Difference between revisions of "History of Sega in China"

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| distributors=[[Hiroshima Trading]] (198x-199x), [[WKK]] (199x-1994), [[Huaxing Electronic Technology]] (1995-1997), [[Stone International Trading Co., Ltd]] (1997-199x), [[Zhongxun]] (199x-2000), [[Matrix Interactive]] (2001-2002), [[AtGames]] (2005-present), [[CE-Asia]] (2008-present)
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| distributors=[[Hiroshima Trading]] (198x-199x), [[WKK|WKK Industries China]] (1993-1995), [[Dynastar Technology Co., Ltd]] (1996-1998), [[Stone International Trading Co., Ltd]] (1997-1998), [[Culture and Entertainment Co., Ltd]] (1998-1999), [[Hong Kong Zhongxun Video Games Co., Ltd.]] (1999-2000), [[Matrix Interactive]] (2001-2002), [[AtGames]] (2005-present), [[CE-Asia]] (2008-present)
 
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[[Hiroshima Trading]] sold first model of [[Sega Master System]] in the 80s.<ref>https://www.gcores.com/articles/99611</ref>
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The history of Sega in Greater China could be seen in three perspectives - [[History of Sega in Taiwan|Taiwan]], [[History of Sega in Hong Kong|Hong Kong]] and presented in this article Mainland China.
  
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[[WKK]] through his division WKK Industries China distributed Master System II but sales were minimal. Since October 1993, WKK began distribution of [[Sega Mega Drive]] model I.<ref>https://techmonitor.ai/technology/sega_starts_test_marketing_new_machine</ref><ref>https://www.telecompaper.com/news/sega-to-test-market-mega-drive-machines--8854</ref>
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==Hiroshima Trading==
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The Mainland China market was first open to video game consoles in 1988<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B696%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/n170/mode/1up?view=theater</ref>. Before that, gaming systems were known from imported and popular arcade machines, and a small number of second-generation consoles.
  
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From 1994, Sega sued numerous Mega Drive clone producers in China.<ref>https://techmonitor.ai/technology/chinese_sega_pirate_punished</ref><ref>https://www.telecompaper.com/news/sega-wins-copyright-dispute-with-shenzhen-shenchu--35740</ref>In 1995, Chinese government took actions against piracy of Sega games.<ref>https://www.telecompaper.com/news/govt-takes-action-against-piracy-of-sega-games--51523</ref><ref>https://www.telecompaper.com/news/police-seize-pirated-audiovisual-products--49954</ref>The piracy of Mega Drive consoles and games was developing at the time and known Chinese producers from that period are [[Shenchu Electronic]]<ref>https://techmonitor.ai/technology/chinese_sega_pirate_punished</ref>, [[Tianjing Newstar Electronics., Ltd.]], [[Subor]], [[BBK Electronics]] (called also BBG Electronics) and many more. The first unofficial Chinese translators and unlicensed games producers were also established back then like [[Li Cheng]].
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[[Sega Master System]] was the first documented console to be sold officially in China<ref>https://www.ign.com.cn/jiketang/33161/opinion/zou-jin-zhong-guo-jia-yong-you-xi-ji-bo-wu-guan-ji-ke-tang</ref>. It was distributed by [[Hiroshima Trading]] (广岛交易株式会社) starting from late 1980s to early 1990s<ref>https://www.gcores.com/articles/99611</ref>, but it was forgotten due to growing popularity of famiclones at the same time<ref>https://www.ign.com.cn/jiketang/33161/opinion/zou-jin-zhong-guo-jia-yong-you-xi-ji-bo-wu-guan-ji-ke-tang</ref>.
  
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[[Huaxing Electronic Technology]] (华星电子科技有限公司) was responsible for the production and sale of Mega Drive 2 and [[Game Gear]]<ref>https://www.gcores.com/articles/99611</ref> from around 1995. In January 1995, Sega formed [[Sega Huahan Culture Entertainment]] to develop, produce and market games for Chinese video arcades.<ref>"Sega forms China venture" The Business Times, 5 January 1995</ref>
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Until August 1992, 85% of Sega's hardware and software for export, were produced in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong<ref>New Sunday Times 1992-11-09 Battle for game machine market</ref>.
  
