Difference between revisions of "Sega Center"
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Notavailable.svg|Montclair Plaza, California{{magref|cb|1978-08-19|54}} (1977-) | Notavailable.svg|Montclair Plaza, California{{magref|cb|1978-08-19|54}} (1977-) | ||
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Revision as of 03:02, 15 January 2023
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Sega Center was a chain of Sega-sponsored video arcades that existed during the 1970s and early 1980s.
Sega Centers came into existence when Sega purchased six "Kingdom of Oz" arcades in March 1976[1] (having previously bought a 50% stake the previous year[2]). Located across California (USA), several were re-branded into "Sega Center" locations and operated by a division of Sega run by Malcolm Kaufman (and later Steve Isaacson[3]). While most location testing of arcade games had at this point occurred in Japan, Sega Centers allowed the firm to location test on US soil, as well as profit from the rising trends of arcade video games.
Possibly starting with the opening of a venue in Montclair Plaza in 1977, Sega Centers began to only accept special "Sega Center" tokens, rather than real money[4]. This was an effort to introduce better cash control, reduce vandalism and profit from promotions (as well as not having to keep $6,000-$7,000 worth of quarters on hand)[4].
Sega Centers were designed to be inoffensive to shoppers, as in previous years, arcades had a reputation of being dimly-lit basements unsuitable for "prestige" shopping malls. The Montclair location was adorned with blown-up photographs taken from NASA, and was coated in "special acoustically-treated paint" to keep noise to a minimum[4].
Many of these arcades later became Time-Outs.
Contents
List of Venues
Anaheim Plaza, Anaheim, California[3] (197x-)
Carson Mall, Carson, California[3] (197x-)
Fashion Valley Shopping Center, San Diego, California (1977-)
Fox Hills Mall, Culver City, California[3] (197x-)
Los Cerritos Center, Cerritos, California[3] (197x-)
Montclair Plaza, California[3] (1977-)
Pomona, California (19xx-)
Sherman Oaks Galleria, Los Angeles, California[5] (19xx-)
Tokens
(head)
(tail)
(head)
(tail)
(head)
(tail)
Membership(?) card
Magazine articles
- Main article: Sega Center/Magazine articles.
Merchandise
Frisbee (top)
Frisbee (bottom)
References
- ↑ Cash Box, "November 13, 1976" (US; 1976-11-13), page 70
- ↑ Cash Box, "October 25, 1975" (US; 1975-10-25), page 43
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Cash Box, "August 19, 1978" (US; 1978-08-19), page 54
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Cash Box, "July 23, 1977" (US; 1977-07-23), page 41
- ↑ Electronic Games (1981-1985), "Volume Two, Number Six; August 1983" (US; 1983-xx-xx), page 66