Difference between revisions of "Sega"

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'''Sega''' (セガ) is an international digital entertainment and media company currently headquartered in Ota, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in the mid-1940s, Sega experienced rapid growth in the 1980s and 1990s to become one of the dominant forces in its field. It remains to this day a major player in the worldwide video game industry, covering arcade, console, handheld, mobile and PC markets.
 
'''Sega''' (セガ) is an international digital entertainment and media company currently headquartered in Ota, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in the mid-1940s, Sega experienced rapid growth in the 1980s and 1990s to become one of the dominant forces in its field. It remains to this day a major player in the worldwide video game industry, covering arcade, console, handheld, mobile and PC markets.
  
"Sega" is a trading name used by various iterations of the company since the early 1950s. [[Sega Enterprises]] was the longest corporate name, Sega held all the way up to July of 2000. In July of 2000, Sega became known as Sega Corporation. As of 2004, Sega operates under a collective holding company known as [[Sega Sammy Holdings]]. In April 2015, Sega Corporation was dropped in favor of multiple  sub-divisions; Sega Games, handling the video game consumer business, [[Sega Interactive]] which deals with the development and production of arcade games, and Sega Entertainment, responsible for the running of commercial venues{{fileref|IR EN 2015-02-12 3.pdf}}.
+
[[Sega Enterprises]] was the first incarnation of Sega, and it became headquartered in Tokyo in 1984, when it was bought by Japanese [[CSK]]. Sega Enterprises became Sega Corporation in July of 2000.
 +
Since 2004, Sega operates under a collective holding company known as [[Sega Sammy Holdings]], formed after a merger between what was then [[Sega Corporation]] and [[Sammy Corporation]]. In April 2015 the Sega side of the business was sub-divided into three; [[Sega Games]], handling the video game consumer business, [[Sega Interactive (Japan)|Sega Interactive]], which deals with the development and production of arcade games, and [[Sega Entertainment (Japan)|Sega Entertainment]], responsible for the running of commercial venues{{fileref|IR EN 2015-02-12 3.pdf}}. Sega's operations are also referred to with regional subsidiaries, which are [[Sega of America]] and [[Sega Europe]] both founded around the mid eighties.
  
In practice, all divisions and groups within the company are generally refferred and known collectively as "Sega". Furthermore Sega's operations are typically referred to by region; Sega of Japan, [[Sega of America]] and [[Sega Europe]] being the main three.
+
In practice, all divisions and groups within the company are generally referred to and known collectively as "Sega".
  
 
==History==
 
==History==
===Formation and early successes===
+
{{MainArticle|History of Sega}}
[[File:SegaBellD SlotMachine.jpg|thumb|260px|Sega's flagship product of 1957, the ''[[Sega Bell]]''.]]
 
Sega claims to have been established in 1951 (and incorporated in 1960){{fileref|AnnualReport2001 English.pdf|page=3}}, however in reality Sega's history begins with the establishment of [[Service Games, Hawaii|"'''Se'''rvice '''Ga'''mes", Hawaii]] originating in 1945 when [[Irving Bromberg]] and his son, [[Martin Bromley|Martin Jerome Bromberg]], formed a partnership with [[James Humpert|James L. Humpert]] to manufacture and distribute slot machines and other coin-operated devices, primarily to US personell stationed across Asia in the years after World War II. They called the partnership Service Games (i.e ''military'' service) and based their operation in Honolulu.
 
