The future of SEGA’s famous arcade venues has taken yet another turn. In a press release posted on January 28th, 2022, the Global Entertainment Network for Dreams and Aspirations (GENDA) announced that GENDA SEGA Entertainment, the company in charge of those arcades, will be known as GENDA GiGO Entertainment, with rebranding to take effect from March. As reported by Automation Media, this comes in the wake of the Japanese amusement corporation, which was founded in 2018 and had previously owned 85.1% of the firm’s shares, acquiring the remaining 14.9% that same day. If you’re curious, GiGO stands for “Get into the Gaming Oasis”.
全国のSEGAのお店の屋号をGiGOに切り替えていきます。SEGAの56年の歴史への感謝と、リアルなエンタメで人々の渇望を癒すオアシスになるという思いを込めました。ゲームのオアシスに飛び込め！Get into the Gaming Oasis の頭文字をとってGiGOです。
まずは池袋、秋葉原、新宿から。そして全国へ。 pic.twitter.com/bAMbdIXEkk— 片岡 尚 / GENDA会長 (@GENDA_Kataoka) January 28, 2022
As much of a surprise as this is, it’s been quietly in the works for some time now. The GiGO moniker had already popped up in the Ikebukuro arcade both before its shutdown and relaunch. Meanwhile, on December 3rd, 2020, according to Siliconera, GENDA took majority ownership of the company as part of its plan to “revitalize the amusement industry, and create an environment where everyone can be involved, including manufacturers, operators, and users.” The financial blow dealt to SEGA’s arcade operations by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the closure of public spaces in the latter half of that year, was undoubtedly another major contributor to that acquisition. So much so, in fact, that it also led to the bankruptcy of SEGA’s famous arcade in Akihabara, as J-List’s own Peter Payne previously covered. Whether this would have still occurred had this unforeseen development never happened is a moot point.
So what does this all mean? While SEGA’s strong success in the video game industry is likely to continue on for the foreseeable future, and the foothold it had for decades in the game center space was already waning due to COVID, this has only served to solidify its departure from the arcade scene altogether. This isn’t to say that it’s game over, however. It remains to be seen if GENDA’s grand plans of bringing life back to this classic gaming institution will be more than just PR talk. Though for those on the ground, chances are it’ll simply be a case of new management while aiming to keep the same friendly service. Moreover, though SEGA will continue making arcade machines, Video Games Chronicle quotes CEO Hisashi Kataoka as saying:
“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.”
All that being said, you can’t help but feel like it’s the end of an era. Still, whatever the future holds for Japan’s SEGA arcade venues, you can bet that it’ll definitely be an interesting ride.
