Difference between revisions of "GameWorks"

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Revision as of 20:31, 12 January 2022

To do

  • From Jeff Moss' GameWorks page: "Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sega Games hired Jeff Moss to design and produce all of the retail merchandise for all of the GameWorks stores around the USA. 3000 units of 72 SKUs were designed and drop shipped to each of the original GameWorks retail shops."
  • As GameWorks transitioned its arcade business into the modern era, it rebuilt much of its focus around eSports. Quote from the official website's About page: "GameWorks is an esports and entertainment destination built around the central theme of gaming, both competitively and for amusement.", with the company describing itself as "GameWorks, Inc., esports and entertainment company for millennials, teens and families..."
  • Business-relevant quote also from official About page: "Each GameWorks is different, based on the preferences in the local market, and customized specifically for those local needs. Additionally, GameWorks team members are passionate about their local community, and organize, host or attend many special events for local charities."
  • Did all GameWorks venues get that Shinobi statue?
  • Corporate headquarters address: 10 Universal City Plaza, Suite 2420, Universal City, CA 91608
  • Post-Sega corporate headquarters address: 600 North Brand Boulevard, 5th Floor, Glendale, CA 91203 (Aug 2002)
  • The official press contact for GameWorks Las Vegas (more?) was Mellissa Schumer.
  • Did Michael Katz transition to GameWorks? There's a Michael Katz of The Bell Agency working for GameWorks around the same time (possibly just Vegas, his phone number is a 702 area code.) It's a somewhat common name, but maybe he did? Per a news release for the Showcase Mall in Vegas (where the venue was located), from Katz himself...

CartridgeCulture (talk) 02:08, 27 December 2021 (EST)

Links

CartridgeCulture (talk) 01:37, 10 December 2021 (EST)

GameWorks Las Vegas

  • The Vegas GameWorks was a big one, lots of promotion and massive machines, one of the few Western non-SegaWorld locations where you had massive Sega machines. Also featured in L.A. Machineguns.

CartridgeCulture (talk) 00:16, 20 November 2021 (EST)

