Play Meter
Issue: 1981 December 15 - Vol 7 Num 23 - Page 17
right." The oppo ·ing
these thmg · with1n ou 1 own ci ty. W e
f •e l t lw feder,,l governnwnt h,,
t <1 ken ,1 y t o o m" n y n g h 1 ~
<1lr • c~dy ...
Do tlw y · ound d · if the y're <~rguing
stdte~· nghb ') Fret'
pet>ch on
c d m p u ~ ') Fed t' r , 1l f un d 1n g " n d
re gul,1t1on on loc,,l go\·e rnmen~::> ')
on t rol of drug t rdffi c k mg') one of
these . The two quoted 1,1\vyer~
r present. re specti vely. Al dddm\,
dStle drCddt• CIMII1 cine! thl' c it y of
M e ·quite. T ex,l :-. . ,mel the y will be
r itting their forens1c -kill 111 tlw U .S.
uprenw Court so mt' tlnK' l<~ter th is
ye<~ r over ilw ~ ~~ ue of whet her the
Tex ,l~ L' 1l y hd ~ the nght to rt'guldte
<~rcade
to tlw extent of bdnning
JUvenil'
from pl<1 y111g ~J<1!l1 es in
them .
Whi l' the A ldddm':-. M e~quite
i~sue beg,m d •velopmg lwfor ' the
19 1 flurr y of nwd1,1 cltient10n over
tlw 11<1tion . 11 1:-. reflect ive of tlw
magnitud e to wh1ch i · ues
su rrounding coin o p have grov.m thi
yea r .
T ownship after town hip, from th
W e t oast t N ew ngland ha
t
:-.tuhborn oppo~ition to th >
mst,lll,ltion or •x p<~n ion of <~rcade .
olumbus. Oh1o op ra10r told
A
Plo v Meter rece ntl y that. a~ <1 result
of ,1 city zo nmg boc~rd re stricting
the numb >r
f ~l''mes in hi
re~t ,wr<~nt game room un1t
in
olumbu ·. ··w e're going to co urt.
W e co ntend thc~t 11·~ unconstitu
tio11<1l for them to Scl y you c<1 n 't h;we
g<~m · . So I thlllk the only way t
change (th local at titud ) i to go
to court.
unwrou · loc<:1l new wnter - beat
th e drum s for the "t rouble right her •
Ill R1v •r
1ty" cddre of resid •nts who
c r y thdt v1deo game~ are co rrupt ers
of youth. th
lunch '
even that the gdm ' · hav
led to an ou tbreak of juvenile theft
w"
Political, educational leaders
oppose opening of arcades
By JIM DWYER
Union City's
pinball
controversy
~~~rr
l' NIO~
CITY Polittc:al aM t
ltadt ~
t1onal
.. ~tam~t an nnllf\anr't' tha t • ·ould Itt four
p1nball and amo'-f'lllt'nt arcadt-111 open
the'' ••II be-oo~
for rhlldrt>o and attract ··un ·
ht>rt' , C' IILn~r: ft>aro: that
ha n~~:o uu
~ • rabiH
The apphra nb for h('t'n s to opttate
tht arc:adt-s 111rludt> a former rom·
m1 IOO('r tht brochf>r of a <'lh IR \4' \t'r
and a
f' IIV
Thtv
'room
bu!ldlnli[ lnSJ"e(IOr
ma' ho"'"'"'r feN' oppo'illlon
""'It""
tM Rt'1(Uiar DNnocratl('
• .. ., ...
All kmdllli of thlnli!"' napren 1n thur
and I m n01 surt- I want thrm
the' f'll\' I \1\'t> In .• 'lid I.CMJI !Ii
~1ar rht>um ,. 'irllool board t r~Ktet .1nd
tf'a('hf'r at Mf'monal lhah School tn 'A'Ht
Nf'"'' York If I mat the hf'anlij[ , I•'On't
be thf'Tf' 1n support of tht ordLnaiK'I' "
Two poll~ oflln>f"'' l.t Paul Hanak
and S.Zt Harn M Ca landnllo Jr . a
f rrN"r mmmlllli..r and no• an aldt to
thfo ('hlef of h
h.onr applied for lour
IOC'atlon. ('ala ndnl lo !li.OUd tht\' bOQt to
Rf"l onf' lorntton and dots not think thr
M'f'ad~ "'II do am harm
W\tl'l propt'r "ru~f'\'llllilon t7t' ttw> t'm·
plo \f't>~ \'Ou tml' I don tt h l nk.tlwo~d bt
' Pfff'M
•<1 ,._.
"~ • hf' ... ,..,.,,.
p.ulo~
' rilrr
~·~<.;lO ti "'
In
ew headline indicate fric tion in lo a/ arena , be etting coin-op
amu ement during 1981.
lndu try growth whi h caught th m dia's eye - boosted the numbers
of op rotor and or odes and the intak of reuenu
18
t rai e quarters to pi y th coin -ops .
