

. 795

Missile Command .....

1195

Battlezone .

. 795

Star Castle .

. 995

Space Invaders .

. 849

Depth Charge .

. 395

Meadows Lanes .

. 295

Video Pinball .

. 695

Stunt Cycle .

. 395

Lakeside Electronics

& Amusement Company

310 Covington St, Madisonville, LA 70447

504/845-7146

(if no response)

504/892-0506

Ask for Mike Cannon ;

PRICE WAR!!!

Defender . $1795.

Pac-Man (c/t) . 1995.

Gorf . 1395.

Asteroids . .995.

Asteroids Deluxe .995.

Star’ Castle .995.

Berzerk . 1195.

Scramble . 1195.

Venture . 1595.

Red Baron . 1295.

Omega Race (cabaret) . .1795.

Tempest . 2095.

Battlezone (cabaret) .995.

Newmark Enterprises
Spokane, WA
509/466-3368

PLEASE USE
OUR NEW
PHONE
NUMBER
FOR

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Or for questions
concerning your present
subscription

504/837-7987

UP YOURS!!!

Up your income, that is! Sell your pieces that have made
the rounds. Buy the used games that your stops haven’t
had yet. Send $30.“® for 12 months of

TRADE-A-GAME

P.O. Box 266, Great River, New York 11739

HELLO TEXAS!

PREMIER DISTRIBUTING CO., INC.

has the largest inventory of hit video
games in the state. All are original/no copies

Call for immediate delivery on:

Donkey Kong
Ms. Pac-Man
Zaxxon

Robotron

Stargate

Looping

Galaga
Turbo
Dig Dug

JACK THE GIANT KILLER (Special)

Wc handle pool tables and phonographs, too.

“FULL SERVICE DEPARTMENT”

h PRFMIFR

errlen distributing co., inc.

VjDisTRiBunNGCo iNc ,7051 Port West, #150, Houston, Texas 77a24

13/868-414

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

Rapid Fire

■ THE HOT NEW WAY TO LIVEN

■ THE HOT NEW WA Y TO LIVEN UP YOUR GAME ROOM
What do video games such as Centipede come from a game with rapid fire action.

and Tempest have in common besides
success? Speed. Excitement. The kind of
action that makes you come back for
more. The kind of action that can only

Now you can add this high speed crowd
pleaser to all your firing video games.
How? With a Rapid Fire continuous fire
conversion kit.

Q. What is Rapid Fire?

A. To the player, Rapid Fire means
the thrill of continuous fire action.
Just hold the fire button down,
and the firing will continue until
it's released. To you. Rapid Fire
means a small piece of electronic
wizardry that will increase your
profits wherever it's installed. And
it comes with a bright yellow
decal so your customers will know
at a glance that your games are
where the action is.

Q. Which games can use it?

A. Rapid Fire can be installed on
any firing game except those
which have this capability already
built-in.

Q. Why should I install Rapid Fire in
my game room?

A. To increase your profits.

"Sleepers" and games you've had
for years will take on new dimen¬
sions. Add a little speed and
watch your game room jump to
life. Just read what these Rapid
Fire users have to say:

"Thank you, Rapid Fire. You
made my nearly dead Phoenix

Rapid

Pire^m

Players
can identify
Rapid FireTM

_ equipped games.

come back to life." — Silver
Star Game Room, Utah
"I put Rapid Fire on my Asteroids.
It paid for itself the first day and
has been doing so ever since ." —
Family Fun Center, Texas
"Everyone has Defender, but I
have Rapid Fire Defender. The
kids love the difference." — Star
Funtasy, Florida.

Q. Can I install It myself?

A. Yes. Rapid Fire is simple to install;
no need to enlist the aid of a
costly technician. Its three color-
coded wires (four on Atari's
Asteroids and Asteroids Deluxe)
hook up to any game easily.
Detailed instructions accompany
the kit to assure mistake-free
assembly.

Q. How about service?

A. Because Rapid Fire is simple to
install and contains no moving
parts, it has proven to be virtually
trouble-free. Nevertheless, we
provide a full 90-day replacement
warranty against any defects in
materials or workmanship.

