GameWorks

GameWorks is a chain of entertainment centres formerly owned by Sega. It was launched in 1997 by Sega GameWorks, a joint venture company formed by Sega, MCA/Universal, and DreamWorks SKG the previous year. GameWorks venues, identified by their mix of arcade games with food/drink and retail outlets, began opening across the United States in March 1997 with GameWorks Seattle. Several overseas branches and the smaller GameWorks Studio spin-off also appeared during the chain's active period, replacing the earlier Sega City.

Following DreamWorks and Universal's exit from the venture in the early 2000s, Sega Sammy Holdings wholly owned its chain from 2005 to 2011 through Sega Entertainment USA. The 2010 liquidation of the subsidiary led to its locations being closed or sold off; as of December 2021, all 6 of those that remained under the GameWorks brand through several new parent companies had been closed. In 2022 several former GameWorks executives acquired its assets from ExWorks Capital, who owned GameWorks at the time of its closure, with plans to revive the chain starting with the re-opening of its original location in Seattle in August 2022.

Operations

Main article: GameWorks/Operations.

History

Main article: GameWorks/History.

Quotes

“	GameWorks is about fun, excitement, competition and bringing people together. It is also about escape, adventure, and connecting. It gives each person a chance to prove he or she is a star.	„
— Steven Spielberg

“	As kids we loved watching computer games explode onto the scene and loved going to arcades. But, when we grew up, the arcades did not. At GameWorks, we're building the entertainment concept that closes the gap and gives adults and kids (young or old) the ultimate place to play.	„
— Chairman and Co-Founder Skys Paul

Venues

United States

• GameWorks Seattle (1997, re-opened 2022)
• GameWorks Las Vegas (1997)
• GameWorks Ontario (1997)
• GameWorks Grapevine (1997)
• GameWorks Tempe (1997)
• GameWorks Auburn Hills (1998)
• GameWorks Orange County (1998)
• GameWorks Miami (1999)
• GameWorks Sawgrass Mills (1999)
• GameWorks Chicago (1999)
• GameWorks Columbus (1999)
• GameWorks Irvine (1999)
• GameWorks Tampa (2000)
• GameWorks Newport (2002)
• GameWorks Minneapolis (2002)
• GameWorks Long Beach (2003)

Overseas

• GameWorks Guam (1999)
• GameWorks Rio de Janeiro (1999)
• GameWorks Vienna (2001)
• GameWorks Kuwait (2003)
• GameWorks Santo Domingo (2004)
• GameWorks Mexico (2006)

Unopened

• Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (announced in 2001 but never materialized. The location would have been the first to incorporate a cinema)
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin (struck down in the Pabst City project vote)
• Westbury, New York (though a sign outside the Source mall touted its arrival, it never materialized; Jillian's then Dave & Buster's took the location)
• Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (building built in Harrisburg Mall, but the project was abandoned in the wake of the financial crisis of 2007–2010)

Videos

First 26 minutes of MTV launch party for the Seattle, Washington location (incomplete)

File:MTVPremiereParty 1997 GameWorks.mp4

External links

• Official website
• Sega closing 50% of GameWorks locations article by Dale North at Destructoid