STAR*TECH Journal
February 1988 (6)
Look Out Operators ...
The Elephants are Stampeding
By Bob and Marlene Suttles, Owners
San Rafael Family Entertainment Ctr
San Rafael, california
We all remerrber the wave, how it crested
after everyone tried to ride it, and how
the ones that were left tightened their
belts and hung in. I also rernerrber how
much we were paying for overpriced games
at the time.
A year into that very lean time after the
wave, Atari came along with a wonderful
speech along with their Systems I and II
and told us that this was the answer:
Hang in there with them while tines were
tough, buy their systems, and the future
was guaranteed with them providing us with
reasonable cost kits; in this way we would
all be able to make it.
One hand helping the other, so to speak.
Atari started getting out of the slump;
and one of their first big hits,
GAUNI'LET I , was launched in a new,
expensive dedicated upright.
Then came 720 ...
What happened to their systems? Not a lot;
one hot game and the rest mediocre!
Then, on to the next job - so to speak -
as the home market is again being flooded
by them, along with Sega and Nintendo.
Now the latest ...
What your neighborhood carefully.
* Data
East is operating street locations
south of San Francisco.
* Atari is sending scouts out to mall
conventions and they're out there
competing directly with us, not only as
manufacturers but as operators.
That's our reward!
I know it's happening to us. We have a
(New!) AI.J.J\DIN'S CASTLE (Bally's) on one
end of town, and now Atari is going in on
the other end of town in a new mall - the
same location we were in the process of
negotiating a lease for, by the way!
Apparently Atari go word of our
negotiations, via whatever sources, and
signed a lease of their own two days prior
to our proposal. We got the word that
Atari had looked into this location about
six oonths prior to all this new activity
from them, and that they were not heard
from again until we began to develop our
plans for going into the mall.
We are not crying sour grapes. We are
downright upset, and concerned that a
manufacturer such as Atari would even
entertain the thought of rooving in on the
little Mom and Pop shops, and especially
in the manner they've done with us.
We're not concerned about what they do, so
far as buying existing chains (arcades).
But, when they come into our backyards as
operators and open a new arcade, we feel
that is not ethical.
'Ibe pie, as all of us know, is not that
big; and the little guy with limited
resources is obviously the one who will
suffer.
This squeeze play with the manufacturer/
operator has gone far enough, I think.
We, as arcade owners and operators, need
to speak out and voice our thoughts before
we find ourselves working - not
indirectly, as we are now, but directly
for the manufacturer!
It is not our forte to conduct business in
this manner. We are sure all of you feel
as strongly as we do. Perhaps if we
discontinue purchasing their product they
will hear what we are stating: Back off!
We don't have time to worry about the
rronkeys throwing coconuts when the
elephants are starrpeding!
Let's stick together on this one.