New Reports Have Everyone Fired Up For A Sega World Return

In the glory days of Darling Harbour, Sydney was a mecca for young children. Not only could you ride on pedal-powered boats in the harbour, you could also hop on water-spouting bikes outside Maccas, climb through a Paddle Pop playground or visit the massive IMAX theatre to watch the latest nature documentary. But the standout feature by far was Sega World Sydney, a towering glass monolith that housed a Sonic-filled theme park.

Inside was a playground of wonder, stacked with unique rides like motion simulators and plenty of activities for young, bright-eyed kids. While the dream of Sega World Sydney didn’t last long (and neither did the fun of Darling Harbour), Sega World had a lasting magic on the people that visited.

Now, according to a new video from YouTuber Badnik Mechanic, that magic may be coming back.

In the video posted to YouTube, Badnik details reports from CA Technology Group and news site The Standard that indicate Sega is interested in expanding its existing theme parks “in different places all over the world”. The Standard report, which is translated from Thai, states CA Sega Joypolis (the subsidiary responsible for Sega-branded amusement parks) has “plans to expand to Europe, America and Australia”.

No planned date is given and there’s no indication of where in Australia the theme park could open, but it’s still a very exciting idea. Sega has a long and storied history with theme parks, even in Australia, and in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic people are looking to embrace more fun, outdoorsy activities. While Sega has slipped from mainstream popularity since Sega World opened in the late 1990s, there’s still plenty of people that would love to see a new iteration of the park.

We don’t know exactly what a new Sega World would entail, and the reports don’t indicate plans are in active development, but that doesn’t mean we can’t dream.

You can check out the entire video and Badnik’s findings below:

Like many, I only got to visit Sega World once, but the memories I have are very vivid.

While a revival of the theme park likely won’t recapture those fun, carefree days (or include rides like the AS-1 motion simulator featuring Michael Jackson in Scramble Training), there’s certainly still a market for fun, gimmicky theme parks.

There’ll certainly be interest if these plans end up coming closer to reality. Sega World deserves that second shot at glory.