Play Meter

COIN-OP NEWS Nintendo, WMS join forces Nintendo of America and WMS Industries have formed a joint venture company, Williams/ Nintendo Inc., to market 64-bit video games exclusively for Nintendo's Project Reality home system. Nintendo has granted WMS a long-term, worldwide license to create and distribute arcade video games using Nintendo's proprietary 64bit technology, which is being developed for Nintendo by Silicon Graphics. Project Reality is scheduled to debut in arcades this fall. WMS will begin developing product immediately, with games expected to reach the arcades in 1995 and mark et e d through Midway Mfg. Williams/Nintendo will acquire the home game rights to these arcade games from WMS and market them exclusively for Nintendo's 64bi t home system and other Nintendo platforms. The first games from Williams/Nintendo will reach the market in the fall of 1995 to coincide with the home system debut. "WMS Industries is the best arcade video game manufacturer in the world," said Howard Lincoln, chairman of Nintendo of America. "In the past several years, WMS has introduced a series of mega-hit arcade games under the PLAY METER Midway trade name, such as Mortal Kombat and NBA JAM. WMS has the creative talent and technical expertise to develop and market mega-hit arcade games using Nintendo's Project Reality 64-bit technology. "Under our agreement with WMS, these hit arcade games will be available from Williams/ Nintendo Inc . for play exclusively on Nintendo 's 64-bit home video game hardware system. These arrangements help insure the success- ful launch of our new "Our joint venture with home video game sys- Nintendo gives WMS tem. We are very the opportunity to enter pleased to be entering the home video game this long-term, world- market in partnership wide business relation- with Nintendo, the preship with a great compa- mier marketer of home ny like WMS Industries." video games in the WMS president Neil world. WMS looks forNicastro said: "Our ward to a close, longagreements with Ninten- term, and profitable relado give WMS immediate tionship with Nintendo. " access to the best video In an interview with game technology in the the The Wall Street world. We plan to intro- Journal , Nicastro exduce a number of arcade plained that WMS selectgames using the new 64- ed Project Reality after bi t Project Reality tech- looking at alternatives continued on page 12 nology. Restructuring underway at Capcom USA Capcom USA is in the process of restructuring its coin-op division, according to president George Nakayama. "We are pleased to continue an active and leading role in the coin-operated games market," he said. "Currently we are working to strengthen our team and build upon our solid and highly successful nine-year history in electronic entertainment. "Despite the unfortunate resignation of Steve Blattspieler, the former general manager of the coin-operated products division, our executive management, sales, marketing, distribution, and R&D support will remain in the hands of Capcom USA's corporate office Un Sunnyvale, CalifJ." In other news concerning Capcom USA: • C.A. Robinson is now distributing the company's coin-op product in Northern and Southern California. The distribution responsibilities are being shared with Betson Pacific , which had these territories before. • As we reported last month , Capcom was d enie d a preliminary injunction that would've enjoined the sale of Data East's video game Fighter 's History while the case proceeded. But the court has indicated that if Capcom prevails at trial, which is set for Oct. 31, it could recover damages for Data East's continued sale of the game. 10 Capcom filed suit last September, alleging that Data East infringed the Street Fighter II copyright with Fighter's History. "Judge Orrick's decision is not surprising in that no formal discovery has been conducted , and the information and evidence available t o the court was limite d as a result," said Ian Rose , Capcom's general counsel. "The d e nial of our injunction r equest in no way assures Data East's final victory. We remain convinced that Data East has unlawfully infringed our copyright. Once all of the facts are known, the court and jury will agree." In his decision, Orrick found that Data East cont inued on page 14 MAY 1994