Play Meter
Issue: 2016 September - Vol 42 Num 9 - Page 18
COVER STORY
Left: Original AAMA
members circa 1986.
Below: Glenn Braswell,
one of AAMA’s first
leaders, is interviewed
during an early trade
show.
AAMA:
Badge of honor
What do Howard Stern, MTV, San-
dra Day O'Connor, and the American
Amusement Machine Association have
in common? They each began a jour-
ney in 1981 that has lasted 35 years.
Stern found stardom as a radio
personality, MTV debuted in August,
O'Connor began her tenure as the first
female Justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court, and the AAMA was founded to
represent the booming arcade machine
industry.
That year, the arcade game indus-
try was worth about $8 billion ($20
billion in 2015). To compare, the total
revenue for the U.S. music industry
last year was around $15 billion. With
such a colossal market, who would
make sure the industry is protected for
future generations of token-dealing,
ticket-redeeming arcade players?
In Jan. 1981, Gary Stern, then Pres-
ident of Stern Electronics; Michael R.
Stroll, then President of Williams Elec-
tronics; and Joseph Robbins, then Pres-
PLAY METER
ident of Atari, founded the Amusement
Device Manufacturers Association in
Illinois, eventually renamed AAMA in
1985, with the mission to preserve,
protect, and promote the coin-operated
amusement industry.
Originally set up as a manufactur-
er association, the AAMA has grown
to include distributors, parts suppliers,
and more recently, owners and opera-
tors of family entertainment centers.
"Individuals may not have much of
a voice, but being able to unify every-
one is a powerful force," says AAMA
Executive Vice President Pete Gus-
tafson of the association's role in pro-
viding a forum for the industry.
Uniting for the greater good has
been a major theme throughout
AAMA's history. Most notably, in
2000, AAMA and its sister associa-
tion, the Amusement and Music Oper-
ators Association, developed the Video
Game Parental Advisory System for
coin-operated video games when the
36
city of Indianapolis enacted legislation
banning children under the age of
18 access to video games containing
scenes of graphic violence or graphic
sexuality.
AAMA and AMOA joined forces in
a successful appeal against the legis-
lation. It was seen as a landmark case
and led to a reboot of the industry's
Parental Advisory System that's still in
use today, says Gustafson.
The two associations have also
combined the Amusement Showcase
International and the International
AMOA Expo to form the Amusement
Expo International--the must-attend
annual trade show of the coin-operat-
ed amusement industry--and also fre-
quently travel to Capital Hill each year
to meet with lawmakers and to advo-
cate for the industry.
The first Capital Hill visit of 2016
took place April 12. Directed by the
associations' D.C.-based legislative/
lobbying firm, Dentons LLP, the
nine-member group, consisting of con-
stituents from both associations, split
into two teams to divide and conquer
SEPTEMBER 2016
Left: Original AAMA
members circa 1986.
Below: Glenn Braswell,
one of AAMA’s first
leaders, is interviewed
during an early trade
show.
AAMA:
Badge of honor
What do Howard Stern, MTV, San-
dra Day O'Connor, and the American
Amusement Machine Association have
in common? They each began a jour-
ney in 1981 that has lasted 35 years.
Stern found stardom as a radio
personality, MTV debuted in August,
O'Connor began her tenure as the first
female Justice of the U.S. Supreme
Court, and the AAMA was founded to
represent the booming arcade machine
industry.
That year, the arcade game indus-
try was worth about $8 billion ($20
billion in 2015). To compare, the total
revenue for the U.S. music industry
last year was around $15 billion. With
such a colossal market, who would
make sure the industry is protected for
future generations of token-dealing,
ticket-redeeming arcade players?
In Jan. 1981, Gary Stern, then Pres-
ident of Stern Electronics; Michael R.
Stroll, then President of Williams Elec-
tronics; and Joseph Robbins, then Pres-
PLAY METER
ident of Atari, founded the Amusement
Device Manufacturers Association in
Illinois, eventually renamed AAMA in
1985, with the mission to preserve,
protect, and promote the coin-operated
amusement industry.
Originally set up as a manufactur-
er association, the AAMA has grown
to include distributors, parts suppliers,
and more recently, owners and opera-
tors of family entertainment centers.
"Individuals may not have much of
a voice, but being able to unify every-
one is a powerful force," says AAMA
Executive Vice President Pete Gus-
tafson of the association's role in pro-
viding a forum for the industry.
Uniting for the greater good has
been a major theme throughout
AAMA's history. Most notably, in
2000, AAMA and its sister associa-
tion, the Amusement and Music Oper-
ators Association, developed the Video
Game Parental Advisory System for
coin-operated video games when the
36
city of Indianapolis enacted legislation
banning children under the age of
18 access to video games containing
scenes of graphic violence or graphic
sexuality.
AAMA and AMOA joined forces in
a successful appeal against the legis-
lation. It was seen as a landmark case
and led to a reboot of the industry's
Parental Advisory System that's still in
use today, says Gustafson.
The two associations have also
combined the Amusement Showcase
International and the International
AMOA Expo to form the Amusement
Expo International--the must-attend
annual trade show of the coin-operat-
ed amusement industry--and also fre-
quently travel to Capital Hill each year
to meet with lawmakers and to advo-
cate for the industry.
The first Capital Hill visit of 2016
took place April 12. Directed by the
associations' D.C.-based legislative/
lobbying firm, Dentons LLP, the
nine-member group, consisting of con-
stituents from both associations, split
into two teams to divide and conquer
SEPTEMBER 2016
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).