Play Meter

N EWS BULLETIN that signals the demise of United Amusements. The two had joined forces for U.S. distribution of the coin-op version of NEC's was visiting various locations that night to see how his latest design, Midway's Pool Sharks, was doing. Tragically, a pany took out a booth at ACME '90, an indication that things might not be going well. According to Brad Brown, UA's national marketing manager, the company hasn't decided whether it will file for Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 bankruptcy. rushed to the hospital, where he died from the injuries. Kraemer had such lasting pinball creations as Hot Tip in 1978, the first solid-state game ever produced by Williams; Disco Fever, with its curved flippers; Tri-Zone; Algar; the double-level Pharaoh; and Swords of Fury, his last Williams pin in 1988. As a member of the Bally/Midway design team, Kraemer was involved with such games as TurboGrafx-16 hardware system. United Amusements displayed the coin-op system and the first handful of games for it at AMOA '89. But neither com- "The relationship between us and NEC ended for an unofficial and an official reason," Brown said. "The unofficial reason, car hit him as he was crossing the street. Kraemer was Truck Stop, Transporter, and the latest, Pool Sharks. which I heard from various sources, is that (coin-op) video game developers put pressure on NEC to stay out of coin-op by holding the licensing rights to consumer games over its head. This accounts for 80 to 90 percent of the reason for NEC's pullout. The second reason is that NEC (USA) is simply understaffed. They weren't as ready to get into coin-op as they should have "The industry has lost a true original, who was responsible for so much entertainment and joy by millions of pinball players the world over," Kordek said. "We mourn his passing and offer our heartfelt sympathy to his mother "The NEC backout buried us," he continued. "It meant that we had virtually no continued source of software for the future. I talked to about 10 American software houses, trying to find Irwin of Coin Concepts Inc. have announced plans to relocate to larger quarters in July. "The demand for redemption and novelty games has increased so rapidly that we underestimated our space requirements," Warner said. "We never expected to outgrow the space in been. another source, but none of them had any interest in coin-op. One guy even said, 'Why should I take a chance on a coin-op game, when I can sell 50,000 units of an unknown title for the home market?' He didn't want to take a chance on ruining his reputation in the home market." Telephone calls made to NEC were unreturned. Rezek exits Midway ... Laura Rezek, marketing manager for Midway Manufacturing, has left her post to assume the position of marketing communications manager for the slot machine division of Bally Manufacturing Corp. in Las Vegas. "We are sorry to see Laura leave, since she contributed much to the day-to-day success of Midway Manufacturing," said Ken Fedesna, vice president and general manager of Williams Electronics Games and Midway Manufacturing Co. "We wish her well in her future endeavors." Yula recognized ... Industry veteran Tony Yula, senior vice president of Mondial Distributing Inc., has been named the 1990 "Man of the Year" by the Northeast amusement, ven- ding, and cigarette industries. This recognition will be one of the highlights of the Northeast Regional Amusement Machine Convention and Trade Show on May 4-6 at Atlantic City's Trump Regency. The show is sponsored by the New York State Coin Machine Association, the Amusement and Music Operators Associa- tion (AMOA) of New York, and the AMOA of New Jersey. The AMOA of Connecticut is also participating. Over 40 exhibitors are scheduled to take part. Kraemer killed ... Tony Kraemer, a game designer for Williams and Bally/Midway since 1975, died after being struck by a car in Chicago on April 8. He was 41 years old. According to Steve Kordek, director of game design, Kraemer Elizabeth, brother Carl, and sisters Maria and Loretta." Coin Concepts to move ... Art Warner and Wylie 18 months." Irwin, who designed the new facility, added, "We have con- sidered our needs for the next three years. In addition to a larger warehouse facility, we have increased our offices for a larger sales force and parts department." Betson broadens market ... Betson Enterprises, seeking to expand its role in the children's redemption market, has entered into a joint effort with Skee-Ball Inc. to create Skee-Toss. Skee-Toss, which uses the same microprocessor electronics found in Betson's Dribbles Jr. basketball game, is the first children's toss game that stresses player interaction via an attract mode with speech. Many of the parts in Skee-Toss will be interchangeable with traditional Skee-Ball alleys. Skee-Toss is being manufactured at the Skee-Ball facility in Pennsylvania, with marketing and sales being handled by Betson's redemption department in New Jersey. For more information, contact Betson at (800) 524-2343, or (201) 440-2200 in New Jersey. New from Design Plus ... Another youth-oriented redemption game new to the market is Bozo Basketball from Design Plus Industries. This "youth-size" basketball game is available in single- or double-player configurations. Both have colorful structure, flashing lights, and lively circus music to draw at- tention to the game. An optional ticket dispenser has adjustable settings for a "winner every time." Company owners Mike and Diane Seibert say other Bozo youth-size games will be released later this year. For more information, contact Diane at Design Plus, (800) 541-1288. PLAY METER, May 1990, Volume 16, No. 5. Copyright 1990 by Skybird Publishing Company. PLAY METER (ISSN 1048-8243)(UPS 358-350) is published monthly on the 1st of the month, except for the two issues in January. Publishing office: 6600 Fleur de Lis, New Orleans, LA 70124. MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 24970, New Orleans, LA 70184, USA. Phone: 504/488-7003; FAX 504/488-7083. For subscriptions: 504/488-7003. Subscription rates: U.S. and Canada-$50. Advertising rates are available on request. NO PART OF THE MAGAZINE MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT EXPRESS PERMISSION. The editors are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts. PLAY METER buys ALL RIGHTS, unless otherwise specified, to accepted manuscripts, cartoons, art work, and photographs. Second-class postage paid at New Orleans, LA 70113 and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER Send Form 3579 to Play Meter, P.O. Box 24970, New Orleans, LA 70184. 4 PLAY METER/May 1990