RAPID FIRE. WITHOUT IT, WOULD CENTIPIDE AND TEMPEST STILL BE A SUCCESS?

Rapid Fire kits cost $18.95 each, or
take advantage of our money saving
offer: clip this coupon and get 3 for
$49.95. Send check or money order;
sorry, no CODs. Prices include ship¬
ping, handling. Immediate delivery!
In California, please add 6.5% sales
tax. New for distributors! Special
prices; write for details.

ADDRESS

STATE/ZIP

AMOUNT ENCLOSED_

MAIL TO: RAPID FIRE

2332 KIRKHAM STREET
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94122

ATTENTION

DISTRIBUTORS!

Rapid Fire's sales are increasing across
the country. For prompter customer
service, we are currently looking for
qualified distributors to handle our
product. Interested parties should
write or phone Rapid Fire, attention
Simon Shim.

Rapid Fire

2332 Kirkham St., San Francisco, CA 94122
(415) 564-9768

WARNING!

Rapid Fire is registered with the
Patent and Trademark Office of
the federal government, and was
given the filing date of 3/4/82.

Rapid Fire will take whatever
legal action is necessary to
protect its proprietary rights
from imitators.

MAT

METES

The Onfy

Mitgasdne
YouTi Ever Need

COUNT COINS FAST

V Coin Sorter with

Automatic Coin
Feeder sorts, stacks,
counts coins. Does
an hour’s work in
10 minutes!

• Cuts tedious hand
work

• Sorts up to 500
coins per minute

• Speeds roll wrapping
COMPLETE: $ 114 .oo
'3-vear guarantee on
entire unit. Write for
details or order now
for 2-week free trial.

NADEX INDUSTRIES INC.

Dept. 17426

220 Delaware Ave. Buffalo, NY 14202

Make Your Own Game

Complete Cabinet & Electronics
Already Assembled

All you do is add \;our
P C. Board and Plug-In

FEATURES

Cabinet; Full Length Upright
Monitor: Wells Gnrcliner 19" Color

Harness: Adjustable Soder Free

Fits any regular P C. Board
Front Panel; All WICO Parts & Lever
Decor: Cabinet has silkscreened sides

Many styles of cosmetics
Latest Header Board available:

Full Price: $1150^^

WE KNOW HOW TO DEAL

DIGITAL INNOVATORS, INC.

• Licensed PC Boards

• Indestructable JOY STICKS made of aircraft aluminum

• Power Supplies

• Schematics and legal documentation provided

• Unbeatable service

DIGITAL INNOVATORS, INC.

463 So. Washington Ave.

Piscataway, New Jersey 08854

201/968-0200

THINK CONVERSION

EAGLE CONVERSIONS

25 FAGLE STREET
PROVIDENCE. RI 02908
(401)751-5438

Locations through¬
out the United
States. Videos and
Pinballs always avail¬
able at good prices
from our chain of
game rooms!

(HOWBOAT

Call or Write
for Sales List:

Sue Spellman
Malibu Grand Prix
21300 Califa Street
Woodland Hills, CA
91367

(213) 703-0022

MAUBU FUN centers:

PLAY METER, July 1982

DON’T BUY ANYWHERE
UNTIL YOU COMPARE!!

LiV Hustler .

.$1995

Mouse Trap .

. $1895

Wizard of Wor .

..1695

Spectar .

. 1295

Football (2 pi) .

...495

Eagle .

. 1095

Baseball .

. ..495

Phoenix .

. 1595

Basketball .

...495

Vanguard .

. 1595

Venture .

..1495

Locomotion .

. 2150

Moon Shuttle .

..1395

Bit .

. 2150

Crazy Climber .

..1095

D-Day .

. 2150

Phantom 800 .

...800

Defender .

. 1995

Haunted House .

..1995

Astro Blaster .

. 1795

Black Hole .

..1995

Solar Quest .

. 1595

8-Ball Deluxe .

..1595

Galaxian .

. 1295

Kickman (ct) .

..2195

Scramble .

. 1495

Asteroids Deluxe (ct) ....

..1095

Super Cobra .

. 1595

The End (ct) .

