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UP FRONT
Cabbage Patch dolls
and videos
I realize it may be a bit early to make reference
to Christmas, but anyone who will be shopping for a
little girl knows that, just like last year, the most
wanted item is a Cabbage Patch doll. Last
Christmas and this year, otherwise normally sane
mothers and fathers stood in lines longer than those
you would probably find at a Michael Jackson
concert just to be able to purchase one doll (which
was the limit in some stores) .
You would think that Coleco would and
should have known that every little girl would want
a Cabbage Patch doll. Why didn't they step up pro-
duction? After you analyze the situation, you
realize Coleco knew there was going to be a
demand for the dolls.
I have to hand it to the company for creating
and maintaining the demand for the Cabbage Patch
dolls. The demand exceeds the supply, making
ownership all the more valuable. My sister-in-law
happened to be in a toy store the day a shipment of
the dolls arrived. One man rushed over and wanted
to buy 40 dolls! He obviously knew the resale value
would be tremendous.
Video games used to run a parallel course to
this. When they were introduced, the demand was
in excess of the supply. That uneven balance was
maintained throughout the video heyday. But what
happened? The supply began to outweigh the
demand and the supply kept growing as the
demand decreased. No manufacturer seemed to
realize that he should stop producing so many
games. And here we are-way too many games for
way too little demand.
But this situation could change. The demand
could again outweigh the supply because the indus-
try is experiencing a metamorphosis that isn't
finished.
I am in awe of Monroe for its success with
Birdie King. Monroe is not a large manufacturer out
to build astronomical numbers of games, but Birdie
King rivals the popularity of some games, backed by
thousands of dollars spent on promotion, produced
by larger manufacturers.
But some of these larger manufacturers are
realizing that smaller may be better than bigger in
today's market. The supply must stop exceeding
the demand.
Taito has cut down its operation and will
operate on a smaller scale more suited to today's
marketplace. It seems Atari is moving back into its
old facilit ies and has geared down operations. And,
although Mylstar has been closed, I feel that some-
one may revive the Gottlieb name that has been a
legend in this industry . He will have to revive the
company to a smaller scale than in past years, but
he will probably be very successful.
The key is to make the supply in proportion to
the demand. I believe this will happen in the coin-op
industry as more companies follow T a ito and
Atari's lead.
t/tthA.UJ (};~d.;
Valerie Cognevich
Editorial Director
6
PLAY METER, November 1 5, 1984