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| - Following the merger between Pizza Time Theatre and ShowBiz Pizza Place, the combined company maintained the two restaurant brands simultaneously for several years. Each continued its own stage shows and sold different merchandise. However, in the latter part of the decade, difficulties between Creative Engineering and ShowBiz began to arise. In 1988, Aaron Fechter, the founder of Creative Engineering and creator of the Rock-afire Explosion, stated that the fallout between his company and ShowBiz arose when ShowBiz asked him to sign away the licensing and copyrights to the Rock-afire Explosion, which would have allowed ShowBiz to cut production costs on the show, such as the manufacture of future shows and royalty payments to Creative Engineering. Fechter refused, both on the grounds that
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| abstract
| - Following the merger between Pizza Time Theatre and ShowBiz Pizza Place, the combined company maintained the two restaurant brands simultaneously for several years. Each continued its own stage shows and sold different merchandise. However, in the latter part of the decade, difficulties between Creative Engineering and ShowBiz began to arise. In 1988, Aaron Fechter, the founder of Creative Engineering and creator of the Rock-afire Explosion, stated that the fallout between his company and ShowBiz arose when ShowBiz asked him to sign away the licensing and copyrights to the Rock-afire Explosion, which would have allowed ShowBiz to cut production costs on the show, such as the manufacture of future shows and royalty payments to Creative Engineering. Fechter refused, both on the grounds that ShowBiz offered no monetary compensation for the rights, and because Fechter had hoped to franchise the Rock-afire Explosion out as a cartoon series. Due to the difficulties with Creative Engineering, which owned The Rock-afire Explosion, ShowBiz Pizza Time opted to replace The Rock-afire Explosion with a different stage show. To that end, ShowBiz test marketed the use of licensed characters, ultimately deciding to test Hanna-Barbera's Yogi Bear and Boo Boo at three ShowBiz locations for one year. The company ultimately decided to initiate a process called "Concept Unification", in which all ShowBiz Pizza locations would be remodeled into Chuck E. Cheese locations. The remodel included the elimination of all Rock-afire characters from merchandise and advertising, and the retrofitting of the Rock-afire animatronics into a new show called Munch's Make Believe Band, featuring the Pizza Time Players. Unused animatronics and props were either sold to other restaurants or destroyed. Concept Unification began in 1990 and occurred sporadically at ShowBiz locations for the next two years, with the final ShowBiz being converted in 1992. As Concept Unification began at each location, the right and center stages of the Rock-afire show were shut down, leaving only the Rolfe and Earl characters operational. During this period, the characters performed "The Rolfe and Earle Show", featuring the voices of ShowBiz employees imitating the characters. The two ran a highlights reel of old Rock-afire shows, and hinted at the coming Chuck E. Cheese themed show. "The Rolfe and Earle Show" was the final Rock-afire show produced for ShowBiz Pizza Place. After Concept Unification had been completed on the center and left stages, Rolfe became Chuck E. Cheese while Earl was removed altogether.
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