Play Meter

f ROM THE EDITOR Take that leap of faith M y good friend Lou Larson called after reading my editorial about cartoon characters [August 1991] and jokingly told me that I watched entirely too much TV when I was growing up ! Well, Lou, you could never accuse me of seeing too many movies when I tell you that it was just this week that I finally saw "Days of Thunder," a wonderful race car /love story movie with Tom Cruise and his now-wife Nicole Kidman. Just in case there are a few others who haven't seen it, let me briefly sum it up since there is a moral for us here. Tom Cruise is a race car driver; Kidman is cast as his doctor. She falls madly in love with him while treating him for injuries received in a car wreck. Cruise is a confident, almost cocky fellow, very sure of his abilities to convince others of his driving talents. It seems that he thinks he can do no wrong and, because of his confidence , everything does seem to go right. During a race - he had won countless races by this time-there is a multi-car pile-up with thick , black smoke billowing over the race track, totally obliterating the view. Cruise doesn't hesitate as he veers around the pile-up and drives right through the smoke. Suddenly, there is another car directly in his path and he swerves, spins, and crashes, suffering near-fatal injuries. Of course, with the loving care of his doctor, he heals quite nicely and PLAY METER 10 DECEMBER 1991 is medically able to return to race driving . I say medically able because the confidence that had been almost overbearing, the confidence in himself that made him a success, was replaced by apprehension and self-doubt about returning to the track. After playing it safe for awhile and literally being abandoned by all his former colleagues , he summons enough courage to try racing again. It looks like all is going well when, you guessed it, he finds himself in the same situation that nearly ended his career. He stares ahead at the smoky memory come to life and realizes he has a really tough decision to make: should he slow down and let others take the plunge through the unknown and surely lose the race, or should he do what he knows he should do-take the risk? Remember, this is a movie so the outcome is fairly obvious-he thrusts through the obstacle and comes out a winner, pulling his lost confidence from the melee. He is at the top once again because he had the faith in himself to make that decision, even though he had been burned before. The coin-op industry has been running similar races for years. No sooner is the confidence strong than a smoke screen appears . We 've plunged through it many times , sometimes finding near fatal injuries, sometimes coming out win- ners. But even when the injuries are bad enough to make us cry "uncle" we return for one more chance to prove that we can be winners. It's hard to take a risk, with race driving or buying video games , when there is- a chance of devastating results. But that's what sets the true coin-op survivors apart from those who have simply viewed the industry as a "quick buck" venture. Those guys have been willing to pack it in after only one collision. The true coin-oppers brush themselves off and are ready to take the next chance. We 're lucky to be in an industry that gives us so many opportunities and options. If video games are a losing proposition, then redemption may be the answer. Pretty soon video will be back on the top of the heap. Video lottery may be the next shot in the arm. There are always surprises and something to revive the spirits and heal tl).e injuries of those whose confidence may have been bruised. Sure, it's hard work and disappointing sometimes. But it boils down to one thing: once you get the industry flowing through your veins, it 's awfully hard to leave it. We have to be willing to take risks to be successful. Valerie Cognevich Editor