  
Irving Bromberg, the father, brought to the young company a reputation for being an innovator in coin-machine technology; as the founder of the Irving Bromberg Co. (established in 1933), he brought some of the first vending machines to Brooklyn, Boston and Washington, D.C. He also founded a business known as Standard Games Co. in Los Angeles, California, in 1934 for the civillian market. However, he was aging and his son assumed much of the management of Service Games. Bromley and Humpert were employed in the U.S. Navy Shipyard at Pearl Harbor during World War II, and had worked together in coin-operated enterprises that called upon the technical competence of the senior Bromberg.
+
==Business interests==
[[File:Sega enterprises tokyo airport.jpg|thumb|260px|Sega Enterprises Ltd. Tokyo office, as seen in 1965.]]
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===Amusement machines===
The United States Congress of the Gambling Devices Transportation Act of 1951 banned slot machines on military bases within the territory of the United States, forcing Service Games to look into other avenues to market and sell their products. In February 1952, Bromley sent [[Richard Stewart]], a Service Games salesman, and [[Raymond Lemaire]], a mechanic, to Japan to promote and expand sales of Service Games machines on U.S. military reservations.
+
[[File:Ufocatcher9.jpg|thumb||''[[UFO Catcher 9]]'', one of the latest in the line of lucrative ''UFO Catcher'' machines.]]
 +
For most of its existence, Sega has been catering for the amusement industry, and alongside [[Namco]] and [[Taito]], was seen as one of the major players in the Japanese market during the second half of the 20th century. While the sector has declined from its heights in the 1980s and early 1990s, Sega remains a prolific manufacturer of arcade machines, placing a specific emphasis on its home market of Japan.
  
The result, [[Service Games, Japan]], and over the next few years, a network of factories sprung up across South East Asia to cater for American troops stationed in the Orient. Service Games also began selling its machines in Europe, becoming one of the major players in the worldwide slot machine market.
+
The bulk of Sega's amusement machine business involves the creation of titles that are not easily replicated at home ranging from 1985 ''[[Hang-On]]'' to recent games like ''[[Maimai]]''. For Japanese users, Sega has placed a high value on the use of the internet, allowing players to compete between arcade venues and keep track of their status through apps for mobile devices or physical cards.
  
By the early 1960s a series of money-making sell-offs left only the Japanese branch of Service Games still in operation, and in May 1960 had split into two entities, [[Nihon Goraku Bussan]] (distribution) and [[Nihon Kikai Seizo]] (manufacturing). The "Service Games" brand was no longer in use, but a condensed brand name was used by the latter - "Sega", first seen paired with the successful [[Sega 1000]] jukebox.
+
Sega's heritedge was built on gambling machines, however systems dealing with real money can be subject to heavy regulations. As a result, since the mid-1980s Sega has instead focused on the concept of "medal" games, often offering the similar risk versus reward gameplay seen in the gambling sector, but which which accept and distribute currency specific to a venue, with no cash value outside of the premises.
  
===The merge===
+
While the arcade industry has declined significantly in Western markets since its peak in the 1980s, Sega continues operate amusement businesses in the US and Europe, distributing products by third-party manufacturers and maintaining (and refurbishing) the company's older back-catelogue of racing and shooting games. Popular releases such as ''[[Daytona USA]]'' and ''[[Sega Rally Championship]]'', despite being more than two decades old, are still often seen in active service and are staples of what little remains of the arcade scene. Likewise, these branches continue to oversee the development of new releases targeting a Western audience.
The Korean war had seen American businessman and former Air Force officer [[David Rosen]] stationed in Japan, and having fallen in love with the country, returned in 1954 to establish Rosen Enterprises, Inc.{{fileref|NextGeneration US 24.pdf|page=9}}. Originally an art exporting business Rosen's company stumbled upon a surprise hit when it began to import coin-operated instant photo booths from America, tapping into the Japanese need for photographs as proof of identity. Talks with Bromley at Nihon Goraku Bussan proved fruitful, and the two sides merged in 1965, becoming Sega Enterprises Ltd. ("Sega borrowed from the Nihon Goraku Bussan side, and "Enterprises" coming from Rosen).
 
  
As Japanese living standards began to rise, Rosen moved into the arcade business, importing electro-mechanical games from Chicago. By 1961, the American arcade industry had declined,
+
In addition to creating arcade video games, Sega has ventured into other areas of the amusement business, from change machines to motion simulators. Since 1985 Sega has been producing ''[[:Category:UFO Catcher|UFO Catcher]]'' machines; popular "crane" games which have been a permanent fixture of Japanese game centres since the late 1980s. Sega have a significant stake in this market, for as well as constructing the cabinets themselves, the company also sources and distributes the prizes.
due to stagnation and lack of innovation from Chicago manufacturers. This led to Sega producing its own electro-mechanical arcade games, with engineer [[Hisashi Suzuki]] leading development, along with assistance from other Japanese engineers at [[Nihon Goraku Bussan]].{{ref|https://archive.org/stream/NextGeneration24Dec1996/Next_Generation_24_Dec_1996#page/n10/mode/1up}}{{ref|http://magweasel.com/2011/04/07/the-loons-who-developed-arcade-electromechanical-games/}}
 
  
the Chicago arcade industry declined,  
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The company also produces "ride-on" machines for younger children, although few of these models have ever left Japan.
  
