« back | 15.12.2006: SAM GODFREY (QUASAR ELITE): "THE FEED-BACK WE HAVE RECEIVED FROM OUR CUSTOMERS IS VERY POSITIVE"

:: AN INTERVIEW WITH SAM GODFREY, REPRESENTATIVE OF QUASAR ELITE ::

TRUTNEE: - How many Quasar Elite sites are being operated at present time in the world? What is their geography - have you succeeded selling your equipment to the States, or are you being focused on European market only?

QUASAR ELITE: - 25: Belgium – 1, England - 15 (more opening soon), Ireland – 4, Spain - 4 (more opening soon), Russia – 1.
The present focus is purely on the UK and European market. As a company we do not overstretch ourselves on the sales side. Before selling into a new area we ensure we have a reliable Distributor in place who themselves own a site, they will then take control of all selling and support in their area.

Quasar Elite has not yet been released in the US, and no effort has been made to sell sites into that area yet. A Stateside release is planned in the not too distant future.

TRUTNEE: - One year has passed since the time when the first official release of Quasar Elite equipment occurred. Such term of operation - is just the right term for all the laser tag systems' hidden merits and demerits to come to light... So, what are the feed-backs received from your customers? What are the most typical problems of your equipment and what are the features your customers like most of all?

QUASAR ELITE: - The feed-back we have received from our customers is very positive. A large proportion of our customers have changed over from other systems and although it is not our position to comment on those systems, our customers have expressed how happy they are with our levels of support and responsiveness.

The most typical problems tend to be when phasers are opened up and not put back together properly, e.g. cables get caught or not all the screws are put back in place.

Our customers seem to like the added features of our software which makes their life as an operator so much easier, such as re-printing score sheets, one click game setups, etc. They also comment on the effectiveness of our support package which covers everything at one known cost, meaning repairs need to be no more than swapping a non-working bit for a working bit, we then do the physical hardware repair on the non-working bit.

TRUTNEE: - Judging by the situation here in the ex-USSR I can say that regular players (you know, the so-called "old good Q-Zar guys") do like your system. Nevertheless, I've heard some talks that they don't appreciate the blue team vests very much. They say, blue vests are too bright under the fluorescent lighting, leaving them no chance to hide in the maze. At the same time, the red vest are a little bit darker, and this makes the team play unbalanced. Can you comment on this situation?

QUASAR ELITE: - Both red and blue vests are reactive under the UV light and so appear to glow slightly. Every effort was made to make both teams as even as possible, but where the whole vest is coloured there will always be people who feel they show up differently under different lighting conditions.

TRUTNEE: - Another thing I should tell you is that people here are constantly asking the questions about the possible implementation of radio controlling function in your system... Do you plan to introduce such improvement in the nearest future?

QUASAR ELITE: - Yes. Quasar Elite is under constant development and future versions will indeed feature this and many other enhancements.

TRUTNEE: - And what about mazes? Are you producing them as well, or are you focused on the game equipment only?

QUASAR ELITE: - We have been designing the layout of arenas for interested UK and International customers for as long as we have been selling equipment, which, baring in mind we sold original Quasar equipment prior to Quasar Elite, is over 10 years.

For our UK customers we are affiliated with a company who will design, paint and make a fully themed arena, including all artwork, woodwork, etc, should that be what our customer desires.

All our Distributors are able to offer advice on arena planning, building, etc., and can always turn to us for further advice.

TRUTNEE: - In your previous "interview" you've mentioned that among the other things the systems' price includes some marketing materials. What are they? Speaking about the market of the ex-USSR, are these marketing materials available in Russian?

QUASAR ELITE: - Our marketing materials include 5 different posters, 4 A2 in size and 1 A1, full colour score sheets, party invites, site leaflets. These are available to all our distributors for translation. We also now offer a complete range of marketing items, including pens, t-shirts, back packs, bouncy balls and many more. These require no translation and are also available to all our distributors. More details on these will be posted on our website soon.

TRUTNEE: - Taking into consideration the specific way of playing laser tags here in Eastern Europe (some times we call it "hard play"), one of my favourite questions to laser tag manufacturers is "How durable your equipment is?". Have you conducted some crash-tests already?

