Japanese Skill Crane Attracts Players With Live Fish

TOKYO -- While Team Play's Fishbowl Frenzy, with its clever cartoon fish, continues to generate impressive earnings in American family entertainment centers, the Japanese are taking the fishbowl concept to the next dimension. In the Nerima Ward of Tokyo, an amusement arcade is now stocking skill cranes with live fish in small containers.

The arcade, Amuseum Oizumi, is challenging customers to snag a small midori fugu (tetraodon nigroviridis) as prizes in a skill crane. Fugu is the Japanese word for pufferfish, and the potentially poisonous delicacy prepared from it. The small fish are also popular pets in Japan, where they cost $2.50.

"We believe the fish in Fishbowl Frenzy exhibit much more personality," said Team Play's Frank Pellegrini. "And with Fishbowl Frenzy, the fish don't need to be fed and will probably have a longer lifespan."