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AMOA SHOW SETS RECORDS IN ANAHEIM AMOA's annual expo, held this year Oct. 21-23 in Anaheim, Calif., boasted a record number of booths sold-1,002-and attendees-over 8,300. About 7,500 people went to last year's show in Nashville. Numbers aside, how was the show in terms of product? As always, opinions were mixed, but we heard more voices of disappointment than elation. " Midway 's Mortal Kombat II is a no-brainer, and the kids insist on having (Capcom's) Super Street Fighter II, but after that I don't see any obvious hits," said one operator. "It looks like the manufacturers are just ignoring us,'' said a disgusted street operator. ''This is all product for the arcade guys.'' And a Southern California operator, echoing sentiments heard throughout the show, said, "These games are just getting too expensive-and it scares the hell out of me." A handful of video manufacturers were singled out for praise, however. Midway had a constant throng at its booth, with the masses waiting for a chance to play Mortal Kombat II, which was awarded "Best New Equipment." "This company just keeps giving us great games," said one operator. Strata's two new videos-NFL Hard Yardage and Driver's Edge-were frequently mentioned favorites. "Strata gets better with each game it releases," commented an operator. "I especially like NFL Hard Yardage ; I expect it to do very well." Sega's Virtua Fighters drew its share of "oohs" and "aahs," with one operator saying, "The game is only about half done, but I can already see that with this 3-D polygon technology it's going to blow away other fighting games." Namco's Air Combat, Cyber Sled, and Ridge Racer were lauded as potentially big earners in the sit-down category, though, as one operator said, "they could be priced a bit cheaper!" American Laser Games introduced a less-expensive system, to the delight of operators. And Fabtek's Raiden II was an oftenmentioned new video, with one operator commenting, "This game will make me some money! " · Those interested in pinball were presented with the following games: Judge Dredd from Bally; Star Trek: The Next Generation and Indiana Jones from Williams; Tales from the Crypt and Last Action Hero from Data East; Gladiators, Wipe Out, and Tee'd Off from Premier; and Pistol Poker from Alvin G. & Co. While operators were generous in their praise for the games' quality, they decried recently escalating prices. "Tell me what expense went into R&D for these machines to justify such a big price hike in such a short period of time," said one operator. Redemption continues to make a daunting presence at the major trade shows, with strong offerings coming from redemption-only manufacturers as well as those to whom redemption is of secondary focus. Said Williams pinball designer Pat Lawlor, who unveiled his first redemption game, Addams Family Values, at the show, "I never thought I'd see an AMOA show with so much redemption. This is really amazing." (Note: We'll have a full listing of redemption products exhibited at the show next month.) "Where's this virtual reality stuff?" That question was uttered by curious attendees who wanted a first-hand demonstration of the much-discussed technology. There were constant lines at the Visions of Reality booth, with players waiting patiently to be ushered to their sleek, 21st century "pods" (the hardware). Alternate Worlds Technology also had a steady stream of players trying the sit-down and upright cabinet versions of its Reality Rocket. The company introduced a new roleplaying game, Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold; another one, Doom, will be ready in the first quarter of '94. VR8, which wasn't expected to be at the show, did in fact take out a booth at the nth hour. The company had dropped out of sight for a while because, according to president Kyle Hodgetts, a former employee had broken into a warehouse and stolen VR8's entire inventory. Hodgetts announced a deal with Cube Computer Corp. whereby VR8 will design its virtual reality games and Cube will manufacture them. At the show VR8 exhibited a new game, Virtual Star Fighter, which will be ready for production in mid-December. PLAY METER 3 NEWS BULLETIN So what of these virtual reality games? The comments could be distilled into one message : looks nice, has potential, but needs work. "The hardware isn't the problem; it's the software and the uncomfortable headgear," said one operator. "I'm not convinced yet, and I'm certainly not prepared to pay the money they want for the systems," said another. Asked a well-known industry figure, "Does the coin-op business really need virtual reality? Is this something we can live without?" GREEN ASSUMES AMOA PRESIDENCY R.A. Green III, president of Rosemary Coin Machines in Myrtle Beach, S.C., officially took office as AMOA president for 1993-94 at the show. During the past year, he served as AMOA first vice president and chairman of AMOA's expo planning committee. Green succeeds Craig Johnson, president of Tataka in Salt Lake City. The Green family has been in the amusement business for over 36 years. R.A. is the first third-generation operator to serve on the AMOA board of directors. Other 1993-94 officers taking office at the show were: Tami Norberg-Paulsen, C & N Sales in Mankato, Minn., first vice president (and new chairman of the government relations committee, replacing Wally Bohrer, who's completed his tenure on the Past Presidents Council) ; Randy Chilton, Chilton Vending in Wichita, Kan., treasurer; and Jerry Derrick, Derrick Music Co. in Charleston, W.Va., secretary. Also taking office were three AMOA vice presidents, each elected to three-year terms: Doug Minter of Tip Top Amusement in Carson City, Nev.; Jim Reed of Patton Vending Co. in Modesto, Calif.; and Doug Gapter of Gapter Amusement in Cheyenne, Wyo. In addition, Don Hesch of A.H. Entertainers in Rolling Meadows, Ill., was named to fill an unexpired vice president vacancy through 1994. Finally, the following 10 directors were elected to the board: Glen Anderson, Microworlds Inc., Honolulu, Hawaii; Bill Beckham, Red Baron of Ohio, Toledo, Ohio; Ralph Ceraldi, C & C Vending, Bohemia, N.Y.; Robert Correa, Hasvold Vending, Sioux Falls, S.D. ; Jim Lacost, Lacost Amusement, Kankakee, Ill.; Mike Leonard, Coin-Op Specialist, Adrian, Mich.; Charles Leininger Sr., CDL Co., Brooklyn Park, Minn.; Frank Seninsky, Alpha-Omega Amusements, Edison, N.J.; Jim Thorpe, Thorpe Music Co. in Rocky Mount, N.C.; and Ross Todaro, TAVS Inc., Bryan, Texas. RESTRUCTURED WASHINGTON CONFERENCE IN '94 Green, at an informal expo press conference, made official what had been rumored : next year's AMOA/ AAMA Government Affairs Conference will not include the high-profile Congressional Reception/Tournament. It was decided that the event only needs to take place every other year; hence, look for the next one in 1995. The Congressional Reception/Tournament, while a huge public relations success, has come to be seen as more of a party for the congressmen's staffs and families, not an effective tool to get the lawmakers themselves to pass a dollar coin bill. Green said that refocused government relations efforts will target smaller meetings with key congressmen and senators, such as Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Consumer Credit and Insurance. The "Day on the Hill" meetings will continue, but those, too, will be restructured. As the conference gets closer, we'll have more specifics. On another subject, Green said that an Anaheim meeting of representatives from AMOA and JAMMA included a discussion of moving the JAMMA '94 show dates, which currently conflict with AMOA Expo '94. He said Mr. Nakamura will return to Japan and ask if the JAMMA leadership is open to the idea. At the same press conference, AMOA executive vice president John Schumacher said there were no major complaints about the Anaheim show, other than 1) the inability of gamNOVEMBER 1993