When it comes to the cinema, Europeans do it better. Just look at any Hollywood remake of a European film if you don't believe me. Look how many directors made bad movies in Hollywood but made great films in Europe. Look how many of Hollywood's great films were made by Europeans. I don't mean to be so unpatriotic, but America is constantly getting it wrong at the movies. The latest case in point is National Amusements' new gaming service at their Showcase Cinemas in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It isn't exactly film-related, but a major fault with the movie industry in the States is with the theater chains, and one of the problems with this new service is that National Amusements isn't relating video games to cinema as much as they should be.

Earlier this month I reported that a multiplex in Belgium (it's in Europe) was launching a new gaming service, and I expressed my hopes that American theaters would follow suit. Unfortunately, the cinema in Ann Arbor is not offering a similar big-screen alternative for gamers. Their service, called CyGamZ, uses flat screen TVs. How this is different from the usual multiplex arcade games is that CyGamZ allows for multiple players and a high-speed internet connection. How this is different from your gaming at home is that it is more social. How this has anything to do with the movie theater experience is questionable.

I understand that theaters are in financial worry -- of course, I blame the studios -- and they need to find new ways of attracting customers, whether to the movies or to some other moneymaking idea, but setting aside a division of the floor to Xbox and Playstation gaming is not the answer. Other alternative plans, such as live concerts and sporting events, have made sense because they still utilize the auditorium and the big screen. Is National Amusements afraid to gamble on renting out an auditorium for gaming? Or are they unable to even think of such an idea because of studio influence on screen use? Whatever the reason, American theater chains need to figure something else out, because while Belgium's XL Gaming is innovative and smart, CyGamZ is desperate and stupid.

Movie theaters and video games go hand in hand. I remember that when multiplexes first started springing up around me in the early '80s, they all featured an abundance of arcade games. Besides the fact that the bigger theaters had bigger lobbies to hold a number of games, and besides the fact that games were such a big trend when multiplex construction was on the rise, cinema planners and owners were smart to see the connection between one visual entertainment and another. Eventually, game systems at home caused a decline in arcade games. Local arcades closed down and new theaters were built with less space for the games. I did notice while working in movie theaters that kids would come in solely to use the games without interest in buying a movie ticket, but for the most part game playing at the cinema has significantly decreased in popularity from what it once was.

Starting November 18, however, video gaming at the cinema is set to take a new turn -- in Belgium, at least. A new theater run by Kinepolis (the company credited with building the first megaplex, by the way) in Bruges will be offering a service where people can play video games on the big screen. The service will allow customers to play either their own PS2 games or one of the titles provided by the theater in one of their digital-screen auditoriums Wednesday and Saturday afternoons. The cost is to be 15 Euros ($19 US) per half-hour, per console (regardless of number of players).