Play Meter

Issue: 1984 April 15 - Vol 10 Num 7

Letters to
the editor • • •
Universal for t h at last truckl oad of
Mr. Do/ kits, does he get a free Over
Do.' kit?
Don't ta ke any woode n to ke ns!
Bill Jo h ns ton
Johnston 's G e ne ral Store
B uffa lo , New Y o rk
Laser disc predictions
I've just read your fi ne magaz ine,
and I t h ink th at t h e time is r ipe to
make some pred ictio ns abou t the
Conversions and
more conversions
There's interesting news from my
distributor (C leveland Coin) today,
and I see what a dramatic reversal of
manufacturer anti-kit attitudes and
high price structuring is taking place
as the new game market runs soft:
Taito: Convert your Qix to Zoo -
keeper for $495.
Taito: Convert your Alpine Ski,
Wild W estern, or jungle King/
Hunt to Elet•ator Action for $795.
Ninrendo: Convert your Donk ey
Kong, Donkey K ong junior, or
Pop eye to Mario Broth ers for $695.
Williams: Bubbles upright new
for $895.
Williams: Sinistar upright new
for $1,395.
They even have a couple of new
Haunt ed House pins by Gottlieb at
only $895.
I'm still waiting for a punch in the
nose from a fellow operator who
bought a Bubbles on my advice at
$2,530.
The conservative wise buyer will
reflect: today' s new title is tomor-
row's $500 closeout or filler. By the
time you order and install an expen-
sive conversion kit, you will be ab le
to buy the co mplete game fully
assembled at the same price. Street
operators in large towns with
arcades should consider buying used
from them at low ORA prices or
below closeout prices on weaker
titles.
So much for the business world ...
in the Humor Department.
With the weak quality of new
equipment these days , one distribu-
cor's newest sales pitch is co tout the
high quality of the game's sh ipping
cartons.
When a distributOr forgets to pay
PLAY METER, April 1 5. 1984
indus t ry .
1. Laser games as a convertible
item is a sha m . R emember, when
the tec hn o logy is new, it changes
ra pi dly. T oday's laser systems will
be ou tda ted in less t h an one year. By
t he tim e that you a re w ill ing to con-
vert, t he syste m will be (a) unreli-
ab le and (b) i ncompati ble with the
n ewer systems .
2. V ideo conversio ns will die
because of the g lut of used and new
video games on the m arket. Conver-
sions wi ll tempora rily become a
Audio Visual
Amusements
Offering the finest
new and used
equipment
REPRESE N T IN G LEADI NG FA CTO RIES
• SALES , PARTS , SER V ICE •
ARCADE PLANNING
SPECIALISTS
Ev e r y n ew an d used v ideo
1n stoc k at al l times
YOU'VE TRIED THE REST,
NOW TRY THE BEST
WE'RE EAGER TO SERVE
1809 Oli v e St r eet
St . Lo ui s. Mi sso uri 6310 3
( 314) 4 21- 51 00
For f urth e r inf o rmation. c al l Pe t e Entringer
(c ollect )
7
THE
HOnEST
ACTION
IS AT OUR
PUDLIC AUCTION
llt~
~llO \.\~t
ll~
VIDEO GAMES
ARCADE GAMES
PINDALL MACHINES
hundreds and hundreds of machines
Zoxxon • Gravitar • Popeye • Blue Print • Turbo
Venture • Tron • Bagman • Centipede • Space Duel
Kickman • Frogger • Defender • Galaxia • Mazer Blazer
Vanguard • and many many more • Too Many to List!!
Don't Miss This Onel A Real Savings Opportunity
Term: Cash or Cashier's Check
Inspection 2 hours prior to sale
Jay Sugarman Auction••rs
750 N.E. 195th Street, Suite 101 . N. Miami Beach. A.. 33179
105/651-0101
thing of the past. Unless some dyna-
mite hit comes along, conversions
will die.
3. The manufacturers will over-
produce and undersell lase r games.
The industry will gear up tO produce
tremendous numbers of lasers in an
attempt to get its oversized factories
back into full production. The prices
of laser games will fall dramatically
over the next year. The appeal of
laser games will not last any longer
than a conventional video 's, and we
will be faced with short-lived games
costing twice as much (with today's
low prices, as much as 10 times as
much ) as the ordinary videos. This
will kill the laser market.
4. Many manufacturers will be
forced out again.
5. The operators will not be
forced into poor economic risks and
will allow the manufacturers (who
have always dictated the posture of
the industry ) to eliminate them-
se lves.
In conclusion, I believe the opera-
tOrs will come out of the next 12
months in much better shape chan
the manufacturers and distributors .
We can look forward tO lower prices
as the giants of the industry place
themselves in the same posture as
the airl ine industry has done. The
giants have never had the operators
in mind. They will overproduce out
of greed.
Larry Salganek
Vi de om onster
Santa Fe, NM
Applause for Shaw
Congratulations on Mike Shaw's
hard-hitting editOrial in the Janu ary
15 issue (p. 6). He has courageously
pulled no punches in evaluating the
most serious concerns of our indus-
try. Keep up the good work!
Richard E. George
President
Roy George Music &
Vending Corp.
Painesville, Ohio
Editor's Not e:
In the March 15 issue, page 8, a
reader asked for information on a
skating rink propriet ors association.
Play Meter received a prompt
response from the Ice Skating Insti-
tute of America (ISlA ). For infor-
mation, write ISlA at 1000 Skokie
Blvd., Wilm ett e, IL 60091.
8
PlAY METER. April 15. 1984
J
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