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In January 1997, [[Stone International Trading Co., Ltd]] (四通集团) announced that they authorization from Sega to sell [[Sega Saturn]] in China. They also announced that are looking for distributors and called existing importers of Saturn to contact the Stone for to authorization of the sales. The company said that they will do inspections across the country and those who will not cooperate will be classified as illegal sellers.<ref>TV Game and PC Game 1/1997 page 80</ref> In March 1997, it was announced that the consoles can now be purchased from authorized retailers in Tianjin, Beijing and shipped nationwide for ¥2,400 with 4-disc set.<ref>TV Game and PC Game 1/1997 page 80</ref>In the following months, more vendors appeared in other regions. In August 1997, Sega said that they want to sell 40,000 units in the first year.<ref>https://www.telecompaper.com/news/sega-to-sell-saturn-games-console--114366</ref>  
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==WKK and Huahan Culture Entertainment==
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Hong Kong's distributor of Sega - [[WKK]] began distribution of Master System II, starting from July 1993 by it's division called WKK Industries China, but sales were minimal. In October 1993, WKK began test market of [[Sega Mega Drive]] model I, hoping for better results<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20210622072008/https://techmonitor.ai/technology/sega_starts_test_marketing_new_machine</ref><ref>https://www.telecompaper.com/news/sega-to-test-market-mega-drive-machines--8854</ref>.
  
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In October of 1998 Sega and [[Tianli]] formed a strategic alliance to produced Mega Drive VCD and DVD Players and distribute them across the country.
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In Christmas 1993, Sega signed an agreement with [[Huahan Culture Entertainment]] in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Beijing with a purpose of creating new company. On December 13, 1994, formed [[Sega Huahan Culture Entertainment]] to develop, produce and promote games for Chinese video arcade market<ref>"Sega forms China venture" The Business Times, 5 January 1995</ref><ref>https://www.gcores.com/articles/128668</ref>, manage amusement facilities and sell professional equipment in China<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010724034423/http://www.sega.co.jp:80/sega_e/corp/kaisha/history.html</ref>.
  
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[[Zhongxun]] (中讯) distributed [[Sega Dreamcast]] until June 2000 when consoles were banned.<ref>https://www.zhihu.com/appview/p/39495468</ref>
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In November 1994, WKK organised special exhibition in Shanghai, where it presented many systems and games for Chinese audience including [[Mega Drive]] 2, [[Game Gear]], [[Super 32X]] and [[Sega Saturn]]. These promotional activities were related to the [[Nintendo]] entering the market this year with the [[Game Boy]] and [[Super Famicom]], distributed by Mani Limited from Hong Kong. Two more producers were invited on exhibition as a guests - Goldstar with [[3DO]] and [[U.M.C]] with Super A'Can prototype, but these two systems enjoyed little attention from visitors compare to Sega products<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater</ref><ref>https://user.guancha.cn/main/content?id=153053</ref>. WKK said that sell of 16-bit systems is still very small due to it's price (¥800 for console, ¥200-¥400 for games)<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater</ref>. In mid-1995, it was reported that the Mega Drive console had 30,000 - 40,000 users, in comparison, the [[Super Famicom]] had 5,000 - 7,000 users and the 3DO approximately 500 - 700<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n183/mode/1up?view=theater</ref>. WKK had the most developed dealer network in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and the biggest obstacle to its further development was piracy, although there were rumors that Sega already had plans to solve this problem. It also revealed plans about building factory of Sega games in China<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater</ref>. It's unknown if any of Sega consoles promoted by WKK on Shanghai exhibition was distributed after that by them in China, because further information ​about company's fate are unknown.
  
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Between late 90s/early 2000s Mega Drive clones were still sold. After ban of consoles, some of the models were distributed as educational computers with learning programmes in Chinese, similary to famiclones, because computers were still allowed. There were also a lot of clones disguised as VCD/DVD players.
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==Fight with piracy==
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The piracy of Mega Drive consoles and games was very strong in the region and started sometimes around 1992. From early 1990s to this day, countless clones have been produced in China and exact numbers are still unknown, because apart from clones with changed names and packaging many of them are still simply called "Mega Drives", only with different manufacturers or components. It is also difficult to determine which ones were intended for export and which ones for the domestic market.
  
