ShowBiz Pizza Place, often shortened to ShowBiz Pizza or ShowBiz, was an American family entertainment center and restaurant pizza chain founded in 1980 by Robert L. Brock and Creative Engineering, created and founded by Aaron Fechter. It emerged after a separation between Brock and owners of the Chuck E. Cheese franchise, Pizza Time Theatre. ShowBiz Pizza restaurants entertained guests through a large selection of arcade games, coin-operated rides and animatronic stage shows. The two companies became competitors and found early success, partly due to the rise in popularity of arcade games during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The type of animatronics used in the ShowBiz Pizza chain distinguished it from its rivals, which offered many of the same services. Following Pizza Time Theatre's bankruptcy in 1984, ShowBiz merged with the struggling franchise to settle a former court settlement mandate, forming ShowBiz Pizza Time. By 1992, all ShowBiz Pizza locations were rebranded as Chuck E. Cheese locations. History Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, responsible for creating the first widely recognized video game, Pong, headed a project in the mid-1970s for Atari to launch the first arcade-oriented, family restaurant with computer-programmed animatronics. At a time when arcades were popular in bowling alleys and bars, Bushnell sought to expose younger audiences to arcade games. In 1977, Atari opened the first Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre in San Jose, CA. The concept was an immediate success, and after leaving Atari in 1978, Bushnell purchased the Pizza Time restaurant, forming a new company, Pizza Time Theatre Inc. As Bushnell marketed the franchise, hoping to expand into new markets, the concept attracted high-profile clients such as Robert L. Brock, known for his extensive portfolio of Holiday Inn hotels. In 1979, Brock signed a multi-million-dollar franchising agreement with Pizza Time Theatre Inc., planning to open as many as 280 Chuck E. Cheese's locations across 16 states. Shortly thereafter, Brock noticed that companies such as Creative Engineering, Inc. (CEI) were designing more advanced animatronics, and was concerned that competitors would emerge with better technology. Bushnell had reassured Brock at the signing of the franchising agreement that the company's technology would continue to evolve. However, prior to the opening of his first location, Brock decided to void the agreement with Pizza Time and form a partnership with CEI. The first ShowBiz Pizza Place opened in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 3, 1980. The Brock Hotel Corporation owned 80%