..1295

Asteroids Deluxe ....

. 1495

Scramble (ct) .

..1095

Battlezone .

. 995

Midway Sp. Invaders Deluxe (ct) . .

...895

Sky Raider .

. 695

NichibutsuMoon BUSC Deluxe (ct) .

...495

Pleides .

. 1595

Spectar (ct) .

...995

Special ARDAC SI & $5 bill changer

. $2195

Special D YNAMO Model 37 pool table .

. $1095

SPECIAL PRICE ON BELITA
ELECTRIC OR MANUAL
COUNTER

MANUAL: $395.00
ELECTRIC: $ 495 .oo

PLAY MORE GAMES DISTRIBUTING, INC.

1121 East Seminary Drive, Ft. Worth, Texas 76115
817/429-7705

U.S. WATS 800/433-2908 TX WAT*/ 800/772-2703

TELEX: 732-561 TELESERV (Dallas)

=—=■■■" ■■■■ =

USED GAME BONANZA!!!

Original owner games from our route & arcades

completely reconditioned

Ms. Pac-Man .

. $2395

Omega Race .

$1895

Ms. Pac-Man (ct) . 2295

Wizard of Wor .

.1495

Pac-Man (ct) .

. 1750

Rally X .

.1395

Donkey Kong..

. 2345

Battlezone .

..950

Hyperball .

. 2495

Battlezone (mini) .

..850

Bosconian .

. 2095

Asteroids .

.1450

Galaga .

. 2395

Crazy Climber .

.1275

Galaga (ct) ....

. 2295

Extra Bases .

..750

Kickman .

. 1995

Round Up .

.1375

Kickman (ct) ..

. 1895

Scramble .

.1450

Stargate .

. 2395

Monte Carlo .

..795

Frogger .

. 1995

Moon Cresta .

.1095

Qix .

. 1895

Lock N* Chase .

.1295

Qix (ct) .

. 1795

Space Invaders (ct) .

. .575

Qix (mini) .

. 1795

Missile Command .

.1350

Make Trax ....

. 2095

Carnival .

.1145

K.C. COIN SPORTS

8834 East 350 Hwy.,

Raytown, MO 64133

816/737-0110

COMPLETE BUYING
SERVICE FOR ALL
VIDEO GAMES &PINBALLS

Lowest prices around

Unlimited Quantities/Fast Delivery

WHOLESALE PRICES ONLY
Ms. PaC’Man
Stargate
Donkey Kong

For membership information call:

ALL AMERICAN COOPERATIVE
SERVICES, INC.

3820 Grant
Lee’s Summit, MO
816/478-1364
Ask for Vicki

238 S.W. Gage
Topeka, KS
913/232-3709
Ask for Walter

NO COPIES!

ALL MACHINES ORIGINAL

WILLIAMS

Robotron (new) .

call or write

Defender .

. 1895.

Flash (pinball) .

. 295.

Firepower (pinball) .

. 650.

Black Knight (pinball) ..

. 1195.

ATARI

Centipede (new) .

call or write

Space Dual (new) .

call or write

Dig Dug (new) .

call or write

Space Dual (used) .

. 2385.

Asteroids (10 used) .

. 950.

Missile Command (used)

. 995.

Tempest (used) .

. 2395.

GREMLIN

Zaxxon (new) .

call or write

005 (new) .

call or write

Borderline (new) .

. $1050.

Frogger (used) .

. 1900.

Turbo (used) .

. 3150.

(mini) Monaco GP (used) . 1995.

MIDWAY

Bosconian (new) .

call or write

Ms. Pac-Man (new) . ...

call or write

Berzerk (new) .

. 1495.

Pac-Man (used) .

. 1795.

Rally-X (used) .

. 1145.

Gorf (used) .

. 1535.

Gorf(CT) .

. 1450.

CINEMATRONICS

Jack the Giant Killer (new) . call

Star Castle (used) .

. 995.

GAME-A-TRON

Dambuster .

. $2195.

TAITO

Qix (used) .

. $1795.

BALLY

Flash Gordon (used) . . .

. $995.

Skateball (used) .

. 595.

Large quantity of digital pinballs &

used videos as low as

$200 up.

