GameWorks no longer owned by Sega

[SonikkuForever]

This is more relevant if you live in the U.S., and it's not really about a Sonic game, but I figured it deserves a post. Sega game centers have a special spot in my heart, particularly this one because I actually went there.

As you may already know, Sega owned a chain of bar/restaurant/arcade venues here in the States called GameWorks. They were basically the U.S. equivalent of Sega World. I was lucky enough to go to the Newport, KY location a few years back to enjoy the Sonic theming. And I'm so happy I went when I did, because Sega no longer owns the franchise. It's still around, and it's still called GameWorks, but it's no longer owned by Sega. They sold it to new owners on April 30th, 2011.

That means that anything Sonic or Sega related (except for the games) is gone. So no more cheerful Sonic costumes greeting kids, no more menus typed in the Sega font, no more Sega billboards plastered everywhere, and no more exclusive Sonic prizes at the redemption counter. I even went to their website, which used to have slick professional design and Sonic logos everywhere. Now it’s a crappy, generic, soulless website that looks like it was designed on Microsoft Word.

The happy Sega-designed children's menu is on the left. Compare with the bland current menu on the right.

A blog called Phoenix Gamer stopped by their local GameWorks in mid-July of last year, and they came upon a sorry sight.

"The popular gaming venue formally owned by Sega, has been purchased by investors in cahoots with entertainment giant ESPN. A stroll through our very own Tempe Gameworks location proved to be a disappointment regarding things to come. The changes seen were no good. All of the cheery Sega logos, Sonic the Hedgehog merchandise, and anything else distinctly "Gameworks", is now gone. In addition to removing just about everything signature, they have also removed all of their Japanese UFO (crane game) machines and every single one of their classic game cabinets (the wooden ones). At this rate, Gameworks will become nothing more than another Dave and Busters providing mediocre sports themed entertainment and overpriced everything."

Reviews of the Las Vegas location, which used to be a sparkling, state-of-the-art, Sega palace, also showed disappointment. Reports of bad service, broken games, and filthy venues are pouring in since the change in ownership.

“...sadly, only a ~single~ SEGA UFO Catcher was to be found. There used to be around 15 or so UFO catchers at this GameWorks location, if I remember correctly.

We asked a staffer, and they said the owner sold all of the UFO Catcher machines. With that news, my heart sunk. And, to add insult to injury, the UFO Catcher they *did* keep was not in service! Sigh.”

“Oh Gameworks, I rememeber you to be the pinnacle of what arcades could be. New machines, a gigantic arcade floor, that huge helicopter seat that plays initial D.

The hell happened? Pissed off teenagers and kids who smash the pads, break the pedals, overturn the steering wheel, break the guitar hero paddles, etc. Nothing causes more dissapointment than seeing a row of 5 initial D machines and realizing EVERY SINGLE ONE IS BROKEN

I've never heard of an arcade in which the maintance team doesn't even attempt to fix almost all of their broken machines.”

“A vast array of broken games, lackluster service and toilets you can LITERALLY smell from more than twenty feet away make this a terrible destination. (Note: Another patron complained to management about the smell and was told that they “can’t do anything about it”. )

Incidentally, I am an avid gamer and used to just LOVE this place. It saddens me that it's fallen into such hard times.”

It makes me sad too. It’s just too bad that Sega can’t keep an arcade open anymore. (Except for Joypolis, which has somehow been open for decades).

Now I’ll reminisce about the time when I went to GameWorks, back when Sega owned it.

I visited the one in Newport Kentucky, and it was Sega heaven. I knew it would be when I saw giant signs with the Sega logo on them on the outside of the entertainment complex it was in.

The interior of the 27,000 square foot facility was clean, and nearly all of the games worked! No sticky buttons, cigarette smoke, or stains anywhere. The counter at the front of the venue stood near a table with Sega logo displays, and had a clear glass case filled with Sonic character plush. There were Sonic stickers plastered on various things around the place.

This was decorating the entrance, on a table loaded with promotional flyers (which had Sonic on them!).

On Thursday evenings (when I went), they would run a special promotion where you’d pay $10 for a game card which would let you play as many of the non-redemption/prize games as you wanted. The feeling of pumping credit after credit into Sega simulators and games without worrying about running out of money is exhilarating. And the selection was outstanding. There were hundreds of popular and rare games to choose from, some Japanese, and many of them were the deluxe motion cabinets. Official statistics claim that there’s over 8 miles of wiring in there for the games, and that the Newport venue uses enough electricity every day to power 24 houses! After Burner Climax Deluxe, Super Monkey Ball, Initial D, this neat motion simulator game/ride called Cycraft, you name it, they had it. And since Sega used GameWorks as location tests for their newest games, there was even a shiny new Sonic –themed air hockey table there (which my younger brother approved of, saying that it was “as fast as Sonic.”)

