It's On Like Donkey Kong: Town Repeals Arcade Game Ban

Pac Man, Ms. Pac Man, Space Invaders, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Galaga, Gauntlet, Tron — the names of coin-operated arcade games that have swallowed countless quarters are enshrined in legend

Except in the small town of Marshfield, Massachusetts, that is, where coin-op games were banned under a local ordinance in 1982.

The controversial prohibition was voted in that year by residents who were sick and tired of the noisome bleeping and blooping of arcade videogames, and felt their influence was corrupting the minds of America's youth. The town became briefly famous, or infamous, depending on how many quarters you spent on the machines or, generally, how young you were. Then in 1983, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the ban, and the controversy died down. The ban was upheld by town votes in 1994 and 2011 Read more...