Shinjuku Joypolis (Japanese: 新宿ジョイポリス) was an indoor amusement park located in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, situated within the tenth and eleventh floors of the Shinjuku Takashimaya Times Square department store. It operated for almost four years, from October 1996 until August 2000.
History
Announcements for a Galbo venue in Shinjuku were made as early as December 1995, alongside Fukuoka Galbo and the flagship Tokyo Joypolis.[1] However, after Ichikawa Galbo and Yokkaichi Galbo ended up becoming commercial flops for Sega; the company scrapped the Galbo chain altogether and Shinjuku Galbo would instead be opened under the Joypolis umbrella.
Shinjuku Joypolis was one of the tenants at Shinjuku Takashimaya Times Square on opening day; 4 October 1996.[2][3] The park debuted several of Sega's in-house attractions, most notably Murder Lodge during the park's opening and later Wild River in 1998.
On 1 August 2000, Sega announced that they would not renew their lease with Takashimaya and that the park would close on the 31st. The closure was blamed on competition from the nearby Yokohama Joypolis and Tokyo Joypolis parks.[4][5] After closure, all Sega-related signage was removed from site.[6]
As of 2024, the park's former location in the store is home to an art gallery among other facilities.
Areas
As with Tokyo Joypolis, the park did not focus on a specific theme or storyline, rather having four different areas split within the two floors which would aim to affect guests.
| Area | Description |
|---|---|
| First Impression | The starting area of the park, intending to send guests from the real world into the virtual world. |
| Warm Up | The central presence of the park, which functions as a place for people to meet up and hang out with. |
| Heat Up | The most exciting of the floors which aim to intense the excitement of guests. |
| Cool Down | Aimed as a place to relax after having fun. |
Former Attractions
| Name | Manufacturer | Type | Opened | Closed | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aqua Nova | Sega AM5 Digital Universe |
Simulator | October 4, 1996 | August 31, 2000 | Unknown |
| Fortune Museum[7] | Sega AM5 | Walk-Through | October 4, 1996 | August 31, 2000 | Removed |
| Ghost Hunters II | Sega AM5 | Tracked Dark Ride | October 4, 1996 | August 31, 2000 | Scrapped |
| Murder Lodge[7] | Sega AM5 | Walk-Through | October 4, 1996 | August 31, 2000 | Unknown |
| Mystery Walk[8] | Unknown | Walk-Through | April 25, 1998 | 2000 | Removed |
| Todd McFarlane's SPAWN: THE ATTRACTION | Unknown | Walk-Through | April 28, 1999[9] | 2000 | Removed |
| Wild River | Sega AM5 | Simulator | February 27, 1998 | August 31, 2000 | Relocated to Tokyo Joypolis |
Other Attractions
In addition to the amusement facilities and walk-throughs, Shinjuku Joypolis also a selection of other attractions.
- Bike-Athlon - A racing game similar to Power Sled, but this time involves two attendees riding a bike to get to the finish line. The attraction was relocated from Kyoto Joypolis and opened on 25th July 1998 in the "Warm Up" area. It was relocated again to Tokyo Joypolis in 2000.
- Dennou Senki Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram Special - A deluxe rotating cabinet version of the arcade game of the same name. It opened on 18 April 1999 in the "Warm Up" area, after spending a very short amount of time at Umeda Joypolis.
- The Lost World - Jurassic Park Special - An attraction version of Sega's arcade game adaption of the 1997 film, which has been seen in other Joypolis venues and large Sega Game Centers. Located in the "Heat Up" area.
- Mission Q - A variant on the Q-ZAR laser tag arena created especially for Shinjuku Joypolis. Opening day attraction in the "Heat Up" area.
- Power Sled - A rotating sled arcade game previously seen at other Joypolis venues. Opening day attraction in the "Heat Up" area before being relocated to the "Cool Down" area.
- Sega Rally Special Stage - Deluxe simulator version of the Sega Rally arcade game set within three modified Toyota Celica CT-Four cars, with projection canvases fixed in front of their windscreens. Opening day attraction in the "First Impression" area. In comparison to Virtua Formula or the later Sega Touring Car Championship Special, this attraction was not duplicated for other Joypolis venues.
- Shocking Maze - A large Buzz Wire game. Opening day attraction in the "Warm Up" area. Removed sometime before 1999.
- Super Ranking - A sports attraction that tests the attendees' power in Fight, Balance, Speed, Power, and Destiny. Opening day attraction in the "Warm Up" area.
Non-Amusement attractions included a game center on the "Heat Up" level, and a medal centre and cafe on the "Cool Down" level.
References
- ↑ https://retrocdn.net/images/0/0d/GameMachine_JP_513.pdf
- ↑ Joypolis guide book.
- ↑ "Joypolis". Sega. Archived from the original on 1997-02-15.
- ↑ "新宿ジョイポリス閉館のお知らせ". Sega. Archived from the original on 2000-08-20. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ↑ "SBG:残念！ 新宿ジョイポリスが閉館". nlab.itmedia.co.jp. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
- ↑ https://netanker.hatenablog.jp/entry/20000910
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Cool Down". Shinjuku Joypolis. Archived from the original on 1997-02-16.
- ↑ "Mystery Walk". Sega. Archived from the original on 2000-08-20.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/19991009101950/http://www.sega.co.jp/sega/atp/news/news994/jpnews990428.html
External links
- Shinjuku Joypolis on Sega Retro
| Amusement Parks and Game Centers operated by Sega | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joypolis | |||||||||
| Galbo | |||||||||
| Overseas Parks | |||||||||
| Game Centers with Attractions | |||||||||
| Overseas Arcades with Attractions | |||||||||