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In mid-1990s the most popular producer of 16-bit Sega bootlegs was [[Tianjing Newstar Electronics., Ltd.]] with it's ''New Star'' clone series. Others included [[Shenchu Electronic]], [[Shanghai Huze Electronics Co.]], [[Pride Sky Limited]], [[Subor]], [[BBK Electronics]] (called also BBG Electronics), [[Beijing Aipu Electromechanical Development Co. Ltd.]] and many more. Like clones, the number of producers and distributors dealing with it until present times, is impossible to determine. From 1994, Sega started suing numerous Mega Drive clone producers from China<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20210622234704/https://techmonitor.ai/technology/chinese_sega_pirate_punished</ref>. The main goal was not only to reduce clones on the local market but also on the global one, because many products were sent abroad where they competed with the original systems. For example, in early 1995, Sega loose 70% of Hong Kong market, because of bootlegs from China<ref>https://www.telecompaper.com/news/police-seize-pirated-audiovisual-products--49954</ref>.
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On March 9, 1995, Sega reached an agreement with Chinese government to took legal action in order to minimalize piracy of Sega systems.<ref>https://www.163.com/dy/article/GK3F1SSS0526FAFP.html</ref><ref>https://www.telecompaper.com/news/govt-takes-action-against-piracy-of-sega-games--51523</ref>With this, the largest game console wholesaler in Beijing and other "Sega" games stores were seized. Very huge amounts of pirated consoles and cartridges were confiscated and eventually destroyed. These actions almost caused the collapse of the Chinese gaming market. The first reason was that economy was mainly based on piracy, because most people didn't had money to original video games and ridding of the bootlegs means shrinking of market size. The second one was long-term attack on gaming by two sides - the media and educational circles due to the bad nature of video games, which now had third side - the government who under reason of copyright protection decrease market. Despite the sharp start, further actions weren't as strong and piracy still continued, causing stabilization of this specific market<ref>https://www.163.com/dy/article/GK3F1SSS0526FAFP.html</ref>. In mid-1995, the clones of first Mega Drive cost ¥580-¥620 and second MD cost ¥640-¥680<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n183/mode/1up?view=theater</ref>.
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In addition to piracy, parallel imports also existed and were a large part of the market. The origins are dated in 1988, immediately after China opened up to the console market and it functioned, due to the initial lack of official representatives of foreign producers on the Chinese market and later due to the weakness of the representing agencies. The consoles were imported from Japan and most of them were available immediately after their release in that country (including Sega, starting from Mega Drive's Japan release). However, the problem for importers was the high customs duty, which was one of the reasons for the beginnings of piracy in the late 1980s/early 1990s. In mid-1995, Mega Drive model I in PAL format cost ¥700-¥850, Mega Drive model II in NTSC format cost ¥950-¥1200, Game Gear cost ¥700-¥850, [[Mega Jet]] cost ¥800-¥850, [[Mega-CD]] II cost ¥1700-¥2200, Super 32X cost ¥1900-¥1950, [[Multi Mega]] cost ¥2450-¥2600 and Sega Saturn cost ¥4800-¥5300<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n183/mode/1up?view=theater</ref>.
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==U.M.C, Stone Group and Tianli==
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With the end of 1995, Chinese market was dominated by 8-bit [[Famicom]] clones which sold 1.5 milion units, but this year stood under decline of it's sales. The growth was seen in 16-bit consoles which sold 1 milion units until this time. Nearly all of this systems were Mega Drive clones and rest was imported or officially sold MD consoles, Super Famicom and Super A'Can. The third power were 32-bit consoles, sold only from 1 year and had 30,000 users with Sega Saturn as dominate system (15,000 units), next was [[PlayStation]] (7,000 units) and others (8,000 units)<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B696%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/n170/mode/1up?view=theater</ref>.
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In order to stop Nintendo's growth in Asia, Sega signed in September 1996 an agreement with U.M.C from Taiwan to produce cheap Mega Drive systems for Asian markets<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B696%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/n173/mode/2up?view=theater
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</ref>. In China, UMC established the [[Dynastar Technology Co., Ltd]] (华星电子科技有限公司) in Shantou<ref>https://www.zhihu.com/question/465517805</ref>, to produce and sale Mega Drive 2 (for a price of ¥450) and distribute [[Game Gear]] consoles (promoted on the back of MD2 box). Before this deal, UMC distributed in China it's own systems - 8-bit portable Gamate and 16-bit Super A'Can console, which all competed with Sega.
