Sega recently held its Sonic Central event, celebrating Sonic’s 30 year legacy. The livestream presentation revealed a variety of upcoming Sonic content, such as the remastered Sonic Colors Ultimate, classic compilation Sonic Origins, and more. While no theme parks were mentioned, arguably the biggest reveal of the show was the supposedly open-world Sonic Rangers, which is rumored to take inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
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News of the potential Sega theme parks comes from a report by CA Technology Group. According to the report, the company has entered into an MOU, or memorandum of understanding, with an unnamed partner to scout for a location within the UK to launch a Sega Joypolis. For those that may be unaware, Joypolis is a chain of indoor amusement parks created by Sega beginning in the early 90s, featuring attractions based off of the video game company’s IP. While the majority of the Joypolis locations unfortunately shut down amidst Sega’s financial struggles in the early 2000s, it would seem that the company has bounced back and is looking to give new theme park locations another shot.
The CA Technology Group report cites the Sega Joypolis Japan locations’ continued success as a factor for the indoor theme parks’ potential expansion. Hit rides such as the Gekion Live Coaster, giant halfpipe swing, and 3D, 4D, and VR state-of-the-art simulator that sounds a bit like Universal Studios’ Mario Kart ride have been “dominating the hearts of Japanese people” for more than 27 years. something the gaming company is apparently planning to bring to Europe, Australia, and North America in “the near future.”
Hopefully that “near future” is sooner than later for North America, especially since there won’t be any video game-themed theme parks anytime soon. Back in March, it was announced that Universal Studios Orlando’s Super Nintendo World would be delayed by at least another year, with the original 2023 opening window now pushed back to early 2025. As it’s done with its west coast Hollywood counterpart, the coronavirus pandemic put construction of the highly anticipated lands on hold, causing extensive delays in the completion of the projects. While Sega’s theme parks don’t appear to be at the same caliber, it should still be interesting to see what offerings could be brought to the potentially new Joypolis.
There’s no word on any sort of timetable outside of the proposed UK location, so non-British Sega fans will have to sit tight. There may be Sonic-themed content coming to Minecraft soon, so players can craft their ideal Sega theme park in the meantime.
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Source: Press Start
