Des Moines Register
04-24-06
W.D.M. mom scores victory over violent video games
MELISSA WALKER
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Zombies being blown to bloody bits made West Des Moines mother Tracy Codel
sick to her stomach, even if it was all in the name of fun.
So she told executives at Century Theatres that she would no longer attend their
movies until all violent video games were yanked from the theater's arcade at
Jordan Creek Town Center.
"Even if I chose for my child not to play that game, the sounds and visuals were
still present," she said. "This is like showing an R-rated movie to my kids if they're
in there."
That's typically where threats like Codel's end. The video game industry
generates $30 billion a year worldwide. Ratings for violence, similar to those for
television programs, have been developed but the industry has withstood most
attacks from parents and politicians who think the violence in the high-tech
games is a little too close to reality.
But whatever Codel said must have worked. The shoot-'em-up, guts-splattered
games are gone from Starcade at Jordan Creek. Even the one with the bloody
zombies. Now Codel's sons, Cayden, 6, and Carsen, 4, can put the theater and
its arcade back on their fun list.
Theater management pulled the plug on the most violent games after receiving
Codel's letter. David Midkiff, manager of the theater, referred all questions to the
company's headquarters in California, but Century executives there did not return
numerous calls.
One lifelike mild-violence game, "Tekken 5," remains in the arcade, but the
fighting is done with karate chops, punches and kicks. All other games are now
rated "suitable for all ages."
And Codel is happy. So are about 40 other people who signed the petition she
mailed to the theater's owners after a visit in February. She and her children went
in for some Pac-Man and air hockey, but the visit opened her eyes to a debate
that reaches from arcades and living rooms to board rooms and universities.
"Repeated exposure increases the likelihood of aggressive behavior over time,"
said Craig Anderson, a psychology professor at Iowa State University who
has studied the effects of media violence.
Anderson said violent video games, movies and television shows can cause
young children to become fearful and, in some cases, be temporarily traumatized
by what they have seen.
Anderson says his studies have shown that behavior can change after playing
violent video games, and children become aggressive or desensitized.
Codel said she was upset because even though the theater had warning stickers
on the machines and used the arcade games rating system, there was no one
there to keep children from playing the games.
Some video-gamers think the stickers should suffice.
"If you don't want your child seeing it, don't let them go there," said J.W. Cleaver,
15, of Des Moines, who sharpened his aim Saturday at Loco Joe's Nickel
Arcade.
Several other arcades in the Des Moines area have "lifelike violence" or
"animated violence" games, or games in which players use guns. At the Time
Out arcade at Southridge Mall, more than half of the games feature lifelike or
animated violence.
Alex Chapman, 12, of Des Moines spent his birthday at Loco Joe's on Saturday.
He zeroed in on the games that involved gunplay.
"I think they're pretty fun. You get to aim and stuff," he said. A fifth-grader at
Studebaker Elementary School, Alex said he gets "freaked out" shooting lifelike
characters but adds that an arcade without those games would be boring. He
also likes to play animated games like "Mouse Attack."
His grandfather, Bill Chapman of Winterset, said he was surprised to hear that
any company would eliminate games popular among kids.
"I would think that if they have games kids are playing, they wouldn't pull them
because of profits," he said.
Reporter Melissa Walker can be reached at
(515) 284-8451 or
mewalker@dmreg.com