Yokohama Joypolis

Yokohama Joypolis
Location: 神奈川県横浜市中区新山下１丁目１４番１８号, Japan
Opened: 1994-07-20
Closed: 2001-02-28

Yokohama Joypolis (横浜ジョイポリス), later Joypolis H. Factory Yokohama (ジョイポリスH.FACTORY横浜), was the first Joypolis indoor theme park opened by Sega. Alongside the earlier Osaka ATC Galbo, the park was one of the original two locations opened under the Amusement Theme Park concept in 1994, becoming the company's flagship amusement venue during the mid 1990s. It has since been closed permanently and demolished.

History

Development

As far back as the late 1960s, Sega had been opening and maintaining numerous "game centres" in Japan. Operations of these were generally small-scale, however by the mid 80s, several companies in the amusement industry were establishing branded chain stores and re-evaluating long-term ambitions in the field, against a backdrop of an increasingly lucrative theme park industry in the country, thanks in part to the opening of Tokyo Disneyland, and advancements in technology, which saw the rise of the Taikan games. Spearheaded by Hayao Nakayama, Sega of Japan's amusement divisions began working towards opening increasingly bigger venues that would further assert their position in the amusement industry. Early work involving these was undertaken with the short-lived En-Joint concept in the early 90s, the creation of the prolific Sega World game centre chain, and the introduction of large attractions like Sega Super Circuit.

Also inspired by the success of Disney's successful theme park business and in a technological arms race with Sega, competition soon came from Namco, with the launch of their Wonder Eggs theme park in February 1992, as well as Taito's large Cannonball City facility the following year. In response, Sega assembled dedicated divisions for the inception of key aspects and attractions like Sega AM5, publicly announcing their moves as early as October 1992. Whilst also focused on the development of new large inner-city game centres that included Roppongi GiGO and Sega Ueno Pasela, Sega also opened Sega World Hakkeijima Carnival House on the grounds of the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise theme park in Yokohama during May 1993. Alongside coin-operated arcade machines, the centre contained a small number of mid-size attractions developed by the company, most significantly an AS-1 unit and 8-player Virtua Formula.

In the following months, both attractions were also deployed at new overseas Sega centres including Sega World Bournemouth and Sega VirtuaLand, in an attempt to put in place infrastructure for the initiation of a wider plan - the company publicly unveiled their intent to create 100 indoor theme parks across the world by the end of the decade under the Amusement Theme Park concept in 1993, with the goal of expanding customer bases and establishing them as a rival to the likes of Disney themselves. 50 of these were provisionally earmarked for Japan, with Osaka and Yokohama soon cited as the locations to receive the first parks.

Opening

Three months after the launch of the first Amusement Theme Park venue, Osaka ATC Galbo, Yokohama Joypolis was opened to the public on 20 July 1994. Located on a 11,946m² plot of land in the Yamashita Park area of Yokohama, its site encompassed a main 8,250m² indoor theme park building ran by Sega, three additional facilities housing other businesses, and two visitor parking lots. Projected to make ¥3.6 billion and attract 1.2 million visitors in its first year of operation, the park charged ¥500 and ¥300 entry fees through a card system, with individual attraction fees costing between ¥100 and ¥800; this model was followed by subsequent Joypolis parks and retooled for the overseas Sega World locations.

VR-1, one of the debut attractions of Yokohama Joypolis on opening day

At launch, the main building was dedicated to the park's seven major attractions located throughout most of its floor space, and over 200 coin-operated arcade machines, many of which were stationed on a mezzanine sub-level between the first and second floors. Mad Bazooka, VR-1, and Rail Chase: The Ride made their public debuts at the park on opening day - due to their large sizes, the construction of all three would not have been feasible at any other location up to that point in time. VR-1 in particular, utilising the advanced Mega Visor Display headsets, provided much of the basis for one of the park's central futuristic themes. Supporting the three new attractions were a further four that had already been debuted at large amusement venues in the previous months, such as Astronomicon and Ghost Hunters. Other features of the park included its aforementioned roster of coin-operated arcade machines, a SegaSonic & Tails souvenir shop, and fast food restaurant Cafe Blanca, in addition to several other facilities situated outside of the park building which also served food and drink, including two McDonalds outlets.

Initial reviews of Yokohama Joypolis appear to have been mixed to positive, with reviewers claiming some of the touted technological feats of the attractions did not meet their expectations, though several praised VR-1's Mega Visor Display headsets. After the launch, Sega took advantage of the venue's large size and capacity for organised events to hold numerous examples, including notable Virtua Fighter and Sega Rally Championship tournaments. These officially-held events were communicated through magazines handed out inside of the park, inlcuding SegaJack and Sega Magazine, and would become a key aspect of subsequent Joypolis centres. A Skate GSJ skateboarding meet was also held at the park in the following months.

Demise

Although initial returns from Yokohama Joypolis are thought to have surpassed expectations, with claims made that it made roughly ¥4 billion and attracted 1.75 million visitors in its first year of operations, its flagship status was later superseded by Tokyo Joypolis in 1996, and the venue subsequently struggled to create similar numbers. One factor attributed to this was the fact that the park, situated away from the central districts of Yokohama, was a fifteen-minute walk from the nearest subway station, something later rectified in 2004.

