New SEGA arcade center opens in Ikebukuro, replacing closed GiGO arcade

Back on September 20th, the SEGA Ikebukuro GiGO arcade closed after 28 years of operations. Fans were emotional, and rightly so, and many pointed to this as a sign of SEGA’s arcade footprint diminishing. However, on October 22nd a new arcade center opened in Ikebukuro which was noted as being “Volume 1” of a larger project by Genda Sega Entertainment president Nao Kataoka. Volumes 2 and 3 would soon follow.

The new center has five floors and features a variety of SEGA arcade machines. Where is it located? Right across the street from the old location! The reason the original location sold was not because SEGA was leaving the arcade business in the area, but because of an expiring lease and a need for remodeling to the old building. Maybe SEGAbits will visit the arcade in 2022? 👀

[Photo Credit: @TicTaek, Source: Anime News Network]

SEGA’s Ikebukuro GiGO arcade in Tokyo set to close on September 20, 2021


In a Twitter post on August 2, the Ikebukuro SEGA arcade branch has announced that they will be closed on September 20th. They explained that the lease contract for the building that houses the arcade has expired and is ready for renovation. The arcade opened up in 1993, housing many arcade classics as the rising SEGA boom was taking over during the 90s (a 28-year open service). They also wish to provide the same premier customer service that brought in customers since opening. Currently celebrating the 28th anniversary, exclusive prizes can be won via UFO catcher machines or be bought for the month of August.