Concept Division (Johnsonverse)
Concept Division was a process by ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc., occurring in all Chuck E. Cheese's locations. It was first introduced in 2015 as part of Johnson Industries' overhaul to the brand, and the goal of the project was to change many CEC locations to ShowBiz Pizza Place locations and revive The Rock-afire Explosion, including changing all 3-Stage Munch's Make-Believe Band animatronics back to Rock-afire Explosion animatronics, along with removing all Studio C and Circles of Light stages, and the introduction of a new stage called Rockstar Stage.
The process was completed on January 29, 2018, when the final Studio C stage at the location in Serene, Lousiana was decommissioned and replaced with a 3-Stage Rock-afire Explosion show.
History
When Johnson Industries acquired CEC Entertainment, Inc. in February 2014, many of CEC's animatronic shows were shut down for what was initially called "refurbishment"; a sign was placed in front of the curtains notifying customers of this. On December 28, it was announced that Johnson would revive ShowBiz Pizza Place and The Rock-afire Explosion. Later that day, the Rock-afire Explosion's creator, Aaron Fechter, revealed on his YouTube channel (therockafire, later The Rock-afire Explosion) that he and his company, Creative Engineering, would be involved in the chain's revival, and began hiring other employees, including many people who had worked at CEI, to help him with his task; Fechter had retained a handful of employees during CEI's downsizing to help him with the successful Looney Bird's Lab program, though more people were hired to assist with Johnson's AnimeTronic technology.
53 Chuck E. Cheese's locations were converted into ShowBiz Pizza Place locations throughout the summer of 2015. On August 20, the first revived ShowBiz location opened in San Jose, California, having been a CEC flagship location for many years. Throughout 2016 and 2017, more CEC locations were converted to ShowBiz, with the stated goal of having at least one of each brand in each major city to provide options. The direction of the revived ShowBiz is aimed towards teens and adults, while CEC is geared towards kids and families; this was reflected in their respective slogans (ShowBiz revived the slogan "Come for the Pizza, Stay for the Fun", while CEC retained "Where a Kid Can Be a Kid", which both chains used in the mid-1980s).
The last Circles of Light location in Tacoma Park, Maryland was converted into a Rockstar Stage on June 16, 2017, with one being kept in the ShowBiz Pizza Time Museum (along with one of each Studio C setup and a replica 3-Stage) at Irving, Texas, and the last 3-Stage to finish its conversion back into a Rock-afire Explosion was in Peoria, Illinois; it was finished on November 29, 2017. The last Studio C stage (a Studio C Beta in Serene, Louisiana) was removed on January 29, 2028 as part of the location's conversion into a 3-Stage (and by extension, a ShowBiz Pizza Place).
Changes
ShowBiz Pizza Place
The new ShowBiz Pizza Place locations feature newly-redesigned interiors and exteriors inspired by the ShowBiz locations of the 1980s. They also feature a wall between the show room and the game room to get the lighting right for the shows. Larger locations feature a dance floor in which costumed characters perform with guests.
All ShowBiz locations use the 3-Stage setup; many of them had served as Chuck E. Cheese's locations for years prior to the Concept Division remodeling, and were converted back into ShowBiz locations. Japanese States locations feature Ho-kago Tea Time from the K-On! franchise in lieu of the Rock-afire Explosion.
Dining room character descriptions
- Billy Bob Brockali - The banjo player and MC. Billy Bob is a sweet-natured country bear from Tennessee who leads the band with an eternally positive outlook. He runs Smitty's Super Service Station, in which he makes Gasahol, and loves playing his old banjo.
- Looney Bird - The falsetto vocalist. Looney is a technology-loving bird who contributes his falsetto voice to the band. His dream is to create a computer language kids can understand.
- Rolfe DeWolfe and Earl Schmerle - The ventriloquist act. Rolfe is both a greedy, untalented and clueless jerk and a total geek, while Earl is his straight man who takes advantage of his behavior. Basically, this is the only ventriloquist act in which the puppeteer is controlled by the puppet.
- Fatz Geronimo - The keyboardist. Fatz is a Southern-fried pianist from the bayou with a deep bass voice and the bravado to match. At a trim 850 pounds, Fatz adds his down-home humor and charismatic personality to the mix.
- Dook LaRue - The drummer. Not known for his wit, Dook more than makes up for his lack of smarts with his mad drumming skills and a voice of gold.
- Mitzi Mozzarella Jr. - The female vocalist. Mitzi Jr. is a second-generation cheerleader and singer who inherited her mother's name and immense talent. She also withstands the constant teasing from the rest of the band, as her mother did years ago.
- Beach Bear - The guitarist. Beach Bear is cool, carefree and laid-back, with a huge penchant for snark. His guitar-playing is unrivaled by even the best musicians.
- Uncle Klunk - The backup singer. A complete abomination, Klunk is a bizarre and goofy person, but a pretty decent backup singer.
Dining room character descriptions (Japanese Isles)
The descriptions for Billy Bob, Looney Bird, and Rolfe and Earl are the same as in the Mainland US locations.
- Yui Hirasawa - The lead guitarist. Yui may be airheaded and have trouble focusing, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a nicer person, or a better guitarist who can play circles around Slash.
