GameWorks Gets Small

The latest GameWorks facility opened today in the Puente Hills mall, some 20 miles east of Los Angeles. This GameWorks is on a slightly smaller scale than the previously opened facilities in Seattle; Las Vegas; Ontario, California; Grapevine, Texas; and Tempe, Arizona.

GameWorks Studio is what the Sega folks are calling this smaller-scale version of their revved up arcade game room.

As part of its opening day festivities, GameWorks was host to a two-on-two tournament on the Rapid River Challenge whitewater rafting simulation arcade competition.

The Studio consists of a number of themed environments where visitors can find video games of all stripes.

As far as notions that GameWorks might be scaling back on its initial ambitious plans of opening huge gameplexes across the country, well, perish that thought.

"GameWorks Studio is a natural extension of our entertainment business," said Michael Montgomery, Sega GameWorks president and CEO. "As we continue to open additional GameWorks flagship entertainment destinations in major markets, the GameWorks Studio allows us to extend our reach to entertainment districts, urban retail sites, and suburban area malls, making our unique game and entertainment environments more accessible to more people in more locations."