Sega World Sydney

Sega World Sydney
The Sega World Sydney building in 1998
Location	Darling Harbour, Sydney, Australia
Opened	March 1997
Closed	November 2000 (demolished 2008)
Operating season	Year round
Rides	7 total 1 roller coasters

Sega World Sydney was an indoor high-tech amusement park that operated for almost four years, in Sydney, Australia. Opened in 1997, it was one of several SegaWorld amusement parks that were opened worldwide, designed and themed by gaming company SEGA. Following the closure of the park in 2000 because of a lack of visitors, the building was used as a furniture exhibition warehouse, before it was demolished in late 2008.

History

Sega World Sydney opened in March 1997, in the Darling Harbour locality. The park was the result of an A$80 million investment by Sega, the Darling Harbour Authority and Jacfun, a Sydney-based property consortium led by director Kevin Bermeister.

In 1994, Jacfun acquired a long-term lease over land from the Darling Harbour Authority (Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority) to establish the park.

Sega World Sydney utilized the latest in multimedia, entertainment and destination attraction events. It was described as "Australia's Interactive Disneyland" by the media. Many of the themes were based on various SEGA franchises, primarily Sonic the Hedgehog (series)Sonic the Hedgehog. The park was also host to underage dance parties called Crush, usually held during school holidays. The remainder of the complex was sublet to a mix of retail and entertainment tenants.

Due to a below-required attendance and constant financial losses, the park was closed in November 2000. Hopes that the influx of tourists travelling to Sydney for the 2000 Summer Olympics would help the park meet its 800,000-visitor breakeven point went unrealised.

In 1999, Sega Enterprises Japan ceased its involvement with the Sega World Sydney complex at Darling Walk by the sale of its interests associated with the investors in Jacfun, and by the payment to Jacfun of A$36 million in consideration of the early termination of its sublease.

In March 2001, the contents of the park were auctioned off. Only 300 people attended the auction, with most of the rides sold off for minimal prices. The two major rides of the park, Rail Chase and Ghost Hunters, were sold to foreign buyers, with one of the rides going for A$60,000 less than its intended sale price of A$200,000. Some of the amusement park's interior fixtures were still in place as of 2008, covered by backdrops and boarding.

The Sega World building in 2006

Following the closure of the park, the building was initially leased to the Jacfun consortium, which planned to install an entertainment complex in place of the amusement park. In 2003, Jacfun sold its lease interest to the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority for A$10 million. The building was then used by Shanghai Group Australia as a furniture exhibition warehouse before it was sold to Commonwealth Bank. They decided to build a new building over the old Sega World site, with the old building demolished during October and November 2008.

In March 2009, Jacfun initiated legal action in New South Wales Supreme Court against the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority for “deceptive conduct.” The suit claims Jacfun is entitled to a share of profits in the $560 million redevelopment of Darling Walk.

Rides

Main entrance to Segaworld Sydney

• Rail Chase - An indoor mine train roller coaster built by Masago Industrial with elaborate scenery and theming.
• Mad Bazooka - A 'tank simulator' built by R & T Fabrications, with modified bumper cars equipped with a ball cannon. Balls were collected from the floor of the arena by running over them, and then could be fired at targets mounted to the roofs of other cars. The ride was removed in 1999 to make way for an ice rink.
• Ghost Hunters - An interactive ghost train, with riders provided with laser cannons to shoot targets.
• Magic Motion 4D - A 4-D cinema.
• Nickelodeon TV Machine - A children's play area themed to the TV channel Nickelodeon, which included activities based on the famous green slime and featured a climbing jungle, ball pits, and a spiral slide.
• Aqua Nova - A 3-D motion simulator themed around a submarine on an underwater mission.
• AS-1 - A motion simulator ride depicting the futuristic chase of a criminal.

As well as the rides, the park included a fast-food outlet and an extensive coin-op video arcade, featuring over 100 arcade games. This area was converted to free operation at a point in early 2000, prior to the closure.

Sonic Live in Sydney

A 1½ hour live children's show hosted at the park, Sonic Live in Sydney, was set in an alternate timeline based around the Saturday morning Sonic animated series and the Sonic 3 video game. Doctor Robotnik's Death Egg crash-lands in Australia instead of Angel Island, causing the scientist to attempt a takeover of Sydney, which is foiled by Sonic, Tails, and Sally Acorn at the end of the show. A subplot of this show involved Tails being shown around Sydney's landmarks. There was a large amount of audience interaction in the show.

Most of the music (as well as sound effects) for the show was taken from Masato Nakamura's score on Sonic The Hedgehog 2, with three theme pieces; Sonic's "What Are We Waiting For", Dr. Robotnik's "Give Me Chaos" and "Thank You For Being You" sung by Sally Acorn. A recording without audience was made of the performance.

External links

• Archived copy of the Sega World Sydney website