Mailbox ....
FROM THE EDITOR
Once you've reached the point where birthdays begin sneaking up on
you , the less you hear about birthdays the better . It's human nature for
someone not to look forward to a birthday that is only a reminder that he's
getting older . Yet , when we were all young and growing up , birthdays
were something special , and they seemed to creep up slowly on us as we
waited anxiously for them .
What's all this talk about birthdays? you're asking . Well , the fact of the
matter is that on October 23 , PLAY METER will have completed its fifth
year of publication . On that date , PLAY METER Magazine , Volume One ,
Number One , was handed over to the U.S . Post Office and (eventually)
found its way to thousands of operators all across the country . We're five
years old now , and have been looking forward to our fifth birthday - like
any five -year-old - so we could tell you about it.
Journalistically speaking , we'll be celebrating our official anniversary
after we have completed this volume and we begin our sixth year of
publication . By December we will have published sixty monthly issues (five
volumes) and will be officially five years old . But , like any five -year-old , we
are counting the days until we can blowout the candles .
While on the subject of dates and anniversaries , I thought this would be
a good time to mention PLAY METER's mailing dates and delivery
schedule and clear up something . There have been a lot of questions about
our delivery time . Well , since we're a second-class publication - which
means that people pay to read us - we have to print a full date on our
cover , not just a month of issue . That date is the fifteenth of the month .
This is the approximate date the magazine is mailed . And our Update
editions are mailed on the first of the month - or thereabouts . The
"thereabouts" comes from changes in the cOin-industry's year , where it's
essential that certain issues be mailed prior to the fifteenth or first of the
month so that they'll give industry people advance information they need
qUickly .
Another reason for us to qualify the date as to when the magazine gets
to you is that there are eertain uncontrollable factors which we - well , just
can't control. The printing process can vary , depending on the size of each
issue . But the biggest hold up is the federal government - talk about
uncontrollable factors . Sadly , the federal government has a monopoly on
the postal system , and that leaves us magazines with a handful of
problems . But despite these uncontrollable factors , PLAY METER is
gauged to be there on time .
Yet once the magazine is mailed , it's like putting everything In God 's
hands because there's nothing you can do after that.
Then there are those who say they don 't get their magazines within a
timely basis . Our suggestion on this matter is this - invariably the subscriber
who says this is getting the magazine mailed to him by second-class mail.
Those of you who are not paying the extra money that would get the
magazine to you on a more timely basis have towait two - and in some
cases , three - weeks before the magazine reaches you - it depends on how
far away from our printing plant you are located .
Why second-class mailing takes so long is still a mystery to us here at
PLAY METER . The only reasonable explanation the U.S . Post Office has
been able to offer us is that since PLAY METER is not a weekly
publication , they refuse to move it faster . I guess it's sort of a discrimination
in favor of the big guys like Time magazine and Newsweek .
So don 't be overly concerned with the cover date on your issues . That's
just something else manufactured by the federal government to give us
small businessmen headaches . We insisted with them that it would create a
confusion in our readers' minds as to when they're actually receiving their
magazines if they required us to print an actual date . But if you 've been in
business more than thirty days you probably know that your chance of
getting any sensible answer out of a federal employee is about the same as
it is of snowing in New Orleans in the summertime .
~~
--
Ralph C. Lally \I
Editor and Publisher
4
Evaluation system
In your March 15, 1979 issue of
PLAY METER I read your
editorial pertaining to an evalua-
tion and awarding system on all
games produced by all manu-
factures. I truly appreciate your
idea; however there are manv
complicated matters to consider.
The substantial investment
someone would have to make to
set up a nationwide or worldwide
system would be insurmountable.
You and I know this idea is long
overdue. It is quite obvious that
you do care, and I'm sure that
there are many operators that do
care but cannot do anymore than
1.
As a popular publication, I feel
your position can be quite instru-
mental in helping develop an
honest reliable system.
My suggestion would be to
encourage a reputable group or
persons to invest, manage, and
operate a laboratory such as the
Consumer Products Laboratory
not only to evaluate, but literally
to dissect every piece of gaming
equipment that is produced and
manufactured. A project of this
magnitude would be beneficial to
the industry because it would and
should create more awareness
involving technology and craft-
manship, and to expose the
manufacturers that are trying to
use faulty and unacceptable ma-
terials in the production of any
equipment. During the last ten
years, I've seen my share of
unacceptable parts.
The benefits to the operators
PLAY METER, October, 1979