Play Meter

Columbia Pictures Closes Mylstar
Columbia Pictures. Inc. announced the
closing of Mylstar Electronics on September 24.
F.P. Vincent Jr .. chairman and chief executive
officer of Columbia. issued this statement: "In line
with our corporate strategy. we are constantly
striving to concentrate our resources in the areas of
our business for the return on assets and growth
potential. After a careful review of the industry, we
have determined the coin-op game business does
not offer us appropriate growth opportunities."
Vincent added that Mylstar's closing will not
have a negative impact on the earnings of Coca-
Cola. parent company of Columbia Pictures.
Mylstar was a major manufacturer of coin-
operated games for more than 57 years. Mylstar
was founded as D . Gottlieb & Co. in 1927 by David
Gottlieb and was family owned until it became a
division of Columbia Pictures in 1976. Columbia
was acquired by Coca-Cola in June 1982.
The company name was changed to Mylstar
last year apparently to reinforce the company's
plans for a change and use of new technology. Pro-
motion slogans proclaimed the name Mylstar was
"created to evoke a vision that is brilliant far-
reaching. and unique."
The persistent deterioration of the video
industry is cited as the reason for the downfall of
Mylstar though it had one of the best laser games.
MACH. 3. and enjoyed tremendous success from
Q*bert. Mylstar was forced to take legal action
against some distributors when they refused to
accept shipments of M.A. CH. 3 games after sales of
laser games came to an abrupt halt in early
December 1983 (Play Meter. April L p. 140).
Boyd Browne. president of Mylstar. said the
company will still be responsible for parts for
games. Gil Pollock. vice president of sales/ mar-
keting, and Browne will stay at the Mylstar offices
for awhile to handle calls. Browne said that all the
firm's hard assets. including tools and licenses. are
for sale. With this in mind. maybe the industry will
see someone make an investment to see the legen-
dary name of Gottlieb revived.
•
The End Of An Era
By Roger C. Sharpe
Editor's Note: Roger Sharpe wrote
this article tor a past issue,
lamenting Gottlieb's name
change to Mylstar. We think it's
appropriate to reprint this article
as we lament Mylstar's closing.
There are many who don't
remember that Esso and Humble
Oil were known suddenly one day
as Exxon. that Esmark became a
corporate name for many other
recognizable companies. and
that closer to home. Gremlin dis-
appeared under the Sega um-
brella and Chicago Coin became
Stem Electronics in 1977. Even the
old Allied Leisure was transformed
into Centuri.
D . Gottlieb & Company, how-
ever. has suffered a different fate
due to. undoubtedly, new owner-
ship over the years. Maybe the
sentimentality or reputation
attached to Gottlieb's name no
8
David Gottlieb (left) sometimes had
to sleep in cheap hotels and keep a
gun under his pillow when he was
y o ung. However. when son Alvin
Gottlieb (right) j oined his father in
business. he had a company that
was a respected leader in the
coin -op field.
longer seemed valid to the com-
pany's owners.
The only problem I had initially
when I heard about the Mylstar
announcement (that Gottlieb's
name was changed to Mylstar)
was that the Gottlieb name seemed
to be so much a part of the coin-op
world. Admittedly, it was a reputa-
tion built on pinball machines and
we're now entrenched in a laser
disc age. but the Gottlieb name
didn't seem to hinder the recep-
tivity and success of that recent
video standout. Q*bert.
I suppose the name change
might have been viewed as a way
to break away from an old regime.
or the belief that Gottlieb some-
how stood for a conservative.
stodgy, and antiquated philoso-
phy. And what better way to
convey a sense of change, via
advertising campaigns and other
corporate programs. than via a
name change .
p
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