May 1996
GD
STAR*TEcH
Journal
LOTS OF VIDEO GAME OPPORTUNITIES!
John Lotz
Betson Bullet
Buena Park, California
WHOA!
e
(Pronounced woooo! -like when
you want your horse to stop!)
trick is to get more of your money
up front.
Where did you guys ever get the
idea that the video game business
was a bad place to invest in? ( end-
ing a sentence with a preposition
always gets me in trouble). We
never said that. What we said was
that, first, you shouldn't put all
your eggs in one basket. Diver-
sify. Second, the video game busi-
ness is an opportunity business.
East Coast operators (who gen-
erally operate a variety of equip-
ment already) have had tremen-
dous success operating Cruisin'
and Daytona and Alpine Racer in
bars and taverns. They run tour-
naments and give prizes for best
times, etc. The majority of them
did not do this at 50/50. Some
paid the locations a flat rate to
put in the equipment.
There are many opportunities to
go out and cut better, more cre-
ative deals for yourself. Operat-
ing fighting games at a 50/ 50 split
in convenience stores was once
a big business, a big opportunity.
Today that is gone for the most
part. What's taken its place are
games like Crusin' USA, Daytona,
Alpine Racer, and other deluxe
games. Innovative operators are
placing these pieces in their own
locations and new locations on
guarantees, better splits, front
money, or first money.
Let's take a game like Crusin'
USA. The Williams game has
been out for about one year now
and its still earning the same
money. It's selling better than
ever because people realize it's a
modem day Pole Position. Crusin'
will be out there on location for
ten years making money. The
e
The point is this: At this time
we, as an industry, have
some of the best earning,
longest earning, most
broadly appealing video
equipment we've ever had.
Sure they're expensive. But
that also means that they're
not on every street corner.
When the public is exposed to
this new exciting equipment,
they like it. They like it enough
to play it again even at $1.00 per
play. As an operator you need to
find ways to get this equipment
placed where it can be played by
all of the public, not just 9-14 year
old male fighting game players.
Movie theaters, bars, restaurants,
pizza parlors, super markets, air-
ports, etc., etc. There are good
profit opportunities out there in
the video game business.
Remember that if you try and just
milk what you have, eventually
you will be faced with recapital-
izing your entire route. If a new
mega-hit video comes out, you
won't be able to afford to cover
your good stops. If you don't find
and develop new good stops,
your old good stops will become
low income producing parking
places for your old games. Those
old games will eventually earn
nothing and have no value. Then
your dead as an operator.
Prudent investing in the right
kinds of videos will keep you
healthy and moving forward.
You're emphasis on "fighting
game" locations will become less
and you'll experience a more
steady income stream.
Think about it. If you bought ten
Cruisin's one year ago, they'd be
paid for today and they would be
generating $1500-$2000 per
week, your end (all ten) for the
next 2, 3, 5 or 10 years? If you
didn't do it, invest now.
Cruisin ', Daytona, Alpine Racer,
Area 57, Time Crisis, Virtua Cop 2,
Indy 5 00 are all good safe buys.
Some fighting games are good
also, only as a mix with other
equipment. Take advantage of
some of the new great opportu-
nities in the video game business!