6-537: Play Meter (initially Coin Industry Play Meter ) was an American trade magazine focusing on the coin-op amusement arcade industry, including jukebox and arcade game machines. It was founded in December 1974 by publisher and editor Ralph C. Lally II and it is published in physical form by Skybird Publishing on a monthly basis. Together with rival publication RePlay (founded 1975) it chronicled
12-466: A trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag ), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for this area of publishing is the trade press . In 1928, Popular Aviation became the largest aviation trade magazine with a circulation of 100,000. As digital journalism grew in importance, trade magazines started to build their presence on
18-401: The advertisers while also providing sales engineering –type advice to the readers, that may inform purchasing and investment decisions. Trade magazines typically contain advertising content centered on the industry in question with little, if any, general-audience advertising. They may also contain industry-specific job notices. For printed publications, some trade magazines operate on
24-407: The arcade industry from its nascency, through market fluctuations like the video game crashes of 1977 and 1983 , and the rebirth and maturation of the medium through the 1980s. It is the earliest example of video game journalism , establishing such practices as individual video game reviews and the ten-point assessment scale for video game reviews. Play Meter served as the parent organization of
30-536: The first coin-op-oriented spring trade show (forerunner to North America's annual Amusement Expo ). It published several bi-monthly and annual special issues throughout its history and it maintains a website where online content is also published monthly. The magazine shut down after publishing the June 2018 issue, coinciding with publisher Carol Lally's retirement. Play Meter released a number of special issues. Trade magazine A trade magazine , also called
36-421: The internet. To retain readership and attract new subscribers, trade magazines usually impose paywall on their websites. Trade publications keep industry members abreast of new developments. In this role, it functions similarly to how academic journals or scientific journals serve their audiences. Trade publications include targeted advertising , which earns a profit for the publication and sales for
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