Difference between revisions of "History of Sega in Taiwan"

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[[Sega]] has had operations in Taiwan (officially known as the Republic of China) since the early 1980s, however its dubious political status means it is often confused with the ''People's'' Republic of China, otherwise known simply as China. Both modern China and Taiwan were originally united as the same country until 1949, when the [[wikipedia:Chinese Revolution (1949)|Chinese Revolution]] saw China's ruling party, the Kuomintang, "pushed off" the mainland. Taiwan has since experienced rapid growth and has transformed into a multi-party democratised nation. In contrast, though mainland China is the fastest growing nation in the world, it is exceptionally difficult to market and produce video games in this region due to tight restrictions imposed by the state.
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{{CountryBob
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| flag=Flag TW.svg
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| title=
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| distributors=[[Aaronix]] (1985-1988), [[Wenmao Co.Ltd]] (1990-1993), [[Pai Yuing Company Ltd]] (1993-199x), [[Pacific T-Zone]] (1998-2001), [[AtGames]] (2005-2015), [[Sega Taiwan]] (2015-present)
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| ratingsboard=
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}}{{stub}}
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[[Sega]] has had operations in Taiwan (officially known as the Republic of China) since the early 1970s, when Taiwan was one of the countries where Sega imported its game machines, however its dubious political status means it is often confused with the ''People's'' Republic of China, otherwise known simply as China. Both modern China and Taiwan were originally united as the same country until 1949, when the [[wikipedia:Chinese Revolution (1949)|Chinese Revolution]] saw China's ruling party, the Kuomintang, "pushed off" the mainland. Taiwan has since experienced rapid growth and has transformed into a multi-party democratised nation. In contrast, though mainland China is the fastest growing nation in the world, it is exceptionally difficult to market and produce video games in this region due to tight restrictions imposed by the state.
  
−
Taiwanese factories, as is the case for many Asian countries, are often responsible for the manufacturing of electronics equipment, including video game consoles, accessories and games designed by Sega. However, cheap manufacturing costs and relaxed copyright laws have led to Taiwan being a hub for unlicensed hardware and software too. The majority of unlicensed video games for third and fourth generation video games (such as the NES/Famicom and [[Sega Mega Drive]]) originate from the country.
+
==Aaronix==
 +
Due to legal restrictions, Sega could not import its products from Japan so in 1985 they got along with [[Jiawen Tsai]] (蔡嘉文) to manufacture its consoles under their brand. They released rebranded [[SG-1000 II]] and [[Sega Mark III]] (first [[SG-1000]] is rumored and wasn't confirmed for now)<ref>https://www.zhihu.com/appview/p/39495468</ref> as [[Aaronix]] (阿羅士) and [[Fullwis]] (虎威). The legal restrictions that blocked Sega from importing goods were abolish in 1987. Some sources stated that Aaronix started selling original Japanese [[Master System]] after that<ref>https://www.zhihu.com/appview/p/39495468</ref>, but this operations were ended shortly between 1987 and 1988. One of the reasons was high piracy and main competitor was [[Way-up Corp]] (佳寶電子業股份有限公司) which sold many SG-1000 clones and pirate softwares<ref>https://unauthorizon.blogspot.com/2024/02/cut-into-number-of-famiclones-ever.html</ref>.
  
−
Sega's endeavours in Taiwan are hard to track at the present time, however an early partnership with [[Aaronix]] saw officially licensed versions of the [[SG-1000 II]] and [[Sega Mark III]] released in the country. Taiwan presumably fits within Sega's definition of "Asia", and has therefore likely received Sega-branded NTSC versions of the [[Sega Mega Drive]] and [[Sega Saturn]] too, though the extent to which they were supported is not known. Taiwanese companies such as [[C&E]] and [[Realtec]] have managed to get their unlicensed products overseas, and C&E's ''[[Xin Qi Gai Wang Zi]]'' (otherwise known as ''Beggar Prince'') was given a global release by [[Super Fighter Team]].
+
Arcade machines were distribute by [[Laxan]] since 1983<ref>http://laxan.com.tw/en/index.php</ref>.
  
