Metreon | Sony's Failed Mall of the Future
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- Опубліковано 12 вер 2024
- The Metreon was Sony's answer to the late-90s/early 2000s surge of "Urban Entertainment Centers", like Disney Quest, WWF New York, Universal CityWalk, as well as kid-themed arcade restaurants like Chuck E. Cheese's. With shops like the world's first Microsoft & PlayStation stores, attractions that took visitors to adventurous and futuristic lands, and an enormous IMAX movie theater, it's truly a shame this urban metropolis didn't live up to its potential. In this video, we take a look at Metreon, Sony's Failed Mall of the Future.
I remember spending so much time at the Playstation store, even waited in line at that mall to play Halo 3 before release in the IMAX theater. I waited in line from 9am-9pm, so of course I vividly remember how little homeless were around. It's so sad how the city has gotten worse in so many different ways.
Really miss the old metreon. I used to cut school and go to the PS store all the time.
This place does pack a lot of nostalgia, I definitely wish i'd been able to spend more time in there before Sony left. Thanks for watching!
Same here. It's the only place worth going crowded downtown.
I remember going here in 99-2000: I remember the arcade which always seemed empty. Saw Resident Evil 2 in the Sony Theater. Overall it was a fun place to go to.
I think the Metreon was 20 years too early. I can see a place like the Metreon becoming popular in a Post-Covid world, when people wish to gather en masse again.
I was in that PS2 launch line for the Playstation store in 2000. It was quite a contrast to the Apple product lines. Free food and drinks, including hot burritos, and with a pass neck-tag, you could leave the line for 30 minutes to use the bathroom - or - hit the bar in the mall. There were a lot of nerds from the line that took over that bar that day.
Sony should revive this concept. I could see not just an arcade, movie theater, a Sony store, and a PlayStation store, but I also see other retail tenants like Crunchyroll, Aniplex, Hershey's, Hasbro, and Jelly Belly. I could also see a play area based on the works of Dr. Seuss.
yeah in SF
@@Kristian179 Actually, I envision the concept's revival being in Dallas.
I was lucky to literally live 2 blocks away. I missed the old Metreon and seeing this video helped me remember things in my past I forgot about! Great video!!!
I wish I could’ve gone here in its prime. It always looked like a really cool place.
I didnt realize how much i needed this video in my life till now
Great video. Some good information I had forgotten about after all this time. But one detail not clarified here is that the Walk of Game was in the Metreon since day one. It was just a generic list of game character names and creators that someone had chosen to be on brass plaques while the Metreon was being built. 2004 was when the Metreon was getting desperate to make new attractions and events for people to show up to, and that's when the Walk of Game started adding in new inductees that weren't "Sony-centric" . It was good p.r. for the city to have celebrities showing up to watch Hideo Kojima get a name on a plaque. But even that kinda fizzled out quickly when Metreon realized it was more expensive to pay for his plane ticket, hotel, food, tour guide, and "event press" against what customers and their shopping habits brought in.
I think this might catch on in the algorithm once daytime hits or the algorithm is supremely broken, because this is too well made to sit at 6 views after an hour
i think parts of the metreon really tapped into the zeitgeist of the time but unfortunately it was more of a caricature than a genuine attempt to be at the cutting edge of the future. hard to say if something like this at scale could ever really be successful- even in a tech hub. regardless, it was a futuristic wonderland in my eyes and i had some really special times here with my dad as a kid playing hyperbowl and going to the discovery channel store. a far cry from the sf of today. thanks for making this video, it brought back some good memories
I remember the classic Metreon and even remember when slowly things started to change there. I remember being a kid and being so disappointed that the Wild Things play area was closed and replaced with a Titanic exhibit and then… nothing. The diaroma store, the PS Store, the comic book/action figure store Things From Another World. So many memories
I miss going to Sony Metreon, especially the Playstation store. Now it's a Target, etc.
Keep up this quality in your vids and you'll be gaining millions of views soon.
I had gone there in 99-2001 a few times. Bought my PS2 there. The place had an awesome atmosphere. They had decent food too especially the Japanese place. I certainly enjoyed the time I spent there but in retrospect I can understand how they lost money as nobody ever thought of going to the Metreon for big purchases.
Amazing work, can't believe you have so few views!