A small selection of the games on offer. Frogger, Super Monkey Ball, Star Wars Racer, Sega Race TV, Sega Bass Fishing, After Burner Climax Deluxe (one of my favorites) and a Dinosaur King machine for little kids, which was about 4 feet tall and played like rock-paper-scissors with dinosaurs. At the end of the game, a shiny dinosaur card popped out of the machine (which I kept as a souvenir).

In true Sega style, the venue was broken up into different “zones”, like at Joypolis and Sega Republic. The Big Win Zone had most of the redemption games and UFO catchers, the Sports Zone had a bar with big screen TVs, and the Speed/Racing Zone had driving games and simulators. I was looking forward to the full-size Indy 500 cars, but they had been replaced with something almost as nice – another brand spanking new, super deluxe, full motion Hummer racing game simulator by Sega. It was very popular and there were often small queues to ride it.

Two people would sit in it, and there were two steering wheels. If you selected a certain gameplay option, the game would automatically give control to the other player at certain times, while the player not steering had to wait for a large button to flash with rainbow colors to give the car a boost. It was a race with lots of rough terrain and flying off ramps, which the vehicles replicated the motion of quite accurately! If you weren’t wearing the seatbelt you probably would have been thrown out of the vehicle. It was great fun.

After several hours of Sega fun and winning Sonic plush from UFO catchers, it was getting close to suppertime, so I went to the restaurant that was part of the facility. I picked up a Sonic-themed children’s menu for collection purposes and was greeted by a cheerful server with the Sega logo in the corner of her nametag. She passed out menus, which had the headings typed in the Sega font! I ordered a burger, which wasn’t exceptional, but Sega’s a game company, not a food company, so I didn’t really care.

After my meal, I wandered around the venue some more. I was looking for a restroom, but ended up in an employee area by mistake. Luckily, nobody noticed. There was a large poster on the wall in the employee room that was about the mission of Sega Entertainment USA. I don’t remember what it said exactly, but it was something about providing fun to their customers. I hope GameWorks’ new owners live by the same philosophy, instead of the “give us more money” philosophy that’s all too common.

Before I left, I picked up a few souvenirs, namely about 50 sheets of Sonic stickers and a colorful Sonic paper plate which I received after coming across a child’s birthday party and asking for one of the many extras. I also acquired a stack of promotional postcards advertising event bookings (with Sonic on them, naturally), and a small colorful plastic cup with a large SEGA logo on it from the bar. I’ve never seen another one.

But wait! There’s more! About a month after my visit, I wrote a polite letter of thanks to GameWorks HQ, thanking them for their hard work and complimenting them on their service. A week later, I received a package from Sega Entertainment USA, Inc. It contained a small note of thanks for my support and a few gifts, mainly Sonic-themed GameWorks prizes. They sent me a hat, a very cool plastic tumbler, and a Sonic comic book. It just goes to show how caring Sega is as a company. Now that it’s owned by ESPN and investors, I fear that the personal touch will be lost, and we’ll be left with a soulless shell of an arcade.

I am so glad I was able to experience a Sega entertainment center before it was too late. I’ll miss having Sega own it, but any arcade nowadays is better than nothing. I hope they can keep it alive, even without Sonic.

R.I.P Sega GameWorks. You will be dearly missed.

Edited February 12, 2012 by SonikkuForever

[Solkia]

...

Who?

[Tornado]

I literally knew nothing about this franchise. I has a sad now.

[Burnt Ash]

Aw man, I loved Sega Gameworks as a kid. This makes me slightly sad that I didn't get a Sonic plushie when I had the chance.

[ChaosXVI]

Huh...How the hell was I unaware of this place's existence?

[Jeffhog]

I didn't hear of this until NOW and it's gone!!? ;A;

[Burnt Ash]

Huh...How the hell was I unaware of this place's existence?

[Ekaje]

That really sucks, I really liked the Gameworks that's a couple of hours away in Schaumburg.

Edited February 12, 2012 by Ekaje

[mikeblastdude]

Aww, that's really lame! D: I've been to the GameWorks in Seattle quite a few times, it was pretty awesome. I still have a bunch of Sonic stickers that I got as prizes from there somewhere in my room.

I remember the Seattle GameWorks having an awesome painted wall as you walk in with NiGHTS, some Virtua Fighter characters, and other SEGA characters that I can't remember at the moment. Oh, and I got my picture taken outside of GameWorks right in front of Kage (from Virtua Fighter) busting through a brick wall.

I also took a picture of the sign outside because I thought it was cool seeing the SEGA logo in the bottom corner.

As someone who's been to GameWorks quite a few times, this is kind of depressing. But these things happen I guess.

[ChaosXVI]

That really sucks, I really liked the Gameworks that's a couple of hours away in Schaumburg.

