Sep03MarketingPlus

Fun World is a family entertainment center in New Hampshire that has more than 225 games and rides, including an indoor roller coaster, Himalaya, a two-story carousel, and a three-story soft play structure. When my grandfather died a year ago, my mother took over the entire operation of the business, which is when I got involved.

I am responsible for checking the operation of all redemption games each week. There is a lot more to checking the games than making sure the game registers the token and pays out the proper number of tickets. I am very competitive, so I play the games to get to the higher levels and hopefully beat the game. On occasion there are small things wrong that keep me from advancing to the next level. For example, I have noticed when missiles or guns are not firing accurately or when the sensors are not responding correctly in games like Mocap Boxing. These are the kinds of things customers may not complain about but will discourage them from playing again. I am also responsible for researching and testing new games.

My absolute favorite game is the Namco Time Crisis 3 with a 50-inch monitor. I review new games in Play Meter, and when I read the information on this game, I told my mother she had to get it. Time Crisis II had been one of my favorites for a long time, and when I read about the sequel, I knew I would love it. I can beat this game in 27 minutes alone or 26 minutes with a partner. This game keeps you hooked, so you are determined to beat the game. There are so many improvements, which include the ability to select four different weapons, shotgun being my favorite.

I really liked the new Sega Crazy Taxi High Roller, but it did not do well. We put it in a hot location where it got a lot of traffic, but that didn’t work. I think it was because of the bench seat. There are impressive adjustable seats on our other driving games. I really like the old version of Crazy Taxi and thought this would be a hit because it has a turbo boost and jump button that the other version did not have.

We also recently bought two Namco ATV track games and linked them. They are a lot of fun to play because when you hit certain icons you can get power ups, such as turbo boost and jump. If you play solo against the computer, you can get ranked on how your performance was. You can also pick different levels, which include terrain like dirt roads, rivers, lava, deserts, and beaches.

I went to the open house at Betson Imperial in Norwood, Mass., in April and had the opportunity to play Operation Blockade, which can be installed in our Vortex game. We had one of the first Vortex games with Beach Head 2000 in it, but when we installed Beach Head 2002, it ran a little slow. Our processor needed to be upgraded. As of press time we got a new processor that has three games: Operation Blockade, Beach Head 2000, and Beach Head 2002. We are waiting for some connecting cables that are needed to complete the upgrade, so I am waiting to find out how three will operate in one cabinet. I really like all three games, and I think this is going to be a big hit because I will want to play all three games (in other words, the game will be used all the time).

We also demoed the new Namco Tokyo Cop, which looks really promising. You can enter a code to save your place in the game so you can continue where you left off next time you play. Also, it is a very unique game because you are the cop, and you pursue the criminals. You can also unlock better cars when you stop the criminals.

Kanami makes some really popular dancing and sports games like DDR and Mocap Boxing. We have DDR 5th Mix, Max 2, and Extreme, which are very popular with high school and college kids. Mocap Boxing is great because it is not your typical arcade game, and there isn’t anything like it for the home market.

We went to our first auction recently and bought a few games my grandfather had sold. We picked up the Jurassic Park Theater and two Hydro Thunders. Jurassic Park is an older game but it is awesome because of its enclosure, the sound, and the theme. Hydro Thunder is a great boating game, and we did not have anything like that.

I don’t really enjoy playing redemption games because all I do is test them (I do not get to win any prizes). I do make recommendations on the cost and the payout of our 100 redemption games. There are games that only pay out a maximum of two tickets, while others like Wonder Wheel and the eight-player Pacman Pusher pay out an average of eight. We have increased the payout on some dead games and brought them back to life. I also help with the selection of the novelty items so we have what the kids want.

I am really looking forward to going to my first convention, the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas, this September to see the new games.

Michael Manougian is a 13-year-old video game expert from Nashua, N.H.