Video Game Arcades and Parental Concerns in New Jersey (1982)

I don't know. It all started with Space Invaders then followed by asteroids and now the king of video game to someone called Pac-Man. Is it the plot of a new science fiction film. No it's the name of one of the most popular video games on the market today. Video machines are popping up everywhere these days and that has some parents worried. Tonight Rolonda Watts takes a closer look at how one community is dealing with the situation. The store is in downtown Plainfield are pretty typical of the kinds of small businesses found in

communities throughout New Jersey. But there is one thing plain Phil does not have. Video games are a multimillion dollar industry. Last year one such game called Pac Man swallowed nearly 200 million dollars worth of courters. It's easy to see why kids love video games. Parents though are usually less enthusiastic. In fact many would like to see the use of these machines by children carefully regulated. Sometimes however that's not an easy thing to do. Like most communities Plainfield has an ordinance against jukeboxes and pinball machines but there is no law specifically regulating video games. So what the city council learned there soon may be as many as seven new videogame arcades in town. They declared a moratorium on the installation of new games. Then they appointed a special advisory panel to come up with suggestions on how to handle the situation. City Administrator Alfred Smith has been carefully following the controversy

surrounding video games. One critical site. The fourth floor is directly across from city hall police station and two blocks from the largest church in the city. With over a difficult situation and one of the most busy intersections in the city. Traffic congestion and zoning problems may be top priorities for the city. Crime is what parents fear most. They believe stores with video games will become hangouts places where kids will inevitably get into trouble. This isn't the same as if we were concerned about creating avenues and creating a positive image for the city took a serious look at what you're going to have happen if you create the school. Not surprisingly people in the video games industry see things a little differently. Craft amusement video machines from distributor Bruce Kaye what

if kids are getting in trouble. Permissive parents not videogames are to blame. They don't care where their kids go take you into any town and I'll show you that the kids are dropped off. At the age of five or six. A roller skating rink. And what do young sharpshooters think they can't understand what the whole argument is about. That. I think. It's an and expensive form of entertainment in the sense of

money for. Community leaders and the only way to find out the truth about video games is to study the problem to video arcades encourage truancy among school children. Does the city have enough police to keep an eye on the arcades. And what effect would arcades have on playing Phil's business district. This is a place I feel. That video games that are running the streets trying to find something else to do right now. Video game arcades are flourishing. So bringing them into the city has plans to revitalize downtown Plainfield. Might seem like a good idea. The planners aren't so sure after all. And slot car race tracks are once pretty popular too. Who knows maybe videogames could turn out to be nothing more than a fad. Kids may grow tired of them. After all there are only a limited number of variations on the old guy shoots bad guy thing that underlies most of these

games. Still if that ever happens it is probably months away. Until then there seems to be only one thing which will stop children from playing video games. Running out of quarters. I'm rely on the Watts. Each community in New Jersey has the authority to write its own video game ordinance Mostar establishing strict zoning regulations which limits both the number of video machines that can be located in any one store and the hours that the machines can be operated attempts by some towns to prevent anyone under the age of 18 from playing those video games was ruled constitutional by the state Supreme Court earlier this year.