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After 50 years, Sega arcades are officially set to disappear from Japan

Bullet Club

Member

After 50 years, Sega arcades are officially set to disappear from Japan​


Game centers are set to rebrand following the sale of shares, the company confirmed

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After more than 50 years, Sega’s branding is set to disappear from Japanese arcades, it’s announced.

Sega Sammy announced on Friday that it would sell the remaining 14.9% of its Sega Entertainment division, which runs its game centers across Japan, to rental business Genda Inc.

Genda first purchased 85.1% of Sega Entertainment’s shares back in 2020. At the time, Sega Sammy cited uncertainty around the pandemic as the reason it had decided to sell.

The pandemic’s impact also led to the closure of Sega’s famous Akihabara arcade in September 2020.

Following the sale, Sega Entertainment will be fully renamed to Genda GiGO Entertainment, it’s been confirmed, and all Sega game centers nationwide will have their Sega branding changed to ‘GiGO’.

Sega opened the first of its Japanese game centers in the late 1960s, including Joypolis amusement parks and Club Sega arcades. It’s estimated that the company had just under 1,000 arcade sites in Japan at its peak in the late 90s.

Commenting on the news, Genda GiGO chairman Hisashi Kataoka said: “Sega stores across the country will be switching their store names to GiGO, to express our gratitude for Sega’s 56 years of history and our desire to be an oasis that quenches people’s thirst for real entertainment.

“We will start with Ikebukuro, Akihabara, and Shinjuku. Then to the whole country.”

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It’s worth noting that although Sega’s Entertainment business ran its arcade locations, the company manufactured and sold arcade machines themselves separately and will likely continue to do so.

Sega is known for some of the world’s most iconic arcade games including OutRun, Virtua Fighter, Daytona USA and more.

Source: VGC
 
Keep up the sakoku Japan...see how good it does the economy in years to come just to appease old voters who dont dare challenge challenge the government. 2 years now of strict isolationism..
 
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NahaNago

Member
That's a bit sad. I'm glad I visited a couple of them before they started to change and disappear. I really hope Japan opens up later this year so I can visit.
 

Trimesh

Banned
So from my understanding, they are simply rebranding and not closing down like the Akiba one? Regardless, I'm glad to have been able to visit a bunch there.

There are still 3 Sega arcades in Akihabara - the one that closed (#2) was because the lease ran out and the new rent they wanted was so high that it made no sense to continue operating - especially when they had 3 other locations so close.
 
I remember Sega World at the Trocadero in London. It was magical to me when I was younger.
Oh man, I have some fond memories of that place.... Went to London with school in 1999. The evenings we're a free for all to go out and enjoy London.

Went to Picadilly with a few classmates, ate at Pizza Hut and went over to Sega World. It was an experience!! The big escalator in the middle, the giftshops at the entrance, everything.
Played a lot of Daytona and F355 Challenge there along with some sort of Create-your-own-ride simulator.

Good times...

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STARSBarry

Gold Member
Preparing for Microsoft buyout 😂


















I'm joking.

You say this but it would not suprise me, trimming the fat by removing parts of the business that a potential new owner is not interested in and focusing on the parts of the business that would by increasing your on hand capital makes alot of sense.

I know the whole "Microsoft are buying SEGA next Wednesday" is a meme but honestly I believe the only reason Microsoft haven't at the moment is because it would have made the buying Activision deal harder, as people opposed to the deal would use it as an example of Microsofts intent to destablise the market place and lower competition.

The funny thing is once the Activision deal goes through it will be easier to buy SEGA because "well we bought this huge publisher worth several times this, why should you stop us buying this relatively small publisher?" Is now usable.

However with how closely SEGA have been working with Microsoft in the west with the timed exclusivity of Next gen versions of games and PSO2 being exclusive to Xbox in the west there it little doubt in my mind that we will see the Blue Hedgehog next to the xbox logo sooner or later.

As for the rebranding of the arcades? It's a little sad but as long as they carry on I'm not seeing a problem... the issue is how the culture of who runs them could directly effect the experiences, could result in them disappearing completely in the future.
 
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Kokoloko85

Member
Didnt Sega close a location last year just to move to another location?
Who knows they will probably change it back to Sega when they realise no1 knows what GIga is…
 

K' Dash

Member
I guess I missed out, I kept moving that trip down the road many times because of work and in the end my wife got pregnant and I wasn't able to see the Akihabara arcades, now the will close for good :(
 
End of era.
Never visited a single one though. Wanted to visit Japan but COVID ruined plans two years ago.
 
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Arcades have been in decline for years... Here in the Netherlands they ara almost completely extinct.
There is 1 big one close to The Hague, which is officialy a videogame museum.


It has rooms styled in 70's, 80's, 90's and modern. All with corresponding consoles of that era. Some are modelled after typical teen bedrooms complete with posters etc all from the respective era's.
Some are modelled after living rooms.

The big eyecatcher is the arcade in the back. More than 100 different cabinets featuring Street Fighter, MK1, 2 and 3, Daytona, Initial D, Jurassic Park, Sega Rally, Scud Race, Bubble Bobble and MUCH more.
This is an actual arcade with everything set to Free Play.

It's kind of a Mekka for arcade players.

So when you're in the Netherlands, be sure to get your arcade fix there!!
 
Arcades have been in decline for years... Here in the Netherlands they ara almost completely extinct.
There is 1 big one close to The Hague, which is officialy a videogame museum.


It has rooms styled in 70's, 80's, 90's and modern. All with corresponding consoles of that era. Some are modelled after typical teen bedrooms complete with posters etc all from the respective era's.
Some are modelled after living rooms.

The big eyecatcher is the arcade in the back. More than 100 different cabinets featuring Street Fighter, MK1, 2 and 3, Daytona, Initial D, Jurassic Park, Sega Rally, Scud Race, Bubble Bobble, patchinko, crazy Japanese rythem games and MUCH more.
This is an actual arcade with everything set to Free Play.

It's kind of a Mekka for arcade players.

So when you're in the Netherlands, be sure to get your arcade fix there!!
 

Doom85

Member
Arcades have been in decline for years

Might depend on the region, at least in the US arcades have had a bit of boost (compared to 10 years or so ago where they were borderline extinct) thanks to Round One. Was lucky enough to get one in my town, it’s a blast to go to and even now they’re usually fairly busy.
 

Trimesh

Banned
Didnt Sega close a location last year just to move to another location?
Who knows they will probably change it back to Sega when they realise no1 knows what GIga is…

They closed one of the locations in Akihabara (Sega building #2) - it hasn't been replaced, but there are still two other Sega arcades on the same road, the closest one being about 200 yards away. I was told the lease was coming up for renewal and given the poor market conditions they decided to close the place rather than renew.
 
But what about Yakuza games?? First Don Quixote and now this? Modern world sucks!

Wait what happened to don quixote???

Also its just saying sega sold them to another company thats still gonnah run them as arcades? Theres also so many game centers around Japan, makes me wonder how many sega actually own
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
I'm glad I got to experience this when I was in Japan. The arcade scene is still like the 90's in America out there. Literally teared up when I went there. Got to play against some japanese folks in Tekken 7. I actually won which made my entire vacation.
 

Impotaku

Member
I went through this pain already when SegaWorld London closed down.
Except that one was shit both because it was filthy and filled with cockney chavs but also because it meant you had to goto the shithole know as london lol.
 
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