Star Tech Journal

April 1996
CID
Too MANY P1Ns?
My vendor feels like he "just
bought" Johnny Mnemonic, and
since then we've "seen" Congo,
A 73, and Mario Andretti come out,
with Attack From Mars about to
become available, Tales of The
Arabian Nights to follow along
with Goldeneye and Capcom's Air-
borne. All in about a 5 month pe-
riod!
Now consider that since he
bought]ohnny Mnemonic, the only
videos he bought were one Virtua
Cop II, one Area 57, one Open Ice,
and 4 Marvel Super Hero's. About
the only other 'contender' was
Fighting Vipers.
Consider that all of these have
been pulling in approx $300+ for
him per week while a new pin
can't compete with that. Yes, a
pin is longer term profits, but
game operators want cash now.
So, how in the world can a game
• operator possibly justify buying even
half of the available pins?
Considering the promise of At-
tack From Mars, Goldeneye, Air-
borne, and Tales of the Arabian
Nights, I think he should get them
all ... but I'll be lucky if he gets 1
or 2 or them.
Journal
STAR*TECH
Bulletin Board System
Chris Hehman
Triangle Pinball League
Raleigh, North Carolina
It just feels like there are too
many games coming out...am I
right?
STAR*TEcH
Get Online for FREE!
The point: Too many pins com-
ing out too quickly. And I think
a lot comes down to WMS/Bally
putting out 2 games at once in
rapid production. The pin mar-
ket just can't justify the operators
getting as many or more pins
than videos. At least not right
now. If pins were popular enough
where people were waiting to
play where there was a big row
of pins, it could be justified ... but
not now.
Speaking as a player (and
cu$tomer), my ideal arcade
would have a mix of- the newer
and older games. If limited to 6
pins, it would have:
Qty: 4 "permanent" games that
don't change often. Games like
Twilight Zone, The Addams Family,
Funhouse, Star Trek the Next Gen-
eration, Indianajones, Tommy, and
so forth that I just don't get tired
of playing. I'm less likely to go
to an arcade if I'm not sure I'll
always find at least one game
worth putting quarters in.
Qty: 2 "new" games that are the
latest and greatest. Rotate them
every month or so to get a good
sampling of what's out then:. I'm
more likely to go to an arcade if
I think they might have a new
game, and less likely if they
haven't changed their lineup in
several months.
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