Play Meter

Letters to
the editor • • •
Open letter to
manufacturers
To : Atari
Bally/ Midway
Williams
Gottlieb
Sega / Gremlin
Stern
Exidy
All Others
We , the distributors, are being
harassed and chopped up by the
copiers. It seems that copy machines
are taking a more and more prominent
spot in the U.S .A. marketplace, and
we , the American distributors, are
sufferin g, losing sales, losing cus-
tomers, a nd gene rall y losing status in
the industry.
You manufacturers are spending
millions of dollars in getting after these
copiers, and although you have
stopped some, others have cropped up
like weeds in a meadow.
How can we distributors sell a
machine for $2,500 when the copiers
are offering the same machine in a
copy version for $1 ,400 or $1 ,500?
Toda y Europe is dying - and
although many factors are involved
for this recession, one of the most
important reasons is the copy
machines , which have literally
destroyed the industry by destroying
reliability, by destroying the price
structure , and by totally losing the
confidence of the buyers.
You , the manufacturers, must do
something! Suing the copiers is
good - but you must go further . You
must cut out the source at its origin-
by making it impossible for copiers to
sell their machines.
PLAY METEP.. December 15. 1982
I am suggesting that you bring
prices down to levels that can compete
with the copiers. If prices are more in
line , the copiers could not sell, they
would not produce, and this problem
would slowly but surely be eliminated .
Manufacturers, we are appealing to
you to initiate such a policy quickly.
You are spending millions in legal fees ,
but these millions could easily go
toward reducing the price of video
games - thereby cutting out the
advantage of the copiers. This would
restore the legitimate distributor back
to his normal status, and operators
would return en masse to purchase
legitimate games from legitimate dis-
tributors.
The fly-by-night copy manufac-
turers, copy distributors, and copy
buyers would disappear, and our
industry will flourish because of it.
This is one man's opinion-but I
hope you will consider it.
Victor Haim
Chairman
R .H. Belam Company Inc.
Lake Success, New York
Audio Visual
Amusements
Offering the finest
new and used
equipment
REPRESENTING LEADING FACTORIES
• SALES , PARTS, SERVICE •
ARCADE PlANNING
SPECIALISTS
Every new and used video
in stock at all times
YOU'VE TRIED THE REST,
NOW TRY THE BEST
WE'RE EAGER TO SERVE
1809 Olive Street
St. Louis , Missouri 63103
(314) 421-5100
For further information, call Pete Entringer
(collect )
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