Chuck E. Cheese, the establishment once exclusively for children, owned and operated by pizza/animatronic magnate Charles Entertainment Cheese (his real full name, by the way), is shifting its attention. Instead of intoxicating America’s children with pizza and prizes, they will attempt to lure adults to an entirely new adult-focused spinoff centered around video games and beer.
With Chuck’s Arcade, Chuck E. Cheese is firmly positioning itself in the barcade business now. And they had better keep the animatronic band. Drunk adults still buzzing off a few hours of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike will need the dulcet tones of the band to soothe their vicious competitive natures.
Chuck’s Arcade is more of a nostalgia trap for millennials and Gen Xers who have fond memories of wasting several hundred dollars’ worth of their parents’ quarters at arcades. This nostalgic bent is reflected in the games it’ll have on hand, which include classics like Donkey Kong and Mortal Kombat. It will also include a Halo arcade game.
Want to Go to Chuck E. Cheese Without Kids? Now You Can.
Each of the ten new locations, which have been spotted in cities like Tulsa, St. Petersburg, and Kansas City, is dripping with retro-futurist design. While Munch’s Make Believe Band won’t be making an appearance, each location will be “overseen” by a different member of the group.
“Overseen” implies management, so my joke in the first sentence about the corporate mascot Charles Entertainment Cheese running the joint might have a ring of truth to it.
Is it all a calculated, perhaps even a somewhat cynical, move to rebrand a bit to appeal to an older generation that has fond memories of the pizza and video games joint? Most definitely. But it still seems like a fun time.
CEO David McKillips calls it a “natural evolution.” Since clawing its way out of bankruptcy post-pandemic, Chuck E. Cheese has sunk $350 million into revamping over 500 locations, launched a budget-friendly subscription model, and is now trying to lure in the adults who once vomited pizza and soda on its carpeting when they were kids, and all at a time when it’s primary rival, Dave & Buster’s, tries to rebound after plunging into a financial tailspin.
Chuck is back, he remembers you from when you were a kid, and he wants to hang out now that you’re of legal drinking age. Nothing weird about that.
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