- Mio Akiyama - The bass guitarist. Don't let her looks fool you, Mio is actually very shy and a bit cowardly, but she'll play and sing with all her heart.
- Ritsu Tainaka - The drummer. Founder of Ho-kago Tea Time, Ritsu is the de facto leader of the band, even if she's shoved all the way to the right of Center Stage on drums.
- Mugi Kotobuki - Keyboardist and MC. Rich in money and kindness, Mugi not only plays keyboard, but she's also a shrewd businesswoman who runs the bakery at all ShowBiz locations in the Japanese Isles.
- Azusa Nakano - Rhythm guitarist and the Pete Best of Ho-kago Tea Time. After graduating from college, Azusa was contacted by ShowBiz corporate to rejoin her friends following the Magic Night incident.
- Ui Hirasawa and Earl Schmerle - Fed up with Rolfe following the Magic Night incident, Earl found a new partner in Yui's more mature younger sister, who can also play rhythm guitar.
Chuck E. Cheese's
Remodels for Chuck E. Cheese's locations feature newly-redesigned exteriors and interiors (occasionally being expanded as well), with new decorations designed to "take guests to Chuck E.'s world" such as a redesigned play area, dining room, and ball pit, along with a new app that allows users to select their instrument of choice (lead guitar, microphone, bass guitar, keyboard, drums, and turntable) and play along in a Guitar Hero-style game.
There is also a new stage known as the "Rockstar Stage", which serves as a replacement for Studio C and Circles of Light, featuring new animatronics designed by Garner Holt Productions and Creative Engineering; said animatronics feature modernized versions of the pre-2012 appearances for Chuck E. and the other members of Munch's Make-Believe Band, along with additional LED lighting effects. The right side features Chuck E., while the left side features a rotation of guest characters as in the early years of the chain. Pizza Time Players characters such as Madame Oink and Harmony Howlette were also reintroduced as rotating guest stars on Stage Right alongside new characters, and Crusty the Cat was made a permanent member of Munch's Make-Believe Band as their DJ and manager; Jaret Reddick (who had voiced Chuck E. since 2012) was reassigned to the role of Crusty, and Duncan Brannan (his previous voice actor from 1993-2012) was brought back to reprise his role. In addition, the Warblettes (who were redesigned slightly to appear as parodies of the Dream Girls, Beyoncé, and Queen Latifah, and especially flapper girls of the 1920s), Bird (Chuck E.'s pet parrot in the Studio C stage), and the Singing Flowers were reintroduced.
A sports lounge-style room in which families can watch sports together was added, along with a new play area connecting to the showroom called "Backstage CEC", which acts as a modernized and expanded version of the original Studio C concept. The Cabaret Room was also brought back with characters such as the King, Artie Antlers and Sally Sashay returning along with additional new characters, while a new section, Pasqually's Pizza & Wings, was added as a adult section, with complimentary wi-fi and adult appetizers for those with a more mature palate.
Finally, watches called "Chuck E. Watches" were introduced. Children and their parents or guardians are given one each, with parents using the watches to remind children when their order is ready, or when it's time to leave. They also act as safety bands, each containing a sensor that sounds an alarm if the child wearing it tries to leave the premises. Tickets are now digital and shown on the face of the watch; while the Ticket Blaster and Ticket Muncher remain, the tickets can be transferred into the watch.
Dining room character descriptions
- Chuck E. Cheese - The lead guitarist and MC. Everybody's favorite musical mouse loves pizza, birthday parties, video games, and playing guitar with his best friends in Munch's Make-Believe Band!
- Crusty the Cat - The manager, DJ and Chuck E.'s sidekick. Crusty is known for his wit and no-nonsense attitude, but is a big softie in heart (just please don't bring it up within earshot). He's also very rich, but not as rich as Mugi.
- Helen Henny - The female vocalist. Helen's one chick you should not underestimate. She's a world-famous video game champion and the dynamic lead singer for the best band in the land.
- Mr. Munch - The keyboardist and band frontman. Mr. Munch is out of this world! No really, he was born on Planet Purple. He came to Earth in search of two things-delicious pizza, and musicians who could appreciate his cosmic keyboard stylings!
- Jasper T. Jowls - The bass guitarist. Jasper's love for country music inspired him to learn every instrument he could get his hands on, especially the bass guitar his beloved "grand-paw" played.
- Pasqually P. Pieplate - The drummer. When Pasqually's not busy making delicious handmade pizza the old-fashioned way or bombing at the comedy club worse than Rolfe ever could, he's laying down tasty grooves for the band!
Gallery
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Aaron Fechter examining a soon-to-be-installed Bashy Bug machine at the location on 3146 Sports Arena Blvd in San Diego, California on March 30, 2017, during its conversion into a ShowBiz Pizza Place.
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Concept art for the Chuck E. Watches.
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Concept art for the Chuck E. Cheese Play-Along app.
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Concept art for a Phase 6 Chuck E. Cheese entrance.
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Concept art for Phase 6 Chuck E. Cheese dining tables.
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Concept art for a Phase 6 Chuck E. Cheese play area.
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Concept art for a Phase 6 Chuck E. Cheese ball pit.
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The original "Pasqually's Italian Bistro" website in July 2014; it was renamed to Pasqually's Pizza & Wings in November.
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Concept for a Pasqually's menu.