Soon Rosen had a presence in 200 Japanese arcades, and he sought out competitors in the interests of merging. Talks with Bromley at Nihon Goraku Bussan proved fruitful, and the two sides became Sega Enterprises Ltd. in 1965 ("Sega" borrowed from the Nihon Goraku Bussan side, and "Enterprises" coming from Rosen).
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===Video games===
 +
[[File:Sonic1 title.png|thumb|right|Title screen of ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', featuring the company's mascot.]]
 +
Sega has been directly involved in the home "consumer" video game market since 1983, doubling up in the first eighteen years as a hardware manufacturer. During this time the company has created a number of lucrative franchises which are still actively maintained to this day, most notably the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series whose eponymous lead character has become a mascot for the company.
  
==Gulf+Western==
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Sega supports home video game consoles and handhelds from platform holders [[Nintendo]], [[Sony]] and [[Microsoft]]. It emerged itself with the PC market with [[SegaSoft]] and [[Sega PC]] in the earlier years, but more recently supports it by Western subsidiaries like [[The Creative Assembly]], [[Sports Interactive]] and [[Relic Entertainment]]. In 2000, Sega started it's mobile phone development with [[Sonic Cafe]] and that market became the companies primary focus in recent years. Titles such as ''[[Chain Chronicle]]'' and ''[[Puyo Puyo!! Quest]]'' are among the best performing titles.{{fileref|AnnualReport2016 English.pdf|page=43}}
[[File:Periscope flyer1.jpg|thumb|260px|Flyer for Sega's first original coin-op, ''[[Periscope]]''.]]
 
Equipped with brand recognition, strong distribution channels and a large arcade presence, Sega's import business boomed, and soon found itself producing its own games, starting with the 1966 smash hit, ''[[Periscope]]''. Proving that a non-American company could make gains in the coin-op industry, Sega was acquired on May 3, 1969 by media conglomerate [[Gulf+Western]]. This opened the door for Sega to enter other arenas, importing both American-made pinball tables (before manufacturing its own starting with [[Winner]] in 1972) and [[Rock-Ola]] jukeboxes.
 
  
Being a company involved in the business of entertainment, it was only a matter of time before Sega would look into video games. Seeing the success of [[Atari Inc.|Atari]]'s ''[[wiki:Pong|Pong]]'', Sega branched out into video game importing and later development, allying themselves with [[Gremlin Industries]] in North America. As electro-mechanical games were displaced, Sega began to make a name for itself through games such as ''[[Turbo]]'' and ''[[Zaxxon]]'', as well as through distributing ''[[Frogger]]'' in the States.
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The company has a number of internal development studios based in Japan, with resources often shared between consumer and arcade projects. Local development in [[Sega of America]] and [[Sega Europe]] are also part of the operation. Unlike Sega of Japan, they exclusively work with external developers either by contract or owning the developer as a subsidiary.
  
Seeing the potential, 1984 saw Rosen and a group of outside investors (including [[Hayao Nakayama]], [[Shoichiro Irimajiri]] and the chairman of CSK, [[Isao Okawa]]) bought back Sega, and as an independent company once more, continued to expand rapidly into the 1980s.
+
With the purchasing of Index Holdings in the summer of 2013, [[Atlus]] now resides as part of the Sega-Sammy family and also share resouces with Sega's Japanese and American headquarters.
  
{{MainArticle|History of Sega}}
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Currently popular Sega franchises are ''[[:Category:Sonic the Hedgehog|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'', ''[[Phantasy Star Online]]'', ''[[:Category:Yakuza|Yakuza]]'' (''Ryu ga Gotoku''), ''[[:Category:Hatsune Miku|Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA]]'' and ''[[:Category:Puyo Puyo|Puyo Puyo]]'' series.
  
