After over 25 years, Namco Funscape in London has closed down.
August 12 was the last functioning day for the arcade. According to ArcadeHeroes.com, Namco Funscape was forced to shut shop due to the redevelopment of part of County Hall.
The arcade left a short message on its Facebook page. “After 25 years, London's leading family and corporate entertainment venue, within the iconic County Hall building has closed,” it said. “We're heartbroken to have closed our landmark site that has been entertaining families, friends, and corporate groups from all over the world for 25 years. We look forward to seeing you at another NAMCO venue soon and thank you for amazing memories!”
The comments section was filled with patrons expressing their sadness as the iconic arcade shut its doors after nearly quarter of a century. The ongoing Covid 19 pandemic has caused a number of businesses all over the world to shut shop, but that was not the case with the arcade; as pointed out above, Namco Funscape had to close down due to redevelopment.
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In other arcade related news, Sega is being sued over rigged Key Master arcade games. The lawsuit, filed by Marcelo Muto, is seeking out $5 million in damages from Sega, that will be divided between those who have reportedly been cheated by the machines. “Nowhere on the Key Master Machine do Defendants inform consumers of the truth: that the machines are rigged so that players can only win prizes at certain times,” Muto says in their lawsuit.
The Key Master machines are similar to claw machines found at various arcades. The aim is to move a key and align it perfectly with your desired prize. It requires precision, as even a centimeter difference will result in failure.
The lawsuit claims that Key Master's default setting allows for one win in every 700 turns. A setting on the machine allows for the odds to be increased or decreased as per the owner or arcade’s discretion. In fact, the distributors of the Key Master machines, Betson Coin-Op, settled a lawsuit for $1 million in 2019. It was accused of adjusting the machines to only payout once in every 2200 turns.
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