History of Sega in Ukraine

History of Sega in Ukraine
Official Sega distributor(s): Buka (1994-1999), Bitman (1996-1997), R-Style (1997-1999), NVT (2000-2002), Softprom (2007-2012), 1C-SoftClub (20xx-20xx), Unknown (20xx-present)

Ukraine declared independence in 1991. Since that year, the country has been a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and remained there until 2014 due to the country's crisis.

From Mega Drive to Dreamcast

Most of Sega's history in this region from this period is related to History of Sega in Russia, so the events are briefly summarized.
1. Steepler releases Dendy in 1993 and starts selling Sega clones (Pro 16 Bit and High Quality) and the original Mega Drive 2 from Asia, Genesis CDX from USA with US/EU/Asian/Bootleg games.
2. Nissho Iwai gets licenses to distribute games in CIS countries and in 1994 selects several authorized distributors such as Buka who supply Mega Drive 2 (EU/AS PAL), Mega-CD 2 (EU PAL/AS NTSC), Master System 2 (EU PAL), Game Gear (EU PAL), Sega Saturn (AS NTSC/EU PAL), Mega Drive 32X. Steepler starts selling Mega Drive 2 from Nissho Iwai channels.
3. The wave of Sega and Dendy clones begins to flood the CIS countries on flee markets, small stores and from specialized sellers (Bitman and Subor), which means that the original systems reach a smaller number of people. There is Ukrainian brand from Kenga with Mega-Ken and the fake Mega Drive II. Kenga obtained the rights to officially sell Multi Mega in 1995 in CIS countries.
4.Kenga created its own TV program called Kenga Predstavlyaet to promote it's games. Steepler, on the other hand, supported the Hrayutʹ Usi!. There was also a Sega Ostrov show and some rumors say that the Russian series Sonic - Super Hedgehog was also broadcast in Ukraine.
5. Despite problems with clones, Sega recognizes Mega Drive as success in Russia and CIS and decides to push Sega Saturn. They signs a deal with Bitman, making Super Bitman legal and Bitman starts selling all Sega consoles in its stores in the PAL system.
6. Sega Saturn turns out to be a failure and Bitman is bought by R-Style in 1997, which sells the other Sega consoles for a short time.
7. The region is flooded in the late 1990s and early 2000s with Sega and Dendy clones from Russia by mainly Simba's Video Games and New Game and second with Ukrainian localized boxes and instructions made by Kin Wai (Hong Kong) Investment Limited and this includes Mega Drive One, Mega Drive 2, Mega Drive III, Genesis 3, Sega 2000, SAGA PS, Kombat 16, Kombat 16+ and Super Kombat.
8. Sega returns with Dreamcast, released by NVT in 2000. In the late 2000s, due to pirated translations of games into Russian and their distribution through its own sales channel in CIS countries, the console became popular and sold long after its support in the world ended.

Softprom and 1C SoftClub

Softprom took over the distribution of games in 2007 and ended it in 2012.

In the following years, the games were published by the 1C company. The company's branch - 1C SoftClub had partners in this region. 1C published several Sega games before 2013. In 2019, SoftClub stopped selling games in Ukraine. Sega games are still available in digital distribution and Ukraine itself belongs to the RU-CIS-UA region when it comes to digital keys. Until 2018, digital game distribution platforms such as Steam suggested lower prices for this region. This was mainly due to piracy.

Today, Sega clones can still be bought, they are mainly imported from Russia.

Sega Amusement

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

QubicaAMF is a strategic partner in Russia and CIS countries.

Sititek

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