Play Meter
Issue: 1978 August 15 - Vol 4 Num 15 - Page 46
Continued from page 25
many businessmen asking the sales
people questions and , like you,
perhaps, trying to figure out how
they can join in on the fun .
Instead of brand names like Atari ,
and Midway , you 'll quickly become
familiar with names like SOL and
Apple . Because of your game
interests, you 'll learn that the Apple
Computer, made in Cuperinto ,
California , is the most game-orient-
ed . It is one of the few that comes
with game joy sticks, and Apple
owners begin learning how to
operate it by programming such
games as Space Wars and Pong .
On one of my first trips to a
Pasadena Byte Shop , [ began
looking for applications to the game
field . [ learned about such exciting
computer accessories as a Compu-
talker speech synthesizer, where you
can trigger a computer to actually talk
with pre-programmed phrases (Atari
is beginning to use this technology) .
Another accessory promised to
translate the spoken word to a
written word on the video screen .
Almost all of these stores have a
book and magazine section, which
makes them a combination of space
age arcade , retail store, and library . [
bought several books on learninQ the
basic computer language , one called
"Creating Your Own Games" by
David H . Ahl. [ began traveling as
much as fifty miles away to see other
computer stores. By this time , [ had
entered that dangerous phase en-
countered by almost all computer
hobbyists . PLAY METER didn't get
copy from me for more than two
months . My family saw less and less
of me .
However , [ attended a weekend
computer conference in Long Beach
and took along my 13-year-old son,
Scott. Admittedly, [ took him so he
could learn the basic language and
teach me! When he got to the Radio
Shack booth with the new personal
computers, his attention was glued
for the rest of the day . He also
bought another book on basic
language and a computer theme
T-shirt.
These new minicomputers are the
greatest educational tools yet intro-
duced into the marketplace . If you
have youngsters , get them involved
with learning as much as possible
about the new minicomputers and
the learning of basic language .
Observing the enthusiasm of kids'
involvement should also give you a
hint of what's happening with the
overall spectrum in our rapidly
accelerating world of games. The
kids want more than just playing
games. Hell , they want to create their
own games! And when [ say games,
50
their idea of a game may be
completely different than anything
yo u've ever imagined . Their game
may be a war of the worlds , where
th ey become the I
interaction with the machine - which
perhaps is the underlying reason for
the exploding success of all these
personal computers .
So it's time to hook up one of
these minicomputers to a dollar bill
validator system and let them buy
time to operate them . [n this manner ,
it will lead this industry into an entire
new , accepted pricing concept of
selling time , versus game units . I
visualize terminals in an arcade -like
setting where some may be playing
entertainment games , while others
may be doing their homework .
Terminals linked to a central
computer in a shopping mall family
amusement center will allow many
participants to compete against each
other in galactic-type outer-space
wars on a big screen television .
Chain store amusement companies
may soon go one step further : link up
all their stores with telephone lease
lines, or satellite systems, whereby
the customers can compete with the
same store's customers in other
cities .
The technology is here today . We
just need entrepeneurs to implement
it. [n the past several years ,
aggressive entrepeneurs like Jules
Millman have forged the lOO-plus
chain of Aladdin 's Castles, pur-
chased by Bally ; Craig Singer (this
month's Coin man) now has 37
shopping mall locations for his
various amusement centers under
such names as Electronic America ,
Gold Mine , and Tilt. Sega, another
major mall operator , has elaborately
decorated amusement centers . All
provide the potential platform for my
proposal.
Companies like those and perhaps
smaller operators with even one large
arcade will realize the profound
potential of a multi-terminal com-
puter operation on a pay-for-use
basis . These games people will begin
probing in the computer stores,
buying the equipment, and getting
technicians to install it. The first
pleasant surprise will be they will
discover it attracts a higher educated
person of all ages , who may be
willing to spend far more money than
previous game customers. Thus it
promises to be a great blessing for the
industry , while once' again enhancing
our image .
[n summary , the game industry
and the personal computer industry
are at the blind-date stage now , but [
see a forthcoming marriage that will
spawn a lot of "children ." This will be
a good marriage that will produce
e v n more respectability for the
amusement gam e industry .
