Timezone (video arcades)

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Timezone
TypeSubsidiary
Founded1978; 44 years ago (1978)
Perth, Western Australia
FounderMalcolm Steinberg
Headquarters
Perth
,
Australia
ParentThe Entertainment and Education Group (TEEG)
Websitewww.timezonegames.com
Timezone Arcade Australia Old Logo
Old Timezone logo

Timezone is an international chain of family entertainment centres and amusement arcade centres based in Australia. It is owned and operated by The Entertainment and Education Group (TEEG). Outside of Australia, Timezone is currently operating in India, New Zealand, Singapore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.

History[]

The first Timezone arcade opened in 1978 in Perth, Western Australia, by Leisure & Allied Industries (now LAI Games). Timezone claims that it is the first family-oriented amusement centers of that time, and said that its family emphasis is the key focus of their brand.[1]

In 1995, Timezone started their ventures outside Australia.[1]

In December 2017, TEEG announced that they had purchased the bowling and entertainment division of Ardent Leisure in order to merge it with its Timezone entertainment business, forming a combined entertainment group encompassing Timezone, AMF, Kingpin and Playtime, one of the world’s largest family entertainment centre groups. TEEG operates in six countries with over 250 locations.[2] All AMF bowling centres in Australia were rebranded as Zone Bowling.[3] Centres in New Zealand were rebranded Xtreme Entertainment.[4] In November 2018, TEEG purchased all PLAYTIME venues and slowly rebranded them to Timezone with the last PLAYTIME converted to Timezone in June 2019.[5]

Powercard[]

Timezone Welcome Card
Timezone Welcome Powercard
Timezone Blue tier Card
Timezone Blue Powercard
Timezone Arcade Ticket Back and Front
Timezone arcade ticket, back and front

Timezone arcade system moved to a magnetic swipecard system known as the Timezone Powercard. This meant that customers, rather than having to carry many coins around, could simply deposit a larger amount of money (for example, $10) onto their Powercard account. In order to use an arcade machine, they simply had to swipe their card through a detector located on the machine, and the credit would be deduced from the card account. This system was supplied by Australian company Embed International. Tap-to-play cards are now currently available in the Singapore, Philippine and Vietnam franchises and are beginning to be rolled out across Australian franchises as of December 2018. In the Philippines however, the cards are hybrid tap-and-swipe as not all branches have tap card compatibility yet.

In 2004, paper tickets for ticket redemption arcade machines were replaced with electronic tickets automatically loading on the card. Eventually, tickets were now dispensing again instead of automatically loading on the card, prevalent in the India, Philippines and Singapore franchises. In the India and Philippines franchises, a rare golden ticket allows the player to earn an extra 1000 tickets.

As of 2005, Timezone Powerclub credit in Australia lasted one year from the date of credit and the cards could only be used at the original store of purchase.

As of 2008, after many Timezone stores closed, balances can be used at any venue regardless of where the credit was put on. However, in order to progress to the higher Powerclub levels, customers can only put credit on at the venue which issued the card, or in some franchises, Fun Points can be earned by loading a specific number to reach a certain threshold for upgrade. The exception to this is where the issuing venue has subsequently closed down and a new "home venue" has been selected.

Timezone Rewards[]

Timezone Rewards is Timezone's loyalty program which offers incentives and benefits according to membership tiers or levels. Qualifying criteria for each tier varies from country to county. The structure in Australia and Singapore is reflected as:

  • Welcome tier

The Timezone Welcome Powercard is the entry tier where members start accumulating reward credits and receiving benefits. The Powercard for this tier is red.

  • Blue Elite tier

The Blue Elite is the second tier, upgraded from a Welcome tier, issued when a set cumulative amount has been loaded onto a Powercard. This card offers discounts and extra benefits.

  • Gold tier

The Gold tier issued when a set cumulative amount is attained. The Gold tier offers a host of benefits such as bonus game credits, e-tickets, discounts and other exclusive offers.

  • Platinum tier

The Timezone Platinum tier is the highest level and most exclusive reward level. This tier offers VVIP pricing on game play and a lot more freebies such as free games everyday, complimentary drinks and more.

References[]

  1. ^ a b About Us. Timezone Australia website. Accessed 2015-04-08
  2. ^ "The Entertainment and Education Group Acquires Ardent's Bowling and Entertainment Division". Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  3. ^ "AMF is now Zone Bowling". Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  4. ^ "AMF Bowling is joining Xtreme Entertainment". www.amfbowling.co.nz. Archived from the original on 22 January 2019. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  5. ^ "Playtime changes to Timezone". Timezone Australia. Retrieved 17 September 2019.

External links[]

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