Play Meter

Gremlin handlers get
incentives, visual aids
M e nd e lson
M iln r r
Two regional managers
By Randy Fromm
Gremlin Indu tries in a recent dis -
tributor meeting in it
an Diego
facility outlined Gremlin's warranty
and incentive program . and intro
duced the latest Gremlin / Sega games
and a new video tape program.
Gremlin President Fra nk Fogelman
t>xplained that all Gremlin circuit
board carry a 90-day wa rr anty. with
a 30 day warranty on the momtor.
"In nrdcr to help our distributors
give tht> best possible service to the
operators who purchase Gremlin
g-ames. the distributor will receive a
$15 ·redit toward warranty repairs
for Pach game purchased," said Fogel ·
man. li e went on to outline the "board
inct>ntive program" which allows the
di!-.tributor to receive spare sets of
boards for advance ·replacement . By
providing distributors with spare sets
of boards. a defective board that's
covered by the warranty can be x-
changcd for a new one. reducing the
operator's downtime.
Also introduced at the meeting was
Grem lin's novel videotape program.
Those attending the meeting were
treated to videotaped "s hort subjects"
starring Grem lin 's Astro Fighter and
Diyqer video game . The tape are
dcsigm•d to help distributors explain
the play modes of new games to the
operators who arc looking to buy new
equipment for their routes. But there
arc many other u cs fo r the tapes.
such as a set-up in an arcade to intro-
duce new player to a video game they
haven't t ried before.
The tape were produced "in house"
by Gremlin's video tape production
director. Ron Stei n, whose former
position wa with an Diego's Public
Broadcasting ystem affiliate, KPB -
TV. Eac h of the tapes is a fanta y skit.
where the imaginary scenes portrayed
by the video game are projected into
real -life
ituation . In the Astra
Fiyhter tape. a woman a tronaut (a Ia
"Star Trek") call
to an un een
spaceship commande r . telling him of
the impending perils t hat approac h
their spacec raft. She becomes more
and mor e di traught a new waves of
alien spacecraft a ppr oac h the s hip -
and r eall y goe crazy when the "Space
Master" comes out.
The Digger tape portray a sm1ster
"\'incent Price" type of fellow that
sends his "creatures" out to get a
young man who carrie a hovel. The
digger tries to stay alive by digging a
hole in front of t he creature . and
filling them in with di r t when the
creature falls in. But alas. each time
tht> digger uccc fully bury all of the
creature . the villain end more in
after him. This tape production i a
great piece of su pense!
But the star of the how wa Grem -
lin's newest name. Carnival, a full
color video "shooting gall ery... To
introduce the distributor
to the
g-ame. Fogelman introduced Gremlin'
director of research and development,
Lane Ilauck.
Ilauc k explained that Carnival had
been in development for over one year,
during which time countle
different
variables of play were tried. Hauck
went on to describe Gremlin's attempt
to achieve what he termed "the magic
of pinball" in a video game. Carnival i
a realistic simulation of an old -
fashioned shooting gallery (k ind of like
Chicago Coin's , uperscope Rifle).
Thert> are rows of animals to s hoot at.
and a "pipe wheel" that has a few
diffl'rt>nt typl'S of scoring a oc iated
with it. The game ends when a player
run. out of bullets. but extra bullet
can be obtained by hitting ce r tain
targets a they r andomly appear on
the screen. Also in the program i a
flying duck that will fly down and eat
the supply of bullets if he's allowed
past without being hi t.
]Ed. note - An in-depth review of
Carniva l appeared in PLAY METER,
01'1 over 15. paqe 136. I
Also
hown at the distributors
meeting were excerpts from a video
tape that gave detailed service in -
formation about Grem lin's customer
service manager.
teve Margolin.
Tet·hnicians can view t he tape and gain
a thorough understanding of t he way
tht• system is suppo ed to function.
This is a new concept for the coin -op
amusement indu try , one which will.
hopefully, catc h on and ta ke root.
tagged at J-S
J -S ales o., Inc, billiard and
amu ement upply part hou e m
Mount Vernon,
ew York, ha
an noun ced t he appointment of
two new regional sales manager .
Paul Mendelson, who joined
the compa ny in June of 1979, has
been promoted to regional sale
manager for ew York and the
ew England tate . He had
been in the a le department,
er vicing the ew York metro-
politan area.
Marty Milner recently joined
the taff at J -S. lie wi ll be the
new regional ales manager for
the mid -Atlantic, South, and
Midwe t area . Milner ha a
background in ale and ha
worked for upply hou e in
other industrie .
Roth managers can be con -
tacted at J -
ale , 24
Third
Avenue, Mount Vernon,
ew
York 1 0550; te lephone: 212 /
324 -3 30 or 914 / 668-8051.
Shumsky enters
Sircoma sales
Si Redd, chairman of Sircoma,
announced the appointment of
Martin R. Shumsky to Sircoma's
sales force. Shumsky was former-
ly vice president of United
Billiards, a position he held for
t he past seven years. Previously,
he was director of distributor
operations for Rowe Internation-
al in Whippany, New Jersey and
Miami, Florida.
Redd stated that Sircoma "was
fortunate to get a man with
Shum ky 's wide industry back-
ground and ability. He will be an
immediate asset to us in our
amu ement division, and we also
plan to utilize his talents within
our gaming division ."