GameWorks: Dead or Alive?

It's not the first time that it has been rumored, but now it appears the word is official, or is about to be: Sega GameWorks is scaling back its efforts, at least as far as future facilities are concerned, according to a report on the Web.

Sega GameWorks opened five of its 30,000-plus square feet entertainment/arcade complexes in 1997, but now it seems the focus will reportedly be on smaller "themed" complexes of 5,000-to-20,000 square feet.

The current mega-GameWorks sites - located in Seattle; Las Vegas; Ontario, California; Grapevine, Texas; and Tempe, Arizona - feature restaurants, bars and video game attractions grouped in several themed "zones," but it is said that the smaller attractions will "exude Hollywood and pop-culture themes," according to a report on MSNBC.

Sega GameWorks is testing a prototype facility in Tucson, Arizona and is said to be happy with the results of that test.

The GameWorks ventures are a partnership among the Sega GameWorks company, DreamWorks SKG and Universal Studios.

The company's first site, in Seattle, opened in March, 1997. At the time, the GameWorks game plan was an extensive one, with plans afoot to open 100 outlets throughout the world in five years.

Calls to GameWorks had not been returned at press time.