NEW New Orleans Novelty Company

Phetishboy

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Does anyone know this op? Anyone have any ties to them? Do you own a game purchased from one of their routes? Are you a dirty arcade guy originally from or still living in Louisiana? Either way, if this tag has any significance for you, let me know. It is metal and very nice quality. There is old dirty adhesive on the back, but I'm sure it will clean right up. Measures about 1 x 2 inches or so. Best (true) story about your connection to them gets it. I'll set a deadline sometime next week. If I get no stories or nobody gives a shit I'll toss it back in the box where I found it.

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I don't know if they are still around, but back in the day they advertised in Replay and Playmeter magazines. They were well known around the USA to other operators.
 
They used to be located about 15 minutes from me. Back in the day they were THE amusement company here in New Orleans. They got their start way back when, when illegal gambling machines and pinballs ruled the streets. In the late 70s and early 80s, when video games became popular, New Orleans Novelty became THE distributor here. The owners were also best of friends with the staff of Playmeter magazine, which is where Playmeter got the majority of their game and arcade pictures from. When I started collecting in 1991 I went there pretty often for parts and such. They had a large selection of NOS artwork, PCBs, etc., but they were so big, that they couldn't entertain someone small who didn't buy games from them rummaging around their place. Enter 1992, when video poker became legalized here. They made the critical mistake and opted no to operating and distributing poker machines, thinking that their amusement sales and 10 or so arcades would keep them afloat. Slowly, they began to let go of employees and throw stuff away. At the time I was friends with their parts manager, Darren. I called him one morning (~1998ish) about something and he told me that the day before, they threw ALL of their NOS video game motherboards in the dumpster. I told him to put a sign on the dumpster and that I'd pay him to put the sign there. Sadly, the dumpster company already came and roughly 2-300 brand new motherboards were gone. By 2001 I was actually buying Megatouches and Golden Tees from them for our small route, but their employee count had gone from 40 to around 5. They had closed all but one arcade. In 2003ish they sold their main building and moved to a smaller place, and yes, they threw away ALL of their NOS game and pinball parts (we're talking a 15X25 room FULL to the ceiling), test fixtures and harnesses(Atari PAT and CAT boxes), games, etc. Less than a year later they moved their operation to their one remaining arcade, which then closed months later. And there you have it, some history on New Orleans Novelty Company.
Just an FYI, the one small(a**hole owned) amusement company in our area(that decided to buy and operate video poker machines) that competed with New Orleans Novelty , is not only still around, buy they are actually doing well, having a chokehold on the video poker market here in New Orleans. Makes me wonder what might have happened if New Orleans Novelty had said yes to operating video poker.....
 
I have seen that tag on a few conversion cabs that have passed through my possession. Thanks for sharing the story!
 
That was a really cool story. Thanks for sharing

Also, nice find, Phet. That's the kind of thing I'd see on a game, ponder it's meaning for a second, and then ignore
 
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They threw ALL of their NOS video game motherboards in the dumpster. I told him to put a sign on the dumpster and that I'd pay him to put the sign there. Sadly, the dumpster company already came and roughly 2-300 brand new motherboards were gone. and yes, they threw away ALL of their NOS game and pinball parts (we're talking a 15X25 room FULL to the ceiling), test fixtures and harnesses(Atari PAT and CAT boxes), games, etc.

i can never understand why company's like this were so quick to THROW away parts that
had VALUE to them. why did they so nonchalantly destroy them for? Makes zero sense
from a financial and mental perspective. And you even expressed interest back then to
acquire all of it and they still didn't give a rats ass.
 
They used to be located about 15 minutes from me. Back in the day they were THE amusement company here in New Orleans. They got their start way back when, when illegal gambling machines and pinballs ruled the streets. In the late 70s and early 80s, when video games became popular, New Orleans Novelty became THE distributor here. The owners were also best of friends with the staff of Playmeter magazine, which is where Playmeter got the majority of their game and arcade pictures from. When I started collecting in 1991 I went there pretty often for parts and such. They had a large selection of NOS artwork, PCBs, etc., but they were so big, that they couldn't entertain someone small who didn't buy games from them rummaging around their place. Enter 1992, when video poker became legalized here. They made the critical mistake and opted no to operating and distributing poker machines, thinking that their amusement sales and 10 or so arcades would keep them afloat. Slowly, they began to let go of employees and throw stuff away. At the time I was friends with their parts manager, Darren. I called him one morning (~1998ish) about something and he told me that the day before, they threw ALL of their NOS video game motherboards in the dumpster. I told him to put a sign on the dumpster and that I'd pay him to put the sign there. Sadly, the dumpster company already came and roughly 2-300 brand new motherboards were gone. By 2001 I was actually buying Megatouches and Golden Tees from them for our small route, but their employee count had gone from 40 to around 5. They had closed all but one arcade. In 2003ish they sold their main building and moved to a smaller place, and yes, they threw away ALL of their NOS game and pinball parts (we're talking a 15X25 room FULL to the ceiling), test fixtures and harnesses(Atari PAT and CAT boxes), games, etc. Less than a year later they moved their operation to their one remaining arcade, which then closed months later. And there you have it, some history on New Orleans Novelty Company.
Just an FYI, the one small(a**hole owned) amusement company in our area(that decided to buy and operate video poker machines) that competed with New Orleans Novelty , is not only still around, buy they are actually doing well, having a chokehold on the video poker market here in New Orleans. Makes me wonder what might have happened if New Orleans Novelty had said yes to operating video poker.....

Love stories like this. Sad ending though, as most are in this industry. Thanks for sharing. And yeah, you definitely deserve that tag. :D
 
i can never understand why company's like this were so quick to THROW away parts that
had VALUE to them. why did they so nonchalantly destroy them for? Makes zero sense
from a financial and mental perspective. And you even expressed interest back then to
acquire all of it and they still didn't give a rats ass.

Once the assets are depreciated they can't sell them without paying recapture taxes. That, and I've heard a lot of operators would rather destroy equipment then have it fall into the hands of potential competitors. Also, probably depression about the rapid decline of a once-prosperous business.
 
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