Difference between revisions of "History of Sega in Central Asia"

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Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan declared independence in 1991. In the next years they all became members of the '''Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)'''.
 
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan declared independence in 1991. In the next years they all became members of the '''Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)'''.
  
==Nissho Iwai==
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==Sega video game consoles==
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{{mainArticle|History of Sega in Russia}}
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Back in the days of the Soviet Union, [[Sega]] tried to enter the market with the special model of first [[Master System]] (SECAM signal, lack of card slot and ''[[Alex Kidd in Miracle World]]'' built in) through [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryozka_(Russian_retail_store) Beryozka] stores selling luxury goods, but the lack of good advertising, a small distribution network and the luxurious nature of the system resulted in failure.
 
Back in the days of the Soviet Union, [[Sega]] tried to enter the market with the special model of first [[Master System]] (SECAM signal, lack of card slot and ''[[Alex Kidd in Miracle World]]'' built in) through [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beryozka_(Russian_retail_store) Beryozka] stores selling luxury goods, but the lack of good advertising, a small distribution network and the luxurious nature of the system resulted in failure.
  
The video games became more popular from around 1993, when Russian company [[Steepler]] released [[Famicom]] clone called Dendy. The video games to this time existed only because of Soviet products (like Pong or Elektronika IM), European imports (NES or Atari) or clones (Rambo 2600). With the time, Steepler began to offer [[Sega]] related stuff like clones called [[Pro 16 Bit]], [[High Quality]] or simply [[Mega Drive]], original Asian Mega Drive 2 or [[Sega Genesis CDX]], all with US, Asian and bootleg games.<ref>http://tv-games.ru/wiki/Companies/Steepler.html</ref> As a competition [[Nissho Iwai]] began to offer from 1994, official Sega games like Mega Drive II, [[Master System]] II and [[Game Gear]] from Europe, sold by authorized distributors networks like [[Buka]].<ref> Бука - Магазин Игрушек 1/95 page 57</ref> With the time Steepler began to offer it in its own stores.<ref>https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/94004?query=steepler</ref> The video gaming around that time wasn’t widespread in Central Asia. Most of the people that played games around that time were from large cites or capital city. This was due to economical situation and in some of the countries political one like Tajikistani Civil War. The clones of Mega Drive and Dendy video games that were seen on flea markets, small stores and from specialized distributors like [[Bitman]], [[Kenga]] or [[Subor]] were more popular than original one but still only few had it. Between 1994/1995, Nissho Iwai and Buka continue to released new systems like [[Mega CD]] 2<ref> Бука - Магазин Игрушек 1/95 page 57</ref>, [[Mega Drive 32X]]<ref> Бука - Магазин Игрушек 1/95 page 57</ref> and [[Sega Saturn]]<ref> Бука - Магазин Игрушек 1/95 page 57</ref> and introduce cheaper Mega Drive 2 model from Asia.
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The regional video game market began to emerge after 1991, when the first imported Western consoles (like [[NES]] or [[Atari 2600]]) and clones (such as Rambo 2600) began to reach the country. In 1993, [[Steepler]] revolutionized the market and started selling a Famicom clone called Dendy, which clones became very popular in the region. The video gaming around that time wasn’t widespread in Central Asia. Most of the people that played games around that time were from large cites or capital city. This was due to economical situation and in some of the countries, also political one like [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tajikistani_Civil_War Tajikistani Civil War].  
  
Besides Famicom and Mega Drive clones, Sega had competition in form of [[Super Nintendo]] and [[Game Boy]] (distributed from November 1994 by Steepler<ref>https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/94004</ref>), [[3DO]] (distributed from late 1994 by Buka), [[PlayStation]] (distributed from March 1995 by Buka<ref>Бука - Магазин Игрушек 1/95 page 57</ref>, which distribution was taken over from July 1997 by Sony CIS<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/19980703064424/http://www.playstation-europe.com/playstation/pr/launch.htm</ref>), [[CD-i]] (distributed from 1995 by A –STIMUL<ref>http://zhurnalko.net/=sam/junyj-tehnik/1995-07--num57</ref> with chain of 3 authorised distributors) and [[Atari Jaguar]] (distributed from 1995 by [[Game Land]]).
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The original Sega consoles ([[Mega Drive]] II, [[Master System]] II, [[Game Gear]], [[Mega CD]] II and [[Mega Drive 32X]]) were released in 1994 through the [[Nissho Iwai]] trading house and its sub-distributors, local ones and from Russia (like [[Buka]]). The Steepler company itself sold clones and original Sega consoles, but over time it began to focus on official Nintendo systems like [[Super Nintendo]] and [[Game Boy]].
  
==Bitman and R-Style==
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From mid-90s, marekt was under pressure of bootleg sellers that distributed [[Mega Drive]] clones in flea market or stores. The systems were imported from Asia or from Russia and more organized were [[Bitman]], [[Kenga]] and [[Subor]]. Even when Bitman began cooperation with [[Sega Europe]] from January 1996, replacing Nissho Iwai, bringing [[Sega Saturn]] and selling [[Super Bitman]] legally, new wave of clones appeared again.
With [[Sega Europe]] taking over distribution of products in CIS region, former cloner Bitman{{Fileref|Migr_8_RU.pdf|page=91}} with [[R-Style]] and Buka began to taking care of  Sega distribution offering still the same hardware as previous, delivered from Europe and focusing on Sega Saturn, [[Sega Pico]] and Sega Mega Drive II. Bitman was later bought by R-Style<ref>https://www.itweek.ru/themes/detail.php?ID=44981</ref> and Sega disappeared from region until 1999. The video game market still existed around that time focusing mostly on clones of Famicom and Mega Drive which were delivered mostly from Russia by [[Simba's Video Games]] and [[New Game]] with some of the Central Asia distributors importing bootleg hardware and software directly from Far Asia.
 
