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‘Pinball still the king ’ in electronic games
by Scot K. Meyer
Battalion Reporter
When you enter the world of elec
tronic games, your ears are over
whelmed by the ominous drone of
invaders from space, explosions
from sea battles and car collisions,
and innumerable pinball bells.
But you must listen carefully to
hear the most important sound of
them all; the sound that makes the
others possible. It is the clink of
quarters dropping into change
boxes.
“It’s a two-bit business, and
you’ve got to worry about every
quarter that drops into the
machine,” Ross Todero Jr. said.
Todero Amusement and Vending
Service owns and maintains the 17
pinball-electronic game machines
located in the Memorial Student
Center.
The MSC receives a commission
from the electronic games, Bowling
and Games manager O.C. McCart
ney said, but he declined to say how
much he gets.
“We (the MSC staff) can’t give
out any information on profits,” he
said.
Don Ganter, who co-owns the
Dixie Chicken, Miranda’s, the
Chicken Oil Company and the
Texas Moon Tavern, said the
machines in his establishments are
owned by F&F Vending Company.
Video games do very well for a
time, Ganter, said, but interest in a
given game drops off very quickly.
Video football was very popular last
year, and this year Space Invaders
is the top game, he said.
Both F&F and Todero vending
companies agree that Space Invad
ers is the most popular electronic
game right now.
Space Invaders is the game that
asks the question: Can one person
with a couple of laser bases defend
his or her city against 55 alien ships
and their bombs? The answer is no,
unfortunately, because the skilled
player who manages to shoot down
all the invaders without losing a las
er base will receive an extra base
for his trouble, plus 55 new aliens to
shoot at.
The alien ships move across the
screen with an ominous, pulsing
drone, and drop bombs in an
attempt to knock out the laser base.
The player can move the base
around to avoid the bombs while
shooting down aliens.
The player, no matter how skil
led, can never “win” the game be
cause he only gets three laser
bases (or four if he gets a bonus),
while the aliens are replaced every
time they are shot down, and they
start out lower in their attack run.
One reason the game is popular
is that for one quarter the customer
can play until all three laser bases
are blown up, no matter how long
that takes. As the player gets better,
he will be able to play longer.
Todero said video games are
either played by time, or by the
number of times an action is repe
ated. The games played by time will
usually be the first to die out, he
said.
An exception to this rule is Space
Wars, which is still popular after two
years. Space Wars is a battle be
tween two video starships. One
ship will be operated by the compu
ter, or by another player.
Todero thinks the game’s con
tinued popularity is due to the many
possible variations of the game. By
pressing the right buttons, the pros
pective combatant can determine
the speed of the ships, the speed of
the missiles, whether the ships will
bounce off the sides of the screen or
continue to maneuver off-screen,
and what kind of gravity there will
be.
Ganter said that video games
may come and go, but “pinball is
still the king."
Pinball was dead in 1975, Todero
said, but it was given new life when
the industry switched from elec
tromechanical to digital machines.
With the old machines there wasn’t
enough action to compete with the
video games, he said.
Mike Patranella, an employee at
Todero, said the games are set to
allow 25 to 30 percent free games.
The scores needed are set higher
on-campus than off-campus, he
said, because many students are
very good players.
“A player who is not as good
doesn’t really have a chance at get
ting a bonus game, because the
better players make us keep the
scores up," Patranella said.
If too many people are beating a
machine with the number of points
required on it, the machine will be
moved, Patranella said.
"People will get hot if you raise
the number of points they need," he
said.
Raymond Fickey, owner of F&F
Vending Service, said that games
become obsolete very quickly.
Mata Hari is one of the longest last
ing pinball machines; it is still popu
lar after a year ai
games last betweei
a year, Fickey saic
“The machines
Fickey said. “Pinb<
about $1,900 an
space invaders is c
he said.
Someone wantir
into the business
capital, or just to sa
a Space Invaders
Commons last sen
of $100 was ofl
machine was not r
"We’re hoping il
again,” Todero saic
are expensive."
Quarter after quarter is put in
nic games in an effort to make a
and win some free games.
Roger Grace enjoys
a game of pinball in
the MSC Basement
in between classes.
Photos by Paul Childress