History of Sega in Poland
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| History of Sega in Poland |
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| Official Sega distributor(s): Bobmark International (1994-1997), Lanser (1997-) |
The fall of communist Poland in the September of 1989 led to the peaceful transition to the Third Polish Republic in the years that followed. No longer under strict political regimes and the wider sphere of influence from the Soviet Union, Poland was able to open its markets in the early 1990s, enabling the country to import luxary items (such as video game consoles) from elsewhere.
Bobmark
Like many of its contemporaries, Sega did not immediately create distribution channels across the Eastern bloc, so in order to supply video games to the country, local companies were forced to innovate. Bobmark International was among the first companies to enter the Polish market, and in 1992 began distributing Pegasus consoles in the region - a clone of the Nintendo Famicom which also found success across the former Yugoslavian republics around this time.
The Pegasus line would become the dominant console across Poland, however 1994 saw a change in the law preventing Bobmark from selling another unlicensed system. In response, the company acquired an official distribution license from Sega, and in 1995 began marketing Sega products in the country. Bobmark created a new company, trading as "AGES" ("Sega" reversed) specifically to distribute these systems.
Alongside the model 2 Sega Mega Drive, Ages would attempt to market the model 2 Sega Mega-CD, model 2 Sega Master System (until 1996) and Sega Game Gear in the region. The Polish public were not receptive - no Sega console sold as well as the company had hoped, unlike its Pegasus systems which were far more popular. Bobmark would abandon the Ages moniker and begin trading as itself once more.
In response (and possibly with the blessing of Sega), Bobmark began selling the unlicensed Taiwanese-built KW-501 Mega Drive clone as the Power Pegasus. Released in preparation for Christmas 1995 and hoping to trade off a more successful brand, it too failed to catch on.
On March 1, 1996 Bobmark released the Sega Saturn, however despite its large advertising campaign, the system fell short of expectations. In 1997 the company cancelled its distribution agreement, which would be picked up by Lanser for the years which followed.
Lanser
Lanser distributed the Saturn during 1997/1998, before moving onto the Sega Dreamcast between 2000 and 2003.
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