Play Meter

Issue: 1981 September 15 - Vol 7 Num 17

Letters to
the editor. • •
Ballroom, Omaha, Nebraska.
Our membership reads your
magazine faithfully in an effort to gain
insight in our industry.
Jim Garden
Midwest Amuement Ass'n., Inc.
Norfolk, Nebraska
Open letter: copies
Coin-op sorcerer?
For literally months I have been in
search of two bowling games such as
Champagne or Holiday, orginally
manufactured by Chicago Coin. I've
tried every possible source that's
come to mind and have come up with
zilch! I prefer new machines, but
used games in excellent condition will
suffice. Any leads you might conjure
up will be greatly appreciated.
Last Fall at the AMOA Show in
Chicago, Williams Electronics, Inc.
introduced its first video game
designed in-house - Defender. The
design and development of Williams'
Defender game actually started in
February of 1980 when the Williams
Engineering and Development
Center was given the task of
designing a video game with the
same player appeal, innovation, and
reliability that Williams is known for
on its pinball product line.
The result of that 10 months of
effort was a video game that had the
highest resolution of any color raster
Joseph Steutterman
Christoper's Fun World, Inc.
3351 Route 112
Medford, New York 11763
PEACH STATE DISTRIBUTING CO.
1040 Boulevard, S.E.- Atlanta, Ga. 30312
Telephone 404 - 622-4401
[Perhaps our readers can aid us in
'conjuring' ... ed.]
'Junkie' writes
I really enjoy reading your
magazine: the reviews, the
advertisements, and the electronic
pieces. As a pinball junkie, I enjoy
looking a t the new ads for the multi-
ball, multi-level machines that are
being released.
There is not one single machine
like this in the county where I live
and if there were, they would charg~
50~ for only 3 balls with tight play and
a ridiculous high score for a credit.
When will owners learn that they
CAN make more with standard
"five balls for a quarter?"
Stephen R. Craig
Fort Myers, Florida
[Ed. note: Contributor Craig's article,
"Polling the Pin Players," appeared in
Play Meter April, 1981 issue.]
Faithful in Nebraska
We are a group of music and game
operato rs -cons isting of 28
members representing portions of
five states. Each of the last 13 years
we have been promoting tourna-
ment play in our respective locations
ending an eight week competition
with the finale at Peoney Park
PLAY METER, September 15, 1981
video game- a game with audio·
visual special effects never seen
before-a game with the most
complete diagnostic system in the
industry. In addition to all these
technological innovations, Williams'
Defender game also proved to be
one of the highest-earning video
games ever put on location.
Because of the popularity of the
game, it was not unexpected that the
pirates that exist on the fringe of our
industry- the copiers and knock-off
artists-would make copying
Williams' Defender game one of their
main priorties. Copies of Williams'
Defender game started showing up
as early as January, 1981, in Europe.
The copies are virtually identical
to Williams' Defender game with
only the name of the game changed
and, occasionally, with minor
cosmetic changes to the appearance
of the game.
To protect the considerable
investment Williams has made to

I
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For further information. call Pete Entringer (collect)
7
design and develop the Defender
game, several copyrights have been
registered, as well as a trademark on
the name Defender. Williams has
secured copyright protection for the
artwork on the cabinet, the audio
visual effects (play) of the game and
the computer program of the
Defender game.
Williams' policy is to take
whatever legal steps are necessary
to protect these rights. In lawsuits
filed in United States District Courts
in New Jersey, Alabama, California,
and Oregon, Williams' rights have
been upheld by the courts.
Williams will continue to seek
relief through the courts against any
person or persons who engage in the
manufacture, assembly, distribution,
sale, or operation of any product that
is judged to be infringing these
rights are subject to confiscation of
the infringing products, as well as
substantial monetary damages.
The only way Williams or any
other legitimate video game
manufacturer can stay in business
and continue to provide games of the
caliber of Defender is to be able to fill
the market demands at a reasonable
profit level to reinvest in additional
research and development.
Copiers spend no research
monies. Copiers provide an inferior
product. Copiers provide no service
or support. Copiers that are here
today may be gone tomorrow.
The problem of copiers is truly a
blight on our industry. It hurts the
manufacturers. It hurts the
distributors and, ultimately, will hurt
operators, as well. With your
support, however, the problem is
one that can be and will be solved.
I would appreciate to hear any
thoughts or comments you have
about the copying problem.
Ron Crouse
Marketing Director
Williams Electronics, Inc.
Chicago, Illinois
Second thoughts
Roger Sharpe and I probably feel
the same about the game of pinball.
We would play a pinball instead of a
video game anytime.
And, as he stated in the June 15
issue of Play Meter, many long-time
game players, and most new players,
have turned to video games as a
staple. But I think Roger's
explanation of this phenomenon
needs yet further analysis.
If you assemble game players into
two very general categories-kids
and adults-it must be evident that
today's kids are playing videos more
than adults, and adults are playing
pinball more than video. But the
latter situation has been changing
lately, and that's the real crux of the
video takeover.
The reason for this isn't
necessarily that recent solid state
pins were not innovating fast
enough, or that the current products
are too loaded with features. (Roger
seemed to advance both theories in
the same issue). I think videos have
caught on simply because most
video games require and develop
purer skill in the player.
From its inception, pinball has
involved the element of chance: a
ball moving amongst obstacles
before reaching certain goals. The
uniqueness of modern video games
is that the player has to eliminate
obstacles to reach the goal. In most
video games with attacking
obstacles, the player is given
adequate reaction time to avoid
being blown up, and the more he
plays the game, the better his
reactions and anticipation become.
In some games, the repeat player
identifies a pattern in the video's
logic (e.g . , Asteroids, Space
Invaders) and can become an
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8
PLAY METER, September 15, 1981

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