yes, the original Vegas location did indeed seem to be the flagship/biggest branch. Touted in many sources as being 47,000 square feet, which means it even outmatches the Rio de Janeiro location with rarer Joypolis attractions. A real shame that it was one of those that got the chop in favour of another site soon after Sega scrubbed their hands of the venture, but the rent must've been eye-watering...
on the massive machines part, several of the larger GameWorks locations had the Virtua Formula incarnation of Indy 500 anyway (and Sega did sell it to a whole bunch of unaffiliated arcades, despite it costing a fortune), but more uncommon was its Lost World: Jurassic Park Special units. Amazing attraction with an experience different to the original game, also a great bit of shameless cross-brand synergy for Spielberg and Sega
and we may well have some more spotting to do - another obvious in-game homage to the location also appears in the more recent StarHorse4. Nice to see SoJ remember their former western colleagues efforts, putting an oblique reference to them in what is, for all intents and purposes, a medal game meant only for operation in Japan, where next to nobody would get the hint.
Ted618 (talk) 00:03, 6 December 2021 (GMT)
Dude this is so good, thank you for all of this. And... oh man. So I've got limited experience with Sega venues, but the Vegas one was always close to me. I was born and raised in California with my immediate family, but the rest of my father's side was pretty much all out in Vegas, so much so that we'd drive out there a few times a year. I was just a little too old to experience VirtuaLand (and it was located in the Luxor, which had a reputation as a- "second-rate hotel" isn't doing it justice, but it was cheaper for a reason. It was at the very bottom end of the strip, away from the foot traffic and just south of the "main Vegas busy area".) But the GameWorks was big, RIGHT in the middle of the strip, like so much so that foot traffic would get pushed in there because the main strip was so busy.
Like a lot of other Western venues, its owners had ensured it was connected to the other tenants' properties: most of the time we got in through M&M World (which is still there I believe) because the main entrance at ground level was always a little busy. I remember being stunned when I was on the third-story of the Coca-Cola side of M&M World (its complicated), and I was a dumb kid and wandered around, and poked my head down some back employee hallway and saw the Sega logo on a little sign on a door. Like pfhwhat why is this here what. But we only ever went for M&M World/the Coke stuff. Video games were a little too narrow for a "family experience with mom and dad and sister", but you bet I always ran off and played the arcade games. Funny enough, don't remember anything about the games, other than I usually just hung out in the front lobby and not the main "arcade area" so my family didn't have to look around long to find me when they were ready to leave.
And funny that you specifically mentioned rent. On what ended up as my last trip to M&M World, I remember going up to an employee and asking what happened to the big Sega place next door? And even her, as an employee of the place next door, says "I think it was a little too expensive." Also interestingly, and this is common knowledge, but the Vegas GameWorks moved off the strip and down to a place called Town Center. It's not really walkable from the strip, but its in a place that- like imagine where Dave & Busters got installed (near theatres and in big shopping centers etc). Unfortunately the overwhelming majority of games are like very modern "apps into arcade cabs" deals like "Cut the Rope - The Arcade Game" stuff. I was so disappointed, it's everywhere. I walked through it for five minutes hunting for anything older than the last decade. Nothing, except for a single-wall of standup arcade cabinets (and by wall I mean like 4-6), most of them new things playing older games. I got to play Galaga. And nothing else. The largest and most complicated cabs they had were these mini-360-spinning pods for some- Star Wars game? The technology looked neat but I'm not a big fan of Star Wars. Still, they had a couple of flavors of like- weird mini Western R360 things. For whatever that's worth. CartridgeCulture (talk) 19:34, 5 December 2021 (EST)
yeah the current state of things with that location is a shame, though I suspect it wouldn't be much different if Sega were involved instead too. The pods you mention - Star Wars Battle Pod, no? Those things don't spin but still have a spectacle about them that other cabinets don't nowadays, indeed I believe they were originally used for Gundam games in Japan
IMO regardless of how little I too care for Star Wars they are pretty cool cabinets, however having played them I am not a fan of how you're required to credit feed to continue even if you have won - I get that they're expensive and arcade operators need to earn their money back, but not like this :// Ted618 (talk) 01:46, 7 December 2021 (GMT)

Seattle stuff

alongside the Vegas one which opened immediately after it, Seattle is one of the only locations I intend to tackle with a proper breakdown of its history, facilities, etc - most of the others simply weren't as big or well-documented to demand more. And over the years I have came to realise some really special Sega stuff from the late 90s is still hanging in there, nearly 25 years on from it first opening

there are god knows how many photos of that eye-catching mural out there and I need to figure out the best ones to mirror on here soon

Ted618 (talk) 00:04, 6 December 2021 (GMT)

Videos

some vids that probably need mirroring, plonking them here so that they're all in one place

tbh Electric Playground in its entirety and most of kukun kun's uploads need to be on there but that's a discussion for another day Ted618 (talk) 01:26, 7 December 2021 (GMT)

cool flickr pics

because I just keep finding more that I hadn't previously seen

apparently they did it again the following year but haven't since. To be expected with Sega selling them off but still a shame Ted618 (talk) 01:35, 11 December 2021 (GMT)

Images needing incorporation

RIP

well this is bloody eerie

GameWorks haven't announced anything official yet but having heard back from people at the Seattle location, they're actually closing all locations permanently this week. A couple have already been quietly closed for months under temporary pretences. It's said that the one in Vegas may get purchased by independent operators and the landlord of Seattle has the choice to run the site as is, though that is looking unlikely.

it's been a long time since the chain was in its prime, however it's still a shame it had to end like this. Kind of shady to just close all the locations with almost no prior notice, but I guess they wanted things done quietly. Good that we started covering more of this stuff while we could though.

