Star Tech
Survey
Results
This month's Tech Tip
comes from Star Tech ma-
gazine, which recently
printed the resu lts of a
reader survey. The survey
asked readers the following
four questions: "Which
amusement machines are
easiest/most difficult to ser-
vice?"; "Whose machine do
you feel most comfortable
troubleshooting?"; "Which
manufacturers, in your opin-
ion, design their products
with service in mind?"; and
''Who in your opinion,
seems to ignore the service
aspect?' ' .
Atari 's videos came out
on top as the most easily
serviceable, and readers
also felt most comfortable in
troubleshooting Atari videos.
The survey also revealed
that 92°/o of the operators
surveyed felt that Atari does
design their video product
with service in mind. Some
of the reasons cited for
reader 's positive attitudes
towards Atari videos were
the detailed service manuals
and schematics which are
easy to understand, the use
of quality PCBs and just
plain better quality control.
Thank you, Star Tech
readers, for putting Atari on
top.
Operators of the Eighties
January Profile: George Hamilton, Jr.
Oaklyn, New Jersey
George Hamilton, Jr. is
due to the maximized pro-
certain ly one of the most in- duct m ix and attraction of
novative, enthusiastic, and
the games," says George.
highly professional operators Consistency in service
enables Terminal Vending to
in this industry. With 29
years of experience, he is a guarantee a minimum
powerhouse of information
collection and generally they
and creative concepts.
can collect a higher percen-
tage of the split.
Much of his success with
his company, Terminal Vend-
ing, can be attributed to his
progressive attitude. George
sums up the industry as "a
forward moving business
which commands changing
with the needs and de-
mands of the marketplace.
From one week to the next,
one must be prepared to in-
itiate new ideas. To move
ahead in this industry you
have to live it.' '
Terminal Vending is one of
the larger independent oper-
ating companies in the
KNOW YOUR LOCATION
United States. Their mix of
locations includes a chain of AND THEN PROMOTE ...
George personally spends
arcades along the New
many hours observing the
Jersey shorel ine and just
type of players in different
about every type of street
locations. "Cocktail and
location imaginable.
cabaret game cabinets are
QUALITY
more conducive to certain
AND AWARENESS
types of locations and as
LEADS TO TRU ST ...
the awareness and appeal
Each of Terminal Vend-
of games increases, the mix
ing's locations is serviced
of games and types of cabi-
and evaluated as though
nets changes as well,"
they are their only customer. notes George. He further
adds, "Players today are so
A detailed computerized
proficient at games. You
system is used to monitor
the activity in the locations
real ly have to monitor them
and each one is 'graded'
and use the options avail-
according to the overall po-
able. In the proper locations
tential. This information is
50¢ pricing can be success-
used to tailor the product
The younger a person's
fu l. The key is to evolution-
age, the more likely it is that mix, rotation periods, and
ize, rather than revolutionize
the players.''
they have played a coi n-op- expected earnings level for
Being a fanatic for using
erated game at least once
each account.
in their life. Thirty-five per-
''An ongoing objective is
unusual techn iques to pro-
cent (35%) of the persons
to upgrade locations to
mote games, George knows
55 and over, 57°/o of those
what works to evolutionize
ach ieve and maintain the
aged 35-54, 76% of those
players. As an example,
maximum potential for that
aged 21-35, and 86°/o of
location. Building the aware- George cites, " In some lo-
those aged 13-20 years old
cations especial ly where
ness of the location owners
have played a coin-operated is essential to develop a mu- there are alot of people sit-
game.
ti ng around, I have addition-
tual trust. Our customers
al monitors mounted above
This is another finding
allow us to use our exper-
games to allow remote
from an Atari study con-
tise in the placement of
ducted by Consumer Re-
equipment because they see spectator participation. Peo-
sponse Corporation in 1980. positive results. In one of
ple get up from their seats
our bar locations, the busi-
to see if they can beat other
Nearly 1,100 households
ness from the bar alone (not players scores' ' .
were randomly dialed to
In some locations they
including the games)
comprise the national
showed a one-third increase modify games for special ef-
sample.
Did You
Know ...
fects to provide visual re-
wards for high scores or
specials ach ieved (e.g.
strobe lights and dry ice).
And as far as the future,
it certainly looks bright for
this operator. Without a
doubt, George will continue
living this industry and pur-
suing the right avenue to
success. Thanks to such op-
erators, this industry wil l
grow to be even more ex-
citing and prosperous.
Video
Madness
Sweep~
the Media
Video games are the
com ing th ing, according to
the media. • 'Video mad-
ness" is what the Lowell,
Massachusetts Sun cal ls it
in an article in the May 29,
1980 edition. Articles have
appeared in newspapers all
over the country, from the
New York Times to the
Santa Ana Register. The
Wall Street Journal wrote
about the addictive quality
of the new videos. (The arti-
cles always mention Atari's
Asteroids™ as one of the
most addictive games ever
to come along.)
Most recently, an article
written by David Lachen-
bruch appeared in the De-
cember 6, 1980 issue of TV
Guide. The article once
again emphasized the in-
creasing popularity of the
video game. Predicted
Lachenbruch: "This is the
year the video game will
overtake the pinball machine
as king of the arcade."*
Naturally, all of this publ i-
city serves to attract new
players to the games. And
that's an advantage for all of
us. If you see an article in
your local newspaper, post it
on a bulletin board in your
game location. And send a
copy to Atari, c/o The Coin
Connection, 1265 Borregas
Ave., Sunnyvale, CA 94086.
• reprinted by permission of TV Guide