Play Meter

Marcus at helm of Empire Dist.
Robert E. Mullane, chairman and
president of Bally Manufacturing
Corp . announced the appointment
July 11 of Jerome M arcus as
president of Empire Distributing
Company, a wholly owned subsidi-
ary of Bally .
Marcus was formerly executive
vice president of Empire , which is
located at 2828 North Paulina
Avenue in Chicago and operates five
major distribution centers in the
Midwest. In addition to distributing
the full line of Bally pinball and
Midway video games throughout the
Midwest, Empire distributes amuse-
ment equipment manufactured by
other companies.
Marcus, who is 50 and lives in
Deerfield , Illinois, joined Empire in
1976. He has been associated with
the coin -op industry for 23 years .
Joseph Robbins preceded Marcus
as president of Empire .
Jerry Marcus
Atari game arcade aids oorthy cause
Atari recently co -sponsored a game
arcade as part of a fund -raising event
over the Fourth of July weekend .
The event called " Tapestry in Talent"
is an annual affair sponsored by the
San Jose, California , Parks and
Recreation Department and San
Jose Youth Commission to benefit
area youth programs . It was esti -
mated that more than one million
people attended the three day event
which featured a wide variety of
crafts, food booths , and entertain -
ment .
In addition to proceeds from game
play, Atari T -shirts , belt buckles, key
chains, and posters were sold to
enthusiastic players at the arcade .
A local radio station sponsored a
youth music stage nearby and helped
to publicize the game arcade .
A large store in the festival area
was donated by a local businessman
for the arcade . Nineteen Atari
games. including ten Asteroids were
placed in the building .
As part of the plan to draw players
to the arcade, an Asteroids tourna-
ment was held each afternoon . Prizes
were awarded for the three highest
daily scores .
Proceeds from the event will be
used for recreation equipment , teen
drop -in centers, and other needs of
the youth program . Many families
attending discovered the fun of
playing electronic games, knowing
that the proceeds would benefit
community youth .
Distributors and operators across
the country can capitalize on this idea
by seeking opportunities to become
involved with worthwhile causes in
their communities .
New NAMA directory lists over 2,000 units
The 1980 Directory of Members of
the National Automatic Merchan -
dising Association (NAMA) , listing
nearly 2.000 vending and food -
service management units , as well as
equipment and product manufac-
turer members , has just been issued ,
according to Mildred B . Larson ,
director of membership services .
Organized by states and cities , the
operator directory provides in for-
mation about the types of services
and products offered by each firm
and whether the company operates a
food preparation commissary or
office coffee services .
NAMA member firms receive one
copy free and may order additional
copies at $2.50 each. The directory
is available to non -members of
NAMA at $75 per copy . Orders
should be addressed to NAMA at 11 7
South Dearborn Street, Chicago ,
Illinois 60603 .
COIN NOTES: EUROPE
Crompton into video
LONDON - Alfred Crompton Ltd. is
reported ready to enter the video
field with an agreement to manufac-
ture Sigma 's Red Tank under license
in Britain.
Jim Crompton of the Ramsgate
firm told the coin trade press that the
game machine was to be the first of a
new line of videos planned for manu-
facture by Cromptons. A line of three
or four different videos were antici -
pated to be exhibited at the London
Preview, October 1-2 at the Cunard
Hotel, Hammersmith . These games
would have a variety of sizes offering
six or more separate machine
modes , said Jim Crompton .
" We have been studying video
manufacture for quite a time now
and for the past eight months have
had manufacturing methods under
intensive investigation ," he said . " We
feel it is absolutely essential that we
diversity as far possible in the present
climate of the industry. "
The company reported
high
money earnings from Red Tank,
compared to other videos in its
arcade test site at Margate .
Brussels a sell-out
Eurautomat was reported to be a
sell -out in July by the managing
director of the Belgian trade show .
0. de Munck said extra exhibit space
adjoining the Rubens Hall in Expo
Rogier Center has been sought for
housing more exhibitors in the
Brussels show .
Eurautomat dates are September
23 - 25 .
'Talking' video
The first talking video game to be
launched on the British market was
unveiled at the opening of Gayton
Games' new showrooms in North-
ampton in mid -July .
The game was Space Echo, an
upright color video with a space
theme. Built by Gayton using elec-
tronics imported from Japan, the
game features space ships which fly
across the screen and fire missiles at
the
player's
sideways-moving
launcher.
The spaceships then
maneuver into position to carry off
one of the player's men to their own
battlefield , collecting in the top left
corner. During the battle, the "kid-
napped" men cry out "Help me!"
amid the sound effects of "Bonus"
for high score , among other phrases .