Play Meter

FROM THE EDITOR The veil of secrecy lifted 0 Valerie Cognevich Editor PLAY METER n March 24 , AMOA finally spilled the beans on what the technological committee has been working on. The suspense was killing us because we had been hearing rumors about it for over two years and expected an official announcement long before this. In Dallas the suspense ended and the real questions began. AMOA past president Craig Johnson tried to explain the project . Our own Chris Caire was in attendance and upon returning to the office was bombarded with questions from managing editor Bonnie Theard and me . We figured that we weren't so much different from everyone else in the industry, who would be wanting all the details on NANI (National Amusement Network IncJ Chris wrote his coverage of the event in question -and -answer form (thanks, Chris, we needed that) to help explain exactly what this new concept is. If you happened to miss the story in the April issue , find your copy and turn to page 65, right before the ACME show coverage . This new concept , developed to increase video game profits, is something you'll want to know more about. At first, my mind could not get past the idea of asking operators to spend more money (figures of $1 ,000 per game were mentioned) on already-tooexpensive games simply to be a part of this network. But you could look at it differently and ask: "Is that all they have to pay to be a part of the program?" To put the concept in a nutshell-one about the size of Rhode Island is really needed-manufacturers have the opportunity to modify their games to be compatible with a system , which was d eveloped by NANI (co-owned by 8 AMOA) and EDS. Once a game is in a location, here's what happens: a player is issued a card that holds all kinds of information about him. Once the cardholder inserts this card into a game, he can join in leagues , see ads that pertain to his vital statistics, check his status in the tournament, etc. Even if operators are not running leagues, they supposedly can still benefit from joining NANI-security and data will be available . AMOA and EDS are both very excited about this program. So sure they are about it, Craig said , that operators not wanting to become a part of this will "be left behind and ultimately be put out of business." Pretty strong words, but spoken with sincerity. Craig, AMOA president R.A. Green, and the other board members involved in the planning of this program believe with all their hearts that this will revive the industry. They have faith that high-tech and even highertech is the answer to plummeting revenues and unstable collections. But the NANI solution is bound to raise even more questions , and we plan to find the answers to any question asked. We 'll be talking with state association leaders, small and large operators, distributors, and manufacturers. We'll find out why Williams was willing to be the first and why others were hesitant. If you have any questions , no matter how insignificant you think they are, please give us a call. If we don't know the answer, we 'll contact whoever we need to to find out. We will address the pros and cons of this new advancement and keep you posted on what we are hearing around the industry. Will NANI work? I can't say, "Yes, it will," anymore than I can say, "No , it won't." The reality is that no one really knows . But every operator owes it to himself to investigate the possibilities before he discounts it as simply an idea that will never work . It doesn 't cost anything to look into it; it could cost a lot if you don't. D MAY 1994