Atari Coin Connection

Issue: Vol 6 Num 03 - 1982 April

Volume 6 Number 3
April/May 1982
ATARI®
ATARI® Introduces
.. New
Maze Game: Dig Dug'"'
ig Dug is an exciting new
maze game from ATARI
with a big difference: Now
players can create their own maze
by digging tunnels all over the
screen to escape monsters, drop
rocks and collect special vege-
tables for extra points.
I
Dig Dug is an intrepid little miner who
goes about digging horizontal and vertical
tunnels on the screen. Lurking in the tun-
nels are Pooka T~ a fat red monster with
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yellow sunglasses, and Fygar™, a fire-
breathing dragon. These meanies pursue
Dig Dug through the tunnels. His only re-
course is to pump them up until they ex-
plode or to dig a tunnel under a rock,
then quickly get out of the way as it
drops on Pooka or Fygar. Each time a
monster is destroyed, either pumped up
and exploded or crushed by a falling
rock, the player scores points.
The player can also score points by
collecting a different vegetable in each
round. After the player drops two rocks, a
vegetable will appear in the tunnel where
Dig Dug started digging. It will only be
there for 10 seconds, and there's only
one veggie per round, so the player must
move Dig Dug quickly in order to grab
the ca[rot, or mushroom, or rutabaga,
and obtain more points.
Pooka and Fygar have an advantage
over Dig Dug. They can travel between
the layers of dirt and between the tunnels
by turning into ghosts. Ghosts can float
horizontally, vertically and diagonal ly
across the playfield. But as soon as they
enter a tunnel, they become visible again,
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continued on next page
ATARI Launches Community
Awareness Program for Video Games
After months of preparation, interviewing
and collecting data, ATAR I has introduced
its Community Awareness Program, a
program designed to combat the ever-in-
creasing restrictive video game legislation
cropping up across the nation. The pro-
gram includes a 17-minute video tape and
a position paper, both presenting a posi-
tive public perspective of the coin-oper-
ated video games industry.
To give these materials a national flair
and broaden their application, ATAR I
hired a professional video film crew to
enter a select group of major metropoli-
tan areas across the country. Parents,
teachers, PTA members, psychologists,
sociologists, city council members and
others were interviewed in an attempt to
compile and document the role of the vid-
eo game indust ry in communities across
the country. The end result is an informa-
tive and educational video tape and posi-
tion paper reflecting an otherwise unpub-
licized viewpoint: the positive perspective
of the video games industry.
"Based on our experience atttending
city council meetings and getting involved
with local politics, we feel this is strictly
an educational issue, " said Don Osborne,
V.P. of Sales and Marketing. "In other
words, as responsible business people, it
is our obligation to educate our communi-
ties about our industry. The video tape
and position paper will afford our commu-
nities a look at the positive attributes of
our industry in addition to offering solu-
tions which we can all 'live' with."
To assure these materials are used to
their fullest potential, an implementation
program has been established. The pro-
gram is designed to spur each ATARI dis-
tributor into an active participatory role.
"All ATARI distributors have an obliga-
tion and full responsibility to distribute the
video tape and position paper to opera-
tors, in addition to placing the materials
on the agenda at the PTA meetings, ser-
vice club group meetings and other ap-
propriate places,'' said Osborne.
An implementation manual is included
which explains appropriate viewing audi-
ences and places, along with presenta-
tion tips and other pertinent information.
For more information, contact your
ATARI distributor as these materials are
only available th rough authorized ATARI
distributors.