  
==Dreamcast==
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Although the [[Sega Dreamcast]] was announced for release in CIS countries in 2000 by [[NVT]], it was canceled due to Sega's problems, which resulted in a rash of pirated games translated into Russian and imports.
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.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20010409225930/http://sega.ru:80/news.phtml</ref> 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.
 
  
Before that, Central Asia got imported Dreamcast from Europe by independent distributors. With the translation of software into Russian by [[Vector (Вектор)]], [[Kudos]] and [[RGR Studio]] who had distribution network across CIS selling same translated games for Sony consoles<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20060901234208/http://vector.msk.ru:80/</ref>, Russians imported Sega’s consoles form Europe and started distribution on its own which resulted in Dreamcast becoming more popular and was doing pretty well, same like PlayStation in the region.
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Today all brands of clones from Asia or Russia and can be easily find in shops specialized in distribution of that kind of products.
  
 
==1C Company==
 
==1C Company==

Latest revision as of 15:43, 27 August 2024

Notavailable.svg
Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan 
History of Sega in Central Asia
Official Sega distributor(s): Nissho Iwai (1994-1995), Buka (1994-1999), Bitman (1996-1997), R-Style (1996-1999), NVT (2000-2001), 1C Company (2005-present)

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan declared independence in 1991. In the next years they all became members of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

Sega video game consoles

Main article: History of Sega in Russia.

Back in the days of the Soviet Union, Sega tried to enter the market with the special model of first Master System (SECAM signal, lack of card slot and Alex Kidd in Miracle World built in) through Beryozka stores selling luxury goods, but the lack of good advertising, a small distribution network and the luxurious nature of the system resulted in failure.

The regional video game market began to emerge after 1991, when the first imported Western consoles (like NES or Atari 2600) and clones (such as Rambo 2600) began to reach the country. In 1993, Steepler revolutionized the market and started selling a Famicom clone called Dendy, which clones became very popular in the region. The video gaming around that time wasn’t widespread in Central Asia. Most of the people that played games around that time were from large cites or capital city. This was due to economical situation and in some of the countries, also political one like Tajikistani Civil War.

The original Sega consoles (Mega Drive II, Master System II, Game Gear, Mega CD II and Mega Drive 32X) were released in 1994 through the Nissho Iwai trading house and its sub-distributors, local ones and from Russia (like Buka). The Steepler company itself sold clones and original Sega consoles, but over time it began to focus on official Nintendo systems like Super Nintendo and Game Boy.

From mid-90s, marekt was under pressure of bootleg sellers that distributed Mega Drive clones in flea market or stores. The systems were imported from Asia or from Russia and more organized were Bitman, Kenga and Subor. Even when Bitman began cooperation with Sega Europe from January 1996, replacing Nissho Iwai, bringing Sega Saturn and selling Super Bitman legally, new wave of clones appeared again.

Although the Sega Dreamcast was announced for release in CIS countries in 2000 by NVT, it was canceled due to Sega's problems, which resulted in a rash of pirated games translated into Russian and imports.

Today all brands of clones from Asia or Russia and can be easily find in shops specialized in distribution of that kind of products.

1C Company

In the following years, some games were released in CIS by the 1C Company[1] with translated boxes and localized games into Russian. Sega games are also available through digital distribution and the region is part of RU-CIS-UA when it comes to digital keys. Digital game distribution platforms such as Steam suggest lower prices for the region.

Mega Drive clones from mid-2000s

In the Central Asia countries, clones of Sega Mega Drive can still be find from Asian and Russian distribution channels.

Sega Amusement

Since 2006, the distribution of arcade machines and equipment for children produce by Sega is being carried out by KidsPlay.[2]

QubicaAMF is a strategic partner in Russia and CIS countries.

Sititek

Sititek is the official distributor of Sega Toys in Russia and CIS countries.[3]

References

History of Sega by Country
Asia
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North America
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South America
Argentina | Bolivia | Brazil | Chile | Colombia | Ecuador | Guyana | Paraguay | Peru | Suriname | Uruguay | Venezuela
Europe
Albania | Andorra | Austria | Belarus | Belgium | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Bulgaria | Croatia | Cyprus | Czechia | Denmark | Estonia | Finland | France | Germany | Gibraltar | Greece | Greenland | Hungary | Iceland | Ireland | Italy | Latvia | Liechtenstein | Lithuania | Luxembourg | Malta | Moldova | Monaco | Montenegro | Netherlands | North Macedonia | Norway | Poland | Portugal | Romania | San Marino | Serbia | Slovakia | Slovenia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Ukraine | United Kingdom
Australasia
Australia | Fiji | Guam | Micronesia | New Zealand | Papua New Guinea
Africa
Algeria | Botswana | Djibouti | Egypt | Eswatini | Ghana | Kenya | Lesotho | Libya | Mauritania | Morocco | Mozambique | Namibia | Nigeria | Sierra Leone | Somalia | Sub-Saharan Africa | South Africa | Tunisia | Uganda | Zambia | Zimbabwe