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- STATE OF THE INDUSTRY Valerie Cognevich A $1 Oindustry surviving on a 25-cent budget T his State of the Industry report marks the 11th year we have compiled hundreds of survey responses from operators to bring you a fact-filled report on just how the industry is faring. Each year we send survey forms to our operator-subscribers and tabulate the responses into a report on how operators are assessing the industry. We get responses from a cross-section of the operator population, some small, some large. It is designed for use within the industry; we warn that it is unfair for any government bodies to attempt to use it against those that have taken the time to give us their opinions. General observations No, it wasn't a bang up year for operators, distributors, or manufacturers. In fact, though we had hoped for a booming year, and saw the gross industry collections rise to $7 billion, no one would have believed it if operator comments are to be taken seriously. One indication as to the general feelings prevailing through the industry come from operator comments. This year, those comments focused on the depression within the industry . There were some that had survived the early '80s' with hope and confidence that things would be better. And they weren't wrong for a while. The industry prospered to an extent and allowed many to recover from disastrous times. But there seemed to be an end in sight. Unfortunately, many have lost sight of that end and have decided to call it quits . Huge, expensive driving games gave the I 0 PLAY METER 1990 Directory industry a much-needed boost last year, but this year, operators just couldn't justify the expense of purchasing such games with high price tags. However, those games continued to dominate new game introductions this year. "Equipment prices have gone well beyond earning capacity. My formula for new purchases: if a location's top game earns $150 a week (gross) I cannot spend more than $1,500 on a new game." (N.M.) One reason for the reluctance to buy games hovering around the $10,000 mark was the fact that games still drew quarters Jong after everything else had weathered price increases. Many tried 50-cent play and even $1 play on selected games, but most of the time reverted back to the traditional quarter supposedly because of player demand. Quarter play has become ingrained in players' and operators ' minds. It will take a concentrated effort from the entire industry to sway that opinion. A quarter today is equal to a mere seven cents in purchasing power compared to what it was when operators first started charging a quarter per play . Of course, games at that time were a fraction of the price they are today . Operators know that to pay for a $10,000 game, it must take in $20,000 in revenue just to break even, considering the 50/50 split that is still the norm. With a quarter a pop, thattranslates into 80,000 plays simply to pay for the game . And that 's not even counting overhead, salaries , insurance, etc. And even though operators have long held the belief that it would be beneficial to raise the commission split with locations, just over 16 % of operators are getting more than 50% from their locations. The industry had high hopes that a dollar coin would make it feasible to raise play prices on games but the Susan B. Anthony dollar did nothing toward that end. In fact, soon after its introduction, its fate was doomed . Consumers complained that it was too much like a quarter and they didn't want to carry around so many coins. But they had a choice of familiar bills or the new coins. However, as other countries boast a successful dollar coin, the United States has seen the error of its ways by not eliminating the dollar bill at the same time the coin was introduced. The industry has been an avid supporter of a new Christopher Columbus dollar coin. AAMA and AMOA have both been to Washington to gather further support from legislators. At last count, the number needed to sponsor the bill was nearly reached. With the dollar bill out of circulation, there will no longer be any choice but