Quantity of Used Music

AMUSEMENT MACHINES

& PARTS CORP.

106-07 Jamaica Avenue

Richmond Hill, New York 11418

212/441-2022

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

GIVE YOUR ASTEROIDS
THAT TEMPEST LOOK!!

for only $24.^^ you can replace
your clear plexiglass with a
darker tinted one, like
TEMPEST. It will look like
a cocktail ASTEROIDS!

S&G ENTERPRISE

1733 W. Citrus Way, Phoenix, AZ 85015

7 PHILADELPHIA
TOBOGGAN SKEEBALLS

with ticket dispensers

Four without ticket dispensers
LOST LEASE/MUST SELL!!!
305/527-1875 (ask for Jason)

ORDER

SUCCESSFUL

WEU.-EQUIPPED & ESTABLISHED
VIDEO ARCADES FOR SALE
choice of three
Approx: $200,000 annual gross each

WINDY CITY AMUSEMENTS
303/444-7600

ARCADE EQUIPMENT
(6) Skeeball with 10c & 25c coin
intake & automatic ticket dispensers.

(6) Seidel Bingoreno with automatic
ticket dispensers & 10c &

25c coin intake. LIKE NEW
Please call:

SONNY’S & RICKEY’S CORP.

201/793-8366

(NEWil

•>

•7e*<liS

> CP INCREASE 4

YOUR PAC-MAN ^

PROFITS!

Aprons .$6 ea., min. 1 dozen

License Plates .95C ea.,

min. 1 gross (144)

Bumper stickers (15-500) $1.25 ea.

min. 1 dozen
(501-5000) 75C ea.

1 ®

WANTED
Used GALAXIANS,
SCRAMBLES, MOON CRESTAS
TOP PRICES PAID

South/East Coast: 914/747-1605
West/Mid West: 313/386-1773

HIGH COST OF NEW
GAMES CUTTING INTO
YOUR PROFITS?

Why not convert dead pieces
into new money makers for
less than half the price!

VIDEO CONVERSION KITS

Easy to install...guaranteed!
Also new & used games available

Call in New York:

SYSTEMS

Telex: 971443

New items arriving too fast to advertise!

SHIP TO: _

Aprons

street- pij^

City_State-Zip- Sticker

Phone( )___

TERMS: Check with order or send C.O.D.

Please make checks payable to:

Amusement Marketing Concepts, Ltd.

P. 0. BOX 5002
Springfield, Mass. 01101

Quantity

Unit Price

Totai Price

Aprons

Plates

Stickers

Subtotal
Postage & Hand.

Total

TOTAL

POST. & HAND.

$15-50

$3.95

$31-75

6.75

$75 +

7.75

/ //

yim

ARCADE &'
BAR-B-0
APRONS!

For cash or
for cooking! j

Color on I
\ Sturdy Cloth! /

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

AUTO-TIUMm
cenfinuout fii« oction kit

Tired of replacing fire button switches
on your video gomes? With the
simple Instollotlon of this kit, the
player con hold fire button and gome
fires outomotlcolly, Increosing
Interest and revenue of older gomes.

On gomes with two fire buttons, only
ONE kit Is required due to the double
chonnel copoblllty of the Auto-Trigger.

For the economicol price of $14.’*,
turn your gome Into the
money-maker It could be.

For prompt shipment, send check or
money order for Si 4.’* to:

AUTO-TRIGGER

P.O. Box 248, Rescue, VA 23424

(Virginio residents od 4% soles tox)

For C.O.D. coll 804/357-6563

Arcade Management
Opportunities

Backed by a standard-setting industry leader committed
to the success of this venture, our financially sound
company is seeking the following people for ground-floor
opportunities. The right people will help us establish a
nationwide network of exciting amusement centers
and build solid, rewarding careers.

Arcade Manager

Practical arcade experience is required for this position.
Total game room responsibilities include hiring/supervising
employees, maintaining equipment and reinforcing our
quality image.

District Manager

You need arcade management experience to qualify.
Travel within your assigned territory to oversee
multi-location operations is required.

