What does Chuck E Cheese do with there old games?

Umortal377

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Anyone know? Was just curious if they sell them locally, or if they have a vendor or something they deal with.
 
I just talked with Wade about this yesterday. He has asked them about it, and it sounds in line with what the local Mall arcade manager told me about their system.

Corporate controls all the games - local stores have no say-so. Occasionally, corporate will send someone in to pick up old games, and they will go to auction somewhere.
 
Frizz, I heard the same thing about destroying the games, but I don't have any proof. Interestingly, I've never bought a game that had any indication that it was on location at a Chuck E Cheese. (No stickers, residual tokens, etc to indicate it as an origin.)
 
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Interestingly, I've never bought a game that had any indication that it was on location at a Chuck E Cheese. (No stickers, residual tokens, etc to indicate it as an origin.)

Well, except for the chuck-e-cheese custom stuff (the ride-on car where it takes your picture with ChuckE, for instance), I don't think there are any stickers normally put on their games. At least I've never seen anything in the local Chuck-E-Cheese (my kids love the place).

With a corporate process like that, I imagine that they have a procedure involving emptying the coin box and the ticket dispenser before the game goes out the door. They probably have the same truck that brings in a new game take the old ones away, and either the local staff would empty it, or the guys who move them around would do so.

Other than the fact that they'd be setup for ticket dispensers (and they might have taken that out before selling the game off), I'm not sure that there would be any way for you to know that it came from the rat's palace.
 
Frizz, I heard the same thing about destroying the games, but I don't have any proof. Interestingly, I've never bought a game that had any indication that it was on location at a Chuck E Cheese. (No stickers, residual tokens, etc to indicate it as an origin.)

I know one guy locally who has an older skeeball from chuck e cheese. Even has the name on the top with the image of the mouse as well.

Was just wondering if there was somewhere you could look them up like with Namco and buy them
 
chucky crushes them(or at least used to). Many years ago I got a call that they were crushing some games. I was told they had to get destroyed and put in the dumpster. I was told after it was in the dumpster, they would not care if if some parts were pulled out. I pulled out the monitor, boardset and controls to galaxy force.

I am sure a few things get "lost" or avoid getting crushed if you have an in with the manager.
 
They use to destory them (poor Moppets). I was told by a friend who works for CEC that they have a big warehouse full of games in the Dallas area but he couldn't even get in to look around or purchase anything. I have seen some stuff at Super Auctions that I think was from CEC and a couple of my Moppets the guy said he got them at a CEC auction. This was Gene from Vintage Arcade Super Auction.

I think CEC didn't want them to go to the competion that's why they destoryed them. I have heard of some places taking off the coin doors and putting a piece of wood and setting the game to free play before they sell them.
 
Anyone know? Was just curious if they sell them locally, or if they have a vendor or something they deal with.

Maybe Josh Brown will post something here. He works at one here in Michigan, supervisor I think, and he can say what they do with them.

In case he doesn't, I understand that he said that they smash them up and toss them in the dumpster.

-Tim
 
I do know a Dinoscore got torn apart and thrown away at one CEC. The guy who use to work there with my friend said he loved tearing it apart as it was a pain to work on.
 
The CEC by where I work, was getting new games one day, and they had the dumpster outside for the old games getting replaced. I remeber driving past and watching them load the dumpster, and seeing the tops of all the games lined up for thier death. And no one was allowed to even look in the dumpster. They had someone who stayed with the dumpster, day and night until it was gone.
 
Frizz, I heard the same thing about destroying the games, but I don't have any proof. Interestingly, I've never bought a game that had any indication that it was on location at a Chuck E Cheese. (No stickers, residual tokens, etc to indicate it as an origin.)

I have a Ms. Pac-man from a Chuck E. Cheese in Sunnyvale, CA.

(flash washed out half of it but...)

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..
 
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I have an arcade game from Chuck E cheese it had losts of tokens in the bottom and a little metal plate that said Chuck e cheese on it.Only problem I cant remember which game it is in my gameroom.Ha Ha Ha
 
I know the guy who was the lead tech for the CEC's here in the St.Louis area. I bought a stack of laser discs off of him some years back. Anyway, he said they had to smash the cabinets and take a picture of the smashed game to send back to corporate to be filed. Sometimes (against company policy) he would grab some parts to stock in his shop for repairs. He told me he had a shelf of vectors and one day a corporate tech manager came in and saw them. While he was out the manager had them all thrown in the dumpster. The techs are not allowed to stock large parts!

The reasons given for them being smashed were:

Un-officially - They didn't want the games going to the competition.

Officially - CEC depreciated the games like any other equipment in any other company. Once the games were no longer "profitable", it was easier and more financially responsible to destroy them to complete the depreciation process and off-set earnings for tax purposes.


Like any other big ticket item, some parts and complete machines have made it to the secondary market by hook or crook...
 
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