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Machine breaks man in Japanese game
A Japanese game maker said Wednesday it would withdraw arm-wrestling machines from arcades after three players -- two of them foreigners -- broke their arms.
In this file photo, a man gets some arm wrestling pointers as he tests his strength against a mechanical dummy along a road in Dandong, nort-east China. A Japanese game maker said Wednesday it would withdraw arm-wrestling machines from arcades in Japan, after three players broke their arms.
Players would choose a strength level from 10 characters, ranging from a maid to a professional wrestler, and face off with an artificial arm on the other side of the table.
A 25-year-old South Korean man broke his right arm while playing the game in Osaka, while a 19-year-old Frenchman and 24-year-old Japanese man also suffered arm fractures, the company said.
Atlus, a Tokyo-based arcade game maker, said it will remove the 155 machines of the game -- called "Udedamashii," which means Arms Spirits -- which were put into service just a month ago.
"We had done careful simulations on the possibility of injuries before putting it on sale, but unexpected accidents can happen with game machines when people are too excited or fail to follow instructions," a company spokeswoman said.
"But I'm afraid some foreign nationals couldn't understand the instructions well as it was written only in Japanese," she said.
By paying 100 yen, or just under one dollar, the player would have two battles of strength.
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