FROM THE EDITOR
,
,
"
,
The A.M.O.A. show is coming. Its an event that a great many
people, including ourselves, look forward to. For some it will be an
occasion long remembered. For others it will be a weekend hangover
that will be hard to forget. Yet amid the mass confusion of people
running from one booth to another, the endless discord of bells,
buzzers, blips, and beeps, one is left wondering sometimes if it is all
worth it. All I can say is untll somebody-and that somebody just
might by Play Meter-comes up with something better, the AMOA
show is all we've got, and we'll all just have to make the best of it.
One thing some people complain about is the timing of the show.
Game manufacturers complain that it is held too late in the year, past
the buying season. Phonograph manufacturers are usually delighted
with the A.M.O.A. dates because they usually coincide with their own,
once-a-year new product introductions. Most distributors, though, care
very little about when or even where the show is held. Operators, in
simllar respects, are like the distributing people and will attend a show
anytime of the year almost any place, provided that it's worth it.
Another complaint about the timing of the A.M.O.A. is that it hardly
ever coincides with the N.A.M.A. (vending) show. Whlle I agree that
this.practice is totally ignorant, I don't feel that the two shows should
be held under the same roof in the same room. But if, in fact, they both
must be held in the fall, then they should complement each other rather
than to be in direct competition.
There's no question about it, the timing of the A.M.O.A. show
presents a problem. When it's held later in the year, the game
manufacturers complain, when it is held a couple of weeks after
N.A.M.A. or at the same time but in diHerent cities, a great number of
distributors and operators start complaining.
I see only two ways the A.M.O.A. can go to rectify the situation. One
is that it decide to match or overlap dates and match cities with the
N.A.M.A. show and seriously consider holding a second show in a
diHerent city in the very early spring or late winter to coincide with the
arcade season. The second solution is very much like the first solution.
They could simply move the show to the late winter or early spring and
forget about the fall/~ter show. Then the only people that might get
mad would be the phonograph manufacturers. Such a show would hit
them just past the middle of the year. Still, having a handful of
phonograph manufacturers upset is a bit better than having a whole
bunch of game manufacturers, distnoutors, and operators upset. It's
worth a thought.
In any event, it's too late now to do anything about this year's show.
It's set and coming this month-Friday, October 28; Saturday, October
29; and Sunday, October 30. Although you do not need to be a member
to attend, I encourage you to attend the show and join the association,
if you have not already done so.
Other than Play Meter, of course, the only two things you've got
going for you on the national level are the A.M.O.A. and its annual
convention. So you should make the best of both. Attend and join. See
you at the Conrad Hllton in Chicago.
incerely
~c.~
Ralph C. Lally II.
Publi sher & Editor
4
October. 19n. PLA Y METER