Difference between revisions of "History of Sega in Poland"

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At the beginning of 1994, the first Sega Mega Drive clones appeared. [[Hegatar Computing]] started selling the [[Super Drive]] console<ref> Gry Komputerowe 4/1994 page 12 </ref>,however, was not popular and was quickly forgotten.  
 
At the beginning of 1994, the first Sega Mega Drive clones appeared. [[Hegatar Computing]] started selling the [[Super Drive]] console<ref> Gry Komputerowe 4/1994 page 12 </ref>,however, was not popular and was quickly forgotten.  
  
There were other clones but they were not very popular. Their price was about 300 PLN.<ref>PSX Extreme 247</ref> Some stores started to sell bootleg games which cost less than 50 PLN.
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There were other clones such as [[Pro 16-bit]] but they were not very popular. Their price was about 300 PLN in 1994 and 250 PLN in 1995.<ref>PSX Extreme 247</ref> Some stores started to sell bootleg games which cost from 70 to 50 PLN.
  
 
===Deal with Sega===
 
===Deal with Sega===

Revision as of 13:33, 3 June 2020

Notavailable.svg
Poland 
History of Sega in Poland
Official Sega distributor(s): Bobmark International (1994-1997), Lanser (1997-2003), CD Projekt (2003-2014), Cenega (2014-present)

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

Before Sega

Super Drive advert

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 1991 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.

Even before the official distribution, Sega appeared in Poland. Many people went abroad and there often bought child consoles mostly from Sega or Nintendo. These consoles aroused big interest in many people who only saw the widespread Pegasus consoles. They were also a problem because the owners could not get games to the console.

At the beginning of 1994, the first Sega Mega Drive clones appeared. Hegatar Computing started selling the Super Drive console[1],however, was not popular and was quickly forgotten.

There were other clones such as Pro 16-bit but they were not very popular. Their price was about 300 PLN in 1994 and 250 PLN in 1995.[2] Some stores started to sell bootleg games which cost from 70 to 50 PLN.

Deal with Sega

In advertisements of Pegasus from the end of 1994 and the beginning of 1995 there was information about the possibility of sending an offer for the Sega console, which remained for a long time the only sign about Sega

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. Initially, the new law was not followed very accurately, however, as time passed, it began to have more and more influence on Bobmark's operations. This change also caused interest of Sega and Nintendo who started talks with national distributors about selling their consoles. In response, the company acquired an official distribution license from Sega, and began marketing Sega products in the country. In July 1994 Bobmark created a new company, trading as AGES ("Sega" reversed) specifically to distribute these systems.

Alongside the model 1 and 2 Sega Mega Drive, AGES would attempt to market the model 2 Sega Mega-CD, model 2 Sega Master System, Sega Game Gear and Sega 32X in the region. The console warranty service was handled by Eltors Electronic, which had previously provided the same service for Pegasus consoles.

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. This was the result of poor advertising and further support of the Pegasus console. Bobmark considered the agreement with Sega as an alternative in case of Pegasus failure.

In 1995, Pegasus sales began to decline. Bobmark earned less and less, and in addition to the Pegasus counterfeit, more and more powerful consoles such as Super Nintendo, 3DO, Amiga CD32 and Atari Jaguar were advertised. 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 September 1995 in preparation for Christmas[3] and hoping to trade off a more successful brand, it too failed to catch on. Once again, Sega related product lost through the lack of proper advertising. Bobmark moved release of Sega Saturn due to news about console problems in the United States. Instead, from November, in addition to selling Power Pegasus, they began advertising the original Mega Drive thinking that it would improve the console situation. It was the last year in which the company made a profit.

Big failure

On March 1, 1996 Bobmark completely took over the distribution duties from AGES and released the Sega Saturn on event called Play Box 96.[4]The whole 1996 was marked by an aggressive advertising campaign against Sony PlayStation which was released on January 1, 1996. Although Saturn was very well known among players, it sales were low due to the high price of consoles and games.

Initially, Saturn was 300 zlotys cheaper than its competitor, but it did not last too long. In September 1996, the PlayStation price was reduced to PLN 999. Saturn did the same. Sony also lowered the price of games, which Bobmark decided not to. The difference was about PLN 20. Promoting the system during games events like Turniej Virtua Fighter 2 and advertising on the new TV program Escape (TV show) did not help either.[5].

Older Sega's systems performed a little better, especially Mega Drive which in 1996-1997 the local resellers were interested in. It did not gain big popularity but it perform better than in 1994-1995. In 1996, the Klub Sega was created and TCI's technology group got the rights to distribute the Sega Channel in Poland, but it is not known that the service was launched there.

In 1997, Saturn's advertising began to slowly disappear. The last big promotion was Wygraj Samochód z Sega Saturn. This year stood under a rapid decline in the price of the console to adapt to the Playstation and Nintendo 64, with the price difference between Saturn and PSX games, despite the reductions, was always around 20 zlotys. During the summer of 1997 there was no new console ads. In September, Bobmark, knowing that in the years 1996-1997 suffers big losses and Saturn is not able to do anything anymore, decided to break the contract with Sega.

PowerPegasus.jpg
Power Pegasus is recognized as one of the rarest consoles in Poland
PowerPegasus.jpg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Secret Service (PL) #29: "Listopad 1995" (1995-11-01)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Secret Service (PL) #36: "Czerwiec 1996" (1996-06-01)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Secret Service (PL) #37: "Lipiec/Sierpień 1996" (1996-08-01)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg
link=https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:Gambler_PL_35.pdf&page=Win car with Sega Saturn advert.png
Print advert in Gambler (PL) #35: "10/1996" (1996-xx-xx)
also published in:
Gambler 35 PL Win car with Sega Saturn.jpg
At Gambleriada Jesień 1996 the Bobmark stand with Sega consoles was considered one of the best.

