Sega Closes Half of its GameWorks Locations

vbt

Staff member
n a world where almost every household has at least one gaming console, there simply isn't much room anymore for a brick-and-mortar video arcade. Outside of movie theater lobbies and the odd pizza joint, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find any arcade cabinets, let alone entire retail areas dedicated to them. One of the largest remaining arcade chains, both in terms of number of outlets and square footage, is GameWorks. The company was launched in 1997 by a joint venture between Universal Studios, DreamWorks SKG and Sega Entertainment USA. The initial plan was to open as many as 150 outlets with a cost of up to $10 million each. However, the business never really caught on the way the founders had hoped, and eventually, Universal and DreamWorks sold their share of the company to Sega. However, due to the continued failure of GameWorks to find a loyal audience, Sega has closed seven of the 15 remaining locations.

The seven arcades recently shut down were in Auburn Hills, MI; Minneapolis, MN; Tampa and Miami, FL; Columbus, OH; Indianapolis, IN; and San Antonio, TX. The only remaining GameWorks can be found in Seattle, WA; Ontario, CA; Tempe, AZ; Las Vegas, NV; Newport, KY; Schaumberg, IL; Grapevine, TX; and Sunrise, FL.

Source : http://gamervision.com/users/sean/articles/sega_closes_half_of_its_gameworks_locations
 
Should I consider myself lucky I live in a town with at least two remaining video game arcades?
 
The've got Brunzwick Zone XL, Dave & Busters, and Chucky Cheeze around here (MN) that are pretty big arcades. (I've got some reviews on them in past posts).

There's also still several large mall arcades around here. There's a big one in camp snoopy Mall of America, one in the basement of Burnsville Center with a glow-in-the-dark minigolf. Probably some others I've forgotten.

There's also little ones in the airport.

I think the Gameworks failed because arcade gaming isn't a destination. It's a time waster. The gameworks were located in upscale inside-out mall. So you had to make it a destination, like going to a fancy restuarant.

Brunzwick and D&B work because they are upscale dining/bar and bowling destinations, and the arcades pass the tim waiting for meals.

And the mall ones have always worked because kids loiter in malls. Too bad all the picadillies and circus circii have closed.

Chucky Cheese is a kids event destination.
 
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