History of Sega in Kazakhstan

History of Sega in Kazakhstan
Official Sega distributor(s): Nissho Iwai (1994-1995), Buka (1994-1999), Bitman (1996-1997), R-Style (1996-1999), NVT (2000-2001), 1C-SoftClub (20xx-present)

Kazakhstan declared independence in 1991. Since that year, the country has been a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

Nissho Iwai

Steepler released Famicom clone called Dendy in 1993, which became a hit console here, achieving, next to Russia and Ukraine, the highest sales results from post Soviet region. Their video games had been distributed in Kazakhstan by company called "Disney". Steepler started selling Sega clones like Pro 16 Bit and High Quality with the original Mega Drive 2 from Asia, Genesis CDX and US/EU/Asian/Bootleg games.

Nissho Iwai got license to distribute games in CIS countries and in 1994 selects several authorized distributors such as Buka who supply Mega Drive 2 (EU/AS PAL), Mega-CD 2 (EU/AS PAL), Master System 2 (EU PAL), Game Gear (EU PAL), Sega Saturn (AS NTSC/EU PAL), Mega Drive 32X. With the time, Steepler started selling Mega Drive 2 from Nissho Iwai channels.

The wave of cheaper Mega Drive and Dendy clones begins to flood the Kazakhstan by flea markets, small stores and from specialized sellers (like Bitman, Kenga and Subor), which means that the original systems reach a smaller number of people. Besides Famicom and Mega Drive clones, Sega had competition in form of Super Nintendo and Game Boy (distributed from November 1994 by Steepler), 3DO (distributed from late 1994 by Buka), PlayStation (distributed from March 1995 by Buka, which distribution was taken over from July 1997 by Sony CIS), CD-i (distributed from 1995 by A –STIMUL with chain of 3 authorised distributors) and Atari Jaguar (distributed from 1995 by Game Land).

The video gaming around this time wasn't the same everywhere. There existed a places where people had better and worse access to games, whatever it was original or pirate one. People could get information from Russian press, books or TV shows like Novaya Real'nost' supported by Steepler and broadcast from 1995-1996 on ORT channel available in all former USSR republics or region shows made in Kazakhstan like Dendy or Strana Igr.

Saturn, Dreamcast, new clones

Despite problems with clones, Sega said Mega Drive had good sales in Russia and CIS and decides to push Sega Saturn. Sega Europe signed a deal with Bitman as distributor no.1 (making Super Bitman legal), Buka as distributor no. 2 and R-Style as distributor no. 3 and starts selling all Sega consoles in its stores in the PAL system.. Sega Saturn turned out to be a failure and Bitman was bought by R-Style in 1997, which with Buka solds Sega consoles until late 90s. The region was flooded in the late 1990s and early 2000s with Mega Drive and Dendy clones from two channels: Asian by small sellers and flea markets and Russian by specialized sellers (like Simba's Video Games and New Game) with translated game boxes and later localized games into Russian.

Sega wanted to market Dreamcast in late 2000, through Russian company NVT. They promised localized games into Russian and games in cheap jewel cases, but with the problems of 128-bit console, Sega gave up on the idea and stay with European versions. The pre-release sales of the console started on November 10, 2000 with promised of full release until end of the year. Larger plans for sales and marketing were canceled when Sega announced the end of production on January 31, 2001, which meant the end of all shipments to Russia and CIS.

Even before that, there were companies importing the Dreamcast from Europe on their own and in the end of 2000, due to pirated translations of games into Russian and their distribution through its own sales channel in CIS countries, the console became popular. After Big Ben Interactive became a distributor in Western Europe, local Russian and Kazakh distributors bought out the consoles and distributed them and Dreamcast was received pretty well here just like PlayStation.

1C SoftClub

In the following years, most of the games were released by the 1C SoftClub with translated boxes and localized games into Russian. Sega games are also available from digital distribution, and Kazakhstan, when it comes to digital keys, belongs to the RU-CIS-UA region. Until 2018, digital game distribution platforms such as Steam suggested lower prices for the region.

The only Sega game that distribution has been stopped in CIS countries was Company of Heroes 2.

Sega Mega Drive clones can still be find from Asian and Russian distribution channel.

Sega Amusement

Since 2006, the distribution of arcade machines and equipment for children produce by Sega is being carried out by KidsPlay.

QubicaAMF is a strategic partner in Russia and CIS countries.

Sititek

Sititek is the official distributor of Sega Toys in Russia and CIS countries.