Santa Monica Startup Testing A ‘little League’ Of Video Games

[...] the 13-year-old San Carlos student was hunkered down inside a darkened movie theater playing the video game “Minecraft.” About 50 boys and girls as young as 7 were taking part in a demonstration of Super League Gaming, which has ambitious plans to create the “Little League of video games.” The Santa Monica startup has teamed up with the three biggest movie theater chains — Regal Entertainment Group, AMC Theaters and Cinemark Theaters — to offer fields of screens for “Minecraft”-playing youth across the country starting in September. The whole notion of a league that encourages kids to stare at screens has plenty of detractors, including doctors and concerned parents. [...] with Super League Gaming’s funding and the growing popularity of video games, the concept could take hold around the country. If it does, parents who once said: “Turn off those video games, go outside and play,” may now find themselves shepherding their kids to indoor video game practice. In the game, players build their own worlds using blocks to craft tools, furniture and structures — like Legos on a screen, with more elaborate shapes. For league play, teams will meet once a week for 1 hour and 40 minutes at a movie theater to craft worlds corresponding to a weekly theme. Kids play a group game, focusing on both their laptops and the action, which plays out on the large theater screen. Super League Gaming President Brett Morris said that since millions of kids are already playing “Minecraft” alone in their homes, company co-founders figured, whynot offer them a league that would get them out of the house to socialize with other children, just like in youth sports? From 2005 to 2014, participation in youth baseball dropped from 8.2 million to 6 million, soccer from 8.9 million to 7.1 million, and basketball from 13.8 million to 10 million, according to the National Sporting Goods Association. Given the trends, a league that entices children to play more video games is troubling for Hilarie Cash, an expert in Internet and video game addiction, mainly because parents don’t always do a good job limiting kids’ video game time. “You want to help them build interests in other areas so that when they do start playing video games, it’s just in moderation and they have roots established in other interests,” said Cash, executive director of reStart, an Internet addiction recovery program in Fall City, Wash. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children and teens spend only one or two hours per day in front of any screen, including TVs, computers, phones and other devices. How Parents Stay in Control, urges parents to restrict video game play until their children are teenagers. Instead of watching “Jurassic World” in a neighboring theater, the Fischer boys were collaborating with new friends, Dylan Murphy, 11, and Sean Murphy, 9, of San Carlos, on the league’s theme of the day: building their own prehistoric world. Tanya Schevitz, a spokesperson for the National Day of Unplugging project for the group Reboot, was concerned when she heard about a Little League for video games, although she also said her son loves “Minecraft” and would enjoy participating. Theater owners believe the league will at least bring them more interaction with a generation of kids who would rather stay home to watch movies on Netflix. [...] they hope the league can fill empty seats. James Meredith, Cinemark’s marketing and communications chief, said video gaming can become part of the mix of movies, concerts, sporting events and musicals shown at the 497-theater chain.