Play Meter

UP FRONT Looking at both sides of the coin A Bonnie Theard Managing Editor PLAY METE R southern operator recently remarked that business was terrible . So bad, in fact, that he had not purchased a new game since Mortal Kombat II. Nor had he attended any recent trade shows. As good as that game might be, it is difficult to imagine that he could not rustle up enough funds to add a few games of more recent vintage. Another choice : jump into a new area, such as redemption. As long as his customers continue to see the same games, their image of his establishment will change over time . Revenue will never improve if there are no new titles to e ntice game play. While holding down expenses, he has also withheld life support from the ailing patient. A few days later a midwestern operator admitted that indeed video revenue was down, but she was enlarging an already well-established dart and pool league system by adding foosball to the mix. Here 's an operator who decided to do something about declining revenue. Instead of being reactive she chose to be proactive and initiate change. Her business was very good since she was making the best of other types of equipment while one segment was down. Similar stories are retold every d ay. The names change but the situation remains the same: what to do in the face of declining revenue? Both sides are understandable . Playing it safe may be preferable to sticking your neck out. Don't take chances and you won't be disappointed. Wait for the next big guar14 anteed winner. Or, reassess your locations. Spend some time talking to the players. For a short-term boost in game room settings, host a tournament or sponsor a special promotion to draw players in with discount coupons (two-for-one-token day perhapsl. Advertise these specials in your city newspaper, high school or college newspaper, or on radio stations that your core clientele favor. Ask any teenagers and they will tell you their favorite spots on the radio dial. Tournaments are not limited to pool, darts, air hockey, and foosball . Try a father/ son pinball tournament Cthis is where dad may outshine his offspring) or basketball tournamentDon 't rule out video game tournaments. Invest in some cassette tapes or CDs of hot rock groups and give them as prizes for the top scores in a three-hour period on either old or new videos. For the father/ son event try sporting goods as prizes. Just use your imagination. The object of the game is to get warm bodies into your locations and remind them that you are there. Give them a reason to come in now and later. Look for alternative ways to achieve this goal. Extricate yourself from the quicksand of dismay over a low cash pan. No one is saying that such a move is easy. The stat us quo is a comfortable place, even if you are not totally happy there . It represents the known versus the unknown of untested waters. Yet it is clear that standing still will not improve the situation. Change is inevitable. Change is a p a rt of life . Change is necessary. Take no action and change will occur around you, perhaps to the d etriment of your business. Take control and chart a new path. As playwright George Bernard Shaw wrote: "Hell is to drift; heaven is to steer." .A. JANUARY 1995