manuals/manuals_Marketing_PDF_ME_newsletter_20Dec

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:

lot 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

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

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

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.

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

here 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

“

erit

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