Round One Corporation

"Round One" and "Round1" redirect here. For the album by Roy Jones Jr., see Round One: The Album. For other uses, see Round 1.
Round One Corporation
Native name
ラウンドワン
Company typePublic
TYO: 4680
FounderMasahiko Sugino
Headquarters
Sakai-ku, Sakai City, Osaka
,
Japan[1]
Number of locations
161 (2023)
Area served
  • Japan
  • United States
  • China
SubsidiariesRound One Entertainment Inc.
Websiteround1.co.jp
round1usa.com

Round One Corporation (Japanese: ラウンドワン, Hepburn: Raundo Wan),[2] stylized as ROUND1, is a Japan-based amusement store chain. In Japan, the amusement centers offer bowling alleys, arcade games, karaoke, and billiards. Select larger locations also include SpoCha, which is an abbreviation for “Sports Challenge”, which offers a variety of items and indoor activities such as batting cages, basketball, volleyball, tennis, futsal, driving range, etc.[3] Round One Entertainment Inc. is an American subsidiary of Round One Corporation. The amusement centers in the U.S. offer a variety of bowling, karaoke, video game arcade cabinets and redemption games, billiards, darts, and ping pong while serving a variety of food and beverages.[4]

History

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On December 25, 1980, the owner, Masahiko Sugino, founded a company called Sugino Kosan that featured a roller skate facility with arcade games. A few years later, the facility expanded to include a bowling alley which became very popular. This company later became the first Round One arcade in 1993. Since then, the company quickly expanded all across Japan.

Before 2010, the company first attempted to expand to the United States, when the company established Round One U.S.A. Corp, but after not finding a good location for their first overseas location, this subsidiary closed down in July 2006, the subsidiary was relaunched in 2008 as Round One Entertainment Inc., and successfully opened up a Round One-branded location at Puente Hills Mall in City of Industry, California in 2010.

In Japan, there are currently 107 stores open.

In the U.S., there are currently stores open in 27 states. More locations are planned to open in Indiana, and South Carolina.[5][6] As of 2019, Round 1 plans to expand at a rate of 10 stores per year.[7][1][8][9]

The brand also plans to open stores in the Asia-Pacific region. There is currently a location open in China, and a former location in Russia, which was divested in 2022.[10]

Arcade games

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Entrance to Round One at Maine Mall

In addition to American arcade games, Round One locations in the United States offer many exclusive Japanese arcade games, which is something that other arcades rarely or cannot offer. These include beatmania IIDX 31: Epolis, Dance Dance Revolution World, Sound Voltex EXCEED GEAR, Groove Coaster, Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 5 (addressed as Maximum Tune 5 for its American release; currently released as its updated form Maximum Tune 5DX+), and Initial D Arcade Stage 8. They also exclusively offer the special 20th anniversary golden cabinet for Dance Dance Revolution World.[11] Round One and Dave & Buster's are the only two entertainment centers in the United States that have e-AMUSEMENT, an online service integrated into some Konami arcade games.

Round One also offers UFO catchers, a popular type of claw machine in Japan.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "【ラウンドワン】ご指定のページは見つかりませんでした。". www.round1.co.jp.
  2. ^ "Company info".
  3. ^ "【ラウンドワン】スポッチャ". www.round1.co.jp. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
  4. ^ "Round One Entertainment Inc. | Round1 Is A State-of-the-art Entertainment Company Offering Fun The Whole Family Can Enjoy". www.round1usa.com.
  5. ^ "【ラウンドワン】出店計画". www.round1.co.jp. Retrieved 2016-09-22.
  6. ^ "ROUND1 Real Estate Information". www.round1usa.com. Retrieved 2018-08-10.
  7. ^ "Round One Entertainment Inc. | Round1 Is A State-of-the-art Entertainment Company Offering Fun The Whole Family Can Enjoy". www.round1usa.com.
  8. ^ "Inside Michigan's first Round 1 Bowling and Amusement at Great Lakes Crossing - The Oakland Press Media Center".
  9. ^ "Bowling alley, karaoke, and arcade coming to Northwoods Mall". WCSC. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-06.
  10. ^ Richardson, Paul (11 May 2020). "ROUND 1 Upcoming Locations Report". bemanistyle. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
  11. ^ "ARCADE GAMES".
  12. ^ "Revisiting Round1 and the endless selection of crane games and new Japanese menu". Wichita By E.B. March 3, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.
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