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When Sony announced in mid-1996, that they are creating distribution network in Asia for its console, Sega started in July 1996, looking for a partner in China. In January 1997, [[Stone International Trading Co., Ltd]] (四通集团) announced that they have a authorization from Sega to sell [[Sega Saturn]] and [[Sega Pico]] in China<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B697%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/n175/mode/2up?view=theater</ref>. They also announced that are looking for distributors and called existing importers of Saturn to contact the Stone for to authorization of the sales. The company said that they will do inspections across the country and those who will not cooperate will be classified as illegal sellers.<ref>TV Game and PC Game 1/1997 page 80</ref> It is worth noting that Stone Group is probably the first Chinese company to obtain authorization to sell any foreign console. Until then, the agents were companies not from the mainland (from Hong Kong or Taiwan) which delivered products directly to stores in China. Up to this point in China, the imported Saturn dominated the 32-bit gaming market, with 30,000 consoles sold, which was 75% of that market. Much of the credit went to disk piracy, which Stone Group promised to fight.
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In March 1997, it started test sales from authorized retailers in Tianjin, Beijing and shipped nationwide for ¥2,400 with 4-disc included.<ref>TV Game and PC Game 3/1997 page 80</ref>Many titles were ship immediately or shortly after their Japanese release. ''[[Sonic Jam]]'' was the first game with Chinese instructions, and soon many games had them.
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At the end of 1996, the ''[[Virtua Fighter 2]]'' championship was held, but the event was poorly promoted. In the following year, more advertised [[Beijing 97 Spring VR Fighter Conference]] was held in three arcade showrooms in Beijing, sponsored by Stone Group and Sega Huahan Culture Entertainment. The final took place on May 25, 1997 and the main prize was a Sega Saturn with the game ''Virtua Fighter 2''<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B697%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/2/mode/2up?view=theater</ref><ref>https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/66213649</ref>.
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On July 3, 1997, the trial sales period ended and Sega launched the Saturn in locations nationwide. Show rooms have been created in major cities to present their products. The plan was to sell 40,000 Saturns in the first year and the company's goal was annual sales of 70,000–80,000 units<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B697%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/n139/mode/2up?view=theater</ref><ref>https://www.telecompaper.com/news/sega-to-sell-saturn-games-console--114366</ref>.
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By the end of the year, Sega was not satisfied with Stone Group's performance, although the console was, seen as a prize by Coca-Cola and in one of the television programs, which was unique for the consoles in that market<ref>https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/70409703</ref>. They choose a second partner called [[Culture and Entertainment Co., Ltd]] (文化娱乐公司) associated with Shanghai Cultural Bureau Co., Ltd (上海文化局), which released the Saturn with a VCD player in January 1998 for ¥1500<ref>https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B698%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/2/mode/2up?view=theater</ref>.
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The idea of VCD player stick with Sega, which wanted to return on still growing 16-bit market of China. After Mega Drive discontinue in Asia, Chinese players complain about no new software available for system, even bootleg games released by pirates were few in numbers. In October 1998, Sega formed a strategic alliance with [[Tianli]] to distribute Mega Drive VCD and DVD Players produced by U.M.C. The video games were distributed on discs with one containing multiple games in it. The system was well-known and recognizable, but the price of device was high (¥1799) and quickly pirated.
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==Ban of consoles==
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The [[Hong Kong Zhongxun Video Games Co., Ltd.]] (香港中讯电玩有限公司) was a distributor of [[Sega Dreamcast]] from around 1999 until June 2000 when consoles were banned in China<ref>https://www.scmp.com/article/320656/accession-segacom-gives-cheong-ming-lift</ref><ref>https://www.zhihu.com/appview/p/39495468</ref>. [[Sega.com Asia]] planned to launch localized internet service for Dreamcast, which was suppose to be available in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou until early 2001 but it's fate is unknown<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010208231942/http://www.sega.com.hk/b5/aboutsega/press3.htm</ref>.
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Between late 90s/early 2000s Mega Drive clones were still sold. Until mid-2000s, some of the models were distributed as educational computers with learning programmes in Chinese similary to famiclones (first Sega system with keyboard was New Star FDC-2000 released in China in early 1995 by Tianjing Newstar Electronics), because computers were still allowed. There were also a lot of clones disguised as VCD/DVD players. The more common thing of early 2000s was translation of MD games into Chinese language and [[Li Cheng]] was one of the companies dealing with it. From mid-2000s, due to the development of new technology and portable consoles being allowed by law, MD clones appeared as handhelds like [[Mega Drive Portable]], [[HG-806]] and others
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==PC era==
 