Ted618 (talk) 16:34, 23 December 2021 (GMT)

Thanks for the update. There's been a small team working with the Seattle GameWorks management to preserve as much as they can. I'm going to be doing a little on the Vegas front but nothing substantial. I'd imagine some work is being done through fans of the other locations too, but we can only hope. Thankfully I'd imagine if you approached the management of the other locations and asked them to share some stories, they'd be more than happy. As long as you frame the questions in the right light. But yeah seriously, we started this push at the right time. CartridgeCulture (talk) 20:01, 23 December 2021 (EST)

20:01, 23 December 2021 (EST)

List of games per location

Sourced 2021-12-25.[1] All locations, games, spelling, capitalization, and ordering are presented as originally written. CartridgeCulture (talk) 02:04, 26 December 2021 (EST)

Chicago - Schaumburg

  • Injustice
  • After Burner
  • AIR FX
  • Aliens : Armagedeon
  • All Aboard
  • All About Timing
  • Ballistics
  • Beat Saber Arcade
  • Bejeweled
  • Big Bass Wheel
  • BIG BUCK HD
  • Big One Crane
  • Big Win Super Spin
  • BlazBlue Arcade
  • Classic Donkey Kong
  • Classic Frogger
  • Classic Ms. Pac-Man
  • Colorama
  • Crane UFO Catcher
  • Crazy Clock
  • Cruis'n Blast
  • Cycraft
  • Dance Dance Revolution X
  • Dance Dance Revolution X2
  • Daytona 2
  • Dead Heat
  • Deadstorm Pirates
  • Deal or No Deal
  • Dirty Driving
  • Dizzy Chicken
  • DJ Technika
  • Doodle Jump
  • Double Up Stacker
  • Dream Raiders
  • Fast & Furious
  • Fishbowl Frenzy
  • Flamin Finger
  • Free Fallin'
  • Frogger
  • Fun Stop Photo
  • Galactix
  • Gameworks Crane
  • Ghost Squad
  • Ghost Squad Evo DX
  • Guitar Hero
  • Halo: Fireteam Raven
  • Harley Davidson: King of The Road
  • Harpoon Lagoon
  • House of the Dead 2
  • House of the Dead 3
  • House of the Dead 4
  • Hummer Attraction
  • HYPERSHOOT
  • ICE BALL FX
  • Initial D4
  • Jam Session
  • Jumpin' Jackpot
  • Jurassic Park Arcade
  • Key Master
  • King of Ring
  • Kung Fu Panda
  • Lane Master
  • Launch Code
  • Let's Go Island
  • Let's Go Jungle
  • Luigi Mansion
  • Mario Kart GP DX
  • Marvel vs Capcom
  • Milk Jug Toss
  • Mini Rider 2
  • MONSTER DROP X-treme
  • Movie Stop
  • Mr Driller
  • Ms. PacMan \ Galaga Classic
  • Nascar Showdown
  • NBA on NBC
  • Nerf
  • NFL 2 Minute Drill
  • Nirin
  • Nothin But Net
  • Operation
  • Pac Man Battle Royale
  • Pac Man Smash
  • Pigs Might Fly
  • Pinball 24
  • Pinball Family Guy
  • Pinball Iron Man
  • Pool Table
  • Price is Right - Shell Game
  • Pump It Up Prime 2018
  • Rambo 56"
  • Razing Storm
  • Red Hot Fire and Ice
  • Red Zone
  • R-Tuned
  • Slam A Winner
  • Slam A Winner Extreme
  • Space Ballz
  • SPACE INVADERS Big Screen
  • Speed Demon
  • Spin & Win
  • Spong Bob Ticket Boom
  • Sponge Bob Pineapple
  • Star Wars Battle Pod
  • Star Wars POD Racer
  • Star Wars Trilogy
  • Street Fighter 4
  • Super Monkey Ball
  • Super Shot
  • Tank Tank Tank
  • Target Bravo
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Tekken 5
  • Tekken 6
  • Terminator Super Deluxe
  • Ticket Time
  • Time Crisis 4
  • Tomb Raider NEW
  • Tower of Power
  • Transformers 55" Theater
  • Treasure Quest
  • Virtua Cop 3
  • Wagan Midnight MaxTune
  • Walking Dead
  • Whack And Win
  • Wheel Deal Extreme
  • Wheel Of Fortune
  • Wheel of Fortune Upright
  • Whistle Stop
  • Willy Wonka
  • Winner's Cube
  • Winners Wheel

