Atari Coin Connection

© Atari Inc .. 197 7
Atari , Inc. 1265 Borregas, Su nnyval e, Cali fornia 94086
February, 1977
INTRODUCING THE AfAlll/lNS™
Atari's Pinball Division is proud to
announce that the first Atari flipper game
is ready for introduction. "After almost
two years of research, planning and
development, we are confident that The
Atarians will be an exceptionally good
game in the marketplace," says Gil
Williams, Division Manager .
The field test program which has been
underway since November has verified
the strong player acceptance of the game.
It has been the top earning pinball game
in every location in the test program. In
several of these locations it has topped all
time pinball collection records . The
Atarians has been placed next to other
strong games on location such as Baily's
Solid State Freedom and Night Rider,
Gottlieb's Jack's Open and Target Alpha,
and maintained higher collections. Opera-
tors in the test program are enthusiastic
about The Atarians and are eager to place
them in more of their locations.
"The Atari flipper game has some new
and exciting features which add to the
over-all play appeal. Player reactions to
the games in the field have been
over-whelmingly positive," said Eddie
Boasberg, Pinball Marketing Coordinator.
"There are strong indications that in test
locations The Atarians is being played by
people who typically do not play flipper
games, as well as those who are 'pinball
players'," he adds.
The Atarians is a 4 player electronic
pinball game. The large playfield is
designed for a good balance of fast ball
action and flipper action. The player
reactions to this have been extremely
good. The unique memory feature retains
the playfield status for each player
between balls, adding to the overall
challenge of the game. Precise scoring
features, including Hole Kickers, Targets,
Pop Bumpers, and Sling Shots, together
with three special ball saver features and a
SERVICE SEMINAR
FOR ATAAIIANS™
HOSTED B~ ATARI
The new Marriott Hotel at Santa
Clara's "Great America" amusement park
was the setting for a service seminar given
for The Atari ans TM, Atari's all new solid
state pinball game.
Atari distributors sent 35 service
representatives from all over the country
to sessions held on January 17 and 18
hosted by the Atari Customer Service
Department, managed by Don Smith.
The first day's session was conducted
by Steve Nollan, Pinball Engineering and
Fred Mc Cord, Customer Service Field
Rep. and included explanation of the
ga1ne's electronics and microprocessor
functions.
Special emphasis was placed on The
A tarians' self-diagnostic checkout pro-
cedure built into the game's program .
Based on input from preliminary field
tests, service techs were shown how to
repair typical problems that might occur
in location situations. A test game was
intentionally disabled to demonstrate
repair techniques.
variety of bonus scoring features, adds up
to action and play appeal.
The Atarians has colorful, dynamic
graphics and a unique attract mode when
not in play. It has many features which
appeal to players of all levels of expertise
and keeps them coming back for new
challenges.
In designing this game, Atari has made
a special effort to include service features
to simplify maintenance and repair needs.
There is a built-in test mode to assist in
pinpointing problems. Sealed contact
switches and magnetic sensor switches
replace rollovers, eliminating the need for
adjustments and problems caused by dirt
The following question-and-answer ses-
sion produced many useful comments
which will be considered for future
implementation in the Atari pinball
program.
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