OKLAHOMA CITY (OBV) – Remember the days when video game arcades were a cultural staple? Chuck E. Cheese does, and they’re bringing the arcade experience back to Oklahoma and across the country via Chuck’s Arcade.
Chuck’s Arcade is now open at Penn Square Mall in Oklahoma City and Woodland Hills Mall in Tulsa.
The Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain, operated by CEC Entertainment, is famously known for its pizza, games, kid-friendly party atmosphere and eponymous mouse mascot. The chain’s new venture seeks to revive the arcade experience, and Oklahoma was picked for two of the first 10 Chuck’s Arcade locations.
“Oklahoma City and Tulsa made sense for a few reasons. Both are strong family markets with high mall traffic and a track record of supporting family entertainment. We’ve seen that consumers in Oklahoma City are open to new concepts and tend to show up for them, especially when it’s something they can do as a family. The response in these cities has always been solid for our core brand, so testing Chuck’s Arcade here felt like a logical next step,” a Chuck E. Cheese company spokesperson said to Oklahoma Business Voice via email.
The 10 locations opened in late June. In addition to Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Chuck’s Arcade also opened in Saint Petersburg, Fla., Trumbull, Conn., Victor, N.Y., Buford, Ga., El Paso, Texas, Nashua and Salem, N.H., and Saint Louis, Mo.
Chuck’s Arcade is a return to yesteryear, a nostalgic celebration of the arcades that drew in droves of adolescents and adults whose pockets were packed with quarters as they eagerly waited for their turn to chomp pellets and elude ghosts as Pac-Man or fire Hadokens and launch Shoryukens as Ryu in Street Fighter II.
“Chuck E. Cheese has spent decades mastering the arcade experience — it’s in our DNA,” said David McKillips, CEO of Chuck E. Cheese. “Thanks to the expertise of our talented technicians and the successful transformation of almost 500 fun centers worldwide, we’ve built the operational and creative foundation to take our brand beyond our traditional four walls. Chuck’s Arcade™ is a natural evolution — an opportunity to extend our arcade legacy into new formats that engage both lifelong fans and a new generation through a curated mix of retro classics and cutting-edge experiences.”
It’s hard to miss Chuck’s Arcade while walking Penn Square or Woodland Hills. The neon lights and hot glow of roaring game machines pull you into a once and future time when arcades were king.
Chuck’s Arcade features iconic retro games like Ms. Pac-Man, Galaga, Mortal Kombat, Donkey Kong and Centipede, more contemporary hits like Halo and Jurassic Park and modern-day racing simulators and virtual reality gaming experiences. And, of course, any retro arcade must have an air hockey table, and Chuck’s Arcade does not fail in that offering.
“The Chuck E. Cheese brand has always had multi-generational appeal, given its almost 50-year history. Chuck’s Arcade leans into the nostalgia of the brand and offers older generations, like teens and young adults, an authentic, social gaming experience. Chuck’s Arcade is designed to bring together fans of all ages, blending retro favorites with the latest in arcade entertainment,” the spokesperson said.
Arcades were a shopping mall staple in the 1980s and 1990s, and Chuck’s Arcade is continuing that tradition. Each Chuck’s Location occupies mall space that was previously a Fun Spot Arcade. CEC Entertainment owns Fun Spot Arcades, but rethemed and renovated the locations with its Chuck E. Cheese brand and pizzazz.
But unlike the heyday of arcades, the games at Chuck’s Arcade are played using credits on a game card instead of quarters or tokens. Gamers can redeem prizes and purchase retail items.
And it wouldn’t be a Chuck E. Cheese arcade if it didn’t have an animatronic character present. Each Chuck’s arcade has either an animatronic Chuck E. Cheese or a member of Munch’s Make Believe Band.
“Chuck’s Arcade was inspired by the nostalgia and excitement that generations of guests experienced at Chuck E. Cheese. We heard from countless fans who grew up with the brand and wanted to create a space that captures that feeling—where “grown-up” kids and new fans can enjoy both classic and modern games,” the spokesperson said.
Go to the Chuck’s Arcade website for more information on the arcades’ offerings.