On June 6, 2001, Sega announced that it would enter the Chinese market with [[Matrix Interactive]]. Distribution of the games was to begin on June 15, 2001. Planned to release more than 13 games this year alone and sell 1.5 million games by June 2002 and own 10% of the Chinese games market.<ref>https://www.highwaygames.com/arcade-news/sega-to-enter-chinese-game-software-market-in-june-351/</ref><ref>https://edition.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/asia/06/07/tokyo.segainchina/</ref><ref>http://tech.sina.com.cn/h/n/70171.shtml</ref>
 
On June 6, 2001, Sega announced that it would enter the Chinese market with [[Matrix Interactive]]. Distribution of the games was to begin on June 15, 2001. Planned to release more than 13 games this year alone and sell 1.5 million games by June 2002 and own 10% of the Chinese games market.<ref>https://www.highwaygames.com/arcade-news/sega-to-enter-chinese-game-software-market-in-june-351/</ref><ref>https://edition.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/asia/06/07/tokyo.segainchina/</ref><ref>http://tech.sina.com.cn/h/n/70171.shtml</ref>
  
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In 2002, Sega began selling [[Pico]] in China.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20140921201103/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-91099802.html</ref> In the same year Sega established [[Sega of China]] called at the beginning "Sega (Shanghai) Software Co., Ltd". Despite that, Chinese division began real operations on August 3, 2004.<ref>http://news.17173.com/content/2004-8-11/n413_329750.html</ref> In the same day, Sega announced that it would enter the Chinese online gaming market. The IT service for [[Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst]] was to be provided by [[Zarva Digital Entertainment]], for [[CTRace]] by [[Joyzone Networks]], and for [[Shenmue Online]] by [[T2 Technology Holdings]].<ref>https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040803005406/en/SEGA-Enters-China-Market-for-Online-Game-Business</ref>
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From Spring 2002, Sega Toys began selling [[Pico]] again<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20140921201103/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-91099802.html</ref>, but the results are unknown.
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In the same year Sega established [[Sega of China]] called at the beginning "Sega (Shanghai) Software Co., Ltd". Despite that, Chinese division began real operations on August 3, 2004.<ref>http://news.17173.com/content/2004-8-11/n413_329750.html</ref> In the same day, Sega announced that it would enter the Chinese online gaming market. The IT service for [[Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst]] was to be provided by [[Zarva Digital Entertainment]], for [[CTRace]] by [[Joyzone Networks]], and for [[Shenmue Online]] by [[T2 Technology Holdings]].<ref>https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040803005406/en/SEGA-Enters-China-Market-for-Online-Game-Business</ref> They also established [[Sega (China) Network Technology Co., Ltd]] which operated from October 2005 to May 2007<ref>http://news.cctv.com/science/20070531/102260.shtml</ref>.
  
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[[AtGames]] has been distributing games since January 2005.<ref>https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-expands-market-in-china-via-atgames/1100-6115888/</ref>Plug & Play consoles and portable devices weren't restricted by law.<ref>https://kotaku.com/why-are-consoles-banned-in-china-5587577></ref> The ban of the consoles was lifted in 2015.<ref>https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/25/9039995/china-ends-ban-on-video-game-consoles</ref>
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In January 2005, Sega began to work with [[AtGames]] not only to distributed PC games, but also produce consoles to compete with pirates<ref>https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-expands-market-in-china-via-atgames/1100-6115888/</ref>. This was possible, due to the fact that plug & play video games were another group of systems allowed by law<ref>https://kotaku.com/why-are-consoles-banned-in-china-5587577></ref>. The AtGames machines were later distribute worldwide with approval of Sega. The ban of the consoles was lifted in 2015<ref>https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/25/9039995/china-ends-ban-on-video-game-consoles</ref>.
  
 
In 2008, Sega entered into an agreement with CE-Asia for the distribution of games in the Chinese market. Empire: Total War and Total War: Shogun 2 have been included in the top 10 most popular PC games in China.<ref>http://www.ceasia.cn/e-about.html</ref>In 2013, [[Shanda Games]] released [[Chain Chronicles]].<ref>https://www.techinasia.com/sega-hopes-to-take-chain-chronicles-across-asia-via-an-unexpected-partner</ref>
 
In 2008, Sega entered into an agreement with CE-Asia for the distribution of games in the Chinese market. Empire: Total War and Total War: Shogun 2 have been included in the top 10 most popular PC games in China.<ref>http://www.ceasia.cn/e-about.html</ref>In 2013, [[Shanda Games]] released [[Chain Chronicles]].<ref>https://www.techinasia.com/sega-hopes-to-take-chain-chronicles-across-asia-via-an-unexpected-partner</ref>

Revision as of 19:08, 7 September 2024

Notavailable.svg
China 
History of Sega in China
Official Sega distributor(s): Hiroshima Trading (198x-199x), WKK Industries China (1993-1995), Dynastar Technology Co., Ltd (1996-1998), Stone International Trading Co., Ltd (1997-1998), Culture and Entertainment Co., Ltd (1998-1999), Hong Kong Zhongxun Video Games Co., Ltd. (1999-2000), Matrix Interactive (2001-2002), AtGames (2005-present), CE-Asia (2008-present)

This short article is in need of work. You can help Sega Retro by adding to it.


The history of Sega in Greater China could be seen in three perspectives - Taiwan, Hong Kong and presented in this article Mainland China.

Hiroshima Trading

The Mainland China market was first open to video game consoles in 1988[1]. Before that, gaming systems were known from imported and popular arcade machines, and a small number of second-generation consoles.

Sega Master System was the first documented console to be sold officially in China[2]. It was distributed by Hiroshima Trading (广岛交易株式会社) starting from late 1980s to early 1990s[3], but it was forgotten due to growing popularity of famiclones at the same time[4].

Until August 1992, 85% of Sega's hardware and software for export, were produced in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong[5].

WKK and Huahan Culture Entertainment

Hong Kong's distributor of Sega - WKK began distribution of Master System II, starting from July 1993 by it's division called WKK Industries China, but sales were minimal. In October 1993, WKK began test market of Sega Mega Drive model I, hoping for better results[6][7].

In Christmas 1993, Sega signed an agreement with Huahan Culture Entertainment in Diaoyutai State Guesthouse, Beijing with a purpose of creating new company. On December 13, 1994, formed Sega Huahan Culture Entertainment to develop, produce and promote games for Chinese video arcade market[8][9], manage amusement facilities and sell professional equipment in China[10].