Cincinnati - Newport

  • Injustice
  • Big Bass Wheel
  • Cruis'n Blast
  • Halo: Fireteam Raven
  • Harley Davidson: King of The Road
  • House of the Dead 3
  • House of the Dead 4
  • HYPERSHOOT
  • ICE BALL FX
  • Initial D4
  • Jumpin' Jackpot
  • Jurassic Park Arcade
  • Key Master
  • Kung Fu Panda
  • Lane Master
  • Let's Go Jungle
  • Luigi Mansion
  • Marvel vs Capcom
  • MONSTER DROP X-treme
  • Ms. Pac Man \ Galaga Classic
  • NBA Hoops
  • NFL 2 Minute Drill
  • Operation
  • Pac Man Battle Royale
  • Pigs Might Fly
  • Pool Table
  • Price is Right - Shell Game
  • Rambo 56"
  • Razing Storm
  • Road Trip
  • Sega Hummer DLX
  • Slam A Winner
  • Sonic Air Hockey
  • SPACE INVADERS Big Screen
  • Speed of Light
  • Spin & Win
  • Spong Bob Ticket Boom
  • Sponge Bob Pineapple
  • Super Bikes
  • Tank Tank Tank
  • Target Bravo
  • Tekken 6
  • Terminator Super Deluxe
  • Ticket Time
  • Tomb Raider NEW
  • Tower of Tickets
  • Transformers 55" Theater
  • Treasure Quest
  • Typhoon
  • Virtual Tennis 3
  • Whack And Win
  • Wheel Deal Extreme
  • Wheel Of Fortune
  • Wheel of Fortune Upright
  • Winner's Cube

Denver - Northfield Stapleton

  • Injustice
  • After Burner
  • Aliens : Armagedeon
  • All Aboard
  • All About Timing
  • Angry Birds Arcade
  • Barrel of Monkeys
  • Batman
  • Beat Saber Arcade
  • Bejeweled
  • Big Bass Wheel
  • BIG BUCK HD
  • Big One Crane
  • Big Sweet Land
  • Big Win Super Spin
  • Black Hole
  • Connect 4
  • Crane UFO Catcher
  • Crazy Clock
  • Crossy Road
  • Cyclone
  • Cycraft
  • Dance Dance Revolution X
  • Dance Dance Revolution X2
  • Dead Heat
  • Deadstorm Pirates
  • Deal or No Deal
  • Dizzy Chicken
  • Double Up Stacker
  • DJ Technika
  • Doodle Jump
  • Double Up Stacker
  • Down The Clown
  • Elvis Live in Vegas
  • Explosive Extreme
  • Fire & Ice X-Treme
  • Fire Storm Air Hockey
  • Fishbowl Frenzy
  • FlappyBird
  • Frogger
  • Fruit Ninja 2X
  • Gameworks Crane
  • Ghost Squad
  • Gold Fishing
  • Grand Piano Keys
  • Guitar Hero
  • Halo: Fireteam Raven
  • Harpoon Lagoon
  • House of the Dead 4
  • HYPERSHOOT
  • ICE BALL FX
  • Initial D3
  • Initial D4
  • Jurassic Park Arcade
  • Key Master
  • Kung Fu Panda
  • Lane Master
  • Let's Go Jungle
  • Luigi Mansion
  • Mach Storm
  • Mario Kart GP DX
  • Mario Kart SD
  • Monopoly
  • MONSTER DROP X-treme
  • Movie Stop
  • NFL 2 Minute Drill
  • Nicktoons Nitro
  • Operation
  • Pac Man Battle Royale
  • Pac Man Smash
  • Pinball Game of Thrones
  • Pinball Iron Man
  • Pinball Kiss
  • Pinball Metalica
  • Plants vs Zombies
  • Pop N Music
  • Price is Right - Shell Game
  • Quik Drop
  • Rambo 56"
  • Razing Storm
  • Simpsons Soccer
  • SnoCross
  • Snow Down
  • Sonic Ball Blast
  • Sonic Dash
  • Space Ballz
  • SPACE INVADERS Big Screen
  • Spin & Win
  • Sponge Bob Pineapple
  • Stacker
  • Star Wars Battle Pods Flatscreen
  • Star Wars POD Racer
  • Star Wars Trilogy
  • Super Bikes
  • Super Shot
  • Target Bravo
  • Tekken 5
  • Terminator Salvation XD
  • Terminator Super Deluxe
  • Ticket Monster
  • Ticket Time
  • Tippin Blocks
  • Tower of Tickets
  • Transformers 55" Theater
  • Treasure Quest
  • Typhoon
  • Whack And Win
  • Wheel Deal Extreme
  • Wheel of Fortune Upright
  • Winner's Cube
  • Wizzard of OZ

