Play Meter

NAMA
sells out
Gene Roelle. field service engineerer for Stern. recently conducted a
successful series of service schools across the United States and Canada.
Beginning in August and running through January , the schools were held
in Denuer. Cleveland. Cincinnati , Atlanta. Fort Laudersale. San Juan.
Montgomery. Little Rock. Louisville. Minnesota. alt Lake City , Green
Bay . Montreal . San Francisco. and San Antonio. Above. mechanics pay
rapt attention to Roelle at Laniel Automatic in Montreal, Canada.
Game mix evaluation
vita l··operators
Operators participating in Atari's
"Tellus" operator survey during the
1979 AMOA Show revealed that
operators are scrutinizing game mix
on location as never before.
The survey, which is the first
operator study to separately examine
responses according to arcade-only
and route operators, sought to
determine the route operator's view
of video and pinball performance .
Over 43) operators responded to
questions on the " Tellus" terminals,
and over 125of these operators were
interviewed in depth . There was high
representation of route and arcade
operators who operate over EDO
units .
It was apparent from the survey
data that operators today are careful-
ly evaluating their mix of games in
each location . Concerned about
increasing profit in each location ,
operators are reassessing the video
game as the price difference between
pinball and video diminishes and the
difference in average earnings-life
disappears. While video traditionally
performs strongly in game centers,
route operators revealed that video
actually performs similarly or out-
performs
(according
to
some
variables) when compared to pinball
on location .
Route operators participating in
the survey disclosed that average
weekly earnings betwen video and
pinball are not significantly different.
In fact , video reaches higher levels
than pinball in many instances . And
on the average, a pinball is kept only
one or two weeks longer than a video
in a street location .
Surprisingly , significantly fewer
service calls are made on a new
video (7 .8 calls) than on a new
pinball (11. 7 calls) during the first
year. Too , route operators recover
video and pinball game costs in near-
ly the same amount of time (videos -
eleven and one half months versus
pinball - eleven months) .
Rotation timing of pins versus
videos is not appreciably different.
Generally a new pinball is rotated
every thirteen to fourteen weeks ,
while a new video is rotated every
thirteen to thirteen and one half
weeks . Most operators use straight -
line depreciation of three years or
five years , equally for both video and
pinball games.
Six weeks before the opening of
the 1980 NAMA Western Conven -
tion / Exhibit of Vending and Food -
service Management at Anaheim ,
California.
Sales
Director
Jack
Rielley announced a sellout of all
available space and a new record in
number of exhibitors and space used .
" We have signed more than 140
exhibitors and all available booths
have been sold. even after we
expanded the original floor plan, "
Rielley said . He said thirty companies
will be exhibiting for the first time . A
record 138 exhibitors participated
last year , up from 112 in 1978.
The convention and trade show
will be held at the Anaheim
Convention Center from March 14
through 16 .
Wayne Hood, president of Hood
Services. Inc .. Bellflower. California ,
has been named convention chair-
man and Mrs . Harold Steuber of
Long Beach. California, will be
chairman of the ladies' activities
program . Walter L. Koch , Rowe
International. Inc . . Whippany . New
Jersey , is chairman of the trade show
advisory committee .
Program sessions . scheduled on
Friday and Saturday morning , will
deal with vending company security
measures and achieving employee
productivity goals . Concurrent Sun -
day morning sessions will highlight
employee training, sanitation and
safety . establishing company policies
for employees and external commu -
nications .
All en P. Lucht. president and
chairman of Servomaton Corpor-
ation. Greenwich , Connecticut , and
Patrick L. O'Malley,
chairman.
Cant een Corporation, Chicago , will
be keynot e speakers on Friday and
Saturday . Lucht is 19 0 chairman of
NAMA and O'Malley is a past chair-
m an of I he as oc iation .
The convention banquet on Satur-
day night will feature singer Jody
Donovan and comedian George
W est . according to G .H . Tansey .
NAMA director of conventions .
Members of NAMA register free of
charge and representatives of non -
m ember operating companies will be
required to pay a I 1 S.per-person fee.
Th e registration cost for nonmember
manufacturers is $75 for the first
person and $3) each for any
additional persons from the same
company .
Furth er information and hotel
reservations can be obtained throuqh
th e NAMA office at 7 South
Dearbo rn tree!. Chicago . IL 60603 .