==Arcades==
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===Entertainment venues===
[[File:Joypolis Tokyo.jpg|thumb|260px|[[Tokyo Joypolis]], the first indoor theme park opened by Sega.]]
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[[File:Joypolis Tokyo 3.jpg|thumb|[[Tokyo Joypolis]], the first indoor theme park opened by Sega.]]
 +
In addition to producing amusement machines, Sega owns a large portfolio of properties in which consumers can access them. Sega opened the first of its many Japanese "game centers" in the late 1960s, likely peaking at 870 sites across Japan in 1999{{fileref|AnnualReport1999 English.pdf|page=14}}, including an array of [[Joypolis]] indoor amusement parts, [[Sega World]] and [[Club Sega]] amusement arcades, and a number of spa and leisure facilities. It also operates the [[Orbi]] indoor nature attraction, developed in conjunction with BBC Worldwide.
  
Sega has had a strong presence in the [[arcade]] industry since the 1960s. It initially produced [[:Category:Electro-mechanical games|electro-mechanical games]] in the 1960s and 1970s, before moving on to arcade video games in the 1970s.
+
In addition, Sega owns and operates [[Sega Republic]] in the UAE and a small number of venues in Taiwan and China. Cashflow problems, its merger with Sammy and subsequent restructuring in the mid-2000s led to Sega parting with many of its overseas entertainment venues, including the [[GameWorks]] chain in the US, Sega Worlds stationed in Australia and South Korea, and its numerous arcades spread across Europe, most notably the Joypolis-inspired [[SegaWorld London]] in 1999.
  
In the 1980s and 1990s arcade scene, Sega went from strength to strength, leading the market with hits such as ''[[Space Harrier]]'', ''[[OutRun]]'' and ''[[After Burner]]'' before becoming a driving force behind 3D gaming in ''[[Virtua Racing]]'' and the massively successful ''[[Virtua Fighter]]''. It also saw success in other areas - its ''[[UFO Catcher]]'' line of crane games continues to this day. In the 21th century its networked arcade franchises such as ''[[:Category:World Club Champion Football|World Club Champion Football]]'' and ''[[Border Break]]'' remain unrivalled. Western arcades began to declne with the arrival of home consoles. However in Japan, Sega's eleborate cabinets kept costumers interrested in going to arcades with experiences not avaible at home.{{ref|http://segabits.com/blog/2016/08/25/sega-retrospective-deeper-arcade-game-oxymoron-became-one-segas-pillars/}}
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The existence of dedicated venues has allowed Sega to create much larger projects over the years, including indoor rides and movie theaters. They have also proved convenient spots for location testing of arcade machines.
  
Since the 1960s, Sega has been opening its own arcade centres, peaking in the 1990s when hundreds of ''[[Hi-Tech Land Sega]]'', ''[[Sega World]]'' and ''[[Club Sega]]'' venues were spread across Japan. It also operates its own indoor [[Joypolis]] theme parks, and has claims to resorts and restaurants. Sega arcades have also operated (albeit at a much smaller scale) in the US and across Europe, peaking with its line of [[GameWorks]] arcades in the early 2000s.
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===Consumer products===
 +
Throughout its history, Sega has occasionally ventured into the toy and consumer electronics markets. Of particular note is its takeover of Yonezawa Toys in 1994, leading to the creation of what would eventually become known as [[Sega Toys]] in 1998. As the largest post-War toy manufacturer in Japan, Yonezawa's incoporation into the Sega family meant that, for a time, Sega was a market leader in the Japanese toy market, with strong links to [[Hasbro]] in the United States. However, while Sega Toys continues to exist, it is currently managed as a separate entity within Sega Sammy Holdings.
  
