Play Meter

California action on franchise sales
enjoins American Game Exchange
California state authorities have
entered into a stipulated final judge-
ment and permanent injunction with
American Game Exchange, of San
Diego, which also does business as
Supercade, and the firm's president,
Bradford L. Edwards.
The firm sells investors video and
other electronic games which are to
be set up as an amusement center
arcade.
State Attorney General George
Deukmejian, San Diego District
Attorney Edwin L. Miller, Jr., and
Commissioner of Corporations
Geraldine D. Green in their legal
action alleged that American Game
Exchange had violated California's
consumer protection laws, accord-
ing to documents filed in late
November, 1981.
The firm purportedly sold fran-
chises which had not been registered
with the Corporation Commis-
sioner's Office, sold business oppor-
tunities in violation of the state's
Seiler Assisted Marketing Plan Act
prior to the time the company was
registered with the Secretary of
State's Office, and misrepresented
the profits which could be made by
those who purchased an amusement
center.
In entering into the stipulated
judgement, the defendants agreed to
make offers of restitution to
individuals who were sold game
centers in violation of the law and to
pay a total of $40,000 for civil penal-
ties and costs.
The defendants also agreed that
they would:
1. Not sell any seller-assisted
marketing plan until such time as
they register with the Secretary of
State's Office;
2. Not sell any franchise until they
are registered with the Commis-
sioner of Corporations;
3. Not make any misrepresenta-
tions regarding available locations
for amusement centers, or that the
investor's business will be estab-
lished in any specific period of time
unless it will be, or that a purchaser
can earn any specific amount of
money unless at least 75 percent of
previous purchasers have earned
such an amount or that defendants
will provide investors with services
that they do not in fact provide. •
Gremlin employees aid quality control
Sega/ Gremlin has instituted a
"Quality Circles" program at
Gremlin Industries as part of an
overall program to boost produc-
tivity and quality control, said Duane
Blough, president of Gremlin.
The Quality Circles concept
already has proven extremely
successful at Gremlin's sister manu-
facturing subsidiary, Sega Enter-
prises, Ltd., in Japan, Blough said.
Training workshops for Gremlin
employees are routinely conducted
by "Quality Circle" leaders and out-
side consultants.
"The program encourages
Gremlin employees to participate in
solving work -related problems,"
Blough explained. "Each circle is
composed of employees who do
similar work. These employees meet
regularly on a voluntary basis to
exchange ideas for improving job
performance, productivity, safety,
quality and other work-related
areas."
Two -way communication is
central to the Quality Circles pro-
gram. "We have established direct
channels of communication between
line workers and management,"
Blough said.
Quality Circles are people-
oriented and focus on self improve-
ment. "They are not intended to
PLAY METER, February 15, 1982
introduce radical changes in the
organizational structure . Instead,
the circles help employees express
themselves and understand more
clearly what management expects of
them,'' said the manufacturer.
"Quality Circles encourage the
organization to work more efficiently
toward a common goal: success,"
Blough conclude~i.
•
Two youths play Donkey Kong, currently top game in Play Meter's
equipment Poll. In some locations, the Nintendo game was reported to be
more popular than mouies ... in theater locations. For tracking of the
current top videos and pingames, see Equipment Poll on page 12.
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