Individuals meeting these qualifications are invited to send their resumes,
in confidence, to-. Play Meter Magazine, Dept. CT, P.O. Box 24170,

New Orleans, LA 70184.

MORE POPULAR
MORE PROFITARLEI

SHUFFLE

ALLEYS

Reconditioned Like New

UNITED

Casino.

.$1045.

Nugget.

. 995.

Cherokee .

. 945.

Thunderbird.

. 895.

Caviller.

. 845.

Emerald.

. 795.

'*WE'RE ON THE MOVE’

^ WORLD WIDE
^ DISTRIBUTORS. INC.

312 / 384-2300

BRANCH OFFICES:

36339 Groesbeck Hwy.
Mt. Clemens, MICH 48043
313/791-7870

2555 South Division
Grand Rapids, MICH 49507
616/247-1412

BUY YOUR GAMES FROM A
COMPANY

WITH FIFTY YEARS EXPERIENCE
Games Reconditioned and Guaranteed
Price

Game Price

Armour Attack . $1500

Asteroids . 1300

Asteroids Deluxe . 1300

Astro Blaster . 1400

Astro Invader .. 1100

Astro Fighter . 1000

Battlezone . 700

Berzerk . 1400

Carnival . 1000

Cheeky Mouse . 800

Crazy Climber . 1300

Defender . 1800

Fort Cosmos . 1000

Galaxian . 1200

Gorf . 1700

Mouse Trap . 1800

Missile Command . 1000

Mad A lien . 900

Maxie Eagle . 1200

Monaco G.P . 1800

Moon Cresta . 1100

Nebula (ct) . 900

Omega Race . 1700

Pleiades . 1300

Phoenix . 1400

Pulsar . 1200

Polaris . $1200

Qix . 1700

Route 16 . 1400

Round Up . 1400

Rally X . 1400

Space Odyssey . 1700

Space Firebird . 1200

Space Tactics (sit down )... .2000

Scramble . 1500

Space Chaser . 800

Star Castle . 1300

Spectar . 1000

Stratovox . 1000

Targ . 800

Vanguard . 1400

Basketball . 450

Breakout . 200

Boot Hill . 225

Canyon Bomber . 225

Destroyer . 250

Double Play .. 200

Guided Missile . 225

Head On . 375

Lunar Lander .. 425

Space Wars . 350

Sea Wolf . 400

^ We also have reconditioned pinballs at very

r attractive prices. We will ship anywhere.

^ Call: Johnny Puzzio or Dallas LaSalle

t 504/837-8123

t OPERATOR SALES, INC.

^ (a subsidiary of TAC Amusement Co.)

1525 Airline Highway, Metairie, Louisiana 70001

^AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAi

PLAY METER, July 1,1982

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND
INTERLOGIC Presents
“THE SILVER SELECTION” PART II
FREE

1 — 100 oz. bar FREE for every Acade Purchase
(35 or more machines)

1 — 10 oz. bar FREE for every 7 Machine Purchase
1 — 1 oz. bar FREE for every Single Machine Purchase

CENTURI PHOENIX U/R . $2395

EXIDY MOUSETRAP U/R . $2395

STERN AMIDAR U/R . 2395

TAITO QIX (mini) . 2195

Special Value of the Month
CENTURI PHOENIX C/T
with 2 custom made cocktail chairs
PLUS

1—10 oz. “Silver Bar”

ALL FOR ONLY $1395.<»>

Only 10 Centuri c/t left in stock
First Come—First Serve

9806 W. FarragutA ve., Rosemont, IL 60018 • 312/671-0305 TLX270359 INTRLOGICROSM

2708

2716

$4.25

2532

$7.50

2564

call

EPROMS PROGRAMMED
2708; 2716; 2532; 2732; 2564; 2764

$10.00 PER CHIP
PROGRAMMING FEE

Send us any EPROM or ROM and we
will duplicate it for $10, plus the
cost of the blank chip. You may supp/y
blank or buy

from us at the following rates:

Software

Development

Available

BOARDS REPAIRED

Send us any video board, power supply,
or TV monitor. It will be repaired and
shipped out

within 24 hours in most cases.
(Carry in service available)

GAMEROOM SERVICE

VJe currently service many of the most
successful gamerooms in the
New York City, Long Island area
Call for prices.

