2024 年 Coin-Op 的現狀：一個“呼吸行業”，仍然是一個好生意

美國去年的特點是高通膨和就業成長緩慢。這些條件是否對遊戲室收藏產生負面影響尚有爭議，但毫無疑問，許多遊樂場……無論是在 FEC、購物中心、保齡球中心還是獨立式……都出現了收入下降。

Coin-Op Closing Year in America: High Inflation, Sluggish Job Growth Impact Collections, But Economic Indicators Show Improvement

美國投幣業務收官年：高通膨、就業成長緩慢影響收藏，但經濟指標顯示改善

The closing year in America has been marked by high inflation and sluggish job growth. Whether or not these conditions inversely affected game room collections is debatable, but there’s little doubt that a bunch of amusement arcades…whether in an FEC, mall, bowling center or free standing…saw a decline in revenues.

美國去年的特點是高通膨和就業成長緩慢。這些條件是否對遊戲室收藏產生負面影響尚有爭議，但毫無疑問，許多遊樂場……無論是在 FEC、購物中心、保齡球中心還是獨立式……都出現了收入下降。

The odd thing is that economic indicators improved during the fall, but coin-op still needs some time to play catch-up. Machine prices continued to be a concern. Operators may want to buy one, two or a dozen of the often-excellent new pieces launched in 2024, but when measured against collections, more than one has kept a tight grip on the purse strings.

奇怪的是，秋季期間經濟指標有所改善，但投幣業務仍需要一些時間才能迎頭趕上。機器價格仍然是一個令人擔憂的問題。營運商可能想購買 2024 年推出的一件、兩件或十幾件通常很出色的新作品，但以收藏品來衡量，不只一件能牢牢控制錢包。

Still in all, coin-op in general remains a good business to be in. As Hall of Famer (HOF) Rick Kirby might say: “We may not all be eating lobster, but we’re still enjoying a steak.”

總而言之，投幣式遊戲總體上仍然是一個不錯的行業。吃牛排。

Trade guru Howard McAuliffe, who like his pop George is always and forever a huge believer in this industry’s future, said the first half of the year was great, then things softened up thereafter. It’s important to remember that aftereffects of the Covid-19 pandemic were still being felt, though at this point, it’s sort of been swept into the dustbin of history.

貿易大師霍華德·麥考利夫（Howard McAuliffe）像他的流行人物喬治一樣永遠是這個行業未來的堅定信徒，他表示今年上半年很棒，但此後情況有所緩和。重要的是要記住，Covid-19 大流行的後遺症仍然存在，儘管此時它已經被掃進了歷史的垃圾箱。

The last word on this subject might belong to Utah arcade owner Adam Pratt, who said: “Ours used to be an industry that someone could break into without much money and find success. That’s becoming less likely these days.”

關於這個問題的最後發言權可能屬於猶他州街機遊戲廳老闆亞當·普拉特 (Adam Pratt)，他說：「我們的行業曾經是一個不需要太多錢就可以進入並獲得成功的行業。現在這種情況已經越來越不可能發生了。

What’s important for readers of this magazine to remember, however, is that (with rare exception) they’re already in this industry and in most cases, have gone through the hard knocks and suffered through those hard-won experiences that can be as important to success as a mountain of investment capital.

然而，對於本雜誌的讀者來說，重要的是要記住（除了極少數例外）他們已經進入了這個行業，並且在大多數情況下，已經經歷了艱難的打擊並經歷了那些來之不易的經歷，這些經歷可能同樣重要成功就像一座巨大的投資資本。

Coin-Op is a “breathing industry.” People, companies and machines come and go as do the players. This year, we saw the continuous growth in cashless vending with QR codes and tap-to-play readers. New factories showed up like Zooom Studios. New leadership moved into position: Bob Burnham at AMOA and Beth Standlee at AAMA. TouchTunes bought Arachnid and, like Dave & Buster’s, made an arrangement with Lucra to bring cash rewards to better players in competition on games like BullShooter darts. Keep your eyes on this during 2025!

Coin-Op 是一個「會呼吸的行業」。人、公司和機器就像玩家一樣來來去去。今年，我們看到使用二維碼和點擊播放閱讀器的無現金售貨持續成長。像 Zoom Studios 這樣的新工廠出現了。新領導就職：AMOA 的 Bob Burnham 和 AAMA 的 Beth Standlee。 TouchTunes 收購了 Arachnid，並且像 Dave & Buster 一樣，與 Lucra 達成協議，為 BullShooter darts 等遊戲的比賽中表現出色的玩家提供現金獎勵。 2025 年請密切注意這一點！

As always, we lost some friends like Don Hesch, Bill Westerhaus, Stan Jarocki, Don MacBrayne and Bob Boals. And lastly, we found a way to honor some of the greats via induction into the HOF like operators Millie McCarthy and Dick Hawkins, and game designers like Al Alcorn and Eddie Pellegrini.

一如既往，我們失去了一些朋友，例如唐·赫什(Don Hesch)、比爾·韋斯特豪斯(Bill Westerhaus)、斯坦·賈羅基(Stan Jarocki)、唐·麥克布雷恩(Don MacBrayne) 和鮑伯‧博爾斯(Bob Boals)。最後，我們找到了一種方法，透過入職 HOF 來紀念一些偉人，例如操作員 Millie McCarthy 和 Dick Hawkins，以及遊戲設計師 Al Alcorn 和 Eddie Pellegrini。

Finally, may I send out Happy 2025 wishes to the RePlay subscribers who keep our engine chugging along year after year. You’re the greatest!

最後，我向 RePlay 訂閱者致以 2025 年的快樂祝福，他們讓我們的引擎年復一年地運轉。你是最偉大的！