ATARI AT A.T.E.
DEFIANT (AINJ~OINJ IOMOOll'M
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Atari was represented at tl1e A1nuse-
ment Trades Exposition in London,
January 24- 26, with the Cherry Group,
the Atari distributor in Great Brita in .
This event held at Alexandra Palace was
one of the largest international trade
shows in tl1e indu stry. An1usement people
from all over the world were in
attendance.
It was the premier showing of Sky
Raider™
and Tournament Table™,
Atari's newest ~roducts. Tl1e efficient 2
Game Module Ti I was also on display,
together witl1 Sprint 4™, Ultra Tank™,
DestroyerTl'vl, Sprint l TM, and more .
Competition 8™, a futu re Atari product
currently being tested, was also p reviewed
at A T E. "The show was n1ost successful,"
reported Sue Elliott, International Mar-
keting Ad1nin istra tor. "Our in tern a t ional
customers showed much interest in the
new products and the order activity fro1n
the show is extremely high."
The Atari cocktail party held at the
elegant Hotel Inter-Continental was also a
tremendous success. Everyone enjoyed
the foo d , drink, and hospitality at the
Wednesday evening event.
The players are intense, each l1as two
1nisses left and the canyon has about 20
targets left. Black has a low flying fast
plane. One, two, three . .. bo1nb dropped
hit 2. Wl1ite is flying at 1nedium l1eight,
bu t slow. Wait for the targets on the far
si de . . . hit three in a row. There's still
three targets in tl1e center; Black is going
to try for then, ... it's close ... a 1niss!
The con1petition J1eightens. Black has
only one miss left. White l1its two more;
Black gets one; white n1isses and it's even
again!
This exciting game ends with only five
targets left an d .;;.'.1.ite beat Black by 4
points. Tl1ey must try again to beat the
defiant Canyon B01nber™.
Two 1nore quarters and they are off
again. The players are determined to
e1npty the canyon - tl1ey have come so
close to that goal. It's a 1natter of timing,
patience and skill. Tl1ey try a new
strategy th is game . Empty the center part
of tl1e canyon first. Tl1e blimps can hit
eigl1t targets at once, so work on those
fi rst. Then come the bi-planes that can l1it
up to 4 targets per bo1nb. Maxin1ize their
potential and clear out the center area .
Only 3 left in tl1e center: White hit all
three in one atte1npt . Now for the sides .
As it gets closer to the e nd, competition
intensifies as both players have tl1ree
misses to go and the canyon is almost
empty. Three more ... Two . .. One . . .
Got it! What do you know, the canyon is
filled once again and the players have a
new goal: empty it twice.
This one or two player video game is
beginning to attract 1nore and rnore
deter1nined players who will continue to
1neet its challenges. Canyon Bomber
defies you to en1pty the canyon . It can
be done.
The competition was l1igh in tl1e Tin1e
2000TM pinball tournan1ent held at
Pinball Wizard Gan1e Center, Davenport,
Iowa, on January 26th. There were
sixteen finalists competing for the top
score on Atari's T ime 2000 game .
The winner was Steve Behrens, 19, of
Davenport witl1 an outstanding score of
213,630. The top prize was an Atari
home Video Pinball ga1ne, a Tin1e 2000
T-shirt and a gan1e pass fron1 Pinball
Wizard. Otl1er prize winners included the
top five runners-up an d one for the
lowest score .
"The Tirne 2000 tournament was a
success; it brought a lot of people into
tl1e ga1ne center," said Dick Galloway,
President of Pin ball Wizard. "These
tournaments are a good way to increase
player en tl1usiasm and they sti1nulate
interest in tl1e sport of pinbal l. "
Pinball Wizard Ga1ne Centers in Iowa
are 1nodern, fan1ily an1usen1ent arcades
locate d in higl1 volu1ne shopping areas.
They have been quite successfu l with
tl1eir aggressive prornotions an d 1narket-
ing approach . "Atari pinballs !1ave been
the top n1oney n1aking pinball gan1es in
our centers. The players are attracted to
the gan1es by the unique sound effects.
They real ly like the different appearance
of the games witl1 the artwork an d wide
playfield," reported Galloway.
Tourna1nents like the one held in
Davenport n1ake excellent promotion to
bring players to the gan1e center and
increase overall in terest in the games.
A GAME CENTER
PROMOTION
Players in the ga1ne center are handed
a score card with a list of 10 gan1es and
the score to beat for each game . The
score should be a little higher tl1an an
average score . When the player achieves
this score, he gets a star by tl1at ga1ne,
whicl1 is pu t on or punched out, by the
center attendant. When the player fills up
the card with stars on all the games, he
wins. The prize could be a T -shirt, $5.00
in free games, or so1ne otl1er appropriate
item of value .
T his one will keep tl1en1 putting in a
lot of quarters to beat the scores and fill
up the score card.
(Continued on page 4)