Mom's Protest Forces Theater to Drop Violent Coin-op Games

Never underestimate the power of a Mom.

As reported by the Des Moines Register, a mother of two young children led a campaign which forced the removal of violent games from the arcade room of a local movie theater. The games weren't specified by name, but the news report mentions "zombies being blown to bloody bits," so perhaps House of the Dead...

Tracy Codel, the mother of 4- and 6-year-old boys, began the protest after discovering the violent games at the Century Theater in Jordan Creek Town Center. In a letter and a follow-up petition drive, she urged theater owners to remove the games and vowed not to see another film there until they had done so.

Although the coin-op machines had the appropriate warning labels, Codel did not see this as an effective way to prevent underage kids from playing.

"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."

The Register article also quotes Iowa State professor Craig Anderson on game violence, despite the fact that his research has failed to impress federal court judges in recent constitutional cases over Michigan and Illinois' video game laws.

Tekken 5 remains following Codel's protest, but all other games in the arcade are rated as "suitable for all ages."

GP: Props to reader Mark b. for the heads-up on this one...