Atari Coin Connection

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OPERATOR
OF THE '80s
Mac Flipper of
Gothenberg,
Sweden
Fred McCord and Tom Petit give encouragement to Special Olympian Centipede player.
tent. "We wanted to give these very spe-
cial athletes an opportunity to experience
a video adventure. We view Special
Olympics as a worthwhile organization,
and hope our participation is viewed as
exemplary by other major corporations,"
said Don Osborne, vice president, sales
and marketing of Atari Coin Video
Games Division.
The Bettelmans from C.A. Robinson
Distributing in Los Angeles supplied the
coin video games for the weekend and
helped during the proceedings. They also
graciously hosted a dinner for the tired
but exuberant Atari crew the last day of
the Olympics.
During a special ceremony, a check
for $2,500 was presented to the Special
Olympics by Don Osborne on behalf of
Atari. The Olympics are privately funded.
"The Special Olympics was the brain
child of the Kennedy family, primarily
Eunice Kennedy," explained Poe. He
said the problem of lack of coordination ,
and low self-image because of it, have
prevented the mentally retarded from re-
alizing their potential.
'' No one loses at the Special Olym-
pics," said Poe. " Anyone who finishes
what he started is awarded a ribbon or
medal and it becomes the most precious
thing he owns because in a lot of cases,
it's the first time someone recognizes
that he can achieve something."
Promotion for Profit
Here's a fundraiser to help establish a
positive image for your location while
benefitting a local school or charity.
Offer your players game tokens in ex-
change for recyclable cans and bottles.
Donate the proceeds from the recycled
goods to a local school or charity organ-
ization. This promotion should be con-
ducted over a 4-6 week period of time
for maximum effectiveness.
To encourage participation, you might
award a prize to the player who brings in
the most recyclables. Also, post a sign
each week announcing who has brought
in the most, and the total amount of
goods collected. As with any fundraising
promotion, send your local newspapers a
press release announcing the event and
a follow-up release stating the total dona-
tion collected.
Atari Advertising to the Player
Atari is beginning an ad campaign
geared toward coin video game players
with a full-page, four-color ad in the
September issue of "Electronic Games"
magazine. The ad featu res Dig Dug™*,
Atari's new maze challenge , and encour-
ages players to experience the humor,
suspense, and action of this game.
"We are expanding our advertising ef-
forts in a campaign designed not only to
reach coin video game enthusiasts, but
also to encourage infrequent players to
play more often," stated Don Osborne,
vice president, sales and marketing. "We
plan to continue advertising in video
game player magazines and are looking
at other publications aimed at the teen
and young adu It market. "
• Dig Dug is designed and engineered by Namco. Ltd.
Manufactured under license by Atari . Inc.
•
l
" Valkomna Till Var Spelhall" is how Mr.
Kenny Nilsson, manager of Mac Flipper
amusement center greets his patrons in
Gothenberg, Sweden.
One of the largest game rooms in
Gothenberg, a city in the southwestern
region of Sweden, Mac Flipper has about
50 coin video and pinball machines. The
150-square-foot center is covered with
ornate Italian tiles and the walls are
made up of mirrors. Open between the
hours of 11 :OOam and 11 :OOpm, Mac
Flipper is a popular location for Swedish
youth. Besides the manager, there are
six full-time employees: Per Edwall, Bernt
Olausson, Leif Lindell, Runar Paulsson,
David Vahl and Mikael Tragard. At least
one full-time employee is on duty during
working hours to assist players with
game instructions, while the others are
busy with administering the business
aspects of the game room.
A High Score tournament was held at
the amusement center in May, 1982.
Mac Flipper was open day and night dur-
ing the week-long competition, and the
turnout was spectacular. Players from all
ove r Sweden competed against the USA
high scores, and a new record was set
on Missile Command™. The champion
player Hakan Strom, age 17, amassed
57,114,650 points after 37 hours and 15
minutes of continuous play. (This score
has now been topped by Ron Kussman
of Upland, California with 63,983,478
points.) Another Swede, David Collin, was
a high scorer on Tempest™.
Because the event was so successful,
Mac Flipper will have similar competi-
tions next year. " We are a new game
center," says Nilsson, "and there are a
lot of details yet to be worked out. But on
the whole we are very pleased with the
tournament.' ·
Mac Flipper is owned by Adonbolagen,
a company also located in Gothenberg. It
was founded in 1968, and today it has
about 400 pinball and video games at
amusement centers throughout the
southwest region of Sweden. Most of the
locations only have one or two ma-
chines, but there are at least ten game
rooms similar in size to Mac Flipper.
There is talk of a new law in Sweden
which will require each amusement
center to license each game through the
Department of Social Services. Even
though this may cause some game
rooms to be closed, Mac Flipper is hop-
ing to carry on business as usual "We
are looking forward to new and inter-
esting types of games from Atari," said
Mikael Tragard, spokesman from the
amusement center.
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