AMOA 1980· Atari is an Award Winner
Of course, not all of the excite-
ment of the show took place at the
cocktail party. There was much ac-
tivity at the Atari exhibit during
the three days that the show ran.
Battlezone™, Atari's latest combat
challenge, was an instant hit. Peo-
ple were crowded around the game
during the entire show, waiting to
get a chance to challenge the super-
tanks on the battlefield of the
future. And based on the earnings
reports so far, this game appears to
be another in Atari's arsenal of
successes.
On Saturday, November 1, Atari
held High Score Tournaments on
Battlezone and Missile Com-
mand™. Atari experts on the
games were challenged by AMOA
attendees. After a certain high
point total was reached, each com-
petitor was awarded at-shirt, and
more than 24 dozen Missile Com-
mand and Battlezone t-shirts were
given away. Craig Hibbs of the
Game Gallery in Bellevue,
Nebraska, was the high scorer on
Missile Command with 165,000
points. The Battlezone high scorer
was Dann Frank of Zephyr Amuse-
ment in Phoenix, Arizona. Dann
scored 48,000 points on this new
Atari game. Both Craig and Dann
won Atari Video Computer
Systems™ for their successful ef-
forts on the games.
The Tell us TM Operator Survey
was conducted once again this year
by Linda Butcher and Mary Takat-
s un o of Marketing Research.
Operators attending the AMOA
were asked a number of questions
regarding their businesses this
year; which games were most suc-
cessful for them, which style of
cabinet they preferred, etc. The
response from the operators was
tremendous, and the results of the
survey will be published at a later
date. One of the preliminary facts
discovered in the course of the
continued
survey can be found in the "Did
You Know?" column inside this
issue of the Coin Connection. While
Linda and Mary are busy compil-
ing all the data from this Tellus
survey, they are also preparing for
another Tellus survey which will
be conducted at the ATE Show in
London during January.
Frank Ballouz, Atari's Marketing
Director, was very enthusiastic
about the AMOA Show. ''Once
again, Atari was in the spotlight at
the AMOA. Both Missile Command
and Battlezone received a tremen-
dous response from attendees of
the show. The events we had plann-
ed, such as the cocktail party and
the High Score Tournaments, were
very successful and very entertain-
ing for all those who participated.
And the crowd in the Atari exhibit
at all times attested to the fact that
we had alot to see and alot to hold
the interest of those who came to
the 1980 AMOA Show."
Play Meter award for
video game excellence
to Atari for Asteroids.
Did You Know?
Cabaret™
Game Winner
Congratulations to Mike Benson
of Michigan Nickel Company. Mike
is the lucky winner of a new
MISSILE COMMAND™ cabaret
game. His experience in the amuse-
ment industry has also made him
this month's featured Operator of
the Eighties.
Operators who purchased a
cabaret game and submitted their
name and phone number to Atari
became eligible to win their choice
of a free ASTEROIDS™ or MISSILE
COMMAND cabaret. Mike Benson's
name was randomly chosen from
among those respondents in a draw-
ing held on September 15, 1980.
In conjunction with the introduc-
tion of the Cabaret cabinet, Atari
Marketing Research conducted an
operator and distributor survey to
evaluate the market acceptance of
this new smaller cabinet style. All
operators who returned a completed
questionnaire will soon be receiving
a free gift from Atari.
Seven out of ten amusement game
operators feel that their business
was more profitable this year than
last year. This information was ob-
tained from Atari's Tellus™
Operator Survey conducted at the
1980 AMOA Show.
The large number of operators
reporting increased profits is most
likely due to the recent high-
earning video games. In fact, com-
pared with last year's Tell us survey,
significantly more operators
reported that they recover their
costs on a new video in as short a
time as seven months.