1983-05-11 Workshop Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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GAA~IES, From Page 1 bring in video games, but fa~ such severe media opposition that the plan was scrapped. George Hamilton, director of parks and recreation in Portland, Maine, was stymied in his proposal for video game concessions by the Planning Board and City Council. The negative recommenda- tion came on the heels of a city council move to close private video game arcades because of anti-social behavior. "The city council action was un- fortunate because we could have antici- pated thousands of dollars in revenues and we could have controlled the use by specifying operational hours, the loca- tions and the number of games," said Hamilton. Yet, Hamilton has philosophic prob- lems with video games being a healthy form of recreation. "I would rather encourage physical and mental activity while interacting with another human being. Society gen- erally is taking the humanity away from humans with its reliance on computer technology," Hamilton observed. Tex Ward, director of the Conejo Recreation and Park District in Califor- nia, has no plans for installation of video games in the next year. At the same time, he harbors deep philosophical concerns about use of the games. "1 think they are time-wasting and money-wasting and perhaps a precursor to gambling." Individual Entrepreneurs The Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation is considering letting its 150 community centers act as individual entrepreneurs in negotiating for the installation of video games. Each com- munity center then would keep the revenues for local programming. But the recreation department is not planning significant expansion of its cur- rent, modest video games concession, particularly following a barrage of citizen opposition to a plan to install 20 video games in a large local park. "Video games are associated with gang turf problems," noted Joel Breitbart, assistant general manager. "Video arcades become hang-outs and then it becomes a question of whose `turf' it is. People, perhaps wrongly, think of arcades as places that encourage loitering, graffiti, dope smoking and selling, neighborhood crime." The department has video games at its Travel Town railroad museum and Griffith Park Planetarium, both successful and trouble-free. Breitbart estimates the machines generally earn $70 to 5100 per Dateline - 6 Video Games: A Blessing or a Curse? week per machine, with half of that gross profit accruing to the recreation department. In nearly all cases, the video vendor is responsible for installation of those machines which are the latest rage and for their maintenance. Keeping the new- est and most popular video games on the floor is consistently important for busi- ness. Most video distributors negotiate a contract to share the gross profits equally with the recreation department. Breitbart concedes that money can be made from video game concessions, but he notes that location is critical. In some cases, video vendors would not bid on installation because the location lacked business volume and the risk of vandalism ran high. On the other hand, distributors have negotiated contracts giving recrea- tion departments 60 percent of the gross revenues for locations which are proven money-makers. Seattle Completes Study The Seattle, Wash., Parks and Recrea- tion Department has done one of the most extensive studies of the video game dilemma, having weighed the issue since February when the controversy was presented to the Board of Park Commissioners. The study found: • three recreation departments and two private agencies had installed video games of the 13 cities, three counties and four private organizations surveyed in the metropolitan Seattle area. • the users are primarily in their teens and pre-teens, ages eight to 16, and appear to regulate themselves fairly well. with few incidents of vandalism. Nonetheless, supervisors are kept highly visible in video game centers. • the primary reason for installation of video games is revenue. "The thinking seems to be that the games already have a proven popularity and as long as kids are going to play them, they might as well do so in the more wholesome atmosphere of our community centers than in the somewhat `seedier' atmosphere of arcades or the local convenience stores," explains a passage from the study. • recreation departments can earn between $1,000 and $2,000 per machine per year, but profits are no longer guar- anteed. According to the Seattle survey, revenues have dropped drastically in the last year, perhaps because the video saturation point has been reached. • that video games can coexist with other recreation center activities, and perhaps attract teens who otherwise would never think of coming to a rec- reation center. Therefore, Seattle is at least embark- ing on the video experiment. The pro- posal was approved by the Board of Park Commissioners in April for consideration by the Recreation Center Advisory Councils, volunteer groups who make recommendations on operations at each recreation center. Final policy decisions, , however, are in the hands of the recrea- tion superintendent. Minimal Interest Thus far, only seven of Seattle's 24 recreation centers have expressed an interest in considering video gamerooms. Public hearings in those communities were completed in mid-September, with final decisions expected as Dateline: NRPA went to press. The Seattle staff recommended that two to six machines be installed in each community center. Other playing restric- tions were left to the advisory councils for their input, according to Virginia Swanson, director of recreation. The small number of recreation centers which wanted to consider video games indicates many communities are probably taking a wait-and-see attitude," according to Swanson. But it appears that Seattle will have at least some community centers with video games. In fact, many recreation depart- ments are experimenting with the magical machines. See CAMES, Page 7