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RePlay Magazine Podcast - Eddie Adlum Part 2
As host publication RePlay Magazine celebrates its 50 years of covering the coin-op industry, it’s only right that Randy Chilton sits down with Publisher Eddie Adlum for a two-part episode. The wide-ranging interview begins all the way back in the East Bronx, where Eddie was born and raised. Eddie shares tales from his teenage years, about his band The Castle Kings (which had two singles for Atlantic Records) and his two 1970s horror films, Invasion of the Blood Farmers and Shriek of t...
Kineticist’s take
Eddie Adlum reflects on 50 years in arcade/amusement media and the industry's evolution.
Synopsis
Eddie Adlum, founder and publisher of Replay Magazine, reflects on his 50-year career covering the arcade and amusement industry. He discusses coining the term "video game," witnessing the rise and fall of arcade gaming in the 1970s-80s, the impact of home video on the industry, and Replay's survival as a print magazine. He recounts relationships with industry legends like Nolan Bushnell, shares stories about pinball and jukebox operators, and expresses cautious optimism about pinball's recent resurgence.
Highlights
- Eddie Adlum coined the term 'video game' in Replay Magazine as an alternative to 'television games' or 'TV games'
- Replay Magazine has only raised subscription price $5 in its 50-year history
- The video game market crashed on June 5th, 1982, very abruptly
- Nintendo invented home video with the Alligator clips device that connected to TV sets
- Space Invaders sold over 300,000 machines with knockoffs; Mrs. Pac-Man sold 200,000 machines
- About 25 companies jumped to make Pong knockoffs after the original's success
- Billboard magazine offered to buy Replay Magazine during the video game era, but Eddie's wife Tippi declined the sale
- The record industry saw a 50% drop in revenue after video games emerged
- Pinball machines are making a comeback with manufacturers like Jersey Jack and American Pinball
Entities
- American Pinball· company
- Atari· company
- Chicago Coin· company
- Jersey Jack· company
- Midway· company
- Al Alcorn· person
- Art Dadis· person
- Bill O'Donnell· person
- Eddie Adlum· person
- Gary Stern· person
- George McCullough· person
- Ira Dettelman· person
- Joey Kamenkow· person
- Lou Walcher· person
- Mickey Greenman· person
- Nolan Bushnell· person
- Ralph Baer· person
- Sam Stern· person
- Sheila Schlender· person
- Tippi Adlum· person
- Billboard Magazine· product
- Cashbox Magazine· product
- Replay Magazine· product