Atari Coin Connection

Issue: Vol 5 Num 07 - 1981 November

ATAR I coin-operated video
games can generate new profit
opportunities. Show attendees
w ill also be able to view and
play two of ATARl 's hottest
games-Centipede™ and the
anticipates an attendance of
sensational new Tempest™.
2,000 owners of supper clubs,
"We're looking forward to at-
taverns, package stores, cock-
tending this year's N LBA show: ·
tail lounges, hotels and restau-
said Frank Ballouz, Vice-Presi-
rants from throughout the
dent of Marketing, Coin-Op Divi-
United States.
sion. " It will give us the oppor-
The Marketing Services de-
partment at ATAR I has put to-
tunity to speak directly with
gether a unique promotion and
owners of establishments in this
resource packet designed espe- growing market and demon-
cially for the beverage market,
strate to them the tremendous
profit potential of ATARI games: ·
containing information on how
ATARI Attends N.L.B.A.
Convention and Trade Show
In addition to the 1981
A .M.O.A. and the $50,000.00
World Championships, ATARI
Marketing and Sales is prepar-
ing for another trade show di-
rectly following the Ch icago
events. The National Licensed
Beverage Association 's 32nd
Annual Convention and Trade
Show w ill be held November
8-11 at the MGM Grand Hotel,
Las Vegas, Nevada. The N LBA
OPERATOR
OF THE '80s
Jim Killgore
of Phoenix
Envision a mining town in the
Old West-dusty streets, wood-
en buildings, and miners return-
ing from a long, hard day of
picking and shovelling the ore.
There on the hillside is the sil-
ver mine providing the livelihood
of these isolated pioneers. Let's
take a look inside . . .
The entrance is panelled with
aluminum sheets supported by
tournament in Los Angeles.
rough wooden beams. The out-
There was plenty of action
door light diminishes as we
at the ATARI exhibit at AMOA
by ATAR I in recent games
The ATARI $50,000.00
and at the Championships. This walk through the rock-lined tun-
were also handed out . These World Championships took
was a big weekend for us and for nel deeper into the m ine. Up
ahead we see dim lights and
special data sheets were de-
place at the same time. A
the coin-op industry in general.
can hear excited voices. Our
signed to assist operators in
special press conference was
journey ends in a room full of
servicing these unique ATAR I
held on Friday during the tour-
people playing video games and
nament action . And from 9:00
cont rols.
pinball machines! The ceiling is
p.m. to 11 :00 p.m. a cocktail
Field Service had copies
painted black, and murals de-
available for sale of • 'The
party for all operators was
picting the early m ining days
Book", one of the industry's
held at the Expocenter. ATARI
cover the walls. Picks and sho-
most complete and authorita-
and Tournament Games, Inc.
vels lean up against one corner,
tive encyclopedias of video
co-hosted the party.
as though they were left behind
game techn ical information .
One of the contestants at the
by those miners of the Old
Championships was Matthew
A lso the C.A .T. Box, a unique
West. Welcome to Silver Mine
Laborteaux, the actor who plays
ATARI-designed Computer-
Family Amusement Center!
A ided-Testing instrument, was "Albert" on the" Little House on
shown along with various
the Prairie" television show.
The Silver Mine Family
THE
ATARI
ERA
competed
in
a
local
Matthew
equipment demonstrations.
Amusement Center, in Phoenix,
Arizona, has been in business
for approximately one year, and
more accustomed to competi-
tive situations and less inh ibited is owned and operated by Jim
in displaying their game-playing Killgore and Ed Bateman . Prior
to opening Silver Mine Jim
In America, leisure activity
expertise in public, they will be
the growing proportion of
spent two years in restaurant
has become a $160 billion a
women sports enthusiasts. Wo- more likely to play coin-operat-
management, where he learned
ed games.
year industry. The Department
men's participation in sports is
of Commerce calls sports "a
There are other obstacles to a great deal about communicat-
growing twice as fast as that of
ing with people. At the same
major and growing segment of
overcome in order to draw
men .
more female players to coin-op- time, he was involved w ith a
The increasing number of
the American economy." The
erated games. Atari is currently local hobby shop run by Ed
women actively participating in
$ 160 billion per year figure for
Bateman . Jim and Ed toyed
involved in a research study to
sports in school and as profes-
leisu re activity is 16% of the
w ith the idea of opening a fami-
evaluate female coin-operated
gross national product, and is
sionals will undoubtedly affect
game-playing behavior. Look for ly amusement center. After
triple what it was in 1965.
the proportion of women w ho
results of this study in futu re is- eight and a half months of re-
An important aspect of the
play coin-operated amusement
search into the coin-operated
sues of the Coin Connection.
increasing interest in sports is
games. As women become
games industry, they decided
that a family amusement center
could be successful. Jim and
Ed became partners, and Silver
Mine became a reality. They
---======:::::::--
~o~
cu rrently have one location and
plan to open two or three more
O ' ~ ~of October 1, 1~
by January, 1982.
Jim had one clear goal when
Player's Name
# of Points
Date and Time
Location
Game
opening Silver Mine. "I wanted
to build the best family amuse-
Lonnie
J.
Cancienne
9/5

