30/11/07
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18/06/05
Merit & Zax Amusements Shows Commitment to Operators by Going All
In With Texas Hold ‘Em
You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em & when to fold ‘em with Merit Industries’ exciting new touchscreen sensation: Texas Hold ‘Em. The popular card game was made available free of charge operators running Force 2005.5 software on their Megatouch machines and has proven to be a high stakes winner. Operators running Texas Hold ‘Em are already reporting a 4% increase in coin drop!
“Having Texas Hold ‘Em in all locations is a step in the
right direction,” says Zak from Zax Amusements . “We have
been waiting for a game like this for some time and are thrilled to
have it available!”
Merit’s Texas Hold ‘Em is the “All In” version, which is wildly popular and offers the most exciting game play. The game features fully animated characters seated around a casino-style table along with a dealer. Players can improve their odds by spotting another character’s “tells” (such as frequently checking their cards) and may also “kick out” other players from the table who go “All In” and lose. This fully realized game even allows for side bets, just like your favourite Vegas casino.
Each game last four minutes during which the player can fold as many hands as they wish and may fast forward through a folded hand or watch the hand play out. When a player chooses to play a hand, raises are handled easily with up and down arrows. For those novice players, poker basics and Texas Hold ‘Em lingo is offered on the help screens.
Defaulted at two credits, the game offers unlimited continues to encourage players to finish out hands and play to become the last man standing at the table.
Free update discs and accompanying game marquees for Force countertops are available, for all operators who have purchased Force 2005 software and have updated to 2005.5 with the free spring content update.
Offering Texas Hold ‘Em on Megatouch brings players back to coin-op and bucks the recent trend of people playing their own tournaments at home or even in bars and taverns.
Early earnings info from the first thousand machines in the US with Texas Hold ‘Em installed shows that it is generating an average of 15% of total amusement coin drop. This single game is earning more than Tri-Towers, Card Bandits and 11-Up combined.
“A lot of people are playing Texas Hold ‘Em because it’s a popular game and they are enjoying it on the Megatouch,” said Jeff Siegel of Associated Vending.
Texas Hold ‘Em is the number one game on Megatouch machines that took advantage of the free update. On average, weekly amusement coin drop is up 4% compared to those same machines just prior to Texas Hold ‘Em’s release.
“We are very excited to offer “All In” Texas Hold
‘Em, the hottest card game around, free to operators,” said
Bob Mills, Merit’s VP of Marketing and Network Business. “This
game will draw players to street locations and keep the coinbox strong
throughout the summer months in the US.”
For more than 27 years, Merit
has afforded long-term return on investment of operators by providing
continually high-earning equipment along with updates and upgrades for
its products. With an installed base of over 200,000 touch-screen games
garnering nearly 4.6 billion plays per year, Merit Industries is the
worldwide leader in touch-screen entertainment devices. Merit Industries’
products appear globally in a wide array of venues and appeal to an
almost limitless demographic. Merit continues to expand its position
in the industry with ever-increasing entertainment, content and new
games.
17/02/04
CLASSIFICATION OF VIDEO GAMES - THE OFLC ACT 1995
The Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) Act 1995 requires
all video games/computer games to be classified before they can be sold,
distributed or operated in an amusement centre or other public area in
Australia.
Perhaps due to the sizing down or closure of some of the major distributors/operators,
the importance of having games classified by the OFLC has been overlooked.
For whatever reasons, some Australian operators have not been following
the particular rules and regulations that have been imposed in our industry.
Due to the extensive work done by Felix Sajn, Imelda Mclean and us here
at ZAX AMUSEMENTS, most of the unclassified games are now classified and
we have now been told by the OFLC that if a game has been classified for
a pc, or home console platform, and if the arcade content is the same,
this classification will also apply to the arcade version.
NOTE: It is the importer of a title's responsibility to have the video game classified (if currently unclassified) before being SOLD or OPERATED in a public area. (Amusement centre, Hotel, etc)
A recent incident transpired that brought about the importance of having the proper classification labels on our machines. Lengthy discussions with concerned operators/distributors and members of the Association reveal that this recent incident was brought about by some factors that apparently caught the attention of the enforcing authority i.e.
a) The general presentation of the amusement centre .
b) Games in the Centre did not have classification labels attached/displayed
on the machines or were incorrectly labelled or were not classified
c) A game that was classified MA15+ (restricted) was being operated without
a curtain.
Hence, it is prudent to note that any game with an MA15+ (See Below). These games need to have curtains around them or be placed in an area where an under 15 year old player cannot view the game.
1) Carn Evil by Midway
2) Zombies Revenge by Sega
3) House of Dead 1, 2 and 3 by Sega
4) Maximum Force by Atari
5) Area 51 by Atari
6) Hell Night by Konami
7) Gauntlet - Dark Legacy - By Midway
8) Mortal Kombat 4 - By Midway
9) Mace - by Midway
10) Kung Fu Master - Jackie Chan by Kaneko
11) Quake Arcade Tournament Edition
Of far more importance to each and everyone in the industry is to be
conscious that the OFLC have not given a Classification of "R"
rating for our video games. Any game with "pornography" is illegal
and prohibited and should not be operated. Any person caught operating
a game that is unclassifiable - meaning unclassified and if classified
will receive an "R" rating will be prosecuted to the full extent
of the law. This is punishable by up to $24,000.00 fine and up to two
years imprisonment. Likewise, the enforcing authority will not allow any
appeal or grace period should anyone be caught operating a game that falls
under the rating "R" classification.
I will raise this issue again, the entire reason classification was introduced
and enforced in such a severe way many years ago in our industry, was
due to pornographic material being operated in Arcades. At this stage,
the OFLC, and the enforcing bodies will allow us to use the home platforms
as a classification base, BUT if any R rated arcade game is found, it
could mean the end of our industry. Especially now that due to the actions
of others, we are under the spotlight again.
I encourage everyone, whether they be a distributor or an operator to treat this as a very important part of their business and they should take the extra time in finding the correct classification for each and every video game they have in their operation and have the proper classification attached to their games.
The enforcing authority here in Melbourne has given us a grace period
wherein we are allowed to take up the necessary steps to comply with the
requirements of classification act.
For those that need to find the classification of any game, they can go
to the the OFLC web page www.oflc.gov.au. Classification Labels can also
be downloaded from this web site.
Newly classified games for Arcade Use that may not appear on the OFLC
web pages are:
Time Crisis 3 - M15+ Medium Level Animated Violence
Virtua Cop 3 - M15+ Medium Level Animated Violence
World Combat M15+ - Medium Level Animated Violence
PGA Tournament Golf - G
Out Run 2 - G
Initial D (Arcade Stage) Version 2 - G
Initial D (Arcade Stage) Version 3 - G
If you require any more information on this topic, please call or email.
Yours faithfully
Zak Athanasiadis
Managing Director
ZAX AMUSEMENTS
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