Sega Amusements Europe Ltd. is seeing the success of its XD Theatre that it operates at UK Bluewater Shopping Centre as a springboard to further opportunities.
Sega installed the 10 seater 4D Motion Theatre experience attraction (above and see further images below) in December last year just ahead of the Christmas period. Explaining the logic behind the move to operate it themselves Sega’s Justin Burke explained “We have been selling this product for almost two years now very successfully but felt we needed our own operation to use as a flagship site and ‘showroom’ – it was a case of ‘putting our money where our mouth is’, we knew it was a phenomenally successful product giving great returns and thought the best way to demonstrate that was do it ourselves”.
The Bluewater location is Europe’s busiest shopping centre; based on the outskirts of London it attracts 28million visitors per year. Again Burke explains the decision on location, “we wanted to put an XD Theatre in the best location we could find, it had to be flagship, it had to be the best – whether it was UK based or not, that was the remit. The fact that Bluewater being Europe’s premier shopping centre is virtually on our doorstep is just a bonus!”
2Gs of acceleration and 100 movements per second
The XD Theatre has been in the market for several years now and there are 65 across the world so far, ranging from the standard 8 seater size up to 100+ seats. Being self contained in their own structure or fitting into existing buildings the unit takes about two days to install and to date they are located in shopping malls, FECs, tourist attractions, theme parks but Sega sees a much wider audience; “We do feel that the XD can go in any location and are exploring opportunities such as travel terminals, museums, visitor centres and so on” continued Burke.
The attraction offers the rider up to 2Gs of acceleration and 100 movements per second from the patented technology in the seats. A library of 3D movies offers a wide range of choice to give the best broad public appeal – from under water adventures to out of space cosmic roller coaters to the family favourite ‘Jett and Jinn’ jet pack adventure to the newest ‘Ravine Racer’.
Sega has also themed the area with Sega and Sonic branding which gives the attraction added identity and brand pulling power.
Burke summed up the player enjoyment in that “running with three movies, which is standard for start up operations, at Bluewater Sega are discovering that customers come back again and again with friends and to try different movies, its got a great repeat appeal. In a few months we will add different movies to keep the attraction fresh”
It appears this is just the start for Sega operating XD Theatres as the appetite is now there to expand this area of their business into other malls and locations.
For More Information please contact:
Justin Burke. General Manager – Sales . Sega Amusements Europe Ltd
Phone +44 (0) 20 8391 8081 Fax +44 (0) 20 8391 8099 E-mail justinb@sega.co.uk
About Sega Amusements Europe Ltd.:
Sega Amusements Europe Ltd. develops and distributes coin operated amusement games, novelty games, kid’s products, simulators and attractions for Europe, Russia and the Middle East. Sega products are played by millions of people all over the globe every day and its history reflects the constant change in consumer appetites. Sega Amusements Europe Ltd. is committed to develop its business in new and undiscovered areas whilst providing the best customer service and technical support. More information can be found at www.sega-amusements.co.uk.
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