−
[[Koei]] was one of the first Japanese video game companies to have active operations in both China and Taiwan, so Saturn games such as ''[[Sangokushi IV]]'' and ''[[Sangokushi V]]'' have seen official releases in these regions. Sega has had an official branch of the company since 1981, though did not form [[Sega Taiwan]] until 1992. Sega does not produce games within Taiwan, but does maintain a large share of the arcade market in this region, as well as running a [[Sega World (Taiwan)|Sega World]].
+
==Wenmao Co.Ltd==
 +
[[File:MD HAA-2510 TW.jpg|thumb|Wenmao sticker|150px]]
 +
In 1990, [[Wenmao Co.Ltd]] (文贸有限公司) released NTSC versions of the [[Sega Mega Drive]]<ref>https://www.gcores.com/articles/99611</ref>, and also [[Game Gear]] in the next year. In 1991, ''[[Sangokushi Retsuden: Ransei no Eiyuutachi]]'' and ''[[Warrior of Rome]]'' were translate into Chinese<ref>https://www.gcores.com/articles/99611</ref>. Wenmao distributed [[Mega CD]] model I and [[Teradrive]] too from 1992{{fileref|TopMegaDrive4 Book TW.pdf|page=2}} and started importing Mega Drive 2 in 1993, before they left the market. All of the accessories and games for Sega systems that were exclusive for Japan were released here as well, which became a common thing in the next years.
 +
 
 +
[[Top Mega-Drive]] magazine about Sega video games was published between 1992-1994.
 +
 
 +
Sega form [[Sega Amusements Taiwan]] (later known as [[Sega Taiwan]]) in 1992<ref>https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/biztimes19920206-1.2.10.1.4?ST=1&AT=filter&DF=&DT=&AO=false&NPT=&L=&CTA=&NID=&CT=&WC=&YR=1992&SortBy=Oldest&K=sega&KA=sega&P=1&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=sega&oref=article</ref>, which maintain a large share of the arcade market in this region, as well as run a [[Sega World (Taiwan)|Sega World]]. 
 +
 
 +
Taiwanese factories, as is the case for many Asian countries, are often responsible for the manufacturing of electronics equipment, including video game consoles, accessories and games designed by Sega. 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>. However, cheap manufacturing costs and relaxed copyright laws have led to Taiwan being a hub for unlicensed hardware and software too. The majority of unlicensed video games for third and fourth generation video games sent into local market and out into the world (such as the NES/Famicom and [[Unlicensed Mega Drive clones|Sega Mega Drive]]) originate from the country. One of the more recognizable at that time were [[KW-500]] series by [[King-Wei Electronics]], [[HK-986]] by [[Hao Kang Electronics Industry Co., Ltd.]], [[High Quality]], Macro Drive or more ambitious like [[EZcom]] computer by [[Realtec]]. The number of clones and their producers from the 1990s to today is very difficult to determine.
 +
 
 +
==Pai Yuing Company Ltd==
 +
[[File:Sega Golden Seal TW PaiYuing.jpg|thumb|Pai Yuing golden sticker|200px]]
 +
In 1993, [[Pai Yuing Company Ltd]] (百韻股份有限公司) took over distribution, releasing Mega Drive 2 and Mega CD 2 same year.<ref>https://es.linkedin.com/pulse/sega-mega-drive-en-territorios-sino-hablantes-taiw%C3%A1n-sergio</ref> In the next year they manage to sell [[Mega Drive 32X]] as well. The consoles and games sold by them had special gold (sometimes white) sticker on the box to help customer distinguish clones from original. Taiwan was the first country outside of Japan and the U.S. to receive the [[Sega Channel (Asia)|Sega Channel]] around September/October of 1995 and service was handle by [[Fuzhi International Communication]] (富智國際傳播), apparently in Chinese<ref>https://black16bit.pixnet.net/blog/post/47583152</ref>.
 +
 
 +
[[Computer & Entertainment Inc.]], [[Gamtec]], [[Creaton Softech]], [[Chuanpu]] and [[Realtec]] produced unlicensed video games, with certain of them being exported to countries with high level of piracy and after many years, [[Super Fighter Team]] localized some of them and released in Western world. Other companies like [[SKOB]] or [[TCT]] began to work on first unauthorized translations of MD games.
 +
 
