American Amusement Machine Association

The American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA) is a trade association established in 1981 which represents the coin-operated amusement machine industry.[1]

Video game controversy

In 2000, the AAMA was sued by Teri Kendrick, who believed that minors should have limited access to video games that featured violence;[2] it was eventually settled in 2001 with a reversal of the original judgment.[2][3]

The AAMA, in association with the Amusement & Music Operators Association, established the Parental Advisory System (PAS), which rates the content of arcade games.[4][5]

Parental Advisory System

Color Rating Description[6]
Green Suitable for All Ages This game would be recommended for a general audience and would be suitable for all ages.
Yellow Mild May contain mild violence, suggestive themes, minimal blood or crude humor.
Red Strong May contain strong language, sexual content or strong violence involving human and/or cartoon-like characters resulting in blood and gore.
Orange This Game Not Yet Rated Has not yet been rated by the manufacturer

AAMA Protect Sticker Program

[7] In the 80s, counterfeiting of arcade games was deemed to be a major problem; even arcade titles with custom ICs, encryption and other security features have been overcome by the counterfeiters. To help identify legal arcade boards intended for sale and use in North America, the AAMA introduced the "AAMA Protect" Sticker Program, where the manufacturer or distributor applies a serialized holographic "AAMA Protect" sticker on the arcade game board; for multi-board arcade game titles, this label is typically applied on the board with the cabinet connector is; in some cases, this sticker is applied on the board where the majority of the game program/data resides, or for certain systems, on the board or cartridge where the security key resides. In some cases, a company or distributor requires the AAMA Protect serial number to be quoted in correspondence regarding a particular game.

American and subsidiary companies who are members of the AAMA are all enrolled in the AAMA Protect Sticker Program, and known sightings of the AAMA Protect sticker on manufacturers' arcade game boards include the following companies:

A less-known AAMA Export sticker scheme was also introduced, possibly to identify genuine arcade boards for export. The AAMA Protect Sticker Program ended around 2000, when counterfeiting of arcade games was under control.

References

  1. ↑ "Mission". American Amusement Machine Association. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
  2. 1 2 "American Amusement Machine Association, et al. v. Teri Kendrick". Archived from the original on 6 September 2008.
  3. ↑ "EFF Appellate Decision". Electronic Frontier Foundation. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
  4. ↑ "Parental Advisory System". American Amusement Machine Association. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
  5. ↑ "Parental Advisory System". Amusement & Music Operators Association. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
  6. ↑ PAS Sticker & Poster Order Form. American Amusement Machine Association. Accessed: 2013-09-19. (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6Jl8Q0VQN)
  7. ↑ Trademark Counterfeiting, Product Piracy, and the Billion Dollar Threat to the U.S. Economy, Paul R. Paradise Greenwood Publishing Group, 1 Jan 1999

External links


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