Las Vegas - Town Square

  • Injustice
  • After Burner
  • AIR FX
  • Alied Tank Attack
  • Aliens : Armagedeon
  • All About Timing
  • Alpine Racer 2
  • Angry Birds Arcade
  • Barrel of Monkeys
  • Batman
  • Beat Saber Arcade
  • Bejeweled
  • Big Bass Wheel
  • BIG BUCK HD
  • Big Buck Hunter 2
  • Black Hole
  • Classic Donkey Kong
  • Connect 4
  • Crossy Road
  • Cruis'n Blast
  • Cyclone
  • Dance Dance Revolution Super Nova 2
  • Dance Dance Revolution X
  • Dead Heat
  • Deadstorm Pirates
  • Deal or No Deal
  • Dizzy Chicken
  • Donkey Kong Jr.
  • Down The Clown
  • Dynamo Air Hockey
  • Explosive Extreme
  • Fast & Furious
  • Fishbowl Frenzy
  • Frogger
  • Fruit Ninja 2X
  • Galactix
  • Ghostbusters Redemption
  • Gold Fishing
  • Grand Piano Keys
  • H2 Overdrive
  • Halo: Fireteam Raven
  • Harpoon Lagoon
  • House of the Dead 4
  • HYPERSHOOT
  • ICE BALL FX
  • Initial D4
  • Jumpin' Jackpot
  • Jurassic Park Arcade
  • Key Master
  • King of Ring
  • Kung Fu Panda
  • Lane Master
  • Luigi Mansion
  • Mach Storm
  • Mario Kart GP DX
  • Marvel vs Capcom
  • Mega Stacker
  • Milk Jug Toss
  • Mini Rider 2
  • Mini Slam-A-Winner
  • MONSTER DROP X-treme
  • Nerf
  • NFL 2 Minute Drill
  • Pac Man Battle Royale
  • Pac Man Smash
  • Photo Booth Heroine Face
  • Pinball Ghost Busters
  • Pinball Indiana Jones
  • Pinball Kiss
  • Pinball Nascar
  • Plants vs Zombies
  • Plush Bus Crane
  • Pool Table
  • Power Roll
  • Pump It Up Prime 2018
  • Razing Storm
  • Road Trip
  • Showdown
  • Slam A Winner Extreme
  • SnoCross
  • Snow Down
  • Space Ballz
  • SPACE INVADERS Big Screen
  • Speed Demon
  • Spong Bob Ticket Boom
  • Sponge Bob Pineapple
  • Stacker
  • Star Wars Battle Pod
  • Strike Fighter
  • Super Bikes
  • Super Spin N Win
  • Target Bravo
  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
  • Tekken 5
  • Terminator Super Deluxe
  • The Fast & Furious Super Cars
  • Ticket Time
  • Tippin Blocks
  • Tomb Raider NEW
  • Tower of Tickets
  • Toy Soldier
  • Transformers 55" Theater
  • Treasure Quest
  • Typhoon
  • Virtua Cop 3
  • Walking Dead
  • Whack And Win
  • Wheel Of Fortune
  • Winner's Cube
  • Wizzard of OZ

Minneapolis - Mall of America

  • Injustice
  • Beat Saber Arcade
  • Big Bass Wheel
  • BIG BUCK HD
  • Crossy Road
  • Free Fallin'
  • Gameworks Crane
  • Gold Fishing
  • Golden Tee 2013
  • Grand Piano Keys
  • Guitar Hero
  • Haunted Manor
  • House of the Dead 2
  • House of the Dead 4
  • Hummer Std
  • HYPERSHOOT
  • ICE BALL FX
  • Initial D4
  • Jurassic Park Arcade
  • Key Master
  • King of Ring
  • Nerf
  • Power Roll

