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REVIEW
AMUSEMENT SHOWCASE
II\ITERI\IATIOI\IAL
The Technical Monthly
for the Amusements Industry
P.O. Box 1065
Merchantville, NJ 08109
609/662-3432
APRIL 1984
VOLUME 6, NO. 2
Publisher/Editor
James Galore
Administrative Assistant
LT. DiRenzo
Art/ Advertising Coordinator
Paul Ehlinger
Circulation Promotion
Linda Geseking
Layout
Dale Melani Graphics
Contributing
Technical Writers
Todd Erickson
Sam Cross
Stephen Janci
Bill Turner
Daniel Zavaro
Kevin Moeller
STAR*TECH JOURNAL, April 1984,
Vol. 6, No. 2. Copyright 1984 by
Star*Tech Journal, Inc. All rights
reserved. Address inquiries to: P.O.
Box 1065, Merchantville, NJ 08109.
Phone: 609/662-3432. Subscrip-
tion rates: USA-$56.00. Canada-
$63.00. Other Countries-$98.00.
Please remit payment in US funds.
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STAR*TECH
JOURNAL, P.O. Box 1065,
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STAR*TECH JOURNAL (ISSN
0739-1048) is published monthly
by Star*Tech Journal, Inc., 18
North Centre St., P.O. Box 1065,
Merchantville, NJ 08109. Second-
class Postage paid at Camden, NJ
and additional mailing offices.
Advertising rates available upon
request. Contents of the articles
herein are verified as much as
possible. However, any reader using
this information does so at his/her
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property of Star*Tech Journal. No
part of this Journal may be repro-
duced without permission.
T
he first Amusement Showcase Inter-
national, held at the Expocenter in
downtown Ch icago on February 17-19, was
declared a success by the show's organizers.
The expo was sponsored by the Amusement
Game Manufacturers Association (AGMA)
and the Amusement & Vending Machine Dis-
tributors Assocat ion (AVMDA).
"The associations are real happy with the
turnout," stated Bill Leahy, Director of Com-
munications for ASI, of the 4,400 registered
manufacturers, distributors and operators.
"The exhibitors are equally pleased with the
quality of the attendees," said Leahy, " and
we're all looking forward to next year."
All of the major factories were represented
with the notable exception of Will iams Elec-
tronics (whose top management is said to be
fued ing with AGMA). Th is very professional
show was organized complete with a varied
seminar program that covered everything
from Legislative Problems to Laserdisc
Technology.
Planning has already begun for the 1985
Amusement Showcase International which
will be held March 1-3 at the same Expocenter
in Chicago.
As for new products, the trend is definitely
towards conversion kits and convertible game
systems. The highlights of the show previewed
here are the previously unreleased games
and kits.
MVLBTAR
Factory reps said that the conversion to
M.A.C.H. Ill just missed being shown here due
to scheduling problems and would be released
shortly. New to North America was Jacks to
Open, a pin with back-to-basics play that was
previously released to overseas distributors.
EXIDV
Continuing with their successful mass-
memory high-res video system first introduced
with Crossbow, this company now has pro-
duced their first conversion for this system
with a western theme called Cheyenne.
TAITD
BENTE
Ten-Yard Fight is a 1- or 2-player video
football game licensed from !rem Corp. ex-
clusively to Taito America. The player races
the clock in an effort to score a touchdown
and progress from high school and college
ball all the way to the pros and the Super Bowl.
The player is the quarterback and can run or
throw the ball to advance down the field. The
game has excellent graphics, good game play
and sound effects.
The Tin Star is a sequel to Taito's previous
cowboy video, Wild Western, with Gitalong
Zeke as the sheriff fighting gun battles in the
street, inside a saloon, and in the corral
against the bad guys. There is also a bonus
round which takes place in the open desert.
The controls include a rotary knob similar to
that on Wild Western for aiming the gun.
The "System" from this company, introduced
th is past fall to distributors, was on display
with their first offering - Snakepit. This
convertible system, called the Sente Arcade
Computer(SAC), consists of a cabinet system
(Game Frame) with replaceable exterior
panels, adjustable video screen (horizontal to
near vertical), and a sophisticated sound
system in which is housed a video hardware
system that accepts removeable software
packages called SAC PACs.
This, of course, is the brain child of Nolan
Bushnell, often called "The Father of the
Videogame Industry'', who has recently
resigned his position as chairman of the board
of Pizza Time Theatre, Inc. to work closer with
Sente Technologies and its innovative
developments.