GAMETEK SERVICE CO. INC.

199-18 32ncl Avc., Bayside, NY 11358

(212)631-9242
(800)221-9070 Toll Free

IffcliorQvE!/ m

^^A cute nude girl tries to outrun a
patrol of policeman—points are gained
POINTS by putting her clothing back on."

The Came That Outplays—
You Know What!

DISTRIBUTORSHIPS
still available in some
areas. Call (205)822-5696
today—to see if your area
is still available.

100

300

500

700

1000

2000

3000

5000

Computer
GAMES, INC.

Birmingham, AL 35209
Phone: 205/822-5696

Upright

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

‘Have you got quarters for a DGLXPTL?”

DISTRIBUTORS WANTED

Utec Inc. a Manufacturer of Quality
Kiddie Rides is seeking Distributors
to Represent Our Line on an
Exclusive Territory Basis.

For Complete Information
Write or Call

iifecO

UTEC INC.

P.O. BOX 12530/2700 HIGHLAND AVENUE
CINCINNATI, OHIO 45212 / (513) 531-2800

ATARI

HOT LINE

Asteroids (Upright/Mini). $1395.

Missile Command (Upright/Mini).1395.

Warlords (new).1295.

Red Baron.1295.

Battlezone (Upright/Mini).895.

Sprint II. 495 .

Indy 4. 495 .

Basketball . 395 .

Starship. 395 .

Skyraider. 395 .

Super Breakout. 395 .

Breakout.I 95 .

Orbit . 195 .

Anti-Aircraft.175.

UNIVERSAL

Devil Zone.$895.

Cosmic Monster. 595 .

Cosmic Guerilla. 495 .

Space Panic.1195.

CINEMATRONICS

Armor Attack. $1095.

Tailgunner.695.

Star Hawk. 495 .

Space Wars. 395 .

GAME PLAN

Shark Attack.$ 795 .

Killer Comet. 995 .

Tora, Tora.. 595 .

WILLIAMS

Defender. $1995.

Jungle Lord. 995 .

Black Knight.1095.

CENTURI

Vanguard. $1795.

Route 16. 1395 .

MIDWAY

Omega Race. $1995.

Wizard of Wor.1495.

Rally X.1595.

Galaxian.1195.

Space Invader Deluxe. 695.

Space Invader. 595 .

Boot Hill. 395 .

Clowns .250.

Gunfight. 195.

EXIDY

Spectar (Upright/Mini). $1295.

Targ. 795 .

Venture.1495.

STERN

Strategy X. $1895.

Turtles.1295.

Berzerk.. 1595 .

Scramble .1495.

Astro Invader. 895.

Amidar.2195.

GREMLIN

Eliminator. $2195.

Space Odyssey ..2095.

Astro Blaster.1395.

Head On. 395 .

TAITO

Qix. $1995.

Space Invader II.695.

NICHIBUTSU

Frisky Tom . $1995.

NINTENDO

Radarscope.$ 995 .

AVAILABLE AT$495EACH; 100 LATE MODEL SPACE-GAME COCKTAIL TABLES

Terms: $200.»« deposit per game/Balance C.O.D.

AFFILIATE OFFICE

1537 West Alameda Avenue
Denver, CO 80223

303/777-3500

THE GHIHE EHCHHI^GE

313 Nellston St • Columbus Ohio 43215
Can toB-free 1-800-848-0110
, Ohio 614-221-3416 j

AFFILIATE OFFICE

1701 Spring Street
Smyrna, GA 30080

404/433-4524

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

WE HAVE TOO MUCH IHVENTORY THIS MOHTH
CALL US FOR PRICES & IMMEDIATE DELIVERY

Rock-Ola EYES Atari TEMPEST

Midway MS. PAC MAN Universal LADY BUG

Pacific Novelty THIEF Atari CENTIPEDE

U.S. Billiards ZVi' x 7' pool tables Rock-Ola JUMP BUG

Nintendo DONKEY KONG

SUPER COBRA
OR

SCRAMBLE

FINISHED?