Although th e re ultant actions of
offi i I to appeas thei r wolf-crying
co nstituents are continuing
problems for a gr dt many
op rators, th r
is sam tim s a
vie t ry fo r rea on. A s r ported in
Pla y Meter. July 15 i su , th m di
in M ilwauk
h d m nufactured an
xpo " wh n th y reported in
M r h that tud nt at a local high
school w r ·• p nding an average of
$1000 a month on electronic game •·
on th e sc hool
ground . T h
M ilwauke
entinel h"'d ditorial
ized :"Th re ' suchathingasmaking
sc hool too much fun. " H owever .
stud nts and most parents as w !I
a teachers- were found to disagree
with the anti -games se ntiment.
A principal at a school involved 111
the i ue was quat d to ay th< t
due tors" re providing for the total
tud nt , and part of hi
life i
so ializi ng and r crea ting ." Th e
principal I o noted that ince th
coin machine w r install d at hi
c hool. vandali m had dropp d off,
as h d stud ent loitering during th
free period
perators
chools
also ros to the d fense, seeking
time with the pre
and t I vision
and the taxpaying public cam to
re< lize that a h school wa sh ring
ab ut 40" .. of th gam machin
rec 1pt and tha t th e funds w r
div rted to pay for oth r school
activit sand program . Th case for
ga m s' r I in I ss ned vandalism
and even drug and alcohol abus
redu t ion wa
u t in d also.
But th matter at i u
whe ther
th rev nu of gam s, du to their
ri ing popularity, is grounds for
incr a ed taxation and operator
r striction
goe on. It is matt r
for local, s tate , and national
op rat or program to co mbat and to
produce a po i t iv
image of
op r ting (a
through m thad
d tai l din numerous arti cles in Pla y
Meter in past months) .
Like th preva l nt rumor a few
years ago that ground worm w r
b ing serv d up a hambu rger b y
on of th larg r fast food chains, th
rap agai n t coin -op i hard to quell.
And, like s m any fallaci , sca res.
and plain untruth , f lse images of
the coi n indu try r unforunately
b ing p rp tuat d by th media ,
Ia al and national.
Growth in reve nues a nd operators
Th indust ry was on a roll in 1981,
reaching alma t unparalled growth
in th
population of operators,
c hb x g r oss r evenues, and
numb rs of arcades springing onto
PLAY METER, D e ember 15, 1981
these thmg · with1n ou 1 own ci ty. W e
f •e l t lw feder,,l governnwnt h,,
t <1 ken ,1 y t o o m" n y n g h 1 ~
<1lr • c~dy ...
Do tlw y · ound d · if the y're <~rguing
stdte~· nghb ') Fret'
pet>ch on
c d m p u ~ ') Fed t' r , 1l f un d 1n g " n d
re gul,1t1on on loc,,l go\·e rnmen~::> ')
on t rol of drug t rdffi c k mg') one of
these . The two quoted 1,1\vyer~
r present. re specti vely. Al dddm\,
dStle drCddt• CIMII1 cine! thl' c it y of
M e ·quite. T ex,l :-. . ,mel the y will be
r itting their forens1c -kill 111 tlw U .S.
uprenw Court so mt' tlnK' l<~ter th is
ye<~ r over ilw ~ ~~ ue of whet her the
Tex ,l~ L' 1l y hd ~ the nght to rt'guldte
<~rcade
to tlw extent of bdnning
JUvenil'
from pl<1 y111g ~J<1!l1 es in
them .
Whi l' the A ldddm':-. M e~quite
i~sue beg,m d •velopmg lwfor ' the
19 1 flurr y of nwd1,1 cltient10n over
tlw 11<1tion . 11 1:-. reflect ive of tlw
magnitud e to wh1ch i · ues
su rrounding coin o p have grov.m thi
yea r .
T ownship after town hip, from th
W e t oast t N ew ngland ha
t
:-.tuhborn oppo~ition to th >
mst,lll,ltion or •x p<~n ion of <~rcade .
olumbus. Oh1o op ra10r told
A
Plo v Meter rece ntl y that. a~ <1 result
of ,1 city zo nmg boc~rd re stricting
the numb >r
f ~l''mes in hi
re~t ,wr<~nt game room un1t
in
olumbu ·. ··w e're going to co urt.
