Popular Post The Professor Posted February 6, 2015 Popular Post Report Share Posted February 6, 2015 We updated the Atari Arcade page this week more detail on the history of Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater, including this GREAT video of Nolan Bushnell at Google, telling the fascinating story behind ShowBiz Pizza and the Chuck E. Cheese concept. More here: http://www.atari.io/atari/atari-arcade-games/#cec http://youtu.be/Dq_V0Vh2tN4 StormSurge, 1Littlebeast, Zontar and 5 others 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 Wow pretty hard hitting. Nolan just drove an airplane through the hornet's nest that is the Cult of Showbiz. I'm surprised they aren't in here commenting with "Nolan is a liar" crowd. They are legion. Zontar and DegasElite 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Professor Posted February 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 Really? The story is interesting but I didn't realize there was that much fevor over this. Nolan kinda skirts the bankruptcy issue at the end (including putting so much PTT money into Sente that it hurt the company) but the Robert Brock story is factual. DegasElite and Yo-Yo 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yo-Yo Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 @Professor, yeah.. I'm just sayin there's a really dedicated group of fans who still love Rock-afire Explosion and they'll gang up on you if you're a Chuck E. Cheese fan. Seriously. I've never felt more hate or vitriol come from a fanbase like that in my life until they tore me down. I can see them reacting to this video in negative ways. I'd like to think the gorilla and the rat can just get along! DegasElite 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECWestCoast Posted February 7, 2015 Report Share Posted February 7, 2015 This story is really interesting. DegasElite, Arenafoot and Justin 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndoe590 Posted March 4, 2015 Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 both resturants are ok but i rather go to show biz - I like the theming alittle better - but didnt know why they went out. always wondered . Is the video true or does any one have a better story? Im just wondering DegasElite and Arenafoot 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Professor Posted March 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2015 There are other versions of the story and Nolan skips past the part about him hemorrhaging CEC/PTT money into creating Sente, but Robert Brock being the largest CEC/PTT franchisee, going through the whole franchise process and then going AWOL at the last minute is absolutely true. Not just per Nolan's story, but Gene Landrum's as well as the courts. DegasElite, Yo-Yo and Arenafoot 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoAtari Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 Wow, had no idea that was the case, I was just a snotty nose kid who loved show biz and was absolutely gutted when chuck e cheese took over the scene when I was living in St. Louis. But kids don't get whet business is all about. I have to say that today's Chuck e cheese is not as cool as it was back then. The ball pit, where you hang out when your out of tokens and try to find tokens that someone else lost in there. GervGirl, Yo-Yo, StormSurge and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arenafoot Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 Wow, had no idea that was the case, I was just a snotty nose kid who loved show biz and was absolutely gutted when chuck e cheese took over the scene when I was living in St. Louis. But kids don't get whet business is all about. I have to say that today's Chuck e cheese is not as cool as it was back then. The ball pit, where you hang out when your out of tokens and try to find tokens that someone else lost in there. I agree! In New Orleans, we had a couple of Pizza Time Theatres, but alot more Showbiz Pizza Place's. Of course, everyone favored SPP over PTT, as the PTT locations closed and it left us with only SPP's, but by 1989 the two brands merged together anyway. The SPP in Algiers (West Bank New Orleans) that I went to all the time in the 80's, is still open today as a CEC! AlamoAtari and DegasElite 2 Quote Brian Matherne - owner/curator of "The MOST comprehensive list of Atari VCS/2600 homebrews ever compiled." http://tiny.cc/Atari2600Homebrew author of "The Atari 2600 Homebrew Companion" book series available on Amazon! www.amazon.com/author/brianmatherne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrickglovescec Posted February 27, 2016 Report Share Posted February 27, 2016 I've seen this video and I Think it's really interesting. The Brock story is totally true. In the merger, ShowBiz bought PTT, Inc. PTT Would have died if they didn't. Nolan's company never really survived. The Chuck E. Cheese name you see today is ShowBiz Pizza. The crash of '83 didn't really help either. He also fails to mention that Showbiz didn't actually own the Rock-afire so there was no way to keep them without buying the rights, to which the owner still keeps to this day, but they now owned the Chuck E. characters so they were kinda forced to use them. In many people's eyes Showbiz was the more teenage and better place, and I Do think they did the right thing..Nolan should be happy about them since they kept his company alive. *shrugs* Justin, Arenafoot, The Professor and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted March 14, 2017 Report Share Posted March 14, 2017 I see a few comments about how Nolan was wasting money on creating Sente. Sente was a company originally called Videa which Nolan simply bought. See my interviews with former Videa/Sente designers Howard Delman, Lee Actor, and Roger Hector for more info: http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/interviews/interviews.html What Nolan was really hemorrhaging money on was Axlon, and it was something that ultimately cost him everything, including his home. DegasElite 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GervGirl Posted April 12, 2017 Report Share Posted April 12, 2017 I lived in Texas as a young child and we had Show Biz and Chuck E Cheese. We always went to Show Biz, it was so much cooler! I still to this day can vividly remember how it looked and the felling I had being there! When I was 9 we moved to NJ which had no Show Biz, only Chuck E Cheese. It was not long after that Show Biz was bought and then crushed. I still have a Show Biz watch I got as a prize, the only thing I have left of those great childhood memories. DegasElite and Arenafoot 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arenafoot Posted April 14, 2017 Report Share Posted April 14, 2017 I still have a Show Biz watch I got as a prize, the only thing I have left of those great childhood memories. Here's what I have left from Showbiz Pizza Place in my collection (along with a bag of SPP tokens)............. GervGirl and DegasElite 2 Quote Brian Matherne - owner/curator of "The MOST comprehensive list of Atari VCS/2600 homebrews ever compiled." http://tiny.cc/Atari2600Homebrew author of "The Atari 2600 Homebrew Companion" book series available on Amazon! www.amazon.com/author/brianmatherne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Stilphen Posted February 19, 2019 Report Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) On 2/6/2015 at 6:13 PM, The Professor said: We updated the Atari Arcade page this week more detail on the history of Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theater, including this GREAT video of Nolan Bushnell at Google, telling the fascinating story behind ShowBiz Pizza and the Chuck E. Cheese concept. More here: http://www.atari.io/atari/atari-arcade-games/#cec http://youtu.be/Dq_V0Vh2tN4 FYI The video and account have been removed. There's a picture of the original "coyote" costume in my interview with Jerry Donaldson: http://www.ataricompendium.com/archives/interviews/jerry_donaldson/interview_jerry_donaldson.html Edited February 19, 2019 by Scott Stilphen DegasElite 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin Posted February 19, 2019 Report Share Posted February 19, 2019 1 hour ago, Scott Stilphen said: FYI The video and account have been removed. YouTube killed my entire account in 2017. No warnings no strikes. DegasElite 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nosweargamer Posted February 20, 2019 Report Share Posted February 20, 2019 On 2/19/2019 at 11:52 AM, Justin said: YouTube killed my entire account in 2017. No warnings no strikes. That's the main downside about some of the big sites including facebook and Youtube: It's near impossible to talk to a real person when you have problems or questions. At least when I have an ebay issue, I can call a real person. MistaMaddog and DegasElite 2 Quote The No Swear Gamer on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChtJuo040EOCTVziObIgVcg Host of The Atari 7800 Game by Game Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and YouTube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thecaptain72 Posted December 9, 2023 Report Share Posted December 9, 2023 Loved this place as a kid! Justin and DegasElite 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.