QUASAR ELITE: - Before our Quasar Elite system was launched in September 2005 it received extensive testing in our own 2 sites for 6 months, being used for every game, every day. Over this period it received a number of tweaks and a couple of major changes including the changing of the materials the packs were made from as the initial material proved a too brittle, and the creation of an entirely new mold for the front packs (the original intention was to use the same plastic for front and back, but this turned out to be too restrictive).

Once we had this final version of the equipment, the body armour was tested for impact damage by being hit with a sledge hammer.

The equipment then proved itself in the UK and European market by having over 20 sites installed in the first year.

When we installed the site in St. Petersburg in May 2006 we experienced the "hard play" of the Russian players. Over the first few months this "hard play" exposed a couple of weaknesses in the plastic which the UK and European market hadn't experienced. The pack covers were pressing through the pack where the players were slamming against walls and where the side straps join was splitting due to the stretching.

The molding company informed us this was where the plastic had not settled in the injection mold properly and caused thin spots. They assured us this was a one off for this batch, but to be on the safe side we had the molding tool modified to make these areas thicker so that it could not happen again.

When this revised pack came back, it was tested with a baseball bat! The pack was complete and worn as it would be in a game (all be it with a cushion behind the pack some of the time to protect our less brave staff), and then the pack cover was repeatedly hit as hard as could be with the bat to simulate repeated impact. The pack showed no signs of stress, our staff did.

These new plastics were then immediately shipped to St. Petersburg and all new systems are made using these.

So to answer your question directly, the answer should be very durable. There will of course always be small problems, as with any system, but these are always covered by us at no extra cost.

TRUTNEE: - By the way, what is the average age of the players your system is designated to?

QUASAR ELITE: - Due to the fact the vest is made from four separate adjustable pieces it is suitable for anyone who can fit into it. We recommend from 6 upwards, but it is really down to the sites themselves to set restrictions. The phaser has a shoulder strap and is two handed meaning it is manageable by pretty much anyone who can fit in the equipment.

Our current marketing, however, is aimed at the Birthday Party age group, that is 6-16, as this is where over 70% of income for our laser tag sites comes from. Distributors are free to develop their own marketing materials and in the future we will expand our marketing with materials aimed specifically at regular players, corporate booking and other niche groups.

TRUTNEE: - Considering the appointment of new distributors - Quasar Elite Russia and Quasar Elite Spain - what kind of price policy will be implemented in these countries? I mean, will the price for your system in Russia and Spain be the same as in the United Kingdom? Or the distributors are free to ask any price they think is pertinent?

QUASAR ELITE: - The pricing by our distributors will be on equivalent levels to those we charge in the UK. We give our distributors significant discount so that they may sell at our prices and still make profit. Slight differences may exist however due to delivery, import and customs costs.

TRUTNEE: - I think I should share this good news with you: this year the biggest laser tag tournament in Russia - the "All-Russian Q-Zar Championship" was held at a new Quasar Elite arena in St.Petersburg. It is a very good beginning, you know, that Q-Zar regulars decided to held their annual tournament at a new arena. So, your equipment is getting popular here indeed... By the way, as I know many laser tag manufacturers support the so-called "System's Tournaments" - e.g., "LaserTron World Championship", "North American Laser Challenge", etc. Are you planning to introduce some "Quasar Elite World Cup"?

QUASAR ELITE: - Congratulations and we look forward to hearing how it went and seeing some pictures. We would like to help organize something along these lines when there is a large regular scene for Quasar Elite. We support the players and although the main income of sites in the UK and Europe is Birthday parties, we understand the importance of the regular scene (hence why such care was taken to ensure Quasar Elite plays much the same as the original Quasar).

TRUTNEE: - Thank you for your irrefragable answers!

QUASAR ELITE: - Many thanks for your interest and may I just take the opportunity to wish all readers of Trutnee Laser Tag portal a very happy Christmas and New Year from all of us at Quasar Elite!

(C) 2006 TRUTNEE.COM