In November 1994, WKK organised special exhibition in Shanghai, where it presented many systems and games for Chinese audience including Mega Drive 2, Game Gear, Super 32X and Sega Saturn. These promotional activities were related to the Nintendo entering the market this year with the Game Boy and Super Famicom, distributed by Mani Limited from Hong Kong. Two more producers were invited on exhibition as a guests - Goldstar with 3DO and U.M.C with Super A'Can prototype, but these two systems enjoyed little attention from visitors compare to Sega products[11][12]. WKK said that sell of 16-bit systems is still very small due to it's price (¥800 for console, ¥200-¥400 for games)[13]. In mid-1995, it was reported that the Mega Drive console had 30,000 - 40,000 users, in comparison, the Super Famicom had 5,000 - 7,000 users and the 3DO approximately 500 - 700[14]. WKK had the most developed dealer network in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and the biggest obstacle to its further development was piracy, although there were rumors that Sega already had plans to solve this problem. It also revealed plans about building factory of Sega games in China[15]. It's unknown if any of Sega consoles promoted by WKK on Shanghai exhibition was distributed after that by them in China, because further information ​about company's fate are unknown.

Fight with piracy

The piracy of Mega Drive consoles and games was very strong in the region and started sometimes around 1992. From early 1990s to this day, countless clones have been produced in China and exact numbers are still unknown, because apart from clones with changed names and packaging many of them are still simply called "Mega Drives", only with different manufacturers or components. It is also difficult to determine which ones were intended for export and which ones for the domestic market.

In mid-1990s the most popular producer of 16-bit Sega bootlegs was Tianjing Newstar Electronics., Ltd. with it's New Star clone series. Others included Shenchu Electronic, Shanghai Huze Electronics Co., Pride Sky Limited, Subor, BBK Electronics (called also BBG Electronics), Beijing Aipu Electromechanical Development Co. Ltd. and many more. Like clones, the number of producers and distributors dealing with it until present times, is impossible to determine. From 1994, Sega started suing numerous Mega Drive clone producers from China[16]. The main goal was not only to reduce clones on the local market but also on the global one, because many products were sent abroad where they competed with the original systems. For example, in early 1995, Sega loose 70% of Hong Kong market, because of bootlegs from China[17].

On March 9, 1995, Sega reached an agreement with Chinese government to took legal action in order to minimalize piracy of Sega systems.[18][19]With this, the largest game console wholesaler in Beijing and other "Sega" games stores were seized. Very huge amounts of pirated consoles and cartridges were confiscated and eventually destroyed. These actions almost caused the collapse of the Chinese gaming market. The first reason was that economy was mainly based on piracy, because most people didn't had money to original video games and ridding of the bootlegs means shrinking of market size. The second one was long-term attack on gaming by two sides - the media and educational circles due to the bad nature of video games, which now had third side - the government who under reason of copyright protection decrease market. Despite the sharp start, further actions weren't as strong and piracy still continued, causing stabilization of this specific market[20]. In mid-1995, the clones of first Mega Drive cost ¥580-¥620 and second MD cost ¥640-¥680[21].

In addition to piracy, parallel imports also existed and were a large part of the market. The origins are dated in 1988, immediately after China opened up to the console market and it functioned, due to the initial lack of official representatives of foreign producers on the Chinese market and later due to the weakness of the representing agencies. The consoles were imported from Japan and most of them were available immediately after their release in that country (including Sega, starting from Mega Drive's Japan release). However, the problem for importers was the high customs duty, which was one of the reasons for the beginnings of piracy in the late 1980s/early 1990s. In mid-1995, Mega Drive model I in PAL format cost ¥700-¥850, Mega Drive model II in NTSC format cost ¥950-¥1200, Game Gear cost ¥700-¥850, Mega Jet cost ¥800-¥850, Mega-CD II cost ¥1700-¥2200, Super 32X cost ¥1900-¥1950, Multi Mega cost ¥2450-¥2600 and Sega Saturn cost ¥4800-¥5300[22].

U.M.C, Stone Group and Tianli

With the end of 1995, Chinese market was dominated by 8-bit Famicom clones which sold 1.5 milion units, but this year stood under decline of it's sales. The growth was seen in 16-bit consoles which sold 1 milion units until this time. Nearly all of this systems were Mega Drive clones and rest was imported or officially sold MD consoles, Super Famicom and Super A'Can. The third power were 32-bit consoles, sold only from 1 year and had 30,000 users with Sega Saturn as dominate system (15,000 units), next was PlayStation (7,000 units) and others (8,000 units)[23].

In order to stop Nintendo's growth in Asia, Sega signed in September 1996 an agreement with U.M.C from Taiwan to produce cheap Mega Drive systems for Asian markets[24]. In China, UMC established the Dynastar Technology Co., Ltd (华星电子科技有限公司) in Shantou[25], to produce and sale Mega Drive 2 (for a price of ¥450) and distribute Game Gear consoles (promoted on the back of MD2 box). Before this deal, UMC distributed in China it's own systems - 8-bit portable Gamate and 16-bit Super A'Can console, which all competed with Sega.