 +
==Sega Saturn==
 +
[[Sega Saturn]] seems to be released here by unknown distributor and was pretty popular but distribution was chaotic. Sega's agent withdrew from the market at some point and console was left with a lot of parallel imports, pirate software and unstable market price<ref>https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/6072</ref>.
 +
 
 +
Sega introduced [[Pico]] to Taiwan and Indonesia in late 1997 and expected to achieve total sales of 330,000 units in both countries by 2000<ref>https://www.telecompaper.com/news/sega-to-launch-pico-toy-computer-in-1997--118094</ref>.
 +
 
 +
Windows PC games from Sega released in late 90s, were distribute by [[Worldwise Enterprise]] and [[Media Master International]].
 +
 
 +
==Pacific T-Zone==
 +
On August 28, 1998, [[Pacific T-Zone]] signed an agreement with Sega to distributed [[Sega Dreamcast]] in the region.<ref>https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/6072</ref> Sega tried to contact Taiwanese producers to create and port games for Saturn and Dreamcast<ref>https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/5813</ref>. [[Koei]] was one of the first Japanese video game companies to have active operations in both China and Taiwan, so Saturn games such as ''[[Sangokushi IV]]'' and ''[[Sangokushi V]]'' have seen official releases in these regions. Daewoo released ''[[Senken Kigyouden]]'' in 1999 <ref>https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/3449</ref> and C&E work with [[Game Bank]] to release official Saturn games as well. [[Dianji Sega Saturn]] and [[Dianji Dreamcast]] were magazines published at the time.
 +
 
 +
On November 27, 1998, T-Zone released Dreamcast with 4 games. Demand was estimated on 10,000 units but due to shortages, only small part of this got to Taiwan and the rest was expected to arrive on January 1999.<ref>https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/5410</ref> [[Sega.com Asia]], (online subsidiary of Sega Japan for Asia)<ref>https://segaretro.org/Press_release:_2000-04-26:_Sega.com_Opens_Hong_Kong_Office</ref>announced in August 2000, that [[Gigamedia]] will launch a online service for consoles in late 2000/early 2001<ref>https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB966278876957260118?tesla=yDreamcast</ref><ref>https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/16/segacom-moves-into-taiwan</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010208231942/http://www.sega.com.hk/b5/aboutsega/press3.htm</ref>, but it never happened.<ref>https://www.gcores.com/articles/99611</ref> Sega.com Asia said in August that Sega sold 400,000 Dreamcast consoles in Taiwan and expects the number to exceed 1.2 million by 2002<ref>https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB966278876957260118?tesla=y</ref>.
 +
 
 +
==After Dreamcast==
 +
From 2001, [[Dysin Interactive]] began releasing games from Sakura Taisen series. In 2005, Sega gave [[AtGames]] exclusive distribution rights to Greater China region<ref>https://www.change.org/p/sega-revoke-atgames-s-pc-games-distribution-right-in-greater-china Failed petition</ref>. Some of the titles were also released by [[Interwise Multimedia]] (mid-2000s), [[New Era]] (from 2005 to 2019)<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20050831023756/http://www.neweraonline.com:80/corp/games.htm</ref><ref>https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-to-focus-on-southeast-asian-market/1100-6339618/</ref> and [[Shanda Games]] ([[Chain Chronicle]])<ref>https://www.techinasia.com/sega-hopes-to-take-chain-chronicles-across-asia-via-an-unexpected-partner</ref>. In 2015, distribution was took over by Sega Taiwan.
 +
 
 +
==References==
 +
<references />
  
 
{{History}}
 
{{History}}

Latest revision as of 04:04, 14 November 2024

Notavailable.svg
Taiwan 
History of Sega in Taiwan
Official Sega distributor(s): Aaronix (1985-1988), Wenmao Co.Ltd (1990-1993), Pai Yuing Company Ltd (1993-199x), Pacific T-Zone (1998-2001), AtGames (2005-2015), Sega Taiwan (2015-present)

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

Sega has had operations in Taiwan (officially known as the Republic of China) since the early 1970s, when Taiwan was one of the countries where Sega imported its game machines, however its dubious political status means it is often confused with the People's Republic of China, otherwise known simply as China. Both modern China and Taiwan were originally united as the same country until 1949, when the Chinese Revolution saw China's ruling party, the Kuomintang, "pushed off" the mainland. Taiwan has since experienced rapid growth and has transformed into a multi-party democratised nation. In contrast, though mainland China is the fastest growing nation in the world, it is exceptionally difficult to market and produce video games in this region due to tight restrictions imposed by the state.

