This month I'd like to cover a number of topics ranging from price per play, to the truckstop show, to a few notes on new products, to - hooray! - the agreement to stage the 1999 editions of AMOA Expo and Fun Expo on a cooperative basis. Let's start with the last one first since it's so timely and such good news for the entire industry.
As RePlay readers know, after years of conversation and discussion, debate, and entirely too much going back and forth, AMOA and Fun Expo have (finally) met in the middle. They will conduct a "side by side" industry show in Las Vegas next September. A "side by side" show is exactly what it says. Two shows (AMOA and Fun Expo) side by side. The details will be forthcoming, but it will be a great experience going to one show instead of two, and covering the total industry at one time.
Where it goes from here is anyone's guess. Will ASI join the AMOA and/or Fun Expo? Will they stay in the fall or move to the Spring? The interesting thing about this fall's arrangement between the AMOA and Fun Expo is that it is only a one year deal. With any luck, in the year 2000, we'll go to something, somewhere, involving the AMOA, Fun Expo, and ASI. The complaint against too many trade shows is louder than ever, and the attendees are voting with their absence.
Now a few words about price per play. In our gamerooms, we pride ourselves in operating the latest and greatest games in the industry. For years I've promoted a higher price per play across the board. Today it's not unusual at all for us to have a game room that has games starting at 50 cents per play, up to $1.00 per play. I've received feedback that perhaps we set the gameroom too well and that some customers come in and want to play for twenty five cents, and that's it. My theory is shot. We're actually going to be making room for an older game or two by removing some late model product, to make the customer happy! Just when I thought I had this price per play thing figured out.
There isn't enough product out to dedicate a column to new game reviews. However, I'm not complaining. This is the winter of the NFL Blitz 99, Bass Fishing by Sega, Megatouch XL, Touchmaster, and Terraburst by Konami. Some other products I have high hopes for are the new crane by Benchmark Drill-0-Matic, the new Star Wars and House of the Dead 2 by Sega. I'm sure I'm missing a few, but it is slim out there...
I can't count how many trade shows I've attended in my 16 years in this industry, but I can tell you how many I've spent in a booth working. Exactly one. It was last month at the National Truck Stop Organization (NATSO) in Phoenix. It is nothing like an amusement convention, but then what conventions are? It's quiet. It's seems like there's no one there, but then you realize that consolidation is alive and well in the truck stop industry because most people you meet own multiple stops. A handful control the industry.
A few years ago, truck stops weren't in vogue with our industry. It seems that over time both industries have evolved to where they are a very nice fit for most operations. I think the leading factor is that truck stops themselves have evolved into very sophisticated businesses. No longer Mom and Pop operations, today's truck stop will have the obligatory gas, diesel and convenience store, sure. But it may also have one of a dozen or so first-class restaurant franchises, a retail clothing store, a computerized link-up directory of available loads across the country, showers, computers for truckers to work on during their stay, and yes, state of the art gamerooms. Today's truck stop is a multi million dollar investment for each site.
During the FEC boom, operators everywhere were looking for a place to install 50-100 games. Many FEC operators did quite well during that period even though many have gone by the way side. Today, the game titles have become so expensive, and the good games so few and far between, that there may be only three or four must have games for any installation that really provide an impressive return on investment. When we have an opportunity to install a large FEC location today, it's a real challenge to find enough good equipment to purchase. A good problem to have in truck stops is that most generally the demand exceeds the supply for entertainment.
You can't mention truck stops without discussing games of chance, eight liners, video poker, etc... Most often they are installed under the radar, and in some jurisdictions they are deemed legal with imposed restrictions, and in other areas they are legal and regulated. The regional peculiarities of games of chance are a problem for non-local operators. As truck stops become more sophisticated, they are becoming less tolerant of the exposure that the gaming pieces come with.
It's important for truck stop owners and executives to understand the economics of our industry as well. It seems that anytime you get three operators in room, one of them decides to pay outrageous commissions, or other incentives, just to get the order. There's more to it than just getting the order. The keys to a truck stop maximizing its game revenue will be quality of equipment, rotations, frequency of service, and cleanliness of equipment. How much commission is paid isn't a major factor at all. A major customer of ours plainly says "I've increased our company's amusement income by not being greedy."
Visibility remains king, even in truck stops. I hesitate to even say this, but if there ever was an exception to the "visibility is king" rule, then truck stops are it. Gamerooms which are not in direct view of the main traffic area lose the casual traveler income, which is significant. They also invite security issues. Many gamerooms with poor visibility in truck stops still do just fine. Make no mistake, they would do better if in a higher visibility location.
We've been through the redemption game boom, the skill crane boom, and then the FEC boom. Today there is no boom. Today there are locations where you can make a fair return on your investment, with the right mix of equipment, properly serviced, and a good deal of them are truck stops.