As arcades began to decline in the late 1990s, so too did Sega focus in the arcade market. Forced to innovate to keep customers, Sega's sees itself in the position of keeping the Japanese arcade market alive. Equally many of its arcade hits such as ''[[Daytona USA]]'' and ''[[Sega Rally Championship]]'' remain in active service worlwide more than twenty years after release.
+
Sega has also produced karaoke equipment ([[Prologue 21]]), a digital camera ([[Digio SJ-1]]), a television ([[Sega-Vision]]), PDAs ([[IR 7000 Communicator]]) and has published films on VHS cassette. It has created films and cartoon shows with partners such as [[TMS Entertainment]], and its properties have been used to create books, albums, board games and audiobooks.
  
==Video game consoles==
+
Sega's properties have also been turned into theater productions, with at one point bi-annual shows centred around ''[[Sakura Taisen]]'' and more recently, ''[[Phantasy Star Online 2: On Stage]]''.
1983 marked a turning point for Sega. after it entered an increasingly crowded Japanese video game console and home computer market with its latest invention, the [[SG-1000]] (and computer counterpart, the [[SC-3000]]). Between 1983 and 1985 many significant recruitments were made for this new "consumer products" division that would shape the company's image in the decades that followed, and while the SG-1000 was unable to unseat [[Nintendo]] and their Family Computer, support from its arcade business kept them firmly in the game. It was also one of the few Japanese systems to make it across the border, making a limited mark on Australia, New Zealand, France, Italy, Sweden and parts of Asia.
 
[[File:MDAdd-ons.jpg|thumb|260px|The [[Sega Mega Drive]] with it's many add-ons: the [[Sega Mega-CD]], [[32X]], [[Mega Modem]] and [[Mega-CD Karaoke|Karaoke]].]]
 
Next came the [[Sega Mark III]] in 1985, a more competitive system ready to take on Nintendo coupled with a plan to launch overseas. In its redesigned [[Sega Master System]] form, Sega started to become a household name, appearing in various guises not only in Japan, but across North America, Europe and Brazil. While a distant second in Japan and the US, the Master System triumphed in smaller markets, not least to its unique ties to Sega's industry-leading arcade divisions.
 
  
Sega entered perhaps its most successful period in the western market with the 16-bit [[Sega Mega Drive]] in 1988, capturing not only the lion's share of the market in Europe, but regularly unseating Nintendo's dominance in the US. The invention of company mascot [[Sonic the Hedgehog]] and [[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|his ground-breaking video game]] revolutionised the industry at large, but did little to impress its Japanese homeland. Extensions in the [[Sega Mega-CD]] and [[Sega 32X]] struggled to gain traction, but the company saw reasonable success through it's full colour portable handheld system, the [[Sega Game Gear]].
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==Notable products==
 +
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
 +
SegaBellD SlotMachine.jpg|''[[Sega Bell]]'' (1957), rebranded ''High Top'' slot machines from Mills, and the first product to bear the "Sega" name.
 +
Sega1000 Jukebox.jpg|''[[Sega 1000]]'' (1960), Sega's first home-grown product. Cheap jukeboxes negating the need for imports in Japan.
 +
Periscope flyer1.jpg|''[[Periscope]]'' (1966), Sega's first successful electro-mechanical arcade machine.
 +
Zaxxon Arcade US Cabinet.jpg|''[[Zaxxon]]'' (1982), a staple of US arcades in the early 1980s.
 +
UFOCatcher.jpg|''[[UFO Catcher]]'' (1985), the genesis of crane games in Japan.
 +
MDAdd-ons.jpg|The [[Sega Mega Drive]] (1988), pictured here with its many add-ons: the [[Sega Mega-CD]], [[32X]], [[Mega Modem]] and [[Mega-CD Karaoke|Karaoke]].
 +
VirtuaRacing Arcade Cabinet Deluxe.jpg|''[[Virtua Racing]]'' (1992), milestone in the video game racing genre.
 +
PrintClub cabinet.jpg|''[[Print Club]]'' (1995), a phenomeon amongst Japanese teenagers in the late 1990s.
 +
Dreamcast.jpg|The [[Dreamcast]] (1998), Sega's online-enabled "super console", and an end of an era.
 +
</gallery>
  
