Play Meter
Issue: 1984 March 15 - Vol 10 Num 5 - Page 82
nEWS BRIEFS
Two weeks after banks cut off all credit, Pizza Time Theatre has accepted the resignation o f
Nolan Bushnell and two other board members. Bushnell, who owns approximately 19 percent of Pizza
Time stock, has removed himself from executive authority and responsibility for Pizza Time and for its
wholly owned subsidiary, Sente Technologies. However, he remains as an employee with " creative
leadership" duties, as described by a company spokesman .
Former Pizza Time president and co-founder Joseph Keenan has replaced Bushnell as chairman
of the board, and Randall Pike and Henry Montgomery were hired to executive positions and
appointed to the board . (Complete story in Play Meter's April 1 issue)
--·--
--·--
After a full year of absence from the industry, Jack Mittel has returned as a consultant to Digital
Controls, the Atlanta-based countertop video game manufacturer. Mittel resigned from Taito America
last year after three years as its president. Previously he had occupied executive positions with D .
Gottlieb & Co. (now Mylstar).
An 18-year-old Manhattan youth was killed with a baseball bat at the Marc h Toys game room in
New York City.
The victim was attacked inside the arcade by two other teenagers following a " petty dispute,"
according to police. " You could tell when they walked in they wanted trouble," a 14-year-old said .
" They knocked him to the floor and were hitting him for five minutes. " The beaten youngster was
taken to Cornell Medical Center where he died the following da y.
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs had been trying to close the arcade since it
opened in October 1981 , charging it with two violations: unlicensed operation of an arcade and
violating zoning provisions limiting the location of arcades . Owners argued March Toys was a retail
outlet, that youngsters' quarters were down pa yments toward the purchase or lea se of the machine s.
Police said the arcade was closed the day after the youth 's death and the y are unable to locate
the owners.
--·--
A Dyersburg, Tennessee, operator has been convicted of locating more than 90 video poker
machines in Dyer County. According to local District Attorney Jim Horner, Bob Daniel of Volunteer
Amusement had machines in more than 40 bars that were raided Augu st 19. Daniel awaits sentencing,
which could net him as much as five years in prison and up to $30,000 in fines.
Meanwhile, Daniel ' s games could be destroyed pending a court order. Horner said that, despite
debate over interpretation of a Tennessee statute, most district attorneys there agree video card games
offering more than 15 replays are gambling devices and illegal.
--·--
Calling it Coronation Day, Twin Galaxies International Scoreboard honored the top U.S. video
game players of .1983 on January 14. Bill Mitchell, 18, of Hollywood, Florida, and Tim Collum, 20, of
Boyd, Texas, were named the nation's top and second best players respectively. The Ottumwa, Iowa-
based high scores clearinghouse also recognized Exidy' s Crossbow which the International Scoreboard
determined to be an exceptional new game, and to Williams, for its pioneering spirit in donating video
game " cadavers" for use as educational tools at a local high school.
--·--
PlAY METEP.. March 15. 1984
Two weeks after banks cut off all credit, Pizza Time Theatre has accepted the resignation o f
Nolan Bushnell and two other board members. Bushnell, who owns approximately 19 percent of Pizza
Time stock, has removed himself from executive authority and responsibility for Pizza Time and for its
wholly owned subsidiary, Sente Technologies. However, he remains as an employee with " creative
leadership" duties, as described by a company spokesman .
Former Pizza Time president and co-founder Joseph Keenan has replaced Bushnell as chairman
of the board, and Randall Pike and Henry Montgomery were hired to executive positions and
appointed to the board . (Complete story in Play Meter's April 1 issue)
--·--
--·--
After a full year of absence from the industry, Jack Mittel has returned as a consultant to Digital
Controls, the Atlanta-based countertop video game manufacturer. Mittel resigned from Taito America
last year after three years as its president. Previously he had occupied executive positions with D .
Gottlieb & Co. (now Mylstar).
An 18-year-old Manhattan youth was killed with a baseball bat at the Marc h Toys game room in
New York City.
The victim was attacked inside the arcade by two other teenagers following a " petty dispute,"
according to police. " You could tell when they walked in they wanted trouble," a 14-year-old said .
" They knocked him to the floor and were hitting him for five minutes. " The beaten youngster was
taken to Cornell Medical Center where he died the following da y.
The New York City Department of Consumer Affairs had been trying to close the arcade since it
opened in October 1981 , charging it with two violations: unlicensed operation of an arcade and
violating zoning provisions limiting the location of arcades . Owners argued March Toys was a retail
outlet, that youngsters' quarters were down pa yments toward the purchase or lea se of the machine s.
Police said the arcade was closed the day after the youth 's death and the y are unable to locate
the owners.
--·--
A Dyersburg, Tennessee, operator has been convicted of locating more than 90 video poker
machines in Dyer County. According to local District Attorney Jim Horner, Bob Daniel of Volunteer
Amusement had machines in more than 40 bars that were raided Augu st 19. Daniel awaits sentencing,
which could net him as much as five years in prison and up to $30,000 in fines.
Meanwhile, Daniel ' s games could be destroyed pending a court order. Horner said that, despite
debate over interpretation of a Tennessee statute, most district attorneys there agree video card games
offering more than 15 replays are gambling devices and illegal.
--·--
Calling it Coronation Day, Twin Galaxies International Scoreboard honored the top U.S. video
game players of .1983 on January 14. Bill Mitchell, 18, of Hollywood, Florida, and Tim Collum, 20, of
Boyd, Texas, were named the nation's top and second best players respectively. The Ottumwa, Iowa-
based high scores clearinghouse also recognized Exidy' s Crossbow which the International Scoreboard
determined to be an exceptional new game, and to Williams, for its pioneering spirit in donating video
game " cadavers" for use as educational tools at a local high school.
--·--
PlAY METEP.. March 15. 1984
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).