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Play Meter

Issue: 1984 November 15 - Vol 10 Num 21

UP FRONT
Cabbage Patch dolls
and videos
I realize it may be a bit early to make reference
to Christmas, but anyone who will be shopping for a
little girl knows that, just like last year, the most
wanted item is a Cabbage Patch doll. Last
Christmas and this year, otherwise normally sane
mothers and fathers stood in lines longer than those
you would probably find at a Michael Jackson
concert just to be able to purchase one doll (which
was the limit in some stores) .
You would think that Coleco would and
should have known that every little girl would want
a Cabbage Patch doll. Why didn't they step up pro-
duction? After you analyze the situation, you
realize Coleco knew there was going to be a
demand for the dolls.
I have to hand it to the company for creating
and maintaining the demand for the Cabbage Patch
dolls. The demand exceeds the supply, making
ownership all the more valuable. My sister-in-law
happened to be in a toy store the day a shipment of
the dolls arrived. One man rushed over and wanted
to buy 40 dolls! He obviously knew the resale value
would be tremendous.
Video games used to run a parallel course to
this. When they were introduced, the demand was
in excess of the supply. That uneven balance was
maintained throughout the video heyday. But what
happened? The supply began to outweigh the
demand and the supply kept growing as the
demand decreased. No manufacturer seemed to
realize that he should stop producing so many
games. And here we are-way too many games for
way too little demand.
But this situation could change. The demand
could again outweigh the supply because the indus-
try is experiencing a metamorphosis that isn't
finished.
I am in awe of Monroe for its success with
Birdie King. Monroe is not a large manufacturer out
to build astronomical numbers of games, but Birdie
King rivals the popularity of some games, backed by
thousands of dollars spent on promotion, produced
by larger manufacturers.
But some of these larger manufacturers are
realizing that smaller may be better than bigger in
today's market. The supply must stop exceeding
the demand.
Taito has cut down its operation and will
operate on a smaller scale more suited to today's
marketplace. It seems Atari is moving back into its
old facilit ies and has geared down operations. And,
although Mylstar has been closed, I feel that some-
one may revive the Gottlieb name that has been a
legend in this industry . He will have to revive the
company to a smaller scale than in past years, but
he will probably be very successful.
The key is to make the supply in proportion to
the demand. I believe this will happen in the coin-op
industry as more companies follow T a ito and
Atari's lead.
t/tthA.UJ (};~d.;
Valerie Cognevich
Editorial Director
6
PLAY METER, November 1 5, 1984
Letters to
the editor • • •
Foreclosure
You may drop my subscription
to Play Meter, and please convey
my appreciation to your staff for
the courtesy extended over the
years to keep abreast of an exciting
industry even after I chose to leave
it.
I keep thinking I will write one
last article on how a distributor tried
to foreclose on my house in Arcadia,
after I put it up for sale to pay off
their $13,500 trust deed, which sub-
Pinball mania!
Thanks for including the pinball
story in your recent Buyers' Guide
issue ( "Pinballmania! America
Renews its Love Affair with Flip-
pers," October 1, p . 13).
The contents of the issue are
conducive to increased readership,
and it only promotes the continua-
tion of what we in Philadelphia feel
is so important.
Pinball is constant, and in an
industry plagued with recent
changes and surprises, we definitely
need something to rely upon that is
steady and consistent.
Ironically, our company ran an
advertisement in that same issue
seeking specific pinballs while
offering others for sale. We are very
selective in our choices in games.
Philadelphia players DO know the
difference in quality. Maybe that is
because the pinball machine has
always been a significant part of the
Philadelphia game marketplace,
whereas it was not legal in any other
major city up until the 1970s.
We have seen an even greater
interest in pinball during the past
year. Although video games are to
remain a fixture of the total mix in a
location, I can safely say that pinball
collections account for between one-
third to one-half of our total game
dollars.
Hopefully, the factories will
recognize this growing trend as a
real "shot in the arm" to the indus-
try, and continue to design and
produce quality flipper games.
Sharon Harris
Public Relations Coordinator
Stan Harris & Co., Inc.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
PLAY METER, November 1 5, 1984
sequently ballooned to $16,000 after
they filed foreclosure unnecessarily.
(I sold it rapidly and paid them off in
full for the $16,000 to end a bitter-
sweet relationship with the game
industry.)
I have moved to Northern Cali-
fornia and nearer the Silicon Valley
to pursue my robotics interest and
rent, vs. selling, to minimize copy-
ing from competitors and have
more fun.
Gene Beley
Morgan Hill, California
Audio VisuQI
Amusements
Offering the finest
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REP RES ENTING LE A DING FACTORIES
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SA LES, PARTS, SERVICE
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N EW IN CRATE
(Nin.) Donkey Kong 3 $1().45
(Cine.) Dragon's Lair (1000 disc) $1595
(Myl.) M.Jl..C.H. 3 $1695
(Nin.) Mario Bros. $1095
(Nin.) VS Syste m call
(Zaccaria) Farfalla $1795
(Nin .) Punch-Out call
YOU'VE TRIED TH E REST,
NOW TRY THE BEST
''We're Eager To Serve''
1809 Olive Street
St. Louis, Missouri 63103
314/ 421 -51 00
For furth er information, call Pete Entringer (collect)
7

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