At around 5 pm everyday, he comes to Game Zone at City Centre, Kamal Pokhari. Hooked with racing games, first person shooters, adventures and sports games, gaming center doesn’t go amiss to him.[break]
Affordability of such games can be taken as one of the luring factors that attract both children and teenagers these days.
“To play these games, we need to buy coins that cost only 10 Rupees,” says Dhanuka.
With the ever increasing popularity, many large shopping malls in Kathmandu, such as United World Trade Center (UWTC) at Tripureshwor and City Center at Kamal Pokhari, have installed these electronic gadgets. These games often have very short levels, simple and intuitive control schemes, and rapidly increasing difficulty. Most popular arcade games are action games, sports games, flash games, puzzle games, kids’ games and so on.
“Altogether, we have five videogames for gamers. One can easily play these games by purchasing coins, costing Rs 10 each, until the time is over,” informs Pradip Dhungana, owner of United Bowling Zone at UWTC. Dhungana mentions that on average, a gamer will spend around 300 Rupees per day.
“During local holidays and on Saturdays, the numbers of gamers reach up to 400,” adds Pranisha Ranjit, an employee of Game Zone at City Center.
She adds, “It is children and teenagers who make up the majority of the arcade visitors.”
One of the enthusiasts is 12-year-old Ayush Shrestha.
“I’m fond of playing Doom Blaster and B29 Assault because I really enjoy playing action games,” he puts in excitedly. Ayush doesn’t forget to mention that he like playing cricket and football, too, but to him, “real sports” isn’t as amusing as videogames.
Games such as these involve shooting and squashing enemies, collecting weapons and bombing terrorists, and are often set against loud fast-paced soundtracks that give add-ons to your adrenaline rush. Moreover, because of the short duration of the games, one is tempted to play repeatedly, and therefore, arcade games are addictive. And it is what makes them bankable as well.
Addicted teenagers and kids want the facilities of arcade games to be improved in Nepal. Gyanendra Limbu, a student who frequents the game parlors, says, “I started playing these games as a child in Hong Kong.” He shares that arcade games in Hong Kong have rewind features that allows the player to redo the last few seconds of play.
“They have software that will record and store a video recording of our games so that we can watch them later,” reveals Limbu, who hopes that arcade games in Nepal will take another leap. “I used to play games with guitars in Hong Kong and I wish there were those here as well,” he expresses.
The mushrooming business of arcade games in the city, however, has its share of negativities. While it seems to be an innocent statement, Shrestha’s comparison between “real sports” and arcade games has several larger implications, from increased exposure to violence to decreased outdoor physical activities.
According to Hari Sapkota, another staff at Game Zone, other popular games include Street Fighter, King of Fighter, and Double Dragon.
“But playing action games doesn’t mean that it’ll make children violent. It depends on the nature of the child, whether he or she’ll imitate it in real life,” opines Sapkota.
Regardless of the nature of the child, it is, nonetheless, a cause for concern, and parents play a key role here.
To be on the safe side, Hema Gurung does not permit her children to play action games at arcades that contain shooting, killing and fighting.
“Children try to replicate whatever they play in their videogames, and so I worry about my children turning aggressive and imitating violent activities,” shares the mother who restricts her kids to car racing and puzzle games at Game Zone. It costs Gurung around Rs 300 for a single trip to the arcade.
In addition to exposure to violence, children are at high risks to laying bets in schools, and play arcade games with the money earned as soon as they find the time.
“As a part of social responsibility, these parlors should be monitored to maintain healthy amusement for schoolchildren,” highlights Gurung, who stopped taking her children to the amusement park at Bhrikuti Mandap because of its lack of facilities.
“For the proper development of children, they require at least one place where they can play freely,” states Ganga Pathak Rimal, Chief Psychologist at the National Institute of Psychology. She furthers, “But Kathmandu doesn’t have public playgrounds for children, and so they are confined to indoor activities such as playing video games, watching television and using computers to excessive levels.”
Indoor games can be beneficial to children but Rimal emphasizes that parents should choose games that boost their children’s perpetual ability, logical thinking, and build their confidence.
“Even then, if children are confined to indoor games, they will tend to repress their fears, guilt, desires and emotions,” alerts Rimal and adds, “Consequently, children are likely to have certain mental and physical disorders that may bar their personal development.
“Children should get enough physical exercises to stay healthy,” asserts Rimal.
So, as much as it makes children happy to play arcade games, parents should make it a point that they get to run around. They make break a flower pot or two, but, after all, they are kids.
Related story
KMC sending dozers to demolish illegal structures at Suraj Arca...