9/7/81
Mr.
Ice
Cream
Parlor
Asteroids TM
ment center that people had
30,000,000
19 years
52 hrs., 1 min.
Westwego, LA
ever seen . Th is involved having
great decor and a comfortable
Missile
7/18-7/19/81
Bumpers, Inc.
George Pimms
51 ,952, 110
atmosphere. I want people to
Command™
28 hrs., 7 min.
Spokane, WA
say, 'You've got to see Silver
8/30/81
4 Quarters
Mine. It's a great place for
Battlezone TM
John Bismuti
4,111,000
4 hrs., 50 min.
Tumwater, WA
adults and kids, not just another
hole-in-the-wall.''' For this
Asteroids
8/21 /81
Jubilee Park
reason, Jim prefers calling his
269,230
Leo
Daniels
Deluxe TM
1 hr. 7 min.
Carolina Beach, NC
location a family amusement
center, rather than an arcade
8/10/81
Time Zone
Samir Mehta
Centipede TM
338,000
or game room. He aims to ap-
30 min .
Mountain View, CA
15 years
peal to all age groups and pro-
ATARI Weekend at AMOA continued
Did You Know?
~
.
~\
~1ARI
High
.i:.,c,p
s"
~
e,."
Silver Mine. He knows that kids
need a place to gather, and be-
lieves that providing them with
such a place helps keep them
occupied, off the streets, and
out of trouble. In addition, Jim
feels that the "word-of-mouth"
advertising by the players is in-
valuable. "When Silver Mine
first opened, I sent out 25,000
flyers to local residents. Unfor-
tunately, I received less than
1 % response. The problem was
that instead of reaching the
players, the flyers were opened
by parents who threw them
away." Jim then began walking
around at Silver Mine, talking to
the players, giving them cou-
pons for free games, and letting
them know that he wants them
to have a good time. He also
set all of the games on 2 plays
for a quarter. "I can remember
what it was like to be a kid,"
ject a wholesome image, a
place where the entire family
can have a good time.
Jim says the formula for suc-
cess in operating a family
amusement center is 50% de-
cor and atmosphere, 50% ma-
chines and promotion. Silver
Mine began as a basic arcade
with a pool table and some
games. Jim then realized that
players will stay longer if they
feel good about the atmo-
sphere, if it captivates them. He
put a lot of time and money into
decorating Silver Mine, making
it a unique place that invites
players and makes them feel
welcome.
Silver Mine has approximate-
ly 20 machines-90% video
and 10% pinball. Jim leases his
games from Winner's Circle on
a 50-50 split basis. Winner's Cir-
cle provides 24-hour servicing,
and rotates the games once or
twice every four months. First
games that are losing popularity
are replaced with new pieces,
then all the games are rotated
within the location. This gives
Silver Mine an entirely new
look. "Players come in and no-
tice the change. They get excit-
ed, " explains Jim. "In addition,
regu lar players will find a new
piece where their favorite game
used to be placed. They'll
notice the new game and try it
out. ''
Jim feels that the number of
games is less important than
the quality of the games.
"Some operators think that if 20
games are earning well for
them, then 40 games will earn
twice as much. Th is isn't neces-
sarily so. The important thing is
to have 20 good, strong games,
not 40 games that include medi-
ocre or broken down machines'. '
Jim 's major problem has
been battling the old connota-
tions about game rooms, the
negative image of "smokey pin-
ball parlors'' that faces the en-
tire industry. For instance, the
shopping malls in his area are
against letting an arcade open
within the mall. The local news-
paper has given support for al-
lowing mall arcades, espousing
their merits as a babysitter for
shopper's children, as well as
providing a place for teenagers
and adults with free time. Jim
has tried to convince the malls'
management to accept games.
"I've explained that the location
management is the key, that
control is a major factor. If the
management sets feasible rules
and abides by them, an arcade
can be a great benefit to a
shopping mall." Still, he has
had no luck in renting space in
a shopping mall for a family
amusement center.
Jim is very people-oriented
and has developed an excellent
rapport with the players at
Jim reasons. "These kids don't
have much money, and I want
them to know that I'm looking
out for them. With the games
set on 2 plays for a quarter, my
players really feel that they' re
getting their money's worth."
This communication with the
players and promotion from
within have contributed greatly
to the success of Silver Mine.
Jim uses what he's learned
from the players in choosing
new games. " I try to relate to
the kids and what they would
want in a game. First I look at
the game play and ask, 'Is it
challenging? Can both the no-
vice and the expert player enjoy
the game?' Next, I examine the
appearance of the piece. My
players like colorful, eye-catch-
ing graphics both on the cabi-
net and the screen, so these
factors are important. "
Tournaments and promotions
play a significant part in Jim's
operation of Silver Mine. He
currently holds a high-score
tournament every week, with a
first prize in the $25 - $30
range. According to Jim, offer-
ing high quality prizes almost
guarantees a successful tourna-
ment. He also advises, "Never
hold a tournament on a Friday
night during the school year be-
cause you'll be competing with
football games and other school
functions. Tournaments held on
Saturday or Sunday night will
have much higher participa-
tion." In addition to the weekly
tournament, Jim holds a "Hall
of Fame" competition every six
months. The local press is invit-
ed to attend this event. The win-
ner receives a trophy, and his
picture is added to the Silver
Mine "Hall of Fame."
Jim highly recommends com-
munity involvement as an excel-
lent means of promotion . He
presently participates in the City
District Associate Program of a
local newspaper, the "Arizona
Republic Gazette." Every
month, each route manager at
the newspaper awards coupons
for free plays at Silver Mine to
the carrier who brings in the
most new subscriptions.
How does the future look for
Silver ·Mine? "When I first start-
ed in the coin-op business,'' Jim
says, "I thought it might last for
maybe two years. Now I know it
will be permanent. But an oper-
ator can't just sit back and ex-
pect the games to do all the
work. If he learns to deal with
the public and get out there and
hustle, he can have a very suc-
cessful business." Jim Killgore
has done just that. He obviously
knows his business, enjoys the
work, and can expect many
more years of success for Silver
Mine Family Amusement Center.

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