TOKYO - Japanese game company Sega said on Thursday it will help build a massive game arcade in Dubai in an under-construction shopping mall which purports to be the largest in the world once it opens.
Sega, a unit of the Sega Sammy group, said it had signed an agreement with Emaar Malls Group LLC of the United Arab Emirates to build the two-floor arcade inside the Dubai Mall later this year.
Under the license agreement, Sega will offer development and management know-how to Emaar Malls Group, which will build and operate the facility.
The arcade will occupy some 7,000 square metres (75,350 square feet) of the shopping mall, Sega said.
Sega became a household name with popular arcade games such as ”UFO Catchers” and in 1998 won a fan base with its Dreamcast machine. But it stopped producing the Dreamcast in 2001 under fierce competition from Sony and Nintendo.
Sega in a statement said it hoped the Dubai deal would open up new opportunities as Emaar Malls plans eventually to build more shopping malls in the Middle East, India and other emerging markets.