UPFRONT
Where have all
the kits gone?
emember the song "Where Have All The
Flowers Gone?" It was a song from the
turbulent late 60s. Some of the lyrics went like
this: "Where have all the young men gone? Gone to
graveyards every one. When will they ever learn?
When will they ever learn?"
I'll come straight out with it: Where have aJl the kits
gone? What is going to go in all those new universal
cabinets we see on the market today? Where are all the
kits coming from if manufacturers have a decided
preference for dedicated equipment? The turn to
dedicated games means a shortage of kits and that
spells bad news for street operators. Nothing does as
well in a street location as your standard upright video.
Although it may be true that some operators don't
make very good conversions in-house (monitors with
the image of previous games burned-in , old Stargate
or Pac Man sides on a cabinet), how much new hard-
ware can the market absorb if there 's too little soft-
ware available?
Kits saved the industry in the past and there's no
removing them from the marketplace now . They still
spell salvation for the average operator who does not
operate big arcades in major cities. There· s a place for
both dedicated and kit. Sophisticated driving games
and simulators just won't fly (excuse the pun) in a run-
of-the-mill cabinet. Part of the draw. and justification
for 50-cent play on many such games, is the cabinet
configuration and detailing that intrigues the playing
pub I ic. The game play must also be there, but an Out
Run has definitely proven to be a drawing card for its
look .
Games like Double Dragon and P. 0 . W. that don't
require an unusually-shaped cabinet, but come out as
dedicated a nyway, are naturally perceived by
operators as a way to rip them off. These have both
been excellent games in terms of earning power. but
R
think of how many more could have been sold, and
how many parallels could have been headed off, if
they had come out as slightly higher-priced kits? The
numbers may have exceeded that grossed from the
sale of the dedicated units .
Operators are just crying for good kits. Even when
a marginal (or soft) kit comes out, operators are more
willing to try it than invest a bundle in a new dedicated
game. Often, rhe dedicated game comes in a cabinet
that is not well-engineered and assembled. Operators
complain that they must make many adjustments once
they get the game. One New York operator reported
difficulty from the starting gate with a driving game
in a dedicated cabinet. Why , he pleaded, can't the
manufacturer bring out a game in a solid cabinet with
features such as tempered glass over the monitor in-
stead of cheaper plexiglass, and a plexiglass- covered
or stainless-steel-covered control panel that stands up
better to the abuse most equipment takes on location.
Attention to quality and thought to re-use of a cabinet
would make operators feel they were getting their
money's worth .
One manufacturer of universal cabinets said he
thought many operators would be willing to pay
$1 .300 for a good kit, feel they got a fair deal, and not
be tempted to buy questionable goods. Having the
hardware almost foisted upon them along with the
software has not turned out to be a prudent move . Giv-
ing operators the choice of a game with or without the
cabinet makes more sense. Then , someone who needs
new hardware could get it, and someone who doesn't
could use the monetary difference to buy another kit.
Bonnie Theard
Managing Editor