Service and part sales: back row (I to r): Sam Rhodes, Randy Warren, Ed Schnidt. Front row (I to r): Mark Medina, Anne Motroni, Frank Panzek, Michele Ress.
Pinball team: back row (I to r): Kevin Loza, Stan Fukuoka, Tony Defeo, Chris Granner. Front row (I to r): Kathy Adams, Mark Ritchie, Chris Shipman.
of scale in pinball manufacturing."
Redemption will be part of this pinball concern, but Capcom says it will be extremely selective about building and releasing new ticket-vending titles.
"The redemption machine market is not even a replacement market in the USA anymore," said Ron. "It's a fairly glutted field because the arcades and FECs are pretty well content with the equip
ment they have. The only exception is when a unique and popular piece like ICE's Cyclone comes out. They will order a unit like that in very good numbers. Consequently, any company aiming to enter this market would adopt that approach, rather than just coming out with another rolldown or ball-toss game
that's indistinguishable from a
dozen others already on the market."
Looking over its track record in the 1990s, Capcom has covered a lot of
ground ... from the glory days of Street Fighter 2 Champion Edition in 1992, to the controversy over operations, the struggle with pinball, and even the mixed bag of motion picture production (remember Jean-Claude Van Damme portraying "Street Fighter"?). If the last downdrop on the industry rollercoaster was especially jolting - for Capcom and many others - then at least the company seems back on track for the next uphill climb. Their biggest coin-op video seller of the past couple of years, X-Men, is ripe for a sequel (no official confirmation yet, though) and the longawaited Street Fighter III is definitely penciled in for the relatively near future. No wonder the company seems fairly upbeat these days.
"Most of distribution seems to think today's business is reasonably okay," Steve Blattspeiler summed up. "For many, 1995 was actually one of their best years because they sold a wide variety of products. This diversification will continue," he predicted. "We have lost some locations like C-stores and Pizza Huts; we have gained others like the new generation of movie theaters. The number of major video factories has been sharply consolidated, but a very large number of mom & pop startups and creative garage-based little companies are out there now. Eventually somebody is going to come up with the next Pong and kick us right back into high gear again."
So don't look for the old street fighter to hang up his gloves just yet. Capcoin Coin-Op still has plenty of fight left, and lots of room in their trophy cabinet for new prize-winning products!
Page 206
September 1996
RePlay Magazine