It will be interesting to see how
many from the coin -op industry get
in on the honeymoon period action .
For reference , here [ will distill my
experiences with various types of
computers:
(1) The Bally Home Library Com-
puter is the best , economical intro-
ductory computer for you to buy , but
it is extremely frustrating not to be
able to buy the keyboard now . [ think
Bally has done itself a great injustice
to offer the unit without keyboard
availability , which may cause many
people to switch their allegiances to
other units , rather than wait months .
A computer enthusiast will want to
do more than play games and math
problems .
(2) The Apple computer is the most
versatile for a wide range of missions
from games to graphics to storing
your financial records on a cassette .
And the price is under $1200 . One
fri end of mine purchased the boards
and keyboard, without the type-
writer-loo king , overall cover , and
saved several hundred dollars . Even
more amusing , when he finally
purchased the factory 's cover, the
price was still considerably lower .
The Apple computer is probably the
unit to use in setting up a pay-for-use
minicomputer terminal.
(3) Radio Shack's computers look
excelle nt , but they are not com-
patible with regular television sets,
nor color TVs.
(4) Compucolor , of Norcross , Geor-
gia , exhibited a Compucolor II at a
computer show which greatly im-
pressed me . It had the most brilliant
color graphics I've yet seen . The
company also offers software "disk-
ettes" in StarTrek, Blackjack, One -
Armed Bandit , Acey Deucey , Bluff,
Chess , Checkers , Lunar Landing,
and Biorhythems . Moreover , al-
though they require a special TV set,
the disc is loaded into the right
section of the TV . Thus for enter-
prising operators wishing to do
experimental conversions, after in-
stalling their Compucolor TV , the
only exterior hardware would be a
keyboard . Compucolor II sells for
approximately $1200.
(5) Exidy unveiled its Sorcerer
minicomputer at a Long Beach
computer show . However , this ap-
pears more geared strictly for
business , and may be excellent for
your office, rather than relying on it
now for game applications. I have
long respected Exidy's quality rec-
ord , and it appears as though their
e ntry into the personal computer
field features a highly respectable unit
for approximately $800 .
PLAY METER, August, 1978
many businessmen asking the sales
people questions and , like you,
perhaps, trying to figure out how
they can join in on the fun .
Instead of brand names like Atari ,
and Midway , you 'll quickly become
familiar with names like SOL and
Apple . Because of your game
interests, you 'll learn that the Apple
Computer, made in Cuperinto ,
California , is the most game-orient-
ed . It is one of the few that comes
with game joy sticks, and Apple
owners begin learning how to
operate it by programming such
games as Space Wars and Pong .
On one of my first trips to a
Pasadena Byte Shop , [ began
looking for applications to the game
field . [ learned about such exciting
computer accessories as a Compu-
talker speech synthesizer, where you
can trigger a computer to actually talk
with pre-programmed phrases (Atari
is beginning to use this technology) .
Another accessory promised to
translate the spoken word to a
written word on the video screen .
Almost all of these stores have a
book and magazine section, which
makes them a combination of space
age arcade , retail store, and library . [
bought several books on learninQ the
basic computer language , one called
"Creating Your Own Games" by
David H . Ahl. [ began traveling as
much as fifty miles away to see other
computer stores. By this time , [ had
entered that dangerous phase en-
countered by almost all computer
hobbyists . PLAY METER didn't get
copy from me for more than two
months . My family saw less and less
of me .
However , [ attended a weekend
computer conference in Long Beach
and took along my 13-year-old son,
Scott. Admittedly, [ took him so he
could learn the basic language and
teach me! When he got to the Radio
Shack booth with the new personal
computers, his attention was glued
for the rest of the day . He also
bought another book on basic
language and a computer theme
T-shirt.
These new minicomputers are the
greatest educational tools yet intro-
duced into the marketplace . If you
have youngsters , get them involved
with learning as much as possible
about the new minicomputers and
the learning of basic language .
Observing the enthusiasm of kids'
involvement should also give you a
hint of what's happening with the
overall spectrum in our rapidly
accelerating world of games. The
kids want more than just playing
games. Hell , they want to create their
own games! And when [ say games,
50
their idea of a game may be
completely different than anything
yo u've ever imagined . Their game
may be a war of the worlds , where
th ey become the I
interaction with the machine - which
perhaps is the underlying reason for
the exploding success of all these
personal computers .
