Software:Key Master (arcade game)
Key Master was a game merchandiser produced by Sega and co-manufactured by Komuse America, that was Marketed as a game of skill where a player must push a key through a hole in order to win a prize.
Since 2013 the Key Master game has been subject to a number of lawsuits and legal actions, mainly over claims of false advertising over them being games of skill, when the game featured an auto-percentaging system that will not reward a prize until the number of player attempts reached a threshold of attempts set by the game's operator.[1]
As of 2021 Key Master is no longer listed on the Sega Amusements website, and was renamed to Prize Locker, which was marketed as being "100% skill based." and also offers a conversion kit which allows an operator of a Key Master game to convert the game to Prize Locker. Despite this Key Master machines are still in circulation.[1]
Gameplay
In the game Players controls a key attached to a pusher, which the player moves towards a specific keyhole, first manually in horizontal direction using a joystick, then atomically in the vertical direction where the player's stops the pusher's movement by hitting a button. If the key goes in one of the games holes, the player wins a prize, which often included high-value electronics.[1][2]
Lawsuits/legal action
In 2013 a class-action lawsuit was filed against Sega, some of its subsidiary's, and ten John Does in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on claims that Key master machines are rigged only to allow players to win prizes at certain times, specifically, at intervals determined by player losses set by the game's operator.[3][4][5] In 2015 a proposed class action settlement in the case was rejected by the judge in the case due to administrative reasons, before the case was dismissed with prejudice in March 2016.[5][6][7]
In 2019 Arizona attorney general Mark Brnovich reached a $1 million settlement The Betson Coin-Op Distributing Company, who had leased and financed about 25 Key Master machines throughout Arizona 16 of which were seized in May 2013. The attorney general's office later said said that the auto-percentaging system switched the Key Master from a game of skill to a game of chance, which are only allowed in licensed casino facilities. The settlement came after Arizona had prosecuted a criminal case a Key master game licenser Jonathan Sanborn, who had licensed Key Master machines from Betson for two years and set the machines to only allow players to win only after 2,200 losses.[8][9]
In July 2021 Sega, some of its subsidiary's, and Komuse America were sued in a $5 million class action lawsuit in California for false advertising.[10][11][12][2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Sega sued for 'rigged' arcade machine". 13 July 2021. https://www.polygon.com/22573590/sega-key-master-arcade-game-class-action-lawsuit.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Al-Arshani, Sarah. "A class action lawsuit against Sega says their arcade game Key Master is intentionally rigged against players" (in en-US). https://www.businessinsider.com/lawsuit-says-sega-key-master-arcade-game-is-intentionally-rigged-2021-7.
- ↑ https://www.truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Brown-v.-Sega-Amusements.pdf
- ↑ Boniello, Kathianne (2013-11-03). "Sega's Key Master game is rigged: lawsuit" (in en-US). https://nypost.com/2013/11/02/segas-key-master-game-is-rigged-lawsuit/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Judge Tosses Settlement for 'Key Master' Gamers" (in en-US). https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-tosses-settlement-for-key-master-gamers/.
- ↑ "Sega, Gamer Still Can't Sell Deal Over Stingy Arcade Game - Law360" (in en). https://www.law360.com/articles/732478/sega-gamer-still-can-t-sell-deal-over-stingy-arcade-game.
- ↑ https://www.truthinadvertising.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Brown-v-Sega-Amusements-dismissal.pdf
- ↑ https://www.azag.gov/press-release/ag-brnovich-cj-sega-keymaster
- ↑ O'Sullivan, Serena. "Arizona settles with gaming company for $1M after finding game had unfair odds" (in en-US). https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix-breaking/2019/05/29/arizona-settles-gaming-company-after-finding-key-master-game-had-unfair-odds/1273582001/.
- ↑ "Sega Being Sued For $5 Million Over "Rigged" Arcade Prize Machines" (in en-US). 2021-07-13. https://screenrant.com/sega-key-master-game-lawsuit-arcade-prize-machines/.
- ↑ Carpenter, Nicole (2021-07-13). "Sega sued for 'rigged' arcade machine" (in en). https://www.polygon.com/22573590/sega-key-master-arcade-game-class-action-lawsuit.
- ↑ Osborne, Mary (2021-07-14). "The Real Reason Sega Is Being Sued By Arcade Fans" (in en-US). https://www.svg.com/460837/the-real-reason-sega-is-being-sued-by-arcade-fans/.
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