Arcade merges high, low tech

Art Nadler

Friday, April 11, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

It might be the ultimate arcade game complex to hit the galaxy.

GameWorks -- the brainchild of movie mogul Steven Spielberg, arcade giant Sega Enterprises and Universal Studios -- is expected to open later this month on the Strip.

The 47,000-square-foot facility, at 3769 S. Las Vegas Blvd. adjacent to the MGM Grand, will feature more than 250 arcade games.

"It's a wonderful marriage of low and high tech," Spielberg said Thursday in a video infomercial touting GameWorks' attributes.

Thirty designers worked on the Las Vegas complex, the second of five scheduled to open nationwide this year. They're expecting to build 100 worldwide by 2002.

The Las Vegas GameWorks will feature three key areas in its basement-like setting.

The Arena spotlights two of the company's own games: Vertical Reality and GameArc. In Vertical Reality, players are strapped in chairs and rise two stories after completing levels of play. GameArc lets eight players battle against each other in fierce competition.

The Loading Dock will feature new games as they come out. The Loft will provide traditional video games such as PacMan, Asteroids and Centipede and Internet access, food and drinks.

There will be 130 television monitors throughout displaying live action between the players, as well as those at GameWorks facilities around the country.

"When you enter GameWorks, you enter all GameWorks," said Jon Snoddy, senior vice president of design.

"Vegas is a wonderful launching pad for us," Michael Montgomery, president and chief operating office, said. "GameWorks here is more open and set up to handle bigger crowds."

The first GameWorks opened in Seattle in March of last year. It's been averaging 50,000 visitors a week, Montgomery said, a number he expects to be surpassed in Las Vegas.

"In Las Vegas, we wanted to make sure it was dramatic and spectacular," Snoddy said. "We did a new design from the ground up for Las Vegas. It's flashier and has more technology."

One unique feature will be a 75-foot rock-climbing wall with 900 hand holds to grasp. As you move up the wall, sensors will trigger sound effects and spotlights to follow your ascent.

You'll have a choice of 13 routes to take from novice to advanced climber. Upon reaching the top, your picture will be taken and put on the GameWorks website, so climbers around the world will know how you did.

Membership cards will be available to locals, Montgomery said, that will offer discounts after so many visits. Games will range in price from 50 cents to $4. Times of operation have not been set.

The third GameWorks is scheduled to open in Ontario, Calif., this summer with others in Tempe, Ariz., and Dallas expected to be completed by the end of the year.