the touch
Merit
12/2007
From the
Desk of the CEO
O p E r a t O r N E w s l E t t E r
coin a phr
ase:
Alot changes in 30
years. The world in
1977 was mostly analog,
much less globally inter-
connected, and not nearly
as fast-paced, compared
to the digitally-driven,
24/7 environment we
inhabit today. Over the
last thirty years, Merit
has grown from a
garage-based startup to
become the most success-
ful casual game company
in the world.
Merit’s success stems in
part from decades of
hard, smart work at
the factory. But equal
credit lies in the hands
of our customers – the
street operators – who
saw the opportunity to
profit from operating
touchscreen countertops
and capitalized on it.
Together, we have enabl-
ed generations of players
to experience and covet
the Megatouch exper-
ience. Together we have
built a franchise that
delivers and monetizes
over four billion game
play experiences every
year. Together we have
created value, for oper-
ators, distributors, and
Merit, beyond anything
envisioned 30 years ago.
From everyone at Merit,
please accept our sin-
cere THANKS for your
key role in making
that happen.
The past 30 years have
not always been easy.
Many times, Merit has
had to reinvent itself
to meet changing market
needs. Fortunately, the
basic approach of pro-
viding compelling enter-
tainment never goes out
of style. And neither do
the core principles on
which Peter Feuer foun-
ded the company: a)
build great products,
and b) take care of
customers. Those simple
principles are driving
action at Merit today,
just as they did three
decades ago.
I wish I could tell you
we are always perfect
– we’re not. I wish I
could predict exactly
what players will want
tomorrow – I can’t.
However, I do promise
that Merit will continue
to deliver the best games,
software, hardware, ser-
vice, and support
»3
Merit Celebrates 30 Years
Thank You Operators for 30 Years of Partnership
“Our company
is excited and
optimistic about
the new suite of
Merit products
unveiled at the
AMOA show.
The new
Entertainer
and portable
Firefly have
many interesting
possibilities
for previously
untapped locations.
We look to Merit
to consistently
think outside the
box and bring
new and innovative
products to
the market.”
Tom Green
-Blackhawk
Music Co.
thE MErit tOuCh
“Merit continues to offer operators the most innovative software solutions in the industry. Year after year Merit keeps the
operators’ best interests in mind, and creates the entertainment that keeps our cash boxes full.”
– Rick LaFleur, LaFleur and Son
Op:talk
» OpEratOr CHOICE
HERE’S HOW TO MAKE 30 HAPPY CUSTOMERS:
Buy 10 auroras, the newest member of the iON product line, and put them on your route in place
of 10 iON Elite Edges or iON eVos. take those 10 iONs and replace your 10 best producing Force
eVos. take those 10 Force eVos and replace 10 older Force units. sell the 10 old Force units in the
residential market (hurry, Christmas is right around the corner!). You’ll see a bump in revenue from
upgrading all of the equipment and you’ll be able to use the money from selling the old Force units
to help pay for your auroras. Best of all, 30 of your customers will be happy that their equipment
was upgraded.
wishing You a happy holiday season!
– from all of us at Merit
OPERATOR
TO
OPERATOR
ADVICE
by Michael lee of
automatic Vending
Bob Fay (left), Merit’s Director of
Government Relations and International
Market Division, presents the 2007
Operator of the Year Award to John
Neville of Blackhawk Music Co.
3
with Merit tech-expert
JOE PERRY
»
»TECH TIPS
that we can. And that taking care of our customers will
remain our top priority.
I am confident that together we will drive at least
another 30 years of tremendous success, by entertaining
and delighting millions of game players across this
wonderful world. Congratulations and thanks for
helping to make the first 30 years so successful.
-Mike
Mike Maas
CEO
From the Desk of the CEO
Operators and technicians: send your tech questions to
jperry@meritgames.com and i will be happy to assist you.
have you ever experienced a “Coin Jam” error message?
Coin jams may be caused by issues with:
» Coin acceptor
» Bill acceptor (note acceptor)
» i/O board
» Optical sensor board (radion\select\slim)
» Jumper settings
Procedure to correct Coin Jam:
Once the “Coin Jam” error alarm stops (about 30-40 seconds), try inserting bills (paper notes) and coins.
if bills and coins are accepted and registered, then the Dollar Bill acceptor (note acceptor) and coin mech are not in question.
the problem may be related to the i/O board, harness or jumper settings.
if the “Coin Jam” error message appears when inserting a coin or bill, then the coin acceptor or DBa is the likely culprit.
at this point the coin acceptor, bill acceptor, or i/O board may need to be replaced.
TechTip: the i/O boards have 6-8 credit input channels. the u.s. uses channels 1 & 2 for coin and bill.
refer to the game manual for further information.
TechTip: if “Coin Jam” appears on the screen after installing a replacement i/O board, compare the jumper settings
on the removed i/O board with the recently installed i/O board.
all i/O boards ship with specific jumper settings. they may need to be changed due to differing coin mech configurations.
(continued from cover)
thE MErit tOuCh
There has been
a ton of hype
s u r r o u n d i n g
M e r i t ’ s
2008 software
release and the
types of earn-
ings increases
operators can
expect after upgrading. I’m here to
help you wade through the numbers
and show you how to get the most
out of your Megatouch.
Merit does an “apples to apples”
comparison of machines running
new software against those still
using the prior year’s software
from July through the following
January. We use MegaNet connected
machines to collect raw data, so the
numbers are 100% real.
There is one absolute fact about the
coin-op industry — collections on
machines with older software will
eventually decline. Merit cabinets
however, earn for years beyond the
original purchase because of our
software upgrades. Reloading your
Megatouch with the most current
software jump-starts earnings and
keeps collections at a high level.
Re-covering your pool tables once or
even twice a year keeps them earning
at their max, and is well worth the
$600 recovering cost. Back in the
days of CD jukeboxes, spending the
40 bucks a month to put fresh music
on the jukes virtually guaranteed
staying above a $100 weekly gross.
So, it makes sound business sense
that keeping your Megatouch systems
updated with current software is
one of the best investments you can
make for your route.
Each spring we provide a free soft-
ware update chock full of new trivia
questions and photos. We do this
because we discovered, as far back as
the mid-80’s, that reinvigorated Trivia
Whiz and Photo Hunt databases
keep players coming back for more.
Players flock to the fresh entertain-
ment, flooding your cashbox and
ensuring location retention.
So, when should you update your
games? Quite simply, as soon as
possible. Updating your machines
with the fall release as soon as it
hits the street results in the big-
gest earnings bump and puts you
in line for an additional earnings
jolt when the free spring software
update arrives.
By now you’ve heard the positive
buzz on the 2008 software from
fellow operators. It is real and
it is making money! Plenty of
Megatouch machines earn upwards
of $500 a week on a consistent basis.
Why not yours?
If you want to find out how to get
in on this earnings boost, call me
at 800-523-2760, ext 423.
Bob Mills
Vice President of Sales
and Network Business
MERIT EnTERTAInMEnT
2525 state road
Bensalem, pa 19020
800-523-2760
Fax: 215-639-5346
www.meritgames.com
“Merit
cabinets...
earn for
years beyond
the original
purchase
because of
our software
upgrades.”
»MERIT’S 008 SOFTWARE
Customers always come first.
listen to customer needs.
Develop the products that customers need.
Deliver superior quality in everything we do.
help customers make money.
THE MERIT CUSTOMER PROMISE