The early 1990s also saw Sega as a driving force behind video game content regulation, following the North American controversies surrounding ''[[Night Trap]]'' and ''[[Mortal Kombat]]''. Sega's contribution in the US was the [[Videogame Rating Council]] - a system to highlight potentially inapprorpate games for younger children. Sega of America were at the forefront of this debate, and [[Tom Kalinske]] was happy to accept the eventual establishment of the [[Entertainment Software Rating Board]], which has been the de-facto regulator of North American video games since 1994. Elsewhere Sega pushed its own ratings systems, and despite the creation of the Japanese [[Computer Entertainment Rating Organization]] 2002, continues to add extra warnings (entirely of its own accord) for violent content.  
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==Key figures==
[[File:GLocR360 Arcade Cabinet.jpg|thumb|right|260px|The [[R360]] cabinet can rotate 360 degrees on three axes.]]
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*[[Irving Bromberg]], [[Martin Bromley]] and [[James Humpert]], founders of Service Games in 1945.
With the 32-bit [[Sega Saturn]], Sega's console fortunes were reversed in Japan, unfortunately at the expense of everywhere else. While initially strong, the Saturn tore apart the firm in the US, and led to the company's first recorded loss for the year ending March 1998.
+
*[[David Rosen]], founder of Rosen Enterprises and chairman of Sega until 1996.
 +
*[[Isao Okawa]], president of [[CSK]] and later Sega, credited with saving Sega from bankruptcy in 2000 with $900 USD of his own fortune.
 +
*[[Hajime Satomi]], current head of Sega-Sammy Holdings.
 +
*[[Tom Kalinske]], head of [[Sega of America]] between 1990 and 1996, credited with establishing Sega as a market leader in the US.
 +
*[[Yu Suzuki]], star developer of [[Sega AM2]], responsible for numerous milestones in gaming history including ''[[Space Harrier]]'', ''[[OutRun]]'', ''[[Virtua Racing]]'', ''[[Virtua Fighter]]'' and ''[[Shenmue]]''.
 +
*[[Yuji Naka]], [[Naoto Ohshima]] and [[Hirokazu Yasuhara]], founding members of [[Sonic Team]] and collectively responsible for ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' and its immediate sequels.
 +
*[[Toshihiro Nagoshi]], notable creator of ''[[Daytona USA]]'', ''[[Super Monkey Ball]]'' and the ''[[Yakuza]]'' series of games.
  
Attempts at revival were made with the internet-focused [[Sega Dreamcast]] the following November, but despite a strong selection of games and a devoted fanbase, the company found itself unwilling and unable to compete against its peers in the [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox]] and [[Nintendo GameCube]]. In January 2001 the firm abandoned its home console ambitions, focusing instead as a third-party developer and publisher.
+
==Gallery==
 
+
<gallery>
==Merger with Sammy==
+
Sega logo 1960s.svg|Logo pre-1976
[[File:SegaHeads 2001.jpg|thumb|260px|Big names at Sega, circa 2001 (clockwise from top left): [[Rikiya Nakagawa]], [[Yu Suzuki]], [[Toshihiro Nagoshi]], [[Kenji Sasaki]], [[Shun Arai]], [[Tetsuya Mizuguchi]], [[Tetsu Kayama]], [[Yuji Naka]], [[Yukifumi Makino]], [[Hisao Oguchi]] and [[Noriyoshi Oba]].]]
+
SegaOperations1970.pdf|Sega operations, circa 1970
The demise of the Dreamcast saw Sega focus its efforts as a third-party video game manufacturer, aiming to be the largest of its kind by March 2004{{fileref|Edge UK 104.pdf|page=7}}. But financial troubles eventually saw it merged with pachinko-firm [[Sammy]], leading it to operate under a collective [[Sega Sammy Holdings]] holding company.
+
</gallery>
 
 
In the third party era, Sega has had little mass market success in the western market, with the exception of the long-standing ''[[Sonic The Hedgehog]]'' franchise which has endured wide flunctations of quality. On the flip-end, Sega has been successfull at carving out niches with the western PC strategy market, as well mobile and arcade titles aimed at Asian audiences. Recently Sega also made an unpreecented move in completly replacing their former american branch in the San Francisco area, with that of video game localization experts [[Atlus USA]].
 
