Atari Coin Connection

Issue: Vol 5 Num 04 - 1981 June

Giant Insects Challenge Players in new Centipede™
Atari's new Centipede is no
garden-variety coin-op video
game. It's a fantastic new one
or two player game with play ac-
tion that's totally fresh and differ-
ent. As soon as the player starts
to get comfortable, the game
changes, picking up speed, add-
ing more monsters, creating
more player challenge.
Game play begins as a lethal
centipede winds its way down
the screen through a field of
mush rooms: It's heading
.
towards the player's bug blaster,
but every time it runs into a
Centipede Kit
Now Available
ATARI is offering an advertis-
ing and promotional materials kit
to operators to help promote the
game to locations and players.
Among the items available are
full-color posters and t-shirts.
Specially prepared radio scripts
and tip sheets on how to place
radio ads for maximum effectiv-
ity, sample ad slicks, fact sheets,
data sheets and contest ideas
and promotions are included.
To order the advertising ma-
terials kit, please contact ATARl's
Coin-op Marketing Services,
1265 Borregas Avenue, Sunny-
mushroom in its path it must
turn to avoid it. The player tries
to hit the centipede as it ap-
proaches. If the player is able to
eliminate the entire centipede,
the screen changes color and a
new centipede begins at the top.
Further danger appears in the
form of a mushroom-dropping
flea, a deadly spider that unex-
pectedly pounces from the side
of the screen, and a poisonous
scorpion. The scorpion sails
across the playfield, poisoning
any mushrooms that it touches.
If the centipede, in its travels
down the screen, comes into con-
tact with any of these poisoned
mushrooms, it too becomes poi-
soned and heads straight toward
the player's position.
Special features included on
Centipede are Atari's unique
Trak-Ball™ control, which the
player uses to position his bug
blaster, the special Atari High
Score table with non-volatile
memory which retains the three
top scores when power is off,
operator-adjustable number of
game lives, 256 coinage options,
and much more.
The game will be offered in all
three of Atari's cabinet styles:
Upright, Cabaret™ for areas
with minimal space, and sophis-
ticated Cocktail.
"Centipede is a truly exciting
new game," commented Frank
Ballouz, Vice President of Mar-
keting for Coin-op. " The intensity
of the action builds, making it
not only a great game to play,
but also a great game to watch.
The player is constantly chal-
lenged, and although it is easy
to learn, mastering Centipede is
another matter entirely."
Centipede to Challenge
Players at ATARI World
Championships Finals
r ·, . in Chicago
,ki;:;_
~ •-
4
vale, California 94086.
Included in the Kit is an order
form for pre-recorded radio
spots, T-shirts and posters, avail-
able from Coin-op Customer Ser-
vice at 1105 N. Fairoaks Ave.,
Sunnyvale, CA 94086. The ma-
terials kit is free, but there is a
nominal charge for T-shirts and
radio cassettes.
ATARI has just announced
that Centipede will be the game
on which players will compete at
the ATARI $50,000.00 World
Championships. (See article,
front cover).
" Players have responded so
enthusiastically to Centipede, it
was a natural choice for the
tournament," stated Frank
Ballouz, Vice President of Mar-
keting. "With the continuous
challenge it offers and with the
following Centipede has devel-
oped, it became apparent to us
that we should announce it be-
fore the scheduled September 1
date to allow players plenty of
time to practice before the
Championships playoffs, and to
give operators time to take ad-
vantage of the increased atten-
tion to the game."
New Asteroids Deluxe™
ROM Conversion
Kit Available
.
from Customer Service
Nathalie Favre-Gilly Joins
Shane Breaks as International
Marketing Assistant
Now available free from Atari's
Customer Service department or
from your Atari distributor is a
ROM conversion kit specially de-
signed to allow the operator to
adjust game play to be either
easy for the first 30,000 points,
or hard throughout the game.
The ROM conversion kit is retro-
fittable to all Asteroids Deluxe
games.
With the new ROM conver-
sion kit, the operator can set the
option switch to "easy" and the
following changes will occur.
not appear until the score reach-
Nathalie Favre-Gilly has joined
es 10,000 points. Aiming is the
Shane Breaks, International Di-
same except that its accuracy
rector of Marketing, as his assis-
improves with score.
tant in Ireland. She became a
part of the International Market-
3. The large saucer aims and
ing group for the Coin-op division
shoots randomly until scores of
in December of 1980.
10,000 to 15,000 points are
Ms. Favre-Gilly was born in
achieved. Its accuracy also im-
France and raised in the New