THEN WHY NOT CONVERT IT
CHEAPLY TO A
WINNER!

A BRAND NEW GAME FOR

$ 550 ®"

INCLUDING HEADER BOARD, ETC.

BOARD REQUIRED AT OUR WORKSHOP

EAGLE CONVERSIONS

25 Eagle St., Bldg. ^5
PROVIDENCE, RI 02908
(401)751-5438

.and probably anything else you’d want!

rV( DISTRIBUTING
CD,

P.O. Box #47, 200 Market St., New Richmond, Ohio 45157
513/553-2672

800/543-0368 Toll Free (Outside Ohio) 810/460-2875 Int'l TWX

HAVE GAMES
WILL TRADE!

Trade your Pac-Man, Defender,
or Monaco GP on any of the
following new games:

Robatron
Zaxxon
Ms. Pac-Man
Turbo
Stargate

Rapid Fire
Looping
Dig Dug
Lady Bug
Zaxxon c/t

Donkey Kong Donkey Kong c/t

Centipede Ms. Pac-Man c/t

The Pit

Jack the Giant
Kiiler c/t

NJ 201/729^6171

WIZARD

ELEaRONICS

manufactures an incredible

canvertible videa game.

100's of games in one!
Now featuring the top game
"Lody Dug" plus many more
copyright-safe games.
Universal wiring makes a
changeout eosy-in 20 minutes
replace computer board,
controls panel and top
morquee panel provided by
the Wizords for o froction of
the cost of a new gome!
Available in upright, cocktail
or tabletop. All models are
constructed of solid wood and
feature the highest rated
color monitors ond heovy-
duty power supplies to lost
through mony chonge-outs.
Gome is NEVER ODSOLETEI

RETAIL: $2695.
LEASING PLAN AVAILADLE!!!!
Coll: 702/677-0582

or write for brochure

WIZARD MARKETING

3140 Polaris, Suite ^22
Los Vegos, Nevada 69102

Deoler Inquiries Invited

PLAY METER, July 1, 1982

THE LAST WORD

Pawns

Tac-Man^

by David Pierson

esides fulfilling a psychological need, coin-op
video games may actually be fulfilling another
role in society—that of educating our youth.

First, it should be conceded that video games, more
than being psychological safety valves, more than
becoming teaching aids, are chiefly designed and
engineered to be fun. But the nature of video games
today Is such that other social payoffs—especially in
the areas of education and emotional release—are so
interwoven with the pure fun for which the games
were consciously purposed as to be Inseparable.

• Actually, this happened by accident. But it Is the
nature of the beast. So whether the industry, the
players, and society are aware of it—or even accept
it there's more to video games than what meets the
eye. Something purposeful is happening in the brain
as well.

Let's take the example of chess, a game which
demands Intense intellectual gymnastics but which is,
by its very nature, seemingly Irrelevant to any other
human activity orfunction.Theskillsof a masterchess
player do not lend themselves directly to the arts,
science, politics, athletics, economics, philosophy, or
any other avenue of human thought or achievement.

Fianchettoing the king's bishop or sacrificing a
pawn for an attack can hardly be said to have direct
corollaries in real life. Yet there is hardly anyone who
would argue the game does not train the mind In
some almost imperceptible manner.

The ability to abstract, project, analyze, imagine,
and then solve a problem—all within the confines of a
predetermined logic—contributes to the educational
value of chess, as if the game needed In some way to
articulate its educational role.

A master chess player (or checker player or any
other games player for that matter), whether he is
conscious of Its effect or not, continues to use In his
work the same faculties and abilities he has exercised
in his recreation. So it is with chess...or video games.

It could be strongly argued that the ability to
analyze a position on the chessboard, perceiving the
weaknesses and strengths therein, and then solving
that chess problem is infinitely more educational than
the rote retention of names and dates like Louis XIV or
1066.

The same holds true for coin-op video games. The
challenge inherent in games—to spot trends, ten¬
dencies, and patterns on the video screen—and to
react correctly—creates a propensity In the player to

deal in a problem-solving manner in other disci¬
plines, with other systems of logic.

