Arcade Heroes

The Defenders Of Amusement – Arcade & Pinball News

Advertisement
Arcade Games Chuck E. Cheese violent games

Games too Violent for NY Chuck.E.Cheese?

Twisted Supreme 6

Chuck'e Cheese (Large)

A New York state Chuck.E.Cheese is in danger of losing it’s license for it’s games room after town officials raised concern over the type of games that can be played by youngsters.

Council Member Shelly Schratz said she was disturbed by several “action-packed shoot-and-kill games” that were accessible to children as young as 4.

“When I see 6-year-olds, 8-year-olds playing those games, when all the time we’re opening the paper and seeing those stories on youth violence, do we need those games to make money?” she said.

I have to say this has always been something that has interested me. Are arcade games rated by anybody? In general they are all pretty tame compared to many console games. For example you never see any graphic violence in arcade games. Usual an enemy is non-human (i.e. zombies or aliens) and if they are human and are shot, you don’t see  physical injuries on them when they are hit.

Games like these have been around for a while in arcades, but perhaps the increasing concern of kids playing violent console games has made people look at arcade games a little closer. Could we see these games being toned down, or perhaps enforced over 18’s areas in the future? What are your thoughts?

[Discuss on the Forum] [via Kotaku from Buffalo News]

Discover more from Arcade Heroes

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Twisted Supreme

Website:

Related Story
6 comments
Shaggy

The AAMA rates the games and the article that I read about it did state that the arcade only had yellow label games at the facility which could be considered ‘violent’ but I do not know of many yellow label games that feature zombie killing

Reply
Brent Silby

People have been saying this sort of thing since the early 1980s. What they don’t understand is that people who play these games do not see the targets as “people”–they simply targets, or icons. There’s no difference between shooting a character in a modern Rambo game and shooting a space invader.

Reply
editor

I had a real problem with this article – I was going to contact the writer and ask some simple questions – then I noticed that it might be a political stunt after checking backgrounds.

Just to clarify the position – the amusement industry in the US has the Parental Advisory System (PAS) that rates with a color sticker (red, yellow or green) the game based on agreed content classifications.

I was under the impression that because of the CEC age rating that no Yellow games were allowed or Red. However I would need to check this venue for confirmation.

Reply
arcads4ever

well they had gun games when I was little but it never made me want to kill anyone. I see kids play these sorts of games all the time in arcades where I live but it doesn’t encourage them to kill or scare them. I think peope are just being steriotype about kids with violent video games. it could be other things thats haappened in a childs life and not just gamese.g child abuse or parents fighting bad parenting etc.. they just want something to blame to make it easier.

Reply
SaraAB87

This is in my area, so I can confirm that its likely a political stunt and game ratings are being used as a scapegoat to get this location to close. I won’t go any further with the discussion of this article due to the subject matter but the comments in the original article should explain it all.

If I had children I would be more concerned with the prospect of them getting addicted to the redemption machines rather than being concerned with a little bit of violence in a game. We can’t keep kids sheltered from violence forever.

Reply
    arcads4ever

    I know what you mean. they can’t just hide everything thats violent from children children. violence is depicted in cartoons in video games anyway and if doesn’t scare kids. I can understand if they’re playing the games to gamble and win money but I don’t see why people think of arcade machines as gambling machines and if kids enjoy it for fun of the game then that sahouldn’t be a problem providing there being sensible with their money. when I went with one of those play schemes as a kid we weren’t allowed to go in an arcade at all as the staff thought they are a waste of money and you never win because they think that arcades are all gambling machines yet when we went to the seaside for the day one day in summer we could go in, it was so fucking annoying not being able to go in.

    thats another reasons they want to try declare arcades are dead because they think they are seeding and a waste of money arcades when really they think that there gambling machines you win money on when they’re not.

    Reply