Hold the phone...Schaumburg...Illinois?! NO!!!!!!! I live maybe an hour from there! ARGH!

[sonfan1984]

Huh, I've never knew that Sega owned a restaurant/arcade.

[SonikkuForever]

I don't think there were much GameWorks's around the US.

No there weren't. At it's peak, there were about 25 or so, usually located in major cities like Seattle or Orlando. Two or three years ago, Sega closed half of them in financial desperation, leaving a mere 9 venues left. I had to drive 500 miles to get to the Newport one, but it was so worth it!

As for why you've never heard of it, there wasn't much promotion for the place. I'd be surprised if they even bothered to make one commercial. I guess that must be why it struggled, nobody knew it existed.

Edited February 12, 2012 by SonikkuForever

[Burnt Ash]

Yeah, I always went to the Schaumburg one. Maybe 20, 30 minutes away from here.

Edited February 12, 2012 by BlueChaos

[Indigo Rush]

I didn't hear of this until NOW and it's gone!!? ;A;

This.

I literally have never heard of this.

brb, doing some info digging

[Vemus]

That really sucks too. There's a GameWorks literally down the street at the mall near me in Tempe. I only went there a handful of times but when I did go it was so much fun. I managed to snag myself a Super Sonic plush and a Silver plush while I was there (glad I did when I did). The machines were never broken, everything was clean and it just had an overall great arcade atmosphere. It's really sad that it was sold to this new company who apparently can't take care of the place. I haven't bothered setting foot in there since it was sold.

[SonikkuForever]

I didn't hear of this until NOW and it's gone!!? ;A;

Now, cheer up! It's not that bad! GameWorks isn't gone, it's just changed ownership. In fact, they're planning on opening more venues in new locations. I'd still recommend stopping by if you come across one, there might be some good games in there. Besides, there may still be a few Sonic remnants left in certain venues.

Edited February 13, 2012 by SonikkuForever

[Linkabel]

I also lived in Tempe and just went there last month and they still have quite a lot of Sega related items (except the UFO machines cause they sold them to other arcade places/theaters) but I am pretty sad that with time all the Sega stuff is going to be gone ...maybe I can convince them to sell me the Sonic hockey table that they have.

[Chopper025]

Aww man. I went to the one in Ontario CA, and it was a blast! The two story ballon game, the awesome racing games, the food, the games and how cheap they were! Sega should have made more, more people would have gone to these than chuck e cheeses

[SchemingMinor]

I live in the US and have been to Orlando a couple of times in my life and never heard about this place.

If I knew this, I should have went to one instead of looking for an Eggman doll by scouring the various tourist traps around Kissimmee.

[Jix Hedgehog]

*Probably too late, but googles the closest GameWorks to San Francisco*

[HunterTSF]

>Nobody here has ever even heard of GameWorks

WHAT IS THIS?

Seeing as I live in Phoenix, I'm really super close to the Tempe location mentioned in the opening post there. I now feel terribad for not visiting it more often, seeing as I had an absolute blast each and every time I went there. The best part by far is that they used the SEGA U.F.O. Catchers (the crane games that you can actually win on) which resulted in me owning two Knuckles and Amy plushes. That day was a good day.

Also, great SEGA arcade games out the wazoo. It was at that very location that I discovered The Ocean Hunter. Good times, good times.

Bah, it's a shame that they apparently suck now. I really took them for granted while they were in their golden years.

Edited February 13, 2012 by E-10000B

[The Kid]

Up here in Minnesota we only had one of these so-called "Gameworks." I've only been there a couple times, and the only real Sega thing about it(at least that specific one) was the Super Monkey Arcade Machine. But did I ever play that arcade game when I went.

Really wish I had a chance to go to some of the other ones, but it's not like they were all over if I recall.

[SonikkuForever]

It's really sad that it was sold to this new company who apparently can't take care of the place. I haven't bothered setting foot in there since it was sold.

I think this new company just has a different way of managing the chain. Sega would dump all their profits back into the existing locations to keep the facilities at their best, but in the long run, this strategy obviously didn't work well enough to keep the franchise above water. The current owners seem to be buying more facilities instead, which means an overall decrease in quality but an increase in profit since there's more locations. Hopefully, if they stabilize their profits, then they can focus more on facility upkeep. By the way, here's a little something I noticed - just about every game/amusement center Sega ever owned had a shiny black floor. Looks nice when you have the games lit up.

[ChaoChao]

Oh great, really? I've lived near one for the last two years and never really got a chance to visit.. Am I right in assuming it will no longer be SEGA-theme-driven? If that's the case then I'm seriously hating myself right now. Why is it that all the SEGA-themed places outside Japan have always met a bitter end? Makes so little sense to me, even though I'm sure the business sense is in there somewhere.. for someone. Oy.

[krazystitch]

>Nobody here has ever even heard of GameWorks

WHAT IS THIS?