And when one considers that the player Is actually
interacting, competing against expert programmers,
many of whom have advanced degrees in science and
computer engineering, it is easy to see that maybe
there are a lot of worse things our children can be
doing with their time—like sitting catatonic in front of
their television sets or memorizing dates in ancient
history.

However, society Is still under the mistaken
impression that education must be boring to be
effective. That does not necessarily mean that all fun is
educational. But the prevailing opinion in American
society, that education only takes place in the school¬
room and should be boring, is equally wrong-headed.

Regrettably, we look upon education as something
that has to be approached with the same enthusiasm
as going to the dentist...five days a week for twelve
years!

With the curious marriageof microchip technology
and game playing, however, it can be argued that
learning can be fun. Players are lured into applying
and exercising their mental energies on various
systems of logic. Each game, after all, has its own rules,
parameters, forces, goals, and challenges. Thus, each
game offers still another system of logic that the
player must first understand, then analyze in order to
succeed.

Video games, like chess and other board games,
allow players to exercise the same abilities that allow
the truly educated man (or woman) to move from one
discipline (like economics or science) toanother (like
metaphysics or even the arts) and still be able to apply
his abilities effectively.

It just so happens that, with video games, it's fun in
the process. Perhaps chess and Pac-Man should be
taught in schools as examples of how to analyze and
then solve problems on the abstract level!

Again it is naive for the video game industry to
claim It intended to fulfill such a vital role In society
when it first set out. Like other industries, coin-op
entertainment was looking to make a buck. Never¬
theless, the industry has accomplished the unintended
result as well. In the same way, video game technol¬
ogy has sneaked up and educated players, whether
they were aware of it or not. The games have sneaked
up and positioned this industry In a role it never was
aware It could fill—that of educiton. •

I : I-1

AVAILABLE IN CONVENTIONAL OR CASSEHE SYSTEMS

CONVENTIONAL
OR CASSETTE

DATA EAST INC.

470 Gianni Street • Santa Clara, CA 95050 U.S.A.
Telephone: (408) 727-4490
Toll Free: 1-800-538-5129

NEXT NO. 1
CAME ON THE
MARKET!

MAXI TURBO
EXCITEMENT IN
MINI TURBO SIZE.

Now all the driving thrills and
high performance excitement of
SEGA/Gremlin’s popular Turbo
game are available in space¬
saving Mini-Upright cabinetry.
More compact and lighter in
weight than the standard upright
model, the Turbo Mini-Upright
requires only 3.4 square feet of
floor space — the perfect earner

for space-conscious street lo¬
cations as well as arcades.

Sega’s new Turbo Mini-Upright
is the perfect size for younger
players to view, steer, shift and
accelerate with comfort and
ease. So now you can get
fast-paced, high-speed racing
adventure with fantastic
graphics and exciting sound for
players of all ages.

Sega’s Turbo Mini-Upright in¬
cludes all the same exciting
game play features that have
made the standard upright

Turbo an industry leader; Pro
rally steering wheel, responsive
2-speed gearshift. Illuminated
oil and temperature gauges,
and a full power accelerator
pedal.

Put the realism of grand prix rac¬
ing to work for you today. Test
drive Sega’s Turbo Mini-Upright
at your SEGA/Gremlin dis¬
tributor and get maximum earn¬
ings in minimum floor space.

Dimensions: 59V2 inches high,
2 OV 2 inches wide, 24 inches deep.
Weight: 190 lbs.

GREMLIN INDUSTRIES, INC., 16250
Technology Drive. San Diego, CA 92127,
(714) 485-0910, TWX 910-355-1621.
SEGA ENTERPRISES. LTD., #2-12
Haneda, l-Chome, Ohta-ku, Tokyo!
Japan. TLX 781-22357.

SEGA EUROPE. LTD., 15 Old Bond
Street, Mayfair, London, England,
W1X3DB. TLX 847777.

SEGA ENTERPRISES. INC., One
Century Plaza. 2029 Century Park East.
Suite 2920, Los Angeles, CA 90067,

TLX 688433.

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "Play Meter - Volume 8, Number 13 - July 1st 1982 (600DPI)"

See other formats