When Sony announced in mid-1996, that they are creating distribution network in Asia for its console, Sega started in July 1996, looking for a partner in China. In January 1997, Stone International Trading Co., Ltd (四通集团) announced that they have a authorization from Sega to sell Sega Saturn and Sega Pico in China[26]. They also announced that are looking for distributors and called existing importers of Saturn to contact the Stone for to authorization of the sales. The company said that they will do inspections across the country and those who will not cooperate will be classified as illegal sellers.[27] It is worth noting that Stone Group is probably the first Chinese company to obtain authorization to sell any foreign console. Until then, the agents were companies not from the mainland (from Hong Kong or Taiwan) which delivered products directly to stores in China. Up to this point in China, the imported Saturn dominated the 32-bit gaming market, with 30,000 consoles sold, which was 75% of that market. Much of the credit went to disk piracy, which Stone Group promised to fight.

In March 1997, it started test sales from authorized retailers in Tianjin, Beijing and shipped nationwide for ¥2,400 with 4-disc included.[28]Many titles were ship immediately or shortly after their Japanese release. Sonic Jam was the first game with Chinese instructions, and soon many games had them.

At the end of 1996, the Virtua Fighter 2 championship was held, but the event was poorly promoted. In the following year, more advertised Beijing 97 Spring VR Fighter Conference was held in three arcade showrooms in Beijing, sponsored by Stone Group and Sega Huahan Culture Entertainment. The final took place on May 25, 1997 and the main prize was a Sega Saturn with the game Virtua Fighter 2[29][30].

On July 3, 1997, the trial sales period ended and Sega launched the Saturn in locations nationwide. Show rooms have been created in major cities to present their products. The plan was to sell 40,000 Saturns in the first year and the company's goal was annual sales of 70,000–80,000 units[31][32].

By the end of the year, Sega was not satisfied with Stone Group's performance, although the console was, seen as a prize by Coca-Cola and in one of the television programs, which was unique for the consoles in that market[33]. They choose a second partner called Culture and Entertainment Co., Ltd (文化娱乐公司) associated with Shanghai Cultural Bureau Co., Ltd (上海文化局), which released the Saturn with a VCD player in January 1998 for ¥1500[34].

The idea of VCD player stick with Sega, which wanted to return on still growing 16-bit market of China. After Mega Drive discontinue in Asia, Chinese players complain about no new software available for system, even bootleg games released by pirates were few in numbers. In October 1998, Sega formed a strategic alliance with Tianli to distribute Mega Drive VCD and DVD Players produced by U.M.C. The video games were distributed on discs with one containing multiple games in it. The system was well-known and recognizable, but the price of device was high (¥1799) and quickly pirated.

Ban of consoles

The Hong Kong Zhongxun Video Games Co., Ltd. (香港中讯电玩有限公司) was a distributor of Sega Dreamcast from around 1999 until June 2000 when consoles were banned in China[35][36]. Sega.com Asia planned to launch localized internet service for Dreamcast, which was suppose to be available in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou until early 2001 but it's fate is unknown[37].

Between late 90s/early 2000s Mega Drive clones were still sold. Until mid-2000s, some of the models were distributed as educational computers with learning programmes in Chinese similary to famiclones (first Sega system with keyboard was New Star FDC-2000 released in China in early 1995 by Tianjing Newstar Electronics), because computers were still allowed. There were also a lot of clones disguised as VCD/DVD players. The more common thing of early 2000s was translation of MD games into Chinese language and Li Cheng was one of the companies dealing with it. From mid-2000s, due to the development of new technology and portable consoles being allowed by law, MD clones appeared as handhelds like Mega Drive Portable, HG-806 and others

PC era

On June 6, 2001, Sega announced that it would enter the Chinese market with Matrix Interactive. Distribution of the games was to begin on June 15, 2001. Planned to release more than 13 games this year alone and sell 1.5 million games by June 2002 and own 10% of the Chinese games market.[38][39][40]

From Spring 2002, Sega Toys began selling Pico again[41], but the results are unknown.

In the same year Sega established Sega of China called at the beginning "Sega (Shanghai) Software Co., Ltd". Despite that, Chinese division began real operations on August 3, 2004.[42] In the same day, Sega announced that it would enter the Chinese online gaming market. The IT service for Phantasy Star Online Blue Burst was to be provided by Zarva Digital Entertainment, for CTRace by Joyzone Networks, and for Shenmue Online by T2 Technology Holdings.[43] They also established Sega (China) Network Technology Co., Ltd which operated from October 2005 to May 2007[44].

In January 2005, Sega began to work with AtGames not only to distributed PC games, but also produce consoles to compete with pirates[45]. This was possible, due to the fact that plug & play video games were another group of systems allowed by law[46]. The AtGames machines were later distribute worldwide with approval of Sega. The ban of the consoles was lifted in 2015[47].

