Play Meter
Issue: 1981 December 15 - Vol 7 Num 23 - Page 48
Critic's Corner SPECIAL
By Roger C. Sharpe
Looking forward,
•
through the m1rror
It seems strange that the 1981
AMOA is a thing of the past, even
though as of this writing, it has yet to
occur. By now all the rumors have
either been proved true regarding
the development and unveiling of
certain equipment, while other
expectations might not have been
met. Sitting here now it's especially
difficult to project any reactions,
even given all the advance
information I have about the
machines I'll be seeing in less than a
week.
Was it a video show? Did pinball
stage a comeback? Or was the new
celebrity some other variation on a
theme that crossed over into both
areas in the hope of further tapping
the existing and ever expanding
market for coin-op machines? These
questions will best be answered next
time around, when I'll try to recap
the show and further scrutinize the
pinball situation.
For this time around, what we
(Dave Pierson , Ray Tilley, and
myself) thought might be nice, given
the theme of the issue and its general
timing , was a departure from the
regular game review format to see
what the Corner and this writer ha ·Je
been about since the whole concept
was started about back in July of
1976.
The thing I can't believe in looking
back is just how long I've been
around, especially when I remember
those in the industry who thought I
would just disappear once I was
finished with my book. But I have
lingered around, loving every minute
of it , and marveling at the evolution
of the business and how far it's come
in five short years.
l think ol the pinball boom that
came and went ; the development
and surge of video and the
realization of New York City and
Chicago finally growing up to the fact
that coin -op games can exist. I look
back at when I first happened upon
the scene and the nature of pinball
PLAY METER , December 15, 1981
That was always the purpose of
the columns: a chance to take a closer
look, before deciding on your own
what's best for you and your
customers. Hopefully, it has
accomplished that much, by making
you more sensitive to the different
aspects of the machines.
I know I've wavered over the
years, have possibly played favorites
when I shouldn't have, or have taken
my own views too strongly without
considering all the other input that's
always been available. There are
games I look back on and I cringe at
what I wrote, others I feel fairly
comfortable with, and even a fair
share that I think have withstood the
test of the time.
My track record? You'll have to
decide, although I am constantly
changing and trying to reflect many
of the variables that impact on each
new model. All in all, I don't think I've
done too bad. Hopefully, you agree.
First game critic reuiewed:
Gottlieb's BUCCANEER/ July '76
( ## lf2 rating )
without solid state and even the
companies and some people who
have stayed, come and gone, or
shifted to other places. It is a
nostalgic feeling since I really came in
on the tail end of what had been a
"family" industry that's now turned
into big business with big
corporations now involved on many
different levels.
And through it all, there's been
Critic's Corner and this writer's
ongoing evaluation, appraisal, and
commentary on pinball machines in
particular and the state of the
industry in general. I even remember
how much criticism Ralph Lal ly and I
received when we first decided to try
this feature, but we still continued
with my belief always being (even
today) that when somebody pays
money for any product, they should
have some sense of what it's about.
The first 200
In looking back over the years,
from that first column in July, 1976 all
the way through to last issue's Black
Hole , I find it hard to imagine that I've
reviewed an even 200 different
machines. It's even harder to
imagine that that many different
models have been produced, not
counting the games that came and
went before I could even review
them.
To put the time into perspective
for those who might be more
nostalgic and sentimental, that first
Critic's Corner served up such
golden oldies as Gottlieb's
Buccaneer and Royal Flush, BaJJy's
Captain Fantastic and Old
Chicago, Williams' Aztec and- a
name from the past-Chicago
Coin's (remember them and who
they are now?) Cinema.
It 's amazing how things change.
But let's take a closer look at how the
companies have done, what the top
games (by this reviewer) were, how
51
By Roger C. Sharpe
Looking forward,
•
through the m1rror
It seems strange that the 1981
AMOA is a thing of the past, even
though as of this writing, it has yet to
occur. By now all the rumors have
either been proved true regarding
the development and unveiling of
certain equipment, while other
expectations might not have been
met. Sitting here now it's especially
difficult to project any reactions,
even given all the advance
information I have about the
machines I'll be seeing in less than a
week.
Was it a video show? Did pinball
stage a comeback? Or was the new
celebrity some other variation on a
theme that crossed over into both
areas in the hope of further tapping
the existing and ever expanding
market for coin-op machines? These
questions will best be answered next
time around, when I'll try to recap
the show and further scrutinize the
pinball situation.
For this time around, what we
(Dave Pierson , Ray Tilley, and
myself) thought might be nice, given
the theme of the issue and its general
timing , was a departure from the
regular game review format to see
what the Corner and this writer ha ·Je
been about since the whole concept
was started about back in July of
1976.
The thing I can't believe in looking
back is just how long I've been
around, especially when I remember
those in the industry who thought I
would just disappear once I was
finished with my book. But I have
lingered around, loving every minute
of it , and marveling at the evolution
of the business and how far it's come
in five short years.
l think ol the pinball boom that
came and went ; the development
and surge of video and the
realization of New York City and
Chicago finally growing up to the fact
that coin -op games can exist. I look
back at when I first happened upon
the scene and the nature of pinball
PLAY METER , December 15, 1981
That was always the purpose of
the columns: a chance to take a closer
look, before deciding on your own
what's best for you and your
customers. Hopefully, it has
accomplished that much, by making
you more sensitive to the different
aspects of the machines.
I know I've wavered over the
years, have possibly played favorites
when I shouldn't have, or have taken
my own views too strongly without
considering all the other input that's
always been available. There are
games I look back on and I cringe at
what I wrote, others I feel fairly
comfortable with, and even a fair
share that I think have withstood the
test of the time.
My track record? You'll have to
decide, although I am constantly
changing and trying to reflect many
of the variables that impact on each
new model. All in all, I don't think I've
done too bad. Hopefully, you agree.
First game critic reuiewed:
Gottlieb's BUCCANEER/ July '76
( ## lf2 rating )
without solid state and even the
companies and some people who
have stayed, come and gone, or
shifted to other places. It is a
nostalgic feeling since I really came in
on the tail end of what had been a
"family" industry that's now turned
into big business with big
corporations now involved on many
different levels.
And through it all, there's been
Critic's Corner and this writer's
ongoing evaluation, appraisal, and
commentary on pinball machines in
particular and the state of the
industry in general. I even remember
how much criticism Ralph Lal ly and I
received when we first decided to try
this feature, but we still continued
with my belief always being (even
today) that when somebody pays
money for any product, they should
have some sense of what it's about.
The first 200
In looking back over the years,
from that first column in July, 1976 all
the way through to last issue's Black
Hole , I find it hard to imagine that I've
reviewed an even 200 different
machines. It's even harder to
imagine that that many different
models have been produced, not
counting the games that came and
went before I could even review
them.
To put the time into perspective
for those who might be more
nostalgic and sentimental, that first
Critic's Corner served up such
golden oldies as Gottlieb's
Buccaneer and Royal Flush, BaJJy's
Captain Fantastic and Old
Chicago, Williams' Aztec and- a
name from the past-Chicago
Coin's (remember them and who
they are now?) Cinema.
It 's amazing how things change.
But let's take a closer look at how the
companies have done, what the top
games (by this reviewer) were, how
51
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).