Play Meter

Issue: 1976 May - Vol 2 Num 5

received with great upheaval and approval in the
beginning. It took a little time. He was doing well on
the We t coa t, but on the East coast no one had
heard of it.
PLA Y METER: In your interviews with players,
would they perfer to pay more money or play with
Ie ball?
SHARPE: (Laugh) I don't think they've ever
approached it that way. I think they approach it with
th e an wer that they like five -ball games.
PLA Y METER: Would they prefer one play, five
ball for a quarter or two plays, three balls for 25
cent '?
SHARPE: I think one for 25. I think for the most
part that if they playa ingle -player game, they like
a five -ball game. In multi -player games, three-ball
play i better and a lot of players feel that way. I
don't want to tand around and wait for three other
people to fini h their fifth ball.
I think we'll get universal three -ball play for a
quarter and people will get around to accepting that.
I under tand the con traint on the operator to make
money , but we can't 10 eight of the fact that we
ha ve player out there and not everyone is financially
capable of pending several dollar in a short period
of time . The be t game, from my tandpoint, are
t ho e that have free play and an extra ball,
particularly in ingle -player model .
PLAY METER: What attracts people to pinball?
SHARPE: I think it' the excitement of playing,
t he fru tration of "almost, but not this time." I think
more t han that i that we have a device designed
olely for plea ure, solely for entertainment and it's a
mac hine that will allow you to interact with it.
If I'm a player, the only way I'm going to play that
game to win- -whatever winning is, a high score, a
free game, an extr become almost like one with the machine. I have to
play with that game know how it moves .
Pinball machines allow you to not just stand there
tatically, but to get involved in the play of the thing.
There are really no other mechanical devices per se
that allow you to do that.
PLA Y METER: Do you think this intimacy
between player and machine makes the pinball more
popular than other games on the market today?
SHARPE: Definitely. I think that's the major
reason it has sustained itself. There's always a new
generation to be fascinated by it. There will always
be somebody out there who will want to experience
something that's magical and very mystical.
You can't get that close to a video game. It's too
isolated a medium.
Pinball's the only thing that can absorb you to that
extent and hold you so that you know if you blink
your eyes, it' all over; if you breathe, forget it.
PLAY METER: It sounds like you're aying
pinball 's becoming a national sport.
SHARPE: I think it can be. I think if it's
approached the right way, the time is right. You see
a lot of tournaments being tarted and that's a new
area that could be a boon for the operator, as well a
for the manufacturer and player.
Competition i the keenest element within pinball
machine , above and beyond the fact that it is truly
one of the only devices out there that you and I can
1 continued on pa.Qe 531
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6 DIFFERE NT
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SIX GAM ES IN
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19" " OTORO L A " O N ITOR .
WA L NUT
CAB I NET
WI TH
HINGE D TO P.
FULL FACT OR Y WARRAN TY . (I) YEAR ON WONITO R AND LOGIC
SE QUE NCE
TE NN IS, RICOCHET,
BOARD.
15
operating
Fla. operators
set Tally Rally
Facing a possible three per cent
tax hike on their amusement mach -
ines, Florida operators need just t he
kind of legislative instruction plan -
ned for them M ay 11 -12 by their
association .
Based on the response it received
to last year' s first Tally Rally at the
state capital in Tallahassee, the
Florida Amusement-M erchandising
Association will treat amusement
and vending operators to a two-day
educational session on their state 's
legislative processes.
The sessions start M ay 11 with a
6-10 p .m. dinner and classroom
meeting on how the legislative
process works . May 12 will be
crammed with breakfast at 7:30
a. m. and operators attending com-
mittee meetings in the House and
Senate at 8:30 . Lunch at 12:15 p .m .
will feature an official of the House
Dept. of Commerce , fol lowed by a
return to the capito l at 1 :30 to watch
the Senate and House in session.
Record number
attends meet
in Oconowoc
A record 274 Wisconsin music
and games operators attended their
Music Merchants Association an-
nual convention in Oconowoc April
9-11, according to executive direc -
tor Len Roulier.
In his report to the convention -
goers, Roulier c ommended the
association's board of directors and
committeemen for increasing group
membership, the number of exhibit-
ors at the gathering and launching
the first stat e apprenticeship pro-
gram in the nation designed to rain
servicemen for the coin-operated
amusement industry .
Th e program is a joint project of
the WMMA and the state Vocat ion -
al, Tec hnical and Adult Education
system and Disvision of Apprentice-
ship through its M id-State Technical
Institute in Wisconsin Rapids .
16
GETTING A LINE on $2, 500 in pnze
money offered last month at the
finals of the Midwest Amusement
8-Ball Billiard Tournament in Oma-
ha, Nebraska, is Randy Kaufman,
20, of Lincoln, NE, who beat Marty
Heldenbrand, 18, of Cameron, MO,
on the Ebonite Play-Right tables.
For hi:'> second-place showing a-
mong the 186 entrants, Helden-
brand took a $1, 300 check from
Willie M oscont; world billiard cham-
pion who heads Ebonite Billiards '
pro staff.
Greenman assumes duties
as GrB executive director
Millie M cCarthy, national coordi-
nator of the Games Tournam ent
Board (GTB ), ha s anno unced the
appointment of trad e veteran Milton
Gree nman as th e organization's first
executive director .
Th e post req uires Greenm an to
evalu ate and develop all th e support
programs for games operators out-
lined by GTB's member manufac t-
urers, distributors and operators at
th eir three preliminary mee t ing s
(Atl an ta, New York and Ch icago).
Init ially, Greenman will work from
his home in Hollywood, Calif.
Th e decision to appoint a full -tim e
director was made at GTB 's most
recen t meeting at th e O' Hare Hilton
Hotel in Chi cago . " W e discussed a
number of possible ca ndid ates, but
everyone agreed that Mickie had th e
best creden ti als for the post," Mrs.
M cCarthy declared . " W e are al l
extremely happy th at he accepted ."
Th e purpose o f th e GTB , Mrs .
M cCarthy outlined, "is to coo rdi -
na te activi ties in all tournaments and
act as liaison between manufactur-
ers, distributors , operators, players
and th e pu bli c, as w ell as to fost er
tourn amen t play on all types of coin
amusemen t equipme nt. Fu rther, to
publicize these sporting con tests on
national and local media and to
create a climate of accep tan ce and
support by the public as well as
state and local governmen ts. It is
now Greenman 's responsibility to
develop th ese concep ts in to solid ,
working services for the games
indust ry ."
Greenman 's background, accord -
ing to Mrs. M cCarthy , " was the key
to his selec ti on . He is an 18-year
vete ran o f United Press Internation-
al , where his specialty was sports
writing and film -making . He has a
degree in journalism and a masters
in marketing , plus he's had almost
10 years expe rience in th e coin
machine industry on all levels-- man -
ufacturing , distributing and operat-
ing ." (Most recently , Greenman
was national sales manager fo r
SEGA of America . )
Greenman 's fir st projec t for GTB
is th e production of a five ·minute
16mm color film on pinball tourna -
m ents. M ost o f th e footage was
sho t at th e April 23-24 New York
State Pinba ll Championship in Syr-
acus . Greenman , as p rodu ce r, will
Isee next page l

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