Norfolk / Chesapeake

  • Injustice
  • All Aboard
  • All About Timing
  • Angry Birds Arcade
  • Bejeweled
  • Big Bass Wheel
  • BIG BUCK HD
  • Big Buck Hunter 2
  • Big One Crane
  • Big Win Super Spin
  • Connect 4
  • Crane UFO Catcher
  • Cruis'n Blast
  • Cruis'n Exotica
  • Cyclone
  • Cycraft
  • Dance Dance Revolution X2
  • Daytona 2
  • Deal or No Deal
  • Dizzy Chicken
  • Doodle Jump
  • Down The Clown
  • F355 Challenge
  • Face Place Photo Booth
  • Fast & Furious
  • Fire & Ice X-Treme
  • Fishbowl Frenzy
  • Gameworks Crane
  • Ghost Squad
  • H2 Overdrive
  • Haunted Manor
  • Hello Kitty Air Hockey
  • House of the Dead 2
  • Initial D3
  • Jumpin' Jackpot
  • Jurassic Lost World
  • Jurassic Park Arcade
  • Mario Kart SD
  • Mini Dunxx
  • Monster Crane
  • MONSTER DROP X-treme
  • Monster Hunt
  • Nascar
  • NFL 2 Minute Drill
  • Pigs Might Fly
  • Pool Table
  • Pump It Up Fiesta
  • Quik Drop
  • Rambo 56"
  • Skee Ball Lightning
  • Slam A Winner
  • Sonic Air Hockey
  • Space Ballz
  • SPACE INVADERS Big Screen
  • Speed Demon
  • Spong Bob Ticket Boom
  • Sponge Bob Pineapple
  • Stacker
  • Super Shot
  • Terminator Salvation XD
  • Ticket Monster
  • Ticket Time
  • Treasure Quest
  • Typhoon
  • Wheel Deal Extreme
  • Wheel of Fortune Upright
  • Winner's Cubes

Seattle - Downtown

  • After Burner
  • AIR FX
  • Beat Saber Arcade
  • King of Ring
  • Lane Blaster
  • Nerf
  • Power Roll
  • Space Ballz
  • SPACE INVADERS Big Screen
  • Sponge Bob Pineapple
  • Super Bikes
  • Super Shot
  • Tekken Tag K34
  • Ticket Time
  • Tomb Raider NEW
  • Transformers 55" Theater
  • Virtual Tennis 3
  • Wagan Midnight MaxTune
  • Walking Dead
  • Whack And Win
  • Wheel Deal Extreme
  • Wheel of Fortune Upright
  • Willy Wonka
  • Winners Wheel
in two minds about actually integrating these on here - on the one hand they're incredibly detailed, but have a significant amount of non-Sega games in spite of the odd rarity here and there (Initial D 4, Hummer SDX/Attraction, etc)
for the sake of this wiki's purpose, it would be much more beneficial if we had game lists from the original 1990s venues (I count four of these opened when Sega didn't even have anything to do with the scheme anymore), but there's no chance of that any time soon
Ted618 (talk) 03:04, 29 December 2021 (GMT)
Oh agreed, I wasn't planning on actually incorporating the entirety of these lists anywhere. This is more to dump the available info here before/if the website goes down, to get it off the sinking ship so we can pick it apart on deck. Later we'll be able to incorporate the more notable Sega stuff when needed ;) CartridgeCulture (talk) 01:49, 29 December 2021 (EST)

Arcade Heroes history

helped out a bit with this. Mainly sourcing info and photos for Kevin (great guy, tons of amusement industry experience):

matches the narrative I mapped out pretty well on here, but there is one or two extra bits and pieces in there that I'll get round to referencing soon

Ted618 (talk) 03:11, 29 December 2021 (GMT)

  1. ↑ https://www.gameworks.com/entertainment/arcade-floor/games (Wayback Machine: 2021-12-24 02:59)
Retrieved from "https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=Talk:GameWorks&oldid=746402"