March 2003

And It's Not Even Show Time Yet

Wow, what a month! My brain almost hurts when I think about everything that's going on in this business.

For instance, Sega (on the cover of this month's book, with an accompanying story about their Derby Owner's Club horse racing simulator) announced in mid-February that they are planning to merge at the parent company level in Japan with Sammy Corp. How the two companies will fit together is still being worked out; it may be completed by fall.

Meanwhile, some other interesting deals are in the works that will see further shared resources between companies like Betson and Konami in one instance and O.K. Manufacturing and Merit Industries in another, as well as international relationships between U.K. gaming machine companies and U.S. skill redemption developers the likes of Benchmark Entertainment, further demonstrating consolidation and a whole new age of strategic partnerships in the coin amusement industry.

But one of the most interesting stories in this month's issue of RePlay involves a partnership between a small company and one of the industry's largest that is involved in developing a product that combines the allure of old-school game play with all the bells and whistles of modern display and networking technology. The company is Shufflealley. com, and their product is the soon-to-be-released Parker Bohn III Pro Bowler.

This game, or at least this most recent iteration, is the brainchild of former distributor and game room operator Jack Guarnieri, a Brooklyn native who now makes his home in New Jersey. Jack is also known to many as the owner and operator of the consumer-targeted website Pinballsales. com. Two years ago, after looking at some industry data that suggested there were still thousands of classic puck shuffle bowlers on location, he became convinced that the piece could be updated for the modern player.

The result is exactly that: a state-of-the-art shuffle alley complete with new pin mechs, a new playing surface, a flat screen monitor and the ability to connect to an online network for competitive and promotional purposes, not to mention the endorsement and active participation of a well-known pro bowler, Parker Bohn III. That's quite a story in and of itself, and it's told in more detail elsewhere in this issue.

However, the other part of the story is how Jack got from point A to point B, and it involves two major elements. The first of those two is the participation of former pinball designer Joe Balcer who teamed up with Jack last March, and in the span of a year, has produced a production-ready game with a full-time staff of one, himself, also a partner in the venture. Of course, he has relied on an army of third-party engineering contacts, as well as artists and programmers, all of whom have contributed significantly to the project, most without ever seeing a real-life '50s wood and metal version of the game.

The second player is Betson Enterprises. After taking a preliminary look at the product, Betson toppers decided to join the partnership, offering their considerable resources and a ready-made way to distribute the product. They have also partnered on Jack's

Pinballsales.com venture as well, as part of a separate agreement. Thus, the sponsorship of a major industry player like Betson, combined with the determination of a small entrepreneurial venture, provides the ingredients for what we can only hope to be a new face in the diminishing ranks of game developers and manufacturers.

If you can't teach a man to fish, at least you can keep him well-supplied in alley pucks or something like that. Hope to see you all in Vegas!

Direct email to RePlay Magazine Editor Steve White.

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