Aaronix

Due to legal restrictions, Sega could not import its products from Japan so in 1985 they got along with Jiawen Tsai (蔡嘉文) to manufacture its consoles under their brand. They released rebranded SG-1000 II and Sega Mark III (first SG-1000 is rumored and wasn't confirmed for now)[1] as Aaronix (阿羅士) and Fullwis (虎威). The legal restrictions that blocked Sega from importing goods were abolish in 1987. Some sources stated that Aaronix started selling original Japanese Master System after that[2], but this operations were ended shortly between 1987 and 1988. One of the reasons was high piracy and main competitor was Way-up Corp (佳寶電子業股份有限公司) which sold many SG-1000 clones and pirate softwares[3].

Arcade machines were distribute by Laxan since 1983[4].

Wenmao Co.Ltd

Wenmao sticker

In 1990, Wenmao Co.Ltd (文贸有限公司) released NTSC versions of the Sega Mega Drive[5], and also Game Gear in the next year. In 1991, Sangokushi Retsuden: Ransei no Eiyuutachi and Warrior of Rome were translate into Chinese[6]. Wenmao distributed Mega CD model I and Teradrive too from 1992[7] and started importing Mega Drive 2 in 1993, before they left the market. All of the accessories and games for Sega systems that were exclusive for Japan were released here as well, which became a common thing in the next years.

Top Mega-Drive magazine about Sega video games was published between 1992-1994.

Sega form Sega Amusements Taiwan (later known as Sega Taiwan) in 1992[8], which maintain a large share of the arcade market in this region, as well as run a Sega World.

Taiwanese factories, as is the case for many Asian countries, are often responsible for the manufacturing of electronics equipment, including video game consoles, accessories and games designed by Sega. Until August 1992, 85% of Sega's hardware and software for export, were produced in Taiwan, China and Hong Kong[9]. However, cheap manufacturing costs and relaxed copyright laws have led to Taiwan being a hub for unlicensed hardware and software too. The majority of unlicensed video games for third and fourth generation video games sent into local market and out into the world (such as the NES/Famicom and Sega Mega Drive) originate from the country. One of the more recognizable at that time were KW-500 series by King-Wei Electronics, HK-986 by Hao Kang Electronics Industry Co., Ltd., High Quality, Macro Drive or more ambitious like EZcom computer by Realtec. The number of clones and their producers from the 1990s to today is very difficult to determine.

Pai Yuing Company Ltd

Pai Yuing golden sticker

In 1993, Pai Yuing Company Ltd (百韻股份有限公司) took over distribution, releasing Mega Drive 2 and Mega CD 2 same year.[10] In the next year they manage to sell Mega Drive 32X as well. The consoles and games sold by them had special gold (sometimes white) sticker on the box to help customer distinguish clones from original. Taiwan was the first country outside of Japan and the U.S. to receive the Sega Channel around September/October of 1995 and service was handle by Fuzhi International Communication (富智國際傳播), apparently in Chinese[11].

Computer & Entertainment Inc., Gamtec, Creaton Softech, Chuanpu and Realtec produced unlicensed video games, with certain of them being exported to countries with high level of piracy and after many years, Super Fighter Team localized some of them and released in Western world. Other companies like SKOB or TCT began to work on first unauthorized translations of MD games.

Sega Saturn

Sega Saturn seems to be released here by unknown distributor and was pretty popular but distribution was chaotic. Sega's agent withdrew from the market at some point and console was left with a lot of parallel imports, pirate software and unstable market price[12].

