History of Sega/Misconceptions

Back to: History of Sega.

As a large company with an often controversial early history, Sega has been known to perpetuate incorrect facts about its business.

Business age

1951

Sega claims 1951 to be the date of its "establishment". This likely refers to the creation of Service Games, Japan in April 1951, the point in which the "Service Games" brand was first seen in the country.

Cruicially, this is not the first (or last) branch of Service Games, with the "original", Service Games, Hawaii being founded in 1945. It is also worth noting that Service Games, Japan, as an entity, ceased to exist in 1960, being split into Nihon Goraku Bussan and Nihon Kikai Seizou.

1960

Sega claims 1960 is the date it was "incorporated". While this may be correct in that it was the date Sega (or at least, Nihon Kikai Seizou which traded as "Sega") became a corporation in the eyes of the law, Sega has been known to celebrate this date as a birthdate, such as in its Go Sega campaign. As explained above, Sega as an entity (albeit possibly not as a "registered" one), pre-dates this date.

First use of the "Sega" name

1962

Sega has incorrectly stated the first product to bear the "Sega" name was the Sega 1000 jukebox, released in 1962. Though it is believed that the jukebox was the first wholly original product under the brand, this official claim is incorrect for two reasons; firstly the Sega 1000 debuted in 1960, but more importantly, Sega branding was used for Sega Bell slot machines, believed to have been manufactured from 1956 (or at least during the existence of Service Games, Japan (i.e. before June 1960)).

Sonic the Hedgehog release date

Sega likes to organise events and promotions around the release of the video game Sonic the Hedgehog, starring the company's mascot. Sega incorrectly attributes the game's worldwide release date to 23rd June 1991, and often releases Sonic games on the 23rd June in celebration (starting with Sonic Adventure 2, the "10th anniversary" of the game).

This myth appears to stem from the 1997 release of Sonic Jam which dated the first game's release, and was perpetuated in Sonic Team content in the years which came. However, outside of Japan (which saw an newer revision of the game launch on 26th July), the game lacked a fixed release date and would emerge in different markets across the summer of 1991. Saved receipts and advertising of the period suggests US retailers were selling copies of Sonic as early as 11th June, while copies were on sale in the United Kingdom by the 21st. There are no contempotary sources to back up the 23rd June claim, and by Sega's own admission by logging a different date for Japan, it did not receive a worldwide release date.

This is not unusual, as at the time, very few video games had fixed release dates, owing to potential delays in manufacturing (and shipping) cartridges, the complexity of distribution, and retailers' unwillingness to hold on to stock they could be selling. Sega's first "worldwide" release date for a video game was the 24th November 1992 release of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, a significant logistical challenge (and even then did not apply to Japan) that would not be emulated by other publishers until 1993.