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Suzuki takes over as Taito president Minoru Suzuki has been named the new president of Taito America Corp. , succeeding Joe Dillon, who resigned on April 16. Suzuki, the former director of international sales forTaito Corp. Japan, will be responsible for the entire U .S. operations. According to Taito Japan officials, the presidential change was made in compliance with the company 's " new management strategies for globalization in an effort to strengthen sales, stabilize com- pany policies, and increase management efficiency.'' Service to customers will be improved, they say, through a closer business link between Japan and the United States. Yoshi Suzuki and Rick Rochetti will remain as executive vice president and vice president of sales, respectively. As for Dillon, he isn't sure yet what direction his coin-op career will take. "I'm still sifting through my options," he Musci joins software company Ray Musci , who worked most recently for Data East USA as executive vice president/ general manager, is one of the three principals at a new company, Ocean of America Inc . The others are John Woods and David Ward . Based in San Jose, Calif. , Ocean of America is an affiliate of Ocean Software Limited in the United Kingdom. The company develops personal computer software. ''We, the affiliate company, have signed a licensing agreement with Nintendo to publish software titles for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Game Boy ," Musci said . "In the next 12 months, or may be sooner, we plan to expand into coin-op products. I'm excited about what I've seen so far." Ray Musci Jukebox update June 1 was the deadline for jukebox operators to execute a new jukebox licensing agreement without fear oflegal action from the performing rights organizations for non-compliance . Until that date , they had agreed not to pursue infringements occurring prior to June 15 , 1990. Operators who were licensed with the Copyright Office in 1988 and/or '89 should have received new license applications in late April , according to ASCAP's Bill Lee. " It's hard to say now how operators have responded, in terms of compliance levels, because the deadline isn't until June 1,'' said Lee in early May . ''I compare it to owing taxes to the government. You tend to wait until the last possible moment before paying.'' Operators who didn't receive the new applications , or who need information on the matter of licensing, can call Lee directly at ASCAP, (212) 870-7578. This is until the newly created Jukebox License Office has its apparatus intact, which was expected to be late May or early June. When operational, that office's telephone number will be (212) 581-0190. said. In other news concerning Taito America, Pete 0 'Neill, the directorofintellectual security, and advertising head Nancy Goodwin have left the company. It is unclear whether O'Neill's position will be filled, while Goodwin's advertising duties have been assumed by Rochetti , Natalie Kulig, and Jim Chapman. Lipkin departs MicroProse Games MicroProse Software is readying for general distribution of its first coin-op arcade game, F-15 Strike Eagle , later this summer. But Gene Lipkin, vice president of MicroProse Games , won't be there to see the finished product. He has left to pursue other endeavors. At press time, Lipkin was negotiating with Data East USA for a possible position with that company. "I have worked with a terrific group of people who have made an outstanding product,'' Lipkin said. ''Now that the product is ready for distribution, it is time for me to pursue other opportunities, even though it is very hard to leave." Said Micro Prose president Bill Stealy, ''It was well known that this was a longterm project when we began to apply our game expertise in this new arena almost three years ago. (Micro Prose Software develops state-of-the-art entertainment software for personal computers .) We were extremely fortunate to have found Gene Lipkin during our start-up to help form a tremendous!y dedicated team of experts to take us through our first phase of development. " Tom Dechant, formerly with Gould Inc., will be consulting through the final phases of development, testing, and product launch. F-15 Strike Eagle received numerous favorable comments at ACME '90, where it was shown in its early stages at the company's suite. Based on the bestselling computer game of the same name, it is projected to sell between 8,000 and 10,000 units worldwide by the end of the year, company officials said. June 1990/PLAY METER 13