I and my friends came around the time of the opening, from the East Bay by BART to Market St SF. We got there in the evening. I don't think we ate dinner there but we saw all the shops (my favs were the PS store and Sony Music, checked out the minidisc players). And then played Hyperbowl for some good time. I got some chrome futuristic googles at the Hyperbowl store.
We went back several times. On another visit during the daytime, band Travis played a free mini concert in the gardens next to the mall.
I guess the novelty wore off to most people, but it spoke to us.
The Metreon was great. Used to go here after high school all the time. I think 2 things killed it. #1 they never updated anything and there was nothing new to see except a movie. They needed to update the video games, and the kids attractions quarterly or half yearly. I'm sure this was Sony's initial plan and then they saw how much hard work it was. The other issue was Sony and physical media were losing to Apple and they had to pivot.
Wow the memories. I remember always going to the sony store to play on them playstaions cuz my family was broke and we didnt have our own console/pc at the time. Also that bowling game at the arcade. Good times
this rules, thanks so much for making this. Was looking for some info on metreon earlier this year, really glad you put this together and it is well done!
awesome video bro! i really like sony tech so this place would be a Disney land for me 😅
Where the wild things are was the place I went all the time as a kid the last time I was there was in January 2005 right before they closed and it was a shock to hear they closed literally a few months later. From this day I still miss it with all my heart and I don’t think I ever will get the closure from that place because I still miss it very much.
This was a really cool concept! I remember it being kinda mind blowing as a kid.
I used to visit there often as a kid in 99-01’ saw a handful of movies there. Good times especially at the PlayStation store. This brought feelings of nostalgia.
luna azul was the goat, where the wild things are, bought a 12 innch vaio from the sony store there, saw eight legged freaks, the hulk, eternal sunshine among many otheres there
I remember going as a kid miss it unfortunately i really only remember the final years it being mostly empty but the ps store
With the retail apocalypse and shift to E-Commerce.. The Metreon concept would work today..A mall as an entertainment and shopping destination
i cannot believe omg i went there, i loved this place, i remember playing bloody roar there, disgaea there, and final fantasy tactics there, omfg, that was so much fun, i wish it was still around, they where the most giving company but they didnt overcharge, i miss this place!
How did I just find this account? You should post more man
I’ve been there before back in 2001. It was a cool place in San Francisco. It’s a pity that didn’t last long
Your videos slap hard, keep it up
Never thought someone would do a vid on this place. Good job man!
thank you!
I loved coming here after a movie. Metreon was amazing early 2000s. I hope they try this again it was early for it's time
I used to work there as a loss prevention officer. It was a good time.
This is where I first played DDR.
By all accounts, this guy is accurate and correct. Forgetting about the Bandai store as well as how the park area is somehow still standing, he's practically mentioned all the stores worth going to and that were fondly remembered. I believe if they went back to the drawing board as well as reworked some stuff like the video game walk of fame idea they had and rework something similar to the PlayStation store it could get older fans to come back and younger guys to keep coming back. But as of now with all of it's charm taken away, it's just another mall. Something Sony didn't want it to be called. It's a shame nobody talks about the Metreon because it's so engrained in pop culture that the PS2 game Rise to Honor even had a stage revolving around the inside for ta short time.
lov the vids brother keep it up
Ey man where the new videos at?
Awesome vid. The metreon, its development, and lifespan are total blind spots in my Bay Area history knowledge. ‘95 baby, here.
God I had so many good memories of the Metreon
I miss going there
It was a beautiful place.
Chasing discounts was what killed Metreon
Amazon….
metreon was peak GIGACHAD
I bought all my systems here
Its such a shame it didn't do well, especially since it was such a unique concept
It's No one's fault.It's stupid old fate ruining everything for everyone.
Nice video
When will you post the next video?
Recent history is so poorly documented.
So since they removed the Playstation store that means i must've went there sometime in 2008 i guess i was in elementary school but besides that my dad took my mom my brother and i to the Playstation store and there was this car game like twisted metal it was fun i dont know what we did after that all i know is that we seen watchmen when it came out in 2009 so if the store was still open i guess i made it just in time ill never forget my experience
A failed mall. You should have seen the Sony management at the time. All a bunch of bozos
I had $ex in that movie theater🎭
More than any other place in California, THIS was the embodiment of Y2K-DotCom culture. I was there when it opened and was sad to see it go.