Play Meter

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exactly like a real pinball machine at an extremely
low price. We've been chased by big retailers for
years to do that. But we could never come up with
something at the price they wanted with the feel we
wanted to put into it. They wanted a toy, and we
ended up saying, "You're better off going to a toy
manufacturer." But with the microprocessor now,
we've got the price down at last to the lowest we
can get it and still maintain in the game some of the
feel of a full-size pinball machine. The playfield on
the consumer piece is the exact same playfield used
on the coin-op model. All the dimensions are the
same; all the hardware is the same. It's cheaper for
us to use the same flipper unit, the same
thumper-bumper, tooled in the fifties than to go out
now and retool to make lighter and cheaper
versions. So we put everything we thought had to
be in it to have the Bally name on it.
PLAY METER: And the cost?
NIEMAN: The manufacturer's suggested list is
$799.
PLAY METER: We've heard rumors that there are
operators getting hold of these things and somehow
putting coin slots on them.
NIEMAN: When we designed it, we designed it so
that electronically you couldn't put a coin slot on it.
The cabinet is not deep enough. (I'm not a technical
man, so I'm reflecting what's been told me.) But I
guess you could install a mechanical push
shute-why not?
Still I have tried to keep an ear to the ground
since we put the piece out in October, because I
could just see this sort of thing happening, and to
date I have not heard of any of it. But that doesn't
mean it isn't happening.
PLAY METER: So the home units are doing well,
and you are planning now, you said, a home version
of the Evel Knievel game.
NIEMAN: We're coming up with two new home
models. These are all four-players, incidentally.
They have one display but a four-player memory.
Every time the ball leaves the playfield, the score
unit reviews all four scores. Besides Evel Knievel,
we're going to do some private label work. The
future looks very good there, very encouraging.
PLAY METER: If it does go well, if enough people
buy home games, is this going to hurt the operator's
business? Are people going to stay home instead of
going out to arcades?
NIEMAN: Let me an&wer that two ways. First, I
don't think the pool table business in bars and
taverns was affected that much by the sudden, very
large demand for home pool tables. People put
tables in their homes, but when out in a tavern or
bar situation, they would still play the one there.
They were probably even more inclined to play it.
Now with pinball: Mom has played the game at
home with the kids; she's no longer alienated,
absolutely opposed to walking up and playing a
machine. "It's just a pinball machine. I've done it
at home." So it's a little taller, it's a little wider,
relatively it's the same game.
Then there's the feel. While it's as close on the
home game as we could get it and stay in the price
range we're in, you will still enjoy playing the
coin-op game more. It's got a heavier feel to it
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