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
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==References==
 
==References==
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{{NECRetro}}
 
<references />
 
<references />
 
  
 
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Revision as of 16:08, 20 August 2017

Sega (セガ) is an international digital entertainment and media company currently headquartered in Ota, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in the mid-1940s, Sega experienced rapid growth in the 1980s and 1990s to become one of the dominant forces in its field. It remains to this day a major player in the worldwide video game industry, covering arcade, console, handheld, mobile and PC markets.

Sega Enterprises was the first incarnation of Sega, and it became headquartered in Tokyo in 1984, when it was bought by Japanese CSK. Sega Enterprises became Sega Corporation in July of 2000. Since 2004, Sega operates under a collective holding company known as Sega Sammy Holdings, formed after a merger between what was then Sega Corporation and Sammy Corporation. In April 2015 the Sega side of the business was sub-divided into three; Sega Games, handling the video game consumer business, Sega Interactive, which deals with the development and production of arcade games, and Sega Entertainment, responsible for the running of commercial venues[1]. Sega's operations are also referred to with regional subsidiaries, which are Sega of America and Sega Europe both founded around the mid eighties.

In practice, all divisions and groups within the company are generally referred to and known collectively as "Sega".

History

Main article: History of Sega.

Business interests

Amusement machines

UFO Catcher 9, one of the latest in the line of lucrative UFO Catcher machines.

For most of its existence, Sega has been catering for the amusement industry, and alongside Namco and Taito, was seen as one of the major players in the Japanese market during the second half of the 20th century. While the sector has declined from its heights in the 1980s and early 1990s, Sega remains a prolific manufacturer of arcade machines, placing a specific emphasis on its home market of Japan.

The bulk of Sega's amusement machine business involves the creation of titles that are not easily replicated at home ranging from 1985 Hang-On to recent games like Maimai. For Japanese users, Sega has placed a high value on the use of the internet, allowing players to compete between arcade venues and keep track of their status through apps for mobile devices or physical cards.

Sega's heritedge was built on gambling machines, however systems dealing with real money can be subject to heavy regulations. As a result, since the mid-1980s Sega has instead focused on the concept of "medal" games, often offering the similar risk versus reward gameplay seen in the gambling sector, but which which accept and distribute currency specific to a venue, with no cash value outside of the premises.

While the arcade industry has declined significantly in Western markets since its peak in the 1980s, Sega continues operate amusement businesses in the US and Europe, distributing products by third-party manufacturers and maintaining (and refurbishing) the company's older back-catelogue of racing and shooting games. Popular releases such as Daytona USA and Sega Rally Championship, despite being more than two decades old, are still often seen in active service and are staples of what little remains of the arcade scene. Likewise, these branches continue to oversee the development of new releases targeting a Western audience.

In addition to creating arcade video games, Sega has ventured into other areas of the amusement business, from change machines to motion simulators. Since 1985 Sega has been producing UFO Catcher machines; popular "crane" games which have been a permanent fixture of Japanese game centres since the late 1980s. Sega have a significant stake in this market, for as well as constructing the cabinets themselves, the company also sources and distributes the prizes.

The company also produces "ride-on" machines for younger children, although few of these models have ever left Japan.

Video games

Title screen of Sonic the Hedgehog, featuring the company's mascot.

Sega has been directly involved in the home "consumer" video game market since 1983, doubling up in the first eighteen years as a hardware manufacturer. During this time the company has created a number of lucrative franchises which are still actively maintained to this day, most notably the Sonic the Hedgehog series whose eponymous lead character has become a mascot for the company.

Sega supports home video game consoles and handhelds from platform holders Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. It emerged itself with the PC market with SegaSoft and Sega PC in the earlier years, but more recently supports it by Western subsidiaries like The Creative Assembly, Sports Interactive and Relic Entertainment. In 2000, Sega started it's mobile phone development with Sonic Cafe and that market became the companies primary focus in recent years. Titles such as Chain Chronicle and Puyo Puyo!! Quest are among the best performing titles.[2]

The company has a number of internal development studios based in Japan, with resources often shared between consumer and arcade projects. Local development in Sega of America and Sega Europe are also part of the operation. Unlike Sega of Japan, they exclusively work with external developers either by contract or owning the developer as a subsidiary.