_
_ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _.o,...~ug,=wr~~
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ATARI Reorganizes Top Management Team
John S. Farrand has been named execu-
tive vice president of the Coin Operated
Games Division of ATAR I, and Don
Osborne has been appointed vice presi-
dent of sales and marketing in a recent
reorganization of the division's manage-
ment team. The two promotions were an-
nounced by Ken Harkness, president of
the Coin-Op Division.
Farrand, who joined ATARI earlier this
year as president of International Opera-
tions for Coin-Op, will be expanding his
areas of responsibility in the newly cre-
ated position of executive vice president
of the division. While maintaining his in-
ternational responsibi lities, his new re-
sponsibilities will include all domestic
sales and marketing related activities.
Don Osborne, formerly vice president
of sales for Coin-Op, will also be expand-
ing his areas of responsibility to include
all marketing related activities for the divi-
sion. Don joined ATARI in 1977 and held
various positions in Coin-Op sales, most
recently vice president of sales. Don will
report to Farrand, and Farrand will in turn
report to Harkness.
Dig Dug
continued
and susceptible to Dig Dug's pump.
Each round of the game is complete
when all of the monsters are destroyed.
One monster can escape, but he runs to
the next round and appears there. Chang-
ing screens, changing colored layers of
dirt, 21 unique sound effects and a cute
musical accompaniment all add to the
(
John Farrand, executive vice president of
the Coin-Op Games Division.
exciting game play.
For players, there is a continuation of
game feature which allows the player to
choose his own skill level. After playing a
round, the player has 16 seconds to be-
gin a new game at the same skill level
rather than going back to Round 1. Dig
Dug has a high score table which dis-
plays the top five scores and the initials
of the players who achieved them.
Operators may select 1, 2, 3 or 5 Dig
I hP"
"Both John and Don share an exper-
tise in recognizing and developing poten-
tial growth areas, which is a crucially im-
portant element in maintaining a leader-
ship position in today's marketplace,"
said Ken Harkness.
Prior to joining ATAR I, John Farrand
spent 16 years at Music Hire Group, the
second largest private operating com-
pany in the world, based in England,
where he held several positions, eventual-
ly becoming president of the company.
He was responsible for all aspects of the
manufacture and distribution of their
amusement products. Farrand received
his electrical engineering degree from the
British Broadcasting Corporation College
in 1962.
''ATARI is a tremendously exciting
company with the potential to develop
products that stretch the farthest reaches
of the imagination," said Farrand. "I look
forward to being a part of this extraordin-
ary team, creating and marketing innova-
tive coin-operated products throughout
the world. "
Dug lives, and one of 8 different bonus
levels. The game is adjustable for "Easy",
"Medium", or "Expert" game play.
Dig Dug is being offered to the Europe-
an market in a specially designed new
cabinet. The compact design of the "Eu-
ropean" cabinet makes it suitable for vir-
tually any type of location requirements.
Optional side panel decals are available
for this cabinet, too. Dig Dug is also of-
fered in the standard Upright, Cocktail
and Cabaret cabinet versions.
Dig Dug is a strategy challenge for all
kinds of players; male, female, kids and
parents, too. It' s guaranteed to keep play-
ers coming back for more.
• Dig Dug is engineered and designed by Namco. Lid. Man-
ufactured under license by Atari. Inc.
...

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Some of the promotional items specially designed for Dig Dug include a brilliantly colored
24 x 36" poster, T-shirt, and radio and advertisini:} tip sheets. To order the Dig Dug promo-
tional packet, and receive an order form for T-shirts and posters, contact Atari, Inc. Coin-Op
Division, Marketing Services, 790 Sycamore Drive, Milpitas, CA 95035.
Promotion
for Profit
Radio is one of the most effective medi-
ums to use in promoting your location.
Evaluate the stations in your area by us-
ing the official listener rating information
available and interviewing your players.
Select the stations that appeal to your
target market and discuss possible pro-
motional programs w ith them. Many sta-
tions offer membership cards to their lis-
teners. You may wish to offer free games
at your location to these card holders.
Giving away free games as a prize in the
station's own contests is another easy
way to promote your business. Or dis-
cuss running a tournament co-sponsored
by the radio station , or staging a " Battle
of the DJs" with your area's most popu-
lar DJs competing. Proceeds from these
events could benefit a local charity or
community group, thus enhancing posi-
tive publicity of your location.

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