Japanese Arcade and the Politics of Public Space

 

The presentation given by Dr. Keita Moore on Monday, March 30 was very interesting. The presentation was about laws regarding play and public spaces that are designated for play in Japanese history, especially focusing on the 1970s and the introduction of arcade games, specifically Space Invaders. While the idea of play being incorporated in a non-gambling way was prominent with the introduction of Sigma's Medal Games, police had started to gain interest in these places due to concerns over delinquency. This culminated in the introduction of Invader Houses, cafe like areas that had Space Invaders, and while there was no real incentive to continue playing, the desire to gain high scores was incentive enough. With ideas of childhood and how teens should be spending their time, the conflict between police and these arcade venues was a critical point of discussion in the late 20th Century. Overall, I thought the ideas presented were very interesting, and the sociological and political ideas of play were something I had not thought of before.