So it's time to hook up one of
these minicomputers to a dollar bill
validator system and let them buy
time to operate them . [n this manner ,
it will lead this industry into an entire
new , accepted pricing concept of
selling time , versus game units . I
visualize terminals in an arcade -like
setting where some may be playing
entertainment games , while others
may be doing their homework .
Terminals linked to a central
computer in a shopping mall family
amusement center will allow many
participants to compete against each
other in galactic-type outer-space
wars on a big screen television .
Chain store amusement companies
may soon go one step further : link up
all their stores with telephone lease
lines, or satellite systems, whereby
the customers can compete with the
same store's customers in other
cities .
The technology is here today . We
just need entrepeneurs to implement
it. [n the past several years ,
aggressive entrepeneurs like Jules
Millman have forged the lOO-plus
chain of Aladdin 's Castles, pur-
chased by Bally ; Craig Singer (this
month's Coin man) now has 37
shopping mall locations for his
various amusement centers under
such names as Electronic America ,
Gold Mine , and Tilt. Sega, another
major mall operator , has elaborately
decorated amusement centers . All
provide the potential platform for my
proposal.
Companies like those and perhaps
smaller operators with even one large
arcade will realize the profound
potential of a multi-terminal com-
puter operation on a pay-for-use
basis . These games people will begin
probing in the computer stores,
buying the equipment, and getting
technicians to install it. The first
pleasant surprise will be they will
discover it attracts a higher educated
person of all ages , who may be
willing to spend far more money than
previous game customers. Thus it
promises to be a great blessing for the
industry , while once' again enhancing
our image .
[n summary , the game industry
and the personal computer industry
are at the blind-date stage now , but [
see a forthcoming marriage that will
spawn a lot of "children ." This will be
a good marriage that will produce
e v n more respectability for the
amusement gam e industry .
It will be interesting to see how
many from the coin -op industry get
in on the honeymoon period action .
For reference , here [ will distill my
experiences with various types of
computers:
(1) The Bally Home Library Com-
puter is the best , economical intro-
ductory computer for you to buy , but
it is extremely frustrating not to be
able to buy the keyboard now . [ think
Bally has done itself a great injustice
to offer the unit without keyboard
availability , which may cause many
people to switch their allegiances to
other units , rather than wait months .
A computer enthusiast will want to
do more than play games and math
problems .
(2) The Apple computer is the most
versatile for a wide range of missions
from games to graphics to storing
your financial records on a cassette .
And the price is under $1200 . One
fri end of mine purchased the boards
and keyboard, without the type-
writer-loo king , overall cover , and
saved several hundred dollars . Even
more amusing , when he finally
purchased the factory 's cover, the
price was still considerably lower .
The Apple computer is probably the
unit to use in setting up a pay-for-use
minicomputer terminal.
(3) Radio Shack's computers look
excelle nt , but they are not com-
patible with regular television sets,
nor color TVs.
(4) Compucolor , of Norcross , Geor-
gia , exhibited a Compucolor II at a
computer show which greatly im-
pressed me . It had the most brilliant
color graphics I've yet seen . The
company also offers software "disk-
ettes" in StarTrek, Blackjack, One -
Armed Bandit , Acey Deucey , Bluff,
Chess , Checkers , Lunar Landing,
and Biorhythems . Moreover , al-
though they require a special TV set,
the disc is loaded into the right
section of the TV . Thus for enter-
prising operators wishing to do
experimental conversions, after in-
stalling their Compucolor TV , the
only exterior hardware would be a
keyboard . Compucolor II sells for
approximately $1200.
(5) Exidy unveiled its Sorcerer
minicomputer at a Long Beach
computer show . However , this ap-
pears more geared strictly for
business , and may be excellent for
your office, rather than relying on it
now for game applications. I have
long respected Exidy's quality rec-
ord , and it appears as though their
e ntry into the personal computer
field features a highly respectable unit
for approximately $800 .
PLAY METER, August, 1978
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).