Lanser and Marksoft

In the October 1997 Lanser became a Sega distributor and continued to sell Sega Saturn.[20] The price was already much lower and more acceptable, but then only few people wanted Saturn.

Since 1998, the sale of Sega games on the PC has been taken by Marksoft.[21]In the same year, Sega Nomad appeared in unofficial importers.

On October 18, 2000, Lanser signed a contract with Sega for the distribution of Sega Dreamcast. The premiere was announced on December 1, 2000 at a starting price of PLN 999 and on this day the release of 45 games with Polish instructions was promised (the back of the box was translated into Polish using self-made stickers).[22]Their number increased to 49 games, and 20 new titles were announced by the end of the year. Dreamcast Internet was announced for the third-fourth quarter of 2001. The late premiere was explained by the price of the console, which in 1999 was not favorable enough for Polish conditions.[23]

During his lifetime, Dreamcast was called DeCek or Makaron (eng.Pasta) because of its logo.[24] In March 2001, a price reduction was announced and the console cost PLN 699. After the price reduction, over 10,000 consoles were sold. In September 2001, there was another price reduction, which also increased sales.

In February 2001, there was a plan to release a Dreamcast magazine called My Dream, but it is not known whether it was released.[25]

The Sega games released by Empire were distributed by Techland.

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Secret Service (PL) #52: "Grudzień 1997" (1997-1x-xx)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg
GK 44 PL Marksoft.jpg
Print advert in Gry Komputerowe (PL) #44: "3/1998" (1998-xx-xx)
GK 44 PL Marksoft.jpg
Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Click! (PL) #23-2000: "23/2000" (2000-11-09)
also published in:
Logo-pdf.svg

CD Projekt and Cenega

In 2003, CDP became the exclusive distributor of Sega products.[37] The cooperation lasted until 2014 in which the functions of the distributor were taken over by Cenega. This was due to problems in the CDP company.[38]Cenega is still the official representative of Sega in Poland and throughout the Visegrad Group.

Magic Play

Nowadays, Sega arcades are distributed by Magic Play.[39]

References

  1. Gry Komputerowe 4/1994 page 12
  2. PSX Extreme 247
  3. File:TopSecret PL 38.pdf, page 58
  4. https://retrocdn.net/File:SecretService_34_PL_Bobmark.png
  5. http://www.strefapsx.pl/ceny-konsol-w-polsce-w-latach-1996-2006/
  6. Gry Komputerowe, "3/1996" (PL; 1996-xx-xx), page 32
  7. Gambler, "6/1996" (PL; 1996-xx-xx), page 41
  8. Gambler, "7/1996" (PL; 1996-xx-xx), page 41
  9. Gambler, "8/1996" (PL; 1996-xx-xx), page 33
  10. Gambler, "9/1996" (PL; 1996-xx-xx), page 41
  11. Secret Service, "Wrzesień 1996" (PL; 1996-09-01), page 75
  12. Secret Service, "Październik 1996" (PL; 1996-10-01), page 71
  13. Gry Komputerowe, "9-10/1996" (PL; 1996-xx-xx), page 67
  14. Secret Service, "Listopad 1996" (PL; 1996-11-01), page 71
  15. Gry Komputerowe, "11/1996" (PL; 1996-xx-xx), page 67
  16. Secret Service, "Grudzień 1996" (PL; 1996-12-01), page 56
  17. Gry Komputerowe, "12/1996" (PL; 1996-xx-xx), page 67
  18. Gambler, "11/1996" (PL; 1996-xx-xx)
  19. Gambler, "12/1996" (PL; 1996-xx-xx), page 39
  20. File:SecretService_PL_51.pdf, page 74
  21. Gry Komputerowe (PL) #44: "3/1998" (1998-xx-xx)
  22. https://gry.interia.pl/news-oficjalny-dystrybutor-dreamcast,nId,727666
  23. https://gry.interia.pl/news-dreamcast-w-polsce-wywiad,nId,727953
  24. http://lavocado.pl/2018/01/17/sega-dreamcast-nie-zyje/
  25. https://web.archive.org/web/20010217153706/http://www.dreamcastcentre.hg.pl/
  26. Świat Gier Komputerowych, "11/1997" (PL; 1997-xx-xx), page 40
  27. Gry Komputerowe, "12/1997" (PL; 1997-xx-xx), page 12
  28. Świat Gier Komputerowych, "12/1997" (PL; 1997-xx-xx), page 24
  29. Neo, "Grudzień 1997" (PL; 1997-xx-xx), page 2
  30. Świat Gier Komputerowych, "1/1998" (PL; 1997-xx-xx), page 80
  31. Secret Service, "Styczeń 1998" (PL; 1998-xx-xx), page 14
  32. Click!, "24/2000" (PL; 2000-11-23), page 23
  33. Neo Plus, "Listopad 2000" (PL; 2000-xx-xx), page 18
  34. Click!, "25-26/2000" (PL; 2000-12-07), page 67
  35. Neo Plus, "Grudzień 2000" (PL; 2000-xx-xx), page 19
  36. Neo Plus, "Styczeń 2001" (PL; 2001-xx-xx), page 19
  37. https://www.gry-online.pl/S013.asp?ID=8606
  38. http://www.komputerswiat.pl/gamezilla/newsy/2014/13/cd-projekt-po-cichu-stracil-sege
  39. https://magicplay.eu/?en_about-us,3
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