proves as time and score in-
York/New Jersey area, where
creases.
she attended Ramapo College.
4. The Killer Satellite appears
After receiving her degree, she
during the first wave when three worked in various capacities in
asteroids are remaining instead
New York. Among her jobs there,
of during the second wave.
she worked w ith the Cultural
When the Killer Satellite is shot,
Services of the French Embassy
1. Four large asteroids begin
it will break up into three slowly-
and w ith R.H. Belam Company,
the game. The second wave of
moving diamonds.
where she first became ac-
asteroids begins with five, and
quainted with Shane Breaks.
the subsequent waves start with 5. Players now can fire contin-
Most recently she was employed
six through nine asteroids. In ad- uous bursts of four shot vollies
by Piker Productions, where she
dition, the asteroids move more by holding down the fire button
was involved in the production of
slowly across the screen.
instead of single shots per but-
audio/visual sales training aids.
2. The small saucer target does ton depress.
Her background w ith Belam
and also in the area of sales and
marketing techniques made her
the ideal candidate for the job of
assisting Shane in setting up the
International Marketing office at
Fedamore House in Ireland.
Ms. Favre-Gilly's duties at
Fedamore include maintaining
communication between the
Fedamore office, the various dis-
tributors in England, Germany,
France, Ireland, Spain and Scan-
dinavia and the factories both in
Tipperary and in Sunnyvale.
High Score
Certificates Awarded
Atari High Score Certificates
are now being awarded to play-
ers with the highest verified
scores on Atari video games.
Each high score certificate is
signed by Frank Ballouz, Vice
President of Marketing, and is
suitable for framing. Every high
scorer also is awarded a full-col-
or t-shirt for the game on which
he has achieved the high score.
In order for a player to receive
a high score certificate, the op-
erator of the location where the
high score has been achieved
must send in a letter of verifica-
tion to Atari Marketing Services.
The letter should include the
player's name, age, high score,
the date the high score was
achieved and the amount of
time it took to attain the high
score, as well as the location
address and phone and the lo-
cation owner/manager's name.
Also, if there are pictures taken
during the high score event,
please include one of these in
the letter. Then we'll be able to
print a story on the high scorer
in the next edition of the Coin
Connection. For more informa-
tion about this program, or to
find out the current high scores,
you can call Atari Marketing Ser-
vices at 408-7 45-2500.
Ftar/<831:,vz
vce t>u:ct~~>fl' ,J v.-,1~C(ng
C<,.11: (w;,;i'IJO G-1fflo_>S ()vlSICfl
0
Promotion for Profit
We received this month's
"Promotion for Profit" tip from
Neil Schuldenfrei at Video Plus
in Washington, D.C. He suggests
that an operator place a large
lighted sign with changeable let-
tering by the side of the road or
above the door in front of an ar-
cade. The sign can be used to
announce the arrival of new
games, contests, tournaments
and special events at the arcade.
Make su re to check local reg-
ulations regarding posting and
display of lighted signs such
as these.
If you have an idea for the
Promotion for Profit column just
send a brief description of the
idea, along with your name and
the name and address of your
location, to the Editor, Coin Con-
nection, 1265 Borregas Avenue,
Sunnyvale, CA 94086. We'll
send you a free gift if your idea
appears in the Coin Connection.
Glare Reduction Kits
Now Available for
Asteroids Deluxe™ and
WarlordsTM Upright Cabinets
New glare reduction kits, spe-
cially designed by Atari Engi-
neering for use on Asteroids De-
luxe and Warlords upright cabi-
nets, are available free from
Atari's Coin-op Customer Service
department.
These anti-glare kits are easy
to install and retrofittable to all
upright Asteroids Deluxe and
Warlords c abinets cu rrently in
the field. The kit consists of a
new monitor shield and speaker
g rille assembly that is angled
toward the player. Due to this
angled effect, glare and reflec-
tion problems related to poor
lighting conditions are signifi-
cantly reduced.
The kit also improves the
bass audio response, since the
area below the mirror now acts
as a resonating chamber.
To order one of these free
kits, contact either your local dis-
tributor or Coin-op Customer
Service at 1105 N. Fairoaks Ave.,
Sunnyvale, CA 94086.

Download Page 2: PDF File | Image

Download Page 3 PDF File | Image

Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).

Pro Tip: You can flip pages on the issue easily by using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard.