Can 90’s Nostalgia Find Redemption in the Metaverse?

Will joining the Metaverse breathe new life into the Chuck-E-Cheese brand?

When writing this blog, I turned to a close friend and asked her if she had ever been to Chuck-E-Cheese growing up. Her response was “which 90’s kid hasn’t”; the problem with this statement is “90’s” and not “which kid hasn’t.” Chuck-E-Cheese has been around for over 44 years and has seen the highest of highs, and recently the lowest of lows.

As a child, I remember the commercials, the bright signs on their multiple locations, and the children’s birthday parties. In the 2000s, the brand was great at marketing itself, and it showed in children’s recognition of the brand. In 2000, a survey showed that, in children ages, 6–8, Chuck-E-Cheese, the mascot, ranked in the top 4% out of 671 characters in popularity. Today this isn’t the case; I recently asked my 12-year-old sister if she knew what Chuck-E-Cheese was — and she had no clue.

The brand had to close all of its locations in 2020 due to $1 billion in debt and the effect of Covid-19. On February 17th, 2022 the brand announced its plan to join the Metaverse. So, the question remains, is it beneficial for the brand to join the metaverse? The answer is yes. Chuck-E-Cheese suffered due to the brand not being able to modernize itself for the next generation, but by correctly using technology advancements, like the Metaverse, it can remain a nostalgic brand for those 1980s and 1990s kids.

A statistic shows that 43% of 18–34-year-olds, and 48% of 35–44-year-olds are interested in the Metaverse. This means that if the brand sticks to its sentimental past, it can attract these large numbers of adults. People like having items from the past, as a survey showed that 62% of survey takers have in the past purchased items that evoked nostalgia, and 63% say that ads using nostalgic imagery and storylines can be effective.

Due to people’s perceptions of the brand in the past, and its inability to evolve with the changing times, it failed as a brick-and-mortar storefront. But now with this new technology, Chuck-E-Cheese has the ability to be a virtual nostalgic safe haven for adults. So, this is not “Where A Kid Can Be A Kid” but, “Where An Adult Can Be A Kid”.