Sega introduced Pico to Taiwan and Indonesia in late 1997 and expected to achieve total sales of 330,000 units in both countries by 2000[13].

Windows PC games from Sega released in late 90s, were distribute by Worldwise Enterprise and Media Master International.

Pacific T-Zone

On August 28, 1998, Pacific T-Zone signed an agreement with Sega to distributed Sega Dreamcast in the region.[14] Sega tried to contact Taiwanese producers to create and port games for Saturn and Dreamcast[15]. Koei was one of the first Japanese video game companies to have active operations in both China and Taiwan, so Saturn games such as Sangokushi IV and Sangokushi V have seen official releases in these regions. Daewoo released Senken Kigyouden in 1999 [16] and C&E work with Game Bank to release official Saturn games as well. Dianji Sega Saturn and Dianji Dreamcast were magazines published at the time.

On November 27, 1998, T-Zone released Dreamcast with 4 games. Demand was estimated on 10,000 units but due to shortages, only small part of this got to Taiwan and the rest was expected to arrive on January 1999.[17] Sega.com Asia, (online subsidiary of Sega Japan for Asia)[18]announced in August 2000, that Gigamedia will launch a online service for consoles in late 2000/early 2001[19][20][21], but it never happened.[22] Sega.com Asia said in August that Sega sold 400,000 Dreamcast consoles in Taiwan and expects the number to exceed 1.2 million by 2002[23].

After Dreamcast

From 2001, Dysin Interactive began releasing games from Sakura Taisen series. In 2005, Sega gave AtGames exclusive distribution rights to Greater China region[24]. Some of the titles were also released by Interwise Multimedia (mid-2000s), New Era (from 2005 to 2019)[25][26] and Shanda Games (Chain Chronicle)[27]. In 2015, distribution was took over by Sega Taiwan.

References

  1. ↑ https://www.zhihu.com/appview/p/39495468
  2. ↑ https://www.zhihu.com/appview/p/39495468
  3. ↑ https://unauthorizon.blogspot.com/2024/02/cut-into-number-of-famiclones-ever.html
  4. ↑ http://laxan.com.tw/en/index.php
  5. ↑ https://www.gcores.com/articles/99611
  6. ↑ https://www.gcores.com/articles/99611
  7. ↑ File:TopMegaDrive4 Book TW.pdf, page 2
  8. ↑ https://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/biztimes19920206-1.2.10.1.4?ST=1&AT=filter&DF=&DT=&AO=false&NPT=&L=&CTA=&NID=&CT=&WC=&YR=1992&SortBy=Oldest&K=sega&KA=sega&P=1&Display=0&filterS=0&QT=sega&oref=article
  9. ↑ New Sunday Times 1992-11-09 Battle for game machine market
  10. ↑ https://es.linkedin.com/pulse/sega-mega-drive-en-territorios-sino-hablantes-taiw%C3%A1n-sergio
  11. ↑ https://black16bit.pixnet.net/blog/post/47583152
  12. ↑ https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/6072
  13. ↑ https://www.telecompaper.com/news/sega-to-launch-pico-toy-computer-in-1997--118094
  14. ↑ https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/6072
  15. ↑ https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/5813
  16. ↑ https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/3449
  17. ↑ https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/5410
  18. ↑ https://segaretro.org/Press_release:_2000-04-26:_Sega.com_Opens_Hong_Kong_Office
  19. ↑ https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB966278876957260118?tesla=yDreamcast
  20. ↑ https://www.ign.com/articles/2000/08/16/segacom-moves-into-taiwan
  21. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20010208231942/http://www.sega.com.hk/b5/aboutsega/press3.htm
  22. ↑ https://www.gcores.com/articles/99611
  23. ↑ https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB966278876957260118?tesla=y
  24. ↑ https://www.change.org/p/sega-revoke-atgames-s-pc-games-distribution-right-in-greater-china Failed petition
  25. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20050831023756/http://www.neweraonline.com:80/corp/games.htm
  26. ↑ https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sega-to-focus-on-southeast-asian-market/1100-6339618/
  27. ↑ https://www.techinasia.com/sega-hopes-to-take-chain-chronicles-across-asia-via-an-unexpected-partner
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