Atari Coin Connection

Issue: Vol 5 Num 06 - 1981 October

Tempest™ Promotional Materials Available
Tempest has inspired a new
selection of promotional materials
illustrated with the same exciting
and colorful graphics that high-
light the game itself. Available for
promotional giveaways, prizes
and incentives are dramatic
Tempest posters and T-shirts.
The T-shirt is a durable 100%
cotton with the Tempest art dis-
played on the front of a bright
red shirt. The poster measures
24" x 36" and would be an at-
tractive addition to any location.
Atari is also offering a promo-
tional kit that includes a full color
data/fact sheet, two different 60-
second radio scripts specially
prepared to emphasize the excit- \
ing Tempest game play (also
available on a pre-recorded cas- \
sette for a nominal fee), a radio
tip sheet advising you how to
place ads to hit your target group
most effectively, and other infor-
mational materials to help you
reach all your potential players.
The Tempest promotional kits
are available through Marketing
Services at 1215 Borregas Ave.,
Sunnyvale, CA 94086. T-shirts
and radio cassettes, at a nominal
fee, and posters can be ordered
from ATARI Coin-op Customer
Service, 1105 N. Fairoaks Ave.,
Sunnyvale, CA 94086.
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Promotion for Profit
If your location is near one or
more fast-food restaurants (ham-
burger or hot dog stand, pizza
parlor, taco stand, etc.) you can
use the following joint promotion
idea. Designate one of your
games as the "pizza parlor" ( or
other restaurant) machine. When
a player beats the high score on
this game, award him with a
coupon good for a free pizza or
soft drink at that restaurant. Ask
the local restaurant to use tray
liners containing coupons for free
games at your location or to give
a flyer containing coupons for
free games with each purchase.
If you have an idea for the
Promotion for Profit column, send
a description of the idea, along
with your name and address of
your location, to the Editor, Coin
Connection , 1265 Borregas Ave. ,
Sunnyvale, CA 94086. We'll send
you a free gift if your idea ap-
pears in the Coin Connection.
POSITIVE PUBLICITY
ATARI Featured in
Smithsonian Article

In the September issue of
"Smithsonian" magazine there is
a 12-page article which focuses
on ATARI and video games and
the effects they are having on
today's youth. One of the major
points of the article is that the
young people playing the games
are not only acquiring skills in
manual dexterity and spatial co-
ordination, but they are also
learning that computers are not
necessarily large and impersonal
dispensers of bills and junk mail.
A new sequence in the self-
test mode displays valuable oper-
ator information such as the total
number and average game times
for one and two player games.
Operator-selectable bonus levels
are available, as well as an
operator-selectable setting for
"easy", "medium" or "hard"
game difficulty. The cocktail and
Cabaret ™ versions of Tempest
feature the separate coin door
and locking cashbox, and all
three cabinet versions offer 256
coinage options and four differ-
ent language selections.
"Tempest is a really exciting
new game, a play experience
that goes beyond any previous
video game concept. The Oua-
draScan Color display system is
unique, a technological break-
through that offers the player a
spectacular visual event, and
Skill-Step™ allows players of all
skill levels to be challenged no
matter how long or how much
they've played the game," said
Frank Ballouz, V.P. of Marketing
for the Coin-op division. "We feel
that this game will set a prece-
dent for all future video games."
Play New At•rl T•m~.st.

