Operators of the Eighties
February Profile: Todd ·Erickson• St. Paul, Minnesota
In this industry the best ideas
and most noteworthy informa-
tion are often acquired through
the operators themselves. As a
regular feature of the Coin Con-
nection, Atari would like to
recognize the Operators of the
Eighties-those who have taken
strides to improve their business
and promote the positive growth
of the industry.
WHO DO YOU KNOW?
Atari would like your vote.
Send in your recommendation
for an Operator of the Eighties
who might like to be featured in
this newsletter. Qualify the uni-
que and progressive attributes of
the nominee, such as an unusual
mix of locations operated, special
customer services, active promo-
tions, successful problem solving
approaches, etc. (Submit your
nominated operator to: The Coin
Connection, 1265 Borregas
Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086.)
For our first Operator of the
Eighties profile, Atari would like to
feature Todd Erickson, whose ac-
complishments are worth commen-
ding. He has established a highly
successful and respected business
in only four years of operating his
own route.
With 325 units to operate, Todd
has pursued a variety of locations
on his route. Many of his street
locations have shunned games in
the past, believing that coin-
operated games have no earning
power in their location. Todd has
been able to disprove the fallacies
by demonstrating the potential of
games. Some of his more unusual
locations include ski resorts, car
shows, and the state fairgrounds
games area.
A practical business sense and an
opportunistic approach are ex-
emplified in Todd's buying at-
titudes. Unlike most operators in
the industry, video games account
for half of Todd's new game pur-
chases. As a positive change occur-
ring in the industry, Todd observes
a shift in the potential of video
games. ''Four years ago, videos as a
whole were good to marginal. Now
videos are the strongest concept in
the industry. In my locations, both
street and arcade, videos take in
more money than pins and require
less servicing. Within the last year,
Atari Football™, Space Invaders™,
and Asteroids™ have shown the
strength of videos in terms of
steady climbing earnings. Before,
in a non-transient location, Sprint
2™ was about the only long-
earning piece. This is no longer the
case with videos."
Todd tends to stay with locations
that have high volume traffic even
if they are somewhat seasonal. (He
believes there are scores of loca-
tions yet to pursue, and this justi-
fies the purchase of new equip-
ment.) In buying a new game, Todd
stresses the piece itself more than
the price. He feels higher priced
pieces may have a longer earnings
life. Using Hercules™ pinball as an
example, Todd claims he has one of
only two of these games in his
state. ''Because there are so few of
them around, the game earned its
return on investment in six
months, which is great for a game
that costs over three times as much
as a regular piece."
Maintaining a philosophy that
games must be kept clean and in
excellent working order allows
maxim um earnings on all his
games. An educational background
in mathematics and physics com-
plements his ability to service his
own equipment. Todd upholds a
preventative maintenance program
to avoid unnecessary problems. As
a result of his efforts, he claims
there is radically less down-time
and increased longevity on his
games.
Todd also believes in promoting
the image of games. He often
donates the use of games on free
play for local school functions. Not
only does this give more positive
exposure to the general public, but
it also gives free publicity for the
operator in school/ community
media.
In a further outlook into the
future of games, Todd anticipates a
steady growth. He believes the
home game market has increased
the exposure and interest in coin-
operated games. Todd realizes
there are a myriad of locations yet
to pursue - locations in a tran-
sient area where people have idle
time. In a mode of praise, it has
been said that Todd hears the beat
of a different drummer, and Atari
views this newer entrant to the
games industry as an innovative
Operator of the Eighties.
New
Ad Art
Available
Atari is offering free to operators
another in a series of ads designed
to stimulate location awareness
among players by promoting the ex-
citement of playing Atari space ac-
tion video games.
Ads are complete and ready for
black and white reproduction.
Operators need only instruct in-
tended publications to insert ap-
propriate location name and ad-
dress information.
Ads are available in either full
(7'' x 10") or half page (7'' x 5")
sizes. Write for free art on your
letterhead to Atari Marketing Ser-
vices, 1265 Borregas Ave., Sunny-
vale, CA 94086. Be sure to specify
quantity and size desired.
[anquer Outer 5pa1el
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safe landing on the moon wtth Lunar Lander- . Experience
the adventure, the realism of all the video games from Atari Space-.