Japanese slot machine shows fugitives' faces

What happened to lemons and cherries?

24 November 2008 11:29 GMT / By Katie Scott

The Police in Japan are none too happy with an online games developer, that has decided to create an unusual slot machine type game.

Slot Detective looks like a traditional slot machine game but it has human faces instead of lemons and cherries - specifically - faces of Japanese fugitives.

Developer Famista says that it hopes the game, which is free online, will help catch some of Japan's most-wanted suspects.

A spokesman told the BBC: "There are many internet sites that display photos of those on the wanted list, but they are not necessarily visited frequently."

"By mixing it with entertainment, we thought we can make some contribution to the police efforts."

Famista added that 100,000 people visited the site just hours after its launch. But the police aren't very happy.

The National Police Agency said that the game, "inappropriately uses police property for entertainment and could distress victims".

"The mug shots of the suspects should be used in a more socially acceptable manner", the agency said in a statement.

Full tags

Gaming, Slot machines, Online