Newtown Parents Open Sandy Hook Arcade

Andy Chalk

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Nov 12, 2002
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Newtown Parents Open Sandy Hook Arcade


The founders of the Sandy Hook Arcade Center say they hope it helps promote the "family values" that Newtown, Connecticut is known for.

Two parents from Newtown, Connecticut, the site of the infamous Sandy Hook Elementary School mass murder, are taking a pro-gaming approach to helping the community heal with the Sandy Hook Arcade Center, a family-friendly gaming center that opened on Sunday.

"The world has been inspired by the strength and unity of our Newtown community and the support has been wonderfully overwhelming. We struggle to find a road or path to help us to move forward as we are enveloped by the love and donations that have been pouring in from literally everywhere," founders Andrew Clure and Scott Cicciari wrote on the arcade's website. "The core value of Newtown has always been family and in this time we find comfort in being together, neighbor to neighbor. With that thought in mind we want to draw on our passion and experience to build the Sandy Hook Arcade Center for the children and families."

The arcade boasts more than 22 games, including stand-ups, pinball tables, air hockey and foosball, plus two Kinect setups and a photo booth. As a non-for-profit operation it will be supported by donations and admission fees from out-of-town visitors, but Newtown residents will play for free. "We were very careful in our game choices - all the games will be family/kid friendly," the founders said on Facebook.

The grumpy oldster in me still misses the dingy, smoke-filled arcades of old, but even I have to admit that this is a pretty fantastic idea and certainly a far better approach than the Facebook [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/121239-Newtown-Boy-Campaigns-Against-Violent-Games] comments, the Newtown community has embraced the arcade as well. "My kids loved it - went back two days in a row!" one parent wrote. "Thank you for doing this for our town and the children."

Source: Sandy Hook Arcade Center [http://www.sandyhookarcade.com/index.php]


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Zombie_Moogle

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Dec 25, 2008
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Aaw, well that's nice...

aaaand, cue the outrage from people that have nothing to do with the town, the arcade, or anything else
 

Bobic

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Nov 10, 2009
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Not to poop on anyone's parade or anything, but what's the longevity of this thing? Donations will dry up once everyone forgets about sandyhook, and if you're only charging out-of-towners you probably won't make much money from admission fees, I'm not sure Newtown, Conneticut is that much of a tourist spot. It's a nice idea and all, I'm just afraid I'll be seeing the 'sandyhook arcade closes' article in a few months.
 

Andy Shandy

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This is a pretty good idea, not only does it appease the worry-wart parents who blame violent video games, it doesn't completely alienate anyone that potentially wanted to play violent video games that would've been culled, if the previous idea went through.

Letting the locals in for free is a nice touch too.
 

CriticalMiss

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I hate to be a downer, but I wonder if they have permission to use Pacman on their logo. You could argue that it is just a shape, but considering it's for an arcade which may very well contain a Pacman game someone might not be happy.
 

Sylveria

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CriticalMiss said:
I hate to be a downer, but I wonder if they have permission to use Pacman on their logo. You could argue that it is just a shape, but considering it's for an arcade which may very well contain a Pacman game someone might not be happy.
Someone might not be happy, but I don't think whoever holds the rights to Pac-Man now is dumb enough sue a Sandy Hook charity arcade. The public backlash would be be unimaginable.
 

DrunkOnEstus

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May 11, 2012
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The reminds me of the Super Bowl, when the Sandy Hook choir sang the national anthem. It was actually pretty moving, and a good idea for those kids. This is also a good idea for the kids, and has always been a fantastic way for kids to bond with their parents.
 

Slash2x

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DrunkOnEstus said:
The reminds me of the Super Bowl, when the Sandy Hook choir sang the national anthem. It was actually pretty moving, and a good idea for those kids. This is also a good idea for the kids, and has always been a fantastic way for kids to bond with their parents.
And that might offer a real solution for this tragedy. PARENTS spending time with their kids. I say kudos for the ides folks. Not sure if I agree with the execution but hey at least someone is doing something.
 

KeyMaster45

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Jun 16, 2008
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Yeah it's great they've opened an aracde, but it would seem it still contains an underlying current that they want to blame video games for what happened.
 

knight steel

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Sylveria said:
CriticalMiss said:
I hate to be a downer, but I wonder if they have permission to use Pacman on their logo. You could argue that it is just a shape, but considering it's for an arcade which may very well contain a Pacman game someone might not be happy.
Someone might not be happy, but I don't think whoever holds the rights to Pac-Man now is dumb enough sue a Sandy Hook charity arcade. The public backlash would be be unimaginable.
You underestimate the potential for human stupidity!
captcha: do more sit-ups
Fuck you-captcha-fuck you T_T
 

Strazdas

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CriticalMiss said:
I hate to be a downer, but I wonder if they have permission to use Pacman on their logo. You could argue that it is just a shape, but considering it's for an arcade which may very well contain a Pacman game someone might not be happy.
considering they want "family values" only they wont have pacman because it "EATS LIVE ANIMALS".


But yeah this is all good and well, but i dont think it will survive long without in-town admission fees. i udnerstand fees being low for runing it not-for-profit, but without any they simply wont survive, and they should survive.


However the whole term "family values" should stop being used.