After a period of downtime, the park reopened under the new name of Joypolis H. Factory Yokohama on 25 July 1999, with its ground floor level undergoing a partial refurbishment in the process. Its operations were now assisted by media personality and businessman Hiromi Konzo, who at the time was developing several sports-themed leisure centres in Japan. A small number of new leisure attractions, such as go-kart tracks, were added to support the main Sega-developed examples in place since 1994, which had since received software and theming updates.

Yokohama Joypolis closed permanently at the end of February 2001, changing admission fees to ¥15 and ¥10 to scrap payments for its attractions and arcade machines in its final weeks. The closure occurred in the midst of a restructuring at Sega, which also partially led to several other Joypolis venues as well as the overseas SegaWorld London and Sega World Sydney going defunct, a scrapping of the plans for 100 theme parks across the world, and the eventual discontinuation of the Amusement Theme Park concept, with managerial problems and cashflow issues cited. Whilst some of its auxiliary facilities continued trading, the space the main building formerly occupied subsequently became warehouse storage, and its former grounds have more recently been redeveloped to house a block of flats.

Story

Yokohama Joypolis was themed around a conceptual story involving a fictional professor, "Dr. Chrono", and the "B.U.R.P." (Basic Universal Reflector Prism), a device which, in its physical form, involved the escalators linking the floors of the centre together. "Dr Chrono" was first used for Osaka ATC Galbo and would go on to feature in the other two Galbo locations, though subsequent theme parks opened by Sega would abandon the concept.

• 日本語
• English

天才発明家"Ｄr.クロノ"。

横浜　新山下に秘密の研究所を持つ彼の目的は、「"時"の破壊」。 日常という「時の流れ」に支配され、いつもと同じ「空間」で変化のない毎日を過ごすことに何の疑問も抱かずに生きる人々にとてつもない衝撃を与えるために、彼は研究を重ねてきた。 そして、ついに『時空間位相変調装置（ＢＵＲＰ）』が出来上がった。『ＢＵＲＰ』を稼働させれば、「時」を歪ませ、「空間」にひずみをつくり、人々を「時の流れ」から解放させることができる。ところが、この事態を時空間管理局（タイム・ポリス）がキャッチし、彼の実験を妨げようとする。

"Ｄr．クロノ"は、『ＢＵＲＰ』を守るために、研究所をアミューズメントテーマパーク 『ジョイポリス』としてカモフラージュした。彼の研究成果は７種類の時空間を体験できるアトラクションにより体験できる。

Genius Inventor "Dr. Chrono"

Yokohama "Destruction of 'Time' "--that's the aim of Dr. Chrono who has a secret laboratory in Shin-Yamashita. He's been struggling through one experiment after another, just to give an astonishing impact to those who, ruled by the "current of time", will never question the way they spend days in the same old "space".

At last, he has succeeded in inventing the "*Phase Modulator of Time and Space* (BURP)". "BURP" allows both "time" and "space" to be warped, so that people can be set free from the "current of time". As luck would have it, however, the Time Police catch-on to news of his discovery and try to stop him from continuing his experiments.

To protect "BURP", "Dr. Chrono" disguises his laboratory by turning it into an amusement park "JOYPOLIS". You can try the fruits of his research in our attractions that allow you to encounter seven different dimensions of time and space.

Attractions

Original attractions

• Rail Chase: The Ride (20-07-1994 - 28-02-2001)
• Ghost Hunters (20-07-1994 - 10-09-1995)
• Mad Bazooka (20-07-1994 - 28-02-2001)
• Astronomicon (20-07-1994 - 11-1996)
• AS-1 (20-07-1994 - 1998)
• VR-1 (20-07-1994 - 28-02-2001)
• Virtua Formula (20-07-1994 - 28-02-2001)

Later attractions

• IMAX Ridefilm (1996 - 28-02-2001)
• Murder Lodge (12-1996 - 28-02-2001)
• Fortune Museum (12-1996 - 28-02-2001)
• Power Sled (1997 - 28-02-2001)
• The Lost World: Jurassic Park Special (1998- 28-02-2001)
• MaxFlight VR2002 (1999 - 28-02-2001)

Gallery

• Segments of the 01/07/1995 edition of Famitsu television series Game Catalogue 2 filmed at Yokohama Joypolis

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  Yokohama Joypolis exterior, circa July 1994

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  "B.U.R.P."

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  VR-1

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  Rail Chase: The Ride

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  Mad Bazooka

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  Exterior circa December 1994

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  Virtua Fighter Eternal Battle event, February 1995

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  Sega Rally Time Attack Festival event, circa mid 1995

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  Photo of Skate GSJ meet held circa June 1995

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  Joypolis H. Factory Yokohama circa early 2000s

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  Ghost Hunters exterior circa February 2001

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  Mad Bazooka exterior circa February 2001

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Magazine articles

Main article: Yokohama Joypolis/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

• Promotional video for Rail Chase: The Ride

• Promotional video for VR-1

• Promotional video for Mad Bazooka

• Promotional video for Ghost Hunters

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  1994 promotional booklet for the Amusement Theme Park concept featuring Yokohama Joypolis