With the purchasing of Index Holdings in the summer of 2013, Atlus now resides as part of the Sega-Sammy family and also share resouces with Sega's Japanese and American headquarters.

Currently popular Sega franchises are Sonic the Hedgehog, Phantasy Star Online, Yakuza (Ryu ga Gotoku), Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA and Puyo Puyo series.

Entertainment venues

Tokyo Joypolis, the first indoor theme park opened by Sega.

In addition to producing amusement machines, Sega owns a large portfolio of properties in which consumers can access them. Sega opened the first of its many Japanese "game centers" in the late 1960s, likely peaking at 870 sites across Japan in 1999[3], including an array of Joypolis indoor amusement parts, Sega World and Club Sega amusement arcades, and a number of spa and leisure facilities. It also operates the Orbi indoor nature attraction, developed in conjunction with BBC Worldwide.

In addition, Sega owns and operates Sega Republic in the UAE and a small number of venues in Taiwan and China. Cashflow problems, its merger with Sammy and subsequent restructuring in the mid-2000s led to Sega parting with many of its overseas entertainment venues, including the GameWorks chain in the US, Sega Worlds stationed in Australia and South Korea, and its numerous arcades spread across Europe, most notably the Joypolis-inspired SegaWorld London in 1999.

The existence of dedicated venues has allowed Sega to create much larger projects over the years, including indoor rides and movie theaters. They have also proved convenient spots for location testing of arcade machines.

Consumer products

Throughout its history, Sega has occasionally ventured into the toy and consumer electronics markets. Of particular note is its takeover of Yonezawa Toys in 1994, leading to the creation of what would eventually become known as Sega Toys in 1998. As the largest post-War toy manufacturer in Japan, Yonezawa's incoporation into the Sega family meant that, for a time, Sega was a market leader in the Japanese toy market, with strong links to Hasbro in the United States. However, while Sega Toys continues to exist, it is currently managed as a separate entity within Sega Sammy Holdings.

Sega has also produced karaoke equipment (Prologue 21), a digital camera (Digio SJ-1), a television (Sega-Vision), PDAs (IR 7000 Communicator) and has published films on VHS cassette. It has created films and cartoon shows with partners such as TMS Entertainment, and its properties have been used to create books, albums, board games and audiobooks.

Sega's properties have also been turned into theater productions, with at one point bi-annual shows centred around Sakura Taisen and more recently, Phantasy Star Online 2: On Stage.

Notable products

Key figures

Gallery

External links

References

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NEC Retro has more information related to Sega
Early Sega
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Service Games Gulf+Western
Service Games, Hawaii & Nevada & Japan Nihon Goraku Bussan & Nihon Kikai Seizou Sega Enterprises, Inc.
Sega Enterprises, Ltd. Sega Ltd. & Gremlin Sega Ltd.


Timeline of Sega of Japan research and development divisions








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Overseas Sega companies, studios and subsidiaries
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CSK Sega Sammy Holdings
Sega of America
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Sega Away Team
Sega Europe
Sega France Sega France
Sega Consumer Products S.A Sega Spain
Sega Vertriebsgesellschaft Sega Austria
Sega Interactive
Sega Deutschland Sega Germany
Sega Amusements Taiwan Sega Taiwan
Sega Denmark
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Sega Multimedia Studio
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Deith Leisure Sega Amusements Europe Sega Amusements International
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Sega Entertainment
Hyundai-Sega Entertainment
Sega Enterprises Israel
No Cliche
Sega of America Dreamcast
Sonic Team USA Sega Studios USA
Visual Concepts
Sega.com
Sega.com Asia
Sega of China
Sega Mobile Sega Networks Inc.
Sega Publishing Korea
The Creative Assembly
Sega (China) Network Technology Co., Ltd
Sega Benelux
Sega Studios San Francisco
Sports Interactive
Sega Studios Australia
Three Rings Design
Relic Entertainment
Atlus USA
Demiurge Studios
Go Game
Sonic Studio
Amplitude Studios
Sonic Team USA