GiGO Akihabara #1 (Formerly Sega's Flagship Arcade) to Close in August After 32 Years
GiGO Akihabara #1 originally opened in October 1992 under the name High Tech Land Sega Shintoku. Later, its name changed to Club Sega Akihabara, Sega Akihabara #1, and then to GiGO Akihabara #1, but it retained its iconic red walls.The occupancy rate of many arcades in Japan had been declining due to closures from the effects of COVID-19. The Sega Akihabara #2 arcade in Tokyo closed in August 2020. GENDA (Global Entertainment Network for Dreams and Aspirations) purchased 85.1% of the shares of Sega Entertainment in December 2020, and renamed the company GENDA Sega Entertainment. Sega Entertainment's percentage of voting rights became 14.9% following the share transfer. Sega Sammy withdrew from the domestic arcade management business by the end 2020 as a result of GENDA's acquisition. However, existing Sega arcades still retained the Sega name at the time. Sega then permanently closed its Sega Ikebukuro GiGO arcade in Tokyo in September 2021 after 28 years. (The large-scale arcade center had opened in July 1993 under the name Ikebukuro GiGO, and was renamed Sega Ikebukuro GiGO in July 2013. GENDA retroactively said later that "GiGO" stands for "Get into the Gaming Oasis.") Sega then opened a new arcade center across the street in October 2021 named Sega Ikebukuro. GENDA GiGO Entertainment president Nao Kataoka stated then that the opening was "volume 1" of an "Ikebukuro Project." The new arcade was eventually renamed to GiGO Ikebukuro.In January 2022, GENDA acquired the remaining 14.9% of shares of arcade and amusement center company GENDA Sega Entertainment, and renamed the company GENDA GiGO Entertainment. GENDA has renamed all 196 Sega arcade centers across Japan as GiGO, starting with arcades in Ikebukuro, Akihabara, and Shinjuku.The GiGO (formerly Sega) Akihabara #4 closed in September 2022, and has since been replaced with Bandai Namco Amusement's Namco Akihabara arcade in March 2023. However, Genda GiGO Entertainment opened the former Sega Akihabara #2 arcade under the new name GiGO Akihabara #2 in April 2023.Source: GiGO via Hachima Kikō