In 2008, Sega entered into an agreement with CE-Asia for the distribution of games in the Chinese market. Empire: Total War and Total War: Shogun 2 have been included in the top 10 most popular PC games in China.[48]In 2013, Shanda Games released Chain Chronicles.[49]

In 2010s, Sega created Sega Asia which handle regional releases of games,[50] but not physical distribution.

References

  1. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B696%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/n170/mode/1up?view=theater
  2. ↑ https://www.ign.com.cn/jiketang/33161/opinion/zou-jin-zhong-guo-jia-yong-you-xi-ji-bo-wu-guan-ji-ke-tang
  3. ↑ https://www.gcores.com/articles/99611
  4. ↑ https://www.ign.com.cn/jiketang/33161/opinion/zou-jin-zhong-guo-jia-yong-you-xi-ji-bo-wu-guan-ji-ke-tang
  5. ↑ New Sunday Times 1992-11-09 Battle for game machine market
  6. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210622072008/https://techmonitor.ai/technology/sega_starts_test_marketing_new_machine
  7. ↑ https://www.telecompaper.com/news/sega-to-test-market-mega-drive-machines--8854
  8. ↑ "Sega forms China venture" The Business Times, 5 January 1995
  9. ↑ https://www.gcores.com/articles/128668
  10. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20010724034423/http://www.sega.co.jp:80/sega_e/corp/kaisha/history.html
  11. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n4/mode/1up?view=theater
  12. ↑ https://user.guancha.cn/main/content?id=153053
  13. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater
  14. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n183/mode/1up?view=theater
  15. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater
  16. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20210622234704/https://techmonitor.ai/technology/chinese_sega_pirate_punished
  17. ↑ https://www.telecompaper.com/news/police-seize-pirated-audiovisual-products--49954
  18. ↑ https://www.163.com/dy/article/GK3F1SSS0526FAFP.html
  19. ↑ https://www.telecompaper.com/news/govt-takes-action-against-piracy-of-sega-games--51523
  20. ↑ https://www.163.com/dy/article/GK3F1SSS0526FAFP.html
  21. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n183/mode/1up?view=theater
  22. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B695%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC%EF%BC%88%E7%BC%A9%E5%8D%B0%EF%BC%89/page/n183/mode/1up?view=theater
  23. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B696%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/n170/mode/1up?view=theater
  24. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B696%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/n173/mode/2up?view=theater
  25. ↑ https://www.zhihu.com/question/465517805
  26. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B697%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/n175/mode/2up?view=theater
  27. ↑ TV Game and PC Game 1/1997 page 80
  28. ↑ TV Game and PC Game 3/1997 page 80
  29. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B697%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/2/mode/2up?view=theater
  30. ↑ https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/66213649
  31. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B697%E4%B8%8B%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/n139/mode/2up?view=theater
  32. ↑ https://www.telecompaper.com/news/sega-to-sell-saturn-games-console--114366
  33. ↑ https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/70409703
  34. ↑ https://archive.org/details/game-software-93-02/%E7%94%B5%E5%AD%90%E6%B8%B8%E6%88%8F%E8%BD%AF%E4%BB%B698%E4%B8%8A%E5%8D%8A%E5%B9%B4%E5%90%88%E8%AE%A2%E6%9C%AC/page/2/mode/2up?view=theater
  35. ↑ https://www.scmp.com/article/320656/accession-segacom-gives-cheong-ming-lift
  36. ↑ https://www.zhihu.com/appview/p/39495468
  37. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20010208231942/http://www.sega.com.hk/b5/aboutsega/press3.htm
  38. ↑ https://www.highwaygames.com/arcade-news/sega-to-enter-chinese-game-software-market-in-june-351/
  39. ↑ https://edition.cnn.com/2001/BUSINESS/asia/06/07/tokyo.segainchina/
  40. ↑ http://tech.sina.com.cn/h/n/70171.shtml
  41. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20140921201103/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-91099802.html
  42. ↑ http://news.17173.com/content/2004-8-11/n413_329750.html
  43. ↑ https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20040803005406/en/SEGA-Enters-China-Market-for-Online-Game-Business
  44. ↑ http://news.cctv.com/science/20070531/102260.shtml
  45. ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-expands-market-in-china-via-atgames/1100-6115888/
  46. ↑ https://kotaku.com/why-are-consoles-banned-in-china-5587577>
  47. ↑ https://www.theverge.com/2015/7/25/9039995/china-ends-ban-on-video-game-consoles
  48. ↑ http://www.ceasia.cn/e-about.html
  49. ↑ https://www.techinasia.com/sega-hopes-to-take-chain-chronicles-across-asia-via-an-unexpected-partner
  50. ↑ https://www.siliconera.com/sega-established-singapore-branch-to-cover-southeast-asia/
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