Regal Entertainment Group--which owns and operates one of the country's largest theater groups, composed of Regal Cinemas, United Artists Theatres, Edwards Theatres, and Hoyt Cinemas--announced a new screening process for the game content running on arcade machines in its theaters.

　　"Placement of certain video games is not conducive to the overall environment we strive to achieve," said Mike Campbell, CEO of Regal Entertainment Group's theater operations. "Parents of our younger moviegoers have concerns about the content of certain video games. We want to do the best job in evaluating which video games are acceptable by the majority of our patrons."

　　The new criteria, consisting of six guidelines, will be used in conjunction with the Parental Advisory System to help determine if a game's content is appropriate for a Regal Entertainment Group theater. If it contains inappropriate content as defined in the guidelines (below), REG says it will be removed from theaters by the end of this year and will be excluded from being used in theaters. Arcade content deemed inappropriate for theaters is as follows:

　　1. Human-like characters suffering bloodshed and/or dismemberment.

　　2. Graphic depictions of sexual behavior or nudity.

　　3. Violence toward law enforcement officers or figures of authority.

　　4. Graphically violent character deaths of any kind.

　　5. Obscene or foul language of any kind.

　　6. The promotion or glorification of illegal activity.

　　Regal Entertainment Group said in a statement that it will display ratings from the Parental Advisory System in areas where arcade games are located. Also, in keeping with the Parental Advisory System, color-coded labels describing content are either incorporated into the artwork or the header on the arcade game's outer casing. Finally, posters and a "Guide to Families" brochure will be available to offer consumer information about the Parental Advisory System in all theaters with coin-ops.

　　Rather than using the ESRB's rating system and descriptors, as do console video games and computer games, arcade games have used the Coin-Operated Video Game Parental Advisory System. Brokered by members of Congress and civic organizations in 1994, this system of ratings is supported by the American Amusement Machine Association (AAMA), the Amusement and Music Operators Association (AMOA), and the International Association for the Leisure and Entertainment Industry (IALEI).

　　Under the PAS system of color-coded labels, the colors are those used in US traffic lights--green, yellow, and red. Green games are "Suitable for Everyone" (like Namco's Alpine Racer II), yellow games may have "Lifelike Violence--Mild" (including Midway's Gauntlet: Dark Legacy), while red games may be described as "Lifelike Violence--Strong" (for example, Konami's popular Silent Scope series).

　　The topic of arcade content has flared up in debate in Congress and among state legislators several times since the inception of the Parental Advisory System.

　　The AMOA site has additional information on this initiative.