Image via Sega

The writing has been on the wall for years, but information technology is finally the end of an era in Japan. SEGA's arcades have been a mainstay in the Japanese gaming world, becoming recognized landmarks in districts similar Akihabara and a symbol of gaming'southward home in Japan. Though the venues have airtight and opened since the pandemic started, it looks similar the end has finally come for the SEGA arcades in Japan.

Information technology isn't a complete surprise to people who take been following the story for the last few years. In 2022, GENDA, an amusement visitor that deals in arcade and prize machines throughout Nihon, bought a majority share in SEGA Entertainment, the subsidiary of the gaming giant that endemic and operated the iconic arcades. Upward until January 2022, GENDA owned around 85.i% of the arcade and amusement company, just post-obit a recently appear bargain, they have acquired the final fourteen.9%, effectively pushing SEGA from the arcade business afterwards more than 50 years.

Don't expect the venues to change overnight, though. Information technology will take several months before the bargain is finalized and the proper noun on the side of the arcades to change. By the end of 2022, there won't be a towering SEGA logo floating above the streets of Tokyo for the offset fourth dimension since the 1960s. The arcades are expected to stay open for the immediate future.

The new venues volition be called GiGO, which stands for "Get into the Gaming Oasis." Information technology is worth noting that this doesn't impact the gaming development or publishing side of SEGA, which remains intact. Sonic is, at the fourth dimension of this writing, still safe. The deal only affects the brick-and-mortar business of SEGA'due south gaming centers in Nippon.