Promotions
for Profit
There's Trouble
in River City
And that starts with "T" which rhymes with "P" and stands for "Pool"
How many times have you seen varies greatly from city to city.
this headline printed in reference to Many operators are in favor of the
pinball, video, and game centers in formation of state regulatory com-
general?
missions to govern the operation of
We at Atari have seen it far too coin-operated amusement games. In
many times and it is disheartening. this way some type of consistency
It's got to change!
in regulations will be obtained from
Last year Atari conducted an in- city to city within a state.
depth investigation into the legal
From our sources, in order of fre-
restrictions and regulations affect- quency mentioned, the following
ing coin-operated games in the are the legal restrictions and regula-
domestic market. The information tions that affect coin-operated
we compiled has given us a more games in the domestic market. In
comprehensive view of the legal general, pinball games are more
problems facing operators in the strictly regulated than video games,
United States.
but zoning, licensing, and taxing is
Zoning restrictions, taxing of the same for all amusement equip-
equipment, and obtaining operating ment.
licenses are probably the most im- 1. Most regulations ( estimated
portant problems facing operators 80%) concern pinballs only: At
today. Not only are operation costs times it was difficult to determine if
high, but regulation of equipment
Continued on last page
Service Specials
We are pleased with the response
regarding our promotional items.
However, we have encountered a
few supplier problems which will
delay our shipments on some of the
articles. Please bear with us, we
plan to fill every order as quickly as
possible.
We would also like to inform you
of the availability of the main plexi-
glass attraction panel for many of
your more "seasoned'' games such
as Drag Race, Breakout, Sky Diver,
and any of the Triple Hunt games. A
factory fresh attraction panel can
add new life and play appeal to
these classic games. To order, con-
tact your local ATARI Distributor.
One
Small Step for Atari ...
Standing with the first of several
Atari Lunar Lander machines to be
placed at the visitor center at Ken-
nedy Space Center are Dick Needle-
man, Manager of Leisure Industry,
Atari and V.P. and General Manager
Harry Chambers, NASA Tours divi-
sion of TWA Services, Inc.
Lunar Lander so impressed Ken-
nedy Space Center officials that they
broke precedent to allow the first
coin-operated amusement device to
be utilized at the facility.
This is an excellent example of
how a popular video game can help
you open new route locations and
extend your player base for higher
potential profits. With Atari
Asteroids and Lunar Lander avail-
able, have another look at those
hard-to-crack locations you believe
would be good possibilities.
Arcade Location:
Sponsor a HAPPY HOUR in your
game center. This would attract the
over 21 crowd and increase busi-
ness during slower hours. Players
over 21 years old can receive a free
coin/token when they enter. If they
spend a minimum amount of
money on the games, they receive a
coupon which is redeemable for one
free drink at a local bar or tavern.
Be sure to check legal restrictions
on this type of promotion.
Street Location:
Graduation events are coming up
soon (May - June) which means a
key opportunity for game rentals.
For private parties or school events,
rent any number of games for one
night. A standard charge can be
established for each game and they
can be set on free play. Many
operators have found this to be a
good way to gain positive exposure
to games while guaranteeing a.n in-
come at the same time.
Operator
Opinions
We are pleased to get any and all
comments from operators of our
games. Here is an example from
Mrs. Glass, owner of Lakewood
Gardens Miniature Golf in Lake-
wood, California, who writes:
''This is not a technical reply. I
just wanted you to know what I
think of your latest [ and] so far best
game. We bought our first Aste-
roids™ in December of '79 and our
second one last week (2/80). I have
them sitting side by side in one of
our arcades. We are bringing in
twice the amount of money we did
when we had just the one. So you
see, having two sure didn't hurt us.
We have had several of our custo-
mers say how nice it was not to have
to wait so long to get to play
Asteroids. Now I will have to buy
another one for my other business.
What will be coming out before
summertime as good as Asteroids?''
We appreciate her positive re-
marks. We also hope more of our
operators will talk to us. Let us
know how you feel. About games,
the industry, whatever.
Address your letters to:
Editor/ Coin Connection
Box 427
1215 Borregas Ave.
Sunnyvale, CA 94086