While it was fun to play the new machines at the recent Amusement Expo in Las Vegas, it was also a kick to watch the people playing them. In many cases, the older operators found difficulty figuring out how some of the “new-fangled” racing and fighting games worked while the younger ones jumped right on. Why do you think the old timers often bring their newer people to these shows, anyway? To find out if these new games really “have legs.”
Veteran salespeople who man any show’s exhibit booths usually develop a sixth sense about which visitor is more likely to buy than the others who are just strolling around kicking tires. Considering the prices some of the new attractions go for these days, it’s usual for any operator or route/arcade manager to kick those tires a bit more than usual. A salesperson has to be especially keen to guess who’s serious and who’s not.
I once took a vacation to Morocco and landed in a rug store, which isn’t all that strange in that country. I was one among maybe a dozen others who listened to the salesman’s pitch as his eyes slowly checked the crowd to pick out the likeliest buyer. The one I saw seemed to have that sixth sense and ultimately zeroed in on his kill…me! Yeah, I bought one after much bargaining that included the classic phrase: “I don’t want to insult your rug, or your mother who made it, but I can’t afford your price.”
The guy’s price was adjusted (this was in Morocco, of course)! How about Las Vegas? Yes, the stickers on some of these goods raised eyebrows, all with thoughts of new tariffs possibly adding on downstream (a lot of our games and merchandise are made in China, after all). On one hand, no one would argue the play appeal many of these new machines clearly offer players. But as always, that ROI yardstick sometimes requires a magician’s hand to figure…in front…what kind of earning future does it look like it’s got.
Not every new game shown in Las Vegas was ready to roll, of course, so buying decisions certainly didn’t have to be made right there in the booth. But even if a sale wasn’t concluded, it was still fun to watch the “dance” that went on between potential buyer and factory salesperson.
One reason these big shows take two or more days to run is that buyers often need to come back the following day to see if the game they “fell in love with” yesterday still strikes their fancy. There’s a lot of “should I or shouldn’t I buy” going on in the trade right now because there was more than one unique game shown out there to dream about buying and locating. We are in the novelty business after all! Nice show!