W e co ntend thc~t 11·~ unconstitu
tio11<1l for them to Scl y you c<1 n 't h;we
g<~m · . So I thlllk the only way t
change (th local at titud ) i to go
to court.
unwrou · loc<:1l new wnter - beat
th e drum s for the "t rouble right her •
Ill R1v •r
1ty" cddre of resid •nts who
c r y thdt v1deo game~ are co rrupt ers
of youth. th
lunch '
even that the gdm ' · hav
led to an ou tbreak of juvenile theft
w"
Political, educational leaders
oppose opening of arcades
By JIM DWYER
Union City's
pinball
controversy
~~~rr
l' NIO~
CITY Polittc:al aM t
ltadt ~
t1onal
.. ~tam~t an nnllf\anr't' tha t • ·ould Itt four
p1nball and amo'-f'lllt'nt arcadt-111 open
the'' ••II be-oo~
for rhlldrt>o and attract ··un ·
ht>rt' , C' IILn~r: ft>aro: that
ha n~~:o uu
~ • rabiH
The apphra nb for h('t'n s to opttate
tht arc:adt-s 111rludt> a former rom·
m1 IOO('r tht brochf>r of a <'lh IR \4' \t'r
and a
f' IIV
Thtv
'room
bu!ldlnli[ lnSJ"e(IOr
ma' ho"'"'"'r feN' oppo'illlon
""'It""
tM Rt'1(Uiar DNnocratl('
• .. ., ...
All kmdllli of thlnli!"' napren 1n thur
and I m n01 surt- I want thrm
the' f'll\' I \1\'t> In .• 'lid I.CMJI !Ii
~1ar rht>um ,. 'irllool board t r~Ktet .1nd
tf'a('hf'r at Mf'monal lhah School tn 'A'Ht
Nf'"'' York If I mat the hf'anlij[ , I•'On't
be thf'Tf' 1n support of tht ordLnaiK'I' "
Two poll~ oflln>f"'' l.t Paul Hanak
and S.Zt Harn M Ca landnllo Jr . a
f rrN"r mmmlllli..
thfo ('hlef of h
h.onr applied for lour
IOC'atlon. ('ala ndnl lo !li.OUd tht\' bOQt to
Rf"l onf' lorntton and dots not think thr
M'f'ad~ "'II do am harm
W\tl'l propt'r "ru~f'\'llllilon t7t' ttw> t'm·
plo \f't>~ \'Ou tml' I don tt h l nk.tlwo~d bt
' Pfff'M
•<1 ,._.
"~ • hf' ... ,..,.,,.
p.ulo~
' rilrr
~·~<.;lO ti "'
In
ew headline indicate fric tion in lo a/ arena , be etting coin-op
amu ement during 1981.
lndu try growth whi h caught th m dia's eye - boosted the numbers
of op rotor and or odes and the intak of reuenu
18
t rai e quarters to pi y th coin -ops .
Although th e re ultant actions of
offi i I to appeas thei r wolf-crying
co nstituents are continuing
problems for a gr dt many
op rators, th r
is sam tim s a
vie t ry fo r rea on. A s r ported in
Pla y Meter. July 15 i su , th m di
in M ilwauk
h d m nufactured an
xpo " wh n th y reported in
M r h that tud nt at a local high
school w r ·• p nding an average of
$1000 a month on electronic game •·
on th e sc hool
ground . T h
M ilwauke
entinel h"'d ditorial
ized :"Th re ' suchathingasmaking
sc hool too much fun. " H owever .
stud nts and most parents as w !I
a teachers- were found to disagree
with the anti -games se ntiment.
A principal at a school involved 111
the i ue was quat d to ay th< t
due tors" re providing for the total
tud nt , and part of hi
life i
so ializi ng and r crea ting ." Th e
principal I o noted that ince th
coin machine w r install d at hi
c hool. vandali m had dropp d off,
as h d stud ent loitering during th
free period
perators
chools
also ros to the d fense, seeking
time with the pre
and t I vision
and the taxpaying public cam to
re< lize that a h school wa sh ring
ab ut 40" .. of th gam machin
rec 1pt and tha t th e funds w r
div rted to pay for oth r school
activit sand program . Th case for
ga m s' r I in I ss ned vandalism
and even drug and alcohol abus
redu t ion wa
u t in d also.
But th matter at i u
whe ther
th rev nu of gam s, du to their
ri ing popularity, is grounds for
incr a ed taxation and operator
r striction
goe on. It is matt r
for local, s tate , and national
op rat or program to co mbat and to
produce a po i t iv
image of
op r ting (a
through m thad
d tai l din numerous arti cles in Pla y
Meter in past months) .
Like th preva l nt rumor a few
years ago that ground worm w r
b ing serv d up a hambu rger b y
on of th larg r fast food chains, th
rap agai n t coin -op i hard to quell.
And, like s m any fallaci , sca res.
and plain untruth , f lse images of
the coi n indu try r unforunately
b ing p rp tuat d by th media ,
Ia al and national.
Growth in reve nues a nd operators
Th indust ry was on a roll in 1981,
reaching alma t unparalled growth
in th
population of operators,
c hb x g r oss r evenues, and
numb rs of arcades springing onto
PLAY METER, D e ember 15, 1981
Future scanning projects are planned by the International Arcade Museum Library (IAML).