Since the video games respond
to players by playing back, the
players get'a much more per-
sonal feeling from the games.
The article is very positive on
video games and their applica-
tions to the future. The possibili-
ties created when video games
are used to educate and train
are exceptionally va ried. And by
exposing kids to video games,
they become familiar with com-
puters and computer logic in a
friendly way.
ATARI
Introduces
Tempest continued
It Pays to Deal with
Authorized ATARI Distributors
Recently our Field Service
department has received some
c~lls from operators who need
games serviced. While Field Ser-
vice technicians can answer
specific questions over the tele-
phone, the technicians working
for your authorized ATARI dis-
tributor can come right out and
take a look at the game. They
are trained to service ATARI
games quickly and efficiently.
There are other reasons why
you should give your local ATARI
distributor a call. He can offer
you the complete line of ATARI
promotional items such as T-
shirts and posters for Tempest™
or Centipeder .. _ During the ATARI
$50,000.00 World Championships
contest, your authorized ATARI
distributor was the one to provide
you with the Tournament Kit
order cards.
Only an authorized ATARI
distributor can take care of all
your needs. You can always
recognize him because he'll be
displaying his authorized ATARI
distributor plaque. Look for the
plaque - it's the sign of good
quality and good service. If you
need the number or address for
your local authorized ATARI
distributor, just call ATARI Coin-op
Marketing at 408-745-2500 and
they will refer you.
Did You Know?
In 1980 operators reported an
approximately equal number of
videos (both standard uprig ht and
cocktail table models) and pin-
balls in their ba r and tavern loca-
tions. In the average bar site,
video games out-earn pinballs by
$10-$15 per week. This is one of
many findings from the ATARI
Tellus ™ Survey that was con-
ducted at the AMOA in 1980.
We expect that the next Tellus
survey will show an increase in
the number of videos, especially
cocktail table models, in bars and
taverns in 1981 .
Tell us what you think. The
Marketing Research group will be
conducting another survey at the
ATARI booth at the 1981 AMOA.
PERSONNEL
PROFILE
Bob Harvey
Bob Harvey was born in
Chicago 33 years ago, but even
though he was raised in the city
which could be considered the
home of coin-op games, he took
the long way around to getting
into our industry. He spent 13
years as a manufacturer's rep
and western regional sales
manager for a tailored clothing
firm before making the move into
the coin -op amusement industry.
After speaking with a friend at
ATAR I about the future of video
games and the coin-op industry
as a whole, he became interested
in making a change. In October
of 1981 he was introduced to
and interviewed by Frank Ballouz
and Don Osborne. After the inter-
view he knew he was definitely
interested, so he bought himself
a ticket to the AMOA to "see for
myself", as he put it, what the
industry was all about.
After attending the show he
was very enthusiastic about video
games, and in January of this
year he joined ATARI as a re-
gional sales manager in the Coin-
op Sales department. So after 13
years in the clothing business he
made the change to video games
and what was his first assign-
ment at ATARI? To find tuxedos
for his colleagues who were at-
tending the distributor meeting in
Pebble Beach.
ATARI Employees Contribute
to Muscular Dystrophy Campaign
-
Jo-An Torres and Judy
Hernandez in Coin-op Customer
Service were the star perf omers
in a 15-mile walkathon held to
benefit the Muscular Dystrophy
Association. Many ATARI em-
ployees participated in the walk-
athon, organized by Anne Gech-
man of the Computer division of
ATAR I, but Jo-An and Judy really
went all out in their fundraising
efforts. Each employee was
supposed to find at least 1 O
sponsors to pay 10¢-15¢ per
mile for the number of miles
completed by the walker.
Well, Judy and Jo-An con-
tacted some of our ATARI dis-
tributors and gathered pledges
for $10-$15 per mile. Between
the two women, they raised close
to $3000.00, quite a substantial
contribution to the total sum given
by ATARI. Those distributors who
supported Jo-An and Judy's
efforts were: Active Amusement,
Advance Automatic Sales, Bally
Northeast Distributing, Betson
Enterprises, Betson Pacific, C.A.
Robinson, Central Distributing,
Dunis Distributing, Empire Dis-
tributing, Lanie! Automati9,
Lieberman Music, McKee Dis-
tributing, Modern Vending,
Mountain Coin Distributing, New
Orleans Novelty, O'Connor Dis-
tributing, Southwest Vending
Sales, and State Music.
When asked how they raised
I
this much money, Jo-An said that
she attributed this generosity to
"the tremendous rapport which
has been established between
ATARI and our distributors."
A check for the total given by
ATARI was presented on a local
television station's broadcast of
the Muscular Dystrophy telethon
over the Labor Day weekend by
Don Osborne, V.P. of Sales for
Coin-op. Jo-An and Judy also
appeared with Don during the
television presentation.
We at ATARI are proud of all
those employees who contributed
to the MDA walkathon, and par-
ticularly to Judy and Jo-An for
their super effort.
Creating Your Own Advertising
Recently Bob toured the Mid-
west and Northeast to promote
the ATARI $50,000.00 World
Championships. This gave him
an opportunity to meet with not
only the distributors but also the
operators so we can get their
input. He was really impressed
with the response the Tourna-
ment was generating.
Bob has lived in California for
9 years. He currently has two
child ren, a son and a daughter,
and he and his wife are expect-
ing their third child right around
the time of the AMOA Show.
All in all, we feel that Bob
brings a fresh and energetic out-
look to ATARl's Coin-op Sales
department, and we're happy to
have him aboard .
A number of operators have
contacted us regarding the
design or production of their own
advertisements. When a new
game comes into a location or a
tournament is held to benefit a
local charity, ads in local news-
papers or in neighboring store
windows are a very effective
means of drawing new players to
the location. But what do you do
about including the ATARI name
and logo, trademark notification
or registered copyright marks?
If you are preparing advertise-
ments for a tournament or other
event. the ATARI name and logo
need not be mentioned with an
ATAR I game name. Alternately,
the name of the game could be
followed by an asterisk (*) at the
upper right of the name. A note
corresponding to the asterisk
would then appear at the bottom
of the page: "* Indicates trade-
ma rks of Atari , Inc." When adver-
tising a new game at your loca-
tion, the same rules apply.
Any questions you have about
the proper use of the ATARI name
and logo should be directed to
the Marketing Services depart-
ment at408-745-2500. The
people there will help you with
more specific questions. And
remember, "camera-ready" art
specially designed for local
advertisements is available from
Marketing Services in the pro-
motional kits which are prepared
to accompany each new ATAR I
game.

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