WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced today that Taito of America Corp. of Buffalo Grove, Ill., has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $50,000. This penalty will settle allegations that the company failed to file a report, required by the Consumer Product Safety Act, regarding a potentially dangerous defect in 370 Supersonic Blastman video arcade games.

Supersonic Blastman players try to knock down a large, foam-filled circular pad attached to a metal arm by punching the pad as hard as possible. CPSC alleges that between 1991 and 1994, Taito failed to report about 70 cases in which young players fractured or injured wrists and arms as a result of hitting the Blastman's punching pad. Taito manufactured 320 Supersonic Blastman games in the United States between 1991 and 1992, and imported another 50 games during the same period.

In agreeing to settle this matter, Taito denied that the Blastman was defective or unreasonably dangerous. Taito also denied that it knowingly violated the reporting requirements of the Consumer Product Safety Act.

In March 1995, Taito voluntarily recalled the Blastman and compensated owners and distributors for each arcade game.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from the unreasonable risk of injury or death from 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury and for information on CPSC's fax-on-demand service, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270. To order a press release through fax-on-demand, call (301) 504-0051 from the handset of your fax machine and enter the release number. Consumers can report product hazards to info@cpsc.gov.

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