STAR*TECH Journal
16
April 1988
ACME Seniinar: Basic Technical
ACME Expo '88
March 10th - 13th
Reno, Nevada
This seminar was touted as the premier
technical seminar to attend and ask the
expert panel relevant service questions and
problems encountered in the field. It was a
good premise, however the expert panel and
the questioners steered clear of any techni-
cal topics for nearly 2-1 /2 of the 3 hours that
this seminar (Q&A) lasted. Since neither the
panel nor the operators (approximately 40)
in attendance seemed bothered by this
change of venue, no complaints were heard.
This get-together was far from useless,
however, as many valuable operator busi-
ness tips were discussed.
EXPERT PANEL
The three experts making up the panel for
this question & answer period were: Randy
Fromm, an operator and technical instruc-
tor from San Diego, California. Frank Sen-
insky, an operator and Industry writer/
speaker from Edison, New Jersey. Todd
Erickson, an operator and Industry writer/
speaker from St. Paul, Minnesota.
impression that the Industry traditionally
does its best business during non-boom
times. The panel agreed that the recession
was at least two years away. The panel also
emphasized the need to diversify their mix of
games (video, pin, music, novelty, merchan-
disers, etc.) and also buy only "hit" games.
More advice: Get out of non-profitable loca-
tions and as for locations; bigger is not
necessarily better. For the near future: Tav-
ern business will be down but high-traffic
areas (colleges, movie theaters, malls, etc.)
will be up, predicted the trio.
FACTORY STANDARDIZATION
Standardization was proclaimed to eventu-
ally eliminate 1 / 3 of all service calls when
the manufacturers finally get it together.
This Industry standardization will be espe-e
cially helpful in the areas of: Coin doors,
locks and repetitive type hardware. Caution
was expressed in the fact that standardiza-
tion can stifle factory creativeness. Never-
theless, operators were encouraged to get
more involved; to interact with and supply
feedback to the factories. In short, let them
know what you like and dislike. The theory
is that they'll respond and make better
games in the future.
THE DISCUSSION
Most of the early conversation centered
around the problems operators face each
day as they try to build their businesses.
Tips were given on solidifying location loy-
alty when competitive operators were on a
location stealing hunt: If the location is
worth keeping then it's worth investing in.
Examples were given such as: Install a
sound system or a security system for the
location. Also, if the location warrants it, put
a higher priced "hit" game in for a period.
Other topics covered were the threat of a
recession: most operators are under the
$$ PER PLAY
Most of the operators present at this meeting
(seminar?) felt that somehow the Industry
had to get off of the quarter play. Every tale
told here ended in unsuccessful attempts in
raising the price of play. The agreed upon
method of pricing was fifty cent initial play
with twenty five cent buy-in thereafter for
the more expensive games. (Supposedly,
Sega has a new set of Eproms for Afterburner.
that will accommodate this pricing scheme).
Mostly, however fifty cent play is not working
and the only hope is for the government to
mint a dollar coin. Operators could then