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Letters to
the editor • • •
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Token war
I am writing thi s to cause a shock wave
in this industry and to dispel a major indus-
try m yth, if Play Meter dares print my
letter.
I ha ve been an a rcad e o perator for 13
years. We also run a route of approxi-
mately 300 games. For 12 years we oper-
ated our arcade(s) very happil y and
extre mel y successfull y on quarter-a-play
and dreaded the day when tokens invaded
our area. Needless to say, 10 months ago,
Bally Corp. opened up a Games-R-Fun
establis hme nt in our area and promptly
went I 0 tokens for a dollar. After a short
period of time, they reduced it to eight,
then six. They maintained at six for
approximately eig ht months.
Much to my consterna ti on. we also gave
in and went tokens in the o ne arcad e that
was most critica ll y affected by Games-R-
Fun. We matched them, six for a d o llar out
of self-defense and preservation. This cost
us a $500 change machine conversion a nd
approximately $3.000 for tokens.
During the 10 an d eight peri od of time
(approximate ly six to eight weeks) we lost
a certain portion of business to Bally, but
once we went six for a dollar. we gained
back all of our business. However, a nd
here's the trick. we were gene ra ting exactl y
the same volume as we were the previou s
year at the same time, but since the value of
tha t coin going into the machine was now
at 18 -ll.l cents ins tead of 25 cents, we ended
up losing approximately $2.000 per week.
I was in the process of compi ling a ll th e
information on the money we lost over th e
nine months in orde r to se nd it to Ba lly .
Would it matter? With th e a mount that I
lost in one location, and Ba ll y ow ning ??'???
esta blishments. even Bally had to look a t
the loss of revenue.
I was on the verge of con tacting them .
when lo-and-behold , Bally dropped to four
for a dollar. They evidently saw the black
and red of the whole situation.
Our whole establishment celebrated.
Bally was our basic competition. Need less
Dl
A. Y METER.. September 15. 1982
to say, within 15 minutes after finding out,
we also dropped to four for a dollar.
Another major arcade in town dropped
within two days.
I have black and white documentat ion
as to the amount of revenue loss I suffered
in that nine month period of time-
$97,500! It is phenomenal. The reason-
the practice, by operators, of changing the
value of the dollar by issuing multiples of
tokens other than four for a dollar.
Manufacturers are making record
profits, distributors are smiling at their
bank account balances, while the confused
operator is running around in circles trying
to figure out what he or she is do ing wrong
when everyone else is supposedly making
record money. Please, please, please, do
not shaft yo urself. We are the only industry
that can be talked into thinking that we
rna ke money on a loaf of bread by giving a
third of it away.
Those of you whom have been in the
game room setup for less than a year do not
yet know of what I speak. Those of you
whom have operated for one to two years
are getting the cold cruel realization
between the eyes (and in the bank account
balance) , and those of you whom have
opera ted longer than that are either gone
or in a quandary as to what step to take
next.
Those of yo u engaging in these asinine
token wars a re stabbing yoursebes. If you
Audio Visual
Amusements
Offering the finest
new and used
equipment
REPRESENTING LEADING FACTORIES
• SALES, PARTS, SERVICE •
ARCADE PLANNING
SPECIALISTS
Every new and used video
in stock at all time s
YOU'VE TRIED THE REST,
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1809 Olive Street
St . Louis, Missouri 63103
(314) 421-5100
For further information , call Pete Ent ringer
( collect)
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