Play Meter

COIN-OP NEWS Changes made at Atari Games I Mark Pierce has been promoted to executive producer/vice president of engineering at Atari Games, one of several changes that have taken place recently at the company. He 's been a team leader in Atari's engineering group for over eight years and has an extensive background in art, animation, and game design. Shortly after Pierce's promotion, a restructuring in Atari's research and development groups took effect. "Adding strength to our individual teams was a top priority for our company, " he said. "With that, I have restructured our development groups so that they are now headed by a producer who directs all the talent on his team. We have hit products in development which will insure the industry that Atari has the creativity and quality that has made us so successful in the past. " Said Hide Nakajima, president of Atari Games, "We have made this change to give our design teams the full support they '1eed to get innovative games into the market. We are fortunate to have someone of Mark's dedication and creativity in this position , and we are very confident that these recent changes will make a remarkable impact in 1994." PLAY METER Mark Pierce oerryl DePriest David Macias Atari has also added two people to its marketing department : Derryl DePriest, associate product manager; and David Macias, product manager. "Our growth in marketing allows us to be more involved with the product development process from start to finish, as the product man- agers will be interfacing with the producers and creative staff to help deliver what operators and players want from us, " said marketing director Mary Fujihara. Finally, Jackie Sherman has been promoted to marketing communications supervisor. She 's been involved with all aspects of marketing and sales support in her 13 years with Atari. "In her new role, Jackie will be responsible for all field testing procedures and reporting, as well as her previous responsibilities in advertising and meeting/ trade show planning," Fujihara said. Meck elected ·94 IAAPA president The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAP A) has elected Joe Meck president for 1994. He 's vice president of entertainment and aperations for Knott's Berry Farm. Meck succeeds Roy Gillian of Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, N.J. "Becoming president is 14 without a doubt the highlight of my career, " he said. "It's an honor to be recognized by the people of the industry." Gina Romano of Nellie Bly Park in New York was elected third vice president. The following were appointed to twoyear terms on the board of directors: Darrell Metzger, Ocean Park, Hong Kong; Kate Horner, Riverside Park, Massachusetts ; Peter Herschend, Silver Dollar City, Missouri ; Michael Demetrios, Marine World Africa, California; Steve Mast , Elitch Gardens, Colorado ; and John Roberts , Busch Entertainment, Missouri. JANUARY 1994