Sega Amusements Europe is seeing the success of its XD Theatre it operates at the UK Bluewater shopping centre as a springboard to further opportunities.
Having installed the 10-seater 4D motion theatre in December last year, Sega’s Justin Burke explained the logic behind the move to operate it themselves: "We have been selling this product for almost two years now but felt we needed our own operation to use as a flagship site and showroom."
Sega has also themed the area at Bluewater with Sega and Sonic branding, giving the attraction an added identity and brand pulling power.
"It was a case of putting our money where our mouth is," said Burke. "We knew it was a successful product giving great returns and thought the best way to demonstrate that was to do it ourselves."
The Bluewater, based just outside London, attracts 28 million visitors a year and for Burke this was the main drive behind choosing the location. "We wanted to put an XD Theatre in the best location; it had to be flagship, it had to be the best whether it was UK based or not - that was the remit."
There are currently 65 XD Theatres in operation worldwide, ranging from the standard eight-seater size up to 100-plus seats. Being self-contained in its own structure or fitting into existing buildings, the units take two days to install and are located in shopping malls, FECs, tourist attractions, theme parks and so on.
Sega does, however, see there is a much wider audience out there and that the product could go into locations such as travel terminals, museums and visitor centres.
